PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 302, 10 September 1918, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Some rather divergent opinions have been expressed during the last few davs in regard to the extent to which it is possible Cor the Allies to develop their offensive in the Westcm theatre beforo winter. The question meantime' does not admit of a definite answer, but the weight of available evidence is certainly with those who bold that the enemy is still far. from being at an end of his troubles even where this yar's- campaign is concerned. Of all the facts which claim attention at the present stage it is the most pertinent that the enemy has manifestly and definitely failed to carry out his retreat under conditions and with results favourable to himself. The retreat in the first place was enforced, but if it had been skilfully 'conducted the German armies ■might, by this time have been established in positions in which thev would have had reasonably good prospects of being able to defy attack, at all events until next year. It cannot by any stretch of imagination be suggested that they are to-day in any such favourable situation. « * * * Thus far. the German retreat has been marked by a complete failure to break contact with the. pursuing armies, and by a still more noteworthy failure to hold certain de- ; fensive areas which are vital to the security of the retreating lino and to its stable defence when the retreating armies arc halted. In a sense, the German retreat has' been "kept in hand" to its present stage. The crowning disaster of a disorderly rout has been averted, and the retiring armies have maintained an unbroken front. But .between this achievement and that of conducting a retreat which could legitimately be called safe and successful there is a wide margin; and on this margin the Germans are mostly to the bad. The enemy has preserved the continuity of his line, but he has done so at a fearful cost in lives and Sinoe the Allies opened their offensive less than eight weeks ago they have set new standards in th(fmatter of capturing territory and conquering strong positions in a given time. From the information thus far supplied it would appear that the offensive is even more remarkable on account of the disproportionate losses inflicted on the enemy. As to his losses of artillery and war material reports from day to, day speak for themselves. In regard to men the official summary for tho week which ended on Friday mentions that since August 1 the British have taken 70,000 prisoners and tho French 1 and Americans'4o,ooo, with extraordinarily small losses to the Allies—the British losses not great-, ly exceeding the number of prisoners taken. , It is possible that the i enemy's losses in prisoners include a fairly largo proportion of his wounded. _ But even so these_ figures establish the fact that his retreat, instead of affording him rc--lief, involves a_ heavy and_ disproportionate drain upon his manpower. . It is of material importance also that - the continuity of line tho enemy has preserved is a continuity ■ of armies and not of defensive posi- ' tions. The strongly-organised Hin- ! denburg line upon which lie is rei tiring along a considerable part of , the front has been breached on 1 a i wide front west of Douai and Cam- ; brai, where a 'breach is most dangerous, and has been broken ' through, also, though as yet on a \ narrow front, north of the Ailette. i It seems highly probable that the : enemy's ability to stand firm on his ■ broken defensive line will bo dc- ' cisively tested in the near future. ' Except in Flanders and in the . region of the Aisne he now retains ) only fragments of the wide tracts i of territory gained in the offensive ' which he opened in March and conj tinucd until the middle of July. • 5 In Flanders the Germans are still established on the Passchendaclo j liidge and the Messines Ridge, but 1 the Lys salient has been flattened 1 out. From a point, north-east of ■I Arras the new British line sweeps r to the east, _approaching_ within e about seven miles of Douai. Fur--0 ther south it runs at a similar dis- . tan'ce west of Oambrai. The Brit:l ish troops aro five miles cast of the switch line, which in this locality supplemented the Hindenburg line t in tho German scheme of defence. n Tho southernmost point of the breach in the enemy's main defences is almost due west of Cambrai. y Along the whole front between this ' v point and lteims the Allies arc 110where more than ten miles distant t from the Hindenburg line, and in y most 'places they arc much closer. f. An unofficial report that the French o have, reached the outskirts of St. cl Quentin lacks confirmation at tinie t . of writing, but French and British communiques show that from the latitude of Cambrai to that of St. Quentin the Allies arc on an avern age within'two or three miles of the n Hindenburg line. Between St. >. Quentin and the Oise the distance is a somowhat greater—at a maximum )C about nine miles. Between the Oisc 3, and the Ailette the French arc _ in ; contact with the Hindenburg line, on the edge of tho St. Gobain mas]j si>j, and they have penetrated it on n short front north of the Ailette. i,. From the Ailette the Allied fronl strikes south-east across tho heights jt of the Aisne, and follows the plaj taau south of tho lisnc to a point j rather more than half-way from jf SoissoiiE) towards Reims. It then " turns south to the Vcsle, and folic lows that river to the near neighi. bourhood of Eeims. West of Reims, lC ( where the Allied front is least ad1S vanccd, it is about ten miles dis5, tant from Berry-au-Bae (on the lb Aisne), which marked the location both of the Hindenburg line and oi

that l/< which the Germans wero driven when they lost the heights of the Aisne last year. * * * * Of all that they gained in their d offensive this year tho Germans re- \ tain no important territory cxcept n the Flanders ridges and the heights I of tho Aisnc, and against their re- « tention of these natural strongholds and observation points there., is to f be. set the dangerous penetration of their defences covering Douai and ], Ca-jibrai. J Account must, of course, be taken [ 'of the fact that the Germans along a great part of the front have reach- t ed or closely approachcd strong de- I fensivo positions. Badly as it is ' breached on the north, the Hindcn- i burg line in its remaining sections ' is a formidable obstacle. It counts for a good deal also that in many J places the Allies are now fighting ( with a wide belt of devastated conn- ; try behind them, in which the recon- . struction of communications will be j and will take time. Never- , theless, it seems reasonable to mea- ( sure the possibilities of the further i development of the Allied offcnsivo ; this year rather by the conditions in which it has developed 1 Ito its present stage than by the standards set in earlier stages of 1 the war. The German armies havo reached their defensive line after tho most demoralising experience they have ever suffered, and with a reduction of numerical and material strength which heavily impairs their prospects. The Allies can probably still count on about a month of good weather, and in that period much may be accomplished. Some references 'to tho American dispositions in France which' are attributed to-day to General March are chiefly interesting as conveying a broad hint that in the near future an American army, as distinct from brigades or individual divisions, will take part in the offensive. No doubt there is full warrant- for the statement made by M. Clemenceau's paper, L'llommc Libre, that the degree of Marshal Focti's victory will-; only become known after fresh attacks, which the American reserves haye made possible.