Her Plans Were Foiled

Manawatu Times, Volume XL, Issue 13949, 30 July 1918, Page 5

Her Plans Were Foiled

French Were Underrated Enemy is Outnumbered by the Allies He.:.:; Lose is Six Months (Reuter Telegram) LONDON, July 28. Reuter's correspondent, writing from French Headquarters on the 2 tth,-.re-viewing the recent German offensive, says: The German attack was foiled by the system of defence of Generals Gourancl, Berthclot, and de Gouette, acting n,ndcr the orders of General Detain. From the experience in the past of enemv offensives, the Cormnandcr-iti-Chief came to the conclusion that the first line could not be held against such an attack. Therefore ho ordered the advanced zone to bo evacuated as soon us the bombardment began, and its defence left to small detachments of determined men under competent officers, whose mission was to delay the Germans as long as possible, so that their push would lose vigour by the time it reached the principal line of resistance. The plan worked perfectly. On the main lino the resistance was nowhere pierced. The enemy on the Marne front wus nble to nuiko against (-moral 3arllioIot ;; because I3ar* thelot was defending in unorganised ground. General Detain’s plan went further than a successful defence. He decided to counter-attack on the left, and assembled divisions under the shade of the Villcrs Cottcrets Forest, where they might hope to escape observation. The double plan was submitted to General Foch on the 12th, and approved on the following day. The ■enemv failed altogether east of Rhcims, and found himself engaged in a desperately difficult attempt to advance up the valley of the Marne on Epernay, when he was suddenly attacked between Chateau Thierry and the Aisne. The state of the enemy’s army after the failure of the third offensive is shown by the fact that of 3000 prisoners taken in the last few days, 14.8 per cent. (444 men) belong to the class of 1919. Therefore five-sixths of the soldiers of that class were on the front, and Class 1920, all of whom arc under 19 years of ago, have been warned to bo in readiness to bo called in September. The breakdown of the third German effort to reach e decision this summer is due mainly to two facts: first, the enemy underrated the french power of resistance, and, second, the blow was not a surprise. The enemy came to the conclusion,, after the Picardy and Aisne offensives, that the French had reached a pitch of exhaustion from which they could not recover. The Germans contemplated the capture of a number of important towns. Epernay and Monmirail were to be captured on the first day. and Chalons on the second. Instructions were issued regarding the exploitation of the conquered territory, and detachments were formed to plunder the houses in the national interest. The four armies under Von Eincm, Von Mudra, Von Boehm, and Von Eben were to strike simultaneously. The strategic object of the attack. was to cut the French Army in halves, and then to turn the whole strength of the Germans against whichever half was least able to resist. If this urns successful, the enemy could have chosen between a move, on Paris or the turning of the whole French line from the Argonne to the Vosges. The Germans were so confident that they did not trouble to hide their intentions. The delay was due to the fact that they were no less pressed for men than the French, That the attack would bo in the Champagne and on the Marne was foreseen, but the date was uncertain. It was expected on the Bth, ami again on the 12th, and, lastly, on the 14th, on the eve of which date General Gourand ordered a trench raid, which resulted in information being obtained that the enemv meant to attack at dawn. NEW YORK, July 28. The “New York Tribune’s” correspondent with the French armies states that the German casualties for six months tot-aL-n- million, which was designated by a German statesman as the number Germany was willing to lose this year to win the war. Six hundred thousand wore killed, permanently injured, or taken prisoner, chiefly elite shock troops. Seventeen-yoar-old boys arc refilling the ranks. The total of the German armies is now 2,760,000, and they are inferior in morale to those of 1914. “Not only is Germany outnumbered by the Allies, but she is also dominated militarily almost everywhere. If she elcc(s to fight to a finish, the figures show she will be inevitably overwhelmed. ’ ’ NEW ARMY CREATED FROM RESERVES. [Aust. and N.Z. Cable Association.] PARIS, July 28. It is reported that a new German army has been created from Prince Rupprccht’s reserves. Other troops have been placed between the Oise and the A isne.