Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1916-09-03
Allied Plan Wins on S0n1n1e According British Genera

4
When l spent some time on this front
several weeks before the Somme OF
fensive began, at a time OF compara-
tive quiet, | learned enough about the
preparations to form a pretty good
Idea of what the British were about
to attempt, and since then staff Of
/ ficers have explained. with the aid OF
their maps and their wonderful re-
| lief models in clay of tho whole
countryside. their views of the cam
paign. Unfortunately. | am unable To
quote these men at length, for the
campaign is not over and the things
they talked about cannot all be dis
cussed in public as yet.
Only Gcneraltics.
But l have received permission,
provided | keep to generatties, to
give the point OF view OF the British
army regarding the present campaign.
and to show why. so far as 1t has
gone. 1t has accomplished what was
expected of It, despite the great losses
suffered the great number OF shells
| fired, and tho comparatively small
amount Of ground captured. The
! losses. speaking roughly. can hardly
be less than 100000 for the British
and French, as against from one
| third to one-half that number for the
]
two weeks OF fighting. an estimate
| that the British and French have
| fired 12,00O,OO0 shells since July l
was made by a headquarters officer.
who thinks that the Germans have
sent over about 100000 protectiles
/ in reply. The allies have to show In
return for this terrible sea OF blood
! poured out and for the depletion or
| their shell supplies not more than
| fifty square miles Of ground. includ-
ing II Is true, whole trench systems
constructed with the greatest skill,
| but containing not a single spot or
great strategic Importance. 1t is in
deed not to be wondered at that the
Germans have succeeded in persuad-
! ing the world that the allies have suf-
fered a great defeat in view Of these
facts.
The observer who seeks to discern
the truth about the Somme offensive
must not keep his eyes glued on the
scene of fighting in Picardy. The
German trick, In discussing this bat
tie, is to consider It as though II stood
by itself and had no relation to other
theaters of war. At British head
quarters 1t is claimed that the attack
which began here July | and still
continues has had the following re-
suits:
/ 1t has saved Verdun which was on
its last legs at the end OF June, and
could not have held out much longer
had not the great drive OF Rawlinson
and Foch forced General Won Falken-
hayn to transfer troops from the
Meuse to the Somme.
Helped Italians.
It has helped the Italians in their
Isonzo campaign. making possible the
taking of Gorilla. German troops
NN.HEI 40
harassed Austrians on the eastern
front could not be sent them because
Of the Somme attack, and, in fact,
some troops were instead taken from
the eastern front to the Somme I
have talked to q prisoner who in
four months had fought at Verdun,
before Kovel. and in Pozieres This
detection Of their allies compelled
the Austrians to move troops from
the Isonzo front to stop the Austrian
drive on Lemberg, and the chance of
the Italians came. to be promptly
token advantage OF by General Ca
dorna.
1t has made possible the later sue
cesses of the Russian offensive in
Volhyna and Galica. A careful
! study Of the stages OF the Russian at
, tack will make this quite clear. When
Brusiloff's break through at Lutsk
, threatened the whole Austro-G German
position in the east, the Germans
rushed troops to save the all-lmpor-
tant railway junction OF Kovel and
commenced a counter offensive which
pressed the Russians back for many
miles and seemed most threatening
in the last days Of June. The allied
attack on the Somme forced the
German high command to stop send
ing troops to the east, and in recent
weeks some have even been trans
ferred here from the Kovel front
More important still. It compelled the
Germans to use here the great stores
Of shells and new guns which they
had planned, after taking Verdun, to
, move against the Russians. II Is GER
tain that the Russians owe to the
Somme offensive their ability to get
going again in July and inflict heavy
,, defeats on the Austrians; it Is very
probable that the Somme offensive
prevented a German offensive In Rus
= sla which might conceivably have
had disastrous results for the armies
of the cZar.
Paved Way In Balkans
II has paved the way for an allied
attack in the Balkans. The Anglo
French and Serbian armies have
moved against the Bugarians from
their base at Salonica, and, il the
Il censor Will HllOW me TO say SO, IL Il
an open secret I'm military circles that
troops Of other nations will take part
in this movement, whose primary
motive is perhaps the wish to influ
ence Rumania The spectacle of the
soldiery Of half dozen nations ad
vancing against one small. veal
power is also expected to terrify the
Bulgarians and possibly persuade
Greece to join the war on the side
Of the entente. How is the SommC
offensive connected with this? Be
cause II keeps in the west German
troops whose presence was promised
in the Balkans in case of danger, anC
because the harassed Austrians, de
prived OF German help against thu
Russians. are unable to send the mel
to Macedonia TO help the Bulgarian
whose dispatch was promised las
winter. 1t has always been under
stood In France that the apparen
disappearance Of Field Marshal Vol
Msckensen, second only to Hinden
burg in German esteem, is explained
by his presence In the Balkans read,
10 command the Teutonic allies wher
the move from Salonica begins. Il
the report that he has been or will b,
brought to the Somme Is true. thu
allies In Picardy ave removed an
al, I,.to - O.,