TRIPLE ALLIACE PLANS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1593, 9 November 1912, Page 5

TRIPLE ALLIACE PLANS.

M ADRIATIC PORT FOR SERVIA. NAZI! STILL HOPINQ'' FOR' ULTIMATE SUCCESS. ANOTHER BATTLE REPORTED.

By TeleErann-Preifl Association-Copyright (Bee. November 9, 0.40 a.m.) Berlin; November: 8. The visit to Berlin of the.Marquis di San Giuliaho, the Italian Minister for ■.Foreign Affairs, is regarded as. setting the seal on the": Triple Alliance's , agreement I as to the line of action to be followed in the Balkan's. ~: 'It is believed that Germany, AustriaHungary, and Italy will firmly resist the acquisition of ports on the Adriatic Sea by Servia.. ■-■ \ : .;The "Frankfurter;; Zeitung"... says an Austro-Italian agreement .exists, guaranteeing: thV integrity and, independence °f, Albania, and in . this Austria ■ and Italy can. count on.Germany's support. Servia's desire for a harbour can be gratified on the Aegean coast with less danger, 'SERVIA 'DEMANDS : THREE PORTS, ': : '■■ .- Belgrade, November 7;, '■'■. The Servians resent-Austrian-.warnings against Servian encroachment in Albania. They are determined tb-haye an. port. "Servia does-not .fear there will be any difficulty; with'regard to satisfying Austrian railway, interests. , , . : : The Servian Prime Minister, M. Pasics, has stated in. an.interview, that, Servia wants the ports of San Giovanni, Alessio, and Dnrazzo.-'on the. Adriatic,'which she "possessed in. the.Middle Ages. 'The fate of Constantinople, would.;' be left., to the Powers' 'decision. ''':' : );'■ [ AMBASSADORS IN ■ CONFERENCE, •■ ;,;. (Rec. November 8, 9.30, p.m.) "';.'. , * Constantinople, November 8. ;■ The Ambassadors .of, five Powers ;have held a collective meeting with the Grand .Vizier,. and .it 4s' understood measures,;to be taken to';secure. public. Safety. ;:■■: . - ■'. t ' ■"]■::' *■'■']'. \.' .",','■■'.-' The disinterested attitude of the Triple ,Entente (Great: Britain, Russia, '■. and .France),;,after-, proclaiming their, adherence :;to the status quo, has created 1 dis-. appointment inr.-official circles■'.■; . '-.".', i Albania is the portion of the Turkish Empire extending along, the- western shore of the Balkan-Peninsula from the southern frontier, of Montenegro to. the.northern confines of Greece., Albania is perhaps 'the least known' region- iii Europe.. .The wild and inaccessible character.of :.the country, the fierce and lawless disposition of the people, the difficulties presented by their language and complex social institutions, and the inability of; the Turkish authorities to afford a,safo conduct in the remoter;districts, combine to render Alibania almost: unknown-to the foreign ; traveller.: ■ The population-is estimated at between 1,500,000 and 1,600,000, of whom about .1,200,000 are Albanians. .Of-other races tho .Slavs (Servs, and, Bujgars) aro most: numerous and ■ possibly number 250,000.. The Greeks are estimated .at .100,000. The'principal tribes are the Mirdites, the Mi-shkodrak, the Dukajin, the Puka, the'Maleia Jakoys, and two othere who are all-known under the general name o£ Malissori • (highlanders). More' l than three-fifths of the Albanians are Moslems, --■.'■'.•'•'

FALL OF ADRIANOPLE.

SURRENDER REPORTED. NEWS) ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN ...•" ' : KEPT BACK,; ' . .'. ':'' '{Rec. November .8, IUO p.m.) •: . ■■'■.'.' London* November 8. ; Tho "Daily MailV?. correspondent with, the: Bulgarians Bays it '.is reported that Adrianople surrendered'on' Tuesday; but : the liulgarians areconcealing the fact lest the Powers would'intervene before the capture of Constantinople. \y , SERVIAN REINFORCEMENTS. i V, .'; Belgrade, November 7. / General Stefanovich, with 50,000 Servian?, is now assisting the Bulgarians at i Adrianople. ■'■■ ■ /,.. .Adrianople is the capital of the province of Adrianople, and is 137 miles by rail from Constantinople, about 20-miles by rail from Bulgarian frontier. Pop. (1905) about 80,000, of whom half aro Turks, and half Jews, Greeks, : Bulgars/ Armenians, etc. Adrianople ranks, after Constantinople Salonika, as' the third city of European Turkey. It is the chief fortress near the Bulgarian frontier, be--1 ing defended -by a riiig of powerful modern forts. It occupies both banks of the river Tunja at its confluence with the Mafitza, which .is navigable to this Soint. In appearance it; is thoroughly riental—a mass' of mean, irregular buila!ings, threaded by narrow; tortuous streets with a few , better . buildings. The'city has an active general, trade, and the surrounding country is extremely fertile.

BATTLE OF CHATAUA.

MANY CONFLICTING REPORTS; •.;" TURKISH DEFEAT ALLEGED. '~-■''■■ '.-■'.. Berlin, November 7. : The newspaper "Kolnische Zeitung" reports that the Turks have been decisively beaten and expelled from the Chatalja positions, where' it was understood that they would make their final stand before falling back on Constantinople. Many flags have been captured. SUCCESSFUL BULGARIAN ADVANCE. . (Eeo. November 8, 11.25 p.m.) Vienna, November 8. The "Eeichspost's" correspondent states that a battle is proceeding along the Chatalja line., The Third Bulgarian Army which is> advancing south of Dorkos (near the Black • Sea coast) captured a position' outside Fort Dolijunus, oho of Chatalja's defences, twenty-six miles from Constantinople. '.'. NAZIM STILL CONFIDENT. (Eec. November 8, 9.30 p.m.) ' Constantinople, November 8., Public opinion is hostile towards . the Government's proposal for mediation by the Powers, Nazim Pasha, the Turkish' Commander-in-Chief, has informed the Government that the army is determined' to fight to the last, and is confident of ultimate success. '.'.'...' The principal officers have signed a memorial to the Grand Vizier, Kiamil Pasha, in favour of continuance of the war. Rains have transformed the plains around Chatalja ilito a morass. Transport is difficult, and it will probably be several days before the contestants again meet. LOSSES OF OVER 55,000 MEN. Sofia, November 7. It is officially stated that tho Bui-

garians had fifteen thousand killed or wounded during the five days' fighting at Lule Burgas and Bunarhissar, while the Turks'* losses numbered over forty thousand.. The Bulgarians have occupied Viza (62 miles east by south of Adrianople) and Rodosto (on the Sea of Marmora, 77 miles we.st of Constantinople).

TERROR IN THE CAPITAL.

- FOODLESS SOLDIERS POUR IN. . APPALLING SHAMBLES. London, November 7. Defeated Turkish troop 9 are arriving lat Constantinople in a . desperate coni dition., They were foodless for three days. There was great terror at Stamboul till the arrival, of foreign warships. The authorities are organising, assistance to prevent; disturbances. Christian Ottomans are chiefly, imperilled. ''•' The newspaper correspondents describe the terrible entering. of many of the Turkish wounded.; After hasty field dressing they were taken along congested Toads to the Chorlu Hospital. A surgeon from .Chorlu declares that ho nevor saw ; a battlefield so' entirely covered by dead v and wounded, for whom there was no possible succour. The field /\ras simply'an appalling shambles. Meanwhile detachments -of . cavalry dashed among' the unwounded ; fugitives, driving them, back to Mukhtnr Pasha's force, which was being strengthened from Ro, dostp in the hope, of turning the Bulgarian position.. . In.the two days' fighting between Sarai and Chorlu, a distance of about twenty miles, for hours the verdict hung in the balance, the fortunes of the battle coni timially wavering. -For a time the Bui'.garians' position wa9 hazardous, but even., tually the Turks broke and lied,.' . The losses on both. | sides . were more 6evere than in the battle of Lule Burgas.

WESTERN CAMPAIGNS.

1 SERVIANS ROUT 15,000 TURKS. ADVANCE ON DIBRA. ' (Rec. November 8, 11,25 p.m.) Belgrade, November 8. A Servian column- which is advancing on Dibra, half-way botween Uskub and the Adriatio Soa,rontod 15,000 of the Turks who had retired from Krushevo before the Servians.' The-Turks • Buffered heavy losses, "andVre' "fleoiug fowards Dibra. AN UNTRUE REPORT. . Athens, November 7. The report of ■' the Turkish withdrawal from Salonika is untrue. REFUGEES AT SALONIKA, (Reo, November 8, 0.30 p.m.) Constantinople, November 8. Distressing scenes are being witnessed outaido tho walls of Salonika, where crowds of destitute refugees from all parts of the country , are seeking help. The authorities are sending as-many as possible to Asia Minor. MONTENEGRIN SUCCESS. (Reo. November 8, 9.80 p.m.) ' , Cetlnje, November 8. The Montenegrins have occupied Jakova, a town in Northern Albania,. between Prizren and Ipek. TURKISH OUTRAGES, AN INTERNATIONAL-SCANDAL. (Roc. November 8, 11.25 p.m.) \ London, Novomber 8. The"Daily Telograph's" correspondent with the Greek army in Epirus, after personal investigation of the Turkish outrages, doclafea ';. that if Christian Europe gives this.land back into Turkish hand it will be an act of barbarity and a disgrace to Christendom.

THE BALKAN ARMIES.

THEIR STRONG AND WEAK POINTS. . BRILLIANT BULGARIA. Yesterday's American, mail brought to hand an exceptionally;.. interesting article on tho military situation in the Balkans, > contributed to the New York "Evening Post" of October 5. The writer, it will be noted, gave a remarkably accurate forecast of tho plan of campaign. which has been followed by tho Allies. The four nations in the Balkan Confederation, say 3 the New York 'Tost's" contributor, have a total population of about 10,500,000, or in the neighbourhood! of 15,000,000 perhaps, counting in the peoples of the: samo race 3 • in European Turkey, who are in sympathy with their aspirations., They have already, by reliable accounts, placed in the field an eft'ectivo total of almost.l,ooo,ooo armed men; and to anyono .who has studied the military system .of these little States this does not seem , incomprehensible or unlikely. It is tho common idea in this country that a Balkan army exists largely on paper, and that an estimate of mobilisation is simply an array of fancy figures. No mora serious mistake could be made. War, or rather military service, is an earnest matter with the Balkan peoples. They take to it naturally, and largely because thoy have always been ringed around by powerful, troublesome neighbours they are accustomed to a state ' of constant preparedness. In the Balkans every able-bodied man is a 6oldier. He has to be, whether he wants to be or not. If he dodges service he has to pay a fine' which is heavy enough to make oven the laziest citizen stop and think twice. Also, you don't have to'be a citizen to be liable to military service. Even outlanders who have settled in the country more than a couple of years are expected to join the colours of their class or else pay the stipulated fine. The result is that tho Balkan peasant; with the possible exception of the-Greek, takes to war and campaigning with spontaneous ardour, partly a result of natural pleasure in tho game and partly of steady practice. The Greeks are tho one military weak spot in the new Balkan "Confederation. The modern Greeks are a commercial rather than a military people. This is not said in a disparaging sense. Greeks are tho traders, bankers, agents, and merchants of the Levant. Greece is by far the richest nation of the four. . But in military affairs she has never been successful. The short, inglorious campaign of 1897- is too well rememberod to require moTe than passing comment. Turkey thrashed! tho Greek army soundly, and could undoubtedly havo made tho t&rashinjr yet moro thorough had it not

been,for the oheck-rein applied by the] great Powers. Greeks are Well Armed. Until quite recently the Greeks were armed with tho misco-able,' outjf-date Gras rifles, discarded by the French <army, which were one of the causes or their defeat in 1897. But now they nnV-o modern, high-power magazine tides, ana their email artillery is - from •• the Schneider-Ganet works, Greeee can probably put from, 115,000 to 150,000 men in the field. And if they have officers! of a higher calibre than those Who botched matters in 1897, the Greeks mil probably do themselves credit. Theyare bravo enough. What they nave been, found to lack is the military sense which makes mero bravery.count. 'The Serbs are essentially a military people, like all the Slavs. They have- a, total effective war strength—that »» a strength in men of military age who have received actual training-Of 325,000, with 652 pieces of artillery. Thanks to we elastio 'system of organisation, in tneir army, they can mobilise with great ease. Corps automatically expand to war strength, and each reservist knowa_ exactly where he belongs, his' place in the ranks of his company, the regiment it is attaohed to, and the army corps of which the larger unit forms a. part, _ A still more effective fighting force is the Bulgarian army. European military observes have cited this army as the best of its size on the Continent. It has even been asserted by German aiid Russian officers who have inspected it that it' could, withstand, man for man, Hie assault of the best-trained troops of any of the great Powers. Whether this is so or not,-of course, one cannot state positively. Certainly, the Bulgarians make very Binaro soldiers, and take naturally to their work. , Tho officers are an especially fino lot of men. There is no nobility in the country, and the pick .of the older boys of every class are annually selected for admission to tho Ecole Slilituite at Soha, as fine an institution of its kind as there is in existence.' Just at present the Bulgarian army is said to be in a. very high state of efliciency, because all ate .company officers are men of from twenty to thirty years old, an age which is said by military critics' to be the best, for the kind, of work which should bo expected.of subordinates in whom it is desirable to find plenty of dash. Many of the officers have seon active service with the Macedonian revolutionists. • The infantry is. the most efficient arm of the service, partly because the Bulgarian temperament is splendid material for infantry work, but partly, too, because the poverty of the Balkan Slates has compelled Bulgaria, to concentrate attention rather Upon the inexpensive infantry man than upon tho costly artillery and cavalry armsAmerican Model Cavalry. .' And yet,, notwithstanding this crippling of their ambitions, the Bulgarians haye contrived to build up a really remarkable, artillery, and a'cavalry ■which'is unique in Europe for being;drilled solely in the American, theory of'mounted tactics. Some years ago the Bulgaria recognisod . tho soundness ' tit the American contention that cavalry had become practically useless in the' field of shock tactics, and set to work to make their .smallforce as effective as possible for scouting, reconnaissance, and mounted infantry work, particularly in the field of military intelligence, As matters stand, the Bulgarian-army boast's a peace establishment of , 6000 'sabres, divided into eleven regiments, constituting; besides tho regiment of household troops,, known as the Garde Royale, a full division -of three, brigades,- a force amply sufficient to opentte in the mountain fastnesses of tho Rhodppe Balkans, where-a campaign with Turkey would be fought. On a war footing,, this force is slightly augmented, but expansion is necessarily limited by tho lack of horseflesh in Bulgaria. Reliance is-had upon. Hungary and Russia for cavalry remounts as well as,for the artillery'-stock. _ The artillery, especially the mountain artillery,-is on a plane of efficiency equal to the cavalry. It is: no.t\supplied ; with as much equipment as tho Bulgarians, would like, to have for it,; but luckily,. some fivo or six, years .when; therewas another war scard'oiV'tnehorizon, tho ■Ministry of War indulged" in the luxury of eighty now. eix-inoh-batteries, which.; are Understood to, bo tho'« equal -of, any,, weapons in existence, except possibly th<S new French and American' pieces. Altoy gether, Bulgaria can put 1080 cannon into the field, aside from rapid-fire guns* Her ; active army, that is to fifty,, the peaeo establishment naturally expanded so that its units: attain full etrongthk numbers 190,000 men, and can ba mobilised' in twenty-four.hours. But the full force of trained.men which she can put in the field is in the noiglibourhod ..of 450,000 men, or one-tenth of her population, who can be rallied to the. colours within a week. And, mind you, all these- men have been trained to bear arms, and there are no cripples,or children or very old men among them, .•■'■' The Warlike Montenegrins. Coming to the last of the four little nations that.havo thrown down the gauntlet to Turkey, we find perhaps the world's best example- of the nations' in arms, Montenegro has a total population of possibly 320,000. • That is a liberal estimate, 'She. can put 55,000 armed and drilled men in the field, in as sort a. space to notify them all, say, from twentyfour to thirty-six hours. Furthermore, they are all,used to fighting Of an irregular Gort, for there is never peace .for long on the Montenegrin and Albanian fron r tier. Brushes' between Moslems ana Christians along this lifto are so common as to attract no attention, not. even perfunctory diplomatic representations;. The Montenegrins are thb only one of tho Balkan peoples who con boast that they have never bent their necha to the .Turks. During the centuries that followed the battle of Kossovo; in which the combined might of Servja and Bulgaria was smashed by the Turks, the scant handful of Servian nobles, who had fled to,the huddle of black rocks above the AdnatiCj maintained a precarious butunbroken in* dependence. Countless armies, were, sent against them, but they ivepe never defeated or enslaved, and they.remain to-day the same proud, warrior-like peonle, a splendid relio of a bygone age, wholly useless- from a commercial point of view, but serving as a stirring reminder of things that were. Paper Army of the Turks, Now consider the comparative weight of Turkey's possible resistance to this assemblage of men of different notions. Individually, and when he is well led, the Turk lis one of the best) soldiers in the world. Ho proved that at Shipka- Pass in the war with Russia, and'more recently in Tripoli. But it is a mistake to suppose that Turkey will be able to concentrate her whole military strength .upon the defence of Macedonia. She could not possibly do so, not only because of the difficulties of transportation between the different parts of her unwieldy empire, but because she would, not dare to strip her other frontiers and outlying provinces of their garrisons. She is. forced to maintain a largo force in the Yemen and her Arabian territory, and other- districts of Asia Minor require watching. ■ Besides this the Turkish army i.9 decidedly one of those wWch bulk large on paper and shrink in actual service. It is doubtful if 6he can rally more than 400,000 men to the defence of Constantinople. She will be Very lucky if 6he gets as many as 500,000. So long ago as 1907, certain Continental military experts picked ijulgaria as able to defeat Turkey by herself; granted that the campaign was a short one, and begun without giving Turkey too considerable opportunities for preparation. Turkey is in ; the position of the military commander who has half his forces on one side of an unfordable stream and half upon the other. Tactically, she is at an enormous disadvantage. The Plan of Campaign, The plan of campaign which will be followed by the allied Balkan armies, in event of a regular war with Turkey, has already been determined. In foot, the following description is taken from the plans of the War Office in Sofia. King Ferdinand, of Bulgaria, by right of his age and experience, and his position as sovereign of tho most puissant of the allies, is to bo generalissimo of the allied armies. The attack of those armies Will bo somewhat in the nature of the horn formation practised by tho Zulus under tlieir great King Ghaka, who, though a savage, was a first-olass strategist. A vast enveloping movement of 1,000,000 men, with Constantinople for their final objective, will sweep through Macedonia from all sides. A column of Montonugrino, Why King Nfdwldn, will mmch through, Albania, •■ aiming to ce-weiatl,

with the Greek army in a movement to sweep the Turkish troops, out of southeastern Macedonia anil Albania. MeanWhile, the Servian army, probably operating in two divisions, will have- Beized Skopia (Uskub), and laid siege to Monastir, which is incapable of prolonged resistance. Three Bulgarian armies will be formed. One of about 100,000 men will bo scattered in' various strategic positions to watch, the lino of the Danube and guard against any possible treachery oil ■ the part of Rumania, Another army _of 100,000 men, concentrating in the ueighbourhod of Dubnitza, and crossing tho frontier.at that point, mil strike straight through Macedonia for the Aegean Sea and Salonika, crushing all resistance, and aiming to attain its objective in about ■two weeks. The third Bulgarian army, of between 100,000 and 200,000 men, which will probably bo augmented in time "by detachments of troops of the allies, will bo tlßstined for tho principal service of all, 'the forcing of the road to Constantinople, The Need for Speed. (Speed, feverish, insistent, -unrelenting speed (concluded the New York "Postfs" ; contributor), is the chief requisite of the little nations if they go to war. They kndw this. They know that they must : amaze the big Powers by the speed of their movements, by the celerity of their diplomacy. Of course, they are all aiming to grab slices of Macedonia, and : Montenegro wants to swallow all 'Albania, a country many times as large and with a population ten, times as numerous, Greece is looking for some of the territory ■ contiguous to her borders, which is thick-. <ly settled by Greeks; Servja wants Old Servia and Bome additional tracts of ter'ritory, upon which Austria- has been, casting greedy eyes—hence the Austrian op-, position; Bulgaria aims far as much as she can carve out of Seres and Jdrianople vilayets. There are upward? of 2,000,000 Bulgara, in Macedonia, and 'she is ambitions to bring them all under tor public school system and conscription law, •' • : .'