The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-04-28
LOSSES
PUT AT 235,0OO
|Aisne Casualties and Prison
ers Form One of Great
est Total of War
WHOLE REGIMENTS
WERE CUT TO PIECES
One of Bloodiest Battles of the War -
Brought Up Large Reserves in Des-
perate Effort, But Failed to Hold
Strategic Line.

PARIS, April 81. = The extent of the
German losses in the recent desperate
fighting along the Aisne is partially dis
closed in the reference i'll the official
statement to the capture of $50 guns,
of which considerable number were
of heavy calibre.
The German losses in men are csti-
mated at more than 100000, with the
probability that the total reached
2}5D00. These figures include killed,
wounded and prisoners, and constitute
one of the most formidable totals of the
present war.
The number of German prisoners ag-
gregates approximately 100000. The
usual formula among military experts Is
to estimate the casualties at five times
the number of prisoners, but this five
to one ration has not held good in the
present ease, owing to the exceedingly
sanguinary character of the lighting
for the mastery of the strategic position
on the Chemin DIES Danes plateau. The
Germans held this firmly at the oatsct,
and when it was wrestcd from them
/ by the French attacks the Germans re
lpeatedly brought up large reserves in
n desperate effort to retain this strategic
line.
All reports show that whole regiments
were decimatcd, and it was this which
brought about the exceptionally heavy
total of killed and wounded, making it
probably one of tho hloodiest battles Of
the war Now that the strategic line on
the Chcmin dcs Danes plateau is firmly
| held bv the French a period of com
parat;ve inaction has interviewed pend
/ ing reorganization Of new lines of at
/ tack and summing up the extent of the
German losses and booty.
| Under the caption, ''Why We At
| tackled, u writer i'll the Matin points
ont that before the present movement
began the German plan undoubtedly was
to escape from the grasp of the allies,
the power of which had been revealed
1 hv the operations Joal the Sonlme.5 He
continues:
! ITO Illustrate this plan the French,
! in agreement with the British, widened
the front of their attack SO as to overlap
the front on which the Germans were
retreating. The result was that the
enemy found both his wings involved.
He decided, as shown by orders found
on officers, to fight on the first line. This
changed conditions, and the French plan
was promptly altered to suit.
''The result of the first and second
days fighting was that the Germans
lost fully 100000 men, and, what was
more important, were obliged to engage
thirty.three out of their fortythree re
serve divisions. The dearly bought but
valuable results of the Aisnc and Cham
lpagne operations are thus:
First, the enemy was prevented from
carrying out his own plan, and instead
had to abandon the initiative to the al
lies, thus completely disposing of tho
famous Hindenburg scheme, which was
to be followed on the conclusion of th(
retreat from Noyon. t also made in
roads on the strategic reserves which
were to have carried out that scheme
second, the enemy was obliged to order
his troops to hold out to the last ex
trcmitv on the first line, but the wholt
line has been captured, a tactical success
to which must be added heavy losses il
) Imen, material and guns. >