The Lakeland evening telegram., 1916-11-03
British Say
Termination of
War Depends
On Germany
(By Associated Press. j

LOHuUn, NOV. - 1Ou viii nav
to ask Germany
This was the answer of a distin
guished English officer recently bacl
from the front when the familia
query was put to him: When vii
the war end?"
I'VE know what we can give them,
them" he continued, but we do no
know as yet just how much they
are prepared to stand, or are willins
to stand. In the meantime we viii
INCREASE the pressure more and more
until the break comes.
With the turning of the tide on
the western battlefields there was
naturally disposition here to feei
that hostilities soon would be over
The officers and men of the army dc
not share these views. however and
are constantly cautioning the people
at home against the idea that the is
sue will be settled within the next
few months.
From conversations with scores of
officers familiar with the situation
at the front ii can be stated that
they do not expect the war to end at
the earliest before next autumn.
There are many who believe there
are two more years of fighting before
the allied nations
1--WE have got lone way to go,
said General Sir William Robertson,
Kitchener's successor, few days
ago. And we must be ready to 90
all the way" he added. Fight to d
finish is the order. There must be
no slackening off On the contrary
there must be 4 great tightenina
up.
No good soldier will make a def
mite prediction as to the end Of the
war
"We must be prepared to go on for
a period of time which it is impossi
BILE to estimate said Sir William
And that expresses the opinion of
the army. There may be various in
fluences at work which they know
nothing of, there the constant talk
heard here of internal troubles in
Germany. but the army officer only
looks at the map" He still sees a
long road ahead before the victory
he has in mind can become reality
The military defeat of Germany
and that is the only defeat the army
looks forward to, means an invasion
of the German empire. General Sir
O'Moore Crea2h, the distinguished
Irish ~, c." has said:
THE Indlan Lancers may never
ride through the Brandenburg gates,
but the end of the war will not come
until it is possible for them to do so. "
Things are going SO well at the
western front that it is difficult even
for any words of warning to dull the
spirit Of elation in London. With
Germany on the defensive it is felt
here that the enemy Is no longer
fighting to retain all he seized in the
first great onslaught of the war. but
is rather struggling to hold as much
as possible until peace shall come.
There is the predicted shortening
of the western line" which London
ers confidently look for from day to
day,
On the other hand is the state
ment of General Foch, the French
commander, who declares the Ger
mans are so tightly held in the west
it is impossible for them either to
advance or to retreat in any great
number.
I'VE are en- them" he said, like
a corrosive acid. We have eaten
into their flanks and they can t
throw us off You cannot always see
the acid at work, but the disintegrat-
ing process is going on all the time
The artillery of the Allies on the
Somme. where the great armies of the
belligerents are massed, commands
4. II.
prevent a retreat it is said. The
shelling behind the German lines is
just as intense as it is in front. The
expenditure of English and French
shells has frankly amazed the Ger
mans, the military critics here all
agree, and the artillery activity has