PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2569, 17 September 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Apart from its character a-s a call for renewed exertion in the prosecution of the war, the speech by Lord Kitchener, which is reported to-day, contains much of interest in regard to the main and subsidiary campaigns.' It is true that it presents few facts whioh had not already been made public, but besides being a compaot survey of the position .reached in the war, it confirms and" justifies impressions whioh could only be tentatively received on any less authority than that of the War Minister. In particular, Lord Kitchener has encouraging things to say about the Russian campaign. From a soldier and a Minister _ habitually so reserved in his public utterances, statements that German strategy in tho Eastern campaign ,has clearly failed,' and that the Germans in that campaign appear to have almost shot .their bolt, count «■ for_ much. There is some food for optimism also in what the War Minister has to say about the position of the Allies in the Western theatre, and in the Dardanelles and other oampaigns.

No hint is to be drawn from Lord Kitchener's guarded words as to whether the Allies are likely soon to take the. offensive in the Western theatre, but it is more to the purpose meantime that he lays very definite emphasis upon the extent to which they have strengthened their position. There is perhaps special significance in his remark that the French trenches along the entire front are now a network of almost impregnable fortifications . for. the general progress of the war, and in particular the turn of events in Russia, make it by no means improbable that the next. big development will be a desperate effort by the Germans to gain in France that deoisive victory they have failed to win on the opposite front. Unless they have decided to stake their fortunes upon an effort to reverse the_ position at the Dardanelles by opening an' offensive in the Balkans, or have dccided to tui'n from offensive to delaying tactics in , the war, ' the Germans must find in the facts of which Lord Kitchener treats a-strong incentive to an early _ attempt to gain the upper hand in the Western theatre. Tnc Allies have not only created a defensive barrier of enormous strength, and in places mastered tactical positions threatening the enemy's lines, but are also being largely reinforced by sections of the new British Army which, hitherto (except for a few advance divisions) has been only a prospective factor in the war.

The eleven divisions (about 200,000 men) of the new army mentioned by Loud Kitchener, will presumably be followed rapidly by much larger forces. Already the British front has been extended, and there is no reason to suppose that the extension has rea-fched its limits. That a decisive conflict in the Western theatre should have been postponed until after the new British Army, or a great part of it, is ready to take the field, represents in itself a- triumph for the Allies. Certainly there would have been no such delay if Germany could have had her way. Captain Guest, a strongadvoeate of national service, is credited to-day with the statement that Germany for nine mouths has held up the combined Auglo-Frenoh forces with her left hand, while dealing Russia a staggering blow with her right. This is true enough as far as it goes, but it does not mean that Germany can now use both her left and her right hands in the Western Theatre. For one thing, her l ight hand has been pretty well damaged in striking Ilussia, and in any case a great part of her forces in tha final. will have to remain there to hold what they.

have i gained. Moreover, the postponement of a decisive conflict on the Western front lifts undoubtedly been ii matter of necessity on Germany's part, and as a result of the delay, the Western Allies will bo immensely more powerful when the time for the conflict arrives. The fact is now exemplified in the entry of at least the advance divisions of an arrnv which did not exist as a fighting'foreo when the Western campaign opened. ■3* * * k

One of the most important details in the statement by Mr. Asquitji, which takes a prominent place in the war news to-day, is his announcement that almost threo million men have enlisted since the beginning of the war. Eclating as it presumably does to enlistments in the new British Army, and in the Navy, the announcement means, in a word that Britain has land and sea forces, on service, or in training, aggregating some 3,600,000 men. This total does not include the Expeditionary Forces of the various .Dominions, nor native Indian troops. The derails—apart from the principal one of almost three million military and naval volunteers, now for the first time officially announced—are fairly well known, but it may be worth while to run over them briefly. Britain entered the war with a military establishment having an effective strength of more than 700,000 men. In addition to the Regular Army and its reserves, this total included 290,000. Territorials. It is almost certain that the [Territorials are not included in the figures of enlistment during the war now furnished by Me. Asquith. At all events many Territorial regments were sent to the front at a comparatively early period in tho war, and they have earned .distinction in more than one_ theatre. The pre-war establishment .included also some 70,000 British troops in India. The Navy, at the outbreak of war, had a. strength in personnel of about 200,000. Taking tho prewar military establishment of 700,000 men, the 200,000 men in the Navy, and the almost 3,000,000 enlistments now announced by Mr. _ Asquith, a total of 3,900,000 men is aecounted for a-s Great Britain's contribution to tho fighting forces of the Empire. A /certain number of enlisted men are, of course, untrained, or incompletely trained. British casualties have numbered something over 351,000, but the net wastage, on Mr. Asquith's authority, is very considerably less. It is also to be noted that the 331,000 casualties include those of the Dominion and native Indian forces—forces which are not included in the total under review. All 'things considered, to say that Great Britain has 3,600,000 men under a.rms (in the field, at sea, and in training), exclusive of Dominion and Indian troops, is probably below the mark. The addition of the Colonial and Indian forces (at the front and in training) must carry the total well up towards four millions, even if that number is not reached or exceeded. Though they' do not necessarily mean that Britain is absolved of the necessity of adopting the principle of compulsion, these figures present the outline of a truly wonderful achievement under the voluntary system.

A report that confident expectations regarding the Dardanelles campaign are now held in London, and that stirring news is expected in the near future, gains more weight than it would otherwise hold- from the pointed reference made by Lord Kitchener to the process of demoralisation that has set in among the German-driven Turks. At the same time it is not to be ignored that the War Minister's speech, like the latest available offici.il messages, makes it quite clear that the Turks are still in possession of the dominating positions_ in the western zone of the Gallipoli Peninsula, which must now bo regarded as tho_ storm centre of the campaign. At time of writing there is no news of any changer in the military situation.

Late news of the' Eastern cainpaign shows that the Germans have made little headway in the Baltic Provinces since cutting the Petrograd railway north of Vilna, and are being stubbornly opposed. South of the Pripct marshes and in Galicia heavy fighting on fairly even terms appears to be in progress. In someplaces the Russians have made additional captures of .prisoners.

Dealing with current events in the Western theatre, Sir J9HN French reports an unchanged situation, but one detail of his report deserves special attention. In the space of a week there have been 21 air duels, apparently over the British section of the front, and in no less than 11 cases the German aeroplane was brought down. The other duels, it may be assumed, were inconclusive, a3 such encounters often are. This is a striking addition to the growing list of achievements by British and French aviators, attesting their superior prowess over those of the enemy. The devastating air attacks, foretold by some enthusiasts, in which the Rhine bridges will_ be'demolished or German arsenals wiped out, have not yet come to pass, but whatever possibilities in this direction may be there is no question as to the tremendous importance of the ascendency of Allied airmen along the fighting fronts. The aeroplane is the cyo of the modern army, and the penalty of loss of command of the air is neither more nor less than loss of vision. German airmen have not, of course, been completely driven from the air, but Sir John French's present report and some like indications preceding it, suggest strongly that the Allies are able to limit the aerial activities of the Germans in . a way that must gravely hamper their armies both in attack and defence. * * * *

The Balkan riddle has still to be solved; but a message speaking of a fresh outburst of optimisni in Germany in regard, to Bulgaria affords a certain amount of ground for satisfaction. This for the reason that the German newspapers whose optimism is noted are apparently rejoicing over a prospect that Bulgaria may be induced to stand fast and not intervene in the war. Possibly, however the real hopes of the Germans are not disclosed in the quoted utterances of these newspapers. Meantime tho position is undetermined, but it is suggested that important negotiations between Russia and Rumania are under way, tho Rumanian Minister at Petrograd having unexpectedly returned to his capital, supposedly conveying proposals from the Russian Government.