FRENCH AERIAL ARM.

Otago Witness, Issue 3212, 6 October 1915, Page 30

FRENCH AERIAL ARM.

PARIS, October 3. The secretary of the Aeronautical Department, in an interview, said that the department was working unceasingly in the construction of heavy machines. The radius of action and the sneed of the biplanes had been increased. Monoplanes would be dir., carded in 12 months’ time. The lifting capacity cf the French aeroplanes had been quadrupled and the speed nearly doubled. LONDON, October 4., It is stated that during the Champagne operations French airmen flew to a height, and from a distance of 4CO yards behind

the German line regulated the French firing. They were subjected to a terrific shelling, and many of the machines returned riddled and with their engines daxr aged. MUD AND RAIN. SUPERIORITY OF THE “ TOMMY.”LONDON, October 3. Reuter’s correspondent with the British Headquarters vividly portrays conditions at the front. In a despatch dated September 30 he says; During the last two days but little further advance has been made on the British front. Fighting has been proceeding in some places heavily along our new lines south of La Bassoe, but none of the German counter-attacks has succeeded. The enemy lost heavily in killed and wounded. Our new positions are being consolidated. The weather has been unfavourable. After a dull, grey day, heavy rain fell on Tuesday evening, with a chilly wind. The flat Flanders countryside, especially the Black Country, is depressing to the last degree. Everything is covered with mud. Picture long files of marching men, with a waterproof sheet right over their heads, plodding steadily through the slush chanting a chorus to keep up their spirits, endless columns of huge motor lorries, staff cars dashing through the ruts on the roadside to pass the traffic, and motor de.patch riders, machine and man alike, a mass of mud. The only subject amongst the men is: “ How is the advance going?” In one town eight German field guns which were captured at Loos have been drawn up, guarded by soldiers with fixed bayonets. Both French and English soldiers inspect them and decipher the German inscriptions. The barrels are engraved with the Imperial Eagle and the name of the Emperor. Chalked figures show the ranges at which the guns were last fired. The siglit of the guns is proof of the success of the British in pouring through Loos. The Germans had no time to remove them from the concrete emplacements, and the guns were brought back to our lines in triumph by British horses and gunners. Soldiers from the front tell of the demoralisation of the enemy at the last. The fighting proved the superiority of the “ Tommy ”in single-handed work. The sight of British soldiers from the trenches wearing German helmets causes great merriment. The rain has now stopped, and the sun is shining. Important results in the west may be forthcoming in a few days. GRAND SUPPLY OF AMMUNITION. LONDON, October 3. An artillery officer, describing the British bombardment, states: We had a grand supply of ammunition. On Friday our machine guns prevented the Germans repairing their trenches. We brought up load after load of lyddite shells to the gun-pits. At midnight all was ready. We waited till 4 a.m., when the cannonade began. The air was suddenly torn by thousands of explosions of the shells screanrng overhead. In a section of five miles 3000 shells were fired in five minutes, which will give some idea of the awful majesty of these few moments, when, like an avenging angel with flaming sword, the Allies swept down on the Huns. The flashes were so continuous that they gave an almost unbroken light. All the guns were firing their hardest at carefully registered points on the German trenches. FAITH IN FALSE HOPES. LONDON, October 4. The Times says that the German plan on the western front was to trust to a vigorous defensive while Germany was turning all her available weight against Russia. It is obvious that the plan was to take advantage thoroughly of the bad Russian situation and endeavour to round up the Russian armies and compel her to sue for peace. The wise Russian strategy prevented this. The Czar’s assumption of the command negatives the German hopes of a premature peace. The Czar promises to step back in the defence of Russian territory to the river Volga if necessary until the enemy arc worn out. The German Headquarters did not expect that the Allies would recommence in the west so scon after their summer offensive had been arrested, and therefore they have faltered in their plan and are now facing the situation with profound anxiety, knowing that they are deeply committed to the invasion of Russia and are unable to abandon it without admitting that the cause has been lost. They will probably continue to attack at any cost until their destruction has been achieved, because the clanger of giving Russia time to recuperate is too deadly a risk to face. The Germans constructed line after line of defensive positions in the west, believing that the strength of these lines and the number of their troops would prevent a general uprooting. It has been shown that the Allies are now so well armed as to be able to wreck the strongest defences. The changed situation may vitally affect the whole course of the war. We must create fresh armies and prosecute the 1916 campaign to a successful issue in order to balance the disaster of the practical elimination of the Russian nation.