PROGRESS OF THE WAR

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9623, 31 March 1917, Page 6

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Tho British victory at Gaza makes very pleasant reading, showing ns tho 'bravery and energy of oor, troops, including the mounted, forces of Australasia. It is also very suggestive, showing that a heavy campaign for tho invasion of Palestine has seriously commenced. Hitherto tho fighting was done by tho mounted forces, which cleared the border. Now w© have British infantry regiments in action, with tho mounted forces, thirty miles forward in Palestine. It is announced that these forces wore covering the railway construction. That ends all doubt about the objective of the campaign. For some time there has been a disposition to regard any advance beyond tho Egyptian borders as impossible, out of the question, not to be thought of. It was a council of pessimism underrating tho resources of the British command, and failing to grasp tho comprehensiveness of the Entente military plans. These were distinctly stated on official authority to aim at exercising pressure on all the enemy fronts ajt once. This advance to Gaza, with a railway line in. construction, is now revealed as strongly pressing the invasion of Palestine. 'Wo. can dismiss the pessimists as easily as - the British advance destroyed tho Turkish army.

The extent of the Turkish forces opposing the invasion is not known, except to the British command, which is directing the invasion. What is generally known is that large Turkish forces were concentrated between Damascus and Gaza for the Jong trumpeted attack on Egypt, and that at one time all Palestine and Syria wero alive with military preparation. Il is known also that great forces were

never sent against Egypt. There is reason to believe that some portions of the Turkish army of Syria and Palestine were diverted to the Caucasus and Mesopotamia, and perhaps before that there mav have been diversions to the Dardanelles. in passing, we may call attention to this as one of the results—beneficial to ns—of tho Dardanelles campaign. But what force was ’left for the defence of Palestine and Syria against a possible advance of the army of Egypt is not known, except, as wo have said, to the British Egyptian command. It is reasonable, however, to suppose that the Turks and their German advisers did not fail to realise that the very large British army their throats had assembled in Egypt was not likely to sib still and do nothing, after their failure to justify its presence by serious attack.

Their threats wore not by any means all bluff. The evidences of their preparation were Too strong to admit any doubt on that point. When the attacks were made on Egypt, events elsewhere had caused the idea of attacking Egypt to be given up. The attacks can only be regarded, therefore, as hollow attempts to make good the boasting, and ns intended to create the impression that eventually the announced attack would be made in groat force. As the German exports and expert campaign writers have repeatedly said, they thought they would manage to immobilise tho great forces in Egypt for tho whole campaign. But to do that they must have known that considerable forces would be required to discourage any attempt to use those forces in active invasion of Turkish territory. It is possible, of course, that the desperate need for men on the East front may have reduced the Turkish strength in Palestine to very attenuated proportions. But the Turks and Germans must have realised that Such reduction would bo a direct tern] tation to the British armies of Egypt, to advance.

What they did actually tho progress of tho Palestine campaign will raveal. If they depleted tho country to supply the desperate need for men elsewhere, then tho 20,000 men defeated at Gaza probably were tho bulk of the army of defence. It they prudently determined' to keep a large army for resisting invasion, then tho 20,000 man defeated at 'Gaza would be only a division of the large Turkish army, of Syria, and Palestine. .The point is not cleared up by tho capture of the general and entire staff of a cortain named Turkish not indicate that there arc no more divisions.

At any rate, this one was very thoroughly beaten, with tho loss of ■ its general and staff, many prisoners, and much booty. The; capture of tho general and staff was probably the result of a brilliant dash by tho Australasian mounted men. The fact that the battle yielded only 900 prisoners out of 20,000 men engaged suggests that the capture of the batch of officers must have been a special affair, as clearly they did not form part of a big surrender of the .majority, of ~ the enemy’s troops to superior generalship. The campaign of Palestine has certainly begun well. If the enemy has not largo forces, our people will march through, capturing Jerusalem,- and everything up to Aleppo and Damascus. After reaching Bchouit their progress will be faster, because they will not bo hampered by the need of waiting on railway construction. At Beirout the line they are making, will link-up -with the Turkish system, which joins the Baghdad railway beyond Aleppo.

Paris reports that burning villages in an area extending nine miles back from the German new linb'’indicate tho enemy’s intention to renew the retreat, and they add that nows from Belgian sources' show’s similar, preparation for moving out of Western Belgium. The idea conveyed is, of course, that the enemy has decided that he'will be unable to hold his lines against the great, offensive the Allies are, lie know's, preparing, and is taking time by the forelock, so that tho time-table of his retreat may not'be inconveniently interfered with* by a, too-close pursuit. Read in the light of this development, the statements of Mr Beach Thomas are very suggestive. In those statements he describes the enormous extent and strength of the positions; tlie enemy abandoned in, his retreat. Tho fact that he prepared these extra lines to fall back: upon in case of defeat, and did not attempt when defeated to hold them, suggests the disastrous nature of the defeat, and gives support to the deduction from his fires that he intends to repeat the process of abandonment and retreat.

Bo that as it may, the enemy has not commenced any further retreat yet. Tie British advance against his line is now using, “tanks’- 1 and cavalry against, him, and has. added a few more villages to its captures. His renort on tins’ point is futile in the extreme. “Our advance north-east of. Bapaumo has killed many British and French troops.”. No general advances in order to kill men, and, as a matter of fact, there has been no German advance north-east of Bapaume. The report is one Of the meaningless nothings which the German .High Command uses to impress the German public, which in these matters is thoughtless. Sir Douglas Haig mentions in his report of the captures made by the British advance that the enemy’ suffered heavy losses. The British are making a good impression, apparently. ' ' #

Tho French report little change between the Somme and the Aisne, but they make it clear that yesterday’s German report of the abandonment ot French positions on tho Somme bank was quite wrong.

On tlie whole, tho fact seems to be that the pressure, increasing every day on tho new lino, is very hard on the enemy, who finds his line being subjected to tho nibbling process whlcn proved so disastrous to his first trench system on the Somme. The fires in his rear appear to accentuate the renewal of his difficulties.

The submarine campaign is reported to have sunk eighteen ships of over 1600 tons and seven of under that tonnage. Taking, as before, an average of 5000 tons for the former and 1000 for the latter, we get about 90.000 for the week, a rate of between 360.000 and 400,000 for the month. The figures give some justification to Lord Beresford, and we rake the opportunity to say so. The Asturias outrage is made the occasion for a repetition of the German lies on the misuse of our hospital ships, and is to he made the occasion for British reprisals. In the meantime, the dctermlna-

tiou to set up public kitchens in London lor feeding -100,000 people must be taken as an indication that the submarine piracy is not without its effect.

Per contra, the reports from. Germany are that the scarcity there is becoming more acute. We have only begun to take precautions of organisation; the Germans are finding that organisation does not stave off hunger.

The surprise of the day is the revelation that the raider Jloowe had got near Capetown before the end*'of her raid. It was just outside Capetown that the Otakl mot her fate at ytho raider’s hands, but not without a brilliant battle, wbioh gave the enemy a severe handling. It; is the first recorded indication since the fight put up by the Clan MacTavish of what the enemy’s raiders and submarines have to expect from the mercantile marine of Britain. The presence of the Moow© off the African coast explains the disaster to the troopship in those waters. She laid mines before leaving those waters. The episode recalls the heroism of the Birkenhead story, without its tragedy.

What the proclamation of martial law all over Spain means has to ho explained. But there can he no doubt that it is the result of the submarine piracy of Germany, which lias, by waging war on all neutrals, brought this neutral to a high, pitch of discontent and the verge of civil war. It will not improve the liking of _ neutrals for the high-handed aggression of Germany in the interests of “tho Freedom of.the Seas.”

, The recall by the Duma of General Kuropatkin, who was disgraced by the Bureaucracy, which , deprived him when in command of the power of effective fighting, is a now sidelight of confidence: and tho declaration of tho head of the Labour organisation that the policy of the J oint Council _is “Down with William,’’ together with the statement of the Socialist leader, Sokoloff, that “if the Germans want peace they must kick out the Kaiser,” is a crushing blow at the Gorman hopes of a separate peace. The Baltic Fleet of Russia jhas got rid of its old leaders, the creatures of the Bureaucracy, which punished tho brave men whom they sent unprepared to fight Japan, and given its allegiance under its new chiefs to the Provisional Government. The Eastern front does not to-day keep up the German illusion of a vigorous onslaught on the Eastern line for the purpose of frightening Russia into a separate peace.

There are still rumours of a pacificist move in Berlin, and there is a statement from Washington that these have drawn from the President the statement that he will not make any change in Iris plans for war, no matter what pacificist proposals emanate from Germany, The American press is emphasising the “unbearable provocations” of Germany, and the Government has secured tho support and mobilisation of Labour for war. Apparently wo may expect the American declaration at any moment.