Progress of the War.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15989, 25 August 1917, Page 8

Progress of the War.

Tho news from front this morning is meagre, and is confined mainly to minor activities. Sir Douglas Haig reports that the British lino has been slightly advanced north-oast of Langemarck, and south-west of Lens, indicating that there is no relaxing of the pressure on the enemy's lines in these soctors. The struggle for Xicns, which may be said to have commenced two years ago. when Loos and Hulluch were taken, promises to be one of the greatest and bloodiest struggles of tho whole war. Tho fact that it is mainly a "soldiere' battle,"

that is, a continuous hand-to-hand fight, means that the camafties will "be much heavier than in the usual typo of battle on the Western front, and already the losses on both 6ides must be enormous. From the magnitude of the fighting on this sector it -would appear that the struggle is not merely a local operation, but represents a; determined effort to complete the capture of LLeg,n g ,- and so clear the way for an attack on tho large natural fortress position in which Lille, Tourcoing and Roubaix stand, the loss of which 'nould imperil the enemy's occupation of Flanders, and —assuming that ho was driven back from this 6ector his positions extending south to St. Quentin, Laon and the Aisne. >~o fresh light is thrown on the situation around Verdun, and the French communiques mention only mutual artillery activity on both sides of tho Mouse and north of tho Aisne News from the Italian theatre is also scanty, the official report announcing further progress north and south of the Julian front, and south-east of Dosso Faiti, but giving no details of the operations. In tho Russian theatre tho battlo continues with unabated violence, the latest communique indicating varying successes on cither side.