A WEEK OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 213, 28 May 1918, Page 5

A WEEK OF THE WAR

OFFICIAL REVIEW OF THE OPERATIONS FACTORS WHICH HELP THE ALLIES

■ The following telegraphic summary of the war news, covering the operations for the week ended May 23, has been received by His Excellency tlie GovernorGeneral from tie Secretary of State for the Colonies:—

Thoro are four points of special interest in connection with the week's operations on the Western front.. The first is tho continuous remarkable success of the Australians in the angle of the rivers Sornmo and Ancro. Tho second is the very brilliant littlo operation whereby the French rectified and advanced their line between Scherpenberg and Kenimel Hills so as to give themselves the full benefit of several minor operations in that sector which they successfully carried out during the Inst few weeks. Tho third is the verv marked ascendancy In tho air which the Allies established over the enemy. The fourth is tho almostcomplete lack of enemy initiative, their few undertakings being confined to local counter-attacks., all of which wero unsuccessful. While there, may bo considerable connection between the two latter points, tho general impression produced is that the enemy Is gathering himself together for a renewal of his offensive on a grand scale. It is now seven weeks since the' Sommo offensive came to a standstill, and four weeks since that oh the Lvs or, for the latter, fivo weeks' if the taking of Kemmel Hill bo regarded as a separate operation. This may possibly'have been time onongh for the enemy to restore his men and dumps to sufficient standard, but it is very doubtful if he can have satisfactorily established his necessary transport arrangement. It is probable that tho Royal Air Force has contributed to delay the enemy in this matter.

500,000 Americans in France. Tho Americans aro steadily arriving and Mr. Baker has announced that half a million were already In. Franco, and that the rate would be increased, but the enemy knows that there must be a necessary' interval boforo troops now arriving from America can bo put into tho line, a'consideration which does not apply to the trained men which he himself "has been constantly transporting from the Eastorn front. He may, therefore, conclude that his present superiority is in no immediate, danger of being disturbed, and besides, sinco the next attack may be his last. he will not launch it. until ho is absolutely ready. If, however, tho enemy should open his attack in the mimediate future, it will lie at the disadvantage of over-hastily-mado preparations and under the forco of other than purely military considerations. As togards tho prospects of the campaign, it is as has been frequently pointed out entirely a question of reserves. Reserves may include not onlv man-power, but also time and space. For every week's delay brings to the Allies the acquisition of American strength, while every yard of ground ex* changed for enemy casualties may also be put to the credit of reserve.

The Man-Power Factor, Apart from American aid, tho manpower situation is mora in the Allies favour than when the German offensive began on March 21. This is duo to two causes. At that tirao the enemy were able to concentrate numerically a greatly superior force opposite the British front, (hereby leaving parte of the French front comparative lightly held. This could be countered eithor by the French attacking some such part of their own front or by the French Army correspondingly concentrating divisions to form }i genoral reserve. For a.number ot reasons the latter course was adopted, but since tho initiative was with the onemy, and ho was on interior lines, tho French could not movo nor commit an equal number of divisions to those moved by the Germans. On this next occasion tho Allies mil have the same choice in tho matter, but with tho added advantage of unity of command. Secondly tho enemv losses in the first part ot toe campaign have been greater than those of the Allies. The casualties ho "Marred »» fiuhting were -ery nearly equal to ma reserves in depots. Thus, on now replacing his casualties from depots ho will have a very small lesarve left. On the Other hand tho Allies' rcservo ib at least equal to that of tho enemy. Their tactics 2 defence are tueh as to reduce their own losses to a minimum while inflict.ng tho maximum on the. enemy. They-ran ol» still afford to give ground in certain places. And, again, ttmo is with them.

With tho Airmen. ] The Air Ministry reports that improved weather conditions on tho Western front durin K tho past week led to greater activity of aircraft, an exceptional amount of work being accomplished. App oximately 188 tons of bombs wore) dropped in the battle zone and in tho ■ neighbourhood of BrnRW,-Zeebn«ge. and (Mend. Nearly 137,000 rounds of ma 1 arm ammunition were fired with excellent results on different ground targets, and over 15,500 photographs were taken. Air fighting in general was severe, and hostile scouts niado persistent but unsuccessful efforts to deny our bombers and reconnaissance machines access to objectives, or failing this, to intercept them when returning. The most notablo results of theso tactics have been heavy Increase in tho German casualty list, 148 enemy aircraft being brought down ill air fighting, or by othor moans and 39 driven down out of control. 1 iffy-four I of our machines failed to return during I tho week, which is a relative y small figure- when considered m tho light of the number of hours flown and tho amount of bombing, photographic, and reconnaissance work accomplished. The enemy naval' bases on tho Belgian coast, Zeobru"ge, Ostend, and the important centre o c Bribes, with intcr-coimecting canal svstcra," wore again subjected to incessant attack. Hits were secured on r'uinys, docks, and enemy shipping. -Reports received state that most important material damago was caused. The weather allowed the resumption o c loii"-dislance operations into Germanv The Hoyal Air Force took full advantage of the improved conditions, and raids were carried out into Germany on five days out of seven. Important railway communications at Diedenhofen and Thionville were bombed on three occasions, the station and sidings at Melz were twice attacked, and raids were also carried out on important military objectives at Saarbruoken, Cologne,

and Landau, north-west of Karlsruhe. Good bursts were observed in the course of these raids and a number of fires and explosions were caused. . All tht evidence continues to point to the demoralising effect of frequent penetrations of tho German frontiers, particularly in the Ehine Valley, where lively dissatisfaction lias been expressed with tho authorities owing to the failure of antiaircraft measures. Our activities this week brought home once again to tho enemy iu German territory the fact that only during periods of unfavourable weather they can hope to enjoy immunity from attack.

The Food Prospects. The Food Ministry reports that rationing has undoubtedly proved successful in lessening the rate of consumption despite leakage, which naturally accompanied inauguration, in 6ome districts. Owing to improvement of imports the ration of butchers' meat has been raised to lib. per head per week. This increase has shown that the rationing system is elastic, and has done much to convince the public that restrictions on consumption will bo relaxed when ciroumstances and considerations of future safety permit. Steps nro being iaken to restrict briuging to market home produce stocks at present immature.' Tho shortngo of cheese causes considerable hardship. National kitchens nro boing established in increased numbers, and where properly managed they effect a great saving in food without loss to the municipality. Board of Trade reports that the British Government has contraoted to purchase from tho Zinc Producers' Association Proprietary, Limited, of Australia, stocks of zinc concentrates existing at end of 1917, less reserves, subject to reasonable protection of Australian requirements: also production from beginning of 1918 to maximum extent of 350,000 tons per annum during tho war ana one year after, and 300,000 tons por annum for subsequent nino years.