Grand Forks daily herald., 1914-10-22
CENSORSHIP aimed At PREVENTING
MISTAKES Of ENGLISH GENERALS
from BECOMING KNOWN TO PUBLIC
Herbert Corey Maintains That Military Reason" Given
is Only Partly So-Myths of Great War-How
They Fooled the Germans
CIV Herbert Corey.l


sian myth and the court-martialled
general myth and the war correspond
ent myth and the Kitchener myth
This war IL chuck full of myths.
Very little of the real truth is be-
ing permitted to seep out from any
quarter. Consequently, as people
must talk, interesting inventions are
accepted as solemn facts. They may
have 81 backbone Of reality.
Kitchener Is running this war. He
visits France each weekend and out
lines the strategy for the next seven
days"
All. Great Britain believes that.
Doubters find they are not regarded as
chubby companions. Loud skepticism
would probably be rewarded by de-
could not comprehend the mental at
titude Of one who refuses to believe
that England is running the whole
show.
Kitchener does visit France every
weekend. He goes to consult with
General French and the other Eng
lish leaders. He also consults with
eral staff. There is no question that a
valuable suggestion by Kitchener
would be gladly acted upon. But he
doesn't issue any orders to the man
who is directing the movements of 81
100000 Frenchmen engaged in repell-
Ing an armed intruder upon their
dearly loved France.
Ever since the war of 1870 the
French general staff has studied the
single problem Of how to whip the
Germans in the next war. This war
is being fought out upon plans the
bedplatee Of which were laid years
ago.. Joffre and his generals have
worked out in the war college plans
for the direction of armies of millions
composed of millions Of other men.
England's soldiers do not know any
thing about war on such a wholesale
plan. They have been engaged in
fighting by the regiment in bush.
Perhaps not one of them has ever
commanded an army Of $4,000 men
in the field.
Myth of the French General.
II know" said the British-made
correspondent of a New York paper,
that Joffre had one Of his generals
paraded in front Of his troops and
shot for his failure to support General
French"
That's one Of the war secrets"
that every one in London knows. but
cause it might give military "informa-
ton" to the. enemy. Ny best inforrha-
ton is that this ''secret",-.4is poppy
cock. A French general was court
martialled because he resented the
fact that a former subordinate had
been promoted over his head. He re-
fused to accept orders from this man.
He was severely punished, but he
wasn't shot. -. ;, :. .
And the general who did not sup
port General French did so because
French was in the wrong place. The
English leaders have been employing
their small army tactics in large
army campaign: They We're out of
line with Joffre's battle front. Con-
sequently, the British troops were
frightfully hammered. When it be-
came possible for Joffre to help them
out without endangering his plan of
battle he did So.
"Joffre challenged General French
to a duel" g..
More moonshine. The two men had
cause of Frenchs misunderstanding
his part. French thought he had
been shamefully abandoned by the
Gallo troops. Joffre thought that
French'e assumption of the right to
run the machine-when there were
100000 Englishmen and 100000
French in the field-was an impertin-
ence.
So they threshed the misunder-
standing out. Since then the English
have taken their rightful, relative
place. There was no duello nonsense
on either side. The French value the
English support more than can be ex-
pressed in words. Not only have the
English soldiers done valiant service,
but the English navy has swept the
seas free Of German ships. At the
outset the delay in the French mobili-
zation confronted them with an enemy
superior in numbers. Thanks to the
larly to the English aid, the German
rush was checked.
England could not have avoided
this war once German aggression be-
gan. England feels that it is essential
to her. continued life-certainly to her,
prosperity--that Germany shall not
hold the Belgian and Holland ports.
II France had not been party to the
war at all England must have resisted
aggression upon Belgium with her full
strength. Hence the complete co-op-
Grafton Of the English and French
forces. The idea that an English gen.
preme command of French forces en-
gagged in resisting an enemy on French
soil is only one Of the myths that have
grown UP out Of the mist in which all
operations have been shrouded. ::
And the Newspaper Faker.
There are two war correspondent
myths. One begins this way:
IT stood on, the battle front today
with General Joffre. 'Joffre,' said to
him. II you will take my advice
And Joffre said to me: Hank how
AS matter Of fact, generals today