The Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, JULY 15th., 1916. THE ARMIES IN THE WEST.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1577, 15 July 1916, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, JULY 15th., 1916. THE ARMIES IN THE WEST.

A. BRITISH officer, writing' two months ago, in summing up the prospects of an allied offensive in the west, said: —“The British armies are mobile Iroops iu the sense in which the dotards of the Landsturm never can he. The main facts seem to he that our troops are now superior as tactical and mobile units to those of the enemy, and that we should possess a great superiority of force. The German troops on the western front are usually estimated at 2,000,000, but they could he, and no doubt would be, considerably reinforced in view of an attack being directed against them shortly. None the less they would still he very, inferior in point of numbers. The French armies on the western front cannot he less than 2,000,000 while the Prime Minister has (old ns that at the end of 1915 wo had a million men available for the firing line in France. During the spring months there ought to have been a steady How of the new armies across the Channel, and this should counter-balance, or more than counter-balance, any reinforcements either of first line or newlyraised enemy troops which can he. moved up during the same period. At the lowest estimate then wc should be aide to put three AngloFrench soldiers against two Germans, while a concentration of two lo one on the sectors selected for attack could he made with complete safely to Hie rest of Hie line. This estimate errs very greatly on Hie side of prudence—for three to one or four to one would he a more probable figure at Hie decisive points. The Gentian stall' would he able to give a far more accurate estimate than this of Hie probable concentrations against them, but. it is little use. forseeing danger if you have no men lo meet it with.”