Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1916-07-31
ALLIES WORK ON
THREE SIDES TO
CRUSH TEUTONS
Republican A. P. Leased Wirel

winch mas ueNelOpeu INTO titanic
struggle before which superlatives al
ready exhausted, are completely beg
CARED.
France and Great Britain in the west,
Russia in the east, Italy in the south,
are hurting wave after wave of armed
men on the Teutonic lines, together
with an avalanche &C shells and bombs
such as the world has not known
up to the present time. For the first
time the Teutons are, temporarily at
least, on the defensive on the thousands
of miles of the existing battle fronts.
The change in the situation which
the year has brought is striking, al
though the results so far have been
more potential and spectacular than
radical. A year ago the Germans, con-
tinuing their great drive against the
Russians, hurled the Slavs back along
the entire western front, captured
Warsaw, the great fortresses of Kovno,
Novo Georgievsk and Brest- Litovsk
and established lines far inside Russian
territory which they maintained vir-
tually unbroken until within the last
three months. They seized all Poland,
a great slice of Russia to the south of
that country and expelled the invaders
from Galicia and Bukowina. Field
Marshals v0n Hindenburg and Won
great successes.
On the western front the changes in
position during the year were com
paratively small but the twelve months
We're marked by three events of inter-
est: The battles of Champagne and
Verdun and the opening of the great
Franco British offensive on the Somme
took place in this period.
The battle of Champagne opened on
September 25, after a weeks terrific
bombardment of the German lines by
the French. British and Belgians In
a week of the bloodiest fighting that
had been known up TO that time the
allies announced that they had taken
twenty miles of trenches six towns and
$4,000 prisoners. But there they halted.
They could not break through the
mighty German wall and the grim
deadlock which marked the western
front for so many months was resumed.
The Battle of Champagne marked the
removal of Sir John french, the Brit
ish commander in chief from the be-
ginning of the war up to that time.
In December, 1915, it was announced
that he had resigned to take home
command and Sir Douglas Haig was
appointed his successor.
In sheer human interest the Battle
individual events of the war. On Feb
ruary 20 the German crown prince be-
gan his assault of the historic French
fortress. known throughout many CEN
turtles as the gateway to France. For
five months the defenders Withstood
storm at the fury of which the world
stood against. Foot by foot, almost
inch by inch, the Germans forged for
ward with a reckless disregard of their
lives, Il tenacity and cool courage which
was only equalled by the heroic deter
mination OF the French. On June an
unofficial estimate of the German loss
es at Verdun placed the total at the
appalling figure of $4,000. The as
| sailants fought their way to within
! about three and a half miles Of the
| fortress but for several weeks have re-
| ported no further progress and the
force Of their attacks appears TO have
! iessened.
The Franco British offensive on the
| Somme opened on july l. 1916. 1t was
| preceded by a bombardment of IN
paralleled duration and intensity. feat
ured by the appearance of new and
| gigantic British howitzers. Under this
/ awful hurricane of big gun fire the
German first line defenses crumbled
When the British and French troops
advanced they reported that they
found trenches in which there was not
| a single survivor, only the dead guard =
| ed the silent rifles and machine guns
German first lines were carried over
| an extent of 20 miles and the second
positions pierced at certain points, but
up to the present .ne fighting has
been indecisive insofar as the forcing
of the Germans to withdraw their main
lines is concerned. The fighting has
.
ton and the reports of press CORE
spondents at the front TEEN with ac-
counts of the most amazing heroisn
and devotion on both sides. Instances
have been recorded of the sole sur
yivor of a company. wounded anC
without hope, who manned q machine
gun and fought TO the last amid the
bodies of his comrades; of isolated de
tachments who stood off their foes fol
days until succor reached them OF
death; OF captured surgeons who bounC
up the wounds of their captors; OF ne
roic rescues of wounded comrades un
der fire and of countless similar deedi
The first move in the great allie,
offensive was not made by tn;
, Franco British however, but by thu
! Russians On June the troops o
the Emperor Nicholas opened a tire
mendous assault on the Austro- Ger
man lines on a three hundred mil
. | front extending from the Pripe
marshes to Rumania. The Teutoi
: lines held firm in the north but t,
The south General Brussiloff swep
with irresistible force through tn
Austrian defenses, tearing a grea
gap about 100 miles in extern
Through this the Russians poured
capturing CzernOwitz, the capital .
Bukowina and overrunning the crown
land. The Austrian loses are declare
to have been enormous, a month afte
/ he offensive began the Russian
making an official announcement tina
| over 100000 prisoners had been take
and at least an equal number kille
or wounded.
AS the offensive developed the Rus
slams won new successes furthe
north and at the close of the wa
year are engaged in a mighty strug
\ gle for Lemberg the capital of Ga
icia The fighting has also extende
70 the extreme north, In the Riga
G l)vinsk region. but here the German
e have held their own and no deeisiv
result has as yet been gained b
aither side.
In another theater of the war III
year was marked by other and in
Oortant Russian successes. FolloWin
the disasters on the eastern front
the closing months of 1915 the Gran
Duke Nicholas was removed as CON
mander-in- chief OF the Russian al
mics and sent to tAke charge of II
operations against the Turks in II
~ Caucasus After months of preoar;
ton he began a great drive aero
: Armenia in January. 1916, which r.
suited in the capture of ErZerum al