PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2435, 14 April 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Apart from some further exploits by German submarines, including the torpedoing of a British liner off the Scilly Islands, to-day's war news is uniformly hopeful in- tone. In tho Western theatre the Allies appear to bo easily maintaining their superiority, while in tho Carpathians the Russians are fighting a great battle in the Uszok Pass.

Fighting in the Carpathians still occupies the centrc of the,stage so far as the Eastern theatre is concerned. A Russian dispatch, brief but to the point, reports a great battle developing in the region of the Uszok Pass, which is still held by the_ enemy. A short summary of an article in the Paris Temps supplies an interesting review of the Battle of tho Passes, and though it probably relates to somewhat earlier operations than are reported in the Russian communication, to an extent amplifies it. Some of the places named are difficult to locate with certainty ,_ but the general effect of the article is clear. It indicates that the forward progress of the Russians in the mountains east and west of the Uszok Pass ha« seriously imperilled the communications of two Austrian armies which are as a result under the necessity of retreating, while two other Austrian armies located further east, one of thom probably in northern Bukowina, adjacent to the eastern extremity of Galicia, are faced by a similar necessity in order to keep their fronts in line with those of tho armies of the west. Thus it is suggested that the successful progress of the Russians at selected points is compelling a .general Austrian retreat.

It is a reasonable deduction from available information that the Austrians defending the mountain line are making a last desperate stand in the Uszok Pass, but even there they must _be in serious danger of having their position turned by Russian forccs penetrating the mountains at other points. The Uszok Pass has been the scene or the cause of almost continuous fighting for months past. It is one of tho most important of all the Carpathian passes, traversed as it is by a railway which oh the north branches off to Przemysl, Lemberg, and other places, and on the south leadß into the. heart of Hungary. * # * *

Though no important forward movement by tho Allies in the Western theatre is ohronicled to-day, battles have been fought at several points which give prominence to a feature that has much in evidence of late. Failing to deliver any effective counter-stroke to the victories of the Allies since they abandoned siege-warfare for a vigorous offensive, the Germans have yet time after time wasted thousands of lives in futile attacks upon practically impregnabta positions. Two attempts of this kind arc reported today, one at _ Bcausejour, in the Champagne district, between Reims and tho Argonne, and the other near Albert, in Northern France. In each case, particularly in the battle north of Albert, which is interpreted as a!n effort to offset the great French victory at Lcs Epargcs, the Germans appear to have suffered terrible loss without in the slightest degree .improving their position. Meantime the Allies are firmly posted in their recently-gained positions, cast and south of Verdun, and elsewhere, and the wasteful tactics of the enemy will no doubt materially assist their further progress. * # * * ■>

German submarine pirates _ have I just missed adding to their list of victims the biggest merchant ship that has yet come within effective range of their torpedoes. The Wayfarer, torpedoed off the Scilly Islands, but salvaged and taken to Queenstown, is a steamer of nearly 10,000 tons, with a speed of 13 knots an hour. She therefore belongs to a class of big ocean-going liners which carry on a very large share of Britain's oversea trade, and if the German pirates could send to the bottom any considerable number of ships in tiie Wayfarer's class, they would have cause for congratulation. Hitherto, for reasons that are fairly obvious, ships of this type have enjoyed a comparative immunity from submarine attack. Making long voyages they are much less exposed to the attentions of the raiders than the smaller vessels that are continually passing to and fro across the narrow, seas, and as compared with a majority of the smaller ships that have suffered, they enjoy an important advantage in their speed. A submarine, running with hull awash, or even on the surface, affords a very low lookout platform, and since the Germans began to operate in t-ho region of the .Scilly Islands, and further south, many hundreds of ships must have passed them unobserved. Again, so far as speedy ocean-going ships arc conccrnod, a submarine may sight them and yet be quite incapable of doing t-hein harm unless they steer a course bringing tbem within her reach. The fcubmanuc, it ii> true. tliu cmtioa

pursuing on .the surface, but doing so she takes the risk that hor quarry may carry a quick-firer, and probably by,this time most of the more important ocean-going, merchantmen are so equipped.

Pro-wae demonstrations in Italy, though not tho first of their kind, may ue accepted as an indication that popular opinion in that country does not relish the prospect of a peaco between Russia and Austria which would leave Italy lamenting </ith her claims upon the Austrian Tyrol and Triesto unsatisfied, Pcace talk is amplified to-day by a summary of some grotesque proposals which Germany is said to nave communicated to the Government. These proposals ai\ of no importance, but the fact- +>-a; i the possibility of a separate for Austria is being seriously discussccl is not to bo so lightly set'asid<y, The Entente Powers are not bound to consider the interests of Italy and other neutral nations which have lent them .110 assistance in the war, and a peace with Austria which would leave them free to concentrate on Germany has obvious at tractions. At the same time, the future peacc.of Europe would probably be better guaranteed if Italy and Rumania asserted in war their claims to frontiers and territory which would enable them to develop into powerful and important nations. On that account the continued evidence of pro-war feeling in Italy should be welcomed.

A late message yesterday, touching briefly upon events at the Dardanelles, was based upon letters received in London, and related to the opening phases of the campaign. It snould not be overlooked that some of the telegraphic news which comos through at intervals may be almost equally belated. For instance, the recent announcement of tho arrival of the French Expeditionary Force at Alexandria did not necessarily indicate the stage actually reached by the military preparations of the Allies. It was precisely in order to cloak the movements of troops and similar affairs in sccrecy that a strict censorship was established in connection with the Dardanelles campaign. Behind the veil of the censorship very great developments are no doubt maturing. Meantime, fragmentary dispatches coming through should as a rule be acccptea as what they probably are—scraps of information allowed by the censor to when all possibility of their affording any enlightenment to the enemy has departed.

Some additions have been made to the rumours of a naval engagement m the North Sea, but substantial confirmation is still lacking. It is quite likely that unusual naval activities have given rise to these stories but if an actual battle had occurred it is pretty certain that something definite would have been heard about it before now. We have had rumours of big gun-firing in the North Sea on previous occasions, but nothing came of them. When something haß actually happened, however, such as the Heligoland fight and the encounter Between Sih David Beatty's squadron and the German battle-cruisers we were told promptly enough. In the circumstances the wisest course is to take it for granted that in the continued absence of definite news nothing of any importance has happened.