PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2554, 31 August 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

. Current reports dealing with the Jiastcrn campaign arc not exactly i ■calculated to promote a satisfactory ■ settlement of outstanding questions , in the Balkans, for .they hold out little prospect of an early ternrna- ■ tion of the. Russian retreat. To this ■ extent the position is unfortunate. ; Germany will naturally make the ' most of her Russian successes in dip- ; lomatic dealings with Rumania and Bulgaria, and is not unlikely to succeed in inducing them to at'least delay any military action, on behalf of the Entente. Apart from possible- ' developments in the Balkans, bowever, the succceding stages . of the Eastern campaign afford in themselves no very serious ground for uneasiness. It becomes plainer as time goes on that the Russian retreat must bo regarded as tk> working out of a deliberate plan which aims as definitely as a general offensive, though in a very different way, at weakening the enemy and .wearing down his strength.' The statement-is made in. a Petrograd message to-day that the Russian retirement will be continued deliberately and with tranquillity until the retreating armies reach an undisclosed position, whereon they will firmly,, stand. , The first part of this'claim, that the retreat is being carried out with deliberation and tranquillity, is borne out by what is known of the progress of the campaign almost since General von MAckensen launched , his Galician offensive in l May. The same knowledge makes it possible to confidently set aside claims made from time to time by the Germans that they are vigorously pursuing a demoralised enemy. ' The Russian armies have been in retreat for months, but the slow progress of the enemy invasion in itself furnishes" Simple evidence that the resistance of the Russians is very far from being overcome. Time after time they have interrupted 'their retreat to heavily engage the enemy, and it is ho extravagant deduction from the facts as they are known that the Russian armies, so far from being in greater danger than when their retreat began, are in better fighting trim than ever. , * * * v * The mere magnitude of the German invasion is in itself impressive, but. much less impressive than if any other country than Russia had been penetrated by hostile armies to an equal extent. Muoh of the useful machinery in Poland, along with other valuable war material, has been transported by the Russians to the distant interior, and though the' enemy has .taken complete possession of what was one of its most important manufacturing areas, Russia is able to announce that the output of munitions has been doubled, and that the shortage which hampers the Russian armies has been in part relieved. It has a bearing upon this question of munitions and war-equipment that Russia is reported to be calling to the colours between two_ and three million untrained reservists, apparently in addition to the 1916 class of recruits. Not long ago it was stated that Russia was calling up eight million recruits. Such a statement is without meaning, for no military organisation exists in the world which could handle such an enormous number of.'recruits in any limited period. Even the smaller numbers now mentioned would probably involve the training oP recruits in a number of successive relays. But it is significant, if true, that Russia is drawing heavily upon the surplus of men who have not been, icquircd for 1 military service in past years. In a country like Russia 110 theory based . on shortage of men will account for 1 the/adoption of such a policy, and the only possible implication is that the limitations imposed by lack of ! equipment arc gradually being over- : come, and that enormous additions 1 to • the Russian armies in the field ; are in prospect. *** . * i As to the immediate movements of 1 the Eastern campaign,. no' change • that calls for particular notice is reported at time of writing. Having retreated from Poland all along the southern section of their line, the Russians further north are still holding a- series of . posjtions, of which ( the most advanced. Grodno, is only < fifty miles distant from the Prussian : frontier. These positions, including Vilna, still further north' and fifty miles further east than Grodno, aro being held, it is stated, only temporarily, and to cover the general retreat. Tho brief communication which contains these announcements , fairly pictures the general character-, ■istics of tho retreat. Compelled as they arc to fall bfj.ck, the Russians , have done so habitually at their own i pace, and their defence for twelve f days of th© narrow and dangerous f Przemysl salient, in order to cover t the transportation to a safe place ' of such material aud stores as the J placo contained, furnished a typo '' and example of their subsequent operations as the retreat continued. } * ri ■* * 1 Tub broad truth about fcbo cam-' { paign as a campaign undoubtedly is J j

0 that llussia is very far from having :- exhausted her powers of absorbing - hostile armies, and at tho same time 1 developing her untouched resources - in a manner calculated to lead to - the ultimate undoing of her enemies. , To-day there is some mention of an- - other factor than direct military s pressure which has a material bear--3 ing not merely upon the Eastern j campaign but- upon the war as a s whole. Mit. Stanley Washburn, an X American correspondent, speaks of a :1 Gorman publicity campaign, which c aims at discouraging the Russian f nation by misinformation—that is i to say, by lies—as oiie of the two :1 great dangers to which Russia is ex- - posed, the other, -of course, arising s from the advance of. the German e armies. It -has been evident for some - time that suoh a campaign as Mr. i' Washbukn describes is being con-- - duoted not only in Russia, but in t other Entente and neutral countries, . and has been accounted sufficiently 1 important to warrant a number of l official announcements calculated to s establish tho fact that the Govern--1 ments and tho various high comf ma-nds of tho Entente Powers are y working out their plans in harmony i- and in mutual trust and accord. It r cannot, therefore, be ignored that. - the German lie campaign constitutes ir a certain danger to the Entente* not - to be exactly measured, and only to j be overcome by the same alert vigil lanco and determination as are re- - quired to bring about the defeat of t the German armies in the field. * * • « 5 Little is added, by reports in , hand, to the story of the .Dardanelles - campaign, and it must be supposed 1 that the' victory which would at a- - stroke dispose of the German men- . ace in the Balkans and do much to t sway the fortunes of tho war is not i in immediate prospect. ■ A Turkish ; communique which speaks of heavy 1 fighting on Friday last possibly has some value as indicating that another engagement has been-'' fought. As reporting an Allied defeat it may be assumed that it has, no value at all, for the Turks have frequently , made suc-H announcements in the \ past on oocasions when the Allies r were able to roport important gains of ground. * * * it - It would be interesting to. know how far the views of the . German Government in regard'to the-Darda-nelles campaign are in agreement with those of a German writer in one of the German-controlled American newspapers, who :is . quoted on the subject to-day. . He declares, in brief, that a decision in the war for Germany, as well as for her foes, will be found in the Orient, and that Entente domination of the Darda--1 nelles and the Bosphorus would mean the end of Germany as a worldpower. Many people who desiro the downfall of Germany will so far cordially agree with this German writer. Equally in ' its immediate bearing upon the war and in its bearing upon future international developments, an Entente- victory at the Dardanelles would be a terrible blow to German world-power. But even if tho rulers of Germany share this opinion 'it is by no means certain that they will be able to shape their war policy accordingly.. As yet, German diplomacy has induced the/ neutral Balkan, States to delay and palter with a situation that threatens their national existence, but German diplomacy is , hardly likely to achieve more than this: Tho more potent influence of military aggression has as yet 'only been threatened, and until the threat materialises it must be held highly 'probable that the Germanic alliance is too deeply involved, in the- two main theatres, and in the war with Italy, to be able to. divert such a body of strength as would enable it to crush Servia and overawe or overpower the" other Balkan States, and give it a reasonable prospect of holding the Dardanelles. # # # • . Apart from the report that Turkey has agreed to cede some of her northern territory to Bulgaria, such references as are made to-day to the Balkans are in the main reassuringin character. The reported concession by Turkey has yet to be officially confirmed, and for the rest it is indicated that tho prospect, of a new Balkan League, allied with the Entente, has not disappeared, though its realisation'is not definitely assured. M to. the threat of an Aus-tro-German offensive in the Balkans, the Danubian frontier 'of Servia is still secure, but it is again reported that the enemy is massing troops (onlyAustrians are mentioned on this occasion) in that region. * # > * Either a sense of humour or a senso •of shame would have prevented, tho announcement of the German Foreign Office that it is unalterably opposed to submarine attacks such . as those on tho Arabic. Scores, of similar attacks have been made by German submarines upon British, Allied, and neiitral merchant ships, over such a length of time that there can be .no question as to the true sentiments of the German Government on the subject. The report that tho announcement has been made, however, is a satisfactory indication that there is something in the story that the German Government feels itself constrained to abandon the pirate, war on merchant ships as it has been conducted in the' past. Assuming this to bo the -position, the Kaiser and Herr von "*Bethjiann-Hollweg, ; in their reported insistence upon Germany's observance of interna- ! tional law at sea, present a remark- ■ i able spectacle of shameless ' 'hypo- 1 crisy. . , ; ; ■**. * " 1 A strange feature of reoent re- , ports..regarding the submarine cam- ' paign is the reported opposition of' , the German Admiralty to tho new ( polioy said to have been adopted by ] its Government. : It is in fact so t strange that it may have been introduced only as a blind. ( < ■' - £