Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd, 1917. THE GREAT OFFENSIVE.

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 February 1917, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd, 1917. THE GREAT OFFENSIVE.

It is evident that the Imperial Government is not too Avell pleased with the interview that Sir Douglas Haig accorded a 'French journalist. The. tone of the British leader was far too optimistic lo accord with the traditional, English idea of the . fitness of thing's. As usual, a' scapegoat had to be found, and on tin's occasion the blame was placed on a nameless subordinate who failed to submit the proofs of the interview that had' been forwarded for Sir Douglas Haig's revision. The incident has now closed, and we do not think that any great harm lias been done. The Germans are not without their spies, and they probably have a very good idea of the preparations that the Allies are making to smash their lines. The system of espionage that, the Huns have adopted is very complete, and from time to time we have revelations that show that

the enemy is .making a bold bid to obtain accurate knowledge of all the Entente Powers' preparations so that they may be abjle to ...counter.. all attacks. " The great spring offensive will soon ■ be in full progress, and we trust that the final phase of the great European struggle will be ended quickly. Last spring the Germans forestalled the Allies by their determined attack on Verdun , and they kept 800;000 . of thei rpicked troops on the Somme front to check the British advance. These tactics on the part of the Germans pleased the Allies' war staff immensely, for the Germans in their attack on Verdnn' weakened their strength considerably. The Crown Prince in his mad desire to -.capture Verdun was prodigal, in the use . of munition's and. human life., The. French held tfleir ground with marvellous tenacity, and mowed down the jGernians in thousands. Finally the psychological moment

and the British began 'their offensive on the Somme. How they, succeeded is now known to all.i ;Never was an attack ,better planned or more thoroughly executed. Our men saw that they could beat the Germans,-and they were content to wait until the opportune time arrived. In the meantime the way for the great advance, has .been paved by important local successes that have given the Allies" command of high ground overlooking the Germans' .positions. Immense stores of ammunition have been got together, and many miles of railway constructed. For the purpose of obtaining material for the lines, railway lines in. Canada have been torn up, and the rails and sleepers placed-in position in France. \Vheh the ''big push'" comes it' will be possible to hurry men and guns from one end of the front to the other, and in this way the enemy will be unable to ■S'■.MM ;u il \ ■ -! 1 .-" UM'iill blow 3*' to come. It is well known that large forces of cavalry have been held in readiness. The horses will be in the pink of condition, for since trench warfare became the rule, cavalry have had little or nothing to do. The enemy were always, inferior to the British or . French' in this line df the service, and the. Uhlans would never face a British cavalry attack. That was in the early stages of the war, but the scarcity of fodder has caused the German cavalry to deteriorate considerably, and it is questionable whether the Germans can find a cavalry force that would venture to .dispute the British or French. We may take it for granted that the "tanks" will have* been considerably improved and will be extensively used. There will in all probability be other little "surprises" that will give the Germans solne-; ■ thing to think about. The Huns, on their part, have not been idle-,, and' they will fight with ; th*» savagery of a cornered wild beast. The losses on both sides will be appalling, but on this occasion we, have plenty of guns and munitions, and,we can thus save the loss of thousands of men. In Sir Douglas Haig the British have a leader in wh~m .they have every confidence. He has taken ihe lessons of the war to heart. His attack is planned, scientific, deliberate. The objective for which the British are now making is Banaume; the French Peronne. When the Freifeh have won the latter place the two outposts of the German railway communications east of 1 the AlbertArras sector will have been carried and,the whole German line at this point broken.