PROGRESS OF THE WAR

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9620, 28 March 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

The most cheerful messages wo have had from the West for a long time tell us to-day that the Allies have great hopes of speedy victory on a great scale through the defeat of the German new line. A powerful corroborating message gives the speech of the Prussian Minister for War, who has told the Prussian Diet openly that the cause of the German retreat was the “insufficiency of guns.” There we have in a nutshell the entire cause, as admitted by the enemy. In spite of the bragging and boasting of the Gorman experts and the press, the truth gives them the lie by the mouth of the Prussian Minister for War. There is no lure, no ambuscade, no deep preparation for victory glorious and complete. The German armies retreated' from these series of formidable positions because they were thrashed out of the first half of the series, and could not hold the second half. This fully explains the Kaiser’s big mixture of hysteria, grumbling and apprehension. Insufficiency of guns! The admission ought to open the eyes of Germany to the failure of the military machine which by its enormous artillery superiority was to have beaten down the armies of the world. Ihe Teutonic mind should now realise that the Allies held down the superior strength of Germany for two years with one hand while they more than made up the difference in (runs and equipment with the other. It was an achievement as unexpected as it was marvellous.

One message declares that the great battle of decision has now been well begun. Yesterday we were warned not to trust to rumours to that efiec't. But this was the message of some foolish busybody, for there was no question of rumours. There were unquestioned facts of battle. Tho French and German reports all show-

ed that very severe fighting was going on Between r.he Preneli and something like tho main body of the enemy, from tlio Somme to the Aisne, that the French had defined the lino eiiosen by the enemy for the end of his retreat, and that they had driven it back at several points. These were not rumours of a great battle: they were tile facts of battle, growing daily more, intense. Tile -statement of -Mr Gibbs, which to-day gives us definitely tlip whole line to which the enemy has rer.ired by the orders of Hinclonhurg—who once'declared that a retreat would be puerile—confirms the testimony of the facts on which we based conjecture of that line. Tt starts at a point near Arms—Benumetz, apparently—passes west of Ooiselles, which is some 16 miles west of Carabrai, to St. Quentin, and thcnco on over tho Oise to Laon. What the Hindrnbnrg intention i.s as to the line between Laon and Soissons Mr Gibbs says nothing. As our conjecture was correct lor the lino from Arras to Laon, wo venture to repeat the conjecture that the enemy arc still intending to swing hack tJiViv lino of the Aisno till one end fit it readies Laon and tho rest of it passes through Craonnc to Berry-au-Bac where the old German lino crosses the Aisne to the south on its way through the Champagne and the Argomic to Verdun.

Air Gibbs goes so far as to tell us that a groat battle is approaching, and a French message adds that tho whole French front is wild with the delight of anticipation, seeing something approaching on the scale of the great battle of the Marne, with decisive conclusions as the certain consequence. In fact, the French are looking forward to a great victory. These are the cheerful messages we refer to, and we repeat that they have "real support from the Prussian General Stein’s admission of the cause of tile retreat as ‘'insufficiency of guns-”

These arc things tangible, such as wo had all through the, year 1916, which gave us the Gorman disaster of Verdun, the Austrian disaster in the Trentino, the fall of Goritza, thh great victory of Brusiioff in VoJliyina —emphasising the marvellous Russian revival, really tho crowning victory after the Donajeo disaster and its consequences —and the many great victories of that great operation of war, the Somme push. The enemy had one tangible thing to offset these great tangible things—his success in Roumanin. With this difference: the enemy has shot his bolt in Roumania so completely that his successful general is* reported to have taken command of tho Turkish organisation of the lovy-on-rnasse, ■ which represents tin, last effort of the Central Powers in the East, whereas the Entente armies are vigorous on the Russian, Italian, Macedonian, Westsin and Asiatic fronts. In 1917 the last has added to tho great list of tangible tilings, the capture of Baghdad and tlie German retreat on tho Somme, against which Germany and tile allies of Germany have no offset of any kind, except the submarine piracy, which, in spite of its frightfulness, is not mooting with anything like the success so feverishly anticipated, and is likely to bo left behind Dy more important events looming in the. spring and summer programme of the same year, 1917.

Having defined the now German line. Mr Gibbs details tho British mapiattacking tho same, thereby ’adding greatly to the interest of the ■reports which have shown, and are showing, the French method of attacking it, and also to tho interest of tho British reports of progress against the centre of the lino, whore the British two days ago had established themselves at Roisel.

Mr Gibbs gives us to-day the history of the operations at the northern end compressed into the British General’s laconic report of progress west of Croisollcs. It is the history of tho battle of Beaumetz, which the British reported as occupied. In that statement the operations looked like a march into tho country abandoned by the enemy. But it was otherwise really. The enemy, waking up, retook this position of Beaumetz- It was evidently a serious counter-attack, and it succeeded, indicating the determination of the enemy to retreat no further, Tho place-commanded his positions, part of his new lino, and tho enemy, perceiving that he ought not to have abandoned it, attacked in force and regained it. But the British were equally determined to have tho place, and recaptured it in their turn. Tho German command called for volunteers to assault it again, and no one in the Kaiser's host responded. It is eloquent testimony corroborating the report- of the local peasantry of tho enemy’s reluctance to face the British in battle. Failing to get volunteers, the enemy resorted to tho troops he has —as often mentioned in recent reports—trained specially for the assault of positions held in force. That was, we remember, a great feature of his preparation for his great assault on .Verdun. Several divisions were get aside for this purpose in the autumn and winter of 1915, specially organised, trained, and rationed. They opened the battle nt Verdun in February of 1916 and ke.pt it up as long as they lasted- But they were used up without avail against the splendid French resistance. Tho same course has been followed by Ihe German command for stopping the great push which forced him to his retreat, heating him out of the formidable positions of the Somme sector, of which the names will live in history as the innumerable battles won by the British and French in their great advance of tho second half of the year 1916. But the specially-trained troops were as unsuccessful in March of 1917 as they had been in the several Verdun months of 1916. The British repulsed them, with very heavy losses, from Beaumetz, and their' artillery broke up all further attempts.

The battle has evidently begun well for us, and the British have improved their victory by driving the enemy further on the south of his line, to Lagnicourt, north of the BapaumeOambrai road. Still further south, they have hitherto been following the enemy’s outpost lino and rearguards, and two days ago were reported as having taken Roisel, seven to ten miles north-west of St. Quentin. The advance was described as steady, with cavalry ranging in great force —a screen moving in front, in fact—and infantry endeavouring to bring the enemy to battle, which he refused. But, according to Mr Gibbs, his refusal has ended, and thei-e will presently bo very serious work. This British advance on the centre has kept pace with the French advance, and is in touch with it. This in the centre, while at tho two ends of the line the British and French arc pressing

their assaults with great vigour and meeting with strong resistance. The whole front is approximately between sixtv and seventy miles —Arras to Craonne—and presently a tremendous battle will he raging on every mile of it, with possibly increase of its width both nortli and south.

This k tho hattlo of which tho Ercnch reports speak as of the scale of the battle of the Marne. That it will be different from the Marne in the nature of the positions seems probable. Tho Marne was an open battle, with trenches "used, of course, hut not of the formidable prepared character of later dates, merely for purposes of cover. The enemy is supposed to have retired to prepared positions. But the British havo reported passing such positions abandoned, though brand now. That does not encourage tlie belief that lie is in prepared positions now, holding them for the purpose of the great battle which has begun. Conjecture is useless to-day, for to-morrow tvn shall havo the facts. The Allied line is pressing on to tho attack of the German new line, aud the fighting will reveal what sort of position the enemy is holding.

The French were yesterday within three miles of St. Quentin, and further south they were vigorously fighting nearly to Craonnc, getting nearer to I.aon on the way, atfer crossing the Ailotto. To-day they report slight further advances. But Whether they are driving in the enemy’s lino or only finding out the points of his determined holding remains to bo seen. What wo know now for certain is that the scale the war has assumed proclaims the approach of great events.

Tho Americans are discovering more and more, cause tor war with Germany, and openly denouncing ‘ Gorman" bad faith, hut though the valid causes of war are piling up, war does not come in the trail of,the talk. But there are preparations. The Prussian War Minister has declared that the Americans can never put an army in th© field that will count, which shows, not that Americans cannot do wliat tho British have done, but that this authority thinks that the war will bo over before tho American armies will bo ready; that, in fact, the war will end 1 soon. The latest American story is that there is in Mexico an army of 150,000 Germans which' is going to settle tho problem of anarchist Mexico, and defeat the United States in some way, which proves that America is a great country for rumours.