PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2786, 2 June 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

A^ reminder is given in a French semi-official message, published today, that the Allies are not condemned to stand indefinitely upon the defensive and receivo such assaults as the Germans have been launching against Verdun for the last three months. The point of chief importance raised is that thero is -visible evidence of an exhaustion of reserves, which compels the enemy to deplete quiet sectors. , Taken at its face vaiuc, this means nothing less than that the end of the Verdun battle in its_ present character is in sight. _ It is hardly necessary to emphasise the fact that as matters stand in the_ Western theatre the policy to which the Germans aro said to bo reduced of withdrawing troops from quiet sections of tho front is subject to very definite limitations. For practical purposes, a great part of the Allied Army in the Western theatre is in reserve. Except for tho recent affair at Vimy, the British have nowhere been heavily engaged for a long time past, and tho' strength of the French Army is not by any means completely absorbed at Verdun. It follows that if tho French authorities are right in their estimate of tho position, the Germans can now only contiiiuo their great offensive at the cost of presenting to the Allies a very favourable opportunity for the counter-stroke for which they arc presumably holding themselves in readiness. It is a mattor of capacity, and according to the French authorities the capacity of the Germans is so far showing signs of giving out that they aro able to con. tinue' their offensive only at the cost of weakening other sections of their front. This is a dangerous policy, and the outlook from the Allied standpoint is therefore promising.

The French semi-official review is interestingly supplemented by a- report epitomising events on the British front during the past fortnight. To a great extent this report speaks for itself, but one or two points deserve to be specially noted. Though the two weeks under review witnessed ft tremendoup sfcir of activity, tho fighting that set the lines ablaze was largely left to the artillery on either side. At Vimy, it is true, the Germans followed up a very powerful bombardment by an infantry assault of some magnitude, which gave them a British advanced position. The assaulting infantry, it is noted, had little to faee but the British curtain of fire. The defenders preferred to spend shells rather than men. The general policy- governing the operations seems to stand, put pretty clearly. The Germans engaged in a great demonstration along the British front, seeking to inflict all possible damage with their artillery, and met a punishing return in kind. In general, both sides have avoided exposing their infantry—at Vimy the Germans made an exceptional departure from the rule—and it may easily bo believed that with the Germans this is a matter of necessity, and with tho British a matter of choice. Whether or not - they have weakened their forces before the British front, as was recently reported, the Germans are 'feeling tho drain of Verdun, and are bound to place increasing reliance in artillery, as against men, as time goes on. _ To suppose that their recent dictated sololy by a desire to cover and conceal the withdrawal of troops destined for Verdun will hardly meet the case. Their activities arc more comprehensively explained by the necessity of making head in some fashion against tho great attack upon their lines for which events are ripening. * * * ,» That tho British, during this momentous fortnight, showed, if anything, a more pronounced tendency than the enemy to hold back from a general engagement certainly does not mean that the. Germans had it all their own w/iy. It rather means that the British arc better able to await the time for the decisive conflict which seems now to bo near at hand. _ One fact brought out Is that Mile infantry lighting on a bip scale has been ' avoided, there has been much raiding and patrol work, in which the British forces, including the overseas corps, have given an excellent Recount of themselves, and inflicted material loss upon the enemy. As a whole, the picture drawn is that of an army tuned to concert pitch and looking with confidence to the tremendous test that lies ahead.

* ' * a At timo of writing there are somewhat fragmentary and incomplete reports in hand of a debate in the House of Commons, in which the British military organisation has been subjected to a fire of criticism. At an immediate view, some of this criticism is disconcerting; but in the present state of-information it Is hopeless to try to institute comparisons between what has been and might havo been accomplished. That a great army improvised since the outbreak of war should fall very far short of perfection *11 organisation is inevitable. This is the chief of the penalties that have to be paid for lack, of foresight and prior preparation. Every nation engaged in tho war has bought experience at a bitter price, and Britain, of course, shares the common lot. On the whok there does not seem to be any particular reason for disquiet in tho fact that Mr. Asqtjith is constrained to admit that sweeping improvements in organisation aro still in progress.

Late news from Italy is not good. The Italians are still being pushed back, though slowly, on the. Asiago plateau. To the west, however, in the valley of the Adige, the Austrians havo suffered further heavy defeats. There at the moment matters rest, and according to tho latest report in hand a battle is developing 011 the western section of the Asiago plateau.

Another report from Ghnerai, , Smuts, in East Africa, shows that further progress has been made against the enemy forces operating in the north-eastern corner of the colony. Tho Germans in this region arc based on the Tanga railway, which runs inland from the coast for a distance of about 200 miles to Moshij and then runs 50 miles further west to Great Arusha. Tho Germans have been dislodged from the railway as far as the station of Same, which is about 70 miles below Moshi, towards the sea. In tho operations reported upon to-day tho British are shown to bo descending tho valley of the Pangani Eiver, as if to threaten tho retreat of German forces still established on the railway below Same. In their movement against the Tanga railway tho British have tho advantage of ex< cellent transport facilities, sinco they havo carried a strategic lino from the Uganda railway to tho Gorman railway at Moshi. ' Even

so, their progress, though steady, is not rapid, so that it would seem that tho Germans are defending tho Tanga railway in considerable strength. This is rather a matter for congratulation than otherwise. The British aro nowhere better placed to vigorously prosecute the invasion than in this north-eastern section of the colony, and there should be fair prospects of blocking a Gorman retreat from the Tanga railway to the longer railway which runs across the colony further south.

By this time there must be a very considerable British force in East Africa. Towards the end of March General Botha stated in the South African House of Assembly that instead of 10,000 men, which was the number originally contemplated, 20,_0Q0 men had either gone or were going from tho Union to East Africa. Thero are probably some Imperial units and an East African corps also included in the force commanded by General Smuts, and it is presumably a Rhodesian force which has now entered German East. Africa from Rhodesia and Nyassaland on the south. It was estimated some time ago that the German strength was 4000 European troops and about 25,000 natives, Already, however, the enemy has suffered material losses, and the strength of his native levies is uncertain.

A report from Greece that the Government is provisioning Seres and Drama by way of the port of Kav&k may possibly mean that the Bulgarians aro expected to occupy Denjirhissar, from which place their advanced troops were lately reported to be only two miles distant. With the Bulgarians in Demirhissar, Seres and Drama, with their adjacent districts, would bo cut off from the rest of Greece so far as railway communication is concerned. As a matter of fact, however, the report may mean very little. Months ago tho Allies destroyed the railway bridge over the Struma, near Demirhissar, and others, and tho ferrying of goods across the. riyerg is involved if the railway service with the eastern part of Greece is being maintained. It is likely that tho sea passage to Kavala was already the most convenient route for the transport of goods to this eastern region before tho Bulgarians crossed the frontier.

Like other messages relating to Greece, the ono which states that M. Skouloudis, the Prime Minister, has declined to consider a protest lodged by Bulgaria against the action of Greek frontier troops in firing upon the Bulgarians who occupied ttupel Port, does very little to clear up the present obsoure situation. At the of writing no important military developments arc reported, and the immediate question awaiting an answer is whether there is any prospect of -a re? versa} of the policy of tamely sub? mitting to the Bulgarian invasion. The Venizelist Party is certainly working in opposition to the Government, but with what prospects it is as yet diflicult to determine. A dispatch to the well-informed Gorriere clella Sera from Athens stated that an important political movement began in Greece towards the end of March. The Liberals and tho_ Interventionists resumed their activities on March 21, with the publication of an article by the exMinister, M. Alexandjiis, claiming that the defeat of the Central •Po w'ers is imminent, and asserting that Greece has one last chance to save Hellenism. The openly-avowed object of this moyement, which is said to be gaining ground with extraordinary rapidity, is to secure 1 the resignation of the Skouloudis-Gou-naris Cabinet, the dissolution of the present Parliament, and the return of M, Venizelos. It will be remembered that, with his party, M. Venizelos 'allowed the last election— an election comedy as he described it—to go uncontested. With the army- mobilised, the pretence of ah effective appeal to the people was a hollow farce. Recently, M. Venizelos consented to stand unopposed for Mitylene, but Greek Liberal organs declared at the time that although the party had decided to alkw its members to contest by-elec-tions, in order to demonstrate their strength in the country, ueither M. Venizelos nor any of his followers who might be returned would take their seats in the present Parliament.

As it stands, the story told by the Athens correspondent of a Danish newspaper about the destruction of a. Greek petrol depot at Nauplia is distinctly unconvincing. That Allied patrols _ have destroyed stocks of petrol in their policing operations alongj the Greek coast is well known, but it is most unlikely that they did such work at - Nauplia by the rough-and-ready method of bombarding the depot, and incidentally setting fire to adjacent houses. Their natural course would Havo been to land a party and do tho work in more orderly fashion. Apart from the methods ascribed to tho Allied patrol, the story would be likely enough. Enemy _ submarines have in the past obtained supplies in Greece, and Nauplia, which is situated in southern Greece, at the head of a gulf, would no doubt-he a convenient depot.