Evening star., 1918-04-19
What the Germans Faced.

What the Germans Faceu.
The reasons for the retirement are
simply told When the Germans on Mon
dav took the Messines sWytschaete
ridge, which they had been assailing for
several days, they looked north and
downhill upon the single railway line
and the main highway which feed the
Ypres salient. and they were only three
miles away from these II they could
advance three miles. before the BRUSH
troops east Of Ypres could get back and
beyond the danger point they "ouio
enyelop and capture many thousands OF
British troops and vast booty OF guns
and material
the British on the ridges east OF Ypres
in a broad circle from the Hooded area
to Passchendaele were Nearly eisht
miles away from the point In the
Ypres-Poperinghe road toward whicn
the Germans were advancing and from
which they were only three miles dis
tant. 1t was. therefore, essential to
retire at once and to do two things
namely: to get all the Troops loops east nn,nt o.
and. secondly, to get as many as pos
sibIe beyond 1t, to avoid threatened
Sedan.
xbC4Co6C5
To accomplish these two things
Haig first drew back his troops from
the broad circle of hills to compare
lively straight front just east Of the
ruins of Ypres, the front occupied by
the British when they began their
great offensive last year. This retire.
ment shortened his line by nearly If
1,ys
leased almost half the men who had
been holding the longer front and per-
mitted them to retire west Of Ypres
and beyond the danger point. Further,
It gave Haig some fresh troops which
were apparently used in the counter
offensive that on Wednesday took but
could not hold the Messines ridge.
To avoid possible development and
capture incident to the advance Of the
Germans over the Messines ridge
toward the Ypres-Poperinghe road, the
British thus abandoned all their gains
in last years offensive. What were the
values of these gains? In the main
only for an offensive. When Haig set
out last year to drive a wedge be-
tween the Germans on the Belgian
coast and those in the Lys valley and
west Of Lille he had first to capture
the circle of hills east and north OF
Ypres, Of which Passchendaele Is the
most famous. He had then to advance
down the northern and eastern slopes
of these hills upon Rou1erS.
Still Far From Roulers.
The first step was taken, the second
was blocked. and at the end of the
campaign of 1917 the British occupied
all the high ground. but they were
still far from Roulers.
/ They were in the position of the Ger
mans before verdun in 1916. after the
crown prince had taken Vaux and
Douaumont and been checked just west
Of these forts. The Germans were pres
emily driven OF the Douaumont plateau
by French counter offensives and lost
what they had gained. but their main
line was not thus endangered and their
defensive positions from which they
had attacked Verdun remained intact =
The same thing has happened east
and north Of Ypres. The British have
phase Of an offensive which did not at
tain its larger objects. The only diff
ference is that their abandonment has
been due to an attack south of Ypres,
and not, as In the case of Verdun. by q
direct and disastrous enemy offensive.
The ground abandoned by the Brit
ish then, was valuable for an offensive,
not q defensive, operation. Now that
they are ON the defensive and the de-
ctsion Of the war 10 to he had In an-
other Neld. the British lose nothing OF
vitAl Importance by giving mp the n
l0oue ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS