Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1913-01-03

ness which might easily lead the Bull
garians to think that Adrianople would
not resist a brilliant onslaught.
Mustapha Pasha became the head
quarters of the second Bulgarian army.
under General Ivanoff, who was to
have the thankless task of the opera
tons around Adrianople, while easy
glory was to be the fortune of Deme-
trietf, who commanded the first army
until the first army had to take po-
sitions in front without any opportu-
nifty for thanking, which was the ma
ture OF Ivanoff's task from the start.
lvanoff Wakes Up.
It was Papastepe and Kartaltepe
which awakened Ivanhoff from his
dream OF final brilliant stroke in
keeping with the earlier ones OF the
war, just as Tchatalja brought Deme-
trieff down from the clouds of over
confidence. Papastepe is one of many
hills in the narrowing rib Of the 203
Meter Hill OF the siege. With guns in
position there. Adrianople would be
under bombardment. The Bulgarians
took it by sending in the usual cloud
of infantry and losing about thous-
and men. But the Turks took it back
again. Four times. / am told. 1t chang
ed hands in the course of those night
actions which we observed only by the
brilliant flashes in the sky above the
hills.
Far up the valley in the mist was
Kartaltepe, that other important hill
which commanded the river bottom
of the Arda. We took Kartaltepe in
November and a month afterward, in
one OF their splendid sorties. the
Turks, so far as l could learn. had
taken it back: but 1t was as untenable
for them as Papastepe was for the
Bulgarians. Possibly because Il was
again ours and very evidently ours
permanently. the Bulgarian censors
had found 1t worth while to confound
skepticism and persistent unfriendly
rumors by allowing the correspondents
to enter the promised land OF their
dreams. where for weeks. between. the
batteries on the hills and the infantry
in the muddy river bottom OF the Arda.
hell had ragged in the winter rains.
We did not know then, as we were
to know a few days later, that beyond
Kartaltepe in the direction OF Dele
catch was another force isolated from
| the Adrianople garrison and the main
Turkish army, that of Taver Pasha
with 10000 men, caught in the literal
flood of that 100-yard dash of the
ready, informed. prepared aggressor
against the unready enemy taken un-
aware and Fastening re-enforcements
to the scattered garrisons and trying
| to adjust itself for the blow to fall
with the crash of a pile driver releas
| ed from its clutch.
Discloses War Secret.
But Tayer Pasha's 10000 were still
! a force IN being. with guns and full
| equipment-a force In box; force
in desperation
Do you see the Adrianople garrison
(which was in touch by wireless with
the Turkish main army striking out
to connect up with Taver Pasha? Do
you see Taver Pasha trying out lines
of least resistance in savage effort
to reach Adrianople or the main Tur.
kish army?
Something to stir the blood. this. in
the way of war drama, while not a
single foreign correspondent or at
/ tache knew even of the existence OF
1 'Taver Pasha's command until its sur
render.
The news of this was conveyed with
the official assurance that now no 9th.
er Turkish force except that of Adri-
anople remained In Thrace. when we
had been under the impression for
over a month that 1t was the only one!
| The censors did not smile as they
posted the bulletin. but some of the
correspondents smiled-at themselves.
No, after the first rainbow hope of
| successful general attack was over,
Ivanhoff was fully occupied In holding
Adrianople safely in siege. That bat
terry of old Krupps, which fired over
the advanced Servian infantry posi-
ton, while battery of Creusots in
turn fired over it. added their items
of evidence to the same end.
These Krupps we're taken by the
| Russians at Plevna in the war of 1877
! IS and given to the little army of the
! new nation of Bulgaria. Bulgarians re-
cruits had dragged them through the
muddy raods and over the pastures
and beautifully emplaced them, and
were working them against the enemy
with boyish pride. But the world was
thinking only of the modern Creusots
and their brilliant showing.
The Bulgarians almost proved that
you can make bricks without straw.
They won the war by the bravery OF
their self-confdence as well as by
their courage.
Adrianople, which was about to
starve If it did not fall. had, | am con-
vinced, two months supplies when the
armistice was signed. With the Is