PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3069, 3 May 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Particulars given by a Daily Chronicle correspondent on the French front of the German strength and dispositions, and tho extent to which they have been affected by the development of the Anglo-French offensive to its present stage must bo taken for what they are worth. . All such examinations of tho enemy strength rest in part upon conjecture. But thero is no reason to doubt, the general accuracy of the correspondent's statement that the Germans have already been compelled to draw very heavily upon the strategic reserve they had at disposal when the present phase of tho Allied offensive opened a littlo over three weeks ago. According to the correspondent, tho enemy's general reserve consisted of <14 divisions, of which 32 had come into action _on the Anglo-French front by April 27, on the nineteenth day from the opening of the British offensive on the Arras front, and ho adds that in the period named more than half of these divisions have been so severely punished as to necessitate their withdrawal to be reconstituted, and that the German general reserve has now been cut down to 130,000 men. This is good news if it is true, taking account of the enemy's position locked in battle on a weakened and imperilled line, but no estimate of the remaining strength of tho enemy's reserves can meantime be accepted as definite and final. It has yet to be seen bow far the enemy has succeeded in expanding his military strength by substituting foroed for free labour in industries, and in other ways releasing additional men for military service.

On the other hand, there are do-, finite grounds for believing, that the samo correspondent's . estimate cf enemy losses on the West front during thi) threi) weeks with which he deals does not exaggerate the facts. He says that tho enemy losses in the period named were probably about 200,000. A good reason for accepting this estimate as moderate is that in the three weeks since tho Battlo of Arras opened the Allies between them, have taken raoro than forty thousand prisoners* It is certainly

not extravagant to assume that the enemy's temporary and permanent losses under other heads have been in tho ratio of four to one. Considering the nature of the fighting the ratio may easily have been much higher. Though the Alliod offensive is still at an early stage, the enemy has already suffered not only the heavy losses in men just mentioned, but losses in material which may fairly be described as enormous. Taking >a report from Sir Douglas Haig, which appears to-day, in conjunction with official particulars lately supplied bv tho French, it will bo seen that tne British since April 9, and the French since April 16, have captured in the aggregate 437 heavy and field gunS] IMG trench mortars, and 882 machine-guns. This does not completely cover the enemy's artillery losses, for Sir Douglas Haici mentions that many German guns other than those captured were destroyed by tho _ British artillery, and the same will, of course, apply to the operations on the French front. Kinoty-eight of the guns captured by the British are of heavy calibre, and tho French have also gathered in a considerable number of heavy guns and howitzers.

To what oxtent these losses in men and material have cut down the enemy's resisting power future events must show, but it is clear enough that while they are able to wear down the onomy's strength at the rate established during tne last few lyeeks the.Allies are under no neoessity of moasuring their progress by miles of territory redeemed from enemy occupation. For reasons that will bo touohed upon preI sently thev have special motives for exerting themselves to reconquer tho Pas de- Calais, the industrial area stretching north and east of Lens," but generally speaking it is to their advantage that the enemy should continue, in reigning circumstances, to offer the most obstinate resistance of whfth he is capable on his Western front, with a minimum sacrifice of ground. Short of an absolute disaster there is no way in which ho will more rapidly approach defeat. Tho reason is by this time familiar. The length of and character of his front subject him to a maximum strain, and demand a maximum outlay in its defence. The enemy has nothing to set against his losses of material exoept the damage done by his own artillery, which is admittedly inferior, and reports on the subject agree in stating that"his casualties during' tho offensive have touched a much higher total than those of the Allies.

The fact should not be overlooked that apart from its strategical importance, Lens, with the area in which it stands, now imminently threatened by the development of tho British offensive, is of very great industrial .importanoe. At' Lons, the Black Country of France begins. From Lens up to Lille and Armentieres and beyond stretches tho famous mining region of the Pas do Calais. This region used to produco as much as one-third of France's coal, and it was the home of a great part of her metallurgical industries., From this may bo ■ seen the loss sho suffered by its passing into the possession of tho enemy, and there is tho more rcaso.n for Germany's holding on to it if sho can. Germany is' working the French mines as fast as she can got tho labour to work them, and tho groator tho area of the Pas do Calais which tho Allies can reconquer, tho greater the strain on Germany, who will then have to find in her own mines what sho has been hitherto stealing from those of Franco. Lens itself is no more than a rather congested patch of this great mining and metal working area; the villages dotted around tho town;, several of which the British now hold, aro practically part of it. The progress lately made in tho south has done much to weaken the enemy's hold on Lens, and tho fall of Lens in its turn would imperil the defences covering the mining and industrial country _ north, which gains much increased importance from the presence of the great military depots the enemy has established at Lillo and adjacent oities. \

At time of writing no material development is reported on either the French or British front. The French, however, have successfully oonsoliaatcd the important positions they 1 gained a day or two ago in tho Champagne,' and in this area enemy counter-attacks have- been broken under artillery firo. A passage in Sir Douglas Haiq's report shows that the British airmen arc maintaining their pronounced ascendancy. On Monday and Tuesday 18 Gorman machines wero sent to earth as against'iiino British machines missing. The terms of the report indicate that aa on earlier occasions tho bulk of tho air-fighting took place over and behind the enemy lines, and that the enemy is not only being continually harassed from the air, but is to a great extent deprived of the'advantages of aerial observation.

An incident is reported by Mr. Beach Thomas which deserves particular prominence on account of itß rarity. In the recent British advance the attacking troops mastered a field fortress where they found 31 British wounded whom the retreating onemy had safely bestowed in a deep dug-out and provided with coffce. Nothing could better exemplify the general blackness of the German record in war than 'the fact that this instance of chivalry stands out as extraordinary' and almost without precedent.

A message from Washington today states that tho Senate has authorised the use of the German ships interned in American ports, and that somo of these ships are ready to sail. The tonnage of German ships at America's disposal has been variously stated, but according to a recent report tho number of these ships has been put down by Lloyd's at 119, and their tonnage at 719,333. It has been reported also that tho Gorman ships which wore damagptl by their crows can be repaired at a cost of about £10,000 each, anti that all of them will be working for tho Allies in a fow months' timo. At the height of. their success it has taken the enemy submarines about six weeks to destroy as much shipping as America gf'.ins by the present seizure, and if means aro found of reducing the rate of destruction tho seizure will, of course, assume even greater importance than it does at present as tending to defeat and nullify the piratical campaign.

It is not. ouly in America that wooden ships are being laid down with a view to assisting by rapid construction to checkmate tho enemy submarine campaign. Europe, also, according to a recent American writer, is turning to the construction of wooden ships. "Scandinavia especially," ho remarks, "is building a considorablc number. In

France the proposal is now made that the supplies of timber near Toulon and other ports be utilised for all-wooden vessels, displacing, say, 4000 tons, and for wooden vessels with iron or steel skeletons displacing 6000 tons. Composite ships of this last sort were built forty years ago, and served well. An additional proposal is made that is not likely to De of value outside France, where the price of coal is forbid-, dingly high: it is that sails bo a part of the equipment, and be used whenever possiblo to supplement the ongines. With the wind to serve, no thrifty master will use Cardiff coal that costs £6 a ton in Fance, with lubricants quadrupled in value. The mixed sailing vessel and steamer was fairly common a half-century ago. The war, which has made great shipbuilding nations out of maritime laggards, promises also to transform the appearance of merchant marines."