New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-12-17

A really great victory was In sight.
But once more there were no supports.
The troops Of the "forlorn hope" who had
won were left to hang on for hours, for
forty-eight hours in some cases, without
reinforcement The Germans gathered
their reserves, came back, retook Fosse 8
and the Hohenzolern redoubt, pushed the
British over and part way down Hill No.
/ 10. Lens was saved and the British COM
mander had 10 appeal to General Foch for
French troops to hold what was left of the
ground that had been won.
Loos was then Neuve Chapelle over
again and 1t happened nearly year later.
This sealed the fate Of French. To retain
him longer was to destroy all that was left
Of the faith France and Russia had put In
British aid All French's blunders had
been condoned hitherto by British minis
ters. He had had too few men at Mons
and the French were blamed. The Marine
episode was largely overlooked. Neuve
Chapelle was set down to lack Of NUM-
tons, wrongly to be sure. But at Loos
England gave her general numbers, NUM-
lions, and his army gave him opportunity,
but all we're to no avail. French failed
once more. Even more lamentably than
before.
The departure Of French will be 4 very
great contribution TO Allied solidarity.
Joffre never trusted him after Mons. All
over France the criticism TO be heard has
been, "The British are always too slow,
they don't arrive" In Paris every one
praises the gailantry OF British officers,
the steadiness Of British troops. The reck-
lessness with which officers and men face
fire is generally recognized-Dut with this
recognition goes the frank statement that
the British don't understand war as it now
is, that they have kept the romance but
failed to master the science.
In recent months there has been a rest
lessness in France not discernible six
months ago. 1t is not desire for peace
it is not weakening in any degree-but
it is a sense Of the relative smallness Of
the return in view Of the completeness of
French effort and the greatness Of French
sacrifice. Last summer it became neces-
sary to send some eminent French publ
cists, Joseph Reinach among them, to Eng
land to see with their own eyes that the
British were getting their armies on foot.
Their reports allayed French apprehen-
sion, but Loos revived it.
In the Civil War the North passed
through the same period of defeat that the
British are still enduring. But the North
was not facing Germany, but South al
most as unprepared as itself. In many
ways French has played the role of Nc
Clellan in our great war. But he seems
to have failed where Mcclellan succeeded
He has not been able to organize a new
army that he could not lead, as did Nc
Clellan; he has failed both in making an
army and in handling it.
To-day Great Britain has numbers, mu-
nitions, a country at last alive TO it's peril
and its duty In the same situation the
North found Grant, Sherman and Sheri-
dan The South Lee, Jackson and john
ston. Has Great Britain found in Sir
Douglas Haig her Marlborough or We'll
lington? On the question turns that Of
the duration of the war, if not that of
the outcome.
French should not precede Kitchener by
any long time *. of K" has not been the
success that was expected He has failed,
too, or rather a considerable part of Brit
ish failure is charged to him both in Eng
land and on the Continent. OF all the
conspicuous figures of the opening days of
the war only Joffre remains. Won Moltke
the Grand Duke Nicholas, Sir John French,
all have failed and been "scrapped." Is
it Joffre's turn next? Despite various
hints, the best French information does
not warrant that assumption, and it is
difficult to believe the rumors that are
ahoat.
But all Great Britain's allies and friends
will rejoice that a general who has failed
from the start has gone home-to rest,
after his campaigns.