PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2653, 27 December 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

At this time last year the Allies were encompassed by perils in tho war, and their immediate prospects were dark. Yet there was no talk of peace. Dogged determination on the part of the Allies, and tho arrogant self-assurance of the Germans, maintained between them an atmosphere of war in which there was no place for any hint of peace negotiations or peace intrigue. Much has happened in the intervening 3'ear, and prominence is given in the news to-day to peace agitation in Germany, and to a peace boom which is being engineered by the German-Americans in the United States. This last is the latest of a number of indications that Qermany is willing, if not eager, to negotiate for peace on the basis of her present standing in the war. As a correspondent who gives an extended account of tho German-American intrigue, remarks, it would bo unwise to overestimate, its importance. That tho enemy is willing to negotiate on his own terms does not mean that ho fias been brought to terms. At the same time it is a -hopeful and encouraging fact that the Germans, who were so confident of victory a year ago, aro now hunting through the international byways in search of a way out of the difficulties in which their criminal attempt upon tho liberties of Europe has involved them. This peace boom in America may be paltry enough in itself. The internal agitation in Germany is likely to prove ultimately very much more important. In any case, they are symptomatic, in their aggregate effect, of much else apparent in the war which makes the outlook.at the end of this year as bright as the outlook at the end of last year was dark. * * » »

In its details tho peace boom in the United States seems to be a rather feeble and inept effort,of its kind. Such prominence as it .has gained it owes to the agitation of the proGerman Press iu the United States aud the avowed aim is to "mobilise American humanitarianism" in support of a strong peace movement. On its merits a proposal to enlist American humanitarianism in the service and for the relief of Prussian militarism is grotesque. There was, or seemed to be, at one time, a real clanger that Germans and pro-Ger-mans might be able to create serious difficulties for the_ Allies by a, propaganda in the United States. . Tney .had two great sections of public opinion work upon. In America there is a host of people who hate war, and are therefore liable to_ be drawn into support of a peace agitation without giving due weight to the merits of the issues at stake. Another section of American _ public opinion to be reckoned with is the dollar-hunting fraternity, which has largely inspired the various .Notes addressed by the United States to Britain'on the subject, of interference with neutral trade. It is unlikely, however, that the danger any longer exists of German agitation in the United States succeeding to the point of complicating the position of the Allies. > .»■ * « v

Germany's'atrocious conduct of the war has antagonised the great bulk of the American people who are capable of regarding the facts with an open mind, and the attempt to arouse popular feeling against Great Britain and her Allies by an-_ agitation based on commercial considerations seems also' to have died a natural death. The moderation of the Allies in using their sea power, and American self-interest, must equally tend to defeat this particular attempt, though it has at times threatened to attain serious dimensions. In a speech by Lord Robert Cecil, reported to-day., the point is strongly made that it is not Britain's policy to go to, war with neutrals in order to effectively blockade Germany. Making the blockade reasonably effective- has' entailed inevitable interference with the trada. of the United States and other neutral countries, but everything possible has been done to safeguard the interests of these countries, and the United States in particular, if it has lost in some directions, has gained iri others by developing an enormous export trade in war munitions. Practical evidence of tho sentiments ruling in the United States to-dav is to be found in the fact that diplomatic relations between that country and the Germanic Empires are strained almost to the breaking point, while relations with Great Britain and her Allies are to all appearance unimpaired.

The United States no longer affords the Germans favourable ground for the promotion of a peace agitation, and the Allies arc certainly not prepared to negotiate with Germany on her own terms. It fpllows that the peace boom now being engineered is devoid of significance, except as an evidence,' for what it is worth, of enemy weakness. The promoters of the agitation aro very far astray in their reported belief that recent events, and especially tho partial withdrawal from the Dardanelles, give an excellent opportunity _ of "mobilising American humanitarianism" in support of a Gennan peacc movement. Eccent events, including the partial withdrawal from the Dardanelles, have witnessed a continuous improvement and sticngthening of tho Allied position in the war, and there are better ways in sight ■ of asserting tho principles of Jiumanitarianism than by permitting Germany ai) aficapo from tho con.soI bijmwos fli Mr- crimes, Ift

ance the effect of the agitation so far, outside the limited . circle in which it finds favour, been to inspire a newspaper discussion leading to the expression of views which are not likely to be taken up or pressed by any, important section of public opinion 'in the United States. It is the view of the New York Tribune, for instance, that Germany is soundly beaten, and that the Allies can afford .to make peace ,instead of persevering in attempts to crush her, and "an intellectual weekly" ; is credited with the remarkable opinion that if Germany is granted an easy compromise she may be bribed to keep the peace hereafter. Talk of this kind answers itself. Germany will be soundly beaten, for practical purposes, only when she is compelled to sue for peace.

It would be possiblo to confidently estimate the practical importance of the striking manifesto by the German "Humanity League cabled today, only if something definite were known about the power and standing of the organisation by which it is issued. There are accompanying reports of peace meetings in Berlin which led to rioting and loss of life, but there is no definite evidence that the hold of the Kaiser and his fel-low-conspirators (as the manifesto calls them) upon thecountry they are leading to destruction, has materially weakened. The .manifesto is an impressive denunciation of German militarism and its crimes, and its declaration that there can be no peace _until the* Kaiser is deposed and his fellow-conspirators 'have met their fate at the hands of the executioner, indicates a' sane appreciation of Germany's true interests. If these opinions are widely held among the German people, Germany is on the brink of a revolution. _ Such ■ a revolution would in all likelihood end the war," but the Germans have walked like sheep thus far under the guidance of their- war lords, and it seems almost too much to expect that at, this late stage they will prove themselves equal to bursting _ their fetters. So long as the military machine han£» together . maximum difficulties will oppose such a'bid for freedom, and the only way of release for Germany, as for Europe, seems to be the smashing of 'the, great war machine into which the German people have allowed themselves to be organised.

From the further particulars now. furnished it is evident that a battle of considerable importance has been fought, and is perhaps still in progress, in Southern Alsace, j As to the position,reached, reports are more or less in conflict. The Germans claim that they have completely recaptured the famous Hartmansweilerkopf, but French reports tell of a battle fought on a front extending some two miles south of this place, and admit retiring to their original positions only on a limited section of this front, on, the northern slope of Hartmansweilerkopf. All the captured ground, they state, is held on a front over a mile long south of this section, and German attacks have been repulsed still further south. On available reports it seems likely that the Germans have reported a partial recovery of lost,ground as a complete recovery, while conveniently ignoring the fairly _ extended operations in which their one successful counterattack was but a single detail.

It is claimed by the French that they not only drove homo a successful 'attack, but anticipated a </er-, man offensive. • The enemy undoubtedly has every incentive to attempt such an enterprise, for in this part of Alsace ho is most dangerously exposed to attack. The French hold the valleys affordingipassage.through the Vosges, and are'posted on the eastern fringe of the mountains. So! placed they can afford'to' keep the enemy engaged and wait their opportunity, but 'the Germans must Strike now with effect or approach the culminating struggle of the war with their southern flank more or less open and exposed to 1 attack.

Most of the reports' available at the moment relating to the Balkans tell of the disposition of enemy forces,- and are presumably more or less speculative in . character. No material ichange .is 'disclosed in Greece, and neither Austro-Germans nor Bulgarians appear' to have yet entered Greek territory. , In the absence of confirmation the report of a fhissian landing at Varna, on the Bulgarian coast, seems now to bo definitely discredited., The total effect of the news.in hand is to leave matters, with this exception., much as they were.

Definite news of German-Turkish intontions in regard to an attack on Egypt and the Suez, Canal is as scarce' as ever, but a brother of Enver Bey is credited with • the statement that the attack will be delivered towards the end of- next month. This is possible only if the army to be engaged is already well' on its way. • '

News from Rome shows that the Italians are now meeting counterattacks in the area of their recent offensive on the Isonzo front. Hopes of the early fall of Gorizia, which would have paved the way for an advance into Istria, have thus departed. This does not mean that Italian plans have broken down, but only that correspondents and others assumed them, to be at a more advanced stage of development than tftey had actually reached.*

The Kaiser, according to a Rome report, has addressed a proclamation to the Serbian people, in which he apostrophises tnem as heroes, and proffers them friendship. If the story is not true, it is a. most artistic invention. It would be in keeping, with what is known of the character of the Kaiser that he should offer bombast and rhodomontado as consolation and lure to a people upon whom he and his vassal Allies have inflicted the last calamities of w;ar. Addressed by the most irresponsible autocrat in Europe to a democratic nation, the assertion that the Ger- ' mans and their associates are fighting the Serbian Government and not the people, and that it is their aim to "reorganise the national liberty of the. Serbs," is a gem of its kind. People who have borne every ill that fortune can send them in defenco of their national liber/ties aro not likely to be cozeneil by talk of this kind. It is by indomitably opposing the Kaisek and all his hordes, native and bought, that the Serbs have' proved themselves a race of heroes, .and they may be trusted now to fight on, looking to the day of deliverance and victory, and to turn a deaf ear to the smooth words of the oppressor who has laid their country waste. The Kaiser's proclamation, assuming it to be genuine, raises only one point of practical interest. That it has been • issued suggests that the troops still employed against the Serbs aro badly wanted elsewhere. To assign My. other inspiration to