Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JAN. 11, 1917. THE FACTOR OF MAN-POWER.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14194, 11 January 1917, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JAN. 11, 1917. THE FACTOR OF MAN-POWER.

J a A little over two years ago Germany, j -after about forty years of preparation, ; with the finest system . : and the best ( /organised' army the "world has ever known, faikd ' absolutely to conquer the French armies and their slender British support. The supreme effort of ihe German system and the" German liigh command, having the advantage of- Surprise- 'm the ''direction of attack and*; of superiority "-"..in the weapons of 'offense,* by. a. narrow margin missed -destroying! the," militarystrength of Y France and becoming* the* arbiter .of the continent -a_> Napoleon was from Austerliiz Yto Moscow, -Tlie* recent battles, ph' the -'Somme and Ancre and at Verdun have, demonstrated Y-tjhat what • was just nearly- averted .m 191.4 is no longer m- the smallest, degree possible. These faciei the German's them--selves have begun to face. We know ■that ther-a ... is* no ...longer, any ; German expectation /of* a. successful*; advance' i 6 Paris*' or - , an "-extepsiph .of . ihe "'area, of.* oip^ieid.ieftritpry in -the We|t, iwiless as suggested to-dayT it is intenOe'd' -to. Violate Swiss neutrality .and. p strike • '.a# the! Allies tlirpugli; Switzerland, ' D^ the ; •othe;r handr ihe -Allies must, vec^phiiwiith j certain facta that are no longer'^unmistakable. Germany, though rebelled m: the West, and generally hard pressed, is . not at the end of her resources and her great "organisation is busily at work building . up • means . fpr . a. stubborn defence. Under the guidance of. Hinden"hni*cr nni4 T.iir"em/lnvflF t.Vi_ anYixr.ie wm'- - ..

-ng night and day with fresh heart given by recent auocesses m Rumania j behind the army all Germany; is working. Witli ruthless tyranny, writes Mr J. L. Garvin, the populations of the occupied, territories of Belgium and France are being driven into the workshops or on the land, partly to swell' the output of munitions, partly to release more Germans for military service. A sham kingdom of Poland is being! created m order that some hundreds of thousands of Poles, whom it is intended, to exploit m the war and dupe m the settlement, jnay be added to the legions of the Oentral Empires. The fighting! strength of , the Turkish - Emi pile is mobilised and armed;', as never before to. provide, the Central Empires -with: yet more ,me,n. for Galicia* and the Balkans,; Undei* . "Hiridenburg. and Ludendbrff" the military populations of •German^,, . 'Austria-Hungary, T; Bulgaria, Turkey are itow one * singly-controlled, indistinguishable, inter-brigaded mass which will be woi-ked to the very last ounce of energy.- It. seems evident that by all these means the Central League will scrape together sufficient men for at another; gear's •fighting. .The statesmen and soldiers of the Allies are bound to work on that assumption. We expect great things of the coming offensive m the spring, which will put the Somme operations of last year coiripletely m the shade. "The Somme, I believe,", said, .Sir- Robert: Boiden, .. the Canadian 'Pramier, . a f<ew 'days .ago, speaking of his recent visit to the front, '*is nothing to the greater offensive which will come next spring,, when Germany will learn to its cost what the power of the British Empire is." We believe that Germany, for fear of- -the consequences of that offensive^ is striving strenuously to secure a patched up peace. But>*we.. must not" calculate' 'on reaclung a definite coiMuFion by'fthis offensive/. It is possible that . Germany may withdraw from "present positions and; take up. other defensive. Jines, apd set -herself to a- long ' ahd 'stubborn' contest; Thep domcfei in r the.; f,acto'*?;pf manpower. There is muqh disputation amongst the military 'Critics' "'as to the extent of Oerma.ny's-, reserves. •• Colonel Repington holds that' by', her well-orgjan-ised system of substitution and diminishing the ., size of jdiyjsions, Germany has been able to buld up over 200 'field divisions and cannot., how. be safely credited* with less than 4,500,000 men m the **" aggregate m her field armies and on the lines of communication, and that her reserves cannot be* safely reckoned at less than 2,000,000 meni Others like "Hillaire Belloc contend that the endmy's war Josses • are much greater than this estimate allows for ■* and that Germany has trenched seriously on hei reserves. Colonel* Feyler, the Swiss military expert, is andther who. calculates ori the same' basis, and he has said, some time* ago, that while Germany may 1 have enough man-pojver foranothei effort here or there, anct, may-win some local successes, , she) is aiY; ther, Tend oi her man-power for practical military purposes. It is said = that the French i staff -believes the same thing. Great Britain and France, it is : generally understood, are 'stronger on the .yfctern frotit than the Germans not only m men but m muitions m the proportion ! of three to one ; ,'andito>enable^.a success, ful offensive to be 'carried. oui v it. is held Ito tbe necensary to preserve this proportion of superiority. We must have | men* to do so. -There must he \no . illu.sioiis. It required the closest'organisation to get every available man into the j field, m order t^at We may present such an overwhelming balance of -man powea as will enable ua to break through, nol at one point but at many points, aric [compel the Germans to realise the hope** lesshess of further resistance. Man power is the factor, and '•'the) are justified m getting it from every quarter of the globe. We fully \ expect as the result of tnV' recent w r ai*? , :c©nfea*e'ffc*e at Rome to see a -great, accession , to the strength of the Allied armies} All the Entente nations will f takeY'immediate steps to throw more inqji into the field. Japan will probably <be asked to, help and may be expected m the coming summer to have armies m Europe. ' .*"'■ The native races Of the British Empire "will be drawnTohtoY supply fighting men and .labor for the support of -the) armies for road and railway building irifcorineciipn "With our military movements. ' J*ohn Bull is m the war up to his] eyebrows aiid will bring every resource at his command. That., is the conclusion of American journalists whp have visited England and noted the spirit of Britain to-day. It j-s probably quii%.true to say, writes one of these, tli^t Germany iCould withdraw to the Rhine; and resist indefinitely, but unfortunately for Germany, the, Rhine is 'not the* only front and tliat is a point which musj> be- -.taken into; account < 'when this - prqblemr i -of .Germany, ia analyse^,.; Gexv many has tried)'. to *prise 'the 'Allies 1 apart •by military ah'd pdliticarTf4'perations. That, is a game that two caii "; play at an#< once ' Germany is defeated'Tih the field, the. prising apart of -her alliances is gui te : possible, Boys . at = ; school still applaud a bully as.long. as he shows ah Unbeaten front. Ylf once he is. licked m a, fight they rush to the side of the 1 victor. Germany can be conquered through Austria. The Rhine and the Oder dr 'i_lbe can be turned-; ; front; .^'the* south through ..'Austria. The Allies-must first break into Austria or sever' the connection between TBelgrade and- Constantinople and then. proceed to deal with^Germany. With Austria oh the "side of the Allies-r-and if we are to lookTbaek to history, Napoj,eoh's allies turned against him— Prussia 'coin be smashed arid l>he German people freed. Dr >Curtin, .in oiie of his-Tiipes articles on Essen,, ; writes ': -' A, ny one- reading /these lines,,, 'who has had prolonged ..contact., withY Uhe Germans, -. JcnowsT tha'lj> Germans "are not -, 'lasj; ditcher^ Tb'y comparison with "the 'very best of ,the Allied troops, the French 20th Corps, your* Guards, theT pick of the Anzacs;, Canadians and others. They will struggle magnificently and tenaciously- -up ■ to- a certain limit. 1 But .at" 'a certain point; as yet "far distant, they give m with a curious non-resist-ance. .American sea captains m our mercantile marinei rank them third or fourth m the order of nationalities when dangerous work is to bo' done m sailing sliips. So lbng as -all .goes '.well they are orderly and" : resolute!. '" 'In bad weather," said a sailor -'friend* of mine, 'give me a Yankee, a 1 Britisher, a Bluenose, or an Italian. No — - — r ; putchman (German) for yours truly, liiaiihdught wias. my consolation m witnessing the tremendous spectacle, of Essen (m war, j time)." . Tt is a. thought a*cll worth j holding on to when Aye consid*ei* the important factor of fr man /.power,/ Will the German people' consent. ; to the terrible j *s*acrifices ' that two more years of war j must' bring? More and 'more-ihe*;bur-den of ( the war is' pressing disproportion- ! ately^. upon Germany. Another year oft sacrifices like those of • the past • twelve months may well bring 'the! • Teutonic people to the point, whep; they will see the advantage of 'ihe "objects' Tor which the Allifs are ' fighting— rthe Td^truction of Prussian militarism. The^liiW'niUsfi fight until • the' 'German • people' ''assert themselves m such' a- fashion a_ to' make a '.real and permanelnt _teace' possible.