How Goes the Fight?

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11892, 29 December 1916, Page 8

How Goes the Fight?

NOTES ON THE WAR. THE POSITION ANALYSED, CHRTSTCMUROH, December 29. TJio extension of the British front in France need surprise no pne, The expectation, indeed, was that the whole front as far as the Oise would ultimately be taken over, leaving the French to hold the remainder. This distribution would give the British perhaps 120 miles of front and the French, say, 280 miles, but there are considerable stroicheg between the Oise and the Swiss border tha»t nped little more than ft close patrolling. Along the Aisne, for instance, the trenches on both sides are probably only lightly held, except in positions like the angle of the Aisne and the Oise, where useful points d'appui have been from time to time hotly contested, and where fthe opposing trenches are comparatively close together. |There has doubtless always been a strong concentration l in 'the neighbourhood of Rheims, and ever since the French offensive in Champagne it must have been necessary for both sides to maintain important forces on the sector. But in the Argonne this year matters have been comparatively quiet, and no doubt the number of battalions in the trenches was rather small during the summer. In the department of Vosges and in Alsace, again, it has not been necessary to taaintain any large forces "on the front, though occasionally local actions have brought the reserves hurriedly into the trenches. Everywhere, of course, the defence depends mainly on the a^illery.

The cessation of t : lie Allied offensive north and south of the Somme must have released considerable British and French forces, and no doubt- most of the units thai:- were heavily engaged during the fighting after July 1 are now in reserve. But some of these have certainly been used to man the trenches on the extended front, while others have been sent to other sectors to take their turn of trench life during the winter. Thus the New Zealanders were sent back to their old quarters near Armentieres. The Australians, or some of them, however, remained in residence, so to speak, on the ground where they distinguished themselves, and probably 'the Canadians are there too. It was fairly clearly indicated a few <3ays ago that Australian and Canadian brigades were to be incorporated in the regular British Army, which means that unless, an adequate supply of reinforcements should be forthcoming these units will be in danger of losing their identity. This particular danger should not affect the New Zealanders, even though, for the sake of uniformity, they, too, become part and parcel of the regular British forces.

Hie extension of the British fronlt at the end of last year seems to have been commenced soon after the cessation of the September offensives, and the work probably continued 'through the winter. The extension, curiously enough, did not proceed, as might have been expected, by a gradual movement southwards. New divisions were first brought into the trenches in the neighborhood of Albert, where, by the way, the great offensive was opened in July. It was not until the Germans had opened stheir big assault on Verdun that the gap between the Ancre and Loos was Silted by th,c> British.. Sir Douglas Haig mentioned the fact in a dispatch in May, but of course the communiques had shown what had happened at a much earlier date. The reference of the Commander-in-Chief to the subject was exceedingly brief. "During this struggle (at Verdun)," he wrote, "my 'troops have been in readiness "to co-operate as thej r might be needed, but the only assistance asked for by our Allies was of an indirect nature—viz., the relief of th 9 French troops on a portion of their defensive front. This relief I was glad to be able to afford. Its execution on a considerable front, everywhere in close touch with the enemy, was a somewhat delicate operation, but it was carried out with complete success, thanks to the cordial cooperation and goodwill of all ranks concerned, and to the lack of enterprise shown by the enemy during the relief." This statement was over-modest, because the enemy's lack of enterprise was unquestionably due to his complete ignorance of the fact that the transfer of the trenches was in progress. Indeed, even after it had been completed, the Germans were in doubt as to the positions held by the British, for they announced the capture of British prisoners at a point where no British unit had been engaged.

It is not stated how far south Che British front now extends, but one may reasonably assume that the first extension would be to the Somme River. The last communiques referring to the Allied offensive showed that the French were linked up with the British between Lesbceufs and Sailly-Sallisel, and if the British have taken over the front to the Somme they will have added about eight miles to the length of their line. The new sector would then include the twin villages of Sailly and Sallisel, the wood of St Pierre Vaast, the village of Rancoyrt and the village of Bouchavesnea. This would mean that when the time comes for the attack on Peronne the British would bo facing the Tortille canal and would advance from the north-west. An extension of eight miles on this part of the front would involve the employment of, say, four divisions, because a smaller concentration would possibly be dangerous in view of the certainty that the Germans are anxious to recover some of the ground they have lost this year.

Ultimately "the British will necessarily have to take over the trenches 6outh of the Somme, and the fact that thfey are using Rouen aa their principal base and will now be using Amiens as an advanced base would make -the presence of French, troops anywhere north of Chaulnes somewhat inconvenient. Of course, greater inconvenience has been endured this year, and the spirit of co-operation between the Allies has enabled them to overcomo ail difficulties, grealt and small, but for all that it -would manifestly be better that the lines of communication of the two armies should not cross one another. Guesses at the strength of the British

Army in France are to be avoided, but it is no secret that the number of divisions across the Channel has been steadily increasing and that many of the fin© troops that have been training in the depots in England will shortly find themselves in the firing line.

" A HAPPIER NEW YEAR!" THE "CANTERBURY TIMES," Features of Next Week's Issue. PRICE —Sixpence. THE EEL-PIE SHOP IN LONDON. " PEN'NORTH AND A HA'PORTH." Farmers' Day at Lincoln Agricultural Collage. THE "ROLL OF HONOUR. ,J CREWS IN INTER-SCHOOL BOAT RACES. Motor-Cyclist Despatch Riders. CARNIVAL AT GERALD INI:. Pictures from the Battlefields, "FOR KANGAROOS ONLY." "READY! AYE! READY!" NAPIER "MARDI GRAS" CARNIVAL. SEE OUR BRAVE WOMEN AT WORK. PAINTING SHIP AND OVERHAULING MACHINERY. PRICE OF MILK: REMARKABLE DEMONSTRATION IN LONDON. MEETING OF ALLIED TROOPS. Hosts of Other Illustrations. TUESDAY NEXT AT NOON. , DO NOT LEAVE IT TILL TOO LATE. REMEMBER THE RUSH ON THE CHRISTMAS NUMBER. .The number of the " Canterbury limes for IDI7 will be ■obtainable by the puonc at nooa. on Tuesday next. It will be wortay of the occasion, for week by weeK tlie illiistruaons are becoming more n> teresting and lie enormous suies testify to the appreciation of tho people for the excellence of tue pictures ;uid reading' matter sro-vided for them. The manner m winch patriotic women are taking up work which was formerly performed by men is graphically portrayed in a page of splendid engravings snowing women engaged in overhauling the machinery and painting a sunken ship after being raised from the bed cf the ocean * l- 'n r u^ W< T. ears ' submersion. Then women will be shown engaged in oxy-acetyline welding and lace-making in what was once a cliureh. ** Scenes on ihe Road to the Firing Line" will form another very line series of illuminating views, which will give aa idea of what " our boys " are doiug. Pictures 'from the Sommo battlefields, of which there will be a varied select.on, will prove of intense interest to those who have the fortune to peruse them. "Longuevai after the Allies' victory," the magnificent work of 'the Red Cross and 1 ambulance men, Scotties'' taking a rest after a batile and Belgian cavalrymen in training, will be en- 1 gravings that will appeal to every patriotic man and woman. " Tlie Spirit of France " and " Motsr-cyclist Despatch Riders" will be two realistic sceiies Coming closer heme to Dominion happenings everyoody will be interested in the snapshots ol the crews in the inter-school boat races on the Avon, Farmers' Day at Lincolji Agricultural College, " Mardi Gras" Festival at Napier and the successful patriotic carnival heid at Geralaine. The " Boil of Honour," of course, will occupy a prominent space. Those mentioned above are but a few of the many fine pictures that will appear in the New Year number of the "Canterbury Times." In addition to the illustrations there will be an abundance of good, instructive, entertaining and wholesome reading matter, over which readers will doubtless pass many pleasing and profitable hours. Aa was stated at the outset the " Canterbury Times,'' the premier weekly journal of the Dominion, will be available to the public on Tuesday next, at noon, and for homeside reading and sending to friends abroad no : more popular and up-to-date weekly news- j paper could be selected.