PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2302, 9 November 1914, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

What has been described as the richest and.most profitable of Germany's overseas - trading possessions has at last sucoumbed to the Allies— Tsing-tao has fallen and the province of Kiao-chau has passed put of Ger-r man control. This loss is the greatest blow financially that Germany has received in the outlying parts of her Empire. The commercial world of Germany had come to regard Kiaochau, not merely aB a most (profitable trading possession, but as a centre of operations opening up tre•mendous possibilities of trade development with the Far. East. Many millions of German, capital have been sunk in railway and other de-. yelopment as well as the money spent in defensive works,' and all this has been now lost. The importance which Germany attached to Kiaochau may be partly measured by the powerful fortificatidns built at Tsing-tao, the capital of the province, ■ and by the strong garrison maintained there. These, however, have proved'of no avail against the assault of the Allies and especially the force thrown against the place by Japan. The forts were'battered to pieces and the remnants 'of the garrison surrendered.' It is fitting as well as convenient that Japan should be entrusted with the oontrql of the province until'the conclusion of the war. » » » * Confirmation of the engagement between British and German vessels off the coast of South America is now to hand, but exactly what happened is still somewhat obscure. That there was a fight and that the British vessels were not equal in weight of gun-fire to the German is quite plain. We, pointed out on Friday last that the Good Hope was the only one of the British vessels carrying guns anything ■ like equal to those of. the two powerful German cruisers, the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, and it seems that she caught fire early in the engagement and subsequently blew up. The fate of the Monmouth, which .was next in size to the Good Hope, is still in doubt, but it seems practically certain that she has gone ashore somewhere'along the coast,, and may be regarded as lost, though it is to be hoped that the.majority of her crew may have escaped. The third British vessel, the light cruiser Glasgow, apparently got clear away from her more powerful adversaries. It is unpleasant news redeemed, however, by the knowledge that our sailors put up a gallant fight against heavy odds. Tho lesson of the engagement is that old cruisers of inferior weight of guns cannot hope to succeed against newer vessels with heavier guns. Tho weakness 'of the British Navy to-day lies in its armoured cruisers. /It has a satisfac-. Tory margin of capital ships—that is first-class battleships and ;battloeruisers—but the naval policy of Britain of rewuli yoiu'B hu boon to , discount tl» value, of armoured cruis.

| ors. No doubt this policy is sound onough so far as the main strugglo in tho North Sea is concerned, Dut with vessels like the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst cruising in distant seas a few more modern armoured cruisers would bo very valuable just now to limit N their field of operations and bring"them to book. Probably wo shall find that Japan will dispatch a battle-cruiser or two to attend to the matter, now that Tsing-tao has fallen. # * * * A report from Belgium states that the fighting there is as'violent as over. The Kaiser has been present in person to urge his soldiers on to Calais, but'although they have thrown themselves' on tho Allies' lines with the most reckless bravery they, have been again and again repulsed with tremendous losses. So far as can be gathered the flooding of the country north of Dixmude has compelled the German commanders to concentrate their main efforts further south' and the British forces have had a, specially strenuous time. They have, however, more than held their own and south and east of Ypres have gained ground. Further reinforcements are reported to be on their way to the German front consisting largely ■ of guns mounted on motor-cars. The German commanders apparently have been accumulating motor vehicles near the front in Belgium to enable tlw. rapid transport of troops from point to. point and so hurl unexpectedly hoavy bodies of men' against given positions. Presumably the Allies' air-scouts have been able in the past to give warning of these movements' and owing to the slowness with which they have been carried put (due to lack of rapid means of ■ transport) the Allied commanders have been in a position to frustrate them, With increased supplies of motor vehicles, supported by guns mounted on motor-cars, the Germans hope 'to establish a greater mobility than is possessed by the Allies. There is no reason to believe that they will be successful'in this. The Allies indeed should possess the advantage ••*« * ■ *

Defeated in his purpose of react ing Calais by' a tremendous onslaught by way of North-West Belgium, the Kaiser is said to have now turned his attention to a direct forward movement on Boulogne presumably by way of. Armcntieres. It will be recalled that up to a point north of Lille the Germans were pressed back out of France and their lines north of that position are well over in to the Belgium side of tho frontier. A few mites north of Lille however they turn into France and stretch away westwaxd in the direction •of Armcntieres. From here lies the short-cut route to Boulogne; If the German forces could break through the Allies' lines in this region they would in effect drive a wedge between the Allies' forces in Belgium and France, and could press, on towards the sea coast. But for weeks past _ the Kaiser's forces have been striving to do. this very .thing;"in the La Bassee region, south of Armcntieres, their attacks have been particularly violent; and to-day's news shows us that despite all this effort the Allies are more than holding their own. Elsewhere in France the Allies have here and there gained a little ground. Perhaps the most significant of these- advances is that in the vicinity of Vailly, near Soissons, where a' little more than a week ago the Germans had pressed the French lines back. Twice since then we have been told of the Kaiser's forces being compelled to yield some of the ground they have won at heavy cost. Further south in the Argonrie district and along the banks of the Meuse; and also in the Nancy region all goes"" well. Nowhere has the enemy improved hio position. ' ■'•''' **.*■*. The most important victory of. the war so far" as the Eastern operations' are concerned is the manner in which the Russian Commander-in-Chief describes the recent great success in Galicia/ This confirms the. impression gained from the messages which drifted through from day to. day describing the progress made in Poland and Galicia. According to the latest messages the German-Austro-Hungarian lines now extend from Thorn' to Cracow, that- is to say they have fallen back until they lie along the frontier of Russian Poland and stretching into Galicia —al'mojt duo north" and south. This is somewhat surprising as we had been led to believe that the enemy's forces willi.maroh further to \the east. It is stated that 3,000,000 men are ranged along this great front, 200 miles in extent, to Btem the onrushing Russian masses bent on the invasion of Germany. It is a huge force but the Russian Armies are still greater and we have had plenty of evidence of late that they are very hard to stop once they are set in motion.

SoV far as Turkey's part in the war is concerned there is little yet to record. _ The Turks are by no means a united nation on the question of war and many of the older and more experienced leaders have been striving to avert the calamity which they can see threatens their nation as the result of ( German machinations. To-day we are informed that the Gba'nd Viziek has been seeking to resign his.office but has been threatened with court-martial, or to put it more bluntly with death, if he dares to take the step. Plainly for the time being the German emissaries hold the supper hand and the Turks are being led or kicked to the sacrifice for the benefit of. Germany. The actual hostilities in which Turkey has been engaged are unimportant. A number 01 her vessels nave been sunk or captured; some of her ports have been bombarded and she has retaliated in kind. .Bigger events may be expected to follow, and with them may come the embroilment' of other Balkan States,