The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-07-28
AS SEEN IN FRANCE.
BY William Philip Simms, United
Press Staff Correspondent
Third Srory}

> (Third Story
II PARIS, July s2.-When General q
Maud 'huy blocked the kaisers Il
gions in their smashing drive TO
|; Dnnkirk. Calais and BouIogne, h
scored for France one Of the bigges
victories OF the first year OF III
1 great war.
r The Germans even place this bal
! tie first In Importance, and their vel
dict in this matter might well be tax
: en- since they, better than anybod
! else, should know just what success
: there would have meant to them.
Whatever else victory OF the I'm
perial arms would have meant.
would have brought them in sight o
England, the whole course Of the wa
i would have been changed and thu
result probably have been disastrou
i to the allies cause.
/ AS 1t turned ont, General de Maud
hugs success completely used al
IGermany's initial strength. or wha
| was left OF it after the Marne,
heightened the battle front consider
ably and tnaugurated the strength
sapping winter campaign In the
trenches, each of these hard blow
TO the teutonic hordes. For not only
| were they thus doomed to months OF
I fmmobilisation when time was Sc
/ valuable to them, but General Joffre
was given time to reorganize his re
sources In men and material both
on and back of the line. now an urs
ent and necessary thing.
After the battle Of the Marine. in
early October. the second great Ger.
man offensive began: the dash for
the sea. General Joffre began SINH
lar movement about the same time.
his object being to turn his oppon-
ent's right flank. A series Of sur
prfsss followed. Everywhere they
went in their turning movement
northward. they found the Germans
a little ahead of them and though at
the start Won Bulow's move seems
to have been taken for an endeavor
to turn the French left 1t was now
perfectly evident that the mass de-
scent upon Paris had been trans
formed into an advance against the
channel ports. By the middle Of Oc-
tober a formidable front was pre-
sented By the Germans clear to the
North sea and the situation looked
serious.
There are really three gates to
the channel: the User river, La Bas-
see and Arras, the last being consid-
cred by far the best since it not only
opens the road to the coast. but to
Paris as well. Against the Prussians
were General d'Urba1s eighth army,
the British expeditionary force. the
tattered remnants of the Belgian
army and General de Maud'huy's
Tenth army, the last named holding
the critical point between Albert and
point to the north Of Arras, against
the whole of Won Bulow's command.
Military writer's agree the attack
on Arras was probably the critical
moment Of the terrific attempt Of the
Germans to reach the channel coast
The bombardment Of the city began
October while General de Maud'huy,
just outside the city to the eastward,
was holding in check the rapidly in
creasing army Of Won Bulow, the Ba-
varians to the north trying to out
flank him.
The great battle for the possession
of Arras continued until October 26,
the Germans at one time entering
the city. The famous Prussian Guards
hammered away at the French, max
ing some OF the most desperate as
saults OF the war. They hoped to
slash their way through to the coast,
cutting off a large slice OF France
and what remained of Belgium, and
with this territory tens of thousands
of prisoners. including the entire
Belgian army and the whole of the
British expeditionary force, not to
mention seriously hampering COM
munications between France and Eng
land.
But de Maud'huy held firm and
more; he drove the Germans, includ-
ing the Prussian Guard. from Arras.
He kept open the lines Of communica-
ton and train-load after train-load of
reinforcements poured into the north
Of France. The allies owe him a
great debt, for his was one of the fin
est performances of the war.
After Arras, the Germans tried to
break through on the User; they
tried to get past Dixmude, defended
by the gallant Admiral Ronarch and
his daredevil Breton marines. lie
Bassee saw very stubborn fighting
and lastly one Of the greatest engage
ments of the whole war came at
Ypres with the British, in bull dog
fashion. holding practically the whole
of the line.
buL dltSI all, f1TLdS Wdb the main
gate to the coast and had de Maud
huy failed there, the other lighting
probably would not have occurred.
His victory was the decisive one.
In subsequent battles, had the al
lies been forced back at any point,
reinforcements were at hand and the
thing could have been remedied. The
British victory at Ypres, by some said
to be the biggest battle not only OF
this war. but OF all time, was not OF
itself decisive, since de Maud'huy
had won out at Arras by October &c, |
the arrival of reserves all |
along the line as far north as the |
sea; and, had the British given way,
they very probably would have been |
by fresh troops and the |
German advance, arrested before the |
coast was reached.
Thus it was de Maud'huy who held |