Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-10-07
gen. FiAIG'S RESISTLESS MARCH
BRINGS JOY TO GREAT BRITAIN
Powerful Speech by Gen. SHUTS, Declaring
Germany U-Boat War Failure, Also a
Bracing Tonic to Non-Combatants.

troops until they are practically on top
or the enemy with bombs and bayonets
Pat1ent practice has been necessary to
adapt the machine gun to barrage work
Machine gun bullets have differing ira
Jectories and so fall over n more or less
wide range of ground
rests of most exhaustive character
were required to determine the limits
of this range, for until these limits
were Known the machine gunnerS could
not tell how closely they might apply
their curtain of fire without endanger-
ing their own men. The sectional bar
RACES grew out of the fact that troops
are seldom able to advance in a straight
line. Some get on quickly, while others
are held up by local obstacles or a spe-
cially tenacious resistance Distant
gunners are unable to discern these
variations in the line with nicely, but
the machine gunners. keeping close up
TO the infantry, can accommodate their
oarrage to the irregularities of the ad-
vance.
Gen. Haig's barrage worked we'll
about Arras and Vimy ridge, but there
IS reason to believe that it worked far
better in Thursdays and Fridays ad-
vance against the Paschendael ridge.
IN the first place. the Germans We're
taken by surprise and lost appallingly
IN passing through the British heavy
curtain fire on their way to meet the
attack The field guns added to the
toll and by the time the Teutons came
"itiiiii iHdcHlle gun range their de-
moralization appears to have been
great
what has happened in France since
the opening of the Somme battle in
,, midsummer of last year would seem
to justify confidence in the often ex-
pressed optimism of the British and
French commanders. These officers
foretold what they would do, and in
no instance have their calculations been
Ialslhed, whereas those of the enemy
n hla T.-SS,
mas represented each successive blow
as a failure and after the retreat of
the Hindenburg line he declared that
Gen. Haig could not strike again in
two months. Haig struck again in
nine days This second blow accord
ing to the Germans bled the British SO
coplously that they would not repeat it,
but as Arras followed Bapaume so
Nimy. Messines,. Langemarck. West
mock. Zonnebeke and Paschendaele
ridge have followed Arras.
Gen. Haig as Prophet.
Gen. Haig said he would break the
German line in many places and he has
done so. Talking with me at the front
on Mach 20 last. one of the brainest
men on the British staff declared that
The advance then pending would pro-
coed slowly, but surely. until the Ger
man army should be defeated. "Ferro-
concrete. said he. referring to the
maze OF fortifications known as the
Hindenburg line. will yield to our ar
tillerS- just as the dugouts and trenches
on the Bapaume ridge Yielded
1t is evident now that this officer did
not mislcad our readers.
One year ago when the Zeppelins
were frequently carrying out night
murders of British civilians l cabled
that unless the raids could be stopped
the anger of the people would force the
government 70 take reprisals. Happily
the Zeppelins soon found it impossible
to continue their raids and public in
dignation here subsidized.
Then came the daylight attacks on
London, and other British towns by
German aeroplanes. These also proved
too costly to the invaders and they
adopted moonlight raids by Gothas as
the safest way to prosecute their pur-
pose of "paralyzing the war wilP' of
the British nation.
Now comes Gen. SHUTS, as shrewd of
mind and solid of character as he is
blunt of speech, and admits that these
crimes are no longer to be tolerated.
and that it is doubtful IL any govern
ment could permit them to continue
without reprisals and live.