The Dominion SATUEDAY, MARCH 10, 1917. SIR DOUGLAS HAIG'S CONFIDENCE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3024, 10 March 1917, Page 8

The Dominion SATUEDAY, MARCH 10, 1917. SIR DOUGLAS HAIG'S CONFIDENCE

"The dispatch of Sir Jouglas 'Haig describing the operations of the forces under his command during the May-December period of last year is on£ of the most interesting and instructive of the many imnortant , military documents which Lave .been published since 'the outbreak of the.war. A careful perusal of this dispatch,-the jfull text of which is given in recenjj English papers, throws a flood of ligkt upon the character of- the fighting which is now proceeding in the Soinme region, _and enables one to ;form a good idea of the nature of the task which our gallant soldiers' will be called upon-to undertake when the freat spring offensive is launched, in Douglas Haig makes no attempt to adorn his report with rhetorical flourishes, and indulges in no flights of fihe imagination. He tells his story in a plain, matter-of-fact and/soldierly.stylo. The dignified restraint and 'simplicity of the Oommander-in-pliiefs description of tho gigantic. struggle in which he is playing o:ae of the leading . parts is most impressive. It begeta confidence, and the vein of optimism which runs through the despatch provides a , firm foundation for the , hope thait the power of the enemy will bo shattered before •tho present year has passed away. Sir Douglas Haig makes no attempt to belittle the fighting capacity of our foes, nor does he try .to minimise the enormous difficulties which the Alliqa will have to -overcome , " before final victory can be' "'achieved, ' but? after making every'allowance for'the fierce determination and vast, resources of the Central powers, hi is .satisfied that the Allies can, will, and. must win. He sums up the;position in'these words: ; . ■ . • ' .

The enemy's power Has not j r et been broken, nor is it yet possible to form -an estimate of the time the war may last before the objects for which the Allies are fighting have been attained. But the Somme battle lias placed-beyond doubt the ability of the Allies to gain those objects...TKe German Army is the mainstay of the, Central Powers, and a full half, of .thai army, despite all tho advantages of <;lie defensive, supported by the stronge-rt fortifications, suffered defeat on the f/omme this year. Neither victors nor tlni vanquished will forget this; and, though bad weather has given the'enemy a rospite, there will -uridoubt■edly.be'rnany thousands in hie ranks who will begin- the i new campaign with little confidence in their ability to resist our assaults or to our defence. Our new armies eitered tho battle with the determination 1 to win and wjth confidence .in their power to do so. They have -proved to. .themselves, to the enemy, and to .the worldi that this confidence was justified,-and; in the fierce struggle they have been through , ' they .have learned many valnacje' lessons which .will help them in the 1 future.

,lhis isi thei deliberate opinion of a great British soldier accustomed to weigh his Vords, and writing with a, full sehie of responsibility. He declares tliat the ability of the Allies to .win has been -placed beyond doubt. The one great "if" is always understood—if the nations at the batjk of the Allied armies put their heai't and soul and mind and strength into tho conflict. It is a battle of. nations, not merely of armies.

Commenting on Sik Douglas Haig's dispatch, tho Spectator remarks that the restrained and modlanguage of the Commaiider-in-Chief cannot prevent, any reader from appreciating the extraordinary significance of tho battle which he describes—the longest, greatest} and hardest battle the world/has even seen. "Our men succeeded marvellously—beyond ail expectation. From thfc point of view of moralthe very intensity of the German, military science of defence turned to our advantage; tho German soldiers know now ' that nothing conceivable by the wit of military man can save them in future." The' failure of tho German plan oi campaign can no longer bo concealed from ths German public, though the full extent of the failure may still be covered up.- The .most that Germany can now hope for is peace by compromise. Pkofessoe Fkiedrich Meinecke admits this in what hae been described as "the'most' remarkable article on the history of the war which has yet appeared in any German newspaper. ' This writer states that the whole German wa.r programme, "brilliantly begun, collapsed at the gates of Paris, in the Battle of the Marne." He also ddmits the seriousness of the , failure at Verdun. The attack on that fortress was_ tho outcome of a desire to obtain a decision "adapted to the experience of the war of position and to psychological considerations." But. (he says) it "led only to an heroic episode." The Battle of the.Sommo, which raged from July 1 to November 18 of last year, has (according to Professor Meinecke) led to .the conviction in .Germany that it is no longer possible to arrive at military decisions in the "full peace-compelling i sense.! . This conviction hast created'

U tho German mind a "new and saving idea—the idea, that this war ran only end in a compromise peaco, and tho sooner tho better." But Sir Douglas Haig draws very different conclusions from tho Somme operations. They have proVided_ him with ample proof of the "ability of our new armies, not only to rush the enemy's strongest defences, as had been accomplished on July 1 and 14, but also to wear down and break his power of resistance by a steady, relentless pressure, as they had done during the weeks of this fierce and protracted struggle." Germany may have lost all hope of obtaining a decision <tn tho "full peace-compelling sense," but our^CommandeiMn : Chief's confidence in the power ,, of tho Allies to secure decisive results in their favour is unshakable. Ho is assured that the, progress of events justifies the belief that in the long run complete victory will lie with pur troops, who have "displayed such fine fighting qualities and such indomitable endurance and resolution."

It is beyond the capacity of the most ■ imaginative to form an adequate picture of • a great. modern battle, such as that described by Sir Douglas Haig. Before that battle began the preparatory work done was enormous. Vast quantities of stores and ammunition had to be accumulated at convenient points. Some idea of the magnitude of this task is provided by the fact that in order to accomplish it many miles of new railways and trench tramways had to be laid. Existing roads had to be improved, others had to be constructed, and causeways had to bo built over marshy valleys. Dug-outs had to be provided as shoJter for the troops, as dressing-stations, and as magazines for storing ammunition, food, water, and engineering material. Miles and miles of deep communication trenches Had to be dug, as well as trenches for telephone wires, assembly and assault trenches, and numerous gun emplacements and observation posts. Mining operations had to be undertaken and charges 3 laid beneath the enemy's lines. In order to securo a constant supply of water numerous wells and borings had to be sunk, and over a hundred pumping plants were installed. The mere mention of tho various services gives an abundance of material for tho imagination to play upon. Sib Douglas Haig refers to the fine work done by the infantry and artillery, tho ffyffig corps, tho engineers, the tunnelling companies, the field survey companies, the signal service, the army service corps, the ordnance corps, and other administrative services and departments, the medica-1 and field ambulance services, the Red Cross the vast army of munition workers at Home—women as well as men—by whose efforts and self-sacrifice the needs of the fighting forces were met. The scientists must not \be forgotten. The Gom-mander-in'-Chief states that the employment by the enemy of gas and liquid flame as weapons of offence compelled us not only to discover ways to protect our troops but also to devise means to make use of the same instruments ,of destination. Great fertility of invention has been shown, and very great credit is due to the special jjersonnel employed for the rapidity and success with which these, new arms have been developed and perfected, and for the very great devotion to duty which they have displayed in a difficult and dangerous service. The Army owes its thanks to the chemists, physiologists and physicists of the highest rank who devoted theiiy energies to enable us to surpass the enemy in tho use of means of warfare which _ took tho civilised world by surprise. This fine tribute from the Commander-in-Chief to the abil-1 ity, energy, and patriotism of our scientists shows that the scientific talent which has been placed at Britain's disposal is equal, anS more than equal, to that which Germany can command. It exposes the emptiness of Germany's boast that shocan beat us in the battle of brains. But our surest guarantee of victory rests on' the splendid qualities of the men in the trenches. Tho \vast majority of our soli&iFs have been raised and trained 'Sirring the war. No ono can help being impressed with the significance of Sir Douglas Haig's words when he asserts that the fact "that these troops should have accomplished so much under such conditions, and against'-an army and nation whose chief concern for so many years has been preparation for war, constitutes a feat of which the history of our nation records no equal. *The difficulties and hardships cheerfully overcome, and the endurance, determination, and invincible courage shown in meeting them, can hardly be imagined by those who have not had personal experience of the battle, oven though they have themselves seon something oi war." Mr. Lloyd George recently declared that if victory were difficult defeat was impossible. Sir Douglas Haig goes further fhan this. He asserts in effect that victory may bo difficult, but it is certain.