LECTURE ON THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2795, 13 June 1916, Page 8

LECTURE ON THE WAR

MR. WILFORD AS PROPHET "ALL'S WELL WITH THE ALLIES." Tho war lecture delivered by Mr. T. M. I Wilford, JI.P., at tho Town Hall Inst i night attracted a full house and an ap- ! preciativo audience. The 'Mayor (Mr. i -I. -P. Luko) presided. .The lecturer opened by stating that there could be only one end to tho war, l and that was the killing for ever of Prussian militarism. Mr. Wilford referred to a speech he had made-in Parliament in 1910, by way of showing that he, also, was among the • prophets who had declared that war was 1 imminent'. He then said:—"lf the British nation does not commence.war, Germany ai\d the German Navy will be up aud doing." He had declared in 1910 ; that German assurances should ' accepted, and that no one could mako him believe that Germany's ambitious were not inimical to Britain. Preceeding to.his lecture proper, Mr. • Wilford' said that all was well with the Allies. He would venture to give a new ' reason for the attack on Verdun. He | traced oil tho • blackboard the Eastern front. Ho considered that the cablo news that the Russian vanguard was within 50 miles 'of Lemberg \«as not correct; it should be (iO miles. Mr. Wilford proceeded to give his hearers a mass of information about the Eastern front and towns thereabouts. The Eastern front was. divided into three sectors. 'Operations were., practically impossible on the Eastern front except in summer.. The Germans calculated on this, hence their attack on Verdun, for which Austrian troops wore brought Westward, the. idea being that, after Verdun wasitakcii; the troops could be released for opera- ' tiohs in the East. Tho Germans, however, miscalculated, owing to the . strategy of .Toffre and his chiefs (men who had learned the -lessons of 1870, and would fight and fight nntil victory was theirs). (Cheers.) After all, what was Verdun? It was a geographical exprcs- ' slon. The Germans, as a result of tho fearful toll taken by the French at Verdun, - were unable to make good the ' troops taken from the East. Eussia had .found her soul; the war was a holy crusade to tho Russians. Vilna was the most: important centre in the Russian objective, having communications with towns .in all directions; If Vilna and Czernowitz'fell to the Russians, it would be a matter of great rejoicing. Tliero were 20,000 Rumanians in Czemowitz, and Rumania desired it as part of the price of her support of the Allies. When the city was isolated it would fall, and when that occurred Rumania' had premised to' join tho Allies. (Cheers.) Rumania 'was playing no small part in the war at the present time, holding np a huge number of Bulgarians oil her frontier, in readiness for a surprise attack. Mr. Wilford nt > this stago drew a map of the Balkans on the "blaekboaru, * <eat ' .which evoked cheers.. To understand the Balkan question it was necessary to v understand the railway system running through the Balkan States, If • Rumania came ■ in there would be half a million men in Greece, half a million in Rumania, and 300,000 Russians to tackle Bulgaria, and it would not take them long to clean lip that little bit of Europe. (Cheers.) Joffre's strategy had been summed up by him iu the words "Jo les grignotte" (I nibble them). The Western front was <20 miles long. The Kaiser had to fight the war politically, and not strategically. If the Germans were to ev.icuate Belgium they would have 80 miles Jess front to defend. But what effect would ■that have on the morale of the German people? : They would then know tho 'truth, which the Kaiser dare not let them know. If the Allies could beat the Germans on the Western front they could walk to Berlin with their hands in their pockets. (Cheers.) The end of tho war would come on the longest and not tho shortest front. Even if the Germans carried Verdun they were still 145 miles from Paris, with 11,000 miles of - trenches between them and the J'rench capital. (Cheers.) ",Te les grignotte" was the policy of tho Allies, and it must win, Mr. Wilford described graphically the early fighting at Verdun, and the frightful slaughter of the Bosches bv the French 75's. What was the lesson of Verdun ? It was that in a war of attrition Verdun had played the greatest part,-it was possible to play. .Germany '"ftas keeping up the offensive because she was the weaker side; she could not wait; she nvust attack. The Allies had millions; of men to draw upon—33o millions against 117 millions of tho Germanic Powers. The. lecturer went on to speak of the advantages possessed by the -Empire in its great naval strength, and said he'never doubted that in tho recent figlit the British fleet had emerged victorious. He hoped to give a lecture on Zeppelins and aeroplanes in the future. The Zeppelins had ono value to the Germans—the Navy could naver be taken by surprise. (Laughter.) _ At the rate the Zeppelins were exterminating the British people—say, 1000 a year—it would take 45,000 years to wipe them ou.t—not allowing for the birth-rate. (Laughter.)