It has been said that the secret of Pétain's rise in three years from the position of Colonel to Commander in Chief of the French armies is his knowledge of when to launch counterattacks. The ability to select the right place and time for a sudden stroke which nullifies the enemy's gains has been the attribute of great captains throughout history, and is one of the cardinal bases of successful strategy. In that one word, counterattacks, lies the explanation of the triumphant French resistance in the present battle against vastly superior numbers--that and the indomitable courage of the defenders. The master tactician commanding the army whose sector has been assailed has so imbued his subordinates with his own principles that there is hardly a position in the whole range of operations that the Germans have not been forced to take two or three times over. For it is not only the counter-stroke on a grand scale, like that which has won back nearly all the Germans' gains on the left wing, which counts in a struggle of this kind, where the losses inflicted on the enemy are far more important than a hill or a village saved or abandoned. It is the unexpected change from defense to attack, at the psychological moment, that has maintained the spirit of the French troops and smashed their weakened assailants just as they were thinking their success was assured. As the situation stands today [June 13] the Allies have won a great victory in one of the hardest fought battles of the war, and a carefully planned move in Hindenburg's desperate struggle against time has been met and nullified. The Germans have also learned to their cost that the American troops are already to be counted with. The enemy, whose morale is daily weakening under the strain of non-successes and never-ending calls upon his strength, has received a bitter reminder of the American menace, which more than any other factor is responsible for his convulsive striving after a speedy decision. [M. Tardieu, in a cablegram June 18 to the French High Commission at Washington, stated that 80,000 Germans had been put out of action in the Noyon-Montdidier offensive, and that General von Hutier had failed completely to realize his objective--the capture of Compiègne.] Austrians at Grips With Italians By AUSTIN WEST [Copyright, 1918, by THE NEW YORK TIMES Company and CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE] [SEE MAP OF ITALIAN FRONT, PAGE 15] _An offensive was launched June 15, 1918, by the Austrians against the Italians with an army estimated to number 1,000,000 men. The attack was on a front from the Asiago Plateau to the sea, a distance of ninety-seven miles. The course of the struggle in the first four days indicated the failure of the drive. The details of the earlier stages of the battle are given herewith._