NOTES ON THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2287, 22 October 1914, Page 4

NOTES ON THE WAR

Titere is a tendency—quite natural no doubt—to judge the great struggle in Europe almost entirely by tlio results achieved in the field of battle. This, of course, is a gi'cut mistake. We should not un-der-rate the effects of successes or failures in the fighting line, but at the same time we shouic! not lose sight of the surrounding circumstances; the economic aspect of. the situation and the possibilities associated with the attitude of neutral nations. For some days past, for instance, it has been growing increasingly clear that Italy is being drawn nearer and nearer to the edge of the maelstrom of war. And at any moment now, whether shn likes it or not, may find herself involved in tho struggle. There has been «. strong fooling In - Italy fil-. most from the outset of tho war in j

favour of Franco and Britain; and that feeling has been accentuated by the oppressive policy pursued by Peince Hohenlohe. Governor of Trieste. The population of Trieste is largely of Italian descent, and the sympathies of the Italian people naturally lie with what are really their fellow-countrymen under Austrian rule. Italy has no love for Austria at any time, and recent events have strengthened the antagonism which has slumbered so long. bsneath a superficial appearance of friendliness. Apart from the fact that Italy has much to gain from tho overthrow of Austria, there is this deep under-current of feeling which is creeping to the surface, unci which may at any moment sweep away the neutrality of Italy and place her on the side of . tho Entente.

It would be foolish to think that Austria does not realise this. Why, then, it might bo asked, does Pbince Hoheni.ojih act in a manner which it is plain must assist to antagonise the Italian public? It would be thought that in such circumstances he would endeavour to-win tho favour and support of the Italian subjects of Austria. Might not the answer be found in the fact that the anti-Austrian feeling in Trieste is too strong to be. overcome now by friendly overtures, and that ho has fallen back on methods of oppression and terrorism in an endeavour to crush the spirit of rebellion which is rife amongst the Italian section of the population 1 How else can we account for a, policy which at such a time and in such 1 circumstances can only be regarded as a policy of madness , ! The Gior-nale d'ltalia, an influential Italian journal published at Rome, according to a messago received to-day, expresses regret that Italy has delayed so long in throwing her forces into the scale in the interests of humanity to end this "unnecessary, atrocious, and infamous war." The Italian Army, which at the outset of the war was unprepared for hostilities, has since been placed on' a war footing, and the fleet has been mobilised. These are signs which, though not conclusive, are pregnant with possibilities'; ana in a too close scrutiny of the operations of the armies in tho theatres of war aro liable to be overlooked. The train has been laid—iti ouly awaits the spark to bring about, the explosion 'which will add another great army and powerful navy to the forces ranged against Austro-Gcrman aggression.

"The German troops in the coastal districts aro threatened with destruction." So runs a message from Paris relating to the attempt made by the German forces to capture the seaboard towns between Ostend and Calais. The danger with which these troops ■ find themselves confronted is easy to perceive. It will be recalled that a few days ago we were told that simultaneously with the fall of 'Antwerp an attempt was made by a German force to push through from West Belgium to Calais, and thus secure possession of the whole coast-line from ' Antwerp to Calais. This was checked in-two ways. In the first place, the, force itself, after getting fairly close to Calais, was held up by a- counterattack by the Allies, but it also found its position ■ endangered by the forward movement made by the Allies to the west of Lille. If is not difficult to see that in the event of the Allies being able to make a decisive forward movement into West Belgium, north of Lille, which has been done, the Germans along the coast north of them—that is to say, 'from'Ostend to the, region of Dunkirk—would have their lino of retreat through Belgium narrowed and possibly cut off. The reinforcements' hurried forward from Ghent and Ostend may have enabled them to extricate themselves, but the severe fighting which, has taken place during the past few days in this neighbourhood, and the heavy German losses recorded, taken in conjunction with the ground gained by the Allies, go to show' that whatever the ultimate outcomo may be, the price paid by the Germans for this venture has been a costly one.

A latk message yesterday recorded that the Allies had retaken Ostend. There is no official confirmation of this at time of writing, and the fact that at the same time fighting was reported to' have taken place at Nicuport, some 12 miles to the sputhwest of Ostend, seemed to throw doubt on the accuracy of the message. Probably, however, the Morning Post correspondent, who was responsible for the item, has merely anticipated events a little, for everything points to the,advance of the Allies in West Belgium being maintained. In this respect to-day's news is very much a repetition of that of yesterday, except that it shows 'that the German commanders have made one more supreme effort to escape the pressure of the Allied forces—and again failed. They attacked the Allies along_ the whole of the long front stretching from La Bassee, in the north, to the Meuse, in the south-east—a distance of over 150 ■ miles—and were eyerywhere_ repulsed. From the details given in a later message it would seem that the attack went even further than this, and extended into the region northeast of La Bassee into Belgium, where the Belgians successfully maintained their position despite violent attacks.

The outstanding feature of the news to-day from France and Belgium is the fact that despite these tremendous efforts of the enemy the position of tlio Allies ■ remains unshaken, and at several points we have gained ground. It; is again good new 3; The Germans appear to hold a strong position near Lille,, and wo must expect the advance at this point to be slow, and bitterly contested. Further north, however. I where the Belgians are operating, and in. tho south-east, along the banks of the Meuse, we may hope for more rapid progress. The Paris Figaro expresses the view that tho movement of tho Germans towards Northern France has all the appearance of a retreat, and that the position is primarily duo to the splendid work of the French and British heavy guns, which make the German lines untenable. This news concerning the Allies' artillery is of considerable importance. Views have varied a good deal as to the relative effectiveness of the guns of tho opposing forces, ■ but thero appears to be an increasing volume of opinion in favour of the Allies' field artillery. The siege guns of ilhe Germans, however, arc quite another matter. The story attributed to General Lejian, who conducted the heroic defence of Liugc, which reaches us this morning, if authentic, .supports the previously-express-ed, but mainly second-hand, views of writers, who have told us of tho terrible. dcstfiictivonGHH of tho great 16-inch weapons used by the

Kaiser's troops. General Leman is reported to bavo stated that these guns fired a grenade of 1000 kilos weight (about one ton), containing an explosive of excessive strength. Small wonder is it that the fortifications crumbled under the weight and force of such terrible missiles. The latest battleships of the British Fleet are being armed with 15-inch i?uns; but the majority of our big fighting ships afloat are armed with 12 or 13-inch .guns. Tho German battleships ana battle-cruisers aro mainly armed with 11-inch guns, but a good proportion carry 12-inch a.nd some 13-inch guns. Only one of their fighting ships, so far 'as is known, has provision made for 15-inch guns and she at latest advices was still on the stocks.

Russia appeals to be more than holding her own both- against the Germans in Poland and the AustroGerman forces in Galicia. It wouldbo premature to express any opinion as to the probable outcome of tho big engagement now being fought. Probably it will resolvo itself into a long-sustained struggle such as that being waged in France and Belgium. The position favours the 'Russians in. Poland. They have chosen their own battle-ground, but with the winter coming on tho question of supplies will bo a serious one with both forces. The ' Russians should have an advantage in this respect, though" not so great as might appear. Amongst other items of interest is the news that Rumania has cope to an amicable understanding with Bulgaria. A few days ago we were told that Turkey and Bulgaria had combined with the intention of attacking Rumania should she attack-Austria. Now Rumania is to be given a free hand. Greece is mobilising,.'and has a strong force available to take the field, 'which may perhaps account for the Sultan's anxiety io prevent Turkey becoming embroiled on the side of Germany. The outlook in the Balkans from the point of view of the Entente is tetter than it has been at any stage since the war commenced.

Antwerp as a deserted city, with its port blocked by sunken vessels, is something in the nature of a white elephant to the Germans. They have got possession, but of what value is the city to tnem? Certainly it served as a rallying centre for the Belgian forces, but the Belgians have formed another rallying point in the Allies' lines, and probably are of greater strategical value there than isolated in Belgium._ In deserting their city as the citizens of Antwerp have done they have perhaps unknowingly struck a blow at the German plans, which, while it can hardly be compared with the action of the people of Moscow in burning their city to . defeat the plans of Napoleon, is not without its embarrassment for the invadors. By their brutalities and atrocious' conduct in other places, the Germans hayo in this case at least defeated their ow.n purpose by forcing the citizens to flee in terror at their approach, The story of the guns of Antwerp is but another illustration of German perfidy. The guns , * supplied, by the German firm are stated to have proved comparatively ineffective, whilo contracts for additional guns for . Belgian '.. forty, which should have been fulfilled' months before the outbreak of hostilities were delayed and flie Belgians left in the lurch.

A welcome item of news to commercial men is that which intimates that a limited number of code cable messages from business houses will bo permitted to be sent shortly. At the outbreak of tho war the military authorities, as a precautionary measure, placed a strict censorship over all cable- messages, and messages, in I code were completely stopped, This naturally caused great inconvenience to firms having overseas trading connections, and in addition added materially to tho cost of carrying on this branch of their business. tho Home authorities proved unavailing, and it may be taken as a sign of the improved position of affairs at the front that any relaxing of the restriction imposed is now to be granted. Probably it may be attributed in part to the desire to en* able the British manufacturing firms .to take the fullest advantage of the opportunity, for seizing the openings made for securing the trade lost to Germany through the war.' No doubt a strict scrutiny will still be exercised, and only , established houses of repute will be granted tho privilege.