The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1918. THE GREAT ALLIED VICTORY.

Taihape Daily Times, 2 May 1918, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1918. THE GREAT ALLIED VICTORY.

(With which is in<yrjxH?ate6 The It* hapo Post and .«*alE«iiW»: N«»K-

I ' Another battle of Ypres has been 1 fought and the Allies have again been victorious. The Germans commenced their offensive in this quarter a fortnight ago; in the two first battles they gained some ground, and had, in fact, reached dominating territory that was to prove to us and to the world whether the Allies really possessed sufficient strength to stem the tide that was pressing on to the sea. If the last chain of hills overlooking the flat country between them and the Channel could have tfSen taken from the Allies, then no one at this distance could say what the effects of such a disaster would have been. We marvelled at the unswerving, unremitting confidence of our commanders and of our, men ,which found expres. sion, despite the thirty or more miles of territory the enemy had overrun. We need marvel no longer; in the third effort to capture the positions essential to further progress German guns thundered as they had never thundered before. We are told that the positions were literally plastered with bursting shrapnel, meaning that not an Inch of ground was left unshelled; and after such plastering with shells there followed the greatest infantry effort yet made. Wave after wave of German soldiers came on only to be mown down, only to be followed by still other waves; in mad desperation at not being able to reach our lines other divisions were thrown in, until Ehe German commanders saw they were attempting the impossible. It was the bloodiest battle of the whole war, but not an inch of ground could they take; their unprecedented carnage neither broke, or even bent the Franco. British lines. Those lines remained when the remnant of Germans slunk away from the spot where the colossal concentration first came on in all confidence of victory. Access to the sea at Dunkirk and Calais has""been denied to the Germans in the only way ttaat their military leaders; their Hin. denburgs and Ludendorffs can under, stand. Their plans are again shaffered, and their northern army is battered into an, impotent rabble awaiting reorganisation. The great battle for the Channel ports is over and the ground where it was fought can only be seen in places, being covered with German dead. The enemy had to cross open ground while not a man of ours left their defences. As they determinedly came on division alter division met the withering fire from our artillery, howitzer* and machine guns. French and British had their backs to the wall; there was not an inch of ground to be given; it was to be defeat or victory; the time had come when their strength had to be shown, when it had become imperative they should demonstrate to the world that the German millions could be held and defeated by them, and how gloriously they did it. From their secluded positions they kept the oncoming tide of German blood away, deluging the earth with it until those paragons in blood lust -sickened at the ; sight. They gave" up the unequal fight without putting even the slight- ! est indentation in the lines held by the invincible defenders. This battle has been a costly one for Germany, both in men and morale; they suffered i the loss of many thousands of their | picked forces without making the slightest gain in ground. General Foch has made it clear that he has made no faulty calculations, and that when it is imperative that the German advance should be stopped he has the force to achieve his purpose. This auspicious Allied victory will urge the men in Britain and in the Dominions , to renewed and greater efforts: a; happy confidence will replace all doubt, and Britain's American allies will redouble their efforts towards bringing complete and final victory nearer. What will be the effect of, the German defeat in an already disheartened and nervy Germany? What will be the effect on an already demor-

alised Austria, who was already trying to patch up a peace with Italy? We believe that no greater victory was ever won and it is doubtful whether any victory was ever fraught with such far-reaching moral importance. The Allied army in Flanders has demonstrated to the arn7!e§ in other sectors that the Germans can be beaten, and beaten decisively without sacrificing an inch of ground; it has also made clear the fact to Germany that large as her armies are still larger and larger armies will be required to reach the EngHsli Channel, or to force an entry into Paris. By the way, Hindenburg is now over a

month behind timetable date for being in Paris, and he now. has to- face tl.c

fact that his machinery ' has' broken down past repair. He has stiii colossal concentrations o£ nten*lsbkiag', towards Amiens, but Foch is paying particular attention to ulem, ami has recently added a fair force of Americans to the gathering he'has around the old historic city waiting to accord a worthy welcome. It is difficult; to form any definite view of what movements will next be made, but it seems that Germany must vacate Kemmel or make another effort to retrieve this week's defeat. Then there are feverish and forceful raids and minor operations all the way from Rheims to the Meuse, on the Alsace frontier, wnich are not negligible as omens of something to follow. The French are particularly active on the front reaching past Verdun, which does not seem to accord with any idea of shortage of men for stopping a German march to the English Channel. It may be that Foch is preparing the way for the great offensive that was mentioned in cables a day or two ago. We m»»y gather from the lact that forty thousand Chinese warriors are on the way to France that General Foch is not going to allow any sentimental qua!ni3 to stand in the way of ending the war at the earliest possible moment. It is the war of the nations and he will permit all nations to lend what aid they can in muzzling and manacling the "Road Hog of Europe," so a's to ensure peace in the world for many decades, at least, to come. At the moment the Allies are the most aggressive; we may view the future with greater confidence after realising that victory just won was a crushing defeat for the enemy, a victory won without a man of the Allies leaving their prepared positions," and 3 r et it. resulted in a slaughter unprecedented. On Monday the Germans were repulsed on all fronts and at all points; May Day dawned with the Allies victorious everywhere.