Arizona republican., 1918-08-08
War Correspondents

There is class of participants who thrived in earlier wars but which will come out of the present without luster Great made foundations for the future were laid by cores pondents in our Civil War and in the Crimean War Previous to the latter named war the cores 1ondent not institution and he might as well have ceased to be figure in the Russo Japanese War Our Spanish American War afforded the shoal of correspondents opportunity for nothing but to make themselves ridiculous.
 The present is either too big thing for the correspondents else the world has been so un- fortunate to have only small correspondents there Of all who have and he is not now there there is only one who has measured up to the job. He is Frank H. Simonds, whose daily articles the battles in the Marne salient have afforded the only intelligent ineligible view of the conflict that has spread before the American people These articles consist of comment the official the elimination from it of what unreasonable and preposterous and predictions to the succeeding phases of the struggle.
 The war correspondents with the various army In the uproar they did not know what happening or what was likely to happen. Their widness rst seriously manifested in their predictions that the bag would be closed and that large part of the German army in the salient would be captured. Mir Simonds at the time these cables coming and while General March in his conferences with the Washington correspondents discussing cheer fully the probability of closing the net. Mr. Smonds had already stated that it could done and why it could not be done.
 That he said General Foch knew as we'll as Ludcn- dorff knew. The only object of the counter offen- sive to much territory as possible and to kill many Germans as possible while doing so 2 The chief German effort not to hold any part of the salient but to control the retreat to such defensive positions as the Germans might choose.
 The first phase of the battle the German preparation for attack and the second phase the attack on July IS and the next day. It failed and the Germans prepared for the third phase the retreat and the pursuit beginning July 1s. The pursuit then, says Mir. Smonds, technically ended on July 20
 { Then the fourth phase entered upon. the seffort of the Germans to control their ments and by doing to determine the rapidity of iadvance of the allies.
 Mir. Smonds offers this illustrations
 You compare offensive like the present city fire. which, at the outset has swept several blocks and still burns fiercey after the fremen have drawn a line about it. decided where to stop it and abandoned certain buildings. not yet fire but to be saved because of proximity We say then that the fire is under control though the destruction increases and the of confagration extends the prescribed limits. In exactly same sense the allied operations in the Marne salient control since Sunday, July 20 although by that it plain it would extend almost the Vesle and abolish three quarters, if not alI of the Marne salient.
 Mir Simonds in later article says:
 The Second Battle of the Marne fought upon a narrower front than the first The main action after the third day confined the Marne salient and we have the accurate and truthful statement of the Germans whose veracity such occasions is , little short of amazing, that before the counter thrust of Foch launched their offensive had ' been checked and their commanders had is- sued orders which amounted abandoning a struggle which gave promise of no real profit The element of surprise which had been decisive their attacks in Picardy, Flanders and above the Asne. in March.
 J