CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 64, 21 February 1916, Page 5

CURRENT WAR TOPICS.

Erzeroum, the capture of which by the Russians has caused great stir in international military circles, is once more in the hands of the Czar of All the Russias, ’ln July, 1829, Erzeroum was captured by the Russian General Paskevich, and the occupation continued until the peace of Adrianople in Sept. In 1877 the Russians defeated the Turks on the Deveboyun heights, east of Erzeroum; they then advanced and attacked the town, but failed. The fortifications as they cx- ' isted before the present war included , forts on the Deveboyun, and these have now also fallen to the Russians. The walls and citadel of the old town (Erzeroum is of great antiquity) have disappeared. The winter campaign that has been fought must have been intensely severe. Erzeroum is over 6000 fqet above sea level, which, it should bo noted, is well up the side of our own Mt. Egrnont (8200 ft.) while the near hills rise to 10,000 feet. The winter Cold is extreme, and is sometimes 10 to 2d degrees below zero Fahr.

In view of the importance of the Russian victory some particulars of the tpwn’s relation to other strategical points will prove interesting. To* day we learn per cable that the Russian fleet had bombarded bridges west of Trebizond, which is the seaport and capital of the vilayet of the same name, stretching along the south coast of the Black Sea from the Russian boundary. Trebizond is in the southeast corner, 110 miles north-west of •■Erzeroum, and is one of the natural outlets of North Persia. The seaport is now fortified and walled. It was originally a Greek colony, "600 years, 8.C., and in 1204 became the empire of Trebizond, but was captured in 1461 by Turkey. Here it was in 1895 that the some terrible Armenian massacres took place.

Constantinople is about 650 miles west of Erzeroum, with the head of the Persian Gulf over 700 miles to the south-east. Kut-el-Amara, yhere General Townshend’s troops are besieged, is 550 miles from Erzeroum, with Kermashah, in Persia, 150 miles northeast of Kut, where another Russian force is operating. Lake Van, which has been freely mentioned as the scene of fierce fighting, is 150 miles south-easterly from Erzeroum. Thus, drawing a line from the Black Sea to the Persian Gulf, in a south-easterly direction, you have Trebizond, Erzeroum, .Lake Van anil Bitlis, the river Tigris'down to Bagdad, then Kut-el-Amara and Basra. Westerly, towards Constantinople, we hear of the Russians pursuing the Turks to Sivas, which is 220 miles from Erzeroum. It has a population of about 70,000, and has also* a reputation as the scene of an Armenian massacre in 1895. The seaport of the vilayet of Sivas is Samsun, 175 miles west of Trebizond.

The reason for the sensation and alarm at Constantinople will be seen in the fact that Sivas is only 400 miles from the Turkish capital. Angora, one of the principal towns en route, is 215 miles east-south-east of Constantinople, and is famous as the market for Angora goat hair (mohair). Southwesterly of Angora, on the Mediterranean, 250 miles away, is Adalia, where, it will be remembered, a French naval force landed some months ago) It will be noted that a huge net is being woven round the Sacred City of the Ottoman Empire, and the ultimate effect will be very like the ending invariably associated with spider webs.

The extent to which the enemy is under subjection is clearly shown by the cables to-day announcing the capture of two towns. Much and Akblat The former, which has a population " nearly 30,000, is situate on the oust branch of the Euphrates, 80 nulcs

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oast of Erzeroum. Akhlat, or Khelat, is not so large, though its importance may mean a gfiod deal to the Russians. It is on the shore of Lake-Van to the. south-east. It was once the capital of the Armenian kings, and is now the see of an Armenian bishop. The population is over 5000.

The situation as a whole is, on latest advices, much better even than imagined, and the result of the pursuit of the enemy forces, followed by big captures of men and material, goes to prove that the position of the remaining Turks is.anything but envious. It appears from the cables that the opportunity of functioning (this must mean between the reinforcements and the main body) has been cut off. r I he warm tributes being heaped upon the Grand Duke Nicholas for the success ot his strategy is well deserved, but the outcome is also a splendid example of 'the standard of efficiency to which the 'Russian army has arrived, and it augurs well for the future well-being of the Nation and her Allies in the great struggles wh.lh are proceeding on the Eastern front from the Baltic to Galicia.

“Shrapnel,” in the Otago Daily Times, writes in reply to a corrcspndent; The extreme distance at which two modern battleships can fight m not known outside the British Nav\, and is not likely po be known until after an engagement takes place. No details of the armament of the latest battleships are procurable. The official organ of the two services, the Army and Navy, which used to give many interesting points and technicalities, has ceased publication during the period of the war. Nothing is known of the range and hitting power of the new 15-inch guns, and it is rumored that they are not the largest that are ready for thp German fleet if it eve. comes out to try conclusions with the fleet of Admiral Jellicoe. It may be mentioned that in the naval fight m which the Blucher was sunk off the Dodger Bank, the battle opened at a .'range of 15 miles, and the British ships began hitting at 10 miles. During the battle the opposing vessels were never closer than ten miles, the Blucher, ot course, excepted, as she bad become “a lame duck,” and was left by the Germans to her fate.

The distance at which the hull of the object vessel is visible at sea- depends upon the height of the fire-control station, and the view of the deck depends upon the height ot the observer’s deck above the water line, and varies according to the design and size of the ship. No data are proem able as to these heights, but the tol owng rule will enable one to calculate tj visibility of the hull of an object ship. Divide the height of the observer above the water hy eight, the curve ot the earth in inel.ee tor one m e and « tract the square root of the Th . lt w iH give the distance ot the hou- • ■ T'lkimr a fire-control top zon in miles, faking a m as 64ft above the water-line and tin d \ n „ by 8 inches gives 9b—roiigbl.v , the square root of which is 10; theieh,V the water-line of the enemy s t„,H ’would '» visli . ,lc at 10 t'.' f ~ieh on m iles the lighting tops, 04ft in V would ho only.net v.,.hle k Hv assuming the height ot the . jfift the same fonnuit 'above water as t- water-line will show how iai oil tut of the enemy may be-keen.