Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-08-13
THE PASSING OF THE DOUBT CLOUDS
Mr.. Lloyd George Reviews the History of the War te
Date
GERMAN HOPE OF VICTORY IS VANISHING FAST
I>tsh Prime Minister Tells the House of Commons OF
the Dark Days of the Recent Past and Of the Present
Bright Outlook-Says American Army Will Soon be
Big as the German Army and No Less Efficient

Y, dllu NV LCoo IIlhSAShe'
portance and the immensely Of 1t:
Efforts in the war should he realized.
U. S. Naval Mission Impressed.
THE American naval mission
which came over recently. saw
great deal OF the effort Of the British
navy and was immensely struck will
the vastness of the work which Is be-
ing done. II was especially anxious
that STEPS be taken to make known
not only here. but in America, tho
gigantic character of the task we arc
doing.
Unless the Allies had been com.
plctcly triumphant at sea from tho
outset Of the war no effort on the
land could have saved them. The
British fleet has been mainly respon'
siblr for that complete triumph
which could not have been secured
and maintained without gigantic ef-
forts in men and material. Any dis
tribution Of resources which would
impair In the least the effort would
bc ruinous to the forces OF the AL
lies.
Empire Force 100000.
81 would like to point out. In deal
ing with the army and its growth
that the maintenance Of the navy and
tire mercantile marine Is the FIRST
charge on the resources of the coun-
try. Our military effort has been sub
jrct to the demands of those obliga-
tions ON our resources In mon and
material. yet since August, 1914. in
Guiding those already with the colors
Great Britain alone has raised for the
army and the navy. 6.250,000 men. fol
the most part voluntarily. The Do
minions contributed 100000 and In
dia l.25O.OO0.
IF America were to call to the
colors the same number OF men "a
Great Britain. in proportion to popu-
lation. il would mean nearly l5,00O.-
900 men.
"On the western front, after tn,
enemy had been relieved of all APP
prchcnsion on the eastern front be-
cause of the Brest- Litovsk peace. tn,
Germans brought all their best diri-
sions against us and our allies
Therefore. when the German ofen-
sivc began March 81 the Allies were
confronted by the flower of the Ger
man army. who had rested and made
preparations specially for the great
blow while the French and the Brit
ish were tired by the prolonged Of
fensivc on our part under the most
exhausting conditions. -sa-,s..., .,.>r-------
One U. S. Division In Line March Il.
considerable American forces had
been expected to reach the battle
front by spring. but as n matter OF
fact on March II, there was only one
American division in the line, al
though there were three or four d.
visions behind the line which were
brought up after the attack began.
"'Thc weather conditions were the
most favorable that the enemy could
have chosen. Our united command
was not vet an accomplished fact. in
smile of all endcavors to achieve II,
and each general was mainly con-
ccrncd over the perils Of his own
front so that when the blow came
the reserves of the Allies armies were
not available TO meet II where 1t fell.
Those were the conditions under
which the long G-prep0red and care
fully planned blow OF the picked
troops of Germany fell upon the Brit
ish army. The cnemy's object was to
obtain a military decision this year
before the American army could come
up. first of all by scvcrinE the TWO
armies and then attacking the sepa-
rated French and British forces.
"We must understand the enemy
plan in order to realize what the
v.,Ior of the British army achieved.
IL the two objects had been obtained.
the American forces could not have
arrived in time to save the French
army. That was the German calcu-
lation. Let us not forget In the light
of what happened afterward that 1t
was not such an impossible effort.
How did the German plans pros
per? There had been four and half
months of such fighting as never be-
fore was seen on the face of the
globe. What happened? At first
the German army achieved consid-
erable success and we had anxious
anxious moments
Those who knew most about the stu
alton were the most anxious. Our
losses were considerable in men, In
material and also in prisoners.
The second German blow might
very well have overwhelmed the Brit
ish army, but before the battle was
over. In fortnight's time. 100000
men were thrown across the channel
and. in a months time, $4,000. Every
gun lost had been put back and every
machine gun replaced. Not merely
had the deficiency been supplied. hut
the number had been Increased.
AT this moment there are more
machine guns with the army IN
France than ever before. 1t was the
first German miscalculation. They
calculated that we could not do 1t.
Strategy Of Press.
I'VE owe a debt Of gratitude to
section of the press for misleading
the enemy. They led the Germans to
believe that We hadn't even been able
to make up the deficiency. and the
Germans made their plans accord
ingly.
They hit here. they hit In the
south. in the centre and in the north
where they thought. they were de-
stroying the British army with
nothing behind II. In six weeks they
were hurled back and forced to stand
still by the British army. They were
defeated In two Of the most sanguin-
airy battles Of the war. They were
left unhealthy salients under the fire
OF our guns and with an extended line,