PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2881, 20 September 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

-e — "Probably tho most effective blow • yet dealfi the enemy by British troops," is Sir Douglas Haig's verdict upon IK© splendidly successful assault on the German third line south ol Bapaume, and his detailed review of tho course of the- battle, from its opening at dawn on Fri-., day, amply justifies the verdict. As to tho event's and results of the assault, the Commander-in-Chief's dispatch has been in great part an-, ticipated by his own eailier reports and those of correspondents, but ho emphasises several very important facts. As to the position reached, he remarks that the British are I now well down tho forward slopes of the high ground south of Bapaume, and with tho facilities for artillery observation thus afforded, are able to inflict heavy punishment upon tho enemy. Sir Douglas Haig does not say how far this advantage extends, but other descriptions of the country leavo it in no doubt that to the Germans the penetration of their third lino means that the security of Bapaumo has gone. From tho crest of the low but vitally important rango they havo mastered, tho British troops look down the slope into the valley of tho Ancro and across tho upper valley of that little stream to Bapaumo on its opposite slope. Ono point which Sir Douglas Haig clears up concerns the depth and extent of tho German defences covering Bapaumo. Ono recent report stated that the British had smashed the third and last German line in this region, while another-, declared that tho British were still -confronted by long, organised onemy, positions. d

Both reports now prove to bo incor- i rect. Sir Douglas Haig speaks oE h. German fourth lino, but he states that it w«s_ recently constructed. As ho describes its looation. it extends from the near neighbourhood of Bapaume south-cast towards Le Transloy, four miles away. The lino fronte and covers tho road which connects Bapaurne and Le Transloy. The Germans aro not yet, of course, thrown back to the immediate vicinity of this road. The British arc still about four miles from Bapaume and three miles from Le Transloy. # * * « The most impressive passage in Sir Douglas Haig's dispatch is that which states that since July 1, tho British forces alone, on the Sommo battlefront, have engaged 35 German divisions, of- which 29 have already boon defeated and withdrawn exhausted. This statement brings home the fact that although the German lino is not yet completely breached, the defeat of the German armies is proceeding apace. Thirty-five divisions mean a strength of something like 400,000 combatants, and it may De noted also that the Germans are believed to have had about 122 divisions on the Western front since tho end of June. Sik Douglas Haig's statement should mean nothing less than that half, or nearly Tialf, the enemy's total formations in tho Western theatre have been opposed at one time or another to either tho French or British offensive on the Somme. Thero is no question,' be it noted, of a systom of orderly reliefs in the enemy's disposal of his forces. Sir Douglas Haig says that twenty-nino of tho thirty-five divisions opposed to the British, offensive havo neen defeated and withdrawn exhausted. What this means may be judged from the detail particulars no has given afc times of tho desperately heavy losses suffered by the enemy. Some time ago it was estimated, not officially, but with an appearance of probability, that on an average "chose German units which had fought in the front line in Picardy had lost half their strength. It is not at all unlikely that some of the 'twenty-nine defeated and exhausted divisions mentioned by Sir Douglas Haig suffered in an even heavier proportion. Taking account also of losses suffered in conflict with the French, tho total drain upon tho enemy to the present "stage of the offensive must have been enormous. There is some uncertainty as to the extent to which New Zealand troops participated in the earlier stages of the Somme offensive, but they havo at all events participated in the greatest battle it has yet witnessed. The Commander-in-Chief's dispatch shows that Now Zealanders played a creditable part both in the ;assault on tho German third line and in subsequently repelling counter-attacks and extending the area, of conquest. The latest news in hand from the' 1 Western theatre tells of further important gains by both' sections of tho Allied army. Tho British have captured a strong work eastward of Ginchy, and the French have encircled and captured another heav-ily-fortified village south of the Somme.. . At the moment tho position in the Balkans is not as a whole very clearly defined, but this does not mean that tho outlook is less promising than it has lately seemed to bo. The position in the Dobruja and tho latest political developments in Greece—this last not eos-< ily distinguished from a pro-Ger-man triumph—might, considered apart, afford somo ground for uneasiness. But thoy cannot bo considered apart without doing violence to tho facts of the situation. Full ,weight must bo given to.other and more important features. These are, briefly, that tho Rumanians are well advanced in their Tnansylvaii'ian offensive, and that the Bulgars havo been heavily defeated by the Serbians and other sections of General Sarrail's army on the north-western confines of Greece. Even as it stands, the situation turns heavily against tho enemy, but there is every reason to believe in addition that tho Allies havo as yot shown only a part of the strong hand they 'hold in the Balkans. * : * * * An item which stands out from the other news to-day relates to the Italian main campaign. It is stated, unofficially as yet, that the Italians have broken through the "Austrian third line in the Monfalcone sector, at tho head of tbo Adriatic,' and are fiercely fighting their way towards Trieste. If the facts aro corrcctl)\ stated, the Italian armies are in a fair way to gain a much more satisfactory battle-ground than tho Alpine ranges, which thus far havo presented such formidable obstacles to their progress. As most people aro now aware tho Austrian frontier facing Italy is the strongest in the world from the military point of view, but it has the weakness of all strong defensive lines in that it can be broken at its weakest point and turned. Unless tho message quoted overrates the successes most recently won by' the Italians this is what has happened, and General Cadorna's ■ troops are bursting through a breach in the Austrian fortified barrier to an invasion, of "tho more open territory lying beyond it. Official testimony is needed", of course, before it can be assumed that so important a development has taken place, and at time of writing it has not been supplied. At the same timo the great events now reported arc a perfectly possible development from tho position known to exist on tho Italian front, and the broad features of this position are worth keeping in mind, even if the present report should prove to havo run ahead of events. * * « * The last official reports received Italian and Austrian, show that the Italians are engaged in powerfully attacking the Austrian, lines across the Carso .plateau, from the Adriatic coast, south-cast of Monfalcone, to the River Vippacco, about eight miles north. Though thoy were stoutly opposed, tho Italians mado some headway eastward over tho plateau, breaking into the.enemy defences and taking many hundreds of prisoners. The Austrians now claim that a recent battle a few miles north of tho Adriatic, south-east of Doberdo Lake, turned ultimately in .their favour, though they admit that their lines wore penetrated. This is. as far as official news goes at the moment, and tho situation manifestly holds large possibilities. At their nearest approach tho Italians aro about a dozen _ miles distant from Trieste, which _ is i named as their immediate objective,

The intervening country, though rugged and hilly, opposes less formidable obstacles to an advance than the Alpine ranges further north. . The worst feature of the position from the standpoint of tho Italians is that they aro restricted to a somewhat narrow front in developing the attack towards Trieste. Between the River Vippacco and the Adriatic they havo a space of about eight miles in which to operate. They havo pushed ahead also in the four miles of territory between tho Vippacco and Gorizia, but operations in this locality aro hampered meantime by, the fact that the enemy remains established in strong mountain positions east and north-east of Gorizia. The possibility exists, however, that the Italians may be ablo to turn these positions, and the Isonzo line as a wholo, by advancing along the valley of the Vippacco and over the Carso plateau between tho Vippacco and the Adriatic. It is a point in their favour that tho Adriatic coast trends away to the south from tho flank of their present line, so that each forward step gives them a longer front, and one lending itself to greater freedom of movement. Time and ovents must show whether the Italians are capable of breaching the Austrian front on the Carso in the near future, and pushing forward to Trieste, but it seems distinctly possible that they have • set themselves to reach this goal. Divergent views havo been expressed as to tho resistance the Italians aro likely to meet on tho road to Trieste, but late developments tend on the wholo to show that an extension of tho offensive to the region of tho Istrian Peninsula is practicable. Tho country through which the Italians must force their way in order to reach Trieste is broken and hilly, with heights rising to something over a thousand feet, and such country, of course, lends itself to a strong defence. It must be considered, nowever, that the Italians have shown themselves capable of rapidly reducing positions quite as strong as the enemy can hope to hold against their further advance. In eonjunction with the successful attack on Gorizia, and subsequently, they completed their conquest ,of the Doberdo plateau (immediately west of the Carso), crossed the formidable obstacle of the Vallone ravine, and gained a firm foothold on the Carso plateau, which they are now further extending. This advance involved the conquest of positions, naturally of great strength, and upon which the Austrians had lavished every art of fortification. It was manifestly a lino which they had hoped to defend indefinitely, and it is most unlikely that their resources aro now equal to establishing as good a line further east. The Italians have smashed the strong crust of the enemy defences in the Carso region, and the Austrians have been and are being terribly weakened, not in this theatre, only, but in others. -. These facts make tho prospects of an early advance on Trieste fairly hopeful.