The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-10-26
The Inscrutable Foch.

Marshal Foch continues to be inscruta
Bile. We are certainly glad that he is in
serutable for by that sign he conquers.
AT this moment he is striking the enemy
at the hardest points, where the enemy
is strongest and is capable of making
the most effective resistance, and is APP
parently letting the enemy alone where
the advance is comparatively easy. For
example, there is no further advance in
the north of Belgium. Client, which was
ready to fall, to all appearances, a week
ago, remains in German hands, and does
not seem to be seriously threatened at
this moment. The deliverance of north
ern Belgium is stayed But at the same
time, Sir Douglas Haig hammers per
sistently at Valenciennes, which is re-
garded as impregnable to frontal attack.
He inches forward by hard fighting in
the difficult ground between the Sambre
and the Scheldt, threatening Maubeuge,
though between him and that stronghold
lies the great forest of Normal, to pene
trate which would cost heavily in lives.
And farther south we have the small
army of Americans, the two or three di-
visions who are all that Marshal Foch
sees fit to throw into the fight just now,
hurting themselves on the Meuse, at no
small cost, against the portion of the
German line which is known TO be the
very point where they viii make their
longest and most desperate stand.
Why are these hard courses chosen,
which seem at the moment to have re-.
suited in renewal of the hideous old
Stabilized warfare" from which Foch de-
livered himself with such vigor and skill
in July? But one answer is possible,
and that is that this gnawing at the
enemy at the toughest place is the pre-.
lude and the concealment of an intended
coup somewhere else. At this distance, it
looks like the strategy of a dog who is
fighting bull, and who makes a pre-
tense of going straight at the bulls
horns while he is in reality preparing for
side-driye at the animals throat. BY
this time, the world, including the en-
envy, knows enough of Foch's methods to
be thoroughly convinced that he does not
purpose to relinqush the initiative even
to the extent Of settling down to moder-
ately successful frontal attacks. He still
adheres TO his disconcerting policy of at
lacking the enemy where he does not
expect to be attacked, and thereby pre-
pairing for surprise attacks somewhere
else.
A short time ago it was evident that
the Germans expected an attack in the
valley of the upper Rhine. They eyacu-
ated the civil population Of Muelhausen
and other towns in preparation for such
an attack. Az this moment, a French.
American advance in this quarter seems
to be strongly indicatedal the more
so from the fact that Foch is on record
in his book of war strategy as firm be-
lever in the Rhine strategy, and all the
more so from the fact that he favored
the Alsatian offensive at the beginning
of the war The mysterious absence of
the great bulk OF the American army
from any part of the present fighting
front is an added indication that a
coup in this direction is contemplated
But it is quite evidently not part of
Foeh's plan TO make an attack there or
anywhere else just Oft the moment when
the enemy is expecting it. In the mean.
time, he ia steadily wasting the forces Of
the enemy at the minimum cost TO him
self--though we must not delude our.
selves with the idea that the frontal at
tacks on the Meuse are costing nothing
to our American divisions there they
are costing quite heavily. The Foeh pol
icy of attrition costs something, indeed
But that it will have its eventual fruits
no one can doubt.
Against the likelihood of an attack in
the valley of the upper Rhine in the
present autumn there is one argument,
indeed. and that is the fact that, although
Alsace is the most southern part of the
line, the winter comes early there on ac.
count Of the high and generally noun
famous character Of the country. The
snow falls early and lies deep in AIsace
Nevertheless, there is yet time for
considerable and perhaps decisive oper-
alton there, assuming that it is already
carefully prepared Marshal Foch keeps
his plans to himself, and anyone who
should assume to anticipate them would
indeed be rash. The eventual stroke may
be quite in another part of the line
But of one thing we may be sure--that
Foch has not the slightest intention of
letting the war settle down to ditch dig.
pino apain~-Boston Transcript