The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. MONDAY, APRIL 26, 1915. THE MAR.

Southland Times, Issue 17495, 26 April 1915, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. MONDAY, APRIL 26, 1915. THE MAR.

Among this morning's telegrams is one winch describes the condition of tiic south-west corner of Belgium where there is still a small triangle of territory that the Belgians can call their own. The scene is one of utter desolation; villages have been dedestroyed, towns razed to the ground, and the country-side laid waste by fire and water. This little picture from which the veil has been lifted enables ns to glimpse imperfectly the condition of Belgium as a whole and the plight of the hajdess Belgians. In this corner there is now developing what may prove to be the cvaci-ol phase of the war. The British opened the new chapter by the successful attack on Hill GO east of Ypres. They captured the position which dominates the surrounding country and they still hold it, despite a series of desperate counterattacks and the severest bombardment they have yet experienced. The value nf the position may he estimated from the tremendous effort the Germans are

making to recover ft. It is said that reinforcements equivalent to a whole army corps have been rushed to the spot and the fight still goes on. The British are strongly established and are taking steps to meet the enemy’s assaults. The details of the fight at Hill GO.show that the British soldier is gathering fresh laurels. The enemy has not been content, however, merely to counter-attack at Hill 60. He has initiated an offensive of his own in his own peculiar way. By the use of asphyxiating gases, which are expressly prescribed by the Hague Convention to which Germany is a signatory, the Germans forced the French to retire at Boesinghe. This point may not be marked in the ordinary Atlas, but if the reader will find first Ypres, and then Bixschoote, he can locate Boesinghe at a point midway between the two. From the details given it apappears that Boesinghe was the extreme left of the British front. A section towards Nieuport is held by the French, and the Belgian army is partly on the Yser and partly in the dunes above Nieuport. The extreme left of the British line is held by the Canadians, and the retirement of the French at Boesinghe would, of course, expose the Canadians’ flank, necessitating a retirement until they again came into touch with the French on their left. The Canadians found themselves in a very dangerous position, but they showed the same steadiness and gallantry as they displayed at Messines and Neuve Chapelle. With their left flank “in the air” when they were first attacked they were forced to fall back rapidly and abandoned four guns. In this movement they must have suffered heavy losses for they would be exposed to a terrible fire. They retired steadily, however, reformed, and with a dashing charge recovered their guns and regained much of the lost ground. It is impossible to read the tributes paid to the Canadians without a thrill of pride in the exploits of the first soldiers from the oversea dominions to fight in Europe, and we know that when they are submitted to the ordeal the sons of New Zealand and Australia will prove their blood and manhood just as gallantly. There will be long casualty lists in the Canadian newspapers this morning, hut even the bereaved will feel a stern joy in so soldierly a feat. A mile and threecpiarters to the north of Boesinghe is Steenstraate. Three miles east of Steenstratite is Ban gem arc k. The German attack was made between these two points from the direction of Bixschoote. It was pressed home to Boesinghe and there it is held. The retirement is not considered serious in Paris, and the enemy is no longer advancing. On the contrary the Allies arc making progress. The use of asphyxiating gases was, of course, utterly indefensible and inexcusable, but Sir John French states that deliberate preparations must have been made for a considerable time with the object in view. The unscrupulous trick served its purI jiosc. The sudden retirement which the French were compelled to make caused confusion, and the Germans did their best to take the fullest, advantage of it. The Canadians "saved the situation." It is evident that fighting on an extensive scale lias fairly begun.

“Eyp-wilnoss" gives this morning a very interesting survey of the general position. as it affects the British Army, after almost nine months’ war. His summing up is that nearly all the disadvantages under which the British laboured at the outset have disappeared and our troops are now “beating the enemy at his own game." What the disadvantages were it is not difficult to understand. The Germans, having prepared for war with the thoroughness which makes them so formidable alike in war and in the arts of peace, made war at a moment chosen hy themselves. They had all the advantage of readiness, and as a war of this character had been the aim and dream of their military authorities for quarter of a century they had their methods rehearsed, their appliances manufactured and their equipment perfect. Britain was not ready for war. That fact is the clearest proof that Britain was not responsible for the war, hut at the same lime it was a handicap to the troops in the field. Now. however, our troops art* lainiliar with every device that the enemy employs. They nan use the enemy’s weapons better than he can himself, and in addition (hey have weapons of their own which the German has not learned to use and for the use of which his training disqualifies him. “Kye-wtness" particularly mentions sniping. A feature of the enemy’s fighting from the beginning was the the system of sniping under which picked marksmen took up fixed positions and held them for hours, shooting men who exposed themselves and picking off officers. The British riflemen soon became expert at the game. The crack shots were armed with Bis.ley target, rifles, and they now have so complete a mastery of the enemy that in some places men can walk about outside the trenches in safety. The troops are in excellent heart. The rigours of trench life are relieved hy amusements and pastimes, and we know that the men are splendidly fed and clothed. As regards artillery there is reason to believe that the advantage is now on the side of the Allies. The Germans arc magnificent gunners. Nearly every British artillery officer pays tribute to the quality of their shooting, and this morning’s messages describing the fighting in Belgium mention the deadly work of the enemy's artillery. But give him all the praise that is his due, and he is not a whit superior to the British gunner who has proved his skill time and again. The enemy has no advantage there. Nor can he boast any superiority with respect to infantry. The British infantry has had the upper hand since the first battle at Mons. and very rarely, if ever, whether retreating or advancing, has it failed to inflict upon the enemy losses very much greater than its own. It has fought for the most part against great odds and it has won through in conflicts in which it was outnumbered by ten to one. The British infantry is peerless. It has done things in this war that would have *been considered impossible had they not been actually accomplished. The successful defence of Ynres was a miracle of valour, discipline and determination, and now

that oar troops are attacking the confidence in their own superiority which the war has produced will carry them far. The review given by “Eye-witness” Indicates that Sir John French is well pleased with the personnel aud morale of his army.

There is no official news from the Dardanelles, but a cable from Athens reports that decisive operations are in progress. The bombardment from the sea is in full blast and troops have been landed at four points: —Enos on the coast of Thrace, just to the west of the Gulf of Saros. which washes the ■western coast of the Gallipoli Peninsula; Gallipoli, which can only mean the west coast of the peninsula opposite Gallipoli since the warships are not yet through the Narrows, and Gallipoli itself is above the Narrows on the Sea of Marmora side; Bulatr. which is on the narrowest neck of the peninsula between the Gulf of Saros the Sea of Marmora; and a place which is telegraphed as Savla. The Athens report may. or may not. be accurate, but even with the resert ation that the news is not official it may be regarded as certain that the Allies have launched their attack on Constantinople. An immediate result will be the tightening of the Censorship.