PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 150, 22 December 1914, Page 8

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

THE NIBBLING PROCESS TO LILLE AND OSTEND. The German military directors were put to the trouble, early in the war, of diverting troops from their armies push- ■ ing westward in France to repel Russian invaders in East Prussia. The trap of , the Masurian lakes was sprung upon the Russians to good purpose, but the diversion gave invaluable relief to the hardpressed Allies in the West. Now, it - appears that, in order to give the Tsar's - legions a helping hand, the Allies are j .* making a great effort in Belgium and I France. But their work is in no sense * sacrificial. They are forcing their way * ahead to new positions, with the object : of holding fast to each recovered yard ; * and the Daily Chronicle's summary of • the past week's work indicates the extent of the gains that have been made. Possibly the Germans, hoping for a lull in the winter and expecting it, were surprised at the renewal of forcible at- ; tacks ; but whether for that reason, or because the Allies have been, us was suggested the other day, greatly reinforced, tne long-standing line has been ' effectively broken. 'In the extreme ' north, the advance has almost reached [ Ostend, the line between La 4 Bassee and Armentieres has been * bulged out towards Lille, and * a somewhat similar disturbance ■ of its regularity has occurred between Dixmude and Nieuport. The Germans are said to be retiring from Lille to Tourcoing and Roubaix. It. is almost inevitable that the Germans must very shortly reduce their now extended line to its least dimensions, by straightening it up again. Unfortunately for the Al- - lies, there is little hope now of getting T the enemy "on the run." To force ; them out of a line of trenches means little more than to see them > drop into , another excavation a little further back, • and the fight will be slow and painful. J • The process is not unfairly described as "nibbling," with the bites getting a little larger. A glance at the cable messages * shows that the Allies are managing to I • get mouthfuls, not only in Belgium but at various points further south as well. ; THE RUSSIAN KALEIDOSCOPE. ' The Kaiser is reported to have tele- • graphed to his aunt, in a pious strain, reporting General yon Hindenberg's announcement that tho Russians "have re- • tired before our front," and are "being pursued over the whole line." This follows other reports of German success in Poland. It has to be read with the other reports, which certainly do not bear out any suggestion that the Germans are winning ; 'and the inconsistency is easily enough explainable, in view of the complete difference between the campaigns in the easl and the west. A severe local defeat on either side at any point along the French front necessarily has an effect which traverses a considerable extent of the line, which is one indissoluble entity. In the eastern theatre the fighting is broken Tip into interdependent but separate spheres of action, in which local battles may take all sorts of forms, and in which a local victory or defeat may not greatly affect the major scheme. Although we have only Germany's word for it, Yon Hindenberg may have inflicted a defeat on the Russians, without in any way preventing the Russians from completing movements which will force the German armies as a whole to retire. Along with, the news of yon Hindenberg's success is the announcement from Petrograd that the Germans northward of the Vistula havo been completely defeated and driven back into Prussia. Yon Hindenberg has for some time been working in ths southern half of Poland. Not long ago Lodz was abandoned by the Russians because they found themselves at that point endeavouring to hold a salient, and threatened on two flanks. Since then we learned that the German generals, knowing how vital it was to hold their , enemy away from Silesia, had crowded armies upon the Russian centre. Now it is stated that the Germans who marched victoriously into the abandoned city, have had to march out of it again. This time they are on the salient, and their threatened flank is as far away as East Prussia. The nature of the threat is a Russian penetration near Mlawa, where the enemy has been forced back. It is suggestive that they have fallen back upon the Masurian Lakes district, the scene of some severe defeats to Russian arms; and it is not likely that the new invasion will be subjected to the risk of another drowning out. In one thing, the character of the maTshes is probably very different now from its softness in the t warmer months. The Polish battlefield is an extraordinary scene of rapid evolution on a huge scale. Interesting developments are taking place in some of the Carpathian passes. Vienna states that a great battle is developing between the Austrian forces crossing the Mesolaborcz Pass and tho Russians. , There are not many crossings over the range practicable for armies, and the endeavour of the Russians, having reached the mountains, is to prevent Austrian reinforcements coming to the aid of their brothers in Galicia. At Dukla, near the foot of one of the passes, a little east of Mesolaborcz, the Russians have severely punished an Austrian army. The latest news is that the Austrian offensive in Galicia has been definitely checked, the subsequent operations being entirely favourable to s.^tne Russians. '"'GERMANY'S SHATTERED NERVES. Particularly interesting is the report of a statement by Mr. Winston Churchill, io._ which he attributes the recent naval raid to an utter loss of morale in the enemy owing to the pressure of the British Navy. In the same category comes the report that Belgian fugitives are ilying into Holland in fear of some dreadful happening, and which flight it suggested is due to the Belgians having assimilated some of the growing uneasiness of the Geimans. If the Germans have reached such a state of desperate despair as Mr. ! Churchill suggests, now is the time when they may make some attempt of extraordinary daring. A recent article published in England set forth the theory, based on a careful study of the German military temperament, that there is nothing it likes less than inaction. An ■unused army, an unused fleet, is not to a German an asset at all. If he ha 3 exhausted all other possibilities but sees remaining one which offers a chance of success, even with ten chances of failure, he will take the risk, for he will, he argues, be no worse oS. The writer of that article argued that, however desperate it might seem, an invasion of England was precisely tho sort of venture which fitted his theory. England is no doubt thoroughly prepared to resist an invasion by a transsported army, but the success, from the German point of view, of the Tecent cruiser raid may go a long way towards confirming the enemy's belief in the possibility of a battle ott. English soil. Such a battle would achieve little, but it is a contingency which may have to be faced any day. In the meantime the world is regaled with another account of the activity of German navy yards. A CHALLENGE TO ITALY. If Italy's new African colony, Tripoli, is invaded by Arabs under Turkish and German officers, the entrance of Italy into the war can scarcely b© avoided.

A "rupture of relations" is threatened if the reported movement is not explained. There is no indication whence the ad- \ ance is being made j and as Tripoli is bordered on the east by Egypt, and on the north-west by French Tunis, and on the west and south by the Sahara, also French, some detaiJs would be interesting. The important point, however, is that a hostile movement such as is indicated is a direct challenge to belligerency on the part of & nation which has so far exercised a considerable selfrestraint.