Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1915-06-23

BILE way to break the apparent stale
mae produced by trench warfare
was to plow up the enemy's trench
es by concentration of high explO-
sive she'll fire. the like of. which had
never been seen, and was certainly
never contemplated in modern war
fare. Nevertheless, in spite of an
expenditure of ammunition which to-
day must be between two and three
times as great as was estimated be-
fore the war by the Germans them
selves, and in spite of the enormous
battle front on which the Teutonic
Allies are engaged, there are no in
dications that they are suffering from
a scarcity OF ammunition. This is
TO be explained by the fact. that, for
many years, the central powers have
been laying up huge reserve Of
ammunition for conflict, the date
anu The extent OF which had probably
been determined and certainly had
been lavishly provided for, Add to
this the probability that, from the
very commencement Of the war, all
the manufacturing plants: which We're
capable of turning out ammunition
were reorganized, re-equipped and
set to work at their maximum ca
pacity, and the manifest superiority
Of the Teutonic Allies in the matter
Of ammunition supply is readily un-
derstood. e. + u. VIII &E
1t becomes increasingly evident, as
the war goes on, that the question Of
victory or defeat. for. either side will
he determined on the German west
ern battle front; and here, if, as the
Allies hope and believe, they are to-.
drive the German line back upon the
Rhine, the thing can be done only by
blasting them out of their trenches,
line beyond line, by concentration
OF explosive shell and shrapnel fire
so great, that even the German re-
sources will be outmatched, not in
one particular engagement or series
of engagements, but day by day.:
week by week, and month by month,
until the thing is done. *:ti, = "
| The tactics employed In this kind
Of warfare are fairly familiar to the
press reports. The batteries Of the
stretch of front to be attacked and
a continuous rain of high-explosivei
percussion shells, which literally
pillow the trenches out of existence,
breaking down the parapets, filling
up the trenches with debris, and ex-
posing the troops to decimating
fire. When the wreckage is CONS
plete, the high-explosive| shell fire
give way to rain Of shrapnel, de-
livered back Of the wrecked trenches
in such volume that it is impossible
for reserves to advance. through he
hail of bullets in sufficient strength
to deliver a strong counter attack.
Under the protection. fthis shrapnel
fire, the attacking forces move for
ward and capture the plowed-up
trenches, digging themselves in and
consolidating the neWly-won position.
This form Of warfare necessitates,
above all, an enormous supply X of
ammunition, and an output from the
factories that shall be on such scale
as to enable the generals I'm the
field to carry on the offensive with
out any anxiety as to their ammuni-
ton supply. SGEa
Now, ammunition, especially Of the.
high explosive and shrapnel type, is
upon the financial resources of the
DelllSeItulS, IL SUCH d CoHtiuuOuS az
tack is made and met, will be far in
excess Of anything that has occurred
hitherto during the war. The ques-'
ton of ammunition supply becomes
intimately associated with the ques-
ton Of financial resources.
In the unhappy event Of our be-
coming embroiled with Germany, the
United States, because of the enor-
nous extent of its manufacturing re,
sources and its vast wealth, would be
come the pivotal point around which
the ultimate destinies of the war
would turn. Without touching a SOL
der or a ship, or firing gun, the
enrolment Of the United States on
the side of the Allies would make
their ultimate triumph absolutely Sc
cure. "a