ARTILLERY DOMINATES POSITION.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 September 1916, Page 5

ARTILLERY DOMINATES POSITION.

GERMAN SNIPERS' PREDICAMENT. London, Sept. 20. A German communique says: We drove the French from the small portion of the tiiuoh they retained east of the slope of j\lort Homme. ' orrespondi nts at headquarters emphasise the importance of the possession of the forward slope of the high ground from the Ancre to the Combies valley, giving the artillery a dominating position and enabling them ceaselessly to pound the Geni'Tiiis, inllicting lieavy losses and preventing them making habitable trenches. Hie capture of the very strong quadrilateral trench greatly strengthens the position between Ginchv and Guillemont. Fighting here occurred in a deluge of rain, and the ground was a perfect morass. Many of the enemy machineg".nners and snipers had to desert their lairs in order to escape drowning. A French, communique says: The Germans attacked positions from Clcrv road to the Somme. but were repulsed. ' A vigorous counter-attack threw out the few Germans who penetrated our advanced trenches. In the southern part of this sector there was lively artillery action at Bouchavesncs, Souain and in the Vosges. GUN WASTAGE. Germans feeling the pinch.

London, Sept. 20. G'eonral Sir Douglas Haig reports: The situation is unchanged. Wo repulsed at night sevoral counter-attacks southward of the Aucre. We captured a document, signed by General von Falkenhayn, while lie was Chief of the General Staff, on August 24. It slates:— "The wastage of our guns during the last few months lias been considerably in excess of our production. This is equally true of our reserves of ammunition, of which there is a serious diminution. It is the duty of all ranks, and not only of the artillery, to endeavor to remedy this serious state of things, We must seriously endeavor to preserve our material, otherwise it will be impossible to make good the losses and place new formations in the iield." BRITISH MAN-POWER. JIUST CALL UP EVERY UNIT. OR WE WILL FAIL. Received Sept. 21, 0.15 p.m. London, Sept. 20. Colonel Repington (the Times' military critic) states that the end of October wilt a slackening of operations, activity not being resumed on a grand scale till the spring of 1017. We must, he asserts, look ahead and settle the 11iiestion of the reserves available for spring operations, and not entertain any illusion regarding German man-power, Despite losses ami defeats. Germany still has large reserves. She has not yet called up the JOIT-18 classes, and other large accessions are available. The enemy will call up all between the ages of lii and Oil 'before admitting defeat, hoping to wear is down. The Allies must place in the Held every available able-bodied man. We- Inne not yet a sufficient force for gaining a decisive decision There arc 0,000,000 of men of military age available in Britain, sufficient, to mvutain a hundred divisions in tlr Held, if exemptions bad notoriously encroached. We must drastically reform the Service „4cts, or Germany will beat us. \Yu should organise all our manpower. Ireland is able to give 130,0(10. Compulsion will be necessary to maintain the Irish divisions. Britain has no need to raise the age until the younger classes are exhausted. There are still three or four millions exempted, secure iu civil occupations, whilst one and threelifth millions of military age are wearing badges. If forced to call tlie elder men, we must use them for home defence, relieving younger men for the front.

THE TIDE OF WAR. TURNED IX ALLIES' FAVOR. ."'■R DOUGLAS HATO OX TTTK SITUATION. At I lie close of two year- of '.lie v.and of the first month of the ISritisn offensive. General Sir Douglas Ilaijt, Coniuiandri'-in-Chu f of the group of British armies in France, in speaking of the situation (writes the Toronto Tlobe's correspondent with the British ailuics in the field, on ."Ist .July), laid particular emphasis that the fart of the beginning of (lie third year of the war saw the initiative entirely with the Entente Allies on all fronts, while England for the first time was ex»vting .something like a power worthy of lier numerous resources on land. ALLIES NEEDED TIM?. t: Thc tide has turned," he said. "Time has been with the Allies from the first. It is only a question of more time till we will win a deeisiie victory, which is the one sure way lo bring peace in this, as in other wars. Until this victory is won, it ill becomes a British soldier in France to think of peace. ''The problem of the first summer's campaign and < the second for the Allies'' he said, "was to hold the Germans from forcing a decision with their ready numbers of men, guns, and shells. Whether it was the able generalship and heroism of the French on the Manic, the dogged retreat of the little British Expeditionary Force from Mons. the stubborn resistance of the Flench and Rritish to the German eifort for the channel ports, the Russian retreat last summer, Belgium, of Servia's sacrifice. Italy's stonewalling against Austria's oll'eiiMve. or Frame's immortal defence of Verdun, the purpose always was to gain time for preparations necessary to take the oll'ensive away from the enemy."

not battalions where they had divisions now, and fought with flesh and blood against .superior gunfire. Since he took command of the army, which lie had to t"ain and lorni, his favourite work had been patience to his subordinates and callers. '"Our unpreparedness at the start of the war. due to its unexpectedness, is no secret," he continued. ''Whilu I'ranee, which had a great national army and universal service, was giving ail k.T strength, we had to begin building from the bottom. The majority of our best regular officers had been killed or wounded in the early fighting. . With the remainder as a nucleus to drill and organise the volunteers, who were raw but had the spirit, we undertook to create an army of millions which were officered largely by men of no military experience, to fight the German army, with forty years of preparation. Wo had to make uniforms before the men who had enlisted could be taken out of civilian garb; to build plants for the manufacture of rifles before we could arm our recruits; to build guns and munition factories before wo had artillery." /AWAITS RESULT OF BIG DRIVE. After his plans were made and the 0.-der given to advance on duly 1. he could only wait calmly news of the result in this ouiot room, with its atmosphere, of detachment. ..When night came he listened to the reports of his subordinates, made plans for the morrow, and gave directions of customary brevity and sometimes with pithy homily. Sir Douglas Haig referred to the character of the German army and the British army, as revealed by the fighting of the last four weeks. "The British soldier, used to thinking for himself, recognised the stubborn task before him, but the German, docile in his obedience and taking his superiors' orders without question, was led to believe that the offensive of our new army, which was not taught by their kind of discipline and was therefore inefficient, could not ba formidable. When we followed the breach in their first line ■vith a breach in their second, the shock of our success was accordingly greater in their minds. For the first time German officers who were taken admitted that Germany was beaten. MISINFORMED GERM/ "One of them, who was on his way to England and had glimpses of our reserve camps in France, said that lie had been told that the British had only a fringe of troops on the front line, and once our attack was repulsed they could go through to l';e coast and end the war." • Finally, in expressing the situation, Sir Douglas indulged in a Scotch phrase, •'Facts are ehiels that winna ding," and continued: "The third year of the war will ne the Allies' year. No less than France, now that we are ready, we shall give all the strength there is in us to drive the • nvader from her soil and that of Belgium. England will not achieve her full strength on land, however, until next summer.

WTTX FTGHT FOB PEACE "All ihose who believe that our cause is tlie cause of civilisation may rest assured that this army has 110 thought except to go on delivering blow after Mow until we have won that victory by force of arms which will ensure an enduring peace." i