The Timaru Herald. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1914. THE WAR.

Timaru Herald, Volume CI, Issue 15454, 17 September 1914, Page 6

The Timaru Herald. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1914. THE WAR.

To-day's Avar news suggests that the German armies in the north of France have recovered, in some measure, from the iir.st confusion cit' tlieir flight, and have been able to make at least a temporary stand. The report of the Central !Xews Agency, which came as an "extraordinary message, that General Yon lvluck. in command of the German right wing, had surrendered witli 14.000 or 20.000 prisoners has not been confirmed, and must be treated now as a canard. Earlier messages gave reason io be] ieve that the German right wing, which lias been most precipitate in retreat as it was previously nio<l impetuous in advance, w:c< 11 •■■>'! i no- for a .'.rap uu the cast side

of the Argonne forest. The Central Agency, which should have known better, seems to have jumped to the conclusion that the trap had actually closed upon its victims, and that something like a German Sedan had already happened. The German Sedan has not resulted yet, but it is still a possibility of the immediate future. The Germans have not yet passed the dangers of the Argonne forest region, but a stand has been made by a large portion of their forces on the north bank of the River Aisne, which, as we said before, can be considered for military purposes a continuation of the Meuse in the direction of Paris. They have evidently entrenched themselves in this position, and a battle of some sort is in progress, but its magnitude and the degree of resistance which the Germans will be able to exercise are unknown. The left wing of the Allies' armies is maintaining a close contact with tlie Germans, whose centre is still steadily retreating, and the army of the Crown Prince, _ behind Yerdun, has been driven yet further back. His forces are described as " scurrying in retreat through the only available gap between Argonne and the River Meuse." If the French and British can force the Aisne position the danger for the German armies, driven in upon each other, will be that they will be piled up in a hopeless confusion before they can complete their entrenchments along the Meuse. If they avoid this danger the Anglo-Belgian force which we know is operating in Belgium will be a serious danger to tli& right wing when it tries to cross the frontier. Already the Germans are said to be preparing for a strong defence along the Meuse, in Belgium. They must be doing so with very different thoughts from those tliey entertained when, proud conquerors of ' the little Belgians, who fought them in proportion of one to five, they marched down that river a few weeks ago. confident that a few days would see them lords of a humiliated Paris. It is not exaggeration to call the Battle )f the Marne the Gettysburg of this war—the name which a New York journal has applied to it. Gettysburg, with its three days slaughter, was not a decisive victory for the Federal Forces in the American Civil "War. The great struggle, which had lastedtwo years previously, dragged on for two years after it, but it was virtually the beginning of .' the end. The Battle of the Marne has shown that the great German war machine is vulnerable; the British and French know now that they can defeat it, and that knowledge will be as inspiriting to them as the knowledge of its limitations will be depressing- to the Germans. The moral effect of the great battle and retreat must have enormous influence on the future of this war. But even the inimediate influence of the battle is tremendous. It has practically cleared France of invaders. and the Germans are in more danger now of encountering a complete disaster than they have been since the beginning of the war.