The Aurckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News Morning News and The Echo. MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 1918. BRITAIN'S FOURTH YEAR.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 185, 5 August 1918, Page 4

The Aurckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News Morning News and The Echo.

MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 1918. BRITAIN'S FOURTH YEAR.

For the cause that lacks assistance. For the wrong that needs resistance, For the future in the distance, Ami the good that tee can do.

To Britain, m common with the other allies, the fourth year of the war was a year of disappointment. Last Angust we were watching the resumption of tho British offensive at Ypres, and there was hope that an advance there wonli profoundly affect the whole of the northern part of the German line. We did not know till the end of tbe year that Sir Douglas Haig's plane had been upset by the failure of the French offensive on the Aisne, and that consequently lie had had to postpone his drive east of Ypres. Starting on the lost day of July, he had to contend against' unusually bad weather, and he could do no more than extend the line until all the higher ground was wrested from the enemy. In November came the sensational drive in the direction of Cambrai, which gave rise to great expectations that, owing to the stubbornness of the German defence and the skill with which they counterattacked, were not realised- The Cambrai offensive indicated that the German line was not impregnable, and that British generalship had original ideas, but the reason for the sudden German success in the counter-attack has never

•been made public, and, indeed, there | ia still a good deal of mystery about the whole battle. One cannot help thinking, in the light of after events, that had the British had a largo concentration of troops to follow up their initial success something very great might have been achieved. But after events also suggest that the reason why this was not done waß that the troops were not to -be had- In Palestine British arms met with brilliant success in the advance from Gaza to Jerusalem and beyond, but, again in the view of afterevente, it is questionable whether, in view of the growing danger in the West, too many troops were not employed in this theatre of cwar.

General Maurice says we have " muddled through a period of great peril,'' that " we have not yet learned how to wage war," and that " if this year is to be the last the Government must organise war machinery on scientific lines, equip the General Staff to give advice, and take no other." From this it will be seen that Mr. Lloyd George's victory over General Maurice in May has not convinced the general that he was wrong in his facts or deprived him of the power of criticism. Indeed recent English papers show that there is a considerable body of opinion that is not entirely satisfied with the Prime Minister's reply to the letter that led to General Maurice's dismissal. It is interesting to note that this opinion includes the leading representatives of moderate

Conservatism and Liberalism respectively— " Spectator " and the "West-minster-Gazette." There is still, and probably there will be for a long time, much to be cleared up in connection with the very serious set-back sufTered by the Fifth Army in March. It is at least clear that the Government blundered in the matter of man-power. That Bnssia would be of little or no account began to be clear in July last, and in September the French wished the British to take over more of the line in the West. Yet it was not until the end of the year that the Government asked foir a large addition to the army, and it was not until April, after the first stage of the offensive, that the Government decided to make the final call on the nation's manhood. ** It has been stated over and over again in various newspapers," says the v Spectator," commenting on the debate on General Maurice's letter, "and never contradicted, that the British infantry divisions on the Western front had been reduced before the recent German attack, from twelve battalions to nine. In other words, there has been a failure to supply drafts, and the strength of the army was reduced by one-quarter." If this was done, it coincided with the lengthening of tho British i front, and may go a long way to account | for the breaking of General Gough's line. I Hard things have been said about that ' officer, but it is only fair to him to point j out that no inquiry has yet been held into his generalship, or at least that the result of such an inquiry has not been announced, and that according to his own statement, fourteen divisions were at- ! tacked by fifty. The naral side of Britain's share in ,the war ha_ been dominated by the submarine menace with which the Navy has grappled with great energy, skill, and

daring. The reorganisation of the Admiralty necessitated by the peril of the early months of 1917 has borne fruit, 1 and our losses have greatly decreased. Though *wq . arc still losing more ships than are being built in British yards, the output of which is disappointing, the deficit is being more than made up by building in other countries. The attacks on Zcebruggc and Ostend were, in planning and execution, among the most brilliants feats of the war; the organisation of the attacks and the skill -with which the plans iwero carried out were equal to the p<_T_onal heroism shown. To Tevert to the supreme control ol the war, the Government's reputation has not

Ibcen enhanced by ite handling of the Irish problem, or by such an instance of lack of administrative grip a_ the scandal of the national shipyards. But the Government worked bard and sincerely for victory, and criticism should be softened •by the thought of the great burden of work and worry that Ministers carry. Whether or not the Government muddled through the crisis of March, April, May, and June, it certainly weathered it, made good the nation's losses, helped to bring a_>out -unity of command, and communicated to the nation its own confidence

and determination. We are inclined to think, however, that in times like these a nation is better than its Government. The British nation has had a very trying —far more trying than most people in this favoured -port of the Empire realise—and it has borne disappointment, bereavement. and priTation with patience, dignity, and fortitude. The "Round Table notes that the three months from the middle of February to the middle of May form a striking contrast to the preceding quarter, when opinions rather than events tended to dominate the scene. "The intellectual restlessness and the 'war aims' discussions 'which characterised the fourth

winter of the war have been succeeded by a sudden awakening to the stern realities of the international situation. Many illusions have been ehed in the procees, but the spirit of the country in sounder and healthier now, despite the sorrow and the sacrifice, than at any time since the beginning of the war. The humiliating collapse of the Bolshevik negotiations, and the new advance in Russia, closely followed by the great German offensive in the West, have -Taught us hack almost to the mood of 1914. But it is 1914 with a difference, The country is more alive to realities, and more grimly determined to ace its cause prevail; but experience has taught it to be more cautious in ite estimates and expectations." This is a temper that bodes worse for Germany than that of 1914.