"NAIL THAT LIE"

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 192, 29 July 1940, Page 7

"NAIL THAT LIE"

5 GERMANY NOT INVINCIBLE! WAS NOT BEATEN BY STARVATION IN THE LAST WAR 5 Information to hand shows that J the German Army was not invinc--5 ible in 1918, that Germany was not I conquered bj 7 starvation, but by the utter defeat cf her armies in war. < In March, 1918, the Germans had won resounding success. Retiring before a terrific onslaught by over whelming numbers, the British were ■ fighting "with their backs to the wall."' Things looked very black for France and Britain then! The following facts tell how in a very few months the situation changed. They teach us to remember that Germany was not invincible then, and strengthen file conviction which all of us hold that she :s not invincible now. The German Boast. Over and over again, Hitler, Goeb bels and the rest, shout at the tops of their voices that the German Army is invincible. They even say it has never been -beaten. They have said Vliis so o'ften that they have made Germans believe it. The story, of course, is a lie. It is a specimen of "German "Tiistory" and one more sign of how easily Germans are hoodwinked. Many Germans alive to-day experienced the defeat of their Army in 1918. Their own official reports tell the story quite plainly. Everyone in the world knows that Germany was beaten in battle In August and September. The Black Day in Germany's History. On August 8, 1918, the 4tli British Army attacked the Germans, drove them out of their trenches, and forced them to yield 10 miles of ground. They lost 21,850 prisoners and 400 guns. General Ludendorff told the German Government that the 41st German Division had given way completely before the British attack. He called this daj 7 "the black day of Germany's history."' This was only the beginning. Rot Sets In. The Ist, 3rd and 4th British Armies pressed on from the Somme to the North of Arras. In battles round Peronne and Bapaume they took 53,100 prisoners and 470 guns. In September the attack was continued. The 2nd British Army cooperated to the North, opposite Ypres. This time 53,000 prisoners and 580 guns were taken. Rot set in in the German Army. It was so serious that on October 1 the German High Command urgently requested the German Government to ask for peace at once. "A break may occur at any moment," said General Ludendorff. On October 2, General Ludendorff said; "The army cannot wait another 48 hours.''' On the same day a representative of German G.H.Q. told the Reichstag: "The losses in the battle now in progress are unexpectedly great, especially as regards officers. This is d;cisive. : '- Pressure for immediate peace came from the High Command, which knew it had no choice. On October 17, General LudendorlT told the German Government that the case was urgent. The morale of the troops was gone. The Broken Army. The retreat went on. Early in October, the British aty tack was passed on. Cambrai and Courtrai were captured. 39,000 prisoners and 900 guns were taken. Over a wider sector, the Germans were in full retreat. Lille, Roubaix, Doui and other towns were evacuated. By November, the retreat of the Germans had become a rout. Between August and November 385,- j 000 prisoners and G615 guns were taken. The defeat was complete. Incleed* it has been called unparalleled in military history. The Higli Command had to sue for peace. It had been pressing the German Government to do this from the end of September. When the Armistice was signed on November 11, it was signed unconditionally. It had to be. The story that the German Army was not beaten in 1918 is a lie. So is the story that the German Army cannot be beaten to-day<