The Washington times., 1914-09-04
TROOPS VIA ARCHANGEL

i NoOI y VIA AMI WILL.
No more striking story, none
more suggestive of the world-scope
Of the present war, has commanded
attention than the report that Rus
sian army has been brought from
Archangel oy fleet Of British trans
ports, around North Cape, end down
to Scotland, to be transported on
troop trains the length of Great
Britain and thence across the chan
mel to Belgium.
The tremendous character of this
operation can only be understood af-
ter study Of the maps. Archangel,
little known today as a world-port,
was for centuries the great port of
Russia. 1t IS almost 500 miles far
Iher north than St. Petersburg,
which, in turn, is in about the lati-
tude of Sitka, Alaska. In order to
round North Cape it is necessary for
vessels to go scme 500 miles north
from Archangel. Even at Archangel,
the harbor is ice free and open only
from June to October. The two
months of safest navigation. storms
and ice considered, are from the mid
die of June to the middle of August.
This gives color to the story that
troops have been brought out by
this route; it also adds reasonable
ness to the statement that these
troops We're landed in Scotland, to
be transported south by rail: for the
navigation season is now drawing
toward its close, and it would be
natural to return the transport fleet
as quickly as possible for another
load of soldiers.
Yet further color of probability is
added to the story, by the fact that
since the seas have beer largely
cleared of German war vessels, there
las been a strange paucity of Brit
ish vessels in the ordinary high
ways of commerce. The utilization
Of great fleet of them IS trans
ports on this unsuspected route an
Swers the riddle Of their disappear
snce from he wavs of commerce at
time when The allies so gravely
need them to move supplies and pro-
visions.
Archangel's outlet to the Atlantic
is a perfectly good and practicable
cne Four or five gears ago vessel
was even taken through the Arctic
in midsummer to the coasts of mid
Siberia, a vastly more difficult Un-
dcrtaking than the movement of
transport feet from Archangcl
westward. To state the situation so
that American readers will get
more understandable view of it,
Archangel is in almost exactly the
same latitude as Dawson. Alaska
North Cape, the northernmost point
of Scandinavia. is in the same lati-
tude as Point Barrow, the northern
most peak Of Alaska. If the Arctic
ocean dipped down to Dawson, then
ships could be taken out from there.
around Point Barrow, through the
Rering Strait, ard down the Alaska
coast, on a route exactly parallel to
that which would DC followed in
coming out of Archangel to the At
lantic. These vessels would turn
their northerrmost point just about
200 miles north Of Dawson.
The strategy of bringing big
army out Of northern Russia in this
fashion would be especially effective
if the movement c)uld be accom-
plished without the knowledge OF the
German general staff. The Beleians
have an army figured at 100000 men
in north Belgium row. IT has prob
ably been strongly re-enfCrccG by
the British. Add to this another hun
dred thousand CT more Of troops
from northern Russia, and the wide
ly extended right wing Of tho Ger
man army would fird at its rear and
flank a huge force Of the allies, pre-
pared 70 catch it in = vice between
the French British forces in the