The Washington herald., 1916-10-27
"They Shall Not Pass.
hey shall not pass. "

They shall not pass"
These were the words flung back over his
shoulder to the people of France by the French
soldier as he took his place in the trenches OF
Verdun last winter and turned his face to the on
rushing hordes of Germans, driven by the crown
prince.
They shall not pass"
These were the words shouted by the valiant
French egionS down through the end of winter
through the balmy months of spring. through the
heat of summer the Teutons hammered with all
the fury Of German military efficiency at Verdun
They shall not poss."
These were the words of triumph a few days
ago that the French regiments shouted defantly
as they sprang from their trenches and rushed
forward, regaining in few hours all the ground
that the crown prince had paid 100000 German
soldiers and months of the hardest fighting of the
war to win.
"They shall not pass" will ring down through
history as the spirit of the French army in the
greatest war of history The words first were
uttered less than year ago and already they
have been immortalized in prose and poetry. The
words marked the beginning of the battle at Ver2
dun, but though unspoken they lived in the spirit
that won the battle of the Marne that turned the
tide OF the war toward victory for France.
Today French soldiers stand before Verdun as
victors not to resist the attacks of the Germans,
but to attack the Germans, to follow up the notable
triumph of a few days ago. Their victory is one
OF the greatest victories of the war though it is
not as great military as it is a moral victory
When the war began Verdun was one of the
strongest links in that chain of forts which the
French had built as bulwark against the invader.
Verdun meant the last word in the then modern
land defense and throughout Germany it was be-
lev he hat 10 cOuld m
ter Paris. Among the German people, a large
part of them, the taking of Nerdun meant the
winning Of the war.
Soon after the war was begun and trench fight
ing was developed, the French, having seen Ger
man siege guns batter down the strongest forts
that the Bcgians could build, dismantled the fort
of Ncrdun and prepared for its defense according
to the new teachings of WARMTH trenches But
in the minds of the German people Verdun still
represented the strongest card in the hand OF
France and the winning of Verdun meant, in the
popular mind, the spikng Of the most dangerous
French gun.
Perhaps these facts swayed the judgment OF the
Kaiser and his general staff when the prince
was given picked army of the best fighting men
in Germany to hurl against Vcrdun. The stakes
were high and the crown prince played though
with a winning hand German blood soaked
French ground until the people OF Germany grew
sick of the slaughter and still the batalions leaped
forward into disaster and DEATH
One day not long ago, statisticans said Ger
man casualties before Verdun had reached the
5oo, 900 mark. The French casualties placed
at half that number. Yet Verdun not won
and the two armies seemed locked in embrace
that might last until the end of the Then
without the French learning Of their decision per
haps, the German general staff decided to fight
no more for Verdun, The Germans had learned
that Verdun could not be taken and the German
plan called only for the holding of what had been
won at such a terrible price.
The German reserves at Verdun needed
to hit the Roumanians and to stem the drive Of
the Somme. So gradually, the reserves slowly
were withdrawn from Verdun. Then, when the
German lines had been stripped of their reserves
the French went forward and the end of the battle
of Verdun was written. Never again will the
crown prince be able to strike with his old force
at that fort. The battle of Verdun has been wor
and the crown prince and his 1egions vanquishcd
"Thcy shall not pass"