MILITARY SITUATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16848, 13 May 1918, Page 6

MILITARY SITUATION.

WORK ON THE WEST FRONT

MERELY MINOR OPERATIONS

RENEWED ATTACK EXPECTED.

ENEMY POSITION DESPERATE.

[TIT TELEGRAPH.—Sr-ECIAI, COKRESFO.VDEJ.T.)

WELLINGTON Sunday. The following review of the military operations has been received by the GovernorGeneral from the Secretary of State for the Colonies : — " Since the enemy's drastic repulse on the Lys sector on April 29 only minor operations have been carried out, namely, before Locre, westward of Morloncourt and southwards of the Ypres salient. All were repulsed heavily. Apart from raids and local shelling of back areas the week has been ominously quiet. The position now is that the German*; are determined to concentrate every available unit on one enormous offensive and are draining the country dry to force a decision before it is U'u late. The Entente are eo confident that, tiven the choice of a small immediate American army for defence or waiting until reinforced by a complete, powerful, selfsupporting American army, they have chosen the letter. Tho sledge-hammer uses of masses by the enemy are being met with tho smallest force capable of standing up to the shock while keeping the strongest reserve possible. Troops on the wings are permitted to give ground within limits whenever the enemy has been made to pay a greater price than the ground is worth, the whole aim being to reduce the enemy to such exhaustion that the reserve, at the right moment, cap restore the situation. " In the present operations the British have played the part on the wings and withstood many times their own weight of enemy masses and retired slowly, exacting the fullest price. Meanwhile General Foch holds the bulk of the French in reserve, sending units only to points hard pressed. This strategy has been justified in that three weeks have seen the enemy brought to a standstill without » single strategic objective being fulfilled and with losses so immense that his reserve is in danger of proving inadequate to his policy. v The German commander, seeing how nearly he is delivering himself into the hands of the allied reserve, has been compelled to accept tern- , porary failure and call a halt. His position is exposed tactically in two dangerous f salients on water-logged ground, his countrymen are dangerously dissatisfied at the immense price for "the failure to terminate their sufferings, his allies are on the verge of quarrelling daily and exhibit their growing dislike and distrust for their taskmaster, who robs them of lives and food, his reserves are nearing complete exhaustion, those of the FrancoBritish are still in being, while the American preparations develop and the time draws closer when defeat is inevitable, « Therefore, he must renew the offensive. preparations proceed feverishly, but as it takes months properly to organise, such an offensive > he must be satisfied with what he can do in weeks. " We may, therefore, expect a renewed furious onslaught before long, as the enemy is so committed to his strategical plan. we »nay„ await his main blow on • the Amiens front, while necessity will compel him to try to improve his position m the Lys sector. The allies may have _ complete confidence in the result, for the enemy the issue is a desperate endeavour to avoid . defeat, while for the ahies the issue is only that of victory deferred. The coming battle may be a repetition of Verdnn on a larger, scale, and if both sides should be exhausted, it must be remembered that the allies have vast powers of recuperation, while Germany nao drained her reserve already." ,