PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 6, 2 October 1917, Page 6

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

There is stirring news to-dav from Mesopotamia. Whether or not tho enemy is preparing for a, big effort in that theatre, Sir Stanley Maude has struck tho first blow, and tho results are notable. Attacking the Turks on the Euphrates, about sixty miles west of Bagdad, tho British have captured some thousands of prisoners, including ah onemy general and his staffji; and a considerable amount of material. It is ovidont that the attack was skilfully planned and splendidly executed, and that the enemy was completely surprised and paid thepenalty. The general disposition of tho British forces in Mesopotamia presumably, remains much as it stood when activo operations subsided a few months ago. After the capture of Bagdad one section of tho British army fought its way up tho Tigris to Samarra, about 70 inilcs, in a direct line, north and slightly west of that city. As information stands, Samarra station is the present terminus of the railway section which has been constructed northward from Bagdad. A smaller British force advanced north-east from Bagdad along the Diala, and was last heard of on the southern skirts of the Jebel H ami'in Hills, which extend from tho Tigris to the Persian border. Still another British force moved westward along the Euphrates, which runs only twenty* miles, distant from the Tigris at Bagdad. The British positions and lines of communication may be likened to three ribs of a fan' radiating from the region of Bagdad. The Euphrates affords tho Turks a fairly good supply-line ; from the north-west, and the occupation fof a portion of its length was, of course, necessary to cover the flank of the British army on the Tigris.

The Euphrates force is responsible for the shrewd and effectivo stroke of battle reported to-day. The town of Ramadie stands on the south bank of tho Euphrates, a little over sixty miles west of Bagdad. The' Turks were first attacked in positions four miles further east, and while these and other positions were being reduced, the British cavalry executed an encircling movement, and cut the enemy's line of retreat'up-river. The precise locality of the skirmish in which a British column from Bagdad encountered and repulsed a body of enemy cavalry is not stated, but presumably tho affair occurred in the area between tho Tigris and Euphrates, probably much nearer to Bagdad than the scene of the battle on the Euphrates. Conditions in the largely desert area of Mesopotamia ao not permit of the maintenance of a continuous front, and as a result there is'_ considerable scope for cavalry raiding. * * * *

. If, as seems not unlikely, a period of active campaigning has opened in Mesopotamia, the action on the Euphrates is a promising beginning. The possibility is still in clear sight, however, that the enemy may bo preparing an offensive aiming at the recovery of Bagdad. Reports that such an enterprise is contemplated count for comparatively little one way or the other, but we have the definite fact to go upon that the failure of Russia has seriously modified tho ,ruling conditions and outlook in the' Turkish theatres. A very large proportion of Turkey's total available strength was formerly hold by the Russians on the Armenian front, but it is impossible to count upon this condition being maintained. It is likely that a considerable Turkish .force has been released from Armenia, and Mesopotamia is one of the areas in which it may be employed unless the action of the Allies makes an additional concentration, in that quarter impossible. As has been recently noted, itho vigorous prosecution of the British offensive in Palestine seems to offer one means of averting undue pressure in Mesopotamia. The action on the Euphrates is a_ striking reminder that against any reasonable odds the British army in Mesopotamia is well able to take care of itself, _ but there remains at least a possibility that concerted action in other theatres may be needed to make the British hold on Bagdad secure.

A heport tKat the latest troops facing the British in Flanders include largo contingents from the Russian front indicates that • the Germans have no great hopes of profitable action against Russia, but it suggests also that the prosper of a Russian recovery are not growing brighter. More evidence to the same effect is conveyed in the statement that the' United States Government has notified Russia that she must continue her war efforts if she expects further assistance. This is serious news, if it is true, for until very recently the attitude of the American Government towards Russia was one of friendly confidence. This attitude was not shaken by the Russian disasters of July and the political disorders of the" following month, and if it has now been departed from the fact would indicate that still more serious developments than have yet taken shape in Russia are expccted. As regards the transfer of enemy troops from Russia to Flanders, it is unlikely that this has greatly altered ruling conditions in the Western theatre. A very great part of Germany's total strength has for months been massed against the Anglo-French.armies. The Allied offensive has, nevertheless, developed with .conspicuous success, and the enemy's counter-efforts have definitely declined. In recent days the balance of advantage has swung more decidedly against the enemy than at any> stage of the war.