Norwich bulletin., 1915-02-16
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

"The Black Sea is unique among the war theaters. It is the least re- sarded by the people of the West, and, vet, operations there may result in a, permanent reorganization of Eu- ropean affairs. Half-possession has just served to whet the desires of each of the two empires for full pos session and the Ottoman and the Muscovite have long drowned at one another over the waters of this in land sea.
 Enclosed on the north by the south ern coast of Russia. on the east by Russian Caucasia, on the south and west by Turkey in Asia and Turkey in Europe, and on the northwest by Bull garia and Roumania; the Black Sea is in every respect an oriental water body. Phy Sically, it is a boundary between the East and the West; in reality. the life which surrounds it is strongly related to the East and as strongly foreign to the West. Hence, there is little general interest in the military operations there among Americans.
 The Black. Caspian and Baltic Seas are about the same size, but, of them all, the Black Sea drains the country of greatest natural resources, of most advantag geous connections with the trading world, and. by far, of the most commercial impOr tance. From east to west, the Black Sea has a length of 750 miles; it's greatest width of 3S0 miles; and it covers an area of 1S0,000 square miles. or is con Siderably greater than the sum of the areas of the American Great Lakes. It has costaI line of 2 900 miles. and d large part of it's central basin reaches the extreme depth of 5000 feet.
 A million square miles of land in Europe and Asia drain into the Black Sea. The Danube, Nieper, Nniester and Bug, of Central Europe: the Don of Eastern Russia; the Kurbsn and smaller rivers. of Caucasia; and the Tcharuk, Kjzil Irna,k, Sakaria and other rivers of Asia Minor. carry enor- mCus volumes of water to it's basin; it rises and falls according to the in crease and decrease in the volumes of it's tributary waters Of tidal ac- ton there is little or none.
 Chief among the port cities are Odessa, SevastopoI, and Batum, in Russia; Trehizond and Sinope, in Asia Minor: NaTua. in Bulgaria; and Kostenje in Roumania. Greatest of all the commercial ports is Odessa, one of R;Issia's most important cities for the shipment of agricultural produce BatGrI iE a famous oil port. With the mouth of the Black Sea. the Bos- phoroGa, corked by the Turks. Russia is in the peculiar position of having plenty of grain and plenty of petro- leUn, as-3 Of yet being unable to take adva1sage Of the high prices offered by her allies for these commodities. Win Turkey in Europe. the advan- tases of Pussia's oniy warm water ports are, at Best, doubtful.
 The seq, is swept by violent storms and heavy fogs in winter, making nav igatior in winter and early sPGing a matter of some hazard. Then, on every side, except along that strip from the Crire4n peninsula 10 the Danube, it's shores are high and bold. Furthermore, there is only one island large enough for a medium size ship to take refuge behind on all the sea This is Sarpert's Island, thirty miles from the Danube.
 "1'he Back Sea i$ better known to the people Of the West in fable than in history for the myth Seaen Grim meris.G region is upon its northern shores, and may of the early Grecian heroes carried on their knight t-el~ar- try along it's coasts, while Coichis, where Jason and brother Argonauts sought the Golden Fleece, lies on it's east bank"