PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2870, 7 September 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

As news stands, the great stnigglo which opened on the Sommc front on Sunday is still in full progress, and the latest reports show that the Allies have made new gains, important in themselves, and even more important a/s paving the way for a further advance. The British on the northern part of iiho front have closed in upon Thiepval, the western bastion of the German line, and further east they arc now fighting their way forward a mile east of Guil lemont, which lately was one of the strongest elements in tho whole range of German positions. The road-junction of Combles is in a fair way to be encircled. The French are working round it on the south, and the British arc established in positions due north, at a, distance of about half a raikv and hold a commanding position.on the direct approach. When the battle opened, (Jombles was a vital centre in the enemy's local communications. Its usefulness- in that character was largely reduced, if not destroyed, when it camo under the fire of the Allied batteries, and the enemy must already have reorganised his comBut tho reduction of Oombles, which nowAseems imminent, will mean that a long step has been taken towards the capture of the more important centres of Bapaiime, on the north, and Peronne to the south-east. On the last-men-tioned placo the French arc closing in rapidly. They are pressing forward on the north bank of' the Sommo, cast of Clery and further north, and by capturing the villago of Omiecourt have linked up their positions north and south of the river.

.*' * * \ Omiecourt lies south-east of Clery, on the south bank of the Sonime, but north' of the Sommc Canal, which the French had to cross to reach, tho village. The river here ranges away from the canal in a sharp bend, and Omiecourt stands in the inner angle .of tho bend. 'While they have thus extended their hold upon tho south bank of the rive*r, the French have closely approached the range of defences along the Tortille brook, which cover Peronne at a distance of a nailo and a half to the north-west. For the time being the French are pushing, ahead more rapidly, and on a longer front than are their British Allies, but no doubt the time has been closely approached when the British operations also will greatly broaden out. Thiepval, now an acute salient at the point where tho present line leaves that on which the battle began, still opposes an obstacle to a northward advance,_ but apart from the fact that _it is half encircled, its communications arc under continuous artillery fire, and the period of its further defence by tho enemy is likely to be very short.

.The splendid success 'achieved in the latest phase of the battle is all the more notablo since tho enemy is said to have had full warning of what was coming. His front is giving .way at one vital point after another although he sought to mako it secure by bringing up heavy reinforcements and guns. It is no 'doubt unfortunate that bad weather compelled the Allies to postpone their general assault, and enabled the enemy to take those precautions, but the circumstances of tho battle bear, on even more striking witness to tho superior power of tho Allies than the success achieved in the first week of their offensive. It is said, indeed, that the enemy knew in the . later 'days of June that an attack on the Somnio front was imminent, but he could not then bo certain that ho would not be attacked simultaneously on some other section of his front, and it is likely that in July the Allies derived some of the advantages of surprise in spite of what the enemy knew or suspected "beforehand of their intentions. The Germans seem to have laboured under no uncertainty on the present

occasion, but their defeat has been not less overwhelming, and promises to bo moro disastrous in its results, than the defeat they suffered in the first week of July.

• Events arc developing less rapidly in tho Balkans than they seemed likely to from yesterday's reports, and as news stands at time of writing, the importance of the Bui- , garian offensive against Rumaniahas not yet been tested in battle. There is still every reason to suppose, however, that a conflict is imminent, in the south-eastern confines of Rumania, between the advancing Bulgarians and ■ the Russians, and that afction in this quarter will give the signal for an Allied advance from Greece. Only cavalry encounters are reported as yet in the Doburja,- but tno expected battle may open now at any time. By their own account the Bulgars are advancing into the Dobruja on a front of about a hundred miles, with their left flank resting on the Danube and their right on the Black Sea coast. They claim, also, | that they have stormed a bridgehead at Turtukai, which means that they hold the south bank of the Danube ten miles inside Rumanian territory, that they have occupied Kurt Bunar and Dobritch, the first-men-tioned place after heavy . fighting. At the moment there are neither Russian nor Rumanian reports of this alleged engagement. Both Kurt Bunar and Dobritch stand about, ten miles inside the Rumanian frontier, and considerably south of the Danube. The position meantime is very open, and ha 3 not been materially affected by the enemy advance. One of several possibilities is that the- Russians may fight a holding battle in the Dobruja, and cross the Danube further west, with a view to taking the enemy in flank. West of the Dobruja the Danube runs for about two hundred miles between' Rumania and Bulgaria. Defended in adequate strength, it would constitute a formidable obstacle, but it seems highly improbable that the Bulgarians have such a force at command as would enable them to defend so great a length of riverline.

The position in Greece is still somewhat ncßulous, but the outlook is steadily improving, and prospects that Grceco may yet take an active part against the Bulgars are growing brighter. According- to one message from Athens, M. Venizelos has issued a proclamation calling upon tho Greeks to drive back the Bulgars. This is good news if true, for It. Venizelos is not likely to have issued such a call without knowing that his countrymen are able and ready to respond. There is talk, also, of calling up somo classes of the lately demobilised army,_ and tho general effect of the news is that the sentiment in favour of intervention is spreading rapidly. The statement that the Greek forces at Vodena and Larissa have decided to resist the Bulgars in any case presumably means that theso troops hopo'to move out against the enemy, for Vodena lies well to the south of tho line on ' which tho Serbians stemmed the Bulgar offensive, and Larissa is in Central Greece. In tho circumstances that obtain the Greek effort promises at best to bo somewhat patchy, chiefly .as a result of the state of disorganisation into which King Oonstantine's shuffling has thrown his country.

With the exception that the Russians report further progress in tbj> Carpathians, events in the Eastern theatre are almost completely veiled at time of writing. Some evidenco to tho increasing power of the Russian offensive is contained, however, in tho statement of Reuter's correspondent at Pctrograd that the Germans are reinforcing the southeastern Russian front from the Western theatre", and further, that forty thousand Turks have been sent to Lemberg. If theso assertions could be accepted without reserve, they would throw very interesting light upon the straits to which tho enemy is reduced by shortage of men. He certainly has strong reasons for reinforcing, rather than weakening, his Western front at tho present stage, and the presence of Turks at 'Lemberg would also seem to be a case of robbing Peter to pay -Paul."Die Turks are suffering defeat after "defeat in Armenia, and if, in spite of this, they aro ablo to spare troops 'for foreign service, no doubt a,mplo scope for their employment exists in the Balkans.

The Victoria Gross has never been better earned than by Lieutenant Robinson, the first aviator to bring down a Zeppelin in the London district. It will be remembered that a New Zealander, Lieutenant Brandon, surmounted and dropped bombs upon a Zeppelin in a night attack, but as information stands, it is not definitely known, whether it was tho same airship that subsequently fell in tho Thames Estuary, or, if so, how far Lieutenant Brandon's bombs contributed to its downfall. The only British aviator other than Lieutenant Hodinson, definitely known to have brought down a' Zeppelin is the late Lieutenant Warne,ford, who attacked his quarry in daylight, over Flanders.