The Star. WEDNESDAY MAY 15, 1918. THE MILITARY SITUATION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 15 May 1918, Page 4

The Star.

WEDNESDAY MAY 15, 1918. THE MILITARY SITUATION.

Delivered every eveninc- by 6 o'clock in Hawera, Manaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea, Waverley.

It is highly encouraging to receive reports such as those which were contained in the cables published yesterday, that the enemy is being embarrassed by the approaching exhaustion of his man-power and by the ■shortage of food available for the civilian population creating eerious problems in connection with the internal government of the country. Nevertheless such statements Will certainly be received more as a basis for confidence in our ability to finally overcome danger than ?,s an indication that the crisis is any less serious than it has been for weeks' past. It

cannol be forgotten that time and again we have had similar reports, and, moreover, it is also known that unwise optimism on the part of men. •in high placets has led to great disappointment, if not v unnecessary loss-. A very well-informed writer," Mr Keith Murdoch, Australian war correspondent, in quite a recent letter to Melbourne journals, has a, good deal of interest to say on this particular aspect of our wai* policy and administration. For instance, he said: "No one questions now tlie difficulties of the military situation. The long reign of easy optimism is over. The distinguished military leaders, head of the Intelligence Department, and the Secretariat at General Headquarters, have been i convicted of misreading the facts about Germany, and have left their positions. One of them, General John Charteris, whose ability and courageous character are to be highly appreciated, was the foundation of British strategy. As Chief of Intelligence, he supplied the information upon which Sir Douglas Haig ordered attacks and the Government in London planned their supplies of man-power. General Charter-is was over-sanguine. Let it, for the "time being, rest at that. He wielded enormous authority in the British armies, for he controlled the intelligence reports, and he had absolute and tight conu-.l of all war correspondents. By all m_4ins 'in his power he encouraged and inspired and insisted upon an atmosphere of highly-charged optimism. About him was Lieutenant-General Sir Lancelot Kiggell, Chief of Haig's Staff. K'iggell's work has been much admired by professional soldiers. I know few more earnest and patriotic characters. Before the war he was head of the Staff College, and he has essentially what may be called the 'Staff' mind, in some directions, such as the wonderful system of training and retraining always proceeding behind the British lines. The armies owe much tc him. But his difficulties were too great. For one thing, Sir Douglas Ha'ig is largely his own Chief of Staff. Another difficulty was that Kiggell never grasp&d the full devilish strength of German defences on the West. Kiggell has gone now from G.H.Q." In view of the past, therefore, it woul_ not be wise to attach too much importance to such statements as appeared in the cables yesterday. Bui it may be permissible to poCnt out thai evidence comers from various quarteK which indirectly encourages the hop* that the enemy's resources of botl men and food are being very seriouslj reduced. We know that, as "regard* food, the expectations of great supplies from Eastern conquered territories have been by no means fully realised, and probably cannot be this year. As to the man-power situation, it is beyond question that the German losse. during the past few weeks have beer largely in. excess of estimates. The sudden and violent, almost overwhelming attacks met so doggedly by th. Alilies failed, in their main objectives. 1 and this failure in the circumstances is equivalent to a defeat so far of the plans of the 1918 campaign. The attack perforce has been suspended. It is recognised, by none better than by the Allied Governments and the General Command, that the attack must be resumed. The only alternative for the Germans would be a -retreat, which would at once break down the morale of the army and the nation. So a supreme effort lis being organised to resume the attack on a still more gigantic scale. But slackening manpower is suggested by the length of time it is taking the enemy to bring up reserves and organise ihe attack, and by observations, fairly well attested, ( that in order to gather forces the German command has found it necessary to reduce the forces by which other points have been held. There aire, therefore, grounds for hoping that the statements which reached us yesterday really do rest on a better foundation than those which in the past have proved unreliable. The problem now is whether, concurrently with the German preparations for -a renewal of the attack, our organisation of the defensive has been effective. There is every reason for believing that it has. The danger of the situation is fully appreciated, and we may be sure that, wherever the enemy delivers his attack, it will be met by the same steadfastness and the same deathdealing efficiency as made recent attacks both expensive and futile. ~~———