The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1918-12-16

of Joffre or Petain; they had armies
at their heads. organized for contem-
porary warfare and provided with
| staffs trained In the tasks before
them. Haig had nothing; thirds
of his work was construction and it
had to be done in the heat of battle
and under the stress Of great cam
paigns. In the face of all obstacles
he brought victorious British army
back to Mons on November II, and l
believe his achievement will grow
rather than diminish in the eyes of
men as his real task is more clearly
perceived.
Joffre Pays PIumer Tribute.
CT Haig's subordinates L suppose
common consent would award to
Plumer the first place. His army
held the old Ypres salient all the time
FOR the close Of the second battle in
1919 to the moment when it broke all
the restraining barriers and swept
doWn INTO the Flanders plain in Oc-
toper, lnsuring the recovery Of Lille
ana the Iiperatlon Of the Belgian sea
coasts. At all times his professional
attalnments were acknowledged bv
the severest critics, and I remember
an acquaintance of mine heard Joffre
assert that he was one of the two
great generals of the war.
among Plumer's achievements was
the clearing of the Messines Ridge in
June, 1917, which was preliminary
step In the Flanders campaign. II
was one of the finest eXamnles
OF scientific local offensive compar-
able only with Petain's two thrusts
at Verdun in 1916. It was character
lied by marvellous cooperation of
various arms and marked by such a
clear evidence Of accurate intelIi-
gence work that Plumer's chief in
telligence officer, HARRINGTON. won
| immediate promotion. AS resuIt NJ
the preparation. Plumer's troops adj
Vanced over the famous Messines-
"Whitesheet" Ridge with Incredibly
small losses and abolished for the
| time the old Ypres salient. Later
when Cough had made a mess of the
Passchendaele offensive, Plumer took
over and brought order out of chaos.
When Italy was overwhelmed at Ca
poretto Plumer was sent to command
the British reserves, which were hur-
ried south and did admirable work.
His is a record that has no trace of
| failure, even temporary.
! RaWIinson's Record In Flanders.
| Only less conspicuous is the record
OF Rawlinson. 1t begins with the
command Of the immortal Seventh
| division, which arrived in Flanders
in October and in less than a month
was reduced from $4,000 to 1000. It's
share Of Ypres is forever memorable.
At Loos Rawlinson was less happy,
! but he reappearS in command of the
Fourth army at the First Somme and
| holds his post of great importance
| throughout the battle. After that he
disappears for time to reappear
after Coughs defeat in March, COM
manding the Fourth army again. He
deals the great stroke on August 8
which was the beginning OF the long
series Of, blows, leading OF the final
scene at Mons.
| He was Haig's personal friend and
choice, he shares with Haig criticism
! in certain phases, but he shares
equally with his chief the credit for
| the ultimate success in which his
victory OF August 8, and his share in
the breaking of the Hindenburg line
on October 8 are brilliant details.
| Another general whose fortunes
have been steadier is Horne, who
commanded the First army from
1916 onward. An artillery officer, his
contribution to the First Somme was
very great. He was rising soldier
from LIldL moment ana MS army was
always held highly. Against him fell
the second German blow in April
OF this year and his front was tempo
rarily pierced owing to the unex-
pected and complete collapse OF the
Portuguese. But he held on, man
aged to hold Givenchy and the high
ground west OF La Bassee until the
great danger was past.
Forsees End OF War.
Even more conspicuous was his
success in late August, when he at
! tackled north OF the Scarpe and broke
/ he Drocourt- Queant line, insuring
the ultimate fall both OF Douai and
of Cambria. The extent Of this sue
cess was totally unexpected. It was
/ the first sure promise that the Hin
denburg line would not stand and it
was success which held out the
first hopes of a decision In 1918.
/ Rather more brilliant is the record
OF Byng. He was a distinguished Of
i ficer before he won Cambria in 1917,
but this victory gave him a place
which he has held ever since. In a
sense, this victory marks q turning
point in the war. 1t was not proper
IIy followed up which means that
/ Byng did not receive the support
which he needed TO make his eii1