Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-03-03

Iseventy-f1ve miles: from Rheims
further to the east it is hundred
forty. And If Hindenburg is to strike
for Paris it is almost certain that he
must strike between Laon and Yer
dun; that is. between the Disc and the
Mouse rivers; Moreover: French
the attack on either side of Rheims
probably on both sides. along the
Aisne and in the plains of dusty
Champagne west OF the Argonne and
east of the Moronvillers hills, which
speaking, then, Hindenburg's front in
February is. on the average, a hundred
miles from Paris. In five or six weeks
he has to cover a full hundred miles to
keep his promise.
Now what has been the history of the
rate and extent of advance Of great
ofensives on the west front since
trench war began-that is, since the
close OF the first battle OF Ypres in No
vember. 1914? To answer this question
it is necessary to discuss briefly the
really considerable attempts to break
through from that time to the close OF
the campaign of 1917. OF these at
tempts the more considerable were the
British attack at Neuve Chapelle in
February, 1915; the German attack at
Ypres in April of the same year. the
French attack in Artois in May and
June, the great Anglo-French offensive
in Artois and Champagne in September
of this same year. the German attack
upon Verdun in February. 1916; the al
lied offensive at the Somme in July of
that year. and finally the spring Often
sives of the allies in April Of last year
about Arras and above the Aisne and
the British summer campaign about
Ypres in the same year.
The first Of all these great efforts, the
battle Of Neuve Chapelle. was in re-
atty a modest effort. Field Marshal
mile front and literally blew the Ger
man lines out of existence; for hours
the road to Lille was open, for in that
remote period, rearward and support
lines were still Of little magnitude. But
British reserves did not arrive. there
was a bungle and a blunder and the
Germans closed the breach. Two days
later the British had to abandon their
offensive: they had advanced about a
mile on a two-mile front; their casual
ties were greater than British losses at
Waterloo. Still Neuve Chapelle excited
hope, because it seemed to prove that
there could be a break through" if
given proper preparation.
Going Back to Ypres.
Two months later the Germans sud
denly attacked the French sector north
of Ypres, employing poison gas" for
the first time. Thanks, to this new
weapon, they completely disorganized
the French colonial troops. who fed,
leaving gap in the allied line, recall
ing the gap which opened the Rose
Grams army at Chicamauga and almost
brought to ruin, as IT did bring dis
aster. In the next hours the Germans
swept forward rapidly. despite the va
lor of the Canadians. who sought to
fill the gap. The road to Ypres was
open and the Germans very nearly
arrived in the old Flemish town. But
they were checked. the whole allied
line was rearranged. few square miles
of territory were evacuated, in places
the British retired upward of three
miles. But by the opening of May
Ypres was no longer in danger, the
offensive was over.
A month later the French. with a
measure of British assistance. launched
their first great effort in Artois be-