PROGRESS OF THE WAR

New Zealand Times, Volume XL, Issue 9095, 14 July 1915, Page 6

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

A significant note from Holland follows General Botha’s conquest of Gorman South Africa. Firstly, it seems that the military prestige of Germany has received a rude shock among the Dutch. They had expected that the German defence of this part of their possessions would have made good, or at least led to the usual stalemate stand. The Dutch public had seen the rebuff given by their neighbours, the strenuous Belgians, in August, which disorganised the great German plan at the outset. They had seen the German armies beaten on the Marne and driven back, and they had noted the disastrous repulse of the Germans under the Kaiser in person at Nancy, which materially helped the Allies to win the battle of the .Rivers. They liad noted the fearful carnage with which the German attacks had been repulsed at Ypres, and they had been familiar with all the tremendous campaign in Russia. Still they believed in the German prestige of irresistible military strength. But the South African disaster, with its small scale of men ano enormous scale of territory, opened their eyes. Whatever the scale, it, was a complete surrender, and an overwhelming conquest. * * », That is the lesson for the Allies in Europe. The world will not consider the prestige of Germany destroyed until it sees the troops ot the , Allies marching on German soil driving the enemy before them. The Dutch had a sneaking affection for Germany by reason of their sympathy with their cousins the Boers, beaten in their struggle path Britain. Therefore they had hoped for different results in this campaign of General Botha’s. It was natural,, but illogical—natural by reason of tho race sympathy, illogical because of the complete failure to realise what had happened in South Africa after Vereeniging. The Dutch, in fact, regarded Botha’s campaign as a thing forced by Britain, the tyrannical master, and therefore sure to bo a failure, followed by the alliance of the Boer with the German. Hence their astonishment at General Botha’s extraordinary success. They recognised that the great military genius of the General and the magnificent quality of- the Africander troops had passed over to Britain,. and they applauded.

At last they recognised the true significance of the great victory over the Germans. All the world know that Germany had prepared a great stroke in South Africa, which was to begin with rebellion and end in German dominance.' The Dutch knew this quite well, and expected that the result would be what the Germans expected. Now they recognise that the Boers have, extraordinary as it may seem, become loyal subjects of the British Empire. They are declaring that it is useless for any Power to attempt to build up colonial possessions without the consent of Britain. After all that is the moral of their own history. They had acquired this very country of South Africa by conquest from the Portuguese, or at all events without hindrance from those first discoverers of the Cape of Good Hope. But they had not conciliated Britain, and Britain as soon as they took arms against her in the great wars of the Napoleonic era, promptly ousted them It is a curious turn in the course of history that has enabled them to declare this conclusion in connection with this very country of South Africa.

But South Africa is not the only country supporting this Dutch conclusion. There is the great Dutch East Indian Empire, which Holland might easily have lost to Britain, after the latter had become the ruling Power in the East. In the beginning the East India Company had no greater or more determined foe than the Dutch holders of the great island countries over against Hindustan Had their hostility continued, those countries would _ certainly have passed under the British flag. But timely conciliation retained for “Meinhcer van Dunk, who never was drunk,” the lands he holds so comfortably to-day; the only evidence remaining of the supremacy he exercised at sea before Meinheer van Tromp hoisted the famous broom on his topmast.

Historically this Dutch declaration is deeply interesting. It carries Us back to the time when England was nothing on the seas and Holland was the paramount Power; to the days of the great protracted struggle between the two for the mastery of the seas, with their great naval battles, and their vast convoys of merchantmen. The names of the famous admirals who fought on both sides float before our mental vision, we realise the work

done by Mr Secretary Pepys, and we appreciate the greax victory of .our people in the end, of which wo and oui cousins of Australia are the heirs inhabiting tho Now Zealand, the land of Van Diemen (now Tasmania) and New Holland, all discovered and named by the navigators of our ancient enemy. In this light the Dutch declaration that no one can found colonies and keep them without the saiiction of Britain, becomes a great historic acknowledgment. *. • •

It is tho acknowledgment of the strongest sea Power we have ever faced and fought in the building ot our great Empire. And it comes at a very opportune time. In the North Sea, almost in sight of the Holland coast, lies a grqafc fleet cooped up, forbidden by the British Navy to move under pain of battle. It has lain there inglorious while the whole vast commerce of its,nation was being swept off the sea, and its armed cruisers sent forth to destroy the commerce of. Britain were being hunted to their death. To-day comes the news that the last of those, bottled up some months ago in a remote African river, has been ferreted out and sunk. This is tho present stage of the attempt of Germany to play tho part on. the sea which Holland once played, the attempt, moreover, to wrest the Trident from Britain which Britain had taken from Holland. On the same day we get the historic Dutch declaration acknowledging that Britain is mistress of the seas. The fact is interesting. We trust it may prove suggestive as to our final victory being as complete over Germany and as permanent as was our victory over Holland. At all events, the historic declaration is encouraging in the heat of the greatest struggle the British Empire has ever seen for its life.

The answer of Berlin to the American Note is causing a great flutter among the American newspapers. But the rustling of their leaves, though sensational enough for a hurricane, does not soem to find any echo in the diplomacy of tho country. We are informed that the American reply will reject the German proposals and insist on the respecting of American rights. The press burls adjectives through tho lurid atmosphere, “intolerable,'’ ‘‘insulting,” “cynical,” “lawless,” “disappointing.” But it thinks, nevertheless, that the Government will not do anything until the Germans repeat the story of the Lusitania, or something equally outrageous. , * ♦ • Tho question is, what will bo regarded as equally outrageous? It is without any doubt an outrage to murder several hundred people without warning, or any chance of escape, whether there are millionaires among them or not. But a fishing smack with,- six poor men aboard, peaceably drawing its new away at sea? To murder these six men, or one of them, is just'as much an outrage. The great question is whether the Germans will, after all their bluster, commit any outrage involving danger to American subjects. To refrain will be impossible without censing tho submarine blockade altogether. As the alternative will be war with the United States, the behaviour of Germany will be very interesting. There was a story the other , day that a German base for submarines has been established "in some part of the rooky coast about the St. Lawrence mouth, and somebody was kind enough to say it was not too fantastic for : belief. At all events, that represents the only possibility of harm that Germany could inflict on America in the event of wpr.

On the other hand what can America do against Germany? In the first place a good deal of trade goes to Germany from America one way or another, all of it through neutral countries since the British blockade has been made close. ' Most of this, if not all, would''cease. America, anyhow , would stop all' the contraband, and the rest would not matter very much one way or the other. The fleet of America would be very useful, in the extended operations that are at hand, and in time powerful American armies could be sent to the fronts of war. It is quite, evident that more men are wanted as well as munitions’, it is certain that America can supply them by the million armed and equipped; beyond doubt that there will be plenty of time to complete their training, and there is abundance of transport to take them anywhere. There could be no better cause than the Lusitania outrage, no better motive than the .vindication of treaties, the punishment of the aggressor, the righting of wrong and the adjustment of national boundaries according to national aspirations. Many writers are urging the transport of a million Japanese troops to the European front. That proves that there- can be no difficulty in getting Americans to the front. The difference, of course, is that the Americans require time to get ready, whereas the Japanese can start at once.

Th© help of America clearly would bo great. But it would be costly. It would cost us the ammunition we get from th 6 American makers; the ammunition and arms which are filling many ships and are, if the tales of warning are true, the depositaries of bombs. What that cost would he remains to be seen. .For the moment we must, in the event of war extending to the Unitoa States, be glad to realise that the work of providing munitions has been put on a sound basis for rapid work in Britain. America has, however, not yet got into the war.

“The Times,” we learn from the summary forwarded, declares that “diplomacy must soon give place to some positive form of asserting the rights of America.' 1 Positive 'torn! "Why can not the paper say “war” straight out? But this is typical of all things in this American episode. America is dealing with superfine terms and mincing phrases, which, Uko the brooks, run on for ever. If there were any virile strength in American public opinion, there would be less talk of “more positive forms of assertion” and more doing of war. One cannot but fear that the President’s intervention will bring up against the Monroe Doctrine, which tends to keep America qu'to free from intervention either by foreigners or for foreigners. However, as America did fight Spain, she may after all fight Germany in combination with the Allies. • ■ * * The Dardanelles .have seen another tremendous fight. The Turks delivered, a week ago, the greatest assault they have yet made op the southern position of the Allies. They seem -to have in consequence lost more men than ever—the account of the slaughter shows it to have been prodigious—and more ground from the inevitable counterattack. They thought the Allies had no ammunition, because they have been quiet in the last few days: Hence the confidence with which their masses came on. Their artillery was not too formidable, for it inflicted slight losses on our

men or our trenches, and none at all on tlio barbed wire approaches. Ours was superior, for it loft the men in their trenches unfit to meet the infantry advances. The counter-attack, under the circumstances, substantially improved our position. The sum and substance of the story is that the enemy is still very enterprising, though he has found out that the business of attacking the Allied armies is quite hopeless. It is possible be may elect to keep to the defensive game, wherein ho is a. past master, as was recorded in imperishable letters at Plevna thirty-seven years ago, and at Silistna and Kars twentyfive years before that great defenceTho nature of this last attack shows that the enemy is aware of the approach of largo reinforcements from the new Kitchener armies which passed Malta some days ago; and, what is more, is not at all inclined to the belief that any submarines are likely to prevent them from throwing their weight info the field against him. Moreover, it is probable that the determination shown by tho Turks in this last assault, so vividly described by the Lemnos correspondent of a London paper—-what arc the official correspondents doing?— were fresh troops who had not tasted tho quality of the Allied armies they undertook to drive into the sea- In which case it is evident that the efforts of the fleet to prevent the concentration of reinforcements along the Anatolian coast for dispatch to tho Turkish front have not been successful.

The main points that emerge from the fight are tho great power of the Allied artillery, and the abundance of munition? in the Turkish camp; to which must bo added the small losses of the Allies, and the fact that the Australasian troops did not take part in the action. They made a demonstration on the enemy's flank, which seems to have been effective, without any serious fighting, if, indeed, there was any fighting at all. So that the usual dread of the casualty lists need not be felt in this country.

On the Russian side, the Russians do not report any pursuit of the enemy on the Vistula-Bug section. They report consolidating their new positions, and easily repelling small assaults from Maokensen’s army on the Bug. We had hoped for more results from the recent victories. * • • An interesting item is the account' of von Hinden burg’s retirement from tbe command. The absence of his name from all the reports of the great Austro-German advance, from the crossing of the Donajec to the defeat at Itrasnyk was , very suggestiveIt is reported to-day that he was removed for advising that the further prosecution of the campaign in Galicia would bo but prolonging useless slaughter. He thought as Lee did before tho historic Apomattox surrender, that further fighting would he murder. Therefore, he has gone, and the murder has come. The story is not encouraging for those who believe that the Russians are beaten in the eastern front or that they have lost their power in any way.

Austria is reported to have made a desperate attempt to bnho Koumania into sending her fine army into the Austrian line of battle, with a promise of getting'much of the Austrian territory that the other side would give, and a slice of Russian territory besides. The offer is supported from Germany by a newspaper threat to decl.re war against Rouniania for preventing the passage of men and munitions through her territory tor Turkey. This observance of neutrality is by German newspapers called a breach of neutrality. It invites the Roumanians to believe that if they do not repent by abandoning neutrality altogether, they will be punished bv w>r. - • • • From the West the report is of the usual fighting. The usual Dutch reports of guns and men concentrating for another "Calais” are silent to-day. In their place we have the announcement that the Germans have built some great armoured ships of-the air, which are destined to clear the trenches of the Allies with bombs. If they had added that the Allies will sit down calmly under tie infliction the report would have been Anyhow one can say as ,the Maori chief said about tho rocket battery: “After all, these guns are like other guns; they can miss.”