New-York tribune., 1918-06-27
$4,000
$4,000
100000
100000

100000
Since March 21 of this year published
British casualties have run from 10000 to
$4,000 week. and we shall be fortunate 4,
we end the year with fewer than l,ooonoo
total losses. Some people have an idea that
80 per cent Of casualties return 10 tbs
ranks. There never was greater delusion.
OF wounded which reach the hospitals
large proportion are saved, but long con.
valescence is needed before they can I'M.
dertake heavy military duty, and during tb.
recent push immense numbers of wounded
fell into the hands of the Germans and
are therefore out of the contest.
In any case, you must reckon the dead.
Out Of 100000 Australian troops about 100.
900 are casualties and $1,000 have paid IN.
supreme penalty. There are somewhat sim
liar figures for Canada. Yet Australia and
Canada have between them supplied only
about one-sixth of the forces drawn from
Great Britain. At the lowest estimate. ".
must reckon that 100000 British soldiers
have died in this war.
Last year we enlisted almost exactly ss
many men as our casualties; that is. S00
600. This year we cannot hope to do So
1t must be remembered that between March
81 and April II the British army, on, sectors
exclusively held by it, resisted an attack
by 102 German divisions, or exactly av.
times as many as the divisions thrown
against Verdun between February q and
March %, 1915. The explanation OF with
drawals on the Western front is, moreover
the use of mustard gas by the enemy-a
poison deadlier by far than any yet used in
war, attacking as it does the moisture Of
the body and SO rendering terrible injury.
This struggle has long since ceased to be
matter of generalship in the old sense
of that word. 1t depends upon morale, man.
power and, above all, the chemist
England is criticised because in tn. year
1917 she was keeping 100000 men within
her own borders. In so far as this large
force was intended as a defence against in
vasion by sea, agree that it was unwar-
ranted. The War Office has always been
unwilling to believe that the protection of
our coasts is a matter for the navy alone.
This skepticism is due to professional
rivalry and desire by some of our soldiers
to find reasons in time of peace for con-
scription. But other factors must be taken
into the account. The 100000 men in
cluded and indeed consisted of ths partly
trained. In addition, it was held that re-
serves could be more easily fed in England
than in France, which, after all, is coun-
try only few hours distant Besides, over
the fighting period of 1917 we were losing
$4,000 men week and our reserves were
regarded as bank balance.
This year, with our much heavier losses,
we see the wisdom of last years arrange
ments. In the first onset at st. Quentin
we could not put our men across quickly
enough, but since then over 100000 reserves
have gone to France, and American troops
in very large numbers are completing their
training within the United Kingdom. You
have habitually understated your forces in
Europe, but l should say that there must
be on the other side at least a million
Americans at the present time. Another
factor has been the recovery of man-power
in the French army, where the casualties
during 1917 were happily much fewer than
those which fell upon the British army In
view Of the losses of France in her heroic
struggle during 1915 and 1916, this was only
to be expected, and it is we'll for us that
when the blow fell in March there was
strong French army ready for cooperation