THE WEEK'S WAR

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16289, 13 August 1918, Page 6

THE WEEK'S WAR

TRIBUTE TO GENERAL FOCH'S

LEADERSHIP,

DEPRESSION IN GERMANY

(rKKSS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAMS.) WELLINGTON", August 12, Tho following official summary of the war news has boon received by the Acting-Premier from the Ministry of I Information, under date 1/ondon, I 10th: — j It is not yet beyond tlie power of the ' Germans to make another great attack : before tho end of the year, but their chances of accomplishing anything decisive arc small, and the period of acute anxiety may now be said to have ended. lnis is a result of tho second battie ot tho ALarne, wnich was a great success, largely owing to General Foch's leacieiSiiip. Wiuni ho assumed command the whole situation on tho Western front was gravely compromised, and tne British Army nad suitered a reY e f s ®- In such circumstances, powerful influences are always at work, urging the commander to use tho reserves in order to restore tho situation, but General Foch met tlie successive German blows without any attempt Jto retaliate, and refused to be deflected from his purpose, in spite of the critical situation and undiscerning criticisms. In his counter-stroke lie displayed equally clear sight. It is true that tho iront chosen was the obvious one to choose, since the Germans presented their flank to their opponents, and a comparatively small advance made their whom position within the salient almost untenable. But all deuended unon accurately estimating tlie effect "of the attack, and on choosing the psychological moment. On. Jmy 18th tlie situation was very critical for the French. In these circumstances, it needed great bddness on tho part of General Foch to disregard tho attack on the Marno front and to refuse to divert troops to meet it, which would spoil his plan.. He used the whole of his reserves for a counter-stroke, which was brilliantly successful, but if it had been otherwise the results <vould have been disastrous for the French. The tenacity of the Allied troops contributed largely to I these results, which would have been I impossible without the magnificent resistance of the British Army during March and April, and of the French Army during May and June. Tho armies wero then fighting under conditions entailing severe strain, and against an _ overwhelming superiority in numbers without any prospect of relief. The third and not least important factor was the magnificent response of

America to the call. This help wais rendercd possible only by the assistance of tlie British Navy ana the British merchant service, and when the Americans arrived they displayed magnificent fighting qualities under very disadvantageous circumstances, for the troops were insufficiently trained and unaccustomed to war conditions. "Without the American promptitude and tenacity, the Allies' success would have been impossible. INTERVENTION IN RUSSIA. Tho Allied campaign in Northern Russia opened successfully with the occupation of Archangel. The population released from the Bolshevik reign of terror greeted the Allies with the utmost enthusiasm, and the downfall of Bolshevik authority was accomplished practically without resistance. Large quantities of rolling stock and two heavy batteries were captured by us at Archangel. Meanwhile, the Bolshevik Government is doing all possible within its power to overwhelm the Czechs before outside help reaches them. The Bolsheviks are believed to have made ah agreement with tho Germans, by ■which the latter will make no further advance, so that the Bolsheviks can transfer all their forces to deal with the Czechs on the Volga front. The Bolsheviks were severely defeated in tho Caspian region, and the anti-Bolshevik movement js widespread and progressing in Turkestan. Tho hostile forces at Archangel are reported to consist of about BQOO men, while tho German forces north of the Gulf of Finland number some 50,000. GERMAN ENDURANCE WANING. The situation in Germany continues obscure. We may guess that the military authorities, bankrupted of promises to the German peopie tuat a. German victory would be obtained before the autumn, are now trying to invent some new promises to stimulate tho waning endurance of the German people. It is believed that, in many towns and parts of the country, the people are labouring under the deepest depression, while the Austrians, on the other hand, aro not whody displeased that Germany, who mocked the Austrian defeat on tho Piave, now lias. a "Piave" of. her own. In these circumstances, it is significant to note the rumoured changes of Austrian tone and temper, as well as tho symptoms among neutral nations, and the growing feeling that ultimate victoiy lies with the Allies, and not with the Germans. Signs are not wanting that Siberia is not tho only part of dismembered Iluasia that will g'.ve trouble to the Germans, who had hoped to assimilate tho entire empire unquestioned, but the various component races aro increasingly disgusted wth German methods. Ukraine and Lithuania are alike coming to prefer national aspirations to German tyranny. FOOD REQUIREMENTS. Considerable pi egress has been made in preparing a programme of food requirements, under mo auspices of tho inusr-Aliiud I'ooU Council. 'lias will serve as a basis for the apportionment, j of the imports needed by the populations oi; tho respective Allied countries. Tlie Dominions representatives can bo present whenever tuoir interests aro affected. The harvest has been hampered »«y unfavourable weather and dimculty in procuring adequate skilled labour. Jt is hoped that this troubl® has been cured by releasing several thousand soldiers for agricultural iurbilgh. Jh" American promise of plentiful supplies of bacon has been received with muo"i satisfaction. They will come in particularly useful during the winter ana earlv spring, when a certain shortage of meat is expected owing to deiiciencies in fodder and the heavy demands of the Allied forces. WAR IN THE AIR. Exceptional severity has marked the week's air fighting throughowr. -Mie British zone of operations in th<r West. ! Much of this was reconnaissance and offensive patrols behind the' German lines, but bombing operations on the ; Belgian were not less decisive. ; both as Tegard3 damage done and the toll of enemy machines destroyed. ; Fires were started at the Drugeoise i\orks and important enemy organisations east of Nieiiport. A big fire r.t caused by our bombs, was Followed by a heavy explosion. In ;hree davlight raids upon Bruges. Ostend, and Zeebrugge, our suuadro::s were opposed bv powerful enemy fornations. Four British machines are •eported missing, but enemy nachines were destroyed and 17 driven lown helpless. In Belgium alone 17 :ons of bombs were drorped on military >b.iertives. and damage done. On the British Western land front, ;he British air fighting was uniformly =uccessful. On three successive davs ;he enemy lost fifteen, twenty-six, and »leven machines respectively, besides ;i™hteen more driven down, and only; :welvo British machines were renorted | nissing. In all seventeen British mi:hines failed to return, but eighty-one memv machines were destroyed h'-t-v-c'-r driven doTn. The Royal Air Force and Indepenlent Force also had heavy fighting n tho course of twenty raids into Ger-

man territory. Large German forces contested our progress during an early morning raid on Saarbrucken, f.nct very sovere fighting took place, which resulted in the loss of seven British machines. Nevertheless, our squadrons immediately resumed the attack, and successfully dropped many bombs on the station and factories of Saarbrucken, and this time returned wituout loss. In the course of effective raids on Troves and Offenburg, <ix enemy machines were destroyed and one driven down. Two British machines failed to return.- Among other objectives bombed were the stations at Rastatt, Sollingen, Baden, 'ho Boscho works, the Daimler works, the railway station at Stuttgart, the station and barracks at Hsfgemau nnu Coblenz, and the station at Eemilly Junction, etc.

Bad weather much hampered operations in the Mediterranean theatres, but on the Italian and Palestine fronts ten encmv _ machines were destroyed, with no British losses.