The Dominion. THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 1915. FIVE MONTHS OF WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2352, 7 January 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 1915. FIVE MONTHS OF WAR

"We have been at war for five months," says the London Times, and are only beginning the task." J-he latter part of this statement need not be taken too literally. The writer no,doubt wishes to emphasise the fact that the end of the struggle is not yet in sight, and that fr ,t n Em P lr © will have to put forth all its strength to ensure victory. A dispassionate review of the happenings of tho last five' months on land and sea shows that Britain and her Allies have solid grounds tor satisfaction at the march of events. . They have made very real progress towards the achievement of the tremend9us task set before them. We have learned something of tho great power and resources of the enemy, and we have also realised tnat in the desperate struggle in which we are engaged we must expect to suffer setere losses. But while our losses have been heavy, the losses of. the enemy have been enormously greater. The Empire enters upon the New Year with renewed determination to fight to a tinishj however long that finish may bq delayed, and with unshaken conncience in its staying power. Up to j? P£ esen k the _Allies nave undoubtedly had the {iesfc of the encounter. They have more than held their own, and time is on their side. Germany has not yet been vitally hurt. Her final defeat may yet be a long way off. Too much attention must not be paid to tho rumours that she on the verge of collapse, but there are unmistakable signs that the strain of the gigantic struggle is telling its tale. The economic pressure must be extremely severe, anU it is increasing day by day', and tho colossal losses of the Germans and Austrians on the battlefield cannot be continued indefinitely. The Kaiser and his advisers are finding it increasingly difficult to. conceal the true position from the nation: The belief in the invincibility of the German Army is being rudely shaken. Austria's position is certainly growing desperate, and the outlook has bc£ome_so gloomy that no serious attempt is now being made to conceal the nation's; dismay. > Tie New Year has opened dismally for Austria. The Heichspost admits that the .country is fighting a,gainst the over-whelming-forces in men and money of nations whose fleets and forts command the sea and the traffic with many neutral States. Another Vienna newspaper declares that "the sun shines no longer; the mountain of losses rises higher and higher." The last lino of ! reservists is being called out, and medical examination is to be waived.

A message from New York states that there is a recrudescence of jjeaoe talk in financial circles. It is said to be based on. correspondence ■ and admissions by German financiers that the ruling powers in Germany know that they cannot win. Some weeks ago .a distinguished banker belonging to a neutral country, who haa just spent seven weeks in Germany, stated that Germans of his own class realised that their country had been plunged into "a tragic and pathetic adventure," and that the great industrialists of Rhineland and Westphalia were depressed and melanoholy. "These are men who cannot be deluded by official optimism and bluster." They know that the German scheme of conquest has failed. When hostilities began the General. Staff told them that the German Armies would smash France within ' three weeks and then deliver a knock-out blow to Russia before the Tsar's forces had time to complete their mobilisation. Belgium would only offer the resistance of sullenness, while England would not come in at all. Every one of these assurances has been falsified by events. Things have gone terribly wrong, and German industrial leaders are convinced that "the prolongation of .the war into months and years must spell eventual ruin." But the recognition of these facts is not likely to stop the' war, for the Germans know that the alternative to victory is national disaster. They must fight on in the hope that by so doing they may secure better terms, and it is .foolish to imagine that their resources in men or money are yet exhausted. The Allies have done great things during _ the past five months, but they will have to do stilly greater things before they can expect to conquer their powerful foe. Some people are disappointed at the slow progress which the Allies are making in France and Belgium. After the Germans had been flung back from Paris sensational developments were expected, and there was some talk about the war being over before the close of last year. But there was very little justification for any such belief. Yet the Allies have done, and are doing, extremely well. Their plans have not failed. They are 'steadily maintaining a tremendous pressure on the enemy, and, as Was pointed out in a cablegram in yesterday's issue, they are not losing time, for it Is their object to wear out Germany in this way. A military expert recently stated that the stonewalling tactics of the Allies in the Western theatre of war are of the greatest value.; They are exhausting the Germans in continual combat, wearing out the enemy's military machine, and giving Russia the opportunity she seeks. We are told that there will be sensational happenings in the coming spring. Both sides are preparing to strike with renewed vigour, and the world may witness stupendous events. Meanwhile we have no reasonable ground for dissatisfaction regarding the progress which is being made by the • Allied Armies. And all the while Germany 'is being gradually stifled by the naval blockade. After five months of war we can say that instead of the enemy wearing down our superiority we have increased his inferiority. This is how Mn, Archibald Sued summed up the position after the first three months, and it is equally true to-day. Mn. Hunp goes on to remark that we have every day about 4000 §hips moving o nthe oceans; we have hundreds of transports bringing to our aid the military strength of the distant portions of the Empire; we have maintained our _ postal and telegraphic communications with the utmost psi't-s of tbs envfch, "All the»« muwfits the enema save ataadcradd;

they have evacuated the seas." In the face of these facts we have no grounds for pessimism. While Germany's foreign commerce, which amounted in imports and exports to over £1,000,000,000 last year, has been almost tliQ trade of the British Empire is going on very much as usual. As regards New Zealand's exports the Prime Minister tells us that "we are going to beat last season's figures this year, and last season was a particularly good one." And yet the Empire is in the midst of the greatest war. in human history!