PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2756, 27 April 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Measured by its known results, tho 'German naval raid reported to-day was a contemptible affair. A battlecruiser squadron —its composition is not stated at time of writing—crossed the North Sea at night, and shelled Lowestoft at dawn on Tuesday morning. • It is the first excursion of its kind upon which tho Germans have' ventured since their-battle-cruisers were overtaken.in tho North Sea, in January, 1915, by Sir David Beatty's squadron. On that occasion, the Blucher was sunk and the Derfflinger, the Seydlitz, and another German ship were so pattered that they were lucky to make port again. . In the latest raid little material damage was done ashore, but four persons, including a woman and a child, were! killed. The raiders were engaged for twenty minutes by British light cruisers and destroyers,. and then made off at 'speed towards their baso, pursued by their pigmy opponents. None of the latter, as reports stand, _ were sunk, though several were hit by enemy shells; There is a bare possibility that' some _ heavier British ships may have joined in a pursuit soon enough to take toll of tho raid<jrs, but even if the story is substantially complete as it. stands, it will add a sorry pagb to tho undis-tinguished-history of "i the German Navy. There is a ridiculous disproportion, between the force employed and the results achieved. It is probable that the raiding squadron comprised at least three battle-cruisers. If the Moltke is still afloat and fit for service, Germany has seven' of theso ships to draw upon, but tho older units of tho group would probably bo left at home on an occasion when; speed was such an important asset. The Moltke was torpedoed in the, Baltic last year, hut whether she was sunk is uncertain. Whatever their numbers may havo been, the Germans were certainly in an overwhelming superiority of force during the.brief engagement off tho Norfolk coast, and their failure in these circumstances to account for even a single British ship marks a desperately poor performance, and says all that need be said about their overmastering haste to be home again. That the Germans made poor uso of their opportunities in this raid does not need emphasising, but it is as well to recognise that a desire'to turn the'ir guns on a peaceful coast was probably not the only, or the ruling, 'motive, tliat impelled them to risk another dash across the North Sea. It may. have boon hoped to turn the raid to political account in Germany, but it is likely enough that the Germans had it in mind also to bring on a naval battle under their own conditions. All the world knows that tM British Fleet is eagerly awaiting an opportunity to

f strike a decisive blow, but it does not follow that it is prepared to pursue and engage the enemy in tho near neighbourhood of his own coast. . Hie mere fact that a raid like that of Tuesday morning is possible affords strong evidence to the contrary. The British capital ships arc close enough at call to imposo constraint upon their adversaries, and make them unwilling t3 tarry long outside their ports, but it is also true that the British Dreadnoughts have to take precautions against submarine attack, and that minefields must likewise be taken into account where the question of bringing the enemy to battle is concerned. Blockaded as they arc, it is likely that,the Germans would welcome an engagement under their own conditions, on the immediate approaches to their naval ports, and the battle-cruiser squadron which made such a hasty clash across' the North Sea and back again a couple of days ago may very possibly have been thrown forward as a lure. It has' long been' recognised by naval experts that the Germans might attempt something of this kind. Writing on the subject recently in Land and Water, Mr. A. H. Pollen suggested that the Germans might attempt to draw tho British Fleet into a&ion on, or south-east of, the Dogger' Bank, where the water is both shallow and near enough to Heligoland to lend itself to preparation for action on German lines. This preparation would include tho laying of minefields and the provision of submarine rendezvous. The tactics of battle would be directed towards drawing the British Fleet into areas so prepared—the idea being that the mines and torpedoes could rectify the inequality in the gun-power of tho two sides. "It is precisely this form of battle," Mr. Pollen remarks, "which the British Commander-in-Chief will most certainly decline. So long as the German Fleet is, as a fleet, powerless to question our use of the high seas, to seek its destruction at any risk is unnecessary. And bearing in mind again _ that Germany's objective, in all this sea activity, is at least as clearly tho destruction of her enemy's moral stability as the destruction of her military power, the public must be prepared to hear'a German boast that the North Sea has been entered, tho British Fleet challenged, and the challenge declined."'' * * * * Mr. Asquith's speech, on the subject of recruiting, made in tho House of Commons in secret session, leaves no room for doubt as to the nature of tho problem with which the Imperial Parliament -is called upon to deal. The whole thing is summed up in the statement that the government recognises that the necessary numbers to discharge .military obligations arc. not available for service in the required time under the present arrangements. . This might easily have' been aclvanced as the justification for immediate resort to general compulsion, but the Government proposes instead to give the voluntary system a further trial, so far as unattested married men are concerned, with a-proviso that compulsion will be adopted if _ the required numbers are not obtained within a limited and. definitely stated period. Any delay or halfmeasuro in the circumstances' that obtain is obviously open to criticism, but under the proposals outlined there will be at worst very brief delay. In the. main the Im-/ porial Government is committed to] a firm and definite policy, and Mr. Asquith's statement as to the necessity of the case should go-far to cut the ground from under the feet of tho anti-conscriptionists. As.the facts are presented, it is a case of getting the numbers of mcfi required or courting defeat —that, presumably, is a reasonable interpretation of tho formally-worded reference to the discharge of military obligations. Further details of the recent fighting in the Sinai Peninsula show that it was more important than- at first appeared, and also that the enemy lost heavily in , comparison with the scale of his operations. The Turkish occupation of the Katiyeh post, from which a Yeomanry garrison was dislodged, was evidently of very brief duration. Katiyeh is 27 miles east of the Canal, and net 22 miles, as was stated in error yesterday. As a whole, tho Turks fared badly in their raiding attacks, and made so poor a showing as to strengthen an impression that their .object must be to keep the British forces in play rather. thai\ to score, any direct military advantage. Tho' general situation seems to remain much as. it was a week or two ago, when it was reported that the British posts in advance of the main Canal defences extended so far into tho desert that the Turks were out of right of the waterway. There is-comparatively little campaign news at the time of writing. The Germans completely failed, on Monday evening, in a series of determined attacks on Dead Man's Hill, west of the Meuse, and the general position on tile Verdun front seems to be unchanged. InMesopotamia, _ the British have. extended their line on tho south bank of tho Tigris, and on the north bank remain facing the Turkish position at Sannaiyat, about twelve miles north-east of » * # ' * Ample proofs havo been given since the war began of the splendid loyalty of a great majority of the Irish people, but that the spirit of rebellion is alight in a small and' irreconcilable element of the population is made evident • in reports which are published to-day. Tho lawless outbreaks in Dublin which have led to armed conflict on a considerable scale are something worso than rioting in the ordinary acceptation of the term. It is evident that an organised attempt was made to launch a rebellion, and the only good feature of the news as it stands is that the attempt appears to have been nipped in the bud. The situation is not yet fully, described, .but it is shown that tho rebels were in considerable force, and,that they were able to occupy and hold portions .of Dublin for-a- time and cut off the city from outside communication. The suppression of the outbreak cost the loyalist forces a loss of twelve officers and men killed, and 19 wounded, hilt the total deathroll will be much larger. The rebel casualties have yet to be added, and it is not certain that the loyalist casualty list is complete. It is stated, but on what grounds does not yet appear, that the rising was apparently connected with the attempt of the traitor Casement to land arms and ammunition, an attempt which led to his capture. There is some ground for satisfaction in the fact that, with a single exception, acts of rebellion appear to have been confined to Dublin. The exception is a train-wrecking outriige at Marybw. ough, which » in Queen's County. .

50 miles south-west of Dublin. Mr. Birrell was able- to, inform tho House of Commons that the situation was now well in hand, and presumably did not make tho statement without having reliable information to go upon. - K * 9 * Words would be wasted in denouncing the vile attempt which has been made to stir up internal conflict in Ireland at a time when tho Empire is fighting for its life. The authors of the Dublin outrage struck a foul blow, not only at Britain, but at their, countrymen who are bravely fighting the battles of the Empire in every campaign on land and sea. Germany, of course, will make the most of the matter, but the best assurance that the rebel minority in Ireland will be quickly and. utterly discomfited is to be_ found in the record of their country at large siqce the war began. Despite the fact that resistance has been offered to the Ireland of the compulsory legislation . adopted in the . United. Kingdom, the record of Ireland and of Irishmen is one of loyal and unswerving service in the common cause. A sure and convincing indication of ruling Irish sentiment was given in.the 'immediate cessation of strife between the twp great parties when war was declared. Contentions which threatened to culminate in civil war were instantly laid aside, and Irishmen united to face the common enemy. We may therefore believe that the insane extremists responsible for tho lale disorders are, or were, formidable, only because they have selected a time for their criminal enterprise when the Empire needs every ounce of its strength in a struggle for existence.