New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-18
The Larger Meaning

now going 1or"aIu III i"
obvious. The British advance is approach
inc Menin and Roulers, and when 1t reaches
both these towns the Germans in line from
iii. TO the hills north of Verdun will be
:, ~, position that they were in year
ago at the end Of the Somme battle be-
tween Scissors and Arras. Menin and
Roulers have the same value in the Ypres
campaign that Bapaume and Peronne had
at the Somme; when the British APP
nroaebed both these towns the Germans
we're forced to clear out of the Noyon
salient. A similar retreat between Lille
and Verdun cannot long be postponed
after Menin and Roulers have fallen.
In the same fashion the fall of Roulers
will mean the eventual withdrawal from
the Belgian seacoast and the surrender
of the submarine base Of Zeebrugge, so
troublesome to the British. At Roulers
the British will cut or dominate all but
one Of the railroads serving the Germans
on the coast. and these troops, threatened
with isolation and development will have
to retire.
No one should be deceived by what
seems to be slow progress north Of Ypres
il is not slow. accepting the standards Of
positional warfare. Slower progress at
the Somme last year in the end produced
a very great retreat and the surrender
Of more than thousand square miles Of
French territory. A new retreat would be
On far vaster scale and would mean
the giving over Of all French territory
row occupied west Of the Meuse, with
drawal to the line Of Antwerp-Brussels-
Namur-Verdun. Such withdrawal is al
most certain to come early next spring,
oven if tho weather enables the Germans
N nostpone it this fall as they postponed
retreat last year for the same reason.
But it is the larger meaning Of the
Ypres operation that should be grasped
now. Last year the Germans lost the
offensive in the West; last year they were
forced after the failure of Verdun to stand
and struggle solely to hold on. This year
the defensive has remained their portion
.rbev have been unable to win; unable, save
brieAv IN the Chemin- des-D Danes, TO attack
and this attack was promptly smotherec
whore il started. without the gain Of
thousand yards.
This year the Germans have lost Vimy
Ridge. Hill No. TO- all the Ypres hills
They have been driven of the high GROUND
into the plain; they have aecn subjected
to superior artillery fire, and in retreatinf
have suffered far greater losses than THEN
foes have. They have lost 332 guns K
the British without taking a single can
non. They have given up 10000 prisoners
in taking 10000 since April l.
We are seeing the progressive break
down Of the German military machine
lust as Lees great and long victorious
army was beaten to pulp in the great cam
paign of 1864 in the Civil War. At The
end Of the campaign Of that year the Con
<ederate army, still unbroken, still proudly
conscious Of having escaped decisive de
feat at the hands Of vastly superior
armies, knew that its destruction wa!
certain. IL was beaten and disintegrst
ing army that left the trenches south o.
Richmond in April, 1865, and the defea
had been assured by the terrible battle.
from the Wilderness 10 Petersburg tn,
preceding summer.
The German guns no longer supper
their men as they did year ago. Tn,
German gunners no longer have the mum
lions to return shell for shell, or even ont
shell for two. British control in the air i
complete again along the battlefront From
the User TO the Somme the Germans nov
look out upon lost ground and they have
10 look forward to new attacks, new pound
ing. with no hope of an offensive and NJ
chance Of a victory.
Every sign that comes from the battle
front is indicative Of the decay Of The
German military machine. 1t is a slow
decay; the army remains formidable il
can endure rude blows still and hang on
but 1t has lost the old sense Of superiority