New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-10-03
4 Study of the Anglo
French Operations in
Champagne and
ArtOiS.
By FRANK H. SlMONDS,
Author Of The Great War.

,,cst attempt 70 break it; second, the
ooe, interesting details Of the geography
and Of the communications; third, the
,rs,ent operations as they have revealed
themselves on the date on which this is
written. Tuesday, September rs,
The Great Deadlock.
III, German offensive In the west came
:, dead halt in pid-November OF last
,s., On November 10 the last serious
.soYt was made 70 break through the
Byit.h lines about Yprss. and the failure
,.rked the termination Of the movement,
vbieh had began In August; had been car
NED across the French frontier after the
R,ttl. Of Chsrleroi, on August %; had
eliminated In the Battle Of the Marne,
s,pteuber 70 September 10; had been
prolonged By the Battle Of the Aisne,
from September IS TO October 8, and had
broken out in new fury in the great
Battles of Flanders, from October 19 to
November IS.
The end Of the struggle saw the Allies
clinging to their wide front from the
North Sea TO the Swiss frontier. OF the
10000 British who had fought in Elan
dsrs barely $4,000 were left. The Belgian
army was q mere shell. The French army
had made a marvellous recovery, but it
had been strained to the utmost in the long
battle TO withstand a German army at all
times its superior in numbers. France,
to uss Talleyrand's famous word, had
4liredS through the storm, and that was
al. Months were now needed TO repair the
damages Of the last hundred days.
In the Trenches. I.
70 the world the western struggle had
become a meaningless thing. Trench war
arc had been little expected, despite the
suggestion to be found in the Manchurian
campaign and even in the latter days of
The Civil War. The explanation of Allied
inactivity was not TO be found by the
observers. who were still unaware Of the
TACT that the Germans had outguessed
their opponents in the matter Of heavy ar
tillery and machine guns.
From November 70 February there oc-
Cured little Of real Importance. The
French pushed out small offensives in AL
SAGE in the effort 70 regain Mulhausen,
won and lost in August. They made one
ambitious thrust on the Aisne front, about
Scissors, and were soundly beaten and
pushed back across the river. But Of real
action there was none. In this time eX-
perts, and observers who were not even
expert. talked wisely of the spring drive
and Of Kitchener's million. Both, time
was 10 disclose as vain decisions.
But In this time the French appreciated
the real problem and turned to the task
OF mobililing national industry TO produce
munitions; the British failed to grasp the
truth, and their mistake was soon TO be
revealed in a humiliating fashion. AS
for the million, despite all hopes and ex-
pectstions it is doubtful # there were
quarter Of million British troops in the
trenches when the first offensive began.
The Frat Try in Champagne.
In February the official reports suddenly
began 10 talk Of fighting on that little
known front between the City Of Rheims
and the Argonne. Day after day the
cables talked more and more Of the des-
perate fighting about villages little known,
and even for the possession of farmhouses,
which acquired rs evil fame as that Of
NE Chateau Of Hogoumont at Waterloo.
Inc object of the French effort was little
appreciated; the fact that 100000 men
we're fighting on either sido was not re-
'ealed until many days after the effort
mad ended in practical failure, despite in
'identsl gains.
but far ct the other end of the line, in
Nefeh, there suddenly broke out that Brit
IN effort which instantly filled the press
NC the Imagination Of the world. After
suocen' bombsrdmcnt, large British
''i'e struck the German lines between
"a bassee and Lille. broke through, won
'"''' and then-sone one bundered, the
'ssn TO the Aubcre Ridge. which is the
NY 70 Lille, did not come of the victory
'''heo cut 20 be an advance Of mile