WAR NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 274, 29 April 1915, Page 5

WAR NOTES.

GERMAN MINEFIELD. For four days previous to the North Sea fight in which Sir David Beatty drove a raiding squadron back to its base, with severe loss, Sjr John Jellicou had an anxious time. It has since transpired that during this period the Germans were excessively busyi spreading a screen of mines broadcast in the North Sea. The destroyers attached to the Grand Fleet were immediately despatched, with a strong contingent of trawlers, to destroy the menace, and the work was only just completed when the German squadron made its appearance. An officer present with the flotilla, writing to a friend in Sydney, says: "During all the morning ships were blazing away at the peats. Some exploded, but the ma« jority were of faulty construction, and sank. Ido not know how many wcra destroyed, but there were quite enough to prove what a miraculous thing it was the fleet had escaped disaster in the night. We fully expected that the enemy would have delivered a des\roy<|| attack during the following night, tmt| for some reason best known to themselves, they refrained from doing which, from a naval point of view, thejl should havo done. They certainly do not seem to possess the initiative and dash which we expected of them. Tho following day we Were still engaged in destroying mines, though not so many as on the previous day; still, we must have passed unpleasantly close to some during the night." KAISER'S FACE MORE GRAVE. An interesting pen picture of Empoior William appeared on February 13 in the Krcuz Zeitung, an army organ published in Berlin, from its correspond- -nt on the eastern front. It says;— "The Emperor appeared with General von Mackeny.cn passing along a lino of troops. For the moment I had an impression that he had grown ter-ibly grey, but that was art error, arising from the fact that the head protector he was wearing to keep oil' the terrible cold was grey. As a matter of fact, His Majesty appeared extraordinarily fresh anj. elastic, though there was an added'" aaiousness noted in his features and a certain bitterness in his voice which formerly were not there."

"SEVENTY-FIVE" DAY IN PARIS. Even the German soldiers admit i'm - superiority of the French 75 gun. To commemorate this success, a day was devoted in Paris recently for the *al.i of medals, and the money collected went towards the fund for- sending present* to soldiers at- the front. The effect of this gun may be imagined" from the fol» lowing letter: "German trenches were filled with bodies, many torn to bits bv the 75. When the position seemed to them untenable, it was was oven worse. On leaving the trenches, pursued by our guns, and overwhelmed by ouv machine guns and rifle fire, they dropped rifles, knapsacks, and equipment to escape the quicker to the woods. Viry few reached there, and they were eai'ijht the same evening or next morning still terrified by our shells. It was the Sime in their batteries. The guns one by one s were dismantled by our shells, which smashed them completely and almost v mathematically without a chance of resistance. Once unmasked, the German artillery was silenced in 20 minutes, and of 40 pieces, only 18 remained on the ground, the remainder having bolted at a gallop.. We have had hitherto a crushing superiority through our artillery. Our guns, explosives, and personnel are- all superior to what the Germans have, reducing the strength of their resistance and making the strongest position at once untenable." THE GERMAN STRENGTH. The present distribution of the enemy's forces in the fiold is more or le*« a subject for surmise, as there js no very recent official statement to guide one in making an estimate. In the ease of Germany, a semi-official statement was issued in Paris on December 2, which placed SI J army corps as be'ij? actively employed in the Republic, and 211 in the operations against Ruwla. This amounted to 73 army corps in all, comprising 2(1 active, 32 reserve, ai>d 15 Landwehr corps. About the same tune the Germans claimed to have, formed in all 100 army corps, which was declared to be an exaggeration. Taking the French figures ns correct, and assuming ull formations to 'be up to the establishment, the Germans must have had in the field at the time 3,212,000 men, not including cavalry divisions and miscellaneous formation. Since that date there is hardly any possibility of the German armies having been increased, for, although no doubt a large number of men have been called to the colors, the demands for replacements, to keep each corps up to its /nil strength, m»re than counter-balance the now troops, .sent to the front. The information regarding the Austrian Army is still-more meagre. The field army was originally organised In 10 army corps and eight cnvalrv divisions, with a total establishment 'of 1)50,000 men. In the last, phase of the Servian campaign a 17th army corps was mentioned ami additional reserve corps have since, no doubt, been created, but in view of the enormous losses Austria has suffered it is extremely doubtful if she ha* been able to replace her casualties, and consequently her army is at the moment | no larger than whea it originally took the field,