THE CAMPAIGNS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17878, 26 August 1918, Page 4

THE CAMPAIGNS.

Fob a day the German reinforcements thrown into the battle in front of Bapaume were able to check the pace of the British advance, but their counterattacks were beaten off, their resistance was broken, and the British are sweeping forward now on the whole front north of the Sommo. The New Zealanders are at Avesnes, at the gates of Bapaume, having advanced, eo the communique tells us, with irresistible dash and determination. On the left wing the British have reached tho outskirts of Oroisilles. On the right of the New Zealanders English troops have Miraumont and Irles, 'and across the Ancre the advance has passed the formidable defensive lino at Thiepval, and the victorious troops, are on the ridge behind it, made famous by the " bitter fighting of 1916. On the southern wing Bray is ours, and the Australians are pushing eastward. Thus tho British are moving forward on the whole front of five and'twenty miles from the Somme north to NeuvilleVitasse. The Germans are offering a stiff resistance, because the ground on which' they are fighting is of vital importance. The Thiepval ridge was to have been the strong point holding tho northern flank of the line to which they planned to fall back after their defeat south of the Somme, but General Hyng's brilliant thrust has outflanked Thiepval and the line of the Ancre, and tho German plan is already foiled. Rupprecht must now use his reserves, and all of them, because he dare not risk a break between Arras and Bapaume, and unless by heroic measures ho can maintain his front, his whole army will have to swing back, possibly I boyond Peronne. The earlier communiques reported a strong British thrust immediately south of the Somme, which promised to have an important influenco on the battle north of the river, but tho brilliant attacks that carried the New Zealanders to the outskirts of Bapaume have already provided tho solution of the position on the Ancre and at Thiepval, and at the moment the Australian movement south of the river is nothing more than a supporting advance. "There are big Jssues in the balance, perhaps the big-

gest of the -war, and they "will turn on tho celerity with which the enemy can bring his remaining reserves into action and the tenacity with which they can bold their ground. • The French, after stiff fighting on the Divette and after clearing the ridge overlooking the Ailette and the Oise, have had a day's respite. And they had earned it, for on the left Humbert's magnificent divisions had forced the crossing of the Divette and had brought Noyon within striking distance, and on the right Mangin's heroes had completed their remarkable victory, the full results of which have Btill to be reaped. The Germans have been subjected now to a persistent hammering so severe and on such a wide front that their resources must have been tested to the utmost. They are at the crisis. They must either counter-attack desperately or accept tjae alternative of a retreat on a wide front under continuous pressure. But we must guard against undue optimism. The enemy is not yet broken, and there is nothing to suggest that ho is at tho breaking-point. Ho is skilful in retreat as in attack. 'Oar hope lies in the ability of the Allies xo proceed with theyr smashing blows, first on one sector, then on another, until tho weakness of tho German reveals itself at some vital point.