Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-19
COURSE OF THE
EUROPEAN WAR
The Most Important Battle SO Far
and What it Means to the Gen.
eral Situation.

eral SltuallOn.
During six days titanic struggle, upon
which the hnal outcome of the war may
rest, has been in progress along 100
mile battle line In northern France To
comprehend the situation as a whole it
Is necessary to eliminate single engage
ments the ebb and flow of victories and
defeats. and regard the battle OF the
Aisne as a whole.
This battle is, indeed, the most impor-
tant thus far fought in the war. Upon
the outcome shall rest the fate of German
arms In France. In one short week the
world has seen the mightest army ever
gathered virtually routed. driven from the
very gates of Paris and forced to take
the defensive at time when victory
seemed certain. For more than six weeks.
not counting the temporary check at
l.iege the Germans swept everything be-
fore them. The seventh week saw a turn
in the tide, when the allied army admin
istered n crushing defeat to the Germans
along the Marne September saw the
high-water mark of the invasion. From
that date the French and British have
been victorious
At the beginning of the present week.
the eighth Of the war; the allies were
found pushing the Germans far from
Paris, routing the German right wing
renewing the campaign in Alsace and
driving the German centre away from its
crossed by the allies, the Germans were
dislodged from the hills to the north Of
the river and forced to take eutrenched
positions between the Oise and the Meuse,
covering a territory bounded by the rivers |
and the storied forest Of the ArgOnne. !
Upon this battlefield the armies are still /
engaged. Again taking the offensive, the /
Germans have repeatedly hurled their |
forces against the allies, but. apparently |
TO no avail The battle is one of artil- !
lery, of long-ranEe fghtng, of mJncuvcr-
ing for positions. The outcome will prob
ably not be known for several days
Disinterested military experts the world
over are Of the opinion that the allies
are in a favorable position to drive the
invaders into the Valley of the Meusa
and eventually out of France. Should
the present battle become a victory for
Germany, the situation would be vir-
tually the same as existed three weeks |
ago Another slow retreat would be made !
to the fortifiCatons at Paris. The British |
and French have proved themselves mas
ters in the art of retiring, while the
panic which followed the flanking move
ment of the British demonstrated that the
Germans failed in conducting a with
drawal. The losses of the allies upon
their retirement from Belgium were intinl-
tesimal as compared to those sustained
by the Germans, while the continual har
asSment of the armies of Won Kluk Won
Buelow and Won Hausen, the withernE
|
fatigued soldiers and the dogged fighting
OF the British and Indian troops wrought
frishtful carnage in the German ranks
upon their retreat to the present posi-
ton.
Should the tide of battle turn to the
allies complete defeat ror Germany |
Is virtually assured The Kaiser realizes
that victory is never attained by those
on the defensive. France and Russia |
must be brought to terms before England |
can be reckoned with with the French
campaign a failure, with Russian victori- |
Gus in Galca. with Great Britain master
of the seas and in a position to reinforce
the French lines for at least a year. the
position Of Germany would be untenable
Thus the crisis in the war has been
reachfdt,.
-EETS----7v' er may be the contents Of the
Josches passing between Washington
The American Ambassador at Ber-
Ee,uffcent official confirmation has
.o,made public TO warrant the belief
Germany would welcome the good |
VIII Of this country in bringing about !
DO The moral effect Of the cOmmu- |
coons made public at Washington has
Elections in London and Paris.
th5 week has also seen vast strides
he by the Russians in Galica While |
tln rejOiCes over the check Of the
raign of invasion in Eastern Prussia,
tlefeat of the AuStrans. the concern |
ton Of Russian troops against Ger
Silesia and the panic at Vienna can
received alone as indications that the |
4r's forces are attempting the German |
lvasion from Poland rather than from |
tussia. This week has brought the hosts /
6 Russia to the very door Of Germany.
Cracow alone bars the way To- enter the
Kaiser's domain line 10 Berlin which /
is far easier to take than along the
strongly fortified northern route.
Servia. however has lost ground dur
ing the last six days on Austrian soil.
Semlin, from which the AuStrans bonn
harded Belgrade. later taken by tho
Serbs, has been evacuated. Against Ros- |
mia the Servians are now marching with |
the MonteEegrm troops For four DAYS [
they have been victorious
In the Far East the theatre Of war
presents a drama Of remarkable her0ism [
"a mere handful OF men entrusted I'm de-
Tending the city OF Tsing-Tao i'm the
German Province Of Kla0-Chau. holding
the japanese fleet and land forces at |
bay. The developments Of the week have I
been OF littl, consequence. 81. far as uan .
be ascertained
The most important diplomatic feature
of the week has been the fai,ur" of Ger
many TO induce Italy In remain I'm the
Triple Alliance. Italy has mohiitz"d her
army, the reserve force has been called
to join the colors on September IS ana
the participation of the country I'm the
war with the Triple Entente. demanded
by popular sentiment, will probably take /
place during the present month.
In short, an unbiased scrutiny ~ the
events OF the past week shows th1I Ger
many is I'm a psrilous position, that she I
must administer a quick defeat IN The
allies or be- driven .e"orG rIe Rhine. .
and that, encompaSsed by foes. unaid+d
by Austria she faces tho crisis Of her life
The mighty army has proved to be falll-
BILE the spirits Of the allies have been !
raised and the Kaiser. instead of riding
10 victory tn Paris, finds his own throne