New-York tribune., 1918-02-15
The Sector We Hold
Reasons for Placing 1t at Apex of,
Mihiel Salient
o the Editor of The Tribune.

Sir: On the front page of tb;s
tribune is an article which explai,.
the German report of Americans m.s' ass|
oners reveals the position of the aspo' po'
troops. In the news reported fro..
you state that the announcement Of II. .Ia'' y
lin War Office was that Amer;... oss
captured "in a raid north Of Xivr,, seA|
Lorraine front east of Toul," and r.s '" W
that sivry is the French equiyalen. ot VA sas|
and that it is ten miles north ~ s' ai'7|
and approximately the same dis..aaaq Aaaq|
Of Toul, and midway between No.. sss|
Metz There follows descriptio, III
fighting which took place in that v;c;s:. 'a
the beginning of the war, and Won .y
"this IS one of the most stratev;c.,,s sS
portant sectors on the whole fron. ~
Verdun to the Swiss border and sn-.' sn
that the Importance of the Amer..,
tor is such that a German offensive -.
it in the near future is not unlikelvs
On Page you publish man Of y.
Of the front north Of Nancy and sbos - n'
with an arrow to indicate the posit;.. .
the German raid of yesterday BsIa.
the same page are given the ossci.l
statements, and in the statement fro,.
lin it says, North of Xivray (svrv, ~
American prisoners were taken" III.
dering of the name in brackets suspect |
your own, and it IS to be noted tina. ;, u
name of the place as given in tba ~.
the German statement Xivray is spelled =.
a letter "a' inserted between tha a.n
the "y."
Xivray and Siyry
The French and German war man. ~
show both Xivray and Sivry spelt a, i
this sentence. Sivry is situated as sb,.
in your map at some distance south Of 4.
actual front which passes through the ma.
important town of Nomeny. and north j
Nancy, as stated by you Xivray, hovs,..
is quite another place, still in Lorraine ~
over thirty-fvc miles further west alone y,
battle front (twenty-four miles in strai..|
line), and on the front itself. Il is sb-
nine miles east of San Mhiel and slist,1.
TO the west of north from Tout 1t is cra.
evident that the German communioue
fcrs to Xivray on the front near San Mix,
and not to Sivry, as stated by you, VII.
lies at some distance back Of the front !,
is an unimportant hamlet compared v.
Nomeny, which is on the front at that ps
Alyray lies near the apex of the s.
Mihiel salient, not among the strategics
important hills which flank the Meuse vi
ley itself, but in the rather marshy lsI|
region eastward of those hills in the sou,s
ern end of the fiat depression called III
Woevre. The position at Xivray is wi
within range of the heavy artillery of ,.d
French along the heights OF the Meuse soua
of San Mihiel to the west of it. and 4
further guarded to the south by the stro,|
French defences On the high ground nor1
Of Toul. 1t is so situated that a Germu|
offensive at that point would be at CRED
disadvantage, for it would be subject to =
fire of French heavy guns from two div |
tions, would have to be launched sideus
from near the apex of salient and waaI
be liable to disastrous results from Fra
counter otfensives from near Pont-a- Nos 1
son to the east or from near Les Epsr;a|
to the northwest. It would seem to bs ns
of the least likely places for serious Ca
man offensive, as it would be not only
awkward and dangerous position for .hs
but even if they were successful in drivl I
back the line at such a point they would 4
once come in front of some OF the strongsf
strategical positions in France.
Our Unseasonad Troops
Undoubtedly this is as it should be, "a
whatever our desires and willingness may
and however fine the material of our troop
it would be folly to start off unsesser
troops, with officers inexperienced in press
war methods, in a position where everyttr1
depended on them. And if the French va
forced to have our troops take that rsspaf
sibility at this time they would indeed ssHI
to be in bad way themselves to put on
men in such position.
But we know that Mr.. rardeu stated ctt
cially only a few days ago that the FsenaI
modified forces on January l were 41aS1
men, that they are holding exactly thrsI
quarters of the total length of 470 miles Il
front in France, that they have $4,000 al
non of all calibres and that their factcTay
are turning out 100000 shells day. AL
we know that the French soldiers are Y
veterans and that their officers are all hlsi'I
trained and experienced specialists.
AS to the length Of the sector held BY n
troops, we know that the losses ofhels
reported for the British in 1917 show Y
average casualty rate throughout the !aI
of over twenty men per day for each MI
of front held The losses may be consider
bly, less on quiet sector in mdwinnr,
we have no other evidence on which to ssI
mate the length of front held by US ezss'
casualties, and pending more definite ll'aI
nation, the average rate for the British \
twenty men killed, wounded or captured =
day for each mile of front is the safest pss
for calculation. HUNTINGTON ADAaS
New York. Feb 10, 1918.