Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-09
GERMANS D|SMAY
AT U. S. BLOW TOLD
Might Have Changed Tactics
if Number in France Was
Known, Says General.
BY EDGAR ANsEL MowRER.

~ Gable to The Star.
BERLIN, Germany, March 'e.-"The
remarkable thing about the Americans
was that we never could believe they
were there at all. Had we realized the
American numbers it is possible that
our offensives in the Summer of 1918,
which definitely exhausted our army,
would not have occurred. We might
have retreated to short line along the
Meuse and defied the allies to come
to dig us out, meanwhile asking for
peace and obtaining better terms. But
Gen. Ludendorff's Stubbornness and our
disbelief in the presence of your troops
prevented such an idea, which might
have changed history"
So spoke Lieut.. Gen. Georg Won der
Lippe, retired, who happened to face
Gen. Pershing's Army in the late Sum-
mer and Autumn of 1918, in an inter-
view today.
Effect Of U. S. Army.
1--WE never really believed that Ameri-
cans in any considerable number would
reach France. The effect of their sud-
den appearance in the lines opposite
my division at st. Mihiel salient was
to depress the already somewhat low
cred German morale. Furthermore 1t
must not be forgotten that we had al
ready half resolved to evacuate the
salient, but this work was only half
carried out because the supreme COM
mand hesitated. The soldiers had
heard OF the coming evacuation.
The Americans attacked from both
sides like pincers, hoping to pinch of
the projection. The artillery prepara-
tio0 was short, but terrific My divi-
sion, the 31st from Alsace, had arrived
from Flanders only a few days before
Tor rest" The American attack was
carried out very bravely and I person.
ally saw Germans abandoning their
positions mething that would have
not been done without a harder fight
If there had not been preparations for
evacuation. Eventually we had to yield
the entire salient"
IT opposed the Americans during our
retreat and their advance through the
Argonne country. They were fine fell
lows, fooliShly brave, as young soldiers
are. But this excessive self-exposure
was bound to depreSs veterans like ours
who were at the point of exhaustion.
Our army was not the old army of
l9l6-l7. 1t was tired, with reduced
numbers and Bolsheviks from the rear
had already begun to attack its morale.
II our men had been fresh, the already
costly American advance through the
dtfncult Argonne country would have
been an even bloodier affair since we
could have defended every hill to the
last.
Americans Kept Going.
%Just before the arrnistice my d.
vision was some so miles north of
Sedan and had successfully prevented
your boys from crossing the River
Meuse. We simply drenched them in
artillery FIRE, which must have caused
heavy losses, but after each repulse
they tried again as though nothing had
happened. Foolish but admirable be-
havior."
II understand that Gen. Pershing
wanted to attack with the American
Army eastward of the Argonne on the
Woevre Plain with Metz as the OBJ
Jective," said, but we were stopped
by Field Marshal Haig and Marshal
Foch. Would that have been STRATEGY
cally better for the Allies2"
II successful, yes" the veteran gen.
eral answered, suddenly becoming a
sober strategist of wartime. I'VE Ger
mans considered the possibility of your
doing that. If you could have taken
the railway functions at Metz, yes, but
Metz was so strongly defended by forts
and trenches that your losses would
have been terrific. I think you did
better to choose the Argonne country,
hard though it was"
Comparison Of Armies.
What was your opinion Of the COM
parative qualities of the armies?" I
Asked.
THE English infantry were fine
soldiers, but the French artillery was
superior. Not owing to the material,
but to the manner Of firing. English
glnners seemed to lack imagination.
am an artillery general and came
from the eastern front to Flanders at
Christmas, 1917, opposite the English.
When the English began to shell our
batteries, the men simply left the guns
zoo yards behind, counted until 300
shells had been fired, then returned and
sat up our battered cannon, knowing
that the British would fire again, but
that 1t was finished for a time.
With the French you never knew.
They fired viciously, straight and al
ways by surprise"
Gen Pershing implies In his me-
moirs that a kind Of jealousy between
the French and English commands pre-
vented proper Coordination which gave
JN4 SACdb dOfd1OdBG. were you Ger
mans aware Of such jealousy?"
Strategy of Attack.
mo, but naturally all armies with d.
Vded commands suffer-"
why did you direct the March, 1918,
offensive against the junction of British
and French troops?" asked.
Because that was bound to BE- the
weakest point In the Allied lines, If only
owing TO language difficulties and, be-
cause we wanted to split the Allied
army, realizing that the British all
along had sought to make a kind of a
local war to protect the channel ports.
Had we succeeded, the wars outcome
might have been otherwise, but per-
hapS, the Americans could even then
have saved the Allies. 1 shall never
forget my surprise and dismay at seeing
masses Of your troops which we sup
posed were still in America"
Copyright, 1917
MRS. cANTWEII RITES