Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-11-03
GREATEST ARMIES EVER AS.
sEMeLED STRIVING FOR sU.
PREMAcY IN FRANCE.
ALLIES SAID TO HAVE
LARGER FORCE BY 100000
Losses on Both Sides Enormous-Ger-
mans Have Advantage at Present
Because Of Fighting on Defensive
General Joffre Careful of His Men
Claim Warf Will Be Long One.

lCorreS pondence of Associated Press. ]
Paris. oct. 29.-Precise information
upon the numbers of men engaged in
allies 3O0-mile battle line in France
/ and Belgium is never known outside OF
a small group OF men who surround
General Joffre. the French commander
in chief. one hears of great battles
with terrific losses, sometimes est
mated at 10000 or $4,000 a day, but
without any accurate news as to how
, many men We're engaged on either
/, side.
But when it comes to the relative
size OF the armies something like gem
eral accuracy is obtainable. Compe-
tent persons attached 10 the French
war office estimate that the Germans
have about 1850 coo men in Belgium,
in France and along the German
frontier to Switzerland. The allies
undoubtedly have a numerical superb
cri:y. Their forces are estimated al
2,225.Go0 men on or near the fighting
lines
OerehSe POWER SFedteF.
One reason why the allies do not
turn the Germans out of France and
Belgium is that the power of defense
is greater with modern weapons and
entertainments than the power of Of
Tense. There is probably no position
on the whole line that either army
could not take II il determined to do
so. 1t is simply a question of concen-
Niy,r
and suffering the inevitable losses.
Masses can take any position, mill
tary masters affirm, only the price
must be paid in losses. A position is
taken at a loss and the winners. upon
advancing. find themselves against an
other position which also may be taken,
only if this operation is repeated often
enough, the numerical superiority OF
the attack will become an inferiority as
the weeks go on, and the war is lost.
Careful Of Lives.
General Joffre and Field Marshal
French are careful of the lives of their
men. They seek to accomplish large
results by letting the Germans attack
under unfavorable circumstances when
they will do so. and the allied COM
manders appear TO consider that the
advantage in France and in Belgium
than in Germany The effort is to
dispose the allied troops upon this or
portanr fractions OF the invaders may
be destroyed or captured. For tho
allies simply to drive the Germans be-
fore them-if that should be possible
would be TO drive them back upon
~, NO ,,,iYh intact The
problem OF beating the Germans on
this frontier would be more difficult
every mile they were driven back.
A deep conviction seems to exist at
the headquarters in the field and at the
ministry of war that the war is to be a
long one: that the victory Is to be won
solely by attrition. and that this pro-
cess of attrition can be applied as well
IN northern France. and in Belgium as
on the Rhine. The profound care of
the military administration is not to be
extravagant with unreplaceable human
material. The look ahead is for long
war-a year or more-and the men
must be kept alive to carry it on.
Can Lose Million and Half
France still has probably 1,510. goo
men capable of bearing arms, most OF
them under arms, who have never been
to the front. Very young men and the
reserves of the older classes are being
trained France, therefore, can lose
] 800 600 men and yet maintain its gl-
eantc armies at their present strength.
The same may be true of Germany-it
probably is-and therefore military OBJ
servers in Paris can not believe in a
short and decisive war. The immense
operations which already have taken
place are looked upon as merely the
! beginning. as merely the deployment
and opening engagements of war which
may not reach its greatest violence I'M
til spring.