FRENCH OPTIMISM

Taranaki Daily News, 1 June 1917, Page 6

FRENCH OPTIMISM

MILITARY OUTLOOK IN THE WEST. Paris-, March I#. The general state of French public opinion, so far as the military outlook is concerned, may, I think, be summed up in two words—ignorance and resolution. We have never felt so uncertain as to the precise intentions either of our high command or of the enemy as we do at the present moment. That General Nivelle should not take the publie into his confidence is natural and, I should say, wholesome. But it is a little humiliating to be obliged to confess that we—l mean the public—know nothing about or" friend Ludendovff's little scheme. Last year most well-in-formed people suspected as early as in January that tho enemy intended to attack the French front and that this attack would be launched at Verdun. We heard rumors of the same sort in Januarv last. They even reached us through the same neutral channels. Nothing happened, however, on the date which was supposed to be the critical one; and other rumors were circulated in February according to which Ludendorff was supposed one day to 'be preparing a big attack on Russia, another day on Italy, and theh again on the 'Western front. So tho best an honest man can do is to own that he is absolutely in the dark. But we do not worry in the least. This happy/jtate of mind is not due to the well-known fatalism which war develops inside the human heart. It lias more interesting causes which there is no danger in disclosing, as they do not touch strategies and are, moreover, not likely to please the German psychologist. FAITH IN THE BRITISH ARMY. One of these causeu ts the utmost confidence which everybody feels here m w»e British Army. We hear much from the British front—perhaps more than you do in England—and everything we learn tends to increase our optimism. There is, for instance, General Gough's victory on the Ancre. A few professional critics were tempted at first to 'believe that the German wihdrawal was mainly due to high strategical skill on the part of the German command. But it soon bey came clear to everybody that the enemy I had only done what they could in the face of the tremendous shelling with which our friends are now in position to strafe them every day, not to mention the skilful way in which the British command has taken advantage* of the sudden weakening of the enemy line. This is now known all over France. I need scarcely add that the British soldier is more popular than ever, and that we envy the British Army in some respects—for instance, in so far as some of your colonels are under thirty. Then there i 9 the moral effect of the last extension of the British line. The importance of the relief thus afforded to the French Army was only fully understood here when people began to realise that the new uart of the front the British had just taken' over was one against which the had massed an exceptional number of divisions, making it thus imperative for us to keep along the same'part of the line a corresponding mak of troopß. REST FOR FRENCH TROOPS. The effect of this on French opinion has been twofold. It has convinced the man in the street that those who told him that the British Army was not only 'efficient, but very considerable, and that 'Great Britain intended to take her Jul! share in tlm war on the Western front, were not bluffing in anv way. In the second place, we soon heard from the French front that owing to the shortness of the line our troops have been able to enjoy some real rest. I know, in fact, of a regiment which has been withdrawn from the trenches for forty days; a thing unheard of since the bpginning of the war. This has been more than a comfort to many of us, as the. only tiling we feared was lest our infantry would not have an opportunity for recovering their dash and freshness after the accumulated exertions of Verdun and the Soinme, 1 Finally : we have also heard, and are hearing every day, further encouraging news from our own front. Not only are the men exceptionally fit, but apparently the French command has displayed for the last ■ three • months an extraordinary activity in.all directions, which has made our line much more-formid-able-than it ever waS.