New Britain herald., 1918-10-08
VICTORY FIRST, IS
CRY OF FIGHTERS
Soldiers Totally Opposed to Ar
miStiCe or Peace by Negotiation

| Oct. s. ASSOCIATED Press) -"Victory
| first then peace This is the man.
ner in which French civilians who
! have returned to their shell wrecked
! homes in Northern France express
i themselves when the subject of an
| armistice is discussed.
VICTORY first, then peace" runs
armies, where men have seen their
| comrades die and where the feeling is
| that they have died in vain unless
| victory is absolute.
Suspension of hostilities, even for
q few days, would enable the Ger
mans to continue their preparation
! of lines to which they might retire
| for the winter. At the moment the
! Hindenburg system has been smashed
| and the German military leaders
| have every reason to believe that
| they may soon be fighting back over
country in which at present they
have no lines, no dugouts, no protec-
ton from the advancing Allied
troops.
The Allied armies are in a strong
and advantageous position. and the
general feeling there is that the de-
feat of Germany may come sooner
than expected elsewhere than at the
front.
Could Increase Forces.
BY retiring unhindered the Ger
mans could materially shorten their
lines and save men thereby. Thus
they could thicken their ranks and
probably be able to hold out until all
the new 1920 class of about 100000
young men could be Incorporated in
the units in the battle zone.
In addition. a vigorous "comb ing-
out" is in progress in Germany,
which will undoubtedly yield in rein
forcements. Also. machine guns
could be shipped into the field to re-
place some of the immense number
the Allies have captured.
A few days suspension Of hostili-
ties would permit munitions of all
sorts, including shells, of which there
is now a great scarcity behind the
German lines, to reach the front.
Right now, army officers declare,
the Allies are in a position to con-
tinue smashing the enemy and an
armistice might enable the enemy to
escape for a time the defeat which
now stares him in the face.
AS for Belgium, the German mill
tary leaders themselves apparently
realized some time ago that they
could not hope to hold on there, for
German general headquarters was
moved from Spa to we'll inside Ger
many's own borders. The Germans
fn In1S
Strong At Two Points.
"A glance at the German battle map
Stretched along the front from the
sea to Switzerland, as represented by
this map, are little numbers designat-
ing the divisions placed at sections
the waving battle lines. Except at
two places along the front, including
Flanders, the numbers are COMPARE
lively thin and placed far apart. But
| in the st. Quentin and Cambria dis
| tricts the number are thickly
placed as to make it difficult to get
| them all in.
Opposite the French and Ameri-
| cans on the Champagne front a SINH
| lar situation exists. The Germans dare
| not take a single man away from
| these places. and as q matter of fact,
| they are putting in every man they
! can lay hands on.
In the st. Quentin Cambria sector,
the Hindenburg line exists no more.
It is no secret that the British will
| continue their powerful thrusts along
where the enemy's strong line of de-
| Tense has been broken. The Germans
! know this but what they do not
| know is when and how and with
| what forces the attack will be
launched, and indications are plenti-
| full that the British are in a position
| to launch it when they see fit.
An armistice would save the situa-
| ton for Germany. On the British
front it is believed that the German
j armies so far have not the slightest
! knowledge of events, and it is with
| considerable interest that the British
| armies are watching for the effect
among the Germans, when they find
| out what has been done.
Meanwhile the Germans continue
| their destruction on widespread
| scale. The damage they have done to
| the coal mines in Northern France,
in the Lens district, is of a most seri-
| Gus nature. From information at
| hand it would appear that the Ger
mans have done their work so thor
oughly that it may be immposible to
| get the mines In operation for long
| time.
+ More towns are burning. Even the
| form houses of the peasants In the
| area northeast of Lille have been set
| ablaze, and the enemy seems deter
| mined to devastate completely the
| country and destroy everything his
hand can reach. Again long clouds