PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3012, 24 February 1917, Page 8

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Backed by a report from Admiral von Capelle, the German Imperial Chancellor ■ has declared in the Reichstag that not a single German submarine has been lost since the beginning of the unrestricted .warfare, on February 1, and that he 'feels most confident that the shipping of England and neutrals will be entirely stopped: It is, of course, quite certain that the statement about the immunity of the submarines is untrue, and. that both von Capelle and Bethjiann JELollffilfi know it to bo untrue. Though the British Admiralty does not issue detailed particulars of the destruction of enemy submarines, it has officially announced the sinking of a'number since February 1. Last :week;Lord Curzon quoted a statemerit by Admiral- Jell-icoe, in reference to the present phase of ,the underwater campaign, that the Admiralty was not dissatisfied with the number of submarines which would never return to Germany. Sir Edward Carson was still more explicit in the statement which was reported yesterday. Ho said that tho Navy had forty encounters with submarines in February, and that regarding the fate of the raiders official reports showed every degree from certainty to improbability. The best answer to Bethmann Hoi.lWEq's expression of confidence that the shipping of England' and neutrals will be completely stopped is to be found in the recent events and present aspect of the submarine campaign. At any given time there are approximately 3000 ships in the submarine danger zone, and from February 1 to February 18 theinuni- ■ her- of ships which arrived in United Kingdom' ports was 6176, ..and the number which departed .5878. . .'ln the same period—a period .of.,maximum ; effort,-with all restrictions removed—the submarines sank ■134.- ships, large and small. The rate of destruction reached in this period.has since materially declined, though whether the decline is permanent and final remains to be seen. ■■.'.....

': With..the plain evidence afforded that .- Holiaveg's statement, constitutes a deliberate attempt to delude the. German people, the only question open regarding ■it concerns the motive by which it was -inspired. An explanation which seems to be adequate is advanced in an Amsterdam message, which suggests that von Capelle's report (upon which the Chancellor's statement is obviously based) either aims at heartening the Germans or at drawing the British Admiralty into' making disclosures. The first of. these explanations is manifestly the most plausible. Whatever hope's the German Government may actually have based- upon the underwater campaign, .it is evidently intent upon creating the impression in . Germany and allied countries that in the, submarine it holds a weapon of decisive importance. TTo other - explanation of Bethmann Hollweg's statement is needed than that he regards it as essential to keep this impression alive, anci is .quite prepared to sacrifice truth to that end'. . In regard to the submarine campaign, as in other matters, the German Government has embarked upon the- perilous policy of dc'ceiviug the people under its sway with false hopes: For the timo being -this, policy- may have the effect of stilling complaints and encouraging harmonious effort. But the effect of whatever disasters ■ the Teutonic Alliance is doomed to suffer this .year will'be intensified in a degree, measured by the success at present attending the policy of deceit. Germany would bo a "more dangerous enemy than she is if her .rulers were able to frankly face the facts of the war instead of supporting the people and army with dclusivo hopes.

An obvious error appears in a message which states that; the communiques sinco January I show that the British have conducted twenty-seven operations on the West front,. in. which 481 prisoners were taken. Tho actual-number of prisoners taken in. the period mentioned was very much-larger. An official statement of the total is not avail-

able, .but nearly ..twice as many prisoners were . captured in two attacks as tho : report. mentioned gives for the whole period frem January 1. On or about February 10, the British took 215.prisoners in positions captured at the foot of tier re Hill, and on February 17-, 733 prisoners were taken in positions north and south of tho Ancre. At the lowest computation tho British have taken between one and two thousand prisoners on the West front since January 1, and the total may quite possibly exceed two thousand.' This,' with the capture of a series of important tactical positions' in the' Ancre Valley, represents an achievement of considerable importance. Hopes that were', entertained last autumn of a vigorous continuation of tho Allied oltensiye during the winter have ' been in . part disapr pointed, though it should not bo forgotten that tho Battle of the Ancre in November' and the French attack at Verdun in December, were big events in the war. In these two' battles the enemy .was not, only dislodged from positions' of great strategic importance, but suffered a loss of nearly tweffty thousand men in prisoners alone. It was not without reason tiTat. s.indenburg deplored tho "serious and regrettable reverses" to the Gorman arms which resulted from the operations at Verdun between October and December. This comnient is contained in a captured order, which is published today. It makes interesting reading, and confirms on the highest enemy authority the claim- made' by Sir Douglas Haig ffial the moral of the German troops has been seriously lowered. No doubt'Hindenburg was moved to similar comment by events in the Ancre Valley in November;' Tho extent to which, the scale of the Allied, operations has declined since. December indicates that the Franco-British commanders considered it wise to re-, frain from further action on a big scale until the return of better weather. It cannot be supposed that tho Allies were incapable of repeating the blows" which were struck with such telling effect in November and December. Apparently thoy decided'that their ends would be best served during the remainder of the-winter period ,by a policy' of continually harassing tho enemy in a series of raids and local attacks, and this in turn implies that tho Allied commanders do not share tho belief expressed- by some military experts that' a cessation of major operations during the winter would enable tho enemy to largely restore tho damage done to his defensive line in the course of tho Somme offensive.

One feature of the trench warfare which by common consent has told heavily upon the enemy is the unremitting bombardment of his lines. Correspondents at Headquarters have described a continuous "strafing" of the German defences, which' would have been regarded by a visitor as the prelude of a historic battle, but was,' in fact, only the ordinary day's work. "The German working parties," one correspondent wrote, "dig as best they can under a harassing fire, and life is exoes-. sively uncomfortable for , these; moroso supporters •of a. lostf cause. The British gunner—always a busy individual—will tell you somewhat bitterly that he does not profit greatly by these so-called 'lulls' between battles.'.' No" matter how stagnant trench warfare may become, the."artillery, 'carries 6n' industriously. Even on. the quietest day, when the chatter of the machine-guns has ceased for a time and the bombers and-snipers are warming themselves in comfortable dug-outs, tho batteries behind them growl steadily. at the enemy, and the overcast sky is heavy with shell. In the coldest night, when chilled sentries stare blankly across the craters and their more fortunate comrades are hugging well-screened fires, the guns still pound steadily at the hiddon defences beyond 'No Man's Land.' "The winter campaign in the West has certainly imposed a strain upon the enemy's resources which he would have givon much to avert. There is no doubt that he desired to husband his forces on the West front during tho winter, and repair the ravages of the summer, and autumn campaign. The Allies have most' effectively hampered and impeded the process 1 of recuperation, not .'only in/ the great battles of: the early. wintef y but/ in the'local' attacks and raids" and .the pitiless bombardment which have continued to the present date."

Reports from, the Eumanfafi theatre and from Macedonia fell of .lively artillery .activity, which" may possibly; be the prelude to battle, but at time of writing the-situation has not definitely developed in either theatre. , Available' news' discloses only minor activities on the West front. ■ At now, nowever, a radical change may take place. The northern winter is over, and though _ the early_ weeks of- spring may witness conditions of weather and ground not very different from those of winter, the ,time is near at hand when operations on the largest scale will be practicable.'