PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2369, 27 January 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Succeeding events • continue to bring Rumanian and Italian intervention steadily Hearer. Today it is mentioned that 'Rumanians abroad have been notified by telegraph to return home, and an equally suggestive 'tem is the statement that Germans in Italy, who number Borne 72,000, have received orders to quit the country as quickly as possible. The obvious anxiety of Germany and Austria is a more striking portent of the imminent entry of Rumania and Italy into the war than the vigorous military preparations which, both countries have been making for many weeks past. It is no doubt true that tho Austro-Ger-. man consultations now in progress have for one object the prevention of Italian and Rumanian intervention, but it is unlikely that either Gerr many or Austria can taie any practical step in this direction. The German Minister at Bukarest _ has notified Rumania that her mobilisa-

tion is regarded as hostile to Austria and inconsistent with her friendly relations with Germany, but it is improbable shat this will have any effect upon the general situation, unless, perhaps, that of hastening the rupture which seems inevitable.

So far as Rumania is concerned, the position is clear. Her _ desire to seize Transylvania, which is largely peopled by Rumanians, who have suffered under Hungarian tyranny, is at'present regarded as a legitimate ambition. But unless the Rumanians are prepared to abandon this ambition, they must very join hands with the Entente arid invade Hungary. They can hardly expect Russia to conquer Hungary unaided and then hand over Transylvania to Rumania at the' end of the war. Any suggestion that a bribe is being offered to Rumania is upset by the fact that she has undoubtedly a claim to Transylvania, but that claim can be effectively asserted; only by her own armies.. * * * .* If the Rumanian Army is thrown into the scale it will not only_ relieve the pressure on Servia, which has battled gallantly against overwhelm; ing odds, but will relieve a large Russian force now operating in Eastern Galicia for service elsewhere. Rumania has half a million men at command, and could apjjly the whole of her' strength to the invasion of Hungary. Her soldiers have not been tested in war since 1878, but in that year the Russians found them useful and dependable allies. For nearly half a century Rumania has enjoyed an era of commercial expansion and development, and she has great resources at command, which would not only, enable her to carry on her own military operations with vigour, but also to lend important' assistance to hev allies in the'matter of supplies. It seems increasingly probable that the Russian movement in Bukowma is largely intended to prepare the way for Rumanian intervention, and there is every indication at present that Rumania is prepared to throw, in her lot with the Entente, and in likely to do so very shortly. * * * *

The statement is made _ by an Italian newspaper thafc immense Gorman forces are traversing Austria to undertake t ths defence t of Transylvania, while tho Austrian remnant defeated by Servia proceeds to Franco and Flanders to as reserves and guard communications. This is not quite incredible, but it is somewhat improbable. Germany is feeling, such heavy pressure along the main battle lines in East and West that she is not likely to detach any considerable body of good troops for service so far away as north-eastern Hungary. .Any move of the kind is made all the more improbable by the fact that the pressuro in both main theatres is likely to be greatly intensified in tho near future. Rig, reinforcements are being built up both by the Russians and by the Allies in the West, in preparation for great offensive movements, and the prospect is not calculated to encourage Germany to .scatter her Btwngtb m tho raannot

The story of an intended German defence of Transylvania gains plausibility only from the fact that Germany has been accustomed to draw important supplies from Hungary and Rumania. She obtains some petrol, large numbers of horses, and great quantities of wheat, from the Hungarian plain south of the Carpathians. But while the desiro to retain command over these sources of supply might furnish Germany with a motive for military enterprise in Transylvania, it is unlikely that it will outweigh considerations born of the powerful pressure to which she is being subjected in both the main theatres. It has to be remembered, also, that the Russian occupation of Galicia, which Germany has done comparatively little to avert, has already deprived the latter country of a source of supplies oven more important than Hungary. Germany has hitherto depended mainly upon Galicia for the supply of petrol, for which the war has created such an enormous demand, and still, doubtless, obtains most of her petrol from the regions about Cracow, which remain a* yet in Austro-Germari possession. The stoppage of supplies from other parts of Galicia is, however, a terrible misfortune to The war has not inaptly been called "the petrol war," and the cutting down of Germany's supplies must already have greatly increased her difficulties. She thus had an even greater incentive to defend Galicia than she now has to defend north-eastern Hungary, and the latter enterprise, undertaken at this late stage, would almost amount to locking the'"stabledoor, or trying to, after the steed has been stolen. It is not impossible, of course, that Germany may send some troops to Transylvania to stiffen up the disheartened Austrians, but she has need of so many men in her present fighting lines that she is unlikely to spare any large force for that purpose. 1

Accepted at its face value, the story attributed to the captain of a Dutch trawler, in a message published to-day, would show that the naval battle in the North Sea opened tvben the Germans were 120 miles west of Heligoland, less than halfway from their base towards -the English coast. This story, however, is in direct conflict with the official reports. It states that the Dutch trawler saw the ships engage at 0.30, and also saw one of tho German ships sunk. The official reports agree in naming 9.30 as the hour at which the battle opened, but state that the Blucher was not sunk until 1 o'clock,. after a running fight of more than three hours. In these circumstances the Bwift warships engaged would travel at a speed whioh would carry them out of sight of any trawler which witnessed their opening shots long before the hour at which the' Blucher was sunk. *** ' * Double value is lent to the British victory by the circumstance that the Blucher was one of the ships engaged in the 1 raid on the Yorkshire coast. In her case retribution .was delayed only for a very brief period. TEe Germans in their official story admit the loss of the Blucher, and do not deny that two of their other ships were damaged. The German assertion that a British battle-cruiser was destroyed may safely be dismissed as. lacking foundation. In fact, the German story as a whole is spoiled by what can only be looked upon as attempts to deoeivo the German people. The German squadron, for instance, is described as consisting of four cruisers, one battle-cruiser, and two torpedo flotillas. Such a force would undoubtedly have been even more severely hanaled by the British ships than the battle-cruiser squadron which they actually encountered. To suggest that a relatively weak force of this character, could have compelled the powerful British squadron to retreat is, of course, plainly absurd. -Upon this point the Admiralty report is 1 dennite. Vice-Admiral Beatty gave up the .pursuit when the Germans reached the shelter of their mine-fields rather than expose his ships to the risk of destruction by mines or submarines.

Little light is thrown to-day upon the fighting in France and Belgium, but the Allies seem to have already more than recovered the ground they • ; lost the other day in being compelled to evacuate the village of St. Georges (two miles east of Nieuport). for it is now reported that they nave made slight progress east of St. Georges. Bridges at St. Mihiel have been; destroyed- by the French artillery. This promises further trouble for the Grermon forces in/the Woevre district. It will be remembered that a recent message declared that their communications with Metz were endangered by the advance of the French northward of Pont-a-Mousson.

Accounts of the Russian operations are equally scanty, but' it is mentioned -that the Austrians who were pushed back into the Carpathians weeks ago are manifesting an inclination to resume activities in the Dukla Pass and elsewhere.

Kepoets from South Africa are to the effect that the recent defeat of the rebels has* led to the abandonment of their attempts to penetrate Union territory from the southeastern corner of German SouthWest Africa. The Union forces hold the whole of tho Or&nge River line, which marks the southern border, of' the German colony,' and it is stated that no rebels are operating on its eastern frontier. There 'are still sorno rebels at large in Bechu&Deiland, further east, but their presence does not seem to give any ground for anxiety. Meantime the Union forces are pursuing their attack upon German South-West Africa from the coast. * ' * * . •*

Not content with having established a reputation for criminal brutality hardly equalled by any nation known to history, Germany seems determined to cap all records for inconsistency. By her invasion of neutral territories and outrages innumerable she had ruthlessly trampled The Hague Convention underfoot, yet now she has the effrontery to appeal to that treaty in a trumpedup complaint to America. The latter country, according to Germany, has been shipping hydro-aeroplanes to Britain, and this, she contends, is a violation of Article Bof The Hague Convention. Tho allegation, on the face of it, is wildly improbable. The recognised anxiety of the United States Government to remain-wholly clear of the war may be accented aa a sufficient guarantee that it will prevonfc any such obvious breach of international law, but if a thousand such breaches were committed Germany would have no right to complain. By her own acts she is outlawed, and unless she can sustain her criminal assault upon the liberty of nations by brute force she must „a.cce&t tbp Qcmseauqacee.