CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 42, 24 May 1916, Page 5

CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

The Battle of Verdun continues to be the centre of attention on the no riant of the War. The over-night cables gave something of a shock to readers this morning, as it then appeared that the Germans had made appreciable headway at several points, buu with such exhaustive fighting as occurred along the whole front it would he strange if the enemy did not make some advance. Their messages, of course, make no reference to the losses sustained in gaining the advantages which they claimed, hut from the reliable sources of the fight on our side it is certain that Verdun proved a perfect holocaust for the enemy. 1 ive thousand men was the price of thensuccess at Curaieres on Sunday, and then they did not gain much ground, while for three hundred yards of the advance at Verdun they paid an “awful price.” The compact masses of the enemy formed a fruitful tai get for the French artillery, and at Mort Homme, after what appeared to be sure victory for the Germans, they were . caught in a trap and none sup- , vivcd to celebrate the momentary success.

To-day’s news is much more readfrom the' Allies’ ’point of view. On both hanks of the Meuse the battle continued throughout the night with cxtrepie violence, and on the whole the enpnjiy liaci little to show for his efforts. On. the west of the river, the employment of fire apparatus enabled him to temporarily occupy one of the French trenches, but brilliant work by the defenders compelled, him to evacuate the captured pos.tion. The fighting is said to have been sanguinary and continual, and anyone knows what that means when the is conducted on the lines of massed formation such, as the Germans follow.

, On the right, bank of the Meuse the gallant French again made a name for themselves. They went to the assault, at midday with frenzied ardor, and. after warm and bloody bayonet work, swarmed over the Germans first line, the reinforcements following with a dash which is said to be equal to the first original attack, and to the tune of “The Marseillaise” assisted their comrades. It was not till halfpast five o’clock that they reached their objective, Fort Douaumont. The stirring tale ends with the statement that they entrenched and got ready for the counter-attack that is sure to follow. Readers can rest assured that such bravery and heroism will meet with the reward it deserves. Verdun is still intact.

The part that the airmen are playing in the game of war is no small one, and many deeds, of heroism have to be placed to the credit of these intrepid masters of the air. It is quite certain/that the Anglo-French services are not inferior to the enemy's, and judging by the victims that fall tu our men, there is more than a possibility that we lead the way. London papers comment with much satisfaction on the fact that during three days the number of enemy machines to bo downed on the West front numbered as many as nineteen.

There is no occasion to doubt the fighting qualities of our Allies, the Italians, but they, also, are up against a very tough proposition-. The offensive that the Austrians have commenced has evidently been thoroughly digested, and every detail is now being carried out according to plan.- But they are not getting all their own way, by any means. With the help of poison gases and other devices they have made certain progress, yet at the cost of very heavy losses. The Italian people, and also the people of the Allies, every confidence that General Cadorna—than whom there are few more accomplished tacticians—will at the psychological moment initiate a counter-stroke that will turn the tables on his opponents.

Of all the belligerents, Italy and Austria, as far as the Italian front is concerned, appear to have been most

completely held op in their military operations during the winter. Ihc Italian front can bo regarded as consisting of two parts —one, the portion in the Isonzo Valley and on the Carso Plateau, comparatively low in elevation ; the other, all the rest of the front, almost entirely mountainous in height, and, in winter, positively Arctic in climate. With the breaking of winter the comparative dullness’ ot this mountain front has ended abruptly. The Austrians are hurling into the apex of the huge salient of the Trentino an attack of great magnitude. The attack has come “like a bolt from the blue.” After the failure of Verdun, it was time to look for a fresh enemy offensive and at first sight the attempt looks like another Verdun.

When the Italian frontier was arranged to give the Trentino, or Southern Tyrol, to Austria, it gave that Power an enormous military advantage over Italy. Here, ready-made, was a great wedge driven down into the heart of Northern Italy, and reaching to the edge of the mountains overIpdv.mg the Venetian plains, In this wedge, spljt by the Adige Valley, the Austrians have a trunk railway;,am( the tip of it is strongly fortified at Trient, Rbvcrto, and Riva. Against this tip/ whorc the Austrians have all the advantage of ground, the Italian armies have been able to make little; progress. The have, it is true, made sbmb advance towards Rovereto, some of‘whose outlying forts they took; and they have carried hack the fighting line some little distance into Austrian territory almost everywhere, from the Swiss frontier to the sea. But in face of a great offensive, they have only been able to set up a defensive front. The country*’favours the Austrians more than the Italians. The Trentino, at the tip of which the great attack is now in progress, is the paint from which Italy , has most to fear for the safety of its great northern plains. To prevent such a disaster as an invasion that will cut off the rich prize of Vonetia, she can be depended upon to summon every available effort.

The renaming of St. Petersburg Petrograd is only one of a very widereaching system of changes of this kind, whose common motive is hatred of the Teuton and a desire to get rid, even as regards mere names, of the last vestiges of his influences. According to recent Russian newspapers, the president of the Russian Council of Ministers (Baron Stunner), has decided to adopt the name of his wife, and to call'himself henceforth Panin. A similar proceeding was adopted "a short time ago by M. Sabler, the exProc'urator of the Holy Synod, by M. Neidhardt, the leader of the Conservatives in ,the Council of the Empire, and numerous other dignitaries, civil and military, who by reason of their ancient German descent, had borne Ger-man-sounding names. The movement in the “highest circles” has its parallel elsewhere, so that the name of everybody and everything ever remotely connected with Germany is ostracised by the public, if not directly by the authorities. Thus, following the example of the capital, a number of Russian cities and towns bearing names ci German deviation have either already adopted or are petitioning for new Russian names. Schlusselburg, for instance, has become “Oreshek” (Little Nut), under which name it was known at the time of Peter the Groat. “It was a hard nut to crack, hut we did if,”

was Peter’s joke in his message to the Empress announcing the capture of the place from the Swedes. Peterhof wants to be called Petrodvor, -Oranienbaum Rambov, Revel Kolyvan, find Ekaterinburg Ekaterinogrud. In many towns, and even whole provinces, the use of German in the streets has been prohibited by the authorities, under penalty of a fine and the teaching of German in the secondary schools has* been ruthlessly cut out in numerous educational districts. -

Until the condemned Sinn Feiners were led out recently there had not been an execution for treason in the United Kingdom for nearly 100 years, The last ,to provide a job for the executioner were the Cato street conspirators, who in 1820 proposed to abruptly end a Cabinet dinner by making dead meat of (fie diners. John Frost, the Chartist rioter,. William Smith O’Brien, and others were* sentenced afterwards, but escaped death. The. last trial for treason was tbit of Arthur Lynch, M.P., the amazingly versatile Victorian who fought as a colonel on the Boer side of the South African war.