The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1918-12-16

complete evidence Of their achieve
ments. 1t remains to say a word of
the armies which they commanded.
In certain things the British army
was easily first. 1t surpassed it's al
lies and. it's enemies in air service.
British mastery of the air was one of
the essential and potent elements in
ultimate victory.
,s' British Invented Tanks.
Again, without the tank, which was
British contribution, the campaign
Of 1918 might have finished at the
Hindenburg line. if, indeed, it had
not closed even nearer to the posi-
| tions held by the Germans in the
summer. The French borrowed the
idea and elaborated upon it. but the
credit for the invention belongs to
| the British, just as to- Byng goes the
very great praise due to the man who
first saw the possibilities of the new
| instrument and turned them to ac-
count at First Canbrai.
It is unquestionably true that the
British army suffered by comparison
with the French and German armies
throughout the war. 1t did not suffer
more than our young armies would
have suffered had they come on the
field while the German was still what
he was in 1916 and 1917, or in March
and April and May of. the present
year. But all comparison between
French and British armies is mani
festly unfair, as comparison with
the German army is even more un-
fair. If there is to be comparison 1T
must be between the French army
and the British fleet, for as France
nut her reliance upon her army and
concentrated upon it her best effort
Britain did likewise with her fleet.
! And surely such comparison Will rot
| be to the disadvantage Of the Brit
ish. y-.
EnqIand's Initial Handicaps.
AS to the British army the great
| thing we all have to remember is that
! II was created after the war began
and after the best of the officers and
men of the British regular army had
been, in the main, killed in the open
| ing battles. 1t was thus deprived OF
exactly the elements that 1t most
| needed for it's own training.
In the face Of these handicaps, In
tbe face of the still further obstacle
due to the fact that the enemy was
! in the field and that he had to be
| held a.task requiring all that was LETT
of British officers and regulars ano
demanding new troops betore tneV
were even partially trained, the Brit
ish managed to build a great army
without which victory As ever lrlpos- tE
sible. Napoleon found, Wnen M tne
Iyeterans he had inherited from the
wars of the Revolution We're gone, ne
could not win victories OF the SOFT
which he had won in the earlier cam
paigns. But he never had to I'M
! ny.ovise an army or a system. LIS
British had to do both. . g.,
| II was always impossible IN fouI
wears to fashion an instrument Ss
nerfect as that machine built, by the
Germans as the result OF a full cen
tury of patient and uninterrupted eI-
fort We also misunderstood the lacts
in the early period of the War, VIZ
the greatness of the danger lneViIaoiS
kproyoked impatience ana inVlteo un-
| lust comparison. But II 10 no. ,DS
cornnarison that we can fairly meas
ne NE the British achievement in their
army building. They started VIII
newt TO nothing, when the structures
/ ~ thai, allies and enemies were prac-
ticafly complete.
ImnossibIe Accomplished BY Britain
with all their handicaps, Win ai
the limitations imposed py Lne s1sres- &c
| fiOn. tnGY DullI q o.
nTentIy victorious, sometimes oeleat- t
ed suffering the same aisappoliiis .ll =,
noents me- which came to Grants army N
| 1854 after it had at last become con ai
1yipeed vino of its superiority, sharing TINS ~,
AZ Siasanpointment with nation equally
! Hind to certain truths but galnlns M
n mower and efficiency UP 20 III. lle
hour when it broke the stTonsss. @ 40 ]
lines lines Of the enemy, manned DgF tiie ei,e
Ie hest Of the surviving troops OF Ine
soe Sss and began "a march to viclofy Soiso
which was only halted by Ine Whies
f,ae neg of the kaiser's generals. 4..4,.,.
Ai'1s' think the fair measure OF, BrltlsI
,,,;i,tarv talr1 achievement is CONTRAST
/ / tafween s,eatv what Britain has done aIlo
yshat oh, military men, Germans. Ior ee,; 81,
amnie. believed she coula au o,ss,e,, aoua
Years ago. when the kaiser cIlailer1seo =
ETnrIand as well as France anu rsus. 3
s;a And nothing is more certsal
than +tr that, had the Germans col,,pl ..,p,,Td E
!,a,.5ed sa.,s.5 mat the British army WouIc
.,s.. ,1,ass fhe role it has played: tnes
I3to,,,a nless never have risked Brush en-. e,l
ty.oT,na woTsg into the struggle. You get Lne
s,,m = 49, T,aaaure of German arrlazelaena
h All the official German collas,.ss pm s,rs,
q, y % Rr,tish Ii operations from the IT'S
ssan1yne 81 onward. For them the tsEil'