The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-12-29
Counter-Attacks Costly.

ally launched as to the point OF I'M
pact.
counter-A Attacks Costly.
IF advantages are won by the attack
that the Germans cannot afford 10 loSe'
they are compelled to countcr-attacR
10 regain the lost positions. Counter
attacks under these circumstances are |
invariably extremely costly lheE |
have to be hurriedly improvlSed, "ut |
of whatever troops are at manu. Hli
sent forward quickly without proper
planning or coordination, before the
aSSailants have had time to dlg thell-
selves in or reorganiZe the wrecked
German positions. They Immediately
come under the maSSed fire or cannon
secretly concentrated over long pc
Rod for the very purpose OF supporting
the offensive and checking attempteu
rea actions. The communicating troPs5
cannot be supported by anything Ike
similar weight of guns, if the orig
| inal attack came as SURPRISE because
| II takes time to mass guns, apu couh
| tar-attacks must be launched at once
if they are to succeed
These considerations explain most OF
the fighting of the past few months.
The British use their possession OF
the initiative to launch an attack on
n narrow front. They capture posi-
ton. The Germans are forced, Dy the
need for safeguarding their line anu
preventing other positions from pelhs
enfiIaded. TO counter-attack. They ad-
vance in dense masses and are slaush-
tered by the waiting guns. sometimes
the counter-attackS succeed, and then
naoDle Mt home are depressed. IheS
read In a bulletin, Our troops at
tacl5ed at dawn and occupied the east
orn slopes of Black Hill. -Four deter
mined cOunter-attaCks by elements ol
three German divisions were repulSeo
NV our fire, but towards evening ii III IL
attack compelled us to relnqulSh tli'
Ground we had gained. 1hey Sli'h'
their heads over their morning paper
And it is quite possible that Brlllsi
generals at the same time are cluch
ling over their reports, for the pulle''l
NAV mean that at Il cost OF thousah'
men the British have shot down nv
thousand Germans. The aim OF tn
war at present is not to take nils y
= towns, but kill Germans.
: United States Killed Last Chance.
l. "The whole situation is as slmpl
: as a problem in addition and subtra'
e ton" distinguished soldier said |
f me. 1.-THE enemy knows his ow
losses and his own reserves ana III
own munition power exactly, and q
4 can make a reasonably good guess q
n tn Ours. We know our own exacti.
% md we can make fairly accurate e.
J. innate Of his. II we got together VII
"a the Boche, and we both told the trutl
81 we should probably agree that tnei
ar was once q chance that the derlha
- armies could tire us all out and get
l. draw. A small chance, perhaps, OF
o. still n chance. But we should agrt
10 that that chance went overheard VINE
w the United States passed q conscrl
," ton bill and decided to send an arm
70 over here. From military point
g view. the Boche is doomed, ana
70 most certainly knows 1t.
y. "The Boche Is not fool. He Is
ne going on killing his men and ruinil
b. his country for nothing. he knows
Is, has no chance ON the battlefield, al
he he would surrender at once II he q
al not see somewhere else glimmer
an hone. Undoubtedly he believed in t
a submarine at one time, but he mt
We now realize that so great Is the pl
I'm ponderance of force gradually moul
re- ing ND against him here that no nu
re- her of ships he can sink will do me
al than postpone the evil day OF reck'
ing. His present reason for hghtl
he must he that he thinks we are all &
ey, ting tired Of the war, so he may nc
as TO be-devil our labor parties or
tly weaker politicians into q peace mf
,hs IN of pretty phrases and piOuS aspi
i've lions which will leave him in p'
ley ton to recuperate and attack US ag
see in ten or twenty years. l am mo-
vi politician but a soldier, but L think
odt the politicians and the public genera
ect, bad a clear notion of the military 81
alton, saw the thing as 1t is instead
re- regarding our front as deadlock
the they could understand the German
litical lodges much better than t
do. The Boche is beaten, If we
.ers hang together and you send US II
su- And he must be beaten, or he'll
)pe- tack us again"