THE TEUTONIC GAMBLE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 186, 6 August 1918, Page 6

THE TEUTONIC GAMBLE.

STEADILY SWELLING ALLIED PRESSURE. I • j (D« Telegraph.— Association.) j WELLINGTON, Monday. ! In its weekly summary of the war situation the British Ministry of Information states that the Germans have used 71 divisions in their latest effort, and only some 20 fresh divisions remain at the disposal of Prince Rnpprecht. If the Germans use the remaining reserves in a fresh offensive it would be a desperate gamble. How greatly General Foch's success and the rapid development of the American Army have altered the relative situations of the Allies and the Germans can be noted from the fact that now, for the lirst time this year, the Allies' fresh reserves are actually greater than those of the enemy, despite the numerical superiority of the enemy along the whole front. It ; must be remembered, however, that the ! Germans have not yet lost the initiative, I and even if they are unable to make a i further offensive on the western front, ! they can always transfer forces to Italy ! or the Balkans, though there is no prei sent indication of such an intention. ; Meanwhile the French higher command '. most warmly praises the British corps j which has co-operated, on the eastern : side of the salient. There is every ■ reasdn to believe that the British pro--1 gress there • hastened the 'German retreat, and had an important influence on i.the success of the operations. f i THE EASTERN TREATIES.

T!ie enemy will probably make an j offensive soon against the Murman railway, in northern Russia. Despite the strongest desire of the inhabitants, the Bolsheviks have been forced by Germany, if force was necessary, into ceding the Murman coast. This, of course, means a pretext, for rushing Finland into war with the Allies, and gives a good instance of how much the Bolsheviks care for the principle of free selfdetermination of peoples. In Sioeria the Czechoslovaks have held their own,

and are making progress towards the west. The Bolshevik and pro-German forces in eastern Siberia are completely cut off from Russia, so that the Germans can only know what is going on from the Entente Press, and, therefore, the less detailed information we give about events in Siberia the better. The peasant rising in the Ukraine has increased, and railways are being destroyed, the Austrian troops being insufficient to cope with the people. A large Greek army is now in the field on the Salonika front, co-operating with the British forces, and more Greek divisions will shortly take the field. The moral of the army is now excellent, and the men have reached a high standard of training. There is a note of growing gloom among the Bulgarian troops, who hate intensely the Germans and the Turks alike. Several times troops told to attack have shown a mutinous spirit, but, in spite of this, the Bulgarians will probably continue fighting so long as their rights to Macedonia are. questioned.

FACTION-RENT AUSTRIA. The Austrian change of Government is | unimportant, since it means no change in policy. Dr. yon Seidler, the Premier, offended the Poles by promising to include Ukraine and Galicia in a separate Ukrainian province. The Poles, therefore, refused to pass the Budget, though they declared themselves ready to concede it to another similar Government. The Czechs, Jugoslavs, and Socialists are absolutely opposed to the present political course, and the 'German Nationalists are unable to give the Government a majority without the Polish Parliamentary section, so that yon Seidler has been sacrificed, and a similar nonentity, with a different name, substituted. The Galieian newspapers give revelations as to the internal conditions of the district. During the first week in July there was a round-up in Cracow of military deserters and of thieves and robbers disguised as officers and soldiers. No fewer than 10.000 were caught. A Lemberg paper writes: "Thieves and deserters have been coming in masses lately to | Lemberg. Some arc fugitives straight ! from the front. Transport is disorganised, and in the conditions of a big town not far from the front it was easy to carry on the work of robbery. Regular factories for forged military documents were established, with a regular clearing house for " such documents. Thieves and robbers were dressed in military uniforms, and. provided with the necessary bogus documents, they entered private dwellings and robbed the people. They also carried out expeditions into the provinces, and when ehal- . lenged by constables they frequently I offered armed resistance."

j German ambitions contemplate new •j tyrannies with regard to the Baltic Pro-! vinces, Poland, Finland, etc., their dealings being in strong contrast to the manifesto to the Russian people issued jby the Allied Governments proclaiming that the help given by the Allies to Russia was solely in the interests of Russia's independence and freedom from alien interference and tyrannical influ- ■ ence.. , ! ENEMY'S INTENTIONS. i The German withdrawal on a 25-mile . front between the Ourcq and the Ardre j was not unexpected owing to the difficult ■ position in which the enemy was placed. Though the enemy conducted his retreat skilfully and without loss of guns, he was compelled to abandon large quantities of ammunition, stores, and material, including a great amount of bridging material, the latter of which is an indication that it was his original intention to pass the Marne in great strength and advance on Paris. The enemy is at present making such a determined resistance that it is evidenct he does not intend to be hurried in withdrawing. His future intentions are doubtful, but it is unlikely that he will hold his present line, for his present extensive retirement is so complete an admission of defeat that a further withdrawal can hardly have a worse moral effect, in addition to which his position is most unfavourable. The River Aisne is in his rear, and the bridges near Missy-sur-Aisne are under ; French fire, while there are only about 1 eight roads by which the salient can be supplied, so that congestion and the difficulties of supply must be enormous. The only hint of a possible further withdrawal, however, is the burning of villages south-west of Soissons. So long as the enemy continues to hold the lines south of the Aisne his position will be a source of weakness. He lias used 71 divisions to date, and only some 20 fresh ones remain at the disposal of Prince i Rupprecht.