ENEMY’S WASTAGE. A TERRIBLE DRAIN.

Evening Star, Issue 16225, 21 September 1916, Page 3

ENEMY’S WASTAGE. A TERRIBLE DRAIN.

SOMME A DECISIVE BATTLE.

DESTRUCTION OUR AIM.

A cfni „ September 20. “if ia ‘j re Fre t nch Perf6Cted co^P CI '^ iotl of the AngloFrench army on the Somme. Between July 1 and September 8 63 German dhi Aions were engaged, of which 28(» 29) Were withdrawn quite broken ai d Ft Others were withdrawn iorTS. 11 Under the Allies’ artillery lire and in. fantry pressure the averagedife of G - d Qv “ n . QS a fit is about 19 u° i t ' v ? new German divisions Jine! b a OU ? h T t to thc f ™nt line weekly

These figures show even more than the ground won how steadily and swiftly the i f f re ., movin « toward the accomplishu. Cbl6f sfc i' a I tc gi c aim, which u the destruction as a fighting force of the enemy Varraie. m the field. Of 53 diviti«h\nd *2O Wholly u U ,? ed agatolt the Brip'p’ f d w°i Y 6 Wh °- y used a 2 a ’ n st the French and later against the British. On September 8 seven German divisions were facing each of the allied armies. Ihe comrade armies are thus evenly sharing the burdens and achievements of the struggle, if one shows more ground won,

the other may claim the larger enemy forces annihilated. In any, case, neither army seeks separate glory in the tremendous conflict which the German General btaff has described as the decisive battle of the ward

'lho 'Westminster Gazette’s’ military expert states that the 29-German divisions which Sir Douglas Haig reports have been withdrawn exhausted represent 550,000 fetters, and at least twn-thirds of the effectives must have been lost before the Gormans retired a single division. Theref ,’e the enemy’s losses on the British front have been about 570.000 since July 1. Probably the Germans have lost another 550,000 on the French front of the Somme, and the limit of German endurance must bo almost reached.