Williams news., 1915-05-06

ert being backed by the canal, which has rightly been described as "the most formidable military obstacle ever constructed by man." Invading foes must accomplish the toll of the desert march, they must arrive in some sort of "fitness," attack carefully prepared positions, succeed in break ing the defensive and cross the canal before they can rely on getting food and water.
 There is probably no newer method of dealing with the problems of SUD- ply on such a campaign than those employed by Alexander, Napoleon or Ibrahim Pasha. The more adaptable and the better acclimatized to the pe- culiar conditions are the forces in use the more simple does the problem be- come. To move bands of Bedouin to and fro across such country would be only asking them to live their every day lives. No doubt many of the troops being employed by the Turks on the present venture are quite at home in such surroundings, can live hard and travel hard, but there can not be very great number of them Numbers, it should be noted, have an abnormal influence in the East, where bluff plays such a large part in life The Arab, in his own intertribal wars, depends largely upon giving an exag- gerated idea of his numbers and strength. The issue Of desert en- gagement is often decided without a blow being struck, those in the minor ity giving in without resistance to those in the majority.
 It seems doubtful that the true des- ert warriors-the Bedouin-are being employed in any large extent. Had the big tribes of Arabia been in per feet sympathy with the Turks they might have constituted formidable array. But the children of Ishmael have not changed; they are still as unstable as water" Even of those who have been commandeered, with their camels, large numbers have de serted and disappeared into the heart | of the wilderness. So the great re- serve of desert soldiery remains dis used. The successful issue of a des- ert campaign depends upon phenom- enal ability to tackle the problems of supply and of transport. The organi- zation of these must be perfect in de- tail and absolutely reliable in action. In the old days, although military op- erations took much longer to come to a head than they do now, when the antagonists actually joined battle, the result was quickly decided. The deci- sive battles of the world have gener. ally been decided between dawn and dusk. This is especially the case in Arab tactics. Sudden attack and swift retreat is the secret of desert warfare, for there is no time to waste. It may be recalled that in all former conflicts on the Egypto-Turkish frontier the issue has not long hung in the bal ance. Alexander entered Egypt week after he left GaZa, distance of 12O miles. Napoleon only spent six and a half days on the road between his base at Katieh and his arrival before Gaza. The advance guard of the Turks in 1900, under Taher Pashe, left Fl Arish on April and actually took
 Salahieh, on the farther eide of the present canal, before the 12th ot the
 month But in that case, it is true
 there was no serious opposition tc
 their advance. Swift and decisive ac
 tion is evidently the maxim of that
 particular military undertaking; by the mercy of Allah the prevalent creed
 of the present-day invaders is that
 haste is of the devil." It is certain