Last Year's Operations.

Taihape Daily Times, 9 January 1918, Page 5

Last Year's Operations.

BRITAIN’S DEBT TO HER

NAVY.

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG’S TRIBUTE

Received 8.35,

LONDON, January S. Sir Douglas Haig in a despatch reviewing the year’s operations, pays a tribute to the Navy, and states the debt the Army owes to the Navy, grows ever greater, and is deeply realised by the armies in France, As a result of the Navy’s unceasing vigilance the enemy’s hope that unrestricted submarine activity would hamper our operations in France and Flanders has been signally disappointed. Immense quantities of ammunition and material required for, the armv and large numbers of men continue to leach us with unfailing regularitv.

Received 10 a.m

In the last operations at Arras, Messincs, Lons and Ypres, 131 divisions were defeated by less than half that number of British, paying a tribute to the artillery. He points out that in the battle of Ypres, batteries operated practically unprotected for month after month, under a continuous bombardment of gas and high explosives. He says those instances were multi-' pliable when the signal from the infantry for urgent artillery support and the warning of gas coming were received simultaneously, and the gunners discarded their masks and obeyed the infantry’s call with a full knowledge of the consequences. Regaiding the flying corps. He mentions that long-distance raiding has 'become a recognised part of the preparation for infantry attack. Bombingaerodromes at great distances behind enemy lines was intensified in several cases. The enemy were thus compelled to abandon particular aerodromes. Reprisal raids on German towns were carried out whenever the weather permitted. General Haig emphasises, however, that the enemy shows no sign of relaxing aerial efforts, hence ho stresses the need for a liberal supply of machines. He men-' tions that carrier pigeons have proved extremely useful, conveying information from units to headquarters He show s the British are incrcasingly using gas, which is almost nightly discharged along the entire front.

WEAT AND MUD AGAINST US

EFFECT OF ITALIAN AND RUS- .. . SIAN .. REVERSES. Received 1120. LONDON, Jan 8. The Gazette contains a despatch by Sir Douglas Haig covering operations for 1917, except Cambrai. It explains that the conference of the military heads of the Allies in November, 1916, arranged the plan for last year, comprising offensives on all fronts. The British offensive in April was to be preparatory for a more'lC'ecisive subsequent French operation in the latter stages whereof the British were to co-operate, but events in Russia and the fact that the French offensive in Champagne met with obstinate resistance, necessarily modified the plan. General Haig emphasises the immense handicap upon the British battle at Arras by rain and snow, and says the effects thereof in the matter of bringing up guns before the enemy was able to assemble his reserves was incalvulable, nevertheless, by ninth May, twenty-three German divisions Avere AvithdraAvn, The despatch explains it Avas in order to assist the French that operations in Arras continued. This necessarily greatly interfered Avith the preparations for an attack on the Flanders : front. Speaking of the unprecedented magnitude of the subterranean warfare at Messines, General Haig mentions it Avas known the enemy Avas driving a gallery under Hill 60, but by careful listening it Avas Judged that if our offensive began on the date arranged the enemy’s gallery would just fail to reach us. This proved correct. He points out the enemy did his utmost to prevent our adA-ance in Flanders, using no fewer than seven-ty-eight divisions for' that purpose. Nevertheless, it was the immense natural difficulties, accentuated by the abnormal Avet weather, rather than the magnitude of the enemy's resistance, AAffiich preA’ented our complete capture of Passchendaele Ridge Time after time rain necessitated enforced lulls, enabling a practically ~ beaten enemy to reorganise and bring up reinforcements behind the sea of mud, which constituted his main protec- i tion. General Haig emphasises the fact that oAving to the necessity of taking over an additional line from the French, we were very definitely handicapped in the battle of Arras, This handicap Avas subsequently increased by the difficulty of obtaining adequate drafts a sufficiently longtime prior to the divisions’ participation in battle to enable drafts to be assimilated into divisions and division

to be trained. A general continuance of the struggle throughout 1917 was very different to these contemplated by the aforementioned Allied military conference. A great general siraultaneous offensive was then agreed

upon, but did not materialise; events in Russia enabled the Germans to bring forty fresh divisions to the Western front. This and the events in Italy imposed a far heavier task off the Anglo-French than was anticipated. However, the British armies

maintained vigorous continuous offensives from April to November, except at short intervals due to the weather

or to complete preparations It. was the longest and most successfully sustained offensive of the war, .(yielding fifty-nine thousand prisoners,.,, nearly four hundred guns, and three thousand machine-guns. Therefore, without reckoning the possibilities which are opened up by cun? big guns in Flanders, and without considering its effects in other theatres, there is every reason to be satisfied with -.he results achieved. The additional strength which the enemy has obtained or may obtain by reason of events in Russia has already been largely discounted, and the ultimate destruction cf the enemy’s forces is brought appreciably nearer.

BRITAIN’S RECORD FOR 1917. LONDON, Jan 7. The War Office reports: British captures during w jre as 'cilow r s: Western theatre, V3.i31 prisoners and 531 guns. Palestine: .17.516 prisoners and 10& guns. Mesopotamia: 15,944 prisoners and 124 guns. East Africa: 6728 prisoners and 18 guns. i Salonika: 1095 prisoners and no guns. Total: 114,544 prisoners, and TBl guns. British losses on the Western theatre -were approximately 27,200 prisoners and 166 guns; in Palestine 610 prisoners;' Mesopotamia 267 prisoners; East Africa, 100 prisoners; Salonika, 202 prisoners. Total, 28,379 prisoners and 166- guns_