Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1915-12-31
THE EUROPEAN WAR

The year 1915 has been so distinc
tive from a historymaking viewpoint
that In all the ages TO come Il vii
stand apart from those that have pre-
ceded II and from those which are
TO follow. During its entire length,
the greater nations Of the European
continent have abandoned themselves
90 a policy OF bloodshed which has
fallen little short OF delirium- To
the rectral oniooker II has been q re.
vfvai on q huge scale of the irratiou-
nj and murderous activity which char
RcteTized the earlier ages Of mankind.
IL has been the complete overthrow Of
all the pacific theories vhich had ap-
parently gained 50 strong a foothold
nt the time Of the firing Of the first
gun n the present conflict
At the beginning OF the year. Il was
evident that It was to be a struggle
90 the death. II was plain that the
Teutonic plan to force a speedy set.
iencnt by dint OF superior armed
preparedness had failed. Six months
had elapsed and the Teutonic allies
were stfn faced By three great na-
lions. their strength unbroken and
their determination innexible- Aus
tria had been driven repeatedly By her
Russian invaders and twice the Serbs
had routed Austrian armies sent
against them On other fields. also,
Teutonie efforts had been futile. Thus
far Turkey had been OF little assist.
ance and the holy war lad failed TO
come into being. German Southwest
Africa had been lost and German In
nuenca in Asia kad been smo;hered
By the japanese.
AS an Offset. the Germans still held
practically all the conquered territory
which had fallen into their hands.
Their lines still held firmly in Po-
land. In Flanders and in France. Il
was apparent that as yet the Tsutonic
combination showed no sign Of weak
ening. and q war OF attritiOn seemed
fnsvitable- Both in the east and
IN the west the military operations
of the early part OF the year were
practically without decisive result
The fighting in Poland had resolved
1tseR into . complete deadlock In
January. the Frsnch-Engiish combine
made three attempts TO break the
TeutOnic hold on French territory. but
accomplished little. The German IN
successful drive at wzrsaw and the
rout OF the Aussrians IN Galicia Ieft q
slight balance in the January fighting
IN rav0r Of the allies.
From a strictly military viewpoint
February was a promising month for
the Teutonic allies By the middle OF
the month. German troops were ad-
vzncing all along the front from
the VistGIz TO the NIsmen. and thus.
seven months after the breaking ogf
OF the var. German soil was practi-
cally cleared OF its Russian Invaders.
The deadlock on the western front
was stil unbroksn-
Scene Shifts 20 psrdaneiles.
With the advent of March. there
came = sudden and dramatic change
N the war situation The scene of
military activity vas shifted TO the
DardanelIes- By the third week Of
the month. Rome. Athens. Sofa and
Bucharest were centers Of great 20
1ftical activity Tie surrender OF
Przemysl. March %. was the most
stirring victory for the allies since the
battle Of the Mzrne- The German
assertion that the military power Of
Russia had dwindled into insignin-
cance vas disproved az once and tho
allied cause gained instant strength In !
al the neutral capitals One Of the
greatest srrongholds In Europe had
been taken by the Russians
The disaster TO the allied feet at :
fhe DardaneIIes. which occurred dur I
ing the third week OF March. put an l
end TO the expectation of forcing the /
straits BY naval means alone Ger
man prestige advanced percertibly
and the dificulfy Of the tAak under
taken By the allied nee< was nov IN
dsrstood- In this month. also. the I
British won the battle S Nesvs
Chapells after bloody Tight.
In April the French made . bold 1
offensive stroke against the German /
position between the Meuss and the /
Moselle-ths famous ST. Nfhiei wedge 1
which resulted In = tremendous loss |
OF men On both sides. with small ad- {
vantage for either. Nowhere had the /
allies made appreciahle gain In ter
ritory. The invader held his own 4
stubbornly and with suecess- About 1
the middle ot the m0uth. zeppeIfDs
made their appearance over Engiish
towns. inspiring great interest and not
q little apprehension. but doing COED
parntively small damage About this
time. also. the attempted submarine
blockade Of the British coast proved
20 be Ineffective. In the closing days
OF the month another great Teqtonic
offensive swept against ths allied lines
sn Belgium. thrusting tbs enemy back
upon Fprss. with great loss Of life On
both sfde4
In May the Germans sent their bcst 1