PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXX, Issue 14579, 2 June 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

•fhe Western Front.

A French oflicial mossago to-day states that on Thursday afternoon the French captured a strong German work on the south-west slopes of Mort'Homme. There is evidence that the Verdun battle is still blazing away, find that big lighting is taking place, in tho sector west of the Meu.se. The new German offensive in the Mort ITomino region, liko all that have gone before since the' French foil back from the line of the Forges Brook, has been n.aiked by sonic German gains hero and there, though the attacks us a. whole have been bloodily repulsed.

As we havo remarked on former occasions, the real significance of the German gains, such -is they are, cannct be tvuiy assessel until after the inevitable counter-attacks. It will be remembered that in the last great German effort in this region—among tho most violent sinco the opening of the Verdun operations—tho French lost quite an appreciable amount of advanced ground all told, and some pessimists were at the time inclined to believe that at last the defence had begun to develop a serious weakness; but the French coun-ter-attacks (such as arc recorded in tho

cables to-day) won back practically every yard that had been lost, and in some cases gained a little, leaving the general situation much as it had been before. So in tho present German offensive wo will have to wait and sec. But in tho meantime, Mort Ilommo and JTill 304, the two great pillars of French defence in this region, and the immediate objectives of the Germans, aro still in the hands of the Allies.

According to tho latoKfc news from the Verdun front the Germans are apparently renouncing all hope of capturing the fortified zone between Avocourt Wood aud Hill. 304, and are now seeking to smash a way through the Chattancourt district. The French have eased, the enemy's pressure at Mort JJomnie. All the latest German attacks in the region of Mort lloniine lia.vo been repulsed. East of the Mouse river tho artillery lighting has assumed mi intensely violent character. The Italian Fighting. According to to-day's cables, General Oadorna reports that the enemy made a violent attack on the Lagarine Valley, supported by a. furious bombardment, but were unable to make any progress, the columns being annihilated. At other points there is fierce lighting taking place. Tho counter-attacks which the Italians aro launching with success is a good sign. The violent Austrian attacks in the Trentino have driven the Italians back from tho advanced positions which represented General Cadorna'sreachingout towards Trent, aud tho line in the southern and south-eastern sectors, where it had cropt out towards Kovereto and Trent, has been pressed back towards the frontier. As this falling back has taken place the Italians have approached Avhat they have established as their main defensive positions, and already the latest Ivome communiques indicate that the Austrian attacks are being m6re and more withstood In a way there is a similarity between these operations and Verdun, though there is no parallel between the enemy's object in the two cases. The likeness comes in through both tho French and the Italians stubbornly contesting the enemy advance, but gradually falling back to lines naturally strong, ami rendered trebly so by artifice, where they counted upon the enemy battering himself against, them in vain. In neither case was the. retreat a premeditated thing, or a. thing to their liking, but in fallingback there., was the consciousness that a definite halt would presently be called.

As far as an Austrian irruption on to the Lombardy Plain is concerned, Genera! Cadorua is not likely to be at all perturbed, at present. In view of the strength of tho border positions now in the hands of the Italians, and their untouched reserves of men, even the 300,----110(1 Austrians who wort , , recently said to bo concentrating in the Trentino would, still be too few to carry out any very marked advance.

What will doubtless cause General Oadorua some chagrin, however, will be the success achieved by the Austrians in undoing much of the slow and costly work of conquest, that ho has for so long boon carrying out in the Trentino. This, of course, is not tho main Italian theatre —that is over eastward on the Lsouzo-—but after the Trentino frontiers had been secured, General Cadoina. gradually extended his line in a great semi-circle in Austrian territory hero until ho had reached a stage where, a sudden determined offensive might give him possession of a very largo proportion of this part of Italia irredenta. It is understood that just such an offensive was being planned, and now the .Austrians have, jumped in on the approved lines and forestalled the- Italian offensive, the result being that all the plans for it ha.vo been, for the time being, sot hopelessly awry. It is very much open fo doubt whether the German high commands entertain any hope at all of achieving a decision in any theatre just, now, but this plan ot" attacking just when the Allies are perfecting their plans for a forward move is certainly tho best means of defence, and it certainly has a big political value in tho way of keeping up the spirits of their civilian population.