Of the magnitude of the help the Italians have brought
to the Allies there can be no doubt whatever. The meaning of Italy's intervention is that if the Germans are to win they have got to subdue three million more men. No doubt the Germans by "robbing both the cradle and the grave," as General Grant said of the last efforts of the South to raise men, can put an enormous number of soldiers or half-soldiers into line, but we must never forget that for all that the force they have at their disposal is strictly limited. They cannot add one inch to their military stature when they have exhausted their home supply. The Allies, on the other hand, by agreeing to make the same sacrifices that Germany has already made, can add not only many inches but many feet. Further than that, there is always the possibility that the Italian example will be followed, and that the Allies will have further help from the Balkan States, who are beginning to realize what a German victory would mean for them. It would mean a Turkish victory.
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