PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2648, 20 December 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

• News of actual, events in tho war is scanty at time of writing, but there is a great deal of more or less vague talk ab'out coming events, some of which can, only Be attributed, directly or indirectly, to the German publicity agents. Definite news tells of minor successes by the Allies in both main theatres. In the Western theatre there has been a normal continuance of the vigorous artillery and aerial bombardment which aims at wearing clown and ; weakening the enemy and denying him any respite for rest and recuperation. The most positive results of late seem, to have been obtained in Lorraine, where the railway station at Met-z has been bombarded from the air, while further south important damage has been done by the French artillery to the German defensive works. What news there is'from Russia indicates that matters have been going against the enemy also in that region. An Austrian communique gives an obviously one-sided account of recent operations on the Isonzo front. That the Italians lost 70,000 men in a fork night's continuous fighting on this front is possibly somewheat near the truth, but the total of losses suffered simultaneously by the Austri&ns is needed to complete tho picture, and the statement that, "all positions remain firmly in our hands" is plainly intended to deceive: The , Italians have given detailed information concerning the capture of many important positions in their recent offensive, and there can bo no doubt that, as a result of their necessarily costly assaults, tho great defensive barrier along the Isonzo is materially weaker than it was. In the Balkans and in other Near Eastern _ campaigns there is a lull which is not unfavourable- to the Allies.

There is a clear line to be drawn between the unsensational accounts of the course of the war during the last few days and .the vague but pretentious stories of pending Gorman action which occupy more space in the cablegrams than news. _ The general purport of these' stories is that Germany is about to strike hard somewhere— precisely the impression, of oourse, that Germany wishes to keep alive as long as possible, for the encouragement of her own public, the edification of neutrals, and, if possible, the anxiety of the nations to. which she stands opposed. Wellinformed opinion in London, it will be noted, discounts the current prodictions of a renewed German offensive in .the Western theatre, but is inclinod to regard an attack upon the Suez Canal as a serious possibility, while the scale upon which the Allies arc organising their defence at Salonika is a proof that they expect only a limited respite in that quarter. The cloudy rumours which now so largely fill tho war picture will presently disperse and give, place to action, probably of the most important oharacer, but to suppose that the translation from existing conditions to intenso action will depend solely,or even largely, upon German initiative would-do to form a quite erroneous estimate of possibilities, and one not justified by visible facts. There is little talk of contemplated aggression by the Allies, but it docs not make their power less formidable that they choose to work out their plans and perfect their preparations largely in silence and secrccy. It would be going altogether too far to assume that Govmimy's power of ofjflMlYß aefcioflrife thei'a

is much reason_ to suppose that lier power of offensive action on a grand scale is materially reduced, while tho power of the Allies is gaining and gathering head. There is more real significance in tho news that General Pau has been stationed permanently at Petrograd than in all the misty talk now current atiout a coming German offensive. Geneiul Pau is an officer of the very highest standing, and when w'ar broke out he was regarded as a possible candidate for tho post of Generalissimo of the French Armies, with claims not inferior to those of General Joffbe himself. That France should send so distinguished an ofiicor to tho Russian Headquarters is a striking proof of the fashion in which the Allijs am working with a single mind for the overthrow of their common enemy.

It has been said that the present lull in the Balkans is not unfavourable to the Allies, and the reason is patent. Until very recently the enemy was prosecuting a vigorous offensive against numerically inferior Allied forces, and ' making rapid headway. Now he is at a standstill, except perhaps in Montenegro, from which quarter there is no news at the moment, and what is known of the preparations being made by the Allies holds out a hope that when the struggle is renewed it will be renewed on more equal terms, even if tho former conditions are not reversed. The position reached is chiefly interesting for the time being as affording an indication th.at there is a definite limit to the enemy's available force in the Balkans. He is so much worse off now than if he had been able to attack tho Allies in overwhelming strength and pursue them without let or intermission to Salonika that nothing but lack of the necessary 'force will account for his failure to do so. If he had possessed tho requisite strength it is hardly likely that scruples about invading Greece would have sufficed to stay his progress, nor is it more likely that Greece would have offered any effectual protest against such a pursuit. One thing which has been made abundantly clear is that Greece, as represented by King ConSTANTINE, is determined to be on tho winning side, and the spectacle of an Austro-German army sweeping triumphant to the sea would probably have won at least the respectful fblcration of the Kino of Greece and his party. At all events the present condition of affairs represents a decided cheek to an enterprise in wh'ich the enemy has hitherto been markedly successful, and tho check, besides giving the Allies time to introduce greater forces and dispose them to bettor advantage, should have a usefully repressive effect upon proGerman tendencies in Greece and Rumania. 1

One reason given for;tlie enemy's delay _in attacking >£he Allies at Salonika is that Tie is impeded by transport difficulties, arising from the destruction .of bridges and tunnels, and that his heavy artillery has not yet reached the Greek frontier. Another reason, and perhaps a'potent one, appears to arise from the attitude of Greece. It has been stated' several times that Greece is evacuating a zone between her northern frontier and Salonika, but indications now are that she is setting her face determinedly against tho invasion of her territory, at any rate by the Bulgarians, of whom King Constantine has spoken as the hereditary enemies of Greece. The latest available reports declare, on the one hand, that the German Minister at Athens has notified Greece that on account of the Allied fortification of Salonika Germany will be compelled to invade Greece, antt on the other that the Greek Prime Minister ■has informed the German Minister that the entry of German and Bulgarian troops would raise questions which might place Greece in a position of difficulty. It is here implied that Greece is prepared to defend her territory not only against the Bulgarians but against their Germanic allies. This goes rather ahead of previous news, and all that can he said meantime is that the attitude credited to Greece would be a strictly reasonable one to adopt. Where the invasion of her territory is concerned, tho distinction between the Bulgarians and the Austrians and Germans with whom they are allied is practically nominal. The nature of the Allied preparations at Salonika, and especially the con|struction of formidable entrenchindicates that they are in expectation of standing a siege, and this runs counter to the idea that the Greeks _ are prepared to defend their frontiers, but at' the moment the evidence is not oonclusive one way or the other.

The great question immediately at stake in tie Balkans is whether the Allies intend to fight a holding campaign for a time or to embark at an early date upon a counter-offensive. Even if the first-mentioned alternative is considered more probable the outlook is much brighter than seemed possible a little while ago. Unless he 'is content to tamely await attack on his lines of communications through the Balkans the enemy must himself attack not only the Allies in Greece, but the Serbs, Montenegrins, and Italians in the territories along the Adriatic coast, and if he intends at the same time to proseoute his designs against Egypt ho will have his hands more than full. There is still Russia to be considered as a factor in the Balkan situation It will be noticed that the Serbian Minister inLondon takes the presenoe of a Russian army in Bessarabia, that is to. say, on the Rumanian frontier, for granted. It it serves no other 'immediate purpose, the presence of such an army will at least strengthen the position of Entente sympathisers in Rumania and correspondingly,weaken that of the pro-German element. Taking it that the Serbs and Montenegrins are now reasonably secure against overwhelming attack, the general position roaehed in the Balkans seems to_ permit of the Allies hiding their time. The enemy, on the other hand, is clearly under the necessity of striking without delay, lest conditions should develop still furthor to his disadvantage, and the necessity is all the greater if ho intends to attempt an attack . upon Egypt.

A late message indicates that Grecce is objecting only to the invasion of her territory by Bulgarian troops, but the oomment is added by the London Times that the AustroGcrman forces alone arc insufficient —a comment apparently warranted by what is known of-tho progress of the Balkan campaign and the relative part borne by the Austro-Ger-mans and their Bulgarian allies—so that the final position reached may be much the samo as if tho Greek obioatiou had bcou o£ general applijwJiios*

Seriously as the enemy project of attacking the' Suez Canal is being discussed in London, very little definite information on the 'subject is available. It is generally agreed that the Turks are constructing _ a light railway into the Sinai vPeninsula, but its actual line.of route is hardly more definitely located than the line to El Dorado. The other day it was reported that the railway would enter tho Sinai Peninsula on the north, after passing within about foul' miles of the Mediterranean c.oast. Now it is said that the line will probably strike the Akaba-Suez pilgrim track, towards the southern end of the peninsula, so as to avoid the danger of sea attack. The rail-, way, as reports go, is to be accompanied by a pipe-line for the conveyance of water. This in itself would seem to involve a somewhat remarkable engineering feat. Various statements are made in the messages published to-day, which have little practical bearing upon the possibilities of a campaign against Egypt. It is remarked by one writer, for instance, that troops can be taken from Constantinople to Beersheba, in Southern Syria, in four days. If this is intended to imply that any more than a very limited number of troops oould bt transported thus speedily, it is certainly wide of the facts. Tho truth is that if there were no better Evidence of an impending attack on the Canal than is presented in the news to-day, there would be little reason to expect it. There are standing considerations, however, which make an attack possible, if not probable. Meantimo, as considerable doubt obtains as to the nature of the Turkish plains and preparations, there need be no doubt that the British defence of the Canal is organised efficiently and in adequate strength.

The latest victims of British submarines in the Baltic are a German light cruiser, the Bremen, and an accompanying torpedoer. It is somewhat remarkable that first news of the event should be conveyed in ' a wireless message _ from Berlin, and the possibility arises that the enemy., by a limited admission, may be attempting to cover some more serious loss.

Haifa, where a French oru'iser has destroyed a Gorman munitions factory, is a- Syrian seaport, situated in the Bay of Acre. The place 'is connected by a cross-country line with the Mecca, railway, which runs south towards the Sinai Peninsula, but why the Germans should choose so exposed a site for a munitions faotory is something of a mystery. The most probable explanation is that the munitions wore_ of a kind required by submarines; _ otherwise there would be every possible motive for choosing a site well removed from the coast.