NOTES ON THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2238, 26 August 1914, Page 4

NOTES ON THE WAR

Events are progressing'very much as expected in the Western theatre of war. Three important movements appear to be in operation there. The first, and probably the most important, is the strong German advance in Belgium by way of Namur, down the valleys of the Meuse an'd Sambre, towards the French frontier, between Mons and Givet. The second is a German advance (strength unknown) south of Luxemburg, by way of Lorraine, into France, in the of Nancy. _ The third is the Frpnch advance into Germany |)y way of Southern Alsace. Concerning the last-named movement there is nothing hew to hand at time of writing. .

The centre of chief. interest at the moment is the 50-mile stretch of country in Southern Belgium between Moris and Givet. Hero there has been desperate fighting, and here the British troops, in their initial encounter have acquitted-themselves as the whole Empire has hoped and expected they would do. Piecing together the fragmentary details, tho'. position seems to have been that the Germans concentrated in force somo days ago. near Namur. Wo were told that they crossed the Meuse at Huy (between Liege and Namur), and that a large force was moving westward past Namur, along both, banks of the' Meuse, towards the French frontier. The French and Belgians opposed their southern wing, and, fighting stubbornly, fell back before the superior numbers towards mo original lino of defence on the French frontier. Tho centre .of the Gorman advance proceeded by v,nj of Charleroi, on the banns w mo Sambre (a tributary of the Meuse), while, their northern, or right, wing movcd i forward on Mons, a fortified town in ■Belgium, a few miles from tho French frontier. It was in the, neighbourhood of Mons, apparently, that the British troops' were stationed, and it was at this point that the Germans were not only decisively checked, but were forced to fall back on Hal, some'2s miles to the northeast of Mons. The first and second British army corps are stated to have been engaged against two German army corps _ and a division of cavalry, which, if correct, would mean that the Germans considerably outnumbered tho British troops. A British army corps - is not so strong numerically a ; s a German army corps. The British losses are stated to have been light—probably because they would Have the choice of position: —while tho Germans are stated to have lost heavily. There is so little to go on that it is impossible to attempt to draw any final conclusions from this encounter, beyond the fact that tho retirement of the Germans, and the offensive movement- reported to have been made by the British, indicate that the -Jui-

ser's troops suffered sompthing more than a chock. At Charleroi, midway between Namur and Mons, there also seems to have been heavy fighting between German and French troops, but whether this was before the fighting at Mons or simultaneously is not quite clear. Both sides seem to have lost heavily. Summed up, the position is that the Kaiser's forces have now practically crossed Belgium, and have got into touch with the Allies near the French frontier. It is here that the Allies have been preparing to make their stand, and it is here that the German troops will find themselves opposed in force for the first time.

While the operations recorded above have been proceeding in the south of Belgium, the German forces have also been pressing forward by way of Lorraine, south of Luxemburg. Military writers have predicted that in the event.of war an invasion of France by Germany would probably be made either by way of South Belgium or through North Lorraine, entering France at a point near Nancy. • It would seem from the news now filtering through that 1 Germany is attempting an invasion at both points simultaneously. Piecing together the scrappy items, it seems clear that the French troops, which were reported to hold,the passes of the Yosges, have been forced to retiro through a weakness at one 1 spot, which no doubt enabled the enemy to threaten their flanks. The result is that the invasion of Lorraine by the French has been for the time being abandoned, and instead German troops are reported to have entered France, and to have reached Luneville, and one or two other small towns near by. Luneville is a French town some 10 to 12 miles across the frontier from Lorraine. At the back of.it lie Nancy, about 10 mile's away, and the strong fortress of Toul, 20 miles distant. There is a strong line of French fortresses running parallel with the German.frontier, and these form the base for the operations of the French forces moving against Alsace-Lorraine. The Germans will require to be in strong force to make any serious impression, here, but. as the various French fortresses of importance are from 10 to 30 miles distant from the frontier liner w c may expect\to hear from time to time of raiding exploits by Gorman cavalry against the French towns which lie between the, forts and 'the frontier.' Presumably lit is in this region that the German Ambassador at Washington claims the Germans have recently defeated the Frehch. There is a Neufchateau here,' but there is also a town of the same name south of Dinant, in Belgium. There seems to. have been a good deal of fighting with varying success on both sides of the frontier near Lorraine, but it is impossible to estimate the importance of these- minor encounters. A big battle in the neighbourhood of Nancy may be one of the outstanding events of the next few days. This would be consequent on, and a part of, the invasion of France by way of Northern Lorraine, and as explained, is nuite distinct from the attempted invasion by way of the Moris and Givet route.

Further details of the brilliant Servian victory over, the Austrians go to show that the Austrians were led into a'trap and : were terribly punished. The killed, wounded, arid captured total up a heavy loss. Russia continues to press forward with the invasion of Germany and Austria. It seems that the successes between Insterburg ari'd Lotzen, inEast Prussia, were of groat strategical value, inasmuch as they open up a • passage-way through a difficult line of country. There are a num. ber of lakes-in this locality, and the .passages _ between offer splendid opportunities sfor a defending force. Here and there these natural advantages have been strengthened by the building of small forts'. The flanking _ movement of the Russians, following on tho defea't of the main body of German troops, apparently forced the abandonment of this strong position,, and so facilitated the forward movement of the invading army. The Russians must now be very close to Konigsberg. They will probably mask this powerful fortress, and press on with the main army towards Berlin.

Italy's mobilisation on the Austrian frontier is significant of what may bo'expected from that quarter. It has'become increasingly clear that Italy cannot satisfy her ambitions respecting Austria and the Adriatic and stand aloof from the present struggle. She must join the Allies or risk being left in a position, of isolation prejudicial to, her-, prospects. Should she decide to join the Allies, Austria's cup of bitterness will be full to overflowing, and tho plans of the Austro-German Alliance still further upset. Already Austria has been forced to abandon her punitive movement against the Servians, and with yet another enemy threatening ■■ her from the south would be quite unable to render any assistance to , Germany against France. Indeed, she would require assistance herself, with Russia invading her territory in the .east . ■Sorvia and little Montenegro in the south, and Italy in the' south-west. And. as a crowning evil, the only man who has been able to hold tho Empire together, the old Emperor Franois Joseph, lies at death's door. Should Italy join the Allies, herfleet would be useful, and.would release the British Dreadnoughts in the Mediterranean for service in tho North Sea or elsewhere; and, in addition, she could throw an army into Austria, which would probably have the effect of relieving the pressure against Central France, where the Austriana are said to have been cooperating with the Germans. Moreover, it would make the way easier for the invading Russian army by necessitating a strong force of Austrian troops being kept in southwest Austria, which might-otherwise be sent to the east.

The attitudo of Turkey seems to have caused the Allies a good deal of uneasiness. The probabilities are that the Turks would like to help Germany, but are not quite prepared to take the risk. We are' told\that the Porte has assured the British Ambassador that Turkey will remain neutral, but the action of the Turkish Government in regard to the Goeben incident is not altogether satisfactory, from the point of view of the Allies, who are no doubt watching developments very closely. They insist that the German offices and crews must be removed from the Goeben and Breslau. The Porte has assured the Allies that it has no intention of ploying into the hands of Germany, and that it merely wants to keep a number- of the Gcrmau mechanics, engineers, and stokers on hoard to instructs Turkish crews. It is almost certain that. Germany is trying to induce Turkey to do something which will bring her into the fray, in the hope

of causing troubled among the Mohammedan subjects of Britain and France. It is not likely, however, that the Turks will run the risk of a war merely out of good-will to Germany. They have proved themselves experts in the art of playing off one nation against another, andare not likely to make the tool of Germany unless they plainly see that it will pay them to dp so. They no doubt expect to profit in some way out of the present turmoil, but are probably aware that if they actively intervene they might have to fight Greece, or' Bulgaria, or both, and that the success of the Allies would almost ccrtainlv result in the last remnant of Turkey in Europe being wiped off the map.