The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-11-18
Frederick Palmer Says the
Allies Will Continue Of
fensive For Years If
Necessary or Until Ger
many Yields Predicts
That Next Year Fighting
Will Be Even Bloodier.
Convinced Continual Pound
ing Ultimately Will Crush
Armies of Central Powers
5000 Guns in Action on
the Somme on Same Day,
and 100000 Men There
Have Been Hit.

d1AA 1)OOV,OOV A'A~A +AA0A
Have Been Hit. y
New York, Nov. l8-Great Britain
Is prepared to lose 100000 soldiers
next summer in attacks of even greater
magnitude than those on the Sonme,
according to. Frederick Palmer, the
American war correspondent with the
British army in France, who arrived
here yesterday on the Nieuw Amster-
dam Of the Holland Line.
Mr.. Palmer said he had learned this
on high authority and also had ascer-
tanned that British troops on the west
err front will have twice their gun
<oMer by 1917.
To Reach Decision In West.
Mr. Palmer believes the decisive
action Of the war will take place on
the western front. He said his OBJ
servations convince him Germany
finally must weaken, for the, continue
GUS pounding In ever-increasing pro-
portions ultimately must crush her
armies He declared that the allies
generals have not figured on a break
just now in the German lines. I'M
stead, they plan merely to dent them
here and there and make these dents
greater at every opportune time. 1t
Is absurd, he declared, for any one to
think that France is near exhaustion.
Mr. Palmer also commented on the
situation in the Balkans. where, he
said the impetuous rush of Rouma1l-
ians into Pennsylvania caused anxiety
to French and British officers in the
I west, who thought for time it would
result in Roumania becoming another
Serbia or Belgium The fighting on
the eastern front as compared with
that in France, lie remarked, was ac-
tua1fy tame.
..AI1 winter the offensive on the
western front win continue" Mr..
Palmer said, Every time the weather
favors, the French and British, who
have the gums and shells for it, will
turn ON their curtains of fire-whirl-
wind curtains, creeping curtains, dou-
Bile and treble and quadrup1e cur
tains--and the infantry win charge
under cover Of this canopy OF death
and tear OFF another gain OF mile
or SO OF front and thousand pris-
oners or more. Attacks for a few
hundred yards Of front have gone
out OF fashion In attacks on a big
scale losses are relatively less and the
bag Of prisoners bigger. Then, the
soldiers an like what they call big
show It counts for something
Plan Simultaneous Blows
when spring comes the French
and British win continue their often
sives with more and more anmuni-
ton and the Italians viii continue
theirs. II the Russians have NUM-
tons to continue all summer with
drives Of the same kind something
will break somewhere On the long
front OF the central powers, or II 1t
does not the allies mean to go on
with the war another year
Next summer the British are pre-
pared to lose million men, if neces-
sary. and they win have twice the
gun power. They keep on building
1nunft1on factories and adding to their
plant in France. which already is SO
enormous that It will take at least
a year to move 1t back when the war
is over. After watching the Somme
battle for four months my brain is
left nt1mbed. wonder how it is that
I am alive OF that any one is alive
There is only one historical COM
parison for the Somme battle-Ver-
dun. It has long since passed Ver-
dun I'M intensity Of the fighting, in
the numbers engaged, in losses in kill
ed and wounded and in volume Of ar
ti11ery fire
I'm the Sonfme sector 5000 British,
French and German guns have been
in action on the same day. Within
one period OF twenty -four hours there
have been at least $50, 900 casualties,
counting those Of both sides. SO far
- 49, -
men have been hit.
Next Year to Be B1oodier
When will the war be over? I
only know that next year will be
bioodier than this. The week before
left France I talked with Gen.
Joffrs and Sir. Douglas Haig. and
with such army and corps command
ers as Sir Henry Rawlinson ON the
Somme and Gems. Neville and Man
gin, who planned and executed the
brilliant attacks which recovered
Forts Douaumont and vaHx at Yer
dun. Their idea was the same that I
have found everywhere-a fight to
finish.
Talk about courage! There was
nothing at Port Arthur to compare
with the way the, British went against
frontal positions which were SUP
posed to be impfegnab1e On July 1,
when the grand offensive began. To
every battalion was set certain OBJ
jeetive-ali modern attacks against
frontaf positions must be made in
that way-and every battalion meant
to reach that objective. South of
Thiepval, On the right flank, they
broke through; nerthward they were
FepHised.
Some batta:ieBs reached their OBJ
jeetives with losses of and 10 per
cent. Otfaers reached and held their
objectiyes with far heavier losses. In
the Thiepvaf<4eand Beaumont Hamel
sector some battalions disappeared Sin
the bfue' They were engulfed, as