HOW THE WAR WAS WON.

Otago Witness, Issue 3383, 15 January 1919, Page 36

HOW THE WAR WAS WON.

FINAL PHASES OF BATTLE. MARSHAL HAIG'S DESPATCH. LONDON, January 7. A Gazette has been issued containing Marshal Haig's despatch dated the 21st December, covering the period since the termination of the great defensive battles on the Somme-Lys fronts. The despatch states that last April the-German attacks, though. . unsuccessful, bad restricted the Allies' resources to the uttermost, and the possibility of an immediate renewal of the enemy offensive was viewed with grave anxiety. On the contrary, the enemy undoubtedly had suffered severely, but was possessed of sufficient superiority of force to retain the initiative, which, however, he could not afford to delay applying, owing to the increasing growth of the American army. The British military policy was to maintain an active defence until an equilibrium of strength ' was reached. The complete success of all the Allied counter-attacks near Soissons on the 18th July marked the turning point of the campaign, after which the initiative lay with the Allies. "At this point, and in this connection," says Marshal Haig, "I should like to pay a personal tribute to the

FORESIGHT AND DETERMINATION of the French Marshal in whose hands the co-ordination of. the action of the Allied armies was placed." Marshal Haig proceeds to describe the steps taken during the period of active defence to repair the effects of enemy breaches in the defensive system, and shows how, in consequence of the enemy fire commanding important railway construction and railway junctions, the Allies undertook a comprehensive programme of railway construction in order to render the traffic between the north and south fields independent of Amiens. This involved the laying of 200 miles of broad gauge track between April and July. The new offensive work involved, the digging of 5000 miles of trenches. Meantime, the fighting troops severely harassed the enemy in the Lys sector, delaying and ultimately preventing the renewal of the German offensive there. But the outstanding feature of the events described is Marshal Haig's own account of the new

SERIES OF BRITISH VICTORIES between tha Bth August and the 11th November. He says: "At Amiens and Bapaume, in the breaking of the Dro-oourt-Queant and Hindenburg systems, before Le Cateau and on the Selle, in Flanders and on the Sambre, the enemy was again, and again brought to battle and defeated. He was finally defeated in the great battles of the Ist and 4th November, and was utterly without reserves. At-the date of the armistice he wassailing back without coherent plan in widespread disorder and confusion." In further reference to the situation when ..hostilities ceased, Marshal Haig states : "By the end of October the British armies were in a position to prevent the enemy's withdrawal to shorter lines, and were able to force an immediate conclusion " Marshal Haig's despatch discloses that the principal British attack was to have taken place on the Ist November, after Valenciennes had been captured. He says : "In the fighting on and subsequent to that date we broke the enemy's resistance beyond the possibility of recovery. The enemy thereafter was capable, neither of accepting nor of refusing battle." The Allies' strategic plan was realised with a completeness rarely seen in war, and when the armistice was signed the enemy's defensive power had been already definitely destroyed. The continuance of Hostilities could only_ have meant disaster to the German armies and an armed invasion of Germany. In the course of eloquent passages Marshal Haig says : "In - THREE MONTHS' EPIC FIGHTING the British armies in France brought a sudden and .dramatic end to the wearing-out battle of the past four years. The confidence of our troops throughout the years of strain never wavered. The annals of war hold no record of a more wonderful recovery than that which, three months after the tremendous blows showered upon them on the Somme and the Lys, saw the undefeated British armies advancing from victory io victory, finally forcing the erstwhile triumphant enemy to acknowledge unconditional defeat." In the decisive contests of the period covered Marshal Haig says : "The British attacked the strongest and most vital parts of the enemy's front, cut his lateral communications, and FOUGHT .HIS BEST DIVISIONS to a standstill on different battle fronts. There were 187,000 prisoners taken, 20,850 guns, 29,000 machine guns, and 3000 trench mortars captured. These results were achieved by 59 British divisions, which engaged and defeated 99 separate German divisions in three months, despite the accepted military doctrine tliat in good defensive positions any given force can hold up a considerably greater attacking force (and this our defence proved in March and April). Yet when the tide of battle turned, and the British attacked, completely destroying the German resistance, the British were numerically inferior to the defeated German forces." Marshal Haig pays a tribute to the MOST MAGNIFICENT SPIRIT of the men. • Referring to the infantry, he says : "Despite the enormous development of mechanical invention in every phase of warfare, the place which the infantryman has always held as the main substance and foundation of an army is as secure to-day as in any period of history. The infantryman remains the backbone of defence and the spearhead of attaok. At no time has the reputation of

the British infantryman been higher or his achievement more worthy* of ivs renown. No praise can be too high for the valour he has shown, no gratitude too deep for the work he has accomplished."— A. and N.Z. and Reuter. Marshal Haig also refers to the unsurpassable work of the artillery and cavalry, adding that the recent fighting had shown that cavalry was still a necessary arm in modern war. Marshal Haig also pays tributes to the other arms, including the gas service, which discharged between March and November 2250 tons of gas; also to the Forestry Corps, which in the year ended October 31 cut 2,500,000 tons of timber for the Anglo-French armies. The despatch concludes with a reference to the harmonious relations with the Allies, undimmed by any hint of discord or conflict of interests or ideals.—A. and N.Z. and Reuter.