Progress of the War.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15731, 26 October 1916, Page 6

Progress of the War.

After a long period of calm, in which the offensive 011 the Sommo has claimed all attention, the French at ' Verdun have struck a sudden and effective blow. Following an effective artillery preparation their infantry advanced on a front of seven kilometres, captured the enemy's lines, and gained ground to a derith in the centre of three kilometres. The area affected is on the right bank of the Mouse, and the gains of the French include tho fort and village of Dounumont, and the Haudromont Quarries, much material, and three thousand five hundred prisoners.

This success is encouraging, more particularly as it is claimed that it was secured at slight cost. The complete nature of the success wou shows that the enemy had been compelled to weaken his forces at Verdun in order to meet the attacks on the Sommo, and to build up the new Roumanian army. Consolidation work is reported from tho Sommo area, together with general activity on the part of aircraft and artillery. The Roumanian situation looks even graver than it did on the face of yesterday's news, for in addition to further successes consequential upon the fall of Constanza, the enemy's persistent assaults upon the Transylvaninn Passes arc at last yielding eome successes. Ihe enemy claims tho capture of the Predeal Pass, south of Kronstadt, and of tho liotherthurm, or Red Tower Pass, below Hcrmannstadt. These passes do not open immediately upon that open level country which is the chief characteristic of Roumania. There are still ranges of foothills which may afford the defenders an opportunity of staying the advance, but unless this is done the outlook is serious. A heavy attack on a broad front is in progress on the Ojtuz Pass, north-east of Ivronstadt, but in this area the Roumanian resistance seems to be effective. The situation in the passes to tho north is unchanged. In the Dobrudja, after occupying Constanza tho enemy pushed his cavalry ten miles to the northward, and at the same time swept on in the centre and occupied Medjidia—halfway betwoen Cernavoda and Constanza —and also captured Rasova, on the extreme left. "Annoying, but not irremediable,'' is tho description applied by the French military critics to the defeat in the Dobrudja, but they find oonsolation in the thought that the Russian command is Ifully seized of the importance of checking the German advance. Thero is an entire absence of news- from both the Russian and Italian fronts. In tho southern Balkan area bad weather is hindering operations on the Struma, and in the centre, but the Serbians on tho extreme left, north of Brod and Veliselo, advanced on their entire front and captured tho first lino of tho Bulgarian trenches, tho ground gained being upwards of eight hundred metres in depth.