PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3031, 19 March 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Thb possibility suggested on Saturday when yet the lull story of the ilussiaa revolution had not been made known, that the revolt would in no way retard but rather stimulate the Bussian people's determination to win the war, nas now become a matter of plain fact. This determination of the Duma and the people finds endorsement and expression in tho Russian trenches, whore, wo learn, the soldiers cheered tho news of the revolution, while Generals Brusilofs and Russky, the two most famous and popular generals in the Russian Army, have notified tho adhesion of themselves and their troops to the new regime. The peoplo are behind the Duma and tho troops are behind . the people. Russia has moved. The whole Empire has been shaken from its lethargy. It has thrown itself clear of the octopus of a bureaucracy that under German influence was hampering the activities of the army in the field, whilo its chiefs and friends plundered tho nation through munitions for the forces and foodstuffs for the people. The plans and purposes of the Russian High Command were being revealed to the enemy.' Professor Paul Miliukoff, the distinguished Constitutional Democrat in the Duma, and a man of rare erudition and insight, has openly declared that while M. Sturmer was Foreign Minister of Russia, "all our secrets have become the property of Germany." Under such conditions, how could Russian generalship succeed? How was it possible for her soldiery to achieve victories? That Russia has done as much as she has done in the field and aotually accomplished sweeping successes in various sectors speaks volumes for the skill and courage of her generals and her soldiers in the field. Small wonder is it that on hearing of the revolution these men in the trenohes should give the clearest evidence of their satisfaction, and reiterate their expressed determination to play the great part allotted to them. From a war point of view this is the most gratifying aspect of the Russian revolution. Tho Grand Dtjkh Nicholas has been requestod by the Tsar to again take the supreme command of the Russian forces, but whether this change will bo allowed to stand remains to bo seem The Grand Duke's removal after his wonderful retreat through Poland was attributed to court intrigue. He is a great soldier, and Russia may welcome his return to his old post.

iNTELbHiENCE from Berlin shows that there are no illusions in GcrI many as to tho effect of the. Russian upheaval upon tho war. A | separate peace might have been hoped for by. the Kaiser had Rasputin lived and the old regime been allowed to retain office. As was noted at the time Rasputin seemed to exeroise almost hypnotic powers over some of the men occupying tho highest offices in the Russiftn State Ho was recognised as the pivot of Germanophile forces in Russia, and his influenco was baneful in the extreme. His removal was a people's victory, and should have been a warning to the Tsak's Cabinet Ministers whom ho influenced. Rasputin was the enemy of the Duma, and .the German newspapers to-day admit that the wholß of the Russian people's Parliament hates Germany, ana will continue tho war with a will and intensity hitherto unknown. What has taken place in Russia may be ropeated in Germany, and the House of Hohenzollekn may, as aSocialist Deputy declared in the Reichstag, bo doomed by tho people over which it has tyrannised. This finds an echo in tho minds of American publicists, who predict that the action of the Russian people may infect the German populace and cause such a popular outbreak as would lead to the overthrow of the Kaiser and all the autocracy and military absolutism for which the great junker and his war party Btand. As Shakespeare says, in quite another respect, "it is a consummation devoutly to ho wished," for such an upheaval in Germany would bo tho means of bringing the war to a dramatic and sensational eB& :

The campaign on the Western front is developing on most satisfactory lines. The taking and occupation of Bapaume by the British was anticipated some days ago in these notes, and it has now become an actual fact. It was hero, readers of history will remember, that the German "and French forces fought a small engagement in 1871, whou tho French suffered a. loss of '2000 men. Bapaume is an important centre on the Peronne-Arras salient. Its capture further emphasises tho forcing power of tho British artillery and its superiority to that of Germany. The enemy will record the taking of Bapaume by our troops aa a tactical retirement on their part, for it is thus that the High Command in Germany hide the truth about reverses from tho German people. The fact that Bapaume has been taken with few fosses proves the effective character of the artillery in battering to pieces the constructive defences of the enemy, and rendering their occupation T>y infantry utterly untenable. Looking at the whole oourse of the Somme offensive up to Bapaume as a temporary culminating objective, this conclusion is forced upon our acceptance: Tho British Army in 1917 is move formidable than ever in training, in efficiency, and in equipment, and we may depend upon it that, supported by our equally trained, efficient, and equipped Ally, the forces under Sir Douglas Haiq will cleave a road to victory through all tho dangers and perils of the next few months.

The general advance of the British lines north and south of the Somme is being continued with marked success. To-da.y'a news gives a. clearer idea than is usually obtainable from tho disconnected nature of tho progress reports sent us of the extent of the progress made during recent fighting. On a 16-milo front north and south of the Somme not fewer than 16 villages and towns have during the past few days fallen into our hands as the result of the enforced retirement of the enemy. But what is even more important than the actual number of the places taken is the fact that the progress made has been continuous, and that in many instances the way has been opened up to further progress by the success already, achieved. Tho capture of Bapaume, as explained on previous occasions, means a great deal more than the gain of so many thousand yards of ground and a nattered village. It seoures for us a strategical advantage over the enemy which will compel his rctiremenii at other points, and so facilitate the development of the general plan of attack in which only the opening moves are now being made. The story that Peronne has also boon captured has yet to be confirmed, but in any case the progress already ma do to tho north and south of the town leaves no doubt as to its ultimate capture whenever the time is ripe.

Many may be puzzled to divine a reason for this general retirement of the enemy, and some are no doubt wondering what it all means. Are the Germans laying a trap for our progressive forces i Sir Douglas Haig's motto might be: "I consolidate," or "I make good," or "I keep what I gain," for ever since the opening of the "Somme push" in July last the British General has hold every foot of the territory he has rotaken from the Germans. Does it seom reasonable that Sir Douglas might be trapped now? Mistakes may be made in war as in everything else at any time; but the true inwardness of the British success in this region now as hitherto is tho fact that our artillery and equipment, together with our men, are in all respects superior to the enemy, and his retirement is being forced upon. him not from choice but from necessity. Then it has been suggested that the Gorman retirement will be to the enemy's advantage through the shortening of his line, but what is twenty miles in a line of four or five hundred to the loss of moral and the virtual acknowledgment af defeat? Besides there is the risk of a complete break in tho line through this enforced retirement which would lead to rapid and irreparable disaster. Under the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that the retirement of Germany's forces from Bapaume and other parts is due to necessity and necessity alone. And there is no doubt whatever that this is the case.

There is something romantic in the story of the British entry into Bagdad, which we publish this morning. Unshaven and dusty, after three days' hard fighting, in which our troops showed extraordinary gallantry in the crossing of the Daila. River, these British veterans were hailed by tho inhabitants of the city as saviours and protectors. The German, Austrian, and Turkish officials, together with the police, had levanted some days before tho fall, and the remaining Kurds had plundered tho town, carrying away much loot. __ All classes, therefore, with cheering from every vantage point, welcomed tho British, before whom the women donned their holiday attire and the very children danced for joy at the sight of their deliverers. . But General Maude and his men have little time for rest or hospitality. Having restored order they pressed forward in pursuit of the fleeing and demoralised Turk. Fifteen miles north op Bagdad General Maude attacked the Turkish rearguard, and drove them three miles further to the north, consolidating the country between Bagdad and Bakubab, on the right bank of the Daila. A place called Tekrito, one hundred miles north of Bagdad on the Tigris is doubtless the next objective of the the British. It is half-way to Mosul, where a junction _with the Russian forces may be anticipated. That may take some weeks to accomplish. Meantime we learn that the Turks are leaving Persia, and tha.t their army, broken and discredited, is being pursued by the Russian forces. Also that at Constantinople the alarm has set in, and a demand made for the return of the troops now operating in G&licia, Rumania, and Macedonia. It is one thing to demand their return, but puito another to secure it. That is for the German High Command to decide. And out of the possible conflict of interest may come more trouble for the Central I'owors.