PROGRESS OF THE WAR

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

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

It is about time that the Admiralty made a definite statement regarding the fate of the super-Dread-nought Audacious. Rumours that the ship had-been sunk" by a mine, on October 27, off the north coast of Ireland, were afloat nearly two months ago, and some of the late American papers contain photographs of the Audacious witn her decks almost awash._ There can be no doubt that the ship was damaged, and badly damaged, but her ultimate fate remains something of a mystery, and it is difficult to assign any adequate reason for the continued silence of the Admiralty on tho subject. It has recently been suggested that the Audacious is probably in dock at Belfast, and if this is true it would account in a measure for the secrecy observed. Ordinary prudence would suggest that tho operation of conveying the crippled ship to Belfast should be carried out as far as possible in secret. This once accomplished, however, tho need for further secrecy would presumably depart, unless, indeed, the Admiralty nas decided to say nothing about the Audacious until she has Deen restored to her place in the Grand Fleet. This is pure supposition, but the silence or the Admiralty is hopeful rather than otherwise. Since the war began" the Navy has lost two pre-Dreadnought battleships, besides a number of cruisers and other craft, and each such loss has been frankly and promptly announced. The fact that no such, announcement has been made in the case of the Audacious strongly suggests that she has been damaged only and not destroyed.

The Turks in . Trans-Caucasia seem to have suffered a serious disaster for the reported capture of a whole Turkish Army Corps at Sarikamysb. necessarily assumes other heavy losses and lends colour to the assertion of the Russians that they, are pursuing a routed enemy. Whether or not they are on the eve of being expelled from Trans-Caucasia (ana probably a number of battles will have to be fought before that is accomplished) such hints as are given in late messages suggest that the Turks embarked upon a. very enterprising campaign m this region. Messages of a week or two ago indicated that Turkish forces had been defeated in.the region of Lake Van in Asia Minor. The northernmost point of this lake is fifty miles south of the Russian frontier, and in view' of_tho he-avy fighting that haa been going on in the Russian territory of Kara it may be taken for granted that the opera'tion§"*in ' the neighbourhood of Lake Tan were comparatively unimportant. No doubt some Russian troops . managed to work their way south through the rough and broken mountain country, but it is now clear that the bulk of the Russiab armies in the Caucasus have been engaged throughout on their own side of the frontier. » * * *

The territory of Kars, formerly a Turkish possession, consists of about five thousand square miles of mountainous country, lying in the south-western portion of Trans-Oau-casia, immediately north of the present ; Russo-Turkish frontier. Its western border runs parallel with the coast of the .Black Sea, which is about 45 miles distant. The fortified city of Kars, the capital of the territory, stands about fifty miles away from the Turkish frontier, and about 100 miles north-east of Erzerum in Asia Minor. Sarikamysh, which has given its name to a long-continued and obstinately contested battle is in the territories of Kars about 15 miles from the | frontier. "Ardagan," also mentioned as the locality of a Turkish defeat, is probably Ardahan, which lies thirty miles north-east of the city of Kars and forty-five miles from the nearest point on the Turkish frontier. Olti, also, mentioned,is the name of a town, thirty miles north-east of Sarikamvsh and about one mile away from the frontier, and of a river rising in Asia Minor and running north through Trans-Cauoasia,. * * * * The Turks thus seem to be operating on a long curving line with its convex side approaching and all but touching the frontier at Olti, its northern extremity at Ardahan, which is 45 miles from s the frontier, and its southern extremity at Sarikamysh, 15 miles from the frontier. Ardahan and Sarikamysh are 45 miles apart and a line connecting them would run almost north and south. It would probably be erroneous to suppose, however, that the Turks are operating on a continuous battle-line such as exists in both the European theatres of war. In the mountainous regions of the Caucasus operations i in this shape are doubtless impossible and it is reasonable to' suppose that the Turks have forced the frontier at a number of widely separated points, though their different Armies will be, of course, to an extent interdependent. * * * * This is indicated in some of the later messages which state that the desperate tenacity with which the Turks defended Sarikamysh (where the Russians captured tho whole of the Turkish Ninth Army Corps) was due to a desire to enable their comrades in the Ardahan and Olti districts to retire. These latter forces are described as desperately seeking an outlet' through passes deep in snow. The available particulars'are insufficient to afford a comprehensive view 'of the operations in TransCaucasia, but the messages, as far as they go, indicate that the Turks, having advanced boldly into Russian territory, are aow faring very badly in their invasion. The big capture at Sarikamysh is confirmed and it is mentioned that most of the trophies (presumably guns and material) arc of German manufacture. The defeat of tho Turks at Sarikamysh, taken in conjunction with the difficulties of the Turkish troops further north, indicates that the Russians arc gaining the uffper hand all along the line. Some time ago it was predicted that they would elect to fight a defensive campaign in the Cau- «■»««(•. (iacl oh .pv<iwnt tho phcy is sosktug out mil

A very important point is contained in the statement that the Russians hold the main roads and almost surround the Turks, who are retreating from Ardahan. While the Turks have undoubtedly been enterprising, it is more than likely that the_ Russians have. !n some places, deliberately led them on, so a-s to fight on familiar ground and profit by their knowledge of the country. Their possession of the main roads suggests that they have already turned these advantages to account. No doubt, also, winter campaigning in the mountains is much less a hardship to them than to the Turks, who are aocustomed to a milder climate.

Further details of the capture of Steinbach by the Frenoh show that it was so obstinately defended by the Germans as to suggest that they attachod considerable importance to its possession. The German defenders of the place resorted to their old trick of using a shield of civilians, but_ apparently the only result was to inspire a French bayonet charge which cost the Germans dear. After losing Steinbach the Germans coun-ter-attacked with spirit, but their final fate was a pell-mell retreat in which they accidentally blew up their own ammunition reserve.

The advanoe; culminating in the capture of _ Steinbach and Cernav {or Sennheim as the Germans call it) has carried the French about five miles eastward of Thann in Southern Alsace. Steinbach stands three miles east and a little north of Thann, and Cernay is about four and a half miles due east of Thann and a little over eleven miles west-north-west . of Mulhausen. Thd French success thus macks the-most rapid advance which the Allies have made for a long time past at any point on the Western line. The French forces in this quarter are now some 10 or 12 miles on the German side of tho frontier.

Bad weather has been restricting activities along the Western line, but, apart from the important success of the French in Alsace, _ the Allies record a number of' minor gains and "seem practically everywhere to be comfortably holding their own. The Germans claim minor successes north of Arras and state that they repulsed French attacks in the Argonne. The Allies, on the other hand, have advanced a few hundred yards from their position at St. Georges (near the Belgian coast) and silenced German batteries at .many points in Belgium. It is mentioned, too, that the Germans were ousted from a quarry in the region of St. Mihiel, west of son. The bare intimation very probably ' relates to a considerable achievement, for both in France and Belgium many quarries have been eagerly utilised by the contending armies and converted into strong fortifications. The positions near St. Mihiel are in the southern part of the curving line which connects Verdun with Pont-a-Mousson. Other reports state that, the artillery of the Allies is proving superior at Perthes a®nd other places in the neighbourhood of Mesnil-les-Hurlus. about midway, between Reims ana Verdun. This superiority of the Allies' artillery is likely to be a big factor in future operations.

Little 'fresh light is thrown toI day ujjon the progress of the campaign in Poland a'ndGalicia. Mention is made of fighting - on ;the left bank of the Vistula, but there is_ a disappointing absence of, details which would show -how the situation is developing. The reference doubtless is to the advance, which the Russians were recently reported to he contemplating,- from Plock, on the Lower Vistula, towards the ■ ThornLowicz railway. German accounts state that there is no change in East Prussia and that they are'progressing in the Bzura and- Rawka (west of Warsaw)j although unfavourable is impeding ' the movements. The progress probably, does not amount to much, for the Germans can accomplish nothing of moment until they have crossed the rivers named, at which all their attacks have so far been repulsed with heavy loas. x In Galicia, also, there seems to be an absence of important developments.

* . According to the American Ambassador at Berlin, British colonial subjects are treated by the Germans witn greater consideration than they accord to other.'Britishers. No doubt this discrimination owes its origin to the flattering hopes once entertained by the Germans that the outbreak of war would produce discord between the component units of the British Empire. Probably by this time they must have almost realised .that there is only one British sentiment towards Germany, whether those who harbour it hail from the Mother Country or from overseas.

Not long ago a German newitpaper had some very cutting things to say about the British as a decadent people unduly given to football ana other profitless sports. This was a remarkably weak line of attack for probably no section of the British community, in the Mother Country and in tne I)ominions, has contributed a more liberal tide of volunteers for the front than that devoted to sports of one kind or another. A late example of the fact is to be found in the statement mado bv the secretary of the New South Wales Rugby Union that at least half the players attached to that body have joined the colours. It. is mentioned that swimming, boxing, and other forms of sport have been' heavily hit and are daily being weakened by enlistments. Much the same state of affairs exists in New Zealand and no doubt in Great Britain and other parts of the Empire. It is probably not too much to say that the devotion of the British' nation to sport does more than any other single factor to compensate for its lack of ordered military preparation, and it also goes a long way towards accounting for the fact that the British soldier, man for man, is a better man than the German.