The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, JULY 24, 1915.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 3990, 24 July 1915, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, JULY 24, 1915.

The Struggle for Warsaw.

Tlu> important news that has been received to the ('(Feet that the. Home press lias prepared the British publie for the possible fall of Warsaw must have come as a shock to most people. If it should turn out to be the case that the Russians are really not in a position to retain that very valuable strategic point it will, indeed, prove a sad, lull not. of course., an irremediable, blow to the Allies. Warsaw, as is well-known, is one of the three principal objectives of the enemy, Baris and Calais being the other two great centres on which tney would also dearly love to lay their blood-stained hands. What grounds there may bo considered to be for the belief at Home that the Austrian and German forces may possibly take the capital of Poland have not been disclosed. It would scorn, however, that the Russians must now have opposed to them much larger, much better led and much better equipped forces than has been the situation hitherto. To the north of Warsaw is a big army under General Hindenberg, who stands in high favor in Germany as a leader; and to the south General Mackonson, it is known, has a very strong force which also includes a large proportion of seasoned troops. This is, of course, not the first occasion on which Warsaw has been seriously menaced, hut never before lias --anything like so much anxiety been felt as to its safety. In this connection the . intimation tliaE intercessory services nro being held all over Russia is, wo think, a significant indication that the gravity of the situation is not being exaggerated. It may he a mistaken idea but it would seem that the Russians must have committed an error of judgment in menacing the Hungarian Plains after their great successes in Galicia instead of, first of all, establishing a more solid front before Cracow, when they found that they had practically the whole of Galicia at their mercy. The unfortunate part of the whole business is that Germany and her Allies should have boon allowed to he so successful with, their counter-stroke on the Eastern Front just at the present juncture when the enemy is doing its utmost to convince Roumania, Bulgaria and Greece that it will prove a shd day for them if they go over to Britain and her Allies. .It has, however, yet to ho shown that, even if Warsaw should fall, it would necessarily mean that public opinion in Bucharest, Sofia or Athens would he swayed round, in favor of the Huns and their partners. But what might easily be the position is that any of the three neutral Balkans States to which mention lets been made might further, delay intended participation in the struggle on the side of the Allies until such

time when their help could not prove .anything like so effective as it would at the present juncture.. Nobody, wo should say, will believe for one moment tliat it will be found that our Russian Allies will allow Warsaw to slip from their grasp cheaply. Bv the downfall of that great centre Russia would lose, as we have already indicated, a strategic point of very considerable importance. Not only would a valuable Russian railway system fall into the hands of I the Germans and the Austrians in that event hut the enemy’s position in Russia would be immeasurably strengthened i'n that they would then only require to occupy,a much shorter front which, too, would be very much straiglitcr. A very hopeful sign, it seems to us, is that, although the enemy have regained much ground in the course of their counter-stroke on the Eastern Front, they have quite failed to damage the Russian forces lo any great pxtont. The result of .the great struggle for Warsaw will, then, depend greatly upon whether the Russians have been able to secure in time a sufficiency of big gun munitions and of maebineguns of which they have all along been in such very snort supply. Whatever may be the fate of Warsaw there is, we should say, bound to be immediate strong offensive movements against the Huns and their partners in other directions and stirring news may, therefore, be expected in connection with all the various campaigns within Hie next few weeks.