PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3000, 10 February 1917, Page 8

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

A report from Sir. Douglas Haig tells of further progress along the Ancre valley and of the capture of an important enemy position east of the Bapaume-Peronne high-road —the crest' of the Sailly-Saillisel hill. Progress-has been'made on both banks of the'Ancre. ' Baillescourt, mentioned in the official report, stands on the north bank ; of the Ancre, due of Grandcourt, and nearly halfway . from Beaucourt towards the town of Miraumont, from which a number of roads radiate. In the last five weeks the British have pushed forward in the Ancre valley for an average distance of three-quarters of a mile on a front .'of more than three miles. Considering that .it /has been .carried out. in the dead of winter- this is a very' fine achievement. It is 'the more notable since the enemy is ; greatly favoured by conditions .of ground and weather, and has every incentive, to defend his positions in the Ancre ;valley ,;with the utmost possible ' tenacity. 'The British are. advaucingrby.the. most direct .route .upon the railway junctions near Bapaume, the -loss of which would upset the.- enemy's local communications oh his present front north of the Somme. It would be a great mistake to assume that the. recent battles in the Ancre valley are •merely isolated incidents, and that the enemy ,is yielding ground which it is no longer profitable to hold. The actual position is as stated. The British aro methodically pushing forward towards a most important objective, and it may bo taken for granted that in meeting tho attack the enemy has hot yielded a foot of ground without exhausting, .every effort to hold'it.

As an indication of p.rospects in the great strugglo that is due to open presently, late events in the Ancro valley are most encouraging. These events, with others reported to-day, suggest that-the following account lately given by a correspondent at British headquarters of the state of affairs on the West front is not overdrawn: — . There is no doubt that our splendid new iivrny is gradually but thoroughly learning the business of war. 1' was shown some comparative figures covering our casualties for the closing four weeks of 1915 over a length of front of nearly thirteen miles, and similar figures for the samo length of front for the corresponding four weeks of I'JIG. Tie latter tptal is less than half that of the former. Yet we have been far more active in the second period, have carried out something like thirty raids along the length of line referred to, bombed nnd trenchmortared tho enemy trenches inanyfold as heavily, and certainly inflicted upon him a far greater aggregate of casualties; and, I repeat, at less than half the cost. It is knowledge of this sort which is having such a stimulating direct upon the moral of our men and correspondingly depressing the spirits of the enemy. * * * * It is to be hoped that the latest 'message in hand professing to defino President "Wilson's . attitude does him less than justice. Despite tho California and other sinkings, the message states, and the Gerard incident, it is believed that Mr. Wilson', while of tho opinion that war is not far off, will await tho clearest breach of international law and thus secure an indisputable issue. Whether or not .this defines Mr. Wilson's attitude, it can only bo callc'd ludicrously, absurd,.' Dur-

ing the last week Germany Has piled crime on crime, aud' infaniy on infamy. Her submarines have sunk passenger lirfors an'd other ships without warning,-in- .such' circumstances that the deeds can: only., ho regarded as instances of calculated imil'der. Even Belgian relief ships have not escaped.-. - Two have been sunk, one with the loss of all her crew save a solitary survivor. This is the clearest example yet afforded that Germany is conducting her submarine campaign with the blind ferocity of a mad dog. ' .For-.a long time* a great part'(if the. vßclgian population has been wholly dependent upon outside supplies for subsistence. Germany has cut off these supplies. Doing so she has either condemned a big part of the Belgian population to starvation, or created, a new and considerable demand upon her own diminishing food resources.

To suggest, with these crimes set before the eyes of the world, that the overt act for which Mr. Wilson has stipulated is- still ■to seek is an obvious and stupid denial of the truth. However, it docs not seem likely that a' complete rupture between America and Germany will be much longer delayed. That Germany regards war with the United States as inevitable seems to be now quite certain. Indeed-, there is evidence that she has long been of this opinion. Circumstantial accounts of the damage | done to German ships interned in American ports indicate' that in some cases at least tlici clamago was done by laborious methods and over a long period. This, applies 'particularly to the drilling of the frames of the Kron Prinzessin Cecille and the measures taken to conceal the damage. Apparently the crews of the interned ships have been engaged for months in damaging- them .to- the-- utmost possible extent. - -This is-plain evidence that Germany not only anticipated war with the United States, but has anticipated it for a long time. _ Eepokts , which thro.w further light upon the attitude of European neutrals are important, but call! meantime for little remark. In general they are content to register a protest against Germany's .lawless policy, and they probably fe'ei it' imI possible'mean time to take 1 any step towards iriak'ing tlie ■'protest"-"effec-tive. \ Spain alone, less exposed to vthe effects of German resentment than other minor neutrals; is taking a bolder "course. Her protest to the i. Central Powers, if its terms are correctly reported, is almost in the stylo 'of an ultimatum. * - s * * * Though the en.emy. submarines are taking' heavy ;t'olL.. of-. British and neutral merchant shipping..and adding to their list, of crimes; not all the later news of-the piratical campaign -is bad. With Teports-of ships lost and of vile outrages'-l'iko the sinking of tho Belgian relief ships, ■ there are others which suggest' that - those who are in' a position to base' an opinion- upon knowledge of, the forces operating are confident that Germany's present orgy of destruction, like those which nave preceded it, will end in failure ana defeat. We are told, for instance, that it is stated in naval circles that the latest anti-submarine methods' have proved highly effective, and that though, many . losses jpust-.he--expect-ed, in. its possession, .which; will • -ultimately- . solve the submarine Something is-said also about ..new-schemes-of-submarine -destruction- lately-sub-to.the Admiralty, in-'-Tegarcl ;to:one' of--which it:'i"3"'sa,id--'"t6"-h"Sve" been announced that it is capable' of- performing all that the inventov claims for it.. Statements of this kind do not,' of course, carry the same weight as would a definite announcement by ithe Admiralty that so many'submarines had been sunk in a given time, but in considering the outlook full account must ..be taken'of the fact that''enormous forces, raised to a' high pitch--of. organised efficiency, are devote#' to the destruction of the undex-water raiders. ..Thousands of naval. and. naval auxiliary craft are maintaining a tireless bunt, and in various other ways, some of them carefully ■■veiled in ' secrecy, the path of the submarine is made perilous. 'Recent reports ha,ye told, o.f. a .great extension'of the'.British' minefields'in the' No'rth. Sea. ! Another.detail. indica-. tion of the scope bf--tho'--'ahti:sub-marlhe campaign is. given in . the. reported fact that as long ago as the spring of .1916 t-hej-e 'were 2820 miles of 'netting (used in- trapping the submarines) in use in British •aad adjacent-waters. ..lu'vieiy of ,the resources, .available. fjr#ts ;pxoseou-. tioiJ 1 -. an'd the-, fact' thalt. it: is'.gui'ded" and directed by many of- the bestbrains. of..- the.-■ Navy,-.* the- antisub-marine-campaign -may be confidently.expected to produce a continued harvest of results. The only question open is how long Germany will be able to continue hter campaign of destruction before the loss of submarines' brings her-to a bait or- so reduces her striking power as- to make her failure manifest.

An item of distinctly good news is contained in a statement by Mr. J. Hodge, the British Minister for Labour, which, appears .to-day. It would not be long,, .the .Minister stated, ■ before every " merchantman was properly armed. That the arming of merchant ships will ,do a great deal to checkmate and defeat tho' enemy; submarines is universally recognised, but some experts have expressed doubts as to whether the thousands of guns required could bo made available in a limited time. Mr. Hodge's statement shows that these doubts are' unwarranted. Apart from tho production of guns, tho- arming of merchantmen' creates a heavy demand for skilled' gunlayers, but the'demand-is one. that' can be met by efficient organisation, and no doubt measures to meet: it aro by this time woll advanced. Figures recently 'published, and quoted by .Mr. Hodge, show that the arming of merchantmen- has] already been carried out upon a considerable scale and with highly satisfactory results. In tho conditions that now exist, the arming of merchant ships is an essential feature of the anti-submarine campaign. Formerly the raiders were boats of limited cruising range which operated chiefly in. coastal waters and in areas like the western approaches to the English Channel—areas which it is possible to closely patrol. The later submarines, being bigger and of longer range, - are able to cruise much further afield. Doing so, they in part evade "the dangers of the hunt and gain a, freedom of action in the outer seas which would be impossible in localities where they , are liable to be pounced upon by destroyers and other speedy, craft.- The raidersmust still face the dangers of the North

Sea as they lei/ve and return to their ports, but it is to be expected that for some time to come a proportion will contrive to slip through the minefields and traps. No doubt a steady toll is taken of their number, but the most efficient organisation cannot bo cxpected to absolutely and finally close as wide an area as that of the southern North Sea to the passage of craft as elusive as the- It followsthat the raiders have to be reckoned with' meantime in areas ■ where organised naval protection is- impossible, and the only obvious way of meeting these coalitions is to let every ship carry her own means ,of protection. The proposal of escorted convoys has been advanced as an alternative, but such a plan has obvious limitations where a foo like tho submarine is concerned.

It is mentioned that the California, one oi the passenger liners re-, cently sunk without warning, carried a gun at ths stern. Experience has shown-that armament onscale is quite inadequate and affords no real protection against the tngtjer German submarines. A ship so armed runs a serious risk of being torpedoed or shelled before sho is /able to bring her solitary gun to bear. To be adequately protected a ship must carry a gun in bow and stern, and one on either .beam,' and some authorities maintain that the .guns should have a calibre; of at least six inches. The contention assumes that in order to beefficiently protected a merchant ship.must bo able to engage a submarine at extreme range, but this does not seem to be clearly established. .