The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-10-28

Reading dispatches which reflect the
official views In Paris, in London, in
/ Berlin. it is plain. has been patent for
ten day., that the operations along the
Franco Belgian frontier. already de-
scribcd as the Battle Of Flanders. are
in the wider sense critical. destined t.
exercise a decisive influence upon the
progress Of the great war. says the New
York Evening Sun
| Yet the examination OF the map. the
study or the possible consequences of
considerable victory on either part re-
veal nothing which might warrant any
such view from the purely military
side.
Thus. II the German advance con
tries II may conccivably Isolate Dun
! kirk ana Calais. force the French left
| BACK until IL becomes the mere CON
| t:nuation of the front OF tho Aisnc But
| such reverse. however disappointing
would have 4 purely limited effect upon
allied fortunes. II the allies are able
| TO maintain such steady and desperate
| sistancc on the long front from the
Disc to Belgium. il is unlikely that they
| could be driven, when they have con-
centratcd on shorter front where they
have bcen able TO prepare their line
! during recent weeks
Nor does the mere possession Of the
| channel ports by the Germans seem to
carry with II any decisive advantage.
, British apprehension would doubtless
mount with German progress on tho
coast. British cities might conccivably
! have to meet Zeppelin raids. BlIt until
allied forces in the west are crushed
and the British fleet disposed OF Il
Is outside of tho question to speculate
| ON the Invasion of England
On the other hand. even IL the allies
should press their operations success
fully and drive the Germans from the
west, there is every present prospect
that. now that Antwerp has fallen and
! Client been occupied, tho Germans
would he able to maintain themselves
in defensive position on the Scheldt
from Antwerp to Valcncienncs quite as
| successfully as they have along the
Aisnc
The truth seems TO be that the thing
that is vital about tho Flanders contest
! is the moral. rather than the military
element, and that is far more vital to
the Germans than the allies. In a
word there arc on all sides unms-
taxable indications that German mill
| tary effort is approaching It's maxi
mum, must in n relatively short time
assert anew the moral superiority
seized at the outset or face serious
sequences.
To conceive that the outcome OF the
Flanders operations will be the arrival
of state OF balance along the Lys
ana the northern frontier of France,
such rs exists along the Aisne, the
most natural and logical consequence,
liz to bclive that German advance from
the channel to Switzerland will present
IL come to a complete halt. We shall
have In France the situation which cX-
listed In Virginia. when, after three
years OF war, in which the victories
and the offensive were steadily in the
possession Of Lee, he was at last forced
to stand defensively about Richmond.
Always in viewing the present war
il is necessary TO recall first thnt the
whole burden of German military teach
ing has been that the offensive was the
only possible method of making war,
ana that German success in the next
war" would depend upon her ability to
crush her several opponents before all
OF them had been able to take tho field
in full strength.
Now. so far. this war has been fought
on this principle. German teaching
followed German tradition, the drive at
France through Belgium In August was
the perfect application of all that Ger
man military writer's have been ex-
rounding for generation.
Bear in mind. also. that from the
general TO the private. this same idea
must promptly crush France. take
Paris, hold the Republic rs hostage
Recall that from brussels TO tho gates
OF Paris every whisper that came
from German quarters revealed the su-
creme confidence, the universal belief
that immediate success was in view.
But tho Paris campaign ended on
September Z. In tho next few days the
German armies fell back until they
stood some seventy miles behind their
earlier positions. More than this, In
late September the allied forces began
TO clearing out tho northwest corner of
France. To meet their offensive Ger
man troops had TO be withdrawn from
Alsace. from Lorraine, from the Aisne
front and carried far TO the rear and
Put in on the new front.
For whole month after the Battle
OF the Marine this process continued. On
the German side il was conducted with
marvellous skill: every offensive thrust
was met and beaten down. But whom
this had been donc'it was impossible to
take the Offensive. From the Aisnc to
the Lys the whole operation rcsemblcd
that of two children building ut blocks
as fast As one put n now block on his
tower the other responded with n sim
liar movement.
Finally. to escape the stake of ball
ance, the Germans gathered up all
available forces seized Antyperp hon