NOTES OH THE WAR CABLES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17425, 20 September 1918, Page 5

NOTES OH THE WAR CABLES.

— m . Br Shbapnei^

THE POSITION IN FRANCE. A very substantial and useful advance lias been mado by tho British between Gouzeaucourt and the north-west of St. Quentin. Epehy lias been passed and surrounded. Lempire, less than four miles south-west of L& Catelet, and Eousoy, about a mile to the south-west of Lempire, have been captured, but while these places are valuable as denoting a penetration of the Hindenburg line, the captures of Ilargicourt, Villeret, and Le Verguier are of much greater importance considering the detensivo nature of these positions. North-west of St. Quentin the British have also advanced their lines to Fresnoy and the village of iiolnon, each of winch has been occupied, thus bringing the British witnin three miles of St. (quentin. Soutn of Holnon the French are advancing against the west and south-west of St. Quentin astride the Somme. From the appearance of the German, works that have been captured it is the opinion of the military authorities that tho enemy intended to stand' upon tho iiindenburg line, which, being on elevated ground west of the Cambnu-St. Quentin Canal, would have given them dry winter quarters and good observation. There has evidently been an assumption on tho part of tho enemy's General Stall' that the British effort had become almost exhausted, and that the German armies, with accretions to their reserves by withdrawing from the Lys salient, would .be able to hold up the Allies until the winter should put an end to the present campaign. In places the Germans are vigorously counter-attacking, and north of the ArrasCambrai road they have retaken Alreuvres. They strove hard to hold up the British at Epehy for the purpose of keeping a hold on the lateral main lino that runs parallel to the Hindenburg line of defences. They arc lighting equally stubbornly round lit. Quentin, both to save their winter quarters there and to prevent tho British from using tho junction of the lateral railway with file Ham-St. Quentin line at a point two and a-half miles west of St. Quentin. Their defence of St- Quentin and the Cambrai-St. Quentin line is entirely satisfactory to the Allies as long as they will persist in making counterattacks as they are doing both on this front and the Oise-Aisne front. The more Germans put out of action on this front in France the fewer will there bo to defend Germany when tho day comes for the Allies to advance into Lorraine. No doubt the , German General Staff would like to sit down for the winter in defences that were , prepared hist year, and to have time to improve them so that they could be held by fewer men. Above all that they require the months of winter for their engineers to make those defences as impregnable as it is humanly possible to make them. It is no part of Marshal Foch's intention to allow them to do that, and while thero is any fighting time and suitable weather left, he will continue to press them, between Flanders and the Akne. The British have discovered that they are in touch with the main forces of the Germans, and the General Staff of tho Allies knows that, the Germans are badly placed for horses and motor traction, and that the Germans must stand upon certain lines of defence in order to keep their lines intact and save their guns and munitions. Lack of horses is to a great extent deter- , nuning the strategy of the German General , Staff .because they quite understand that in open warfare the Allies, who have plenty of horses and a sufficiency of cavalry and infantry, woiild have great opportunities of capturing masses of men, guns, and large stores of German material. Marshal Foch will recognise his opportunities and his advantages, and will make the most of them. 0:i tho Lorraine front he has now a straight line, 100 miles long, from -which be can advance into Germany and also attack Metz. Ho can also advanoe north- ■ east of Verdun against Longuyon, Longuey, ! and Briey. The bare possibility of that thrust must be distressing to the German High Commands, for, if successfully carried out, it would not only deprive Germany ' of groat supplies of iron ore, but would ' also sever her lines of communication with Germany. While Marshal Foch has the Germans on remter-hooks he is not likely 1 to let any chances slip from his grasp. THE BALKANS. ! In the Balkans east, north, and west of Monastir the Franco-Serb forces have begun i an offensive which seems to promise im- [ portant results. They have broken through I tho Bulgarian lines in very unpromising' I country on a front of 15g miles and pene- > tratcd the enemy zone to a depth of " miles. Penetration to such a depth sug- • gests that tho Bulgar defences have been 1 completely broken, and tho advance should continue. Whether this attack is a demon- , stration to pin down the Bulgarian forces r to the defence of their conquests or their ) country remains to bo seen, but the aps pearance of Bulgarians on the west front 1 suggests that the attack has been called . for to prevent the Germans from being - able to increase their strength in France t- with levies from their allies. From what T . Mr Balfour has said it is to be assumed ' that the Greeks aro not yet ready to attack \ the Bulgars in force. The allusion to the L lack of ships probaby is concerned with the , difficulties the Allies a>re meeting with in regard to getting supplies of guns and i munitions to Greece, but it is not likely that any statesman among the Allies will make any statement that will give comfort to the Central Powers, and what Mr Balfour has said may be a. species of camouflage to cover what is in train at Salonika against the Bulgars. The time of tie year is in that part of the world the most favourable for military operations, and it ia possible that a general offensive by the Allies , in the Balkans has begun.