The Washington herald., 1918-08-15
The Real Thing.

The allied world is just at the dawn of realiza-
tion of what unity of command means to them
\ Unity of command which the Tories of the Brit
, ish military party so stubbornly opposed; which
was erammed down the throats of the Franco
British armies only when the menace of colossal
disaster was staring them in the face last spring.
II took the combined efforts of Lloyd George
and Woodrow Wilson to make Ferdinand Foch
commander-inchief of all the allied armies in the
West Nobody last March guessed what glorious
fruits would come from this simple, yet revolu-
tionary step; are just beginning to visual
ize them.
The splendid counter blow on the Marne gave
US an mixing of what coming. The swift, ef-
feetye follow-up" the Picardy salient lifted the
curtain slightly from the subtle Foch strategic pro-
gram Now that thrust, after encountering stiff
resistance for two days, which led seasoned mill
tary observers to state that the offensive had drawn
to close, that the positions had been stabilized
has been buttressed by a widening of the attack
which threatens disaster of major proportions to
German arms.
Last night the dispatches showed that the Of
fensiye had broadened on the north far as Arras
which is bastion of the British line which failed
to yield when the enemy made his great attack
last spring. The British have struck on front
where, it may be assumed, they are in position to
strike their strongest hammer blows for the major
portion OF their reserves have long been massed
north of Amiens and Albert. The initial momen-
tum shows that Haig has threatened the entire
German line to the south, and made wholesale
enemy retreat imperative-unless Ludendorf has
counter attack to deliver which will change the
entire situation as it is developing. 1t will
have to be more than merely local operation to
prevent the forward sweep which is now being re-
corded all the way from Arras to Ribecourt-no,
from Arras to Rheims, for it is only question of
days when the Franco-American divisions will
force the Boche from the Vesle to the Aisne and
beyond.
simultaneously with the British, the French
showed new burst of vigor on the southern end
of the line, captured Lassigny and Rbecourt, and
have brought Noyon within their grip. The news
of yesterday is sensational in its importance, for
it shows that the drive is gaining in momentum
instead of slackenng, and is not pursuing the nor
NAL course Of past oensives 1t is clear that Foch
IS emerging as the great figure of the
There is no telling just when and where
the drive is going to end Conservatives have
stated that it would slow up at the 1916 line; others
have predicted the withdrawal of the Germans to
the Hindenburg line. But all predictions in the alb
sence of the exact knowledge which is in the hands
of Foch, futile and waste of white paper
There has been more than one hint from Paris
that perhaps Foch intending to force gen.
eral, continuous, decisive battle with the foe, be-
heving that the golden moment had arrived, know
ing that he was short of reserves of ma
terial, that his morale low, that his punch"
had been lost, and that Russia about to break
out OF bounds and force the German general staff
to transfer many divisions from the West to the
East unless the whole Teutonic grip the nation
is to be lost.
Right now, indeed, the German cause may be
going to pieces, for all know. The end may
come far sooner than expect Certain it is that
if Ludendorf is compelled weaken himself on the
Western front, because Of the Bosheviki overthrow
in Russia, he will have other course than wide
retreat from Nieuport to Asace-Lorraine. Perhaps
he will determine to go as far back as the
Meuse, which would the evacuation of more
than half Of Belgium.
Success is following success so fast these days
that anything is possible. We puncturing the
Teutonic bubble. We learning that he has
many heels Of Achilles, and that they might have
been struck long ago if Foch had been in COM
mand in the earlier years of the war.