The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1918-08-01
Rv HENRY WOOD.

Great War must irrevocably pass
down in history as the year in which
the geniu sof the French race, rising
to new heights in the vigor and viril-
ity of its armies and in the soundness
and brilliancy of its generals, was
conceded through the sheer force of
superiority alone the recognized mil
itary leadership of the Allied nations
The fourth year of the Great War
must always be marked by the fact
that France, sending her armies to
fight on the Macedonian and Italian
fronts, bearing the great shocks and
filling up the breaches and gaps of
her own front, and sending scores OF
her best generals and thousands of
her best officers TO all parts of the
to all of the Allied nations assumed
at last the dominating, controlling
role in the direction OF the worlds
struggle for humanity and civilization
that could only be assumed by and
conceded to the nation showing the
greatest genius. the greatest fitness
and the greatest superiority.
This triumph was all the more re-
markable in that it came at the mo
ment when France YVES generally con-
ceded and believed TO be az her lowest
extremes. 1t constituted in fact the
rising OF Phoenix from her ashes al
most without parallel in the worlds
history.
EFFORT IN GREAT CRISIS.
But sremarkable as this was, it was
even more important in the fact that
not only was France able to do this at
a moment when her own fortunes
were lowest, but at moment when
the fortunes of the entire Allied cause
thru the Russian catastrophe, the Ital-
ian misfortune and the Roumanian
tragedy had reached their lowest ebb.
and where the moment called for some
one of something to step in and stem
the tide.
France, after three years of war
fare in which she had suffered losses
exceeding those of any other Allied
belligerant and in which she had made
sacrifices out of proportion to her re-
sources, apparently had very little
left to offer in this emergency.
What little she had, however. she
offered freely and backing ii up with
the fullest genius and generosity of
her race that rose TO new heights in
this great year of appalling crises,
she filled every breach that was made
in the Allies fortunes and tided over
the situation to the present hopeful
prospect, which with its unity of mill
tary command and Americas contri-
button beginning to measure up to her
fullest possibilities. is now opening
ahead.
AT YEARS BEGINNING.
When the fourth year of the Great
War opened, Aug /, 1917, France and
her Allies were already in the throes
of the various catastrophies and crisis
with which the year was replete. The
Russian revolution had already
reached a point where the Allies were
forced to realize that they must count
upon the complete elimination of Rus
sia as military factor-the elimina-
tion in fact of what for three years
had been their greatest hope.
Largely as a result of this Russian
detection. the Allies big military plan
for 1917 had only reaped very par
III ~.
pecially had unquestionably received
a severe blow to their morale by the
calling off of the April offensive on
which not only the army but the en-
tire French nation had pinned hopes
which up until that time they had
never dared even to entertain
Yet SO quickly did the genius of the
French race respond to the critical
situation thus created, to the period
of crisis already opening for the entire
fourth year Of the war. that on Aug. /.
the very opening date of this fourth
year, a French army was ready to CO.
operate with the British armies for. n
general offensive in Flanders. This
battle lasted for several months and
thruout its duration the French army
fighting on the English extreme left
won the unstinted praise of the Eng
lish High Command which openly de
clared that not only did the French
army thruout the entire battle conquer
its objectives in every attack. but in
almost every case exceeded them. and