PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2370, 28 January 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

News comes from Switzerland that . the Germans aro making great preparations for a vigorous offensive in Alsace, and that the railways in Southern Germany have been reserved for the transport of troops to the frontier. So many reports of this character have proved baseless that it would be unwise to attach much importance meantime to the latest addition to their number. A recent report will be remembered which alleged that the Germans were planning a new offensive in Poland, upon a scale of great magnitude, and that the German railways had been reserved up to January 18 for the transport of troops. .So far there has been nothing to indicate that this particular report had any truth in it, and it is quite likely that the story concerning Alsace belongs to the same category. Germany, of course, is bound to regard Alsace as one of the weak spots on the Western line, but it is not by any means tho only one, and it is a very open question whether she is in a position to reinforce her troops in that quarter to an extent that would enable her to resume the offensive. At present the initiative in Alsace un-) doubtcdly rests with the French, who for weeks past have been slowly advancing eastward through and from the Vosges; in an extended line.

Reports from the Western theatre show that the British are making headway towards La Bassee. They are now established at Givenchy and Cuinchy, two places on the La Bassee Canal, about a mile and a half west of La Basse©, Givenchy standing on the north bank and Cuinchy on the south. At both places determined German attacks have been repulsed.- Almost equally good fortune has attended the Allies in the fighting west of Oraonno, which lies 22 miles east-north-east of Soissons and about two and a half miles °f the Aisne. In this quarter the Germans penetrated a section of the Allied trenches, but were subsequently driven out again, the % Allies recovering nearly all the ground they had lost. Some small gains are also credited to the Allies in the Argonne. News is still lacking regarding the position immediately east of Soissons and the implication is that the fightlnß that quarter is stationary, and _ that the Germans retain their footing on the north bank of the Aisuc. *»* * ■ /

Several Russian submarines, it is reported to-day, have appeared unexpectedly off Rugen, and traffic between Swecien and, Germany h'as been stopped. i Rugen 'is an island in the Baltic, lying close to the north coast erf Germany, about 130 miles east of Kiel Bay and only fifty miles away from the nearest Swedish port. operating in a narrow scrait of this kind could play havocwith any German ships attempting the passage, and fcho hope expressed in Petrogr&d that it will be possible to stop German imports of copper and petrol via Scandinavia therefore appears to be well founded. Submarines stationed in the lower Baltic will also act as a strong deterrent to German naval activity in that quarter.

Although British and French submarines have accomplished somo useful work since the war began their activities have been limited by the retiring habits of German warships. The Allies, including Russia, have, however, ample forces of submarines at command. It is estimated by Me. Archibald Htjud, a well-known naval writer, that at the beginning of the war the. Entente had 169 effective submarines as against 27 in the possession of Germany and Austria, and the big margin in favour of the Entente Las no doubt since been increased. Russia had thirty submarines when the war began, and fchs cablegram above referred to states that she has completed twelve during the past year. Her flotillas should thus bo sblo to do vdny effeetivc service in the Baltic.

. The Russian enterprise in the Baltic is notable as being the first occasian known to history in which an attempt • has been made to establish a blockade of the enemy's coast by means of submarines. In the Declaration of Paris of 1856 it is laid down that blockades to be binding must be effective," tho accepted interpretation being that there must be real danger to ships attempting to pass through to secure observance of the blockade by neutrals and other parties concerned. Whether or not submarines can establish an. effective blockade remains to be seen, hut the text of the cablegram indicates that tho Russians think they can.

SuBMABiNh blockade in a more general sense has been threatened, and to some extent attempted by the Germans. Some time 'ago ADMUtAt von TtEiUTZ declared that Germany would blockade England by means of submarines, but, according to tho naval correspondent of The Times, tho limit of her achievements in this direction so far has been the torpedoing of fivo British merchantmen. The desire to carry out Admiraf, von Tuirm's threat, as The Times correspondent justly observes, has not been wanting, although up to tho present its expression has not been strikingly successful. The blockade attempted by the Russians in the Baltic is, of course, as different an possible from that j/luci} the Germans faave .tlvcatcjied.,

What the Russians aim at doing is to establish a line of blockading submarines and warn neutral shipping to keep out of the danger zone. The German plan is to take merchantmen unawares on the high seas or wherever they can bo conveniently attacked. * * * * German raiders have been faring badly lately. A message from Petrograd to-day tells in circumstantial detail of the destruction of a Zeppelin at Libau, a Russian Baltic seaport on the coast of Courland, 125. miles north of the Prussian fortress of Konigsberg.- The airship dropped nine bombs on the town, but was brought down into tho sea by the fire of the fortress guns, and there her destruction was completed by naval small craft, and her crew were made prisoners. Assuming that the facts are as stated, and there seeems no reason to doubt them, the incident will do a good deal to confirm the impression that the fighting powers of the Zeppelin are limited. * # * * Fuller details of the naval battle in the North Sea bear impressive testimony to the quality of the British gunnery, and show also that the German ships did their best to show a clean pair of heels as soon as the Lion and her consorts bovo in sight. The British fire, it is stated, was slower than that of the enemy, but much more effective, every shot being made to fell. This, of course, is the natural outcome of the highly organised system of fire-control which prevails in the British Navy. German naval theorists have been inclined to discount carefully system-, atised range-finding and to rely upon ' a concentrated firo poured in at comparatively .short range, but whether or not such a plan would answer in a regular oaval engagement it is clearly inapplicable in a case where German ships are making off at the top of their speed before a pursuing enemy. *** * > . It is not surprising tbat the German descriptions of the battle should be received with derision outside Germany. Probably they were_ not intended for consumption except in that country. The assertion that a British battle-cruiser was sunk by a German torpedoer is satisfactorily _ answered by the Admiralty's assurance that all the British ships engaged returned safely to port. The Admiralty is obviously making a full .and frank disclosure of the facts.- No attempt has been made to conceal tho damage done to the Lion, which bore the brunt pf the German fire, and to one of the British torpedo craft, but it is stated that both can be speedily repaired. More important damage was done to two of the German battle-cruisers which escaped, for one of them was set on fire and the other had the whole of its above-deck gear shot away. Probably _ both ships will be off the effective list for some time to come. * * * *

Considering the helter-skelter nature of their flight, the Berlin statement that the easterly course of the German ships was dictated by taoiical and artillery considerations is a really clever effort, worthy of the genius who first described a retreat as a strategic movement to the rear. The simple truth is that the German squadron ran away with its slowest a-nd weakest ship (apart from the light cruisers and torpedo craft) lagging as an inevitable victim in the rear.

Apart from the light which they east upon the general character of the engagement, late accounts of the I\orth Sea battle strongly suggest that two of the German battlecruisers barely escaped destruction. The Blucher, it transpires, was quickly overwhelmed, and abandoned by her consorts. She received crippling broadsides from the Lion and Tiger as they passed, but these great ships went swiftly on to deal with the German battle-cruisers. These were terribly mauled before they reached the mine-fields. ' ,The Derfflinger and the Moltke, or another, were ablaze, and many of their guns were silent] A few more miles of open sea would doubtless have sealed their fate.

According to a New York cablegram an attempt, and a very lanie one, has been made by the German Imperial Chancellor (Here , von Bethmann-Holmveg) to explain away the "scrap of paper" phrase, which has now become historic. He explains that he simply meant that the treaty had lapsed owing to Belgium's forfeiture of neutrality. What he means by this latter phrase is not stated, but no amount of talking'will get away from the fact that Germany deliberately violated the neutrality of Belgium in direct and flagrant contempt not only of the special treaty protecting it, but of the Hague Convention,, which provides that the territory- of neutral nations'" must be regarded as sacred. These things are in no more danger of being forgotten than the fact that the German Chancellor' described a binding treaty as a scrap of paper.

Yesterday the Emperor of Germany attained his fifty-sixth birthday, and there has been some talk of great efforts by the German forces •to celebrate the anniversary by some notable achievement. The fortunes of war seem to have gone all the other way. Instead of German victories the Kaiser is called upon to contemplate a naval disaster in the North Sea, the destruction of a Zeppelin at Libau, and serious defeats inflicted upon the German land forces in the Aisne Valley and elsewhere. The. sea and land forces of tho Entente Powers have tendored their birthday greetings of the Kaiser in a very decided, though anything hut friendly, fashion. A longer retrospect is'in no way calculated to brighten the KaisUr's birthday. The end of the war is hot yet in sight, but the Entente nations are in a position to look forward in confident anticipation of ultimate triumph. Even at this stago the Kaiber must bo able to see pretty clearly that his nefarious schemes against the liberty of neighbouring nations are doomed to complete and crushing failure. While his allies are rapidly failing his enemies are piling up ever-in-creasing strength. His birthday, therefore,_ cannot be anything but sad, but if he is minded to improve tho occasion- recent events afford him abundant ground for reflection.

"I saw a man last Saturday sitting on the, side of the road, reading tho Bible, while he allowed his cattle to browse at large, in contravention of the by-laws," said tho eligiueer of tho Taieri County Council at Friday's mooting, amid laughter. Tho matter was brought up by the report of the ranger, in which it was stated that there were some persons in tho habit of turning their cattle and horses on to the roads at night, and that the charging of tho usual, driving fan sf-cmcd to hava no offect ill stop, fiius them,