A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 185, 2 May 1940, Page 8

A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Vision Of Balkan Unity

IDEAL GROWS SLOWLY MORE REAL

Bulgaria’s declaration to Yugoslavia that she will be a loyal member of the Balkan family emphasizes the fact that in the stress of the immediate post-war period and the still greater stress since there have been unmistakable signs that the tender shoot of Balkan unity is slowly growing. A month before the war broke out :i writer in the ‘‘Nineteenth Century” was able to say that perhaps lor the first time in its remembered history the Balkan, peninsula was facing the future with the sense, present if not everywhere expressed, of unity. Various statesmen have since then striven to strengthen the feeling.

This unity was one of the visions Benes saw at the end of the long path he tried to tread and it is a vision others, though maybe not a great number as yet, share. A distinguished Austrian exile recently said that one of the greatest mistakes made by the Allies after the Great War was that they did not force the adoption of some federal system in south-eastern Europe —though it is difficult to see how such an ideal could have been achieved by force.

Old Antagonisms Those who work for some form of Balkan unity must work against a background of antagonisms and mistrust which were merely intensified in many coses by the readjustments made after the war of 1914-18, for, as has picturesquely been said of some of these parts of Europe, they are racially more dappled with spots than any Dalmatian dog. Therefore, since all the races could never be gathered together under their own national governments, it is held in some quarters that federation is the only ultimate solution of the problem. For the time being, of course, the Balkans cannot be called united. The important thing is that there seems a growing feeling that they would Ake to be united and, though an earl) spread of the war to that area might well find these new manifestations ot a single purpose unable, to withstand the strain that would be involved, there have been a number of signs lately that are symptomatic.

Bulgaria’s Position . Bulgaria’s declaration is one of the latest and the use of the word “family” quoted in the opening paragraph may be significant. In the Balkans Bulgaria stands alone outside the Balkan Entente, which, just as the Little Entente was an insurance by those affected against an attack by Hungary, had as one of its objects the restraining of Bulgaria. Recently when a frontier clash occurred between Bulgarians and Turks It was settled speedily and with every show of desire to avoid unnecessary complications. There have even been whispers that the thorny question of the Dobrudja, lost by Bulgaria to Rumania after the Great - War, might be quietly talked over when the international situation becomes easier. It has been said that Bulgarians are not quite so enthusiastic now when the Germans talk as though ultimate partnership between the two is a foregone conclusion. Bulgaria’s dissatisfaction at the post-war settlements has caused many observers to put a question mark after her name when considering which nation might cause trouble in the Balkans when the time seemed ripe. It is unlikely she will ever abandon her revisionist claims. What remains to be proved is whether she and lifer neighbours can finally show sufficient goodwill to settle them amicably.

Desire For Peace The work of the leaders of Balkan nations in recent times has had the avowed object of preserving peace, the desire for which is but natural, and was stressed at the recent Belgrade conference. It seems that Rumania, Turkey and Greece are in close accord, with Yugoslavia trying to make stronger friends and Bulgaria rathei more conciliatory. If the reported marshalling of German and Italian troops on the Yugoslav frontier is a prelude to action, the testing time of Balkan unity will come. Then it will be seen whether the efforts to reach unity are capable of surmounting the formidable barrier of old —and probably still easily inflamed —grievances and of affording the old maxim of “united we stand” a chance to prove itself. General de Wiart

A veteran soldier bearing the scars of 10 wouuds, including the loss of his left eye and left hand, General Adrian Carton de Wiart, V.C., C. 8., C.M.G., D. 5.0., came from retirement to serve again in the present war, and now commands the British forces in Norway. He is 60 years old. After being educated at Edgbaston and Balliol College, Oxford, de Wiart entered the army, and served as a subaltern in the South African War in 1901, being twice wounded. He was awarded the Queen’s Medal, with clasp. At the beginning of the Great War he lost an eye in the fighting in Somaliland, and on going to France in 1915 he lost his left hand. However, at the end of that year he returned to the front, and in 1916 took command of the Sth Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment. During a heavy German counterattack at La Boiselle on the Somme he rallied a faltering line by strolling calmly toward the German trenches, his gallant example saving the situation and earning him the Victoria Cross.

Lived In Poland By 1917 de Wiart was staff and brigade commander, and he was later promoted major-general. In 1918 he went to Boland with the British Military Mission, and afterward settled there, eight miles from the Russian frontier. lie lived in a house surrounded by marshes on the Radziwill estate, 50 miles by boat from his nearest neighbour. Prince Radziwill had ■been his Polisli A.D.C. when he served with tlie mission, in 1923 he was made an honorary major-general with retired pay.

In December, 1937, General de Wiart visited Londofi for an operation arising out of the wounds he received in the war. In spite of the loss of his hand he remained a first-class shot. He married Frederica, daughter of Prince FuggerBabenhausen and Nora, Countess Holienlohc, and they have two daughters. Norwegian Names

The frequency with which the sullix “dal” appears in Norwegian place names, it correspondent points out, is explained by the fact that it means “valley.” Thus Osterdal means Oster Valley and Gudbrandsdal Gudbrirnds Valley.