The Dominion MONDAY, JUKE 10, 1918. AN IMPROVING OUTLOOK

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 224, 10 June 1918, Page 4

The Dominion MONDAY, JUKE 10, 1918. AN IMPROVING OUTLOOK

. The nspects of the military situation which have chiefly commanded attention of late arc that has the initiative- and that tho Allies' are under the necessity now and may bo for some time to come of standing on the defensive against : formidable attacks. A number of | messages which have come to hand during the last day or two, some of them, to-day, serve a useful purpose j in widening the outlook and giving due prominence to political and other factors which are likely as time goes on to powerfully influence- the trend of military events. Even at the/narrowest view tho military situation does not lack features of promise. There is already some evidence that the enemy has over-reached himself in the great offensivo plan he is developing in the Western theatre. Considerable weight attaches in this connection to the opinions expressed by M. Bidou, the eminent military, critic 'of the Journal des Debats. His general conclusion seems to be that the enemy is awkwardly placed on the front which now extends to the Marno and is liable to lay himself open to successful retaliation by the Allies. .No doubt it is wise to keep a rein on such expectations for tho time being and to recognise the possibility that the enemy may yet contrive to launch even more powerful attacks than those ho has already delivered. But to take comprehensive account .of. political as well as military factors is to perceive that the Allies arc looking through a troubled present to tho prospects of a bright future, and that even if the enemy's military situation at the moment is preferable—and this is far from certain—it is certainly impossible to say as much of his ultimate prospects. All. the nations engaged, except America, are, of . course, heavily fried under the strain of war, but the exception. is of an importance that has only in comparatively re-, cent days been clearly realised and is perhaps only now fully realised by the enemy. The statement attributed to-day to General Maurice that "speaking bluntly, we arc now in the same situation as in 1914 when our Allies were obliged to hold on until wo threw in our new armies," calls for sweeping reservations. That the Allies, as tho same commentator observes, arc under the necessity of holding on until America throws in her weight is generally agreed, but this necessity being admitted, the .Allies are in many respects vastly better placed than they were in 1914. It is doubtful if the enemy's numerical preponderance, even taking account of the possibility that Austrian divisions may be used in France, is relatively as great as it was in the first year of war, and undoubtedly the Allies are enormously better off to-day, relatively to the enemy, in the matter of technical equipment and the ability to rapidly augment it than they were in the first year of war. Air power alone is an asset to the Allies the value of which coii'd hardly be exaggerated. During the last few months their aerial squadrons have not so much defeated as overwhelmed the enemy's corresponding forces, and on the whole have given such an account of themselves as to afford strong grounds for a belief that they will ultimately play a decisive part in the war. At its present stage, of development the Allied superiority in the air neutralises no inconsiderable part of tho enemy's strength on land. It is another very important difference between the conditions which exist today and those of 1914 that much of the necessary work of organisation involved in tho formation of the British new armies has, in tho case of America, .already been carried out—the ■ American reinforcement has begun to take the field and will grow rapidly, though it will not attain its full magnitude for some time to come.

While it is impossible to accept Maurice's contention that the Allies arc back to the position they hold in 1914 ho is, of course, right in pointing to America as the nation capable of finally turning the scale in the war. But in order to realise the full importance of American aid and co-operation it is necessary to take a much wider view than is involved in considering how far the present aspect of the war will bo changed by the addition of so many men, guns, aeroplanos, and ships to the existing resources of the Allies. It is of the highest importance that the .American nation has hardly been touched by the worst evils of war, and that it is opposed in unimpaired resolution and vigour to an enc,my already almost matched in military force, who is at the same time saddled with political problems which seem bound to become rapidly more acute as his military fortunes decline. One of to-day's messages observes that the Allied Supreme War Council, envisaging the war from the standpoint of the strategic reserve, rely upon the American armies to end the struggle and to give the British and French reserves a power which may even enable Russia to throw off the Teuton bondage and take part in the final struggle. This forecast does not seem unduly optimistic, if account' is taken on J;lie one hand of the fact that America, with all her moral and physical resources to draw upon, is pledged to exact in full the conditions of a just peace, and on the other of the political troubles of at nl! events the weaker members,of In: Teutonic Alliance. Reports such as- that which appears to-day describingthe steady growth of a rebellious spirit]

and tho prevalance of disorderly outbreaks in tho Dual Monarchy are not reasonably open to doubt. Apart from more direct causes' of unrest tho basis of agreement lately established by the representative's of a dominant section in Italy and thoso of the Southern Slav 3 and other oppressed races in AustriaHungary has done much to confirm and intensify the aspirations of these races in the direction of national redemption. America, like tho Entente Powers, is pledged to support these aspirations. America is in harmony with the Allies also in supporting the national claims of the Poles and other races in Russia whom Germany aims at reducing to hopeless bondage. Even at the present stage this means that forces other than those of a purely military character are operating to disrupt the enemy's strength, but there is little doubt'that when the military balance has once been definitely turned these forces will rapidly become very much move potent as tending to hasten the issue the Allies desire.' Equally at an immediate and more distant view it manifestly brightens Allied prospects that the nation which retains' the power of throwing infinitely the greatest additional- weight 'into the scalo is at the same time second to none in its determination to enforce all the essentials of a just and lasting peace.