NOTES ON THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2290, 26 October 1914, Page 4

NOTES ON THE WAR

We have the authority of German military writers this morning for the statement that the greatest battle of tho war is now raging between Lille and Dunkirk, and that the issue for the Germans is a matter of life and death. This news may seem a little belated, and also a little misleading, seeing that the line of fighting has been removed a considerable distance to the eastward of Dunkirk and well into Belgium. Still, at the time it was written it perhaps was not very far astray. The" successes of the Allies in this region are responsible for the falling back of the German forces since the military writer quoted expressed his views. The point of interest in the opinions expressed, however, is the importance that is attached to the struggle in this particular region. We know, of course, that the German commanders made desperate efforts to turn the Allies' Left Flank here; we know that they were also striving to the. of their capacity to secure possession of the sea coast, from Antwerp to Calais, and further if possible; we know that they have recently rushed reinforcements in tens of thousands to this quarter; and we .know also that at practioally all points the Allies have' progressed and the German forces have been compelled to fall back. Our satisfaction at the outcome should be heightened by the importance which tho German military writers attach to the operations in this region.

The latest accounts of the fighting there show that the struggleTias been of a most violent nature. The Gormans have thrown ' new forces into the field, and although theso are stated to consist largely of raw youths and old men, thoy have offered a stubborn resistance. With one exception, the messages to hand a/o of a most encouraging nature; the exception being that in the La Bassee region, that is, to the south-west of Lille, tho enemy gained a little ground at some points. It is impossible to tell exactly what this means, but it apparently is_ not at all. serious, for at Armentieres, a little- tb the north, and at Itosieres, to tho south, the Allies gained ground; whilo a later message records an advance of six miles near Arras. The position appears to be that, having failed to check) the Allies' enveloping movement between Lille and tho sea coast, in Belgium (a distanco of about 40 miles), tho German commanders have made a desoerato attempt to break the Allies' line on the other side of Lille (that is on'the south-west). If successful, this attempt would be liable to place the Allies' forces north of Lille in a dangerous situation, and in addition it might also force a retirement of the Allies' Centro. It would be in the nature of driving a wedgo botween the Allies' forces at. a critical point. Fortunately, however, nothing of this kind has happened, nor does it now ailpear likely to happen. There hav> been advances and retreats of minor importance at various point's tho long front of the opposing forces ever since the Germans marie thi.ii stand along the Aisno weeks ugj; but in the end the Allies have always gained some further ground on the Wings, and held their own in tlie Centre, which is what they aro striving for. _ So we need not attach any serious importance to the backing and filling at La Bassce when all around elsewhere in tho same re-p-ion success lia-3 attended on tho Allies' efforts.

Taking first the position iu Franco it would seem that between Lille and the Sommc llivcr, for a distanco of about 50 miles, we have had tho advantage at all points, with tho exception of the one locality already mentioned, that is, La Bassec. Between the Sommc and the Aisne, a distance of perhaps another 50 miles, we have held our own, and, incidentally, destroyed three ' German Iniltonca, Then from tho Aitms to Verdun, 60 miles* .whore belli.

sides- are strongly entrenched, mattors presumably have continued varv much as thsy were, with the exception that near the Verdun end of this lino the Allies have gained partial successes. Also, further south, at Pont-a-Moiisson. near the FranooGerman frontier, fortune has smiled on the Allies. With -the exception of the Arras region, south-west of Lille, the fighting in Franco has not been bo violent as in Belgium,, and the position generally is satisfactory. Before passing to the centro of chief interest, the splendid achievement of the Scots Greys near Lille deserves mention. The enemy's position here is a particularly strong one, and tho French, possibly advancing under cover of darkness, got bogged—cavalry, infantry, find guns. The German artillery seized the 'opportunity, and apparently the French were in a bad plight when the Scots Greys were sent at the enemy's guns. They charged, sabred the German gunners, silenced their guns, and enabled the • French to extricate themselves from their, desperate position. It was another evidence of the quality of the British cavalry, which in. the present struggle has on many ocoasions rivalled the exploit of the heroes, of Balaclava.

It is in Belgium for the time being that attention is most closely concentrated. and here the fate of-the German Army in the West, so far aa the immediate future is concerned, is being settled. The Allies in France have only to hold their own while the forces in Belgium continue to progress as they have been doing, to compel a genoral retirement of the Germans along the wholo of the long line stretching from tho English Channel almost to the boundary of Switzerland. To-day's messages show that the Belgians took the offensive on Monday last to the south-west of Ostend, and fought fieroo engagements at Schoore, ICeyem, and St. Abasin. We have had particulars of the fighting in this locality earlier in the . week. The purpose, of course, was to envelop the German Right, and it was in this fighting and at Nieuport that the British Fleet participated by shelling the German forces near the sea coast. The fighting hero was terribly fierce. In one case we are told of a whole German cavalry rej?imont being placed hors cle combat; in another of a whole column mak,ing r a dash along the mil coast in the direction of Dunkirk being annihilated. Yet another message states that the fields are full of German dead. Day by day the Belgians, assisted by French and British troops v have forced the Germans back, until to-day latest, messages show that the British cavalry are operating from Thourout, some 25 miles on the Belgian side of tho Franco-Belgian frontier, and about 13 miles to the south-easi of Ostend, while the forces further north along the sea coast aro moving against Hiddelkerke, which is only six miles to the south-west of Ostend. Moreover, according to Amsterdam advices, a great battle is now raging 15 miles south of Bruges, on the Bruges-Ghent railway line: that is to say, nearly 40 miles on tho Belgian side of tho French frontier. This is indeed a marked advanco. and threatens to cut off the forces in and about Ostend, unless they re,treat at once. The Germans have an advantage here, not only in the hilly nature of the country, as mentioned in tho cable news, but also in the railways, which are handily situated for the. transfer of troops from north to south, or, if necessary, from east to west, or yioe versa.

The statement is made that the German General Staff has quitted Ghent, and that there aro strong' rumours of a severe German defeat. If Ghent falls into the hands of the Allies, then the Germans will be compelled to fall back, probably on Antwerp and Brussels—that is, if they do not abandon Antwerp altogether. It is indeed difficult to reconcile the presence of a German force at Ostend with the Allies so far advanced as the Bruges-Ghent '.railway, but possibly the explanation ia to be found in the date of the messages, and that ere this Ostend ha-s been cleared of the enemy. What mußt not be' lost sight of is the fact that this excursion in force of the Allies into North-West Belgium and the retreat of the German forces there will naturally hampfir the retirement of the German forces remaining in France. No doubt the further the Allies advance the greater the number of men they will require to maintain their advantage; but we are told this_ morning that France has half a million of-this year's recruits ready to put into the field, and sandwiched in with old and tried men they should season quickly. In any casOj they should be able to hold their own against the class of men Germany is now forced to fall back on. A few days more of such advances in Belgium as are recorded this morning and the general retreat of the German forces from France, which is so confidently prophesied, may have to be recorded as an accomplished fact.

Official news from Petrograd shows that the Russian defeat of tho German forces between Warsaw and the Pilica River has been pressed home, and that the Germans continue to retreat. This success is encouraging, but should not be overrated. The forces engaged aro so huge that even a struggle such as that depicted at Ivangorod cannot of itself, affect the final result. What is most satisfactory is that whereas our Ally has struck this heavy blow at the point mentioned, she has held her own also at all other points, despito the desperate efforts of the enemy.

The ramming of a German submarine by _a British destroyer is a raassuring item as well as a pleasing one. ; It serves to demonstrate that there are other means than • gunfire of coping with attacks of tho underwater craft, and very effective means at that. Early in the war a, captain of a British cruiser was asked what he would do if ho saw the periscope of a submarine near his vessel. His reply was that ho would blaze away with his guns, order his engines full speed ahead, and ram her. By firing his guns rapidly the shots, although they might not hit the periscope of the submarine, would throw up volumes of water all round it and probably prevent those relying 011 it seeing'what was going on. A (submarine when submerged is a clumsy thing to handle, and compared with a destroyer or a- fast cruiser is sluggish in its movements, and caif be easily out-manoeuvred. Its only chance of escape from ramming would be to get in a torpedo first (which is not an easy thing with a fast vessel coming end onj, or to dive.

Plainly the Admiralty has been stirred up by the criticisms o£ its failur« to najjture any. of tho Ger-

man raiding cruisers in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. It points out that the Allies have had all the best of things bo far as merchant shipping is conocrned, and that the percentage of the vessels lost is smaller than was anticipated. This is true enough, but it is none tho less unpleasant to see the tally of captures Dy the Emden and Karlsruhe growing into large dimensions. Tho sting of the criticism so far as the Admiralty is concerned lies in the fact that for years past naval critics have contended that the Admiralty has not provided for a sufficient number of fast light cruisers for commerce protection: It has focussed its attention on fighting ships for.the great North Sea battle, and _ neglected to some extent tho possibilities of raiding cruisers, preying on our commerce. Fortunately in these waters we have tho fast and up-to-date cruisers of tho Australian Navy, otherwise we should be badly off indeed. A Bristol cruiser on two, which some of our _ short-sighted politicians were inclined to ridicule a few months ago, would be a perfect godsend just now to the British Admiralty.

The position in South Africa at the inception of the campaign which the Union forces are now conducting against German South-West Africa, is. interestingly described in South African newspapers which have been received by mail. While the perfect loyalty of the greater part of the Union population, both Dutch and British, was never in question, tho political situation, as has been briefly indicated in "cable messages, was not free from complications. One or two Senators, wnen the German South-West African enterprise was before the Union Parliament, delivered speeches which have been described . as "nakedly , pro-German." and a few others were said to be alarmed by apprehensions of a possible German victory. These, howfever, were the views of a small minority, and Genekal Botha was backed by an overwhelming majority in his preparations for tho campaign against the German colony. The Gape Town Parliamentary correspondent" of tho ■ Natal Mercury states that the session of the Union Parliament led to a recognition of tho fact that when tho King declares war nono of his subjects, and no political' divisions, of hia Empire, can be neutral.

"The session," lie adds, "has brought lis to a parting of the ways politically. The old South African Party lies shattered, and there is a reassortment of political forces. The Government, is taking the Opposition leaders into its confidence and accepting their co-operation with regard to the German West African expedition. Everything portends that after the general election neither race will be able to govern the country, but that there will be a party in power composed of loyal men of both races. Mr. Hertzog's strength in the country is probably greater than the divisions in either House have indicated, but it cannot possibly equal the combined Dutch and British strength behind the Government. Tho day of raoe politics 1 seeme over."

One awkward feature of the position arose from tho fact that aDOufc a thousand ■ Africander families trekked into German South-West Africa after the South African War. The grown males' in these families have oecome liable to military service under the German law, and their relatives in the Transvaal did not relish the idea of meeting them in the field. Gbneeal Botha met this difficulty by announcing that he did not wish to force close relatives of the exiles to enter into the conflict. Taking the broad facts of the. position, it seems quite evident that tho recent Maritz rebellion was a mere flash in tho pan, and that it will' be easily suppressed by the loyal population which supports the Union Government in its efforts on behalf of the Empire.

The military difficulties of the enterprise which the Union Government has' undertaken are by no means slight. German South-West Africa can be entered by land from Union territory only through watorless tracts over which the conveyance of troopß is necessarily not easy. It was no doubt on account of this fact that a portion of the invadinsr foroe was conveyed by sea to Luderitz Bay, and landed at that place. The strategical importance of the campaign has possibly not yet been fully realised outside Sout!j Africa. At Windhoek,' the German capital, there is a wireless station whioh, by' the strength of its waves, has interfered with the communications of the British Fleet whik forming at the same time a link in the chain of German wireless communications which has now 'been largely destroyed. It is believed that in a still night Windhoek is even able to get into touch with Berlin,_ and at any time it could do so indirectly so long as a German oruiser or two evaded capturo in tho North Atlantic. There was/also to be taken into account tho possibility of messages being conveyed 1 to hostile cruisers as t-o the whereabouts of British merchantment whose movements might have been noted by German aeroplanes. Several of theso machines are known to be in possession of the small but. excellcntlycquitiped military force at tho disposal of the Government of German South-West _ Africa. Considering the strategical importance of the undertaking, and the nature of the force to be encountered, it is not surprising that when General Botha offered to equip a volunteer corps for Europe, tho_ Imperial Government replied that it would greatly prefer the smashing of the wireless station at Windhoek as the Union's sharq of the operations, and generally that the _ forces in German South-West Africa should bo made harmless.