The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-03-25
TRENCH kAAF RE u
Be- U,.fASHI Unable
Great Battles in the Open win Settle
Future Supremacy Is Belief
In France
BIG GUNS GREAT FACTOR
Side With the Largest Number OF
Wcil-Scrved Cannon VIII he IN
vinCibie-Gcrman retirement from
Noyon salient for 30 Miles Forecast.

That the British and French armies
were not surpassed by the great Ger
man retirement on the western front
and that they are we'll prepared to
fight the greatest battle OF the war.
which seems now opening Is tully
proved by the following story sent by
mail by c. r. Bectelll, staff cores
pendent of tho international News
Service in Paris This shows that
on March 9. the date the story was
mailed In Paris, The entente military
chiefs were expecting hourly the Ger
man retirement which had not then
begun IL emphasizes the remarkably
accurate military IL Information in the
hands OF the International News Ser
vice correspondent. TO whose credit
have been placed some OF the biggest
beats" of the whole war.
by Z. F. BERTELII.
(StaY Correspondent of the Inter
national News Service.)
Paris. March by mail to New
York, March 24) Military operations
as far as they have gone this year
show clearly that the armies in the
field arr. being graz Ially weaned from
trench warfare,
This oes nor mean that oprn war
fare with the hoops namely ering for
positions and large strate gtcal gains
has been restored nor nat 1t Is GER
tain TO come about FOR a month or
two.
But as the sur.r,er approaches.
maneuver warfare may be suddenly
ushered in again. General De Castel-
nau recently said: The Germans were
forced into tho trenches against their
will. The day viii come when they
viii be forced ont
To Fall Back Fifty Miles from Soyon.
According to unusually sound opin-
ion in Paris. the TeufoDs may be ex-
pected ext spring or summer to re-
treat some fifty miles from tho great
Noyon salient (Which has meuacea
Paris since Septetno Der. 1910, and
from their new positions to challen sc
the entente allies to the greatest open
battle In the history OF the world.
What has happened so far 10 that
trenches and dugouts have lost to a
large extent their military value. At
best never more than temporary ex-
pedients or refugees In this or any
past war. they have now been rem
dered nugatory on all parts OF the
western 'front.' where the soii 10 plas-
tered with heavy concentrations OF
gun Are.
No Longer Rely ON Trenches
Already In the Somme sud Verdun
relying very little on trench cover
Thousands OF guns OF all caltbres AZ
the lines In their present seeming con-
dition Of permanenoy. Just A. ma
chino guns replaced rifles last year
20 such an extent that musketry IRE
became Insignificant in relation to mil
lions Of rifles served out in the
trenches so now cannon. and particu-
iarly heavy wuns, have largely replaced
machine guns in the work of holding
the enemy infantry In check.
From this II must not be Assumed
that machine gums have lost their
usefulness or are heinK discarded On
the contrary. they are still the main
huiwark OF trench sections which II
Is deemed valuable to hold and tens
OF thousands OF them have still to be
destroyed by shells or bonn b. before
infantry can move forward But ar
tillery preparation has become %
deadly efficient that II soon hatters
TO pieces ali kinds OF trench weapons
(machine guns, trench mortars, fame
throwers, gas projectors. revolver
guns etc.D ana the defenders have
to rely almost solely upon curtains
of shell fire from the rear to beat
of attacks
Find Trenches Vacant
For some months II has been the
rule on the western front that ad
vancing infantry have found no prts-
oners IN the trenches proper and have