GERMAN STRENGTH.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 September 1917, Page 6

GERMAN STRENGTH.

SEVERE INROADS MADE. THREE MONTHS' LOSSES ON THE WEST FRONT. Severe inroads have been made on the strength of the German troops holding the line on the Franco-British front during the attacks delivered on them in the moi.iths of April, May, and June. An estimate made on well-established averages (says the Associated Press correspondent in a letter dated sth June) demonstrates that their losses must approximate 350,000 men. Before the spring operations of the French and British began, the German nont had been divided into two sectors entirely independent of each other. One faced the French between the Oise and the Swiss frontier and was under the command of the Crown Prince. The other confronted the British from the North Sea to the Oise and was commanded by the Bavarian Crown Prince. At the beginning of the Franco-British offensives the Germans had at their disposal on the whole line stretching from the North Sea to Switzerland, 147 divisions, of which 105 were actually in the front line, and 42 in tho rear ready for employment at any point where 'their help was needed. These reserve divisions were about equally distributed in the northern and southern sectors. This situation on the Russian permitted tho Germans to detach some of their active divisions from that side and at the same time they formed several new divisions which they brought, to the French front, so that on 20th June the number of thetr divisions facing the French and British was 155, in spite of the fact that thov had replaced the active divisions brought from Russia by Landwehr units sent from this side.

HOW CASUALTIES MAY BE ESTIMATED. The strength of the German forces on the Franco-British front cannot, however, be calculated exactly from the number of their divisions, for no fewer than 112 of the 155 have been thrown into the battles at various times, and 23 of them have been tv'™ engaged, thus totalling, in reality, 135 divisions which have been in action. As a general rule a division is not withdrawn from the lighting lino until it has lost one-third of its effectives, and thus the German losses may be fairly accurately guaged. For instance, a German division nowadays, when at full strength, numbers approximately 7500 infantrymen. Therefore, the 135 divisions which have passed through the fire have, in all probability, each lost 2500 killed, wounded, and prisoners, making in all 347,500 casualties in the infantry alone in less than three months, without regard to tlip losses among the artillery, engineers, and other service troops. Forty-three of the German divisions on this front have not taken part in the fighting, these comprising eighteen Landwehr divisions, considered as sec-ond-line troops, and twenty-five other divisions. Some of the German divisions have had to be withdrawn after only two days' fighting on account of their losses, others only after fifteen days,, or even a month. During a quiet period, such as now prevails, a division may remain as long as six or seven weeks in a front sector without relief, and it is known that at leasf: seven German divisions now engaged have occupied their sectors of the front line for this period. A German division which has suffered heavy losses is generally given a .rest varying from five to twelve days in Which to recuperate and have its ranks refilled from the depots, and then it is sent to hold a calm sector. Sometimes, however, it has been found necessary to send such a division back to active work almost immediately, while in other eases a month's rest may be necessary. One peculiar feature noticed on this front is that the German divisions brought back from Russia have never been sent into the first line without going through a fresh course of training, as it was found the tro:>ps had lost much of their dash.