Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-10-26
GERMANS FOUND ROAD.

Continued from Page One.
arms contributed Of her own free will
to victory.
The armistice Of November IL, 1913,
was an unconditional surrender on the
part of Germany. This was clear at
the time it was signed, in the. minds
of those who imposed it and of those
upon whom it was forced. 1t was the
logical outcome of the military and po-
litical history of the four preceding
months.
In the first week of July, 1918, Ad-
miral Won Hintze-appointed by the
kaiser to be secretary of state In the
imperial office of foreign affairs-wish-
ing to be accurately informed as to the
military situation before taking up his
duties, left for the front.
At Avesnes he met General Luden-
dorff and asked him:
'In the present offensive are. you
certain to defeat the enemy completely
and decisively?"
General Ludendorff replied without
hesitation:
MY answer to your question is an
unqualified yes"
The March to Paris
At that moment everything seemed
to justify the assurance of the first
ouartermaster general of the German
army In March lightning stroke had
broken General Coughs army and
thrown the allies back to the gates OF
Amiens. In May, another push had
broken the French line at the Chemin
des Danes and carried the enemy to
the banks of the Marine. The lombard.
ment of Paris was the visible sign of
German victory. Thousands of Brit
ish and French prisoners, to say moth
ing of enormous stores Of war material.
had been captured. The German high
command was busy circulating among
its troops that this was the final Of
fensive, "the peace offensive" The
enemy was powerfully equipped for it.:
1856 battafions-266 more than in
1916-made up n total of 2O7 divisions.
OF these 207 divisions, 100 were in
line and u in reserve. OF the latter,
only 20 recently withdrawn from battle
needed refilling. Twenty.-six had been
down on July Is the offensive was
launched in the direction Of Reims. BY
the seventeenth it had been halted be-
tween our first and second lines. On
the eighteenth the armies OF Mangin and
Dego,itte counter attacked on the Ger
man flank. On the nineteenth the en-
emy recrossed the Marine. BY August
q thew had been thrust over the Vesle.
On the eighth, farther. north near
Amiens, three German divisions with
drew in disorder, almost routed before
the allied attack began. Note well these
events. They mark the beginnings OF
victory and armistice.
On August Is numerous com
pany arrives at German general head
quarters at Spa. Besides the Kaiser,
there are gathered there the Crown
Prince, Field Marshal Won Hindenburg
and General Ludendorff, Count Won
Hertling, chancellor Of the empire, and
Admiral von Hintze, minister for
foreign affairs. On the following even
ing, the Emperor of Austria and his
minister, Count Burian arrive. A
crown council is to be held on the
fourteenth. Late on the thirteenth Won
Hintze takes General Won I4udendorff
aside and questions him as he had
done a month before on the general
situation. Ludendorff replies:
No Longer Csrtain.
"In July told you that / was
certain by the present offensive Of
breaking the enemy's will to fight and
of forcing them to make peace. Now
l am no longer certain Of this"
"In that case" asks the minister,
chow do you imagine the war can
IN nnv<{rvnH ~