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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 10 July 1915, Page 4

The good news that -the entire German forces operating in .SouthrWest Africa have surrendered to General Botha is and another feather in,the sturdy South African Imperialist'© cap. Now that, this trouble has ibeerii cleared up after strenuous efforts.. in> difficult country, attention turns to German East Africa, -where little or mo progress has been made towards conquest. German invasions ,of JSTyasaland, British East Africa, and Uganda have been repulsed; but thei British attempts at invasion, have not met with any marlced success. -Eniugh has happened to ..show that hut for toe arrival of several thousand troops British and .native,:. from India, tho> .Germans would .have jbeen able to do, considerable •damage to the Uganda- Railway., It is considered that the. major share -of the difficult task of conquering. the German! colony, will have to be 'borne by Indian troops. /■■■'," '-...:

The announcement that belligerent merchantmen are. en titled-to carry and use armament in. self-defence is of considerable significance. The point, of course, is that the -arming of merchantmen will give the Germans "an excuse for their submarine warfare against merchant shipping, for they could reasonably claim, that they could, not warn a neutral vessel without running considerable danger of themselves being sunk. Apparently it has been,decided that Britain has nothing to. lose in. providing America's President With a valid excuse for doing nothing when vessels carrying American •citizens are sunk. A single Jiole in the superstructure of a- submarine would prevent it from submerging.

According to the "Scientific American " the latest German submarines are carrying .a 4-inch weapon, which fires a projectile weighing somewhere in the neighbourhood of 331b. The gun, with its recoil cylinder and -a sheltering hood, is -mounted upon a involving pedestal provided with seats for two operators. One of them controls the lateral movement;" and the other manipulates-the elevating gear his left hand and fires with his right. The fl un hood' is really the hatch cover, and when: the weapon is lowered into the interior,of, the submarine this cover is rendered watertight by a Grubber cushion in the recess into which the cover fits. • -> .

The Argonne forest, that hilly area running north and south, just west of Verdun, has been figuring in'the cables considerably of late. The enemy's object is clear enough. It is to" break through the Argonne, for by so doing he will be able to completely surround the fortress cf Verdun. If this could .be done the French, it is stated by the strategists, would be forced to abandon a. considerable extent of country.

The position. of Holland is unique. Whilst there would be no landing of British troops so long as she maintains her present attitude, there is also the fact that she may not always* remain neutral. According to a writer in the "Fortnightly," an< uneasy feeling has sprung up in Holland that the German naval and military authorities are coming round to the view that the neutrality of Holland" has served its turn, and is now rather more an obstruction to Germany than an aid. , Germany holds Antwerp, but the Dutch: control the mouth of the Scheldt, as well as the outlets of the Meuse and the Rhine. " Principally to operate against Britain by seaj- Gex*irany must be able to use the mouths of these rivers, and the people of the Netherlands know well that if' it suits Germany to take possession of the Holland coast, she will not be restrained by any considerations of Dutch rights or feelings. In the meantime the Dutch have been preparing for eventualities, and their military forces are in a state of efficiency. ' ,•'."..

The main operations in the Dardanelles are confined to a comparatively small area. ' It is roughly the southern portion of the peninsula from a line across from just north of the Narrows. The Australasians landed at Gaba Tepe and the French and British forces at the extreme end of the peninsula. As Gaba Tepe is about N ls miles due north, and the line across about six miles, it will "be seen that operations are directed at only a small but decisive area. The Allies hold about four miles from Cape Hellcs, at the extreme end, and the Australasians are firmly dug in around Gaba Tepe and Ari Burnu. In describing recent operations the Press Bure.au made it clear that operations on • June 28th, when the troops -on the south of Krithia made an advance of 1000 yards towards Achi Baba, ( commenced from a point to the south "and east, of Krithia, which stands on the principal road of the peninsula running from Sedd-ul-Bahr to Maidos, pivoting on, a point about a .mile from the sea, probably at .the head of the Kcreves and after advancing the extreme left a distance of about a mile to establish a new line facing east on the ground thus occupied. On. the whole the advantage gained was reported to be substantial.