Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-27

| theory we would expect the enemy
despite all his toll in bringing up the
guns for fresh stage of the recur-
rent offensive, to work under Mill
/ tary law Off diminishing returns. The
theory is borne out by the facts In
: the second stage the enemy up Ia
! Friday night had not gained even a
| tenth part Of the ground and the pris-
oners taken in the first three DAYS Of
| the opening attack on the Verdun
| salient On this showing we might
reasonably expect the enemy to give
up the game at last, and to be
thwarted Of Verdun itself as of Ypres
and Rheims. That result would he
bitter pill for the Germans to swal-
/ low 1t would mean on the final
comparison Of profit and loss the
acknowledgment of a great defeat az
Ter frightful sacrifice.
VH.--1hc Crown Prince a. Pyrrhus.
The crown princes name has been
mixed up with this affair. 1t is Of
evil omen for the Hohenzollerns that
failure should seem to dog his foot
steps, and that suicidal casualties
should seem to he courted again and
again in attempts to eXalt his pres
tige. As we have said before that
! is not a main consideration, but it is
factor in the case Again, there is
the new loan to float and Roumania
to deter if possible fading pros
pect. For all these reasons, the enc.
my may try TO push home the re-
newed attack even at the risk Of
kicking against the pricks to the al
lies advantage. Already German
voices are heard to exclaim. I'VE are
conquering ourselves" 1t is like an
echo of Pyrrhus: Another such vie
tory and | am undone."
But we must guard ourselves even
yet from attempting final Judgment
That can only be determined by the
event. The apparent probabilities
are in the allies favor as we have
shown, but there is an important ele-
ment OF doubt. We do not know
how it stands with the German re-
serves. or whether they have yet
thrown into the struggle the classes
Of 1916 and 1917. These might be az
good as any fighting stuff that has
been seen in the war. The French
on their side have still very strong
reserves, and Britain has yet more
Of Russians on the other side, who
are almost fully trained now and are
only waiting for rifles. The allies.
unless some incalculable disaster oy-
ertakes them, will be at their maxi
mum strength in men and guns by
summer The rate of German pro-
gress during the last fortnight has
been so slow as to suggest that no mat
ter what they do--eyen if the initia-
tive were not wrested from them BY
a grand offensive of all the allied
armies in combination-the enemy
can not hope to reach any vital OBJ
ieetive in the west before the scales
of fate are turned once and for ever
by sheer weight of men and metal
We shall be in a better position II
week hence to discuss finally the
bearing of the battle of Verdun on
main interests. The Franco-British
armies bide their hour and will be
heard from at the right time. We
still hold TO our view that the enemy
has not by any means disclosed his
principal plans for the present cam
paign. He has aimed, as we have
said not at the city or even the rail-
way bridge of Verdun with the view
of battering through on the road from
Paris, but he has hoped by Selling
the heights Of the Meuse to secure "A
formidable thanking position from
which the French might he distract
ed and menaced if they opened again
great offensive in Champagne The
enemy has not yet secured that object
nor anything like it. His tactical
gains SO far do nothing whatever TO
improve his strategical position.