PROGRESS OF THE WAR

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10064, 31 August 1918, Page 6

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

It is impossible tto have patience with the correspondent who says that the French critics expect tho enemy to establish a line from Peronne to Ham, on the Somme, thence by Guiscard to Noyon, on the Oise, and that they will hold that until the end of tho season, when they will retire unmolested to the Hindenburg line. We are quite certain that tho French critics have no such view. The facts are too strong against it. Consider, first, the order of General. Monash informing tlie Australians about to attack Peronne and roll up the line oi the Somme to Ham. That order clearly foreshadows something very much larger than the smashing of the line of the Somme. What it is, his men have probably a good idea. At all events, the general warned them that the service will bo the most important and far-reaching ever performed by Australian troops.

Then take the advance south from Bapaume against the northern flank of Peronne,. with' the Tortillo in" its' front —the stream these mythical Frenchmen are to hold in their lino. Plae* after place is tumbling down, and the enemy's resistance is getting feebler daily. . Bapaume, in the north of the advance, moreover, has fallen. No critics, French, or any other, would seriously consider such rubbish as this forwarded from Paris. Moreover, there is the advance astride the Somme, and the advance from Dompierre, and the gradual abandonment of the commanding heights by the enemy. The French are soldiers, not blithering idiots.

Consider, further, that Noyon was on this wonderful line the enemy is to hold. Noyon, which was carefully pinched by the penetrating tactics of tho Frenoh, and was captured while that stupid message was being dictated to some lout of a. correspondent in Paris. Then tho capture of Noyon, what does it mean, with the shelling of Chauny, higher up the Oisc, towards La Fere. Whatever it means, it cortainly does not mean that tho enemy is establishing his line on tho Oise. It lis bad enough to bo deceived by correspondents when tho situation i« adverse, and something may be said in favour of some camouflagic writing under such circumstances. But when tho enemy is moving rapidly on a' front of twenty miles, giving up placo after place to the French, and refusing his right to tho British on tho same, deception of this kind is the height of folly. It lias nearly as bad an effect on public opinion as tho single blunder of a single fool may have on the bestlaid plans of tho best of generals.

In this region, between Bapaumo and Ham. Guiscard and the Oise, the Allied arms are mating very good progregs; better progress thau they have over made in this war. On the Ailette General Maiigin goes slow, for he must 00-ordinato with Humbert's advance from. Noyon. Overawing tho enemy at Chauny, across the Oise, ho will bo able to cross and Btorm tho heights when the advance from Noyon gets on to the ridge. The ridge ought, between Mangin's gun's and Humbert's Hank infantry attack, to bo.untenable.

The situation at Soissons and on the Vesle is not quite clear. Tho Crown Prince has tried to push the Americans over to tho south bank and has been prevented. General Pershing reporting that it was rather a near thing. Subsequent information is that tho French and the Americans are advancing on the heights of the Aisne, northwest of Juvigny. Tho operations in this sector have recently been considerably neglected. Possibly there is a purpose which will mako itself felt presently. If the reports wero to toll as tho exact position of the Chemin-des-Dames, giving us the strength of the #neniy in that region, wo could form some idea of tho campaign developments. Of course if the enemy placed strong forces on the Chomm-des-Damos when the Crown Prince determined to hold the lino of the Vesle, that determination would be accounted for. Moreover, the joint FrancoAmerican advance on the heights of tho Aisne would not he mysterious. Groping through tho published information we can only conclude that tho enemy is holding tho Chomin-des-Damcs in strength with a powerful flank guard facing Mangin's advance, and co-ordinating with the treneral

German line of the Ailette; that the French general is moving against that hank guard to break it. and roll up the position towards Craonne; that tho Crown Prince moved out to cross the Vesle and fall upon the flank of the French attack and was beaten back. If these conjectures are correct we shall soon, have interesting news from the Soissons region.

In the far north of the attack, the First and Third British Armies are further advanced than ever. They are going through the arteries of the Hindenburg line steadily, hacking a rather easy way, and are within six miles of both Douai and Cambrai. It is amusing to read the correspondents imploring us not'to expect too much. They cannot get away from the idea that tho enemy may be terribly, badly beaten in tho strong places in which he trusted, and thev cannot get rid of the obsession of worship they have offered for four years to Brother Boche s wonderful efficiency and fighting power. When General Home's men were thrust back a.few hundred yards, {here was positive relief. A correspondent rushing to the front explained that of course no British force or British general would he able to hold any position which the Almighty Brother Boche didn't want him to hold. When Sir Douglas Haig's report came it showed that all the important positions taken were held, the fall-back being just an affair of outposts.

The fact is that the correspondents at the front have been there too long. They have lost their nervo, and all they do is to systematically throw cold water on everything done by our men. They cannot help seeing—having some intelligence still remaining—that the enemy is considerably disorganised and humiliated and weakened. But, having said so, they earnestly declare "it'sof no consequence," imploring us to keep up our faith in Brother Boche and his invincible machine. And yet thero is a great deal to encourage them to hold up their heads, and look the enemy in the faoe. Take the Canadians, for example, bombing that tunnel of the Hindenburg lino and filling it choke-full of German dead. AVill the correspondents*tell us that these dead will have a private resurrection, thanks to the chemistry of Jvultur, and return with machine-guns and flamethrowers and gas bombs and other demoniac supplies, to the firing line, and "serve that heedless Tommy Atkins right 1"

What are the advances on Pevles, on Bovy Notre Dame, on Vis-en-Artois, but rude, masterly thrusts into the Hindenburg lino? What is the near future oi the Bullecourt sector, where we are, and what of the approaching fate of Queant? It is all very well for these correspondents to walk on tiptoe, and whisper caution, lest Brother Boche might hear, and do something dreadful. But the time has come to sustain our troops, in brave, manly fashion. These correspondents have lost their nerve. They are of no further use. They should be retired on pension, on condition that they never go near the front again.