Evening star., 1918-11-10
Germany Beaten in the Field.

1t is important to note that, even
in the event of the surrender of Ger
many through the acceptance of the
allied terms of armistice, military
operations on the western front have
been carried to the point of practical
victory in the field. The seizure of
Sedan by the Americans, of Mezieres by
the French and of Maubeuge by the
British has put the enemy in posi-
ton of actual peril. His lateral COM
munications are cut and it is impos-
sible for him to shift large forces of
men to and fro on the field. They
can only move backward toward
Germany. And they must move. They
cannot remain where they are, for
not only are they outnumbered, but
they have been outmaneuvered and
their paths of retreat have been
lessened and made more precarious.
1t is not too much to say that a
few more days of battle in France and
Belgium would bring Germany's once
mighty and apparently unbeatable
army to the point of utter defeat and
capture. This has not been due to
the detection of Bulgaria, Turkey and
Austria, brought to submission in
succession by military defeats. For
there has not been time for any rein
forcement of the allied armies in
France and Belgium by Withdrawals
from other fronts, and for many
weeks Germany has been fighting alone
on the western front.
Since July 1S the allied armies have
gone forward. They have not suffered
a reverse. At the Marne, in Picardy,
in Belgium, at st. Mihiel, in the Cham
pagne, in the Argonne and through
the Meuse valley they have plunged
ahead, driving in wedges here and
there, splitting off sectors of enemy
front, forcing retreat after retreat,
taking enormous toll in prisoners and
inflieting cripplng casualties. Perfect
coordination has marked this yicto-
rious campaign, coordination of men
and materials and transport, and CO.
ordination between the several grand
divisions of the great army under
command of Marshal Foch.
Earlier in the war general often
sive" was hailed with joy by the peo-
pies of the allied countries as promis-
ing speedy victory, only to be followed
by disappointment as the drives, after
initial gains, slowed and were halted
by the tremendous defensive power
of the enemy The long -hoped-for
"break through" could not be accom-
plished. The lines were too long, the
communications were too difficult, the
danger of an outfanking movement
by the foe in counter attack was too
great. 1t required a much larger
force than was at the command of the
dlileu itdueIS Hdt Sicdlci 1oiOO
finally came from America, not merely
sufficient in numbers, but adequate in
point of quality. When the first Amer
lean million had reached France Foch
was ready to strike.
Apart from the disturbances at
home, from the political turmoil, from
the weakening of confidence in lead
ers, from the surrender in succession
of allies, the German army has been
beaten IN the field. If the armistice
is signed and hostilities are suspended
pending peace arrangements, the Ger
man forces may at the moment of ces-
sation still rest on foreign soil. But
the fact cannot be denied, by even the
most stubborn German partisan, that
at Hast the kaiser's great military ma
! chine was defeated.
1t is noted in dispatch from Paris
that for the first time in history ma
ton whose territory has not been in
vaded sues for peace. This fact alone
will stand as proof that what has now
happened is the military defeat OF
Germany in the field, even though the
final shots of the war may be fired
over non-German soil.
!