PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3070, 4 May 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

One bad week has followed another in tho campaign. An Admiralty report published today showa that last week 51 British ships (38 over 1600 tons) wero sunk, as against i>s (40 over 1600 tons) in the preceding week. It will be remembered that tho destruction of 55 ships approximately doubled the average rate of sinkings during the live weeks preceding, and the increased rate has been ali but maintained in the week reported on today. These figures call for little comment. The submarine campaign, which, includes mine-laying by submarines, has reached, and is being maintained at, an intensity never hitherto approached, and the measure of the enemy's ability to keep it going in its present intensity is largely a matter of conjecture. Apparently the strength of the flotillas operating against merchant ship- [ ping has been largely increased during the last two weeks. This is indicated, not only in the increased sinkings, but in the large number of ships unsuccessfully attacked. Last week it was reported that 27 ships had been unsuccessfully iattacked, and in tho current report the, number is 24. Presumably most, if not all, of thes6 unsuccessful attacks were made on armed merchantmen or on ships which were within pasy._ reach, of naval assistance, and it is likely that the 57 encounters of this character which occurred during the past fortnight cost Germany a not inconsiderable number of submarines. From this standpoint tho figures are of moro hopeful import than in their general effect, but oven if it were known that a given number of submarines had. been accounted for it would be necessary to know also at what rate Germany is constructing and manning new boats before the effect upon the future of tho campaign could be estimated. All that is definitely established meantime is that during the past two. ■weeks British ships have been fjtfnk a t an unprecedented rate.

■cilß Edward Carson is quoted today as stating that there is a suspicion that the enemy submarines mostly come through neutral territorial waters. Cortainty, rather than suspicion, might have been supposed to obtain on this point. The fact that neutral territorial waters extend from the German coastal area towards the Straits of Dover and into the North Sea is obviously a very great advantage to tho enemy in prosecuting his submarine campaign, and imposes a, very serious handicap upon the British Navy in the. conduct of its hunt. The Navy is unable to extend its minefields up to the neutral coasts, and is presumably in all respects excluded from the neutral territorial waters. Norway long ago denied the enemy submarines access to her coastal waters, but whether she is able to enforce the prohibition is another matter. If the neutral countries concerned have laid barrier minefields in their tcr-. ritorial waters, Sir- Edward Carson's statement implies . that the efficacy of these measures is doubted, and unless their way is stoppeU by mines the submarines presumably find the neutral waters practically an open lane. The matter will hardly be remedied unless Britain is able to induce the neutrals to effectually close these lanes with mines.

What part rumour plays in current stories about impending changes and reorganisation at the Admiralty is as yet uncertain, llumours of Sir Edwaed Carson's resignation are mentioned and denied, and other reports speak of changes affecting the Inventions Board, of which Lord Fisher is president. Whatever else may be true, particular importance no doubt , attaches to the special measures inaugurated by Mr. Lloyd George in relation to tho Department directing sea, traffic. Even at this ptage the time spent by ships in port could, it is stated, be. materially reduced, with the same effect upon the shipping problem as if available tonnage had been considerably augmented. A reduction in the time spent in turning ships round takes its place with food economy—now to be enforced under a national rationing scheme —the rapid construction of new ships in Britain, America, and elsewhere, the seizure of enemy ships in American ports, and other measures which may be expected in the aggregate to very greatly modify the ill effects of the submarine campaign. But so long as ships arc being sunk at the present rate, it will not be possible to regard the position as other than serious. The principal hopo of an improvement must rest upon a vigorous continuation of the naval hunt, and in a progressive increase in the number of merchantmen carrying guns.

Another highly successful extension of the British offensive in Mesopotamia is reported. After a hardfought battle on Monday last tho Turks wore dislodged from tho Jebcl Hamrin hills, between the Tigris and the Persian border.- The locality of the battlo is about forty miles north-east of Samara, the railway town on tho Tigris which was lately captured by the British. It is also further north than tho point at which-the Russians a few weeks ago crossed the Persian border and captured Khanikin, but there is no word of the Russians having taken any part in tho recent operations. In view of the character of Monday's battle, and the fact that tho, Turks had an army corps (no doubt somewhat depleted in strength) engaged, tho number of prisoners taken on that day by tho British was not large. More were no doubt captured in the cavalry pursuit on the following day, and in any case it is' evident that the Turks only limited their losses by, a rapid and extended retreat.

While there is good news from Mesopotamia., matters are reported, though at time of writing only on Turkish authority, to have taken a somewhat different turn on the southern confines of Armenia. The continued success of the British in Mesopotamia has naturally raised hopes of concerted action by the Russians in and beyond Armenia, but tho Turks report to-day that they have occupied Mush, and that the Russians havo retired northward. Mush stands about fifty miles west of Lake Van, on the northern side of tho Taurus range, and commanding a road which passes ovor the mountain chain into the Itesopotamian plain. It is a position of considerable strategic importance, and it is unlikely that the Russians would evacuate it save under pressure. As it stands, therefore, the news is bad, but it awaits confirmation.

So far as infantry fighting is concerned, a continued lull is reported on the Western front, but intense artillery bombardment is being maintained in different areas. A London message gives_ statistics of a record month of aerial activity in tho Western theatre, It is stated that tho figures, aro compiled from the communiques, bub. whether these aff6rd a basis in all respects reliable is very doubtful. British, reports on aerial fighting are made regularly, and aro presumably complete, but apparently neither the French nor the Germans copy this example, though the Germans periodically allege a heavy destruction of Allied machines in reports which frequently seem little entitled to credence when set against accompanying British reports. If the German claims have been admitted -without question in compiling the statistics presented to-day, the latter no doubt call in somo features for drastic revision. The statement that the British brought down 269 enemy machinos and themselves lost 147 is apparently based on British reports, and may be accepted without hesitation. But it will be as well to await incontestable evidence , before accepting the statement that the French lost 201 of their own machines while accounting for only 97 of the enemy's.