Evening star., 1915-01-08
British Observer Says Strug-
gle in Belgium Now in
Fourth Phase.
GERMANS ON DEFENSIVE
LOSE GROUND, is REPORT
Considerable Sickness in Ranks of
Kaiser's Army, With Much
Typhoid, It Is Announced.

LONDON, January S.-"The new year
has opened up on a more favorable
situation for the allies than any they
had known since the commencement of
the campaign" says report made by
a military observer attached to the
British army headquarters at the front.
The report is dated January 4, and
supplements similar narratives given
out at intervals during the progress
Of the war.
so far as the British are concerned IS
says the report, "the small expedition
ary force of four divisions which took
che field in August has now been
swe11ed to great army, which is
steadily increasing in numbers, has
become Injured to war and can look
back on a record of hard fighting such
as British troops seldom have sus-
tained in the past. The struggle of the
last four months has entered upon its
fourth phase.
Allies on Offensive.
"a slow but none the less marked
change which has taken place has re-
suited in the definite passing of the
initiative into the hands of the allies
This Is not shown so much by mate
rial results obtained, although at some
points of the allied front ground has
been gained and in some places very
marked progress has been made, re-
sulting in the capture of guns and
strongly intrenched positions, but our
advantage lies in the fact that it is
now the allies who for the past few
weeks have assumed and maintained
the offensive role, while the enemy has
heen acting on the defensive
'The fact that the enemy is acting on
the defensive does not mean that he
has given up attacking altogether. but
his attacks have been in the nature of
counter attacks, undertaken either in
order to regain ground previously lost
or to relieve pressure on some other
part of the German line.
Marked Progress by Allies.
cit is only by balancing the total re-
suits Of these attacks by both sides that
a clear idea can be obtained. Really
marked progress has been achieved by
the allies.
1.-THE German defensive is an active
one. 1t is founded on the axiom of war
the weaker force the more hardly it is
pressed, the more persistently should it
attack. But it remains true that such
action is none the less essentially defen-
sive, even though here and there one Of
their counter-attacks may succeed in re-
gaining possession of a trench or in
driving back a small section of our
front.
''If we retain the initiative it will mean
that the German soldier gradually will
become increasingly conscious that he is
no longer marching on Calais or Paris;
that instead of pressing forward his role
is merely to maintain what already has
been won, and that even this limited OBJ
ject has not been attained. Hitherto he
has continually been told that reinforce
mentS are about to arrive and that an
advance in force is imminent, while re-
ports of startling victories on land and
sea are disseminated broadcast. But
such fabricaticns can no longer carry
conviction when the troops realize thlt
instead of attacking they are stationary
or even retiring and the morale of the
enemy must inevitably be affected.
Germans Discouraged.
'The more thoroughly they are now
deceived as to the true positions the
greater will be the disillusionment if
they realize that ultimate victory is
unattainable, while upon such an army
as that Of the Germans, which has
been taught to exalt the cult of the
offensive almost into fetish, the
mere consciousness of being reduced to