The Elbert County tribune., 1913-01-17
Desperate Defense Of Adrianople
Saved the Capital.
UPSET PLANS OF THE ALLIES
Frederick Palmer Tells of the Furious
Fighting by the Ottoman Armies
That Baked .Demetrieff
and Ivanof
BY FREDERICK PALMER,
staf Correspondent of the Chicago
Record-HeraId In the Balkan War.


Needle.like. i have seen them rise
over the indistinct mass of Adriano-
pie from the distant hills, then as
substantial columns from the nearby
hills. and again 30 close from the
shellproof of an advanced infantry
position that i could make out the
things on the dome of the great
mosque itself
The simple grace of the minarets
dominated town. AID landscape, and
siege. Weary drivers of the weary
oxen of the transport and still wear
Ter artillerymen. bringing up addi-
tional guns through seas of mud, saw
them for the first time as token OF
defiance, of work unfinished, of bat
ties yet TO be fought. and of lives yet
TO be lost.
Infaptrymen in the advanced
trenches saw them as the goal
against foe which had fallen back
without any adequate rear guard sec
tion, but which had begun to fight
desperately under their shadows,
That Turkish garrison. as it with,
drew into the shelter of its forts.
seemed to find something of the spirit
of old Sultan Selim the Magnificent.
for whom the mosque was named.
but with this difference: Sultan
Selim was not given to falling back
on forts and minarets He stormed
forts; he went ahead to plant new
minarets in the soil of 'Christendom
Rouses Old Turks Spirit
From the first in this war the Turk
took the defensive; from the first he
accepted 1t as his part and portion of
the campaign.
In Bulgaria. where many Turks still
Hive under Christian rule, we had
seen the Terrible Turk. the great
fighting man of the past, whose soul
was supposed to be above low1y toll.
as newer of wood and a carrier of
water. He did odd jobs in the alb
sence of the Bulgarian at the front.
The lion of the past had been trained
to dog harness.
All the early victories of the Bull
garian army completed an impression
OF one-time lordly race demoralized
and enervated. who retained only the
fatalism of 'Kismet,s in its lexocon.
The warriors cry. For Allah." was
lost forever. But at Adrianople For
Allah! For the Minarets For the
Padishai" rose again to the dignity
which abandoned bravery always com
mands
The sheer, impetuous fearlessness
OF the Bulgarian, well drilled and
coolly manipulated, was the first
great revelation of the campaign, and
the second was how. In the hour of
hopelessness, hfs desperation arous-
ed the old qualities of the Turk.
Every situation. every development
in the war reverted to Adrianople. II
was the nut to crack In the first plan
OF strategy Of the campaign. 1t how
cred over the first army before
Tchatalja as a nightmare. It stood
In the way of the prompt supplies of
bread and bullets for the first army;
1t delayed the signing of the armis-
tice for ten days; 1t has been the
main subject OF contention before
the London peace conference; 1t was
responsible, for the treatment of the
military attaches. who saw nothing of
the war. and of the correspondents
who saw little.
War Hinges on AdrIanopIe.
Even our phlegmatic little English
speaking censor assistant at Musta-
pha would lose his temper at the
very suggestion Of any peace terms
viii. Adrianople still in Turkish nos.
session,
+. we shall have revolution II we
don't get Adrianople." have heard
many officers say.
I'VE shall not go home without
Adrianople," the wounded soldiers
returning from the front kept repeat.
ing.
Sdch were the instructions which |
DR.. Daneff. the Elihu Root OF the nA, !
kans' took with him to London. Ad
rianopie was craven on the minds of
his countrymen. BY diplomacy he
must get a fortress which vn,
YET taken by force of arms.
uiance at map and you vii, s
sa .ne whole success of the a,,,os
penoed ~. on bottling up the TurL o
me peninsula, SO that all the othor
iurhisn forces from Scutari 10 a.,
anopie, from Kumanova to Hassa
snouiu ~. De cut of from comrnn,a
'ion. The Greeks, Serbs ana Ne
,srssans 70 IL aa We're the backs. The BIZ,
'"r pm,n ,Ins undertook to buck the lir
bulgaria did not have to g.
reserve army. Europe -
opinion and the jealousie >onsider
RS acted as efficient IN public
he Bulgarian miIr q OF the pow
nderstood that substitutes, for
n the pow Atary statesmanship
urkey = !. II Bulgaria were beat
,il. ,eers would never permit
~ o take an inch of Bulgarian
1t was a case of Heads win,
~ don't lose"
r.L, Auake to CrlsIe.