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PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Heavy reinforcement of the enemy armies which are attempting lo drive forward from the Wallachiau frontier zone to an extended invasion of Rumania has again created an acute situation in that country. For sorao weeks the aspect of tho Wallachian has been, upon the whole, Jfevourable. The enemy has made little progress in tho region of tho main passes, where his attack has been chiefly concentrated, and until recently the Ru- ■ manians wore pressing forward in the Jiul Valley, in Western Wallachia, in a counter-offensive which drove the enemy well back towards the, frontier. Some clays ago, however, it was reported that tho enemy had resumed the offensive in this locality, and to-day's messages show that ho has gained some advantage both in the Jiul Valley and further cast, in the region ofCainpulung. In the Jiul Valley Fal- \. kenhayn has captured Tirgu Jiuliu, a place which stands twenty miles r - south of the frontier at, the Vulkan Pass, and something over thirty - miles from tho western extremity of "Wallachia. Tirgu Jiuliu is the ~ northern terminus of a railway t which links up with tho main Rui. manian system. Campulung, which e also figures prominently to-day, is :1 another railhead, about 85 miles east . of the Jiul valley. It is approached i from the frontier by a road from - the Torzburg Pass, which is situated l fifteen miles north-east of Campul- • ung. For weeks the enemy was held a up on this road at Dragoslavcle, - seven miles north-east of Carapul--3 ung, but he has now, according to a , Russian communique, captured tho i village of Lircshti, only five miles > distant from the railhead town. i These developments, together with & tho fact that the enemy has been - heavily reinforced, obviously suggest that the situation in Wallachia 5 holds serious possibilities. It is j vital to the Rumanians that they - should continue to hold the invad- > ers in the mountain country. .If i they failed in this it would bo a , difficult matter to prevent a rapid extension of the invasion, more es- ! pecially as the enemy, on emerging i from the mountain defiles, would be ■ able to make freer use than now of . the heavy artillery in which he has > an admitted superiority. As to the immediate outlook in : Wallachia it may be pointed out that the enemy advance in the Jiul valley, though it cannot be regarded as unimportant, does not open the same immediate dangers as would an advance ; from the all-important Predeal Pass, where the enemy 's apparently still firmly held in ths> near neighbourhood of the frontier, or along the railway which strikes south from Campulung. The capture of Tirgu Jiuliu threatens the western flank of the Rumanian lino and the communications of the Rumanian forces which hold the passages of the Transylvanian Alps in tho vicinity of the Danube at the Iron Gates. But it is in the mountain areas further cast that the enemy may be expected to concentrate most powerfully, and in Eastern Wallachia, as reports stand, he is making much less rapid headway than he has made of late in the Jiul valley. Battles are, of course, in progress in other parts of the frontier zone than in the Jiul valley, and on the approaches to Campulung. but oxcept in regard to these areas reports throw little light upon ; events. _ A Gorman claim that 1500 Rumanians have been taken prisoner south of the Rotherthurm Pass is neither confirmed nor denied in Allied reports, at time of writing. There is no doubt that the enemy, in spite of his difficulties elsewhere. , has contrived to mass a force in Wallachia which gives him.for the time being a pronounced superiority i in that theatre, and that a formidable effort is being made to destroy Rumania. The essential question at the moment is whether Rumania is able, by her own efforts and with (he assistance of Russia, to muster '. reinforcements which would balance the Additional forces Hjndenbfbg , has thrown into, Llic scale. The ■', powerful attacks which the Allies arc developing in Macedonia, have i an important bearing upon events : in Rumania. It is not impossible that the enemy may presently bo compelled to weaken his effort j against Rumania in order to ] strengthen his line in the Southern ' BalJi-ans. No doubt, however, it is j chiefly lo Russia that Rumania must look' in her present difficulties ' for direct and indirect assistance. The later news of the Macedon- j ian campaign carries a pretty plain , message. In their scope the Allied .< operations arc developing prosper- t onsly. Serbian,, French and Russian forcos arc closing in upon Monastic which place is said now to 1 be practically at their mercy, and J on the eastern section of the front ( the British' have further extended . their advance beyond the Struma ! and captured several villages" One of these is Prosenik, on the railway j north-west of Seres. This village \ was captured some weeks ago, but , was subsequently recovered by the ] enemy. The same applies to Kumli. j further south, which also is again 1 in British hands. j * * 1 While the immediate outlook in 1 the Macedonian campaign is good. ! news of internal developments in . Greece is not particularly satisfac- ' tory. A neutral zone has boon cs- , tablished by the Allies extending ' west from the Gulf of Salonika at ( Ekaforina to the frontier of Al- , bauia. The Provisional Government ] under M. Venizelos will hold sway I north, and the Athens Government south, of this line. Allied troops < arc to occupy the neutral zone, and 1 this, with such measures as are con- t tempJated in the way of disarming ' the Royalist forces, should safeguard the rear and communications of c General Sarrail's army. But 1 the arrangement seems " lo be ' open to tho objection that it will '■ tend to perpetuate tho internal di- c vision which now exists in Greece '; and is extremely prejudicial both , to the interests of Greece and to " those of the Allies. As news ' 0 stands there _ is a suggestion that a Constantine is being given a water- i tight compartment in which to pur- fi sue his schemes against the Entente. C or at all events to hinder and op- t pose that reunion of the Greek I people under a constitutional Government, which is the only remedy a for tho domestic disorders with J 1 which Greece is afflicted, and the I only thing that would give the Al- i, lies a really free hand in their Bal- o: kan campaign. The revolution in f < Greece is above all things a demand P and agitation for constitutional gov- 0 j eminent in opposition to the lawless usurpation of which Constantine has been guilty. At an out- jj side view it seems likely that the j;

establishment of tho neutral zone, though it no doubt represents an effective precaution against openly hostile action by Kino Constantine, will also do something Lo hamper tho spread and development of the revolution. At the end of last week a. halt was reported on the north-western part of the Sommc front, in tho region of the recent British victory, but it was a halt of very brief duration. Sin Douglas "Haig now reports a further advance north and south of tho Ancre. South of tho river the attacking troops have wished forward to the outskirts of Grandcourl, a big village threequarters of a mile east of Beaucourt (the last important capture)_ and a mile and a half north and slightly east of Thicpval. As matters arc going the threat to Bapaumo is developing rapidly.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19161120.2.11

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2933, 20 November 1916, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,267

PROGRESS OF THE WAR Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2933, 20 November 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2933, 20 November 1916, Page 4

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