The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1914-12-30
HARD NUT TO CRACK

"The invasion of Germany itself
must of necessity be a tremendous
task" observes Lord Northcliffe, in
the course of an interview about
the outlook for the war. He is
right, and would be right if he were
to make the statement much more
emphatic.
1t is true that Germany is now
everywhere on the offensive save in
Belgium; for the German offensive
against Russian Poland is. what the
strategists call a defensive often
sive. Whether the latest campaign
in the east has collapsed, so far as
the Germans are concerned, cannot
accurately be judged as yet. 1t is
evident that the rush against War
saw is not to end quickly in terrific
disaster for the Russians, as Berlin
seemed seriously to think only few
days ago; but the impression which
Petrograd has been industriously
disseminating, that the tide has
turned against the Germans and
Austrians and that they have been
generally defeated, is likewise to be
set down as very likely mis-
leading. The situation in Poland is
likely to remain substantially dead
locked a good share of the winter.
What is now happening on both
the eastern and the western fronts
of the war shows how hard will be
the effort of the allies, no matter
in what force, to crack the German
nut, when once they get down to it.
They are merely scraping off its
shucks at present. When they fall
back on their own lines, with per-
fected defenses and a marvellous
transportation system that will
make one soldier worth as much to
them as two can be to the enemy,
then will come the real test.
The Germans have shown in the
east what superior communication
means. Out to their eastern from
tier they have been able to hold
their own and even to launch their
offensive against the enemy and into
enemy territory; but it has been
impossible to press that offensive
very far, because as soon as they
crossed the frontier the Germans
were more nearly on equal terms
with the enemy in the matter of
transportation. The Russians have
hopelessly inadequate railroads for
military purposes; the Germans, as
soon as they get on Russian soil,
face hat same difficulty.
SO on the western front, while the
French railroad system is excel
lentIy adapted to military purposes,
and there is no such disparity in
regard to transportation, there is a
disparity of another sort. Germany
has been fortified against France.
There is the Rhine to be crossed,
and even Caesar regarded his pas
sage of it against a horde of bar
barians as one of his greatest mill
tary feats. The Germans, with
their back against the Rhine, will
be in the strongest line Of forti-
fications, probably, in the world. 1t
used to be supposed that the French
parallel line was the more powerful,
but the 42-centimeter gun ruined
that calculation. The French forti-
fed points have had to be guarded
by the army in the field. The Ger
man Notifications have been con-
structed with quite different idea
in view; they will serve the purpose
of holding the country against the
armies of an enemy in the field.
Small wonder that Lord North
cliffe admits he is among those who
believe the war will go on several
years. 1t is reported that the Ger
mans admit losses of 100000 killed
in the first five months of the war,
which is probably not true, or very
near the truth. 1t would be astound-
ing if in fact such a number had
thus far been killed on all sides.
Germans, French, Russians, and
British have none of them reached
their maximum of possible strength
as vet, if the most direct official
statements from all of them may be
accented. The war has settled down
to two tremendous sieges, one on
the east, the other on the west of