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Show HUNS Of THE il ON PIGARDY FRONT MONTDIDIER FALLS TO. ALLIES AND GERMANS ARE RETREATING RETREAT-ING TO THE SOMME. Americans Aid in Rolling Back Teuton Line, Enemy Being Unable to Stop the Victorious Allies in Latest Drive Toward Berlin. Paris. The French have driven the Germans before them for an important gain east of Montdidier in l'icardy. That city,- which was the apex of a German salient that now has been wiped out, fell to the French fourth army at midday Saturday. Before nightfall- the victorious French forces had carried the battle line onward to an average depth of six miles on- a front of approximately twenty miles. In the three days of engagements that culminated in the taking of Montdidier, Mont-didier, the French took SO00 prisoners. Their capture also included 200 guns and an enormous amount of material. Crushed by the impact of the British, Brit-ish, -French and American offensive on the battle line from Albert, northeast of Amiens, to Oise river north of Com-piegne, Com-piegne, German forces are streaming back toward the Sonime river and the Xesle-Noyon canal. So far as can be determined, the enemy is in full retreat re-treat all along the front against which the alliestfiiiiig themselves the latter part of tlie week. The drive of the past week in Pie-ardy Pie-ardy was a complete success. The real offensive was launched from the direction direc-tion of Amiens within three days after the French and Americans had been definitely halted at tlie Vesle river. Before the crown prince could send back any divisions to l'icardy the British and French swept forwaiv. irresistibly ir-resistibly with tanks, big and little, as the piece de resistance of their drive. With Tillers Bretonneux as a center, the British struck to the north and south. Their northern flank of attack reached almost to Albert, their southern south-ern to Hangard. South of that the French were ready for attack near Morisel and Moreuil, where heavy resistance re-sistance was to be expected. The British Brit-ish attacked without artillery preparation. prepa-ration. The French -bombarded the enemy for about 45 minutes before moving forward to the assault. Then they took Morisel and Moruoil in severe se-vere fighting. Meanwhile the British, Australians and Canadians had been lushing forward south of the Somme ivi'Ji tlie apex of their wedge directed toward Kozieres. Tlie first day they did not take that town, which is about seven or eight miles east of Tillers, but they gained positions beyond it to the north. On their left Hank the British did not make much progress north of the Sonime, and on the second day of the fighting they lost Chipilly. On that (lay, however, the German resistance to tlie south was broken by the British and French, who began to get Montdidier Montdi-dier into a pocket. To the north, in the center, the British, Brit-ish, with Canadians and Australians, continued to gain toward Chauhies after occupying Rozieres. At Chipilly Americans were thrown into the fight Friday afternoon, and, with the aid of the British, recaptured it. On Saturday Satur-day they pushed some distance beyond Chipilly and Morlaucourt, in the same region. By this time the enemy's lines had been so seriously shattered that a gen-, eral retirement to a wholly new line was imperative. Indeed, tlie high com mand probably had given the order for this retirement on the first or second day of the tight, but even this timely provision failed to prevent the allies from capturing hundreds of cannon and thousands of prisoners. The American drive in the Marne salient was the turning point of the war, but it is doubtful whether it obtained ob-tained tlie fruits that would seem to be tlie inevitable sequence of the Franco-British victory, in which the Americans are successfully participat-j participat-j ing. Both battles have been entente I successes in a special sense. On tlie Soissons-Ulieiins front the ! French and Americans have been nibbling nib-bling at I he enemy, lint in tlie process i they have established some strong bridgeheads across tlie Teslo river from which to continue their operations. opera-tions. If tlie Germans retreat to the I-Iindenburg line, there will be no chance of holding the line of tlie Tesle, ami the crown prince will withdraw without attempting to try conclusions with tho French and Americans south of the Aisne. J By means of their air supremacy the ; allies can watch every movement of : The retreating enemy as if liie entire ; battle were beini; thrown upon a iimv-1 iimv-1 ing picture s---iv,-n. The enemy, nic;;t:-' nic;;t:-' t line, is iilinnsT blind. His machines have been dov, n d in such numbers ' that he cannot tell what the otaiosie i forces are doi:i' or planning. |