Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-11-22

Va Nu' ituSab tue great ielIcIHeH
in France in the spring of 1919,
counted on the British offensive de
yeloping to the north at the end o
| March, 1t was impossible to foretel
with certainty where it would TAX
place. An attack near Arras seemed
likely.
In the middle of February, 1917, il
order to improve its position. the 9rt
army had undertaken a local opera
lon on the Champagne battlefields o.
September, 1915. This operation wa,
successful. Amongst the captured
| material there was found an order 0,
! the End French infantry division
| dated January 29, clearly pointing tC
q great French offensive on tho Aisnt
for April This gave US an extremely
| important clue. Little attention was
now paid to news OF attacks in Isor.
raine and Sundgau upper Alsace).
Thanks to their ample labor supply
| the entente had been in position ia
| furnish, not only the Verdun sector
| but also large portion of their front
! with all the means of communication
| and munitions necessary for an at
| tack 1t was, therefore, possible for
! them in the shortest space of time,
and at various PARTS of the front. to
develop an offensive without destroy
ing their plans by their preparations.
The photo graphs of the enemy's
fleld defences and works, and the
continual checking and Notifications
Dy new photographs secured by our
aViators, could only give general in
dica lions of his intended movements.
hem0ries Of VeiTiun Weighed on
Minds of German People.
The French front between Vailiv
on the Aisne and the Argonne was
particularly well constructed, so that
special prepar a lions for attack were
not necessary. The works that were
actually built south Of the Chemin des
Danes we saw when we advanced in
1918. Their construction seems to
nave dated from 1876 II is posi-
bic that the French had intended to
make an offensive here IN 1916 but
were preyente ed by the German on
slaught on Verdun.
Conditions on the western front had
become more secure. but the depres-
sion due to the battles on the Somme
and at Verdun still weighed down tho
minds of our people and increased
the nerve-rac king tension inseparable
from being on the defensive.
me distribution Of the higher COM
mand had been improved. Grown
Prince Rupprecht's command includ
ed the 4th, 9Th 1st and End armies,
between the canal and La Fere Next
to this was the German crown princes
command with the It'll, Bird and 5th
armies which extended almost as far
as the Orne, east of Verdun.
Then came the command of Field
n rel a nrtlT q A -
berg, who had handed over the 4th
army to General Sixt Won Arnim
tarmy groups @, A. b., whose chief
of staff was General Kraft Won Dell
mensingen Owing to the formation
of this group of armies, conditions on
the Alsace-Lorraine front were very
i'm proved.
Strengthens Crown Prince.
The strengthening Of the line be-
Arras and Laon made it possible to
remove the command Of the 1st army
from this district. It was transferred
to the group of armies under the Ger
man crown prince. on either side of
between the 18th and Bird arm
les. Such a transfer and readiust-
ment of an army command is q trou-
blesome Undertaking, on account of
the changes it entails in the lines of
communications 1t cannot be done
in day If serious friction is to be |
avoided.
| hoped that the army command |
would be settled. with headquarters
in Rethel, before the French attack |
on the group of armies under the Ger |
man crown prince was opened The
troops had ha d two extra months for i
rest and training. as result of the
successful carrying out of the Alberich |
program (the retreat of the linden |
burg line), They had certainly gained |
considerably in strength, but in the
group Of armies under the Crown
Prince Rupprecht there were still |
some divisions that required rest.
Training was suspended. Some of |
the new formal lions were already be-
ing employed in quiet sectors of the
line, Others had only just come into
use as reinforc ements Divisions from
Rumana had arrived in Belgium.
G.H.Q. had also exchanged divi-
sions unfit for the western front for
good fighting forces from the east,
although this necessarily involved a
weakening of our defenSes those.
Germany Sends More Supplies.
The consolidation of the front was
pushed on, The labor which had been
liberated by the occupation of the
Siegfried line was employed behind
hose sectors where attack was an
and the completion Of the
support and rearward trenches hadl
20 he accelera ted.
The supply of munitions had i'm
proved, the increase being due to the
consumption during sever
Il months. A reserve had been Gre
tied, which gave a certain security
rs long as the battles east and west
lid not last too long. The Hinden-
,urg program gradually became prac-
icable, and the further supply of mu-i
litions was ensured.
(The Hindenburg program was the
BEGINNING of Ludendorffs practical
dictatorship. He took over control of
he manufacture of munitions and
mining and militarized the whole In
lustrial organiza ton of GERMANY
CHG began to reckon on the great
.ntente offensive in France, Macedo-
Tia and on the Isonzo for the middle
# April, From Kreuznach, whittier
We had moved at the end of Feb
'uary. l had often visited the western