PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2487, 14 June 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

4 Whether or' not the Russians are preparing to evacuate Lemberg, as was asserted in a message published on Saturday, they are reported today to be still successfully defending the river lines covering that place on south and south-west. To-day's news of the battles in Galicia is in fact a chronicle of Russian victories bearing every appearance of being an accurate presentation of facte. Localities are clearly specified, and tho official communiques from Petrograd are in harmony with a number of unofficial messages by which they are supplemented. The general effect of the nows, which deals with operar tions up to Thursday of last week, is that the Russians have energetically attacked the Austro-Germans on the Dniester, south and south-west of Lomberg, driving them back with slaughter and recovering complete command of the river-line, except in the near neighbourhood of Przemysl, south of which plaoe the river takes its rise. At Zaravno (south and a little east of Lemberg), where the Austro-Germans forced the passage of the Dniester a few days ago, they have been driven back again with a loss of nearly 7000 officers and men, 17 guns, and 49 machineguns. Recrossing the river the Russians extended their front to Sivka. This means that they now hold a twelve-mile front on the southern bank, extending east from Zaravno. The enemy havo also been heavily defeated ti little further west on tho railway-line running directly north from Stryj to Lemberg. Mikolaief is a. couple of miles west of this railway, and an equal distance north |of the Dniester. Whether the Aus-tro-Germans actually crossed the Dniester _ near Mikolaief (which would bring them within about 20 miles of Lemberg) is not clear, but at all events they were driven back on this line also, towards Stryj, and an armoured train and five armoured motor-cars, which attempted to cover the withdrawal of the enemy infantry, beat a hasty retreat. Tho enemy losses in the two battles near Stryj are stated to havo reached a total of 11,000.

Still another Russian victory is reported east of Przemysl. The enemy line extends aoross the Przem-ysl-Lemberg railway east of the fortress and south for about a dozen miles to the Dniester marshes. On this'latter section, south of the railway, and between it and the, marshes, they have been attacked and driven bacic a couple of thousand paces. This is the battle near Moeiska, which is the subject of an official message. Further east the Russians have been compelled to readjust their front in Bukowina, but they are still arrayed along a portion of the River Pruth, which runs east to the north-western corner of Rumania. The ohange was induced by an. Austro-German attack on the south bank of the Dniester at Halitz, south-east of Lemberg. Stanislau is due south of Halitz, at a distance of 15 miles, and the withdrawal of the Russian troops occupying it may give the enemy another railway running north to the Dniester. In any case, the Russian front in Bukowina has been narrowed as a result of the adjustment further north. _ These operations, however, are quite subsidiary to tho much more important battles south and west of Lemberg. The continued occupation of Bukowina is probably chiefly valued by the Russians in view of the possibility of Rumanian intervention. A complete withdrawal from the crownland would havo little i boaring on the fate of Lemberg. The only portion of the Galician front not covered by to-day' 6 messages at time of writing, is the line along the San, north of Przemysl, but at last accounts the Russians were more than holding their own on this part of the front, except in a limited area north-east of Przemysl, and in the extreme north, towards the Vistula, they had made some progress_ in a turning movement, threatening the Austro-German left flank. » » » * So long as matters remain in the state described Lemberg is not in serious jeopardy. The place is not a fortress, and its fate depends upon success in outlying battles. At the moment these oonditions are fulfilled. The most dangerous AustroGerman attack, from the south, has been rolled back, and tho victory of the Russians at Moeiska shows that they are as yet securely covering the Lemberg-Przemysl railway, tho greater part of which continues in their possession. It remains to be seen whether the Austro-Germans can regain the upper hand by concentration of troops and artillery, but, as one correspondent points out, the enemy are at a disadvantage for the time being in the matter of communications. In the main they are restricted to the use of isolated lines running up to the battle-front, while the Russian front is backed by a network of radiating lines with Lemberg, a convenient junction, in their midst. It would be rash to assume that a few successful actions on the Dniester have made Lemberg secure, and a good deal depends on the turn of events on tho western front, north of Przemysl, but Russian prospccts in Galicia certainly appear much more hopeful than they did in tho liffhfc of last week's news. There is an air of probability about a suggestion that the enemy in their main attack from the south were lured on. presumably by a Russian pretence of greater weakness than actually existed. Another interesting suggestion comes from Washington: that the collapse of the Russian offensive in Oalicia was caused by the loss of •Japanese supplies of munitions during the recent C'hino-,Japanese Crisis, and that the position of the Russians as regards munitions is being rapidly improved now that the crisis has passed. * * * * A mrss.mif. from the Australian official cm-respondent (Captain Bean) pictures the situation on the two battle-fronts in the Gallipoli Penin- ■-)* H'nji.Hly unr.banssd. The Allies m*. nubiacUft* th© Turkish

positions at the southern end of the 1 peninsula, to a tremendous bombardment, but the only advancc mentioned by Captain Bean was made east of Gaba Tepe by a small force of New who gallantly assaulted and captured a Turkish trench (opposite Quinn's Post), and held it in spite of a fearful hail of bombs from the enemy mortars. This is supplemented by a French communique which reports progress on the right of the southern line. An Athens cablegram states that on Wednesday (four days after the date of Captain Bean's message) the Allies occupied heights dominating Maidos, which is on the shore of tho Dardanelles, directly opposite the positions held by the Australians and New Zealanders. So far as dates a.re concerned the Greek message is not sot aside by the official report, but it needs confirmation. An advance towards Maidos would probably be coincident with an advance from the south, and it is hardly likely_ that developments of such magnitude have occurred without being officially reported. Greek reports must, of course, be either based on official reports or obtained from some less reliable source.

According to Mr, Martin Donohoe Turkey is intensely anxious for peace, and has already notified Italy that she does not intend to declare war, and is seeking a suitable channel through which to negotiate with \ha Entente Powers. Short of unconditional surrender, there is probably no way in which Turkey can escape from her unhappy entanglement with the Germanic allies, but nor attitude, if it is correctly reported, may lead to important developments where Greece and Bulgaria are concerned, Greece, like Italy, is ambitious of acquiring territory in Asia Minor, but as matters stand is ill a much less advantageous position than the latter country to press her claims. She thus has a very strong incentive to work for an _ understanding with Bulgaria which would enablo her to throw in her lot with the Entente. As Bulgaria covets tho Turkish northern provinces any real prospect of an Ottoman surrender should tend to induce both countries to take tho field in support of their claims while Turkey is still in the condition of a belligerent.

Reports from the Western theatre indicate a situation comparatively little changed, A brisk action has been fought near Dixmude, towards the northern end of the Flanders front, but it appears to have been of looal scops. Attacking under cover of poisonous gas, the Germans crosscd the Yser on Wednesday night and captured three lines of Belgian trenches. On tho following day British and other reinforcements drove them back, and it is stated that they now hold less favourable positions than those from which they started. For a long time Dixmude, which is on the eastern bank of the Yser, has been in German hands. Half of the town is now in the hands of the Allies, but whether the Germans lost this section in the battle of last week, or at an earlier period, is not stated. North of Arras, on the approach to Lens, the French are still battering their way into the fortified front covering the German communication railways. * * * #

One correspondent suggests that the Germans are contemplating a retirement to a shorter lino, but without relinquishing Lille, which is only about eight miles in rear of their present front. This does not sound very probable. The whole object of a retirement would be to shorten the line, and it could not be much shortened if Lille were retained. Great emphasis is laid upon the improvements effected in the Lille fortifications, and it is stated that the fortress would form the point o-f a formidable salient projecting into the Allied line—the point of a triangle with the base extending from Courtrai to Tournai, an 18-milo line about 10 miles in rear. This formidable salient, like any other salient, could be battered with converging fire, and might be turned. The pressure of the Allies is no doubt bringing the day steadily nearer when the Germans will be forced to retire to shorten their line, but when they do they are not likely to offer such a target as the suggested Lille salient would present. * * * *

At the head of tho Adriatic the Italians have strengthened their hold upon Monfaleone by the capture of heights dominating the place, and at the northern end of their eastern front they have foiled an Austrian turning movement. Apparently, however, they have not greatly extended their footing on the east bank of tho Isonzo. The town of Gradisca, on the west bank of the river, about seven miles north of the Gulf of Trieste, is in their hands, but they do not seem to have yet mastered the railway crossing immediately to the 60u.tn. The loss of an Italian dirigible, recently reported by the Austrians, is admitted in a message from Rome. Italy has half a dozen or more of these craft, some of them of the framelesi and others of the semi-rigid type. They are muoh smaller than the big German Zeppelins, and are navigated by a sma.ll crew.

It would have been just as well if Mb. Bryan, late American Secretary of State, had been content to hold his peace when he retired from offire. _ Instead, he has put a gross indignity upon his country by appealing to German-American citizens to use their influence with the German Government in dissuading it from steps likely to lead in the direction of! war. German-Americans are either loyal Americans or loyal Germans, and as he is presumably addressing thoso in the latter.category Mr. Bryan has made a humble appeal to tho possible enemy which his countrymen are not likely to relish. Some of the German newspapers are apparently now adopting a more pacific tone towards America. Any tendency in this direction must certainly be attributed to tho persistence with which President Wilson is contending for the immunity of neutrals on the high seas, and will not be stimulated by the undignified appeals of his late Secretary of State.