PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 142, 5 March 1918, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

* To-day's dispatches from the Western 5 front are full of interest both to 'tho news reader and to the student of the war. The German attacks on the French line, covering a _ front of 120 miles north of the_ Aisne and in the Champagne region, arc regarded as a prelude to a big German offensive, the real thrust of which may be apparent at any time. It is not unlikely, it is suggested, that tho Champagne district will be the selected point of the main attack by (the Germans. It would, however, be a mistake to assume from tho intensity of the fighting in this region that tho enemy's main stroke will be delivered .here. Against this hasty assumption the reader is warned in a semi-official message from Renter's correspondent in Paris. Thcso operations are in tho nature of a vast reconnaissance, the object of which is to probe the Allies' defensive strength. It is obvious that if the enemy is placed at a disadvantage in • the air he must endeavour to counter by more extensive reconnoitring operations in the field. He must also, for the same reason, endeavour to mask his main thrust by extending his concentrations over a wide front, that the Allies' airmen may be deceived. On the other hand, these reconnaissances_ may be designod to co-oper-ate with a general covering movement, behind which the attacking divisions may be concentrated for the grand offensive, but here again the reader is cautioned against hasty conclusions. These operations may or may not be the prelude to the German offensive. Indeed, one commentator raises a doubt whether the Germans will go on with their offensive at all; whether it is not just as likely that the Allies will initiate a defensive battle which, if successfully _ fought, will inflict great, possibly decisive, losses on the enemy. The weather in the West has taken an unfavourable turn which at this early season of the year will undoubtedly delay the movements of both sides, especially the transport of the heavy batteries and the big guns, as _ well as restricting the manoeuvring of the tanks.

A late dispatch from the British sphere of operations reveals intenso activity on the sector from Polygon Wood to., St. Quentin. In the course of one day there were no fewer than six big German raids and two attacks in force. The Portuguese troops sustained the heaviest of these with great gallantry and clash, the ouemy being decisively boaten in his attempt to penetrate the trenches. This is a clear attempt to test the resistance of the Portuguese section of the line, and it is a matter for congratulation that the Germans' curiosity on that point was so emphatically settled. The leading features of the fighting' were the intensity of the German barrage, the promptitude and volume of the British artillery in reply, and the almost exclusive use of the rifle for repelling the attackers.' This latter circumstance throws an interesting light on the situation. Rifle fire is more conducive to steadiness in the ranks, especially in the case of fresh troops called on to face an attack in force. It may possibly mean also the adoption of a policy of defence by which machine-gun fire is held in reserve till the attacking waves are at point-blank range.

The news from Russia to-day marks tho beginning of a'new phase of the complex situation in that sorely-beset country, The Bolshevik peace delegates at Brest Litovsk, without even discussing the German terms—stated to be more drastic than those indicated on' February 25—have signed a treaty which places considerably more territory under German control. It is officially stated in the German report that the advance into Russia, maintained pending the signing of the peace treaty, has now ceased. But if other reports arc to be believed, the Germans are very far from realising their in the matte: - of disposing of their enemy on the Eastern front. Tho nows that <

Hie Bolshevik delegates at .Brest Lilovsk have signed away their country's freedom without protest or discission has been ill-received in Petrograd, and there is no evidence in the dispatches from the .Russian capital that the- peace treaty will be regarded as' anything more than waste The forces of resistance, arc swelling, and if reports are to bo believed the Germans may find themselves definitely committed to a more strenuous campaign. The one factor which tends to modify this expectation, however, is the huge loss of war munitions and supplies which the Russians have sustained during the new Austro-German offensive. An effective recovery in the near future seems hopeless. According to the German official report, these losses amount to 2620 guns, 5000 machineguns, thousands of vehicles—including 1000 motor vehicles, 11 armoured motor-cars, 800 locomotives, 8000 railway trucks, 22 aeroplanes, and great quantities of ammunition. Having regard to the completeness of the Russian collapse in the recent invasion, which involved the loss in,prisoners of 6800 officers and 57,513 men, there is no reason to disbelieve this staggering total.