THE GERMAN SLUMP.
CARDS i'LAYED WRONG AND CiAiiJO LUST. London, December I. 1 had ii conversation this week with a:i Kiiglishnian (if high position, who h.'.s recently returned from Germany, ami h!io had an opportunity of seeing the Kaiser lie states that the Kmpcror has aged perceptibly, and that lie gave him a strung impression of one who was endeavoring to put a cheerful face oil blaek adversity. The members of his personal star, 1 was assured, make, no ! concealment that they realise that Ger- ■ many has played her cards wrong, and , thaWlie game is as good as lost. Their ', desperate ■ hope now is to establish in ■ the east as in the west a military situa- '' tioii of entrenched stalemate, and to i liang on by their teeth until possibly ; the economic exhaustion and the drain J . of war produces an atmosphere favorable ] ■ to a "draw." _ Hut herein Uerlin again [ grievously misinterprets the spirit of ; the adversaries she has provoked. Ku- ', rope is not going to revert to the old ! bad days of armed terrorise. It may be as impossible to banish war as it seems to be to eradicate the fighting spirit, but the stupendous sacrifices of the present Armageddon must ensure at i least another century of peace and rest for the bruised nations. The position of stalemate can be maintained by the Hermans only so long as their forces in the east and the west are approximately equal to those of the Allies. In the east the Russians have already demonstrated very clearly that they are in a position to force decisive results. Unless all the reports of the present fighting in that region, are grossly inaccurate, the Germans have suffered severe disaster and a Russian invasion over the frontier will swiftly ensue. In the west, huge fresh armies arc swiftly preparing to take the. field. The Russians can muster eight million men, without resorting to any of the desperate courses the German recruiting has already been driven to. The French and British between them will eventually have between five and six million men in the field. Germa'ny cannot possibly call out more than eight 'Million men, of whom already at least a million and a half are gone, never to fight again in this war. Consequently it is obvious that the necessity of dividing her forces will place Germany in a conelusive inferiority in both theatres of war before many months have passed, lit is the firm belief that Germany will make almost any sacrifices for peace once the war invades her prosperous industrial territory on the east and west and, competent j'udires are willing to wager freely that the war will be over before the stricken woodlands are mellowing again to their autumn tints. There has been a good deal of talk about the possibility of the Japanese taking a hand in the Kuropean campaign. The French are | Very keen on the idea, and I hear that | : the Japanese are quite eager to come. This is a possibility that cannot be ruled, though first of'all it will be necessary to dispose of the German cruisers still loose in the Pacific. I have been assured positively, though I cannot vouch for it, on any absolute information, that the Japanese are already co-operating with their old enemies, the Russians, to : the extent of furnishing heavy howitzers with Japanese gnu crews Things liave not been quite so quiet in the XorUi Sea as might be supposed by those who go by the newspapers Our Navy has made' a rich haul of (lerman submarines. 'The bombardment of Zccbugge destroyed at least six German submarines of the ' latest pattern that were to have been fitted together for use against'our Channel lines of communication. But apart from this nice little coup, in itself an eloquent commentary on the official German legend about our Fleet cowering in its perts, a number of the enemy's submarines have been destroyed in action. There is good reason to believe that Germany possessed about fifty of these craft, built or building, at the beginning of the war. She has lost at least a dozen, and probably a score of tliem. There is a very pretty story about the failure of the German raid on Yarmouth. They intended to bombard the place and spies about nearly everything But they were too clever. 'A simple little artifice, that must not be made public yet, completely deceived them as to their range, and tiiey were too much rattled by the fear of' looming British battleships to work it Put for themselves. The result was that they severely bombarded the sea-front about it mile out beyond low water.
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Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 189, 19 January 1915, Page 7
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778THE GERMAN SLUMP. Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 189, 19 January 1915, Page 7
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