The Little River news. (Ashdown, Little River County, Ark.) 1897-current, 1918-06-12
FOCH INTLMATES
ALLIES SOON TO
TAKE OFFENSIVE
SupreRe Leader Says Success cannon
Re Obtained Otherwise-Even Pre-
pares for Defeat, for Decisive Az
tack is Keynote OF Triumph.

: London, June 9.-That battles can
he won in the end only by the ar
nv which takes the offensive is the
significant declaration made oy zen
eral Foch. commanderin-ch OF the
allies in an important article con-
tributed by him to the Weekly Jour
nal in which he discusses the prop
lem OF the soldier and the way to VIC
tory.
"Mcdern warfare, to arrive at It's
end and to impose its will on the
enemy" says General Foch, rec
osnizes only one NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
of the enemy's organized forces.
War undertakes and prepares this
destruction by battle which brings
about the overthrow of the adver-
sary. discrepancies his command, de-
stroys his discipline and nullifies his
units as far as their fighting power is
concerned.
Our first axiom must be that COM
pletely to achieve its objects a bat
tie must not be purely defensive. A
purely defensive battle, even well
conducted, does not result i'm vic
tor and a. vanquisled. 1t is simply
a game that must be begun over
again.
From this it is an obvious cor
Rotary that an offensive, whether
started at the beginning of an ac-
ton of whether it follows the defen-
sive can only give results and in con-
sequence must always be adopted al
the finish
To Hold Net Victory.
',ro maintain our position is not
synonymous with being victorious and
even prepares for a defeat. Ii We re-
main where we are and do not pass to
the offensive to fix the direction
of attack to guard against the plans
eli the enemy and prevent him from
carrying out the same maneuver we
must undertake to carry on and sus-
tain numerous cOmbats each with de-
termined aim.
But since there remains no
doubt that decisive attack is the very
keystone Of a battle, all other actions
which make up a battle must be en-
visaged, considered, organized, provid-
ed with force in the measure in which
they will prepare, facilitate and guar
antee development of a decisive at
tack characterized by its mass, Its
surprise, it's speed and for which in
consequence it is essential that there
shall be the maximum reserve fOrcc
possible of troops of maneuver. The
reserve-that is to say the prepared
bludgeon-is to be organized and kept
carefully instructed to execute the
suits are expected, namely, the de-
cisive attack.
Must Husband Reserves.
Reserves must be husban led with
the most extreme parsimOny so that
the bludgeon may be strong enough
to make the blow as violent as pos
sible. Let loose at the finish with
out any lurking idea of saving them
with a we'll thought out plant for win
ming the battle at a point chosen
in all together III an action surpass-
ing in violence and energy all Other
phases Of battle, an action with prop
err characteristics mass
and speed. All our forces really par
ticipate, either by preparing it Or
by carrying it out.
I'm this, our supreme aim, we must
not be deceived by appearances, al
though theory fails when applied by
feeble hands and when accessories
obscure the main principle, history
and reason show us that in battle
there is a single argument which il
worth while, namely, decisive attack
which is alone capable of assuring the
desired resu1ts-tte overthrow of the
adversary