AFTER VERNUN, WHAT?

Lake County Press, Issue 2634, 1 June 1916, Page 5

AFTER VERNUN, WHAT?

Dr Fitchett, in “Life” for June, just issued, rightly describes the Verdun battle —or series of battles—as “an epic of the war.” All the military critics agree that the long-continued assault on Verdun is the most important event since the Battle of the Marne, and it is extremely interesting to note the varying points from which the operations are viewed. Thus a leading Austrian critic sees in it nothing but a triumph for Germany. The French authorities count up the enemy dead by hundreds of thousands, and the most conservative English observer estimates German casualties at a quarter of a million ; yet, by some queer line of reasoning, the Austrian writer calculates that Germany saves 70,000 men. His logic seems to be that of the Western cowboy who wrecked the passenger train, but saved the child. Now, Dr Fitchett is a past-master in the art of collecting those widely differing accounts, sifting and gleaning the truth from each, and presenting to his readers a complete review of the operations, which loses nothing of its informative value through being told in his bright and picturesque style. Nowhere have we seen a better summary of the Verdun drive than in “ Life '* for June. The other departments of “ Life ” are so carefully edited that no one, we are sure, will grudge the extra twopence that, on account of the 400 per cent, rise in the cost of paper, has been adcled to the price. At ninepence, “ Life ” is still a cheap magazine, and remains the ideal magazine of the busy man. It it cannot be obtained locally, a postal note for 4s 6d sent to T. Shaw Fitchett, 376 Swanston Street, Melbourne, will ensure its regular delivery by post for six months.