Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-05-31
French Politicians Saue Verdun.


NIuSTC0 ana IHdflCCs
changed all the conditions of conflict.
You had therefore in France for some
hours. perhaps for several days. some
thing that approximated a crisis. " . .
The French politicians recognized that
to lose Nerdun was to suffer a moral de-
feat which would almost infallibly bring
down the ministry, might call into exist
ence a new committee of public safety
and would fire the German heart and
depress the French.
In the end the politicians had their
way and Castelnau, Joffre's second in
command, came over to their view and
set out for Nerdun to organize the de-
Tense of the position at the 18th hour.
He had with him Potain, the man who
commanded the French army in the bat
tie OF Champagne and henceforth COM
manded the army that was hurried to
the Nerdun sector. France now took up
definitely the gage of battle as Germany
had laid it down. Verdun now became
q battle in the decisive sense of the word,
although still on the moral side. Moth
ing is more preposterous than to believe
thai there ever was any chance of a
German advance through Nerdun to Paris,
One has only to go to Nerdun and see the
country and the lines behind the city and
miles back of the present front to realize
how foolish such talk is.
The Germans had expected to take
Nerdun, and they had unquestionably
! known that the French military COM
, mand did not intend at the outset to hold
the town. They had advertised the COM
ing victory far and wide over the world;
they had staked much upon it.
They believed that Verdun was to fall
because they knew, and the same thing
was known and mentioned in London. /
heard it there when the battle was in
its earlier ~stages-that the French high
command intended to evacuate Verdun.
What they did not know and could not
know was that the French politicians.
perhaps one should say statesmen this
time, had interfered, that the French
high command had yielded and that YER
dun was to be defended to the last ditch.
When this decision was made the end
of the real German advance was almost
instantaneous. All that has happened
since has been nothing but active trench,
war, violent fighting, desperate charge
and counter charge, a material shorten
ing of the French line at certain points.
the abolition of minor %salients, but Of
actual progress not the smallest. The
advance stopped before lines on which
Petain elected to make his stand when
he came with his army to defend Yer
| dun. zee
What a difference it would have made
in Germany's situation today in the eyes
of the world If Joffre had permitted the
crown prince to take the shell Of Verdun.
France owes much to the politicians who
insisted upon the defense of the city.
The position of Joffre in history is safe.
Thu fact that he did not consider Yer
dun worth the lives it would cost to de-
fend. does not affect his military pres
tige. He has been a Jealous father OF his
troops. He has done all he could to con-
serve life. But the politicians of France
knew more in this verdun instance than
did the general. Those who nave died
to win at Verdun have saved much for
France.
verdun is more than a Gettysburg. 1t
is an inspiration for not only France, but
all the nations allied with her. 1t marks
definitely the decline of Germany's Of
fensiye power.