New-York tribune., 1915-02-01
Six Months of the Great War.

Six Months of the Great War.
The first half year Of the great war ends to-day
1t ends with a condition approaching deadlock
I'm practically every theatre Of operations. Inc
difficulties Of winter campaigning have played a
big part in bringing military progress to stand
still. But the exhaustion Of frst-line strength
on both sides has been the main factor in com
polling the armies IN the field to renounce a
grand-scale offensive
The tendency to play safe and to resort to only
minor operations Is more pronounced now than 1t
has been at any other period of the war. The Ger
man campaign in the west, on which the Kaiser S
staff pinned its hopes of success as gitterng and
decisive as Sedan, collapsed in the battle OF the
Marne The second offenSive-agalnSt the weak
line of the Allies protecting Dunkirk CALAIS and
the Channel coast-was even more Of a failure.
The dash for Paris resulted in a German occu-
nation Of practically all Belgium and a consd-
cradle portion Of Northeastern France. Inn
costly campaign against the Channel ports yielded
only few square miles Of territory, valueIeSs
for military purposes In the west the Germans
have been trying since December l merely to
hold ground already gained. The Allies have
been waiting as they were logically bound to do,
for the rcinforcements which Great Britain has
been preparing to put in the field.
The abandonment Of the offensive in the west
enabled Germany to 90 to the aid of the hard
pressed armies Of Austria-Hungary. In the las,
two months the eastern front has been the one
theatre of brilliant strategy and arge-scae fight
ing. Field Marshal Won Hndenburg's Polish
campaign restored to some extent the balance
upset by Russia's successful advance almost to
the gates Of CracOw. The German armies now
hold most of Western Poland and are still threat
ening Warsaw. But the battle front has been
extended far to the southeast, and the Teutonic
allies have had to meet Russian attack on Hun
gary through Eastern Galicia and Bukowina.
Hungarys situation has become much more
critical than it was in the early days of the war.
In December the 5tro-Hungaran army in Ser
via was routed and driven across the border. Ru-
mania has been openly preparing for war, and
Russian troops are massed on the frontier Of
Transylvania. To meet these threats large Ger
man forces have had to be sent to Hungary $
back to the sort of trench warfare which has
been long maintained in France and Belgium 1t
Is not improbable that the next fighting on a
large scale will take place in Hungary, espe-
cially if Rumania presently enters the war on
the side Of the Allies.
Enyer Bey and the young Turks have carried
out their bargain with Germany. They have
sent an army into Trans-Caucasia, only to have
it defeated and broken up, and have also tried
unsuccessfully to attack Russia by way of Persia.
They have massed some troops on the Egyptian
border and are threatening the Suez Canal. But
they are not likely TO do more than annoy the
Allies and cause Russia to divert reserves to the
Caucasus and Great Britain to detain her Aus
tralian and New Zealand contingents and some
Of her Indian troops in Egypt
The second big stage Of the war in Europe IS
approaching But that stage hardly promises
to be decisive. In the early spring the new Brit
ish armies will be in France and the long looked
for allied offensive may be begun. Yet, although
the allied strength will be largely increased, il
must not be forgotten that Germany's thorough
military system is able TO turn out nearly o.
100000 soldiers and that the Kaiser will not
lack ample reserves for nearly year to come.
An offensive in the west against Germany will
be a trying undertaking, and the Kaiser seems
10 have enough men on the eastern front to mold
off a serious Russian invasion.
The weak spot in the Teutonic combination is
Austria Hungary. Her needs may embarrass
Germany and finally make the latter's military
situation extremely difficult But the only chance
of relatively quick ending of the war seems to
lie in the interposition of Rumania and Italy.
Should they join the Allies, Austria Hungary 5
weakened defence would soon collapse.