Guns and Men.

Allies’ Superiority.

Advance on Monastir.

Russian Stroke in Caucasus.

In order to find room for a number of long and interesting telegrams the customary morning review must be brief, and nothing beyond a summery of events is offered.

On the Western front, owing to the continuance of bad weather, the operations of the Allies have been of a minor character. The French report further progress to the east of Morval and the repulse of a powerful German counter-attack on trenches which have recently come into French possession in the north of Fregicourt.

On the British front two enemy counter-attacks in the Thiepval area are reported. These were “severely handled and repulsed”, Sir Douglas Haig adds to his three months review the interesting information that beside large gun quantities of other war material, we have captured and recovered from the Somme battlefield are 29 heavy guns and heavy howitzers, 92 field guns and field howitzers, 103 trench artillery pieces and 297 machine guns.

The Allied advance on Monastir is making favourable progress. Vanguards have begun to cross the Cerna in the region of Dobroveni Brad, and it is unofficially reported that the Serbians have broken the enemy’s first line of defence at Kenali, and are now less than ten miles from Monastir. On the extreme left, Buf and Pople, respectively 6½ miles north west and 14 miles west of of Florina, have been reached.

On the Struma front the whole of Jenekein is now in British possession, after severe fighting, in which a Lowland Scottish battalion and an Irish battalion especially distinguished themselves. The advance on Monastir is the outstanding fact of the situation, and there is the interesting fact that a present times liberated Serbia measures 230 square kilometres, with seven villages and a frontier of 45 kilometres. The British advance (across the Struma on the road from Salonika to Seres), it may be pointed out, is aimed at one of the main lines of communication with Sofia- the road running through the Rupel defile connecting with the railway through Demirhissar and Seres by which the main forces of the enemy reached Greek territory.

The Roumanian crossing of the Danube between Rustchuk and Turtukai proves to have been merely a demonstration, according to yesterday’s communique from Bucharest, which adds that the troops have been withdrawn to the left bank, the object of the diversion having been attained. Violent fighting continues in the Dobrudja, and the latest report shows that it has yielded the Allies more prisoners and 13 guns. In Transylvania the position changes rapidly from day to day. The Roumanian Northern Army, which had penetrated 45 miles into the enemy’s country, has proved victorious in a hard-fought battle, which lasted for three days and the Austrians are again in retreat to the west. In Southern Transylvania the 2nd army, after advancing successfully far north of Fogarae has been withdrawn south of that place in conformity with the new situation resulting from the defeat of the troops on its left at the Rothethurm Pass. On the other hand, ground has been gained at Orsova on the western front, a fact to which the enemy bears grudging testimony.

On the Russian main front, from Vladimir-Volhynaki as far as the Dniester, stubborn battles still continue, and the Russians have captured some positions at various points. From the Caucasian front comes information of a new thrust.