The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1917. THE WAR OUTLOOK.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 October 1917, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1917. THE WAR OUTLOOK.

The congratulation which the British Premier recently expressed to Sir Dougfas Haig on the achievements of the forces under his command in France were certainly well merited. If we take a retrospect of the great work done during the period extending from shortly before the close of the third year of the war until the present time it will be seen that the gaing have been solid and substantial, while the carefully-prepared plans proved as nearly perfect as possible. That we have lost many valued lives must be admitted, but such important operations could not (be carried out without heavy casualty lists, yet the price paid in this great toll \vas, comparatively speaking, light considering that the enemy had the advantage of strong defences and a most comprehensive collection of death-dealing equipments. For the last three months this severe fighting has ben raging, creating new and glorious records of courage, valor and heroism, while striking terror into the hearts of the enenfy by proving that the time has arrived when the Allies have attained the upper hand and turning the German offensive into a defeated defensive. The inroads that have been made into the German man power have exceeded all anticipations and the process is still going on. Having put our hands to the plough, that is to uproot the evils of Prussian militarism, there is no turning back until the task is accomplished. We now know how we stand in relation to the enemy as fighting units and masses, for with all the blunders that have marked British administrative methods in regard to the prosecution of the war, we are thankful that the skill of our generals and the intrepidity of our officers and men is quite on a .par with their dogged determination and dash. Messines and Ypres stand out as towering landmarks in the military records of the Empire, proclaiming to the world and especially to the Germans what has been accomplished by a peaceful nation which, at the outbreak of war, possessed only an army that was ridiculed by the arrogant Prussian mili. tarists, but has now so expanded and matured as tn be a eonauering force ovet

the greatest military nation of the world. From what lias been done may be scientifically inferred what can and will be done now that the forces of the Empire have got into their stride and have the necessary munitions at command. Jt might be regarded as a boast if the assertion were made that Germany has even now 'become a secondary military power, but a well-known writer in the New York Tribune goes even further, for he expresses the conviction that the German military machine is slowly, yet surely, going to pieces—a stV.ement that is based on recent events. He points out that the British thrust in the West is threatening the whole German position from Lille to Verdun, and that the real meaning of the British strategy is to force a retirement of the enemy from the Antwerp-Brussels-Verdun line. No one knows better, than the Germans that they are unable to hold their own. The driving of the British wedge is only a question of time and the outlook is most encouraging. It is unfortunate that Russia has collapsed at the very time wlien her aid would be most beneficial, but against this misfortune, Which presses more severely on her than on the British, there is to be placed the help of the United States. What that means is gradually being exemplified. It has just been announced that America has nine million men drafted, 'but not yet called up, and these are being classified so as to ensure that the most eligible will be the first to be prepared for active service. The decision of the United States to participate in an Allied war conference, which is to be held at the 'earliest possible dates, shows that our latest Ally is bent on taking lier full share in the war, and the assistance given in discussing the entire plan of campaign should be of the utmost benefit. America is accustomed to doing things on a large scale, and German .{rightfulness has already stung the Africans up to a point of tension that must find its vent in the determination to do the utmost possible towards winning the war. It will be noticed that in his latest pronouncement on the question of peace, Mr. Lloyd George stated that there is no alternative but to go on and make a finish, once and for all, and there is a consensus of opinion 011 this point by all the Allies. The Germans continue their hideous policy of frightfulness, but they know they are defeated. The outlook for next year's operations engenders the utmost confidence in the outcome of the final stages of the struggle, for even without Russian help, final victory is assured.