Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-29
Showed British Superiority.

Showed British Superiority.
Yet this Arras offensive. which famed
| forth on April 8, demonstrated a new
superiority of British arms and British
| weapons still unsupported. A gain of
] nve miles at the maximum on a front
OF fifteen. $4,000 prisoners and more
than 200 guns. many of them heavy
| THESE were the fruits of the first Brit
| ism offensive of 1917, compared with
the far more dearly purchased and, by
| comparison. meager, gains of the pre-
! ceding year.
| And In June we had a new British
offensive about Ypres-a new and COM
piete success, retaking all the heights
vital to the defense of the German
lines as they existed and necessary to
| the allies as the basis for a new of
fensive. Seven thousand prisoners and
many guns-a quick. smashing triumph
| accomplished with the accuracy of an
engineering experiment. This was the
third battle of Ypres and this was the
| final demonstration of British supe-
| riority over the German-a superiority
no longer questioned. but not yet suf-
ficient to overcome the advantages of
the defensive in the endless lines Of
| trenches and the enormous amount of
machine guns which the Germans had
prepared.
Turning to the battle between the
French and the Germans. the picture Is
not the same. When the present war
year opened the French before Verdun
were standing almost in their last
ditch. Vaux had fallen in June, and
the Germans had reached the ditch of
Souvtlle A little further gain and it
seemed as II. after all. Verdun would
terminate in a German victory.
The allied offensive at the Somme in
July prevented this, but 1t was not until
August that German pressure at Yer
dun began to fall of, and in October
and November two French offensives
retook Douaumont and Vaux. cleared
the circle of hills and regained the
vital ground lost in February and
finish of the Verdun episode. A great
victory had been won.
Nivelle Succeeds Joffre.
In the two offensives about verdun
OF October and November the French
took $4,000 prisoners and many guns.
and the victory brought the victor,
Gen: Nivelle. to the attention of the
world. Joffre was visibly weary, and
in due course of time he took the role
OF marshal Of France. and Nivelle sue
ceeded him as chief
Nivelle's success at Verdun raised hopes
that he would be able to expand this
long weary. looked forward to the cam
paign of 1917 with much expectation
This expectation was not realized
Ihe French offensive. beginning on the
dfsappointments Of all to the French
people. Important ground was bril-
liantly taken. Nearly 10000 prisoners,
more than 100 guns Of one sort or an
other. were captured. But the casual
ties were terrific, and the impossibiIity
Of a sweeping advance was soon recog-
nized. Nivelle and Mangin had ex-
pected to enter Laon, but nine miles
: from Laon their advance was checked.
R Rn;no had I planned to take Brmont. but
planned to dAblock Rheims, but
week into the martyred city.
me result was another star change.
retain came back to command the
French army. The French army passed
from the offensive to the defensive. and
the French people sat down grimiy to
endure another disappointment and an
July the French dead numbered a mil
! lion; the dead and those permanently
eliminated from the firing line passed
100000. and one could say that up-
ward OF third Of the man power Of
rFrance had been used up
Russians Soon Stopped.
, After the revolution Russia long lin
,, gered in the throes of social agitation
, and domestic disorder. It was not mil
July that there was a sudden rightinp.
and Russian offensive first north and
then south Of the Dniester. revived a
P par Ut only part-of the glory of
1916. The allies, who had expected
nothing. rejoiced at a Russian victory.
but even as it perceived the greatness
and the moral value of the Russian Of
1ens1ve, the entire opinion Of the world
recognized the difficulties in front of
! another sustained effort. After taxing
nearly 10000 prisoners and a vast store
OF material-after reaching and pass-
ing the Austrian headquarters at
ped at the Lomnica river in the third
week of July. where it remains when
these lines are written.
we have here. then. the measure of
the year OF war. First of all. a grand
concentric attack upon the central now
ers: begun by the Russians in Volhynia
and -Galicia. taken up by the British
and French at the Somme, carried on bv
LAY a,aly at rorlzia, and brought to a final
Gailcia and the Rumanian invasion of
pennsylvania. Then followed the shin
ing triumph Of the Germans in Ru-
mania mania Not only had they escaped
| deadly peril on all fronts, but in the
| moment Of their greatest danger tbs
| Germans had leveIled q fatal stroke
/ against new foe.
May Wait Until 1918.
| The allied offensive of 1917 was
changed in its character, II NOT nre-
vented, by Russia's collapse. We have
| not yet seen and we may not see such
| general attack as came last wear
| we may see perpetuation of the
| calm until the new campaign OF 1918
when newly organized American armies
| and reorganiZed Russian troons NAV
| be available. Or we may see ono or
more British offensives like Arras and
the third Lpres. But, despite Russia's
| return to the charge, it seems to me
unlikely that there will be repeatcd
the efforts Of last summer to beat
| upon every front at the same time II
must be recognized that were peace TO
come today on the map of Europe the
German victory would be unmistaka-
I Bile. Provinces. principalities. cities.
swept into the German lap in the cam
paign of 1914 and 1915, remain there
still. Even the British offensive which
| rewon Bagdad and wiped out the mess
of Kut-el-Amara has only touched the
fringe of Germany's Mitteleuropa. An
| other British army, at the door Of the
Holy Land. is still but a remote threat
| From Antwerp and Brussels to War
saw and Wilma; from Hamburg and
| Bremen to the marches of Jerusalem
and to the upper reaches of the Eu-
pirates. the German will prevails.
The campaign of 1916 was an effort
| to break down the walls of the great
| central European empire which Ger
many and her allies had constructed. AS
such 1t was failure. AS such the cam
edifice still stands and il the sub
m "a