Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1913-01-02

glory was TO De lne lOTluue Oh Detle
trieff. who commanded the first army
until the first army had to take 20
sitions in front without any opportu
nifty for thanking, which was the ma
ture of Ivanoff's task from the start
iVanoff Wakes Up.
| II was Papastepe and Kartaltepe
which Weakened Ivanoff from his dream
of final brilliant stroke in keeping
with the earlier ones of the war. Just
as Tchatalia brought Demetrieff down
| from the clouds of oyerconfidence.
| Papastepe is one Of many hills in the
narrowing rib OF the POS Meter Hill
| of the siege. With guns in position
there, Adrianople would be under
| bombardment The Bulgari8ns took
it by sending in the usual cloud Of in.
| fantry and losing about a thousand
| men. But the Turks took it back
again. Four times, | am told, II
changed hands in the course of thote
| night actions which we observed only
! by the brilliant flashes in the sky
above the hills.
Far up the valley In the mist was
Kmtaltepe. that other important hill
/ which commanded the river bottom of
the Arda We took Kartaltepe in No
vember and month afterward, in one
/ OF their splendid sorties. the Turks.
so far as | could learn had taken it
| back; but it was as untenable for
! them as Popastepe was for the BuA
! garians. Possibly because it was again
/ ours and very evidently ours perma-
nently, the bulgarian censors had
/ found It worth while to confound
skepticism and persistent unfriendly
rumors by allowing the correspon-
! dents to enter the promised land OF
their dreams, where for weeks, be-
tween the batteries on the hills and
the infantry in the musdy river bot
tom 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 Adrlanople garrison and the main
! Turkish army. that of Taver Pasha
with 10000 men, caught in the literal
flood of that 1O0-yard dash of the
ready, informed. prepared aggressor
against the unready enemy taken I'M
aware and Fastening re-enforcements
TO the scattered garrisons and trying
to adjust itself for the blow to fall
with the crash of pile driver releas-
ed from its clutch
DiscIoses War Secret.
But Taver Pashe's 10000 we're still
a force in being, with guns and full
equipment-a force in a box; force
in desperation.
DO you see tie 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 a savage effort
to reach Adrianople or the main Tur.
kish army?
Something to stir the blood, this, in
the way of a war drama, while not a
single foreign correspondent or at
tache knew even of the existence of
| Taver Pasha's command until its sur
render
The news of this was conveyed with
the official assurance that now no 9TH
r.Turkish force except that of Adri.
anople remained in Thrace, when we
had been under the impression for
over month that it was the only
one. The censors did not smile as
they posted the bulletin. but some of
the correspondents smiled--at them
selves.
No. after the first rainbow hope of a
successful general attack was over
Ivanoff 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 a battery of Creusots in
turn fired over it. added their items of
evidence to the same end.
These Krupps were taken by the
Russians at Plevna in the war Of 1877
IS and given to the little army of the
new nation OF Bulgaria. Bulgarian re-
cruits had dragged them through the
muddy roads and over the pastures
and beautifully emplaced them, and
were working them against the enemy
with boyish pride. But the world was
|
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-confldence as well as by
their courage,
Adrianople, which was about to
starve If it did not fall. had, | am con.
WINGED, two months supplies when the
armistice was signed. With the 10
and 2OYear-old conscrIpts already on
the way to the front, with a cas;-lty
list that is easily one-hfth OF the whole
army, there was no sign Of weakening.
The square chin Of the stoical Bull
garian was as firmly set as ever. I
wonder what would happen in Europe
If 1t Included in its borders a nation of
10o,00O0OO Bulgarians.