Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-22

! British? What has 1t to set against the
| capture of more than seventy five
| thousand German troops and more than
| four hundred guns? What has 1t to
/ show beyond the fact that it's line has
not yet been pierced and that by re-
| treating it has preserved the continuity
/ of its line from Flanders to Switzer-
| land: The answer is this: few days
| ago two British battalions north of the
| User river. temporarily deprived of the
| support of a British fleet. We're ami
| hilated by sudden German attack
after their bridges had been cut be-
! hind them. The German official report
| claims the capture of 1850 British
I This is the greatest German capture of
| the year against the British. 1t is the
most considerable gain made by a Ger
man offensive against the British and
| IT measured less than n mile in front
| and less than quarter of mile in
! depth. Up to this moment no British
| gun had been captured in more than
! two years. and no British force as a
unit had been taken since the second
Ipres Here. after all. frankly recog-
| niZiTsg the complete success of this par
| tlcuiar German operation, is the meas
ure of German offensive achievement
| in a year of terrific struggle
| Perhaps before this article reaches the
! readers hand we shall have another Brit
lsh attack. Every sign points to it. Tn
less the conditions have entirely changed
"
than those of the past, because each Brit
ish attack has been more successful than
Its predecessor. That the British army
can now break the German line with a
sudden thrust seems to unlikely rather
than impossible In the past wear the
British army has worn out the German
more terrif1cally than any German had
considered possible. and this is found not
in British comment but in the captured
reports of Gen Sixt Won Arnm at the
time of the somme. Field Marshal Sir
Douglas Haig told me that between July
and February the Germans had used
1873 l.. divisions on the western front
The number has gone far beyond this
now. In the furnace of the Somme all
that was best in the German army was
ground up, and after the Somme the Ger
many army has never displayed the same
spirit in its conflicts with the British
Extent of English Victories.
If we keep our eyes fixed on trench lines
and accept the German formula that every
engagement is a German victory which
does not result in the piercing of the Ger
man lines and the rupture Of the Ger
man front. which does not result in
general retreat. we shall totally misunder-
stand what has taken place on the Brit
ish front and some day will be bewildered
by what does take place. The British
army has demonstrated it's superiority in
all respects over the German. The extent
VI ttiiS superiority mas not yet led TO a
Leipzig. TO Sedan or to Waterloo. but it
has led to German defeats rAore destruc-
tive of German confidence III the ranks
than any Napoleonic failure before Leip-
zig. The invincibility of the German army
has been demonstrated to be legend by
the new army of Great Britain and her
dominions in one short year. and l believe
firmly that II the war continues with I'M
changed conditions on the western front
FOR another year We shall see a German
disaster comparable with that of Lee
when he endeavored to hold too long to
his trenches before Richmond. If the Ger
mans again retreat to escape such dis
aster the meaning will still be unes-
capable
In British history the third battle OF
Ypres will rank with the first. The first
was the success of a little army lack
ing In every mechanical weapon save
ned, three to one. five to one. 1t was
the story of an army which died on the
spot. leaving a few survivors barely
holding on. The third Ypres was the
triumph of new British army. pos
sessing all the material devices of
modern warfare and possessing techni-
cal efficiency in their use. 1t possessed
all the qualities needed to demonstrate
that England had arrived and passed
her foe. whose chief. three years be-
fore. had sneered a 1.-The contemplate
little British army.
Along the Russian Front.
Turning now to the Russian front,
there have been interesting incidents
since closed my review of last week,
without any great or decisive change.
As closed my article Of last week, 1t
Will be recalled that commented