PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2849, 14 August 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Though their great surprise attack; on tho laonzo has achieved its t&ttnediato purpose, the Italians are I>y rio means at a standstill on that front. i To-day's reports show farther notable progress on tho rocky Carso plateau between Gorizia and tho sea. Tho Austrians are still in possession of high positions both east and north of Gorizia, but the loss of tho latter placo has to some extent weakened their position on the Carso plateau to the south. Continuing unchecked, the attack "which the Italians are now vigorously pressing would turn tho whole Isonzo line, and make it untenable. It cannot be assumed, however, that the Italians are capable of forging ahead indefinitely at their present rate. Making tujl allowance for the effect of the penetration of the enemy line at Gorizia, tho Carso plateau still constitutes a range of exceedingly formidable As it was described by an English correspondent some time ago, this rook-ribbed plateau rises from „tho bed of the Lower Isonzo to a height varying from 300 to 8"0 feet, and stretches inland to the confines of Istria, mounting ever higher, ever steeper, as it spreads out into the interior. Owing to tho nature' of the ground trenches cannot be dug, ana for cover the Italians have to' depend chiefly upon ramparts of broken stone, linked up in places by laboriouslyconstructed tunnels. Occupying prepared positions on higher ground, the;enemy still has a great deal in his favour, and the progress made by the Italians during the last day or two, across practically the whole breadth of the plateau, is on that account all tJhe more remarkable.

Official Italian reports refer at time of writing only to operations in the Gorizia .and Clarso sectors, but an unofficial message states that a new offensive has been opened in the Tolmino sector, towards the northern end of the Isonzo front. The town of Tolmino. stands on Ihe east bank of the Isonzo, about sixteen miles north of Gorizia, nes-r to the point at which the main railway to Vienna runs (through a tunnel under the Alps. North of Tolmino the Italians have advanced several miles beyond the Isonzo on a front of about a dozen miles, and it is in this region that they hold the Monte Nero summit'. The task of penetrating the enemy's alpine defences is even more formidable than that by; which the Italians are faced on the south, but it is possibly intended to press the attack in the Tolmino region simultaneously with the southern enterprise, in which such splendid headway has lately been made.

Passing from one success to another in Galicia, the Russians have now captured Stanislau, one of the most important railway centres south of the Dniester. Stanislau is situated just about midway between Czernowitz and Lemberg—it is rather more than Beventy mil,is south-east of Lemberg as the crow flies—but its capture certainly means a much nearer approach to the occupation of the Galician capital than mere map measurements would indicate. Like other places which the Austro-Gcrmans have successively lost during the last two months, 1 Stanislau was a .convenient centre from which to distribute reinforcements and supplies along their front. Defending Stanislau, the enemy was in every way favourably placed, and the Russians were handicapped by decidedly inferior communications, made much worse by the destruction of bridges aijd other damage done by the enemy in his retreat. The rapidity and succcbs of the Russian advance in these circumstances throws unmisfcakablo light upon tho condition to which tho enemy is reduced. Somothing has been said recently about the use tho enemy is making of his superior communications in resisting the Russian advance, but evbnts like the fall of Stanislau afford plain evidence that his effective strength has been so far cut down that ho is no longer able to turn his superior communications to tho most profitable account. The advantage of being able to move troops and material with a minimum of delay is, of course, absolute, but the Russians appear to have either neutralised or heavily discounted this advantage by distributing their attacks in a fashion presumably made possible by their greatly superior strength.

By thoir own account tbo AustroGermans cvacuatcd Sfcttnislau withoutfighting. A good reason for this policy appears iu tbo fact that the railway had Seen cut a few miles south of oflo town, while it was in imiWhont danger of being encircled 3-rao from the north. Mention is made of explosions prior to the •Russian entry, which would imply that the enemy was forced to destroy supplies through lack of time for thoir removal. Other indications of enemy demoralisation are to be found in the details of the Russian reports. Already the Russians have passed to tho west bank of a river crossing thoir path a few miles beyond Stanislau, and they are pressing briskly forward also on the north bank of tho Dniester. Broadly speaking, tho position reached is tiat the Russians have swept round ttio flankß of tho onemy forces in Eastern Galicia both on north and south. In the south they are still making rapid headway, and on the north, where Lemberg has been more closely approached, they aro in threatening , proximity to the most important railway in Galicia. More than ever tho enemy is threatened with a disaster in Galicia which, in' addition- to its immediate effect, would undermine his position in Southern Russia.

An interesting item in tho somewhat scanty news as yet available of the offensive the Allies have opened in the Balkans is tho German official statement that, "south of Doiran, sham, weak, attacks by the enemy were repulsed." .According to a Paris message the Allied attacks were neither weak nor sham. French troops, it states,'have captured Doiran railway station, while Serbian forces have captured heights to tho north. This would mean that somothing material has Been done towards openings what may bo regarded as a side-entrance to the Vardar valley, which is the principal military highway into the Balkans. The interest of the enemy report lies in the probability that it covers a rc&l uncertainty as to the .scope and purposo of the Allied attack at Doiran. This particular attack may or may not be a feint, but it is tolerably certain that false demonstrations will be made by tho Allies before they attempt to drive home their main attack. They are certainly not tied down\to a direct advance up the Vardar valley, and the possibility cannot be excluded that the first big movement of the offensivo may be instead a movement by way of Monastir, intended to take the frontier defences of the Tardar in rear, or an invasion of Bulgaria by way of the Struma valley. The wording of the German report quoted is a pretty definite admission that the problem of defeating the Allied attack is not simple but complex.'

An outspoken appeal by the newspaper La Eoumani for Ilumanian intervention speaks for itself. It does not mean, of course, that Rumania is certain to enter the war, but it shows that the facts of the position are thoroughly appreciated in that country, and indicates a clear recognition of the fact that an Allied offensive in tKe Balkans brings Rumania to the parting of the ways. She cannot well remain inactive when tho Allied offensive is definitely under'way withoufc renouncing all hopes/of territorial expansion and the liberation of her compatriots living under the Austrian yoke.

No important change is reported on the British section of the Somme front, but the French have achieved a highly-important extension of }heir line. Attacking the German 'third-line positions on a front of about four miles, north and slightly south of the Somme, they penetrated the German positions to a depth of from 6*oo to a thousand yards. The village of Maurepas, between the road junction of Combles and the river, has been partly occupied! The French are now in position almost due south of Combles, and while that place is closely threatened, the threat to Peronno is also developing apace. The • French advance is an impressive addition to the ordered steps by which the' Allies are approaching a complete penetration of the German front.

_It would appear that the Russians have suffered a somewhat serious set-back in Southern Armenia. A Turkish communique, issued on Wednesday last, now gives a detailed account of events which had already been very briefly reported in Russian messages, and it is no doubt substantially true. The Russians are shown to have been driven out of their organised positions in the mountains overlooking the Mcbopotamian plain, and compelled to retreat north of Mush and' Bitlis. It will be remembered that a Turkish offensive which achieved some temporary success preceded the recent Russian advance on. Erzingan, in Central Armenia, but no very close parallel can at present be drawn between these ' developments and current events in Southern Armenia. The positions lost in the latter area were, in any case, of great strategical importance, and as a result of their loss prospects of an advance on the Bagdad railway have for the time being- receded.