The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1918-12-19
MARINE DISASTER
STILL A MYSTERY
10 hun LEADERS
French Ability 10 "Come
Back" Beyond Belief,
Dy Frank II SimOnds.


lrpwnvh', 1873 by the Nrv York Times
TO t.ul'rgp Tribune and the Oklahoma
Clty rimesi
NEW YORK. Dec l0.--ln no diree-
ton has there been more eager curl
o'lly since the signing u the armls-
ii,c than in that OF military iniornla
ton What are the German cNplana
son, Not propaganda slatcmcn,s,
Dut actual explanations oi various
battles. some Succcs ,inl, ONE disas
trous Tor their arms, And above all
else for il remains the supreme mys-
terry Of the war, what Is the German
explanation oi tho Name
We know that in the first wears Of
the war German general, and pres,
agents industrousy circulated the
legend that no such battle occurred
J HE German army in accordance
with plan the familiar formula, re
tired behind the Nl,nc only advanced
guard, GRO, lue the Marne Bern
hardi. oi literary fame, explicitly
denied the battle in a statement TO an
American ,pundcnt m 1910
HOW Dlu III nappenf
Meantime. 90 the allied side a great
dispute arose over the struggle dis
pute which seems likely 10 rival Wa
terloo debates Was the battle Won
BY Maunourys army coming out OF
Paris to the Oufcqf Was the dcois
ave thrust that OF Foch a, ferc
Champenoisi Was il the result OF
supreme strategy that the Germans
were turned back, or was it-aS the
mass OF peasants have decided yer
table miracle; p
Md now, at least, we begin TO have
light from German sources. First OF
AL, the cx-crown prince, IN a public
statement asserts that he recognized
ri once that the war had been lost al
the Maruc, lost because OF the failure
Of the nerves OF certain German gen.
erals Here at last, IS admission oI
the fact OF the Marnc, impressive tcS-
tlmuny even II open tO speculation
Kluck Admits Defeat.
But far more lntcrestug evidence
has followed. This time It Is kIuck
who speaks, II was kluck who com
mandcd the German army which adj
wnced from BruSScl, 20 the enylrons
Of Paris. sweeping all before IT. II
was kuck who crossed the Marnc and
turned hl, back to Paris. inviting the
thrust OF Manuory which changed tn;
whole face 81 the situation
Now kluCk doe, NOT explain hi, de
feat he admits that II was defeat
in military terms He docs not talk
about flank cr rear, mancuycr or
counter offensive What he says
anl It is significant, Is that he was
surrri,edr-as others alter hlm, he
grmly adds, not by French generals,
mi by French soldiers
That ~ army could retire tor ten
-days. losing prisoners, guns becoming
= thing The German military books
never regarded possible, never dis
cuSsed never warned German Cener-
ais 10 expect The material elements
are all clearly accounted for, but
failure to estimate the moral factor
lost the battlc-lost the war kuck
hints
Thought French Beaten.
I'VE made a mistake kluck says,
with engaging irankness. The ms
take was not Strategic--it was not
that the attack, coming out OF Paris,
was in itself a surprise, the thing was
deeper. Kluck, Moltke, the whole Ger.
man high command had calculated
that the French soldier was beaten;
their actions were based upon this
assumption.
1t was because Of this assumption
that kluck went south ot the Marine
and opened his flank to Maunouy
Nearly four years later ludcndoril
did the same thing, with precisely the
same consequences. There is q pic
lure Cf the German mind set forth in
both these operations Both times
the Germans counted the French cN-
haus,cd, because by every calculation
based upon the books they ought to
have been exhausted
Here is the best commentary vet
supplied of the true causes OF the