PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2883, 22 September 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

An accountjof the pari played by riew Zealand troops in tho recent battle on the Sommo is now given by the official_ correspondent (Captain ft'oss). With an English division, the New Zealanders were dotailed to attack,the village of'Flers, on tho right flank of' tn© attacking front, and adjacent sections of tho German third line. That they performed ther task woll and • bravely,-and earned with other troops the commendations of'tho Commander-in-Chief, is already .No'more and no less will be claimed for the ■New Zealanders thaii that tliey are playing their part in a manner worthy of veteran soldiers. In'the vortex of what will probably rank as the greafcst and most decisivo battle of tho war, they are admirably sustaining the reputation .established by their deeds in Gallipoli and in Egypt. Captain Ross mentions tho Rifle Brigade and Otago and Auckland battalions as taking part in the attack on Flers and neighbouring areas; but whether other .sections of the New Zealand Division, wcro engaged does not appear. The story of what the New Zealanders ; accomplished in "the Battle of.the*Somme should supply that stimulus to recruiting whnh is manifestly needed at the present, time. It is right/that the deeds <;f our soldiers should receive, the applause they merit,, but it is .mach. more important that they should be supported in a. spirit, as loyal as their own. , ' : \ - It has beon claimed- that the' recent progress : of their offensive gives t|ic Allies, a; position of decided advantage on the Somme front and fatally weakens the German line. These claims derive strong support from the events now reported, a series of massed counterattacks in which the Germans all day. long threw waves of men against the, French positions east of Combles, and further south towards the Somme.. At the end of the day the Germans had completely failed to better • their positionthough at one period they gained a temporary footing in portion of tho village of Bouchavesnes—and were jpoorer by a terrible roll of casualties. Striking features in the reports are those which indicate that the French were able ; to repel the enemy assaults largely by the fire of mach-ine-guns and artillery advantageous-ly-posted, and that they were and are favourably, situated also in tho matter of observation. . The German attacks seem to have constituted a forlorn-hope enterprise of the most desperate character, all the more so since they were made in a period of bad, weather, which must needs hamper and prejudice the prospects of any attack. The Allies, committed to a methodical offensive, are restricting their efforts i until more favourable weather conditions appeal', but the Germans evidently feel that they cannot afford to grant themselves any such respite. These counter-attacks in their cost and failure add notably to the grow, ing body of ovic/(inco that tho Germans connote the idea of retreat with that of disaster. ' It is most convincingly demonstrated that their line can be broken and pierced, and it is not to bo supposed that they would continue, to squander lives in their present hopeless fashion II they saw any prospeot of safe retreat to a shorter front. r Hiait tension Feigns both in the Russian and Italian theatres, but the outcome in each i case has yet to appear. It is hardly necessary to observe that big developments arc possible at any moment in these theatres. The situation on the southern Russian front is in sonio respects comparable to that which preceded tho fall of Lembcrg two years ago, and on tho Italian front fcho battle for Trieste, as it has come to bo is appaymYy coia\>mv inn'in full vigour. There is a certain air of promise about an- Austrian message omphasisilig the stasngUi oC tho lfcaliau fovccs attacking the c/efonc/ors of the Uavso Highlands. With tho Austrians this sort of thing nofr infrequently precedes an admission of defeat. W'\R m>vrespondents in Greece are. apparently in a. state of mind somewhat resembling that of speculator? impatontly awaiting the starting of a race. At all events, some of their.

recent dispatches, checked by the official reports, must be set down .is having run decidedly ahead of events. The Allies are not yet sweeping forward in the great turning movoment from north-western Greece which was deolared yesterday to be well under way, and the officially reported at time of writing has taken place on or near the southern frontiers of Serbia and Bulgaria, some of it a few miles south of the frontier line. According to a French conrnunigve, tbo Serbians ha ve_ captured the iortified crest of Kaimakchalau, which is on the frontier, 45 miles west of the Vardar, but further west (in places south of the frontier) the l3ulgars are still resisting strongly. "At some points they are even attacking. It is mentioned that aa enemy attack was broken, in the locality west of Jtaimakchalan, by French field artillery, which is here supporting tho Serbians, Another crumb of official information is to the effect that important Bulgarian attacks compelled the Italians to fall back a little way from - the southern slopes of tbe Belesh range, whioh follows the Bulgarian frontier from the eastern oonflnes of Serbia to the Struma. # » * * This news covers a considerable part of tlie total front on which the billies arc arrayed m Greece, and jfc is quite plain that at the, period to which tno reports- the Allies had not developed their main attack, and the Bulgarian southern lino had not been penetrated. Bui'ing tho last week or two the Bulgarians have_ been dislodged from strong positions in north-western Greece, and in the near neighbourhood of tho Vardar, but their resistance has not yet by any, means given way? No doubt the Allied attacks mad i up to tho, present have been intended chiefly to pave the way for aotion on a larger soale by weakening the enemy's line and compelling him to widely distribute his available forccs. That reports exaggerating th 6 immediate importance ol this or that section of tho Allied operations sTiould be in. circulation is not at all strange, for no doubt the Allies are dcing all that they can to deceive- tbo enemy, per medium .of his friends in Greece and otherwise, as to the actual lines on which their offensive is developing. The Bulgajs in Macedonia are in the position of having to defend a long frontier line, which is pierced oy two main gateways, and quite a number of miaor entrances. They are necessarily in some degree uncertain as to where the main blow of the Allied offensive will fall. '■ Ultimately the Allies must advance by way of the Vardar Valley 'or the Struma, or both, hecauso tho Vardar is traversed by the only railway which runs for any distance north into the Balkans from Greece and the Struma by one of the very few. good roads leading, into 1 the north, country. But it does not by any means.follow that the' Allies must develop their main attack on tho direct line of the Vardar or on that of the Struma. The preliminary sparring now in evidence serves a! purpose, and promises well, for the reason that the immediate defences of the main gateways into-*the-Balkans;are more or less l.iable to be taken in flank and roar by an invasion pushed through' some ofj the minor gateways of the frontier. The Vardar line, for instance, is liable to be attacked in flank by a northward advanco,from tliat section of the frontier on which tho Serbians are fighting. This, broadly speaking, is typical of the gene--1 ral situation : n Macedonia, and impatience at the slow development of the offensive may bo qualified by the -reflection the .Allies have prospects of ultimately. ' grasping some of the advantages of surprisein spite of bfeing based on a spyinfested country like Greece. References to the approach of tlio European winter may attract particular attention in Mieir'bearing upon the Balkan campaign, since it is' one in whioh early and sweeping results are hoped for. ' It was near the end of October last year, however, beforc'vON set his forces in motion on the northern frontier of Serbia. The Allies have time enough yet in which to develop their attack and drive it home. > • 'No very definite conclusion' can be based upon news in hand dealing with the Rumanian campaigns. Host of the reports are unofficial, and in their total effect they are not very' explicit It is stated that the Russo-Rumariians have assumed the offensive m the Dobruja, and a number of reports speak of a big. battle in that area-. The Austrians claim some local gains-in Transylvania, including the recapture ol the town of Petroseny, which is in south-western Transylvania, about seven miles distant from the Rumanian frontier. However, no development of decisive importance-is disclosed in the northern, part of the Balkans any more than in the south, and it is an essential feature of tho position here, as in Greece, that the enemy is liable to be at any time powerfully attacked in a new quarter. At the moment there is no word of any movement on the northwestern frontiers of Bulgaria or immediately north of'the Danube, but action in these areas, directed against tho main railway through the Balkans, may- presently transform tho situation. « * * # • Statements by ' Colonel Repington on the subject of German reserves call for no other remark than that, they are at variance with the views expressed, not only by some other military writers, but by some high military authorities. In particular, his contention that Germany has. large reserves, more or less effective, still uncalled, is directly/opposed to the opinion expressed by the Russian Chief of Staff (General Alexeieff) ina statement quoted at some length yesterday. _ No doubt Colonel Repington's aim -is to check "ovor-confidcnce, and to emphasise the danger of any slackening in effort, but exaggeration of Germany's rosources is capable of working mischief, and if it were carried far-enough, might assist the enemy in intriguing for peace. The question is often asked, so it was said at* the Hospital Board yesterday, why there are so few patients in--the Victoria Military Hospital, Newtown. -Tho quostion is raised because U\o 'military bulletins show only small figures for this institution. Dr. .Morieo informed tile board that tho military bulletin docs not Correctly represent thc number of patients in tho llospitaV 3?or instance, tho military bulletin might say: "Admitted, 1; remaining, W," whorcas . thei'o might really be forty, or fifty soldiers there. The explanation was that tho bulletin only included men from tlio camps, and ,'na w>t mcbulo returned soldiers. Tho liiiost correct return showed that forlyiive wore admitted during August, and that on August ill thirty-five remained there.