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Bok, Edward William, 1863-1930

"A Dutch Boy Fifty Years After"


All diplomatic eyes were turned toward Washington. Yet not a hint of
the impending events had reached the public. The Germans were being
beaten back, that was known; it was evident that the morale of the
German army was broken; that Foch had turned the tide toward victory;
but even the best-informed military authorities outside of the inner
diplomatic circles, predicted that the war would last until the spring
of 1919, when a final "drive" would end it. Yet, at that very moment,
the end of the war was in sight!
Next Bok went to France to visit the battle-fields. It was arranged
that the party should first, under guidance of British officers, visit
back of the British lines; and then, successively, be turned over to
the American and French Governments, and visit the operations back of
their armies.
It is an amusing fact that although each detail of officers delegated
to escort the party "to the front" received the most explicit
instructions from their superior officers to take the party only to the
quiet sectors where there was no fighting going on, each detail from
the three governments successively brought the party directly under
shell-fire, and each on the first day of the "inspection.


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