South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-09-05
ANGL0-FRENCH AND
TEUTONIC ARMIES
TAKE LOST STAND

]
! places along the march. where the
roads have been turned to mire by
recent rains ii requires the combined
/ efforts Of so horses 10 pull them.
/ They are equipped with Caterpillar
wheels made of hard. fiat pads, 10
prevent them from sinking into the
! ground.
A feature Of the entire campaign
/ has been the excellent manner IN
which the German artillery has been
! handled. At the outbreak Of the war
II was predicted on all sides that the
! French artillery would prove highly
| superior TO the German ordnance and
! that IL would be a big factor in de-
termining ultimate victory. The
Wanted superiority of French cannon,
! however, has not yet made good. The
| German gunners have directed an ac-
/ curate fire in every instance, being
! guided by aviators lowering high
above the battlefield. Never in the
history of the world has such
ordnance been seen as the mighty
| siege guns of the Germans. Nothing
! can stand against their projectiles
! They shake the ground with the force
! of earthquakes and windows are
broken in houses 20 miles away by
! the shock when a battery OF these
monsters is fired in unison. on num-
berless occasions since this war broke
out soldiers in forts, shelled by the
Germans, have been transformed into
raving maniacs, so terrific was the
fire of the German artillery.
Northeastern France Ravaged.
All Of northeastern France has
roughly 1000 square miles in extent
has been swept clean. Towns have
been wiped out forests have been
! burned, bridges have been blasted
| with dynamite, fields have been
| trampled by the tread of armies,
crops have been destroyed and stock
killed; it is black and deSolate from
war and the people who once inhab-
tied it have fed into the cities where
they suffer all the tormentS known to
| war fugftives.
Throughout the country which they
have traversed the German troops
have seized great quantities of pro-
visions.
Ever since fighting began I'm north
ern France the allies have been upon
the defensive. True, there have been
! assaults by the French and British,
| but they were more or less in the ma
ture Of sorties. Each forward move
ment left the allies further in the
rear than they had been before MAX
| ing it. But while the allies have been
falling back the generals who con-
Quoted the movement are deserving
OF great credit. They have conducted
| the retreat in a mastery manner for
military Strategists regard successful
| retreat as a half victory.
Flower of Defense Not Hurt
The Germans would probably have
won a great victory in the northeast
/ of France If the brunt of their attack
had not fallen upon the flower of the
| French army and the pick of the
| British force. All the soldiers who
stood UP before the smashing assaults
| OF the German were seasoned veter-
ans And we'll it was that they were
rushed to that particular locality for
while the Germans were rushing
northWeStward through Belgium, the
northeast of France had been defend
ed only by territorial reservists.
The army under Gen. Won Kluck
IN northern France has not main
tanned a single unwavering plan OF
action. First they set out to give
. battle to the left wing of the French
English army, confident that they
could overwhelm it. Being unsuccess-
full in this maneuver, the German
generals changed their tactics. Then
the invaders tried to cut through the
allies ranks. Again they failed for
the French and British fell back in
good order. Then the Germans swung
westward in a great circular move
ment, meanwhile hurting a heavy
r force against the central section of
= the allies flank. This last movement
e had the effect Of forcing the allies to
e retreat toward the southeast and the
o Germans swept after them, rolling
= past the forts of Paris without stop
t ping for the customary cannOnade.
Believe Paris Will Fall,
s Military men believe that the Ger
e mans will attack Paris and that they
Y will probably attack it soon. but the
e nature of their movement against the
r French capital is now a secret
n The loss of life in the fighting
- northeast of Paris is conveyed in
/. staggering figures. Battles in the
e French departments of Somme, Disc
S Pas-de-Calais, Nord, Aisne and Seine
v Inferieure have taken a toll which
makes the tragic cost of other wars
seem puny in comparison. In that
4 section alone the English have lost
O 1000, the French have probably LOST
n an equal number, while the Germans
8 according TO all reports. have lost al
8 least three men for every one of the
allies.
= Both sides have utilized motor
q buses for the transportation Of sol
+ diers. One correspondent. writing
: from Paris. said:
"One of the most imposing and ex-
traordinary sights ever saw, was the
approach of German columns Roll
. ing upward was a huge aerial column
of dust while along the highway, a:
., far as my eye could carry. was line
= of motor trucks. Some Of the officer:
were on horses, others rode In
= limousines. Even taxicabs, com
y Wandered in the towns through
4 which the Germans had passed where
: in the strange procession. 1 wonder
ed where the Germans could secure
l, the tremendous amount of fuel neces-
Z sary to propel these vessels. At in
tervals I'm the line were auto trucks
= armed and armOred. Behind the
: steel shield was a rapid-fre guI
while the gunners with Jackets unbut-
/ toned and pipes in their mouths
/ lolled on the floor Of the truck, sing
Y ing or telling stories"
d MAN FROM lUTHER'S