The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-12-29
Relentless Machine on West
Front sapping Strength OF
Germans.
SOLDIERS ARE OPTIMISTIC
See Ultimate Success Through Growing
superiority in Air, in Number
of Guns and Supplies of
Shells.
Rx JOHN LLoYD sALDERsToN.
downright. 1911, by the Mcclure NeWSpa

General HEADQUARTERS, British Ar
mics In Francc.-It probably never DC
CURED to a beholder, watching the
great steam dredges OF Coiohel ""e
thals scooping out the Panama canal
RI wonder whether the job would ever
he finished. How long it would take "
dig the canal no man knew, pul IND. IL
would he dug. nobody doubted. 1i''
Is the way | feel whenever | see lhe
British military machine at work
Through the courtesy of the british
staff have inspected the Dattle lrohl
along the whole line where actl'e
fighting has been in progress this year.
The unsatisfactory military situation
in Russia, which has helped the "er-
man defensive upon this front mas
heen responsible for pesSlmlSm III Loh-
don Out here, the men who are 40
ing the fighting are optimistic. II mas
not ALWAYS been 50; l left an opuiAlA-
tic London in the spring Of 1916 ana
| found the front, not peSSiIhl9tic put
| gri1nlv aware of the long ana uplIh
road ahead. It was the same IN the
midst of the battle of the Soinhe, puC
in the winter. when fighting hai dIt''
down 7 found the front more "hEcheu
nm" than ever before. And now. the
front is confident that the GerihahS
have shot their bolt.
London guesseS but the front KNOWS
That is why these alterations OF leei'
ing are not only Interesting, but I'M
nortant. But the back keeps murmur'
ing. our losses are heavy. NO doup'
tho German losses are heavy, too, bu'
we are not gaining much ground. we
road of bitter fighting lasting To-
,,-ool-s in the ruins of some inSlgniti
cant village.
Soldiers Think Differently.
Not even three years OF war nav
+sntrht the people who say these thing
! TO think as the soldiers think. Inc soi
, der brushes aside all such talk as II
, relevant. His job. he knows, is TO Dea
l tha German army. When that has pee
done the war will be over. MOvemen
as measured on a map does not lhtei
est him ut all except as it helps to HI
Germans. He complains bitterly, VINE
he has time to consider public oplhioi
that civilians cannot think of hghtln
excant in terms of geography, OF az
Vance ana retirement which, until II
4 final "break through" comes, if it doc
I come, are relatively unllnportahl.
i In attempting to sum up the STU
q tion on the western front as the 50
4 diers see it. Il reporter is at once li'c'
+ with the factors that have misled OPP
4 ion everywhere. Civilians nave MAJ
81 Progress upon map can be VlsuailZ'
q nv anyone. All infantry fighting I
& Suits from an attempt by soldiers
4 one side to reach Il point on the MI
: held by the enemy. The success
q foilure of these attempts is at once
4 nounced in the bulletins.
u It is movement, and movement alof
II nv which the public judges hghtil
because it is not allowed to know al
"a thing else. Each side keeps It's on
I'll losses secret. and can only guess
fl those of the enemy. Neither side te
the world how many shells 1t fired
nj an QctlOn, HOW many Va -" .
- worn out. Yet these things are olt'
indeed usually, Of very much more
nortance than the loss or capture OF
he village like FresnOy or Buliecourt.
,ry may possibly come about at I'd
nf stage of the war that the winning
nc certain strip Of ground will dec
wv. the fate Of an army. Most soidlers
nd not think so, and they all agree Il
this is not true today.
!, , Best to Forget Map.
,ol The best way to appreciate the pr
10 ross Of the war in France, 1t mas ID
one Immersed on me again and again
;no to forget the map. There are on
oo1 Franco-British front a certain mum
Of British and French divisions.
=. nosed to them are 143 or IA Germ
Nj, divisions. The object OF the alile'
- to 90 on fighting, under the i'iosl
"' yantageous conditions possible,
the IA German divisions plus all
lied reserves and units from other lr'
per that NAV be brought up, are 50 sm'
the cd that they can no longer thke
the punishment, Then, and then only,
irp. come the "break through SO Ill
ser talked about, but victory VIII not G
the this year; it may not be possible d,
one without the help Of great Amer
rent armies.
we'd The great progress toward the
the goal that has been made during
8 a 1917 campaign by the French ana
that ,sh armies must be measured no
ugh liberated towns, but by the losses
,ned fered by those IA German dl'is
lost. It is possible to give approximate
the ures showing what the German
sow- diers have had to endure this yea
dow When the campaign opened in NJ
the trench lines from Switzerlan
sir the sea were manned by about 100
ked. man divisions, while grouped IN
bod roar as a strategic reserve "er
on.i- divisions which HindeEburg hope
80 use in an offensive which was I
pain the initiative for Germany
the March retreat had disorganize