The Daily News. SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 1916, RUSSIAN PROGRESS.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 March 1916, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 1916, RUSSIAN PROGRESS.

The evidence of Russia's recovery from the German "drive" is now so convincing that we are compelled to recognise the fact as having a most material bearing on the forthcoming operations against our enemies. The first revelation of Russia's revived strength was the capture of Erzerum, and since then, in every theatre of their operations, the Russians have given further proofs of their ability to defeat the enemy. There has been heavy fighting along the Dvina front in the Baltic region, and at numerous points the Russians have penetrated enemy lines, capturing villages and other postions. This morning's cables indicate that a fierce battle is raging in the lake district south of Dvinsk to Molodechno, being a struggle for the posssesion of the railways commenced by General Hindenburg, with a feeler stretching out to Lake Kanger, near Riga, then going south to Dvinsk. It would undoubtedly be extremely important to capture this railway, and the Russian offensive seems to have been undertaken with that object in view. In the Vidsky region the Russians have seized the German trenches at Lake Sckla and north-west of Vileika, where they are seeking to force a pass between Lakes Xorobes and Xeshnied, while the Germans are struggling to reach the railway from Molodechno to Polotsk, and thus approach Dvinsk. If the Russian army in the Baltic provinces is as effective as that at Erzerum the result of the present struggle need cause no anxiety. In Galicia our ally is also storing important successes. The Austrians admit being defeated at the Dneister crossing at Usieczko, where they were driven out of strongly fortified positions by the Russians. Yesterday we published a cable from Rome to the effect that the Austrians had abandoned Czernowitz, which is an important town, being the capital of Bukovina, situated forty miles from the Dneister where that river is included in the Austrian area of occupation. The fact that the news emanated from Rome and that the Russians make no mention of such an event of the utmost importance, casts suspicion oil its accuracy. That the Austro-Germans regard Czernowitz .is a danger point is apparent both from the elaborate field fortifications which have been constructed there, and from the fact that German divisions replaced Austrian on this section of the front. The possession of Czernowitz is a matter of vital import to the enemy, as thereby they are enabled to command that part of the Roumanain frontier which faces Bukovina. It is evident, therefore, that Czernowitz would be stubbornly defended, and that' its fall would certainly have been mentioned in communiques from Germany and Russia. On two previous occasions the Austrians were driven from the town by, the Russians, but,

regained it upon the retreat of the latter alter fighting in the north and northvest. The only possible reasons for the omission by the Russians to proclaim such a splendid success may be (1) that the news is not true, and (2) that they are for once exercising an inconceivable secrecy in order that their plane may be hidden from the enemy. There is little, if any, gfround for accepting the latter theory, which is contrary to all previous records of Russian victories. Apparently there is no option but to accept the alternative concerning the erroneous nature of the cable, though it is with much reluctance that such a course seenis to be the only prudent one to take. A contemporary suggests the possibility of the confusion of names, and that instead of the evacuation taking place at Czernowitz it was at Czernelika. A glance at the map shows that the latter town is only a.few miles south of tha Dneister, and ten miles west of Uscieczko, where, an already stated above, th e Russians recently captured an Austrian bridgehead on the north bank of the river. There is a strong element of prooability about this speculation that renders its acceptance justifiable. Though the capture of Czernelika would be of far less importance than that of Czernowitz, it would si ill be a very creditable success, 'and well worthy of mention in official war news, while it would form a natural sequel to the Russian success at Uscieczko. In their present operations the Russians are not merely advancing for conquest, they are materially assisting the Allies in their hard task at the other theatres of war, and especially at Verdun. Hitherto German commanders have been rushing their forces from one danger zone to another, and the concentration at Verdun has given the Russians just the opportunity for which they have been waiting. Their advance into Galicia means a vital menace to the enemy, and it cannot fail to emphasise the disastrous effect produced by the German failure at Verdun. German newspapers admit that the Russian attacks are becoming heavier, and that fresh forces are being brought' in, not only to effect a stronger offensive, but to relieve the pressure at Verdun. It would seem that the Germans are at their wits end to know how best to meet the rapidly increasing pressure that' is sapping their vitality and decimating their forces. They seem unable to realise that their forty years' preparation for war has failed to lead them to world victory, and that their opponents in less than eighteen months have not only succeeded in placing themselves on a level with Austro-German efficiency, but have already taken the lead. The scale is now reversed, and the desperate efforts the enemy is making to find a weak link in the Allies' chain proves that the tide Ims turned. The fall of Czernowitz would certainly bring Roumania into the field with the Allies, and .vould in all probability cause Turkey to throw up the sponge. Every success of any of the Allies counts for much more at this juncture than earlier in the war, and the splendid results achieved by the Russians cannot fail to increase the confidence in the complete success of the Allies' arms.