Patea & Waverley Press. MONDAY, MARCH 20, 1916 IS IT THE END ?

Patea Mail, Volume XL, 20 March 1916, Page 2

Patea & Waverley Press. MONDAY, MARCH 20, 1916 IS IT THE END ?

THE news that has come to hand during the last few days with regard to the decline of the German mark and the possible early collapse of Germany from a financial and military point of view is the most reassuring Ithat has been received since the commencement of the war. Reading between the lines it would appear that the German authorities having found it impossible to break through the Allied lines on the Western front decided as a last resource to attempt to break through a a well nigh impregnable point—Verdun— in the hope that the French might bj' chance be taken off their guard and give way before the weight of numbers "of the German host. Germany however has found that the France she is fighting to-day is not the France she knew on the battlefields of 1870. She has apparently overlooked the fact that France is a united nation fighting with keenness and enthusiasm, burning to wipe out the stigma of past defeats and eager to regain the fertile provinces she lost some 40 years i ago. Germany too, should have remembered that France during the past eighteen mouths has had brougnt home to her the unenviable fate that would be likely to overtake her should she have the misfortune to be overcome in the present struggle. She has therefore been fighting with her back to the wall determined to perish to the last man rather than allow Germany to triumph. It is this indomitable spirit that has enabled the French troops at Verdun to conquer when opposed again and again by overwhelming odds and to roll back the German hosts in a their last wild and despairing attack. In the light of recent events it looks as if the German threats against Egypt and the Allies at Salonika have been to a very large extent mere bluff to divide the forces of the Allies and to draw as many men as possible from the Western theatre where the final struggle was arranged to take place. We cannot help thinking that if the tightening of the blockade of German ports by Britain during the past few months has been half as effective as was threatened, then whatever Germany’s preparations may have been prior to the war she must he getting seriously short of material for the manufacture of the enormous quantity of munitions that she must ohviouly require. If this is actually the case then her collapse must be imminent for in spite of her unlimited resources in guns and men, these are rather more than useless unless they are provided with the necessary ammunition. Germany it is to be hoped has shot her bolt and provided nothing unforeseen occurs the end of the war should before long be in sight. The outlook certainly is brighter, and the whole horizon has worn a different aspect from the day Russia achieved her magnificent and unexpected victory at Erzeroum. Before then it was feared that the British forces on the Tigris would he overwhelmed before succour could reach them, and the Turkish troops freed by the evacuation of Gallipoli only added to the anxiety that was being felt. Now the world is expecting daily to hear of further Russian successes and these coupled with internal dissensions amongst the Turkish and the German peoples would appear to bring victory nearer to the Allies each day. One of the most wonderful features of the war has been the creation by Britain—-thanks to Lord Kitchener, of an army of four million men. Prior to the war foreign nations were being offered a premium to capture some of the most valuable of Britain’s colonial possessions thanks to her iusigiflcant and “ contemptible Ittle army. ” The foreign nations did not allow for the spirit that animated the people from end to end of , the British Empire. The response j to the call of the Motherland has ' far exceeded all expectations and must have caused Germany and other hostile nations many an anxious, hour. It is the wonderful spirit of patriotism that has been displayed together with the marvellous fighting qualities shown by Britishers and the Allies alike both on sea and on land that has helped them to weather the storm that at one time bid fair to overwhelm’them. We cannot help thinking that with men such as those who took part in the memorable retreat from Mons, with men of the stamp of those who performed such heroic deeds at Gallipoli, with Allies that are possessed or such dogged tenacity as those Freuclimen who for 21 days clung to the defences of Verdun in spite of a bombardment unparalleled in the history of the world, there can be nothing but victory to look forward to. With these heroes and with the help of the magnificent navy of which every Britisher should be truly proud we cannot help thinking that the end of the war must soon be in sight if in fact it is not in sight already.

•' FIRST PAGE. Bits about Bagdad. PAGE Sidelights on the War. A Decisive Victory.