WAITING THE SHOCK

Taranaki Daily News, 19 February 1916, Page 12

WAITING THE SHOCK

ALLIES IN THE WEST. FLANDERS A HAZE OF FORTS. The following article, bv the Paris correspondent of the International News .Service, which we reprint from an American exchange received by the last mail, is particularly timely owing to the persistent reports 'from various sources ■Miat the Germans are massing heavy reinforcements in Flanders, with a view to a gigantic drive to the coast, their object being to seize Calais and Dunkirk and crumple up the whole northern line. The correspondent recently inspected the northern battle front at the special invitation of the French War Office, and sets forth here the conditions as he found them;— Headquarters of the Franco-Belgian Army in Flanders, January 10. Basing my opinion .on the visible evidence of the defensive organisation in .Flanders, I can positively state that whatever voilent attacks the Germans I may be preparing against this sector of the front, they are bound to fail, with heavy losses. Prophecies in this war have been invariably wide of the mark; therefore I will not attempt to make a guess as to the length of the titanic struggle, but 1 must record the impression overwhelmingly borne in upon me, after a few days or detailed observations on the spot, that the armies I have seen quartered here are implanted in this region so completely, so solidly, as to indicate that they expect to "stay, not months, but for an indefinite number of years. Although the headquarters war bulletins during the last twelve months have been remarkably silent regarding the activities of the opposing forces here, it would be a mistake to imagine that they have been sitting down idly. At the battle of the Yso'r, when the German drive was definitely broken, the ■French had here practically nothing to speak of in the way of defensive works. .Since then tens of thousands of soldiers, working night and day, have transformed the whole country into a maze of fortified trenches, barbed wire obstacles, and battery and machine-gun shelters. RIPSAW TRENCHES. A system of ripsaw trenches covers the whole front, and is backed by several other lines just as strong. These trendies bear no resemblance to those of a few months ago. They are really no longer trenches, but elongated forts. Bricks, stones, cement, armor plate, hardwood and a countless number of earth bags—these are the component parts of the latest war ditches. Whatever their depth, the m?.n behind the rifle is as well protected as a seaman In a warship's gun turret. The terrors of mud and water have been conquered. Pumps have drained the bottoms of the trenches, and trellUhcd boards ra-is*f on blocks give the troops a dry footing. Braziers blazing at short intervals keep them warm. Hot soup and coffee are given them early every morning; hot meats, vegetables and wine at noon, and the same in the evening. Altogether one pound of meat is served daily per man and two pounds of broad, one pound of vegetables, a pint of wine, and a pint of coffee. EFFICIENT SANITARY SYSTEM. A very important improvement is the introduction of an cfiicient sanitary system some distance from the dug-outs." The inen have buckled down to ,-the business of wur with a stoicism worthy oi. a grand people. During the day, except for tin; sentries in the trenches, very little is seen of this burrowing army. In fact, an appalling hush dominates the whole of Flanders. Tn the daytime a chilly sea-born wind howling through the shattered woods, across the lifeless, muddy plain-", through ruined farm houses and along the sluggish canals, alone breaks the deadly silence, while the grim grcyncss of the Flanders sky completes a scene of utter desolation. It is as though the mediaeval black death had swept the whole ' country. SEARCHLIGHTS GUARD AGAINST AIR RAIDS. ' But as aoon as darkness falls the sky is broken by probing white streaks of powerful searchlights' miles away, watching for hostile aircraft. I was immensely impressed by the complete smoothness with which all the different /vcrvices worked. At the start chaos seemed to prevail, but it was soon evident that this criss-crossing oi traffic entailed by the multifarious supply services worked to a wonderfully evolved plan and without the slightest hitch or confusion. This was part of thatgigantic organisation which h:is used the brains, resources and energies of the whole country to make an army whose efficiency has now reached the point of perfection. But with all this the 'result, good as it is, appears to be negative. Two huge armies, equally strong and equally weil protected, lace each other, seemingly unable to solve by military means the vrcbleni for which they were mustered. WAR NOW UNPROFITABLE. A question of a rather philosophical order here presents itself as to whether the very perfection, the very greatness to which modern armies have been de- : veloped, will not entirely defeat the ag- , gressive objects for which armies exist. • It seems as if Europe has now arrived ! at the point to which applies the elc- , mentary formula of physics that two i opposing forces of equal strength an--1 mil one another. > It has been clearly clemnnstra'e'i lhat. ! once while nations' hav,- .'■ t ;ej their ; ener; ! ?B to the bu?ii...j oi wjj aud

readied the tiiff'uest point of perfection, figlitinj.'. if not impossible, involves too grout, sacrifice-, tlio loss of too many, to make it profitable. FRIiNCH 11AVK ADVAXTAGK. However, on tliis particular section of the oOU-inile front the French have an advantage over the Cermans in beinj; able to attack on the front ami with an ally also on the dunk, by means of British monitors. At present it is a watching and waiting game. Days go by without a single gim being fired. The average losses

of the French army in Flanders have ' been for many months but one man out of every 3000 engaged per day. This is explained by the fact that whatever activity exists is carried out' underground, and it is only the stfa-Jf shot that hits. ' Trench Avails are hold in position'by wire-netting. The floors are trellised and lie root is protected by pombproof' coverings. Here and there five gal- ' lories widen into firing chambers built of reinforced concrete and steel plate and pierced with loopholes enough to admit a rifle barrel.