Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-05-06

trenches were reoccupied and the whole
line re-established in its original POSI-
| ton. The attack on the French met
| with the same result.
! "A great deal has been said OF the
| troops on the left, which saved the
| situation April 1928, but the services
| rendered by the British infantry far
| Their east were no less remarkable Inc
area to the north and east of Zonne.
| heke, representing a narrow norm OF
| the salient, formed a kind of bastion
| Throughout the fighting this garrison
| held firm under a raking artillery nre
| from all sides and under repeated as
| saults which were delivered with so
much determination that the enemy
more than once reached our trenches
| before they were beaten back.
Not only was this SO, but while our
men in this quarter were engaged in
repelling attacks in front they knew
all the time that troops on their
left were falling back. The test was
as hard as any soldiers can be asked
to endure.
Indian Troops Steady.
The Eyewitness" then relates incl
dents showing the steadiness of the In
| dian troops. who, he says, advanced
under a murderous fire, their war cry
swelling louder and louder above the
din
prisoners captured in the recent
I! fighting. the narrative continues,
! stated that one German corps lost
| so per cent of it's men in the first week,
| that the losses from our artillery fire,
| even during days when no attacks were
| taking place. had been very heavy, and
| that many of their own men had suf-
| fered from the effects of the gas.
| 1T would seem that a large number
| three weeks training, were brought up
during the battle to replace the cas-
| ualties."
| The eyewitness" then quotes a Ger
| man brigade order, telling the officers
to have the field of battle and the
ground in the rear patrolled for stray
| glers. 1t complains that many of the
! soldiers accompany to the rear men
! who are only slightly wounded.
This" says the eyewitness" would
| impress some as failure in discipline
| on the part of the German soldiers, but
| under the stress of fighting and in
| posed upon the men this is only to be
expected"
/ Germans Gained Ground.
| The writer concludes as follows:
! In regard to the recent fighting on
our left. it is desirable that the Ger
man offensive should be viewed in its
true perspective and that it should
neither be belittled nor exaggerated.
| Effected in the first instance by sur
prise. as a novel form of attack, it re-
| suited in a considerable gain of ground
| for the enemy, as measured by the
| standard of trench warfare, the great
| er part of which has SO far been MAIN
| tanned by such bodies of fresh troops
/! as were availab BILE in the neighborhood
| of the opera ton.
fn haS-o ctr
counter offensive undertaken in reply
to the allied offensive at other points,
and made with the same object as pre-
vious attacks delivered during the last
few months. such, for instance, as those
| made in February southeast of Ypres,
at st. Eloi on the 14th of March, and
at other points on the French front.
Between all these earlier efforts and
| the last there was no difference in
kind, the only difference being that on
this latest occasion the attempt had
been carried out with the aid Of poison
GUS gases.
To Exhaust Enemy's Resources.
There is no reason why we should
| not expect similar tactics in the future
| They do not mean that the allies have
| lost the initiative in the western theater,
nor that they are likely to lose it They
| do mean. however, and the fact has
been repeatedly pointed out. that the
| enemy's defensive is an active one, that
| his confidence is still mistaken, and
! that he still is able to strike in some
| strength where he sees the chance or
| where local advantage can be secured.
| The true Idea of the meaning of the
operations of the allies can be gained
only by bearing In mind that it is their
primary object to bring about the ex-
haustion of the enemy's resources in
men.
The extent of the ground covered by
either side, as measured on the map, is
usually a minor matter, though a posi-
tion of certain points or Of areas may,
for tactical reasons, be Of considerable
military Importance. Progress. there
drain caused to the enemys strength
and not by the extent of the ground
| won or lost.
Say Germans Must Lose.
In the form now assumed by this
struggled war of attrition-the Ger
mans are bound ultimately to lose,
and it is the consciousness Of this
fact that inspires their present policy
This is to achieve as early as possible
some success Of sufficient magnitude
to influence the neutrals, to discour-
lage the allies, to make them weary of
the struggle and to induce the belief
among people ignorant Of war that
inothing has been gained by the past
efforts of the allies because the Ger
mans have not yet been driven back
1t is being undertaken with a political
rather than a strategical object.
| at is to that extent from military
standpoint a sign of weakness. An
other sign of weakness is the adoption
of illegal methods of lighting. such as
spI reading poisonous gas. 1t is a con-
ifession by the Germans that they have
lost their former great superiority in
artillery and are, at any cost, seeking