PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2977, 15 January 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

American newspaper and other comments upon the Jin-tenJc reply to President Wilson's Pmco Note indicate a clear perception of the fact thai; tho Allied Powers are fighting in the cause- of humanity >and civilisation, in this there is an implied rebuko to President Wilson and an absolute repudiation of the view stated in his Note that "the objects which the belligerent statesmen on both sides have in mind aro virtually the same." No time need be wasted in heaping epithets upon Mr. Wilson for his inability to distinguish betweon right and wrong, but it is satisfactory to have evidence that his countrymen labour under no such disability. While in general the tone of the American comments is unexceptionable, one message of undisclosed origin which is transmitted from New York looks rather like a veiled attempt to put Great Britain in a fatso position. The message runs: Tho fact that the Allies' terms contain nothing for Great Britain ,has caused the deepest impression that the British are fighting for tho benefit of humanity and civilisation. Their unprecedented unselfishness destroys Count Bernstorff's attempts to persuade America, that the British have been using tho Allies as a catspaw. Tiie fact is well established that : Great Britain did not enter the war in any. spirit of aggrandisoment, but in order to defeat and punish Germany's attack upon the liberties : of other nations. Britain is cortainly not intent upon tho acquisition of territory for its own sake. At_ the same time she has a very definite interest in certain of the torri- '. tories tho fate and ownership of which will be determined at the end of tho war. This applies chief- ! ly, of course, to the colonies which : Germany developed as bases of at- j tack on neighbouring Allied posses- , sions. No one outside of the Teu- , tonic circle is likely to suggest that Britain should not share in the dis- '. posaj of the enemy colonies, the con- i quest of which has been carried out 1 chiefly by British troops. The ab- ' sonce of any reference to tho enemy ' colonies in the Entente reply is open ' to a very simple explanation. Be- 1 fore making an .arrangement on the subject with tho Allies, the British ] Government no doubt desires to con- ( sider it in concert with the reprosen- , tatives of Dominions at the Imperial , War Council, which is to be held at ] the end of February or early in March. Tho recapitulation of terms in tho Note addressed to President Wilson is not presented as complete. The Note deals frankly with the major issues,of the war, so far as Europe is concorned, but it passes over quite a number of im- j portant questions, For instance, < apart from of the Ger- i man colonics, it makes no mention - of reparation for the loss of mcrcan- ' tile shipping, piratically sunk by * the German submarines, nor docs it j mention the fate of the Gorman fleet. < In keeping with its opening promise the Russian offensive; in the , Baltic Provinces is developing as a ( powerful and sustained attack upon i the flank of tho enemy's line where j it extends to the Gulf of Riga. As I reports stand, though the Germans ' arc bringing up reinforcements 1 drawn from other sections of their 1 front, the Russians retain the up- 1 per hand, and are making good the ' crossings of the River Aa, which J lately served the enemy as a de- '; fensive barrier. The heaviest fight- j ing reported to-day occurred noax , Kalnzem, a town situated on the -\ east bank of tho Aa, 16 miles west ] and slightly' south of Riga, and ; about 18 miles south from the coast , of tho Gulf of .Riga. An unofficial s report states that tho Russians at- ' tacked so violently that the enemy < was driven _ across tho Aa without being able 'to destroy his bridges, and that theso are now facilitating the Prussian transport. From this it appears that the Russians are established on the west bank of the river. A Petrograd communique } states that an enemy attack in dense < formation, near Kalnzcm, was beaten back. Apparently this relates to an unsuccessful attempt hy J the enemy to recover the lost river ' crossings. The struggle is proceeding in an area of marshy country, which at other seasons of the ' year would oppose serious difficul- ' ties to the passage of troops, artillery, and transport, but at present ' the marshes are frozen. , *»* * ' The situation in Rumania has un- , dergone no very pronounced change since it was last touched upon. On ' and south of the Trotus-Sereth line, ■] across Moldavia, the struggle is , proceeding with varying fortune, and tho failure of the enemy to make ( more rapid headway holds out some j hopes of a successful Allied stand . on tho actual river-lines. A criti- \ cal struggle appears to be developing, however, on tho approaches to Galatz, which stands on the left J bank of tho Danube, about three ) miles north of the point at which ( that river is entered by tho Seroth. ( In the Dobrudja the enemy is sepa- ] rated from Galatz only by the Dan- r übe, and by tho marshes on its banks. On tho_other side of tho i Danube the Allies still hold the. i Sorethi though they appear to have 1 been forced back to the northern i bank. To-day's reports show that i the enemy is heavily attacking on < the approaches to Galatz by way of j tho Seroth, while other sections' of 1 his forces in the Dobrudja aro at- ' tempting to bridge the swamps, and ' presumably the Danube itself, di- \ rcctly opposite the town. _ The , significance of these , activities '

is in the fact that if the «nomy crosses the Danube at Galatz or succeeds in forcing the Seroth south of that town, the j Allied defensive lino will bo turned. Failing to prevent a crossing at cither point the Allies would have to fall back through Moldavia, and the enemy would bo likely to gain in addition full control of the mouths of tho Danube. * ■ *> 4 * It would appear that tho Allies aro at length in a fair way to fully enforce the demands they have mado upon Greece. _ What the reported Greek submission is worth has yet to appear. Tho Athens Government replied to tho latest Allied ultimatum in a document the purport of which, as it was transmitted at tho end of last week, was somewhat vague and indefinite. It claimed, however, that the Allied demands had been all but completely complied with, and asked that, matters being so far advanced, the blockade should be immediately raised. The promising feature of the later news, and one which seems to warrant a belief that a new chapter has opened in the history of the Allied dealings with Greece, is that this request has been firmly refused. It is reported that the Allies do not intend to raise their blockade until their full demands are conceded, and another message states that they are informing Greece that complete acquiescence is imperative, otherwise General Sarrail will act. What form his action may take is not stated to-day, but the occupation of Athens had previously been mentioned as a possibility. Unless the enemy strikes with unexpected force in Macedonia and breaks into Greece from the north, Constantine should soonbe reduced to unconditional submission. The extent to which tho outlook in the Balkan! campaign would in that event be improved hardly needs to be emphasised. The priDcipalAllied demand is that the Greek Royalist army should be transferred to' Peloponnesus, the southern province of Greece. Peloponnesus is almost entirely seagirt, and has land communication with the rest of Greece only by a narrow isthmus, which could be_ easily held." With the Royalist army in Peloponnesus the Allies in Macedonia would bo relieved of the danger of an attack in rear, and would be free to concentrate upon the enemy in front.