THE WAR

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue 93, 18 October 1915, Page 6

THE WAR

When the war broke out everyone waited breathlessly to watch the progress of warfare in the new elements — the air above and the water beneath. Germany claimed the lead in both. She was the pioneer of the airship, and, though she started % little late in aeroplaning, it was a significant part of her war preparations of the last three years that she made a. tremendous effort to pick up lost ground in the heavier-than-air department and to distance her competitors And if she strove for tho mastery of the air, 6he aimed equally emphatically at under-water supremacy. That policy of keeping Germany's big ships in harbour until her raiding submarines had removed Britain's margin of naval strength, was forecasted by Bernhardi years before the war broke out. ' But how has it succeeded ? To-day the world is told by the correspondent of an American paper that the British Navy is submarine-proof ; and facts — since the buying of the early experience — bear him out. As to the use of the submarine as a commerceraider, not only has the German plan failed to secure decisive results, but the aggressive in this department now lies chiefly with the British, whose submarines have smitten the German mercantile marine in its only remaining sea. — the Baltic. Again, as to the air war fare, the mastery in aeroplaning has re-, mained from the beginning with the western Allies ; and if one turns to the Zeppelin raids on London — what military effect have they had except to stimulate British recruiting? Have the Zeppelins done anything comparable with the frequent interruption of railway routes caused by the Fi-anco-British aeroplanes at points behind the German line, in most cases beyond the destructive range of gun-fire ? Do the Zeppelins interfere with tha life of tho Britieh east coast in anything like the came degree

as the British submarines interfere with Baltic shipping services? In the judgment of results, German, aerial and under-water warfare has fculedT Except in the airship department, Germany is distinctly excelled by others. Evidently the German naval officers, who have not had much to do during this war, will have to apply themselves diligently to anti-submarine tactics. Copenhagen reports show two distinct engagements near the southern end of the Danish passages into the Baltic, one off Moen Island, the other in the vicinity of Faro Island. Right in the mouth of the Baltic is the island of Zealand, on which is the Danish capital, Copenhagen. The seaway dividing Zealand from Sweden (on the east) is The Sound ; that dividing Zealand from the Danish island Funen (on the west) is the Great Belt. To the south, Zealand is divided by a narrow waterway from the Danish island of Falster ; and right in this waterway, and therefore well within Danish territorial limits, is the islet Faro. Passing on eastward through the waterway is Moen, lying across the mouth of the passage ; and some distance to the southwest is the German war harbour Kiel. In operating in these waters, British submarines are therefore bearding th« lion in his den. They are also avenging the loss of the British submarine that some time ago was cast on a Danish island and was there shelled by the Germans — a notable instance of broken neutrality and Teutonic brutality. Copenhagen messages state that on Wednesday a German flotilla engaged a British submarine or submarines t off Moen, lost a torpedo boat, and fled. On Thursday the Germans returned reinforced, but were intercepted by the submarines in the narrow waters near Faro, where they lost another torpedo boat, and again fled. So far, the British official news is silent — except as regards the destruction of seven German transports by one Brit ish submarine — and it is possible that for tactical reasons the Admiralty will not disclose all that the undei -water fleet is doing in the Baltic. One thing is certain : It is maintaining a very close and deadly grip on the German coast and the Germaii naval stronghold. Concerning the Danish report of the sinking of a German torpedo boat off Moen Island, Berlin publishes what purports to be (but is not) a denial. Fights have now been recorded by cable at a number of points up and down the long Serbo-Bulgarian frontier. Perhaps the most interesting of these i& at Doiran, which is close to the frontier in the far south, southward of Strummtza, and near where Bulgaria, Servia, and Greece meet one another To say that is to say that Doiran is one of the' handiest places for the Entente troops to get to grips with the enemy ; it is only about ten miles north-east of the point where the main railway from Salonika ( Morava.- Vardar line) leaves Greek to enter Servian territory, and it lies less than ten miles due east of that railway. If, therefore, the Bulgarians have massed 50,000 men to attack the railway here, they have chosen the quickest means of trying the mettle of the Entente troops landed at Salonika. That interpretation is strengthened by a statement from Athens, through a French correspondent, to the effect that the French assisted the Servians to repulse the Bulgarians, and that " farther north " the Servians advanced towards Strumnitza. The quoted words seem to localise this fight at Doiran. One .report alleges a Bulgarian " set-back " at Doiran ; another says that obstinate fighting continues. Genera] Sarrail, the Entente commander, must have at any rate sufficient men to turn the tables on the enemy at Doiran, but that would be only the first step in a very long ladder. There is little new to report of the fighting in the Nish sector. At Pirot, on the Nishava railway line (Nish to Sofia), the enemies confront each other, and further north there are manoeuvres for the mountain passes, but it is not there that decisive results will be attained, unless the Germans should be able to drive up the Morava valley and isolate the Servian right wing in the north-eastern hills. That would be decisive as far as the right wing is concerned^ German progress in the Morava valley is slow, but it may suddenly become very rapid when the invaders bring their big guns and heavy ammunition supplies across the Danube. ThenMackensen will try to repeat his tactics in Russia In that case the Servians will almost certainly have to fall back, and it will require skill to extricate the right wing from the converging attacks of the northern invaders and the Bulgars. The latest manifestation of sea power is a British blockade of the Bulgarian iEgean coast. Russia will need to equally dominate the Bulgarian Black Sea coast if the promised Russian invasion is to materialise ; unless, of course, the Rumanian Government yields to the war party, whose activities are described as. "anti-dynastic." The statement of M. Venizelos shows that, when Premier of Greece, he asked the Entente Powers whether they would .be disposed to send troops to Greece "in the case of Bulgaria attacking Servia, which obliges us to help our ally." The Entente replied in the affirmative, and it is con tended that this Greek proposal, and its acceptance, constituted a contract. Certainly, the Venizelist policy and the Zaimis attitude lie far apart. The Balkan political crisis continues acute, and the demand for forcible naval pressure upon Greece grows in» volume., The Greek islands are as hostages for any supreme sea power, and the opinion is gaining ground that it may become necessary to teach the Athens Geraanophile clique a lesson.