GERMANY'S LAST ATTACK

Taihape Daily Times, 22 March 1919, Page 5

GERMANY'S LAST ATTACK

A YEAR AGO YESTERDAY,

HOW IT WAS SMASHED Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the great attack which the Germans fondly hoped would bring them final ictory. Instead it brought disaster, complete and irremediable, but for a while the enemy's progress proved* exciting enough from the British onlookers' point of view. The after collapse of the Russians and the peace of Brest Litovsk left the Germans with a great numerical advantage, of which Hindenburg and Ludendorff made the fullest use. Initial success came with the first blow, trie Allied line bent under its weight, sagged inward, but did not break. The great fighting retreat, which did not end until the gates of Amiens were almost reached, had begun. The main idea of the attack was to break through to the sea, cuting the Britisn army into two portions, one of whlcn was to be driven back on the Channel ports, while another was to be thrown southward in disorder upon the French.

All that happened afterwards was in the nature of attempts to repair a plan which had gone awry, or to substitute some other which had not originally been contemplated. For that plan did go awry from the first day. Even while the Kaiser was tossing about ecstatic telegrams, even while reports were coming through of that hurrie|d retreat upon Amiens, the German General Staff knew that they had failed. For in that great offensive of March 21 the main weight Of the attack was to have fallen north of the Somme. The Germans had no intention of massing many divisions south of a line drawn from St. Quentin to Amiens. And so the actul results, a severe check to the northern section of.the offensive, and a great advance in the south, were considered by the German staff as somewhat in the nature of a failure

The attack, in fine, did not succeed, as had been expected, except south or St.,Quentin. The swift advance therei was judged to be of merely minor Importance. The Germans had hoped to | gain equal successes all along the line. {What shattered their hopes was toe stubborn resistance of the Third Army. They were defeated by tns i fighting qualities of the divisions of / that Third Army. The great scheme was broken in the fighting of those two days. It remained to try again. The next attempt may "be called another version of the original idea. On i March 26 the attack between Oppy anti Neuivlle St. Vaast was launched, in order to extend the southern sucl cess. The German Staff were confident that they would recover Vlmy Ridgc and capture Arras by tne weight of the first blow. As wc know they failed completely. The . reasons for failure were first, that the artillery preparation was not sufficient; because they could not bring up ammunition fast enough; and secondly, that the resistance of the British infantry went beyond all German calculations.

i Again it became necessary to reco«- { sider the position, and this time more I profoundly. The resistance had been so strong, the check so discouraging-, j the losses so heavy, that the German Staff decided to give up altogether the original plan of a break througn to the sea north of Amiess. They looked for a new scene of action in which they could work with Smaller fcjrees, and with some better chance of success. But still the sea was the lure. The story of the campaign of 1918 is reminiscent of some caged beast, tearing and biting at the bars . that shut him in, unable to under* | stand how hopeless the fight is, and yielding only when, battered anC I wounded by his own desperation, n<sinks exhausted, still in his cage.. Still trying for the sea, the Germans organised the atack of April "j south .of Ypres, This had Calais am: Dunkirk as its objective, and "from the opening of the attack it was intended to push right through." Again the problems of feeding the guns hat* not been sufficiently studied, anc again this branch of the service Compromised the rest. The difficulty of the ground prevented heavy artillery and ammunition being brought up. Also certain German divisions in their advance found quantities of wine, pin it to its natural use, and gotdrunk. Finally, and as usual, the resistance of the English troops, especially about Givenehy, led to delay. It is curious how closely the story of this northern offensive resembles that of the first great attempt to the south. Both began with a spectacular success, which the General Staff consider a failure. In both there follows an attempt to repair the damage— to set the plan on its legs again. For the attack of April 18 ,on the GivenehyMerville. front was made to open out the northern salient and giv,e the chance of a further advance as originally intended. This also failed, an,- i

then the German Staff threw up the game in the north and put aside thesr hopes of the sea. ,

Meantime the Allied command had been unified. Foch was in command, and when by his skilful retreat he hac exhausted the resources of his foe ne turned and began the great offensive which ended in the capitulation of 11th of November,