Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-01-05
The War Situation,
Non and a Year A gO.


were leaving the Dardinelles after the bitterest
| misadventure of the war; Montenegro be-
| ing crushed, as Serbia had been the month be-
| fore; Russa's seriously menaced as far
| north as Riga and far south Kief; and in
| the west the French and British were barely hold
ing their own. The Allies were still short of mu-
ntions and still without coordination in their re-
sources and plans.
The present status is materially different.
| Much has happened in the past twelve months,
| and most of it has been favorable to the Allies.
| Ar Verdun the French have withstood the most
stupendous onslaught known to this or any other
| war Not only have they held their main defenses
against seven months of furious onset, but also,
in recent counter attacks, have driven the enemy
from the greater part of his earlier gains in that
region.
At the Somme the British and French, though
not scoring anything like a decisive victory, have
demonstrated the important fact that the Ger
man trenches are not the impregnabe strongholds
they once pictured; they have shown indeed,
that the most laboriously constructed and most
powerfully defended parts of the German line can
be smashed Whether they extend and main
tain their blows along a front wide enough TO
cause general retreat of the Kaiser's forces re-
mains to be seen; but they should be at least
we'll on the way to that achievement, if their
driving mower develops as much this year last.
In the Austro-Italian theater, Italy's troops
have taken Gorilla and pressed threateningly near
to Trieste On the Russian front, General Brus-
iloffs great drive has swept the Teutons from the
Volhynian fortress triangle and won large areas
in Gaicia and Bukowina In the Caucasus and
Armenia the Russians broke the Turkish defenses
completely and made territorial gains that will
count for much in the final reckoning. In the
Balkans a Serbian army has been put back on
its native soil in the capture of Monastir, point
| of high strategic importance, and an allied army
| of something like a million has been assem-
| bed at Saloniki.
Against these achievements, which in their en-
tirety attest remarkable development of the Al
| lies strength what does the Teuton record for
| the same period show? This time year ago the
| Germans having completely disposed of Serbia
and Montenegro, were making ready for their
great adventure at Verdun. Thoroughly and won
derfully prepared, they launched the attack late
in February, and kept it up we'll nigh continuously
| until autumn But all that they gained for their
vast sacrifice of treasure and life were few out
| lying defenses, most of which the French subse-
quentfy recovered.
In the of the twelvemonth the Teutons
| undertook only other offensive, that against
Rumania The brilliancy of their campaign in
that region is hardly equalled by any other chap
ter of the Certainly, there is nothing COM
parable to their resourcefulness in striking out on
| a new invasion at the very time their lines on
other fronts were hardest pressed and their for
| tunes generally at the lowest ebb But the Cen
| trail Powers know we'll enough that their success
| in Rumania does not offset their failure at Yer
| dun much less the total of the Allied gains for
the year. Bucharest hardly had fallen before they
were eagerly proposing peace.
| In January, 1916 the Teutons' territorial
gains compared with the Entente gains outside
| of Africa stood about seven to one. By the end
| of the following summer this proportion was re-
| duced to about three to one. With the exception
| of Rumania virtually all the Teuton gains of any
| consequence made before 1916. The Allies
| on the other hand, made the great bulk of their
| European gains after the spring of 1916; and if
| it came to matching mile for mile, the Russian
| conquests in Galicia and Bukowina or in the eau
| casus and Turkish Armenia would outnumber
| those of Mackenzen and Falkenhayn in the Do
| brudja and Wallachia.
| More important however than comparative
gains in territory comparative losses in men;
/ and on this basis the seems decidedly in ia
vor of the Allies. close and reliable student of
| the war estimates that General BrusiIoffs drive
begun last June cost the Austrians not fewer than
| seven hundred thousand men, while the Italian
| movements cost them additional three hun
| dred thousand-a total of million in killed,
| wounded and captured. The same authority reck-
| ons the German losses at some six hundred thou
| sand for verdun and five hundred thousand for
| the Somme If to these figures are added five
| hundred thousand for the Teuton casualties in all
other fields of operation, Rumania included, the
| aggregate is in excess of two and half millions
| "of whom fully one-third killed or prisoners
| so that they cannot return to the army" and of
| whom another third must be reckoned so badly
| injured as to be incapable of further service"
! The Entente losses in the same period were tre-
| mendous, though probably not more than two
| thirds those of the Central Powers; there can be
| no doubt that the German losses at Verdun great
" exceed those of the French. But if the losses on
| both sides equal, if those of the
| Teutons were somewhat the less, the net result
would be distinctly to the advantage of the Allies
because of their great superiority in human re-
| serves. 1t is in comparison with the ultimate
! man-power of the Allies that the Teuton losses