PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2739, 6 April 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Attention is fastened upon Verdun to-day not only by detail news of late developments in the great battle to which it has given a name, but by the very interesting description and review contributed by the military correspondent of the Times. Colonel ' Repington _ has had the double advantage of visiting the battle-front and interviewing the French Commander-in-Chief, and is therefore able to speak with exceptional authority in stating that the situation at Vcrcltin is to ..GiJnkhal JoFFltE's liking. As a whole, the observations of the Times correspondent tend strongly to confirm an impression which has been gaining ground of late that Verdun is a rock upon which the Germans aro destined to split. This is the more notable since such an optimistic outlook is not exactly what would have been expected of Goujkel Jlfcf'ixeTujj, in view of some of his comment!, on

the war in the recent past. . He is one of those who have consistently and adversely criticised the expansion of Allied oporations in the Near East as involving a dangerous diversion of strength from the/mian, and decisive, theatre. than this, he has taken a conservative view of German war losses in men, placing t'ho total much lower than most of the, Allied experts who have handled the problem of wastage. Presumably, he has not shifted ground in regard to cither of these matters. Yet he returns from a • visit to Frcnch Headquarters and to the storm-centre of events in the Western theatre to paint a picture ir which the dominating details are the strength of the Allies and the relative weakness of the enemy.

Time must test the value of the general conclusions Colonel Repington has formed, and it would be useless to comment or expand upon them here, but his article embodies dotail statements of fact and opinion which deserve particular attention. Presumably the account ho gives of the distribution of enemy forces is based upon information obtained at French Headquarters. If it is, the Germans are engaged in an even more desperate gamble with fate than had been supposed. There are thirty German divisions, Colonel Repington says, at Verdun. With the divisions at full strength this would mean some 600,000 men. There are thirty-four. divisions (680,000 men, if the divisions are at full strength), arrayed against the critical ninety miles of front, from the Yseroto the Somme, which is now held by the British Army. To this is added the statement that the rest of the enemy front is thinly held, and is destitute of reserves, m c '° not know, of course, that those figures and particulars are based .on exact information, but the descrip--1 fcion given by Colonel Rbpington of German prisoners taken at Verdun suggests that the enemy is in fact in sore . straits for reserves. At Verdun, Germany has work for the best soldiers at her .disposal, and it is a decidedly significant bit of evidence that she is 4'ound to bo employing men of a low standard, many of them undersized, ancl betraying an obvious lack of training. Returning to the broad question of relative strength, if COLONEL RepINGTON S figures arc anywhere near the mark, they indicate a state of affairs which may be called decidedly encouraging. That the Germans in, the strength shown will bo very heavily outnumbered by the Allies is ,absolutoly certain. . The latter, in fact, on such a basis, should bo in superior strength to the extent of at least a million men. That the enemy would be outnumbered in the Western theatre,was tjp be expected' in any case, but it is to be considered that at the present time he is in all. probability retaining forces in tho West which will have to bo drawn upon for service on the other main front as soon as' the weather onens. There need be no difficulty about believing that the Germans have for the time being massed every available man and gun in tlie Western .'theatre, and with this purpose in view have temporarily drawn upon other theatres. . If tho result is to leave them still in such a pronounced inferiority of strength as the Times correspondent describes, then obviously General Joffre- has every reason for finding the situation—and not the local situation at Verdun only—to his liking.

Colonel Repington is presumably instancing a popular view rather than expressing his own opinion' in the remark that it is vexatious that the British are not fighting." .At tho moment the French ai;e bearing the brunt of the war in _ the Western theatre, but the coincident inaction of the British Army is far from being either vexatious or disappointing when the essential facts' are taken into account. With tho Russians still weatherbound for a time, and while the French are able fa continue to battle at Verdun on its present lines, there is ample reason and justification.' for the Allies delaying the offensive stroke in which the British Army will doubtless play no minor part. The reason in a word is that any action taken by the Allies will tell with deadlier effect later on, when, with tho. all-round development of tho war, tho striking power of the Allies is increased, and the resisting power of the enemy is decreased.

The burden of detail news from Verdun at present in hand is that v things are going well w;th the French in their defensive battle. Counter-attacking in the area immediately north and north-west of the village of'.Vaux, they have gained some further ground. A little further wist,'-due south of Douaul'nont. violent enemy attacks, pressed and repeated, have been swept away. French reports dealing with fighting in this area are explicit, and there is no reason to doubt their accuracy. If they are accepted as accurate, the conclusion follows tjiat German reports on the same subject are deliberately false and misleading. There is no news at the moment of infantry fighting west of the Meuse, but the circumstances of the French retirement from tho north to the south bank of tho Forges Brook are particularly interesting, because this is manifestlyan instance in which the, French ' deliberately retired their line for a short distance, not under pressure by the enemy, but in order to strengthen their front and subject tho enemy to loss. The Germans were actually unaware of tho French withdrawal for two or three days. When ultimately they moved forward against, tho abac* doned positions, they blundered into a trap, and wero penalised accordingly. It is an impressive fact that, by their dispositions on this dcca,sion, the. French were enabled to slaughter tho enomy in wholesale fashion without themselves sacrificing a single life. The fighting at present under way east of the Mouse is obviously not; so one-sided _in character, but tho general position, as reports stand, is that the French aro maintaining a sound and unbroken defence, in spite _ of the enemy's utmost efforts to, pierce and brenk their lines.

Neavs fromthe Eastern theatre makes it p lit ill that the time for action oh the grand scalc in that area has not yet arrived. Floods are still rising on some sections of the front, and almost tho only event in the north reported at time of writing is ti Eussian bombfl.rdnicnfc ol German troops, who were compelled to evacuate their flooded trenches in tho region south, of Dvinsk. Evidently the Russians in this area are posted on the higher ground, and they must this nf position to their sitcccss in actions fought during the last week or two. 11l Galicia, west of Tarnapol, an enemy offensive has been repulsed, but ut this event no details ttl'e jot available.

j General Ivanoff, whose retirement ! from the Russian south-western com- | mand is announced, has earned such fame and reputation in the war that there need be no doubt about accepting the statement that his resignation is due to ill-health. He came into prominonce in the opening months of the war when he was appointed, in August or September, 1914, tocomraand'tho Russian Armies in Galicia. This command Ho has occupied over since. It therefore fell to his lot to immediately control the enterprising campaign which carried the Russians west through Galicia almost to Cracow, and south, to the crest of the Carpathians. Fine qualities of leadership wcro displayed also by General Ivanofs in tho darker' days, when Mackensen's phalanx was sweeping irresistibly through Galicia. Questions which have been raised as to the wisdom of the Russian attempt to force the Carpathian passes do uo!; touch tho reputation of Genep.ai Ivanoff, ' since ultimate responsibility for the campaign l of course, with tho Russian High i,ommand. Latterly the armies tinkler General Ivanoff have been developing a gradual, though powerful offensive, which has already potently affected tho course of the war. .It is above all oa the southern front that the Russians have given signal, pi<-jf of the reality of their recovery fiom the effects of the terrible handling they received last year, and all available evidence suggests that tho Commander who is : now retiring in broken health has laid the train for an offensive movement only second in importance to that for which the Western Allies are preparing.

A brief report from Denmark speaks of a naval engagement in the in which a German torpedoer was badly damaged. It. is possible that the passage of British submarines into tho Baltic has given rise to an action between a covering force and enelny torpedoers, but as yet details are lacking.

In view of the possible entry into tho war of Holland, it may be of interest to review the Dutch naval and mercantile marine forces. It is unnecessary to record the great, part played in history by the Dutch navy, and it may still be said that the nation Sis essentially a maritime nation, depending for its very existence, to a great extent, upon its oversea trade and its colonies. In view of this, the latest figures available for the Dutch mercantile marine are interesting. The Dutch mercantile marinc" rcaclies a total of some 637,903 tons. The French mercantile marine totals some 1,284,234 tons, and tlie German mercantile marine, before the war, totalled approximately 3,500,000 tons. France, therefore, with a population approximately eight times greater than that of Holland, has a mercantile marino tonnage only twice as large, and Germany, with ; a population fourteen times as large as that of Holland, had, before the war, a merchant fleet only five and a "half times as large as that possessed by Holland. That the Dutch possess enormous interests in their overseas trade is evident from these figures. With regard to Holland's actual fighting fleet, we find that she and Sweden, of-the four lesser Powers of Northern Europe, possess navies of approximately equal strength. Holland, however, is a nation possessing several colonies, including the Dutch East Indies, comprising Sumatra, Java, and Borneo,, and Dutch "Guinea, and" a large portion of-her fleet,i is accordingly normally stationed in waters outside Europe. '

•Holland possesses nine "battleships.", These are really coast defence armoured ships, ranging in tonnage from the Zeven Provincien's 6530 tons to the 3520 tons of tho.Pict Hein class, These ships have been designed for service in the North, Sea'or the-East Indies. Tho names, armament, etc., are as follow:—

Zoven Proviuciea, 6530 tons, two lliu. four Bill., ten 3in.; armour, Gill, belt; speed, 1G knots. . Heemskerck, 5130 tons; two 9.4 in,, six Gin., six 3in.; annoiny Biu. belt; speed, 1G knots. '

Tramp, 5300 tons'; two 9.iin,, four Gin., ton 3in.; armour, Gin. belt; speed, 1G.5 knots.

Koningin Eegente®, Do Euyter, and Hertog Bendrik; 4950 toils; two 9.4 in., four Gin., eight 3in.; armour, Gin. belt; speed, 16 knots. Kv efts in, Plot Hein, and Kortenaar; 3520 tons; three S.2in., two Gin., six 3in.,; armour, Gin. belt; speed, 16 knots.

There are also four coast defence monitors, the Brinio, Frisco, Gruno, and Reinier-Claeszen. The first throe are of 540 tons, and are armed with four 4.1 in., with a two-inch belt, and a speed of 16 knots. The Reinier-Claeszen is of 2490 tons, and carries one 8.2 in., one G.7in., and four 6-p,ounders, ' with a four-inch belt, -and a speed of 12.5 knots. Of the cruiser class, Holland has the Gelderland, Norrdbrabant, Holland, and Zeeland, all launched between 1896 and 1899, and of 3950 tons. These ships are armed with two 6in., six 4.7 in., and four 3iri. guns, and have a nominal speed of '20 knots. There are six gunboats, of from 830-600 tons, two fishery cruisers, one torpedo depot ship,, eight modern destroyers, forty-eight eifective torpedo boats, and ten submarines, four of which are of a comparatively, modern type. The personnel of tho Dutch navy consists of *11,000 of all, ranks, including the marine infantry. All these men are recruited by voluntary enlistment.