Serbia's Martyrdom.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16420, 14 January 1919, Page 6

Serbia's Martyrdom.

The Peace Conference will no doubt endeavour to secure reparation for Serbia and mil place its political future as far as possible on a satisfactory and assured footing. But Serbia has suffered losses in this war which can never bo repaired. The sufferings of her people exceed anything of the kind previously recorded in modern history. Ac. cording to official information from the Serbian Ministry of War, issued by the Serbian Legation in London immediately after the signing of the armistice, it appears that one-half of Serbia's mole population perished outright in tho war. The toll of the sacrifices made by this little nation makes poignant reading. From July 25th, 1914, to. July " 14th, 1816, Serbia placed 707,343 men in tho field. During the

whole of this period Serbia maintained a force of 500,000 effectives. The number of men mobilised amounted to 24 per cent, of the entire population within the old frontiers of Serbia. In the two great Austrian offensives in 1914 the number of men killed in battle was 45,001 and the number of deaths from wounds and sickness 69.022. In 1915 the number of deaths from sickness was 56,842, and the total number of deaths from all causes 171,725. At the time of the retreat 139,000 wounded were left behind on the battlefields and in hospitals, or sent home disabled or for convalescence, all of whom were taken prisoners by the enemy. 3>uring tho terrible retreat across Albania there perished in the fighting and from cold, Hunger, and sickness 150,000 men. The last call-up (old men) and part of the third call-up amounted together to 100,000 men who were only employed on garrison duty. They remained in Serbia and were taken prisoner by the enemy. The number of men brought to Corfu, Bizerta, and France, the remnant of the Serbian armies, amounted to 150,000. The number of those fallen dead in battle and dead in captivity up to the last Serbian offensive amounted to 322,000, which, as already stated, represents one-half of the Serbian male population. There are no data yet to hand to show how many survive of those who were prisoners in AustriaHungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Germany. Similarly there are no official statistics as to how many of the civil population (male and female) have died of hunger and sickness during the three years' occupation by the enemy. Beside these awful figures of human agony and bloodshed, the material losses suffered by the Serbians seem almost too trifling to write about, although almost their entire country was ravaged by the enemy. The spirit of the nation which could make all these sacrifices and still hold out defiant to the end, must be grand indeed. No treatment can bo too good for a nation which has shown such bravery and endurance and suffered so much.