NOTES ON THE WAR CABLES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17320, 21 May 1918, Page 5

NOTES ON THE WAR CABLES.

By Shxatkxl. THE GREAT CRISIS. Reports from the west front suggest thab';| tho German olFenaivo cannot bo delayed" much longer. Aooording to one mrrvif{ro. ' the Central Powers h&.vc agreed to nntihlifh a uuiiied command. This will probably bo \ iiu answer to tue appointment by the oi ueacral Jb'ocn as guuttuuisaimo over all $ the iorcus irorn una JNorui bea to theAdriatic. If Goiierm von JLudeudorii ia to < bo tho supreme commander of too enemy i lorous tue indication will be that war i is going to bo lougm. to a Kmch on the 1 webt irout, but 11 does at the K»m« tima " unply taat tuu Central Powers are going ' to lifg-iooo Kussia, tdo iielkaus, «"d T'urJtey. ■.: Whetner it be General von LiUdeodorit oc ! Aiarsnal von iiiiulcntourg, whoever is appointed the Teutonic generalissimo will, with, uu atoll', be tne executive lor carrying out •. tno \Y eitpohtik and VVeitmucht schemes of " tho most ambitious erf the politicians j militarists of Berlin. That and the fear of ; tne growing strength oi America «»li« far an immediate to crush of Allies. v "An honourable peaog" is * phrase that ' has been iterated again and again by the Germans for the purpose of producing its i echo in Britain. Human nature is extra- - ordinarily susceptible to belief in the moat !; outrageous propositions, if they are repeated olten euougn and loudly enough. Germany knows the minimum of demand oooeptance that will pay her. She has lost bat i little nationally compared with the Allies,. "because she has made the countries she has'' over-run pay in coin, material, and labour ; muoh of what tho war has ooet her. She '.' will fly high in her demands, but not so high as to frighten the Allies. She will attempt ; to adroitly conceal her trump cards. Haw she will proceed will have been long planned in the Wilhelmatrasao. livery factor and side issue which German military foresight' and Prussian trickery oould visualise will : have been considered before even they, brought about a European war. .America's; entry into the war, which was rather, late, : but not exactly too late, as the German 1 militarist leaders and publicists hare been telling the peoples of Germany and Austria* Hungary, has decided the Germans to fight: out tho military struggle on the west front; [ but it is the recent vast atad rapid preparations of the Americans to join in the fray..' that hove compelled the Germans to'seek a decision as quickly as possible and to turn! the main effort against tho British. Owing to the constricted area for bases 3f supply and for manoeuvring, the foroes now in reserve behind the British lines, tho Germans have a great chance of putting ) their military machine to its greatest trial , of strength with the strategical position in its favour. If Germany failed to seize tho chance, it would be an admission that the attainment of victory on the battlefield was hopeless, and she must not show: she knows her task is hopeless. With theadvantages she has obtained militarily,' politically, and economically in the Bast, it ; is now or never with her. There is so much • at stake and so much to bo lost if she does not now make tho essay for a; favourable military decision; that she roust l make a bid for the military position which will give her the advantage politically and diplomatically in order that she may reap' the greatest economic and strategic benefits from the issue. When the struggle ifl joined, it will be the most stupendous and bitter fight of the war. Every day's delay benefits the Allies, and whoever ia directing the great forces of Germans must begin the struggle at the earliest The issue of tho battle will depend upon the stamina and grit of the armies, bath in the first and last phases of the battle Unless some Allied general fails to handle his forces properly, there will be no such' mishap as there was on the Cambrai-St Quentin front. In the proceedings which are leading up to the coming clash, the Allies are having the best of testing and reconnoitring bouts, both cm land and in the air. How the situation stands in regard to artillery and other mechanical means is not apparent. It is to be hoped, however, that the British have made good their losses of guns and material in Somine battle, and more than made them good, for the Germans are going to use guns, machine guns, and light trench mortars as they have never used them before. It will take all our stoicism and dogged determination to stand against Germany's last desperate gamble for victory in the field, which she thinks will end the war in her favour. Whether the Allies are defeated or not in the coming battle, Germany cannot -win, however, as long as the British navy is afloat and the Allies hold together. With the help of America the Allies """ fill up their ranks again, but Germany cannot. Even in -victory she will suffer defeat, because the final victory depends upon unity, will, and material resources. Wo have the resources, and we all hope wo have the will Unity is but a corollary of determination and is connoted in the phrase "The will to conquer." A time of peril and anxiety Kes before us, but the Allies now have on their side most of tlio factors for victory. The factors which they lack may tell against them in the battlo, but they will not ootmt heavily after the battlo, if the Allies mainfajii their determination to crush pan-German militarism. It is now generally believed that the Allies are fighting two of the most perfect human organisations in tho world, I "it as tho democracies of tho Allies know tliat liberty of opinion and personal freedom are at staJke in this war, their fona will win if there is no treachery or poltroonery such as has been seen in Rossi] and in Italy. Prom what wo know of oui moo defeat is unthinkablo. THE WOKE OF THE AIRMEN. The tremendous development of aeria activity on Uae west front, both, in Frano and in Italy, is one of the spurs which wil bo goading the Germans into immediat action. In destroying 109 German aenj planes in two days the Allies have don marvellously wclL Such a rate of destroc tion maintained for another two week would leave the Allies with such an abas luto command of the air as has never fceei completely attained by either sods at an; timo for a period long enough to enable i to claim that it held a masterly position All that can be said is thai the British an French have at times been greatly superia in tho air. It is certain that much trouU must have been created far the German sei vice behind tho lines when the main junc tiobs of the great trunk roads and railway have been visited so often by the Allwi bombing machines. Repairs are, howevei effected very quiakly try the Gennans' rai way pioneers. Splendid work is being doc by tho airmen, Ibnt since they frequent! visit tho same point* there may be som doubt as to whether these raids are i effectively directed as they ought to b< and -vvhetlier tho operations of the airme are delaying the German army service wot as much as is expected. Knowing that (fil tain marks are regularly sought by th Allied airmen, the Germans will have o hand at the vital points that are bombc spare materials for repairs to the railvta] and relays of spocially-trained men to efifa repairs as 'speedily as possible If lon stretches of the railways were tombed i points distant from bases where repoirin materials and men are kept, end if ti permanent way in sections that are wic apart were destroyed, especially where tt railways run through tho spersely-populatc districts, and where many anti-aircraft gui aro stationed, the repair gangs would ■ I kopl running hither ood thither, and tho ■offieiency would be greatly diminished, is always probable that too much bombil of woll-known centres leads to the Germai working out a scheme rrhich renders rauc of tho v.-ork done of small avail, as a tnosi of delaying greatly the traffio to the Gc man front. Mr Alex. Kyle, whose death occurred i Roslyn yesterday at the age of 75 year wna for many years a well-known an highly respected resident of Thuxdiu. E was probably beet known as head muster < tlie Mornington School, with which he wi associated for a lengthy period, and froo which ho retired about 18 years apo. M Kylo was largely interested in tho diwlfthi industry, and wae a director of several oom panics. Consider the economy of i well-tried family remedy for coughs u colds. Sixty doses for Is 6d—syoro thi three a penny. Get XAZOL ta-dag.