PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 228, 14 June 1918, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

A French communique states today that the Montdidicr-Oise battle continues without great change, but tho details supplied show that the enemy has made considerable progress on the- left and centre of the attacking front. On his right, south and south-cast of Montdidier, he- seems to be practically at a standstill, but in the centre he has again reached the River Arondc • (nine miles from his starting point), which he reached at an earlier stage only to be driven back several miles by a French counter-attack, .and on his left he is now facing the French across tho River Matz. That is to say, on the west bank of tho Oise he has moved five miles down (in valley of that river from the front on which the battle opened, and is now about eight miles south-west of Noyon and within six miles of tho junction'of Compiegnc hehind the French line. These, developments left the French holding a rather narrow salient, four miles deep, on the cast bank of the Oise, and according to an enemy report, which there docs not seem to be any reason to doubt, this salient has now been evacuated. Meantime the Germans ciro attacking heavily on a short front running from the Aisne to the north-eastern extremity of tho forest of VillcrH Cottorets. The situation obviously is not without ite disquieting features, but on the other baud the enemy is evidently suffering very, heavy, lobsos »and has very coni-

pletely failed to keep to the timetable set when the battle opened. According to. one message to-day, vox Hutier planned to reach Gompicgnc junction un Sunday evening —that is to say, at the end of the first day of the battle—but he is still separated from that objective by nearly six miles.

A l''jiiiXCH communique just received confirms an enemy report which has been quoted in regard to the evacuation oi the salient on 'the east bank of the Oise. The French front now runs east from this river for a distance of five or six miles before turning south to the Aisne west of Soissons. The enemy advance is considerable, but the ground evacuated would have been exceedingly costly to defend. •

It is one of the most promising features of the battle that the enemy is suffering an increasing eclipse in aerial lighting. According to one of. to-day's messages he has discontinued publishing his aerial losses. Hitherto it has been, his practice to issue grossly falsified returns of his own losses and those of the Allies in aircraft, but apparently his losses arc now so serious that the policy of methodical falsification has had to be abun cloned on account of tlyn exposure it would inevitably invite. Of the prowess of the Allied airmen there have been innumerable proofs of late. As , to the greatly increased production of machines, which is another big factor contributing to the existing state of affairs, some interesting information was given at the end of April by Mr. Winston Churchill, Aiinistcr of Munitions. He observed that the principal great new task entrusted to the Ministry of Munitions in 101T was the construction of aeroplanes and aeronautical appliances of all kinds. Since that date we had delivered more than twice as many aeroplanes as we ever had before. We wore now making in a single week more than were made in the whole .of 1914 ;* we were now making in a single month more than we made in 1915; we were now making in a single, quarter more than in 1916, and this year we were going to make several times more than last year. The quality had also greatly improved in every respect. The results appeared in the increasing ascendancy of the British Air Service as established in Prance. This had only just begun, and tho prospects were never more encouraging in regard to our Air Service than at the present time. There wore no limits to the results which might be achioved* and which had been achieved. This was owing to the remarkable work of Sir William Weir, who was fitted -more than any other man to express the swiftly changing war conditions in terms of mechanical supply. Late events demonstrate that the Minister did not base an unduly optimistic opinion on what had been accomplished.