Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-12
Germans Open Offensive
and American Troops
Are Offered to Foch
for His Disposal.
u. S. ENGINEERS HELP
BRITISH in BATTLE
Billiards. Division Enters
Front North of foul
With Four Others Soon
Ready to Move in.

v " WHILE Secretary of War Baker
IN and I were at French gen.
wv eral headquarters at Com
piegne, March 81, 1913, we
heard the heavy artillery fire
which Signali2ed the beginning of the
long expected German attack, although
no definite news had then been received.
1t will be recalled that the plan of
the Supreme War Council, adopted in
February, was to form a general reserve
to be composed Of IS French, 10 British
and 7 italian divisions. The British
commander in chief commended, how
ever, that in taking over from the
French Army the additional front from
opposite st. Quentin to BariSis in jan
uary he had to put in divisions that
might otherwise have been available
and that he had none left for the gen.
eral reserve. The directions regarding
the reserves were not carried out and
an agreement between Haig and Petain
as to mutual support was substituted
in its stead.
When these facts were made known
to the Supreme War Council by the
British commander in chief they occa-
stoned much surprise. But the lack of
divisions on the part of the British was
explained to the Supreme War Council
March IA at its meeting in London, and
the arrangement was accepted by the
council as satisfactory. The agreement
was in substance the confirmation of
the understanding between them as eX-
planned at the military conference in
Comp!egne in January.
The time had now come for the full
fillment of this agreement.
German Offensive Begins.
March ri the great German offensive
began against the British armies be-
tween the Disc and the Scarpe, near the
junction of the French and British lines,
on a front about so miles in length, eX-
tending from near La Fere to Arras.
Near the center of the attack was Gen.
Coughs 5th Army, with the Sd Army
under Gen. Byng on its left.
The artillery bombardment preced-
ing the Infantry advance was Of short
duration, but Of great intensity, with
excessive use Of gas shells. Following a
heavy barrage the German Infantry,
using the same tactical methods that
had been so successful at Riga and
Caporetto, delivered its blow. The
weather favored the enemy as heavy
fog continued internationally for three
DAYS, much to the disadvantage Of the
defense. The overwhelming force of 81
especially trained German divisions out
Of their 1872 then on the Western front
compelled the British lines to yield. AL
though at the end of the first day the
5th Army had not entirely given away,
its losses had reached several thou
sands, and there was no question that
the Germans were making a serious at
tempt to separate the British and
French armies.
While there seemed to- be every con-
fidence before the attack that the lines
could hold, full consideration had not
been given to the certain use of open
warfare tactics by the Germans, in
which neither the British nor the
French had been sufficiently trained
Adherence by the allies on the West
ern front to trench warfare methods
proved advantageous to the Germans.
Except for the Verdun affair Of 1916,
Germany had been on the defensive in
the West while completing the con-
quest Of Russia and the Near East As
expected, the collapse of Russia and
the total defeat of Rumania released
large number of German divisions for
the 1918 offensive in the West, where
they gained numerical superiority for
the first time since 1914. With this
advantage. they promptly began train
ing for open warfare, with the object
Of forcing their adversarieS out of the
trenches and beating them in the open.
In this sort of warfare the British
were seriously handicapped on account
Of their long adherence to stabilized
warfare Their officers said that when
the men had to leave the trenches they
acted as though something was radically