PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3049, 10 April 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

A' state of extreme tension has been reached on tho West front which does not seem likely,to relax otherwise than in the throes of a great, battle.. The 'statement that events before the end of the week will show whether the Germans are willing to accept a decisive battle must stand for what it is _ worthy but it; seems by no' means' improb* able that they are committed to a big" battle-at an early date, whatever, course they may incline to pursue. A message from Rome regarding -HnnjENBURG's dissatisfaction with'his generals deals in some of its details with matters not likely to be within the knowledge of its author. But the statement that the lino fixed for the limit of the enemy retreat is already seriously compromised looks like a literal statement of fact. It is evident that the Germans contemplated a stand on a lino covering Cambrai, St. Quentin, and Laon. They have, in fact,- been attempting to hold this' line for a week or more, buE its centrchas been so dangerously penetrated south and'south-east of St. Qtientin as to threaten its general stability. The enemy has been dislodged from strategically important positions which he must have intended to hold, at all events for the time being, and his prospects, either, in battle or in further are impaired accordingly. Intense aerial activity, trench-raiding, and heavy bombardment at different points allgo to suggest that the Allies. are on tho eve. of launching a powerful attack, and it is clear that they will do so in conditions which theyhave succeeded in turning in some respects materially against the enomy.

Official and otrier ' .reports'of air fighting on the West front stamp as alarmist some recent accounts .of the attempts the enemy is making to contest Allied supremacy. Heavy British losses are admitted, but they have been incurred'in continually harassing the enemy's communications and attacking his depots and in exhaustively reconnoitring /his positions and the country far in rear. A great achievement is recorded in Sift Douglas Haig's statement that seventeen hundred photographs . wore taken of large tracts of tho enemy's country many miles in rear. It is noteworthy that many of the twenty-eight British aeroplanes reported lost were shot down. This means, of course, that they took heavy .risks by flying low for the sake of effective attack or reconnaissance, and did not owe their downfall.to superior skill or fortune on tho part of the enemy airmen. In the period in which twenty-eight British machines were lost, fifteen enemy aeroplanes were certainly destroyed, and thirty-ono 'others were driven down damaged. Since it is evident that the operations took place for the most part over and behind the enemy lines, these figures attest tho pronounced superiority of the British Flying Corps.

One department of th'e work in which the Allied airmen display so much'.skill and .daring is interestingly pictured in the following account of a British raid upon a section of the Douat-Lille main line. "The railway station of Libercourt, sidings, and rolling stock were to be bombed, and an attempt made to attack trains going south, in the hope that they might be carrying troops or ammunition towards the Sommc battlefield. Patrols, each of three aeroplanes, were first sent out to atfcaqk neighbouring enemy acro-

dromes to prevent German aeroplanes from going up to interfere; smoke bombs were dropped at intervals to keep the aerodromes enveloped in smoke, and from time to time a high explosive bomb to show that our machines were still there. During' this period two df our machines were to descend and attack tho trains. The first train to appear was seen leaving Libercourt at about 1.40 p.m., and our machines dived down to attack it. While they were descending a second train was seen coming up on a branch line towards Ostricourt, where it joins the main line,-and one of our machines diverted 011 to it. The first train was attacked from a, height of about 800 feet near Ostricourt; six bombs were dropped. The engine was hit, became derailed, and two or three, of thfc front coaches partly telescoped. German soldiers immediately began to alight, were fired on, and ran towards Ostricourt village and woods. There were so many men that the pilots said it would have been hard to miss theitf, and a large number were either killed or wounded. Meanwhile the second train came to a standstill near the junction, as tho wrecked train on the main line was blocking its way. The other machine attacked'it with six bombs, two of which hit the train and tho engine. Troops also here began to descend, and were fired' on. They fled towards the neighbouring village. Altogether between 600 and 700 rounds w'ere fired by the two aeroplanes, . and many German soldiers we're hit. Neither of our machines was fired on. As soon as the attack on the trains began, the main raiding party, composed of seven aeroplanes and an escort, attacked Libercourt station at about 2 p.m., where 14 heavy and 34 smaller bombs were 'dropped. Station buildings, sidings, and rolling stock were hit, Bome carriages were wrecked, and one coach was afterwards observed to be lying crossways over the lice. 1 The patrol over Brovin aerodrome destroyed a. hangar in the course of its work."

A reported attack by air and sea upon the German naval base at Zeebrugge appears to have been particularly successful. Two enemy destroyers were torpedoed, one of them being sunk and the other _ severely damaged, while the attaching force suffered no casualties. What British naval units were ' engaged is not stated, but since the enemy ships were torpedoed and there, is no mention of an artillery engagement, it seems not unlikely that the attack was made by British submarines.

It is already evident that America has no thought of playing a aiinor part in the wiir, but intends to draw freely upon her resouroes. in order to co-operate with the Allies in the task of subduing the common enomy. What she can do in a given time in the way of naval and military co-operation remains to be seen, uiit a positive indication of the spirit by 'which she is animated is afforded in the loan proposal to be immediately submitted to Congress. The Adminstration is' seeking authority |o purchase Entente war bonds to the amount of £600,000,000, not far short of the amount of new subscriptions to the highly successful war loan recently raised :in Great Britain. Dealing in anticipation with this matter of financial aid, an English writer remarked recently, that of course,'could relieve tho belligerents of a considerable embarrassment in finance. "Hitherto," he added, "the negotiations of foreign loans in the ordinary course have been altogether- forbidden in the American markers, on the ground that such, proceedings are unneutral. A. 'very limited amount of borrowing has been permitted for the sake of steadying the exohange, and even this has been seriously hampered by the limitations that the Federal Keserve Board has imposed upon tho- bankers and financial institutions, who were willing enough to finance the actual purchases that the Allies are making from American farmers and manufacturers. At the present time, even without the active co-operation of the National Government,, the withdrawal of all restrictions would be a material help. If Congress thought fit to go further and-make the national purse' available to the Allies (as the American Administration now proposes), all' financial difficulties of the war would'be at an end."

Another highly, important ■ 'announcement made to-day is to, the effect that the United States,' Britain, and France will be represented at a War Council wnico will discuss plans for a, basis of the 'fullest-! co-operation. It would appear that America is taking a short cut to [a point that was not reached by the! Allies until bitter experience had taught them the need and value of effective co-ordination. Incidentally, the manner in whioh she is approaching her task in the war should set at rest any question of disturbance or injury to the Allied' plans by interruption of the supplies of war material now obtained from America. An adjustment will, of course, have to be made, since America is now faced _by the task of raising and an army on her own account, but it may be ■taken for granted that the adjustment will be made on such lines as will afford no relief to the enemy. To Russia in particular this is a? matter of very great importance. France and Britain arc much less dependent than they were upon, imports of war material from America, but Russia has still a practically unlimited demand under this head, and needs all the military supplies, especially' artillery and munitions, that she can possibly obtain from abroad. .'

As regards America's military cooperation, it is unlikely that she will be able to send any considerable number of troops to the Western theatre in less than nine months' or a year's time. Some authorities think, .that she may be abfe to send 'a few divisions to the European front by midsummer, but even this is doubtful, and certainly no large American force will be made available by that date. Messages to-day indicate that America is undertaking the creation of an army on the Continental scale. This army, if it takes the field at all, .will not do so before next year.. It should follow, of course, that the necessity of providing for her own forces will not prevent America maintaining her present exports of war material to the Allies, and no doubt her war industries will be rapidly developed and expanded. At the' outset America will be able to co-operate with the Allies only to a very limited extent in naval warfare. She lacks fast light cruisers, and though her force of about seventy effective destroyers .would bo capable of valu-

able service in European waters, they will' riot be available as a roinforoement of tho Allied' flotillas. Apart from the claims of 'her battle licet, America is under the necessity of patrolling her Atlantic coast. The exploit of U53 last autumn showed that enemy submarines are liable to appear at any time off the Atlantic coast, and U boats of lecent construction are' armed with guns capable of doing a considerable amount of damage to seaboard towns. , • # » # _ While her existing flotillas of light craft are likely to be retained in home waters, America has a programme of new construction in hand which may enable her before long to usefully augment the forces available for the active prosecution of the anti-submarine campaign. Recently the United States Navy Department tock initial steps in the matter of organising shipyards with a view to the speediest possible construction of new naval tonnage. At tho beginning of March a programme was already in hand which involved the expenditure of aii emergency appropriation of £30,000,000 made by Congress. At that date 177 ships of all types had been-authorised and appropriated for by Congress. The list includes: Battleships, 12; battle cruisers, 5; scout" cruisers, 7; destroyers, 42; submarines, 101; submarine tenders, 1; destroyer tenders, 1; gunboats, 1; fuel ships, 2; transports,'l; supply ships, 1; hospital ships, 1; ammunition ships, 1; and repair ships, 1. Many of these vessels are already well advanced in construction; but the majority had not been laid down in March. Within the last year Congress-has appropriated, all told for seven battleships, five ' battlecruisers, seven scout-cruiSers, thirtyfive destroyers, forty-eight submarines, and several auxiliary vessels. Of the vessels authorised and appropriated for last year the contracts in many instances have only recently been let,,

With the larger appropriations now made and projected, a. very rapid rate of naval construction should speedily be attained. Pre-, sumably capital ships and submarines will now bo subordinated in the American programme to destroyers and other light craft particularly adapted for anti-submarine operations. Certainly it i« by concentrating upon vessels of this type that America will most obviously advance the common interests of the Alliance in which she ia how- a partner. The construction of light naval craft and the seizure of interned German 1 ships are not: the only measures'by which America is assisting to defeat the German submarine campaign. Already considerable progress has been made in the construction of'standardised merchant ships, and it is reported that early in the summer deliveries of ships will begin which will add a, million tons to America's shipping' before many months are past. "America," a£ Mr. Arthur Pollen wrote recently, "has the yards, the men, the material, and, above everything, a genius for organising rapid production on a gigantic scale. It is not difficult to believe that when the stimulus of .war adds, a new energy to whatever forces are driving now very amazing results indeed will follow. These two factors, the seizure of interned- German ships and the production ,of new American ships, may well prove decisive, if the U-boat campaign, now that it is rid of; humanitarian scruple, should gain ver.y greatly in intensity, and success."