The Daily News. FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 1919. THREE MONTHS' EPIC FIGHTING.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 January 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 1919. THREE MONTHS' EPIC FIGHTING.

Although the tension and intense excitement of the war have for some time given way to the more restful feeling of peace, the stirring contents of Sir Douglas Haig's recent dispatch, dealing with the closing scenes of the prolonged military conflict, cannot fail to arouse a feeling of elation at the magnificent achievements which led up to and brought about the final and complete defeat of the German armies. The narrative is devoid of all embellishment, yet it is replete with eloquent testimony to the superb work of the British forces, and it is all the more satisfactory by reason of the transition from a state of anxiety in April to one of justified elation in November. The outstanding feature of the three months' epic fighting winch brought the conflict to a close is the fact that fiftynine British divisions completely routed ninety-nine German divisions in spite of the accepted military doctrine that, in a good defensive position, any given force can hold up a considerably greater attacking force. The Germans had constructed defences which they claimed to be impregnable, yet the whole of the Hindenburg system proved of no avail against the determined and indomitable spirit of the British forces, who, in the decisive contests, attacked the strongest and most vital parts of the enemy front, cut hisuateral communications, fought his best divisions to a standstill, took 187,000 prisoners, captured over 2000 guns, 29,000 machine guns and 3000 trench mortars, and above all finally forced the erstwhile triumphant enemy to acknowledge an unconditional defeat, and brought to a sudden and dramatic close the great wearing out battles which had been spread over a period of more than four years. Well may Sir Douglas Haig claim that the annals of war hold no record of a more .wonderful recovery than that which, after the tremendous blows showered on the British forces on tho Somme and the LySj saw them undefeated and advancing from victory to Victory, sending the enemy reeling back without a coherent plan, in widespread confusion and disorder, so that to continue the struggle could only mean disaster to the German armies and an armed invasion of Germany. This unparalleled record is all the more remarkable by reason of the fact that when the war was sprung on the world, Britain was totally unprepared and had to build up her armies during hostilities, and up to the time of the final victory was inferior in strength to the enemy. Marshal Foch bided his time for decisive action, and meanwhile a policy of active defence and , constant harassing of the enemy was carried out most effectively and with masterly patience, thereby delaying enemy operations and preventing the renewal of a general offensive. Then came the beginning of the end between August 8 and November 11 at Amiens and Bapaume, followed up by the breaking through at Drocourt and Queant, thus piercing the Hindenburg system, and so step by step to the final defeat of the enemy in the great battles of November 14. It was known by Sir Douglas Haig in October that the British were in a position to force an immediate conclusion, and subsequent events proved this to be true. Some idea of the stupendous nature of the Allies' task, apart from the actual fighting, may be gleaned from the extent of the work in connection with transport over the battle zone, it being necessary to construct 200 miles of railways and dig 5000 miles of trenches between April and July, and |he value of that work was seen in the victories which thereby were made possible. The tide turned in favor of the British and bore them on to their final triumph. Sir Douglas Haig's words when referring to the principal British attack, which waa timed fof November 1, after the capture of Valenciennes, sax well worthy of note, for they show how completely the British had become mastew of the situation. He states: "Ih the fighting on and subsequent to this date, we broke the enemy resistance beyond possible recovery, and the enemy, thereafter, was capable neither of accepting nor refusing battle." To this Kryvy plight were the "insincibls" .Germans .reduced. Their

reserves were exhausted and their power of resistance shattered. Nothing was left for them but unconditional surrender or a disaster that would have meant the conquest of Germany. It is a wonderful epic that will ever rebound to the credit of that vast citizen army organised by Lord Kitchener, directed by Sir Douglas Haig and strategically controlled by Marshal Foeh, to whose foresight and determination Sir Douglas Haig pays generous tribute. "We are left in no doubt as to how this great victory was achieved, and in the praise the Commander-in-Chief bestows on the British in fantry we see the means whereby the terrible struggle was crowned !with success and the final goal reached. "At no time," says Sir Douglas Haig, "has the reputation of the British infantry been higher, or its achievements more worthy of renown. No praise is too high for its valor, no gratitude too deep for the work accomplished." Throughout the war, even at the most critical periods, the British forces evinced a confidence that glowed with strength, and a determination which no hardships or reverses could weaken, and it it with a thrill of justifiable pride that the people of the Overseas Dominions should recognise that included in this great tribute are the men of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The strain is over, the victory won, and the last chapter of the colossal combat is now given to the world by Sir Douglas Haig whose name should be held in high honor by the citizens of the British -Empire for all time.