PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2411, 17 March 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

Great activity continues along the Allies' line in Belgium and France, and something in the nature of a general offensive would appear to be taking place. _ At quite a number of points-the Allied forces have of late been unusually aggressive, and the gains, though small in themselves, continue to De frequent. To-day the list is swelled by slight advances at several points where progress had already been made, but sandwiched in with these are a couple of small German exploits by which a tveuch or two of the Allies has been blown up and a little ground gained by the enemy. These reverses, however, scom to have been of a temporary nature only, and are overshadowed by the Anglo-French successes. ft H * * The Russians in North Poland, where the fighting'in the East is for the time being most strenuous, report a very satisfactory state of' affairs. Progress lias been made along the whole of the Pvasnysz front from the Mlawa railway to the Orjee'River—a distance of about 30 miles—while further to the east the fortress of Osowiec has succeeded in wrecking some of the enemy's siege, batteries of heavy guns. The artillery cfuel at Osowiec has been proceeding for some weeks now, and contrary to experience elsewhere the besiegers seem to be having the worst of matters. On (he whole (he situation in North Poland has cleared wonderfully for l:he Russians during the past fortnight, and a genera! offensive may be looked for. In flalicia, (he- fighting qontinwcx to two with fury, and progress it slow,,

The Austriaus plainly are putting up a brave fight, but tracing the course of events from the names of the places mentioned in the messages the Russians are gaining ground here as well as in the north. * * * * To Constantinople by Easter is the programme mapped out by the commander of the Allied fleet now battering its way through the Dardanelles. That is to say, in something like a fortnight's time the difficulties and dangers of forcing tho_ passage of this narrow and easily defended strait will have been accomplished, and the fate of Turkey in Europe practically sealed. If Admiral Carden's programme works out to time-tablo it will be a magnificent achievement, and will have an important bearing on the situation much further afield than the Dardanelles. Wavering neutral nations will have thrust before their notice a convincing demonstration of the naval might of Britain, and her power to carry the war far afield from the heart of hor Empire. There are many signs which go to BuppOrt Admiral Garden's expectations, not the least of these being the news of the state of affairs at Constantinople in those circles best able to judge of the progress made by the AngloFrench fleet. * * * * The sinking of the Dresden off the Eastern Coast of South America leaves only one German war vessel in overseas waters. The Karlsruhe has yet to t be accounted for, and there are still a few armed German merchantmen about, but with these exceptions all of Germany's overseas warships have been accounted for by the British Fleet. It has not been an easy task, not so. much on account of , the fighting strength of the German vessels as the difficulty of tracking them down. Germany had laid her plans with some skill for the replenishing of the supplies required by.her warships stationed in outlying waters, ,and in consequence it was only by accident or by the news of the sinking of merchant vessels that any trace of their whereabouts could bo obtained. When that news did become available it was a matter of speculation as to where the vessel so located had nmved to. So the task of tho searchers has been a long one. The end of "the Dresden when the British pursuing vessels once got into touch with her was brief. In a very few minutes she was disabled and afire and the white flag was hoisted. Then sho blew up—presumably she was blown up by her own officers. The British cruisers Kent and Glasgow are both more powerfully armed than the Dresden, while the third British vessel—the (Dramais ail armed merchantman. The fact that there were no casualties on the British vessels is a tribute to the gunnery and seamanship of tho British commanders, bub> it serves also to emphasise once more tho tremendous advantage held by tho warship or fleet which carries the heavier guns and can out-steam the enemy. The i faster boat, provided it has the bigger guns, can practically choose its own range at which to conduct the_ fight, and it can knock the opposing war vessel to pieces with little risk of being seriously hit himself, Ere long Ave may hear of the end of the Karlsruhe. * * , * * If we are to believe the Rome correspondent of The Times Italy is far from being as ready to throw in her lot with the Allies as wo have been led to believe. Public opinion, the correspondent states, is divided, the blessings of peace being weighed against the laurels and the sports of war. It is added that Germany has made a great impression on the Italian mind by her methods, and in consequence the Italians have an exaggerated respect for German prowess. This is all very well in its way, but tho blessings of peace to Italy may prove anything but blessings_ if the Austro-German combination should emerge from the war powerful enough to pay off old scores. That Germany does not love Italy may bo gathered from the utterances reported this morning of the German Minister of the Interior, Hekr_ Delbruck. It will be noted that in his speech in the Reichstag he makes somewhat significant references to those neighbours who have failed them, and as to the exacting of guarantees to ensure that they shall not fail them again. It may in the end prove more costly to Italy to remain neutral than to join in the crushing of the Austro-German war-makers. No doubt Italian statesmen are not blind to this possibility. * * * * It is worth , noting that the Roman Catholic Bishop of Sale, who has just returned to Australia from a visit to Italy, holds the opinion that that country will ero long bo fighting 'on the side of tho Allies. Ho had an opportunity of watching the drift of public feeling. With one exception, he says, tlie papers in bold print urged the Government to throw over neutrality and take sides with the Allies. When M. Clemenceau, French Minister of War, intimated to Italy that unless sho quickly decided it would be too late fo> share the spoils of victory, his message was ( pnnted with large headlines in every paper in the kingdom except the Romano Populi, a paper of German ccpntrol and sympathy. The Bishop thinks that Italy would have been in the firing-line long ago, but for the fact that she _ was quite unprepared. Tho nominal war strength of the Italian amy is given as two millions, but in November she was incapable of putting more than 800,000 fully equipped men into the field. With a view to effecting a better standard _ of efficiency a member of the Italian House introduced a measure to borrow £600,000. This was opposed by the Treasurer, and on appealing to the country tho Government was returned with an almost unaltered majority. The Bishop is of opinion that when the army is better equipped Italy will take tho field. It is recognised in Italy that although every man may have a sabre or a rifle the equipment required for' the present strife is more in the direction of artillery and siege guns. * -.i « * Lord Kitchener's speech in the House of Lords gives us the first definite evidence of the transport of large bodies _ of reinforcements to the fighting-lines in Franco. We alreacly knew that Territorials had been sent, but were left in doubt as to tho numbers. The tribute paid by the Secretary of War to the splendid fighting qualities of our troops as displayed in recent fighting is particularly pleasing in view of the fact that the Canadian and Indian troops were singled out bv him for mention. The most significant part of Lord Kitchener's speech, however, is his reference to the output, of material necessary for the equipment of men and' the successful conduct of the war. It is a sliockine thing' to, think that.the fortunes ol oui' sulcucrs at the JroM

may be imperilled by industrial disputes at Home and the shirking of lazy workmen. The Government is taking steps to encourage an increased output by industrious workmen, and no doubt this will have some effect; but. unless the labour unions and employers approach the matter in the right spirit the shortage of war materia] may prove <i terrible handicap to tho military authorities.