New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-04-26

military genius, anu Ihc iN'
bald or lost. not to be found even III
Tho ashes Of the old town that france
and not Germany holds. II ~ 70 De
found in the spirit OF France, now tha'
the great trial is over and the INES
have held. .b.,
II was Germany and not France tna'
raised the is.de of Verdun. me Te
mans believed, and all their pupiisneu
statements show this, that France was
weary. disheartened, ready TO quiz or
fair terms. They believed that thefe
was needed only shining victory
great moral demonstration oil German
strenrth 20 accomplish the end to
bring victorious peace. In this think.
and All with whom I talked in france
fel, that the Germans were wrong, that
France would have endured defeat ana
gone on. But, conversely, the Germans
Knew. must have known, that 20 try and
"a fail WAS 10 rouse the whole heart OF
France. TO destroy any pessimisnn, ana
this is precisely what the failure mas
done
The battle for Verdun was battle
for moral rather than military values,
and the moral victory remains with the
French. IL was a deliberate and calcu-
lated effort 10 break the spirit OF France,
and IL reused the spirit OF France as
perhaps nothing has raised the spirit OF
this people since Vslmy, where other
Frenchmen met and checked another
German INVASION, brought 10 halt the
army of Frederick the Great, which sun
preserved the prestige Of its great cap
tain who wa. dead, turned 1t back along
the road that WAS presently 10 end at
Jena.
Reside the moral value of Nerdun the
military is Just nothing. To appreciate
it's meaning you must understand what
il has meant 10 the French. and you
must understand it by recalling what
Gettysburg meant 70 the North, invaded
al is France. defeated at half dozen
struggles in Virginia as France has been
defeated in the past months OF TINS war
Gettysburg was and remains the deci-
siye battle Of our Civil War, although
the conflict lasted for nearly two years
more. For France Verdun is exactly
the same thing. Having accepted the
moral likeness, you may find much that
is instructive and suggestive in the
military. but this is of relatively minor
importance.
Generals Against Defence.
Now. on the military side it is neces-
sary TO know first Of all that when the
Germans began their gigantic attack
upon Verdun the French high command
decided not to defend the city. Jofre
and those who with him direct the
French armies. were agreed that the
city OF Verdun was without military
value comparable with the cost of de-
Tending il, and that the wisest and best
thing to do was to draw back the lines
TO the hills above the city and west of
the Meuse. Had their will prevailed
there would have been no real battle at
Verdun and the Germans would long
ago have occupied the ashes OF the
town.
Joffre'. view IVES easily applicable,
and it was hardly possible 70 quarrel
with the military judgment it dlscloses
To the world Verdun Is great fortress,
second Gibraltar, encircled by great
forts, furnished with huge guns, the
gateway to Paris and the key TO the
French eastern frontier. And this is
Just what Verdun was until the coming
Of the present war, when the German
and Austrian siege guns levelled the
forts Of Antwerp, o. Maubeuge, OF
Liege. But after that Verdun ceased TO
be anything, because all fortresses lost
lUelT Nhlut WIN INC icN'AoN4Ni'
thew had failed to keep pace with the
gun.
After the Battle of the Marine, when
tho trench war began. the French took
all their guns out Of the forts Of Yer
dun, pushed out before the forts, and
Verdun became just a sector in the long
trench line from the sea 10 Switzerland.
IL was defended by trenches, not forts.
It was neither Of more Importance nor
less than any other point in the line
and it was a place Of trenches. not of
forts. The forts were empty and re
main empty, monuments to the past OF
war, quite as useless as the walls OF
Rome would be against modern srtIl-
lery.
Germans Cut Railroad.
The decline Of Verdun was even more
complete. From the strongest point in
French defence It became the weakest.