The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1916-04-24
THINKS THE VERDUN DRIVE WAS
A POLITICAL MOVE.

Paris.-Among the many military
writer's who are giving to the world
their views on the reasons for the
German attack on Verdun one of the
best known is General Malleterre, Of
the Paris Temps, who believes the
movement was begun because the
German general staff felt the neces-
sity of striking a blow at some prom
inent point of the western front in
order to obtain a moral success that
they could use to impress neutral ma
tons. He admits that Germany has by
no means has reached the limit Of her
force.
"The eighteen months Jnat have
passed since the battle of the Marine,
he says, have given to us and to our
allies time to make up for our want OF
foresight and our unpreparedness and
to gain that superiority with which we
shall crush the Germans. This very
drive on Verdun is proof that the Kali
ser's general staff recognizes that il
is incapable of conducting a general
offensive which alone can produce a
break on the front attacked while
holding off other adversaries.
Germany is reduced to making ven
lures with her shuttles of armies go
ing to and fro between the different
fronts, which are facilitated by hel
central situation and the remarkable
organization of the imperial railways
and whatever partial successes She
may attain, at price more and more
disproportionate to the results, she is
fated to pass to the defensive every
where a defensive powerfully organ
lied, only yielding at the last extrem
ity any of the positions gained ant
discounting a final settlement as ad
vantageous as possible for herself.
1--WE must not deceive ourselves
Germany has by no means reached
the limit of her resisting power, no
the allies that of their effort. But
common sense tells us that Germany
having mapped out a rapid and de
cisive war, has left us too much TIM
to compensate for our inferiority a
the beginning, and the more tim
passes the more the balance of fore
is turning to the profit of the allies
"In one of his daring announce
ments which sounded the call to arm
for Germany just before the war Gen
eral Won Bernhard cried in apocalyp
tic style that already God could b
heard walking in the world And, a
a matter of fact, we have heard thes
first step of the German Thor, go
of holocausts and devastation. A
Heinie had predicted, he came TO de
stroy our Gothic cathedrals. But w
hear other sounds, echoes of eterna
Justice. and among them, strange L
say, are German voices.
ave thought wrote a German
journalist in 1915, that France wa
corrupted, that she had lost the sens
Of national solidarity, We recognize
now that the French are formidabl
adyersaries. Those who have led u
into all these errors, all these falls
calculations, all these mistakes, hav
, taken upon themselves heavy bur
den of responsibility
"And Prince Won Buelow wrote, ais
little while before the war:-"Ther
} is in France an unalterable faith
the indestrictibility Of the vital force
p Of the nation. This dogma is base
p on the whole history of France. n
other people has each time repaired 4
D quickly the consequences OF a ma
p tional disaster, none has regained s
! easily lis energy, its confidence in 4
9 self and its spirit of enterprise aft'
( cruel disappolntments and defeat
!. which appeared to be cruaRipg.