El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-07-06

rom page Il
THAT Gen. .Foch, when he can, viii re-
verse this situation. to the profit OF
[ the allied armies.
German Prospects Not Improved.
/ So much for the methods TO which
I the Germans owe their successes
! What are their prospects OF decisive
I victory. Every soldier I know would
mot answer that question, Very bad
At the end Of March, at the end Of
] 8Iav. the situation was critical. Mil
iftarv opinion, or some OF it, was pes
! simistic I could not have written this
story then, ] have written no story
about the great battle until now, be
. cause a correspondent until now had
I the choice Of telling the truth about
Z the position. which would have greatly
comforted the enemy and discourag ed
people in civilized countries, Of writ
ing what the English call -eyeWash"
and we designate by a cruder name,
or. thirdly, keeping his mouth shut on
the subject Some Of US chose the
latter course
Even in the blacklist days. there
was this to be said, that the complete
rupture Of the western front and the
loss Of the coast of northern France,
and Of Paris. would not win the war
for Germany. The line Of the Loire
can never be forced by a hundred Lu-
is impregnables and British troops could
be sent to The south and Americans
continue 10 pour in by the southern
ports. But such a lugubriOus prospect
at one time seriously envisaged, Is
now regarded as extremely unlikely.
Ludendorffs Tactics Fail.
Ludeudorff's tactics have been sue
cessful, from narrow point of view.
But soldiers are now saying that his
great strategic scheme has already
failed. They based this view on the
mum hers Of divisions available on both
sides; on the losses both have suffered;
on the present positions Of the armies,
and. above all. on the progressive re-
Enforcement OF the allied troops Dy
hundreds Of thousands Of Americans
while Ludendorffs 2O6 divisions in
the west cannot be increased, If in
coed they can be kept up to strength
much longer
But Paris2 Paris. my informants
who shook their heads IN April now
say will not fall And If It comes
under shell fire, the French VIII know
how 70 bear this great misfortune for
the whole world with their calm hero
ism that is foiling the grandiose plans
Of the German strategist- A somewhat
optimistic but fairly representative
view Of the strategic situation, by a
British authority Of standing, is given
below. This man makes no bones
about declaring that Germany has
failed already. that the various stages
Of the offensive are all unfinished
Jobs"
Is An Unfinished Job.
Consider these German attacks IN
der the aspect Of a push for Paris"
the English expert declared TO grasp
the military view Of this campaign
you must recall the opening OF the
war. The German plan then was an
advance through Metz, Nancy and
Luneville, down the Marne and the
Seine, combined with an advance
through Belgium and down the Disc.
The thrust through Nancy and Lune-
vile failed, and failing, left IL i'm
peratiVe TO break the allied line be-
tween Paris and the frontier, for an
attempted Investment of Paris by one
part only Of the German forces. while
the other part remained pinned, was
not TO be thought OF for a moment
And the failure on the 1larne was de-
cisive.
Allied Front Unbroken.
What is the bearing OF this on the
present situation? AS before, no ad-
vance or investment Of Paris is prac-
ticables save by a movement down the
Marine and the Seine. In other words,
the allied front. now as before. must
be broken between Paris and the from
tier If the enemy is TO get his de-
cision.
Look at the position for a moment
apart from that necessity, and i'm
agine IL 10 have been eliminated We
have now an advance down the Disc
upon Paris-presuming that to be the
intenuon-wIth an allied line on
either side Of the thrust. Not only
that but there is a forest belt to ne
gotiate- The German drive relies upon
its weight The forest belt to the
been left for nothing It is there for
q reasOn-this reason. And even when
the forest belt has been negotiated,
assuming il can be. there is deep and
powerful zone Of defence works be-
hind it Is all this easier than the
problem OF breaking the front some
where between Paris and the from
tier2 No.
The German Scheme.
IF there exists any doubt on the
point the known scheme Of the Ger
man offensive clears the doubt up.
The scheme was. first in March, by
advancing 10 the lower marshy
courses Of the Somme TO cut the Brit
ish army of from the French, and
either defeat il or contain it. Then, no
doubt, the breach between Paris and
the frontier was intended TO come off.
The allied forces in that case would
have been broken into three parts Then
there might have been an advance up
on Paris, and it would have meant
business. This present alternative
project does not
The first German attack, however,
remained indecisive, was stopped be-
fore Amiens. To make il decisive, the
April attack was opened on the Lys in
Flanders. That, too, was indecisive,
and the reason was the same in both
cases-the cost But incOnclusive as
these movements we're. although they
failed to cut off the allied left. the
proposed rupture in the center was
proceeded with. The enemy pushed
across the Aisne IN May; this attack
failed because it could not be carried
across the Marne.
Series Of Unfinished jobs.
WAS Hutier's present attack down
/ the Disc 2 false move in the circum-
stancesZ ] think so. 1t should be
clear now that the enemy's task Of
achieving decision in the west is an
enormous one. It may be said that he
/ has inflicted damage on the allied
J forces Certainly; but that damage
I has been less than the depletion Of
I his own forces. otherwise. his often
I sive would have taken different
I course His scheme would have been
/ completed step BY step So far it has
/ been series Of unfinished Jobs.
Germany has not made substantial
! progress towards obtaining a victory
I in the field The task has to be full
filled with the resources still at her
/ disposal, after four years Of war. As
I regards the relative exhaustion Of
D