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PROGRESS OF THE WAR

To-day's messages include informative comments upon the position in various theatres by a "high military authority," who is presumably a successor to the "Eyewitness" of an earlier stage of the war. His comments upon the enemy's tactics in Flanders emphasise tho decisive superiority which the Allies have established in that theatre. Finding that the policy of relying mainly upon machine-gun redoubts for the defence of their forward lines and keeping strong reserves in rear ready for immediate counter-attack did not pay, tho Germans reverted to their old method of holding the front line in strong force and abstaining from counter-attacks. This also proving costly, they have now adopted a third plan of delaying their counter-attack for several days, presumably in order that it may be preceded by a deliberate artillery preparation. The new method was apparently tested for the first time in the counter-attack which is recorded_ to-day upon tho last-conquered section of tho Passchendaelo Ridge. The result is told in an official report. Tho enemy counter-attack was completely repulsed. Germany's utter failure to devise effective means of coping with the Allied offensive in tho Western theatre has been given less prominence of late than the critical stato of affairs in Italy and the disturbances in Russia, but it has a bigger bearing on tho fate of tho war. * * * * In jus references to Mesopotamia tho high military authority who is quoted to-day throws new light upon

the latest British success on the Tigris. That the keynote oi Si is Stanley Maude's operations for the time being is to break up the enemy's preparations for an offensive was to he assumed from tho visible conditions of tho campaign. In the late advance on Tckrifc this object appears to havo been served in a material degree. Tckrifc is a village standing on the Tigris, 100 miles north of Bagdad, and 30 miles north of _ the railhead at Samarra from which tho British advanced. Considering apparently that this distance of 30 miles constituted a safe margin, the Turks had accumulated army stores at Tekrit in furtherance of their offensive preparations. A rapid advance enabled tho British to destroy the whole of these stores, after defeating two Turkish divisions, apd tho enemy has been compelled to retreat north of Tekrit from 30 to 50 miles. Having accomplished his object, and cast the enemy's preparations into confusion, Sni Stanley Maude has now recalled his troops to Samarra. Tho obvious objection to holding Tekrit is that it has only road and ;ivcr communications for 30 miles to the south, whereas Samarra is in railway touch with Bagdad. Some maps show a railway running north from Bagdad as far as Tekrit, but tho actual railhead for the time being is at Samarra. When the British reached this point in the spring they captured sixteen locomotives. Th« attempted to wreck them "by blowing out all the cylinders on one side, but they failed to take note of tho fact that the. engines were not all facing ono way, As a result it was not long_ before some of the engines wore in working order, and tho "Bagdad-Samarra express" was duly running.

Yesterday's news from Palestine pointed to an important extension of the British invasion in the coastal zone. In this area General Allenby's troops have closely approached the railway by which Jerusalem is in touch with tin coast at Jaffa. For tb'e time being this railway provides the Turks with convenient lateral communications, but the British advance threatens to drive across it and overturn the enemy line as a whole. Yesterday it was rcported_th.it the British troops were within 'seven miles of Bamleh, which stands on th.> railway at a point about a dozen miles south-east of Jaffa and twice that distance west-north-west of Jerusalem. There is no news at time of writing of events in the inland hill country, but_ if a footing is gained on the railway at flamloh, the occupation of Jerusalem will no doubt follow speedily. The next cross-country railway north of tho Jaffa-Jerusalem line is ono which runs inland from Haifa, on tho Bay of Aero, about 60' miles further north. Dislodged from their present line, the Turks will bo worse placed than ever to withstand a British advance along tho coast.

Detailed news from Italy to-day is in tho main of a fairly hopeful cast. A considerable amount of heavy fighting is reported, and the Italians seem to bo everywhere holding the enemy except in tho region of tho_ Eastern Trentino, where they aro still slowly retiring to conform to their lino further south. The enemy retains tho foothold ho, has gained at ono point on the west bank of the Piaye, but it is stated that ho is held in marshy ground. According to the "high military authority" who figures in the cablegrams to-day, it will be some days yet before the, Franco-British reinforcements bring their weight to bear, but the Italian resistance seems already to have stiffened. The military authority's review of the situation deserves attention. It is decidedly tho clearest and most informative yet transmitted.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19171116.2.18

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 45, 16 November 1917, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
850

PROGRESS OF THE WAR Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 45, 16 November 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 45, 16 November 1917, Page 4

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