The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 1916. THE WEEK OF WAR.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 135, 10 June 1916, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 1916. THE WEEK OF WAR.

(With which is incorporated The Tai hape Post and Waimarino News.)

The past week has been brimful of the horrors and sensations of war both on sea and land, accompanied with a destruction of human life that is verily appalling. In only a few hours on Wednesday of last week more brave men lest their lives than in any other similar period since war commenced. Men were blown to shreds and thrown y.nto a sea made angry with fire, exploding shells, boilers, magazines and gunfire; not in tens, or even hundreds, but in thousands. The destruction of many fine ships does not colour our thoughts at all in the presence of such huge slaughter of our brave countrymen. The most striking misfortune of all came after our cup of sorrow was running over, in the tragic end to Lord Kitchener, the idol, not only of Britain, but of the whole British Empire, and who was also one of the most admired men of the whole world. It is not wise, however, or even conductive to a correct perspective of the position brought about by what has occurred in all arenas of fighting to allow our minds to dwell on isolated misfortunes or even on any combination of bewildering events, for by so doing our thoughts and vision are likely to pass by or minimis# the collective reassuring news coming from other quarters. Great as our losses have been in western battlefields, they have not totalled the losses sustained by our enemies on the Eastern front, which may be fairly well estimated from the fact that our Allies captured no less than fifty-two thousand Aus-

tro-German prisoners, and still their triumphal march continues. Neither should our losses close our view to the fact that our army and navy have caused much greater destruction of enemy life than they have sustained. It i s beyond all cavil or doubt that our Navy achieved a great victory, a victory that will have such far-reaching effects that It is extremely doubtful whether the German Navy will ever again be heard of in any forceful seafight. It is a fact that, despite the loss of the brave sailors wo all mourn, our navy has gained a victory that adds very much to its strength and effectiveness. ;we have also to be thankful that Lord Kitchener had his work or organisation and plans of action so far complete that onr Minis-

ters and Wat leaders declare his death will not hamper the successful conduct of the war in the carrying out of what he has prepared. Our losses were great during the past week, but the position of the Allies in winning the war has vastly improved. The Russians have commenced the great promised offensive at both ends of their seven hundred mile front, for we have news of successes and progress at Kovno in the North down to a three hundred mile front from til© river Pripet to the Roumanian frontier. Russia has had to blow to dust fourteen rows of cement-made trenches that were strengthened with baulks of oak timber. Her artillery has performed the task and her soldiers have driven the Austro-German s back many miles, captured the great railway centre of Lutsk, and her armies are still marching on. The fifty-two thousand prisoners taken indicates that the Austro-German loss of life must have been dreadful in the extreme. It is safe to say that the killed and wounded added to the prisoners would have totalled something like one hundred thousand. Life destruction in the Naval fight pales before such huge, appalling figures. iWe are not to dwell on our troubles at such a time but take a broad view of what is proceeding at all points, in all battlefields. The almost, universal interpretation of the position is that the Germans are more than overmatched in Prance and Belgium; that they cannot spare troops to prosecute a much vaunted offensive towards Riga; that their Navy is in such a crippled condition that it is helpless to aid any land movement in Courland; that she cannot reinforce the Austro-German forces now being driven pell mell out of south Poland by the Russians; that disaster must overtake those AustroGermans if huge reinforcements are not thrown into Russia's way; that Austria cannot concentrate in front of the victorious Russians and continue her offensive in Italy; that Mesopotamia is fast being conquered; that despite the Greek King’s treachery the Allies are masters of the Macedonian situation; that the blockade of Germany has been rendered much mere effective by the result of the recent naval battle; that the Allies are just about ready for the forward move for which they have long been preparing, and the world now waits to see how far the Allied combination of forces in France arid Belgium can prevail over the entrenched Teutons, while Russia is marching over Galicia'.’ North-east Prussia and Asiatic Turkey, while our forces at Salonika are doing their utmost to keep as many of the enemy forces as possible engaged. The past week has been one of great progress, despite the terrible loss we have suffered in achieving a brilliant naval- victory.