NOTES ON THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2286, 21 October 1914, Page 4

NOTES ON THE WAR

. The admirable summary of events in France between August 28 and October 8 which General French has forwarded to the Home Government illuminates somo of the obscure' periods of a critical stage of the conflict in tho Western theatre _ of war The period between tho retirement from Mons towards the end of August and the resumption of the offensive on September 5, when tho Battle of the Marne commenced, is shown in a darker light than the cable news at that period disclosed. It seems that the British forces fighting their magnificent retiring action at first had their base situated at Havre, on the English Channel Under pressure of the German advance and in conformity with tho Allies' plan of campaign, they swung buck and still further back until ib became impossible to rclv on anv of the ports along the northern coast of France for supphes from England. On August 29 tho base of the" British troops was removed to St- Nn/Aiire,. ab the, mouth of the lli'ver Loire, on -the West coast of France. A glance at the map will show what this means. Instead of a short run across the English Channel, vessels carrying supplies and rc-IpCorce-tnetih' to Mw BvKitih _ Jrom Etiftljind would repire to

steam down the Channel into the Atlantic Ocean, round Ushant (off Brest), into the Bay of Biscay, and thence to the mouth of the Loire. St. Nazaire is 240 miles to the southwest of Paris, and on August 29 General French tells us it was nccessary to remove his base to this point.

Some idea may be gathered from this fact of the diihculties with which the Allies were confronted at this stage of the campaign. It is surprising in the circumstances that the rank and file of the AngloFrench forces, unaware as they must have been of the plans of their leaders, should have maintained theirmorale and fought so splendidly under what must have been to them most) depressing circumstances. How, too, they must have welcomed tho news on September 5 that the days of retreat nad ended and that they were at last to take the offensive. Wo know how, they acted—how tho triumphant march of the Germans was checked on the Marne— almost at the gates of Paris—how, the enemy was driven back across the "Aisne with tremendous losses. We did not know that for 25 days on end, from August 23 when they fought at Mons to September 17, the British troops wero ceaselessly engaged without a single day's respite. Could any higher tribute bo paid to the courage and endurance of our troops ? ' Eight through the long trying hours of the 13 days' retreat from Mons to Paris, continually harassed by an overwhelming forco of Germans, they were .constantly engaged; and then when the order came to take the offensive, despite this terrible 'experience, they for twelve days more harried tho enemy day by day until they forced him back from Paris across the Marne, then across tho v\isne, where he entrenched and stood his ground. _ Is t'iore_ any parallel to such terribly sustained field fighting?

And theii_at the end of over three weeks' continuous fighting of the most desperate kind, our troops were called on to face the last supreme effort of the German commanders to establish ascendancy. Picture these men, undismayed by the galling experience of the 13 terrible days of retreat; wearied,' well-nigh exhausted by their subsequent tremendous exertions in driving baelt the enemy from Paris, still able to_ rise to the last terrific call on their _ courago and tenacity, and triumphing over Nature as well as over the might of German It is a magnificent record, and it is small wonder that General Fbench should have found it necessary in doing justice to these gallant officers and men to mention so largo a number as 1500 in dispatcher ,

Turning to more recent happenings we find the Germans' displaying renewed activity in West Belgium, particularly in the vicinity of Nieuport, to the south-west of Ostend. There is a report of an unsuccessful bombardment of Nieuport with heavy artillery, but these attacks have been repulsed, the Belgians being specially mentioned for the part they have played. The tribute paid by the Times correspondent to the splendid courage and happy abandon of the soldiers of Belgium makes pleasant reading. Not that it tells us very much that is new, but the heart warms to praise of these brave men, who have faced ruin and disaster' with the same unflinching courage with which they have fought the legions of Germany. Their latest success has - gained further ground for the Allies in West Belgium, and apparently they have advanced as far as Roulers, some 20 miles from the French frontier and about the same distance southward from* Ostend. Further south across tho frontier in the region of Lille there -is also a, further advance recorded, but the fighting continues 'to be stubborn and the progress slow. In the Arras region, ai score of miles to the south-west of Lille, there has been continuous fighting for ten days on end.

Even now it is difficult; for us to appreciate the tremendous nature of the struggle that is _ proceeding. Day after day the fighting goes .on, and night after night as well. Since the crossing of the Aisne, the Allies have been more: than holding their own, but the progress made is slow —terribly slow. The ten days' continuous fighting in the Arras region has resulted in the Allies gaining a few miles of ground. More than ever is it being brought home that the victory in this great war must go to those.-who are strongest to endure. On the Allies' Centre nothing of importance has occurred; on the Right Wing the advanced positions, threatening the German frontier, have been The Crown Piiinoe and his army in the Ardennes are said to bo suffering from the effects of a snowstorm. This apparently is the first ■ real touch of winter, and is a factor which will have to be reckoned with. The position on the whole continues much the same.as yesterday, except that there has been a further advance ia West Belgium, and North-east France. A report from a Cologne newspaper hints at pending siege operations against Belfort. German plans, however, are not published in advance in German newspapers. Probably this is intended as a setoff to tne fact that the French at this point have invaded German territory, and the^talk of big siege guns to be used against Belfort may help to reassure German citizens' who would naturally view witl" alarm the possibility of a French invasion.

There is little to Hand at time of writing from the Eastern theatro of war. One message states that the Germans contemplate wintering in Poland, which suggests that they may be reckoning without their hosts, the Russians. Our late cables show little cnange in the situation.

The ruthless brutality with which the Germans are waging tho present war has been frequently referred to in our cable messages since the commencement of hostilities. Theso alle 1 - gations of barbarism are fully borne out by-the second report of tho Belgian Commission of Inquiry on the Violation of tho Rights of Nations and of the Laws and.Customs of War which we publish in another column. It is a shocking story of devastation and pillage, and outrages on women and non-combatants. In summing up, the Commission states that the occupation of any place by the Germans is systematically accompanied and followed by acts of violence towards the civil population, which acts are contrary botli to the usages of war and to the most elementary principles of humanity. The official report to the Belgian Minister' of Justice by a Commission set up. for the express purpose of investigating those matters deserves the careful attention oj. ovoryone who desires to know the truth regarding tho teryiWo acousatioQß whicjbs cave beei\

made against the Germans; yet one is not compelled to believe all such allegations, even. though they are contained in an official document. But after making reasonable allowance for unintentional exaggeration, and for the inevitable distortion of facts in times of great excitement, th'ore remains a record of acts of brutality sufficient _to cover ' the German Army with everlasting shame.

Details of the sinking of th 9 four German destroyers go to show that superior seamanship was a factor in making the result of the encounter so decisive. The German boats fought courageously enough, but in ninety minutes all four -were at the bottom. The messages of the commander of the British criliser Undaunted to his AdmiYal were delightful in their businesslike brevity: "Chasing four German destroyers," and at the close of the Incident, "Sunk the lot.". That is all. From the Adriatic comes tiding of tho loss of an Austrian submarine. Two of these vessels attacked a fleet of transports convoyed by French warships, and tho encounter resulted in the sinking of one submarine. What happened to the transports we are not told. Wo can only hope that the story is authentic. It is a pleasant change to find these under-water craft getting the worst of an encounter.

Amongst the items of interest toa flutter in high circles in Turkey. The Sultan has come to life as an active force and is stated to have appointed his heir to the comifiand of tne Army and Navy with the objcct of upsetting German machinations. It sounds too good to be_ true, yet it is just the sort of thing one might expect in Turkey. It would bo a risky step with German influence so strong in both Army and Navy, but its boldness is perhaps its best safeguard,