PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2889, 29 September 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

No one oan say exactly what will happen to the Germans in the Western theatre when their line gives way before the Allied offensive, but it seema more than ever likely that the question will soon be put to a praotical test. Tremendous as the efforts a-nd calls upon material resources involved in their recent at- . taoka have been, the progress of the Allies is now practically continuous. Since the position was , traversed yesterday, the. British have notably extended their lines toward Bapaume and_ the French havo gained new positions in furtherance of, their eastward movement both north' and south of the Somme. These detail developments, though important, are at the moment quito overshadowed by tho general indications given that the German resistance over a great part of the area covered. by the offensive is in imminent danger of collapsing. On tliis point there is definite evidence. Official reports and the dispatches of correspondents at Headquarters make it quite clear that the Germans are defending the remnants of their . shattered line in the spirit of a beaten army,_4nd that the Allies are winning their way forward, not only at a much more rapid pace, but at much lighter cost, than formerly. # * * « These conditions t make suddon and sweepingidevelopmentß not only possible but likely.. It' should be remembered _ always, i however, that the very wide possibilities opened do not relate_ only to tho <irea in which the Allies have.thus far concentrated their offensive. It has been their task first and foremost to break through the fortified line which the enemj had done his utmost to make impregnable, but if the success thus far attained by the Allies could be measured by so many positions won there would be much less reason for confidence in the out-" look than there is at tho present moment. •• If their perils and responsibilities were confined to the comparatively narrow front on which the offensive has developed | the Germans, in spite of all their defeats, might expect to hold out for some time to come. But the essential point, of course, is that they are closely menaced in the Westerij theatre, not merely over' a space of thirty, miles or so in the Somme region,', but on their/total front of five hundred miles.

If would be absurd to suppose that the reported symptoms of German exhaustion on the Sommo front are indicative only of local defeat. The enemy is :in terriblo ytraits, not merely because his fortified line has teen' all but completely breached,; but. because he «s tried in vain ; to stem the Allied offensive by throwing every available division into its path. We have it on the authority of Sir Douglas Haig that in two months a , ~a 5, " le British forces'alone on the Somme front engaged thirtyfave berman divisions, considerably more than a quarter of the enemy s total force in the Western theatre. Bearing, this fact in mmd, and making allowance for the forces simultaneously opposed to iw i£ en £r' we rna s'. "believe tnat tho German defences are in danger of collapsing, not' only in the .somme region, but over a great part of .the Western front. Given men, guns,.and shells in abundance/) the Germans might retrieve the situation |m the Somme region by a limited retirement to new positions. . But there are the strongest reasons for believing that the exhaustion of German man-power, possibly die dram upon material resources aB well, has jgone so far that that defence of a five hundred-mile front m the Western theatre is no longer practicable.

Though their comments must in general- ho regarded with suspicion, tne berman newspapers; which have been quoted during the last day or two undoubtedly touch the heart of the matter in harping upon the necessity of shortening the Western line. Talk of further shortenings and "more important shortenings is, of course a deliberate, attempt to deceive. The Western front is ten miles or more longer now than it was when the Allies opened their offensive, and in. suggesting that it has already .been shortened the enemy . newspapers ,are merely trying to hide the gravity of the German defeat. But it remains true that the Germans are under-a supreme necessity of gaining a shorter line in the Western theatre. It is indeed highly probable that they are already in process /of retreat, or, at the least, are in the full tide of preparations for retreat. .The alternative is to suppose that they aro inviting early and overwhelming disaster where

they stand. , Conceivably .the failing vigour of the enemy's resist-' anco to the Anglo-French offensive may bo in part explained by the withdrawal of portion of his artillery as a preliminary to a general retreat.

From the point now reached, events are bound to develop rapidly. It is manifest that tho'Germans aro no longer able to bear up under tho strain to which thoy aro subjected on their present line, and they will certainly gain no relief by half-measures. In the state to which they are reduced they must retreat ot resign themselves to seeing tho Allies drive into the / heart of their main communications. Retreat in itself involves tho risk of terrible disaster, but an extended retreat seems to represent tho enemy's only hope of lengthening out the struggle, and making the. most of his remaining powers. # * • « General Brusiloff's declaration that when the propitious moment arrives tho Russians will drive forward and easily overcome the enomy's shaken armies is possibly not intended to apply to the immediate future, but tho absence of detail nows from tho Eastern front certainly docs not mean that tlio Germans aro frco to draw strength

from that quarter to strengthen their hands in the West. The success with which the Russians are playing their part in the concerted offensive does not depend on the

rato or measure of their forward progress. Thoy firmly hold a great part of the- enomy's total effective strongf.li, and bo aro hastening his downfall, even if for the time thoy are making lifctlo headway in the recovery or invasion of territory..