Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1915-05-07
A New Phase Of the Great War.

If one were to undertake to sum-
marize in a single statement the sa-
lient detail Of the April fighting, 1t
would necessarily be by asserting
that, for the first time in the Great
War, Germany accepted the defen-
sive role in the East and the West.
For the first time in nine months of
struggle, her efforts were confined to
meeting and hating the offensive Of
her three great enemies, France, Rus
STA and Britain.
Such an assertion carries with it
more than might appear at first.
Bear in mind that the whole Ger
man military system is based upon the
offensive, not the defensive, that
Bernhard and all his predecessors
had preached the offensive as the
only real method by which Germany
could win; recall that hitherto Ger
many had rested in the West to re.
double her energies in the East, and
vice versa, and it becomes clear that
so far as it was now possible to Judge.
the weight Of the numbers Of her enc.
mics was at last beginning to tell.
The coming Of British levies, the com.
pletion of the organization Of French
reserves, the never-failing stream of
Russian troops-these circumstances,
fortified by the growing failure Of
Austrian resistance, were combining
to force the Kaiser into the position
of holding his own lines, not endeav-
oring to break those of his opponents.
Out of Germany, officially and un-
officially, too, there began to flow
new suggestions of drawn battle,
or return to peace on terms far
different from those which were in
the minds of the Berlin 1opulace when
Won Kluck approached Paris, and
Won Hindenburg won Tannenberg.
Not yet was there any suggestion Of
doubt as to German ability to main
tain the defensive, to hold what she
had won, to make defense lasting
over years. and exacting toll from
her enemies in life and treasure be.
yond their endurance. But the dream
Of world power" had vanished, pa.
tently vanished, however distant was
the day when downfall" Bernhardi's
alternative, would even be thought Of
In Berlin.
Coincident with the disclosure Of
this German frame Of mind was the
growing confidence revealed in off,
cial statements from Paris and Lon.
don. A French review Of the first
six months Of the campaign supplied
a wealth Of detail to demonstrate the
deterioration Of German armies under
the terrible strain Of earlier offensive
operations, the frightful mortality
among officers. the lessening efiicien-
cy Of new levies. In the minds Of
French military observers, set forth
in these statements. the German ma
chine was beginning to crack under
the strain.
British opinion was little different.
To Field-Marshal Sir John French
was attributed the assertion that an
early end to the war was now to be
expected. The British success at
Neuve Chapelle, somewhat furnished
by official admission of bad manage
ment which lessened the extent Of
the victory that might have been
achieved. and increased the casualty
list, was accepted a. proof Athat the
German line could be pierced. French
aad British. observers. alike agreed
that .thsssAlliss had ssstablished de-
cisive superiority VI NnunibetN inrS the
west, syrexa'm tie declaration sthsf
- ,.s.sss:s"ssni