Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1897-02-05


these straits, which
connect the Aegean Sea with the Sea OF
Marmora, on whose eastern end the
city of Constantinople was built, says
the Baltimore Sun. The Hellespont
finally became known as the straits oil
the Dardanelles, the key to the Turk
ish capital. Mahomet H., soon after
the seizure of Constantinople, in 1885,
had these forts erected. Not being
kept in good order they were unable
to prevent the passage of Russian Tin
IT'D and an English squadron Tin
1900. Since 1867 several additional
batteries have been raised and several
new forts built at the entrance from
the Aegean Sea. AS far back as 1909
the Ottoman porte was negotiating
with Great Britain for treaty pro-
hibiting admission of any but Turkish
warships TO the Dardanelles, to which
proposition the great powers agreed In
1914, and which fact was confirmed in
the peace of Paris in 1856, as well as
in the peace of Berlin in 1878.
The Dardapellos form long, tor
tuous and narrow passage, swept by a
strong current The average width of
the straits is only two miles, while at
the narrowest point the channel is only
about 1000 yards broad. On either
side the ground is the most favorable
for forts and the most unfavorable for
ships that may attempt to force a
passage, but the latter would find it
difficult to reach the forts at all with
their guns. Indeed, modern warships
of any type are peculiarly susceptible
to plunging or downward fire, against
which the thin armor of their decks
cannot protect them satisfactorily. In
1873 Admiral Hornby of the British
fleet, when he led his squadron up the
narrows, found that scarcely gun in
his fleet could be trained upon the
Turkish batteries on the cliffs. He
had, of course, no occasion to fire a
shot, the Turks, then in alliance with
England, not opposing his passage.
Herr r. Won Bieberstein, German
officer, in describing the Dardanelles
forts, states that at the very entrance
to the straits the width is about two
and a quarter miles. There are forts
Sedil-Bahr Kalessi, with sixty guns
and ten mortars, and Kun Kalessi,
with thirtysix guns and twelve NOR
tars. To these must be added two
strong earthworks, each mounting six
teen guns, which gives a total of LOG
heavy guns. In war every kind of
mine and torpedo would supplement
the terrific cross-fre Of these batteries.
Then some miles farther up, at the
narrowest point, where the current is
swiftest, where the way is rendered
hard of passage by shoals, and where
the cliffs on either side rise high, is
second tremendous group of works,
mounting between them no fewer than
$40 guns and forty-eight mortars, dis
tributed in nineteen forts or earth
works, many of which are strongly
constructed, in accordance with the
progress Of military art. The guns are,
many of them, of large caliber; even
In 1878 there was a fifty-ton Krupp.
Here, again, the defense would have
the assistance of mine-fields and all
manner of torpedoes, and can enfilade
the passage with gunfire. The ships
must come into action single moving
in line ahead-the only possible order,
and can then only direct feeble fire
upon their assailants. They cannot
move at all till, by the tedious and
~earisome process of creeping" or
Sweeping" they have cleared the fair
way of mines. Any damage to steering
gear or propellers in the strong cur
rent might prove fatal.
No feet could enter the sea of Mar
mora without very heavy loss, both in
men and material. The Turks, fight
ing behind earthworks, are by no
means contemplate enemies, as they
proved to Sir John Duckworth in 1907
The ships would have to undergo one
battering from the first series of ports,
after clearing away the mines. They
would then have to undergo a worse
battering at the narrows.
Surprising all went well and no ships
were lost in the mine fields or disabled
by the Turkish torpedo craft, which
are probably in very sorry state, the
fleet might enter the sea of Marmora,
having sustained a good deal of dam
age and fired much precious ammuni-
ton away. Behind it are still the
Turkish forts, which it must repass on
its return. 1t is cut off from all COM
munication in hostile waters, unable
to procure COAL Against Constantine
ple it can do less than nothing. Sir
John Duckworth threatened bonn
bardment in 1907, when Russia sided
with England, but found that human
ity, political considerations and, last,
but not least, the very uselessness of
such measure forbade it. 1t had to
retreat, for he had no army to overawe
the sultan's land forces. On his way
down most of his ships were roughly
handled and he lost twenty-nine killed
and 1873 wounded in the narrows.
On the whole, the passage of the
Dardanelles is only possible to strong
" armored ships, and that perhaps by