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Show INS PREPARED i FOR EMERGENCY i Lines Well Fortified and Arranged Ar-ranged for Situation Such as Now Exists. NEW YORK, Oct. 20. "Events of the past three months involving: the ebb of the German tide of invasion in Bel-glum Bel-glum and France, hnvc emphasized the importance of tho German defensive systems which have been prepared by tho foo for just tho emergency which now confronts him. The German defensive linos resembles resem-bles a tree with three main branches. 'The trunk of thin "tree" has its root at 1110 owiss lronuur uuu tuumiuco north as far as Metz, where it divides into Iwo branches. The westerly branch runs to the northwest as far as the Mouse river, where it eparalos-, one "limb"' crossing the Mcuse and running westward, after which It sweeps to the north on a long cunv. The other follows the Meuse down as far as Namur, whence it runs to Brussels Brus-sels and Antwerp and thence lo tho Dutch frontier. The branch that crosses the Meuse is the first that must be broken by the allies. In fact, recent British and Belgian victories in Belgian Flanders seem to have rendered ren-dered a large part of this line untenable unten-able as a permanent defensive position. posi-tion. This line crosses the Meuse at Dun, goes through the Argonne forest and then follows the Alsne river as far as Bethel ' where it turns north and passes near Guiso and Soleames. It continues northward past Valenciennes Valencien-nes and, reaches the Scheldt at Conde. It runs along the Scheldt past Tournai and Grent, where it turns to the eastward east-ward and reaches Antwerp. This is the "HundinK line." Tho s6cond line, known as the "lino of the Meuse" is established on the east bank o fthe Meuse river northward north-ward from Dun. It passes Sedan ami Mezieres and enters Belgium just to tho southwest of Dinant. At Namur it leaves the river and runs to Brussels, Brus-sels, continuing on to Antwerp, where it jpins tho "ITunding lino" and continues con-tinues on to tho Dutch border. The third line is the original defense zone along the German frontier. South of Metz, it is centered around ho thirty-seven. permanent forts about Strass-burg. Strass-burg. It runs over the high and precipitous pre-cipitous hills on the Vosges mountains and is several miles deep. At Metz tho Germans have constructed con-structed twenty-eight great forts which are so located as to command all approaches ap-proaches and, at the same time capable capa-ble of concentrating their fire on any one fort which happens to be entered by the allies. Northwest of Metz is the great iron field of Brioy. The importance im-portance of this iron deposit has compelled com-pelled the Germans to convert the whole country there into a veritable fortress. This line runs along the boundary between France and Germany, Ger-many, bending to the northeast until it reaches the Luxemburg line. If this belt should be pierced, the Germans may fall back to tho Saar-brucken Saar-brucken and Kaiserslautern regions which are interspersed by rivers and high wooded hills, which lend themselves them-selves admirably to defensive operations. opera-tions. East of Luxemburg, it is reported, the Germans have devote'd a great deal of time and labor to the construction of permanent fortifications. The country along tho Belgian frontier fron-tier between Luxemburg and Holland is dominated by Coblenz, which Marshal Mar-shal Foch considers the key to Germany. Ger-many. In this area is Bonn a fortress fort-ress of the first class; Cologne, which is protected by a broad belt of entrenchments en-trenchments and a series of strongholds strong-holds running along the western side of the Rhine until that river passes into Holland. Should the three lines mentioned be broken or If the allies should break through between Metz and the Swiss frontier the Germans .would be compelled com-pelled to fall back into Germany prop-er prop-er or to the south,to cross the Rhine. This historic river is really the western west-ern most of tho Teutonic castle. Its whole eastern bank Is. strongly fortified forti-fied and would be capable of a protracted pro-tracted defense. This line or resistance resist-ance begins at Lahr and runs down tho Rhine through Of fenburg, Karlsruhe, Karls-ruhe, Mannheim, Darmstadt, Weis-baden, Weis-baden, Bcndor, Kalk, Densburg and Wesel. In their retirement from their present-positions the Germans will be able to shorten their lines materially and thus increase tho number of men available for resistance along their new fronts. The Hunding Jlne is about seventy miles shorter than-the Hinden-burg Hinden-burg system. The line of the Meuse would shorten the front by twenty miles more, while the Germans, if they should retire to their own frontier, fron-tier, would be able to still shorten their front by thirty-five miles. This shortening of the line will be of tremndous Importance in future operations op-erations by the allies. It would "make up, to a large degree, for the heavy losses inflicted upon the Germans during dur-ing the campaign of the past summer and give them man power that would be a formidable barrier to an allied advance. ad-vance. The Meuse, the Aisne and the Scheldt rivers and the canals in Bel-glum Bel-glum in the vicinity of. Brussels and Antwerp will also be valuable ad-juncts ad-juncts to the conduct of defensive fighting by the Germans. With the development of the tank as an offen-sie offen-sie weapon, a river as a first defense line adds tremendously to the strength , of a position. nn: |