Evening star., 1916-07-23
The Long Course of Attrition.

Ever since the German retreat from
the Marne and the stand made by the
kaisers troops at the Aisne it has been
evident that no single smashing blow by
either side would end the war. The de-
yelopment of trench hostilities, a new
condition in warfare between great pow
ers, brought the contest to the basis of
a siege, each side trying to wear the
of the enemy. In one theater of the
war after another excursions were at
tempted, to hasten the wearing out
process-attrition, Gen. Grant called it
more than fifty years ago. The great
est of these was the tremendous advance
by the Germans and Austrians against
the Russians last year, when the Slavs,
their ammunition exhausted. were forced
back over thousands of square miles of
their own territory. and new battle
line was formed. well in the interior of
Russia. But the attrition in that case
did not yield results. Russia recuperated
remarkably. in both men and munitions,
and today has a formidable army in the
field, amply supplied with all needs, and
driving home attacks on her own account
that have already won back large part
of the territory lost last year.
The present combined drive of all the
Io @bo
western front, the Italians on the south
and the Russians on the east, is doubt
less designed by the military leaders of
those nations as stage in the process
of attrition, rather than as mortal blow.
1t was suggested in a dispatch from
Petrograd recently that the fact is
recognized there that as the German
line is driven in it grows stronger with
concentration. In France the same is
Picardy. slowly but surely giving
ground. their lines shorten, and they
are able to hold them with fewer men.
It is true that they have fewer men for
this purpose. The attrition has nn-
doubtedly begun to tell, and the
numerical supremacy of the allies in the
field is now evident on all sides. No
longer is the superior transport of the
Teutons, operating on interior lines, suf-
icient to Offset this advantage of the
allies, for the combined offensive makes
it necessary for the Germans and Aus
trians to present their strongest pos
sible force at all their points of ex-
posure to enemy attack. Thus the re-
markable railway system which for
more than eighteen months enabled Ger
many to meet superior forces with sue
cess, because the foe did not strike
simultaneously in both east and west, is
reduced now merely to supply carry
ing system. of great utility, but not of
value at the point of contact when the
blows fall
This war, nov close upon two years
in duration. presents a tremendous psy-
Geological problem. How long can any
great group of people endure loss and
privation and acute physical suffering for
| the sake of patriotic ideal? Much has
been said on both sides about the spirit
| of resistance breaking Ander long strain
| Thus far there is no sign of either side
actually weakening in spirit. In
some parts Of Austria Hungary there is
| peace movement but it lacks the sane.
tion of public sentiment In all of the
warning countries, indeed, these peace
movements have been in evidence ever
since the war started, but they have
been most unpopular. None of the fight,
ing nations, in short, has Cracked
under the tension, as the athletic phrase
goes. Some great military defeat, or
| succession of reverses in the field, as
through the steady pushing back of the
line during weeks of fighting, with
heavy losses, may bring about the
spiritual surrender that will force the
government to WELD and ask for peace
terms. But today there is no reason to
expect such crisis in the immediate
| future.