Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-24

ally which has drawn the central pow
ers on to their southern advance. The
immediate result Of this has been e
bring into the war the Serbians, who FOL
nearly a year had been practically neu'
trail, and SO to open up new front
which has to be supplied by the Ger
mans with men and munitions. 1t is
tapping fresh vein in body which
is already slowly bleeding to death.
What Purpose in Viewp
What have they to gain there? Put
an advance upon India, what Is their
practical goal? Should they overwhelm
Serbia it will go to our hearts, but will
make no difference in the war. since
Serbia had. as I already remarked
many months. What next could they
advance upon? Constantinople, with a
strong allied force intrenched upon
their flank at Saloniki? Would the
Turks really welcome an army of Bull
gars and other hereditary enemies
marching into their capital at the ex-
pense Of her hereditary friends?
And If we assumed everything and
suppose them at Constantinople, what
then? How will they cross the Egyp-
tian desert and meet the quarter of a
million whom we could line up on the
Suez canal? What will 1t profit them
to be strong in Asia Minor by the time
that attrition has worn them down
east and west. and the thickening
allied lines are pushing inward for Ber-
lin?
German Gains Shadowy.
The more steadily one gazes at these
fantastic fears the more they shred
into mere phantoms Of the magma
ton The gains Of the German expe-
dition are shadowy and distant. the
losses are immediate and obvious. and
it Is the Dardanelles pressure which
has drawn them forth
But have we failed at the Darda-
nelles? 1t is surely too early to say.
Mr.. Winston Churchill has been criti-
cised for saying that only few miles
separated US from victory. Never was
criticism more carpfng and un1ntell1-
gent. What he said was an obvious
fact, as true today as then. Had he
said a few weeks, or even months.
criticism would be Ineligible. but he
said miles. which was obviously true.
What he meant to convey, and what
he did clearly convey. was that II we
had the victory we could not be robbed
of the fruits of 1T as the Germans were
robbed of their Paris, but that the prize
was in our hands the instant the sue
cess was attained. He did not under
would any one do SO now. But we do
not know the difficulties of the enemy.
We cannot tell what weakening may
occur or what change may come. We
are ready on land and sea, and it Is as
true as ever that it is only question
of one successful pounce.
It is surely too early to write on the
loss and to put 1T down as
the one single item which should ap-
pear upon the debit side of our account,
but 1 repeat that If there is no forcing
of the straits none the less the his
torian of the future may very well
find that the operations have had far
reaching and fateful results.
Britain's Western Campaign.
On the military side. in our cam
paign Of France and Flanders great
events have been SO close to us and
have confused US SO with their suces-
sive conclusions that one has to culti-
waite some mental detachment in order
to get their proportion and their rela-
ton to each other or to the permanent
values Of history. So far as the British
campaign is concerned, the follow
ing summary would in the main be
The campaign began by defeat. hon
orable and inevitable, but none the
less defeats. at Mons. August 70.
and LIE Cato. August rs. This
was followed by the victory OF the
Marine, September gill. in which the
honors rest with our French allies. and
the drawn battle of the Aisne, Septem-
Der IS, IN which for the first time I'M
mobile lines were formed. confession
of failure upon the part OF the IN
vaders. There followed the long-drawn.
scrambling action of La Bassee, Octo-
Der 1921, in which no result was OBJ
tanned, and immobility was again en-
forced simultaneously was fought the
first battle Of Ypres. October 20-No-
vember 10. in which the Germans were
repealed. with very heavy losses. In
their repeated attempts to capture that
city.
This brought the fighting Of 1914 to
an end, save for the sharp fight at
Festubert. December 1921, where the
British sustained a reverse on the first
day, which was equalized by sue
cessful counter attack upon the second.
The campaign of 1915 began with
the costly British victory at Eeuve
Chapelle' upon March 10, involving the
permanent capture of the village
There followed the local but intense
complete British victory at the time.
though the garrison was afterward
driven out by poison upon May 8.
Second Battle Of the Ypres.
Then came the second battle Of
Ypres. from April % to May "a, one Of
the great battles of all time, in which
the Germans failed again In their main
objective, to capture the town and
break the line, but did succeed in TAX
ing four heavy guns and some prison
ers from US, besides gaining about two
miles of ground along front OF TWEEN
ty miles It may therefore be fairly
described as a German success. Before
this fight had ended a second battle had
broken out further down the line-the
began by a bloody repulse Of the Brit
ish attack, but ended by q considerable
and permanent gain Of ground.
There followed the lighting around
Hooge. which continued with about
equal fortunes during the whole sum-
mer. the Germans having marked sue
cess upon July 3o-31, while the British
won distinct victories upon Juno 1916
and August ..
Finally came the battle Of Loos on