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Show WASHINGTON, Jan. S. The ex- : pected German offensive in the west, Secretary Baker's weekly war review says, will possibly bo their greatest assault, but the British and French armies can be rallied on to withstand the shock. Summarizing the situation on the eve of a possible great offensive, Secretary Sec-retary Baker confidently points out that through sixteen battles of great magnitude the British and French have steadily pushed ahead with methodical sureness and made great gains. The expected offensive, he points out, is probably being delayed for the massing of great quantities of munitions, troops and guns and the Germans may be expected "to strain every fibre of their remaining strength." French Successes In Italy. On the Italian front, the secretary points out, French successes have turned the -scale' against the Austro-, Austro-, German invaders and the west bank of the Piavo is being held firmly, i hampered by heavy snowfalls in tho Alps. He says the invaders are now I confronted with a tremendous handicap handi-cap of maintaining their transport I which neutralizes the advantage of i holding higher ground. The period of adjustment, Secretary Baker says, has passed and it may now be expetcted that "the French, British Brit-ish and Italians, fighting side by side, will be able to master the situation. Tho review which this week makes no mention of American troops, follows: fol-lows: Baker Reviews Military Operations. Secretary of War Baker today authorized au-thorized the publication of the following fol-lowing review of the military operations opera-tions for tho week ending January 3, 1918: I Six weeks have elapsed since tho first rumors reached us of the great thrust In tho west which the enemy then announced as imminent. In or- dor to concentrate largo troop masses, ! adequate artillery and amplo reserves i of munitions much time is requireu. "Though the German higher command com-mand has so long delayed before beginning be-ginning operations, advices received seemingly confirm tho information that important actions are contemplated contem-plated along the western front. They may bo counted upon to strain every fibre of their remaining strengtli in an endeavor to make their plans succeed. British Win Sixteen Big Battles. "In considering the general military situation on the eve of a possible German Ger-man offensive, it must be recalled that through sixteen successive battles of j great magnitude in Flanders the British Brit-ish have overy time come out victorious victor-ious and pushed steadily ahead. Their gains havo been methodical and cumulative. cumu-lative. The Germans have, during this long series of major operations, Invariably In-variably been forced to give way. The French stood like a rock at Verdun and soon after drove forward vigorously vigor-ously in tho battle of tho Somme and in turn played a great part in the repeated re-peated drives in Flanders. Great Assault Imminent "The impending German offensive will positively be their great assault. The Frendi and British armies can be relied upon to withstand tho shock. "In the west no important operations opera-tions took place during tho past week. The entlro front from the North sea to the Swiss border was very active. Tho Germans continued their widely scattered thrusts while the French and British parried with numerous I H reconnoitering raids and careful pa- . H trolling. They remained on the qui j vlvc, taking note of even' minor I IJ change in the German order of battle, i keeping closely informed of possible IH troop movements and maneuvers. H "In the Cambrai area, the enemy , undertook an attack in force. Here fl the Germans, in attempting a flanking movement, which had, as its imrae- H diate objective, the further narrowing down of the British salient, were able to penetrate and hold temporarily cer- i M tain British trench elements south of ( Marcoing. This action was conducted with great energy. The British imme-diately imme-diately countered and were able to re-capture re-capture a part of their lost positions. ' "Another hostile thrust was under-taken under-taken close to the Canal du Nord, I where the enemy scored a local ad- 1 vantage as he was able slightly to j press back the British. Lens Assault Collapses. "Southeast of Lens the enemy made a renewed attempt to reach the Brit- ! ish outposts but this assault collapsed before any result could be obtained; ' while the British later in the week ad-vanced ad-vanced their trenches in this area. "Minor raids were carried on throughout the week by both the Brit- 1 ish and Germans. Numerous patrol v encountors wero also reported. Intense Artillery Bombardments. "Intense artillery bombardments in the Lens and Cambrai sectors would indicate that the enemy has selected this terrain for a concentrated assault. "The French front remains rela-tively rela-tively quiet Severe cold has pre-vailed. pre-vailed. Spirited artillery duels were reported in tho Champague and in the region of the Meuse river. In-tense In-tense hostile infantry activity was noted in the region of St. Mihiel, and St. Quentin, but the efforts to set in , motion an attack against the French lines were in each case easily re- pulsed. j Italians Holding Their Own. I "After fighting on tho defensive for ten weeks, tho Italians, firmly sup- J ported by the Franco-British forces J have been able to reorganize their 1 dispositions in the field. Thereupon, ) the French, seizing a favorable oppor- 'j jM tunity, passed to tho offensive in the . neighborhood of Monte Tomba. The outcome of their undertaking was H singularly fortunate This vitally 1m-portant 1m-portant strategic point which, bad it remained in the hands of the enemy, would afforded him great advantage. 'jH was retaken by the French as the cli-max cli-max of a dashing assault against very strong and difficult positions. Nearly , 1-100 prisoners wero captured. IH French Turn Scale. "The success of the French turned IH the scale. The Italians, encouraged . IH by this vlctorj', at onco set about driv-ing driv-ing the enemy across the Piave. The Austrians sought to effect a crossing of the river in the vicinity of Intesta-dura, Intesta-dura, about 10 miles from the Adrl-atic. Adrl-atic. Large contingents were gathered 'H together for this operation. Owing to VM the vigorous nature of Italian resist- IH ance, complete failure attended the undertaking and the enemy was driven IH back with serious loss. Tho Austrian IH detachments have held the bridgehead ffH at Zenson on the right bank of the j( Piave for the past five weeks, but iH were driven out by an impetuous at- ( Continued on Pago 4 ) j Secretary Baker Forecasts Fore-casts Great Battles in West. ' (Continued from page 1.) tack and forced to retire across the river, so that no hostilo unlta now remain re-main on the west bank of the Piave. British Inflict Much Damage. 'The British lead in raiding enemy positions across the river. Their sal- j lies achieved excellent results as they T 1 were able to inflict much damage on $ j hostile outworks and took a number I" e of prisoners. Heavy snow has at last V fallen In the Alpine regions which i greately hampers the Austro-Germans. j It will be a tremendous task for them i to keep their lines of communication open In the mountain area. Trans- 1 port problems are at all times pecull- I arly difficult in this theatre and, with H i the added burden of unfavorable win- (. , tor weather, the practical advantage v. which the enemy has enjoyed by hold- i ing the high ground will be neutral- j; V ized by his transportation difficulties. "The Italians remain in secure pos- ah session of their offensive positions IMfc along the Monte Grappa and the As- vm lago sectors. mi "The inter-Allied war council, not Mi relying on undertaking a counter-of- M tensive In the west in order to relieve Austro-Gcrman pressure in Italy, ? smoothly and quietly transported an important number of French and Brit- Ml ish veteran divisions to the Venetian mfc battle front. Some time had of neces- Mh sity to elapse before the closest co- M ordination and harmony could be se- tJft cured between the mixed contingents yl it fighting in a new terrain. This period of adjustment has now passed and we jS may anticipate that the French, British i? and Italians fighting aide by side, will tl be able to master the situation. Co- operation between their forces has been secured. Military co-operation is now being conducted with a unity of command which presages the best of b results. J "In Palestine hostile reaction, fol- j: lowing upon the fall of Jerusalem as t was to be anticipated, took place.' The f Turkish soldiers delivered a serins of 2 very well concentrated and powerful thrusts in the neighborhood of Bir- j. I Bebala. Their assaults were evident- i I ly launched for the purpose of retak- f ing the Holy City. But owing to the I superiority of the British, not only did I; the Turkish counter-offensive fail ut- teriy but the British were able to push S " forward for a distance of soven miles. f L "The British aro continuing their flj T successful operations and havo been h n able to extend their lines nine miles north of Jerusalem. Inclement weath- er has impeded operations. fJ "From various sources, Information I fi reaches us that, under German super- V vision a large number of fresh battal- f l ions, withdrawn from Mesopotamia and I the Caucasus are being rushed to Pal- f estlne. Damascus is the center of if much military activity. II ZL "It 1b believed that in order to at- i& tempt to regain their prestige, the if 1? Germans will afford the Turks what- II 2f ev.er assistance possible in an effort to E check the British and retake Jerusa- tM lerj." 1 oo . jy , |
