Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-21
FOE CAN'T STAND
DEFENSIVEROLE
Compared to Ponderous
Bull, With Foch as Agile
Matador
GERMAN DELAY FATAL
Enemy Debacle Before Spring,
If Allies Continue Present
Pace, Is Predicted
GERMAN DELAY FATAL
special Gable to Epening Public Ledger

Copyright. 1918. by the Nr,r Yort Time, 70
p Paris, Aug. 81
Paris finds full Of brilliant surpestjo,s
ana glowing hopes the manner in wbict
roch Is continuing TO exercise the initi-
a'iNe which he wrrSted from tho eneu,y
IN 'he second battle OF the Marne Everv
'Spert here pays Il tribute to the skill
vi the leader to whom the Allies have
lntrusted the command Of their united
armies and every day sees that tribute
increase In volume
IN the manner in which Foch is NOW
making the Germans dance to his ninlnr
every F'renchman sees solid reasons fo~
uisputing more than ever the right Of
the bochcs to the sclf-Conferred title CT
the first military nation In Europe,
me statement of the Frankfurtpr
Zeitung that Ludendorff Is continually
giving ground to enable him to regroup
MS forces is laughed at here The tao
tics of Foch are exactly these which rem
der any regrouping of the enemy forces
impossible. Foch's method of keepine
the enemy busy all the time on one par,
of the front or another aims precisely at
preventing this very thing
Keeps Reserves Jumping
Hardly had the enemy had n breath
irg space on the Vesle than another
heavy Allied blow was struck Mt him
on the Somme and the Avre A sub
stantial portion Of the reserves whom he
had sent with tremendous difficulty to
the Vesle front had to be hurried IN 70
meet the new attack further west. Thnn
came Sundays bound forward On f1f-
tetn-mile front east of the Disc and an
other heavy journey for some of the
tired German reserves. These attacks
In quick Succession nre forcing the Ger
mans to maintain at least 40 divisions
In their first lines, or rearlv n million
and n half hayonets Another million
and n half must he constantly available
to relieve and replace the tired divisions,
while an additional strain Is being put
upon the enemy by the fact that any
moment he may find 1t necessary to in
crease Immediately the density of tho
troops he has in n certain sector wher'
he often without reasons. believes an at
tack to he imminent.
An cXamnla of this occurred last
Thursday, when Won Fben's army. which
Is holding the line between Carlcpont
and Missy sur Aisne. east Of So!ssons
found itself with only dozen divisions
in line and had to appeal to Won Boehn
for re-enforcements in view of the pend
ing French attack.
These wearing-dowN tac'ics. giving
the enemy neither time to organize an
attack himself nor respite from be-
ing attacked must be telling not only
on the Germans morale. but also on
their organization. The German mill
tary machine. good though It be. was
never built with view to defensive
campaign of long duration. such as
Foch is now serving out to the enemy
Foch Brilliant Matador
The position of the German war ma
chine at the present moment, under the
biting whip of Foch. may he likened
somewhat to first class mainline rail-
way engine with eight-foot driving
wheels which Is called on TO take part
in a mad automobile race along country
highways. Foch's tactics in the nature
of things are the worst possible for
tha ponderouS slow going oVer-organiz-
ed German machine and its sluggish d.
recting brain. Other things being equal
the bull henceforward stands no chance
against so brilliantly agile matador
as Foch.
As Paris sees It, the Allies are now
marching more surely toward final VIC
tory every day.
And what giant strides we shall
take" cries one favorite critic. II
only we give to our fifth Drm faviation)
all that extension, almost to infinity.
which our resources. thanks to American
hep, now render possible"
Every German killed now. IT is recoG-
nized here. is worth at least two as COM
pared with the earlier years Of the war
from the fact that the enemy is now
finding 1t more and more difficult to re-
place his losses in consequence of Foch's
tactics giving him no rest
The French tactics are now entirely in
agreement with the doctrine that a fatal
mistake was made by the Germans in al
lowing the Allies time to recover their
breath after each of their recent often