Evening star., 1917-10-21

Flanders. which is moving down the
Lys valley toward Menin, with Ghent
10 a remote objective, and also toward
Roulers. with Bruges as q similar goal
Long before the line of Bruges-Ghent
is reached the Germans will be behind
the Scheldt and the Meuse. Whether the
British will reach Menin and Roulers
this year or not depends almost wholly
on the weather. but as this has turned
bad there are some doubts in all minds
now as to the future OF this years op-
eratfons.
But, bad weather and all, the British
have been moving at a rate Of some-
thing like a mile a week for the last
last month. a rate far swffter than
anything they achieved at the somme.
With a little luck they may yet get to
Menin this fall: anyway. they should
get as near to that town as they did to
Bapaume last year, and as they ap-
proach Menin their threat to the Lille
position will be quite as immediate as
the threat to the Noyon salient incl
dent to British advances at the Somme
last autumn.
Making Desperate Effort.
Now. as last year. the Germans are
plainly making a desperate effort to
hold on until bad weather ends the
campaign. To retreat now, to make
such retreat as they would have to
e,
would be to let the cat out OF the bag;
it would be to disclose their defeat on
that map Bethmann-H Hollweg once talk
ed about. This retreat would abandon
some six thousand square miles of
northern France. three-quarters Of
what they hold, together with three or
four thousand square miles of Belgian
territory Last spring they gave up
only a thousand square miles, and were
able to explain this. after a fashion,
strategic n
nation would do for a retreat behind
the Scheldt and the Meuse: this would
be confession pure and simple
Germany is planning peace cam
to assert that the war has become a
deadlock and that her lines cannot be
pierced. although at the cost of great
losses they may be bent back here and
supported by many thoughtless writer's
upon the military situation Of today.
Just as the last ditch Of the Confederacy
before Richmond was heralded by
southern writer's and by their north
ern dupes as "impregnable." The same
sort of nonsense is being talked now.
and Germany will turn 1t to her advan-
tage little later.
Truth Is Otherwise.
The truth is otherwise. Germany will
have to retreat in the spring, il she
escapes the necessity this autumn be-
cause of the onset of bad weather.
When she retreats the world will per
ceive that she has lost the war. There
will be no further possibility Of con-
ceaifng the fact. because the retreat
will be SO considerable. But for fhe
winter. IL she can hold on Germany will
have show Of an argument for her
assertion that the war is q hopeless
deadlock and useless slaughter that
can end only in stalemate. Actualiv her
70
the Weakened and the disloyaI in Ali
countries fighting her.
We are seeing one Of the greatest
campaigns of human history: we are
races. What the Germans hoped wnuId
come eventually. but not until they had
disposed of their continental rivals
first has happened: Briton and German
Napoleonic drama. and in this struggle
the German, already weakened by his
struggle with the French, is losing
surely, II slowly. The British army
has ,,ha,1 now sl,e. taken over practically the
France did her work at tho Marne in
1914. at Verdun In 1915. Britain began
at the Somme last year. still aided by
the French. but now she has arrived
and Is carrying on" until that hour
when, IL necessary, our millions shall
arrive to relieve her.
improvement Is Demonstrated.
Every comparison that one can make
between the achievement OF Haig's
army this year and last demonstrates
the enormous Improvement that has
been made. Last year the British be-
gan at the Somme with green army;
their artillery was but little trained:
they had men. munitions. machinery.
but they did not have a machine. When
they finished this battle. which was in
fact. q training achoOl fhey had thA
machine. although they had paid dear
" to assemble it. At the taking of
Bsaumont-Hamel last November the
British demonstrated that they were
superior In men, guns and aircraft:
the Germans hand; he has not re-
gained 1t.
This year the British began where
had abandoned his old style Of defense
The Somme had doomed the defense
based upon huge redoubts. deep dug
outs and similar works. The Somme
had proved that these could be de-
stroyed at a greater cost to the de-
fender than to the assailant. There
fore the German had recourse to q new
system. He held his front by light
works. concretsd shell craters, little
machine gun shelters; he put few
troops in the front line and counter
attacked vigorously whom the British
advance had slowed down.
Method Has Failed.
But this method has failed. too. To-'