Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-29
CopyrtOht. 1918, by Ncr York Times Co.
London Aug 30.

Special Cable to Erening Public Ledger
Copyrt0ht. 1918, by Ncm York Times Co.
London, Aug. 20.
The change which has come over
the enemy's fortunes in the last few
weeks is quite as dramatic and almost
as sudden as that which led to his
retreat from the Marine to the Aisne
in September, 1914. I have had the
good fortune to be able to see much
of the Somme battlefield, and | left it
very deeply impressed with the peril
Of our situation in April last, when
the first great attempt by the Ger
mans to separate the British and
French armies had been checked.
on April - the enemy captured
Nillers. .Bretonneux and passed on be-
yond the village toward Amiens Had
he been able to follow up at once the
advance he had then gained. or even
10 hold the ground he had won long
enough to allow of re-enforcements
being brought up, Amiens must have
fallen. Fortunately that very night
Sir Henry Rawlinson who realized
that the enemy must not be given time
to dig himself in, counter-attacked
with small force, mainly of Austria.
lians. and the Germans were driven
back to the east of Nillers Breton
neuX Still more fortunately, the
enemy had embarked on his Flanders
offensive. This appeared to be going
so we'll that he diverted to it forces
which. If used on the Amiens front.
would almost certainly have given him
the result he set out to obtain on
March 2l--the separation of the Allied
forces.
Changed Plan at Wrong Moment
As in 1914, so in 1918. the Germans
failed to obtain what appeared to he
in their grasp because they did not
follow up their first success and be.
cause they changed their plan at the
wrong moment. The Hindenburg Lu.
cessful in the easier conditions of the
eastern front, has on the western
front made exactly the mistakes which
Won Moltke made in 1914.
Their force has been FILTERED away
on side issues and we are now wit
, Messing the consequences. 1t took
too long to shape the Crown Princes
armies for the great offensive of last
month on either side OF Rheims.
grew; we were allowed time to re-
cover. and Foch was ready to take
advantage Of the first slip which the
enemy made.
There is little doubt but that the
turn of the tide dates from General
Gourauds repulse Of the Crown
| Princes Champagne attack Fifteen
of the best German divisions. care.
| fully nursed and trained for the great
| oh md
this so weakened the Crown Prince
! as to give Foch his chance. How he
used IL, how he has never let go Of
the Germans from the moment when
they first began to yield how he has
! completely regained the initiative and
exhausted the enemy's reserve and
forced him steadily back. we have all
seen and are seeing daily. 1t is GER
| tainly one of the great masterpieces
| of Reneralship.
With the initiative in our hands
the enemy's weak points became ap-
parent. His policy of selecting his
| best, physically and mentally, for his
! storm troops made him powerful in
| attack. but enfeebled his defense.
Picked men. carefully nursed and
trained behind the lines and given
special privileges, displayed high de-
gree Of enterprise and Initiative; and
TO them Germany owes. to great
extent, her success at the beginning
of the war. They bored holes. through
which the masses in their rear poured: I:
hut being in the forefront of battle.
| their losses were very heavy. and
when they had gone the general level
! of fighting power of the Germans was
! n-.'nh reduced.
General Morale Lowered
It is, I believe, to that fact the
sudden change which we have wit
messed in the German army from
strength to weakness is mainly due.
When a corps elite is formed at the
expense of the whole of the army, the
tendency Is to lower the morale of
those who do not belong to the favored
body.
German divisions thought to be good
enough to hold the line defensivelS
have lost their old pride in themselves
under the deadening influence o.
trench warfare. and as soon as things
began to 20 wrong they cracked. We
have had numerous orders recently ir
our hands signed by Ludendorf anc
other German generals, adverting II
strong language to the weakening o
discipline among their troops, slack
ness in dress, slackness in saluting
looting OF supply trains and stores, o.
neglect of duty in holding positions
and attempts to smuggle arms int
Germany have all been commented o.
severely by the supreme command
and all this shows that the rigid Prus
sian discipline is not standing th'
strain Of war.
other and more convincing signs o
the decadence of the German army arr
10 be found on the battlefelds. Pris