PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 135, 25 February 1918, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

How complete and disastrous has been the collapse of the Bolshevik front in Northern Russia is indicated by the Petrograd correspondent of the Morning Post, who states in a dispatch published today that _ ''the German invading forccs, which have already overrun the entire war zone to a depth of one hundred miles, consist of only one division of cavalry and infantry !" At Dvinsk, this tive handful captured sufficient food supplies for a quarter' of a million men for three weeks, tffirty thousand tons of sugar, six hundred locomotives, and a thousand wagons. Under the circumstances, it is not surprising to hear that the Germans are likely to abandon the peace platform at Brest Litovsk and insist on harsher terms from the beaten Bolsheviki. Lenin and his co-revolutionaries, in the name of Socialism, have wrecked their nation, betrayed their fellow-coun-trymen, and hampered the very nations who could have secured for them the right to evolve their ideals in peace under a free constitution in a constitutional way. Whether the Bolshevik regime will survive a shameful peace is extremely doubtful. It certainly would not survive the German occupation of Petrograd, which latter event will surprise nobody.

It is consoling to reflect, however, that the only people in Itussia who will be a party to a peace pact between the Germans and the B'olsheviki will be the Bolsheviki themselves. The Germans must realise that as clearly as anyone else; hence, whatever territory they invade they will occupy and endeavour to secure for themselves. This aspect of the German asccndancy on the Eastern front probably accounts for the statement, emanating from Tokio, reflecting tho absorption of the Japanese in tho crisis. However undesirable a German sphere of influence might have been to the Japanese in the days of Teuton commercial and political intrigue before the war, Uie prospect, near or remote, of having that unscrupulous nation for a neighbour could not possibly bo entertained. The statement revives the old talk of Japanese military intervention, "Japan-

esc assistance hitherto," it is stated, ''has been of a purely naval ancl financial kind, but it may shortly take another form, because a continued advance will probably give the Germans command of the TransSiberian railway." The Japanese have another highly practical incentive for asserting themselves at the present juncture—the repudiated loans. Japan has lent millions to the Russians. She has no hope of repayment from a Bolshevik Government unless, in conjunction with the Allies, who are similarly situated, forciblo measures be taken. Hence the talk of military intervention. This question has previously been discussed, ancl rejected on the score of the great' length of ,the lines of communication required for thb transport of troops, munitions, and supplies. One possibility is the dispatch of nucleus troops, with commands and staffs as for large forces, to co-operate with the Russian people in their war on Prussianism and Bolshevikism. In the meantime, in the absence of authoritative information on the subjcct, it will be as well to accept unauthenticated statements of Japanese military intervention with reserve.

* .« * * , Thb latest dispatches from Petrograd indicate that a very grave crisis has been reached. The fate of the capital is practically sealed, and, to quote from one report, the one hope amongst the better class is that the Germans will reach the city before the anarchists get out of hand. It is significant of the attitude of the better classes in the invaded districts towards the Bolsheviki that of two evils they prefer the Germans to tho red tyranny of the Lenin-Trotsky regime. Simultaneously with the prospect of a complete disaster on land, there is more than a possibility that tho Russian Baltic Fleet will be captured entire, unless, as one fcorrespondent points out, the Russians either sink the ships or intern them in Finland. In the latter contingency, ifc is hardly likely that tho Germans will regard Finland as neutral sanctuary. Official opinion in France considers that some action of the Allies is imperative, or there is a danger that German influence in Europe will dominate tho 'Continent.

Dispatches from Palestine to-day report the capture of Jericho by the British. The importance of Jericho itself is not great, but the elimination of the Turk from its vicinity has secured Allenby's flanks from sea to sea—his left rests on the Mediterranean and his right on the Dead Sea. It has also brought the British within measurable distance'of the Arabs, who have been operating along the Hejaz railway, and who will be greatly encouraged by tko proximity of their British Ally. Secure on his flanks, Allendy need now only look for a frontal attack from the Turks. Another satisfactory aspect of these operations is that the British now control a rich and fertile region, and have the knowledge that an important field of sustenance has been cut off from the enemy. The operations which culminated in the capture of Jericho were of a very trying nature, as the intermediate ground is extremely broken, with precipitous positions on which the enemy had established strong posts. With characteristic energy, Allenby manoeuvred his troops as rapidly as the ground would permit, and by night operations quickly placed the enemy in such a position that the latter had to choose between retirement or annihilation. The actual resistance offered was therefore slight, and the casualties light. The Australian and New Zealand s troops had the honour of being the first to enter Jericho. * * * * Beyond a brief unofficial message from London announcing a general artillery bombardment along the entire l J, rench front, the situation in the West remains officially the same. The Allies' airmen aro_ continuing their career of destruction over the enemy's lines; the cumulativo_ effect of these successful bombing raids on the German aerodromes, billets, dumps, and railway stations must by this time constitute a most serious embarrassment to the enemy's plans. Whether the artillery bombardment referred to presages the long-heralded German offensive remains to be seen, but it is interesting to note that there is a possibility that the enemy will find himself so" heavily involved by the time his Russian offensive is extended that he will be compelled to modify his Western plans.