NOTES ON THE WAR.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17529, 12 July 1917, Page 4

NOTES ON THE WAR.

General Kornilov, w r bo is in command, apparently, of the army that wns under General Lechitsky last year, is making a "very bold advance from Stanislau along tho western railway. When Stanislau was occupied" in August of last year it was confidently expected that the Russians would push west at once. Their objective then as now was Halicz, but tho plan adopted involved simultaneous thrusts north and south of the Dniester, and Lechitsky’s attack was virtually a direct one. However, tho Russian progress beyond Stanislau was comparatively slow. The delays in July had allowed the Austrians to reinforce the bridgehead and the Russians, probably, were wearied by tho incessant marching and fighting. 31 oreover, they lacked tlio heavy guns necessary for tho adequate battering of the very strong positions that the enemy had prepared. Before tho winter set in the Russians contracted their front slightly, abandoning advanced positions, so that they might go into winter quarters under tho most favourable conditions. That is why Kornilov now reports the occupation of one or two villages that were captured last year. Very little is known concerning the details of the operations south of the Dniester in the late summer of 1910, however, mainly because the intervention of Rumania distracted attention from tlio Russian front.

Stanislau lies about fifteen miles south of Halicz, and the Russians advancing west and north-west along the railway line towards Dolina uould still bo some ten miles south of tho br.cguhcad when they reached the Lomnitsa, representing an advance of about seven miles from their original front. They must havo crossed several streams, including the Lukev, which at this season is likely to he a considerable river, and beyond it they would occupy the ridge north .and south of t-lie station of Maidan, a few miles from the Loinnitsa. If they can maintain this advance, they may he content for the time to mask Halicz, in the hope of striking tho Dniester higher up. Halicz is important because it is the bridgehead just on the edge of the gorges, and a few miles further west- it would bo quite possible for tho Russians to force the crossing even against opposition, or else to compel the enemy to abandon Halicz. The present operations threaten such an advance, and if the passage of tho Lomnitsa and of the Sivka behind it can be forced, tho Austro-Germans will find it impossible to held tho line oven of the Gmla Lipa. Lechitsky had the possibility of this development in mind, but could not break through. Kornilov now. seems to havo made an excellent beginning, and provided tho rains do not delay his progress, 1.. W bo obte to * “> enemv moving. Unfortunately the.i eports suggest that the July rains have already set in.

General Maude’s references to the improvement of the transport and med - cal* services in Mesopotamia give Pi- , •_an interview given to o W Birch, an Army chaplain, wh hasTpent two years in the Tigris region and Uo iH non- in Ausuato on to lough. Arriving at Basra in 191 , Birch joined the forces when preparations were in hand for the big np tlho Tigris and Euphrates Riveis. “ When I landed at Basra, lm said “ tho place consisted' of swamps, date groves, green water and evil smells. Earth was carted from the deser , am the swamp filled in. When I passed through on my way home I scarcely recognised the place. StajichnS on the banks of the Shat-el-Arab, the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates, ib now resembles a big shipping port. Labour corps from India, Hong Kong a.n<l Egypt* have worked transformation. Good roads run in all directions, and big hospitals have been establisned.”

Referring to the food and medical arrangements, Mr Birch said that though it was “an awful nightmare” in 1915, organisation and skill had triumphed over apparently insurmountable difficulties, and things wero practically perfect now. (1 An endless stream of boats of all descriptions carries goods to the front along the two big waterways,” he said. “A lighb railway is being pushed forward at a rate of two miles a day, and will soon reach Bagdad. Stationary hospitals have been established wherever possible and the food is good, considering the difficulties. «The whole campaign is a triumph of skill. Following upon the chlorinating- of water, cholera, onterio and other diseases have been reduced by 80 per cent.” Nevertheless, he added, all the plagues of nature still infested Mesopotamia.

The establishment of the administration at Bagdad seems to have been wonderfully prompt. “ 1 was with the

troops who entered Bagdad from tho west,” 3fr Birch said. 11 Tho City of 31osques had been looted by Turks, and later by Arabs. Tho bazaars were empty, tho doors of houses broken open, and the furniture lying in tho streets, while tho Christians, Jews and Armenians wero in fear of their lives. When we occupied, tlio city tho looting had been thorough and one could not have bought a handkerchief or • a pound of dates or grain. That was on the surface, as the wily merchants, accustomed to persecution, had buried quantities of goods, and these wero soon brought out. Our entry was welcomed by all law-abiding citizens—only those who objected to law and order wore sorry to seo us. When I saw the city two months later it was scarcely recognisable-. The bazaars wero in full swing, the streets wero clean, and the whole place was changed. Tho pariah dogs ■which previously infcst-cd tlio streets wero being shot and taken away in cartloads, and as a- result of all these changes Bagdad’s unenviable cholera record is sure to sink to little or no ■ proportions. Under tho new regime there seems no doubt that tho City of the Arabian Nights will rise to her former a,s one of the principal trading centres of tho East'.”

The movement on tho Persian frontier from Khanikin northwards to Pendjvin is not fully explained, tlio Russians merely reporting a retreat) under pressure of fresh Turkish forces. The Russians havo never been very strong on this front, and probably their columns from Persia, when spread out, constituted littlo more than a thin screen. It was the defeat of the Turks at Kut and tho swift British advance on Bagdad that compelled tho enemy to evacuate Persia, the Russians following them closely all the way, and when tho Turks from Persia functioned -with those from Bagdad and wero reinforced from Mosul tho Russians contented themselves with maintaining an active demonstration along the eastern flank. Recently the Russians showed a disposition to press into enemy territory, but tho Turks have brought fresh forces into tho field and aro now clearing their flank. Whether they plan to open an offensive against Bagdad remains to be seen, but it is certain that if they are concentrating considerable forces they will not leave General Maude unmolested.