In fact, no absolutely impregnable shelter has yet been devised, and the story of fortification is but a repetition of the story of defensive naval armament. The thicker the plates of the dreadnoughts, the more powerful the guns are made, and the guns have the last word.
Moreover, it has been by no means demonstrated that the German intrenchments, which have cost enormous sums, and an amount of human labour that the Allies would have been unable to furnish, have to any extent reduced the enemy’s losses. On the contrary, it appears that the temporary protection afforded by such works is more than offset by the great losses in men and material which is the result of their final destruction.
The official reports which reach us, just before going to press, of the French victory of the 23d-25th of October, 1917, on the Aisne, prove that, in the captured salient (which the Germans had considered of capital importance), they had accumulated means of defence more considerable and powerful than at any point hitherto conquered.
At the inhabited points, they had converted all the cellars of the houses into bombproofs. They had bored tunnels of communication, some of which were a mile long. Everywhere they had built formidable concrete dugouts connected by covered passages loopholed for machine-guns, and had even mounted heavy pieces of artillery in their first lines. The whole position was considered so impregnable that they had stored in its subterranean spaces a very large quantity of winter supplies. The topography of the region was unusually favourable to the construction of defensive works, and a number of natural grottoes had been turned to good account.
In a few days a powerful artillery had enabled a heroic infantry (fighting under the eye of the American General Pershing) to overcome the resistance of an enemy defending his ground with a force of about nine divisions. This operation justifies once more our assertion that it is impossible to construct works that are absolutely impregnable to gun-fire.
To give an idea of the morale of the French, we can do no better than to cite a passage from a letter, written at the Front on October 6th, which we have just received from a young artillery officer. “Watch the communiqués that will be issued on or about the 20th day of October. We are preparing for the Boches a song and dance that they will not forget.”
2. General plan of an intrenchment system. The description we give hereafter of the organization of the lines is, of course, like the following diagram, purely explanatory and illustrative.
South-east of Ailles
February 10, 1917—2.30 P.M.