New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-12-04
The German Counter Offensive
at Cambria

Perhaps the most interesting circum-
stance in the present German counter
offensive before Cambria is the fact that
it is the most considerable and the only
considerable German counter offensive on
the British front since April, 1915. Not
since the celebrated gas attack" which
was the striking incident of the Second
Battle Of Ypres, have the Germans gained
as much ground or taken as many prison
ers as the result Of an engagement in
which British troops participated. More
over, it is worth recalling that it was due
70 the collapse Of the French Colonials
under the gas attack, and not to any weak
ening on the part of the British, that the
Ypres gain was made.
Actually, we are seeing the most con-
siderable German blow delivered against
the British since the Battle of the Marine,
measured alike by ground gained and by
prisoners and guns taken. In accepting
these measurements however, it is well to
remember that the Germans are merely
regaining ground which they have recently
lost, retaking some Of the guns which they
have lately lost, and that, so far at least,
they have made only a partial recovery.
Their claim of six THOUSAND prisoners
stands against the British claim Of more
than ten thousand prisoners taken last
week. The total Of guns is still inferior
TO the number taken by the British, and
they have so far regained less than tenth
of the ground they lost to Byng's initial
attack.
Turning now to what actually happened
the situation seems to be this: Students
Of American history will recall the ire
mendously successful onset Of the army of
Albert Sidney Johnston in the first day of
the Battle Of Shiloh, which carried the
Confederate troops far into Grants lines
and only narrowly missed destroying the
Northern Army. In the succeeding phases
Of the battle the Confcderates were driven
out Of the ground which they had taken
and forced to retreat from the battlefield
itself. Now, we have in the second phase
of the Battle Of Cambria a suggestion of
the events Of Shiloh, stretched over much
longer period Of time, as is inevitable in
the present kind Of war.
In their first onset the British troops
advanced upward Of five miles on a front
Of nearly ten, pushing a rectangular wedge
into the German lines before Cambria.
The northern corner Of this wedge rested
en- the Bourbon Woods, the southern on the
great bend Of the Scheldt River and Canal
rear Crcyecuur. 4 novel feature of this
wedge was that instead Of narrowing as
. it progressed into the cnemy's lines it re
manned practically as wide at the extreme
front as at the point Of departure. Hith-
erto wedges OF this sort have had rela-
lively small value because they narrowed
SO rapidly that they did not supply a base
for further operations. This fact explains
the failure Of the French offensive in
Champagne in September, 1915, and in
ArtoiS in the same year. This British
wedge. because Of SIS width. constituted a
very grave peril 20 the whole Hndenburg
line north and south Of the points II had
- penetrated
~ The obvious German strategy was 60
. break IN the sides Of this wedge or salient.
Thus we see that from the very beginning
the German counter attacks have been d.
rected al the northern and southern sides
and not toward the eastern or forward
side facing Cambria. Last week the fight
ing was almost entirely along the northern
side IN the Bourbon Woods and about the
town of Meuvres. Here the British were
substantially successful in holding the
ground they had taken, but meantime the
4 Germans were concentrating a great mass
H Of men and guns on the southern side Of
the salient on both sides Of the Scheldt
River south Of the greaYbend Of Creye-
ceur, This concentration Of men and