PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 82, 3 October 1914, Page 8

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

; NEW TONE OF BERLIN PRESS RUSSIA CLAIMS IMPORTANT . .' VICTORY. ! < Excellent indirect evidence of the pro- <• gress of the Allies' turning movement > against the Germaa right wing is pro- \ vided by the tone of the Berlin newspapers. Their hint to the public that 'A certain positions may have to be aban- ,\* doned evidently refers to the right ', wing; but they ask for suspension of -i judgment till the whole operations are ' f complete, and they appear to hope for '* some .compensating advantage in the ■ 1 'centre, in front of Verdun and the Ar- ' \ gftrihe. Concerning the centre little has " ; been heard lately from Paris, but a : , French communique published to-day " j states that the French have made pro- ( gjegs in the Argonne. The general effect 1 i* -that German hopes concerning the { centre are probably illusory, and German feajs concerning the right have a basis ' of- reality. ]{ - ' BRITISH MILITARY FACTOR. .[ A\> last there is a Berlin press ad- ; , mission of the weight of the British military 'arm, also a tardy acknowledgment "" ! oCEi'ench defensive skill. These appre"i cl^ftons of the enemy are due not k> a 1 generous spirit, but to a desire to pave the vTay for admission of defeat. They I*, are valuable mainly as a barometer. • Such appreciations would not be pubi lished in Berlin were it/ not that their ' ; iruth is likely to be soon established >in ',; a manner beyond all possibility of sup- ; pression. „ 1 At the beginning of the war the Ber* lin cry was "the more enemies, the more ! honour." Now it is "the more difficulties, the more, honour." f Hence, hoiidur is to excuse defeat ! " But the Cpjpgne Gazette's war loaa appeal con*tains a new note of desperation hardly ifi Accord with that bellicose journal's , p^C^ious performances. ■^Coming down to detail, the most definite information concerning the movemettt of the Allies' left against the German right is Mr, Ashmead-Bartlett's € 1 statement ' that the French are at ' « P,eifonne, the importance of which town has" already been pointed out. Bracketing.'this with General yon Kluck's failure > to, '"make headway against unexpectedly superior numbers, it will be seen that aSdierman withdrawal appears to, be ine^ylpJle. A withdrawal of heavy guns and^weary troops may easily lead to panicf and rout. The statement that the carnage in the battle of the Aisne exceeds all expectations should prepare all sides for 'j heavy 1 casualty lists. The Allies' Red . Cross organisations have German wound' ed, as well as their own, to attend to, , and are overtaxed. In Rouen and other „" French cities the little British grave- ' yards, are growing. These British sol- • diers have fallen on foreign soil, but truly in_ defence of their own. Their graves will for ever cement Anglo-French-i Belgian friendship, and will be a lasting "t monument against wars of aggression. } BATTLE ALONG THE NIEMEN. ■{ To-day Petrograd renews its claim, to I a victory over the Germans who ad--1 'vanced from East Prussia towards the 1 Niemen river. Very fierce fighting oci curred round Grodno, an important -1 town on the opposite side of the Nic- ; men, and also on the railway that runs ; from Petrograd, via Vilna, to Russian I Poland. By destroying the railway 11 1 where it crosses the Niemen, the Germans would be able to cut the main line of communications uniting the Russian armies in Poland with the Vilna ', concentration centre and with Petrograd. ,' But the Germans, according to Russian accounts, have been repulsed all along the Niemen, with heavy loss. If this is ' so, the victory is of prime importance. One of the hottest of the recorded en- , gagemente in this quarter took place at Druskeniki, on the 'Niemen, twenty -eight miles north of Grodno. To-day's news from Petrograd states that the Germans lost 20,000, and left many guns embedded in the mud. Further, it is claimed ! that the Russians succeeded at two other ! points north-west of Grodno, and that ! the German centre is broken. ; , In Galicia the Germans, as forecasted, ' t are supporting Cracow with large forces, • taking the view that this Austrian fortress is the advanced defence of their • own Silesia. If Cracow falls, the Rus- • sians_ will be able to concentrate on the 1 Silesian front, and they may break h through by sheer weight into the valley • of the Oder and open a road to Berlin. Cracow is of huge importance to both Russia's enemies, and it is claimed in f- Vienna that an Austro-Hungarian army I of 2,500,000 men is ready to dispute i the passage of a million Russians. Mes--5 sage-writers who compile the news of the > eastern frontier delight to talk in large • ' round figures, and their arithmetic may 1 be regarded as approximate. But for the " ' purpose of defending Silesia and of ,' heartening her battered ally, Germany has certainly lai'ge forces prepared to 4 support Cracow. It is further stated " - that General Dankel has 150,000 Ausirians outside Cracow. This is the ( General whose retreat from Russian ; Poland (which he had invaded in a : futile effort to turn the flank of Russia's ** Galician armies) was believed to have ; oeen cut off when the Russians defeated j the Austrians at Sandomierz, on the \ Vistula. Apparently Dankel got through. } „ NET CLOSING ROUND GERMANY. If Germany's East Prussian army has ' failed in its blow at the Russian com--1 mtinicatioiiSj and has been pushed Lack -i from the Nipmen with heavy losses, the '• operations of the Russians against Cracow and Silesia will be facilitated. The blow of the Germans at the Niemen was clearly an effort to retard the Russian campaign farther south ; and their failure, if complete, will be far-reaching. ,'l Germany's chance of holding up the ; Russians on the eastern frontier, and '; • the other Allies on the west, grows -| steadily less. Failure to successfully - - take the offensive in East Prussia would ) reduce it a great deal. Unless^ the ■ ; Austrians develop a hitherto invisible */ martial prowess, Germany will prej - sently be in great straits to resist the j double pressure. The uncertain factor j 1 is the trustworthiness of Russian messages. t Slav liability to error is exemplified , irt; the case of Serajevb. Some days ago it was cabled that the Servians had occupied the Bosnian capital. To-day's news indicates that they found it too strong, and sought employment elsewhere.