Evening star., 1921-10-29
CHAPTER XIII.
GERMANY's TERROR OF INVASION

Ludendorffs glaring contradictions
exasperated the ministers. especially
Secretary of State Solf. who reminds
Gen. Ludendorff of his appeals OF
October !. The reply is:
why didn't you send me long ago
the reinforcements about which you
are talking today
And Col. Heye adds:
when the great general head
quarters decided 10 make an oHer
of peace it believed that an non
orable peace could be concluded: but
We must accept the decisive battle
if the conditions imposed upon US
touch our honor"
Mr.. Solf replies:
eff a refusal breaks off the nego-
tiations with Wilson. will you take
the responsibility"
eyes, answered the general.
They separate without coming TO
decision and on the 2otn Luuen-
dorff pushes forward Marshal Hin
denburg. who writes an embarrassed
cpistle of which this is the cSSentlai
phrase:
If We were beaten our situation,
which Is bad, would not be ap-
probably worse than if We now
accept the terms it is sought to
impose upon us. we can
not, i llSISt. give up nv
warfare without compensation
1t is better to fight to the last
man to save our honor.
Command Loses Face.
These are only words. They are
without effect, for the high command
has lost it's face. 1t talks. it writes;
no one believes it. Baron Won bers-
ner, liaison officer at German mead
quarters, telephones d few days ait
erward:
The great general staff is flu
rious. But. basing, myself upon
the long experience l have OF
1t, can only place you on your
guard in the most pressing man
ner against the possibility OF nav
ing faith in its promises. and L
recommend that you do not allow
yourself to be turned away from
the policy of peace which we
have adopted. The military situa-
tion is today every bit as des-
perate as it was three weeks ago:
No improvement is TO be looked
for and the invasion of our terri
tory is only a question OF Weeks,
or, at the very best, Of a few
months.
The truth is that it is Ludendorff
who is wrong and Lersnsr VINO Is
right. Since September 20. Marsha
Foch. who had regained the initia-
tive on July IS. has exploited his
success. Three concentric and unin-
terrupted attacks on wide front
have deeply modified the strategic
situation In the north. from Septem-
ber IS to October Is. the enemy has
been driven from the Belgian coast
from the region of Lille, from the
basin of Lense, and has been forced
10 establish himself behind the Ter
vuren canal. the Scheldt and the
Northern canal. In the center from
September 81 to October ~ ihe Hin
denburg line has everywhere been
broken through and the enemy. is
thrown back beyond the Sambre
canal, the Disc and the Serre. In
Champagne and in Argonne a hard
and arduous battle brings us. between
September 16 and October u. up to
the Aisne and Aire. On October 90,
the German armies from the sea to the
Meuse are everywhere in retreat. In
four weeks. they have had to engage
139 divisions out of a total of 191.
They have only seven fresh divisions
in reserve. and forty-four are utterly
worn out. The average strength of
the companies is only fifty men. al
though 40 per cent of the battalions
have been reduced from four com
panies to three. Two thirds Of their
divisions have been almost constantly
in line since September |. They are