THE WEEK'S WAR

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16265, 16 July 1918, Page 6

THE WEEK'S WAR

AUSTRALIAN AND ITALIAN

SUCCESSES

GERMAN OFFENSIVE AWAITED

' (press association telegram.) WELLINGTON, July 15. Tho following telegraphic review of the general war situation for the week ondea July 13th, has been received by ! the Governor-General, from the Secrei tary of State for the Colonies: — i The Independence Day celebrations 1 were marked by tho greatest enthusi- ' asm. The presence of the King at a ' baseball match is universally felt to J meau much more than a mere Royal , appearanco at a public function, but • rather is emblematic of tho complete ■ reunion of both branches of the English- ' speaking race in their determination to 1 achieve tho triumph of civilisation in j common with the Allies. In Russia, public feeling against the ' national humiliation by the Brest-Litovsk ► peace found vent in the assassination ' of the German so-called Ambassador ; Mirbach, at the hands of social revolu- ' tionaries. Czecho-Slovaks have taken control of Vladivostok, owing to the attempts of tho Bolshevik authorities i to extcrminnto them, and also send arms and munitions to the west to [ enable German and Austrian prisoners . to fight the remainder of the Czecho- ' Slovak troops in Siberia. The general feeling in Russia is well evidenced by '• tho fact that tranquility reigns already at Vladivostok, under the new regime of the combined Siberian Government and Czecho-Slovak troops, whereas tho r rest of Russia is still in the throes of ■ anarchy and bankruptcy. The Bol- • sheviks' leaning-is more and more to ' purchase one iroro hour of precarious • fife by any discoverable means, even i to handing 9ver the rest of Russia to • German domination. Mr J. R'. Clynes has succeeded Lord ' Rhondda as Food Controller. For some 1 time past Mr Clynes was Lord • Rhondda's right-hand man, as secretary ; to the Ministry of Food in Parliament, • and the appointment has been received ■ with enthusiasm in all quarters. Cereal ! imports, excepting rice, are considerably lower than at the same time last year, but the consumption of bread remains much the same. The demand for frozen meat in the Allied armies is very heavy, and the increased supplies of dried and frozen fish are particularly welcome. Supplies of cheese have considerably increased, but the demand still exceeds the supply. The coal requirements of the Allies have largely increased, and as 75,000 skilled miners have been called, to the colours, it is inevitable that domestic supplies of coal must be restricted by a quarter at least. 1 DISSENSION IN GERMANY. ' The past week has been chiefly remarkable for the continued delay of the German offensive. Although this is I now regarded as certain, the only doubt , remaining is as to when and where it! . will be launched. Of course the Ger- . mans can afford a certain doTay, yet : it would pay them best to start their offensive at the earliest possible moi ment, since, presumably, the/ hope for , success which will need propitious cam- ; paigning weather to exploit it. Indeed i the offensive would probably have been stared before now but for certain dolay- ! ing factors, stich as the failure of Aus- , tria against Italy, and owing to the . fact that the German troops are very , heavily suffering from influenza. We may guess, too. that internal disagreements between General von Ludendorff and Herr von Kuhlmann have contributed to the delay. Kuhlmann seems to have been so sceptioal of tho chances of military success that he wished to open peace negotiations while the Germany army was still in a position to offer an offensive menace. Ludendorff probably 'thinks that peace terms, including annexations and indemnities, could not be got from the Allies till the Allied armies aro decisively crushed, since without such terms Germany will be ruined. Ludendorff must havo argued that the necessary military triumph is obtainable, provided every possible resource is place cPat his disposal. Kuhlmann's resignation indicates the triumph of Ludendorff. He may yet need time, to organise the resources hitherto withheld. He will cert.ainlv thon launch the most desperate offensive possible. AUSTRALIAN SUCCESSES. Meanwhile the British, French, and American troops aro working at high speed in preparing and. strengthening themselves against the probable enemy lines of attack and seizing important points Which will help the defence and handicap the offensive. The most notableof these local achievements was that of the Australian Corps, under General Monash, covering the approaches to Amiens on American Independence Day. Assisted by American detachments and sections of the Tank Corps, tho Australians succeeded, by surprise, in recapturing Hamel village, vllr w e i° U t from tho , re Wood, between Hamel and Vil-lors-Brotonneux. A simultaneous ati r A ght - bank of the Somme onablod tho left wing to advance tho Bri--600 vards east of Vi Iter cms nd Corbie. T{ie attack was planned •and carried out with mechanical perfection, three German divisions being ™ y a f ni ?- losin K 1500 prison- '■?' J le Australians and Americans advanced wiih splendid elan, the way being opsnod by a strong bombardment from concentrated batteries. Sir Douglas Haig specially mentioned tho contribution of the tanks to tho victory Dunng the next night the Australians made a further advance, a nd so far tho Germans have made no attempt to regain the_ lost ground. _ A position which secures us a most important tactical point is ViTlers Brctonneux. While the Australian and American troops were here combining with admirable effect, the Americans nortn-west of Chateau Thierry also earned out successful local operations unassisted, and the French followed up last week's success on the Cutry plateau in a brilliant attack on \v edncsdav morning with another in tlie evening, which penetrated the German position between Moulin sous Touvent and Autreches.' Tho prelimit. was h ea *"y, but still the Germans wefle taken by surprise . mad . e a PO°r fight, le'avinn- over 1000 prisoners with the French, ■throughout the enemy defence was noticcably weak and dispirited, which probably means that the best enemy storm troops are preliminary training for tho big offensive. ITALIAN OPERATIONS. On the Italian front, most successful operations wero carricd out, both on the northern front and on the lower Piave. After four days' steady fightings the 23rd Italian Corps cleared tho whole delta between the old and tho new brandies of tho river, where tho ! Austrians had been established since Novmber last. The Austrians made a strong resistance, which only increased ! , their losses. The Italian line is now 1 shortened and strengthened, ar.d the ' Austrians repelled twenty miles behind Venice, which is practically safe from artillery fire. Up in the mountains local gains gave the Italians several points d'appui. which will be of the greatest use, supposing the Austrians renew the offensive. It seems likely thev will do so, judging from the appointment of the German general, Von Below, to the commaiu! of the Aus- 1 trian Army on the Italian frontier, which sets the seal on Austria's slav- ] ery. We cannot prophesy his intentions, but thinli his plans are probably a heavy offensive. This is hardly pos- J *i hie. either now or at an.v time, with- l

out considerable German aid. The victorious Italian Army is now in the highest feather, and General Diaz is using all opportunities for building up a defensive position. WAR IN THE AIR. British airmen continue their steady aggressive work on all fronts, diversified by successful local air fights and bv long-distance raids, both in Germany and the East. On the Western front, in spito of rain, mist, and clouds, British airmen kept the closest eyo on the enemy's movements, keeping him lively by bombing dumps and hutments, attacking infantry and transport with machine-guns, and helping tho army to destroy his besides taking thousands of photographs of Ins positions. The aefial lighting thus entailed resulted in heavy enemy losses. Fifty two enemy machines wero brought down, and' thirty-seven winged helpless, a total of oiglity-nine enemy machines, while only seventeen British machines are reported missing. When the Australian Infantry took Hamel on July 4th, British airmen brilliantly cooperated, every attack being preceded by an air assault. The British aviators flew closp over the roofs of ruined cottages, dropped several hundred bombs, and fired nearly fifty thousand rounds of machine-gun ammunition on the Bosch defences.

The Independent Royal Air Force continues its bombing raids into Germany, aiming at important junctions and munition ccntrcs. British formations attacked Metz Sablons, Saarbruckcn, Coblenz, Carthaus, and Thionville, and single raids were carried out on Bolchon, Mannheim, Thionville, Fallcenberg, Kaiscrslautern, and Luxemburg. Ail tho machines returned safely in spito of desperate air resistance at Metz and Saarbruckon, which resulted in ono enemy machine being fired down and two helplessly winged. Tho navy and air force again cooperated in attacks on German naval works on the Belgian coast, with excellent results. Bombs were seen to burst on vital points in the harbour entrance, powder factory, warehouse?, and quay at Ostend, round the lock gates at Zeobrugge, and on shipping at Bruges. A British formation once attacked sixteen hostile machines, three of these being winged and three brought down in flames with no British .damage. British machines took thousands of photographs in Italy, and brought down sis enemy aircraft. Similar success was achioved on the Balkan and Palestine fronts, and half a ton of bombs dropped effectively on Constantinople on July 7th. In this connexion thoro are many expressions of indignation by Gorman miiltary authorities at civilian participation in acts of warfare such as helping Allied airmen in Belgium. It is now amusing to find an official proclamation, quoted from the "Connauer Nachrichten," a Westphalian paper,' on June 19th, requiring German civilians to capture all enemy airmen forced to land on German territory, or prevent them from restarting or destroying their aeroplanes. _ This proclamation considers such service a danger, and offers a bribe accordingly of fifty marks per head to civilians bringing in enemy airmen prisoners. This makes, a fine contrast with the attitude expected by the German HjsrTi Command from other civilians in respect to German foundered aircraft.