PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2613, 8 November 1915, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Thj outlook in Serbia is made rather more hopeful by news of a battle in the southern area in which the Bulgarians were heavily defeated by the Serbs, who some assistance from an Anglo-I rench force operating on their southern flank. The battle was fought in the vicinity of Isvor, 20 miles west of Krivolak, a,station on'the main railway up the Vardar Valley, which is or 'was until recently the most northerly position in Serbia held by tho French. Though the general direction of tho main railway is north and south, it runs almost due east and west for a distance of some ten miles west of Krivolak, so that Isvor is only about ten miles away from the nearest point on the railway. The Serbians report that the Bulgarians .were completely defeated at Isvor, and compelled to evacuate tho right bank of the Vardar, which means that they were driven across both the railway and tho river. Some additional miles of the railway have thus been recovered bv the Serbs and their allies. News of this by no means uuimpovtant victory is all the moro gratifying since it follows hard upon reports telling of amuch lew jatidfaUory htata of affaire in this part of Serbia,

At the end of last week it was reported that the Serbs were falling back towards Monastir and Pcrlcpe, considerably to the west of Isvor, and there seemed to be a danger that they might be driven across their western frontier into Albania in the soiith as well as in the north, where the position appears to be still as critical as ever. The change) that has comc over the situation in Southern Serbia must no doubt be attributed in part to: a material strengthcuing of the Anglo-French army which is co-operating with the Serbs in that region. In the battle now icpoi'ted the Allies were in the position of being able to assist the Serbs by attacking the enemy in flank, the Serbs themselves directly opposing the enemy on his line of march td the west. Though the position is complicated by the broken character of the country, the same general conditions should prevail in further attacks undertaken with the object of dislodging the Bulgarians from the railway to the north, and so ultimately re-establishing railway communication with the main Serbian army, which still holds a considerable area of middle Serbia. _ Provided the Serbs and their allies in Southern Serbia can muster the necessary force, the Bulgarians established astride the railway; should be more or less continually in the position of having to meet attacks on two fronts, from the west and from the south.

As a result of this successful attack upon the enemy in the south the prospect is materially improved that a considerable area of Serbia may yet be defended against _ invasion. Krivolak is about forty miles up tho main railway from the Greek irontier, and the Serbs and their Allies now hold the railway for some miles beyond Krivolak. 'South towards the Greek frontier the Allies are attacking the Bulgarians on and inside their own frontier, which here closely approaches the Vajdar railway. At time of writing there is no news of the events -which followed tho defeat of the Bulgars west of Krivolak, but the task immediately facing the Allies-is that of dislodgingthc Bulgars from the section of railway between Krivolak and the junction of Uskub, rather less than 50 miles'to the north-west. Tho recapture of Uskub would mean restoration of railway communication with the northern Serbian army, even if tho greater part of the main line north of Uskuo is fully mastered by the enemy, for there is a second railway running north from Uskub into Western Serbia. Whether the Allies art in a position to develop' their attack from the south to this extent must depejid in the first instance upon the v force available. On this point reports are hopeful, since they suggest that the Anglo-French army is still being reinforced. One message speaks of two British, divisions moving into Serbia, and these are presumably an addition to the forces already known to be engaged, According to reports in hand, the only British troops which co-operated with tho Serbs in their victory at Isvor were cavalry.

The position in the south may, of course, be complicated by the progress of Austro-German and Bulgarian operations in Northern- and Middle Serbia. As regards these areas no such improvement is re-' ported as has occurred in the south. The Austro-Germans, by their own accounts, are still advancing south, though apparently at no great speed, and a Bulgarian communique assorts that one division has entered Nish. It is a bald statement, and as _it stands not very convincing, but Nish is certainly closely threatened, even if it-has not yet been captured. As to the general position, it seems very possible that tne Serbian Staff aims at nothing more ambitious in the immediate future than the defence of a limited area of the country, and will attempt no final stand on the main railway in the_ vicinity of Nish. The latter place is exceedingly important as standing on the railway which runs from..Serbia into Bulgaria-, but it is now almost too much to hope that the Serbians will succecd in blocking this route. _ On the other hand, their prospects in a defensive campaign aro much improved by the Bulgarian defeat in the south, and the chief question now to be determined is whether they are capably assisted by their allies of dislodging the Bulgarians from the railway as_ far north as USkub, and so gaining an uninterrupted line of railway from the south as far north as Mitrovitza, opposite the Montenegrin frontier..

Somewhat disquieting and possibly alarmist accounts of Conditions in Albania- are given in a message from Rome. Recent reports have indicated that a great part of the Serbian civil population is flocking into Albania and it constitutes an area' into which sections of the army, particularly the northern corps, which are hardest pressed, may retreat if they are unable to continue the conflict in their own territory. It was mentioned the other day that considerable stores of corn had been sent into Albania, and it is reported to-day that a- Serbian army corps has been stationed in the territory to suppress any hostile movement. According to the Rome message mentioned the hostility of the native Albanian population has created an extremely grave situation. The rebels, it is stated, have defeated Essad Pasha's troops and successfully prevented the Serbians penetrating Albania. This, _it will be noted, is in direct conflict with other news on the subject, so that the picture is presumably overdrawn. That the turbulent Albanian mountaineers are. giving a certain amount of trouble is not at all unlikely, and it may be that Italy is seeking an excuse to send troops there. Albania is at present in the position of being a more or less masterless country. Since Prince William the Wied abandoned the throne to which he was elevtted by an arrangement between the European Powers, Essad Pasha has taken up the vacant role. His title is littlo better than that of a usurper, but he has of late been given some credit for maintaining order. It is significant that the Italian Press is advising the Government to fortify the hinterland of Yalona, an Albanian port which was occupied by Italy belorc she entered the war. Even if the Albanian population gives trouble there should be no great difficulty in maintaining the territory as a Serbian base in the present emergency. The Serbians, ,in any case, arc doubtless well able to repress any hostility on the part of the Albanians, as is implied in the report that they have stationed an armv corps in Albanian territory. Though their retreat is preceded by a migration of the civil population, it is not disorderly, and if the Albanians present an inhospitable front they will have to I'ockon with an iirmy and not with i demoralise horde o£ fugitives.

According to a London mcssapc the Turkish Commissioner of Railways has arrived at Sofia to arrange for the transmission of munitions from Orsova to the Dardanelles. A fact of this nature is hardly likely to bo advertised on official authority, but for what it is worth the report implies that the Austro-Germans are passing munitions into Turkey, by the Danube route, around tho SerboRumanian frontier, and so into touch with the Bulgarian railways. Use of this route would imply that the Austro-Germans arc under no apprehension of hostile action by Rumania, but if Nisli has been captured, as the Bulgarians report, a better supply route is available in the Belgrade-Sofia railway, and it is not in the same degree open to Rumanian attack.

* * * « An official report to-day states that on Thursday night the Turks launched four successive, attacks against the extreme right oi tho Ahzac position, but in every case the attacks were decisively repelled at slight cost in British casualties. Though these attacks betoken greater energy on the part of the enemy fchftn ho has displayed for some time past, they appear to have been on a minor scale as compared with many of tho earlier battles of the campaign.

It is not unlikely thai Greek' policy may be materially affected by the turn of events in Southern Serbia, whicih means, amongst other things, that Bulgarian troops who lately, seemed to be in a fair way to. reach the Greek frontier have been compelled to counter-march. Tho only definite item of news regarding the political crisis in Greece at present in hand, however, is that King Constantine has offered to reinstate his defeated Prime Minister, 11. Zaimis, and that the latter has declined the honour. M. Zaimis took office as a compromise Minister. He is not prepared to take an activo part in the troubled contest now inevitable. The action of tho King shows that he is prepared to violate the Constitution in order to keep M. Venizelos out of office, and prevent his country honouring its treaty obligations by assisting Serbia. M. Venizelos, on the other hand, has in very outspoken terms challenged the right of the King to oppose the will of the Greek democracy, as voiced by a majority of' its elected representatives. The situation thus takes definite shape as a struggle for supremacy between a popular Minister and Constitutional leader, and a King who is seeking to gain his end by obviously unconstitutional methods. The King, like M. .Venizelos, has an asset of strength in personal popularity, and in addition he has an authority which is not easily upset even in a democracy. It is no more easy to foretell the result of a contest between two such adversaries than that of a battle in which approximately equal forces are engaged, but the defeat of the Bulgarians in Southern Serbia should make it more difficult for King Oonstantine to assert his will in opposition to that of M.. Venizelos and the Parliamentary majority, and _ every material addition to the Allied Forces in the Balkans should further improve the prospect that M. Venizelos may gain the upper hand.

* * # # No material changc is reported at time of writing- in tho main theatres. News from the West tells of the defeat of German attacks. In Russia matters appear to be almost stationary on the Dwina front in the Baltic Provinces, cach side reporting abortive enemy attacks. There are conflicting reports regarding the southern front, where the Russians have lately be°n pressing forward. A Berne message stating that it is admitted by the Austrian General Staff that tho fall of Gorizia (the principal stronghold on the Isonzo front) is inevitable is obviously of doubtful authority and value. Rome reports speak of the heavy fighting northwest of Gorizia, but make no such claim as comes via Switzerland.