PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2330, 11 December 1914, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

The progress of the land operations in Belgium and North France, •and in Poland continues in favour of the Allies. Tho Germans, after a violent attack on the DixmudeYpres line, during which the French line was hard pressed for two days, have beerr repulsed, their lino bent back, and appreciable ground has been gained by the' Allies. Tho ascondancy of the Anglo-French troops in tho Oise, Aisno, and Argonne regions is well maintained, and fresh positions on, the heights of the Meuse have been gained.

Tk? JlflWß frnttt (.tic, IJiiiitm-n theatre of discloses determined at

tempt by the Germans to dominate tho military situation in Poland. Heavily reinforced by five army corps and five cavalry divisions from the West, the Germans have deployed their forces on an extensive front along the Vistula line, and by a secret and rapid transfer of troops to the North—an operation at which they are admitted adepts—are threatening the communications behind Warsaw by a raid from Mlawa. At the same time, they are making desperate attacks in the Piotrkow region, and havo unsuccessfully attempted to turn the Russian flank on the Cracow line. On the whole, the Russian commanders appea,r to liavo the situation well in liand.

A message which we publish to-day announces that a. Portuguese Expeditionary Force has sailed for Angola, the Portuguese possession in West Africa, whioh was recently invaded by the Germans. An apology has been sent from Berlin to Lisbon for this act of aggression, but Portugal evidently thinks that all possibility of trouble has not yet been removed.

The army of Portugal is a militia raised by conscription. It consists of the active army, the reserve, and the territorial army. _ The active army is made up of thirty-five regiments of three battalions, eleven cavalry regiments of four squadrons, and eight field artillery regiments. The peace establishment of the active army has been fixed of late years at 30,000 men. The total effective'force on a war inclusive of reservists, municipal guards, and fiscal guards, is something about 180,000 men. The reserve army is to consist of thirty-five ■ regiments of infantry, eight, squadrons of cavalry, and- twenty-four field batteries, with other units. Portugal's navy does not make a big show. .It' comprised in 1910 one armoured vessel, five protected cruisers, tw ; o third-class cruisers, 19 gunboats, one torpedo gunboat, four torpedo-boats, 16 river gunboats, four transports, and three training ships. Twelve other vessels, including two submarines, were under construction. Tho whole fleet was manned by about 5000 men.' It is said that orders for the construction of a new squadron were placed with a British syndicate last year, but have not been proceeded with. The arm of the Portuguese infantry is the Mauser-Vcrgueiro, a magazine weapon. The field artillery is being rearmed with Schneider Canet gutis. **•.#■•* The Kaiser is said to be seriously ill. Tho strain of the-war appears to have been too much for him, and the terrible responsibility which rests on his shoulders has made him extremely nervous and irritable. He has made a great bid for world domination, and he knows that failure must mean ruin to his country and would probably result in bis own downfall. Things have not gone well with, his plans. The outlook is black and the situation desperate. Ho cannot . draw back,, ' and yet every isi adding to the perils which surround him. He is in a position, similar to that described by Shakespeare in Macbeth : '

For mino own good All causes 6hall give way: lam in blood Stepp'd in so far, that, should I wade no

more. Returning were aa tedious as go 0 er. Strange things I have in head that will . to hand, Which must bo acted ero they may bo

scanned. No ono can tell what would happen in tho event of the Kaiser's death, and it is useless to speculate about the matter. It must also be remembered that the Emperor of Austria is very old and feeble. His death was actually' announced shortly after the commencement of the war. The report was subsequently denied, but the defeats of his armies and the sufferings of his people must_ have been a great trial to him, and in his present precarious state of health he may not be able to\ stand the strain much longer. * ■* * * The announcement- that three vessels of the German Pacific Fleet have been sunk in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands by the British Squadron under Vice-Admiral Sir F. 0. D. Sturdee is great news for the Empire. The splendid exploit of the Australian cruiser Sydney in putting an encl to the marauding career of the Emden did a good deal.' to ensure jtho safety of our trade routes, but it was' impossible for our merchantmen to' feel secure as long as it was known that a number or other raiders were roving the oceans with the object" of destroying our commerce. Three of these raiders— the Scharnhorst, tho Gnoiseriau, and the Leipzig—have now been sent _to the bottom of the sea, and British warships are in hot pursuit of two others—the Nurnberg and Dresden. As' these two vessels appear to havo actually taken part in the engagement, it may be taken for granted that their thereabouts is known, and that fast British cruisers with sufficient gun power to deal effectively with them are very close on their heels! News' that they have been captured or sunk may be received at any moment., That would leave only the Karlsruhe and the Bremen, and ono or two armed merchantmen to bo disposed of in order to clear the oceans of the enemy's warships and to mako tho trade routes quite safe for the merchant ships of Britain and her Allies. The victory at the Falkland Islands is extremely welcome news to tho pcoplo'of Australia and New Zealand, whose prosperity depends so largely' upon the safe transit of their oxports to. the United Kingdom. ' ■* K * * '

The Scharnhorst, Leipzig, and Gneisenau . were fast, up-to-date, modern vessels, and their loss will be a great blow to Germany. Her commerce was practically swept from the seas at the outset of the l struggle, and her only compensation consisted in tho knowledge that a number of her warships were scouring the oceans in search of the trading ships of hor enemies. They certainly succeeded in doing a considerable amount of damage, and our losses caused great exultation' in Berlin'; but when compared with the enormous number of British merchantmen continually on tho high seas the number that has fallen into the hands of the foe is almost insignificant. Many people have at times been somewhat impatient with the naval authorities, and have felt that our bu peri or sea-power should have cleared the oceans of the , enemy's ships long before this; but it is always unsafe to pronounce judgment on such a point until all tho relevant facts aro available, and it is unreasonable to expect the Admiralty to disclose its plan of operations. Some time' ago wo were assured that the Navy had the situation well in hand, and the victory off tho Falkland Islands is no' doubt tiro qufownw irtntwi ittttigts?" died. In tae meantime we suffered..

a reverse off Valparaiso owing to our ships being taken at a disadvantage, but that disaster has been fully avenged. The smallness of our casualties indicates that the British gunnery wa-s exceptionally good, and that our ships were more than a match for the enemy's vessels in gun power. It seems to have been a very decisive victory. a * * * Now that the Emden, the Scharnhorst, the Leipzig, and tbo Gneisonau have boon disposed of, a strong fleet of British warships will be available for the work of sweeping the rest of the enemy's tressels from the seas, and making the trade routes almost as free, from danger as far as our merchantmen are concerned as in times of peace. This will bo a magnificent achiovoment, and will put to utter confusion that short-sighted section of the British public which has fought so hard to keep down the expenditure on the Navy. The present war has proved conclusively that the price we _ pay for the command of the soa is trivial when compared with the enormous interests which are* safeguarded by the supremacy of our Fleet. * * * * The outsider sometimes sees such facts as these more clearly than we do ourselves. In showing how splendidly the British Navy haß justified its existence in the present struggle, the New York World recently pointed out that our Navy has swept Geririany's commerce from tho face of the waters;" held the British • trade routes open, and bottled up the enemy's fleet.- It has made possible the landing of the Expeditionary; Force in Franco, the sending of reinforcements and supplies, and the bringing of troops from India, Canada, Australia, andelsewhere. "The British certainly 'have no cause to complain," says the New Torh World,. ' when they balance the books. . .The advantages have beon incalculable; and tho cost in money and men has been small. What' are half-a-dozen second-rate cruisers, or half-a-dozen Dreads noughts for -that matter, in comparison with the military and commercial dividends which _ the Navy has paid the Empire within the last ten weeks?" This striking tribute to the work of the Navy has been emphasised by the destruction of the Emden, and the latest victory off the Falkland Islands. Up to the present time, so far as can bo ascertained in the absence of official data, no fower than' 46 of the enemy's fighting vessels have been disposed of, whereas only sixteen British vessels havo been lost.