ECHOES OF THE WAR.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1310, 3 June 1915, Page 29

ECHOES OF THE WAR.

A New Zealander writing from Egypt says there were a division of British Regulars, a British Naval Division, the two Australian Divisions, and a French force, the whole under General d’Amade, expected to be co-operat-ing with the Allied fleets somewhere in the neighourhood of Turkey.

The Germans were taken utterly by surprise at Neuve Chapelle, and it was a slaughter for them. The British, advancing into the town with little loss, suffered most of their casualties later when the mist did not let their guns support them and they tried to carry their advance beyond the present line of trenches. Nothing in the war has been more satisfactory to the British army at the front than Neuve Chapelle.

According to a writer in the War Budget it would cost the Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s new super-Dread-nought, which is working havoc among the forts of the Dardanelles, a quarter of a million sterling if she were to fire all her guns to their full capacity for one hour. The famous Lion, flagship of Admiral Beatty, used up about £75 worth of cordite and shell every time she emptied one of her 13.5 guns at the Blucher.

Ther are now over half a dozen newspapers published specially for the French troops at the front.

The natural status of the Trentino for which Italy is now fighting is confessed in the name long given by the Hapsburgers themselves to the district south of Trent —“Welsche Confinien.” “Welsch” in that part of the world means Italian, the general significance of teh word being “foreign.” It is for the same reason that the Celtic region west of England was called “Wales,” and the same word appears in Cornwall, and in “walnut,” the foreign nut. But it has been observed that “Welsh” was applied only to Celts who had come under Roman influence. Our forefathers spoke of “Bretwealas” in Britain; of “Galwealas” In Gaul, and of “Rumwealas” in Italy; but the un-Romanised Scots were never called “Welsh.”