The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-17
ALLIES SOON TO STRIKE IN WEST
 TO HELP SLAvS
Paris Says Germans Feel Menace of Events Iu-
 creasingly In1ninent'
COLOSSAL DRIVE ON
 ALL FRONTS PLANNED
Entente's Strategy Never In Such Complete Accord
 As at Present

London. June 17-Pub1ic opinion in Great Britain has combined the facts
 of the present military situation with various hints, official and semi-of1cial,
 which have filtered dow1 from the 1 councils of the allies, and has reached i the conclusion that great events are | fmepnding on the western front, if not in every zone of the war.
 A cryptic sentence in a semi official French communication received today has been seized upon everywhere as one more intinatiOn, even more de- finite than those preceding it, of the approach of colossal military move mentS
 this sentence reads, that the Ger mans fronting Verdun are maintain ing an attitude of expectation in view of the menace of events which they feel is becoming increasingly inn rninent''
 Not only this sentence but other phrases in the French communication, apparently designed to prepare the public mind for a great effort, have caught attention. Gen. Joffre's recent visit to London and the conferences between British and French minister's; Premier Asduitn's and Colonial Secre- tary Bonar Laws announcements that British help had been proffered to the French some time ago; the fact that Lord Kitchener when killed was bound for Russia-all have helped to creat a universal feeling of expect I ancy. A review of recent operations on the British front, sent last night from British headquarters in France, forms another item in the study of the situ- ation. This review says it is now evident that the Germans in their at tack on June 2 and 3 on Ypres did not, as at first believed, contemplate any considerable infantry offensive, 1 let alone an attack comparable with the Verdun drive.
 i It is now very clear, the review de- {! c1ares, that there is no great German concentration opposite Ypres, and that no Third Battle of Ypres'' was really impending at any time recently. It is generally known that the En-
 tente Allies are all in complete touch 1 by wireless, and that their military l operations and grand strategy are in l more instant andt thorough co-ordina- | ton than ever before in the war. Con-
 sequently, the progress of the Russian 1 drive in Ga1icia and Vo1hynia is being
 watched with almost painful ager-
 ness, not only because of it's import l ance in itself but because it is felt
 that this campaign is oaaly a part of a. | vast whole and is intimately con cerned with the development of l greater operations in the west That
 this also is the view in Petrograd is l indicated in despatches from there. i Military men here are pointing out I what they consider a serious error in l German strategy in permitting Aus
 tria to withdraw half her effectives from the Russian front for an assault
 upon Italy, after having brought her 1 own reserves from the same point to I -. l. 1 moreover, is regarded as not only a
 tactical but a strategic defeat of the
 Germans, as it left the German fleet SO severely battered as to be unable 1 to play any part in summer cam I paign for Riga, which otherwise
 might have been an effective counter for the Russian successes in the
 south
 Expert opinion here is that it will be some weeks before either the Ger mans or Austrians are able to with
 draw troops from Verdun o~ the 1taA- ian front to brace their lines in the east, and that by that time the Rus
 sians may have pushed ia r into | Gaicia, perhaps recaptured Lemberg and passed on beyond it According
 to reports received in London, the Austrian and German Governments are making desperate efforts to con- lceaI the truth about the Russian drive from their people.
 1 Prof Albert F. Pollard of the Uni versity of London, featuring here yes terday on the progress of the war, voiced the prevalent opinion in Lon- Edon when he said he anticipated a
 great offensive by the allies on the
 western front before long, but did not hope for the end of the war before
 next year.
 The utmost to be hoped for this year, he said. was the defeat of Aus
 tria, a virtual settlement of the Ba1k-
 ans and the driving back of the Ger
 mans a considerable distance on the
 western front The final defeat of Germany could not be accomplished
 until another year, he said
 Last nights official bulletin from British headquarters on the British front says briefly:
 ''In the last twentT-four hours quiet
 has prevailed on most parts of the
 front Last night there was inter
 rnittent smelling on both sides on the
 front lately retaken by us near Zil1e-
 beke, but no infantry action"
 The report mentions some minor
 activity, including, mining in the
 Loos salient.