Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-24
DANGER IS GRAVE,
GERMANSADMIT
Teuton Press Comedies
Foch Has Taken Initiative
From Them
BOEHM'S ARMY PERILED
Foch's Strategy Threatens
Whole of Hindenburg's
Plans, Foe Critics Say
Washington, July "a


Germany has not only been greatly
depressed by the failure Of the Hinden-
burg strategy, involving the repulse of
Ludendorffs offensive, but Is disturbed
seriously over the loss of the initiative,
tearing 1t may require weeks to wrest 1t
again from General Foch. An official
| report from Basle says.
While confessing now that the situa
/ tion has changed. the German press Is
| attempting to envelop this confession in
many kinds of explanations. employed
with view to making it more accepta-
III" 20 the German public. The Berlin
correspondent of the Strassburger Post
! writes:
The public had in general attached
TOO great hopes to the German often
sivo which was launched on both sides
/ OF Rheims, AS we can see in reading
the communications of the las. few days.
these hopes have not been realized The
enemy was Informed of our plans and
we We're not able to surprise him
Now the French and the Americans
have begun counter offensive. The
situation is thus modified and the Ger
man headquarters staff will have to
make fresh plans. The public will do
we'll 20 practice patience with regard
to future developments of operations in
/ the west
Fears Forh's Strategy
The Frankfurter Zeitung writes that
the entire Hindenburg s,rategical rlan
is compromised Something new ap-
pears in the strategic situation IL de-
clares. General Foch has been able to
| form an important army Of reserves. He
is trying now by n powerful counter
offensive to wrest the initiative from
liindenburg. The German advance on
both sides Of Rheims has been stopped.
4 FOChS attack does not merely aim at
| attracting the attention Of the German
reserves and keeping them employed; it
aims at dealing blow in the back Of
Boehm's army that Is marching east
ward. and should II he successful 1t
might compel this army to retreat under
most unfavorable conditions Foch's at
tack is not only an answer to the Ger
man attack on both sides of Rheims. but
I it threatenes the whole of Hindenburg' 8
plans
The same paper. attempting to ex-
/ plain the failure of the German plans
and recalling that the previous German
official communications declared 1t could
henccforth .be considered that Foch s
: army Of maneuver was used up. asks
I whore these troops came from. assuming
that the American transports have really
come more quickly than they were eX-
pcc,ed
The MuenChner Neueste Nachrichtcn
says the German general headquarters
staff has come in contact with special
difficult tasks brought about by the in
dscretions Of soldiers and by soldiers
on leave. 1t considers that France is
-, hn.
more than 100000 soldiers in France.
Loses Faith in U-Boats
The submarine warfare, alone, ii be-
lieVes, cannot prevent the continual
transport Of troops and war material 70
the western front. The English army. it
continues. has been reconstructed and
put into perfect state. The public
which is aware of the enormous Difficult
ties against which our headquarters stat
has to fight, will not be asst tonished to see
the latter proceeding with prudent tardi
ness. 1t will take weeks. perhaps, K
wrcst the initiative from General Foch
Any nervousness would be at the presen
moment not only useless, but even harm
full
These exhortations on the part of tn,
German press are 9 proof that profount
d!sCouragement is rising among the Ger
man population. which is perfectly awar
OF the terrible blow dealt to the imperia
armies and Hindenburg strategy by th
Franco-American offensive"
From the hundreds of prisoners OK
amined all have given an identical an
swer: We not only never expected L
ha attacked but thought you would no
even he in position to attack. We wer,
told always that the Allies were com
3IeteIy exhausted that they had n,