The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1917-10-12
TEUTON'S WAR
bolt IS SHOT
CENTRAL POWERS MILITARY
STRENGTH WANING FOR
FIRST TIME.
U. S. DECIDING FACTOR
German Zenith Passed and Resources
In Men and Means Decrease,
Allies Gaining.

Washington. Oct. Germany
military strength now shows clear
decrease for the first time since the
war began. according to a review
based upon data OF the French Cen
.eral stan made public here tonight
by the French High Commission.
Worn down and driven back by the
never ending pounding Of the Allies
on the western front, the statement
says, the Germans have made their
supreme military enort after drawing
heavily upon their inactive armies in
the east aud calling out their 1918
and part Of the 1919 reserves.
Thus, while the Allies have reach
ed and are preparing to maintain
their full strength while awaiting the
coming of Americas great army, the
encmy's resources are diminishing
at the very moment when the militia
~ situation demands that they in
crease.
This shows" concludes the state
ment, the decisive character attend
ing the operations in 1918. when
three great democracies, England,
France and America. will unite their
entire strength in attacking the enc
my, in conformity with the only sound
principle OF war"
Text of French Statement.
The committees statement issued
through the Committee on Public In
formation, follows:
Both Franco-German fronts on
the Aisne. 1917, and Verdun, 1916.
have already been compared and it
has been noted that they are prac-
tically of the same length. 1t has
been stated that the German forces
occupying them before' the attack
were equally comparable to twelve
and fourteen divisions. II is known
to-day that during the same period,
from May to September, the Germans
engaged twenty-five fresh divisions
ut Verdun, and that they have been
Obliged to engage forty-fve on the
Aisne. Furthermore, during an
equal period, the French took 5,S63
prisoners at Verdun and $3.50 OH the
Aisnc.
This constant activity coinCiding
with the weakness and inacUon of
the Russians, also explains why the
Germans are Obliged to maintain,and
succeed in cnectually maintaining,
three times larger forces on The
French front than on the Russian
front. (In the beginning of the sum-
mer there were 1856 German divisions
to zoo kilometers on the French
front as against 1870 Austro-German
and Bulgarian divisions, n of which
We're German, on the eastern 'front.'
Il Is known that the Russian winter
puts Il stop TO all active
operations, and that the reaction of
the internal events in Russia on the
eastern front has allowed Germany
to consider it during four months as
a varitable reserve for the western
front
1T clearly appears at present that
the German staff. remembering the
critical situation i'm which they found
themselves following the Anglo
French success i'm the somme in 1915, (
fears to see their western front brok-
On by, the allied offensive in 1917. |
IAN the measures they have taken /,
have been defensive in character in
tended to strengthen their resistance |
in the face of Anglo-French forces,
Not content with declining to give
battle and withdrawing a portion of
heir front on the Hindenburg posi-
ion, they have transported to the
western front between January and
April a certain number of divisions
irawn from the eastern front. As
his did not suffice, they have drawn
he picked men from each of their
on the eastern front. and
With the assistance of the class OF
I91S, have formed twenty-seyen new
divisions, twenty-six of which have
appeared in France.
"They have then exchanged their
licked troops of the eastern front for
he inferior ones of the western front
Landwehr). Finally once the battle !