The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-08-08

point OF fact, the campaign Of the
BRUSH was already sure to fail. for
1erman troop were Fastening west
maru from Russia. Yet, doggedly and
erlmly, the British generals held THAR
men to their task and the tofl Of Gas.
ualties for the British in Flanders rfy-
sieu IL IT did not pass that OF the
Souiihe the previous year, while great
hopes. excited by q brief but brilliant
success before Cambria, gave way to
Nv uevelopments when one more op-
portunity was sacrificed.
On the map there was proof Of Ger
man retreat. The Ypres salient disap-
psaLeo' the British troops seized the
Wn0le or the Passchendaele ridge and
SIitics TAXED OF the advance frem this
vantage ground in the newt year to
Snent n to Lille, little dreaming that
a Few lays of battle would then suf-
fiGe to compel the surrender of these
mis- won by 30 much sacrifice and ef-
iort, and mat Ypfes itself was again to
October, 1914.
In this autumn the French army wa
passlng through a period Of reorganizq-
.ion ana renaissance. Its defeat in May
a shakSQ 1t to the very foundatiea.
for q Few weeks it's morale was lever
lnan at n time since the wal began.
10 Retain, who succeeded Nivehe, was
assigned the grim task of restoring
confidence and discipline, while behind
tne army the nation, under Clemen-
ceau, cleaned its high places Of those
who had c%onspired against victory and
held secret conference with the fee. A
rev minor successes above the Aisne
about Verdun served to prove that
the task was being accomplished, but
for the balance Of the campaign Of 1917
the French army was limited to he de-
Y fen2iVa or Tn nnoratinna which WAra
but local offensiyes.
In Italy, Too.
The first months Of the fourth year
Of war saw Italy winning considerable
successes along the Isonzo, where for
two years Italian soldiers had been
struggling to break through the ogan-
tic ThermopylR between the Julian
Alps and the Adriatic, by which ran
the road to Trieste and the Austrian
capital far beyond, the road Napoleon
had taken more than 4 century before
in his brilliant campaign OF 1887. BY
October h gate seemed forced; Aus
trian recoil was general north and
south. and allied capitals, looking
southwark, saw in Italian success at
least consolation for their own failures.
But in November, Italy suffered her
first great reverse Of the war. Her
population and her army, like those OF
III Il AlS NiS AAau S>SAA
by enemy propaganda and by defeatist
and pacifist efforts. The faint of boil
shevism was already beginning to do
it's work. in Italy as 1t had in Russia.
Suddenly, along the Upper Isonzo front,
out Of the mountains about CapoTetto,
a German army appeared n struck
an Italian army holding tho hank or
Cadorna's main forces to the south
ward, and holding it carelessly n
with little thought Of danger.
In a few short hours this Italian army
was destroyed in exactly the fashion
Radko Wimitrieff's Russian army had
Radko Dimitrieff's Russian army had
with consequences to other armies
equally g%rievous. One day advancing
and seemingly on the v Of decisive
victory, Cadorna's armies on the Lower
Isonzo and about Goriza found hem
selves on the neXt with their rear and
flank imperiled, condemned to q swift
and costly rush backward. behind the
Tagliamento and then behind the
Piave. The invasion Of Austria was
over and the Hapsburgs once more oc-
cupied at least a wide sweep OF their
old province of Venetia, while 1T was
the fate Of Venice. not Of Trieste. which
was now In doubt.
Thanks to an Italian rally and 10 the
rush OF British n French troops to
their stricken ally Venice was saved,
and the retreat ended at the Piave and
not at the Adige, but Italy had suffered
one Of the great defeats Of history and
was henceforth condemned for long
months to the defensive. She had. in
fact, been on the edge of ruin; hep es-
cape had been by a slight margin, and
at the moment the question of her
future capacity to fight. brilliantly an
swered at the Piave the other day, was
to give her allies grave concern.
Thus the calendar year and the cam
paign Of 1917 ended amid the most
gloomy Of all possible circumstances
British successes in the early months
had been dimmed by the failure. the
bloody failure, in Flanders. The French
army had not merely seen It's hopper
come to nothing at the Aisne, but had
for the first time, been shaken in its
confidence and was only beginning to
efficiency. The Italian army hads suf-
fered one Of the great disasters of the
war. The minor efforts in the BALKANS
had been without ever the smallest
material benefits
To swell the balance or the wrons
side Russia was sinking to a haplees
derelict and Rumania was obviously
offensive in 1918 had now to be sur.
rendered. The allied high command
did not preceive that, the defensive
!, which was it's role would be one bese'
with difficulties so great that dlsastel
might impend, but 1t did recognize ina,
ithere was no longer n chance o.
victory in 1918 nor at n other TIME
until America should be able to replac'
/, Russia in the battle line. ,
As for. the German, he could noi
, , forward to a return to the west nov
with his armies victorious in the east
, he could look forward to superiority
. in guns as n result OF Russian ant
: italian successes and to advantage II
numbers as a result Of the suppression
Of the Russian and Rumanian fronts
|, For him the new year dawned pril'
Z liantly. For his enemies 1T was IN
= beginning of n time which they alread;
fsresaw was to be one OF grave tria
. ! but how grave il was to be they coul'
: not suspect. and. not suspectinS, raiie'
20 provide against.
, The German Strikes.
On March q the German struck be
4 tween the Scarpe and the Disc, Az di
: . visions against Is. swiftly destroyed
I the Fifth British army, swept over IL
: ruins to the outskirts OF Amiens, opene'
1 the road down the Disc valley TO tari
{ as far as Noyon and too Montdidier
\ and cut the main railroad from Pari
r to Amiens by artillery fire. only TN
!, swiftest possible work on the part o
$ the French rushing to the aid or thel
e British allies prevented the separation
: of the two armies. The blow wa
ohooI,ed ot the moment when furthe