The Washington herald., 1916-08-06
ALLIES PLAN TO WEAR OUT
ENEMY AND WIN NEXT YEAR

have two mighty groups of nations en-
gagged In struggle which in the brutal
last analysis consists merely of trading
life for life. with no thought of decisive
victory for the moment until, after mil
lions have fallen, the disparity of force
becomes such that battles of the old
fashioned type become possible-centers
broken and tanks turned.
The allied plan for 1915 did not consist
in a simultaneous onslaught upon all
fronts, as has sometimes been supposed
The attack by Russia a month before
France and England struck was premedi-
tated. 1t was felt that by timing the Of
fensive in this way the Germans would
be likely to re-enforce the sector first at
tackled at the expense of regions soon to
feel other blows, and that more confusion
and loss could be caused the enemy If
he were permitted to rush his troops
about from one side to the other, con-
Centrating now against one menace and
now against another. than If, attacked
everywhere at once, he were thus in
formed at once OF the full extent of the
danger.
Point Greatly Discussed.
One point about the British offensive is
much discussed in military circles. Many
soldiers believe that it was commenced
before Gen. Haig had planned. in order
save Verdun. There is no harm in saying
now that when some two months ago
spent some time on the British front
gathered that the blow then preparing
would fall upon the Somme. and that
the impression among officers at the
front was that 1t would not come be-
fore autumn, or late summer at the
earliest. The Germans, however, kept
pressing nearer and nearer to Verdun
and while the French kept repeating that
they would sell the town II the price
paid were high enough, they have never
had any intention of re!iquishing 1t II
they could possibly hold out. The stake
at Verdun is more than a question of
lives or territory.
With the crown prince in command, and
with the German nation brought up upon
a diet OF Hohenzollern military glory.
France has felt that a victory for the
crown prince at Verdun in a great strug-
gle in which practically the whole French
army had vainly tried to stop the Ger
mans would make It impossible to kill
militarism in Germany after the war.
Even II eventually beaten, the great test
battle at Verdun would always be held
by the Germans to indicate their martial
superiority over their neighbors, and in
this frame OF mind statesmen forcsaw
danger for future generations. Converse
ly, 1t has been felt that the failure of
the crown prince may at some time in
the future mean the downfall not only of
himself and his house, but of the Junker
caste.
For these and other reasons. It has long
been predicted that the allied offensive
this year could be precipitated by Ger
man successes which seriously menaced
Verdun. Toward the end OF June, the
Germans. after taking Vaux fort, pressed
on into the village of Fleury and seized
the top of a ravine which ran down to
Verdun, two miles and half away. II
the fort and trench system of Souville on
the heights above this ravine could be
carried. It seemed that nothing could
save Verdun- The supreme movement
had come.
Blow Fell Upon Somme.
Almost Immediately the blow fell upon
the Somme. and whatever the ultimate
fate of Verdun, the Germans were forced
! to give up the attack from Fleury and
move re-enforcements to stop the British
and French hundred miles away. Argu-
Ing in this fashion, a few pessimists con-
tend that Sir Douglas Haig and Gen
Foch were forced by the Germans at Yer
dun to strike too soon. This view is not
shared by most sober critics. who point
out that the result of the Somme at
tacks has shown that the allies were
praCllCally ready. Had the Germans
forced the British to move forward in
April. when a great clamor went up
all over the world because the British
were not helping the French save Yer
dun, they would have prevented the full
| force of the present attack from max
/ ing itself felt, but on July l Haig was
almost II not quite ready for action.
| Some months ago, shortly after the
Germans attacked Verdun, l was able to
quote a French staff officer who de-
| scribed the Meuse battle as a new
| standard action" explaining that from
the French tactics in Champagne the
| Germans had learned much, and that
their attack on Verdun marked an ad-
vance in the art of war over anything
the allies had done. This view is con-
! firmed by the British and French at
! tack in Picardy, which is modelled upon
| the German methods at Verdun
| The old system of turning loose a ter
rife bombardment upon the enemy
trenches and then launching a great in
fantry attack is gone forever. Generals
now seek to avoid the great losses suf-
fered in these charges when the men
come up against barbed wire uncut by
shells with machine guns behind it, Re-
IconnoterinS parties were sent forward
| by the Germans at Verdun after a bonn
bardment.
Germans Took Hint.