Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-29
What's Happening to Poor Hindenburg?
German Idol Does Nothing But Retreat
Old Invincible's Blood and
Iron Melts Before Jinx on
Western Front-He's had.
a Bad Year with French.
and English-His Diary
Shows Only Losses and.
Defeats.
tBy milton

Washington, Sept. 2s.-About a
year ago MarshaI Hindenburg, the
idol of the German people, was made
commander Of all the forces Of the
empire.
He was the only German who had
consistently victorious.
He had trapped the Russians in the
Masurian lake region early IN, the war.
TIe had won the great battle of fam
neburg.
When the Austrians were beaten
back by the Grand Duke Nicholas,
Hindenburg took over, the strategy of
the Russian line. Thanks to this and
to the Russian war office, pro-Ger-
man treachery, the Russians were
beaten some more.
The German populace began to look
upon the marshal as unbeatable. All
over Germany huge wooden statues
Of him were erected and. nails were
driven into them at SO much per nail,
the proceeds going to h Red Cross
and other war purposes.
But the jinx a gotten Hindenburg
since he took charge Of the western
front.
The allies have the superiority in
artillery and ammunition, and often
tanks" have played havoc.
In the past year under Hindenburg
there have been defeats and retreats
for the Germans, but no outstanding
victories. on the western front to COM
pensate. The Germans have been
compelled to rejoice about crushing
Rumania and the capture Of Riga,
victories of Preparedness over unpre-
I~paredness.
Wherever the Germans met a pre-
pared foe like the French and Eng
lish they were defeated. Their losses
have been ~stupendous. They car be
numbered by the hundreds Of thou
sands.
The big outstanding facts of Hind
enburgs year of supreme command
are that the Germans lost the gigantic
battle Of the Somme and were COM
PEELED to retreat over IN extensive
back in Flanders; and that the crown
prince lost in a few weeks all the po-
sitions around Verdun that 1t took
him many months and countless
troops to capture.
A diary of the gruff, grim linden
burg would probably read something
like this:
Sept 26.-verdammt! It still goes
against us. In two and a half months
of the Somme battle in P~icardy~the
l. vi AldNS Idh0Il OtyVOu
prisoners, captured 80 odd villages
and a section of France 80 miles long
by 5 to 10 wide.
cat Bouchavenes, Sept Is, Fech's
men achieved the impossible. They
broke through the last line Of our
fortified trenches, works of concrete
and barbed wire. Our chief engineer
list Elm dummkopf lis a jackass). He
said 1t couldn't be done. We really
/ ho va No AvorScnS FNr tIfo 5aPoo{ ..sH--H..#
Sept. 8 the enemy met our. crack
troops, h Second army corps of Ba-
varta, the Third division of the Ger.
man imperial guard, and the Brande-
burgers 10000 of them-and bea1
them, taking GuilIement and Clery
The British poured over 200, 900 shells
and over 3,00o,0 900 rifle bullets into
Guillement. Colt .strafe England! She
has sen the tanks against us. She has
taken Combles and Thiepval.
NOV. 4-Donnerwetter! Almost ]
say Colt strafe der Kronprinz! He
tells me the, French are bleeding tc
death on the Somme Queer bleeding,
They have taken back from him mos
of the positions on the cas- side Of
1.-THE Meuse around Verdun. Douaumoni
he lost with 5000 prisoners, TT
Rouaumont, Vaux, Ft. Vaux. The
French have now placed Verdun ouI
OF danger. II the crown prince were
not the crown prince, Himmel! how
quickly I would sack him!
Dec. 15-Almost 1t is too much
The crown prince has lost some NOR
around Verdun. The French retool
Bezonvaux and 10000 prisoners They
were on no more than equal terms
with us in numbers, but they, out.
fought US and took in two days wha,
we had won by hard fighting from