Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-05-14
GERMAN LOSS 100000
DURING PAST MONTH
Estimate Is Considered Low,
Nearly $4,000 Prisoners
During That Period
By Henry Wood.

Y aliAaA tNufHdA foittiaA otINlttsl
With the French Armies in the Field.
May l4.-Between April o and MAY u,
the French and English troops in the
great allied offensive captured total
Of 1879 prisoners.
Included in this number were 976 Of
fieers. Other captures comprised 4l4
heavy and field cannon, 943 machine
guns and $50 trench cannon.
This vast number of prisoners is be-
ing added to hourly. Raids all along
the front last night brought in dozens,
the French troops harrying German
lines and seizing prisoners so that they
could ascertain from the German sol.
diers stories and their regimental in
sigma how Hindenburg' IS troops are
now disposed against them.
Germany lost 100000 men in killed,
wounded and captured in the period
from April 16 to May ] on the French
! front alone. In the two weeks since
May l, it was estimated today, her ad-
ditional losses have been proportionate-
| ly greater even than this staggering
mortality.
The figures on which this estimate
was based are those of headquarters.
They are conservative. The totals may
be much more.
Between April 16 and 27, it is known,
! the Germans were forced on account of
losses to withdraw twenty divisions
approximately 100000 men) from the
front, replacing them with fresh re-
serves. Since that date more than a
dozen additional divisions have been
similarly replaced.
Divisions Wiped Out.
Many German divisions have been
practically wiped out The Ninth
Bavarian reserve division, numbering
seven thousand in its battle array lost
2,2S3 in prisoners alone, which, accord
ing to established scientific military
statistics, means minimum of three
thousand killed and wounded. This
means the division lost three-fourths OF
its entire number of effeetives.
The same scientific calculations, con.
firmed by special information obtained
by French army headquarters and ap
piled to the Twenty first German in
fantry division-which lost 2,l00 prls
oners: the Fifth Bavarian reserve di
vision, I'LL prisoners-show each sus
tanned total losses averaging from hall
ia three fourths of their effectivcs.
Other German divisions have sut
fered such losses that they now exist
in name only. The Fourth division OF
the German reserves, for instance, sus
7 tanned heavy losses during the Hinden
BURG retreat at Lasigny, LaF'ere an'
Mont. It entered the battle of Chemli
Des Danes OH April IS averaging onl,
100 men per company.
Battalions Swept Away.
Between that date aud May Frenel
/, artillery wiped out from twenty to fit
, tv ner cent of the effectiv.es of 1t
. various battalions and French infantr,
took 1900 prisoners of its ranks: I'm
+. means the division is now non.exlsteh,
The 214th, the 49th and the 39tl
a German divisions entering the battl
. between April Is and 80, were all with
, drawn after single days fighting be
= cause thew were practically wiped oui
/ The Fifth and Sixth divisions had thei
companies reduced to an average o
a eighty men, s of4,
having its companies reduced to a
J. average of lis men each, was tempcoi
) arily Withdrawn April p and - relI m
y forced by adding an average of 81 me
e to each company. The same dlvlslo
+ re,entered the fighting on May San
h again suffered the heaviest losses.
/ The figures of these losses are pase
on carefully checked information gau
r cred by the French headquarters W "ol
y received here indicates similar loss
inflicted upon the enemy on the BritiS
e front.
Officers estimate the German tot
losses before both the French and EN-
lish since the beginning of the alile
offensive exceeds those of any prevlo'
similar period.