HAIG'S INTERVIEW

Evening Star, Issue 16408, 26 April 1917, Page 2

HAIG'S INTERVIEW

■WITH-ERENCH JOURNALISTS. THE FULL TEXT. Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig has made to the correspondent of tho French Havas Agency at British General Headquarters in France a statement, of which. the following is a translation: "You tell me," said Sir Douglas Haig, "that you havo.beeu deeply impressed by all that you have seen in the zone of our operations. I could have wished that the impression of strength which we have presented had been deeper still; for, even though our effort has been enormous, there stiLL remains much for us to do, and soit will always be during a war of material like this. Our chief effort—and it has been a considerable one in England—in. the past lias been, and to-day still ie, to ensure that the army in the rear shall be equal in power to the army in front. "Already as regards the production of munitions wo have complete security. What wo still need in larger quantity are guns and railways. We shall never have too many guns. These are things that cannot be created in a. day, and they ore things that wear out. But I must say that, as regards tho wear-and-tear of our guns, we have had pleasant surprises. Let us not, however, rely on chance- to help us. and let us go on making guns. Similarly with regard to railways—tliat invaluable auxiliary of armies in the field. A few weeks a.go our railway system behind the lines was notoriously inadequate. The disproportion between the tonnage landed at our bases and the carrying capacity of our railways was calculated to prejudice our operations. " At my request tlie managers of British railway companies came oviir here to see for themselves our l'equirements, and all of them said to me: 'What do vou need? We shall give it you.' I got all 1 at-ked tor and even more; for the companies carried their patriotism so far as to tear up from their tracks the rails that wo needed." Replying to a question as to what Great Britain was doing lor hex Allies, Sir Douglas Haig said : " Yes, wc are supplying our friends, especially Russia, Italy, and Rumania, with all kinds of material. This is an obligation which wo cannot evade, for the single front of the Allies must not bo weak at any point. Unity and solidity of front are our principle. Yet another principle which must not be lost sight of is that the Western front is and will remain the principal front of the operations." In reply to a question as to whether he believed that the decision of the war would fall on the western front, Sir Douglas Haig replied : " I am convinced of it, and that is why we must devote all our efforts to making the western front defensively and offensively the best." "Do you think," the correspondent asked, "that the decision can be reached by breaking the German front?" _ '' That is just how I conceive the decision as coming about," Sir Douglas Haig replied. "This war of trenches must | make way for a war of movement which I alone will secure for us tho great advantages upon which we reckon. The German front in the west will undoubtedly be broken by the Franco-British armies."" " And that, you' think, might happen this year?" " Tin's year will be decisive in the sense that the decision of the war on the field of battle will be witnessed ; that is to say, that we shall see the event after which Germany will appear as beaten in the military sense. Ifc is possible that the year of decision will also be the year of peace. Of course, we all hope it may be so, and we shall do all we can to bring it about. "At the same time. I should like to say as frankly as possible to my own country and to its Allies-. If ermany, which is a great nation—that is to say, numerically—cannot be completely beaten this year,'let us not hesitate to continue the war. For tho sake of our own tranquillity and for the security of the world, there must be no peace without victory, without complete victory: for an incomplete victory, a lame and premature peace, would leave militaryGermany the possibility of preparing a terrible revenge in the verv neaT future. After having attacked England, you would see her back again on your frontiers more greedy than ever of blood and conquest. Let us beware of the suspicious manoeuvres of an enemy who feels that he is lost, whether he speaks of peace or whether he seeks to divide us." In replv to a question as to -whether Sir I Douglas Haig felt that he could count upon the British armies to the last, the FieldMarshal replied : '' I can rely entirely upon them. Their moral is above all suspicion. We have all of us -with regard to peace a square jaw—that.is to say, the invincible will to fight to the end. lam unquestionably in agreement with my Government, -with my country, with my troops, and with the soldiers of France, when I assert that the necessity to conquer and our faith in victory are one and the same thing." GERMAN REFERENCES. The latest German papers contain many fresh speculations about the military situation, especially in the west. The * Frankfurter Zeitung' says that "the English have evidently sent large numbers of new troops to the front, with the natural consequence of the relief of corresponding portions of the French army, which are at the disposal of General Nivelle for his aggressive plans." The ' Frankfurter Zeitung' summarises tho recent operations, and adds: "The enemy wants to break through. Wo will and'shall prevent it; but how it is to be prevented is the business alone of the Supremo Command." In an article on ' The General Situation' the ' Cologne Gazette' says : Sir Douglas Haig has expressed bis firm confidence that it will be possible to break through the German lines. The previous experiences in the great offensive of the second half of 1915 really give him little justification for this utterance, but an English Commander-in-Chief cannot say anything olso. If he also hop-es that the war of movement will begin again, our wishes coincide entirely with his. The successes of our leaders and troops in Rumania civo us every reason to look with confidence to such a development of the military situation. What, on the other band, was shown by the English army in this respect in the first part of the war is by no means in agreement with Sir Douglas Haig's wishes—as St. Quentin proved most strikingly. We by no means underestimate, the English achievements in the raising of armies and in tho supplying of them with material of war, for these achievements have stood the test. But there are still lacking certain- qualities, which we believe that we possess, without observing them in our enemy. The ' Cologne Gazette ' goes on to argue, in a familiar strain, that the German submarine war has provoked a demand for "successes on land" which the British military commanders must try to satisfy.