The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 1918. WHOSE IS THE VICTORY?

Taihape Daily Times, 26 March 1918, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 1918. WHOSE IS THE VICTORY?

With which is Incorporated The Taihapo Post and Walmarino News).

British Headquarters, telegraphing from France on Saturday, said, “there is no doubt the,.-Germans are making their supreme effort against the British; we are confident that this, the Germans’ tremendous, probably despairing effort, will fail.” This is at least certain, that the battle raging is the most appalling in magnitude, in numbers engaged, and in the bloody determination with which it is waged. The first notification of the great magnitude of the battle came to us on Sunday evening, and the serious aspect it conveyed needs no belittling. In little more than two days the Germans have lost four hundred thousand men and they are no nearer breaking through British lines now than when they commenced, in fact, their failure in the first great effort is strongest evidence that they will not succeed on that part of the line occupied by Britain. British soldiers have, almost alone, stood the brunt of the largest concentration of trained forces yet known anything about. Germany, Austria, and Bulgaria were admittedly arrayed against Britain’s soldiers; is it not wonderful that their line was not broken? Sir Douglas Haig’s’latest despatch praises the valour of British soldiers. He says the enemy’s attacks continue with the greatest violence, and still further heavy fighting must be expected. The defenders of our Empire distinguished themselves, and this is no idle boast, as a cable from Germany states that the English fought with great bravery., . This probably means that the English were not •'jovep-awed by thesuperiority of '-nttmbers- against them, th’£ir- -they ’ jgoes farther towards damaging the morale W^tfieir 1 'Chernies thk fiP*'anything else. Turning to German messages we read that the first battle Is ovefi,. aridi yet nowhere is there the usual "'German - jubilation over victories ; won«-:’-Britain has lost ground, Germany has lost men. Germany says the driving-in of the British ’second iline was rendered difficult by misty weather; ,-the Britsh say the weather was,'beautifully finer They admit it “capture of the second line was., only achieved after desperate;;fighting, the English showing, extraordinary .bravery,” > Latest’ G-er-, man, reports say tfie Kaiser was in su-, p,reme v cpmmand, arid it seemsuirrlittle significant, thatr.jthe f j6ypen& of , Germany.,are not ringing afis.that school children have , not. been :given a holiday, Why is this great victory over the British taken with such unaccustomed sullennness? The most extravagant claim German newspapers make is that they captured twenty-five thousand British prisoners and four hundred guns, while their losses run into four hundred thousands 'They claim to have sprung a complete surprise on the British, why, with the greatest concentration of fighting forces ever known, did they not break through the lines of the surprised and roll up their flanks? Had they accomplished the full fruits of such a surprise Hindenburg might have been in Paris on the first of April in fulfilment of his long boast. They did not break through because, as French experts tell us, our men behaved with utmost gallantry, gave a most stubborn resistance, never were there greater example's of cool courage against overwhelming odds; British machine-gunners continued mowing down swathes of Germans until they were surrounded; the spirit of the men is excellent. Knowing the Germans, can their morale remain what it should be to attain victory in face of this? It is already suggested that the requisite morale has departed from Germans before the British, and that the next great effort is to be in Lorraine. One of the first Germans messages to come through stated that a part of the British army had been beaten, but this can only refer to the men who have been unfortunate enough to be taken prisoners. The sullenness, the sadness with which the Central Powers are taking their claimed victory, speaks louder than any words, and gives the people of these far distant regions an infinitely better understanding oft where victory, or advan either German’ ’ or Allied reports can convey. The very latest messages state that British resistance was solid throughout; to the last, attempts to advance at Pcronne were decisively de-

UWi '- 4V7 “ AfcJ V * AA changed. Of course, unchanged means that nothing has happened of an immediately decisive character. What we can realise now is that Germany made no second-rate effort; the Kaiser has pressed into this battle every gun and every man in his own empire and in the empires of his allies; he made this greatest gathering possible, giving all his friends the opportunity to slay and defeat the hated British, and to -participate in winning final victory; it was the supreme effort of the Central Powers and the desperate, despairing effort of Germany. It is over; hundreds of thousands have been slain—mostly Germans—and still German joybells are significantly silent. Whose is the victory? Germany failed to break either British lines or British spirit; British generals had to give ground, but they took payment to the very uttermost in German lives. Let us restate ground is of no value, but the loss of a life is a calamity to the side that loses it, more particularly to Germany, who has undeniably drawn upon her bank of life to the last unit. No indication is given of where the next onslaught is to be launched; that it will come ig certain, and if the .‘huge concentrations in Belgium mean anything we may regard it as the intentio'n" of Germany to make a bid for the coast of France. On to Calais! may be the next cry of the Kaiser.- Some German newspapers say it is to fall In Lorraine, but after the failure of all the Central Powers were capable of we may reasonably hope for British success in all subsequent efforts to break the Allied line.