Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 43, Number 226, 3 August 1918 — Page 2

PAGE TWO

THE RICHMOND PALLADIUM AND SUN-TELEGRAM. SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 1918.

Huns Doubly Beaten in Effort to Hold on in Marne Salient

By HILAIRE BELLOC Author of "Elements of the Great War" and Britain's Most Distinguished Military Critic

Copyrlflht, 191S The Tribune Association (The N. Y. Tribunt)

THE problem which has been puzzling all observers of the war ever since General Foch launched his counter offensive on July J 8, has now been largely resolved. The problem was to Interpret the mind of the German High Command, as shown In Its action between Rheims and Soissons, after Foch had broken Its offensive and turned the strategic situation Inside out, fully recovering the lnitatlve for the Allies by his great . blow. The enemy acted after this movement for fully. ten days in a fashion which it was impossible to Interpret upon any one plan. First, he simply stood In his position In the south as though awaiting orders, or uncertain of his Intention. Second, a full thirty-

directed against a front of fifty miles, with a force to begin with of some sixty divisions two-thirds of their whole available striking forcehad really failed. Hence, there was this curious, hesitation to retire or even modify their position beyond the Marne during all of, Thursday and Friday. The second order must have been dated some time Friday, July 19, a full thirty-six hours after the allied counter attack had been delivered. It was plainly an order for a general retirement, for the enemy not only went back across the Marne but left Chauteau Thierry and its neighborhood. The weakening of his artillery fire showed that he was pushing back his guns, and the actions he was fight-

with the object of retaining ground. It was not fully successful, even at such a price. Fringe by fringe, the German position was torn away. Villa Montoire was retaken, the extremely important position of Oulchy was seized, the Nanteuil brook was crossed,

and by evening of Friday, July 26, the French guns were firing into the road junction of Fere-en-Tardenols, at a range of just 3,000 yards, which meant that the use of that point by the enn-

emy bad become impossible.

Continuing the line to the south, the Americans had also kept on taking

ground until the allied line on the

same night was ten miles northeast

of Chateau Thierry.

But on July 28 there suddenly re

appeared the policy of a general re

tirement. Now, why have these four

successive policies, each a contradiction of the last, followed the other in such a fashion? What successive motives have been at work? Conflict Between Politics and Military Here we are reduced to conjecture. The commonest answer is the political one. We are told that here, as has so often been the case in the last few months, there has been a conflict between the , purely military point of view in Germany and the civillian, or foreign office, point of view. It may be pointed out in passing that those who know the country best are convinced that the Emperor, who is not a mere figurehead as in most .monarches, but is a real power, usually backs up the civilian as against the purely

military point of view. But that is by

abandonment of the southern" end of the salient, which had been so tenaiously clung to on the Marne around Dormana. Such is the most general explanation of these astonishing orders and counter orders which for more than a week produced an equally astonishing military situation, in which a defeated force desperately hung on to positions which could only be held by the heaviest sacrifice and which at first sight seemed of no particular value for there can be no hope of using them once again for offensive action. But it is well to understand that there may be a perfectly good explanation of these orders and counter orders on a military basis alone, without considering the question of domestic policy, the effect on civilian opinion or the conflict between politicians and soldiers. The first refusal to fall back may well have been due to simply a misapprehension of the situation lasting more than a day. The subsequent determination to retire may have been due to delay in bringing up sufficient troops in time to hold the line by counter-attack. When these appeared, and when the Allied progress was correspondingly checked, and in some places completely halted, one may believe that the local command advised the Higher Command that it could

though with difficulty maintain its positions. A Purely Military View of Hla Acts. . The Higher Command, gambling,

perhaps, upon the . hope that these operations would prove even more ex-

GERMANY'S DOUBLE DEFEAT IN THE MARNE SALIENT The principal stages by which the Germans were driven from the Marne salient, as described iti Mr. Belloc's article, are Illustrated by this map. The heavy broken line shows how the battlefront ran on the morning of July 18, when Foch launched his counter offensive. The shaded area (1), indicates the ground he won at the start of this operation. Area (2), la the ground evacuated by the Germans in their first retreat movement on July 19-21, and the northern boundary of that area Is the line onwhich they attempted to make a stand. Area (3), Is the ground won by the Franco-American attack, from July 22 to 27, which convinced the German High Command of the unwisdom of attempting to maintain the salient, and area (4), is the around over which the Germans are now withdrawing in their second retreat.

hours after the great French success toward Soissons, which threatened his communications, his eight foremost divisions which had been thrown across the Marne were withdrawn across the river, and it looked as though the enemy had decided upon the wisest course open to him to fall back and flatten out the salient; to make himself militarily secure at the expense of a little ground and the mere moral loss of prestige. The opinion that he was boldly going to cut his losses and fall back was confirmed by his leaving Chateau Thierry voluntarily, and it looked, during three days, that Is, up to about July 22, as though we were in the presence of the simple and obvious manoeuvre on the part of a force surprised and threatened in its communications, to wlt, a retiring and flattening out of the salient. Beaten Out of

Every Position But at that moment another policy appeared. Congested, as the enemy already was with some four hundred thousand men in a district less than thirty miles broad and about twenty miles deep, with his railroad communications cut, his road communications poor, his two great road Junctions under close and continuous fire and his ground cut up by woods and hills, the enemy, instead of deliberately going back further in order to relieve the situation, reversed himself, called in fresh divisions and attempted to maintain his uncertain line. Ho kept on counter attacking with the utmost violence and "at reckless expense, he borrowed from the heserves In the north at least as many as ten divisions perhaps more and he disputed every foot of ground against the pressure the allies were exercising all around the ring of the salient. There were even cases of his regaining ground for a moment, as at

Ville Montoire. and whenever he went ;

back at all it was only because he was beaten out of his positions. He daily lost prisoners and guns, and he refused for a whole week any signs of voluntary retirement. Then, on Saturday, July 27, he suddenly fell back by miles from the south. We can see pretty clearly what this confusion and contradiction came from. Three policies, or three orders, were successively adopted, and at last a fourth policy, which was a reversion to the second one of frank retirement Of this there can be no doubt, though the motives for these changes are less certain and must be separately discussed. Could Not Crldit Their Failure The first order, under which the ground below the Marne was held, was clearly one based on the conception by the Germans that their offensive' would continue. In other words, the enemy's High Command did not ap

preciate at first the significance of General Mangin's advance to the neighborhood of Soissons. They could not believe that this last tremendous offensive of -theirs, mounted an a scale rivalling the one of last March and

ing.were those of rear guards rather than true counter attacks. After about another equal interval, probably early on Sunday, comes the third order. The German troops In the unfortunate salient were bidden to cease their retirement, to hold on at all costs and to keep as much of the ground they were occupying as possible. They were particularly bidden to hang on tenaciously to the southernmost and most difficult portion of the ground along the. Marne itself, In the neighborhood of Dormans. A new and vigorous policy of expensive counter attacks was inaugurated, many fresh divisions appeared on .the western side of the salient and the artillery actions grew heavier as the week advanced, which showed that some guns had been hurried back. The policy through all the days became one of high expense in men

the way. In. the present confusion according to the explanation the sequence is supposed to have been somewhat as follows: First, the refusal to withdraw, due to a misunderstanding of the gravity of the Allies' counter thrust on July 18; then, a realization of the danger and the order to retire, followed in turn by political advice that civilian opinion in Germany would be grievously shaken by a retirement at this stage, which would be a confession of

a military break-down, inasmuch as it would proclaim to everybody that the great offensive had been broken and which would mean the restoration of von Kuhlmann, who had fallen on account of his pronouncement that no military decision could be hoped for; at last, when the pressure became too great, the recognition that

sheer military necessity compelled the

I pensive to the Allies than they did to the Germans, thought they could not be continued for many days and that the Allied advance, which was already checked, might be stopped dead, may well have accepted this suggestion on the part of the local command and determined from July 21 onward to hold all the positions possible around the ring of the salient. Finally, on the evening of Friday. July 26, it must have appeared impossible to the enemy to hold longer. He then reverted to his original policy of retirement, abandoning the line of the Marne with the control over its railway and frankly flattening the salient, so that upon the succeeding day the French and Americans were able to occupy quite a considerable new belt of country. There Is one subsidiary, but important point, tc be considered in this

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abortive German attempt to hold on for a whole week without retirement. I have touched on it in the sentence above, in connection with holding the extreme southern-most piece of territory on the Marne itself around Dormans. The main railway uniting Paris with the eastern front, that is, with Verdun and Nancy, passes right along the bank of the Marne at this spot, and so long as the enemy was present in the hills which dominate the sector of Dormans he completely cut this line. There is an alternative line to the south, but it is less direct, and the pressure upon it, so long as the main line was cut, was very heavy. That was one reason, apart from all question of internal policy, for the attempt to hold on to the salient which has now failed. Obviously, if the enemy is compelled to retire from his most advanced positions that is, from the southern portion of the salient on the Marne itself, as he has now been, there is nothing left for him to do but to fatten the salient thoroughly. There has been a good deal of speculation as to whether the enemy intended to relieve his situation by

launching some main attack elsewhere.

Like most of the questions put to the public by the press during the war this question is insoluable and attempts to solve' it are vain. No one knows the mind of the enemy's command before events reveal it. If they did the war would be won by knowledge alone.

Mrs. Mary Jeffries Dies at -Greensfor GREENSFORK, Aug. 3. Mrs. Mary Jane Jeffries, 77 years old, died Friday afternoon at the home of her

daughter, Mrs. Charles Hutchinson, north of here. Mrs. Jeffries had been ill for several months. Besides her daughters, she is survived by three sons, Charles of Greensfork. Marshall of Williamsburg, and a son in Indianapolis. Funeral services will be held from the Hutchinson home, Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock. Burial will be in Williamsburg.

LUXURY TAXES ARE

CONSIDERED TODAY

ftfy Associated Frees.)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3. Taxation of luxuries at a means of raising a portion of the $8,000,000,000 revenue

sought by the house ways and means

committee, in the bill now being drafted was considered today by a sub

committee appointed to investigate that source of taxation. Hearings were held by the sub-committee yes

terday, which is composed of repre

sentatives Hull, Tennessee and Helvering, Kansas, Democrats, and Moore, Pennsylvania, Republican and it is expected that recommendations will be in form to lay before the full committee when it resumes its sessions Monday. Increased taxes on tobacco and cigarettes, in some cases three times the present rates, were agreed to yesterday by the ways and means committee. The tobacco taxes, exclusive of the taxes on manufacturers of tobacco products are expected to yield approximately $340,000,000 in revenue.

Preble County Board of Instruction Appointed EATON. O., Aug. 3. Following is the personnel of the Selective Service Instruction board for Preble county, selected Friday by the local draft board: Rev. J. E. Yingllng, Father Joseph M. Hyland, E. P. Vaughan and Mrs. Minnie B. Davis of Eaton; Rev. A. Campbell Bailoy, Falrhaven; O. V. Fritz, West Alexandria; L. G. Stubbs, West Elkton; Samuel Oldfather. Lewisburg; Clayton R. Coblentz, New Paris; Mrs. Lee Danser, Camden. The board, which will operate under supervision of the local draft board, will meet in Eaton next Tuesday afternoon for organization and to receive instructions. The meeting "will be held at the temporary court house. The board probably will meet three or four times, each session consuming something like two hours time. After the organization meeting, registrants will be expected to attend the succeeding meetings at which times members of the board will explain to thm the various phases of army life, so that they may take up thier duties with a

clearer understanding of what lies before them, and thus prepare them for rapid advancement as good soldiers. .

Charles Mills Resigns Position in Order to Enter Fighting Service Charles Mills, foreman of the finishing department of the Atlas Underwear company, originally placed in class IV by the selective service board because he was engaged in a vital industry, voluntarily resigned his position, and informed Sheriff Carr to place him in class I in order that he could become a fighting man. The action of Mills was highly complimented by his friends.

BIG HOG PURCHASE

CASTINE, O.. Aug. 3. Neman, tha stock buyer of this community, bought 27 head of hogs from It. G. Howell, , weight 9,855 pounds, an average of 365 pounds a bead. The hogs are rated among the best in Preble county,

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"When my little boy was two months old a rash broke out on bis face and it kept spreading until his face and the back of bis head were covered. It soon developed into Urge, deep eruptions, and itched very much and he would scratch and rub so that he could hardly 6leep night or day. His face was a solid scale. His hair was thin and dry and nearly all of it fell out. - This lasted seven months. "We were told it was eczema and. we got a free sample of Cuticura Soap and Ointment. After using it three days we saw a great change so we purchased more, and when we had used two and a half boxes of Ointment with two cakes of Soap bis bead and face were healed." (Signed) Mrs. O. R. Wilson, R. P. D. 1, Roxbury, Ohio, August 8, IS 17. For every purpose of the toilet Cud enra Soap and Ointment are supreme. Sample Eaeh Free by Mail. Address postcard: "Cutieara, Dept. R. Boston." Sold everywhere. Soap 25c Ointment 25 and 50c

1 Masonic Calendar!

Monday, Aug. 5. Richmond Commandary, No. 8, K. T. Stated conclave. Tuesday. Aug. 6. Richmond Lodge, No. 196, F. and A. M. Stated meeting. Friday. Aug. f. Kine Solomon's

Chapter No. 4, R. A. M. Stated con

vocation.

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