Salt Lake Telegram | 1917-07-17 | Page 3 | Loss of 350,000 Germans is Indicated

LOSS OF y GERMANS IS INDICATED Heavy Inroads Made on on the Franco- Franco I British Front I Correspondence of the Associated Press FRENCH FRONT Jui July 17 Severe Severe inroads have have- been made on the I strength of the German troops holding hold bold lag ing the line on the Franco British front during the attacks delivered on them in the months of April May and ana June An estimate made mad on well weil established established es es- es- es averages demonstrates that their losses must approximate men Before the spring operations of the French and British began the German German German Ger Ger- man front had been divided Into two sectors entirely independent of each other One faced the French between the tile Oise and the Swiss frontier and was under the command of the crown prince The other confronted the British from the British North sea seato seato seato to the Oise and was commanded by the Bavarian crown prince I At the beginning of the Franco Franco- British offensives Germans had at their disposal on the whole front stretching from the North sea to Switzerland divisions of which were actually in the front line and forty two forty two in the rear ready for employment employment em em- at any point where their help was needed These Thes reserve divisions divisions di dl- visions were about equally distributed distributed in the northern and southern sectors sec sec- tors tore The situation on the Russian front permitted the tile Germans to detach some of their active divisions from that side and at the same time they formed several new divisions which they brought to the French front so that on June 20 the number of their divisions facing the French and British British British Brit Brit- ish was in spite of the fact that they had replaced the active divisions brought from Russian by landwehr units sent from this side The strength of the German forces force I on the Franco British Franco British front cannot however be calculated from the number number num num- ber her of their divisions for no rio fewer than of the have been thrown into the battles at various times and ann twenty twenty three three of them have been twi twi e e engaged thus totaling in in reality divisions which have been in action As a general rule a division is not withdrawn from the fighting line Continued on page e 8 8 8 I LOSS OF I Continued from page 2 until It has bas lost third one of ot its eflee tives and thus the German loss losses s may be fairly accurately gauged For Instance Instance In In- stance a a. German division nowadays when at full strength numbers approximately ap ap- proximately infantrymen Therefore Therefore There There- fore the divisions which have passed through the fire have In all probability each lost 2500 killed wounded and prisoners making malting in all casualties in the Infantry aloe alore In less Jess than three months I