The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-12-28
LITTLE TO FRANCE
Past Year Indifferent One in
War Circles.
Situation of Military Only
Slightly Changed in 1915.
FEELING OUT GERMAN ARMS
General JOffre Continues Policy
of NibbIing at TeutOn.
French People Hope for Peace
in Next Year.
BY WILLIAM PHILIP SIMMS.

BY WILLIAM PHILIP SIMMS.
Paris, Dec. 2S.-F'ive significant
events punctuated the year just draw
ing to close as seen from the French
point of view: The battle of Cham
payne, the Balkan muddle. the change
of governments. the creation of an
| internally war council and the nomi-
nation of General Joffre as command
er-in-chief of all the French armies.
whatever the theater of operations.
On the whole France regards the
past year as one without briIliance so
FAR as she or the allies are concerned.
Her victories have been rather mega
tive. While her enemy has been maxi
! ing some great runs around the ends
she and those fighting with ner. have
succeeded in keeping the ball pretty
we'll 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 commonsense
| Frenchman sizes up the situation at
| the close of 1915.
The battle of Champa gne was i'm
portant because it was the very first
! battle to be fought under present,
| trench-perfect conditions; it gave the
French soldier a proper measuer of
French soldier a proper measure of
himself. Though no important strate-
gfc point was gained by this victory,
undoubted ly ii will have its effect on
1916 operations because it settled sew
eral important points.
The internally war council leads
F'renchmen to believe that the mis-
takes of the past are rot likely to be
rel Gated; from now on they have de-
termined that the war plans of the al
lies will dove-tail and that the coming
year will register some real results.
The Balkan muddle has given
france more anxiety, perhaps than
any other war phase during 1915
trenchmen openly admit failure there
beth automatically and military
Greece three times offered to Join the
| allies, once even before the battle of
the Marine in 1914, but each time she
was refused admission Then. when
| the allies had fallen down at the Oar
danelles and in Bulgaria, and asked
her to come in, she had changed her
mind. 1t is admitted in certain cir
Giles, 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 Rumania would to-
day be fighting on the allies side and
that the multi-colored flags of Ger
many's opponents would today be
floating over the minarets of Con-
stantinople.
Change in Government
The resignation of Theophile Del
casse: considered one of the greatest
of Frenchmen, from the office of
uniquely to the Balkan developments.
Some say he opposed the sending of
troops to SaloEika; 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 a |
complete rPOrOa Mia of ha
eminent, Premier Rene Viviani re-
signing to make way for NJ Aristide
Brand. The presence of M BRAND
as prime minister is significant He
is known as a man of action of ini-
tiative and strong measures.
The nomination of General Joffre
as supreme generalissimo of all the
French troops means two things:
First, that Joffre will have absolute
authority in disposing his armies and
planning campaigns; second, the
French hope that the English will
take the hint and agree to a full and
complete coordination of all available
forces. Competent authorities agree
that German successes have been the
result of a central control of effectives,
permitting rapid decisions quickly put
into effect, whereas the allies have
not acted properly in concert and
when at last, after long delays they
did get together, the measures agreed |
upon were slowly put into operation. |
of men who have the power to act. !
as, it is said, Joffre will have from |
now on, ought to show results during |
the coming year.
Cabinet OF Victory.
Summed up, Frances last year has |
been largely one of preparation. She |
hopes the coming year will be one of |
execution. People here call the new |
cabinet the cabinet of victory, just as !
they call the new French loan of |
3hnnt billion no OF
victory.
The Frenchman hopes for peace |
during 1915. He considers the Ameri- |
can peace talk the greatest puzzle of |
mean but one thing: Defeat for the |
allies.
The elevation of Joffre to his new
position is an official comm endation
of his war policy. summed up by the
experts as wearing the enemy down
by "attrition," which Joffre calls nib
bling" Naturally this policy will be
in force as long as Joffre is in the
saddle France made three heavy
drives at the Germans during 1915, in
March, May and September, but these
drives were all feelers, 1 am told. to
test the strength of the German line.
The French soldier will tell you that
French man-power will outlast Ger
man man-power, thanks 20 Joffre's
that sooner or later the Ger
man wall of steel will prove to be imi-
tation; and. following a feeler the real
drive will pour through the hole thus
made and end the row.
A Berlin interview quotes General
Won Kluck as forecasting drive
towards Paris next spring. French
general told me that he hoped Won
Kluck was right as in that case the
slaughter of Germans would be on
such a vast scale that the whole world
would gasp, used it is to baths in
blood. Those who have inspected the
some 5O-miIe width of American barb
ed wire between Paris and the front, |
while not doubling that another at
tempt is possible, or even probable.
fail to see how it can succeed.