Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-04-11

sossrnment. But the fact remains that 10 operate that
government tire premier must have the support OF the
parliamentary majority. and II As Incumbent on him 10
take parliament into his confidence on All important
matters.
The statement by NJ. Lloyd George presents soae
interesting information, not merely on this particular
battle, but on the conditions which SURROUND it. and Oh
the nnanner3in which battles In general are planned and
fought. It was pointed out that, while the Allies had on
the west front a slight superiority in numbers and In GER
tain matters of equipment, the Germans had the decid-
ed advantage of the initiative, Of knowing when aud
where they would strike, ana were therefore able TO
make all their preparations for concentration at that
point, while the Allies we're dnder the necessity Of having
their troops so distributed as TO be prepared for sttack
at any point. An interesting light is shed on the man
ner III which the pcssibilitiessare studied in the statement
with reference to the estimate made by the military staff
at Versailles over two months before the great battle
began. At that time the staff reported that in their
opinion the attack would be made south OF Arras; that it
would be on q very wide front; that its objective would
be the capture OF Amiens and the division ofthe French
from the British forces; that the Germans would accu-
mulate s5 divisions for the effort, and that in all prob.
ability the attack might be successful in penetrating the
British lines to a depth equal TO half the width OF the
front attacked. VI r.t
In almost every particular these predictions have
been fulfilled. Instead of s5 divisions, The Germans
used sss The attack came just where 1t had been fore.
cast. The facts show clearly that Arniens was the oejec-
tive. and than the further purpose was the sepa ration of
the British and French forces The extreme penetration
has been approximately that which was predicted.
The question may arise why, il the Allied staff was
able TO predict the action Of the enemy 80 accurately, ado
quate provision was not made against it, 80 that the ad-
vance might have been checked earlier and farther back,
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for an allied attack elsewhere where the enemy concen-
tration was less. The natural answer to that is that the
Allied council was dealing in probabilities, not certain
ties! Doubtless such provision as was considered wise
was made against the carrying out OF the German pro-
gram. but it would have been fatal to risk the fate of the
entire campaign on predictions which, after all, might
not be verified. Again, the Germans are aa able to learn
of the disposition of the Allied forces as the allies are,
to learn of theirs. And if they had found that the British,
Or French. or both, were arranging their strength 50 as
to interro.e an insuperable obstacle to the success of the
battle as planned, the plans would have been changed to
suit.
The disposition OF the case of General Cough. in
command of the Fifth armx, is impressive. The fifth
army did not do all that was expected of it. Therefore its
commander is removed pending Investigation. The pre-
nier makes it clear that there is no disposition on the
part of the government to censre the general at this
time, or to prejudice his case in any way The matter
will be thoroughly investigated, and if it is shown that
General Cough handled his work efficiently, he will be
freed from blame. But in the meantime he is deprived
of his command, because, while injustice must not be
done to an individual, the fate OF an army must not be
lentrusted to incompetent hands. t Mi
One of the significant things in the address. is the
mention made Of the boast Of the kaiser that he should
defeat his adversaries because they had no unified CON
troll. That unity Of control has been one Of the strong
points in favor of the Germans, and the lack of it on the
part of the Allies has undoubtedly contributed to the
German success thus far. The three governments, of
France, Great Britain and the United states, realized this
situation so thoroughly that right in the midst Of the
great battle one commander was placed in supreme
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