The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1915-12-28
WIN BY WEARING
OUT ENEMY IS PLAN
JOffre in Supreme Command; Three
Big Drives Test Teutonic Line;
Decisive Action by
Next Fall
BY WILLIAM PHILIP SIMMS.
U. p. staff correspondent.

u L. starr correspondent.
PARIS, Dec. .s.--Five significant
events punctuated the year just draw
ing to close as seen from the
French point of view: The battle of
champagne, the Balkan muddle, the
change of governments, the creation
OF an internally war council and the
nomination of General Joffre as Com
mander-in-Chief of all the French
armies, whatever the theater of oper-
ations.
On the whole france regards the
past year as one without brilliance SO
far as she or the allies are concerned.
Her victories have been rather mega
tive. While her enemy has been
making some great runs around the
ends she and those fighting with her,
have succeeded in keeping the ball
pretty well in the middle Of the field.
The first half of the game seems about
over, the Teutons have the ball but
there have been no touchdowns. That
is about the way the common sense
Frenchman sizes up the situation at
the close of 1916
The battle of Champagne was i'm.
portant because it was the very first
battle to be fought under present
trench-perfect conditions; it gave the
French soldier proper measure Of
the enemy and proper measure of
himself. Though no important STRAIT
egic point was gained by this victory,
undoubtedly it will have its effect on
1916 operations, because it settled sew
eral important points.
The inter-ally war council leads
Frenchmen to believe that the mis-
takes of the past are not likely to be
repeated; from now on they have de-
termined that the war plans Of the
allies will dove-tail and that the COM
ing year will register some real re-
suits.
The Balkan muddIe has given
France more anxiety, perhaps, than
any other war phase during 1915.
Frenchmen openly admit failure there
both automatically and military.
Greece three times offered to join the
allies, once even before the battle Of
the Marne in 1914, but each time she
was refused admission. Then, when
the allies had fallen down at the Dar-
danelles and in Bulgaria, and asked
her to come in, she had changed her
that had France and the allies acted
in concert and at the proper time,
there is not the slightest doubt that
Greece would have led the dance, that
Bulgaria and Roumania would today
be fighting on the allies side and that
the multi-colored flags of Germany's
opponents would today be floating
over the minarets of Constantinople.
The resignation of Theophile Del
of Frenchmen, from the office of min
lister OF foreign affairs, was due
uniquely to the Balkan developments.
Some say he opposed the sending Of
troops to Salonika; others declare he
long ago advocated Big Stick methods
in the Near East and that because
his diplomacy there was not strongly
enough backed up, King Ferdinand
joined hands with the Kaiser instead
of with the allies. Take your choice.
Whatever his reasons for resigning,
his departure was the occasion OF
complete reorganization of the govern
ment. Premier Rene Viviani resigning
to make way for NJ. Aristide BRAND.
The presence or NJ. BRAND as prime
minister is significant. He is known
as man of action, of initiative and
strong measure
The nomination Of General Joffre
AS supreme generalissimo Of all the
French troops means two things; first
that Joffre will have absolute author
ity in disposing his armies and plan