New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-15
The Effects of the German Retreat

is
81 the forward movement from Mons 10 tue "'''''
v.l,ev General Won Klucks army when 'rS'-
~, t,rtbost because it had to move ON the out
side edge of quarter circle covered the ulS'an''
=. Nm. 10 provins in sixteen days-at the rate
of eight miles a day. Three other German Srilie''
those Of General Won BHlOw. General Won hauSen
.,d tho Grand Duke Of wurtemberg, moving on
inner lines and not having far to 60 aver
-, fron, six miles down TO three miles a
dov. while the army under the Crown Fl'n'0
of Prussia. which formed the pivot oil INC
swing simply pushed forward about twenty-five
miles m the Meuse Valley to position Sou'"'
west of verdun
Won KIuck's and Won Bulow's armies have now
heen retiring at the rate of about eight miles
day and the three other German armies in THIS
r,r4 Of the field of operations have conformed 10
the retreat of the right wing The Allies nave
crossed the Asne River in pursuit, which 1ndicateS
,hot tho Germans have no intention Of making nrm
stand on the RheimsLaon-La Fere line The Ger
man right centre is now we'll north Of Rheims, and
Won Kluck's army is hurrying past Laon toward
tbe Belgian border The right wing may not stop
short Of the valley of the Sambre. through which
RIMS it's main line of communications with Ger
many. and the right centre will probably bring up
in the neighborhood of Nlezieres. Since the Crown
Princes army has just been pushed back from its
advanced position to the southwest OF Ferdun, the
German forces if their retreat is effected success
efuy. will again be arrayed in a straight line run
ming north-northwest from Metz to Maubeuge '''
Lille. If the Germans are to retain the offe
they will have to begin their campaign in North
eastern France all over again.
II may be argued by those who still have faith
in the German offensive that it will be simple
matter TO start new rush toward Paris after
the German armies have been reinforced and r.
fitted The reyerses suffered by the Kaisers forces
may be held to be no more damaging than those
suffered by the Allies in the earlier battles in
Lorraine aud on the retreat from Belgium. It may
be that Germany will invade France again, since
the only hope of German success in this war has
lain and ltin lies in an early and decisive victory
in the western theatre of operations The Germaa
General stan will therefore be reluctant to copcede
that the offensive has passed for good into the
hands Of the Allies.
But u second campaign in France will be at
tended with vastly greater difficulties than those
which besct the first one The prestige of the
dreaded German military machine is now shat.
hot
as the loss of an army. Public opinion in
Europe had been bypnotized into believing that
there was some inherent superiority in German
strategy and tactics. Moltkes easy and brilliant
successes in 1866 and 1S7O-'71 had blinded pop
ular judgment to the fact that fortune played
consistently into his hand and that in his games
of strategy he never met determined or a worthy
antagonist.
Now il is plain to all the world that German
generuship is just subject to normal limita-
tons as any other kind of generalShip Against a
strong and wary enemy it goes for what it is in
trinscaly wOrtb, and no more, The French had been
so impressed 10y the force OF the German attack in
1870 that they planned an elaborate line of frontier
defences as the only safeguard against second
tack The Germans by violating Belgiums neu-
trality, got an almost unimpeded road into France
and completely turned the verdun-Belfort line Of
forts. Yet in the open field they could not hold
their own against the Allies. They have had Il re-
markable success in knocking to pieces fortresses
ike Liege Namur and NIaubeuge but when it came
to plain, old-fashioned fighting they recoiled They
could not break the French left centre east Of
Paris aud were forced by the French offensive 20
abandon all the ground won 10y their impressive
turning movement via Belgium
rbe German people are aghast at this demon
stration OF the fabillty of the German offensive
they have been taught to think that the Kaiser's
General Stan exists only for the purpose of Great,
ing German victories, and they find little consoa-
ton In the blunt reminder from General Won Blum
in a letter 10 one of the leading German news
papers that they have been spoiled by too many
facilc military successes. The disilluslonment o.
the German public will have Il depressing effect
on the ARMIES in the field, which will now have