PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2711, 4 March 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

To expect can dour and an ope treatment of war questions in th German Press would bo foolish. Lik everything else in Germany it is 01 ganised for war, and is not onl, strictly censored, but is controlled b the authorities in a \ fashion fo which it would be hard to find parallel in any other country. A a general rule, therefore, what aj: pears in Qcrman newspapers mus be regarded not as the truth but a what the German War Staff and th German Government would lik people in G&rmany an 1 abroad t believe and accept as the trutl: Giving full weight to these consu! orations, it is still possible to regain the budget of quotations from Gei man newspapers which is publishc to-day as an involuntary burst o Bslf-rovelation. It seems to 'be ease in which a web of words ha signally failed to hide or even ot scure the unpalatable truth, whic it was sought to hide by these,means and there need be no difficulty abou accepting the opinion expressed i: one message that the tone of Gei man newspaper comments indicate that Germany is exasperated beeaus her peace feelers have'been rejectee and that she is therefore waging savage offensive in a desperate effor to force a victory."' * * * * Angek is the keynote of these ver interesting German comments on th Verdun battle and its bearing on th jnajor issues ..of the war. 'The; breathe rancour in evory phrase, an' since anger is inconsistent with wis policy and balanced judgment, it i on this account all the more likel, that they really, contain a revelatio: of the German official mind. The in: mediate motive is, of course, a desir to make the best of what has hap pened, and iho. method adopted i to claim for Germany a triumph sh has not in fact won. The Germa: newspapers, wo,are told, are jubilan over the result of the Verdun battle a-n'd claim that a great and unex pectcd success "has been won at n very heavy cost. As reports go, the seem to have passed over, the incor renient task of explaining precise! what the success is that warrants s much Jubilation. Their predicamen is easily to be understood, for noth ing is plainer than that the Verdui battle has run its course, or, at al events, come to an end of its openin; phase, leaving matters very much a they were, with the qualificatioi only that Germany has paid a wholl disproportionate price for a loca gain of ground which does not brin. her perceptibly nearer to the decisiv victory she is out to win. *: * * * Leaving matters at this poin't, th German comments would scarcel; have merited a moment's considera ■fcion, but having fulfilled their in evitable duty of minimising lossc and exaggerating gains, the obedicn mouthpieces oj German officialdor procccd to assert that a staggering reply has been given to the spceci in which Mu. Asquith declared las week that the Allies would not abat one jot the prosecution of ,t-he wa until each and all of the objects wit] which they entered the war had beci hilly attained. Parading_ the Ver dun battlo, the Lokal A nzeiper want to know what Mb. Asquith has t say to this, while its contemporary the Cnldi/ne, Gazelle, proclaims tha Germany has answered Mh. Asquiti with surprising speed and over whelming emphasis- It is the fata weakness of this very 'hollow burs of triumph and jubilation that it lack of substance is apparent to ..al the world. All such wild and foolisl talk is fully met and answered b; the fact that the Verdun battle ha achieved no decisive result. In al vital essentials Germany is in pre cisely the position she occupied be fore the battle opened, except tha she is now more unfavourably placet than over, relatively to the Allies, 11 the factor of numerical strength. I is true that the assault on Verdui may be only the prelude t< 'a much more powerful effort, bu the outburst of the German news papers rather suggests the contrary It would be easier to believe that th< Germans are capable of striking ; great and shattering blow in thi Western theatre if they had showi themselves less anxious to impart th< semblance of such an achievement ti the wholly inconclusive Battle o. Verdun. In calling this battle in conclusive it is of com so to be borne in mirfd that the Allies have no more ambitions purpose before them at th< moment than 'to maintain a sounc defence. To the Allies an_ inconclusive result means that this defena is being maintained. To the Gcr mans, committed to a policy of jig grcssion as the only hope of escaping from the perils dosing in upon thcui it spells failura.

The root of the matter is touched in the complaint of the Cologne (JtceHii that Mr. Asquitii and the Jtussia'n Foreign Minister (M. Sazonoff) used in their rcccnt speeches the language of conquerors dictating terms oi peace to a defeated enemy. Evidently in; German cyes.it is tho major offence of the Allies that they decline to sue for peaie in some much Iminbler spirit. This explains all the talk about robbers and .murderers, in dealing with whom Germany will abandon chivalry—a thing as impossible for her as for the toad to shed its beauty—and resort to the utmost violence. There is nothing more striking in these German vapourings than the bracketing of peace talk with threats of redoubled violence. The assertion that Mr. .Asquitk M. Sazokoff used the language of conquerors dictating terms of peace is, of course, untrue. 'The position they took was that the Allies would not think of peace until the enemy had been decisively overthrown. Evidently it is a realisation that they are not themselves to be' allowed to dictate peace as conquerors that has roused the Germans to a fury of exasperation. Furious as they ?.re, they are unablo to get away from the subject of peace negotiations, and .in its final effect the newspaper outburst under notice takes much less impressive shape as a threat of violent action than as a lamentation over the denial of that triumphant peace upon which German hopes were set. * * ». • A secondary ■motive for the absurd booming 'of the Verdun offensive in tho German newspapers is made evident in the news that Germany is about to float a'fourth' war loan oi unlimited amount. Indeed, the faci that a new loan was impending maj have had something to do with th< launching of the assault on Verdun, though other and still more potcni impelling motives are visible for tlx policy which it represents." As ar aid to loan-raising }iy Germany, the Verdun battle in its present' aspeel loaves much to be desired, but wit! the newspapers well in hand it cai no doubt be turned to account by ; judicious concealment or distortioi of inconvenient facts, and such a re sort to exaggeration or the oppositi policy as details may demand. ■ * * *• News from the Western thnatr. points in its aggregate effect to in creasing activity and a rising inten sity of battle. Bombardment on tb northern Verdun front, which hai abated, is now said to have developet considerably and to ba increasing ii intensity. There has been a reviva also, in German infantry attacks thou'gh these have apparently beei confined to the immediate vicinity o Fort Douaumont. The position a this point is very fully described ii official and other reports. The Brat denburgers who penetrated th fortress area are, iit is stated, so curely trapped They are cut ol from supplies, aiid the French reckoi upon starving them out rather thai waste lives needlessly in an assault That they are in a position to pei severe in this policy is indicated i the news that the Germans have at tacked repeatedly with crack corps in an effort to rcliove the entrapped Brandenburgers, only to have thei attacking lines swept away by a d< vastating fire of artillery and ma chine guns. « ft • Though the opinion is said to ol tain in Paris that the Germans wii renew their assault on th Verdun lines, the conflict at Douau mont does not of necessity cstablis the opinion as sound. Ob/ously th Germans have here a local and limit ed purpose to serve, apvt from an, larger purpose they may have i: view. The capture of the "enemy' strongest fort," as the Kaiser calle it, was trumpeted forth to the world and it will be, for Germany, a ba' ending of the adventure, involving grave loss of prestige,' if the corp which has contrived thus far t maintain a footing in Douaumont i compelled to surrender. To avci such an event Germany is doubtles willing to incur heavy sacrifices, an all that is established at the moment apart from the rising volume of boir bardment along the front north c Verdun, is that lives are bein squandered in pffoi'ts to relieve an link up with the Brandenburgers i Douaumont. It is still an ope question whether the Germans wi strike their next blow at Verdun o elsewhere, though indications ar certainly multiplying that a renews of tho battle at Verdun is in'pro! pect. #.* * * While Verdun still largely hole attention, the Allies have been actii at many other jioints in air irn land operations, and one notabi local success is recorded. This is th recovery by,tho British of the soctio of trenches on the southern side c the Ypres salient which was capt.in cd by the Germans in tho middle c February. - Not only have tbe los trenches been recovered, lint a srna! salient in the original German lin in addition, and the enemy countei attack, set in motion some hcui After the British assault had bee driven home, was repulsed. This i welcome news from every point c view. Besides showing that the encn; is not'allowed to wholly monopoly aggressive action, it means that tb vulncrablo and exposed Ypres/sujier has again been somewhat str»ngtt ened. Pronounced artillery activit on both sides is reported in Flandei north of Ypres, and while there ' iiiuch at the present time to crnce: trate attention upon .Verdun, it i perhaps as well to remember that, i is in Flanders that the Germans put forth some of their most ii.->spei ate efforts to breach the Allic front.

I • * * » According to the Times correspor dent at Salonika, reinforecmen'.s ar still arriving daily at that port i greater numbers than over, nnrl 111 Serbian army, which presumably i still at Corfu, is expected. Ther is thus every promise that a vex powerful army will presently be as sembled for a Balkan offensive, an this prospect, together with tb methodical development of tho 11 us sian campaign in Armenia, will cl much more to explain the unrest ani spirit of revolt against German nil which are said to be active 'n Bill garia ancl Turkey. Tho su?gestio: in one message to-day, that a Divitss' success in Mesopotamia would b followed by tha fall of the Turkis' Government ana overtures for pcacc is most unconvincing. The Mesopo tamian campaign serves a valuabl local purpose, and has its part ii the pressure that is being imposei on Turkey from various quarters but it could not in any conceivabl circumstances operate with deeisiv effect in inducing a Turkish surrcn dcr. The inclusion of such'an im probable detail casts serious doub upon the reliability of the message o ,wuich it forms part.