The Daily News. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1917. GERMAN OUTLOOK IN ASIA MINOR.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 December 1917, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1917. GERMAN OUTLOOK IN ASIA MINOR.

The lull in General 4-Uenby's operations in Palestine is probably due to the advisability o! making his flank secure, aa well a 9 his hold on southern Palestine, by dispensing'the Turkish forces on the bills of Jerusalem. There was a manifest danger of his flank being turned, an 4 I" view of the threatened offensive b) large reinforcements of Germans it was ( ontial to make the British position sttfe before continuing the offensive, the next step of which would seem tQ be against Jerusalem. The German authorities have made the belittling of British victories quite a study, dismissing even Important defeats in the most casual manner, {is if they formed part of the Teutonic programme. No one outside Germany is deoeived by such tactics, and it is most unlikely that the German Chancellor's recent statement that "the initial British success in Palestine will not influence the general war situation," will he regarded as other than the usual attempt at bluff. While Baron Hertling thus 4ismisse9 what is really a {.Teat Wow at German schemes, Professor Uoetzsch makes a deliberate admission, in the Kraw Zeitungj, of the seriousness of the situation/in Palestine, and suggests the political abandonment of Turkey aa the only means of saving what military co-operation, can much longer secure. In order to arrive at the truth as to what extent Germany is interested in the campaign and in upholding Turkish supremacy in that quarter of the globe, we have to take into consideration the part that Asia Minor plays in the general Teutonic scheme. It has to be remembered that the construction of the Bagdad railway was a prominent essential to Germany's plan of expansion and conquest in the East, including designs on -India, and the retention of the railway, as far as northern Palestine is concerned, is still vitally important for securing German supplies. It is evident, therefore, that a successful British blow delivered in northern Palestine would undermine German strategy and ambition, besides checking her whole Eastern policy. No sane person could for a moment imagine that Germany would, at her own cost, create, eqiiip, and maintain a vast Turkish army, officered by Germans and manipulated undoubtedly to serve Teutonic ends, unless there was a definite gain to be obtained. Whatever the Germans are, they are certainly not they want, aqd do their best to secure, their pound of flesh, and as much over 19 possible. The capture of Bagdad and the clearance of the Turks from Meso•potamia does not fit in with Germany's schemes, nor does the British occupation of Palestine. Possibly the capture of Jerusalem may, from a military standpoint, be of minor injportance as S fleeting the war generally, but there can be no question that neither the Turks nor the Germans would risk the consequences of abandopiwr Jerusalem.

It is in this light that the operations of General Alltnby should, be viewed, und the necessity for making douibly sure of hia position becomes evident, the more so in view of the probability of a determined effort being made to prevent the capture of the Holy City, the fall of which must inevitably have far-reaching consequences, not only on the Turks, but on the Germans' plans for .supremacy in the Last. It may suit the purpose of tho German Chancellor to make lig'ht of British victories in Asia Minor, but it would be idle to suppose that he was not fully aware of the immense significance of what has taken place at Bagdad, in Mesopotamia, and in Palestine. The German outlook in this quarter is most unpromising, and the success of General Allenby's campaign will moan tho death blow to Cerman hopes of domination in the East, while alreadv the Turks are chafing under the goad of their Teutonic masters.