The Washington herald., 1912-11-02

between them and Constantinople. The
Bulgarians are advancing In the line
which thoy have maintained since the
final battle began three days ago. al
ways closin. in - the peninsula mar
rows. One dispatch reports the capture
Of Tchoriu. the position Of the left sx-
tremity Of the triangular Turkish front.
II II possible that BY skirting the right
wing Of the Turkish forces the left wing
OF the Bulgarian army Will be able to
march down the coast Of the Black Sea
upon Constantinople practically without
opposition.
Turkish Cruiser suak.
According to dispatches from Sofia. the
Bulsarians are not waiting to bury the
dead Of the last four days, for their
Car realizes that the sooner Con-
stantinople u reached the fewer will b
the number Of noneombatant dead.
Balkan victories in Western Turkey,
which q few days ago would have
aroused Wild enthusiasm. to-day were
regarded a. insignifcant in comparison
to the crucial developments In the east
The first naval action Of the war re-
suited in the sinking BY . Greek torpedo
boat Of the Turkish cruiser Feth-I-Bu-
lend in the Gulf Of 6aloniki The Greek
vessel planted torpedoss under cover Of
darkness, saw the cruiser ftre and sink
and crept away to safety. although It
had to run before . dangerous ire from
a Turiish fort. Greek bluejackets seized
the Turkish Island Of samothraoe. in the
Aegean Sea. about twenty miles on the
Turkish coast. Tho island has . popula-
ton Of 5000. mostly Christians.
Macedonia Is practically under oervian
rule. Civil Administrations have been
established In all Of the conquered SEQ
tions and the Turks have been % effec-
fvAl e,,hA,,oA THAT 0ApvfAn
being sent to the East to aid the Bull
garians and to the South to assist the
Greeks in the attack on Saloniki. Armies
are converEing on Saloniki tonight from
three directions and news that the city
has fallen IL expected hourly.
Critics Surprised.
The route Of the Turkish forces 10 .
cause of wonderment to military critics
here, who make no effort to conceal their
surprise. Under Maxim Pasha were
nearly 100000 men. we'll provisionsd and
we'll fed. 1t was the strongest military
array possible for Turkey to mobilize in
the East. considering the preoccupation
of the remainder Of the Sultan's troops
In garrisoning the strongholds of Scu-
tari. Monstir. Sslonfli. Uskup. Janina
and . few other posts. Assisting Maxim
Pasha in the command Of the vast army
"S~e oAASy ooaooS 8SuSA olSs III u
them veterans Of one or more cam
paigna.
The Bulgarians were numerically in
''ror br manv thousands and In addi-
ton were conceded the DISADVANTAGE of
having been in constant action before
kirk-Kilisseh and Adrianople. Their DO
sition was not promising. as the main
Turkish army had had suncient time
to intrencE in a battle line that could
have extended practically across the pen
insula. II need be-.
The Bulgarian attack was delivered in
the form Of q series Of sharp. plunging
assaults. A detachment OF cavalry
scouts was the first to hit the Turkish
outposts. The outposts were drawn In
and following them went bands Of Bull
garian skirmishers.
Falls Into Trap.
Then from the rear came the main
Bulgarian army. several units in COM
pact battle formation. striking impetu-
ously at scores Of points. Gen. Savon.
the Bulgarian commander. perceiving
that the chief strength OF the hostiles
lay in their left wing. sent what WAS
believed to be his main army on a feint-
ing movement to the enemy's right.
lives. for it invited what proved to be a
temporary reverse for the Bulgarian
right wing. Maxim Pasha, II now ap-
pears. at this juncture sent the reassur-
ing dispatch to his government. which
for a few hours convinced the world
that the Turks had turned the tide Of
battle in their favor. simultaneously he
moved the bulk Of his army to the right
in the direction Of the Black Sea to head
off an open rush for Constantinople |
Nazim fell into Savons trap. The Bull |
gars sent to their own left. detoured. |
struck back at the now weakened Turk |
ish left wing. and executed the great |
turning movement that spelled the end |
of the Turkish Empire. Lule Burgas fell |
and Chorlu and Demotika followed to-
day. !
No estimate of the losses in the four |
days fighting is available here. Thou !
sands of wounded are reported arriving |
at Sofia. but these men were all on the |
Bulgarian side. and 1t IL certain that the |
number of Turkish killed and wounded |
are immeasurably greater than that Of
the victors.