Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1902-02-20
ABOUT THE DARDINELLES.
Interesting Description of One Of the
Natural Defenses of Con- a.,
stantinOpIe.

stantinOple.
The gorgeous capital of the sick man
of Europe is well guarded by nature.
Situated on the European shore of the
eastern entrance to the Sea of Mar
mora, Constantinople Is reached from
the Mediterranean through the 45
miles of the Dardanelles and the 100
miles of the Sea of Marmora with dill
Guilty, so far as hostile fleet is con-
cerned. From the Black sea Russia
has only II miles of the Bosporus to
traverse in case it desires to get at the
seat of power of the moribund Turkish
empire. So far as the Turkish navy
goes, it's old, WORKOUT and helpless
tubs, that usually lie moored in the
Golden Horn, are of no value for the
protection of the city, but it is held by
many that the forts of the Dardanelles
and others that command the APP
proaches to Constantinople are not to
be sneezed at, states the Philadelphia
Press.
The Dardanelles form a long, tor
tuous and narrow passage, swept by
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 UNI
favorable for ships that may attempt
to force passage, for the latter would
find it difficult to reach the forts at all
with their guns, while being peculiarly
susceptible to a plunging or downward
fire, against which the thin armor of
their decks could not protect them
satisfactorily. In 1873 Admiral Horn
by, of the British feet, when he led his
squadron up the narrows, found that
scarcely a gun in his feet could be
trained upon the Turkish batteries on
the cliffs. He had, of course, no occa-
sion to fire a shot, the Turks, then in
alliance with England, not opposing
his passage.
Gen. Tschichatscheff, the celebrated
Russian artillery officer, recently
stated after a minute inspection of the
Dardanelles that the sultan cali rely
absolutely on the strength of Its forts.
He found no fewer than 81 Krupp guns
on one side of the waterway and IS on
the other, all bearing directly on the
channel. Moreover, the guns are
mounted on eminences, giving them a
plunging fire, and any man-of-war
coming up must steam right toward
them for the entire distance of the
range. In addition to that the channel
between Chanak and Abydos is so tor
| tuous that vessels have to steam at
reduced speed while passing under the
Notifications. These Notifications
alone are supposed to make the Oar
danelles secure.
A recent visitor describing the APP
proach to the city of imperial serag-
lios and mosques wrote of the OAR
danelles as follows;
"On the whole, the passage Of the
Dardanelles Is only possible to
strongly armored ships, and that,
perhaps, by night alone. The dis
patch of an army corps up the straits
is impossible till the forts have been
reduced, and Turkey has at its dis
posal, at the lowest estimate, 100000
armed men, who, if the sultan should
be attacked, will, whatever his sins,
defend him with Ottoman obstinacy
till the last. However, there is one
weak spot in the defense of the Darda'
nelles, which is the exposure to attack
from the rear of the fortsPn the Euro
pean side. An army covered by sufii-
Gent fleet might without much difficult
ty Land on the coast of the peninsula
either in the Gulf of Sares or on the
coast opposite the Isle of Imbes. Once
established on the peninsula it would
be an easy task to seize the earthworks
on the European shore of the Dards-
| lelles, the gorges of which are, as a
rule, open and offer little resistance ia
attack from the rear. With these com
manding forts in his hands an enemy
could subdue those on the opposite
coast sufficiently to cover the passage
of his feet"
The Turks have always realized the
strategic Importance of the Darda'
nelles and centuries ago took steps te
fortify their position there, The two
forts at the entrance to the Mediter
ranean were erected by Mohammed III
in 1853 and were rebuilt by Mohammed
". in 1859 to protect his empire from
the Venetians. Not being kept in gooo
order they were unable to prevent the
passage of a Russian lin IT'D and thu
English squadron lin 17s0)siA AS early
as 1909 England recognized the portei
right to exclude warships, but not IN
til 1S41 did the other great powers Joir
with her. Fearful of Russian infiu
ence in the Ottoman empire, England
: France, Prussia. and Austria began tC
, take an active interest in the eastern
situation, and the result of their inter
|, vention was a treaty between them
Turkey and Russia, drawn up In lS4'
and 1s41. All the powers agreed to OBJ
serve the right of the porte to exclude
from the Dardanelles and the Bosporu'
the warships of foreign nations. This
principle was reaffirmed by the treaty
of Paris in 1856, and has been reaf
firmed by the powers in every treat.
drawn up between them since
, The United States was not a PARTY t'