PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3152, 2 August 1917, Page 6

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

A great battle and one which promises to develop on an important scale opened in Flanders in tho early hours of Tuesday morning. At the p„eriod to which. reports in hand at the moment of writing relate it was still at a comparatively early stage', but it is already evident thalufl success of magnitude has been T?on by the British and Pronoh armies engaged. Attacking after a bombardment, described as the heaviest ever experienced, tho Allied troops have broken deeply into the enemy lino on a, wide front, and the early reports in hand indicate that many prisoners and much material have been captured. The British attacked on a front extending from the Bver Lys, on the Franco-Belgian border, well to the northward of Yprcs; tho Fronoh, on a front extending some- distance north from the British northern flank. Tho area of tho British attack includes what was the Yprcs salient and the new front immediately to the south gained after the conquest of Mcssincs Ridge. Tho British forces on tho northern flank and tho whole of the French troops encaged wore divided fl ' om tuo enemy when the battle opened by tho Yscr Canal. This waterway was bridged in face of tho enemy's resistance, and in this area as well as on a long front. turning round cast and south of Yprcs and extending to the Franco-Belgian bprder he was dislodged from his dofensivo

positions over a considerable extent of ground.

The question of overmastering interest at the moment is how far it is intended to proceed in this mighty thrust against the German line in Flanders. Ono correspondent says that the battle is believed to be the biggest of the war, and Mr. Gibbs describes tho enemy's frantic efforts to stem a sweeping Allied advance. On the other hand, it is reported from London that intense excitement over the news that the offensive has been icsumed on the biggest scale is coupled with uncertainty as to whether Sir Douglas Haig intends a sensational advance or is "only seeking to bleed the Germans white.V. This uncertainty .will be genera! until it is determined by events. The weight of opinion expressed by those who claim to speak with some authority is that whatever prospects the Allies had of striking a decisive blow this year were practically _ eliminated when the Russian armies on the .Galician front broke'down in faceof the enemy". There is still a great deal to support this opinion, although tho scale of the Allied attack and the area in which it has opened suggest impressive possibilities. 00 * * * *

Whatever its intended scope may be the battle now under way has opened in an area which the war has made classic ground. On two occasions, in tho vicinity of Ypros, the enemy all but attained his object of breaking through to the Channol ports. In tho first Battle of Ypres, iu October and November, 1914, long-sustained and desperate German assaults were broken by a thin lino of British troops, whoso unyielding valour gave them victory in spite of apparently hopeless odds. Again, in May, 1915, when the Germans first used poison gas, the Allied line was subjected to a crucial test.. Very different issues arc raised to-day. Tho opportunity by which the Allies are faced on the Flanders front-an opportunity they may or may not seek to turn to account in the near future—is that of developing a turning movement against the great fortified depots which the enemy has established at Lille, Tourcoing, and Roubaix, at the head of his main line of communications in Northern Franco. It is the pith of to-day's news that the British have taken a big stride towards. Menin, a vitally important road-centre on the Franco-Belgian border. From Menin roads strike south and south-east to Lille and the adjacent cities in whioh the_ enemy has concentrated his organisation. Tho Allies aro certainly JJireatemng a vital section of the enemy's fine, but whether with the idea of compelling him to 'undertake a general retreat or with the more limited object of intensifying tho strain to which he is already subjected has yet to appear. .'.

A report from Sih Douglas Haig. throws some light upon the important gains secured, On the northern part of the attacking front tho French have advanced a mile and a half or more east of the Yser Canal, which crossed in opening their assault. Further south the British liavo penetrated tho enemy defences in places to a depth of two miles. Their most pronounced progress has been mado thus .far east and northeast of .Ypres. A reason appears in the fact that tho enemy forces further south, towards tho Franco-Bel-gian border, are- enclosed in the ancle formed by tho River Lys and tho Yprcs-Oomines Canal, the two waterways meeting behind the German front. ' With his bridges doubtlesß under continuous bombardment, the enemy' is likely to find this situation a death-trap. That the British advance has not been extended as far in this, locality as.it has further north certainly cannot be taken to mean that the enemy's defence is holding good. • « * #. *

While it is quit© possible that the Allies have for the time being a limited object in view, there is nothing to suggest that they arc_ merely intent on making a dive"rsion in favour of the Russians. One correspondent states, indeed, that tho Germans recently transferred six divisions from the Western theatre to tho Eastern front, but the enemy 'is not likely to proceed far on these lines, and tho uitest news from Russia tends to strengthen and confirm the hopes recently held out-of a, definite recovery on the part of tho Russian armies. The Germans claimed yesterday that they had forced tho passago of the River Zbrncz; on tho eastern frontier of Galac'ia, £nd invaded Russian territory in strong force. They amplify the claim today, but tho Russians state that enemy forces which crossed tho Zbrucz were driven back again, and that subsequent attempts by the Germans to force the passago were foiled.

A detail surprise in the nows of the big battle is the revelafion that French troops are- still engaged on the Flanders front. Until recently the French were holding ground in Flanders north and south of tho Belgian Army—in the coastal area and lrtwccn tho Bolgians and'tk> British 'Not long ago the British took over the coastal sector and it was commonly- assumed that tho French had been completely relieved on tho Flanders front. It now appears that tho assumption was erroneous