New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-26
Tactics of Allies Change to Intensive At
tack ON Narrow Front as Developed
ar Verdun - Breaking Through
Most Unlikely After Nivelle's
Failure at Laon
BY FRANK H. sIMONDS
A,,,ho, If .Tbe Great War;" "They Shall Not Pass"

Mangin the command OF an army. anc
with the coming of Petain the whole
| French tactics changed. To be sure, at
first there was no chance for the French
to attack. Endeavoring to take advantage
of real French depression due 10 the fail
ure 20 break through and of an imagined
breakdown of the morale of the French
army, the Germans launched attacks
against the Chemin- des Danes position re-
calling the terrible later phase of Verdun.
But this was the style of warfare Petain
knew best. He answered it as he had at
Verdu Holding his first lines lightly.
using his artillery rather than his infan.
try and counter attacking only when the
Germans had laid hands upon some i'm
Lortant point, he took from the army Of
the Crown Prince terrific toll of life, and
in the end prevented the Germans from
harvesting a single profit. On the Chemin-
des-Dames the French line always held in
tact. Petain's achievement about Hill 324
end lie Mort Homme was surpassed on
California and Classmates plateaux.
British Success at Arras
ing remarkable results about Arras; their
attack here had been on front of rather
more than a dozen miles, but with its
greatest intensity on about half Of this
front. Here their attack had something
Of the nature of a surprise and the Ger
mans suffered the heaviest defeat of trench
war, on their side of the battle line. A
British gain of nearly five miles at one
point, and Of more than four on a wide
front, and the capture Of Vimy Ridge and
the high ground at Monchy were equally
important.
Yet it proved impossible TO stretch this
to an actual piercing, breaking through.
When the British had got on four miles
/ their heavy guns were of much less value
to them and it became a problem of get
ting them forward over ground devastated
BY the fighting of three years, torn and
scanned by shell fire and by trench opera
tons. In the end the fighting died down
/ here. after great German counter attacks,
which were excessively expensive to the
Germans. but served to hold the British.
, That the British expected at the outset
( to break the line at Arrss seems quite I'M
likely. That was not the view I found
( when I was with the British army less
than two months before the battle &C.
Cured. | suspect that the extent of the
victory of the first day may have led them
to the view that it might be possible, but
there is precious little belief in the British
army that the break through can come
while the Germans are in such force as
/ they still maintain on the Western front.
/ No Decision in 1917
| And with the end of the Battle of Arras
/ and the failure Of the French before Laor
and in front of Rheims the Western cam
raign took on different aspect. The
Russian collapse had released many Ger
man troops and, what was more important.
reserves that had been marked for use in
the East The chance Of decision in 1917
went glimmering. 1t became question Of
{ exerting the utmost pressure upon the
( Germans. exacting the largest possible
casualty lists while losing as few men as
POSSIBLE, and for this form Of warfare it
was recognized that Petain's OLD method