Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-07-30
Veterinary Loses the
Initiative.

Russian strength was gaming. But
these events had failed to impress
world watching the terrible struggle
before Verdun, and they carried no
message to German and Austrian gen
erals, who, confident of Russian ex
haustion, continued to send troops
from the east to the west and the
south.
All through the first four months of
the Verdun attack it was plain that
Germany reckoned on preclpitatin
premature offensive by the British. and
before their lines she massed most of
the troops Withdrawn from Russia. AS
the strain upon the French increased,
the British, was natural, volunteer
ed to begin, but Joffre did not count
them yet ready and grimly held the
French to the gigantic task on the
heights of the Mouse.
But as Verdun held out, the time APP
preached when Russia would escape
from the chains of winter and the east
ern field would be again fit for mill
tary operations. Still the world await
ed, not a Russian attack, but that
allied offensive which had been, in the
minds of the uniformed of neutral
and belligerent countries alike, Sched-
uled for the spring, and when it did
not come credit was given to German
assertion that the Verdun attack had
exhausted France.
Russians Launch Offensive
On June 1. however. there came a
sudden awakening On vast front ex
tending from the Pripet marshes to
the Rumanian frontier the Russian
armies, heralded by tremendous artil-
lery operations, stepped forward,
broke the Austrian lines north and
south, took the fortress of Dubno and
Lutsk, lost In the preceding summer,
and began to sweep the defeated Aus
trian armies before them in rout that
recalled the worst of the Lemberg dis
aSter.
In month the total of prisoners
claimed by the Russians passed 100000;
it has since reached 100000 Guns, am
munition, supplies of every sort, fell
to the victors. Bukowina was retaken.
On the north Kovel was threatened and
in the south Kolomea fell, and Cossacks
again reached the summit of the Carpa-
thians and began to flow down the
Kirilibaba and Jablonitza passes to-
ward the Hungarian plain.
Once more it was for Germany to
come to the rescue of her Austrian
ally, and fresh German troops pouring
down from the north passed kovel and
halted the Russians. first at the Styr
and then, yielding under pressure, re-
still hold. On the Strypa other German
troops held firm, but to the south, across
the Dniester, the Russians continued to
press on, and have only recently slowed
down.
Now, after seven weeks. it is too early
to forecast the final achievement of the
Russian offensive. 1t goes over Into
another year. as did the German attack
upon Russia last year, which advanced
200 miles beyond It's July limit before it
fra baI &
Russian attack has not yet been checked,
that it carries plain menace for Lem
berg, and that it has disclosed an Aus
trian weakness that may be the sign Of
an approaching collapse. year ago
Berlin talked of separate peace with a
defeated Russia; today PetroSrad is
talking OF a separate peace with an ex-
hausted Austria. Berlin was wrong; not
improba bly, Petrograd is wrong; but the
change is the thing to be noted.
Won Back Lost Ground.
In the seven weeks of fighting Russia
has recovered between 10000 and $4,000
square miles of territory lost last year
far more territory than Germany holds
to ransom from France, a larger area
than Belgium. What the moral effect
upon Rumania and Bulgaria will be
when the RUSSIAN victory is finally es-
tablished it Is impossible to forecast;
but it is possible to recall the effect
in the Balkans of the German victories
in Russia a year ago and Bukowina is
under the eyes and in the minds Of
all Rumanians.
Russian victories automatically ended
the Austrian attack upon Italy, and
Italian armies leaped forward to re-
cover lost ground and still are making
ri Mt
ly recalled from Albania and from the
Balkans, and their going was the sig
nal for new allied activity about Sa-
loniki, which has been accepted as the
forerunner Of effort to dispose Of
Bulgaria, free Serbia and cut the rail-
road line that binds Berlin to Constan-
tinople and the Turk to the Teuton.
Enthusiastically, we are soon to have a
new campaign in the Balkans-a cam
paign directed north End south-an Eff
fort to restore the iron ring inclosing
the central powers and isolate the Turk.
who may not long endure if he loses the
aid of his great German ally.
Exactly one month after the Russian
armies had stepped out in Nolhynia and
Galicia. the French and British armies
along the Somme began great attack,
which at the present hour is going for
ward and still remains but beginning.
The actual achievement of this west
ern drive, still too small in the decisive
sense to have any bearing, Is iH the
minds of all who have read the recent
newspapers. We must wait weeks and
perhaps months before we shall know
whether Britain-for the main work
must be done by Britain-can repeat in
Picardy the Russian achievement in
Volhynia and. piercing the German
lines, compel the withdrawal of the
Teuton from French territory occupied
now for nearly two years.
Britain Must Bear Burden.
Should the British pierce the German
lines for half the distance of the Rus
sian advance upon Kovel by Lutsk;
should they recover half the territory
already taken by the armies of the
car, France would be substantially
freed of German troops. But. on the
other hand should the British advance
be stopped substantially where it now
stands, the German success would be as
absolute as it was a year ago in Cham
payne and Artois. and in both instances
the small area of recovered territory
would have no military value. and the
trenches, prisoners and guns taken
would not modify in any respect the
absolute victory of Germany on the de-
fensive.
Nor can we now form any estimate of
the capacity of the new British armies
Just beginning their gigantic task.
Supe rficially they would seem already
to have done better than they did at
Neuve Chapelle and Loos. We know
that they have numbers, guns, NUM-
lions. things they have not before had