The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-11-05

their high value both intrinsically and
for the Improvement of the infantry
generally. They were examples to be i'm
itated by the other men.
DOOMED THE DEEP DUG0UTS
The course of the Somme battle had
also supplied important lessons with re
spect to the construction and plan OF
our lines. The very deep underground
forts in the front line trenches had to
be replaced by shallower constructions.
concrete ''pilboxes, which however,
unfortunately took long to build, had
acquired an increasing value.
The conspicuous lines of trenches,
which appeared as sharp lines on every
aerial photograph, supplied far too gooa
a target for the enemy artillery. Inc
whole system of defense had to be made
broader and looser and better adapted
10 the ground. The large, thick bar
riers of wire, pleasant as they were
when there was little doing, were no
longer a protection. They wlthered
under the enemy barrage. Light strands
of wire, difficult to see, were much
more fuseful.
Forward infantry positions with wide
field of fire were easily seen by the
enemy. They could be destroyed uy the
artillery of the enemy, and were very
difficult to protect by our own artillery.
Positions further back with a narrower
firing field and more under the protection
OF our own guns were retained. They
were of special service in big fights.
Much was to be done; so much had
changed, so much become completely
transformed.
/ At the conference in Cambria these
various matters were merely touched on.
got no more than general impressions.
but these were enough to show the neces-
sty of altering the plan of lighting and
of improving the army in tactics and in
equipment On the eastern front we had
for the most part adhered to the old
tactical methods ana the old training
which we had learned in the days of
peace Here we met with new conditions,
and it was my duty to adapt myself to
them
l have always been interested in ques-
lions of tactics and armament apart from
the fact that these subjects formed part
of my work in the great general staff at
Berlin. Even at that time l had advo-
Gated many changes which had now be-
come of the utmost importance. AS could
clearly have been foreseen, these subjects
had now become questions of life or death
to the army on the battlefelds. and they
could not receive too much attention.
My responsibility 10 the army in this
matter weighed particularly heavily on
me. If, on the one hand, l had perfoTce
to demand the sacrifice of human lives, on
the other hand, l had the nobler task.
from the point of view of humanity, Of
doing all l could to save German lives
All this determined me TO look more
closely into the question of body arrnor
We did indeed give some out to the
troops, but it was never popular. as the
men found it too heavy.
Our conference at Cambria had proved
profitable. The quiet dignity of the as
sembled army commanders and chiefs or
staff who had for close on two years been
engaged in great defensive battles in the
west, whilst the field marshal and l mad
been winning battles IN bold offensives in
the east, made a deep impression on me.
was strengthened in my determi-
nation to make the government put
into the war what war requires. Men,
war material and moral resolution
were matters of life and death to the
army. The longer the war lasted. the
| more urgent they became The more
the army demanded, the more the coun-
try would have to fipd, and the great
| err would be the task before the i'm
| perial government and especially the
Prussian war ministry.
| After the conference we dined with
I the crown prince of Bavaria. 1t was
| only his sense of duty that made him
! a soldier; his inclinations were MOI
military Nevertheless, he entered upor
his high military position and applied
! himself to the work 1t entailed witt
| great devotion and supported by hi.
! excellent chiefs of staff. the Bavariar
| General Kraft Won De1lmensingen a.
the beginning of the war, and now Gen,
| eral Won Kuhl--met all the great de,
mands made on commander in chief
PRINCE ANXIOUS FOR PEACE
! He, like the German crown prince
was in favor of ending the war with