THE CAMPAIGNS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17644, 23 November 1917, Page 4

THE CAMPAIGNS.

y. ■ ♦ i The British on Tuesday opened a new offensive on a wide front in the diredtion of Cambrai, and by midday on ', Wednesday they were within three miles' of Cambrai, having broken through the Hindenburg line and advanced to a depth of more than five miles- . The brief early messages yesterday may have raised extravagant hopes, -because they gave | no details and so |j allowed free play to the imagination. But the facts now reported are impressive enough. When the French last year, at the opening of the Sommo battle, caught the enemy completely by surprise south of the Somme, they rapidly penetrated three lines of trenches and pushed beyond in what was considered the mo3t brilliant single attack of the war in the west. Tuesday's thrust by»the British surpassed any previous achievement of the kind, because it was made against powerfully fortified lines and support lines, it was opened on a wide front and it reached a depth of more than four miles on a front of not less than five miles. Only a surprise attack could have produced such important results- General Byng, who succeeded General Allenby in command of the Third Army, took the risk of launching his attack without firing a shot by way of preparation. He gave the enemy no warning of his intentions, trusting to the Tanks to batter a path through the wire entanglements. The tactics were completely successful, for some ten miles or more of the famous Hindenburg line were rupffared, and the supporting attacks cleared powerful advanced positions for five miles on either flank. There must have been weight behind the thrust in the centre, for it brushed aside all opposition in the opening stages, and the desperate resistance of the German reserves could not stop the advance. The weather again favoured +Jie Germans, hampering

tho air service and blinding the. artillery, throwing the whole of the fighting on tho Tanks, tho machinegunners and the infantry, and under these conditions tho advance achieved was extraordinary. On "Wednesday the thrust was continued in the centre in weather that was still atrocious, the infantry pushing beyond Noyelles aud Cantaing, within three miles of Cambrai. Tho Germans, of course, had rushed reinforcements to the breach. Normally a division of reserves would bo held at Cambrai and two more divisions would be available immediately, while divisions- in billets in Flanders would bo hastily entrained. Tt was imperative that the principal defensive positions should be broken in the early stages of tho battle, and General Byng developed his success rapidly. Wednesday brought desperate fighting, and the intensity of the struggle will increase as the enemy leserves are brought into action. We have as yet no estimate of tho prisoners and guns taken. The importance of the offensive is not to be measured in depth of ground won, because the British aro threatening a most important enemy base, and if sufficient weight is in the push there will be a prospect of achieving far greater results than are at the moment in sight. How far the thrust! can bo carried we have no means of judging, for the comparative ease with which the Hindenburg line was broken may give us a very false impression of the whole position, but while we arc bound to bo reserved in our expectations it is certain that the German General Staff will recognise the magnitude of tho danger and will have to turn from tho Italian issue to the new problem in the west.

The position in .Italy has undergone no material change. There are gloomy predictions of the .fate of Venice, which iv of course, very immediately threatened, but in the meantime the Piave line holds, and that is the .best wo cau hope for. If the British offensive is sr/stained it will ultimately relieve the pressure on the Italians, and it is possible that tho French, in spite of the feet that they have sent many men to the Italian front, are ready to cooperate with tho British. They did attack on a narrow front between the Aisne and Oraonno, but this 'local action has not developed importantly, The Palestine campaign continues Successfully, the British being in contact with the enemy forces a few miles from Jerusalem.