The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1918 THE OUTLOOK FOR PEACE

Taihape Daily Times, 28 September 1918, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1918 THE OUTLOOK FOR PEACE

(With which is tucorporatetf The Taihape Post and WaTmarlao News)..

Defeat of Germany is now certain, and it is very few in this world would have the temerity to deny the truth of this statement. Not only is the defeat of Germany assured, but defeat will overtake her and her friends very soon It is now obvious, too, that Foch intends defeat to be overwhelming and complete; the Kaiser and all his allies in tyranny are to go down with one ■ great comprehensive, coordinated blow; and even in the delivery of that blow much of the stolen territory is to forcibly go back to its rightful owners, this includes lands invaded decades and centuries ago. There is to be no invaded territory left to Germany that can be used as peace arguments; the one outstanding; feature is that Germany and German allies are to be defeated thoroughly, individually as w r ell as collectively, not a stone to throw is to be left in any of their pockets. Only a very few- weeks ago an optimist of optimists would not have ventured the prediction that to-day Palestine would have been stripped of the Turks from Dan to Beersheba, and we may go beyond Palestine boundaries and say from Cairo to Damascus, but that is really what General Allenby’s yet unfinished victory means. In fact the British are at Sidon, on their left or western flank, farther north than Damascus, and are rapidly moving on Beirut, which is in the same latitude as Heliopolis (Baalbek), thirty-five miles still further on to Allenby’s ob-

jective at 'Aleppo. When the latter , place falls into British hands Turkey will have become virtually defeated, j Almost as astounding for its suddenness, might .and success is the campaign from Salonika to recover Serbia and to completely defeat Bulgaria;

and by opening a road to Bucharest rescue the unfortunate Roumanians from the slavery they were sold into by Russia. The Franco-Serb blow is J still sweeping on, routing, prisonerTng and annihilating the erstwhile bounceful, braggart, bullying Bulgars. Every- ! where their armies are' fleeing pelli mell before the injured Serbians, that is, where they have not been surrounded and compelled to surrender. The situation is such that Bulgaria seems helpless to stop the Allies from marching on Sofia and force the Bulgars to capitulate or forsake their country, urged on by Allied bayonets and pass over their frontiers into Roumania, but the Roumanians will have something to say about any such course. The defeat of Bulgaria is in sight; Servia is being -retaken almost as by magic, and the German High Military Swashbucklers haven’t a man or a gun to send to the aid of the huge insatiably greedy Ferdinand, bosom friend of the Kaiser. Italy is holding Austria very comfortably, and. spares an army to cross Albania to assist in the redemption of Servia, where they have managed to completely surround a Bulgar army that cannot possibly escape. No Bulgar ever desired to get into Servia so anxiously as those now there wish to get out; western Serbia may be considered free from the invader’s sword. It seems that no action the Central Powers can take will stop the long-delayed activity from Salonika from sweeping right over Servia into 'Austria and Bulgaria, and thereby completely settle the Balkan question. That is one of the sensational crises, that are shortly to come to pass. The Palestine sensation has reached its zenith; that la the Balkans is fast approaching Its meridian; much the same may be said of Russia, but one must turn fo the Western front for sensational total eclipse. The Allies are commencing to move over the face of Germany; the Americans have moved to the east bank of the Moselle; it is not stated where, but if is almost sure to be on to the flat

country which commences about eight or ten miles due south, of Metz, .be-

tween the Moselle and the Sielle. Sons of brother Jonathan - opened’, an unheralded offensive in the Metz sector, which gained all its objectives on the east of the Moselle. This may be taken to mean that definite strategic plans are being put into action for invasion of Germany on a large and determined scale; it was on a forty-mile front; it tested the German resistance by driving the defenders out and occupying their front lines. The direction is not indicated any further than it was east of the Moselle, but appearances are suggestive of a wedge being driven right, into Rhenish Prussia, and Foch’s expressed determination to continue his campaign right through the winter gives colour to this view. However that may be, the mystery about America’s latest .attack covers it with significance and we may confidently await startling results. The improvement of the Allied situation in only lohe week is unprecedented. Palestine is completely conquered, enabling the junctioning of Marshall’s and Allenby’s forces comparatively easy of accomplishment. Bulgaria is being invaded; her defeat is in sight, and Roumania’s freedom looks assured; the situation in Russia is very encouraging, and everywhere on the West front Germany and her Allies are being defeated, driven back and an invasion of Germany itself has been commenced. Any hour the most startling and gratifying news may be cabled that phenomenal victories have been irrevocably won in the cause of national freedom that will bring a desirable peace within measurable distance.