Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1916-06-04

begin 10 think. Brother Boche does
MT want them to think
Typical Tommy Taunt.
The Tommy gave me start. ! had
clambcred some fifty feet below the
surface down an inclined passage
leading from German tirSt me
trench wrecked hv the British artl-
lerv fire and captured. and when l
reached the bottom of what l sup
posed an unoCCupied dugout ms
CHEEKY salute hailed me out OF the
darkness. \ short conversation con-
cluded eve can lick 'em whenever
we get to grips, and the blsh'ers
know it, That's what bucks me up. /
And we don mind waitin' while were I
gettin' more shells and more guns ana /
more men and they amt.
This suhterranean private VINO was
quite invisible and will remain to me
a voice and nothing more. voiced the .
spirit Of the army as | have tound
/ il. EXPRESSED everywhere and as con- I
1 fidCntly. and his remarks showed one
source Of the prevailing optimism
the obviously well-founded hchet IN
the deterioration of the enemNs NOR
/ ale. Not that the Germans do not
| fight rs well as they ever did; non |
sense Of that sort is talked in Lon
| don. but not at the front, whore
. every one shows anxiety To do nun
. Justice to the military prowcsS OF me
euemv Tut the Bochc is getting
/ fed up with the war" as the men pu'
] it,
I talked to a young Prussian he
/ longing TO the TwcntN-third Reserve
CORPS. who was blown into the air,
together with some hundreds OF ms
/ comrades by British mines at -. flol'
near Npres recently. and was Wn'n
Il saw him walking about a huSpl,'
/ ward near Boulognc, not much tne
worse for his ascension and ohNlouslN
bannv The interview was solicited
bv me. and not arranged hv the ac-
/ companvinC officer. who had no INK
Unps of tho captivc's views when ne
consented go let mo talk 70 him.
Complain of Rations.
"Thev never can beat us" said the
lad-he was not more than ~ nut
had already been in the trenches
year-when | asked him about tne
war "Thc French or Russians Will
make peace. and then the English viii
stop too" But suppose they doh I,
how long can YOU last" | asked ana
he replied. Maybe another year,
then there will be no more to eat.
He complained bitterly of the iood IN
the trenches, and the officer in charge
said later that to see the ecstatlc anu
bewildered looks wounded Germans,
food served them would convince the
most skeptical that conditions must
be very bad in the German commls-
sariat / learned, too, that the intel-
ligcnce department is in possession OF
innumerable letters found on dead
and captured Germans from members
of their families, begging them to
send home some of the ratiohS served
out at the front.
"\Vhy have not the British attacked
while the French have been lighting
the great struggle around Nerdun
is a question that has been asked all
: over the world by friend ana enemy
and neutral. I put the question to
many men out here, apoligiZing for
: raising a point that belongs solely to
the higher command by citing the
, universal surprise at the relative quiet
| on the British front and the un-
G friendly comments that have Deen
b made in many quarters. | received
t many answers, some SURPRISINGLY
1 frank, and while complete discus
1 sion of the position would not be per
mitted n few considerations for the
! ibenefit OF skeptics and doubters may
, be hazarded.
. Expected an Offensive.
e The Germans obviously expected a
4 British offensive when they attacked
- Verdun, and made every preparation
|, to meet IT, In war il is generally bad
|. tactics to do what the enemy wants
r you to do and expects you to do. Proof
n that the Germans looked for this trou-
r bic in this quarter lies in the facl
9 that they massed not less than 100000
, men opposite the British front, while
1, they attacked the French at Verdur
4 with soc, 900 men, and most OF the
/, crack troops in the German army
r were, and are, here.
c Resting on the North sea. guardins
, the flank of the German armies. is the
$ naval corps. (Deleted by censor)
= Along the User canal, is Won Base
= dow's Landwehr division. and to the
v south is the Fourth Ersatz division
V all these troops being under the com
4 mand Of General Won Werder But
o when the Ypres salient is reached
(deleted by censor) we hear no more
|, Of Landwehr or Ersatz troops. Only
$ the first quality, the best quality the
. Germans have left. appears along the
T. ninety miles held by General Haig''
d men.
r Lines About Yprcs.
j. The lines about the Ypres salien
2, are held by the Twtnty-sxth Reserve
It corps, and the Thirteenth corps. un
n der the nominal command of th'
u Duke of Wurtemburg tdeleted b.
" censor). In this army are the Twen
l. ty-third Reserve corps. opposite Ar
" mentieres. the Sixth Bavarian Re
u serve division. and the Seventh Ac
} tive CORPS just to the north OF l.
T. Bassee. Holding the La Bassee san
a ent is the Second guard reserve divi
sion, and below the guards the Secon'
y Bavarian corps. The Fourth Activ
N corps is opposite Loos. the Ninth Re
Ie serve corps and the First Bavarial
% corps prolonging the line to just mort
3 of Arras. where the Fiftieth Reserv
lie division is near at hand
From Arras to below the Somm
the line is held less strongly. TIL
4 First Bavarian Reserve division
p Thirty y-eighth Landwehr brigade an
n One Hundred and Eleventh divisio
is complete Price Rupprechts army
is and at Monchy the line Of the secon
vs. German army under General vo
ly BUelow begins This is held. to be
yond the point where the British an
le French lines join. by the Fifty-secon
" division, Fourteenth Reserve corp!
to Sixth Active corps. and the Tenth Ba
is varian division. In addition to tn
as troops named actually along tn
ry fighting lines, all three Of these Ger
| have praat c