The Raymer enterprise., 1916-08-10
GERMANS LOSE THE INITIATIVE
IN SECOND YEAR OF GREAT WAR
Cooperation Among the Entente Allies Brings Sweeping Change
Over the Aspect Of Military AHairs-Two Largest En-.
pires Of Earth, Russia and Great Britain, at
Last Fully Organized Second Years
Campaigns Reviewed

New York.-Germany Is on the de-
fensive. The initiative has passed to
the entente allies. This Is the one
great outstanding fact Of the second
year Of the great war.
Before, she aimed blow where she
pleased and the allies parried u as
best they might. She seized most OF
Belgium and seventh OF France.
Twice she overwhelmed the Russians
who had penetrated East Prussia.
She smashed her way far into the
,c,ars domInions and crushed Serbia
and Montenegro. She directed a fear
full bnttering ram OF shells and hu-
man bodies on Nerdun.
But with the present summer a
sweeping change came over the as
peet of military affairs.
Cooperating through the allies war
council with Gen. Joseph Joffre at Its
head, the Italians beat back the Aus
trian columns In the Trentino. the
Russians drove the Tcutons before
them In the East with horrible de-
Structlon and the British and French
began a slow and methodleal bending
of the long established lines In the
West.
A. last Fully Organized.
These are the movements which are
still going on as the war enters Its
third. and according 10 Lord kitch-
.ner's nelphie prediction. final year.
Whether the kaiser will retrieve him.
self again seize the Initiative and en-.
ter on new campaigns Of conquest
cannot be foretold. One thing Is GER
tain. the two largest empires OF the
earth, Russia and Great Britain, are
at last fully organized for war
against him.
On The first anniversary Of the war,
August |. 1915. the Austro-Gcrmaii
sweep of Poland was In full swing.
linhlln fell that day; Chnlm, August
=; Warsaw August q; lvangornd. Au.
gust I; Seroek. August o. Lomza. Au.
gust II Slcdlcc and Sokalow. August
II; koyno, August 10. Novogeor-
rieysk, August 81: ussowiee. August
"a; kovel. August 25; Rrest.Lltovsk.
August ~; ullta. August IS. Lutsk.
September .. Rrody. September 3;
Grodno, September 4 nuhno. Sep
temher ID; rinss. September IL. and
wilma. September 20
II seemed 10 neutral observers moth.
ing could stop the Teutons In the
East. and II WAS generally believed
the Invaders had themselves chosen
the line extending from Just west OF
Riga, nearly straight south, TO Rou.
osnia on which they spent the win.
ter
Russia Seemed Beaten.
Even when, on September s, the
e'ar took command Of all his armies
In person. won a victory near Tarno-
pol. September 10, and recapturea
Lntsk September 96. and Czartorysk
October -. few believed the Russians
could revive. lntsk was saon lost
again, and on October - the Germans
ttarIned Hluxt. Then things settled
down for the winter and almost every
neutral critic thought the spring would
SEE a resumption of the Teutnn drive.
On October $. the Teutons crossed
the Serbian border at many points
and tve days later the RulrarianS
newcomers In the war. Invaded from
the east. Fighting desperately but
hopclessls. the Serhians were pressed
back by torrents of heavy shells to
which they could not reply. and on
November ~ the German general s,air
was able proudly TO announce that the
operations against Serbia had ended
In complete success. while Austria Al
the same time was finishing Of, Mon.
tenegro.
But unsuccessful as the year 1919
had been TO the allies in the field
their will to conquer did not waver.
At the moment carly In December,
when the German imperial chancellor
was making a clear offer of peace In
: speech to the reichxtag, the rep
peDentatfves ef Germany's enemies