New-York tribune., 1918-10-21
Hard Fighting Expected
Before Unconditional
Surrender Will Come
German Morale
Not Destroyed
Most Difficult Task on
Front Assigned to Per-
shing's Soldiers
BY CASPAR WHITNEY
Especial Cable to The Trj5uno}


Copyright. 1918. New Yurk Tribune lncl
PARIS, Oct. 20.-Returning from the
scene OF the capture by the Americans
last Tuesday of Musade Farm. south
oil Buzancy, in the Argonne region, /
am irlpelled to repeat the warning to
home folks against expecting progress
in this sector approximate with the
speed to the west.
The Americans here nave the sever
est task on the Allied front. The
country naturally offers tremendous
strength for Boche defence, with al.
ternat;ng clearings and forests, forti-
fed with a network of trenches and
concrete nests and immense numbers
OF machine guns, while day and night
German guns play on the front posi-
tlons and back areas, making progress
slow and adding immeasurably 70 the
difficulty of maintaining supplies and
getting up artillery, tasks which have
already been rendered indescribably la
oorious by almost uninterrupted rain
ana Oeep muQ.
Yet our men continue to advance
despite all the obstacles which the
Boche and the weather heap in their
way: At no place have the Americans,
so comparatively green and ineXperi-
enced, shown more clearly and unfai-
lngly the sterling quality which is fit
ting them to be classed with the bes.
Of the Allies.
AS they advance the task grows in
creasingly formidable, because they
are now striking at the pivot of
the German position in France and
Belgium and are encountering the best
and freshest German divisions thrown
n in recognition of the disastrous con-
sequences of American success.
Sooner or later the Americans will
reach their objectives, how soon de-
pends largely on the weather, which is
likely to lay the ultimate goal per-
haps into the winter, but when this
is attained the Germans must get back
% the Rhine.
America must be prepared to expect
hard campaign, longer than the "all-
over-but-the- shouting" kind some folks
al home suggest Prisoners taken in
TINS sector give no evidence of lost
morale Some of the officers are even
defiant and the orderly, skilful re-
treat OF the Germans everywhere in
dlcates no decentralization and cautions
us against feeling that the Boche is
ready at this hour honestly to throw
up his hands.
Experienced officers believe that the
future holds the severest sort of fight
ing before the Germans will be willing
to accept unconditional surrender.
Personally ] believe the Germans
viii now retire speedily on the Ant
Wcrp- BrussesNamur- Meuse line, with
the idea of holding it through the COM
lng bad winter weather. Meanwhile they
arc preparing a withdrawal to the
Rhine, now inevitable, in the hone that,
spring will bring better peace terms.
They realize that such long DELAYED
surrender will make the Allied peace
conditions no harder, but that cuts no
f1gure in the reckoning of their lead
crs, whose chief concern is to save
themselves, through saving the armies.
The humiliation of laying down their
arms and with it confessing failure to
their people.
The Germans are counting heavily
on the results being finally favorable
to them through sowing the peace
germ among the Allied peoples behind
the lines and its aSsiduous cultivation
during the winter My conviction is
that we cannot count on the German
people having either the influence or
initiative to terminate the war They
nave not yet given any sign of bein,-
out OF sympathy with the Kaiser. I'M
less Germany is in much worse condi
lion internally than we have evidence
Of the country is not yet ready to yield
20 the Allies demands.