It was inevitable, in the retreat forced on the British from their
static positions, that a large number of men and guns should have been
captured by the enemy--during the first rush the Germans claimed 75,000
and 600 respectively. But the German casualties, owing to their massed
formation, must, according to all accounts, be staggering, having
probably already reached the Verdun maximum of 600,000. The attrition of
their war material must also be enormous. And just as the entire armies
of the Allies outnumber the enemy eight to five, it may be estimated
that their material, actual and immediately available, is 30 per cent.
greater.
The most useful guide to the development of the plans of the enemy,
their modification, transformation, and failure, either transitory or
permanent, is physical geography. The initial impetus of the assault
carried the Germans with "shock" and alternating forces beyond a
hypothetical straight line of fifty miles extending from the Scarpe on
the north to the junction of the Ailette and the Oise on the south. This
was done without their moving their heavy guns, probably not even their
mid-calibre guns, from their emplacements.