THE CAMPAIGNS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17879, 27 August 1918, Page 4

THE CAMPAIGNS.

The generalissimo’s comparison of 'the German invasion of Franco to a tide that had turned is just the note for which most people have been waiting. Inexpressibly cheered by the steady progress of the Allies they have hesitated to trust their own judgment of the situation,, for the turns of fortune in the long struggle have brought them many disappointments. The Allies oommenced their counter blows in the middle of July and have continued them ever since, with the. result that the Germans have been brought to battle on an enormous front, have been compelled to make drastic adjustment »f their lines and have lost heavily in men, guns and material. Marshal Foch declares that the.operations will be continued. At present the British lire attacking, but following the system of alternating thrusts we should look for the French and Americans to carry on the good work, not in any widesweeping offensive, but in a methodical series of attacks,, aiming at no distant objectives but threatening at every Btage to convert tactical into strategical advantages. It goes without saying that the Germans will endeavour in tho near future to recover the initiative, but they may have to resort to desperate measures, and in the meantime the Allied offensive is making it more ■nd more difficult for them to hold in feserve sufficient divisions to launch a Counter-thrust on any great scale. It is undoubtedly the Allied purpose to prevent, if possible, the organisation of another huge enemy reserve. Next month will bring the remaining drafts from the German depots into the field, if, indeed, they have not been sent forward In anticipation of the appointed date, and we must expect to find a fair, if not a high, proportion of them efficient, because the Germans have naturally perfected during tho war a system of intensive training for their new contingents, and these will be used to fill the gaps in veteran divisions. But the enemy’s losses have been so persistently high and' some of his divisions have been so badly shattered that we may discover a. positive decline of the number of divisions employed as well as of the number of effectives. Broadly we are entitled to take an optimistic view of the situation, much more optimistic than most serious students of the war expected to be able to take at this season, and Foeh’s assurance that “ all goes well ” is the best siilgle item of news we have had in six mo3t encouraging weeks.

- So far as the British front is concerned, the official news this morning deals mainly with the rectification of the German lines rendered necessary by the British advance north of Bapaume. It is evident that the New Zealanders were checked, temporarily at all events, in front of Bapaume, where we should look for tho. stiffest German resistance. But th e absence of news does not mean that the. advance is ended or that the enemy has succeeded in establishing a firm front. Unofficial reports speak of farther British progress, hut progress is not officially,, claimed until it is definite. W© have no fresh news from the EYouoh sectors.