PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2465, 19 May 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

A position entirely satisfactory, as far as it goes Is disclosed to-day in the on the Westetij front. Broadly summarised, the position is that the Germans haVe liJst a little ground in Flanders, they are still hurling their columns against the Allied line, and more in Northern France, where, they are defending strong fortified lines against incessant Franco-British assaults. In the latter area the British have confirmed and extended theii' success on the two-mile front immediately north and west of La Bassee, from which they attacked a-day or two ago. The whole of German frontline trenches fdr this distance have now been taken, and in places (as was stated yesterday) the British have advanced a mile from their startingpoint. Vivid descriptions are given of the nature of the fighting in which this extent of ground was gained. Even when tie Dig guns haa paved the way by battering and snlashihg the. defences, terrible obstacles remained to be overcome by the attacking troops in dislodging the Gerihans from their trenches. The Black Watch, in particulat'j added to their renown by cutting and forcing entanglements while their i'anks were swept by a, devastating, enfilading fire. The final phase was a desperate hand-to-hana conflict, in which the Germans lost one trench after another until three lines had been captured.

British and French alike have now been definitely successful iq breaking into tho outlying defences of Lille, but it would be easy to base entirely unreasonable expectations upon this fact. Admitting, that the immediate object of tho Allies is to drive the Germans out of . Belgium and Northern France, and that tho capture of Lille would be a very important step towards enforcing a retreat of this it is still likely that hotter ways will be found of attaining this end than a simple continuation of the present attack on the twenty-five-mile front- from Arras to the frontier of Flanders. Sooner or later the Germans must be dislodged from Lille, but it does not by any means follow that this involves unbroken perseverance in the direct attack. It is much more likely that at a moment deemed suitable there will be a sudden arrest of the offensive opposite Lille, quickly followed bv a heavy blow at some totally different section of the lino. The French offensive in the Champagne, in tho latter part of February and the first week of March, was followed instantly by the smashing assault of the British at Neuve Chapelle. Having concentrated troops and "runs at one point, the enemy was struck at another before he had tinie to readjust his . forces, and the result was one Allied victory following upon another. Similar developments may be expected to continue ujion a constantly enlarging scalc, and it is reasonable to suppose that the present offensive ili Northern France will conform to what appears to be the general plan—a series of strokes agaiiist the ctteMy's line at Various points, as distinct, froni ofi6 fn'eat iiffi'i!'!. fb |ilitrr;s ittjtl Utnl llw lige ai a single flwflV " i

A glance at the map of Northern France should satisfy anyone that a. direct assault continued to Lille presents such formidable difficulties that it is not likely to be carried through in a single operation. Where it rests upon Armentiercs, north and west of Lille, the British line is only seven miles distaht from the latter blace, but as the line runs south it trends to the west, and the British front opposite. La Bassce and that of the French further south, is twelve miles or nipre west of the longitude of Lille. The German front as it stands is hacked by a network of railways consisting,of two main lines (connected by several cross-branchcs) south and west of Lille; Possessing such a railway system, the Germans are able to rush reinforcements and supplies to any threatened point with a minimum of delay. On the western side of the plain traversed by these railways there is rising ground, at La Bassce and north and south of that place, on which the Germans have established their fortified defences—the works in many places constructed of concrete and steel—against which the British and French are now directing their assaults. The . position as a whole .-main railway, along the valley of the Mciisfl, over which the Germans can most; conveniently transport reinforcements and supplies. from their home depots. As has been said, the Allies have made a sensible impression upon the outer crust of this German stronghold, but it is obvious that continuing to concaritrate solely lipon the German Positions west of Lille they would filay into the hands of the enemy, since there is no section of the Western front where he can more conveniently bring to bear his last ounce of available strength for defensive tiurposes. * » * * Apart from the cost and difficulty of directly forcing such a chain of ~ , n p es as Germans have established west of Lille, it is evident Jnat the only policy that will enable Allies P l ' by the advantages they possess over the enemy is the one. they .have, hitherto pursued of rapidly changing the point of attack. Some of these advantages* accepting the best available evidence, are: greater numerical strength, a distinot superiority in artillery, and almost- equally impoi'taiit superiority in aircraft. It was computed recently by the well-informed military correspondent of the Times that tli& Germa-ns have at the outside two million men available for the serious operations of the slimmer campaign in the Western theatre, while the French have 2,500,000 men at the front and

1j250,000 in the interior. There is still to be reckoned the British Army, and the small but capable Belgian Army. The Allies are thiis shown to have a superiority of force amounting to not less than a million men. By weakening their Eastern armiesj the Germans might materially disturb the proportion, but there is no immediate prospect of their being able to risk a step of this nature.

J]MH: superiority of the Allied artillery has been demonstrated in a series of successful battles in the Champagne, at Neuve Chapelle, and Hill 60, . and now in Northern France. There is equally clear evidence to the superiority of the Allied aircraft, which has enabled them to seriously impedfe the enemy's air-reconnaissance, and at times inflict important daniage ujpon his depots ahd lines of communication. As a whole, these advantages mean that the Allies enjoy a mUch greater freedom of movement than is open to the enemy; They are able to concentrate greater forces at selected points, and, as they have already shown, they aris able to strike almost simultaneously at widely-separated sections of the enemy's line ; The relative position as regards aircraft makes it much more likely that they will reap the advantages attending a surprise attack, as the British are Said to have done at Neuve Chapelle. These being the broad features of the situation, the Allies, if they abandoned freedom of rnoverneiit for ail attempt to overwhelm the enemy, at any single point, would be throwing away tho most important advantages they now possess, It may bo taken for granted that they will do nothing of thekindi The attack west of Lille is the most ambitious operation undertaken by .the".Allies since they definitely took . the offensive more than two months ago, but it must be regarded as one of a series Of assaults intended to lead up gradually to the overthi'Ow of the enemy on his present line, and not as an effort- to achieve that, end in one great and overwhelming battle.

So far. as the Flahddrs front is concernedj the big item of news today is that the Germans have lost their last foothold on the western bank of the Yser Canal, north of Yprte, where they_ crossed it (thanks to their use of poisonous ga.s) in the opening phase of thp great battle which bas not yet ended. They still hold some captured ground on the eastern bank of the Canal, but this is not essential to the defence. The bfoad position is that in this great effort to burst the Allied line in Flanders, the Germans, without perosptibly improving their position, have incurred losses vastly greater than those of the Allies in defending the line. Germany has loDg passed tho point when she could afford to sacrifice man for man with the Allies. In Flanders she has sacrificed much more than man for Wan, and her discomfiture here may be no less impoi'tant in its bedrinij upon the final outcome of the war than tho successful assault of the Allies further south.

A Russian communique admits the withdrawal from the Carpathians lately reported by. the Austro-Ger-mans, and shows, further, that, the enemy is within gunshot of tho longrange artillery at Przemysl. Apparently the Russians arc making a stand on the River San, northward from Przemysl, but the position south of that fortress is not clearly indicated. In Bnkowina, however, the Russians report victorious progress. They have decisively defeated the Austrian.? on the River Priitli, 20 miles south of tho line from which they attacked not many days ago. Progress in this re si on is chiefly interesting as indicating that theßussians cxpcct to block the further advance of the Atistro-Germans from the west. If the lattci' continued their eastward advance beyond Przemysl the Russian armies in Bnkowina would be seriously mcnacctl.

Stoxors Grourn's latest pronouiiesment suggests that tc is preparing to give way gracefully before an Italian public sentiment strongly favouring war, on the side of the E'nlentc. He believes that Austria will make the necessary concessions, arid urges that these should be accosted, in preference to war, but hist vfefßi he will 6UJ3pprt fcho Goyeruiaeul, which,

favours an appeal to the sword. Reports have generally agreed that Austria is strongly averse to one concession which Italy regards as vital —the ccssion of Trieste—so that SioNOJt Giolith's latest utterance; if it means anything, points to war.