AFTER MANY DAYS.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 October 1918, Page 6

AFTER MANY DAYS.

THE HEROIC SERVIANS J A STUDY IN CONSTANCY; (By "Criticus," in Dunedin Star.) After nearly three fears of absence the Serbians have again entered their ancient capital. It is officially announced that Nish has been captured, the Germans retiring to the northward of the town. It was on November 5, M)lo, that Nish fell to the Bulgarians, »ud this was an incident in what has undoubtedly been the most heroic story of the war. On July 23, 1914, Serbia received a Note, from Austria-Hungary which was tantamount to a demand that she should forfeit her political independence and self-respect or stand up to the whole force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire- Serbia had friends, but they were distant. Her enemies had overwhelming forces at her very doors. Her friends pressed her to make every possible concession to avert war, and this for the barest minimum consistent with her self-respect. But the enemy did not want peace. They were out for war, and they were resolved to overwhelm little Serbia,, before her allies could come to her aid 'Serbia had Just fought two wars in quick succession with Turkey and Bulgaria. Her artillery was very weak, old-fashioned, and badly worn. Cavalry she had practically none Her transport system was primitive, and her little army was badly equipped m every way. One'single-track trunk railway ran the length of the country, and there was one branch lino from Uskub to Mitrovitza. The roads were uiimetallcd tracks which rain turned into sloughs of mud. Only m its human material was' the Serbian army well equipped, but there was all too 'little of that. On August 12 the Austro-Hungarian armies crossed the Danube and the Drina into Serbia, fnarching, as it appeared to them, to certain victory. But they had reckoned without their host. Their overwhelming superiority in numbers and artillery availed them little against the patriotic enthusiasm and superb fighting efficiency of the Serbian soldiers. By the end of August thpy had been completely defeated and driven out of Serbia in utter rout. Thus ended the first invasion of Serbia'. But the enemy attributed this reverse merely to the employment of inadequate forces, and they soon returned to the charge. In September they once more crossed the Danube and the Wrina. and now the Serbs, under their vetorar leader,Field-Marshal Putnik. had to face, a much more terrible trial. Stop by stop they were driven back by overwhelming forces, contesting every foot of the way, almost to the gates of Nish. It seemed as if Serbia was doomed. Her friends were far away, and could not lift a hand to save her. But just as all seemed lost the Serbs contrived once more to save themselves. At the beginning of December they delivered a great counter-stroke, wjiich met with dramatic sueeesa. The enemy were completely routed, and the Serbs, following them up, did not cease from the pursuit until the Austro-Hungarians wero again hurled back over the rivers into Hungary, with immense losses in prisoners, guns, and stores. THE PERIOB 01? TRIAL. The Serbs Lad passed triumphantly through two great trials, but the greatest of all had. still'to come. Pressure in Galicia from the Russians compelled the enemy to leavo Serbia alone for a time, but'they had left their mark upon the country. Not only had the Struggles been terribly exhausting, but Serbia had been largely devastated, and the seeds of disease had been left behind. Frightful epidemics swept the land, carrying off great numbers of the population; and, in the meantime, Russia, her nearest ally, suffered disaster after disaster, so that military aid was further off than ever. The Serbs, however endured this as they had endured previous trials. With the help of medical missions from other countries the .epidemics were finally stamped out, and Serbia, prepared to face further dangers. They were not long in coming. Russia had been temporarily crippled, and the Central Powers .turned upon Serbia, r'c'solved to settle with her once and for all. By the end of September, IMC, General Von Mackensen, one of the ablest of the German leaders, bad concentrated 250,WW men and a huge mass of artillery against the Serbian frontier. At the sami'time treacherous Bulgaria! prepared to attack the Sorbs in the rear. I The Serbs saw the/danger coming, and begged to be allowed to anticipate the I Bulgarians; but to this their allies refused to assent, preferring to negotiate with the Bulgarians and endeavor to buy them off with concessions in Macedonia. -They took no adequate steps to help Serbia, and. to make the trial more cruicial, that little country received offers of a separate peace from the enemy. The constancy with which she rejected those offers and stood by her allies in the face of overwhelming danger ' and disaster is scarcely paralleled tf»on in the present war, and is not. excelled hy anything in history. Yet constancy and lovalty were not enough to save her. Whpn the storm burst King Constantino of Greece betrayed her, and her allies were not at hand. The allied forces landed at Salonika were insufficient to accomplish anything effective without the aid of the Greek army, and could do little be-' yond attempting a diversion. For several weeks Von Mackenson's advance in Northern Serbia was stopped dead by the heroic Serbian resistance, until the attack by the Bulgarians upon the rear of the SeTbs became effective: and then commenced a terrible retreat. The main body of tlio Serbian army declining to surrender, waa driven back step by. step towards the Albanian border, where all the artillery and transport were lost. Then, in the depth of winder, without transport or supplies, almost without clothing, and harassed tevery foot of* the way, the survivors imade their way across the mountains of Albania to the coast. They arrived there in the last stages of famine, being reduced to mere skeletons, and were jtaken off by allied cou.asxed to the islandi. of ;,#>'

[ —The Days of Exile 'At Corfu the survivors were clothed, foil, and rc-cquipp ed. They wore still well over 100,0110 strong, showing the constancy with which the main, body had fought on and refused to surrender, after they 'had been reorganised und their eliicieiicy restored they were conveyed to Salonika, and joined the allied forces on. the Macedonian front. Then began a long period of alternate Lopes ami fears. Ju spite of many successes, misfortune still seemed to dog the footsteps of the Allies. Month after month rolled by, and still all hopes of returning to Serbia- were disappointed, Terrible stories came through of the treatment of t'i:e unfortunate Serbian people by the enemy, especially the Bulgarians. Russia, after having brilliantly restored her military position, was seized m the throes of revolution, and, in spite of moments of hope, gradually went down-lull until she finally ceased to be a serious factor in the war Conditions began to look black for the Allies. It seemed as if they could not.possibly win the struggle, and would probably be beaten. During all the months and years in which misfortune continued to pursue their allies the Serbian leaders received constantly renewed offers of a separate peace from the enemy, which they as constantly refused, At last came the turn of the tide. The reckless German submarine campaign brought in America, and that Power, stimulated to stupendous efforts by the German attempts to secure a decision in France, poured over troops at -suclh a rate that the position was soon reversed. Marshal Foeh's counter-offensive drove back the enemy, and the pressure in the west compelled them to draw a great part- of their forces from the Balkans. That gave the Allies their opportunity. The Serbian epic promises to end m poetic justice but there is nothing more fitting in the whole story than that the Serbian army should have been mainly instrumental in striking the decisive blow In conjunction with the French they broke through Hie Bulgarian positions west of the Vardar, and completely routed their ancient enemy. They pressed on from success to success, until Bulgaria, once more bringing Serbian constancy into high relief by her own treachery, abandoned her allies and threw down her arms. The Serbian Government have left Corfu for Uskub, but the Serbian soldiers (have already opened for them the way to Nish. As these dqughty warriors defiled through the streets of the little town and saw the homes to which they Iliad at last returned alter so many days of exile, they may well have exclaimed in Biblical phrase: "I have fought a good fwlit. I have kept thq faith." But the finish of their course has still to come.