Welsh Journals

THE WELSH OUTLffiK JUNE, 1918. The Editor does not necessarily identify himself with the opinions of contributors to "The Welsh Outlook." Editorial responsibility is limited to the views expressed in the Notes of the Month." NOTES OF THE MONTH Waiting and There has been a slackening in the Watching German offensive in the West during the last few weeks. The respite has given the Allies time to put their house in order, and enabled General Foch to reorganise his defensive system. We are told that American troops are pouring across the Atlantic to the aid of the Allies, that our own armies are being reinforced with men and guns, and that the Allied Air Services are day by day increasing their superiority over the enemy. It may well be that the turning point of the campaign will be reached when the Allied airmen have destroyed the enemies' power of vision. In modern war- fare the Air Service has become more and more important in the achievement of strategic aims. In the future it will become vital and our present superiority is a good omen for the Allied cause. Probably before these lines are in print, the enemy may have launched his second great onslaught on the front of the British Army. We cannot read the thoughts of Ludendorf, but it is almost certain that he will adhere to his original plan and that the main attacks will be directed against Amiens and the Channel Ports. Surprise attacks there will be, both as regards time and place, and also the weight of the offensive. It is possible that the German fleet may endeavour to support the efforts of the German Armies, but it is not likely that the enemy has any new invention up his sleeve which by its very novelty will upset the calculations of the Allied Command. There is no doubt that the moral of the German Army is good, and the troops have confidence in their leaders. The strength of the Allied Forces rests mainly on two factors. The first is the indomitable valour and determination of our troops, and the second is the unity of command which has at last been achieved in spite of the half-hearted support of our statesmen, and the low intrigues of the military press. Teutonic Whilst we can look forward with con- Tentacles in fidence to the result of the new clash in the East France, we cannot but view events in the East with feelings of dismay. German forces have over-run Finland, they have produced starva- tion in Central Russia, they have turned the Baltic and the Black Seas into German lakes, and already their advance agents have penetrated to Baku on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Siberia, the granary and storehouse of Russia, appears to be in a state of anarchy. From the Arctic to the Persian Gulf, from Kamschatka to the Caspian Sea, from Riga to Valdivostock the net is spread. The Teutonic tentacles have been thrust out in every direction. In some quarters there are whispers of a peace based on the recognition of Germany's conquests in the East, if she will only consent to forego her African Colonies, and to restore the status quo in the West. These views emanate from a school of thought which is diametrically opposed to demo- cracy. There can be no permanent peace which does violence to the principle of nationality and the liberties of all nations. Such a peace can only be secured on the basis of a League of Nations, accompanied by general disarma- ment of individual nations and the creation of an inter- national police force. As we pointed out in the April number, the only way the balance can be restored in the East is by calling in to our assistance the aid of Japan but, in order that Japan's assistance may be made tolerable to Russia, the great democracy of the West must also lend a hand in the enterprise. The Salvation Within the last few days, pathetic appeals of Russia reach our people from Vladimir Burtseff, an old Russian Revolutionary, and others of his fellow-countrymen, imploring the Allies to save Russia from falling under the power of Teutonic absolutism. At the moment, our hands are tied with the offensive in France. We cannot spare the men, guns, or ships, but we would implore President Wilson not to leave Russia to her fate, but rather to co-operate frankly and fearlessly with our Japanese and Chinese Allies in saving, even at the eleventh hour, the freedom of the Slavs. No one realises more fully than President Wilson that no satisfactory League of Nations can come into existence without the fullest co- operation of Japan and China. The world must be saved from a colour-war in the future. Nothing can be gained by ignoring their existence at the present juncture, when