| OCR Text |
Show NEWS REVIEW OF THE PAST WEEK Italians Convert the Austrian Drive Into a Defeat and a Disastrous Rout. ENEMY LOSSES ARE 250,000 Germans Are Ready to Resume Offensive Offen-sive on West Front, but Allies Confident Confi-dent Von Kuehlmann's Peace Talk a Fizzle Baker Asks Postponement of Draft Limit Change. By EDWARD W. PICKARD. The grand offensive of the Austrians In Italy, a failure almost from the start, developed into a defeat, and then suddenly into a disastrous rout last. week. The hungry armies of Emperor Em-peror Charles, unable to advance against the gallant Italians and their allies, took advantage of the sudden subsidence of the flood in the Piave 1 :o retreat under cover of darkness, but the dawn of Sunday revealed their movements and General Diaz struck swiftly. From the Montello to the sea the Italian artillery poured a murderous murder-ous fire into the throngs of Austrians who, abandoning their guns, were trying try-ing to get across the river. Then the Infantry, nnd even the cavalry men, were called into action and speedily completed the rout The Piave was almost choked with the enemy's dead. Within two days the Austrians had not only lost all the ground they gained in their first rush, but had 'leen driven entirely across the river to and in some cases beyond their former for-mer lines. Their losses were conservatively con-servatively estimated at 250,000 Fn killed, wounded and prisoners. In addition ad-dition the Italians captured great numbers num-bers of guns and quantities of munitions muni-tions and equipment. The Austrian rear guards fought most stubbornly at the Montello and at the Zenson bend, those at the latter place protecting the two remaining permanent bridges between there and the mouth of the river. The enemy suffered severely from the work of the allied air forces and in this the new American aviators were conspicuous. con-spicuous. All Italy celebrated the great victory vic-tory and the overenthusiastic, there as elsewhere, expected the Italian army to follow it up by driving the Austrians out of the country. But General Diaz is too wise to fall into a trap similar to the one that caught the enemy. The Austrians have been there long enough to have organized a very strong defensive line, and moreover, more-over, the Germans were rushing troops to their support all last week. Diaz did not fall to follow up his advantage advan-tage in the mountain region, however, for It is there that the next attack is expected. His troops improved their positions very considerably, especially especial-ly at Monte Grappa, the height that is the key to the passage down to the plains between the Brenta and the M'iave. to The crushing defeat of the Austrians Aus-trians had an enormous moral effect In all the belligerent countries. The news caused a profound depression In . Austria and Germany that was contrasted by the jubilation in the allied al-lied nations. Italy sa id that all It now asks is the presence of American Ameri-can troops on Its front, and these, presumably, are on the way if not .already there. In the dual monarchy the disaster on the i'i.'ive only accentuated the. serious internal conditions, further encouraging the rebellious Czechs and Slovaks and Slavs, and increasing the general demand for food and peace. The government has neither tin' one nor the other to offer, for both are under the control of Germany. The spirit of revolution is rife in Austria-Hungary, Austria-Hungary, but a note of warning Is sounded by French statesmen, who declare de-clare Hint the allies must not count on Hie success of a rebellion lliere. The (llsafTccleil'-oples are separate and without competent leadership and Austria's allies could easily lend the troops necessary to suppress any uprisings. up-risings. Putting Austria out of the war is not yet the way to a general peace. US German military leaders were re-i re-i ported very much disgusted with the failure of their Austrian allies, and it is believed they will now try their hand again on the west front in France or Flanders. Their arrangements arrange-ments for a resumption of the offensive offen-sive were said last week to be about completed, and a great increase in the activity in the air heralded a new drive. But the comparative calm of several weeks had enabled the allies also to prepare, and their commanders command-ers expressed the utmost confidence in their ability to stop the Huns again, i wherever they might elect to attack. Early in the week the American government gov-ernment let it be known that there were then in France 900,000 Americans, Ameri-cans, of whom 630,000 were combatants, combat-ants, and. that by July 1 the number would be 1,000,000. These men are being put into the front-lines with extraordinary ex-traordinary rapidity, and are now holding sectors of varying length In tit least six places. to The Americans in- the Chateau Thierry region were the heroes of the main operation on the west front last week. Finding the Germans had established es-tablished machine-gun nests in a corner cor-ner of Belleau wood, they routed them out completely in a swift and brilliant night action, and then went on fo clean up an enemy stronghold south of the village of Torcy. This required re-quired seven hours of fierce fighting, but at the end of that time the Americans Amer-icans were in undisputed possession of the objective, a wooded hill which commands the German positions in either direction. They had killed some 700 Fluns and captured several hundred hun-dred more, including a dozen officers. The work of the artillery In this operation op-eration was remarkable. The losses of the Americans were not out of proportion pro-portion to the importance of the results. re-sults. to As usual after a big offensive, Germany Ger-many put forth another peace feeler, though without waiting for the. full measure of Austria's failure to develop. de-velop. This time Dr. Von Kuehlmann, secretary of foreign affairs, was the mouthpiece. His address in the'relchs-tag the'relchs-tag not only was received with scorn by the allies, but served to arouse the anger of most of his own countrymen, for two reasons. First, he admitted that the central powders no longer had a chance to win victory by force alone; second, he declared that Russia was chiefly to blame for the war, and that France and England were next in order of culpability. So far as war aims and peace offers were concerned he said nothing new. The reichstag heard his address in gloomy silence and then the party leaders attacked it bitterly. It was reported Thursday that Dr. Von Kuehlmann was about to resign. He might be given a job as court jester in view of his statement that a preliminary .condition of the exchange of peace views "must be a certain degree of mutual confidence in each other's honesty and chivalry." The honesty and chivalry of Germany lie nt the bottom of the ocean with the Lusitanin, in the ruins of ravished Belgium and in the wreckage of bombed lied Cross hospitals. to Russia came to the front again last week in a sensational way. First was the news, first denied and then confirmed, con-firmed, that Nicholas, the former czar, Mud been killed by the bolshevik! at Ekaterinburg. One story said he was assassinated by soviet troops during their retreat to that city. Another report re-port was that the bolshevik authorities there had convicted him after a short trial, condemned him to" death and shot him. Then word came from Moscow that Grand Duke Michael Alcxandrovitch, a younger brother of the deposed ruler, had put himself at the head of 1 1 io new Siberian government nnd issued is-sued n manifesto to the Russian people. peo-ple. The ('.echo-Slovak army In Siberia Si-beria was reported to have taken Irkutsk and to be fighting In Ekaterinburg, Ekaterin-burg, and, what Is more remarkable, it. is said to be commanded by General Alexieff, former Russian commander In chief. Meunwhlle, the allies have been trying try-ing to determine what they can do to aid Russia and rid her of her Teuton conquerors. President Wilson declared' de-clared' himself for peaceful, not forceful force-ful intervention, and it is probable a commission of distinguished men, perhaps per-haps including representatives of (ill the allied nations, will he sent with offers of assistance and powers to arrange ar-range a plan of co-operation. Keren-sky, Keren-sky, who itppeared unexpectedly in London on his way to America, is confident con-fident Russia will soon rejoin in the fight against the central powers. He and other Russian leaders, however, agree that the country will not tolerate toler-ate foreign intervention in its internal affairs. It is economical and financial aid that Russia heeds, and needs at once. The German, in southern Russia are making their way toward Smolensk, Smol-ensk, probably en route to Moscow, despite the protests of the bolshevik foreign minister. They also have landed a strong force at Poti, on tlie eastern coast of the Black sea. In eastern Siberia General Semenoff and his antLbolshevik army, after having been driven across the Man-churian Man-churian bonier, are again advancing because the forces opposing them were ordered to the protection of Irkutsk. Germany is now receiving some food supplies from Ukraine, but these are mostly from the German army commissariat com-missariat which buys them from the peasants at exorbitant prices. to Secretary of War Baker seemingly changed ins mind suddenly about extending ex-tending the draft age limits, for last week he and General March, chief of staff, appeared before tlie senate committee com-mittee and agreed in urging that legislation leg-islation to that end be postponed until the fall. At that time, they said, the war department would be able to submit sub-mit a vast program for army enlargement, enlarge-ment, and would know how many soldiers sol-diers could be transported overseas and how far it would be necessary to extend the draft to obtain the number num-ber of men required. Provost Marshal General Crowder said he still believed immediate action necessary, but being be-ing only a subordinate, he bowed to the decision of his superiors. The senate committee, which had agreed on twenty to forty years as the new draft limits, voted to defer action. This provoked a storm of protest in congress, chiefly from Republican leaders who declared the delay was another evidence of the administration's administra-tion's procrastination and devotion to unpreparedness. The Democrats promised prom-ised action in September and said tnere were enough men in class 1 to meet all requirements until then. To show that there Is no need for immediate imme-diate action Senator Hitchcock said "The Information given to the committee, com-mittee, Is, in substance, this: That when we have exhausted all available men In class 1 of the present draft wi will have an army of 3.300,000 men it August. In addition, there will I about 140,000 Canadians that we will bring into the army as the result of the treaty just ratified, so that we will then have an army of 3,4."i0,OO0 men. Now, the highest estimate of the number num-ber of men we can have in France at that time is l.JoO.OOO, so that we will have in this country when this congress con-gress reconvenes after Its proposed recess re-cess In September over 2,000,000 men.' to-On to-On Thursday the drawing of iiuin hers to determine the order in whicl youths of the class of V.I1H, about 744,-fiOO 744,-fiOO in number, shall be called to the colors was conducted in Hie Semite office of-fice building, with much of the ceremony cere-mony that marked the first drawing a year ago. Secrelary Baker, blindfold-er. blindfold-er. drew out the first capsule, with the number 210 Inclosed. It was necessary neces-sary to draw only 1.200 numbers. The now registrants will be placed tit the foot of the lists In the classes to which tlicv are assigned by Iheir boards, to The senate agricultural committee, disregarding the advice of many prominent prom-inent persons, adopted the amendment to the .$11,000,000 emergency agricultural agricul-tural bill providing for national prohibition pro-hibition after Jujuo 30, 101'.), and during dur-ing the continuance of the war. to-On to-On Monday Hie house passed the $ri,.r00,000,000 fortifications bill, and the senate passed the S3, 300, 000,000 sundry civil bill containing about 000,000,000 more for the shipping program. |
