PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 188, 29 April 1918, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

The Dutch Government obviously is passing- through <i very anxious time. Holland is faced with the veiled threat of invasion by Germany, and in the event of her escaping, this danger by conceding Germany's desires she is faced with the certainty of the complete blockade of her ports by the Allies, the ruin of her trade, the seizure _ of the greater part of her shipping, and the possible loss of her very important overseas possessions. Holland has proved a good friend to Germany throughout the war. There can b'e no doubt on that point. Germany has drawn largely through Holland for food supplies ancF material necessary for war munitions, and a substantial part of these supplies has been secured by false pretences and in defiance of restrictions imposed by the Allies.' The Allies oavo little to Holland, the Germans much. Yet it is quite in keeping with German methods that tho German Government should now threaten to devastate a . country which has rendered _ it valuable service, but can do so in the samo way no longer. Since America came into 'the war and tho restrictions on supplies to Holland wore drastically curtailed Dutch merchants and traders have not been able to pass on to Germany anything like the volume of necessaries which meant so much to the German people. Germany, however, now demands supplies of another nature, chicily gravel, for military purposes, and also makes much ado about the acquiescence of the Dutch Government, after formal protest, in tho seizure by America' , of Dutch shipping. The fact is that tlio shipping seizure is strictly permissible under international law, and Germany of courso knows Uiis. But to gain her ends she throws the onus on the Dutch Government.

Weether it would pay the Central Powers to j*o the length of adding another active enemy to 'he already long list of nations arrayed againsi them may be open to question, but there i? no doubt that their recent successes on the West front have greatly heartened the German people, and must have had a marked moral influence on neutral nationu. Thero is perhaps moro danger of Eoliand seeking to compromise with German demands than thoro is of Germany putting her threats into effect; but Holland's position in cither case is a precarious one. A victorious Germany would have fc-w scruples -in satisfying her ambitions to control tiie waterways o[ the Rhine through Holland and the mouth of the Scheldt. Holland presumably knows this, and it may stiffen the Dutch Government and might even lead to its going tho length of resisting Herman demands 1,0 the extreme of war. j

Whatevkr their precise military importance may be, the events in Flanders reported to-day will hold attention all over the world because of their bearing on a little tract of territory which British valour lias made famous. Unless the present trend of the northern battle is speedily reversed, it, seems impossible- that Ypres and the. adjacent areas constituting; the ninst renowned salient in thb history of warfare can he retained within the compass of l.ho British line. Having captured Mont Kemmel, the enemy has advanced to a Hue- which runs south-west from Voonnczcclo (two miles south of Ypres) to Locre, less than a mile from the. Franco-Belgian Border. Taking account also of a recent modification of lino to the north, the- Ypres salient has become- pro-, nounced and id is soriously exposodl

to dominating lire. There is little doubt that to-day's news foreshadows its evacuation. Tin-: Ypres salient came into prominence in 1!) M. "When Sin John French, as ho then was, reluctantly abandoned in that year tho project •of developing a turning movement against the German northern armies by way of tho M.onin llond, lito elected to retain and defend .the ground which had been won, in furtherance of that project, cast of Yprcs. During- two and a half years of war the Ypres salient was held under bombardment by an enemy advantageously posted on high ground anil against his most formidable attacks. Tho original area of the salient was reduced, but it was maintained as a< standing threat to the enemy line. In tho British offensive of last year tho salient was opened out on north and south, and the enemy lost all the advantages he had formerly enjoyed on this section of tho front. Not many days ago the loss of the Messines Ridge and the evacuation , of Passchendaelc Ridge reconstituted tho salient. To the- whole British race the Ypres salient is ground made sacred by tho enduring valour of soldiers who shrank from no perils or privations in holding it against the Huns. • Its evacuation, which now seems almost inevitable, would bring home as other events have perhaps failed to do tho fact that the titanic struggle now in progress is setting entirely new standards and that its fate will be determined in conditions very different from those which obtained in earlier stages of the war.

From the latest reports in hand it would seem that the brilliant counter-attack of the Australians at Villers Bretonneux told heavily on the enemy, and that the latter is not yet in condition to resume his attempts to advance along the Somrne, valley. In Flanders also the enemy is-reported to be now firmly held, but in widely different circumstances. As has been said, the capture of Mont Kemmel by the Germans raises an immediate threat to Ypres and to the low country west of that place. But tho enemy has also greatly improvedl his position from the point of view of a further movement westward towards Hazebrouck. He is still irmly held on the southern flank of his advance, but Mont Kemmel was a very strong- position flanking his advance on the north