Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-04-10
Was the War Won
New York Evening Post.


judge. Still, year after Ludendorff plunged
forward from Cambria and La Fere head down
for a knockout victory, il may not be amiss to
cite Foch's opinion OF the outcome. we signed
the armistice in spite OF the certainty OF crush
ing the German, armies, to avoid killing one
more man, and because il gives us everything
necessary to an allied victory" More than four
months after the armstice the failure of the al
lies to secure a military victory" is still de-
plored in various quarters Yet "deplored" is
not the proper word today. 1t did describe the
feelings of great many Americans last No
vember who wished to see German defeat writ
ten in the most concrete terms possible; half
million German soldiers laying down their arms
inside OF a Gordon OF entente troops. There
were other Americans who thought it necessary
or desirable that the allied armies should have
marched into Berlin. The man in the street is
not chess master. He can not clearly visual
ize victory with the king and queen and good
number OF pawns still on the table. For him
the board must be swept clean.
This feeling of disappointment has by this
time worn away. The man in the street is mo
fool; and when he sees the German fleet sham
bling out to shameful surrender, the German
army demobilized, and the nation dis
armed, the kaiser a fugitive, and Ger
hundred years, according to her own Luden-
dorf, it is borne in upon him that after all,
something quite serious happened to the Ger
man armies before the armistice. Elsewhere
lHdn III the street lHerc Is sui an
tendency to insist on the absence of an allied
military victory; almost there is the will to be-
leve that Germany not defeated in the field
and by Foch The Germans were defeated by
themselves, or by the revolution at home, or
by Lenine, or by allied propaganda leaflets, or
by anything else except the hard fact. The
assertion is made directly or given out off
hand as matter OF course, as in a recent book
review: IF some of the hypotheses-the ne
cessity, for instance, of beating Germany on
the field of batte--have failed to secure ver-
hcation in the event"
Into the various reasons that may account
for this desire not to think OF the German
armies as defeated, it is not necessary to enter.
Perhaps it is only the familiar human trait to
look for metaphysical explanation when very
simple and obvious explanation will do.
To be sure, there came from one unexpected
source last week an argument against the real
ity OF Germany's defeat by the allied armies
General Hoffman, OF Brest-Litovsk fame de-
clared to an American reporter that it was Le-
nine who defeated the Germans; that boshevik
propaganda undermined German morale on the
eastern front, and that consequently it was i'm
possible to transfer the necessary troops to the
west. But the facts all the other way. Boil
shevik propaganda did not keep the German
troops from marching into the heart of Russia
and it did not prevent the transfer of at least
halt million men to the west. And far from
undermined in morale, it is admitted by the al
lies that the German troops fought heroically
the kind OF battle which most severely tests
courage and disciplined retreat against ST.
perior numbers to inevitable defeat.
Presumably the legend will persist though
the facts are clear enough. Into the attacks
which began year ago Ludendorff put every
Of strength. His blow failed to get home
and left him exhausted. Then Foch fell upon
him with numbers which every day of the battle
grew Overwhelmingly superior. Germany
rendered because the British were entering Val
enciennes; because THE French were near to
Sedan; because nearly 100000 Americans,
thrown into the mud and jungle between the
Meuse and the Argonne, hacked away and away
at the nerve strings OF the German line OF COM
munications until the last strand was about to
snap; and because another great army Of Amer
leans and French stood around Nancy waiting
the word to jump for Metz and the knockout
Instead Of receiving the blow on the jaw around
Metz, the German preferred to throw up the
sponge in the Ardennes.
Those who really believe that bolshevik prop
uganda and revolution at Berlin defeated the
German army might ask themselves what would
have happened if Ludendortf had not been
stopped by the Americans at Chateau Thierry
and by Gouraud around Rheims If Ludendorf
had taken Paris Lenine would presumably have
been the victor-over France and Great Britain
Revolution would have broken forth in Paris,
Dublin, Cairo, and possibly London. Also of
some value, perhaps are the words Of Luden-
dorft and Hlndenburg in the matter. Luden-
dorff explains his defeat by his predecessors
mistakes. Hindenburg asks patheticaly what
himself at the head of his troops and ridden
forth to meet death. This sounds very much
like a military decision.