PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2401, 5 March 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

While it is possible to sympathise with the desire of the American Government to-relieve neutrals from ] the hardships and loss arising out of the developments which have followed on the natural sequel to German methods of piracy and_ pillage, the futility of the suggestion now put forward is apparent. Tho Note from the United States is said, amongst other things, to express tho hope that Britain should agree to foodstuffs not being treated as absolute contraband,, and should not hold up cargoes'ad dressed to certain agencies in Germany- for distribution to licensed German retailers who will sell only tp the civil population. TTTTs, of course, would greatly relieve 'the pressure which is being exercised on Germany by moans of the blockade, and in the circumstances would mean a big sacrifice for Britain and -her allies to make. But even if they\ were ready to do this—which they are not —it would not satisfy Germany. In the German reply sent to the American Note still further concessions are asked for, and it is made very, clear that the only terms likely to find favour with Germany are tnose which would relieve her almost entirely from the economic pressure whicn the British blockade is causing. Germany, indeed, cares little or nothing for the interests of neutrals, and no agreement or undertaking will suit her that is not entirely in her own favour. * * *

It is waste of time at the present stage of affairs to attempt to reduce the rigour of the blockade. Germany has broken all the laws of maritime warfare. . She has set loose floating mines regardless of friend or foe ( of peaceful trader or fighting ship. She has sunk trading vessels with her submarines without warning, and. in some cases murdered members of their crews, for murder it is when peaceful traders are sunk without search or warning and their crews drowned. The fact that neutral vessels and their crews have suffered as the result of these breaches of international law count for nothing with her, though she no doubt hopes to terrorise neutral nations and use them as a buffer against the crushing effect, of Britain's sea supremacy. Who, however, to-day could trust Germany in face of. the mass of evidence of her shameless perfidy and_ utter dishonour? What possibility is there of an honourable undertaking with an enemy who regards the need of the moment as sufficient reason for breaking a signed pledge' or overriding a written' law? America knows, every neutral nation knows, the wfiole world knows the utter worthlessness of any pledge that Germany may give if that pledge is in any way likely to conflict with her own interests or interfere with her plans in the present war. What a farce it is, then, to expect Britain and ber allies- to lay themselves open to the risk of further treachery. * * * *

Renewed activity in the Dardanelles is recordod to-day, and further damage has been done to the enemy's forts. It would seem that the cessation oi active hostilities caused' by bad weather almost gave the Turks a chance to prepare a surprise for th<s next visit of the Anglo-French fleet. The Allies' airmen, however, discovered the newlyprepared entrenchments in. which the guns were still unmounted, and also discovered a line of surface mines, presumably in the area which had been ' previously ■ swept. These activities on the part of the Turks were duly attended to, and the bombardment of the forts was proceeded with. It is plain that to be fully succcssful the operations of the Allied fleet in this narrow strip of water must be continuous, for absence from the scene of operations 'for a day or two affords opportunity to the enemy, to again sow the water with mines, and in some cases possibly to patch up only partly-demol-ished forts. As pointed out on previous occasions, the Allied vessels are now approaching the narrowest ■portion of the Dardanelles, where the land defences are particularly strong and difficult to attack from the straits. It is quite possible that we may learn at any time now of troops being landed to co-operate with the warships, in which case i the forcing of , the passage of .the Dardanelles may proceed with greater speed. One of the most remarkable features of this daring movement is the smallness of th<j casualty list. No warships have been lost or even seriously damaged, while the number of killed and wounded amongst the' Anglo-French fleet is comparatively trifling. This in spite of several days' bombardment of the Turkish forts and land forces, on some occasions at very close range. It is a very fine achievement, and apparently : is being Carried out with great skill a-s well as daring.

A later message intimates that the Allies already have a' landing 'force available, including Canadian troops. Presumably these latter arc a portion of the contingent which has been in camp at Salisbury Plain for some months past. It will be noted that some of the French warships have again visited the Gulf of Saros and' have been bombarding Bulair, . which is situated at the narrowest point of the isthmus, and considerably Jri advance of the point reached by the warships within the Dardanelles. The naval strength of the Allies is such that it enables operations to be carried out on both sides of the 'Peninsula, which constitutes the northern coast of the Dardanelles.

What has Greece in mind 1 It will be noted that the Kino of Greece has been in conference with the Grecian Ambassador to Paris, and a Grand Council, including five exPremiers, has been summoned, This looks very much like Greece coming into the struggle. No doubt the success which has attended the attack on the' Dardanelles has not escaped the attention of,the Greeks, who have no love for Turkey, and who could prove very useful to the Allies in this quarter. ' In 'Italy, too, there would seem to be something afoot. .The situation is big with possibilities—it would appear almost safe to say probabilities, ft * *

It is noticeable that the reports from France l of late have shown a decidod movement on tho part of the Allies. Certainly the gains havo been small, but recently they have been frequent. To-day the news is again encouraging iu (/his respect, the most marked successes being in tho region east of Kciras. There is a distinct closingin movement along this line, which in the light of possibilities a few weeks hence., when the bulk of the Aiiiw' rokforcetanits take the field,

may prove of importance as restricting the German line of retreatshould retreat prove necessary.

Heavy fighting has taken place m Southern . and Eastern Galicia., chiefly along the Carpathians, and the llussians appear to. be again asserting their ascendancy. The messages show three separate encounters: (1) Between the San and the Ondova '.Rivers; (2) between Koziova and Rodonka; (3) along the River Lomnica. From the On-' dova to the Lomnica is a distance of about 140 miles, running from west to east, and at vajious points in this region the fighting has been Bsvere and entirely in favour of the Russians. The struggle here has for its initial'object the control of the passes over' the Carpathians. The Russians must have the passes in order to carry out the invasion of Hungary, while the Austro-Germa.n forces not only desire, to check this movement, but also wish to control the passes through the mountains to facilitate the passage of troops now endeavouring to throw back the Russian forces in Galicia. As in other parts of-the great struggle in the East, the tide of war has ebbed and flowed in the 'Carpathians, but the Russians appear to be onoe again gaining the upper' hand. The latest attacks of the enemy have been repulsed, and at the Lomnica River the Austrians are stated to have suffered a serious reverse, 6000 being taken prisoners. In Bukowina, too, the Russians have gained a lot of the lost ground, and the Austrians are on'the defensive. So much for the position in the South.

•In the North also the Russians *are getting much the best of The defeat, of the Germans at"; Prasnysz, in Northern Poland, is being pressed home, while further to the north-cast along the Niemen the enemy' is being strongly assailed and is falling back. At Ossowiee, however, a fortified town nearly half-way between the two points at which the Russians have been most successful; the Germans _ appear to be continuing the offensive. It has been suggested-thai this is rendered necessary by the fact that unless this point is held the retreat of the German forces further, north would be greatly endangered. In any ease it is fairly clear, that it is of importance to both sides to secure the control. at Ossowiee, and the Russians ate now stated to lie hurrying i forward fresh troops with, this object. On the whole the situation in the East is highly satisfactory. There is still nothing to record regarding Central Poland, the fighting being confined to the flanks of the great line stretching from the Niemen iq the north to the Carpathians in the south. * * # *

Germany and Austria are experiencing extreme difficulty in maintaining a sufficient supply of copper to meet their urgent needs, and all manner of expedients; are being adopted to obtain as much of this metal as possible. The high price which is being coffered by the enemy is a strong inducement to tradei's belonging to neutral countries to get over the restrictions which have been placed on the export of coppcr. A cablegram which appears in another column announces the dis-

covery of .a large quantity, of the metal at an- Italian railway station. It had been hidden under vegetables !in a car. Copper is absolute contraband of' war, and the Allies have been doing their utmost to prevent it from reaching the enemy. Since the commencement of hostilities there has been a very significant increase in the amount shipped from the United States to Scandinavia. Britain has naturally assumed that a laTge proportion of these shipments is finding its way to Germany, and our warships are keenly alert to stop this trade. The precious metal has been found concealcd in bales of cotton, and many other devices have been used in the hope of avoiding«detectioh.. But the searcE has been so successful that Germany is seriously hampered in regard to the manufacture of- her munitions of. war, while the Allies are placed in the happy position of securing ■an ample supply at a reasonable price. Copper is needed for the manufacture of cartridges, shells, and other forms of ammuni-. tion. Very little of it is produred in Germany, which has relied mainly on imports from America." War cannot be successfully waged'without ammunition of the best, quality, and Germany's lack of sufficient copper may prove a potent factor in hastening her downfall.