PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 263, 25 July 1918, Page 6

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

To-day's cablegrams picture a state of affairs in the Western theatre with which the Allies have every reason to Iμ satisfied. The enemy is still condemned to concentrate his main energies upon the task of effecting the best possible retreat from his unteriablo front in the Marne salient, and apparently reliable reports declare that he is perforce destroying great quantities of material be has no hope of safely removing. Although they have now gained a great deal of ground in the western and southern areas of the German salient as it existed when they struck their counter-blow the Allies a.rc admittedly i)ot making rapid progress at the present stage of tho battle. They are relying largely upon an intense concentric bombardment which restricts the enemy to a narrow and congest ed corridor of retreat in the central area of tlie salient. The, position reached, however, will be disappointing only to those who have based altogether unreasonable expectations on the events of the last few days. It is necessary to bear in mind that, although the Allies have abandoned the passive defence for a much more active and ontcrpfisinir policy, they are still making a definitely limited effort, and are likely to adhere to this policy for some time to come. No doubt if they wcro ready and prepared to _ force a decisive conflict the outlook in the present battle would be materially enlarged. As matters stand, the Germans are fighting hard on cither Hank of the menaced salient—at and south of Soissons and sotitlvwest of Reims—with a view to keeping oncn the diminished way of retreat that remains available. They are still holding a short front on the Manic, though the Americans have now crossed to tho north bank of that river as far east as Jaulgornie, cirfit miles north-east of Chateau Thierry. Attacking in. sufficient power cast through Soissons and west_from the region of Heims, the Allies might; overwhelm tho German resistance on tho. flanks of the salient and envelop the greater part of the troops within its area. Complete success in such an enterprise would not only bring enormous captures in men and material, but would open a wide breach in the enemy's line.

An offensive on this scale, however, would also involve risks which the Allied Generalissimo is appai> ontlv disinclined to take at the prefent stage of the campaign. One of to'day's messages states that the Allies possess as many troops as the enemy if not more, .and that the spcerlin.tr up of the Americans has put Foch in a position to defend or ficrht n.s ho. thinks best. This nn doubt adheres closely to the facts, but it nevertheless holds pood that the Allies are as far as possible from boinnunder any tenmtnlion to take risks in the hope of forcing an early decision. In one of the weekly war reviews issued by the British Government early last month it was , observed that

While Hie Allied High Command con be (rusted to assume a counter-offensive should the situation ]>? suitable, for the moment such action would like'y involve the Allied armies in a decisive l<attle before the American Army has developed its full strength. The soundness of the Allied policy in nwaitin? the development of the American Army is clearly demonstrated by (ho minlily lli n ?c tronps have shown in' Hie few small Piifrneoinents in which sections of the .American Army have hitherto been enjw-jpil, The enemy's anxiety to force a decisive action is evidence thai be holds (lie same view. r With the added proofs tne American troops have since given jf their quality, and μ-ivinsr ihu , weight to the fact that they are now crossing the Atlantic to Franca at the rate of three hundred thousand a month, it is evident that the Allies have oven better reasons now than they had when the foregone statement

was made fur postponing a decisive conflict. The situation suitable for a counter-offensive arose, and Oenkiiai, Focir was prompt to exploit it, hut -illthough in ;i, sense Iks is forcing the enemy's hand, there is no reason to suppose that lie is any less intent than no was iipnii postponing decisivft action until the American Army is ready to co-operate in full strength. The whole course of the present battle suggests rather tintL (:«! aims for I he time being al worrying Miul delaying tactics on a heroic scale.

Such a policy limits, though it does not exclude, the possibility of spectacular developments in the battle now in progress. Nevertheless what has already been accomplished by the valour of the Allied troops und'sr tho skilled direction of their Generalissimo stands out as an achievement of great magnitude. This is best realised by taking reasonable account of the conditions which existed when the enemv opened his offensive on July 15. instead of continuing the full-powered effort for victory to which he was then committed, and for which he had made all possible preparation, the enemy is to-day employing larger forces than he lias used in any battle of the campaign except the first with no more ambitious object in immediate sight than to get back to a safe front. One of the predictions cabled to-day is that as soon as he considers the immediate da user of disaster in. the Champagne is past Hindexbuho will launch an offensive against the. British in the north. It is stated also that the reserves at Pit inch Ruppkecht's disposal on tho northern front have been only slightly cut down. This is not narticularly convincing.. If Prince Hupprecht's reserves were substantially intact, instead of having been freely drawn upon to support the southern armies, he. would presumably best aid these armies by attacking with all possible speed. But even if it is true that the enemy possesses a considerable body of reserves, current events, and the absence of events in the north, plainly imply that his offensive plans have been thrown into such a stF-';e of confusion as to reduce to a minimum his hopes of striking a decisive blew in the time remaining at his disposal. That time is strictly limited. The northern summer is rapidly passing, and the enemy cannot confidently reckon on much more than two months of fine weather in which to recover from Ms present confusion and prosecute the grandiose scheme upon which he made a beginning in March. In compelling the enemy to unprofitably exhaust his strength and use up precious' time in a battle of retreat the Allies are demonstrating very clearly Mieii- general mastery of the situation.

A French attack on a four mile front noriJi-west of 'Montdidicr, though it Las resulted in the capture_ of several villages, and, according to unofficial reports, twelve hundred prisoners, is, classed as a local operation. Apart from the captures effected, it has given the Allies command of a section , of the valley of the Bjvor Avrc in an area about ten miles south-east of Amiens. The ground gained represents an appreciable addition to the margin b," which Amiens is' held. Attacks of this nature arc not unlikely to be multiplied in the near future and to serve a useful purpose in heightening the confusion into which the enemy has been thrown.