PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2609, 3 November 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

A dispatch from Sir John French, which was published as late news yesterday, makes it quite clear that the British attack on the German lines south of' La Bassee was not, as a French correspondent recently declared, an abortive attempt to burst through the German front in that region, but a highly successful enterprise of a less amuitious character. That the Commander-in-Chief makes no mention of such an attempt as tho correspondent alleged counts for little, but the whole tone of the dispatch indicates that the attack succeeded admirably and achieved all that could reasonably have been expected. The enemy "was dislodged from works of great strength on a front of nearly four miles, and the powerful La Bassee salient was extended—that is to say, it now prajeets more acutely from the German line than before the British drove home their attack—and is correspondingly more' open to assault. The onlv unsatisfactory feature of the dispatch is that a specific statement of the ground regained by German counter-attacks, on the front south of La Bassee,' has apparently been deleted by the Censor. However, it is established that the greater part of the area won in tho' British assault has been retained.'

* * / . • # It is'Cjne of the jmost, interesting facts chronicled by Sir John French that tpl the'; British assault the' FrenchWreiidja their left flank apct; took y&ve'r part of the ground wnich." thgir Allies had dislodge'^KUi«..cß&Exv ; a short section ofifirojiV thus transferred, bfipjasy shortening of the British line)/is,an immediate view when allowance is madeVto'rfho strength of tho enemy the British forces are at several points opposed, it can scarcely be supposed that the Flanders front (other than the section held by the Belgians) and less than twenty miles of front in Northern France absorb the whole strength of the British Army now available for scrvice in the main theatre. The known British line represents considerably less than a tenth of the whole Western front, and this is certainly very far, from indicating the relative strength of the French and British Armies. That the British front was slightly shortened after the big battle in September niay have been due to purely local cimupstances, but it is a matter of much greater importance that it has not, so far as is known, been materially extended. Prior to the September battle the British had taken over a section of the Flanders front formerly occupied by the French, and extended their line a few miles south of La Bassee, but this can hardly be taken to represent a full application of available British strength. Tlie most obvious explanation is that Hie Western Allies are holding considerable forces in reserve and iu readiness to be thrown against the enemy either on some part of the present Western front or at some new point of attack. Untried troops would not, of course, be retained for such service, but under a system of relief the test and training of active service could be applied to a much larger number uf troops than arc needed to hold and ongago tbg enemy on the pmcut front,

A section of tho British Coji-iunder-in-Chief's report relating to poison gases gives tho assurance that his _ troops employed this agent against the Germans with marked success, though the latter were not taken by surprise in having their own weapon turned against them. It is .to be inferred ,from what Sir John French has said on this subject that the Allies do not contemplate making any extensive use of poison gas, and in using it south of La Bassee were animated chiefly by a desire to inflict reprisals on the enemy. Reason for this attitude must be sought not in any feeling of consideration for the Germans, who have forfeited every title to consideration, but presumably in an opinion that poison gas, as an agent of attack, is of limited efficacy. Soou after the Germans made their first gas attacks, some military experts expressed the opinion that the resources so applied would bo raoio profitably applied to the production of legitimate woapons and munitions, and colour is lent to their opinion by the fact that no piononnced success resulting from the use of poison gas has been reported since the Germans made their initial gas attacks in Flanders and in Russia, The success of these attacks was largely accounted for by the e'ement of surprise and tho fact tb.it tho troops attacked were unprovided with tho devices, now availfcllc, which afford fairly efficient protection against tho effects of the fume?.

Matters have developed materially since Sir John French penned his dispatch, but the latest available information as to events in the main theatres goes to deepen ths impression conveyed by the dispatch (if a deliberate but successful working out of tho policy of weakening the enemy on his present line. It ba3 been said by a German military writer that co-ordination between the Eastern and Western Allies exists at present only on paper, and at a surface view this contention may seem to be supported by the fact that the Western Allies are still fighting practically on the line to which they drove the Germans a year ago, while the Russians have hardly begun to roll back the invasion which has deeply penetrated their territory. Only now, when the Allies in Russia and in the Western theatre arc beginning to make their weight neavily felt, are these theories being put to the test. Co-ordination on the part of the Allies may have been a dead letter when the " Germanic Powers were in predominant strength, but now that they are decisively checked in Russia and still moro at a loss in the Western theatre, it is visibly operating. Unless reports in hand aro false, the Germans are now transferring considerable bodies of troops from Russia to the Western theatre at a time when it is more than cver_ necessary, from their point of view, that a decisive blow should bo' struck in Russia. The broad facts 'of the position in the Western theatre seem to bo that the Allies, though, they have demonstrated their ability to cut deeply into defences which the Germans intended to be impregnable, have no present intention of attempting the doubtful enterprise of driving the Germans back to a shorter line, and one therefore on which they might be able to offer a mo'e effective resistance than where they now stand. The Germans are under the necessity; of concentrating in France and Flandors all the strength'they can spare from other theatres, and at the same time_ they are unable to make any effective use of this strength, and aro condemned to wasto it in abortive attacks, the list of which is lengthening day by day. There was a time when the Western Allies seemed to be rendering no visible aid to their hard-pressed Allies on the opposite front, but this is certainly not tho position to-day. Short of some unforeseen disaster to tho Allies, it is most unlikely that tho Germans will ever again be able to withdraw force from the Western theatre to employ it against the Russians. No such position could possibly have been reached if strength had been wasted in premature attempts .to helo tho Russians at a- time when effectual aid was impossible.

* * * * Where fact ends and fiction begins in messages relating to the Balkan campaign it is not. at the moment easy to say. During the last few days it has been a question whether the Serbs and their Allies might not succeed in clearing the southern sections of the main railways, upon which the Bulgarians have effected a lodgment, and so pave the way for a defensive campaign in Middle and Southern Serbia, with the advantage of open communications with Salonika. This hope is not brightened by the current news. So far from being attacked in their positions along tho railway, or further east, on their flank, the Bulgarians are apparently themselves attacking the Serbian and Allied forces in Southern' Serbia. Tho intentions of Grcece meantime remain as uncertain as'ever. Further north the Bulgarians are pressing their advance towards the railway- north and south of Nish, and if these attacks succeed the enemy will soon be in possession of a continuous railway through Serbia and Bulgaria info Turkey.

The worst news of all is contained in a- German communique which assorts that the Teutons have captured Kragujevatz. This place stands 45 miles south of the northern frontier, at the end of a short branoh' line which runs south-west from the main railway up the Mo rave Valley, and until recently it was tha principal Serbian arsenal. It is possible that the Serbs have modified their internal military organisation in preparation for the present campaign, and that other arsenals have . been established further south, but even so the capture of Kragujevatz, if it has been effected, implies that the Serbs are in desperate straits. Kragujevatz lies well to the south of the lines upon which the Battle of the Bidges was fought, and the Austrians crushingly defeated, in December last, and might have been expected to be safe for a time even in view of the desperate handicap under which the Serbs are at present lighting. It is uncertain, however, how far the situation as regards the northern invasion has been modified by the Austrian advance across the western frontier of Serbia, which appears lately to have made considerable headway. This westorn invasion has possibly made untenable the positions in which the Serbs fought victoriously in December. The report that Kragujevatz has been captured _ must nevertheless await confirmation, more especially as a •message of Austrian origin, published yesterday, stated tliqt it was expcctsd that the final battle between the Austro-Gcrmans ai)d Serbians would t'3kf. placo three weeks hence, in the region of Kragujevata

While reports of developing disaster in the Serbian campaign may be in some details open to doubt they are in the main much more positive than the accompanying re-, ports and rumours of action contemplated by the Entente for the relief of Serbia. Some of these stories take rise from General Joffrg's visit to London. The most ornate version is supplied by the Daily Mail, which declares that General Joffre went, to London to find out exactly what the British Government intended to do in regard to Serbia. Anther more hopeful prospects are opened up in further references made to-day to a Russian Balkan expedition. If the Russians invaded Bulgaria in force Serbia would be materially relieved and Entente prospects generally in the Balkans would be materially brightened. It must be confessed, however, that there is nothing very definite to go upon 'where a Russian expedition is conccrned. A report from Bucharest that the Russians have lauded" at Varna (on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast), and another from Berne, tliat the Tsar reviewed a great Balkan expedition in the presence of Rumanian attaches, who were greatly impressed,l hold out promise of big happenings, but await confirmation.