The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1917. A CRUMBLING FRONT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 145754, 13 February 1917, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1917. A CRUMBLING FRONT.

Slowly but surely the German western front is crumbling to pieces before the continuous pressure of the Allied armies. The battles of Verdun aud the Somme are telling their tale and when the history of the war is completed it will he found that these hold a high place among the decisive factors. The battle of Verdun was a triumph of French defence against German attack, while that of the Somme was a failure of German defence against British and French attacks. In both cases the effect was far-reaching and important. For months at Verdun the enemy hurled his legions at the French defences,- but in vain, and his losses were colossal. In a military sense Verdun was not of paramount importance to France, but the moral effect of its capture would have been bad. It was at one stage contemplated to let it go, but General Petain bogged to be allowed to defend it, and be did so successfully, thus giving renewed confidence to the French army and nation, and at the same time weakening the German moral. The battle of the Somme was different. The attack was undertaken by the Allies more with the idea of relieving the enemy pressure upon Verdun and preimuting the transfer of German forces to other fronts than of breaking through the enemy’s lines. The latter" were wonderfully organised during the period of nearly two years that they had been held, and the Germans believed them to he impregnable. They are disillusioned now, in more ways than one. i They have discovered that the Allies have hettet guns and are better sup- 7 plied with ammunition than themselves and that their supposedly impregnable trenches are not proof against attack. Above all they have learned that Great Britain’s new armies, which they had been taught to regard with contempt, are the equal of the old. In a word, the battle of the Somme has taught the enemy that he cannot withstand the Allies when they attack in earnest, no matter how strong his defences may ho. On the other hand the battle has had a wonderfully heartening effect upon the Allies, especially upon Britain’s new armies. It gave the men the actual fighting experience they required to round off their training, aud it proved that not only was

their training almost perfect, but also that they possessed the moral of veterans and were able to carry positions of immense strength held liy the most highly organised array in the world. The losses during the Somme push were heavy, but the compensation was great. Britain’s ' new army emerged victorious and full 'of confidence that whenever it meets Germany’s best it will win again. On the map the Results seemed insignificant, but there are features which cannot be drawn on a map. For two months there has been comparative inactivity, but all the time Sir Douglas Haig has been nibbling away at the German lines with good results. Constant raiding goes on, with the capture of prisoners here and trenches there, at small cost to the raiders. Our airmen are always busy causing disorganisation behind the quemy’s lines and obtaining valuable information as/to the disposition of his forces, all paving the way for another push in the spring. The capture of Grandcourt the other day was very significant. Here. was a stronghold that lihd withstood attack for months, .suddenly evacuated by its defenders who dared not stand up to another attack. Little by little the German defences in that region are crumbling away, before what is little, more than raiding tactics. What the result will be when the full}might of the now army is exerted, when the expenditure bn a grand scale of the enormous masses’,of munitions lying ready behind the British, lines commences, may \he predicted with some confidence.- The German lines cannot he as strong‘as those they have lost irf the Somme push, but the Allied push will be much heavier than that which commenced in July last. In man power, in gun power, and in moral the enemy is weaker than he was seven or eight months ago, while we are incomparably stronger, especially in the knowledge that our men have the measure of the enemy. In a few short weeks the new push will begin and great events will follow.