Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-04-05
Next Drive of Huns
Will Lack Force
of First Offensive

Phillip Gibbs, in Chicago Herald
War Correspondents Headquarters,
Tuesday, April Our respite from
massed attacks since the last battle
of Arras does not mean that the en-
envy has abandoned his ambitious
plans to drive a wedge between the
British and French armies by making
Ia breach in the lines between Amiens
and Montdidier AMI stragh.ening the
line Of his advance to avoid a danger
Gus salient by overwhelming cur left
flank north OF -ArrLs.
1t is probable ne IS passing only to
drag his guns across the wild waste Of
the Somme battlefield, where there is
slow progress. to bring new reserves
of men into the battle line and 70 pre-
pare another blow as equal In fury to
the first effort as his means now allow.
Losing It's Power.
After the bloody looSes in heavy en-
gagenlent with the French armies on
his left wing, I doubt whether his next
effort will reach anything like the
strength of that battering ram which
shocked our lines Oh March q.
For twelve days since then his
wastage of man power has been in
calculable and every mile Of hisway
| is strewn with his dead, here and there
a few men, here and there heaps OF
| mortality
Backwards from these twelve days
| there has flowed a tide Of mangled
men, filling his hospitals and Red Cross
| trains Forty at least of his assault
divisions have had to. be withdrawn
! from our front after casualties amount
ing in some cases. as we know certain
ly, to 40 to 50 per cent.
| Units AnnihiIated.
| Many Of his companies and battal-
ions have been almost annihilated, only
a score or so of men going back to tell
the frightful tale to the people.
| Our heroic rear guards f0iied his
plans and smhshed his timetable and
broke the spearheads OF his armies so
that they had to turn aside in Il di-
rection not belonging to the great
strategical plan of the German high
command.
Arras is not his.
Amiens is not his
| The British armies are still intact.
lin spite of all losses of men and ground
and new French and British armies
are at his throat, ready to rsnd him 10
death if he is for a moment at their
mercy.
Ready to Cast Die.
The enemy knows ali this. but is
playing for big stakes. and their gam
blers are ready to throw in all their
human counters in order to win or lose
the last hazard.
So they will not stop now, because
if they stop they have already lost and
they are waiting only to gather their
forces for the final blow.
But this delay is our enormous
gain.
We, too, have time to bring our
fresh men to replace those who fought
until they were spent and who barred
the way of German advance with
their bodies and souls. The enemy
now, in his next battle, will meet
men who are not tired and whose re-
solution is as great as those wno met
first his onslaught.
Anzacs Are Fresh, Willing.
The Australians and New Zealand
ers have come into line, fresh, Keen
uplfted by fierce enthusiasm
stirred by emotions which make these
| fellows very dangerous to their en-
envy. I saw them coming to the re-
liefs of our hard-pressed troops and 1t
was sight which made ones pulse
beat and gave one sense of new Sc
curity.
When the full menace was upon us
! these Australians came swinging
down toward the old Somme battle
field with the spirit of men to the res
cue of a great cause. 1t was their
business along the line Of the Somme
| for did they not take Pozieres, and is
not that blasted slope hallowed for all
Of them by memorials Of their own
dead and BY the graves Of many com
fates3
we will take fozlsres back, they
said, Its our job
r TO those HHe fought there under