The Washington herald., 1915-08-30
GERMANS FOILED,
EXPERT ASSERTS
Frustrated in Aim to Compel
Acceptance Of Peace
Terms.
TURNING POINT REACHED
Approaching Change of Seasons Will
Halt Teutons. Russian Military
Observers Opinion.
BY PROF. PAREZ.

By PROF. PAREZ.
Ohidal British eyewitness with the Russian armies
| London. Aug. 29.-In the last few day:
the tension Of Russia's position ha
slackened perceptibly. Every one ha
become more at ease. For myself, wht
followed the military and political posi-
] ton very closely. I go SO far as to say
that the cfisis is past.
From the time when the enemy begar
his great thrust in southwest Galicia
! am quite certain, he was aiming sim
ply at one thing. He was trying tc
bring Russia to herself from her allies
II he could not do that he could dc
nothing on the eastern side.
The idea Of a conquest Of Russia ol
of forcing a peace On Russia was al
| ways. from the start. ridiculous. Russi1
| she could only be induced to desire 4.
For this object there was a perfectly
| clear program Of which every detail
soon became apparent.
Turning Point Reached.
OF course the Russian army had @
be beaten and driven back with as many
! losses as possible. >5ut above all Russia
| was to be persuaded that her western
allies could do nothing for her. Poland
was to be won and then a liberal peace
was to be offered Russia.
The Germans have had their successes.
They have made their shot: they have
failed and they know 1t is the turning
point in the whole process.
To my mind the most important fact
of the last week was the announcement
made by NJ. Sasanoff. in Petrograd. NJ.
Sasanoff Is a very quiet man and his
simple straightforwardness is one of the
greatest reasons for the immense conf
| L tt L. rra sn ht,,,
His announcement, which had not wo:
that could be dispensed with, amounted
to this:
That the German successes had been ac-
companied by repeated negotiations for
peace, which Russia had refused uncon-
ditionally: whenever they were renewed
they would be refused again.
Military Success Secondary.
But this meant the collapse of all that
Germany has been playing for; military
success was secondary.
We are approaching the time when the
Russian roads will break up. The coun-
try through which the Germans will have
to advance is at first a marshy plane.
and later on a plateau broken with in
Vulnerable cross gullies, in which the
grand army of Napoleon. in spite of the
efforts of men and horses. left practically
all of its comparatively light field artil-
lery.
Motor transit, one of the glories of the
advancing German army, here will be
useless; not only it, but the heavy guns.
which will have to be left behind.
Meanwhile. one thing is clear. l was
with the retreating Russian army from
the Carpathians to the Russian frontier.
and its morale is not altered in the
slightest by the terrible ordeal and artil-
lery fire to which 1t was subjected day
after day.
The Germans, and still more. the Aus
trians, both officers and men, We're Worn
out both in strength and spirit during this
interminable advance.
Peace was to come because the Kaiser
had promised it, but it was quite recog-
nized that peace could not come If the
Russians refused to accept 1t. We have
now had the test; 1t means failure, and
any prospect of the endless march to-
ward the Ural Mountains will strike more
terror into the advancing enemy than
even the thought Of retreat.