New-York tribune., 1917-07-21
Anplanes to Decide the War
By Edward Herbert

this hellish work of the air monsters. Inc
commanders, who had lost their heads IN 'ne
fury of the bombardment, were able as soon
pa night set in to reassemble their men and
to direct them so as to follow the planned
Instructions TO turn to the rear OF Macken-
sens army.
In order to face new conditions, the Ger
man general immediately stopped his advance
in Dobrudia The Rumanian army, meanwhile
received an order to recross the Danube back
to Rumania. During all this time the Ru-
manian army met with no hazard, except the
insignificant detonatons that came now and
then from Bulgarian soldiers. But even
these would cause the Rumanians either TO
run for their lives or surrender. The air.
planes, on the other hand harassed Ava
rescu's men continually. The Rumanlan
soldiers, therefore, in order to avoid being
killed had to seek shelter in the forest,
under the trees, but mostly at night. when
they had to recross the Danube the German
Girplanes came again in action. This time
they bombarded with such fury that the
humber of fatalities was much greater than
they were when the Rumanians first crossed
the Danube.
The Germans equipped their airplanes with
mitrailleuses. These, like all their other ma
chimes, being steel protected, would descend
as low as two hundred metres from the
ground and fire on the marching troops on
the bridge. This time also the moral effect
was beyond calculation. Had the enemy at
tackled the Rumanians with an army Of eighty
thousand they would not have been dismayed
in the least. He would have been repulsed
with equal precision, as were those in Tran
cvIy the noint of the bavOnet
AirpIanes and Rumanian Trains
German airplane attacks had an equally de-
moralizing effect on Rumsnian railroad
traffic. If train was followed by German
airplsne it had to stop. For one bomb from
the airplane could destroy the whole train
of cars and kill the hundreds of soldiers
carried in them. When attacked the soldiers
would jump from the cars and seek shelter
under them. There. many Of them would be
killed by the bomb explosions, although the
cars would rarely be struck. These air at
tacks necessitated the stopping of all trains
on the threatened lines. Owing to the short
age of arplanes it also became necessary for
the government to issue order that no air
plane engage the German aviators in any
fight.
The Teuton airplanes were of all types,
while the Rumanian arcraft were such that
could be utilized for plotting purposes only.
But even of these very few were available.
France did send some airplanes to Jassy,
but they came too late-after the German
occupation of Bucharest.
Like the Allies, SO did also Rumania call
the airplane into service only when it was
too late. France, England and Russia are
now equipped with all that modern warfare
requires. This, however, they accomplished
cnly after they had paid with millions of
lives ana billions of dollars. This was the
price paid for unpreparedness.
America Should Start Right.
But the United States of America need not
follow that example. 1t need not go through
the same course and pay the same hign price
for the lessons which the Allies learned We
must not wait until it will be too late and
then 60 energeticaly to work. 1t is better
and wiser to do so right now from the be-
ginning. With the force and energy we pos-
scss, and the limitless resources at our COM
man1, American valor can bring victory to
the Allied cause and to that Of humanity.
The very effective use which the Germans
made of the airplanes should serve us as 4
stimulus to develop the new branch Of mod
ern warfare to the extreme. America has the
material, also the type of men necessary to
develop an army OF fifty thousand avistors
These would not only serve to throw bombs,
but would also assist in the transportation
of troops to the rear of fortified German
lines. Such vast number Of airplanes that
could bring men and ammunition to the rear
OF enemy trenches would accomplish more
in one day than all the vain efforts made by
the Allied armies in the last three years.
The obvious result would be that victory
would come in the shortest time possible
Such 4 great number of airplanes woSd en-
tirely annihilate any German force. In this
new branch they could not meet the Allies on
even ground, and Germany would then be
forced to sue for peace on any terms.
In .his respect it is not necessary to con-
tinue the same lack of initiative We must,
by all means, unity the forces and profit by
the short. but costly experience of the recent
past. We could also profit by the methods,
cruel as they are, used by the Germans, so
that we may annihilate the very bsrbaric
forces used by them