PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 65, 10 December 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Critical events are reported today in Italy. The outlook in that theatre would, in fact, be decidedly unpromising but for the likelihood that the immediate'resistance offered to the enemy's powerful assaults on the Asiago Plateau is far from representing all that the Allies are capable of doing towards countering and defeating his effort. French and British troops are now in line with thq Italians, and presumably their weight will tell heavily as tße struggle proceeds. Reports as they stand show, however, that successful enemy attacks ■ havo developed into a definite threat to tho flank of the Italian line. On the Asiago Plateau the Italians have been dislodged from mountain positions which until now had opposed a barrier to an enemy advance down the Brenta Valley into the plains about fifteen miles west or tho Piave where that river runs out of tho mountain country into tho lowlands.

In tho first battles fought on tho Asiago Plateau after their retreat from tho Isonzo. the Italians faced the enemy in' strong mountain positions immediately west of the Brenta. Mount Longara and Mount Mclctta, respectively north and north-cast of the town of Asiago at

a distance of a few miles, were important elements in this section of their line. East of the Brcnta their lino swept north-cast towards the. Piaye. At their nearest approach in tho mountain country the Brcnta and tho Piave are little moro than ton miles apart. In a long course of heavy fighting in tho area between the two rivers the Italians have been thrown back on the Grappa massif, running approximately due east of the town of Asiago. They still hold the Grappa massif, though some of its detail features have passed to the (inemy. Still at a lialt i before tho Grappa massif, the Austro-Germans aro now developing a powerful attack west of tho Brenta. on the Asiago Plateau, and to-day's messages show that they have met with considerable success. Just when the enemy gained tho mountain positions north and north-east of Asiago upon which tho Italians relied is not clear, but it will bo seen from their official report that the Italians are now endeavouring to hold the enemy south of Gallio, that is to say, well to thq southward of these positions—«ast'of.the town of Asiago, or a little further south. 'There is reason to fear that tho enemy has broken the Italian defence on the vital northern flank and_ is opening a door into the plain well behind tho line the Allies are now holding on the Piave. One correspondent points out that the success gained oy the AustroGermans enables them to bring up guns "and pour a direct fire down the Brenta Valley leading to the plain behind the Piave line."

No othor opinion seems possible, in view of these events on the Asiago Plateau, than that the Italians are about to extend their retreat, probably to the River Adige. Of late, hopes have been raised that the Italians had arrested the enemy's advance and come definitely to a halt. It now appears that these hopes were illusory, and assumed a more rapid and complete recovery by tho Italians than was possible, taking account of their heavy losses 'in men and material. Probably their enormous losses of artillery and war material of all kinds have even more seriously affected their fighting power than their accompanying , losses iii men. The deficiency has in part been mado good by Allied aid, but the ovents reported during the last day or two obviously suggest that there is still a balance to the bad. There is no suggestion in late reports of any recrudesjKnce of the treachery and demoralisation which made the initial Italian defeat possible, but it is evident that the Italian armies are- not yet capable, oven with Allied aid, of maintaining the lino on which they are now located. At the cost of abandoning a further wide extent of territory to tho enemy, including Venice, Padua, Vicenza, and other cities and towns, the Italians are in a position to lighten thoir own burdens, increase those of the enemy, and gain time. It would seem that they have determined to adopt this policy in spite of the heavy immediate sarcifico it entails.

At all events the present line, which runs along tho Piave between the mountains and the sea, has been laid dangerously open on its northern flank. A tremendous effort would be needed to eliminate tho menace of the German thrust down the Brenta Valley and restoro tho lino to its former stability, and there is no sign at present that such an effort is contemplated. As regards the circumstances of the recent fighting, the Austro-Germans claim at time of writing that they have captured 15,000 prisoners. Italian reports indicate that the enemy's attempts at envelopment were checked and defeated, but it is not claimed that' the Italians havo been fighting on the Asiago Plateau with any better prospect before them than that of gaining time. Correspondents applaud the steadfast heroism of the defending troops, and speak of instances in which whole units fought to the last rather than yield ground or surrender. At one spot there was not a single survivor. It is stated that on the six-mile front west of the Bronta, where vital issuee have been determined during the last few days, the enemy enjoyed a two to one superiority, and used with deadly effect a new and terrible variety of gas-shell. All these reports point to a conclusion that tho Italians are now fighting on the Asiago Plateau only to gain time, and perhaps the best pews to be looked for in the immediate future is that a general retreat to tho Adige is in full progress.

A retreat to the Adige, it should be noted, does not necessarily mean that the Italians and their Allies will everywhere fall back on that river from the point at which it leaves the Trentino to the sea. Other things' apart, it is an important factor in the situation that the valley of the Adige, traversed by a main road and railway, is thtf principal military avenue from the Trentino into Italy. A retreat would in any case give the enemy the unimpeded use of the Brenta Valley, which stands second in this category, but his use of the Adige Valley will be considerably hampered if the Italians are enabled to hold a section of the mountain country east of. the Adige. Conversely, their failure to do this would involve a dangerous weakness on the northern flank of their new line. At the cost of an enormous amount of labour and expenditure of material the Italians have developed Pasubio and other peaks into tremendously formidable strongholds, but whether these positions can be held against' an enemy advance from the east remains to be seen. Such a retreat as seems to be inevitable will have a- bad moral effect in . Italy and elsewhere, but there is no reason to doubt that it is being undertaken under tho best conditions which can be expected to attend such a movement—that is to say, that it aims, at an effective concentration or strength, and that there are _ reasonably good prospects of this result being achieved.

To-day's reports dealing with the situation on tho Cambrai front call for comparatively little comment, but deserve to < be carefully read. Tho enemy claims tliat he has occupied Marcoing, and this placo has possibly been abandoned as an incident in the general withdrawal. On the other hand, tho British, in a successful local attack north of La Vacqucrie, on the southern flank of the salient, have considerably improved their line in that quarter. But the commanding feature of the reports is the plain evidence they afford that the late withdrawal was carried out with_remarkable success, and at astonishingly light cost. For instance, in the evacuation of Bourlon Wood,

one- of the most important positions abandoned, there was only one British casualty. It is clearly attested also that in belatedly following up the British retirement tho enemy suffered at a number of points desperately heavy losses. German claims to heavy captures of men and material are now effectively exposed, and there seems to be little in the position reached upon which the enemy has cause to w>; gratulato himself.

An announcement that Rumania has decided to accept an 'armistice conveys bad, but not unexpected, nows. Rumania's action is. inevitably contingent on that of Russia, and she is .to foe pitied for being condemned to stand or fall with such a, partner, and certainly cannot be accused of any breach of faith with her Allies. There was a' time when Rumania was regarded as wholly governed by self-interest and greed of gain. She has nobly falsified that reputation in the dauntless resolution with which , she has adhered to the Allied cause in spite of appalling 'misfortunes. Her armies and people appear to havo been untouched by the demoralising influences which have brought disaster to Russia; and while offensive tactics were still attempted by tho .Russian armies, the Rumanians seconded their efforts with an energy and success more than proportioned to their numbers.and resources. With, Russia out of tho fight, Rumania's position for the time being is hopeless. She is completely cut off from the Allies, who would gladly give her the support she needs. Tie Russian defection lays open the northern flank of her fighting front, and the southern flank is dangerously invaded. Her armies are outflanked, they have no means of obtaining supplies, and they havo not even the option of retiring into friendly territory. Manifestly, the only course open to her as matters stand is to mako the best terms possible with tho enemy, but elementary justice demands that tho Allies should guarantee that any losses she sustains will not bo recognised when a general peace is concluded, and that they will assist her to the utmost to satisfy her legitimate ambitions. Tho possibility is mentioned to-day that tho province of Bessarabia, at present Russian, may bo ceded to Rumania. Whether or not tho proposal has been seriously raiscdj .Rumania has as good a claim to Bessarabia as to Transylvania. The province formed part of Moldavia for centuries, but from 1711 onwards frequently changed hands. After the Crimean War, Russia ceded Bessarabia to Moldavia (then under Turkish suzerainty), but she recovered the greater part in 1878. after Rumania had given her valuable aid in a, war against Turkey. ,