PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2718, 13 March 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Optimistic comments upon the situation at Verdun are made in semi-oflicial and other messages. They may seem to be somewhat discredited by the fact that in the figming covered by late reports the Germans have made some headway, both east and west of - the River Meuse. Tile total effect of news in hand, however, is to show that while the Germans have gained some ground, they have gained it 1 by prodigious efforts and at enormous_ cost. Time will show whether their renewed foothold in the Wood of the Crows, west of the river, and their capture of part of the village of V::ux *nrl some neighbouring ground, are lik"ly to provide them with shipping stones to a further advance, unless these gains arc of strategic, as well as local, importance, ii may still be true, as one correspondent declares, that the Battle of Vordun, from the German standpjint, :s a fiasco. At the same time it would be foolish to take any such comforting conclusion without question for granted. If the Germans are discomfited and have failed in their essential purpose, the fact has not yet definitely appeared. The spectacle disclosed, not altogether clearly, in official and other reports, is that of a battle of unexampled violence still in full blast. While this remains true, it is idle to suggest that tho Germans have yet shot their bolt. ?•' * » * The general impression gained from piecing together, detail reports is v that the battle is rapidly approaching its crisis. It is true that extracts are cabled from an article in which Colonel Repington speaks of x some recent attacks as being merely covering operations, which will continue until the German batteries have been advanced in readiness for a general attack along the whole northern front. But these observations do not seem to apply to the fighting described to-day, unless it is to be assumed that the Germans have completed the placing of their artillery. As reports go, they are not yet attacking on tho whole northern front, but on selected neetions they are employing a tremendous concentration of artillery and throwing forward enormous masses of infantry in such circumstance's that whole regiments are said to have been_ practically annihilated. It is officially stated that the effectives of a whole division were employed in the final and successful assault upon the single position of the Wood of the Crows, and there ia mention elsewhere of a whole army corps being used on the two miles of front from Douaumont to Fort Vaux, not as the total force made available on that section, but in ono brief stage, of the battle. It is said also that 400 German guns, of whicii many would doubtless be heavy pieces, were brought into action on this short section of front. As a wholo, indications are that the Germans are now massing men and guns' as closely as they can,be packed, certainly not in covering operations, but in an unsparing effort for ;! great decision. ' * 4 * * the battle raised to such a pitch of intensity, it is reasonable to anticipate some decisive turn very shortly. Meantime the scale of tlio enemy attacks and tho slaughter of the attacking troops are factors to be set against the limited penetration of the French front east and west of the Meuse. The Wood of the Crows was recaptured in part, by the French in the middle of'last week, and pr6sumably not without a costly effort, but it is contended* that in again mastering this area the enemy haß done so at disproportionate CQst. Similarly, in regard to the gain of ground by the Germans in the village of Vaux and on tho slope below the fort of the same namo, emphasis, is laid upon tho fearful losses suffered by the enemy apparently without reaching any position of decisive advantage. « * « ft No certain conclusion is to bo i drawn from statements and contentions of this character, but the general claim mado in a London ro< view of the battle, that the German attack, dospitc'its power and fury, is spending itself in vain against the essential French defence, is not of_ necessity invalidated by any detail ovent recorded at time of writing. In a' battle of such magnitude and violence, stationary fighting at all points is a sheer impossibility, and.so long as the French"restrict themselves to mainly defensive tactics they are bound to yie)cl a certain amount of ground from time to time. Whether they can persevere in these tactics to the end of this greatest of all battles of the war and regain Verdun (if that is necessary to their plans) is an open question. But it is well within the bounds of possibility that the Germans have paid such a price for their latest successcs at the Wood of the Crows and at Vaux as to five them more cause to mourn than to' rejoice.

A battle is reported on the front north' of Reims, which in the absence of tho vastly greater struggle at Verdun would have commanded attention. The Germans claim that they penetrated to a depth of 1100 yards on a front of MOO yards, and leave off at that point, but the Allies, admitting that their lino was temporarily penetrated, stnto that tho enemy was afterwards thrown back.

There is no present indication that the Germans are continuing ' their eltort at this . point. While fixed ideas on the subject mav be dangerous, the likelihood of the stormcentre shifting from Verdun at the oiiciny s initiative seems to be vevy greatly diminished by the tremendous development of the conflict in that area. The possibility remains, of course, that the Allies may launch a counter-stroke elsewhere. .*» * » An opinion that the German authorities are minimising their war losses in order to avert public uneasiness and discontent will bo greatly strengthened by perusal of a return transmitted to-day. ■ As it is presented it-purports to "give particulars of the losses suffered durifig iebuary. German casualty listsj as a rule, make a belated appear'iure, but there is certainly no reason -.vby this one should not break the rule by appearing promptly, for it is obviously concocted with intent to deceive. The total losses for Eebnury are set down at 35,198. This if about one-seventh of the losses which Germany has suffered, according to competent observers, in an average month of war. February witnessed the first nine days of the Verdun battle, in a phase only less furi uis than it has now entered, and also some fighting on the northern and southef.; Hanks of the Rusr'sn fr.-mr-No mo:o nee 3 be said to show thai, the German return, if it has been transmitted as issued, is an absurdly clumsy attempt to deny and hide the tacts. * c* * * _ A glaring example of the falsification of German casualty returns is mentioned by Mil. Hilaire Belloc in a recent issue of Land and Water, and the is especially noteworthy since it is not necessary to go outside tho returns themselves to demonstrate their falsity. Two returns were published by the Germans in December last and in January this year, purporting to give respectively total losses up to the end of November, 1915, and, up to the end of December. The figures, as published by the German authorities, were quoted by Mr. Tennant (UnderSecretary for War) in the House oi Commons, so that they may be accepted without question as the authentic, though most unreliable, German returns., Total losses up to the end of November, 1915, were given at 2,524,460. Tho lately return showed that the total had been increased for the whole of December by li,ooo. This is sufficiently remarkable, but it is in a comparison of details that really startling results are. disclosed. From the one month to the- other, while total losses were shown to have increased by 11.000, the increase in killed alone* was set down at over 104,000. By way of si;t-off, the wounded and missing were reduced by -84,000, but even these figures left an increase in the grand total of 20,000 (instead of 11,000). Certainty that the Germans are issuing false returns does not mean, however, that their actual losses can be computed with exactitude, but some definite light should be thrown upon the matter by th« result of the Battle of Verdun and its sequel. The great question to be determined is whether Germany is staking everything upon a final bid for victory, or still has reserves at call which will enableher to carry on a prolonged defensive war, even if the stroke at Verdun should completely fail. If it is true, as some well-informed observers maintain, ■•that Germany has alreadv drawn largely upon men below the-stan-dard of military efficiency, and is also now usTrig the lads of the 1916 and 1917 classes, it must follow that she is staking practically everything upon the present offensive. The offensive, its result, and the events immediately will show how near this estimate of the position approaches to the truth. * * * » . latest news of the campaign in Mesopotamia cannot be called good, since it bears striking testimony tothe strength of tho position, seven miles east of Itut-el-Amara, in which the Turks arc blocking the advance of General Aylmek's relieving column. The ■ official report is meagre, merely stating that on Wednesday General Aylsier advanced seven to eight miles from the right (south) bank of the Tigris, but was compelled by lack of water to fall back on the river, after evacuating his wounded. Apparently an attempt was made to outflank the Turkish position on tho-. south, and obviously it failed. As to the nature of the battle, no details arc given ex-oepfc-by the Turks, who report that portion of their position was temporarily occupied, but that t-lie British ultimately had to retreat, leaving two thousand dead on the field. This is very probably an exaggeration, but the silence of the British report in regard to casualties and other details is not an altogether encouraging sign. Visible _ circumstances point to a critical situation, which would be still more so but for the extent to which the Turks are occupied by the Russians, and, though th'is with less certainty, the internal disorders which are said to be rampant in Turkey. j * * * * That the Russians are vigorously prosecuting _ their campaign in Armenia is evidenced in the news that they are now withifi 27 m'iles of Trebizond. They arc said also to be continually strengthening their position in Western Persia. The call thus made upon Turkish resources should react with material benefit upon tho problems of the British columns in Mesopotamia. At tho same time ii must be recognised that these problems are, to say the least, awkward, and that tho communications of tho Turkish army in Mesopotamia arc not immediately threatened by the Russians in any part of Armenia, while there is much reason to doubt whether a Russian advance from Western Persia into Mesopotamia is practicable. » « # News that two ~ British torpedo craft, a destroyer and a torpedoboat. been sunk by mines off the East Coast of England' may seem to give weight to tho story u'f a Norwegian captain that the North Sea is full of German mines. statement, however, is no doubt overstating tho position. The Germans have no means of carrving out mine-laying on really lig scale, except in a limited area 'of lii'e North Sea, Some mine-laying would no doubt be done during the iecc:it fleet excursion in tho southern North Sea. The unofficial vcpoits which are available on the sublet agree, however, in stating that 'tho fleet included Dreadnoughts, and it mav be taken for granted that if it really left port it would work cau tiously forward from a base, with its scouts and lighter craft well in touch. German mines off the East Coast of England might bo accounted for as having been placed by mine-laying submarines, such as the Germans arc reported, on apparentl.Y Rood authority, to bosbqsr,