American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1918-07-09
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THE DRIVE FOR AMIENS.
BY E. G. Pipp.
Copyright, 191S.)


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The cities along the line Of the Brit
ish front in Belgium and northern
France we're masses of tumbled down
stone and brick and mortar. Shells
had done their work everywhere.
Hunt the cathedral in any of those cit
les and you would find wreckage every
time. Not only cathedrals, but build
ings of every kind were in ruins. Now
and then enough of cellars would be
| left to afford a place of refuge for
soldiers quartered there. This was
the condition even before the spring
drive of this year.
Nor was it all the result of she'll fire.
IN some cities occupied by the Ger
mans after the big battle of the Somme
and before Hindenburg's famous vol
untary retreat. there was any amount
Of evidence of buildings being delib-
erately blown to pieces. One could
easily tell the difference between the
irregular hits by shell fire and the
systematic blowing out of the fronts
of buildings on entire streets.
It was over this territory that the
Germans proposed to make their drive
for Amiens.
A study of the map will readily dis
close their purpose Their line was
about 40 miles east of that place.
Amiens is an important railway center,
and to capture that city would enable
the Germans to cut the British army
of the north off from the army OF the
south and prevent communication be-
tween the army of the north and the
French. Americans and British south
of the Somme.
Viewing the lines of defense, the
cannon. hoWitzers. wire entanglements
and trenches of the British, one would
not think it possible for any human
mind to exist as cold-blooded and with
so little regard for life as TO attempt
to push human flesh against steel to
the extent required to break through
For every gain there must be price,
there must be a measurement of loss
of life against ground gained. Men Of
experience and sanity can figure in
advance to something of a certainty
as to what the cost will be, and no
general in the British, French or Am
erican army has been found so reck-
less of human life so stepped in mill
tary heartlessness. as TO be willing to
pay the price that Germany paid, or
willing to order the death of his own
men as Germany ordered in this drive.
History records that when Napoleon
was nearing his finish. when it was re-
garded that his mind was becoming
somewhat degenerate. he spent his mill
itary resource. the lives of his men.
with just such profligacy as was shown
by the Germans in the year 1918.
The kaiser himself came to the west
ern front to make this battle his battle.
Intrigue had won Russia, but intrigue
could not fool the British, or treachery
touch them; so they were 10 be made
to feel the power of German wrath.
AHlitarism must prevail for Germany
al all cost. the rulers must make an
other showing. whatever the loss in life
, to the men in the ranks. who with their
ancestors had had training of more
than a century in nothing but taking
orders
And so on the twenty-frst day of
March. the blow was struck. the Brit
ish resolute. determined. believing they
, could hold the line. the German gen
2 erals striking with that usadness and
I recklessness that comes of despera-
tion.
Hundreds of thousands of men had
been moved from the Russian front to
p help in the struggle. Smoke screens
were thrown up to hide the movements
2 from the observation balloons and air
p planes; some of the screens had been
b thrown up as early as the week before
when we were there. The German
= guns coughed harder. louder and more
5 often. The coughing and barking OF
2 guns and the whizZing of shells made
the din we heard the week before seem
like child's play. The Germans were
shooting over their own line OF
trenches into the first line of British
defense. That is the method of start
z ing an offensive.
The German men in their own