PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 38, 8 November 1918, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

It is not yet certain that Germany will submit to the Allies in the immediate future—at time of writing there is no official confirmation of the story that a German armistice delegation has gone to the \yest front-but it is abundantly clear that she has nothing to gain and much to lose by continuing the struggle. The one factor now telling in Germany's favour on the West front is the weather. It is possible that rain and mud may so hamper the Allies as to enable her to withdraw her armies in some sort of order to the Mouse line. She is far'from being assured, however, of even 'this measure of success. Fighting in the spirit which found conspicuous expression in tho assault of tho New Zealandors on Le Quesnoy, the Allied armies are attacking tirelessly, and striking with splendid effect. According to a late unofficial message the. Allies are within six miles of Mous, and only three miles distant from Maubeugc. Tho Americans aro extending their advance northward in tho Meuso valley, and are also increasing their foothold east of that river. Meantime tho French arc driving forward along a great part of the intervening front. The broad position is that the enemy's main railway communications are being most dangerously. invaded while ho still has a great area to clear in tho northern part of the Western theatre. Handicapped as "he is by badly congested roads and railways in the rear, it is vcry< far from certain that he will achieve an unbroken retreat to the line of tho Mouse.

* * » * Assuming that he docs, however, he will be at most postponing- the hour of fate. The assertion attributed to some of the enemy military leaders that the. prospeob of invasion is still remote is sheer non-

sense. It is an outstanding example of the ostrich policy the German an.tocrats have followed in regard to the development of the American armies and some other matters which have vitally affected the course of the war. _ As English newspapers are pointing out, tho terms of the armistice just concluded extinguish any German illusion that Austro-Hungarian territory will become a neutral' barrier against the Allies. Electing to continue the struggle, Germany must enter upon a war on two fronts which can only culminate in disaster and the invasion of Her territory. If she is so fortunate as to withdraw her armies unbroken to a line from the Dutch frontier to Metz she may ho able for the time to detach force to garrison her southern frontier. But outclassed as she already is on the 'West front the prospect of continuing the war on these lines must needs be uninviting.

So far as her southern frontier is concerned she has to reckon not only with tho Italian Army, the Allied forces based on Salonika, and the British forces now being released from Turkey, but with the liberated races of the Dual _ Monarchy. The Czechs in particular have made the right reply to her sudden professions of friendship. .Their offer to provide half _ a million soldiers for tho invasion of Saxony is one they arc no 'doubt quite capable of carrying into ; cffect. Czechs constituted an appreciable proportion of the fighting forces of the now dismembered Dual Monarchy and probably free Bohemia is in apposition to speedily raise an effective army. In the theatres in which they are already fighting tho Czechs have established a splendid reputation, and shown themselves possessed in a high degree of tho qualities that tell in war. As a whole, the Allies are definitely assured of being able to rapidly develop an attack on Germany from the south which will much more than balance any force she is ablo to detach from the Western theatre even'if she contrives to solve her immediate and desperately difficult problems of retreat in that area.