The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-06

action launched September 26, just 10 | weeks later, is opening it's great crit ical phase. On July IS, for the first time since Prussia forced her depend ents into this attack upon civilization, four years before, civilization recov- cred it's full stature and began press ing down on it's opponent
 Today we are watching the extreme struggle, and in particular do we as- sist at the debate as to whether this late autumn or next spring shall see the enemy in a position confessedly hopeless That he is now beaten we all know; but the present gigantic struggle all the way from the upper Mouse at Verdun to the North sea poses the question whether we shall be free from the tragedy before the close of the year or whether another winter must be endured before the enemy suf- fers Moscow and awaits a Water loo.
 When the war shall end man
 can tell, but there will come a time
 sharply defined when the nature
 of it's end will be apparent, not
 only to the general reasoning, but
 to every observer of the enemy or
 the allies. We are watching at this
 moment critical combat which
 shall determine whether that mo-
 ment is to come this autumn or
 next spring.
 As for the matter of the first prin- ciples, Prussia and her dependents, having launched their criminal adven- ture knew they would have against them superior numbers when they learned that Great Britain had joined Russia and France But they knew. even admitting the presence of Brit ain, that they had superior equipment, and. on the whole, superior material
 
 they believed to be their victims, must depend on maritime communication. that of those opponents only one, France, was fully organized for war, that they had, moreover, neglected war and it's art in domestic discussion; that Russia was without industrial civiliza- tion and that Britain was without mill itary preparation, and could not, in theory at least, produce an army at all.
 CHANGES FAVORED THEM Every chance was in favor of the cen- tral empires, as the phrase goes-that is, in favor of Prussia and those whom she had drawn into her net. As Thucydides said, with justice: War produces many things, but above all things the unex- pected.
 The campaign went through an aston ishing series of adventures. Logically, the certain victory of the enemy was broken at the outset at the Marne. After his first battle of the Marne he could never do what he had intended. But things developed in all manners of un- calculated ways.
 The Turkish government, whose mas tery of the Dardanelles held the economic gate to the old Russian empire, joined the enemy. Attempts to open that gate were undertaken by the British, but failed. Meanwhile, Italy entered the field, withdrawing large portion ot the Austro Hungarian strength. BREAKING OF RUSSIA The enemy was holding in the west successfully, while displaying an unex- pected new power in the modern defense, and had massed his strength for the over running of Poland when the exhaustion of Russia came. The enemy was appar- ently successful. The Russian empire was ultimately broken and ceased to be. The end of this series of situations is tha. with which all are familiar. Numerical calculations and the power of the allies gradually to wear down Prussia and her dependents should the l Germans be checked, as actually they were being checked at the outset-no | longer obtained. for the great reserve Of man power of the allies in the great Russian empire had disappeared. 1 But as against this collapse America entered the war. With this new factor ] of man power America could, upon pa- I per, more than supplement the loss Of l Russia. But there was two clements i'll 1 the business besides mere man power on paper. The difficulty of transport over 30J0 miles of ocean was enormously az