Tensas gazette., 1917-12-21
Relentless Machine on West
Front Sapping Strength of
Germans.
SOLDIERS ARE OPTIMISTIC
See Ultimate Success Through Growing
Superiority in Air, in Number
Of Guns and Supplies Of
Shells.
By JOHN LLOYD BALDERsToN.
fCopyright, 1917, by the Mcclure Newspa-
per Syndicate.)

per SEHuLCdte.'
General Headquarters, British Ar
mics in France.-It probably never oc-
CURED to behOlder, watching the
great steam dredges of Colonel Goe-
that's Scooping out the Panama canal,
to wonder whether the job would ever
be finished. How long ii would take TO
dig the canal no man knew. but that II
would be dug, nobody doubted. Ihat
is the way | feel whenever l see the
British military machine at work.
Through the courtesy of the British
staff | have inspected the battle front
along the whole line where active
fighting has been in progress this year.
The unsatisfactory military situation
in Russia, which has helped the Ger
man defensive upon this front, has
been responsible for pessimism in Lon
don. Out here, the men who are do
ing the fighting are optimistic. 1t has
not always been so; | left an Optimis-
tic London in the spring of 1916 ana
found the front, not pessimistic but
grimly aware of the long and uphill
road ahead. 1t was the same in the
midst of the battle of the Somme, but
in the winter, when fighting had died
down, found the front more "bucked
up" than ever before. And now, the
front is confident that the Germans
have shot their bolt.
London guesses, but the front knows.
That is why these alterations of feel
ing are not only interesting, but i'm
portant. But the back keeps murmur-
ing, our losses are heavy. No doubt
the German losses are heavy, too, but
we are not gaining much ground. We
read of bitter fighting lasting for
weeks I'm the ruins of some insignifi-
cant village.
Soldiers Think Differently
Not even three years of war have
taught the people who say these things
to think as the soldiers think. The SOL
dier brushes aside all such talk as ir-
relevant. His job, he knows, is to beat
the German army. When that has been
done the war will be over. Movement
as measured on map does not inter
est him at all except as it helps to kill
Germans. He complains bitterly, when
he has time to consider public opinion.
that civilians cannot think of fighting
except in terms Of geography, of ad-
vance and retirement, which, until the
final "break through" comes, If 1t does
come, are relatively unimportant.
In attempting to sum up the situa-
ton on the western front as the sol
diers see it, reporter is at once faced
with the factors that have misled opin-
ion everywhere. Civilians have maps.
Progress upon map can be visualized
by anyone. All infantry fighting re-
suits from an attempt by soldiers of
one side to reach point on the map
held by the enemy. The success or
failure of these attempts Is at once an
nounced in the bulletins.
1t Is movement, and movement alone,
by which the public judges fighting.
because it is not allowed to know any
thing else. Each side keeps its own
losses secret, and can only guess nj
those of the enemy. Neither side tells
the world how many shells it fired In
an action. how many of its guns were
worn out. Yet these things are often
indeed usually, of very much more i'm
portance than the loss or capture of q
village like FresnOy or BullecOurt. II
may possibly come about at later
stage of the war that the winning OF
a certain strip of ground will decide
the fate of an army. Most soldiers dc
not think so, and they all agree that
this is not true today.
Best to Forget Map.
The best way to appreciate the prog
ress of the war in France, 1t has beer
impressed on me again and again. /:
to forget the map. There are on the
FrancO-British front q certain number
of British and French divisions. Op
posed to them are 143 or IA German
divisions. The object of the allies i!
to go on fighting, under the most ad
vantageous conditions possible, unit
the 144 German divisions plus all th'
reserves and units from other front!
that may be brought up, are so smash
ed that they can no longer take tn,
punishment. Then, and then only. viii
come the ''break through" so mucl
talked about. but victory will not com,
this year; 1t may not be possible ut al
without the help of great American
armies.
The great progress toward the fina
goal that has been made during tn
1917 campaign by the French and Brit
t..h h., a L
liberated towns, but by the losses suf
fered by those 144 German divisions
1t is possible to give approxima q fic
ures showing what the German sol
diers have had to endure this year.
When the campaign opened In Marcl
the trench lines from Switzerland +
the sea were manned by about 100 Ger
man divisions. while grouped in tn
rear as a strategic reserve were 4
divisions which IIindenburg hoped =
use in an offensive which was TO re
gain the initiative for Germany afte
the March retreat had diSorganized m
allied plans. The pursuit was NOR
rapid than the Germans thought nos
sihle. the British blow mt the Vim
ridge came three weeks before IL wa
expected. and the Old marshars plan
went glimmering. lie had 10 stan
and tight on the defensive. abandonin
hfs strategic scheme.
The German divisions are now onl
three-quarters their former strength
and consist aS rule of nine battalion
inSfno1 nf