The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-13

The general reserve has wholly dis appeared and ths harassed German line now is like loom with shuttle of moving divisions rushing up and down it's lateral communications 10 save what can be saved as each sec GOT is threatened in turn.
 That is the first numerical aspect of the enemys situation, and it is grave enough in all conscience. Here is an- other. Since the counter r-offensive the enemy has lost on this front alone more than quarter of a million men in pris- oners and 5000 guns, and in total cas- ualitieS he counts certainly not less than 50o,000, and probably much more. An other way of putting it is that one man out of ten all told and one of every seven in the infantry who answered the roll call last July is now a prisoner and three men out of ten in the infantry at roll call Il weeks ago-that compara- lively recent date-are today in the hos pital, missing or dead.
 Nor is this all. At the moment of writing 79 days have passed since the counter offensive was launched by the allies and the initiative and victory passed over to them. As l have said, this period accounts for 250,050 prisoners and 5000 guns, but a quarter of this total in prisoners and a third of the captured guns belong to the last 10 days alone.
 Here is yet another way of putting the situat ton. The number of Americans (not the total Americans, but the trained troops entering the field) during this short period is greater than all the Ger man recruitment of this year, quite apart from the French and British recruitment which is available. If to these numbers one is permitted to add the contrast in munitionment and aircraft, the conclu- sion would be still more striking. Turn from this matter of numbers to the matter of ground. Before July IS the main lateral communication of the allies. the Calais-Amiens- Paris Chalons- Nancy railway, was cut in two places. , The total enemy lateral communication through Metz, Merein and Lille was scores of miles from the allied guns. Today the latter is uncut, but at three points our guns are already at 12,oOo 15,000 and 5000 yards range, while the former has been completely restored. The enemy is "out of range. of it every where.
 THE POLITICAL SIDE Turn to the political side. Before the offensive in July the dependents of Prussia were a solid block, strong enough on Asian fronts and immensely strong and apparently impregnable in Macedonia. Russia had disappeared We had against us apparently populations of 150,0O0,000 and armies of 12,O0O.0 .000 Today the Bulgars have gone, the Turkish em- pire is cut off by land and Allenby has accounted for one-third of the totai Turkish armies and one-half of their ef- fective strength The Turks had 200 GOO men organized in units of these some 1eO,000 were fully equipped and in fight ing order in Palestine, the Caucasus and Mesopotamia. The remaining 10000 are the palace guard at Constantinople O., are garrisoned in Asia Minor, and soma few are still at the Danube
 The great victory in Palestine at one stroke carried off just under SoO0O with in ten days. But the defection of Bull garia and the crushing of Turkey has obviously not only broken the enemy's block politically, but it has created a new southeastern front which will in evitably empty Albania and the Danube and also, probably, cause guerilla war fare in Rumania. Morally it has done much more. It has declared to lesser neutrais that her dependents no longer rely upon the victory of Prussia.
 In view of such things one cannot but desire that the mere elements of the military situation should be known as widely as possible. The enemy's appeal to be saved from the just consequences of his crimes Is addressed to three forces
 
 alone can support him. With avarice- that Is, financial intrigue-one can only deal by exposure. With fatigue one can only deal by persuasion. But with ig- norance one can deal by a recital of facts which all can understand. It is greatly to be desired-and I have said it over and over again in the last four years, and it is not yet too late-it is greatly to be desired that public author ities in each allied country should pub fish those truths on the military situa- tion which are known to enemy authori-s ties as well as our own, but which our public is not generally told.
 For instance, how many American citi- zens who may read this appreciate that the number of American soldiers landed in Europe in six weeks is superior to the whole German recruitment of one year? How many know that in order to stop the Americans and French in the Champagne quarter all the movable German divisions were moved, and yet the effort of the enemy failed? @
 What the reply to the enemy's peace appeal may be by the time this appears none can yet tell. But repeat tl,at if merely the clements of the military sit- uation were publicly appreciated in the allied countries by civilian opinion the reply to that appeal would be as cer- tain as it would be simple. The Prus- sian government tells us that if we de- mand justice and refuse it's cry for mercy it will act "as they did after a similar offer in 1916."
 They cannot, and for four reasons. First. there is no collapse like that of Russia in prospect: second, they have not the men: third, they are losing de- pendents and servants; fourth, in 1916 they had still proved in practice capable of holding a defensive line, today in pra ctice they fail to hold it.
 f(yo,yriobt 1Q1c Naur vorlr Trib,,paN