PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2497, 25 June 1915, Page 6

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

As the war news runs to-day attention will be to some extent diverted from events upon the battlefields in Europe and elsewhere to the great munitions campaign in Great Britain, which has such a vital bearing upon the future conduct and fate o- the war. In the speech just delivered by the Minister of Munitions in the House .of Commons and in other references to the subject, the dominant note is still one of urgent appeal for ever-increasing co-opera-tion and effort on the part of all engaged in the production of munitions. At the same time it is made manifest that giant strides are already being taken towards tho goal of maximum production of the material which is as essential as human valour to the successful prosecution of modern war. Enough light is thrown upon the position to show also that the part Britain is called upon to play in the development and expansion of war industries is far greater than many people had realised. Entering the war' with an army of some 2,500,000 men, as against the initial British Expeditionary Force of about 150,000 men, France naturally had the war industries required to maintain her land forccs developed on a much greater scale than Great Britain. To-day Me. Lloyd George is able to state that the surplus of engineering resources available for the war is greater in Britain than in France. This does not necessarily mean that war production in Britain at its maximum height will overtop that of France, but it may mean that. Britain has already _ gone far in developing her war industries. At all events, since her surplus of resources is greater, sho has a correspondingly greater responsibility than that of France in reaching tho surplus production of munitions which must be reaehed to bring victory in the war into sight. Britain is called upon not only to provide equipment and munitions for her own growing armies and those of the Dominions, but to largely supplement tho equipment of some of her Allies.

In the main the information supplied concerning the munitions campaign is encouraging. Months of effort and organisation will be requir-. Ed to carry war production in Britain to its maximum, but it may be inferred from what the Minister of Munitions has said that workers and employers as a rule are co-operating in the great work with loyalty and enthusiasm. The munitions campaign has such a, wide appeal that it has brought men as dissimilar as Lord Kitchener and Ms. Ben Tillet (an erstwhile strike leader) into a common fold to work, each in his own way, for a common end. In face of the supreme crisis which confronts the country, it is almost impossible to credit the statement of the Minister of Munitions that certain operators have manifested an inclination to hold supplies of metals with a view to a rise in price. The statement, however, is made by a responsible Minister. It may be set beside the fact that a number of miners in Wales recently projected a strike, to show that the response made to'the appeal of the_ nation in its hour of crying need is not yet perfect! The only possible verdict upon these departures from the common rule is that the guilty parties a.re friends of the enemy and traitors to their own country; as truly as if they had fought against_ her on the field of battle. Happily the broad position seems to be that practically the whole of those concerned in the production of munitions havo accepted, or are about to accept, conditions relating to compulsory arbitration which will absolutely make an end of strikes and lock* outs during the war. * • * * * At first glance some alarm may be caused by Mr. Lloyd George's implied admission that the output of munitions by the Entente is not yet equal to that of I he Dual Alliance. One of his remarks was that, "if in earnest we could surpass the Aus-tro-German output/' This means that while, as the Minister of Munitions remarked, the Knlentc has an admi tM .MipennfSfc.y ie.wj'ni fcoth .in aurube£s pajjitei iJUOS ißi

ferior in the matter of material equipment. This may seem an unsatisfactory and disquieting state of affairs after nearly eleven months of war, but the dissatisfaction of armchair critics will solve no problems. In spite of their inferior supplies of material, the Allies have worked wonders. That the inferiority, except perhaps in details, no longer applies in the Western theatre has lately been demonstrated. Lack of preparation and lack of adequate equipment in the early stages of the war must be held responsible for the fact that Germany still occupies ten French departments and most of Belgium, but the successes lately gained by the Allies on the Western line would have been impossible had they not enjoyed a superiority in n-rtillery and been fairly well equipped in other rcspccts. Mr. Lloyd GEonoEindicatcs that increased numbers of machineguns are still badly wanted, but that the-v can be supplied within-the next few weeks.

It is upon Russia that the crushdisability due to inadequate equipment has chiefly fallen, and the continued invasion of her territory in Poland and the Baltic Provinces bears witness to the fact. Its latest exemplification is the AustroGerman recapture of Lemberg, reported as yet upon enemy authority, but scarcely to bo doubted. But if Russia has borne, and must still bear for a time, the heaviest disability incidental to inadequate equipment and munitions, she has adapted her strategy to these circumstances with wonderful skill and fortitude, and with a degree of success that commands the admiration of the world. From what the Minister of Munitions has said, it must be taken that Austria and Germany are still ahead of the Entente in their output of munitions. But in their conflicts with the Russian armies they arc called upon to expend munitions afc a rate wholly disproportionate to the results achieved. Russian strategy and prowess thus materially simplify the problem of building up such a superiority in the production of munitions as will make it possible to smash the Gcr'man resistance in the Western theatre, and ultimately to so supplement the equipment of Russia as to enable her to strike with equal effect on the opposite front. * * * * Ik one respect at least the later developments of the munitions campaign have a direct and practical interest for New Zealand. Mk. Lloyd Geouge told a questioner in the House of Commons that as regarded labour the only acute shortage was in skilled workmen in the engineering and shipbuilding trades. Canada, he added, was the only Dominion from which workmen had been invited to join the State workshops, but should the occasion arise he would not hesitate to take a similar stop with the other 'Dominions. It would be easy, but wrong, to let the matter drop at this point. The Minister of Munitions _ has pointed to the other Dominions, New Zealand among the number, as his ultimate sources of supply where skilled workmen are concerned. It is possible' that the steps that are being taken to recall skilled workers from the Army and other related measures may provide the labour supply required. On the other hand, in a war of this magnitude it is wise and prudent 1 to reckon upon ultimate reserves being called up, and this applies just as strongly to industries engaged in producing munitions as it does to military service. The sensible thing for the authorities in this country to do is to take the initial step in organising tie reserve of skilled workers in this country so that it may be immediately available if it is required. The matter need go no further than the registration of i suitable men willing to go Homo if they are calftd upon, and to remain at call. A list of such men could be compiled with little difficulty, and at small cost, if the Government the aid of .the workmen's organisations and associations of employers. The compilation of the list would take a certain amount of time, and it is desirable that it should be done at once. Lacking a register of this character, which would bear only the names of approved and qualified men, the Government might find itself in difficulties later on if it received a sudden appeal from the Imperial Government to send -Home a body of men to assist in the production of munitions. * * * » Beyond the fact that Lemberg has fallen, the situation in Galicia is not very clearly defined at time of writing. A Pctrograd communique states that the Russians quitted the city on Tuesday. There are somewhat conflicting accounts of the fighting north and west of the city, but there is no reason to ploubt that the Russians in this region are drawn well back towards their' own frontier, though they still occupy a limited strip of Northern Galicia. More interest attaches to the fate of the Russian armies along the Dniester. According to the latest available messages from Petrograd, tho Russians ha-ve badly beaten the enemy at several places on the river south and west of Lemberg. The latest message of all indicates that the victory won in this region was of considerable magnitude, and to somo extent compensates for the loss of Lemberg and the defeats in Northern Galicia which led up to it. At the same time, a Russian retreat into the eastern end of Galicia is presumably inevitable. The section of tho Dniester lately held by the Russians is commanded at several points by railway approaches from Lemberg. Since they were already being attacked from the south, the Russians must have evacuated practically tho whole extent of the river where it runs through Galicia now that Lemberg is in the hands of the enemy. On the news in hand it would appear that the retreat was executed in good time and in good order, a smashing blow being first struck at the enemy endeavouring to force the passage of the river from the south. Equal forethought appears to have marked the withdrawal from Lemberg, for it is stated by the Russians, and confirmed in an Austrian message, that all stores had been removed from Lemberg before the attacking forccs entered. The Austrians and Germans are naturally jubilant over their success, but past experience of the Eastern campaign suggests that they be wise to look out for the rebound which has usually followed an extended retirement of the Russian armies. * * * * News from the Western theatre shows that the Allied offensive is being- developed with no slackening of energy. The German front is being vigorously assaulted in Lorraine, Alsace, and elsewhere, as well as I tinvHi nf Arcn-Pi In «omr instances the has hsea tcwpwajHy. sue-.

cessful in counter-attacks, but where these tactics are adopted in face of I a superiority of artillery thev are likely to lie very costly. It is almost as important to the Allies to induce the enemy to expend men fruitlessly as to gain points of vantage dominating hisjront.^ A dispatch from Sir lan Hamilton amplifies the accounts already given of the successful assault on the southern Turkish line in the Gallipoli Peninsula. In a paragraph yesterday, dealing with this engagement, the terms ''left" and "right' 1 wore inadvertently transposed. The French, who advanced and captured trenches, are on the right of the line, towards the Strait. British, Indian, and probably colonial troops, hold the line from the right centre to the extreme left (resting on the Gulf of Saros). * * * * The insistent appeal for recruits which is being made in Australia may seem strange in tho light of the intimation concerning recruiting lately received in New Zealand from the Imperial authorities. Possibly, however, the Australian appeal, though made at. Imperial instigation, relates to a local and not to a general shortage of recruits. It has been reported that some of the Australian reinforcement drafts have been short of the required quota. At all events the New Zealand Minister of.Defence has received no such communication as appears to have been transmitted to the_ Government of Australia. An additional thousand men are being called for to bring the reinforcements of the i mounted troops of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (who have gone to tho front as infantry) up to in- [ fantry standard, but the Govern- ! ment is taking _ this step upon its own responsibility, and not at the 1 request of the Imperial authorities. Though the pace of recruiting in this country fluctuates at times, the response to the call to a>rms has upon the whole been splendidly sustained, and no doubt the extra thouI sand men now wanted will be easily obtained.

To a correspondent who complains about the postage on newspapers to Egypt (where they are wanted by wounded men and other soldiers), the official reply is made that no reduction in the charge of one penny on each newspaper (even when they are posted in bundles) is possible bccause the rate is fixed by agreement with the Government of Egypt, as it is by agreement with the postal authorities in other parts of the Empire. This cannot be called satisfactory. The route to bo covered is all-British, and a better arrangement could no doubt easily be made if the Egyptian Government were approached on the subject. This is not a time to raise trilling questions, but the supply of comforts of all kinds (amongst which home newspapers mnst certainly be included) to wounded and other soldiers is not a trifling question. It would certainly be in accordance with the universal wish, here and in other parts of the Empire, that any parcels and postal packets which can be transmitted to the soldiers at the front or in hospital should be transmitted at the lowest possible rate, and no doubt a satisfactory arrangement on the subject, of Imperial scope, could easily be arrived at. Papers and parcels for our troops could be sent as cargo and delivered by officials of our own in Egypt.