"WE BEGAN TOO LATE"

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 253, 13 July 1918, Page 7

"WE BEGAN TOO LATE"

, GENERAL MAURICE ON BRITISH PREPAREDNESS ;. .. MAN-POWER PROBLEM IN THE WEST ! ........ liy Telegraph-Press Association-Copyright. [•■'■'• ' London, 'July 11. J General Maurice, writing in (he "Daily Chronicle," says:—"The cause of nil j our man-power troubles in 1918 was that we. began too late, and adopted a number of unsatisfactory expedients, of- which , the placing , of men 19J years old in [ the trenches was the. most unsatisfactory of all. The French have not yet called up this class, and the Germans have not put them into tho trenches. America i has fixed the age of twenty-one. On the other hand,' France and Germany havo . long used older men." General' Maurice urges the Government immediately to ; prepare its programme for 1919.—Au5.-N.Z. Cable Assn. | ; GERMAN OFFENSIVE EXPECTED IMMEDIATELY AS SEQUEL TO VON KUHLMANN'S DOWNFALL. (Rec. July 12, 5.5 p.m.) Paris, July 11. The unanimous opinion is that tho resumption of the Gorman offensivo will, immediately follow \on Kuhlmann's downfall, which is a victory for the German High Command, who must prove' tbo fallacy of von , Kuhlmann's declaration that ' peace cannot be obtained by a military decision.—Aus.-N.SS, Cable Assn. PKENCH SUCCESSES. London, July 11. A French communique stales:—"South of tho Aisne our infantry finally overcamp the., enemy's resistance .iit different'points. We. raptured La Grille Farm : nnd the. quarries north of.Ghavigny Farm. To the eastward our.patrols reaeh- ' . ed,'Longpoiit,,.and. entered the northern part of Corey, taking prisoners."—A us.;n,Z. Cable Assii.-Heuter.. , . , . ' .(Rec. July 12, 5.5 p.m.) London, July 11. A French officinl'communique states:—"We increased our gains during the night on tha outskirts of tho Forest of liolz. We took possession of tho village of Corey entirely, from Corey station to the chateau and farm of St. I'aul." —Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-fieutor. . "DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE ENEMY." London, July 11. Mr. Pliillip Gibbs writes:—"lt would be. dangerous tu under-estimate the fighting qualities of tho enemy. The prisoners captured by the Australians on July i were as sturdy a crowd of men as we liiivc ever spoil Tho Australians ■ north and south of the Somnie have established (he initiative on their sector in a remarkable way by a series of progressive operations. After six days in which no counter-attack was made, the German guns last night and to-day licavily bombarded tho Australians, and some infantry unsuccessfully attempted to enter our trenches east of Villers Bretonreux."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. THE WAR IN THE AIR MARKED SUPREMACY OF THE BRITISH. London, July 11. Mr. Peivival Phillips writes:—"The British air supremacy has been very marked in the past few week?. The quality of the German pilots has deteriorated, as is shown by frequent collisions between unskilfully-driven machines ■when attacked by the British.' Our aviators accept battle in spite of tremendous odds. Ten of ours fought twenty of the enemy's aeroplanes on July' 4, outmanoeuvred them, and forced them to run for safety. On another occasion four British pilots attacked forty Germans and. brought down two, .whereupon the remaining thirty-eteht fled. Though our men frequently bomb targets from a height, of 200 feet or less, the Germans rarely descend low." ■ Other correspondents state that one British airman has brought down sev-enty-five German neroplanes, including twenty-five in a single month. Somo others have reached a total, of fifty .-Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn..