New-York tribune., 1919-03-23
A Year Ago


A year ago the Hindcnburg drive was
at it's height The Allied publics stood
aghast. Marshal Foch said the other day
that faith won the war. But in the last
week of March, 1918, Allied faith had
dropped very near the vanishing point.
The tragic depression which followed
!, the breaking of the British lines west of
St. Quentin was psychological reaction
from the mood of confidence which had
prevailed through 1917. Therefore it
was difficult to combat When Hindcn-
bnrg's armies for we still called them
Hindenburg's, although Ludendorff was
directing them passed the Somme on
their way west and the mysterious Big
Berthas began to rain shells on Paris
capital was doomed There was to be an
other governmental emigration to Bor-
deanx Amiens was to fall in few days,
and Ludendprff, advancing down the
Som1ne, was to break the Haison between
the British and French armies in France.
BuG this situation always looked
blacksr than ii was Paris was not
evacuated Neither was Amiens- And
1 the Franco British alignment was never
snapped
The Allied publics had overlooked the
lessons of Cambria That battle proved
twice over that defensive line could be
broken at viii if enough driving force
were put into the offensive 1t relegated
to the past the stalemate of rigid po-
sitional warfare The British General
Stat had already worked out formula
according TO which the penetration of
the new style Of mass attack might be
reasonably figured at half the length of
the operating front But when this
formn1a was suddenly justified by the
German break-through in Picardy, the
Allied puhics, which knew nothing about
II, were inclined to believe, instead, that
Lukiendorf had accomplished something
Ike military miracle.
He had not, as events were soon to
Show He had only done on a larger
scale what Byng had done at Cambrai
four nUnths earlier. More than that. he
had committed himself to an offensive
poaic5 which he was never able there
aftsr To renounce> All that Germany
had "as now staked on a single throw.
Ii her armies didn't take Paris or the
channel ports By the middle of the SUM-
1aer they would be left in an expoxed
and weakened position. unable 10 ad.
sance against the greatly strengthened
Aihed armies on to extricate themselves
except at enormous sacrifices
What the Allied peoples didn't rea]fzs
year ago was that Germany couldn',
.1o the war, even il she took Paris and
tne Channel ports. From the rnilitaYy
point Of view the result turned ON the
possession Of final strategic reserve.
indendorf didn't have one. The Allies
'ao' whether on not one had been actually
ORGANIZED IN the spring Of 1917---a point
which has rot yet been cleared rp>
But the French armies had been rest
ing and rehtang for nearly year, They
were fresh and Vigorous superior, dfvi~
NON fcs division. TO the German armies.
me British had an ample ycxeYve at
''crn<s, which had been mistakenly held
mere through the Winter Of 1913. For
snat reason Coughs line before St.
xasssssn was much TOO thin. And behind
s french and British was the }lIimita-
~ American rcinforcement--already y
morally present and soon TO make its
Wsse'acs feit on the firing line,
ine British reverse west Of 81. Quen.
~ ~oah not have attained the propor.
''ns cf u huge disaster II there had
y .sSn Allied unity OF command az the
es''as. AS soon az Foch was made 0er.
Ma''sslfno both Paris and the Channel
~ y.as became secure, The ability Of the
ns''es 70 employ their strategic rexerye
..aces'se'y was guayantssd. And from
, .aas TINE On 1Audendorfss oners,vex we're
Z '. harmful % the Allies than they were
'ns sf'om sf : yssx .go wss deep.