SURPRISE FOR GERMAN CHANCELLOR.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 701, 10 May 1916, Page 7

SURPRISE FOR GERMAN CHANCELLOR.

ANZACS SETTLE DOWN IN NEW HOME. CORDIAL RELATIONS WITH PEOPLE AND BRITISH COMRADES. [From the New Zealand Official War Correspondent.! HEADQUARTERS, FRANCE (7th day). - Not long ago, when the Gorman Chancellor was stating in the Reichstag that the Dardanelles undertaking was a failure, he little dreamt that the Anzac Army Corps had already landed in Prance, well equipped, in the pink of condition, and eager for their first clash of arms with the real enemy. Yet such was the case. Even while he was speaking, the men from the Ist Battalion were inarching to form a line all along the route from the port of disembarkation to the front. The Anzacs received a cordial welcome from the French people. Women from the Red Cross and others met them at the wayside stations with coffee, cakes, and fruit. From the dripping dug-outs of (Jallipoli and the hot khamsin-swept sands of Egypt, to the comfortable billets and springtime rural beauty of Fiance, is a great but delightful change, and the troops are thoroughly interested in their new surroundings. Their behaviour, so far, has been highly satisfactory. They are billetted in villages ami farmhouses. They quickly got on friendly terms with the people, and it is no uncommon sight to see some big overseas warrior nursing a baby, or with one or two peasant youngsters marching proudly at his side. All the arrangements were made by the British Army, and worked excellently. Both officers and men are loud in their praise of them. On all hands British and overseas troops antral cruising. Everything augurs well for a successful campaign. The French people are wonderfully calm and optimistic, and consider that the Germans arc already beaten, though none can predict when the end will come.GERMANY PLANS ATTACK ON RUSSIA. PREPARATIONS FOR NEW OFFENSIVE. HINDENBURG MAKES READY FOR SMASHING BLOW. 'Times" and "Sydney Sun" Services. (Received -May 10, 8 a.m.) LONDON, May 9. The prospects of a German offensive against the Russian front are the dominating interest of the military situation. Marshal von llindenburg has massed,artillery and ammunition on the Dvinsk and Riga fronts, bringing up supplies by rail and by sea to Memel and Libau. Guns from fortresses, including Konigsberg, have been transferred. Skirmishes are proceeding at many points, hindering Russia from ascertaining where the chief attempt is likely to bo made. A great German effort will be made to roll up General Kuropatkin's army, to capture Petrograd, and possibly to cut the connections of the capital with Moscow and Archangel. An attempt to drag Sweden into the war appears possible. Another possibility is thai, under the mask of these preparations, the, Germans intend to attack General Brussiloff's armies in the southern zone, securing Austrian and Bulgarian help in enveloping Rumania, and diverting the Russian armies from Asia Minor. Mr •!. L. Garvin, writing in the '"Observer," points out that if the Russian armies are driven back the struggle will certainly be prolonged beyond 1917, but it is impossible to state the real .strength of the Germans on the eastern front. RUSSIA'S LIMITLESS CONFIDENCE AND DETERMINATION. VAST EFFORTS TO OVERCOME MUNITIONS SHORTAGE. LONDON, May 9. The Vice-President of the Duma, M. Alexander Protopopoff, interviewed by the "Sunday Times,"' expressed Russia's limitless confidence and determination. Throughout Russia the mobilisa- ~ lion of every energy proceeds steadily. Only 33 per cent, of the men of military age have been recruited. Instancing the reorganisation of the nation's works, M. Protopopoff said that 60,000,000 roubles (over £6,000.000) had been spent on new workshops at Yladivostock for the output of rolling stock for munition trains. Three hundred textile factories had been taken over by the War Office, and 68 of the biggest metallurgical works had been turned into munition-fac-tories.