The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-10-31
By Frank H. Simonds.

Copyright, 1917, New York Tribune.)
When his article was written
Foch's offensive had reached it's SUI
preme crisis. Within a relatively brief
time will be answered the question OF
utmost interest and importance-Can
Ludendorff regain the offensive? IL he
can even briefly, the lines Will
stabilize themselves on the front IA
iniliar Throughout h campaign oil
1917, and the enc OF the fighting sea-
son will arrive before the Germans
can be pushed 10 the Belgian IRON
tier.
On the other hand, If the cost OF the
retreat has been so great that Luden-
dorff has consumed his reserves, then
he cannot wrest the initiative from
Foch and he will have to continue to
conform TO the strategical movements
Of his great enemy as he has had TO
conform to them for the last two
months, ever since July IS, when the
thrust OF Mangin toward SCISSORS
definitively deprived the Germans OF
their advantage gained at the battle
OF Picardy on March Il and retained
up to the transformation OF the sec
ond battle Of the Marine from u Ger
man to a French operation.
The Initiative Counts.
Now the essential thing to recognize
at the outset is that 1t will be i'm
possible for Ludendorff merely to re-
tire to the Hindenburg line and there
conduct a passive or even an active
defense. This would only be possible
If Foch's armies had been used up by
their offensive Of the last week, a
thing which may be regarded as ut
terly unlikely. The change in the
methods OF combat in the last summer
has brought back something or the
old fashioned tactical conditions OF
the period which temporarily ended at
The first Marine.
Looking back at that campaign
of 1914 we can derive aluable infor-
nation MS to the Campaign now in
progress. In the opening phase or the
war Joffre took the offensive, just as
Ludendorff seized it in March of this
year. In the latter half of August
.Joffre pushed armies into Alsace,
Lorraine, Belgium, Luxembourg and up
TO CharIeroi. But toward the end or
August all these armies were heavily
beaten, all of them compelled to re-
treat, and the initiative passed from
the French 10 the Germans.
In this situation Joffre had two
courses open to him. He might have
sought to rcSroup his armies and con-
duct an operation Of a purely defensive
nature from the SOmme to the Moselle,
covering Amivns, Rheims and Nancy.
But such an operation would condemn
him TO a permanent defensive, and in
the view of all modern strategy, which
has returned TO the Napcleonic con-
ception, the defensive spells defeat.
You may possibly hold our enemy for
a certain period OF time, but o can
never destroy him, you will have al
ways 10 conform TO his Will; anu the
whole purpose of war, OF all war be-
you'd all other wars, is TO destroy the
armies of your foe.
Accordingly Jofrre adopted the prln-
ciple of q wide swinging retreat, n
lighting retreat. behind which he under
took to regroup his armies with the de-
iibprate intent to regain the offensive
when this reorganization was complete.
While The defeated armies slowly re-
tired from the Belgian frontier into
France he created two new armies,
those Of Foch and ~NIaunoury, and when
chose armies We're at last created he
was ready, while the enemy had by this
time advanced into q perilous position.
Joffre accordingly retook the offensive.
defeated the Germans and compelled
chem to retire 10 the AiSne. More than
this, once the Germans were AZ. the
Aisne and preparing to renew their ad-
vance upon Paris, Jolfre opened q
turning movement east OF Amiens
which compelled the Germans to aban-
don their own plans 10 meet the new
danger. The resul was that the cam
paigr. of 1914 ended before Ypres, with
the initiative still escaping the Ger
mans. And they never fully recovered
this initiative OF the western front I'M
til the present year.
On the other hand, owing to the SUI
perior preparations of the Germans,
their greater numbers and the unreadi-
ness of the British-an unreadiness
wholly comparable with our W last
year-Joffre was never able to exploit
his various successes. He had broken
the German strategy, but his W was
not to be carried to it's logical conclu-
sion because he lacked men, munitions
and guns. Not until the recent fighting
I'm July was IA mechanical equipment
Of the French and British equal to the
German, although numerically allied
superiority in the west was fairly
steady from May, 1915, up to the be-
ginning Of the present year.
Now, when Ludendorff was beaten
at the second Marine his position was
similar TO that Of Jeffre after the
failure of the French offensive in 1914.
i|!s w strategy was temporarily
"tHkcd. He recognized that he must
te:fe out Of untenable positions taken
Gay as q detail in his w effort to
bring the French and British forces
under unfavorable conditions md des-
troy. them. He realized that retroa<
was necessary in order that, while
parrying the blows of the enemy de-
livered under advantageous conditions.
a. n result Of their Marine victory, he
might regroup his forces and, ut the
appropriate moment, following Joffre's
example, take the Off again and
accomplish what Joffre had accom-
plished at the Marine.
Map Tells Little.
IL Is in his light we must view all
that Il happened since July Is. The
retreat of the Germans, important for
the French>and British, as if released
valuable and necessary lines of com
m~unication and greatly improved the
general physical situation OF the allies,
was of relatively II inor importance IN
the larger sense. unless it's consc-
Yuence should be tie Generalization CT
the German army and the elimination
of all chance that when IL had effected
u retirement IL codld pass to the Of
iensive and not merely regain the la
it!atiye, but force its p%ursuers TO cen
form 10 It's will for the balance of the
year.
The essential thing in all war is MOI
the occupation of territory, save as tho
occupation OF that territory forces.
our enqlny TO fight under ~unfavorJ
able conditions. and. has fighting, to
meet utter defeat. We eli of us Ioc!.
at the map ard see there. as it icay
happen, causes for hope or for fcan.
Yet IL is not on the map thai Foch OF
L~udendorff seek the answer TO their
questions. Tho whole objec. OF both
strateg. es. for both German and
French StuffS are wholly Der-leate,