The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-04

Another week of unparalleled activ- ity on all the war fronts has resulted in continued success for the allies. The capture by the British of the import ant village of Pozieres, the taking of the Armenian city, Erzingan, by the forces of Grand Duke Nicholas, and the steady advance of the Russians under General Sakharoff on the Lipa front, are achievements which have caused great rejoicing in Paris, Petrograd and London Should this rate of progress continue unchecked, not many weeks will pass before consternation reigns in Berlin, Vienna and Constantinople
 To the Russians is due the first mill itary honors in these accomplishments. Erzingan is an important town situated in central Armenia, about so miles southwest of Erzerum, which latter city was captured by the troops of the grand duke last February. It is sit uated on the western EuphrateS river and is the center of a rich, we'll wa tered plain. Erzingan was the most important of the military forts of the Turks in Asia Minor and contained large barracks and military factories It's capture means the paralyzing of Turkish military power in Armenia. If the Russians can follow up this suc- cess by pushing forward to the Bagdad railway, complete disaster will be the fate of the Ottoman forces operating against the British below Bagdad, for all military supplies pass over this, the sole route to the south. It was the strategic value of the Bagdad rail- way which gave the Turks their great victory over the British troops under General Townshend.
 But the success of the Russians has not been confined to the armies in the Caucasus, for there have been notable gains made against the forces of the central powers. On the Lipa front Gem eral Sakharoff has overcome the dif- faculties of crossing the river, and has forced the enemy to retire in confusion, capturing a large number of prisoners and guns. The object in this region is Kovel, toward which place rapid ad- vance is being made. Further to the south, where the Russian forces have been threatening an invasion of Hun gary through the passes of the Car pathian mountains, fighting has been checked by rains and snow. In the north, from the region of Baranovinchi to the Baltic, infantry and artillery en- gagements have been of daily occur renee, but there has been no apprecl- able change in the lines of the con- tending forces.
 The continued success of the Rus
 
 depression in the spirits of the Ger man and Austrian soldiers who are en- deavoring vainly to stem the Slavic tide. Defeat after defeat, followed by hurrier retreats, with the loss of thousands of men and vast quantities of munitions, must be trying sorely the mettle of the Teutonic warriors. The mood of mind developed at home by these experiences is even more discour- aging. Already movement to make a separate peace for Hungary has caused much disturbance among the subjects of Francis Joseph. Added to this are many, where, reliable reports say, bread riots have occurred in many cities. Up until the present great of fensive, the soldiers of the central powers fully believed that the war was really won. There had been victory all along the line. and it was natural to assume that the enemy could not retrieve the disasters already experi- enced. How long will the morale of the Kaiser's troops be able to withstand a succession of costly defeats? This is the question that is being asked with much interest by military critics throughout the world. The soldiers of "Kitchener's mob," now rapidly hardening into experi- enced veterans. have given the Ger mans no respite from the fierce offen- sive which has turned the smiling fields of Flanders into a veritable shambles. Day and night conflict has been going on, with the British steadily, though slowly, advancing towards their ob- jective. The village of Pozieres, a point | of much strategic importance, has been | captured after a bloody struggle.