A WAR OF MOVEMENT

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 98, 25 April 1917, Page 2

A WAR OF MOVEMENT

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG SPEAKS

BRITISH ARMY READY TO

STRIKE.

Id an interview which Sir Douglas Haig granted a representative of the Havas Agency at the British front on the Ist February, the British Command-er.in-Chief began by paying a warm tribute to the hospitality of the French 1 population, who always gave the British troops a reception marked by sincere friendship.

The correspondent having given Expression to the deep im.pre'ssion made upon him by what he had seen in the of operations, Sir Dduglas Haig "daM :—

"I should have liked the impression of strength which we have given you to be eyeh deeper, for" even. thoUgh wa have done what; is really enormous, we Still have much to do, and it will always be so .in the course of a war of material like this. .What We have been doing and are mainly doing now in England is a. great; effort to ensure, the Army behind shall be equ&Lin power to that in front. "WE SHALLNEVER SAVE TOO : . AIANY. GtUNS." "Already in the matter of the production tif munitions we liave reached the output we had wanted. On that count we have every security. "What we want now in greater quantity " are guns and railways. We shall never' have too many guns. They are goods that you cannot make in a day, and which are -wearing out all the time: , "t may say, as regards the wastage of our guns, we: get agreeable surprises, bit we do not rely On any chances help, iiid we go oh casting giihs. The same with rails—-that,invaluable auxiliary of the armies in the fie^d. "Some weeks ago our network of railWays behind ,our lines was notoriously inadequate. The disprOportioli Between the tonnage.landed at our bases and the tonnage which our railways were capable of carrying -was of a character to hamper, ou? operations. At ttty request, directors of the English railway companies, came over to investigate ourl requirements* and they all V>ld me-: 'Whatever you want we shall give you,' arid, indeed I got everything I asked f ot and even mo 1 re, for the companies carried their patriotism so far-even as to strip their lines of ballast, of which we were in-wfent. / . '•■■■■ THE PRINCIPAL FRONT. "We are furnishing material of all sorts to our friends, and particularly Russia, Italy, and Rumania. We cannot escape this obligation; for the single front of the Allies' iflust hot be weak in any part. TTiiity 61 front atiot a solid Htott are'theprinciple.' "There isl another matte* which must not be lost sight of, and it is th^t the Western front is! and will remain the principal front of operations. > I am convinced that the decision of thei waf will take place on the Western front, and that is .why we must devote.,all our plans to making the front defensively and offensively the best."

j The correspondent ha.ving asked the 1 Field-Marshal whether he thought that ! the decision could be secured by the breaking down of the German front, Sir Douglas Haig replied :— ""That is just how I" imagine' the-de-cision will take place. This trench war must give wa-y to a war of movement/ which alone will procure for us the great advantages that we count upon. Therei is no doiibt that the German-Western front will bo broken by the FrancoBritish armies. This- year will be decisive in the sense that it will sco the wdr decided 6ft the battlefield; that is to' say, an event after which Germany will appear defeated militarily. It may be that the year df the decision will also be the year of peace. We all hope that it may be, and we shall do all that | is in our power that this may be so. NO ASSURANCE WITHOUT COMPLETE VICTORY. j " Nevertheless, I wish to speak with all frankness to my country and to its Allies, and to say to them that if-Ger-many, which is a great nation, by which I mean a numerous nation, cannot be eitifely beaten this year, we shall not hesitate to carry on the war. For our tranqiliiity and the security of the world there can be no peace without complete victory, for an victory, it premature and halting Victory, would leave military Germany able to declare a terrible revenge in the very near future 1.

" After haviiig attacked England, you would see her again on your frontiers, more greedy than ever of blood arid conquest. Let us beware of the suspicious manoeuvres of that enemy, who feels himself lost, whether he talks of peace or seeks to divide us. -*

"For this great"task I can rely entirely upon mv troops. Their moral is above all suspicion. All of us have, with regard to peace, a square jaw—■ that is to Say, the indomitable resolve to fight to the. end. I am cea'ta'inly at otic with ray Government, my country, my soldiers, and wiih, yotirfe when I declare that the necessity of winning and our faith in victory are for us only one and tho same thing." -