Battle lull

Exhausted armies

A warning to Germany

By the common agreement which mutual exhaustion dictates, there has been a lull in the fighting. The siege of the German entrenched position will however be speedily resumed with renewed vigour and the conflicts that are going of at various points, battles they would be termed normal warfare, partake in the nature of sallies no counter attacks.

That is one way of looking at it.

Another is that the actual battle of the Aisne has not yet begun and that only the preliminary stage of the big struggle has been reached.

Speculations of a certain character are now forbidden by the authorities but it is permissible to point out that the lesson of the first great battle is that modern armaments and military science merely strengthen the capacity for endurance.

That is why the battle of the Aisne, despite the ground which the allies have gained, has the appearance of a draw. That is why what would otherwise have been a decisive encounter has degenerated into a siege with the attacking armies also solidly entrenched.

When next the fighting armies are at grips it will be a new battle with a new name, but as far as Aisne is concerned we are not likely to see again such ferocious fighting as that which has hitherto been waged.

Certain conclusions have been arrived at after a survey of the present positions but we are precluded from giving them and this column is likely to be a colourless production until the instructions of the authorities are modified.

They tell us nothing and do not permit us to think aloud. We can only recapitulate the news officially vouchsafed and group those merge facts in the most informing manner possible and leave readers to make their own deduction.

There is evidence that the Germans are making great preparations for retreat, we suppose we are allowed to say that, and there are also indications of what the allies plans are.

Concerning the latter as with almost everything of vital interdiction, the public are to be kept in the dark. As far as the situation on the Aisne is concerned, the extent of the allies advance is given as 11 miles which is highly significant.

Elsewhere the situation is reported to be unchanged except that in Lorraine, the Germans have evacuated Nomeny and Arracourt. Of general fighting there has been none and the renewal of this is likely to be under different circumstances.

Dramatic news was conveyed from the Admiralty last night British aeroplanes from the Naval wing have delivered an attack on the Zeppelin sheds at Dusseldorf in conditions made difficult by the misty weather.

Flight Lieutenant Collet dropped three bombs on the Zeppelin shed approaching within 400 feet of the purpose. The extent of the damage is not yet known.

His machine was struck by one projectile, but all aeroplanes returned safely to their point of departure.