New Britain herald., 1916-11-18
germany GROGGY,
PALMER'S REPORT
only American War Writer on
West Front Expresses Views

army on the SOmme, where he was
the only American war correspondent,
= frederick Palmer returned here yes
terday on the Holland-American liner
Nleuw Amsterdam, firmly convinced
that the allies would win but that the
conflict would last three or four years
more.
me only possibility that he could
toresee for peace in the fall of 1917
was for Russia, which is the unknown
quantity in this war to execute some
grand coup next summer that would
force the central powers to accept
whatever terms the allies might
agree to give.
The French were determined to
have a peace won by French courage
and efficiency in the field, Mr.. Palmer
said, and not a peace by the grace Of
Germany. They would certainly in
stst upon having Alsace-Lorraine re-
turned to France. The British officers
and soldiers will not listen to any per-
~son who suggests peace to them now,
and are confident they can beat the
enemy. Apart from any other condi-
lions, the British intend to keep the
colonies they have captured from Ger
many, according to the writer.
THE Rumanian campaign will play
a decisive part in the duration of the
war" Mr.. Palmer said. "At the start
the Rumanians ran away with the
bait They would not listen to the ad-
vice of the allied commanders. They
wanted Pennsylvania and started
through the passes to take it, closing
their eyes to Bulgaria. Indeed they
thought they had assurances that Bull
garia would not join in; but nobody
ought to have known better than they
hot
the Balkans. The Germans gathered
all the Turks and Bulgars possible on
the one hand. and on the other all
available Germans Austrians and
Hungarians; and with the best gener-
ais and every gun that they could
concentrate attempted another drive
such as they had made against Bel
GUM, Serbia and Poland
Feared for Rumania.
Experienced commanders on the
western front, when they saw what
the Rumanians were doing, were pref
ty pessimistic. They knew the size of
the Rumanian army, it's inexperience
and how it had exposed itself over a
broad front before the Russians could
come to it's aid. After the fall of
Constanza many thought that Ru-
mania might suffer }5erbias fate as
the result of her daring,
However, once they were in re-
treat the Rumanians were ready to
take advice, and welcomed the hun
dred French staff officers who are in
Rumania pitting their skill and an
inexperienced army against Ger
man staff skill and an experienced
army. The rest depends upon Rus
sia's ability to arm her numbers and !
transport them and their supplies and |
sufficient guns and munitions. Pessi |
mists thought that Rumania might be |
beaten by October Is. When she was |
not, they thought that she surely |
would be all in by November 1. In
mid November, with Rumania still
holding, the conclusion was that the
German army had lost it's old power
of offensive. On the western front, !
German deterioration was evident |
enough, but it was not thought suffi- ,
cient to interfere with an eastern
campaign.
German victory in Rumania will
give her control of valuable wheat and
oil fields. and her front will be little !
longer than at present. She is fight |
ing for great stake. If she is held
up in her present position. she will
have a much longer line to defend |
when spring comes.
"All winter the offensive on the |
western front will continue. Every |
time the weather favors, the French |
and the British. who have the guns |
and shells for it now. will turn on |
their murderous curtains of fire
Whirlwind curtains double and treble |
and quadruple curtains-and the in |
fantry will charge under cover of this
canopy of death and tear off another
In, IF mil Of
thousand prisoners or more. Attacks
for few hundred yards of front
have gone out of fashion.
I'm attacks on a big SCALE losses
are relatively less and the bag of pris-
oners bigger Then the soldiers all
like what they call a big SHOW 1t
counts for something. When spring
comes the French and the British will
continue their drives with more men
and more ammunition. and the Ital-
lans will continue theirs. If the
Russians have munitions to continue
all summer with drives Of the same
kind something will break somewhere
on the long front of The central pow
ers; or if it does not. the allies mean
to go on with the war another year or
more.
Yield Trenches Without Fight.
'1n their machine gun positions in
Defense the Germans have fought
with desperate courage; but the Brit
lsh have wiped out these positions
with their tanks and they don't hest
tate to use two or three batteries of
guns to fail a troublesome machine
gun position with shells enough to
make sure that nothing can survive in
the neighborhood. The significant
thing is the readiness with which any
where from score to a hundred Ger
mans will yield a trench without
making any fight. That does not
mean that the German army is not
still a great army Germany is