NOTES ON THE WAR CABLES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17157, 9 November 1917, Page 5

NOTES ON THE WAR CABLES.

By Shrapnel.

THE CAPTURE OF PASSCHENDAELE

After several attempts under continuously unfavourable weather conditions in tho very worst country in which to encounter such conditions, fcir Douglas Haig has wrested Passchoridaclo from tho Germans and has established his forces firmly astride tho ridge. Tho honour of capturing tho position fell to tho Canadians after British, Australians, and New Zealand troops had unsuccessfully essayed tho task. A certain amount of the credit for the capture must, however, bo given to thoso troops, as tho Canadians began where they left off, and their gains and also their failures pointed tho way to finish tho task. Tho Canadians, nevertheless, accomplished a great achievement, as tho Germans on tho creet of the ridge held observation posts which gavo them complete command of the slopes both with machine guns and artillery.

The taking of tho positions has been a soldiers' task, and Canada may well bo proud of what her gallant sons have done. Passchendaele and its ridge were the coping stone of tho outward defences of Roulers, and the Germans who held the post had received orders to hold it at all costs and to retake it if it were lost. Troops that stormod the greasy slopes of the ridgo will be difficult customers to dislodge, and tho Germans will in all probability bid farewell to their tenements by raining shells upon the village and crest in the same manner as they did upon Mesaines after the New Zealanders captured the ground upon which tho village stood. The British, having become acquainted with the German artillery tactics, will be prepared for another demonstration of Hun rovengc, and may bo expected to have their heavy guns ready for the reply. It is possible, however, that the Germans, having now but a few good gun positions between Ypres and Roulers, and having tasted so often the quality of tho artillery retaliation of the British, may think it wise not to expose their gun emplacements.

The Gorman report admits tho loss of tho village of Passchendaelc, but not that of the ridge. Tho significance of the loss is glossed over by a claim that the Gorman troops retain possession of a portion of tho village, but that is flatly contradicted by the statement of Sir Douglas Haig that the position is being consolidated. Mr Percival Phillips, the correspondent of the Daily Express, also mikes tho complete possession of the village clear when ho says that tho Germans bolted down the eastern slope, and that whilo they were doing eo the Canadians brought their Lewis guns to bear and killed the fugitives. As a set off to their serious loss, the Germans claim to have repulsed heavy attacks in the direction of Becelaere and Gheluvelt, where it was necessary for Sir Douglas Haig to make a demonstration for " pinning down " purposes. Those places may be neglected for some time. They appear a menace to the British flank, but •it would be much more dangerous and costly for the Germans to attack from them than it would be for the British to take them.

Sir Douglas Haig's present object is to co-ordinate his northern line with the French advance west of Houthulst Wood. By doing eo, he will carry out tho double purpose of flanking both that extensive wood and the. important German base and centre at Roulers. Already his long-range guns are playing havoo on the east side. The capture of Passchendaele and. the villages to the north brings the British well within five miles' of Roulers, and the fact that the important Thourout-Roulers-Menin railway is now within range of the British heavy guns is a very serious handicap to the Germans. Tho British can now continually harass the most effective and rapid means tho Germans have of transmitting supplies to their firing lines south of Roulers. FRENCH WEST FRONT SECTORS. A deep silence has settled down on tho Chemin des Dames front. The German is licking his wounds. While the French say that this recent victory will enable them easily to old their new line and withdraw men from it, it is not improbable that they are waiting only for another opportunity to advance upon the remaining plateau that guards the approaches to Laon. GAZA, THE GATE TO THE EAST. Gaza, tile ancient and modern gateway of all iigyptian and Assyrian conquerors, the road which Aiexanuer took to Jigypt, and tnac wiiicii iNapoieoJi used in his mtiio attempt to estawi.su an jiastern empire, lias XiUieu into ttio muas, ol General .alienby. it was taken, apparently, by douihe tlaniung operations^—one jjy way 61 Beersheba and tiie other by way of tile coast, witn tne help of a naval squadron, 'l'iie capture of Beersheba by a wide flanking movement at once weakened the TurKish lines of deienco. The British, mounted iorces, by pushing northward of the village, struck at the haniz of the Turks and threatened their communications and rear. As the resuit of this weakening of the Turkish lines, and with the help of the bombardment from the sea, General Allenby was able both to advance frontally and to outflank Gaza by striking northwards between the town and tho coast. The Turks were so shaken by the two flanking movements that they gave way on the front centre and began to destroy their stores. The movements of General Allenby's army were so well calculated and rapidly carried out, however, that Gaza was taken with much 'booty, and, it is to bo hoped, with a large haul of prisoners. To despoil the Turks of material is a very valuable accomplishment, since Turkey is desperately impoverished; but to capture or destroy large units of the Turkish armies is just now much more vital. It has been asserted that 300,000 Turks were opposed to General Allenby in the south of Palestine. If that bo the case, General Allenby has achieved a signal victory.

Tho outlook for General Allenby and his forces is now much brighter. In front of him is good productive country, fairly well watered. Behind him is the Syrian desert. The population of the coastal plains and the higher hinterland north of Beersheba will welcome the conqueror as he advances. Turco-German rapacity has been laid upon the population with a heavy hand, and tho Arabs, Jews, and Syrians, who have been cruelly oppressed, will no doubt give valuable information to General Allenby as he advances, and render all tho assistance they can. Moreover, they will know how to weigh the value of British money against tho paper of Germanised Turks. Turkish oppression and misrule they, have suffered for ages, and the British, with their character for honesty and justice, will find many useful welcomes as they advance into a strange land.

It is to bo hoped that General Alien-by, in advancing into Palestine, will not call in his right wing too far. That wing has obtained a useful footing' on the heights west of tho Dead Sea. For an advance npon Jerusalem it is necessary that tho Be«rsheJba Hebron road, along the uplands, should be seized as quickly as possible to protect tho main body marching northwards over the coastal lowlands. From tho pontoons that havo been taken north of Bt-ersheba—from Tel-el-Sheriek, for instance, —Jerusalem is only 37 miles distant. General Alleriby may elect, however, to advanco along the coast under tho cover of the guns of tho naval unit acting with him and take Jaffa, tho port of Jerusalem. Tho effect of tho capture of Jaffa would bo to give General Allen' y a coastal base that would enable him to dispense with tho uso of tho long coastal railway which has been built across tho isthmus from tho canal, and in advancing upon Jeruralem ho would bo able to uso tho short Jaffa-Ludd-Jerusalem railway. If ho has tho Turks sufficiently demoralised he* will push on towards Jaffa with all speed. THE ITALIAN RETREAT. A German official messago says: "Wo havo reaohed the Livonia line." Tho inference is that the wholo German lino deployed along tho Tagliameato has reached tho line of tho Livenza, whioh is now roughly parallel to the Tagliamento, and along its length averages a distance about 12 milos west of tho former river. It was a foregono conclusion that tho Germans would find it easy to reach the. Livpnza, behind whioh tho Italians are withdrawing as quickly as they can. If French and British guns arrive in time, the Gorman troubles will ibegin r.n tho Piave. and if a sufficiently great number of guns are on hand, it may turn out bad for tho Austro-Germans that they are so far away from thoir main basee of suprfr-