Show Allies for C Germanys ermany's Chastisement Clia LONDON JOURNALS JOURNAL'S REVIEW OF Lr YEAR dJ h loNd OF oc WARFARE j r 1 1 r Exhaustive R Discussion of Operations in All Theatres of vr War ar With rith Conclusions Conclusions That Within ri lin T Twelve TwelveMonths TwelveMonths Months lon l the te Entente Powers Pow Pow- ers era Should See Their Aimi Armies es r Well Upon Soil or Way y to Berlin From th the London Observer HE pro progress of or the war unless we weare T J. J are much ranch mistaken will give gi us full Cull matter for fur comment before re we write Tite a again nin nm lint hut we ma IDa may mal make e the future fu fu- Lure ture of the struggle better understood if we wc neglect altogether today the 1 passing details of events and dwell j rather on the grammar of operations The empire has celebrated throughout its bounds with ii fitting solemnity t the second sec resolution and sure hope anniversary of its entrance on f behalf of or the thc r gT greatest of causes into the ther most terrible and the most glorious g of our struggles There was 1 as ns we belle cd a blessing ble I appointed from rom the beginning to rest restI I u upon p on B Britain's r arms and our people Y 1 j I wrought rought b by faith when It seemed hard r fir to walk h by 1 vision lon A few cw weeks ago we e ventured to S say In view of the al all allies allies' al- al l 1 lies lies' full offensive e that th b by this time i th the doubts and soul perplexities still Uni lingering lin Un- i gering gering-as gering ng as stray stra folds of oC mist may ma still sun r when till the vapours lie lic here hr and there f are lifting would lifting would pass awa away and that all things would be made clear So It b has P pa ed ved Indeed We e ma may well ell al alb allow allow al- al b low oa ourselves o now to take a steady survey sur- sur t e vey e of the breadth and reach ranch of or the prospect That sur e survey will wilt satisfy us that we Wl possess e s not only the presumption presumption presumption tion of or victory Ictor but the certain assurance assurance assurance assur assur- ance of or Its completeness 4 Whether hether the time timo required will be much less than twelve twel months as Is Nicely or rather more as ns Is possible the course of or conflict can be forecast l I nod and Its re results must be the same Bythe By Dy Bythe 4 the murder of oC C Captain Fr Fryatt Flatt and s such ch t ashe he carrying Assyrian barbarities as he I-he civil population of or I of or the thc oung nw n ay young I Lille and elsewhere without distinction I tion of oC sex cos I X Germany German has as so added to list of oC her former Cormer crimes asi as asto the lie Jon long tj i to make a weak peace Impossible The settlement must he be drastic the more thorough h the more deferred It willbe willI will I I ho he made mado b by force torce of or arms and nothing r r else The German system will directly r owe ewe Us its undoing to Its Infamies Posterity Posterity Pos Pos- In to all countries will look back upon that th sequel of oC crime and punish punishment ment stent 11 nt with as ae much a awe e as all upon any moral lesson In hl history tor The Z Zenith nUh of I Let us now see sec how these purposes will Rill be worked out and ho how the struggle struggle gle io will actual actually be won Since NaI Na- Na I roleon's T-oleon's retreat from Crom Moscow there has hall cr been such a a. transformation of the fortunes f fOi tunes or of war as during du lW the last l few rew months month V We Ye e must consider Jer the extent of the transformation and Just how It has bel been brought ab ah tit ah ut t before eforo we ire can grasp Sp quite simply how the tile continued process ma may be expected to operate Contrast the state slate o of affairs on the thc first anniversary of the declaration of or orthe the war with the situation on the sec sec- ond Last Ia t year car the central empires felt fell certain of overwhelming triumph over Russia and of oC afterwards crushing crushing crush crush- ing the allies west south and on all sides aides v fell on August 4 1915 denburg had entered the tho Baltic provinces provinces pro inces an and was marching on The Invaders crossed river after t river and stormed fortress after aCter fortress until the defenses of ot all eastern Russia were broken en down The very cry center of Ot the seemed ern 11 to bo be menaced despite the th I Immortal orl 1 heroism and ability of our allies In retreat Before tho the enemy's I advance was stopped the Tsars Tsar's infantry Infantry try tn had hart lost at least two thirds of ot Ha its equipped effectives es The Germane Germans thought the they had d achieved the debacle I of or an empire In Galli poll all 11 the pes he which had rested on a a. heroic adventure ad were brought to nou nough h. h Rumania wasS was S necessarily confirmed in neutrality Bulgaria threw thre off ocr the mask nH Serbia was WI crushed with the exception of or the desperate remnant saved largely owing to tho the belated efforts of the c expedition Before the en end of ot the year car carthe the British advance ance on Bagdad had failed and General Townshend was beleaguered beleaguered be be- be- be at Kut while large British forcer force In o pt wore were waiting for Cor events that never happened Meanwhile all sanguine hopes of re retrieving retrIeving retrieving re- re the situation In the tho west had to be postponed for many a day The British offensive against Loos and the thel French one onslaughts laugh ts In Picard and l I Champagne were carried out by thet the t troops wl h and devoted devote courage courage cour cour- age e. but bul attained nothing In proportion r tc to the tho effort and the loss lose At home the dreary quarrel on the recruiting question question question ques ques- tion dragged on Friends and md foes said 1 that Britain would never be fully roused and that er CI efforts were doomed to failure wh wherever rever lite they touched the tho land The allies were unshaken because they knew the tho fibre of or their peoples tho the extent of oC their resources backed b by I command of ot the s sea sta a but who can wonder wonder wonder won won- der that the whole German nation believed be be- itself invincible an and 1 despite the blockade shouted again and again for fori triumph Even Hungary Austria even i rr u 1 u III A l l 1 rr u 1 u III A l l 1 Turkey counted like Bulgaria on victory victory VicI vic I tory and nt I Poising the Die The winter passed From Prom the enemy's standpoint at the situation ag as It stood at nt the tho opening of year Geri Germans Ger Ger- i mans honestly asked themselves how i the absurd allies could possibly hope to win the war Tho allies had held a general general gen gen- genI I eral oral conference They had proclaimed the sound principles of the single front ant and the general offensive but but though the tho doctrine was wall excellent It was an announced announced pounced In advance of or the means During During Dur Dur- ing lag the tho winter the Germans ns had accumulated ac accumulated ac- ac cumulated a a. l prodigious battering power pow pow- er After eighteen n months of or war the they still sun held the ho initiative How should they use uso Is Against the Franco British armies or against Rus Rue Russia eta sla 1 The course of oC German m military tar thought at this period is still wrapped In obscurity How the debate was conducted conducted conducted con con- ducted between the tho kaiser the great I headquarters staff Hindenburg an anthe anal the Austrians and wh why the decision taken laken was wall arrived at will some somo day bo be amongst the most mOlt interesting revelations revelations about c contemporary history f I 3 1 I J t PW- PW fr- fr 5 x a v. ga y r S i it t S' S l Hf St St. w f N v t V J i 7 h to v t ta iI I iI I a tl I I I German brains at headquarters had hat I been heen as a busy as the cannon foundries The They were absolutely confident that I on Ott tho the defensive e they the could hold their lines anywhere Thir They had worked out outa a new theory theon of or attack The Tho continuous I ous offensive aiming at a 0 speedy speed through-break through of or the hostile front had proved pro for lor both sides an Impracticable ble hie Ideal deal in the west That method might be replaced b by tho the rhythmic or recurrent offensive With a sufficient local concentration of or heavy artillery the enemy's front lines could be pulverised pulverised pul pul- and seized at relatively slight loss Tho The Infantry would only have hl to occupy what tho the guns would conquer con con- quer queI Remorselessly repeated that process might prove pro masterful and even e dea deadly How then thon to apply It Should the I great blow bo ho struck In the east or In Inthe Inthe inthe the west The fate o of the German empire perhaps hung on this choice To outsiders 1 It t seemed that In theory the tho In German Interests Interests- only true policy as ns we explained rep repeatedly In these columns at the time was time was to attack Russia again especially on the front south of the where la is now acting Such a course courso no doubt Involved some ome obvious disadvantages It would exaggerate still further thelong thelong the tho long long- Interior lines from east to west est Tho The Russian terrain would bo be the wor worst t for tor ponderous batteries to move overFull over Full success In crushing Russia might well seem doubtful since tho the Tsars Tsar's armies were being reconstituted with remarkable rapidity Half HaIr success would be worse than nothing To stick slick midway on the roads to Petro grad Moscow Moscow Mos Mos- Iosco co cow r and antI Kloff Kieft without t getting to an any of oC these would be a miserable an and ruinous ruinous ruin ruin- ous fiasco Perhaps It was teas thought necessary e to I economize c manpower and that an eastward eastward eastward east east- ward offensive on Napoleonic lines would cost too much Perhaps It was hoped that a gran grand Invasion slon of ot Russia Rus Rue sin sia might be undertaken later In this year after aCter a signal adventure In the west had been boen carried to such success success success suc suc- cess a as to fill Germany German with renewed exultation For these or others others others oth oth- ers which the tho military mill tar and political memoirs memoir of or the future may ruay disclose Germany merely marked timo for tor seven months on the Russian Russian lan front and thus thug lost her last chance of knocking out any of ot tho the allies alUes lIre Plan for tor lOllS 1 At Imperial ImperIa headquarters the die was cast In favor tavor of oC an attempt to flatten out the Verdun salient lIt by an nn obliterating obliterating t weight of artillery e 0 We have havo varied little In our reading of oC the enemy's plan but to today ay we think a anew anew new stew point In the Interpretation maybe mn may maybe be added An early move was Imperative Imperative imperative Imper Imper- If It tho the allies allies' scheme for a II simul simultaneous offensive e was Indeed to be anticipated anticipated anticipated an an- and nd dislocated February was too rl et early for tor operations operation In Russia and this ma may have ha been the real reason real reason n which carried the decision for a coup against France It was wall hoped to so- so cure curo cr very extensive effects both moral mora and material both local and general We e know the argut argument ant Surprised b bj by byan an nn unparalleled w weight eIght of bombardment bombardment bombard bombardment ment Verdun would soon oon fall faU The whole salient on both sides of ot tho the river would pass pas Into German hands handa The Tho entire chain of the heights of tho the Meuse might be bo captured and the French driven out of ot the Argonne Argo no Our r. L l t rn AU 11 Ili f k A 1 I In t t e r tt n or would H fI t a os IU n corn a w. w pour out their best blood with unavailing unavailing un Un- availing despair Then tho they would be discouraged French ardour kindling Ung last New Year with anticipation of n a simultaneous offensive b by all the alies al allies allies al- al I lies would be killed before spring I It would be the final failure of or the third republic At a n limited cost In power man-power a II lo local local local lo- lo cal offensive In the fiercest German spirit would have ha gained those results And n not only onh these Franco France would calto tail call to her allies They would 1 either have hav to act before toro the they were ere ready or rupture rupture rupture rup rup- ture the entente Tho The British between and the Somme omme prematurely at attempting attempting ot at- tempting without a sufficiency of heavy h avy artillery to storm the Gorman lines line would plunge to lo disaster One ox- ox ex experience of cC prolonged casualties on th the tho continental scale would be enough fo for Britain and nd her new armies Soo Soon would these abandon all an ambition or of o measuring themselves seriously with wit th Germans in active war Equivalent re results ulta would follow In th the tho east At first Russia could not move moc easily owing owIn to the tho early carl season leal on I If In n f I December and January Jt the czars czar's armies arm arm- armies ies les had flung Clung themselves es here and there thereon on tho the Invaders Invaders' lines south of oC tho the hut but had effected nothing It might be safely assumed thought assumed thought the kaiser and his generals that generals that tho the Russians Rus Rue walled waned b wired trenches clans up by barricades bt forts torts obstacles of ot all t kinds bristling everywhere with machine machine- guns gunn could never break brenk through How Ho could It be bo Imagined for tor a moment that such uch a miracle could over er be bo accomplished accomplished accomplished b by the tho Russians with their notorious notorious notorious no no- want of or heavy suns guns added adde to their supposed deficiencies and shortages shortages short short- ages In other respects Yet at the call of ot France tho the Russians lIko like the British would have to tr try Ruinous losses Josses oases in futile onslaughts would take the he heart out of ot the Tsars Tsar's per armies armies por- por haps aps leave them In a state to be broken utterly by a crowning German orrens- orrens lve Ive vc In early Carly summer ummer The Allies' Allies Al lids lids' Iron Fortitude Wo We believe that visions of ot successive triumphs In west and east cast ea t filled tilled the minds s of the tho German emperor and his generals generals' w whoa when hen It was decided to open this his years year's fighting by bv the attempt on Verdun Upon a no calculation of ot all the direct and Indirect possibilities It n was nS wasa S a no real plan for tor the tho winning Inning v of tho war Ital Italy taly would also be attacked from the tho by the now new system of battery as soon aa as the Alps became passable In n this way wa tho the military conclaves of the ho allies aUles at Paris would be brought broughto to o nought Their famous scheme of ot victor victory would be bo smashed so that the they could never pick up tho the pieces Once more they would have o to submit to th the German Initiative before thc ho they wore ready cady read On the summary of ot the argun argument ent the calsor and his staff may ma well na e nave have be- be believed dt their er prospects r ts excellent lIer- lIer If Germany acted CUU early cany enough in ui the inc conditions In inthe year ear tho the varying he the west the Alps and on the eastern front would of oC themselves hinder the effective operation co of the allies even If f adequately equipped Opening In February r the crown prince would de dell deal l France a deadly blow Next the Brit Brit- sh Ish compelled to take premature action would be smashed In trying to relieve their heir friends A little |