The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-03-28
ALL EYES TO THE FRONT.

In resuming. on a large scale, the
military initiative which was aban-
doned after the failure at Verdun. the
German high command tacitly admit
that, for them, it is NOW or never"
In men and material the allied
strength on the western front keeps
steadily growing, while. after all pos
sible transfers from the eastern front
had been made. and when youths of
the class of 1919 had already been
called for service last fall. the German
strength practically reached its at
tainable maximum. A few months
more and the prospect was that Ger
many would have to face at least
last Thursday. There is the British
contingent of 100000 of mature mill
tary age hitherto exempted from serv-
ice, and there is our own stream of re-
Inducements gaining in volume with
every month, and in fighting value
with every week
On the latest and greatest effort
now in progress the Germans have
manifestly staked everything. and
their initial successes, due primarily
to the concentration of force rendered
possible by the Russian collapse, were
almost inevitable. That they have
been provided against must be as
sumed. Sir Douglas Haig has had
fair warning of what to expect, and it
is highly improbable that the British
do not possess the advantage of pre-
pared positions. one behind the other.
to enable them to break the weight of
the German attack.
In the first stages of that attack,
which is developing with such start
ling rapidity. the place names made
familiar in the long drawn-out battle
of the Somrne reappear. Berlin claims
that the third and fourth British
armies and parts of the Franco Amer
lean reserves which had been brought
up suffered heavy losses on the line
from Bapaume to Bouchevesnes and
behind the Somme between Peronne
and Ham, as well as at Chauny.
1t was on September 16, 1916, that
the allied troops gained possession OF
a front, which included Bouchevesnes
and the greater part of Bouleaux
wood. On September &c the French
occupied Combles and the British
troops carried the formidable fortress
of Thiepval and occupied the heights
overlooking it on the east. At that
time the fifth German line was
roughly defined by the Bapaume-
Peronne road.
And now the tide of war sweeps
the Germans left behind them wher
the victorious allies made their fina1
advance toward Cambria. st. Quentin
and Laon. 1t is useless to try to dis
guise the gravity of the situation. says
the New York Journal of Commerce
but 1t would be absurd to regard thi:
latest German blow as of vital sig.
nificance. The Germans are bound tt
make the most of their successes. A.
a tonic for the spirits of a peopl,
growing very tired of the war, ant
very doubtful of its issue, they ar,
invaluable. But for the allied nation,
they are merely significant of tn,
heightened struggle for which event
in Russia had already prepared al
sober minded men.
1t is a time to keep our heads, cul
tivate sense of proportion and SCI
) things thru the eyes of the man at tn,
, front rather than of the man in tn
! street. When the man at the from
. throws up the sponge it will be tim
to admit the accent of despair. At tn
: present writing, the man in the allie,
: trenches and on the -llied redoubts i
: experiencing the joy of battle, becaus
his long-awaited opportunity ha
come.