Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1916-01-07
Retrospect of the World War.
(From Scientific Anericanl

A curSory view of the military
situation in Europe, as seen from
the outside of the So called ''iron
ring which the Allies have at.
tempted to maintain around the
Central Powers would seem to Jus.
tify the assertion of the Imperial
Chancellor, Won Hollweg, that
Germany is everywhere victorious.
She holds Belgium and one of the
richest sections of France in the
West; Poland is hers; and, recent
ly, with the aid of Bulgaria, she
has overrun Serbia and opened up
rail connection with Constantine
pie.
The question Of German success,
however, is indissolubly bound up
with the question of German aims,
and, thanks to the explicit teach
ings of her military writer's, we
know exactly what the military
aims of Germany were, when the
Kaiser let loose the dogs Of war in
the summer of 1914. A swift
drive in overwhelming fore upon
Paris; the occupation of the French
capital; an army of occupation in
France; rapid transfer of the
flower of the army to the Eastern
frontier, and a furious campaign
by overwhelming forces against
Russia, for the purpose of breaking
up, capturing and dispensing the
Russian hosts, preparatory to the
occupation of Warsaw and Petro.
grad.
The German plan, magnificent
in occupation, failed utterly when
the allied forces under General
JOffre turned furiously upon the
invaders and threw them back at
the battle of the Marne. In the
East the Austrian armies were
overwhelmed by the Russian hosts.
The close of 1914 found the Ger.
man army hold fast in France, and
the victorious Russians in possess
sion of Galicia, and making ready
to pour down through the Carpa,
thiao passes into the plains of
Hungary.
Ia the early spring of 1915, Ger
many, ;taking over the supreme
control of the Austrian TROOPS,
blokcgthrough the Russian Inns
on the Donajec, and conn menced
that great drive, which must 90
down into history as one of the
most stupendous military exploits
of all time. Brilliant as these
operations have been, there is a
consensus of military opinion that
they have been inconclusive. The
Russian army is today despite it's
reverses unDroken; it's losses have
been enormous, but although it
has bent it has never been broken.
The Central Powers have failed to
disperse and disarm the armies of
the Gar, which under the spell of
rest afforded by the rigOr of the
Russian winter, are being re-en-
forced and muntioned for the
spring campaign.
Judged, therefore, solely by the
test of what Germany set out to
do, it must be confessed that she
has failed. The German lines in
France are holding. 1t is true;
but the Anglo French drive in
September gave every reason to
believe that when another million
of the British troops has been
thrown into France and the re.
quisite supplies of ammunition
have been stored back of the al
lied position, it will be found pos
sible to break through the German
line on a front wide enough to
cause a retirement of the whole
front to new positions. Failing
that, the war On the Western front
must settle down to one of attri-
tion, and judging by the acknowl-
edged Prussian losses to date of
2,250,000 men, and the monthly
losses ON all fronts estimated by
the best military authorities at
100000, the decisive issue must
surely come before the close of
1917.
The outstanding fact of the nav.
al operations has been the remark
able success of the British defen,
sive' against the German subma.
rine raid on merchant shipping.
The means adopted have been
many and all appear to have been
more or less successful. The mar
row channels have been netted,
and great success has attended the
towing of large nets between pairs
of destroyers and trawlers. The
swift destroyers have accounted
for many, and a vast fleet of fast
motor boats, some of them private
craft and others built specially for
submarine chasing, acting in con-
cert with the aeroplanes, has prov
~ n vor;tahlp terror tn tta under