WHAT WE KAVE WON.

Hokitika Guardian, 10 March 1917, Page 1

WHAT WE KAVE WON.

The Great Results of the Somme

(By Fiison Young in Daily Mail)

With tub Biutisii Army in , France, Dec II

In the absencG of an? happenings on a large scale or of dramatic interest, I have spent the last fortnight in visiting daily the principal points of (he British line on which is called the Somme front and the battlefields that lie immediately behind it. Of mere personal sensations in that area of death, obliteration, and toilsome reconstruction one might write a volume ; but personal sensations are not ve.iy profitable things to encourage or dwell upon in such places. One has constantly to put aside, so far as one can, mere sensations, and fix one’s attention on those greater issues in which the point of view of the individual, like his vary existence, is of no importance. It is more immediately interesting to convey some impression of what the value of this whirlwind of death has been to the Allied forces. And in (his connection it may be worth while pointing out that the position of the war correspondent is very different from what it was two years ago. The war correspondents officially accredited are allowed to go everywhere and see anything ; they are in close touch with the Intelligence Department; and instead of being hungary pariahs waiting for ruinate scraps of lo®p, every information is given them. Naturally they are not allowed to write ail they know, bat their opinions - and impressions are based not on ignorance or surmise, but on knowledge, tnd ore to be valued or dDcredlfced according to the perroual factor involved. **• * *

BV.re I came hete I was on? of the marj r who ask theraKtdv a. not. without' misgiving: What txm'lyia tbo result to date of the Simme offensive V Has it really eaecmdod, or has it beeo, on the whole, a failur ? Aod my very euliest impressions were on the whole depressing. The ground over which tho advance has passed is such a scene of hideousne?? and destructiofl us surely bits never been seen in the world before. Aid tj it ihe sum of priceless live 1 lost and wrecked: a-'d you may well wonder what possible change of a line on a littl) bit of tha map of JVaDCJ can possibly be wor.h it. But just as the map does not show the horrors of such a aeries of battles, neither does it show all their fruit and advantage. And a* one daily learns mere, looks more closely behind the veil of mere ugliness, more negitiveness, mere dhgustiugner-s, that lies over the whole thing, so o:e begins to understand, not only the price that has b en paid, bat the profit that has been reaped. 1 will not exaggerate--it or attempt, to estimate its effect on the war av a * boh- ; that is al guess* wotk. But 1 will 8 >»te as simply as posHibie what I b lieve so be ihe actual aav.niages gained. 1. Straferc Advantages The two main objects of the Somm? offensive weio to relieve Verdun and to ki 1 many mare of the enemy tlum be could kii! t;f u\ Both woro achieved., \ erdun was not only ro’isved, bat the French armies were abl > to ra ; urue the offensive and push forwa d 11 ci > As to losßfcf, the Allies have pot one of action more thi.n a class and a iv.lf of the whole German Army, all too m-n, that is to say, effective and oosefftctiye, who join the colours du:iug at least a year and a half. 11. Moral Advantages When you have not gained a m.ur 1 victory, it is best to be silent about moral results; they amount, in an affair of this kind, to precious Suite if they are nor backed, up by solid practical achievement. But in this oae, whirs’ we gained tho two main objectives of the attack, they are to be regarded aa very considerably enhancing tho value of its snccesr. The Germans opposed to us on the Somme front suffered in courage and determination as tho battle went on. Again this is not surmise; it is proved, and is c.’nfessed by themselves in a thousand documents in our piif session. The reason is not that they were not brave and determined men, but that they experienced ibe effects of a continuous artillery assault from a greater number of pacts, firing' an enormously greater amount cf high explosive than wee : v; r employed before by any Army iu the world, We knew all the divisions opposed to us ; we know how often every one of them was in the front iiuo ; and we know the difference between (heir vigor of opposition on. the second and the first occasions. They fought heroically, but they could not stand it. This kind of sbelliug was utterly new to them ; and i>s result on them was, perhaps, new also in their experience —it was demoralisation. lIL . Advantages in Material. —One o: tho , objectives of an attack is to des- . troy tho enemy’s material. We ; achieved that also, to such an extent , that towards the middle of the battle | hch-d to begin to economise. We \ have orders in our possession, taken j from captured officers, forbidding the { constant calling for barrage fire on the ( part cf divisional commanders, owing t to the rapid using up of artillery am , munition And there are five—in some , places ten —British shells wailing to reply t: one German shell that comes across. { IV. 1 Advantages to our own Armies.— 8 These, both moral and soiontißc, have 5 been considerable. Our infantry, once they knew they had the guns backing 1 them up, showed a spirit keener and * finer than they ever bliowix before 8

a c the advance continued their whole' tone changed, Whatever they suffered’ fehemselvTS, they knew that Brother Bocho was getting, and would continue to get, worse than he was giving. And in the contentment of that thought they fought, and knew that they were, uot fighting in vain ; suffered, and knew that they were not suffering in vain ; died, and knew that they were not dyiug in vain. Finally, the New Army was tried and provod. The Somme is the battle of the Now Army—it is their victo v. It .vaa the achievement of an Army ha-tily extßmpori?ed, mea and officers ahkej from “a nation or shopktepsrs it was opposed to the mo-ir huffily organised Army in the world. And it won.

***** There, simply put, are t.h- ma’n ad va dages of the Somme offensive Its di -advantages, its countless individual tr-.oeOn?, we all kno 1 ?; h wo wore prepare l for them, we elf-red them, tc gain these tea’ and, as w? MI era-, Is l 'ing things. Writing o i the very ground, am.ug the very gr iVe3O; that sacrifice, I can say (ba: I believe it to have been well worth while; and I have given my reasons. The Now Army is now (for men learn quickly in such a tremendous school, and the lives of armies are shcr ) a veteran Army ; tho osck has beea blooded ; and it will do greater things in the days to come, There is only one thing that really depresses Tommy, and that is strife and warfare iu England, It dees not interest him to read of political battles. All he asks is that you should leave the ‘strafing” to him, and lea him feel ti a r , if nowhere else on the tortured ear'h, the.a is peace and unity at home.