The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1918-08-08

October, 1914. : 70 =
III tnls autumn the French army was
passing through a period OF reprgaaina-
Lon n renaissance. It's defeat in MAY
g snakSp 1t to h very foundattsn.
ror q lew weeks Its morale was lever
q at n time since the wal began.
70 retain, whc succeeded Nivslle, vsas
the grim task Of restOrtnw
confidence and discipline. while behind
tne army the nation. under Clemsa-
ceau,, cleaned it's high places 81 those
VINO had consrired against victory and
held secret conference with the BE. a
lew minor successes above the Aisue
n about Verdun served to prove that
the task was being accomplished, but
Iorsthe balance Of the campaign Of 1917
the French army was limited to the de-
iensive, or to operations which were
but local offensiYes.
In Italy, Toe.
The first months Of the fourth year
OF war saw Italy winning considerable
successes along the Isonzo, where for
two years Italian soldiers. had been
struggling to break through the 1gan-
tic Thermopyl@ between h Julian
Alps and the Adriatic, by which ran
the, road to Trieste and h Austrian
capital far beyond, the road Napoleon
had taken more than a century before
in his brilliant campaign Of 1887. BY
~ 6@Nog 49,
TRAN recoil was general north n
south, and allied capitals, boxing
southward, saw in Italian success at
least consolation for their own failures.
But in November, Italy suffered her
first great reverse Of the war. Her
| population and her army, like those OF
the French nation, had been corrupted
by enemy propaganda and by defeatist
md pacifist efforts. The faint OF boil
shevism was already beginning to do
its work in Italy as it had in Russia.
Suddenly, along the Upper IsonEo front,
a German army appeared and struck
an Italian army holding h flank OF
Cadorna's main forces to the south
ward. and holding it carelessly and
with little thought OF danger.
In a few short hours this Itaisah army
was DESTROYED In exactly the fashion
Radko Wimitrieffs Russian army had
Radko Dimitrieff's Russian army had
with consequences to other armies
equally %grieyous. One day advancing
and seemingly on the v OF decisive
| victory, Cadorna's armies on the Lower
Iscnzo and about Goriza found hem
| selves on the next with their rear and
flank imperiled, condemned to q swift
and costly rush backward. behind the
! Tagliamento and then behind the
lPiave. The invasion of Austria was
over and the Hapsburgs once more oc-
cupted at least a wide sweep Of their
old province Of Venetia, while 1t was
the fate Of Venice, not Of Trieste, which
was now in doubt.
Thanks to an Italian rally and to the
rush of British and French troops to
their stricken ally Venice was saved.
and the retreat ended at the Piave and
not at the Adige, but Italy had suffered
one Of the great defeats of history and
was henceforth condemned for long
months to the defensive: She had, in
fact, been onSthe edge of ruin; her es-
cape had been by a slight margin, and
at the moment the question Of her
future capacity to fight, brilliantly an
swered at the Piave the other day, was
to give her allies grave concern.
Thus the calendar year and the cam
paign OF 1917 ended amid the most
gloomy Of all possible circumstances
British successes in the early months
had been dimmed by the failure, the
bloody failure. in Flanders. The French
army had not merely seen Its hopes
come to nothing at the Aisne, blu had
for the first time, been shaken In its
confidence and was only beginning to
give signs Of renewed constancX and
efficiency. The Italian army ads suf-
fered Of the great disasters OF the
war. The minor efforts in the Balkans
had been without even h smalles'
material benefft0
70 swell the balance on the wrong
side Russia was sinking to a hapless
sderelict and Rumania was obviously
soon to quit the war. All hope OF ar
offensive IN 1918 had now to be sur.
rendered. The allied high command
did not preceive that the defensive
which was its role would be n beset
with difficulties so great that isagtei
Knight impend, but 1t did recognize tina,
Ethere was nc longer n chance o.
victory. in 1918 nor at ny other time
until America should be able to replace
Russia in the battle line. 5,
AS for. the German. he could booF
{ forward to a return to the west nov
with his armies victorious in the east;
: he could look forward to superiority
| in guns as a result OF Russian ane
| italian successes and to advantage IL
numbers as a result Of the suppression
Of the Russian and Rumanian fronts
For him TIE new year daWncd bril.
Iiantly. For his &nemies 1T was tn
! beginning Of a time which they alread;
foBesaw was to be one OF grave IRA
; but how grave it was to be they coult
! not suspect, and, not suspectfng, pallet
to provide against.
The German Strikes.
On March Fl the German struck be.
tween the Scarpe and the Disc, 40 Ill
! visions against Is, swiftly destroyed
the Fifth British army, swept over III
ruins to the outskirts OF Amiens, opened
the ROAD GOWN TIE OlSe SaiSy
as far as Noyon and took Montdidier
and cut the main railroad from Peri!
to Amiens by artillery fire. Only tn
swfftest possible<work on the part q
the French rushing to tho aid OF thfh
British allies prevented the separation
Of the two armies. m DioW wa
checked at the moment when fIrthel
German progress would have mean
separation and separation approximate
ruin.
Rarely has any defeat taken the van.
quished more completely by surprise
Suddenly the French and British alik
were aroused to the fact that tilei
position was critical, their numbers in
sufficient and bound to be insufficient
They had expected to maintain a sue