Retreating from their advanced positions against the Hinderburg line the allied armies are now standing at bay on the very ground upon which they resisted the invaders for twenty months preceding the Somme drive. The Germans have reconquered a battle-scarred desert at frightful cost only to find themselves still face to face with unbeaten armies which have been reinforced during the week with reserves drawn from all parts of France and the British Isles.

In previous years the offensive might have ended where it now stands. But the German populace demands more than an advance--it demands the destruction of the allied resistance and the capture of Paris. Hinderburg must push the assault, backed with decreasing artillery support and supplied over more and more tenuous lines of transport service. In this he is likely to over-reach himself, and when he does we can count on the strategist Foch, who commands the reserves, to counter-attack relentlessly. The rout into which a demoralized victory can be transformed is well illustrated by the slaughter of Russians following their advances into East Prussia and Galicia.

The allied peoples can look forward to the result with confidence. The Germans must advance farther to win, whereas the Allies have but to hold their ground to defeat them. And beyond the certainty of merely parrying the enemy blow is the chance of inflicting a decisive loss on the outstretched and unsupported enemy lines by a counter-attack.