LEEWAY BEINB MADE UP

Taihape Daily Times, 7 August 1918, Page 4

LEEWAY BEINB MADE UP

ALLIES’ RESERVES GREATER INFERIOR ON WHOLE FRONT POSITION ON MURMAN'COAST WELLINGTON, August 5. In its - weekly summary of the war situation tho British Ministry of Information states that the Germans have used 71 divisions in; their latest effort, and only some 20 fresh divisions remain at the disposal of Prince Rupprccht. If the Germans use the remaining reserves in a fresh offensive it would be a desperate gamble How greatly General Foch’s success and the rapid development of the American Army have altered the relative situations of the Allies and the Germans can be noted from the fact that now. for tho first time this year, the Allies’ ifreah .reserves ar’e actualily greater than those of the enemy, despite the numerical superiority of the enemy along the -whole front. It must be remembered, however, that the Germans have not yet lost the initiative, and even if they are unable to mak? a further offensive on the western froht they can always transfer forces to Italy or the Balkans, though there is no present indication of such an intention. Meanwhile the French higher command most warmly praise the British corps which has co-operated on the eastern side of tlie salient. There is every reason to believe that the British progress there hastened the German retreat, and had an important influence on the success of the operations.

The enemy will probably make an offensive soon against the Murman railway, in northern Russia. Despite the strongest desire of the inhabitants the Bolsheviks have been forced by Germany, if force was necessary, into ceding the Murman coast. This, of course, means a pretext for rushing Finland int owar with the Allies, and! gives a good instance of how much the Bolsheviks care for the principle of free self-determination of peoples* In Siberia the Czecho-Slovaks have held their own, and are making pro- . gross towards the west. The .Bolsheviks and pro-German forces in eastern. Siberia are completely cut off from - Russia, so that the Germans can only know what is going on from the Entente' press, and, therefore, the less detailed . ’information we give about events in Siberia the better. The, peasant rising in the Ukraine has im Wased, and railways are being destroyed,^ 1 the Austrian troops being insufficient to cope with the people. A large Greek army is now in the field on the Salonika front, co-operat-ing with the British forces, and more •Greek divisions will shortly take the field. The morale of the army is now excellent, and the men have reached a high standard of training. There is a note of growing gloom among the Bulgarian troops, who hate intensely the Germans and the Turks alike. Several times troops told to attack have • shown a mutinous spirit, but, in spite of this, the Bulgarians will probably continue fighting so long as their rights to Macedonia are questioned. The Austrian change of Government

is unimportant, since its means no change in policy. Dr Von Sicdler, the Premier, offended the Polos by promising to include Ukraine and Galicia in a separate Ukrainian Province. Thei Poles, therefore, refused to pass theBudget, though they declared themselves ready to concede it to another similar Government. The Czechs, Jugoslavs, and Socialists, are absolutely opposed to the present political course, and the German Nationalists arc unable to give the Government a majority without the Polish Parliamentary section, so that von Seidler has been sacrificed, and a similar nonentity, with a different name, tuted. The : Galician newspapers revelations as to the internal conditions of the district. During the first week in July there was a round-up in Cracow of military deserters and of thieves and robbers disguised as officers and soldiers. No fewer than 16,000 ■were caught. A Lemberg paper writes: Thieves and deserters have been coming in masses lately to Lemberg. Some are fugitives straight from, the front. Transport is disorganised and in the conditions of a big town not far from the front it was easy to carry on the work of robbery. Ecgular factories for forged military dcuments were established with a regular clearing house for such documents: Thieves and robbers were dressed in military uniforms, and, provided with the necessary bogus documents, they entered private dwellings and robbed the people. They also carried out expeditions into fhef provinces, and when challenged by constables they frequently |, offered armed Resistance. ■ J.R,j German ambitions .contejnplhtp new tyrannies, with regard Rotlje Baltic! Provinces, Poland, Finland e|e., their dealings being in strong to , the manifesto to the Kussian people issued by the allied Govern pro<claiming that the help g&fi Allies to Eussia was solely in the interests of Eussia’s independence and} freedom from alien interference and. tyrannical influences. t