New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-01-01
THE WARS BALANCE SHEET FOR 1916
Runan"ihe
tn Dark Days Gettysburg and V"k'b"g

man march through Walachia and the DO
brudia. which, important though IT be- sim
leaves the Teutonic battle line 2OO mics
longer than IL vas n year ago.
Contrast the present position With tn"'
as 1918 closed:
Russia falling back, praying for the pro
lection or winter; Riga, Dunaburg and hieV
threatened, the British and French resist
ing In France. but unable 10 attack; Serbia
and Montenegro crushed, Gallipol JUST
abandoned
So far We have been counting chiefly by
g., the German method OF looking at the map
but this is by no means ALL nor the most 70
be considered.
Let US turn 70 weightlor items:
The TeutonIc losses Of the Year In Men
The Austrian losses in Brussiloa's
campaign OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES ,fOo,UOV
The Austrian losses 10 the Italians
/ mot computabl. at less than 30O,-
600 men unless you attribute 10 the
/ Austrlans loss OF moral that
means too ready surrender Of Aus
trian troops) .................-..-30 300 600
The German losses at Verdun. ...... 10000
The German losses on the Somme 100000
The German losses in the Lutzk-
Stokhod campaign, certainly not
loss than ........................ .150 900
The Teutonc losses in the Ruman!an
campaign must be at least -.....-. f5,0OO
The remaining steady ordinary vast
j age along the rest Of the Russian
and French frolts not 20 be est
mated az less than ..............--35 O,OOO
The German and Austrian losses Of the
year seem to run close to two and three
quarter millions. OF these nearly one
million arc dead or prisoners and cannot
come back II half Of the rest return to the
front the net loss is still about one and
three-quarter million men.
Austria mas no free reServs mobile army.
Has Germany any tres reserve mobile army
left after sending out hsr two Rumsnian
armies, save only by combining Of the partly
called classes Of 1917 and 1913, Of older
fully called classes, and returns from hosDl-
tails? How can Germany and Austria stand
this drain Of men for another year Ike
1916 without getting to the last end?
most competent authority carefully ng-
ured the total German reserves mot free
reserves. but the total reserves Of oil
: classes) last October at 100000.
Since then the Teutonic Losses on the vSri-
Gus fronts have run to 100000 easily all Of
i
tacks at Verdun and the last two on the
Somme alone account for 10000 OF these
Losses elsewhere in the ten weeks make up
the other 10000. Not less than 100000
more are in Rumania. Where will the next
army De taken from? Where will Germany
stand at the end Of another year Of such
/ lighting? And indications are that there Will
be plenty TO do on all fronts.
Much is said OF the English losses on the
Somme In numbers the English and French
losses on the Somme seem TO be very close
to an Offset to the German losses there. The
modern attack in open order, preceded by
heavy artillery bomba rdment, gives, when
the attack il successful, approximately as
heavy losses for the defenders as for the
attackers, plus prisoners At Verdun it was
different The German peasant has not ap-
rarently the initiative and Independence 20
attack in open order, and for thi. inferior
/ ity Germany paid when the Crown Prince
threw forward mis- massed formations at
Verdun.
The Quality of the Losses
But there ia another side than mere Nun.
bers. The British. whose losses on the
Somme were at first far larger than the
French were losing green troops Of splen-
did spirit but ignorant Of how TO attack
without such unnecessary losses. To-day
the British Somme army is become an army
Of veterans trained in the science Of war
I With all Is losses subtrscted, is not the
part that is ef, better and stronger army
/ than the whole that reported the last week
/ in June? To-day for similar results, the
cost is greatly reduced. This is obviously
/ true OF the British infantry. Has any cor
responding improvement appeared in the
German troops? Rather the contrary. Their
/ best troops and best material have suffered
most.
Artillery Development
How about the artillery? While the in
fantry has more than held its own, the Brit
ISL artillerymen have greatly increased
their individual capacity. To-day their gun
ners and artillery officers are showing great
advances in the art. Such episodes as Beau
mont Hamel show H.; and this increase OF
skill is being enormously helped by the
growing Allied superiority in the air. And