,
and from October 9th onward there was no more heart left in the German
Armies. The "prisoners" line in the chart,[10] brought daily up to date
at the Headquarters of the British Army, shows what the demoralisation
had become in the German ranks. After the British battle of the Sambre
(November 4th) there were practically no reserves left, and Marshal
Foch had plans in store which, had there been any further resistance,
must have led to the wholesale capitulation of all that was left of
the German Armies.

[10] See reproduction.

* * * * *

So in ignominy and shame the German onslaught on the liberties of
Europe came--militarily--to its bitter end. The long-drawn agony of
four and a half years was over, and the "wearing-out battle" had done
its work. Now, six months later, we are in the midst of that stern
Epilogue--in which a leagued Europe and America are dictating to
Germany the penalties by which alone she may purge her desperate
offence. A glance at the conditions of Peace published to the world on
May 11th, the anniversary of the-sinking of the _Lusitania_, will form
the natural conclusion to this imperfect survey of the last and most
glorious stage in "England's Effort." But for the moment, let me
return to the "Features of the War," and Marshal Haig's comments on
them in his last Despatch. Many, many books will be written about them
in the future! All I can do here is to single out a few of those that
seem to be most commonly in the minds of those who are still thinking
about the war.

* * * * *

Take, first, the value of cavalry in modern battle. In his April
Despatch, Sir Douglas Haig enters on a strong defence of it--the plea
of a great cavalry leader. Since the stabilisation of the trench
system in the West, it has been, as we can all remember, a commonplace
of the newspapers and of private conversation that cavalry were played
out--a mere useless or ornamental excrescence on armies that, by the
help of tanks and aeroplanes, could now excellently do without them.
"Not at all," replies Sir Douglas Haig. If the German Command had had
at their disposal last March and April "even two or three well-trained
cavalry divisions, a wedge might have been driven between the French
and British armies." In any case, the difficulties of our task would
have been greatly increased. On the other hand, our cavalry were
enormously useful to us in the same b