The Washington herald., 1917-07-22

Sir Herbert PiGmsr's second British
army captured, early this month,
low ridge. south Of Ypres. This ridge
takes its name from the villages OF
wytsehaete and Msssines which strag-
eled along its crest, and until the at
tack OF June was launched It is safe
to assume that most Americans had
never heard OF It.
Nevertheless this sensational vic
tory, In the words OF the VIGOROUSLY
careful and modest Sir Douglas Haig,
represented "a long step nearer the
victorious ending of the war" 1t
radically altered the military situa-
ton on the whole Western front. ana
probably saved thousands Of Ameri-
can lives that would otherwise have
been sacrificed months hence, and
perhaps hundreds Of miles away. II
that ugly strip Of torn earth. nowhere
more than 10 feet above the level of
the surrounding plain Of Flanders,
had not been taken from the enemy.
! Taking Of Ridge Helps.
4 Too much emphasis Is placed by
public opinion on the capture OF
ground in fighting. the results OF
which should be estimated instead In
terms Of relative casualties and ex-
penditure OF ammunition. But there
are exceptions to all general rules and
the Wytschaete ridge Is one Of them.
Many times have watched IL hope
Iessly IN the past. with very little
confidence that any troops in the
world could ever hope to seize 1t and
unbar the gate into Belgium. There
are three other positions. and only
three. that were vital bastions Of the
original German defense system on
the British front. They are La Bas-
see Ridge. fifteen miles to the south
Of Messines; Vimy Ridge, fifteen
miles south Of La Bassee, and the
Albert Ridge, twenty-five miles south
OF Vimy. All were hard nuts to crack
indeed uncrackable in the opinion OF
many good judges in the early part
Of 1915
The Albert Ridge was taken in July
and August. 1916, after the most ter
rfble lighting Of the whole Somme
campaign Vimy fell to the Cana
aians in April last, and now Wyts-
ehaete,. the white Sheet" Of the Tom
niles, has gone. La Bassee alone re-
mains. When its turns comes, the
British army by the Occupation OF
these four ridges will have completely
turned the tables on the Germans,
who for more than two years enjoyed
monopoly Of the high ground and
the observation at the critical points
en- the front.
An attempt to explain the ire.
nasndous Importance Of the recent
success-''ths greatest victory won by
q British army in the field since
Waterloo" a distinguished general
told me-must take into account not
only the few miles south of Ypres,
bot the whole front. The fighting IN
France II really one continuous battle
and a success at one point Is OF I'M
portance only II it Affects the situa-
ton elsewhere. The capture Of White
Sheet" radically altered the position
everywhere on the Baritish front, and
to some extent on the French front,
to the disadvantage Of the enemy.
During all the horrible battles Of last
summer on the Somme, in which both
armies sacrificed hecatombs Of men,
the Germans had one tremendous ad-
vantage even after the loss OF the
ridge beyond Albert, the crest of which
is marked by the terrible windmill
Of Pozieres. They were able to strip
all the rest of their front Of men
and guns, and concentrate nearly
everything they had in the Somme
area Holding the Vimy Ridge. La
Bassee and the White Sheet Ridge
in the north. the Germans from these
three dominating points could over
look all the positions Of the British
and the country for miles behind.
How RedOubt Was Lost.
Not only did the natural strength
h.,
IL safe to denude those regions of
troops. but the German facilities for
observation prevented the British from
concentrating forces unobserved in any
part Of their northern line, despite
the great allied superiority in the air.
From Vimy. the Germans last sum-
mer looked down on Arras, Souchez,
LooS, and saw everything that went
on there. From La Bassee, they peer
ed over the nat country behind Civ
enchy and Festubert. From White
Sheet. they observed every movement
IN the Ypres salient and along the User
Canal to the north. The possession
Of the observation points made Brit
ish surprise attacks impossible, and
in this rather than in the natural
strength of the positions lay the chief
value Of Vimy. La Bassee and White
Sheet
Sir Douglas Haig was forced to
face and overcome this situation be-
fore he could hope to win a decision
over his opponents. He struck at
Virny and carried 1t while the Ger
man retreat from the Somme was
still in progress The Germans knew
what was coming, because they
could see II preparing, but they did
anNfrfnafa
were not ready to receive II; while
they also overestimated, their cap
tured officers admit, the ability of
the defenses on which they had toiled
for two years to stand up against
the drum fire Of the British guns.
With the details Of the campaign
around Arras that followed the cap
ture Of Vimy the public is familiar.
The hardest job Of the whole war
was breaking the original crust of
German trenches last summer. be-
cause the Germans, holding the OBJ
servation and the strong points
everywhere, were able to concen-
trate at the threatened position in
full confidence that the rest of their
line was unassaiIable without long
preparation. This job the British
and French tackled successfully on
the Somme. Vimy was easier. be-
cause the Somme success weakened
the southern flank OF the Arras po-
sitions and prevented the Germans
from bringing up troops from the
south. But. thanks to the possess
sion Of the La Bassee and White
Sheet ridges, they could and did
bring rs-enforcements from the north.
Granite Wall Falls.
The position, when the Kaiser fam
boyantly announced that the great
spring offensive Of the allies had
beaten itself to death against the