NOTES ON THE CABLES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16979, 16 April 1917, Page 5

NOTES ON THE CABLES.

By Shbapnel. THE BRITISH ENTER LENS. Professor Bidou, a French military expert, has credited Marshal von Hindenburg with, doveloping elaborate plans to meet the Anglo-French offensive. Amongst these is Gaid to be the gradual ab&ndoiftneni of trench •warfare, to bo followed liy a recourse to mass manceuvres in open warfare.Without the elimination of Russia,' von Hindenburg will not make such an attempt unless driven to it by the desperation of a gambler who makes the last throw for all or nothing. Whatever Marshal von Hindenburg may have in his mind to attempt will not cause Sir Douglas Haig to deviate a jot from his purpose. Both Sir Douglas Haig and General Nivello know that to meet the Allies in France on anything like equality the German General Staff will have to concentrate over four million men on the west front, and that, in order to manoeuvre, the Germans will haye to equal in numbers the cavalry of the French and British—and that would require all the men and horses that Germany can spare. It is 5 also doubtful whether the German cavalry horses and artillery horses are in a condition good, enough to meet those of tho Allies.

lito manner in which Sir Douglas Haig is operating shows that, whatever tho plans of tho Germans may be, hi* own plana are definite and are being deliberately and successfully carried out in spite of adverse circumstances. If Marshal von Hindenburg is training and preparing his armies for ttmict manceuvres in tho open, ho will not be pleased at having his schemes exposed by a French military critic, and, if the Russians begin to move actively on their northern and southern flanks, he will have to change his mind about his intentions on the west v front. Open fighting on the west front will ' not be unwelcome to the British and French, who are full of the enthusiasm that is based •' on . success. British steadiness and the brilliancy of tho French dash will prove more than a match for tho Germans, however well trained they may be by Hindenburg's practice and by those great manoeuvres . which the Kaiser was wont to carry oat ; annually in all tho panoply'and pomp' of sham war.

Sir Douglas Haig himself means to moro in the if he gets the chance. All that ht> is now so methodically doing has tho look of that purpose, and the British troops—infantry, artillery, and will be delighted if Hindenbnrg meets them half way. The operations round Lena indicate that Sir Douglas Haig is determined" that, when a decisive battle opens out it will be on a wide enough front, and he has the numbers necessary for all tactical problems which may arise. Since Arras, as a. pivotal point, has been j drawn from the dutches of the enemy, Lena became of necessity tho next point round which the Germans could swing their foroes--if ihey intended to take' the offensive.-/ Whether they did or did not intend to use Lens for that purpose, the Germansxnieantto' hold the town as long as possible, both on ac-.'? count of the industrial districts, of whicsh itia the great centre, and also because tho town is a great buttress against the British advance towards Lille and Flanders. Moreover, Lens is a bastion. covering a large area which, with its mines, slag heaps, brick- '' fields, quarries, and very numerous city-like' suburbs and hamlets outside of them protects the plain of Douai on the west. It is a| strategical necessity that the. plain ofDouai should be in the hands of thei British : before they advance into Belgium, down the Sambre and Scheldt/by way of Mons arid Charleroi. •'

The position now is that the British hold Loos on tho north of Lens, and, "according to to-day's messages, >they have, taken Givenchy-eq-Gobcllo, hold Givenchy,' have captured Buquct Farm or Mffl, ;:' between Givenchy and Angrcs, north of tho escarpment of Notro Dame de Lorette, and: aro in r>roco=s of ftccupation of Lens itself.", The Germans between Loos and Lens are" i now in a deep and dangerous salient, ""d thoir retirement may be looked for. ; 1 THE "HINDENBURG" LINE. On the lino between Arras and St. Quentin, near Arras,. the British have captured Wancourt, north-east of Heninel, Guimappe, between Monchy and Wancourt, most now bo abandoned by the Germans. A fewmiles further south tho British, are advancing upon Queant. It is to be observed that - tho Germans aro still holding stubbornly to , tho territory east of Croisilles, that is, between Wancourt and Queant. Their object is to prevent the British from wheeling to tho left and flanking the Airas-Cainbiai main road. It would, however, appear uso- • les3 for tho Gcrmans.to continue their resistance east of Croisilles, whilo' north of that the British, now in possession of Bailr Icul, are pushing-towards Gavrelle, and bobveen Gavrelle are advancing fanwiso astride - the road along a front of over eight miles. Four miles south-east of Queant the British aro moving from Boursies eastward ; along the Bapaume-Cambrai road. They,. must now bo within seven miles of Cambrai in that direction. Nino miles to tho Booth., of Boursies is Mctz-en-Couturo, and two miles east of Metz is Gauzeauconrt, already taken by tho British. In this region the British are about eight miles south-west of CambTai. They aro aiming at .the clearing of tho Ilaurincourt Wood and at the ' capture of Marooing. The possession of Gauzeaucourt village gives them control of another four miles of the Peronne-Roisel-Marcoing railway, which, along with tho Bapaume-Marcoing railway, gives '/thewj forces which aro operating towards Oamf : brai, t two lines of supply converging upon ' Marcoing, at tlio junction of the two rail-. ways. _ Further south, the British, acting in con- , junction with the French, aro converging upon St Quentin. Tho capturo of Fayet and Gricourt throw's them upon -the St. Quentin-Camhrai main road, and enables their guns to shell the road and railway by which, the Germans must now withdraw from St. Quentin South of St. Quentin tho French aro entering the suburbs of the city and all that is now required to compel the Germans to withdraw is a rapid advanco of the British over a milo and a-half east of : the positions most recently captured. If tho Germans aro looting St. Quentin and Prinoo Eitel Fredrich has given orders for its destruction, its capturo by tho Allies should occur within a day or two. MESOPOTAMIA. North of Bagdad, between Klianikin. and that city tho Turks arc "offering determined resistance to tho British and Russians. Their object is to prevent the Prussians crossing the Diala and preventing them from ' using the old caravan road between Bag-' dad and Mosul. Deltawa, from which the British drove tho enemy towards Deli Abbas, lies in a narrow neck of ground between tho Tigris and tho Diala. After being defeated at Delta wa tho Turks foil back upon' 1 Deli Abbas, where, if the Russians can'ef- ' ' feet a crossing of the Diala from Kizil-Robat tho Turks will be in danger of being caught ■ between tho Russians and British. If they ■ aro caught they will havo to retreat west- . ward across the desert and p'ck up the road:. from Doltawa running northwards across tho Jcbcl-Hamin rango and joining Deli Abba&Kifri road at Duz lOiurmathi, nearly a ■ hundred miles north of Bagdad. The Turks seem to show no inclination to fall back on tho Tigris River and railway. : ' Probably they fear that the British, having tho uso of tho railway from Bagdad, would bo ablo to quickly concentrate guns and men apon their front. Another reason may - be that the Turkish commandos havo been ordered to hold tho Russians on tho Diala whilo reinforcements como down-tho Tigria from Mosul against tho British.