PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3025, 12 March 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Tub German-American correspondents remaining in Berlin who aro informing tho world of the terrible nature ol the German plans for tho coming operations on the. Western front are no doubt retailing the. stories current in Germany to-day. The German people must badly need cheering up these dark days. They have been buoyed up so repeatedly, however, with the stories of the dreadful things that were going to bo done to the Allies that even tho very docile and easilygulled German civilian must bo growing sceptical concerning these tall tales which somehow always fail to have the effect promised. ■• Tho fleet, the Zeppelins, tho submarines, each in turn have been held up to the Kaiser's subjects as weapons which would strike such blows as would foiv.j hated England and her Allies into submission, but each in turn haw. failed dismally or fallen short of expectations. It is true that- the submarines have done, and are still doing, a great deal of mischief, hut their depreciations are gradually being curtailed. There is a very cheering message to-day from Salonika showing how complete has been the failure of the submarines to interfere with tho Allies' supplies and reinforcements for the Forces operating in Macedonia. The harbour of. Salonika, wo aro told, is full of shipping, which is corning and going with clockwork regularity. Tho only recent successes of onemy submarines have been against three vessels, whereas the joss of submarines has been, in the words of tho correspondent, "not insignificant." The submarine menace should not be underrated, but equally it grows increasingly plain that German hopes from this form of frightfulness aro doomed to disappointment.

And so also with the now frightfulness which the German-American correspondents at Berlin state will ho brought play on the Western front. The monster mortars, the poison gas, and the liquid firo may all be very terrible weapons of warfare, but they will be countered with weapons at least equally terrible. There is no occasion for doubts en that point. The ingenuity and scientific skill of the British and French have been brought into competition with that of Germany, and the result to-day is known to every man who has been in ihe fighting lines in France. Our liquid fire is more effectively used; our bombs oxcel fchoso of the enemy, and our trench mortars are incomparably better. The men who have been through tho big fighting on the Sommo ' and who have recently returned to New Zealand know something about these things and of tho improved weapons and methods of warfare which are constantly being brought into play on the British front. When it comes to a matter of inventive genius tho Germans have had to take second place. We began slowly, but we have caught up and passed tho enemy and b'caten him in turning science to uso in warfare, while in originality of ideas he now lags far behind. So it is we can receive tho German-American stories of coming frightfulness on the Western front -with a proper equanimity.

The news from this theatre suggests more than is actually stated in the messages. On the British front there_ has been a recrudescence of raiding activity, in which the enemy has at times been the aggressor, but nothing of particular note is recorded in connection with these happenings.. From the Somme front there is a piece of excellent news., the, village of Irles and surrounding" defences _ having been captured, and a considerable number of prisoners taken. Irles is on the road to Bapaume, and it is in this direction that events of great, importance are expected to develop. It is here that the enemy may bo relied on to fight desperately to maintain his hold on the, advantages offered by the possession of Bapaume, and the capture of Irles is therefore a matter of considerable importance, as indicating that our forward movement in this region is still being maintained. Fuller .particulars of this success, which we aro told extends over a three-mile front, will be awaited with interest.

The French have been engaged in some hot fighting, and-in the Champagne area especially their struggle for the disputed ground which has changed hands on a number of occasions has been extremely bitter. At latest advices they appear to have _ recovered all tho ground of any importance captured by the Germans about the middle of last month, and they have also punished tho enemy severely. The importance of the struggles in this quarter may bo judged by the determination displayed by both sides to secure possession of the dominating positions. Tho success of our Allies threatens the security of one of tho main railways feeding tho German lines, whilo equally a German success would menace a lino of railway used by the French. At Verdun the heavy artillery bombardment suggests a renewal of the strugglo there with somo intensity, and it is possible that tho release of French troops between tho Somme a.m! Boyc, made possible by the taking over by tho British of a further twenty miles of the line,_ may have enabled our Allies to embark on a further enterprise in the Vorcluu region.

It may ho mere speculation, or it may bo that in Londo.n thty have news which has not yet bcea made public, and is trickling through unofficially, but several of our messages to-day suggest that Bagdad has at last fallen iuto British' hands. The view appears to he pretty generally held that the Turks have been so badly routed in Mesopotamia that they cannot hope to make any effective stand in defence of their ancient oity; and we may hope thai; such is tbo case. Though at tirao of writing no definite news is to hand on the .subject, there is a good deal of comment and speculation, and it-seems clear that thore are excellent prospects of a collapse of the Turkish defence nraetieally from the Black Sea. H.i I.heGulf'of Persia. . Tlv. British ad vauco towards Bagdad threatens the I Turkish operations in .Western £or-.

siiii and in consequence the Russians have been able to press forward with great sliced. One message suggests Unit the Turks retreating from Persia aro in danger of being caught between the. I.iritish and the Russian forces, and in any ease their supplies arc threatened. The Russian forces iu tho north are also displaying renewed activity, and no doubt the British advance has not been without its effect on tho Turks opposing the Russian advance in Armenia, it can bo readily understood, therefore, that tho capture of Bagdad may prove only an incident leading up to events of farreaching consequence in their bearing on Turkey's continued participation in tho.war.

Tire Russians report a repulse of the. enemy at Mitau, that is at the northern end of their long line; but in Rumania they aro still lighting what appears to bo an upl,iill struggle. The Germans lay claim to a success near tho Trofcus valley, thb extent of winch cannot be judged, but there does not appear to be anything of note happening here. Apparently tho Russo-Ruiiianian forces are now attacking, with tho object of regaining the lost ground near the TrotuS Valley, north-west of Ooua, but beyond this fact we aro left in the clark as to tho position of things. Not much may bo looked for in this theatre until matters liven up elsewhere.