The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1917-08-10

less favorable than 1t did either ont
year ago or two years ago.
She has TO her credit In the las
twelvemonth the crushing of ill-pre
pared Roumania and the conquest o.
two-thirds Of that nations territory
But in the principal theater OF war
the west, east and Italian fronts th'
entente allies have shown, ON Tho
whole, a decided superiority to tho
central powers.
In the materials of war the nations
fighting for democracy clearly have al
increasing advantage over the kaiser''
leglons. They have dealt the enemy
blow after blow which have told heav
lily In lives, If not in territory.
Germany More Desperate.
Germanys plight Is rendered more
desperate than II was on August ],
1916, by the accession Of the United
States and several minor peoples to
the ranks of her enemies. Almost the
whole world is now lined up against
that nation.
Every belligerent breads another
winter of war, but Germany most OF
all. She lacks many things to face the
rigors of cold campaign-not only
shells and guns, but wool for warm
clothing and sufficient coal to run her
rapidly deteriorating railroads and
her factories and keep those at home
comfortably warm, not to speak of the
famine in the food fats so necessary
TO those facing zero weather.
Looking back on the long truce of
the spring on the eastern front, 1t Is
hard to realize that the Russians just
one year ago were in the midst of a
splendid offensive much like that
which has surprised the world in the
present month. In the 1916 drive Brus-
siloff pushed far within BukOwina and
Galicia and crossed the borders Of
Hungary. He took about 100000 pris-
Oners, mostly Austrians, and forced the
enemy to concentrate masses Of relia-
BILE German troops, aided by a few
Turks, to check him.
The real reason his drive came to a
mutt llOMtftIs We hllON lOH was luNh
OF ammunition, failure Of transport,
treason within the cZar's armies and
wretched bureaucratic inetticiency.
These handicaps seem to have been re-
moved from the courageous Musco-
vites, perhaps for all time.
Unfortunate Roumania.
Roumania declared war on the Teu-
tonic powers. August 27 and immedi-
ately invaded Pennsylvania, where the
weak Austrian guards were easily
pushed back and the important cities
of Hermannstadt and Kronstadt were
soon In the invaders hands.
The kaiser sent Won Falkenhayn, a
splendid strategist just displaced by
Won Hindenburg, as chief of the great
general staff, to command on this
front, while Won Mackensen headed
the Germans, Bulgarians and Turks.
who threw themselves on Roumania
from the south.
The ROumanians proved no match
for the combination of foes. Skillful
work by German spies, or the treach-
cry Of certain members of their own
army, put the ROumanians' plans of
campaign in the Teutons' hands, it is
now divulged. Bucharest fell Decem-
Der 9, and ten days later all Walachia
was lost. On December IS Russian
troops took over the whole Roumanian
front, and a few weeks later the Teu-
ton advance was checked along the
line of the Sereth and Danube rivers
Somme Battle Continues.
In the west, however, Germany was
facing far different problem from
the poorly outfitted and trained Rou-
manian peasants. When the third year
of the war opened the battle of the !
Somme was still going on vigorously, |
with the French and British showing a /
constantly growing superiority over the |
foe. Bit by bit through the summer
and autumn the ground was wrenched
from the kalsers men until the coming |
Of winter smothered the offensive "in |
mud and blood" and, according to the |
British commander, Sir Douglas Haig, |
saved his opponents from an immedi-
ate great enforced retirement.
On September % it was announced
that the French and British had taken
$500 prisoners in the SOmme battle
between July 1 and September 49, This
total was later considerably increased.
French Win at Verdun.
At Verdun, too, the Germans suf-
fered. The French in battles Of the
fall and winter won back most Of the
ground lost in the offensive of the
spring Of 1916 and captured more than
5000 prisoners, with slight losses
themselves.
The spring campaign in the west
opened this war with the Germans
falling back from the great salient
,pearpoint directed at Paris-confess-
ng thereby either their weakness or
heir aversion to further offensive al
.hough at the time, German writer's
linted darkly that Won Hindenburg
had something up his sleeve"
The strategic retirement" began
lbout March II, and the Teutons tri-
declared it would prevent
in allied offensive this year. But they
poke too soon.
On April the British stormed high
7imy Ridge, taking on this and sue
.eeding days about 1900 prisoners.
The other enemy stronghold along the ,