Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-11-08
RSEND STILL
FAR INDISIANCE,
Soldier thinks
fHr Associated Pressl


/ ask Germany" =...
/ This. was the answer Of distin-
guished English officer recently back
: from the front when the familiar que
I ry was put to him: When viii the
| war end?', ...-.. $50.
awe know what We can give them,
/ he continued. but we do not know as
Iyet Just how much they are PREPARED
to stand, or are willing TO stand. In
I the meantime We viii increase the
pressure more and more until the
Iebrcak comes" ",>. .- :.:,..
With the turHinSsof the tide on the
western battlefieIds there was natur-
ally a disposition here to feel that hos
tilities soon would be over. The Off
GERS and men Of the army do not share
these views, however, and are con-
stantIy cautioning the people at home
against the idea that the issue will be
settled within the next few months.
From conversations with scores OF
/ Officers familiar with the situation at
the trent il can be stated that they do
not expect the war to end II the ear
lieSt before next autumn There are
many who believe there are two more
years of fighting before the Allied ma
TONS .... .~.-.....".
I'VE have a long way to go" said
tGen. Sir William Robertson. Kitchen
er's successor, few days ago. And
we must be ready to 90 all the way,
he added Fight to a finish is the
order There must be no slackening
off On the contrary, there must be a
great Tightening up"
None Predicts Definitely
No good soldier will make def
mite predictiop as to the end of the
war r. :~.... -. ~
I'VE must be prepared to go on for
period of time which ii is impossible
to estimate said Sir William. And
that expresses the opinion of the
army. There may be various influ-
ences at work which they know moth
ing of, there is the constant talk
heard here of internal troubles in Ger
many, but the army officer only ''looks
at the map" He still sees a long
read ahead before the victory he has
in mind can become a reality. The
military defeat of Germany, and that
is the only defeat the army looks for
ward to, means an invasion of the Ger
man Empire. Gen.. Sir OMoore
Creagh, the distinguished Irish ~
c., has said: "
The Indian Lancers may never ride
through the Brandenburg gates, but
the end of the war will not come un.
til ii is possible for them to do SO.
Things are going so we'll at the west
ern front that it is difficult even for
any words of warning to dull the
spirit of elation in London. With.
Germany on the defensive it is felt
here that the enemy is no longer
fighting to retain all he seized in the
first great onslaught Of the war, but
is rather struggling to hold as much
as possible until peace shall come.
There is the predicted shortening of
the western line" which Londoners
confidently look for from day. to day.
Says Germany Tightly Held
On the other hand, is the statement
of Gen Foch, the French commander,
who declares the Germans are so
tightly held in the west it is impos-
sible for them either to advance or
to retreat in any great number.
We are on them he says, like a
corrosive acid. We have eaten into
their flanks and they can't throw us
off. You cannot always see acid at
work, but the disintegrating process
is going on all the time"
The artillery of the Allies on the
Somme, where the great armies. of the
belligerents are massed, commands
such an overwhelming influence as
to prevent a retreat, it is said The
Smelling behind the German lines is
Just as intense as it is in front. The
expenditure of English and French
shells has frankly amazed the Ger
mans, the military critics here all
agree, and the artillery activity has
brought about a distinct new phase
in the fighting. 1t has driven the
once closely locked trenches further
and further apart. 1t has solved the
problem of dealing with dug in"
enemy. 1t has been discovered that
the way TO successfully take trench
is to obliterate it, to flatten it out
with shell-fire. Recent allied advances
rather than with blood This has led
Georg Cheri, the German critic, to
write in the Berlinger Tageblatt:
German Fling at Infantry
Every German killed costs a for
tune to the French. The enemy is
devoting all of his attention to artil-
iery. The whole concentrated expe-
rience of two years finds expression
in shells and more shells. His infan-
try is used only to test the bridge
made by shells to the German trench.
es. Infantry fighting is no longer man
against man. The trench is only
rushed by infantry when it has been
blown to dust. 1t is a confession by
the enemy. that his infantry is of
poor quality" =- !
This fling ar the infantry, accord
ing TO British officers, is merely put