The Daily News. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1916. PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 December 1916, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1916. PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

Over tlit West front the spirit o. Christmas seems to be exercising it:; influence. The French captures at Verdun, numbering marly eleven thousand prisoners, one hundred and fifteen guns, forty-four mine throwers and one hundred and seven Kiaci.jie-g.ins, fairly entitle our gallar.t ally to a respite. The outstanding feature of tie situation in the West now is'the way in which, the Anglo-French can mark down a sector of the enemy's line and then bite a piece clean out of it. killing or capturing nearly all the defenders. The regrettable feature, however, is that these bites are not more ffcqucjit. Thus it was during the last week in October that the French struck their last big blow at Verdun and recaptured Forts Douaumont and Vaux. So -.i.i irrorval of about six weeks separated thai from their recent big stroke. In the meantime their Sonimc forces have been comparatively inactive. It is over a month bince the British delivered their last heavy stroke on the Soinme, and there are no signs of another blow yet. Obviously a series of strokes that cost the enemy from five to ten or eleven thousand prisoners, with killed and wounded in proportion, would be a most effective means of attrition if they were sufticientiy frequent, and it is equally certain that the moral effect would be cons derahle, Probably the reason why comparatively long intervals take place is-, due to the difficulty of transporting guns over sodden roads at this time of tln> year, otherwise there is little doubt iliat the enemy would have had to bear a strain that would have broken Ins spirit as well as his power ot resistance. As it is, we must assume that all possible efforts are made as occasion warrants. one of the. main points being to avoid useless wastage of man power or reverses due to rashness. It is satisfactory to iearn that in Mesopotamia tho campaign is progressing very favorably, and that Kut is practically at the mercy of the British. The latest advance was carried out with precision, and the Turks arc new finding that the tide has turned. The Bril.i;h cavalry discovered that the TLrks vv( re building a bridge across the Tigris six miles westward of Kut, and this has been duly frustrated, The bridge of pontoons that existed has also been accounted for, and the efforts of the lurks to operate on the southern bank of the Tigris against the British left flank has been frustrated, the Turks litirig defeated and put to flight. From Egypt comes the report that El Arisu has been reoccupied after two years enemy retention, the rapidity of our advance upr-etting- the calculations of the enemy a;id forestalling their reinforcements. Hie success is regarded as a serious blow. From the Balkans comes the reassuring news that the recent German attacks in Roumania have been ineffective, and that the Russo-Roumanian advanced parties are commencing attacks. The Allien appear to have taken up strongly-fortified positions, and we know that every possible effort will bo made to hold the -enemy at bay until he can be driven back. The position in Greece is stiii extremely precarious. If he dared, King Constantino would openly defy the Allies, but he is still pursuing his policy of dupliei i,v, and while making a pretence of submission is busily engaged in attempting to thwart the Allies' plans. By this time the German peace proposals, as well as the foolish meddling of President Wilson, have been duly appraised, both being condemned absolutely and finally by the Allies. It is surprising that such an absurd farce should be played in connexion with such a serious matter as the tenible war that is now raging. The sul-marine campaign still goes on and tho list of victims grows apace-/but even if dcrmany carries out her latest threat of sinking all armed merchantmen and treating the crews as pirates she will first have to catch her victims, and" with th-:! new vigorous policy of the British Admiralty that will be by no means an easy or remunerative effort. It is satisfactcjy to learn that British shipping tonnage has not been seriously affected, the present shortage being due to Admiralty requirements. Oil the whole tho progress of the war is in the Allies' favor, ami thcugli we must not expect any great operations until the springtime, thee wil'. probably be more or less activity 0:1 every front, and we may look for'vard with confidence to the future.