PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 270, 3 August 1918, Page 6

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Thi; battle in .Franco lias taken a somewhat extraordinary turn. Of I ale tho most obvious explanation of the , enemy's formidable countcr-at-lackii around the border of his reduced salient south of the Aisnc has been that they were dictated by tho necessity of gaining time in which to organise ;i further retreat and prepare; new defensive positions, isoiiie of to-day's messages suggest, however, that the Germans apparently aim at settling down on their present front in this region. There is nothing to indicate that they contemplate an attempt to locally retrieve their defeat, and if they attempt to consolidate their defence, where they now stand a remarkable example will bo afforded of'the material sacrifices they are prepared to make in order to limit the apparent scope of their defeat. The view expressed by a correspondent to-day that it is altogether to the advantage of the Allies, that the encny should attempt to cling to positions south of tho. Aisno is no doubt quite justified. The, inadequate communications leading into the reduced and flattened salient he now occupies can bo improved, and no doubt, arc being rapidly, improved. But whatever he may do to improve his communications on this part , of the front, the enemy is,and will be dependent upon the bridges over tho Aisne which arc now being ceaselessly, attacked by -Allied aviators. . Tho effect of thcau attacks, as the news , shows, is heavy, and as a whole the existing state of affairs offers tho enemy such poor prospects of■ advantage that oven now. it seems" likely that he will continue his retreat, if not to the Aisne. at least to j;ho Tesle, : which would give him a straight front between ooissons and Reims, and incidentally woidd greatly relieve tho strain upon his local communications. Aerial attacks on tho Aisno bridges will no doubt continue in any case, but if , the volume of traffic pausing over these bridges' is. reduced, as it would bo if the enemy retreated to tho Ycslc, the damaging effect of these attacks would bo correspondingly reduced. Very big and open questions arc involved in tho suggestion advanced by General Maurice that Germany may abandon the "Western offensive and seek to continue the. war on defensive lines in Western Europe while developing a vigorously aggressive programme in the 'East. Factors with -a hearing on this policy might bo listed'almost indefinitely. In tho first place it is by. ao means. certain - that Germany will ■from, this time forward, be able to. detach any considerable force from the Western front without risking, if not inviting, overwhelming defeat. Undoubtedly she will be formidably attacked- next year,, and she has little enough cause to regard tho prospect- with'confidence. A r o great offensive has yet succeeded on the Western front, but the Allies, in 1917, wore increasingly handicapped as their offensive developed by the relief afforded Germany on the Russian front. The German efforts, this year have again . illus-' ■trated the difficulty of driving home an offensive, but there is no close parallel between Germany's position this- year, and tho position the Allies will hold in 1919. The German reserves arc rapidly ..failing. The Allies have the mighty reservoir of American manhood to draw upon and arc capable also of establishing a heavy superiority • in .materia! equipuient of, .all. kinds, "very notably in aircraft. Taking account also of the probable moral effect upon Germany's .own population and armies and those of her allies of extended retreats-in France and J'iandcrs, it would seem- thathcT prospects of successfully carrying out such a policy as General Maurice outlines arc somewhat dubious. On the other hand sho has vastly important advantages of position and mobility, which in themselves would materially facilitate the adoption of "such, .'a policy. Apart from the larger questions involved serious pos-. abilities are raised by the correspondent who suggests to-day that before the northern winter arrives Germany may turn from her Western offensive to an'attack on Italy or on the Allied forces in thcßaikans. The current discussion brings out the evident necessity tho. Allies arc under not only of making ready to meet swift surprise blows of this character, but of taking all possible' measures to promote the regeneration of Russia, and incidentally enlarge the problems by which, Germany is faced in that country. The Kaiser surely was never more miserably at. a loss than when, in tho words of one of\to-day's messages, ho "lauded the gallant efforts of the-submarines to prevent the American forces crossing tho Atlantic." What these "gallant efforts'' have-accomplished is told by Mr. , Secketahv Daniels in a sentence: "Nota\singlc United States or British transport conveying American troops to Europe lias been sunk " Adding to this Mr. Bojjah Law's statement, transmitted to : day, that the Navy is- sinking U-boats faster than over, and tho fa,ct that the new construction of merchant tonnage is now outpacing sinkings to tho extent of 100,000, tons a month, tjie luuserV dilemma appears in its lull proportions. . •. " ,