AUSTRIA'S PREDICAMENT

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2907, 20 October 1916, Page 5

AUSTRIA'S PREDICAMENT

■ WHERE TO FIND TROOPS. . The following cabled dispatch has been, received from Mr; H. Warner Allen, special representative of ' the British Presswith the : French Army:— Rumania's adhesion to the' cause of the Allied Powers reinforces their armies by several 'divisions of fresh troops, and general mobilisation should give Rumania something over 900,000 trained men. Any advance from Rumania into Transylvania must at its beginning imply mountain warfare, with all its delays' and difficulties) but' none the less tho Rumanians appear to have every chance of making progress when the number and quality of the troops opposed to them is considered. The Austrian armies have justpassed through'a period of three months' defeats, in which they have lost 800,000 men, and of these 35(5,000 are prisoners. Their strategic reserves have been completely exhausted. But despite the continual pressure of Italianß and Russians on" their frontiers, the Ausfcrians Wero ablo to scrapo together eight divisions', which they sent to Transylvania in readiness for a'rupture with Rumania. These divisions wero badly needed 'elsewhere, and it seems scarcely possible, despite the difficulty of the country, that thoy will be able to hold tho long line of the Rumanian frontier.

Tho question arises: Where is the Dual Monarchy to find more troops?. It cannot accuse Germany of having failed to succour "the brilliant second." The Germans lost half a million of mou at Verdun before tho Sommo offensive began. Since July . 1 they have been losing heavily, both on tho Somme and at Verdun. How heavy tho German casualty list, has been can bo deduced from tho fact that since July 1the Allies have taken 43,000 prisoners at these two points on the front, According to all precedents on this front, this figure must represent a very large total of casualties on the German side.

Notwithstanding these losses and the over-increasing pressure of French and British on the Somme, the Germans have sent some divisions to help the Austrians. Nine of these have been withdrawn from the Western front, and the most surprising point is that four of thorn have been withdrawn since July 1, when the Somme offensive began. It is obvious that the German High Command would not withdraw, if it could possibly help it, a single mau from the front whioh is being subjected to the offensive, described in the Gorman Press as "a gigantic operation." The German Press declares that the Germans are greatly outnumbered on the Somme, and yet so great is the crisis that the enemy has had actually to weaken his Western front'during the height of the offensive.

Germany has had to call on its 1917 contingent to fill up the gaps on the Western front. The men fighting have been deprived of those regular periods of rest that aro so necessary to the soldier in the conditions of modern warfare. Austria can scarcely expect further assistance from this side. As for the Bulgarians, they will have more than enough to do in defending themselves against, tho army of Salonika. Iji the Turkish, depots there are not more tlian 150,000 moil, so that Austria can. look for no moro help from this : quarter.