The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1917-11-06
Only Battles Of Marine and Verdun Equaled
In Importance By That Now Getting Started

The cable dispatches from Italy
for the next two weeks will carry
the most important news Ameri-
cans have read since we declared
war, in the opinion of authorities
in Washington.
/ II is hard for the peaceful, easy
going American citizen to realize,
but II is TRUE: that the manner
Of life of every man, woman and
child in the United States, for
years to come, the sacrifices they
will be called upon to make, the
number even who will be called
upon to give up their lives in the
nations service, is at this very
minute being determined, $500
miles away, by Italian troops.
| Only two battles of the war -
the Marine and Verdun-equal the
present struggle in importance.
There are three great turns
which this decisive battle inay
take, each of which is frarght
with enormous consequences.
FIRST, Cadorna's army may be
crushed. Italy overrun and cut to
pieces.
SECOND, Cadorna's troops,
which are reported to be making
an orderly retreat, may be able TO
stop Mackensen's drive by holding
the prepared positions until the
French and British have time to
rush big guns, ammunition and,
II need be, troops from the west
ern front.
THIRD, Mackensen, in the ar
dor of pursuit, may outrun his
lines OF communication, just as
Won Kluok did in the drive toward
Paris, and give Cadorna a chance
to administer a defeat comparable
In many elements to the battle of
the Marine.
In a week or two, we shall know
which of these turns the battle
will take. Let us, therefore, see
just what the big effects of each
of these possible eventualities on
the progress of the war and our
own plans will be.
We might as well face the
blacklist chance first. II
Mackensen brushes CadOrna,
Overrlins Italy, and destroys
her effectiveness as fighting
nataion, every American must
steel himself for a prolonged
war, In which the United
States will have to spend hum
dreds OF thousands of lives
and billions of dollars before
Germany can be crushed.
With Italy crushed, the Aus
trian submarines operating from
the Dalmataion coast, which have
for more than year been held
under control by the Italian navy,
would again resume their activity
In the Mediterranean. The trans
port line that supports the allied
army at Salonika could then be
maintained only with the greatest
difficulty.
To maintain this transport line
and protect the ships carrying
grain and cotton from Egypt and
the east, Britain would be forced
to Increase greatly her force of de-
stroyers and patrols in the Medi-
terraneon, and by so much weaken
her Atlantic patrol, with grave
menace to transatlantic shipping.
With Italy crushed, or driven
into the plains of the peninsula,
Germany would be free to transfer
huge number of effective troops
to the Russian and Rumanian
fronts, and push her conquests
there to the point where she would
cease to be menacerd from that d.
ERECTION, leaving Britain, France,
and the United States to be met
with augmented forces on the
strongly intrenched western front.
II Cadorna, however, can stop
the Germans on the Udine line, or
any similar series of prepared in
trenchments, until the allies can
bring strong reinforcements, 1t
may be possible to inflict such
heavy losses on the massed Aus
tro-German troops that IL will be
a victory gained at cost as dear
as the early advances at Verdun.
II, finally, Cadorna, in some
way, which cannot now be fore
seen any more than the turn at
the Marine could be, should turn
his defeat into victory and inflict
severe losses on the Mackensen's
forces, the effect in Germany
would be tremendous.