Thank you for correcting the text in this article. Your corrections improve Papers Past searches for everyone. See the latest corrections.

This article contains searchable text which was automatically generated and may contain errors. Join the community and correct any errors you spot to help us improve Papers Past.

Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Events in the Italian theatre which are reported to-day must bfi summed up as one of tho greatest disasters which has overtaken tho Allied arms since tho war began. The only possible* parallels are tho Russian retreat, of 1915 and ill's collapse of the Russian armies which is in no small degree responsible for the catastrophe that has now descended on Italy. In its suddenness and in the tremendous consequences involved, the Italian defeat is almost without precedent. Only a few days ago the Italian armies were far advanced in an offensive campaign in which they seemed to have assured prospects of decisive success at no very distant date. If* day the whole .fruits of their offensive havo been wiped out, so far as the Isonzo front is concerned, and they are fighting desperately in defence of their own terntoiy. Almost at a blow the enemy has recovered the Isonzo line, with the wide area of hill and mountain country which the Italians had conquered east of the river. The great stronghold of Gorizia has gone with the rest. Nor has the enemy stopped at the point of recovery. No detailed particulars of his invasion of Italy are . available at the moment of writing, but a. German report mentions the capture of the town of Cividale, left burning by the Italians in their retreat. Cividale lies about ten miles _ west- of the Ison/.0, where it skirts the Bainsizza Plateau, and foilv miles insido the Italian frontier.

The worst feature of the I tali an disaster is that it was due to treachery. Mr- Ward Price states that, an insidious and widespread German propaganda .accompanies the offensivo, and the results of this propaganda arc frankly disclosed in an Italian communique. It was bccause some units of the Italian Second Army—the army which bore itself so bravely in tho oonciuqst of the Bainsizxa Plateau—retired m cowardice without fighting, or surrendered, that the enemy was enabled to accomplish his fatal penetration of - tho northern flank. Everything now dopends upon the extent to which the enemy propaganda has sapped tho fibie of the Italian armies. It treason gains ground tho fate of Italy will he that of Russia, or something worse. Available information meantime is ■that GkNEWL Cadorna is conducting a planned retreat to a selected line. Prospects are thus held out that limits may shortly be set to the ■disaster, but the_ situation as yet is supremely critical/ #

The Western campaign is for the moment overshadowed, hut to-day s reports show I,hat the British have made some further progress in

Flanders, and that the. French; in conjunction with the Belgians, have made an important advance in the largely inundated area between the Yscr Canal and the Forest of HoutJnilst.

Though it is not regarded as the real beginning of American participation in the Western campaign, the appearance of American infantry and artillery in the fight-ing-line in France ranks as a notable event in the war, and is a definite step towards a very great addition to the Allied strength. The United Stales is now observing almost as close secrecy as other belligerents in regard to tho rate at which its troops aro being made available for service, but its military preparations have been materially expedited since it was estimated eomc time ago that American armies aggregating half a_ million men woulcT be ready for action next spring, and it is likely that the numbers available at that- date will be correspondingly increaeed.

In Congress last month the chairman of the House Military Committee gavo the following official particulars of the strength of the American military and naval forces prior to the oalhng up of the,first compulsory draft: —"On September 6, 1917, tnero were in the Regular Army, National Guard, and EeservcTCorps of the Army 73,828 officers and 741,053 enlisted men _ In the-Navy there were H1,867 enlisted men, 41,473 Naval Reserves, 'and 14,600 of tho Naval Militia in the Federal service. There were 5000 men in the Ooast Guard and 6500 in tho Hospital Corps, making a total of 209,340. Enlisted strength of the Marine Corps was 29,971; reserves in the sorvices, 10Y0; National Naval Volunteers, 704;' retired men on activo duty, 14. There were approximately 12,000 officers in the Navy, and 1166 in the Marine Corps. In other words, on that date the, Army had, including officers and enlisted men, 819,881, and the Navy 254,265, making a total armed strength on that date of 1,074,146 men, all of whom aro vol- v unteers. Prior to'that time there was not a drafted soldier in a single training camp." The first • compulsory draft,' now in training, consists of about 650,000 men. so' that, including a quarter of a million men in the Navy, America now has under arms more than 1,700,000 men. Apart from the sixteen great Army cantonments in which the members of the first clv-affc are distributed, the United States is developing others to accommodate -an additional half-million men. Before long more than a million recruits will bo under training in America simultaneously Tho battalions which have now taken their nlcico in the firing line in France, and tho batteries behind thom, are meantime playinc; a minor part, but they are the advance guard of a mighty army.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19171030.2.12

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 30, 30 October 1917, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
879

PROGRESS OF THE WAR Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 30, 30 October 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 30, 30 October 1917, Page 4

Help

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert