Evening star., 1918-06-02

are lnconteStable proof Q
Advantages Held by Germans.
Taking up the present attack. it is
necessary to revert to. the circum-
stances frequently emphasized in
these articles. namely. the great ad-
first. in possessing the initiative. and,
second. in holding the inside OF a
semi-circle line in France. Out Of
these two things have developed the
great successes Of the present cam
paign.
The decision Of the allies to make
no attack this year-that is. no major
await the arrival Of the
American armies, holding themselves
upon the defensive for 1918. and pre-
pairing to take the offensive with
upon the experience Of three years
of western warfare. The bloody de-
feats or failures Of the British at
Loos. the French in Champagne in
1918. of the Germans before Verdun
in 1915 and the wholly restricted and
French at the Somme in 1915. and Of
the British in Flanders in 1917. to-
gether with the costly failure of the
Nivelle offensive at the Aisne last
year. convinced the allied command
ers that. given equal numbers. the
than the offensive. provided it were
possible to wait. and. with America
coming up. it was possible to wait.
Germans Could Not Wait.
The Germans. on the other hand.
could not wait. but they were able, by
moving troops from the Russian front.
now abolished as fighting front. to
establish something like an equality
in numbers on the west front for the
first time since the early winter of
vised a system Of attack in the east
which they rightly believed would
conditions In the west.
With the success Of the Hutin meth
cd of attack, the whole allied calcu-
lation went into the discard. Not
tack meant a costly purchase of two
or three miles of shell-torn country.
but it was equally certain that the
cost to the attacking army in the
Hutin warfare was not materially
greater than the expense for the de-
Tending armies, where their front
had been pierced, their organization
shattered, and vast numbers of pris-
oners and an enormous quantity of
material lost either by destruction or
capture.
Allies Made Mistake.
1t seems clear now that the allies
made a mistake in accepting the de-
fensive. although they had not devel-
oped anything like the German sys-
tenn Of attack For the defensive was
only advisable provided 1t resulted
in no material losses Of ground.
whereas in these German attacks po-
sitions of incalculable Importance
have been lost. The first secret in
German success. then, is in the Great
ing of a new system of attack, which
at a blow demolished allied calcula-
tions on which was founded their de-
fensive strategy.
In the second place, the Germans.
holding innerside of the great salient
which railways radiated like the
spokes Of a wheel, were able. once
they possessed successful method OF
breaking through the allied crust OF
trench defenses, to throw their men
at one front, and then at another in
finitely more rapidly than could the
allies, whr had to work round the
rim Of tie wheel instead Of along the
spoke>.
dow Germans Took Advantage.
Now, note how the Germans have
taken advantage Of these two fac
tors.
In March the French. expecting an
attack on the Aisne, where 1t has now
Paris and tthe Soissons-Rheims front.
the Germans. holding
their masses in threatening posture
to the last moment. as they could. be-
cause of their position. suddenly at,
the British fifth army and pushed
rapidly on toward Amiens.
Thereupon the French reserves were
rushed OF to the Amiens-Noyon
front, and all the front north of
Arras was stripped se 9+ar reinforce ss the
German advance from st. Quentin was
checked just east Of Amiens. But.
without delay the Germans, using
still another spoke in their wheel.
rushed masses of troops against the
had been stripped of men to rein
force the Amiens sector, broke
through, took Armentieres. KENNEL,
and nearly captured Haze
,rouck. 1t became necessary then to
rush more French reserves of to
front was left practically bare.
Then came the great pause, during
which the Germans coolly and with
put haste proceeded to rent ana re-
organize their DIVISIONS, replace
losses, bring up fresh cannon and
new stores Of munitions.
when they were ready they proposed
20 attack, but they utterly rcnounced
he old verdun method, which called
'or renewed attacks at the point
,fr his reserves and his artillery. On
Monday. May n. the Germans at
lacked again this line. operating
along a third spoke Of his wheel and
March, the French had massed their |
reserves. But these reserves were
low covering Amiens and Calais. for |
he allies were bound to guard the |
points which we're most vital, and, by
.eason Of the German success. weak |
.st.
Hit Third Time in Weak Sector.
Thus for. the third time the German |
lttack fell upon q sector which had