THE WAR SITUATION.

Taihape Daily Times, 22 May 1918, Page 6

THE WAR SITUATION.

THE PAST WEEK REVIEWED. WELLINGTON, May 20. The following telegraphic summary ’ of war news has been received by the Governor-General from the Secretary of State for the Colonies:

In regard to operations On the Western front, the second week passed with only minor operations. There are two points specially to notice in these. The second point is that in each case of enemy initiative the operation ended in complete and costly failure, even p* hero, as on the Voormezeele-La Clytte front, Lc employed and sacrificed considerable bodies of fresh troops, but each operation initiated by the Allies (namely, at Locre, Morlancourt, and Grivesnes) has beep ?- complete success This is a sweeping statement, and the German propagandists spare no words to prove the exact opposite, but the map proves it. At no single point did the enemy gain his objective or succeed in holding any local gain more than a few hours. Enemy protestations of Allied failures characterise every local gain by the French in the Locre sector as an attempt to retake Kemmel Hill, an objective wrich \ as the enemy knows to his cost, would call for an operation on a very considerable scale, and could n«t possibly be aimed at by local effort. The length to which the enemy publicists have gone in this perversion of the truth is l powerful evidence of the necessity felt for concealing from the German people anything which may detract from the confidence in the army which they are beginning to suspect were better described as ‘cannon fodder.' Though , minor operations have only local or tactical value, they have strategical significance, indicating points where the enemy is prepared to incur considerable sacrifice thereby to gain observation posts. From his persistence we may draw conclusions regarding the positions to which the enemy attaches special value for future purposes. While minor manoeuvres for positions lave been taking place along the front lines, It must not be forgotten that intense activity is continuous in the rear services on both sides.

Evidence is provided by the memorialised complaints of German prisoners that even when the enemy is withdrawn for rest the British airlow them no peace. One described ieelingly how 24s comrades were killed 'by a single British bombing attack on Hapaumc on April 30th.

The fundamental cause which is .gradually disfinidgratihg ijhei -Central Europeon alliance is lack of food, Little can be extorted from Germany’s allies, some of whom are already experiencing actual starvation, To obtain grain elsewhere will necessitate using force, making further demands •on troops she cannot spare. This, and the shameless exploitation of her allies "by Germany for her own ends, to fheir detriment, sows seeds of discord

among them. For two reasons Germany has been forced to seek a decision in the field as early as possible. Delay would involve risk of, the break up of the alliance, which she cannot afford. Her

victory in the coming summer campaign must be absolute, or worse than valueless, for Germany will have exiiausteS her reserves; whilst even should the French and British find ■themselves reduced, the American army will just be apporaching its zenith, By commencing preparations Germany thinks she will bo able to achieve a decisive victory within the time limit. The Allies are' already incorporated in the French and British divisions, they can withstand the full force of the enemy assaults until the American army in the field has grown to the samo proportions as those of the Trench and British. It is a question of time. Every day’s delay increases the strength -of the -American army jin France, bringing Germany nearer to the end of the time limit

In Mesopotamia, General Marshall is advancing apace. After occupying Kirkuk, he pursued the Turks, and patrols arc now within seventy miles of Mosul. The flank column moving up the Tigris from Tekrit is co-operat-ing with the main advance 'along the caravan road.

The roads into Persia are now blocked for the Turks, wherein lies the main result of General Marshall’s strategy.

The Air Minister reports that German air prisoners recently captured ahow noticeable falling off in morale and make no attempt to deny our superiority in the air. There is greet aerial activity on the Belgian coast, particularly by our bombing machines. The coastal bases of Ostend and Zeebrugge are repeatedly attacked and the enemy harassing in his endeavours to repair the damage done by the recent successful naval operations. The Food Ministry r n rort* that live stock is cornin'- forward more freely than anticipated, and arrivals of frozen meat have rendered a somewhat larger ration pr-wible. Partial substitution of bacon for meat encourages the hope that live stock in the country will Ije fairly well maintained. Cereal im-

i.rts have now improved, but cheese Is short and this scarcity affects the * corkers. Food queues have practically disappeared. The urgent problem is to secure sufficient supplies in autumn, so as to avoid scarcity during the early part of next year.