South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-08-31
PAST WEEK IS
BEST Of WHOLE
YEAR FOR ALLIES
Such is Opinion of Americas
Greatest War Historian in
Summarizing Weeks
Results.
BY FRANZ ~. SIMONDS.
News ines and Associated News
nnncIs, Mnr Critic

papers War Critic
Regard being had for that long
period of anxiety. which extend
cd from March II 60 July Is. il
l. not too much 10 say that the
past seven days have been for u
and our allic~. and on the spec
tacular side. the best week of the
whole year. To be sure. the fact
of salvation from the SraNcr pcrils
Of victory was established on
Aug. ) ny RaWlin~on's offensive
along the Sommc. just a. the fact
WAS disclosed by Mangin'~ tri-
umphant thrust on july y.
But neither the one blow nor
the other Immediately revealed
it, consequences. The German
retirement To the NcsIc was de-
lihcralc. and after a pr"Cipitatc
dash out of the Montdidicr sal
lent. Ludcudord was able To make
long halt az the old SOmmc
lines. >tratceiCallN. on the tech
nical military side. the results
were already enormous. hut they
were not revealed on the map.
and IL j. To- tlic map that the mass
of people look for the meaning OF
military events.
Toward the close OF last week.
however. there came change I'm
the situation. The German could
no longer escape the consequences
OF this great defeat. He had to
retreat To escape disaster. and his
retreat had necessarily To bc &C
COmpli~hcd under heavy pressure
He could not cNadC the WatChful
EOch: lac had To pay a price for
retirement; price measured on
the British front by 10000 pris-
onCr~ and 30 guns i'm seven days,
and by 10000 prisoners and many
more guns i'm the full period
from Aug. $ To Aug. 50.
Tho start Of the retreat was
rendered inevitable when Byng
began his thrust outward toward
BapaumC last week. although that
thrust was not Immediately sue
cc~sful i'm gaining Bapaume.
Away off To the south the French
followed the British example by
taking RoYc. With Royc gone aud
Bapaumc reached. the whole Ger
man cdificc was crumbliug. To
take Bapaumc and Royc. the
British and French fought from
July I To the end OF the wear i'm
1916 and they did not get either.
But once Rove had gone. Chaul-
ucs. NesIc and all the old French
battlefield south the SOmme and
the British detectives north i'm
HAT terrible summer and autumn
of 1916 were dOOmed-fclI like
ripe apples To the French and
British.
Md now. at last. the map
shows the consequences. The seed
was the success of Aug. $: the
harvest j. the retreat now back
ward and bound to continue.
whatever the temporary halts.
until the old Hlndenburg line il
now reached. We have liquidated
all the gains OF LudendOrff i'm his
great OncnsiNc> of the spring.
We have disposed of one more
German chance To win the war.
the chance supplied by the col
lapse of Russia. The German had
~iN weeks 10 win the war III the
MaIne campaign OF 1911. before
Russia could intervene effectively.
and lac lost. He had four months
in the Nerdun episode OF 1915 and
he lost: me had from March II TO
July this year. before America
could get its first divisions into
shape and give FOCh the neces-
eary strategic reserve. And again
lac lost
But the moment has come when
il il no longer important TO con-
centrate attention upon the phase
Of the campaign which il going
forward logic ally to an inevitable
finish. The time within the next
few days. probably by the end of
the next week. the German Will be
back at the Hindenburg line; ne
will have before him that system
OF entertainments hc has been
preparing i'm all the time since lac
was defeated by Rawlin>on: he
will have from tie SCaFpc to the
Oi~e that bulwark which il the
desert Hindenburg created i'm
1917. a desert without roads. rail
WAYS. Villages. or even shade
trees
Then will come the third great
crisis Of the campaign. Then will
come the test a. 10 whether Foch
can promptly carry on his victory
to the next and greater step. 20
she point where the exclusion
OF the German from France be
comes possible in the present year.
MI else j. now Of minor cOnse-
qucnCc Of this great possibility.
The supreme test between I'OCh
and LudendOr1 for this wear must
como within the next fortnight.
and lhc test maN settle the war
dccisiVely. for If the Germans
have To promptly quit the Hin
dcnburg barrier they viii reach
the Belgian frontier i'm ribbons
Anothcr long retreat. immediate
n after the present. would be TOO
dcmoraliLing tu permit the Ger
man machine To- retain its organ
ilation. The consequence would
he supreme military disaster.
aud IL - consequence now pos
-iblc Tor the first time in this war
I'm "a. a.ITfaI lido