PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 66, 11 December 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

The position on the Cambrai front is now clearly defined, and it is possible to form fairly definite opinions about tho prospects opened in this quarter. Evacuating about half the area Won in the November offensive, the British have taken up strong positions with about eight miles of the elaborately fortified Hindenburg line behind them. They still hold the enemy's main and supporting defences in the area of tho late offensive,.and, according to one correspondent, the enemy's situation in a considerable part of the area from which they have withdrawn is almost untenable.' This no doubt is duo in part to the systematic destruction of trenches and other defensive positions in tho evaouatcd area; partly to ground now rcoccupiod by the enemy being under dominating fire. Assuming that the enemy's object in his coun-ter-offensive was to restore his line, he is far from having gained his object. For the time being he has modified the threat to Cambrai and to his line further _ north, but this result has been achieved at terrible cost, and is largely negative in character. The British aro left in secure possession of most important fruits of a successful offensive. The Germans, after all their efforts and sacrifices, are badly placed from the standpoint of defence, and are certainly not well placed for an attempt to alter the existing situation to their advantage. No other view seems possible than that the battle as a whole, in its later as well-as its earlier stages,-must be written down as an overwhelming German defeat. The trend which has set uniformly against the enemy since the battle opened was interrupted only on tho occasion of his momentary success in penetrating the southern flank of the British salient. This, however, was a local failure, and was speedily rectified. The partial and temporary success gained by the enemy counts for little against his initial defeat and the tremendous losses •he has sustained in oounter-attacks.

No approach will bo made to an appreciation of the situation reached on the Cambrai front unless account is taken of certain'well-estab-lished facts relating to the fighting powers of the contending armies and tho tactics they_ pursue. For instance, though it is well known that the Germans find it nccessary to continue tho policy of massed attacks and that in pursuing this policy they suffer enormous losses, the relative bearing and importance of these facts is not always readily appreciated. The truth is that the enemy's inability to emulate the economical tactics practisod by the Allies places him at a terriblo disadvantage, and is greatest of all factors making for his ultimate defeat. Thanks to American intervention, the Allies are possessed of practically unlimited reserves of the highest quality. Germany has exhausted nor best fighting material,

and to reinforco her existing armies must depend henceforth chieiiy upon immature youths. It is thereforo obvious that a state of affairs which induces her to squander_ her reserves as she has boon doing lately on the Cambrai front is one tho Allies have every interest in bringing about.

As to the ratio of British and enemy losses, a highly informative statement was made in October last by General Maurice, who speaks on behalf of the British War Office. He commented on a statement by Major Moraht, one of the most serious amongst the German critics, ( that since the beginning of tho Flanders battle (in June) to the end of September the British had lost half a million killed or wounded. "In fact," said General Maurice, ''the total number of men wo engaged in tho battle did not even reach half of that figure. Furthermore, our losses since January 1 in all theatres of war are less than half a million. As to the German losses during the last battle (in Flanders), our calculations, which wo have every reason to believe are very noar tlie truth, show that they are 75 per cent, larger than ours." These facta are very impressive when it is considered that in Flanders we attacked from dominated positions an enemy who had exhausted his ingenuity and made unsparing calls upon his resources in preparing an effective defence. In the epic struggle witnessed this year in Flanderß tho Germans had every advantage of position, but it is even more important that they went to unprecedented lengths in the uso of concealed maenine-guns and in other ways in attempting to create an impenetrable defensive line. It is evident that thoy can never hope to fight under more favourable conditions in any development of the Western, campaign. Yet in these conditions their losses were 75 pelcent. heavier than those of the attacking British armies. The explanation evidently is that the. measures by whicTi the enemy hoped to economise his man-power wcro abortive, and that ho was condemned time and again to throw in masses of men to hold a line whicli he was able to hold in no other way. On the other hand the tactics in which the British aim at reducing losses of men to a minimum have been remarkably successful. This appears not only in the comparison of losses in Flanders mentioned by General Maurice, but in a recent statement by Sir William Robertson that British losses this year have been lower than in 1915 and 1916. Another striking faot cited by the Chief of the General Staff on . the same occasion was:— "During this year we have taken more German prisoners than we had lost to them since the war began." Late events on the Cambrai front have certainly not materially disturbed this last proportion.

In his counter-offensive on the Gambrai front, the enemy certainly did not enjoy as favourable conditions as ho enjoyed 'in Flanders while the ridges from which lie has now been dislodged were still in his ha,nds. The essential feature of the battle to date is that the tremendous British thrust compelled him to reinforce his defence with massed attacks on a scale hardly witnessed since the Bafcfclo of Verdun. Although ho is believed to havo thrown strong reserves withdrawn from Russia into the battle, and has undoubtedly mado reckless sacrifices, he is still practically at the beginning of his task of restoring his damaged line. In comparison with tho scale of his effort and the losses has has inourrod, his gains are insignificant, and there is every rcaBon to believe that the contrast thus afforded will be heightened and magnified if ho elects to continue tho struggle, under the conditions created by the British withdrawal. Thero need he no hesitation' about accopting the statement made"to-day by a British correspondent in rcferonco to the Cambrai front: "Everybody on our side to-day ( seems to wear a smilo of quiet confidence." It may ho ventured that the British commanders desire nothing so much as that the enemy may persevere in his massed attacks on' the positions they havo taken up west and south of Cambrai. this course he would no doubt gain a certain amount of ground, but he would assuredly gain it at a price which would overshadow even the heavily disproportionate losses he has suffered this year in Flanders.

To-day's reports put a somewhat raoro hopeful aspect upon the situation in Italy, though tho possibility that a further retreat may become necessary has by no moans disappeared. A gallant resistance on the Asiago Plateau enabled the Italians to set limits to the enemy's advance and withdraw unbroken to a range of defensive positions south of those in which they were attacked, but the arresting feature of the situation is that the margin of security on a vital flank has been dangerously narrowed. From the emphasis laid on the extent to which the Italians were outnumbered in this battle, it is evident that strong _ reinforcements are needed in order to strengthen and safeguard their line. Tho possibility that the necessary concentration may be effected is heightened, however, by definite news that French and British reinforcements have taken their place in the fighting front. The position taken up by tho British is described by a correspondent. They are established on the Montello Hills, fronting an eastward bend of the Piave, between the mountains and the plain. The Montclto Hills command two main roads available to thc_ enemy and thirty miles of the Piave valley. An Italian communique mentions a raid by a French patrol in the area between the Brenta and the Piave. This suggests that the French aro now defending the Grappa massif, or portion of that vital ridge, which would mean that they have taken over'positions immediately west of those occupied by the British, but in higher country. The participation of Franco-Bri-tisli reinforcements in the struggle improves the outlook, and indicates that the Italians and their Allies hope to hold their present line, but the situation is still critical.