PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3082, 12 May 1917, Page 8

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

As reports stand at time of writing, operations have distinctly slowed down oh tho Western front. Abortive counter-attacks by. the enemy are reported at some points north of the Aisne, but conditions generally are thoso of a lull between one stage of the Allied offensive and another. Apparently the British 'are making no attempt meantime to recapture Fresnoy village. It would, indeed, bo rather surprising if such an attempt were made as a local operation and . before tho general attack is resumed. Fresnoy was held by the British as a salient. The Germans hold positions duo north and south, and the troops garrisoning the small Fresnoy salient wero exposed to a deadly converging fire. The recovery of the position in its former shape would be a loss, and not a gain, and it is likely that the Germans will be permitted to Fresnoy undisturbed except by artillery bombardment until the British are ready to resume tho attack on a, wido front.

In the offensive- which is now momentarily at a halt, the Allies have in a number of respects notably excelled their own achievements on the Somme last vear, and this fact makes it interesting to recall rust what these achievements were. I hey are succinctly set forth in-the concluding passages of the dispatch, published in December last, in which Sir Douglas Haig reviewed the course of tho battle. He states, amongst other things, that as the Allied advanco progressed, m tlie four and a half months of battle on the Somme, four-fifths of tho total number of enemy divisions engaged on the Western front were thrown one after another into the battle, some «f them twice, and some three times; and towards the end of the operations, when the weather unfortunately broke, there could be no doubt that the enemy s newer of resistance had been very seriously diminished Another very important point made by the British Coiuniander-in-Chicf was that evidence placed it beyond doubt that tho enemv's losses in men ana material had been very considerably higher than those of the Allies, 'while morally the balance of advan-

tage on the side of the Allies was still greater. During four and a. half months of battle on the Sommethe enemy was dislodged from positions of great depth and strength, and so heavily defeated that he was within measurable distance of suffering disaster -when the descent of winter brought him respite. From July 1 to November 18 be lost 38,000 prisoners, 29 heavy guns, 96 field gdns and field howitzers, 136 trench mortars,- and 514 machine-guns. This year's offensive was definitely opened by the British on April 9, and_ by the French a week later. The period of fighting covered is four and a half weeks, and the" present" date is seven weeks earlier than that on which the Somme offonsive opened last year. On the front between .Lens and the Aisne, the.Allies dur* ing the past 31 days have taken more than 50,000 prisoners, about 450 heavy and field guns, 346 trench mortars, and 882 maohine guns. From.every point of view the existing situation in the Western theatre is. one to give the enemy cause for dire misgivings. It was remarked by Me. Bonar Law, in the statement published yesterday, that progress in the offensive was inevitably slow. Measured by the standards of last year, however—and lastyear witnessed great achievements— tho progress of the Allies to date in the present offensive has been rapid. It is particularly noteworthy that while the Allies are making much more rapid progress than was possible last year in their task of destroying the German armies, their own oasualty rate shows a % material reduction as compared with' last year. Me. Bonae Law's statement that British casualties in tho present offensive are from 50 to 75 per cent, less than on the .Somme is an official assurance on tho point, and no doubt it indicates ruling conditions on the French front as well as on the British fr«nt. Wo havo Sin Douglas Haig's authority for it that the enemy's losses in men and material in last year's considerably exceeded those of tho Allies, and now the position in this respect'is turned'still further to the disadvantage . of the Germans. Another feature of the situation which deserves attention is that although the enemy's line has been greatly weakened by the loss of strong positions covering important centres in his communications, it is Very little shorter now than it was when tho Somme. offensive came to a halt last year. It has been shortened by no more than about thirty .miles. * That is' to say, the enemy 'has still to seek the only important advantage ho would gain by'a successful retreat. At this early stage the Allies have already conclusively demonstrated their ability to strike heavier and more- damaging blows than in their highly successful offensive last yeaT, but the enemy has yet to prove that he is capable of executing such a retreat as would gain him a measure of relief.

An increasing stir of battle is reported on the Macedonian front, where/the Allies have broken into the enemy defences on and east of the Vardar, and in tho Cerna salient. As it stands_ the news strengthens the probability that a serious offensive against the Bujgars is imminent. . . . •J w » • Admiral von Capelle is quoted to-day 'in. claims regarding the destruction of mbrchant ..shipping effected by the submarines which are obviously exaggerated, though , the; detail particulars which would mafco it possible to define the precise oxtent of tho exaggeration are not available. -A s statement by Lord Ourzon, also published to-day, shows that up to December last tho net tonnage loss of tho British Empire (in ships exceeding 100 tons), as compared with June, 1914, was no more than 763,000 tons. This is the amount by which losses from all causes exceeded replacements jit the date mentioned. It is noteworthy that tho avorago tonnage of British ships over 100 tons afloat in 1914 was 2026, whereas in December last the average had risen to 2128 tons. This means that tho proportion of ocean-going ships to the total tonnage of tho Empire was moro than maintained in the period covered ]jy the statistics, and it is, of course, upon these ocean-going ships that Britain and tho Empire are chiefly dependent in the present emergency. Heavy losses have been incurred since December, but this period has also witnessed tho introduction or development of; factors which- makepotently for the defeat of the submarine campaign. Until about the middle of last year, the construction of merchant ships in Great Britain was practically at a standstill, but now a- programme is in hand which aims at tho production of 3,000,000 tons of shipping annually. Measures are being taken in America to construct ships as rapidly as possible, and on an even more extensive scale. At the. same time, recent news carries a plain indication of improving efficiency in the protection of the sea-routes and in coun-ter-measures against the submarines.

-The position in regard to sea transport is serious enough, and may become more serious before the problem of dealing with the submarines is_ finally solved, but it is probably within the facts to say that so far as decisive results are concerned the underwater craft arc still on the outskirts of their task. Adjiikal von Capelle's boast that there is no radical remedy against the submarines is not in any real sense true.' That there is not an immediate- and complete remedy is obvious, but there is a reasonably good prospect that the Allies will before long be. gaining ground both in the matter of available tonnage and in. that of destroying submarines more rapidly than they, can be produced. If it is true, as several authorities have declared, that the Germans are at sent producing no more than three long-distance submarines a week, the prospect amounts to a certainty. As was mentioned recently, .particulars, supplied by Sir '.Edward • Cabsqn when he reviewed.the progress of the campaign during the first 18 days of February have been interpreted by an expert to mean fiat probably 16 submarines were accounted for' in that period bv naval patrols. A rate of destruction half as rapid would more than keep pace with the production of threo submarines a week, and account must bo taken of submarines lost otherwise than in encounters with naval patrols. Even if the facts are less favourable to the Allies, tlw-y are in a position to very ' greatly expand the efforts they have thus far made to defeat tho underwater campaign. Admiral von Capelle himself admits that the '"enemies' defences", against the submarines are increasing in- quantity and quality. They.will coutinue to iiir crease very rapidly, and so also will tho production': of new tonnage.