The Washington times., 1914-08-12
HISTORY'S SECRETS.

Twelve days have passed since the
fateful August 1. Swiftly as the
Franco-Prussian war was conducted,
that length of time did not suffice in
1870 to bring even the outposts of
the two armies together. In these
twelve days one seventy-two-hour
battle has been fought, with re-
ported casualties almost as heavy as
at Gettysburg. There has been
actual invasion by the French of
Alsace. British troops have been
thrown into Belgium. But, despite
all these happenings, no authentic
word reaches us as to where the big
battles of the war are likely to be
fought, or what the 'main plan of
either the French or German staff
may be. In 1870, little Of it could
at least be guessed, because of the
enormous force Of Germans that was
pouring into Lorraine and lower AL
SAGE. But three weeks went by be-
fore the Indications became certain
ty, and then only because a quick
succession of French defeats lifted
the veil, if, indeed, they did not
actually determine what was behind
it.
The world is today far more keen
as to what is before it than it was
in 1870. The things we do not know
about it are appalling. In twelve
days we have had hardly an indica-
ton that two great countries of
Europe, Germany and Russia, are
at war at all. Yet somewhere vast
Russian armies are rolling up; and
German and Austrian armies almost
as vast are preparing to resist or
attack them.
On the western side one battle has
been fought. C,lriously enough, the
three German corps reported indi-
vidually as engaged at Liege on
Friday are the identical three which
were named early in the week as the
first forces to invade Belgium. In
other words, though these three
corps gradually united in the attack,
10 re-enforcements have apparently
been brought up to Liege itself from
the rear.
Where, then, is the army Of which
these were presumably the van
guard? By all tokens, the Germans
are in possession of the town OF
Liege, while the forts still hold out,
but fighting has dwindled to a long
distance duel between siege guns.
What part of German strategy is
it that sends an army into a town
from which it cannot operate freely,
yet refrains from rear attack upon
the forts while the big guns are
pointed in the opposite direction?
In the south the French have in
vaded Alsace. They came across
the frontier with losses which the
latest dispatches fix at 100 killed and
wounded. They find Muelhausen, a
fortified city, practically deserted.
They may even have taken Colmar,
\ much more strongly fortified place,
serious opposition. And |
0, .ainst such movements as these we
hear only of a German force of in
strength resting at
Hreisach and a bcggarly single corps !
Of Austrians rushing to its assist
hnce.
In Luxembourg, 100000 German
soldiers began twelve days ago to
1vail themselves of the duchess hos
pitality. How many are there now?
If they are there, what are they
the for? Where are the French
not the French regiments, but the |!
life and-bIood resources of the re-
public? Where have those 10000 or |
100000 English troops disappeared
to, and how much of show do they |
make in the force they have joined? |
There are skirmishes everywhere;
which, in Napoleon's day,
would have been called engagements
and battles. But the world 's-war
army of the year 1914 has yet to
appear anywhere. Still less have
we an indication of where it may
go or what is to stop it. Certainly |
it is vastly easier to read history
in a comfortable armchair than in
to watch it grow. And |
never was the world more impatient
to come to the crucial chapter.
TDOSSEp A WINNER