The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-06-28
ONE YEAR AGO TODAY
FIRST SHOT WAS FIRED
CONTINUED from page ~

the British navy, has not been sue
cess. The submarine warfare has
proven impotent seriously to damage
/ British foreign trade, because of the
immense number of merchantmen at
the disposal Of England's shippers.
While Germany's submarine activities
have produced optimistic rejoicings at
home, these are quite out Of proper.
ton to the actual hurt done the Brit
lish empire. In reality the submarines
have been engines of vengeance seek
ing to retaliate, regardless of mill
itary or strategic value, for the re-
ilentless pressure of Britain's over
whelmingly superior war plans. But,
retaliation is only an incident in war
fare, and SO Germany's submarines
are having only an incidental effect
on the security of England's COM
merce.
AS the British navy has dominated
tie seas since the beginning of the
war, so has the German army CONTROL
ed the land situation. Except for g;
few square miles in southern Alsace,
German soil is free of invaders, While
lGermany's enemies elsewhere are held
at bay far within their own bound
aries No such combination of individ-
ual courage, strategic skill, organizing
capacity, readiness and foresight has
ever before been united In nations
military service as the German armies
have displayed since they took the
field last summer.
Nevertheless one primary mistake
was committed by the German general
stan during the drive on Paris and
during the subsequent fighting along
the Adsne after the retreat from the
Marne. Throughout that crucial per-
loo the way to Dunkirk and Calais was
open and was neglected. Everything
was risked on the capture Of Paris
and the whole thought Of the German
STAFF was continuously concentrated on
the struggle for the French capital.
Too late came the realization that al.
other objective must be found. When
the channel ports we're substituted for
the Paris offensive, the French AMI
British armies had recovered from tho
idemoralizing effects of the retreat
| from Belgium; they were able to con-
centrate in the northwestern part OF
the battle area, and they successfully
held the Germans In the battle OF
Flanders.
This error is the only irredeemabt2
one Of major consequences the Ger
mans nave COUlIulLCcu 1AoA ANAAu'o
to hold their positions after Won Kluck
had reached Paris was for the tuetons
no more than a misfortune of war.
But, the inability to realize quickly
that Paris was permanently out OF
lGermany's reach and that Calais and
Dunktrk must be substituted, was q
strategic error Of the first rank and
shows how disheartening to the gen.
eral star was the German defeat at
the battle of the Marine.
Won Hindenberg made no such error
as this in the east, although his first
drive against Warsaw was as much O
failure as was the advance on Paris.
| Enthusiastically, Won Hindenberg. has
done more to save Germany since last
summer than any other man. 1t now
seems as f he had definitely broken
the offensive OF the Slavs and no mat
/ ter how much longer the war may
last, Russia will probably be unable to
again seriously threaten German ter
ritory.
| The collapse Oh Russia, the break
down of the steam roller, is the most
crushing fact of the war. Russia's
allies, and particularly England, ex-
pected the Slavs last summer to prove
themselves the decisive factor in the
war. The inferior military capacity
| demonstrated by the Russians against
the Japanese was ignored and new
birth of strategic genius was expectet
ito occur in the cars empire, which
lwould carry the Russian arms across