The complete reticence which the Allied high command is maintaining concerning developments in the battle in Flanders is wholly justified for military reasons. Nevertheless it is possible, from the few scraps of information which are allowed to be published, to form some idea of how the struggle is waging, and to understand why, despite the gravity of the situation, it is still possible for observers to find ground for confidence as to the outcome of this engagement. The German Panzer detachments, taking advantage of a weakness which developed in the Allied line between Peronne, and Cambrai, were able to sweep northwestwards along the north bank of the Somme, reaching Abbeville whence it continued northwards towards Boulogne, spreading fanwise towards St. Omer, creating a wide swathe of destruction in which the country, through which these advance troops have passed, has been completely devastated. The German claim to have captured Boulogne are emphatically denied by the Allies, and there is every reason to believe that the initial speed, with which the German advance troops moved along the Somme valley, has already been held up. In the meantime the French commenced a movement across the Somme between Corbie and Peronne, together with a drive from Cambrai southwestwards which on Friday had the result of reducing the gap in the Allied lines from 35 miles to 25. That on Saturday was still further reduced until the two Allied fronts were within twelve miles of each other, and, consequently, are now in position to dominate the narrow corridor along which the Panzer divisions have been able to advance to the coast. Further progress by the Allies on both fronts should have the effect of creating a junction, and again presenting a unified line of resistance against the German armies. This would have the effect of ultimately restoring the situation. Against the Allied movement the German troops north of the Somme are seeking by advances towards Vimy to outflank the Allied forces at Bapaume and Cambrai with the intention of forcing them to suspend the southward movement necessary to effect the junction with the French forces which have crossed the Somme.
It is believed, however, that the German forces behind the Allied lines in Flanders are not sufficiently strong to be able to make such a move effective, while the narrowing down of the original cap makes it very difficult indeed for the Germans to send in the reinforcements necessary to secure the desired success. The danger of General von Reichenau's troops which have been rushed through the gap being finally cut off led the Germans on Saturday to try every means, of bursting the Allied pocket. Using their numerical superiority at various points they attacked with very considerable vigour, but the latest information shows that the Allies held all points, and beat back the German attacks with considerable loss to the enemy. At no place did these German attacks prove successful. Roughly speaking the lines on the two fronts run in Flanders and northeastern France from Ghent, to Tournai, Valenciennes, Cambrai, Bapaume, round to St. Omer and to Boulogne on the coast, while in France it runs along the line of the Somme to St. Quentin, to La Fore, Laou, Rethel and so to Sedan. The experience of the last few days has clearly shown that where the Allied positions can be placed behind a river the mechanized weapons of the Germans lose much of their value. While all this has been going on the Allied air force has been vigorously attacking the communications of the Germans, and inflicting upon them such damage as may well ultimately have a considerable effect upon the ultimate outcome of this engagement. That the Allies are fighting well and confidently is the judgment of General Weygand, who has expressed himself as satisfied with the efforts they are putting forward, and there is ground for believing that if they can continue their present resistance for a few days more, they will have succeeded in re-establishing their line and cutting off General von Reichenau's forces from the main German body. Should that prove to be the case there should not be too much difficulty in rounding them up, for with the exhaustion of fuel and ammunition, which must result from any closing of the gap, the Panzer units will be rendered ineffective.
The situation is, therefore, far from hopeless, and it is no exaggeration to state that sufficient improvement has been effected through the stern fighting of the Allies to justify the opinion that there has indeed been something of a betterment since the Germans originally made their break through. There is, however, still much to be done before the position can be completely restored, and until this is done the situation will still be a grave one. In the air the Allied forces still make up for numerical inferiority with the excellence of their machines and the capabilities of their airmen. Here more damage has been inflicted upon the enemy than they have been able to do to the Allies whose losses are still small as compared with those of the Germans. That to a very large extent is caused by the general inferiority of the German aeroplane as compared with the fine productions of the Allies, and those purchased from the United States which have already been launched into action, and the fact that so many of the German pilots are hurriedly trained youths, sent out against the Allies after the scantiest of. instruction. In some instances German pilots have been found with but a few hours of flying experience sent up to encounter Allied fliers of years of solid training behind them. This either means that the Germans are diluting their experienced pilots with comparatively inexperienced ones, or that the German losses in the air have in fact been upon the large scale claimed by the Allies. Either explanation will be acceptable from the Allied point of view for both indicate a degree of weakness which cannot but be satisfactory. Together with all these considerations it needs to be remembered that the gigantic effort which the Germans are making in this desperate throw of theirs is making enormous inroads into the reserves of war material which they have accumulated. Millions of gallons of petrol, and other fuel are being used up daily. It is the same case with munitions, while the casitalties which the enemy has sustained are at, present out of all proportion to the territory he has gained. It is for all these reasons that the official view that the situation while still grave is not irretrievable can be accepted.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.