NOTES ON THE WAR.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16665, 25 September 1914, Page 6

NOTES ON THE WAR.

THE LAND CAMPAIGNS.

While the unofficial reports from France have insisted that there has been fierce fighting between Peronne and St Quentin, the official reports have hitherto been siknt on the subject, but it is no longer possible to doubt that the Allies have once more found an extra wing, as they did in the battle of the Marne, and that it has now come into fairly complete touch with the German right flank. A message received yesterday, with encouraging optimism, infers that the German right has been turned, but in the meantime it is safer to assume from tho official silence that the fighting so far has been inconclusive, and that the Germans, though driven from their position at Peronne, have been able to fall back in good order on a now line of entrenchments.

This is admittedly the cautious view, but in tho absence of definite and authoritative reports, it would be folly to be anything more than cautious. For enormous issues hang on the result of the fighting on the St Quentin road. If tho Allies succeed the whole German line must be thrown Back, and for its safety it will have to sheer away from the district of Cambrai and Le Cateau, abandoning control of tho railways, to secure which the invaders occupied Brussels and battered so persistently at Mons. And more even than this is at stake, because if the German right can be shattered the German centre will have to look to itself in the resulting retreat. Frontal attacks have already pushed it back some miles from Rheims, and although the fighting In that region has been mainly a matter of artillery, the very fact that the Germans, for all their boasted supremacy in big guns, have had to give way, proves the line is far from invulnerable.

While this aspect, of the position is being considered, it may be as well to direct attention to a point that is in danger of being overlooked. Until the other day the Germans had driven a wedge between Rheims and Verdun, and even after they were driven out of Rheims they still held a line along the Suippe river, crossing the mam railway from Paris to Verdun. This, in time of peace, was the main highway into Germany, but apart from the normal value of the line, its possession is of the utmost importance in this campaign. While the Germans lay across it, or were sufficiently near to prevent repairs or traffic,, Verdun could bo reached only by making a detour to the south. With the capture of the village of Souain by the French, however, the Germans were probably cleared.from the line, and it ought to be possible now to reopen direct communication between Rheims and Verdun and between Chalons and Verdun, facilitating the transport of supplies and reinforcements. Obviously it might become desirable to develop a hitting force' on the Allies' right, and if tho opportunity for a forward move occurred there the possession of a clear direct railway would be invaluable.

Reverting to the position on the Allies' loft wing, it should be explained that the operations m Belgium are probably being undertaken in co-operation with the French. If a retreat of the Germans is forced from France the Belgians will make it their business to render the path ot the retreaters as uncomfortable as possible. There ought to be some British troops, possibly marines, in this region. Mr Donohoe's message cabled yesterday came from Courtrai, which ifi over the Belgian border from Lille, and he could not have been telegraphing from that point unless the country south and east had been held by the Allies, It would be interesting to have the details of the composition of the force that has been engaging the Germans at St Quentin. It struck in at Peronno. Now if the Sixth French Army Corps, which was fighting at Noyon a few days ago, was able to get to Peronne, it would be fair to assume that the German wing had been driven back at least twenty-five miles. In the circumstances there is a strong temptation to infer that the force operating on Peronne is really another flanking force, perhaps mobilised at Boulogne or Dieppe, and sent to Amiens to await its chance. The fact that Arras was abandoned a few days ago by the Germans points to the probability of an advance from Boulogne, in which case British reinforcements would almost certainly be included.

There is a scrap of news from East Prussia, but there is no means of knowing how old it is. The Germans were reported a week ago to have driven the Russian invaders out of this province, and it appears now that the force landed at Memel advanced up the river of that name and penetrated Russian territory. At the same time the German force that defeated the Russians near Osterode seems to have advanoed across the frontier. The Russian explanation of the position is that the army in East Prussia could not be pushed forward because of the necessity of concentrating strong forces ,- n Poland for the invasion of Galicia and Silesia, and that General Rennenkampf was acting purely on the defensive. This is feasible, and indeed it is probable that the demonstration in East Prussia was never a very powerful one, the reports of the strength of the army of invasion being designed mainly m alarm the Germans. They certainly had this effect. The alternative explanation of the position is that the defeat at Osterode was really a crushing one, and that the Russians were absolutely driven out of East Prussia.

The reports from Galicia indicate that the. Austrians are still pursuing the policy of retreat, but the messages do not materially affect the position described in previous notes. The capture of Jaroslav was inevitable. The town could not be. held against the victorious Russians, and a serious stand could not have been made there without endangering the whole Austrian army. The capture of Jaroslav, however, breaks the Austrian line of direct communication between Przemysl and Rzeszow. and in view of the Russian advance from Sandomierz it should ultimately be impossible for the Austrians to hold Rzeszow. They will be bound to fall

tight back to the Przemysl-Jaslo road ind then to the foot-hills of the Carpathians. If the Russians from Lemberg can manage to cut the railway from Przemysl south—and as they are at Sambor the possibility is obvious— Przemysl itself will be virtually isolated. The success of the operations in Jalicia, however, depends now on rapdity of movement, and consequentlj on the weather to a large extent.

NAVAL NOTES.

Some 1400 British sailors seem to have lost their lives in connection with the sinking of the cruisers Aboukiri Cressy and Hogue. The 700 men who are reported to have been saved represent in number the crew of one ship. The cruisers evidently sank very rapidly after they had been struck by the German submarines—the Aboukir. is said to have floated for no more than five minutes—and in time of war the fighting ships cannot carry many boats, partly because the decks must be clear in order to give the guns free play, and also because the boats would be smashed by shells in action, producing dangerous showers of splinters. The loss of life is a much more serious matter than the sinking of the three cruisers. The Aboukir, the Cressy and the Hogue were old ships, as age is reckoned in the navy, and they had been relegated to the reserve, being kept in horn* ports with nucleus crews aboard in time of peace. They were manned largely by reservists at the time of the disaster.

The incident suggests that the Admiralty is keeping the oldest and least valuable ships to the fore at the present juncture, as it might be expected to do. The British navy contains no obsolete or ineffective ships, thanks to the vigorous policy of elimination initiated by Lord Fisher in 1904, and its old units are all powerful and efficient. But the loss of these vessels does not weaken the real fighting squadrons, which must be kept intact if possible until the day when the enemy decides to give battle. Probably the squadrons of the Second and Third Fleets are being given the dangerous patrol work just now, their business being to keep the North Sea clear of the enemy's ships and to guard against any sudden raid. Somewhere behind them the modern vessels of the First Fleet will be waiting for the call to action, which will come when the German High Sea Fleet moves out. from Wilhelmshaven or the Elbe.

The report that the Cressy, firing aft, she sank, destroyed the two German submarines which caused the disaster is not confirmed, and probably is not true,. British people would like to know that the attackers were punished, but it is likoly that the submarines fired their torpedoes while completely submerged and slipped away without coming to the surface at all. The German officers would hardly be rash enough to place their craft within reach of the British guns unnecessarily. Perhaps the survivors who are now being landed in British and Dutch ports will be able to give precise information on the point. The fact that some of the sailors saved from the cruisers are reaching Holland appears to confirm the impression that the three warships were attacked at some point not very far from the German coast.

During the early days of the war the London newspapers made several references to the presence of French warships in the Channel, but there seems to have been some doubt regard, ing the strength of this naval force. One newspaper printed a photograph of a French battleship said to have been secured in mid-Channel. The French squadron on the northern coast had been stated officially to consist of the armoured cruisers Gloire, Conde and Marseillaise, with three destroyer flotillas and two submarine flotillas, and it is known that the important French battleships had been concentrated in the Mediterranean. But possibly some older battleships were in the Channel when the war began. The French warships in that quarter will have assisted the British squadrons, no doubt, to guard the passage of the Expeditionary Force from Britain.

The Admiralty took authority by Royal Proclamation on August 3 to requisition any British ship that might be required for naval or military ser* vice. The proclamation stated that " a national emergency exists rendering it necessary to take steps for preserving and defending national interests " and " the measures approved to be taken require the immediate employment of a large number of vessels,fo* use as transports and as auxiliaries for the convenience of the fleet and for other similar services, but owing to the urgency of the need it is impossible to delay the employment of such vessels until the terms of engagement have been mutually agreed upon." Th< terms of payment for the use of requisitioned ships and the compensation for loss or damage are to be assessed by mutual agreement or by a board o! arbitration.

"One of the points in which tho British Navy is certainly not ready for war is floating hospital accommodation," said London "Truth" on August 5. "Fleet-Surgeon Hewitt dealt with the matter at the Congress of the British Medical Association in Aberdeen last week, drawing an ugly picture of the great difficulties under which t surgeon has to work on board a battleship. According to him, the most pressing needs in connection with the;treatment of the wounded in sea warfare are better ventilation, a specially trained first-aid party in every ship which does not carry a medical officer, and an improvement in the method of get* ting the wounded away from the fighting ship to the hospital auxiliary. Th< hospital auxiliary itself, however, remains to be evolved on the spur of th« moment when wanted, and the shortage of medical officers is notorious." The Navy has an ample supply of medical officers in times of peace, but war unhappily creates new demands.