PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2974, 11 January 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

During the la-st week tho Russians have been developing an offensive on the Baltic Provinces front, in the vicinity of .Riga, which may achieve important results. If the aim is to create such a diversion on the main front as would be likely to relieve pressure in Rumania, action to that end is not likely to be confined to the Ball/io Provinces. Tho Ausfcro-Germans aro for the time being , much moro vulnerable on tho southern section of the main Eastern front than at its northern end, and tho Russians are likely to frame their policy accordingly, and to act in tho south as wellas in the north, if they contemplate a diversion on a big scale. At the same time there aro features of the position in the Baltic. Provinces which may amply warrant tho Russians in pursuing an aggressive policy in that, region. One such feature will ho obvious to anyone who looks at a map of tho Baltic Provinces on which the battlo front is traced. In thoir recent attacks the Russians have been striking at tho German line near its left flank, which extends to tho southwestern corner of the Gulf of Riga.. It is very important to the enemy that ho should'maitttain a sound defence in this region, for if his flank wore dotached from tho Gulf of Riga ho would havo to extend his line to the Baltic coast, north of Liban. This would give 'him sixty or. seventy additional miles of front to defond.

To create this stale of affairs would possibly entail a bigger effort than the Russians are prepared to make whilo greater' issues than aro open in the Baltic Provinces remain undecided on the southern froDt, but the onemy is bound to regard such an attack us is developing against his .northern flank with serious anxiety. One message today speaks of tho Russian offensive as sustained, and states that tho troops advanced four miles over the frozen marshlands west of Riga. If this is not overdrawn the offensive is likely as its minimum result to attract considerable enemy reinforcements to the Baltic front. This, of course, would tend to weaken the enemy in Weeting a Russian offensive on-the southern front, if that is intended, and in prosecuting his own offensive in Rumania.

An interesting account of conditions on the Baltic front was given some weeks ago by a British correspondent at Petrbgrad. It will )x> remembered that east and south of Riga tho front follows the River Dwina to a point north of the important junction of Dvinsk (on tho Petrograd railway), which stands over a hundred miles south-east of Riga as the crow flies. "Friends arriving here on short leave from the Riga-Dvinsk section," tho correspondent remarks, ."give excellent accounts of the state of affairs. The Rtrssian artillery in particular has gained a complete mastery over the Germans. Also German aerial warfaro is no longer superior. The Russian positions on the Dwina are much moro advantageous than those of the Germans. Both sides aro well upon the river banks, but the Russian bank is high and dry, whereas the Germans suffer from floods and damp. They are also well in view, as the nature of tho soil prevents their going very deep underground. Their deep level positions were lost during the summer, or flooded out in the autumn under the exceptionally heavy and prolonged rains of this year. The description given of the condition of the German soldiery—for they are all Germans on this section—is encouraging. The men look starved, they are clothed in rags of. uniforms in which they havo been fighting all the summer, and they aro mostly without footgear. If these conditions are general tho Russians have every encouragement to prosecute the winter campaign, for they are this year not only adequately but superabundantly provided with warm winter clothing of every kind, so muoh so that word has been passed warning the public that their private efforts in this direction, hitherto such a feature of tho autumn activities of all stay-at-homes, are not desired. Of oourso, the exhibition of scarecrows bv the Germans in their forward trenches may be only another manifestation of their boasted slimness. The Russian soldiers on this section, however, derive much satisfaction from a near view of the sore plight of their enemies. Ten days ago (in late November) the Germans, after being flooded out of their positions and heavily bombarded during their furtive efforts to save hastily-aban-doned belongings in thoir deep level trenches, began the construction of new lines. Heavy gun batteries were brought up_ to cover this operation, and their positions woro discovered by some skilful scouting by volunteers familiar with the terrain. The Ruseian guns moved as required, nod, all being ready, fired eighteen salvos in rapid succession. Altogether oight German howitzers were destroys! with accuracy and dispatch. 1 am assured that this is a fair samplo of what is occurring nowadays on the RigaDvinsk section. The Germans aro tho rovcrse at formidable here, and their activities aro solely of a minor kind. Artillery engagements are of daily occurrence, but mostly resolve themselves into a crushing reply by the Russians to tentative shooting by the Germans." It will be seen from the correspondent's ac-

count that the Germans have in recent times somewhat seriously neglected this northern section of their line. At the same time they aro probably unwilling, for political reasons, to consider an extended retreat from the- Baltic Provinces. It is on this account all the more likjjly that the offensive now opened by the Russians may have appreciable effect in the character of a diversion.

Messages in hand show no very new development in Rumania. Both Russian and enemy reports indicate that the Allies have now fallen back to the Screth in its lower course, though further west they still hold ground south of that river and south of the Trotus. There is nothing in available reports to support the statement made in one message yesterday that the Russians have opened an important offensive in Rumania.

According to Mn. Jeffries, a well-known war correspondent, tho blockade of Greece is serving ifcs intended purpose, and he • predicts that Constantino will yield to tho Allied demands rather than risk the capture of Athens and the loss of his throne. This is good news if true, but time must test it. The statement made by another correspondent that tho Allied Note to tho | Athens Government gave guarantees against an extension of the revolutionary movement is open to doubt. The Allies may have guaranteed to maintain the "neutral zone" in its present location, but the extension of the. revolutionary movement is not a mere matter of territory. Wo may sa.fely assume tha.t the Allies will do nothing to interfere with the extension of tho revolutionary movement by the accession of additional adherents. An account is given by Miu Philip Gibss of an extraordinary raid made by British troops ou tho Gorman front near Arrae. Though tho ovenfc is described as a, raid, the attacking troops penetrated to-the enemy's third line of trenches on a, front of two thousand yards. Tho amazing feature of. the affair is that they apparently did so practically unopposed. No doubt tho enemy is under the necessity of everywhere holding his advanced lines aa thinly as possible, but it is .safe, to assume that the incident described by Mr. Gibbs was altogether exceptional, and that thero aro not many sections of tho German front which could be at onco as easily and as deeply penetrated as the swfcor raided near Arras.

Some of Lho 'difficulties which stand in the way of effective action by tho Western Allies during tho winter were very clearly described some- time ago by the military correspondent of the Morning Post. Ho makes the point in the first place- that the bad weather of winter imposes in somo respects heavier handicaps upon the Allies than upon the enemy, "tfc must be remembered," ho remarks, "that tho <:ounf;rv in roar of tho Allied .front, having been the scene of prolonged fighting, has suffered from the artillery ot both sides, and is consequently iu far worse ■condition than that behind tho German line, which has only been exposed to the Allies' shells for <t comparatively short period, and to a distant* which is defined by tho rango of the gnus from their present positions. Not only havo tho roads been ruined throughout tho area which has been fought over since July 1, but the labour and time needed for tho construction of light railways to facilitate the transport of supplies to points from which they can conveniently, bo distributed to tho troops are enhanced. Tho Germans, on the other hand, haying merely fallen back along their existing lino of supply, lmvc no need for constructive work of this kind. Even when the troops arc not in movement, the adverse weather is, therefore, less disadvantageous to them than to the Allies. When active operations' aro undertaken, other conditions como into play which increase the disparity. The difficulty of moving largo forces needonly bo mentioned. Napoleon, it will bo remembered, delayed his attack at Waterloo for fivo hours in order to allow tho ground to dry after tho rain of the previous day, but for weeks there has been no prospect of the ground drying in Picardy. Tho sodden state of tho ground has had other effects besides increasing tho difficulty of movement. It has, for example, interfored with the consolidation of captured positions, for when trenches are flooded, and every fresh excavation at once fills water, the task of modifying the defensive arrangements, constructing machinegun emplacements, and so forth, with a view to meeting attacks from the opposite direction to that for which thoy were designed, is not easy, nor can it be satisfactorily executed. Hence tho risk of the captured positions falling to a prompt counter-attack is accentuated." Aerial work also has been hampered by vain and mist, wh'ich cause low visibility, and at other times by high winds. There is in fact no doubt that winter conditions to a very material extent favour tho enemy. It is an additional proof of his declining power that he has so completely failed to profit by these conditions, and has suffered in winter as heavy, though not as numerous, defeats as he suffered during the good weather of the summer and autumn. The British victory on the Ancro and that of the French at Verdun last month boro witness to the ability of the Allies to rise superior to tho handicap of winter. Favoured as ho is by winter conditions, tho enomy has nothing to set against these defeats but the gain of a trifling area on the west bank of the Mouse.