The Daily News. SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 1918. THE THIRD GERMAN OFFENSIVE.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 June 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 1918. THE THIRD GERMAN OFFENSIVE.

The opening of the third phase of the great offensive movement by the Germans on the West front lias been characterised by such a great weight of men and guns that we imay reasonably presume that the German High Command is staking the whole of its resources on a supreme effort to obtain victory. This can alone explain the success achieved in forcing back the Allies continuously since the movement started. On the 27th the Germans advanced six miles, and the same on the following day, while the advance on the 29th was two or three miles, and more than that at some points. Exactly what is the enemy's aim has not yet been made clear, but it is evident the chief attack is being made in the Aisne or Champagne district, and is practically an extension of the battle in Picardy. The chain of heights which forms what is known as the Chemin des Dames ridge terminates abruptly at Craonne, from which the country falls away abruptly to the plain of the Champagne. Although British troops were placed in the gap formed by the open country, it does not appear that the Allies contemplated the maintenance of the position, but unquestionably it could not have been anticipated that an offensive of such m&gni-

tude would be made in that sector. It is considered, however, that the withdrawal from this line does not involve consequences sufficiently serious to justify a continued resistance against the enemy's determined effort to press forward regardless of cost, and there seems to be grounds for believing that the attack, although on a grand scale, masks an offensive on another part of the front, and that it is part of the enemy's tactics to draw the Allies' reserves from the point at which the Germans propose to overwhelm their enemies. It is quite possible that the Allied front was not very strongly held, but we cannot conclude from that observation that the attack was not expected, or that the disposition of the defensive army was unsound, because it has been very clearly indicated that, apart from lines that are of prime importance, the advanced positions are deliberately weakened, the troops holding them being merely expected to delay the enemy, and so save losses that would otherwise he inevitable. The fighting in the Aisne sector has been very violent, and at one time the position was very critical, but the situation developed satisfactorily. In the northern sectors the Germans have been held up. It is in the "Western Champagne that the enemy is meeting with success, and may enable him to establish himself on a much stronger defensive line than in the south. The threatened front is admirably served by railways, and reserves are being rapidly brought to stem the advance, and this accounts for the rate of advance slackening appreciably, owing to the enemy encountering greater difficulties. The loss of Soissons renders possible the widening by the enemy of the Compiegne—Montdidier Salient, whence, it is considered, a grand break through may te attempted. The enemy is still pressing forward slowly, and has surrounded Rheims on threa vides, but as the French reserves are getting iuto action we may look for more encouraging news than that of the past few days. According to late cables, it is quite possible that tho enemy may strike another blow in the direction of Amiens or Dunkirk, but the confidence which exists in the Allied armies, and in the strategy of the Generalissimo, may well be reflected throughout the Empire. The position naturally engenders a feeling of anxiety. As one writer puts it: "The Allies are holding their own in the north, and are giving way in the south. The question, therefore, is how far will they he able to push the offensive before some strategic tour de force of Foch's, or the arrival of America's full strength, permits the Allies to turn the tables."