WAR THEATRES REVIEWED

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 194, 6 May 1918, Page 6

WAR THEATRES REVIEWED

! OFFICIAL SUMMARY OF THE ; OPERATIONS :: FRESH LIGHT ON RECENT EVENTS I •_. A GOOD WEEK I The following summary of the militar' ! operations,during the week ending Ma; ! 2 has been received by His Excellenc; , tho Governor-General from the Secretar; j.oi State for the Colonies:— i' "Sinco the recapture of Villers Breton i Jietix on tho night of: 'April 24-25, in i I brilliant counter-attack earned out bi Australian and British troops, and thi repulse of the enomy by the French al ■ Hangard and Hangard Wood, thero ha! ! lieen no change in the Somnie salient : but in tho Lys salient battles have beei ; fought upon the issues of which mighl ' well • depend tho future course of tin ■ present campaign. Briefly, these consisl ;>.of the capture by the enemy of Monl ; Kemmel on April 25 and the failure oi jit* efforts to follow up this success l>j j(i further advance. Mont Kemmel was ; taken after, a very severe struggle by an : enciroling movement round both flanks. i Tho enemy made a serious attempt on < April 2'.i to follow up his success. The ', plan was to push his way through be- ' tween Mont La Clytto, and then ; lollup tho British line northwards, so ! forcing them to evacuate tho I'pres ■ ealient. He succeeded in advancing at ; one point, ;md reached the cross-roads : northward of Locre, but by a spirited ; counter-attack the French threw him • back from his advanced positions, and I then regained Locre. The British troops jto the north held fast, taking a heavy i toll of the enemy along the whole line. (The assault delivered on the Belgians i'jiorth of Tpres was completely repulsed. i Its failure can only bo considered a decided defeat of the enemy. ; "No Exouse for This Signal Failure." : "On the Homme the best German troops :were used, and such were the strength [and determination of the attacks that no ■ excuse for this signal failure.'is admissible. The enemy, so far from shaking ; the Allies' front, on the contrary in- ' creased their confidence, giving his own ; troops every reason for depression. A | repulse before Amisns is more serious for :the enemy than one farther north, and : the enemy's failure to occupy tho plateau I in'which Cachy was the objective in last j week's attack at Villers Bretonneux, ■though in point of numbers not so big inn affair as the struggle west of Mont '.'Kemmel, is nevertheless extremely satisfactory to the Allies. But the enemy, '•while continuing lis threat in this snlihas gradually increased the number iof divisions on the northern. battlefront •until very considerable forces are represented. Only a few miles separate him ifrom important strategic points which he cannot, bo expected to renounce without : further struggles. He is, however, dispersing his strength by persisting in an [enterprise whicli 'vas not intended at first .to develop on such a scale. Nevertheless, .the encouragement which has been given •to these operations through the capture jof Mont Kemmel may well decide the 'enemy to iiso up even more,divisions to ,nchieve a tactical success of more sentimental than military value, namely, the tapture of Ypres. Successes in Palestirn. ■ "In Palestine General Allenby has cap'tured Es Salt and taken a number of prisoners. He also advanced towards ISchechein, in the neighbourhood of Mez;rah. The Arabs in the Maan area have cleared practically the whole district ■through which the, railway runs as far ■as Mudowara, and have torn up.the lino ior a distance of five miles. Good Work in Mesopotamia, i "Meanwhile General Marshall advanced along 'Mosul road, reaching Tuak, Kifi'e, and Tuzkhurmamu, having already been ,captured with' over one thousand eight hundred prisoners. By the capture of Iviffe the British removed the threat to their communications eastward to Persia. This place was the centre ot German intrigue, as well as Turkish 'Divisional Headquarters and a supplycollecting centre. The surrounding tribes \rere encouraged by, the enemy to harass tho British , line of communication and . generally to oppose better conditions which British influence is gradually bringing about --in these regions. Better-disposed tribes are eager to co-operate against the common enemy, who is willing enough to use (hem in his need, but in pcaco time showed them no consideration. The Round-up in East Africa. : "In East Africa a converging movement through difficult country is gradually being carried out. The enemy main force is on tho Upper Imrio, while the Allied forces are on every side. Ono Allied detachment in attacking an enemy convoy retreating on Nanuado captured all the reserves of small arm ammunition of the Herman column."-