New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-20
Jofre's "Nibbling."

time carried very HttIe enlightenment
Asked if the French offensive had begun
seriously he had replied-"No, l am just
nibbhng" But in March and April the
word came to have far more serious and
sinister connotation than at first. Indeed,
it seems now, to the European critics, to-
mean precisely what Grant described as
"attrition." Grants policy had been from
1864 to the end, as he described it, ito
hammer continuously against the armed
force Of the enemy and his resources until
by mere attrition, if IN no other way" the
South should be subdued.
An examination Of the actions in the
Champagne, at Neuve Chapelle, has salts
fed Hilaire Belloc, the most eminent Of
British war critics, that Allied strategy in
the west is now undertaking policy of at
triton, which every American must neces-
sarily associate with the methods of the
greatest of the generals of the North.
To be successful policy of attrition
presupposes a superiority Of numbers with
the general taking the offensive. This the
French, with their British and Belgian
allies, have. French official reports con-
tinue to place the German strength in |
the West at forty-seven corps, or substan-
TALLY 100000 men. But the strength Of
the French, Belgian and British, with the
reserve formations and troops in the
depots. cannot be less than 100000, and
is bound to grow as the British contin-
gents arrive.
The theory of Belize, sustained by much
evidence, is that the Germans now lack
the numbers sufficient to maintain a re-
serve equal to that of the Allies at all
points. Thus, when the French made
their great attack in the Champagne in
February and March, German troops were
presently found here which had been be-
fore the British about La Bass6e a few
days earlier. On the theory that the Ger
mans had weakened their line in Flanders
to support their troops in Champagne, the
British attacked at Neuve Chapelle and
won a considerable victory, despite mis-
management
Again, and later, a violent French often
sive having developed about the st. Mihiel
salient and German reserves having been
called up, new French offensives in Alsace
and about Arras won material successes.
All this tends to support the Belloc theory,
the theory Of British and French observers
generally, that German reserves are in
ferior in number to the French and Brit
ish, and to meet local attack the Ger,
mans are thus compelled to weaken their
whole battle front.
The theory Of attrition, of Joffre's
"nibbling," is disclosed to BellOc in the
operations at Neuve Chapelle. First there.
is an enormous and measurably secret con-
centration Of artillery at the point selected
for attack. Then a tremendous lombard
ment, which silences the opposing artillery
and destroys the enemy's trenches. Under
cover of this artillery and before the
enemy has recovered from the storm there
is a general advance, and the enemy's
trenches are occupied and organized to
resist a counter attack
So far the losses may be held to be
fairly equal. But now the enemy, bring
ing up his reserves, endeavors to retake
his old positions under fire Of an artillery
still superior and an infantry occupying
his old trenches Here he suffers very
great losses, and his casualty list at the
end of the fight exceeds that of the Allies.
This was the case at Nouve Chapelle, if
the British figures for German losses be-
accepted; that is, if ii be believed, as Field
Marshal Sir John French insists, that the
German loss was nearly 10000. The Brit
ish was 10000 But the German claim is
that their own loss was but 5000. To.
support the British figure is the "eye-wit-
ness" assertion that nearly 5000 Germans
were buried on the field after the fight.
At st. Mihicl, if the French bulletins
are accepted. and they have the air OF
accuracy lacking in the German, because
they give in detail the ground captured
and the time of taking with circumstan-
tial particulars, while the German state
ment is merely a general denial, the pro-
cedure was the same. The French seized
the heights of Les Eparges after sharp
fighting and then beat off a long series Of
counter attacks which cost the Germans a
terrible loss. This is again confrmatory
of Belloc's theory and an example OF
Joffre's "nibbling.'
Now, in the Civil War Grants policy of
attrition in Virginia was supplemented