The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-09-24
Fighting in Flanders.


Signs Of something to happen soon
On the Belgian front have been not
ed for some time, and even the studi-
Gus understatement of reports from
British headquarters may confirm
rather than dispel the impression.
The first instinct of military men,
when new forward movement is
nearly ready, is to, minimize news
from the front, but possibly il would
be more guileful to take the opposite
course of exaggerating small raids as
though they were seriously intended
instead of being 'feelers.' From
Dutch sources have come reports,
perhaps true but not to be accepted
as yet without reserve, of the system
attic evacuation of the civilian popula-
ton of towns in the German rear, in
GLIDING even the Belgian seaport,
Ostend.
The natural inference from that
would be on intention to retire to
new "Hindenburg line" which some
observers have conjectured might run
from Bruges through Thourot, Rou-
lers and Courtrai, in general about
10 miles east of the present front.
Possibly the resignation of the civil
governor of Belgium, DR. Won Sandt,
and the explanation made in the Ger
man press that it is due to German
plans for the future of Belgium, may
have some bearing on this. OF
course, retirement is not to be as
sumed until it is made, but the pur-
pose of the British to hammer the
Germans, If possible, into giving up
their positions on the Belgian coast
before the season ends, has become
rather apparent, and it may well be
that new German line is being es
tablished and that retreat to 1t, II this
should become necessary, MAY be
rather abrupt.
That Gen. Haig is steadily increas
ing the pressure on the German lines
is strikingly shown by the weekly
casualty figures. While the British
headquarters daily observe tina
"There was nothing of special inter
est to report" Berlin once more re
ports a furious drumfre near the Lyi
and the steady maintenance Of thu
British offensive is once more shown
in the losses The British figures
published this morning give tota
for the week of 27,164 casualties, anC
for seven consecutive weeks, begin
ming in August they have run thus
1892, 1898, 1928. 1881, 1854
26,626, 27,164. Not once, it will b.
noted, has there been retrocessiol
and the present week brings the dali
looses up to nearly 1900, or abou
double the mean rate for the period.
The new figures are of interest ais
because the ratio OF men to officer
in the casualty list is given large
! than last week, when the suddel
change in the ratio indicated either
clerical error or change in the taC
tics. For the seven successive week
the number of men for every 100 Of
iicels is as follows: 9S4, 9S4, Liz
1880. $3.50. 400 Here, too. it Wi
be observed there has been no rece:
sion and the change in the ratio ma
pIausibly be ascribed TO an increas
in hand to-hand fighting, involving
larger proportion of losses among tn
officers might naturally be larger b.
cause their multifarious duties expos
them more constantly to danger.
Such a conjecture may find furthe
support in the smaller proportion {
men killed, while the killed officer
make a larger proportion Of the of
GERS casualties During the pas
week, the number wounded and mis-
ing for 100 killed has been 500 for o
hcers and AGO men, as against mea
ratio of $40 for officers and 400 f
men. IL is possible that the exceS
is due in part to the capture of col
siderable number of men in the O.
dies of a close conflict in which rat
ing and bombardment are contin
ously going on. AS to German losst
Berlin is not disposed to emulate IL
frankness of the British war ofiic
but the steady nature of the fightiu
and the admitted superiority of u
British artillery suggest that the &c
man losses are on a like scale. an
that the strategy of attrition is b
ing relentlessly applied to an arm
which is nearing the end OF Its r
serves. Springfield Republican