PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2776, 20 May 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

General von Moltke has been enlightening, and at tho same time cheering the Austro-Hungarian people on the subject of Germany's'manpower. Since his enforced retirement from tho position of Chief of Staff of the German Army, wo have heard little of von Moltke, and his reappearance on the scene even in so modest a role as a purveyor of news for the Austro-Hungarian' Press is of interest. General von Moltke should know almost as well as anyone Germany's man-power, but when he permits himself to be interviewed by the Hungarian Press on the sub' ject of tho strength of the German forces and the reserves available to (ill the gaps in the. future, wo may be very certain that he is talking with an object. We may even go further and ' assume ■_ that it' has been found desirable, if - not necessary, that he should talk in order to re-, moye doubts which may exist in the minds of Germany's Allies as to' hei\ ability to maintain the'struggle.'

According to. tho published report,' General von Moltke.stated that the Germans are we}l supplied with men, and there is no fear regarding'her 'reserves. He added that almost the entire strength of tho French reserves were already on the battle-, field, and that Britain, even with compulsion, could do very little more than she' was. n'oiy doing. .While :wo may with some confidence discount this rosy picture from the German point of view, and while it might bo suggested that Turkey and Bulgaria, who have been crying in vain for tho assistance o.f German troops, might; reasonably, suspect a shortago in tho supply available to their big ally it is well to remember that , rcccnt events have demonstrated that Germany has an abundance of troops on her and Western frontier, Whatever we may think regarding the effect of tho terrible, inroads'; tho enormous casualties suffered by Germany must. have. inade' in. her .nian-! power; whatever credence wo may give to/the official vistories: as-to,•the appreciable proportion'- of. youthfuliutd; inferior'troops boiug used to replace those who have fallen'-ui the German ranks, we must face the fact tliat the' German : fighting machine is still immensely powerful, and that it . will take all our power-, to smash it, We' can with. confidence assure ourselves that if dannot nbw defeat, us, hut;that, does not-carry us to. the end wo must strive for.if. we are to attain-that victory which, alone can safeguard the future. And obviously the quicker this is done the better it will be for the whole world. Captain Tryon, M.P., recently found a new motto. for Britain: "A Stronger Army and a. Shorter War." Geserab- von - Moltke's assertions to the contrary; the Empire can provide that stronger army and wo can assist with'the task.'

The military correspondent of the London Times is a- writer rather given to fault-finding; .'.but, in the, issue of his journal of April 8; which came to hand by yesterday's mail, appears an article of a most eulogistic nature 1 , written, by him' after a visit to France, in which ho seems to have been afforded' special facilities for observing the French forces from top to. bottom. The opinions expressed are of particular interest just now in view of 'General von Moltke's references to the waning power of the French. Colonel KepINGTON tells us of the, Poilu, or French "Tommy," of the splendid fortitude and industry of the womenfolk; of the indefatigable labour of the youths and ancients who have had to take the places of the ablebodied men who have gone to the fighting line; of the War Ministry, the command and .staff, and of . the morale of the Army. He was permitted to see things from the inside, and his admiration is expressed .in superlatives, and liis confidence in tho future i-s unqualified. It is a . stirring and a heartening picture he paints; an example ana a stimulus to us all. We quote his concluding paragraph: The minds of the lenders of the great armies of France are at rest because they have taken their enemy's measure. Tliev know'that arduous tin.es lie ahead, but in regard to their own. troops.-they have no doubt at all; The "strong sense of dutv which pervades all ranks, , the numbers at disposal, the powerful armament, and, last but not least, the high morale of the French troops give a sense of security which nothing call abate. It is with a feeling of deep admiration and. content that one leaves regretfully these noble men, and with a very strong sense that nothing which we call do to aid them must be left undone.' ■*- * • ■* ■• # . We-were left in some suspense yesterday as to' the new development in the Trcntino. The position disclosed in the latest messages then to hand was that an Austrian offensive in force had compelled the Italian eommqnder in this region to abaril.'m some of his outlying positions, hut his main line was intact, and still well into Austrian territory. Incidentally it appeared that the Austrian success, such as it was, bad only been attained at considerable cost. 'To-day's news carries matters a stage further. It is made plainer that the Austrian offensive is something more than a mere passing effort designed to harass the enemy. The ■ attacks at -. Zugria • Orta" were renewed, in' desperate' fashion; five successive efforts being made by the Austrian troops and all being re-.-pulsed with severe losses to the attackers. It is possible that the. Austrian offensive is designed to. forestall an Italian offensive in. this quarter or on the Isonzo front. It may be something more than a" coincidence that we have had in rapid succession tho' attack on the French

at Verdun, the attack on the Russian northern front, and now the attack on the Italians' in- the Trentino. These arc not ordinary happenings as this war goes, and they each have as their object something moris than the gaining of a mile or two of advanced trenches. Verdun failed; so far .no progress has been made in' the latest blow against llussia; r;i;d in the Trentino the Italians seem to have the situation well in hand. It does not do to be too optimistic, but on the face of things the enemy's plans for the coming' summer, whatever they may be, have not had a very auspicious beginning.

The activity round the Verdun position continues, and would seem to bo again increasing. Mention is not made of the forces engaged, but it-is well to note that the French are taking the offensive with greater frequency, and that while the German '. attacks fail of their purpose our Allies make progress in regaining some of the ground lost in the earlier German efforts. Two instances of such gains are mentioned in to-day's news; neither apparently of any outstanding importance, but still indicative of. the dominance attained by the French. ' The situation along the Western front may be summed up as one of expectancy. In spite cif the tremendous effort made by the Germans at Verdun, the German General Staff have assembled a great force along the British section of the front. It is stated by some military-writers that there is a greater forcc opposed to the British front than elsewhere. Whether the Germans have, been expecting an attack in force from this quarter, or whether they have in view the striking of a great blow somewhere at tho British- front, can only be guessed at. The theory is held that when the attack on Verdun was made the German Staff expected one of two things to happen, namely, that there would be a call'on the British'force for assistance, either by an' extension of theirfront and a consequent thinning of their lines, or by an attack designed to relieve the pressure .on . Verdun. Happily General Joffke_was able to handle the situation without affecting tho Britishdispositions, and so : nothing of importance eventuated along-the British front. Tho Germans, . however, are still there in 'exceptional force, and it may'_ be assumed, therefore, that something is afoot' iri this quarter.

A, message from tho official correspondent ..with the New Zealand Forces, to hand to-day, supplies a little information • concerning our troops. It plainly relates, however, to tho earlier days after arrival on French soil, and deals mainly with the changed conditions as compared with the fighting : at Gallipoli, and the steps taken to prepare our troops for the different • class of fighting they will bo faced with against.;-the. Huns. The glimpse it affords of our men amidst their new surroundings is encouraging. Thero is a brief, reference in another message to a small affair in which ■ a force from the Egyptian section of our troops was engaged. A column of Australian and New Zealand mounted men evidently raided outposts of the Turks somewhere .out in the. desert, • the. .enemy decamping without showing:fight. Apparently the enterprise was quito successful from our point of view.' A good deal .of this, sort of. thing may.Ho expected.. "The-.Turks hostile, ..Arabs prowl about- in? comparatively small bands, picking up -information and causing trouble,' andat'.'is a. sound poli'cy'tokeep them "on-themove and make their task as uncomfortable and as dangerous as possible!

■ -Nothing has- come, to hand at time of writing confirmatory : of. tho reported great Russian' success on tho Tigris.lt may provie to be. nothing more than an newspaper canard, but apart from this particular story of the capture! ol 37,000 Turks tlierc is ample reason to bo satisfied with the Russian progress in Asia Minor.'