The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-08-13

Great Allied Offensive.
For the first eighteen months Of the war only the
shadow Of cooperation in military affnirs existed IN
the Entente capitals. There was an Interchange OF
observers and staff officers and an occasional meet
ing in Paris which developed some acrimonious dis
cuSsIous but it seemed to he of every ono to
himself and the devil take thu hndmost .
Germany LbSuaht Russia could not repair Cnt nv
ages Of tbfe IN time to be dangerous factor before
the srrIng OF t0l1, And She thought her Ncrdm Of
fcnsIyc had weakened France and probably Great
Britain to the point where they would be compara-
lively Inactive until the autumn
But once more Germany manifested a tendency
to underestimate her advcrs0rics. Miracles had oc-
CURED In Russia aud on June 4 the Tsars armies
under General Alexis Rrusorr began an offensive
from NOlhynn to ROumaniR which cqualIed III It's
first momentum the AusttOGcrman drive across
the DonN ice. The Austrian line was thrown BACK NJ
Oyka the fortress OF Lutsk WAS rccnpurcd Oh the
7th the Dubno fortress was rcoccupiCd on the lOth'
Carruowit2. capital of Bukowna, was In Russian
hands on the 18th, and by tho same day the advance
through LutsE had progressed to the StoEhod liver
week later Bukowina was cleared OF A'S'Elau
troops and Russian cavalry was mounting into the
CNrpNhnns and once more threatening Hungary
Tn June " the hIlllSN UCHNu II NlulCHL "V"'""'N
mcnt Of the Germans In front of them from the
Sommc to Yprcs Tho rcndlNstmcnt OF the French
cfrcctvcs In tho early stages of the Ncrdm battle
had compelled the British to extend their line from
loos first to Arrus and then to the Somme, thus
putting in their hands about eighty miles, or one
quarter OF the total length cithc western front On
June 30 the bombardmcar centred on sector eight
miles in width north OF the Somme and was taken
"a In
| the allied armies attacked, and their progress since
that day until these lines are written has been
steady and methodIcal
General Jorrrc and General Sir Douglas HNg, now
British commander In chief are striking east for the
Brussels Paris railway, from twenty to thirty miles
behind the present battle front This railway, with
its transverse and branch lines Is the great German
artery Of transport in this entire section of France
Cuttnglt viii leave approximately hNlf the Germans
in the west without safe line of communication
with the Rhine. And that means that the great re.
treat will begin which can end nowhere short Of tho
line of the Schcldt and the Mclsc.
That Is the present situation in the west. RuSSa's
contribution TO this plan is taking the form Of demon
srntIons In force against the entire eastern front.
While not regarded strictly as offensive operations,
they suffice to keep the Germans fully occupied and
by continuous pressure at all points they effectuay
prevent the ravorIte Teuonic strategy of transferring
troops from one front to the other where danger
threatens most
Haly'S Part in the War.
After nearly ten months Of waverng, during which
time she worked to put her nrmy on high plane Of
efficiency Italy May 90, 1915, formally repudhted
her allancc with Germany and austria and declared
,o late Slin 10 OntV nt XJ0r wifi
many, although there has been much antlGerman
agitation in the country In recent months.
Italys Second army moved the day the break came.
To 1t was allotted the task of breaking the Isonzo
barrier and recovering Trieste. The First army,
stretched from Stelvio Pass, at the Swiss border
around the frontier to the CNrnIc Alps, was to seize
the northern passes and act as cover to the opera
tIOns on the seubOard
Austria offered no opposition when the Italians
swept across the eastern frontier The border patrol
fell back onto Gorilla the greatest stronghold on
the lsoRo, where preparations had been made to
meet an invasion Less than Il week after hostlI
ties began Italy attacked along the Isonzo from Its
mouth to above GorizIa. She has been attacking
there ever since. Three separate offensves have
been launched against Gorzia, but while some slight
gains have been regisered-the Isonzo has been
crossed 4 short distance below and above the town
and the bridgehead now Is under attack-the Aus
trlan defence seems little impaired
Fighting strictly on the defensive from the dry
italy Joined her enemies and holding her front with
the minimum number Of rifles Austria undertook
late IN the spring Of this year. to clear the TrentnO
sweep down on Vcenza cut tile trunk lines which
support the Italian Second army OH the GsOnzo and
thus compel the abandonment Of the operations
against GOrzia In the ncighborlood of 100000 extra
men were sent to the Trent district, and with little
warning they struck south and east from RoveretO
Their early advance was rapid, They pushed down
the Adlgc the Val Arsa the Val Sugana and the
Astico and within two weeks they we're overlooking
the Venetian plain from Aslago and the heights south
of the POsna
Then Italian counter attacks We're begun in earnest
and Russia started her drive in Vohynia. Austria
under the combination of italian weight and tho
necessity for reinforcing her lines in the east, aban
doned her offensive almost on the eve Of success
Germanys world empire began to fall away from
her almost from the day the war began British
war Ships seized her Pacific Islands and British,
French and Belgian colonial troops marched against
her West African possessions German Southwest
Africa fell first The Cameroons followed. Belgian
and Union Of South Africa forces are slowly making
Roadway IN German East Africa and their conquest
of that immensely valuable colony seems to be
matter of only a few months.
Japan struck severe blow to Germany when sh(
declared war on August 49, 1914 and sent fles