The Washington herald., 1916-06-04

! 10 not Hsht as well as they eN'f dld'
nonsense of that sort is talked in London
but not at the front, where every one
shows anxiety to do full justice to the
military prowess of the enemy. But the
| Boche is getting fed up with the war
as the men put It.
l talked to young Prussian belonging
| to the Twenty-tnird Reserve Corps, who
was blown into the air. together with
some hundreds OF his comrades, by Brit
ish mines at st. Eloi. near Ypres, recent
ily, and was when | saw him walking
about a hospital ward near BOulogne, not
much the worse for his ascension and
| obviously happy. The interview was
solicited by me. and not arranged by the
accompanying officer. who had no inklings
of the Captive's views when he consented
to let me talk to him.
Complains of Food.
They never can beat u.s." said the lad
| he was not more than 49, but had al
| ready been in the trenches a year-when
/ | asked him about the war. The French
! or Russians will make peace, and then
! the English will stop, too" But suppose
they don't, how long can you last?" l
/ asked and he replied Maybe another
year. then there will be no more to eat"
/ He complained bitterly of the food in
! the trenches. and the officer in charge
! said later that to see the eCstatic and
beWildered looks wounded Germans, when
! hrst brought in, cast at the food served
| them would convince the most skeptical
! that conditions must be very bad in the
| German Commissariat. | learned, too,
! that the intelligence department Is in
| possession of innumerablc letters found
| on dead and captured Germans from
members of their families begging them
! to send home some of the rations served
out at the front.
'Wny have not the British attacked
while the French have been lighting the
! great struggle around Verdun?' is a
! question that has been asked all over
the world by friend and enemy and neu-
traL put the question to many men out
/ here. apolOgizing for raising a point that
belongs solely to the higher command by
! citing the universal surprise at the rela-
tive quiet on the British front and the
unfriendly comments that have been made
in many quarters. l received many an
swers. some surprisingly frank. and while
! a complete discussion of the position
would not be permitted. few Considcra-
tions for the benefit of skeptics and
doubters may be hazardcd.
Looked for OHneisve.
The Germans obviously expected a
! British offensive when they attacked
! Nerdun, and made every preparation
/ TO meet it. In war it is generally
bad tactics to do what the enemy
wants you to do and expects YOU to
| do. Proof that the Germans looked
! for this trouble in this quarter lies
| In the fact that they massed not less
than 100000 men opposite the British
front. while they attacked the French
| at Nerdun with 500. 900 men, and most
of the crack troops in the German
army were. and are. here
/ Resting on the North Sea Guarding
/ the flank of the German armies. is
I the naval corps. (deleted by CENSOR
Along the User canal. is Won Basedow's
/ Landwehr division. and to the south
! Is the Fourth Ersatz division. all
! these troops being under the command
J of General Won Werder. But when the
Gpres salient Is reached Cdeleted by
censor we hear no more of Land
wehr or Ersatz troops. Only the first
quality. the best quality the Germans
! have left. appears along the ninety
miles held by General Haig's men
/ The lines about the Ypres salient are
held by the Twenty-sixth Reserve Corps
and the Thirteenth Corps. under the
nominal command Of the Duke of Wur-
temberg rdeleted by CENSOR St Eloi at
the southern re-entrant of the salient
divides the fourth army of Duke Al
/ breCht from the sixth army of Crown
Prince RUpprecht of Bavaria. CdeIeted
4 by CeusOrl. In this army are the Twcn-
ty-third Reserve COrTe. opposite Armen-
there's, the Sixth Bavarian Reserve di-
vision. and the Seventh Active CORDS,
: just to the north of La Bassce. Holding
the La Bassee salient is the Second
/ Guard Reserve Division, and below the
guards the Second Bavarian Corps. The
, Fourth Active Corps is opposite Loos,
the Ninth Reserve Corps and the First
baVarian Corps prolonging the line to
just north of Arras, where the Fiftieth
Reserve Division is near at hand.
How German Line Is Held.
From Arras to below the Somme the
line is held less strongly. The First
| Bavarian Reserve division Thirty y-eighth
| Landwehr brigade and One Hundred and
Eleventh division complete Prince Rup-
prechts army. and at Monchy the line
lot the second German army under Cen
eral Won Buelow begins This is held. Ia
beyond the point where the British and
| French lines join. by the Fifty-seCond
idivision, Fourteenth Reserve corps, Sixth
Active corps. and the Tenth Bavarian di.
vision. In addition to the troops named
actually along the fighting lines. all three
iot these German armies have great re-
serves so placed that they could he
thrown into action in a few hours In
Belgium, Duke AlbreCht has the One
Hundred and Twenty-third division near
Bruges. the Fifty-fourth Reserve division
near Client. the F'ifty-third Reserve d.
vision near Deynze on the river Lys. AMI
the Seventh cavalry division in the neigh
borhood of Brussels In the rear of
Prince RuppreCht's army is the One Hun
Idred and Seventeenth division at Cour-
trat, the Twenty second Reserve corps at
INalenciennes, and. not far from Cambrai
the First and Fourth Guard Reserve di
visions.
To attack such an army would he a
formidable undertaking, and it must NOT
be forgotten that the Germans along the
British front hold the best positions
They were unable to break through in
the fall of 1914, but having at that time
a great numerical superiority over their
ladversaries they possessed themselves Of
the higher ground along almost the
whole line. and have been pushed off II
in only few places. The advantage in
the ground is therefore with the Ger
mans and the still greater advantage con-
ferred in modern warfare by the defen-
sivc. 1t is possible that political con-
siderations, the imperious necessity for
victories to still the rising cIamer at
home. may compel the Germans to attack
the British
Heavy Wire Defenscs.
From a point on the spur of Notre