PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2344, 29 December 1914, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

The daring nnwil raid upon Cuxhaven, which is reported to-day, is no doubt a couiiter-strb'ke to the raid by German chiisers, and should do something to shake the confidence of the- Germans in the elaborate defences which are intended to provide safe harbourage for their ileet. Tho raid was at all events a daring exploit which will add to the renown of tho British Navy. _ The facts, tersely stated in ail Admiralty announcement, are that a small British . flotilla crossed the .North Sea. and having penetrated the mouth of tho Elbej launched a flight of seaplanes against the warships lying in Cuxhaven roads. Tho attack appears to have been a comparatively leisurely affair, and was remarkablo alike for tho courage and address exhibited by tho units of the British ■flotilla. * *■ * is The flotilla consisted of the lighfi cruisers Arethusa. and Undaunted* arid a riuinber 6f destroyers and,submarines. It escaped the minefields with Which the German coastal waters are presumably SstreWn as successfully as the German squadron which recently raided the English i coast did those of tho North Sea,

Here, however, tho parallel ceases. Instead of bombarding undefended towns 011 an open coast, the British flotilla, penetrated far into tho defended area within which the German fleet is sheltering, and in doing so dared a thousand dangers. The passage across the North Sea was made oy night, and the route chosen probably lay south of Heligoland. Displaying any enterprise at all, tho Germans should have had little difficulty in cutting off the British flotilla. Cuxhaven, tho point of attack, is situated at the extremity of the west side of the mouth of the Elbe, nearly opposite the' mouth of the Kiel Canal. The harbour is good and secure, but as the depth of water is only 26 feet it is unable to accommodate large warships. The place, however, is strongly fortified, and, as tho cablegram indicates, it is used as a port lor some of the lighter naval flotillas. Cuxhaven is about 35 miles south-east of Heligoland, and tho same distance north-east of Wilhelmshavenj the principal German naval harbour. * * * * Assuming that the British flotilla passed south of Heligoland it must ha-ve crossed a line tho extremities of which are occupied by Heligoland and Wilhelmshaven. Cuxhaven lies twenty-five miles beyond this line. Heligoland is the base of destroyer and submarine flotillae, with their parent light cruisers, and Wilhelmshaven is the present lurking-place of the Gorman battle-fleet. With theso enormous forces at command, the Germans did nothing more effective .than to dispatch a couple- of Zeppelins, four seaplanes, and a number of submarines, from Heligoland, to attack the raiding squadron. Doubtless thoy feared to send out any of their larger shipa lest they should find a minor raid developing into a fleet action, and they also_ had to consider the British submarines, but it certainly says very little for their enterprise and courage that they allowed the British flotilla to deliver its attack and get away practically unscathed. Probably the real fear ' behind the inaction of the German fleet was the suspicion that the fighting ships of the British Fleet were not far away. * * # * Even the staid Admiralty account condescends to describe the combat in Cuxhaven roads as novel. While its own seaplanes were away_ attacking the German warships in Cuxhaven roads, the British squadron had to resort to some lively manoeuvring to escape tho attentions of hostile submarines, Zeppelins, and seaplanes. The fast light cruisers apparently had no difficulty in evading the submarines, and it is even more interesting to note that they easily drove off the Zeppelins. This will strengthen the impression that theso unwieldly aircraft have in the past been greatly over-rated, and that their actual fighting qualities arc poor. The bombs dropped by the German seaplanes were also successfully evaded, though this attack was evidently pressed with more vigour than that of the Zeppelins. What measure of success attended the British seaplanes bombarding the German ships in the roads is not stated, but though four"bf tho aircraft ttcre destroyed, all save one of the aviators were brought iiway safely.

Full details of the engagement will furnish interesting information as to the fighting qualities of some "of the latest productions of the British naval designers. The Arethusa aud Undaunted are light cruisers of the very latest type, and both had graduated with honour in earlier engagements. . The Arethusa playedthe leading role iii the brief but spirited action at Heligoland in August last, .and the Undaunted, assisted by four British destroyers, engaged and sank four German destroyers which were encountered off the coast of Holland. The cruisers are sister ships of a.type which has some twelve representatives in the British Navy. With a displacement of 3750 tons, these craft draw about 13 feet of water and steam at a speed of 29 knots. They are lightly / armoured and heavily armed. The arjnour is a deep belt of a maximum thickness of three inches, and the armament consists of two 6in. and eight 4in. guns, and two twin torpedo tubes discharging the largest and most powerful torpedoes now made.

Some doubts have been expressed by naval experts as to the value and' utility of these light arid speedy cruisers, but the exploits of the Arethusa at Heligoland, of the Undaunted on the nigh seas, and of both Bhips in the attack upon Ciixhaven roads, should do a good deal to settle doubts in their favour. They have demonstrated that there is work for light and speedy .cruisers in the waters surrounding the Motherland, as well as for more heavily-armoured craft, and that they are. capable of doing it in a most effective fashion. The British seaplanes, which played so prominent a part in the raid, aro mostly small and handy machines, intended to perform short flights and to be controlled by one man. Considering that they were operating in face of strong harbour fortifications, which no dolibt contain anti-o.ircral'b guns, and the guns of .warships, tbs seven seaplanes engaged at Cuxhaven appear to have carried through a very daring adventure.

The raid is a beginning which may easily lead to much greater things. Hitherto the prospects of "digging out" the German fleet have been refarded as remote, but; the enterprising dash of the light flotilla has opened up new possibilities, and, regarded as a reconnaissance alone, its successful accomplishment must be of great, value to the British naval, authorities. It is not at all unlikely that the raid bh Cuxhaveh roads may be followed .by other attacks in greater force, and meantime the Germans have been taught a useful lesson. Their shipping, swept from the seas, they have learned that their fleet is not necessarily .altogether safe even in its fortified. home ports.

It will not be at all surprising if tho Russians are shortly enabled to embark upon a vigorous forward movoment in Poland, as they are already doing in G'alicia. Tho only itussian check reported to-day is the recapture by the Germans of Mlawa (close to the East Prussian border)* which marks the northern termination of the battle-lines. Elsewhere throughout their front of nearly 300 miles matters appear to be going uniformly well with tho Russians. South of the Lower Vistula they are ninefcy miles away from the German frontier, but it becomes increasingly evident that they have completely arrested the German offensive, which, in its early vigour, swept them back from tho frontier The intense eagerness of the Germans to; push their offensive, on to .Warsaw ,b evidenced in their feckless sacrifice of lite in the rccimt fighting on the Bzura. Another striking detail is the fact that they brought e eveniiich guns into play. The transportation of »uch heavy, ordnance

through tho marshes bordering the ' Bzura must havo been terribly laborious, and the guns have failed to serve their intended purpose. The Germans aro firmly held in check, and the river is commanded at all vital crossings by tho Russian artillery. * * * * Nothing is heard of the fighting along the fifty-mile front running south from Mlawa to the junction of the Bzura with the Vistula, but heavy fighting is reported on the Pilica, south of the Mira, and still further south on the Nida, which joins the Upper Vistula forty miles east of Cracow. In these southern regions tho Russians, aro fighting their way forward. The battle on tho Pilica. seems to be indecisive as yet, but the Austrians have been driven across the Nida in the direction of Cracow. Since the above was written a late message shows that the Russians have advanced on the northern bank of the Lower Vistula to within thirty miles of the German fortress of Thorn. * * » * On the sixty-mile front in Galicia, also, the Russians are pushing ahead. The Austrians are reported to have sustained defeat in Northern Galicia, and also in the southern areas, adjoining the Carpathians, where the Russians hold a line some fifteen miles north-east of the Dukla Pass, through which Austro-German forces entered Gaiicia a Week or two ago. The broad foositioh seems to be that while the German army has been wasting its strength .in efforts to pierce the Russian line on the Bzura, and force its way to Warsaw, the weak southern extremity of the Austro-German line has been unable to withstand the pressure of the Russian onset. If it gives way, the road to Cracow and to the frontier of Silesia would, again lie open to ihe Russian armies. In these circumstances, it seems impossible that the main German force can much longer maintain its position in Central Poland (along the Bzura), where it has already . been ' brought to a standstill, and highly probable that the tide of war will shortly again sweep towards, the Easfc German frontier. * * * * "Many insurances have been effected in London at five per cent, for six months against the risk of Italy intervening against the Russian] Allies, and at thirty per cent, for one month and sixty per cent, for six months, against the risk of Italy joining the Allies." So runs a cablegram from London, and it means that the underwriters and the public generally who interest themselves in such speculations are strongly of opinion that Italy is likely to enter the war, and that the chances of her joining the Allien are at least twelve times greater than the chances of her joining Germany and Austria, The fact that insurances have been effected at such a heavy rate as thirty per cent, for ono month against the contingency of Italy joining the Allies shows that the probability of her following this course is regarded as imminent.