The Elbert County tribune., 1913-01-17

t1onB around Adrfanople. Wnile easy
glory was to be the fortune of Deme-
trien. who commanded the first army
until the first army had to take po-
sitions in front without any opportu-
nifty for fanking. which was the ma
ture OF Ivanoff's task from the start
Ivanoff Wakes Up.
1t was Papastepe and Kartaltepe
of a final brilliant stroke in keeping
with the earlier ones OF the war. just
as Tchatalia brought Demetrieff down
from the clouds of overconfidence.
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 in
fantry and losing about thousand
men. But the Turks took 1t back
again. Four times, / am told. 1t
changed 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
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 I could learn, had taken 1t
back; but 1t was IS untenable for
them as Papastepe was for the Bull
garians. Possibly because 1t 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 muddy river bot
tom of the Arda, hell had ragged in the
winter rains.
We did not know then. as we we're
to know 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 pile driver releas-
ed from It's clutch.
Discoses War Secret.
But Taver Pasha's 10000 were still
force in being. with guns and full
equipment-a force in a box; a 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 n
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,
er 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-
tion. 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
7S 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
thinking only of the modern Creusots
and their brilliant showing
The Bulgarians almost proved that
you can make bricks without straw.
iHhay won the war by the bravery of
their se,sconfidence as we'll as by
their courage.
Adrianopie, which was about to
starve II 1t did not fall, had, | am con-
vinced two months supplies when the
was signed. With the 10
and 2o-year-old conscripts already on
the way to the front, with a casualty
list that is easily one-tifth of tie whole /
army. there was no sign Of weakening.
The square chin of the stoical Bull
garian was as firmly set as ever.