NOTES ON THE WAR CABLES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17158, 10 November 1917, Page 8

NOTES ON THE WAR CABLES.

By Shbafmel, THE WEST FRONT. To-day's news from the west front is i ' eoanty in quantity. Now that Sir Douglas Haig ts in possession of more than half tho PassehendaeJe Ridge, attention is being given to consolidating the positions gained, f< and dispositions of guns and mon axe being * made for taking another bite out of the German lines. When tho British guns are brought forward and disposed eo as to deal with tho German artillery in the direction of the Moorslede crest and the north of Passchendaele, an advance northwards to , ■Westroosebeke and between the villages and the south of Houthulst Wood may be looked for. .In view, however, of the depletion of the German reserves, it may be considered good strategy to widen the position east and south east of Ypres. By ertendmg- the Yjpres front in tho form of a semi-circle a* few miles extra can be added to. the front, and "every mile added calls for extra men to defend the front. As the fighting in Flanders is of an in-' ten«e nature, an extra mile added to the front calls for close upon 8000 men, and therefore two_ miles call for more than a -. full German division, a German division ~* being somewhere between 13,000 and 14,000 men Lengthening the German lines may be compared to stretching a piece of elastic. The more extended it is tho thinner it becomes. °-v In Upper Alsace the French have been ■*" aggressive in the region of Altkirck. Why **■ they have attacked there except to reduce "" aome troublesome point in the line is difficult to understand. It cannot bo an attempt'fe divert Germans from ]taly. On - the other hand, it might be an effort to pin the Germans down to that front. To divert German forces or pin them down in "■ Upper Alsace would require a much heavier ,*" demonstration lhan has been made. On 1 vll ' the whole, unless tho French wore com- — polled by circumstances to drivo the Ger- ( * mans from some point of vantage, the ati"~n tack seems to have been a useless piece .of work. If the French have concentrated large forces east of Belfort and are preparing fof a heavy stroke, they should have waited to surprise the Germans by _~ yc ght of guns and men. By carrying out '~ the enterprise on a large scale, the threat ■would be useftil to the Italians in that it ■would appear to be'a stroke at tho German * ? communications with (ho Trentino. It is '■"'satisfactory to know from the French report that the essay north-west of Altkirck ■»! was successful, many prisoners being taken. * "According to the Germans, the French were badly punished, but the nature of the German leporta of engagements on the.wesc front have, lately justified a considerable dis- „. count being allowed on what is embodied in them. A sign of activity on another , ,v * French sector is the mutual artillery fire on s the Awne, plateau. <~ ITALY AND THE'EASTERN J , ■* ~; ... SITUATION. '* Though -from German reports it would seem that the Austro-Germane are 'pursuing - their course uninterruptedly in • Italy "Ti et armis," there seems to be a weakening

in the advance of the enemy from the eastvarcL Large claims are still being made > in regard to captures, but Germany is just

.now, for political reasons at home and

abroad, making extravagant assertions in "' the belief that the amount of ground the Austro-German forcee have covered will be * K sufficient guarantee of her truthfulness. <■- ' Jt is reported from Italy that Anglo-French 'r " troops are massing on the Piave. It /is to _ bo hoped that they are sufficiently high i up the river to prevent the Germane from t crossing and cutting off the Italians who aro retreating from Carnia, and the Alpine \*-r country at.the head of the Piave and the From Eome, through New York, there is

a message saying that a decisive battle is impending in Italy. The news is welcome" if it is inspired from the Italian military headquarters It goes without saying that %r fc great and determined battle will soon be fought if the Italian morale has not been too much shaken, tout the arrival of *' guns and men from France should be a factor in'restoring the spirit of the Italians if there is any patriotism Jeft in them. It is doubtful, however, whether in the time they have 1-ad they will be able to put np a big battle on the Piave. For the purpose of gaining greater opportunities for jHxCoess, it would be better to make a stand on tho • Brenta, which has mi>ch higher ground behind it. Against delay, however, there is tho factor operating against' the " * Italians that the enemy is masting troops ' in the Trentino, west of LakeGarda, for the purpose of descending into the Plains of Lombardy and striking at the rear of the Italian communicationis. If the German strategists are contemplating such a "*' etroke, which must ba counted good etrategy, the attempt, if carried out with ' powerful forces,/ wili greatly and dangerJ i' etisly increase General Cadorna's troubles and prevent him from dealing a decisive blow on the Venetian plains. L The situation in Italy does seem to call for a heavy staggering blow somewhere in France. Upper Alsace, Verdun, or the % _ Champagne—any of the bo tender spots at which, to strike the German lines so as to divert pressure from the Tren- ~ " lino behind General Cadorna. If, moreover, -*" the Italians were delivering heavy blows ' 1 against the Austrc-Bulgarian forces in Albania and Western Macedonia, General Sar*r rail would be able, to advance, and tho y*. menace to Bulgaria and, through Bulgaria, -*• the road' to Turkey and tho Middle East * would h ive ' demanded more attention from Germany. There is how no place where Gerv many can be so sorely hit as in tho Balkans. Her hopes of retrieving her losses lie in the - * Balkans and the East If she can obtain * peaco while she really holds Austria, Bul- *** garia, Serbia, and Turkey in subjugation, she need not be dissatisfied with the results /r of the war, in themselves, v Since Russia has become effete and seems ~"v.,t0 be out of the war for a long time—if not .. v altogether if-she should submit to the domit nation of the Maximalists and Leninists — Britain is more than ever compelled to continue her operations against Turkey until »* that country is subdued or sues for a sepa- "■ iate peace. It is necessary for tho safety of * * "Ind a Egypt, Australia, and New Zealand * that Turkey "should never become an appanage of Germany and, as India is imperilled by the present apparent defection of Russia, Great Britain has tho right according to treaty to ask Japan to aid her in subduing Turkey Tho sooner the task of overcoming Turkey is completed, the better will it be for tho Allies in France. * THE CAMPAIGN EN MESOPOTAMIA. From Mesopotamia comes a report which d ehows that General Maude is - losing no time in making his position at Bagdad secure. Advancing up the Tigris from Samarra, which Iβ connected with Bagdad by rail, he has seized Tckrtt after inflicting a a severe defeat upon the Turks. His object in these operations is to place the Jpbel Hamriri Hills between the plains of Mesopotamia and tho province of Mosul, as a. wall against any possible attack from that Turkish advanced base Ho will probably pursue the Turks as rapidly as possible to the gorge, cut through tho hills by the Tigris and sciza the village of Fatha, on the northern side. When the hills are in hk possession he will bo -able to look down on thp plains of Mosul and keep a watchful <r\ e upon any attempts by the. Turks to recover Bagdad from that direction. "Tie Jebel- Harnrin Hills will furnish him with ' a strong line of defence, which caa be comparatively easily held, while ho advances up the Euphrates towards Palestine, if that plan ia in hie programme. PETROGRAD WANTS PEACE. The revo!utionary wheel has turned full circle upon M. Kerensky, a man of high jc'cals, but too much of an idealist, and a man of compromises to hold or make a strong position in a country in a stato of revolutionary development, full of factions, and having an ignorant proletariat and peaßant , *y, amongst which German ageuta s insidiously ajqd easily work the propaganda which suits their ends. M. Kerenaky—a la~yer, Jew,-a dilettante in politics and a serological '.student and dreamer—has brought ruin on himself and his country by lack of forceful decision and too great a tendency to .temporise What has happen fid may not bo an unmixed evil. Petrograd had long ceased to bo tha controlling cpntro of Russia,. The oily was greatly Gernw-jsed and honeycombed with German intrigue. Moscow is more truly representative of tho spirit of Russia, und in that town there may ariso the man and the force .(£.» vrnch will restore Russia to her common etrwe Petrograd has shown horsaif to bo dccidedJj not Bu'diary,