Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-03-25

$685. $500 ~ & n.y. >8s 0xNAAy0 HOCk
At no point were the British lines broken. N,
British forces retired in good order when 70 RENAL,
lonssr would have Jsntailed heavier. losses than It va
believed would have been warranted.
The British loss in captured is stated by oMcial Ger
man reports to have been about $4,000. This loss wa
due. not to panic, or to any section Of the army havinl
been surprised. but t6the fact that ~ la. all retirssnenta
. thin screen was left rs a rear Eus+d, to continue tn,
action ana delay the advance Of the enemy until the re
firing troops had reached their new positions This &C
complished surrender was inevitable. and it had beer
fully forescen. The number Of prisoners is small con
siderins the enormous forces engaged on both. sides
A. to the immediate future. 1t may be said that un
less a new offensive is undertaken on some other sector
the German advance must be halted until the new posi-
tons have been made secure. There can. be no sucs
thing Is continuous advance 30 long as the enemy hold.
positions Of great strength on either side OF the poin
attacked. II 1t were possible to. isolate . given sector
such as the 20 mile portion Of the line on which this At
tack has been made, 1t is conceivable that the retiring
force could be driven from position to position indehn.
iteiy. being given no time to establish new dsfenses. IN
actual practice this is impossible. In the present cass
ths~drivng Of . German wedge for a great distance into
the British lines at q single point. even If 1t were poss-
sibls. would be fatal to the attacking party. for attack
from both tanks would surely follow, and the advancing
force would be crushed in from one side or both. There
must be Z preparation Of the ground to resist countsr
attack. and lines Of supply must be brought up to the
new front. This process had characterized every I'd.
vance made by either army.
It has been taken for granted for months that the
opening OF spring would witness the launching Of a
smashing blow on the west front. Both sides have been
preparing for it. 1t has also been taken for granted
that the blow would be struck by the Germans. This
Wa not because the Allies were not able to strike Wig
->.-n. - >>A:->1 nNr~.. -. -
equipment Of all kinds sufficient to penetrate the enemy's
positions. as has been shown all alopg the line in the
operations of past months. But Germany cannot afford
delay. The Allies can. The type Of prisoners recently
captured by the Allies shows that Germany has reached
the limit of her man power. She is using in active serv-
ice, boys and old men who would not be considered elis.
ible In the Allied armies. Nearly four years OF war have
brought Germany face to face with food conditions, in
dustrial conditions and political conditions which make
imperative a decisive military victory now Of the whole
Teutonic structure is to be saved from collapse. The
Russian debacle has served a. q sop to German domestic
septiment, but already it is becoming apparent in Ger
many that the Russian peace is not likely to relieve
the oppressive conditions at home for a long time. and It
seems to bring the lopssd-for peace no nearer. Ger
many must have a decisive victory at once.
The position Of the Allies is exactly the opposite.
The wer is bearing heavily upon them in many ways.
'fH"s " ~ V"SS'
Their man power. and their power in material is incress-
ing rather than diminishing. The armed forces Of one
hundred million people are just beginning to play an
active part. The ports Of the Allies are fre1 The seas
are open to them for the transportation Of goods. The
German submarine campaign. horrble as 1t has besn.
has failed disrnally. Hence the Allies could with safety
choose their own time for their major operations.@s H.
In such an attack as that which has been launeaed.
it is necessarily the attacking party that suffers most in
casualties. The German losses in this case have been
They have won some miles of ground by the
sacrifice of men variously estimated at from 2oo.o 900 to
100000. The British commander preferred to save his
own men and let the enemy wear his forces down.
1t would be foolish to minimize the gravity Of the
present situation. With its submarine campaign dem-
onstrated a failure; with its seaports closed and its out
side communications entirely shut of; with revolution
brewing at home; and wien its military power held 70
its present effectiveness only by almost superhuman ex-
ertion, the German combination is still a great and
menace. 1t has been relieved OF pressure from
the rear, and is able to concentrate on the west front.
1t is still in control Of an inside system Of communica-
ton. 1t is guided by men who are ready and resource
full, and who have shown themselves to be utterly un-
scrupulous. The full force Of the Allies will be neees-
sary to crush this monster, and before that force can be
exerted in such a way as to give decisive. results, most
retirernents may be necessary, and many days Of anxiety
may be in store for all ot+ua. But nothing has occurred
thus far which need shake the confidence Of those who
are leagued together in this fight for democracy.
There is no need to fear anything that Germany can
do. The only thing that can bring anything less than
complete success to the Allies is the tailure Of the people
in the democratic countries to play their own part In
this great tragedy. There need be no fear that the SOL
diers in the field will not aequit themselves we'll. And II
those men have the support Of their own people, ana II
that support is given with unity and enthusiasm. there
need be no fear as to the result. .
SOLDIERS VOTE
1t has been decided at the collection Of aoldiers'
votes at approaching state elections will be impractibaie
for the soldiers in France. 1t Is pointed out that while
the votes OF certain soldiers were taken last fall By q