Evening star., 1917-10-28
French Held Their Lines.

French Held Their Lines.
Despite the temporary disarray of
some of the French units, this German
was stopped without the gain of any
considerable portion of the French line.
At Ferdun the Germans in their first
attacks had gained four miles. About
Craonne they did not gain four hun
dred Yards. and the French, counter at
tacking presently, regained complete
control Of every trench they had given
over at the onset OF the German at
tack. This battle OF the Chemin-des-
DANES had a moral rather than a mill
tary purpose. 1t was a costly defeat
for the Germans, unjustifiable from
any military point of View, due solely
TO the conviction. ever present in the
German mind. that the French were on
the point of collapse. provoked by a
temporary DETECTION in French morale
promptly cured when petain succeeded
Nivelle and Mangin followed his chief
into retirement.
The first days of June saw the Brit
ish main offensive open. After having
taken Nimy Heights and AL the high
ground in a circle about Lens and east
ward from Arras. the British shifted
their operative front to Flanders. Ea~Iy
in June. by one of the most perfectly
co-ordinated operations of artillery
and infantry in the whole war. they
swept the Germans OF the W :tScntt etc
ridge and retook Mcssines and Wyt-
schaete, which had been lost on No
vember ]. 1914. by taking these
heights the British abolished the
Ypres salient and la the fourdat ION
for their subsequent offensive to the
north.
a pause of month vas followed by
the attack in the first week Of August.
which carried the British and the
French back to the Pilkem ridge. north
nf nd
lost in the gas attack of April. 1915.
which opened the second battle of
Ypres.
Eills in Allied Hands.
Thenceforth the British offensive was
able to operate in Flanders. The hills
from which the Germans commanded
the roads to TDres we're in allied
hands. and we have been seeing in
the last TWO months a British offensive
steadily gaining in momentum and
pushing forward. slowly but surely en-
velopinG Lille. approaching the roads
and railroads vital to the German hold
upon the Belgian coast. We have seen
the British attack progressing at
far greater rate than a the Sornne
year ago. and T-e have seen steady
decline in the powers ~ resistance of
the Germans rte sune~iority OF the
allies on the west 81 strategy. IN lead
ershic. vas demonstrated a the Marine.
in their lighting ability at the User;
at the Somrne TIE allies. parti, uiarly
the British. demonstrated that they
now possessed a sureriority in num-
bers. material and artillery. But not
until the battle OF 13res this year
was it demonstrated that the new
war not only better supplied with the
machinery of war. hut become better
machine of war itself than the German
army V h:ch faces II.
And as an epilogue to the Nerouh
operations of 1916. the French on their
part stepped out from the lines fheE
had retaken in October and l'ecemper.
1918. and retook Dead Mans hiil Hili
No. 3a4 and all the famo"s erouha
which had seen tae openi:2e aHd. tor the
French disastrous phase of the German
offensive of February, 1916.
In all this period, then. from March
which saw the German retreat. 10 the
present hour, the opening of NoTember
the Germans have been incapable OF
any sustained offensive in the west
their sole attempt to advance on the
Chemin -des- Danes ended in bloody
failure, and thenceforth We have seen
the slow but certain ebbing of the Ger
man tide from the Aisne 20 the User.
Cost of Russia's Failure.
In all this time. too. the Germans
have been unable. because of their rap
idly declining numbers. to conduct
strong offensive either against a sndReil
Russia or against Italy. pressing hard
along the Isonzo. Had Russia been
able to continue her attacks in Galicia.
which opened with shining success, we
should have seen the end OF the war
this year. because Germany has been
able to hold her lines in the west only
by steadily stripping those in the east
Today the eastern campaign has be-
come a joke. Today the Russian army
is incapable of attack. and. so far as
one can judge, equally incapable of re-
sistance. At last Germany has sue
ceeded, partly through her own efforts
in rs and rs. partly through the ef-
forts of her spies and her agents among
Russian radicals. in abolishing any
danger on the eastern front. and having !
done this she has been able to concen-
trate her whole effort on the west. And
her best troops. her munitions. her !
guns. the larger half of all her re- !
sources have been concentrated on the |
narrow front before the British: and |
yet. given all these, advantages. she
has failed and is failing to stem the |
British advance.
Looked at in its proper perspective
the campaign of 1917 In the west is !
the most hopeful since the war began. |
The MarDo and tho User permitted tho
0lHARS-f A4C1 D0ss3r0nn. 4 hmm e0l N nd