The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-08-30
AMERICAN DASH
D|SCOURAGES HUN
BOCHE PRISONERS BEGIN TO
SEE THAT THEIR CAUSE
IS LOST.

Washington, August 29.-Andrt
Tardieu, French commissioner Of
Franco-American war cooperation
who is in Paris, has given to The
Associated Press by cable, a com
prehensive summing up of the mill
tary events OF the last five months
and showing their present bearing
on the war situation. He says. Ger
man prisoners declare that ii the
whole American army shows the
same dash as the Americans who
have been in action so far the Ger
man cause is lost.
M. Tardeu relates how events ir
Russia, by giving Germany crush
ing superiority, allowed the enemy
from March on to undertake large
offensive operations directly threat
ening Paris, putting Amiens, the
pivot of the Franco-British troops
under fire and cutting off railway
communications with the east and
north. This was on July Is. Or
August 3, the enemy was brought
back on the Vesle. the road to Nancy
was freed and the access to Paris
by the Marine was barred through
operations in which the American
troops played prominent part.
But the German army still wa.
powerful and its losses were coun-
ter-balanced by the gains of the
preceding offensive, M. Tardieu
says. Then the British army as
sumed the offensive. Amiens was
liberated; Montdidier fell, the ar
mics OF General Debeny and Hum
bert started a war of position, and
August 10 the French reached the
Disc, south of Noyon, with Man
gins army.
The events up to August %, when
the main British attack began, are
described, and M. Tardieu con-
tinues:
Sums Up Partial Results.
Though it is too soon as yet to
sum up as a whole, the military OPP
erations extending from August 5
to August rs, since the battle is still
in progress, the following results al
ready have been obtained:
First, Paris is no longer threat
ened.
Second. our direct communica-
tions by rail between Paris and
Calais have been re-established. as
had been those between Paris and
Nancy, on July %.
Third, our aim, to wrest the in
itstive from the Germans, has like
wise been attained.
"The instructions given by the
German high command to the Ger
man troops are now of decidedly
defensive nature. They confess that
the situation is serious for Germany.
Judging from reliable documents it
seems that only "a fresh divisions,
that is to say, "a divisions having
been Withdrawn from the firing line
for at least a month, are now all
the actual German reserves.
"Twenty-three others are being re-
formed.
Last Reserve is Shaken.
"Forty-seven divisions. whose mo-
rale was considerably shaken, consti-
tute the Germans last reserve in the
present battle.
"The answers of prisoners, secret
documents and letters addressed to
German soldiers reveal a great dis
couragement among them. They no
longer believe in victory, and with
them it is only question Of holding
on to save Germany from disaster.
Germany knows now that French
and English reserves are not ex-
hausted and at last she begins to
learn the value of the help that
America brings to the allies. She
realizes that the American divisions,
after the operations along the Vesle
and strengthened by constant flow
of new divisions. are in themselves
a menace every day more imminent.
The German officers taken prisoner
before July Is. asserted that they did
not believe in the possibility of the
participation of the Americans in
the battle.
German prisoners in the last at
tacks recognize that the fighting
qualities Of the Americans are ex-
ceedingly great and their tenacity ex-
tra-ordinary.
"If the whole American army. they
added, shows the same dash, the
German cause is lost"