Another small Allied army was landed on the north coast of Russia and marched south against the Bolsheviki. Large parts of Russia north and east of Moscow declared themselves free of Bolshevik rule. It was the hope of the Allies that that rule--now marked by pillage, murder, and famine--would shortly be overthrown and that a new Russia would rise and take its place among the democracies of the world. THE WESTERN FRONT.--Early in 1918, after the failure of the German peace offensive in the west, rumors came from Germany of preparations for a great military drive on the western front. The "iron fist" and the "shining sword" were to break in the doors of those who opposed a German-made peace. There were good reasons for such an attack in the spring of 1918. Germany had withdrawn many troops from the east, where they were no longer needed to check the Russians. Further, although a few American troops had reached France, it was thought that not many could be sent over before the fall of 1918, and the full weight of America's force could not be exerted before the summer of 1919. It was to Germany's interest to crush France and England before the power of the American nation was thrown into the struggle against her. GERMANY'S NEW PLAN OF ATTACK.--The German military leaders therefore determined to stake everything upon one grand offensive on the western front while their own force was numerically superior to that of the Allies. Their expectation of victory in what they proudly called the "Kaiser's battle," was based not only upon the possession of greater numbers, but also upon the introduction of new methods of fighting which would overcome the old trench warfare. The new methods comprised three principal features. In the first place, much greater use was made of the element of surprise. Large masses of men were brought up near the front by night marches, and in daytime were hidden from airplane observation by smoke screens, camouflage of various kinds, and by the shelter of woodlands. In this way any portion of the opposing trench line could be subjected to a heavy, unexpected attack.