PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3086, 17 May 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

All other news from Russia today is overshadowod by tho intimation that General Gurko, commanding the'' armies on the western front (the Russian main front), and General Bbusiloff, commanding the southern group of armies, have asked to be relieved of their commands, following on the resignation of the able and conscientious War Minister (M. Guchkoff), this action on the part of two high commanders very possibly means that conditions are developing which will make it necessary to take a new departure in the The hope has not quite disappeared that the aci'tion of the War Minister, now seconded by that of tho commanders named, may force the issue and clear the way for the adoption of a sano and resolute policy, but in view of the apparent apathy of a great part of the Russian people it must bo confessed that this hope is not particularly bright. What Gen-, ekal Brusiloff'b resignation implies is best realised by recalling that only a few months ago ho expressed a confident belief that this year would be one of brilliant, if not decisive, victory for the Allied armies. His optimistic prediction carried the greater weight on account of tho splendid success with which he directed the Russian southern offensive last year. Tho revolution had General Brusiloff's approval and support, but his resignation can only be taken to mean that conditions are arising which preclude the possibility of Russia playing her allotted part in the war, or imminently threaten that result.

About General Guhko much less is known than about the victorious commander of last year's southern offensive. General Gurko has not come into prominence in connection with the major operations of the Eastern campaign, but he was named as General Alexieff's successor when the latter was removed from his supreme command, for a time, in the obscure period preceding tjio revolution. Apparently General Brusiloff also was removed by the reactionaries in their last days of power. The first intimation of the fact was an announcement that he had resumed his command. 'One of the earliest announcements 'following on the revolution was that General Alexieff had been restored to the Russian supreme command which he had previously held, until a month or two before the revolution, though nominally under .the Tsak. As information stands, Generals Alerieff and Brusiloff share 'between them most of the credit due to the Russian high command for what the armies under its control havo accomplished since the days of the- great retreat. There can bo no doubt that the action now taken by the-(jifted commander of the Russian southern armies carries a most unfavourable portent, but it is just possible that he has still a, part to play. If anything would lift Russit. out of the chaotic conditions now in evidence, restore.discipline to the arrnv and awaken the peopleto a sense 01 their danger, it would be the appearance of a bold and determined leader, not afraid to adopt Cromwellian tactics. General Brusiloff seems to possess some at least of the qualifications which such a part would demand, but whether it is in tho power of any man, however gifted, to restore Russia to a state of military efficiency is at best an open question.

Other reports than that relating to the military resignations tend to bear out an. opinion that Russia has fallon into a stato which gravely imperils her own future, and, from tho general standpoint of the Allies, must tend to lengthen the war. It is, of course, obvious that Russia's military collapse would not only postpone the day of Allied victory, but would seriously impair prospects of a settlement conducive to lasting European peace.

• An important change is announced in' the French High Command, the main feature being that General Petain succeeds General Niveiae as Commander-in-Chief of tho Northern and North-eastern Armies —that is to say as Commander-in-Chief on the Western front. General Petain was named in tfie first instance as likely to succeed Marshal (then General) Joffee In the chief comiiiandwhen the latter laid it down in the later days of last year, but it was subsequently reported that General Petain had declined to accept the appointment, unless with more ample powers than the French Government was prepared to grant. The .appointment of General Nivelle as Gommander-in-Chief followed. It was generally understood that the appointment was definitely limited to the military command in the Western theatre, and that General Nivelle was therefore invested with less extended powers than had previously been exercised by General Joffre. There is no present reason to suppose that the adjustment now effected implies any serious difference of opinion between tho distinguished commanders concerned, or between these manders and tho French Government. For anything that appears to tho contrary, it is quite possible that the terms for which General 'Petain stipulated, when his appointment was mooted at tho end of last year have now been conceded in whole or part, and that' General Nivelle is a freely consenting party in the new arrangement.

At all ovonts, General Nivelle. who now reverts to tho command of an army group, has been closely associated with the new Commander-in-Chief in some of the most decisive evonts of the war. General Petain commanded at Verdun.in the days when th'e defences of tho for.tress area were successfully reorganised, and it was largely due to his work that Germany's colossal effort to force a decision collapsed in ruinous failure. General Nivelle was in command of tho Verdun Army when tho French launched their great counter-stroke in October last. iwisiptuvinß Fort Douamont and other positions, and recovering in a day or two nearly all ihe ground gained by the Germans in the second Battle of Verdun, lasting through May and June. The two

generals collaborated in planning the still more successful offensive on the Verdun front in December —an attack which swept the Germans back to their February lines on a vital section of the front—though the local command had then passed to General Mangin. General Foch, who now becomes Chief of Staff under General Petain, is a soldier of brilliant reputation who has played a bit? part in the war from its earliest days. He gained new laurels as Commander of the French armies on the Sommo last year.

Even in the state of affairs created by tho disturbing news from Russia, the speech by the German Imperial Chancellor which is reported, to-day is interestingly indicative of failing hopes in Germany. It is essentially a peace-feoler speech, and contains what is apparently a plain admission that Germany no longer hopes to gain anything by aggressivo action. The only specific reference to terms is a statement that Germany! adheres to the proposal advanced in December. Tho principal details of that proposal were the establishment of tbe Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (in' other words the conversion of Russian Poland and the Baltic Provinces into a German dependency), the retention of the bulk of Serbia by Austria, the aggrandisement of Bulgaria, the restoration of Germany's colonies, and the retention of Constantinople by Turkey. An unqualified reiteration of those terms would havo implied that the rulers of Germany were still in determined mood. But the really striking feature of the Chancellor's speech is the very broad hint it conveys that Germany is only restrained from moderating her terms by tho explicit refusal of Britain and Franco to abate their firm demands. There is on the whole less uplift in the Chancellor's speech than might be expected in view of the turn matters have taken in Russia. In his public utterances he has passed by gradations from, tho 'bellicose tone he took in the early days of/the war to a very much humbler tone. From the "look at the map" stage he passed to a lame justification of submarine frightfulness, and the keynote of his.latest speech_appears in the extreme insistence laid upon the false, but significant, assertion that Germany is fighting a defensive war. The speech is essentially that of an unscrupulous special picador badly at'a loss. It is not to bo" denied that tho Allies may find new problems confronting them in the near future, but the Chancellor's speech distinctly suggests that Germany finds the outlook exceedingly dark, in spite of whatever hope she bases on events in Russia. News from tho West front is to the effect that on both the French and British sectors tho Germans have encountered failure and suffered heavily in determined attempts to retrieve their recent losses. Making , four attacks in strong force in the .Bullecourt area - , they succeeded at one point in pushing back the British for a, distance of a "Hundred yards. Two of tho four attacks, however, were broken under artillery fire, and it is clear that the general balance of advantage turns more* heavily than ever against the enemy. On tho French front, also, the Ger- J mans gained a, footing in advanced posts, but with this minor exception their attacks were broken under effective fire. Fighting, is in progress also in Macedonia and , on the Italian front, but at time of -writing no definite results are reported in either theatre.