PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2337, 19 December 1914, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

The pith of the war news to-day is that the Allies are opening a vigorous offensive in the West much earlier than was contemplated in their original plans. Instead of marking time in Belgium, or being content with slow progress, in order to mass their forces and institute a vigorous offensive in the spring, they have elected to press forward at once, making it their immediate object to clear the country of its German invaders with the least possible delay. This is no doubt an adjustment to' altered circumstances which upon the whole make distinctly in favour of the Allies. For a time the Germans were enabled to pursue the policy of a vigorous offensive in both the Western and Eastern theatres of war, but since their progress was arrested at the Battle of the Marne they have not only been forced back into Belgium in the North, but have been checked all along the Western line. Fierce fighting Ms, of course, continued all the while, but it' is not the less true that from end to end of the Western line the Germans are either firmly held or have been driven back in many places for a long distance. Their offensive has collapsed, and at many points has degenerated into a purely, defensive movement. There have been rumours of their concentrating troops at this or that point with intent to break the Allied line in Belgium, or Northern France, but these stories have been discredited one after another by definite announcements showing that the Allies aro gaining ground all along the line.

Checked on the Western front, the Germans have also been placed at a disadvantage by being compelled by the Russian atlvanco to concentrate their main efforts in the East, with tho result that in Polandand Galicia their'operations arc still entitled to the description of a vigorous offensive. At tho northern end of their line, in the Mlawa region, they have been driven back to positions in, or very close to, thc/r own territory, but further south" the_ opposing forces aro engaged on a lino which tineas HHHJS3- !.wenty=(ivf, milea weal pi^rflftl v jt.hun L d^g| I jiUoa..oii wqjq

within Russian territory. Still further south, in Galicia, the Russians are-threatened by a combined movement of German and Austrian forces. There _is nothing to suggest that the position of tho Russians is at all precarious, but they are unmistakably bearing tho brunt of very heavy attacks along a great part of their battlc-linc, and no doubt _the_ forward movement now being initiated by tho Anglo-French armies on the Western front is inspired in part by a desire to relievo the pressure bearing on their Russian Allies. * # » » The decision of tho Allies to push forward immediately, instead of marking time with a view to a spring campaign, is rendered possi■ble in the first instance because their preparations are in a much more advanced state than might reasonably havo been expected. French first-line regiments retired from the battle-line for a period of rest have recuperated in less than the allotted time, and a etill more important factor is,tho rapid progress of tho Territorial units of Lord Kitchener's New Army. No doubt every week of additional training will increase the efficiency of these troops, but a number of the regiments have already been tested under the severest possible conditions, and havo borno themselves with the steadfast courage of veterans. It follows that it is possible to at once multiply tho strength of the British Army in the field, and tho period of waiting is accordingly reduced.

The Commanders of the Allied Acmiesfhave decided upon a course which they would certainly not have risked had they not been fully confident of the quality of the troops at their disposal. The task of sweeping the_ Germans out of Belgium is one which will impose an enormous strain upon the attacking armies. Apart from the hardships inseparable from_ winter campaigning, the Germans h'ave prepared a double line of defences to stem tho progress of their foes. They have laboured for months past upon the line of fortified entrenchments running south from Antwerp and upon the second line along the Meuse, and it goes without saying that they have spared no effort to make these positions as nearly as possible impregnable. It would be a mistake, however, to attach too much importance to these fortified entrenchments; strong as they doubtless are. The experience of the war up to the present time has been that fortifications arc incapable of resisting' for any length of time the battering assault of heavy artillery, and the Germans, who have profited by the fact hitherto, will in all likelihood find the position reversed when they themselves are defending fortified positions against the advancing Allied Armies. Much encouragement- is to be drawn from the fact that it has been repeatedly reported of late that the artillery of the Allies, competing on even terms with that of the Germans, has established a decided superiority. As to the human factor, there can be no question'at all. Tho soldiers of tho Allied Armies have demonstrated in a long succession of encounters that they are better men than their German bp-

ponents, alike in firmly' repelling attacks and in winning new ground at tho point' of the bayonet. Their task of expelling the invaders from Belgium will necessarily bo long and toilsome, but thoro is no reason to doubt that their efforts will be crowned with victory. . * # * * Details of fighting in the West show that the Allies are gaining ground at many points, both in West Flanders.and in France. The Germans have been forced back alike on tho north coast of Belgium (where the naval bombardment of the German positions at Westende is reported to have been fatally effective) and in those parts of North France which they still occupy. The' detail news is, in fact, a catalogue of Allied successes and gains, which have resulted in driving the Germans appreciably nearer Eo their own country. * #. # K Accounts of the operations in Western Galicia suggest a' distinct possibility that the Austrians and some_ of their German Allies aro rushing headlong into a carefullybaited Russian trap. A great effort is being made to envelop the Russian southern flank. " Austrian columns are pouring over the Dukla Pass, in the Carpathians, southeast of Cracow, and it is stated that no fewer 1 than 110,000 Austro-Ger-mans have recently cfossed the Carpathian Passes. General Hindenberg, the German Commander, now has some 800,000 men on the Polish and is co-operating with, the Austrian movement in the south. It is - - recorded that the Russian Com-mander-in-Chief (the Grand Duke Nicholas) has reported the fact of the Austro-German advance without comment, and that military opinion endorses his attitude of complete equanimity. The circumstances, so far as they are visible, support thiscomfortable view of the position.

The interest of the situation centres in the southern operations. In the North, the Russians have driven back the enemy, and in Central Poland they appear to be fighting on fairly even terms. In Gahcia the Austro-Germans hope, as stated, to execute a flanking movement, but it is more than likely that they are unduly optimistic. The Russians, as the Austrians themselves admit,, are still advancing on the Carpathian valleys twenty miles west of the Dukla Pass, through which the Austrian columns are pouring. The Russians are in a comfortable position to manoeuvre, and can no doubt bring as many troops into the battle-line as may be necessary. They have deliberately taken up' their position on the plains north of the mountains rather than air tempt to penetrate ,the passes at the present time. Under the circumstances the Austro-Germans are more likely to be defeated in a decisive action on the plains than to succeed in outflanking the Russians, and they might perhaps have been wiser to content themselves with holding the passes rather than run the risk of being rushed through them as a beaten army, with the Russians hard on their heels.

Apart from the operations north of thc i mountains, there is a distinct possibility that the Russians may at any time force a passage/' through the Mezo Laborcz' valleys, upon which they are" now advancing, and take the Austrians in tho rear in the passes through which they aro now pouring so enthusiastically into Galicia. The whole situation is rich with possibilities, and a number of them are anything but happy from the Austrian point of view.

A 9 might be-vei b*«s sssper.tetl, tbo

upon undefended towns on the coast of England has aroused a storm of indignation in< neutral countries. Rome newspapers have severely censured the bombardment of defenceless towns, and the Wall Street Journal, of New York, dealing with the subject more pointedly, describes the bombardment as an act of cowardly, murderous malice, which will do Germany more harm than good. That unquestionably will be the judgment of the 'whole civilised world. Some feeble attempts have been made, by the German naval' attache in America amongst others, to explain away the crime on a plea that tho towns wero defended. All that need be said about this statement is that it is untrue. The German squadron bombarded a number of towns of which only one was defended, and when a prospect of fighting arose it decamped. That in a nutshell is the story of as infamous a raid as' was ever launched under the guise of war.

' * * * * The recent refusal of Envrr Bey to accept the command of the # Turkish armies in the Caucasus is now accounted for by the announcement that ho is to command the forces in Asia Minor. A correspondent of the Daily Mail recently declared that probably no man in Europe l —unless it were the German Emperor himself—had attained to so much notoriety on so small a basis of talent as Ekver Pasha. To-day he figures 1 as the man who has plunged Turkey into a suicidal war with the Allies. Six years ago, posing as a "Hero of Liberty," he started with Niaza Bey the revolution which was to overthrow the despotism of Abdul Hamid and inaugurate Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity within the Ottoman Empire, and peace with the rest of the . world. Since then Turkey has engaged in two disastrous wars, and is entering upon a third. A prominent figure in the Young Turkey Party, Enver Bey has never been anything better than a pliant tool and mouthpiece of Germany, and the result for Turkey is the doom which now stares her in the face.

Being fast enmeshed in the toils of German intrigue, it seems that the unfortunate Ottoman Empire is not to be allowed even a nominal voice in the conduct of its own military and naval affairs. FieldMabshal von : dee Goltz, it is announced, has been appointed military commander of Constantinople, and "Acting-War Minister" (in other words, no doubt, military dictator). 'A German Admiral becomes "temporary Marino Minister." No doubt by the time Marshal von der Goltz and his naval colleague have acted their temporary parts, poor Turkey will stand in little enough need of either military o,r naval administrators. Side by side with the announcement of these appointments comes the news that a number of Turkish 'officers have committed suicide at Adrianople, where tho troops are suffering for lack of provisions. General demoralisation and despair, and tho elevation of German conspirators and their protegees, seems to epitomise the history of Turkey these days. * * * * Amidst such an • accumulation of Ottoman misfortunes -the final loss of Egypt, now declared a British Protectorate, will presumably but add another drop to an overflowing cup.- Apart from Turkish woes, however, the.fact that such a step should be possible; in a state of war, and when the country is menaced with invasion, is the best possible proof that the British authorities are loyally supported by the people whom they are taking efficient measures to protect. Evidently' the Egyptian nation is not inclined to mourn the ■ departure of the Khedive.