WHAT THE GERMANS WERE TOLD

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 223, 8 June 1918, Page 9

WHAT THE GERMANS WERE TOLD

ABOUT THE GREAT BATTLE OF MARCH (By Frederic William Wile, late Berlin Correspondent of tho ".Daily Mail."). "The Gorman High Command has undertaken tho great offensivo beeauso it regards it as necessary to end the war as soon sis possible." In theso unblushing terms tho "Vrankfort Gazette," which stands high in the grace and confidence, of Hindcnburg and Ludendorff, acknowledges why the might of the German Army has been hurled in ono ferocious, desperate throw at the British front. Amid all tho flamboyant comment on the opening phases of tho battle, it stands out as the plainest avowal both of Germany's purpose and of her mad hopo thatl it would achievo her "decisive" object. On the evening of March 25 tho "Frankfort Gazette" said:—

"Our enemies assort that we Germans wero compelled to attack because we could wait no longer. They aro. building hopes on this and prophesy our coilapso in ease the German attack is not pushed home. When tho English last year stormed in Flanders for months amid unheard-of sacrifice—battling and bleeding for 1 weeks on end on the snmo bit .ot territory—wo, too, said that tho pressure of tho submarine war and developments in the East wero forcing our enemies to engage in an offensive of desperation. Actually, it was nothing else, as experience meantime has shown. But we were cautious enough at tho time to add that an unsuccessful ofieusivo by the English could never forco them' to make peace. They might abandon tho hope they had pinned on tho offensive, but would still retain the possibility of defence. "That our High Command has now undertaken tho great offensivo only because it regards it as necessary to end tho war as soon as possible—surely _ even the enemy cannot blame ns for this? , Or is it a sign of weakness that there aro still people in tho world who prefer to end this war to-day rather than to-mor-row, even at the most extreme cost—who wish to do so especially as they teel that they havo the strength to achieve this objects' Or is it weakness if our High Command is in ' a position to attack now instead of later when the American auxiliary forces (.Hili'struppen) are fully'mobilised? ."'lf to-day tho cannon thunder of the great offensive battle of the ticimans echoing in Paris brings tidings of German victory over two English armies; if the capital of Trance itself is under the lire of our newest artillery marvel and the hail of German aeroplanes; if, finally, tho enemy- in London sees the front established and built up by years of work-sees wholo armies of Great Britain reel before the mighty storm of Hindcnburg and Ludendorlt, sees them, indeed, smashed amid streams of English blood and the ruins of devastated French provinces; if thus tho terrors of the war have como again to millions of people, then the nations fighting against us must remember those days when the rulers of England and France rejected ivith gruff words the hand of peace and understanding which was offered them." "Why We Won." The Government-controlled "Local Advertiser" explains how "our great success in tho West" was achieved, iittcr stating that tho German artillery preparation along a more tiian 'iO-milo iront "did not leavo a single base, a singlo battery, or a single trench in the enemy position unshellod," it says: "We must seek- tho main reasons for our break-through in the extraordinarily accurate preparations. But quito apart from this, wo possess in our troops lighting material which can simply do more than tho enemy. Thanks to tho effectiveness of our artillery, the breakthrough was possible witli these troops, led in a masterly fashion, with happily slight lotfses. Only beforo especially strongly-defended enemy bnsos wero our losses heavier. On tho other hand, tho English, half of whoso army can ibe considered as completely boaten, havo suffered enormous losses in men, these casualties having been still further increased ■by futile cavalry and other counterattacks. , . "Our heroes have now emerged from trench warfaro into fresh open warfare. Nothing obstructs their advance.. Ihe territory, thanks to the dry weather which preceded, can be traversed everywhere.' The marching achievements ot our troops, filled as they are with the certainty of victory, are splendid. In their bumptiousness and their confidence in tho firmness of their defensive system, the English did not provide for positions iu the rear and allowed the old trenches ■ held before the Battlo of the Somine to fall into decay. "Yet we must expect'that the Allies will bring up all available reserves against us, and not rest content with the four divisions who attacked west of Cliauny and were beaten-two French, one American, and ono English—because the menace to the centre of the wholo enemy position calls for measures of desperation. . , . , "If we therefore must still count upon hard lighting, we havo on tho other hand every reason to contemplate it with full confidence. Our army is sure of victory and thirsts for work. Our leaders liad already shown what they wero able to do in open warfare. Tho enemy is seriously weakened. Only a few days ago. Clemenceau said: 'We aro satisfied with the situation.' From the depth of our hearts we Germans can say: 'So are we!'"