PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2515, 16 July 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

6 The enthusiastic welcome which tho citizens of Wellington accorded to the sick and wounded soldiers who arrived by tho Willochra yesterday spoke more eloquently of tho pride and gratitude of the people of New Zealand than any number of speeches. The landing of the men and their procession through the streets to the Town Hall through vast crowds of cheering people was. « moving and memorable scene. The surging crowds that lined the streets were of one heart and one mind. Their sole object was to let' the men who have been wounded in fighting our battles know that New Zealand is proud of ; them. ' And right well was this done.

There is little of outstanding importance to point to in to-day's news of the operations in tho principal theatres of war.' The French have brought off another successful air raid to the detriment of the enemy's- lines of communication near Douai, and the '"nibbling" process goes on elsewliero along the Angloi'rench lines. The German concentration in Northern Poland seems to have compelled a slight Russian retirement in that quarter, but no special significance is attached to this_ at present. On the AustroItalian frontier the opposing forces would seem to have come to grips in earnest along the Isonzo River and we may look for important news from this quarter at any moment now.

There is a growing feeling amongst members of the British House of Commons, says the London Times, in a leading article quoted this morning, that the next one hundred days will bo the most critical of the war, and for that reason the adjournment of the House, it is felt, should be fixed for a limited time only, in order that Parliament should be in close touch with Ministers. At the end of May Mr. Hilaire Belloc, whose power of analysis in reviewing military situations entitles his opinions to some weight, prophesied ' that : wo were certain to come to tho turning point of the war in the next few weeks. It is now the middle of July, m a few more weeks the armies will be fighting in autumn weather, and yet there is no radical change in the situation in the Wcst,_ while in the Eastern theatre'the situation has changed for the worse. Mr. _ Belloc's contention is that the Allies in the West should assume the offensive, not at one point, tut at many, tyith the object of forcing the enemy either to shorten his line, or by making the pressure on his line at all points so intolerable ,as to force him to retire, or break his line. In this latter consummation tho war would be, not ended, but the issue decidcd. If the offensive failed the result would be the expenditure of great masses of ammunition and appalling casualties, and the enemy would bo nearer aohieving an inconclusive peace than lie was in September last. It is an inconclusive peace that we have, most to fear. , The graveness of Mr. estimate.of the situation is that if the Allies undertake the offensive along their whoie line they must j strike to win, and this in part explains tho delay in the delivery of ■ the blow, a delay necessitated by the tremendous importance of being fully armed and equipped before the move, is made. Meanwhile the Germans are cxpendiug much energy and ammunition 1 ' in what up to the present have proved unprofitable assaults at various points. ' |

A keport from Copenhagen to-clay informs us, ou the authority of several German' newspapers, that a Balkan League lias been formed, on the initiative of Bulgaria.. What this exactly means is not quite clear, for the announcement is ljot accompanied by any explanation,' but since its origin is German, it may be profitable to consider the Balkan situation from the German point of view. Before the Italian declaration of war on 'Austria, the German Press had observed almost complete silence on the subject of the Balkans, which means that the Gorman Government had forbidden them to mention it. But immediately following the Italian declaration a vigorous discussion flooded their editorial columns., The general tone of the comment was menacing, its effect being, as one correspondent pointed out, that if the Balkan States did not appreciate the significance of the Austro-Gorman success in Galicia they must be made to do so. If, it was asserted, Italy was allowed through the mistakes of Teuton, diplomacy to choose her own moment for the assumption of hostilities, that mistake would not be repeated in. the case o.f other neutral States. « * * *

The Lohal 'Ameiger, discussing the effect upon the Balkan States of Italy's intervention, warned its public that "momentous events" were at hand, events to be faced with "iron nerves." The Ameiger goes on: "Even the effect upon Rumania of the great success of Germany and Austria in Western Galicia ought not to free us from care, and we should remain conscious of the_ great importance in the present developments in the Balkans which tne final decision of King Ferdinand of Bulgaria must have." There is a curious coincidence between the concluding phrase of the Lohal Ameiger's remark, made some weeks ago, and the tenor of the news item j which we publish to-day. One inference to be drawn is- that Germany plainly regards Bulgaria as the key to the Balkan This is no new discovery. The actions of both Rumania and Greece throughout have been largely dependent on the attitude of Bulgaria, and this has been generally recognised, if not openly admitted. What is of most importance is to discover what Bulgaria really intends to do. To-day's message suggests a new Balkan Alliance, but what is its object? The Entente Powers had been endeavouring to bring about an alliance or at least a clcar and satisfactory understanding between Bulgaria, Rumania, and Greece in the hope of amicably settling existing causes of grievance and thus 1 permit these three nations to act unitedly 011 tho side of the Anglo-Franco-Russian Powers. M. Venizelos, ex-Premier of Greece, formulated proposals whioh had this end in view, and he left office because of their unfavourable reception by his own monarch. Now the Greek elections have been held and M. Vf.nixelos has again

of the people. The_ situation in the Balkans, however, is one. so full of conflicting possibilities that specula-t-ion is quite useless. Months ago it looked as though Greece would come into the conflict on our side and to all appearances she is no nearer doing so than at the outset. Rumania was confidently expected to follow the example of Italy. ■Usually well-informed correspondents wrote most sanguine letters from Rumania to their papers in London and Paris, but 'Rumania still hangs back. There is just a possibility that Germany has been endeavouring to buy Bulgaria at the expense of Turkey and that the Turks have been told that they must swallow this bitter pill and sacrifice their territory to their old enemy. This might account for tho reported anxiety of the Turks to throw over their German masters and come to terms with tho Entente Powers,-

Public opinion in 'America has sustained yet another shock to its sensibilities on the subject of the rights and privileges of neutral nations in war time. A German submarine, with the object of attacking a Russian merchantman, compelled the American barque Normanby to mask her presence until the unsuspecting vessel had been torpedoed. Tho New York Herald, which describes tho incident as a piece of "brutal effrontery," demands an apology for the temporary arrest of the barque. This demand can be sustained if it can be shown that tho neutral barque Normanby was carrying non-contraband cargo. The trick adopted by the submarine is a perfectly legitimate ruse de guerre when resorted to under legitimate conditions, but our principal enenij in this war has already demonstrated_ that he does not intend to discriminate between what is right and what is wrong in the war game. - t