Real success

German losses 10,000

Nearly 2000 prisoners

The blockade: another neutral vessel sunk

It is impossible to hide the fact that during the last fortnight a doleful note has characterised the writings of many military correspondents and civilian critics.

One popular writer who has hitherto sneered at the more cautious views , now declares that the war my last for several years and in other journals where optimism has hitherto reigned there is talk of every man having his allotted task in bringing the war to a successful conclusion.

This running up an down the scales is an exhaustive process and it can do no good. It is high time that a resolute effort was made to avoid extremes.

In this paper at all events the seriousness of our task has never been disregarded, but when reliable news of a favourable character has come to hand it has been given the prominence it deserves.

Trench warfare with yards of ground gained here and a few feet there has sometimes caused us all to visualise a correspondent wandering about the lines with a tape measure.

It will be noticed on two occasions recently that the Germans have pleaded the superior numbers of their opponents as an excuse for defeat and it is quite safe to conclude from this and other evidence that we now outnumber the foe on the western front.

The enemy's chance of successfully resisting attack lies in his extreme mobility but his communications are now receiving such attention as will eventually handicap him very considerably in that direction, and it has always to be remembered that concentration at one point means weakness at another.

Already it is evident that our leaders are astute enough to trick the foe even when his mobility may be occasionally a peril in itself.

Generally speaking and taking everything into account the position in the west is decidedly good and if we continue to feed the army with men (as we are doing) we shall have a repetition of the Neuve Chappelle affair on a large scale with the difference that instead of driving the enemy back for two miles we shall be driving them back 100 miles.

At the time of writing there is very little fresh news from the eastern front, Saturdays communique states that there was no important fighting on any of the fronts the previous day.

British official report

The War Office last night made the following announcement.

A heavy counter-attack delivered by the enemy yesterday afternoon and several minor counter attacks earlier in the day were all repulsed.

Judging by observation of various parts of the field of battle and by the statements of prisoners of whom there are now 1700 , the enemy's loses must have been very heavy and cannot have failed far short of 10,000 men in three days.

Sir John French's statement reads: ' A little further progress was made today by the 7th Division , the fighting has been very severe and the enemy was strongly reinforced . We captured 612 prisoners however and there are more to come in. Our aircraft has been very active and two junctions were destroyed'