The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-06-10
RESERVES CLUB
FOR KNOCKOUT
GEN. FOCH SAYS
Commander Says Offensive
Is the Only Way to Win a
Victory.

LONDON, June l0.-Battles can be
won in the end only by the army which
takes the offensive. This Is the sig
nificant declaration made by General
Foch, commander In chief ST the allies,
in an article contributed by him to
the weekly journal, the Field, In which
he discusses the problem OF the soldier
and the way to victory.
Modern warfare, to arrive at its
end and to impose its will on the en-.
emy," Gen. Foch says, recognizes
only one Reconsideration OF the
enemy's organized forces.
War undertakes and prepares this
destruction by battle, which brings
about the overthrow Of the adversary,
discrepancies his command, destroys
his discipline, and nullifies his units as
far as their fighting power is con.
cerned.
No Victory in Defense.
Our first axiom must be that to
achieve it's object battle must not
be purely defensive. A purely de-
fensive battle, even we'll conducted,
does not result in victor and 8 van
pushed. 1t is simply a game that
must be begun over again.
From this it is an obvious coralary
that an offensive. whether started at
the beginning of an action or whether
it follows the defensive. can only give
results. and. in consequence. must al
ways be adopted at the finish.
To maintain our position Is not
synonymous wit hbeing victorious and
even prepares for defeat. II We re-
main where we are and do not pass to
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tack, to guard against the plans OF the
enemy, and prevent him from carrying
out the same maneuver. we must un.
dertake to carry on and sustain mum.
erous combats, each with determined
aim.
Az Depends on Reserve.
But since there remains no doubt
that decisive attack is the very key.
stone of battle, all other actions
which make up battle must be en-.
yisaged. considered. organized. pro
vided with forces in the measure in
which they will prepare, facilitate, and
guarantee development OF decisive
attack characterized by its mass, its
surprise, its speed, and for which, in
consequence, 1t is essential that there
shall be the maximum reserve force
possible of troops Of maneuver.
THE reserve-that is to say, the
prepared bludgeon--is organized and
kept carefully instructed to execute
the single act OF battle from which re.
suits are expected-namely, the de-
cisive attack.
Reserves must be husbanded with
the most extreme parsimony SO that
the bludgeon may be strong enough to
make the blow as violent as possible
Let loose at the finish, without any
lurking idea of saving them. with a
well thought out plan for winning the
battle at point chosen and deter
mined reserves are thrown In all to-
gether in an action surprising in VIC
lence and energy all other phases Of
battle, an action with proper charac
teristics-surprise, mass, and speed
All our forces really participate, either
by preparing it or by carrying 1t out.
Warns Against Errors.
In this. our supreme aim, we must
not be deceived by appearances. AL
though theory fails when applied by
feeble hands and when accessories OBJ
scure the main principle, history and
reason show US that In battle there Is
single argument which is worth
while-namely, decisive attack, which
is alone capable Of assuring the de-
sired result-the overthrow Of the ad
yersarv"