The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-06-14
FOCH STRATEGY
CALLED GENIUS
OF PATIENCE
Allied General Shows Lead
pr Is Forced to Hold
Nerve Centres.
ARMIES MUST BE LINKED
Freedom of Movement for Re-
serves Restricted Till Amer
leans Are in Force.
ARMIES MUST BE LINKED
Special Cable Dssedich to THk SvN.
Coppyjoht 1918: al r,ohfs reserred.

LONDON. June ia remarkable
tribute TO Gen. Foch's strategy. which
he describes as a genius Of patience. was
expressed by an officer Of the allied
army who is now in London. but whose
rame cannot be revealed. This officer in
sisted that while. generally speaking. at
tack is the best form OF defence, whether
the margin OF numerical superiority IL
on his side or not. 1t is essential that a
General so placed should be operating
on interior lines 80 that what his forces
lacked in weight they would make up in
mobility.
TT is state OF mobility pos,ulates not
only the physical ability to shift armies
and their reserves quickly but the moral
freedom to yield ground as it were a,
will" he said at IL obvious that this
moral freedom TO man9uvre Is more or
less restricted in the case Of a bell!ger-
ent waging war on his own territory.
In the comparatively restricted areas
in France and Italy we cannot. short Of
uate our political and industrial oapi-
tails in Il e densely populated and flour
ishing northern provinces which lie
within or almost Immediately behind the
present war zones.
Vital Links In Chain.
As a matter Of fact our alliances
have incysased the strategic value Of
certain nerve centres. SUCH a. Calais and
Amiens Neither Of these would be vital
to the French army. where it is fight
H.
a liaison Of the French army with the
British. Calais from naval stand
point is equally 70 vital
AS a result Of these considerations
We would be obliged to maintain very
large holding forces on the whole front.
from the Channel TO the Disc. and then
to the Marne. because OF the enemy's
treble threat This means consider
able reduction of the free balance OF
reserves at Gen. Fochs disposal for
any initiative OF his own. unless our
Generalissimo snould elect to launch
his counter offensive In the very sec
tors where the Germans are now at
tack.ng.
In tina. case the Allies would have
to overcome the enemy in an area
where his lines are held with the
maximum density OF troops and where
his fortified barriers are SO numerous
and elaborate, and an area. moreover.
furthest from the German frontier and
the Rhine
While Gen. Ludendorn gladly would
impose such course upon our Cen
eralissmo II he could, Gen. Foch must
spare no effort to d,sappolnt his willy
opponent. But the alternative to an al
lied counter thrust at the German centre
in an allied counter thrust on both
wings a large sca.e enveloping move
men.. Unfortunately such a stroke. un-
like an attempt to pierce the German
front, requires considerable numerical
superiority on the part OF the assailant
Reliance on America.
The superiority OF the American arm
les eventually will restore us but hardly
for some time to come, which no doub,
explains why Gen. Fochs genius tenn
porarily must end its expression in un-
ruffled patience.
From the foregoing survey Of the
strategic position it will he grasped that
the numerical disparity between the OPP
posing Generals reserves or manGuvre
ma sses necessarily does not bear any
exact correspondence to the numerical
disparity between the aggregate forces
] do not believe that the latter disparity
is at all substantial.
1T may have been SO two months
ago. before the Intervention OF the
American troops en- masse, but since we
Allies perforce are operating on ex-
terror lines with inferior lateral COM
municat!ons and nghting on our OWL
territory. Of which every inch is becom-
ing more and more precious as we fall
! back toward our national nerve centres
We are compelled to inlmobilize for hold
| ing purposes far heavier percentage
| OF our armies than the enemy. and the
| strain Oh our strategic reserves Is con.
seQuently great.
Therefore Gen. Eoch Is doing the
right thing-the only possible thing In
the circumstances-by exercising the
| strictest economy in the omployment n,