The Dominion. TUESDAY, MAY 25, 1915. ELEVEN NATIONS AT WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2470, 25 May 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, MAY 25, 1915. ELEVEN NATIONS AT WAR

There are now no fewer than eleven nations at war. The real struggle commenccd with eight belligerents. Then Japan came in, and later on German intriquc induced Turkey to sign her own death warrant. The entry of Italy into the fighting arena has brought the number up to eleven, and it may possibly be still further increased before long. Rumania, Bulgaria, and. Greene are on the very brink of war. The decisive step may be taken by any or all three of them at any moment now that Italy has drawn tho sword. It is a significant fact that Turkey should be the only nation that could be induced to throw in its lot with the Germans. The choice of tho Porte need not be regretted by anyone who desires to see the triumph of the modern civilisation over barbarians, for it will probably result in the complete overthrow of the Ottoman Empire, which has exercised a baneful influence on South-Eastern Europe for four hundred years and more. This in itself would-be one of the great events of history; but in this war issues of even more tremendous importance are at stake. It is not merely a war of armies, but of whole nations,, for, with the exception of Britain, every one of the belligerent States has adopted conscription in some form. This means that the whole effective man power of at least nine of the following States is engaged in tho conflict, Japan's activity having slackened off for the present: — The Allies. The Enemy. British Empire. Germany. France. Austria-Hungary. Russia. Turkey. Italy. Belgium. Serbia. Montenegro. Japau,

Italy is just as anxious as her colleagues to give the death-blow to the insolent ambitions of Prussia and the terrible menace they repreLike France, she has lost provinces to recover, and like all the Allies she wants to sec Belgium free and Prussian militarism crushed,'since, to quote the words of the Frcnch Premier, "the pcace of the world cannot bo reconcilcd with its bloodthirsty caprices." She also realises that it is to be a fight to a finish, and has announced her adherence to the compact not to conclude a separate peace. The_ decision of Italy to partici-. pate in the conflict has added another three millions at least to the enormous host already engaged in the gigantic struggle, There are now considerably over 20,000,000 men actually mobilised for war. When compared with those figures the numbers engaged in previous wars_ dwindle into insignificance. In single battles that have occurred during the past nine months as many as two million soldiers have taken part. In previous groat struggles, such as at Leipzig, there were only 472,000 combatants, at Sadowa 436,000, at Gravelottc 300,000. The nearest approach to present conditions was at Mukden, where 700,000 men were engaged, and the battle lasted for three weeks. According to a recent estimate the cost of the war to all the belligerents will reach the vast total of £9,147,900,000 by the end of July. This includes the dircct expenditure of the Governments, the capitalised value of the loss of human life and the loss of production, - Britain will have to bear £1,258,000,000 as her share; Germany, £2,775,000,000; Austria-Hun-gary, £1,502,000,000; Russia, £1,400,000,000; France, £1,686,400,000; Belgium, £526,500,000. The estimate does not give the cost to Japan, Serbia, Turkey, and Montenegro, and Italy's bill will now also have to be. taken into consideration. When these items are added the total cos!; of the war up to July 31 will bo represented by a sum amounting to considerably over £10,000,000,000. Turkey was almost bankrupt before she commenced to fight, and Austria is not in apposition to stand the financial strain of a long war. The campaign against Italy will be an additional tax on her much depleted resources of men and money. Nearly the whole burden will soon be thrown on Germany. How long can she stand it'! Iler efforts to keep Italy quiet show that she fully understands that she has almost reached the limits of her fighting strength. Every soldier she sends to meet the Italians must lessen her power to resist the onslaughts oE the. Russians and also weaken her position in France and Belgium. Turkey will look in vain for any further help from Berliu, but she will probably light on with the des- [ peration of despair, for she knows lluit defeat means downfall. This is why the Allied forces operating on the Gallipoli Peninsula are meeting with such stubborn resistance. The capture of _C'oiistantinople and the seizure of The Dardanelles by the Allies would not only smash the power of Turkey, it would also enormously increase the difficulties uf Germany and Austria. Tin; attack on the Dardanelles was one of the tilings that led In the intervention uf Italy, and it is assisting to convince Greece, Bulgaria, and Jlumaiiia. of the wisdom of taking similar action. A new phase uf the war lias commenced. There are indications that Iho fighting is going to lie fiercer than ev.'v. Ami lieeaiuicoi'.tkib tins draws nearer,