The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-12-15
The War LAST WEEK
ALLIES RETREAT INTO GREECE
TO AVOID DISASTER
UNREST AMONG ENTENTE
New York Times Reviewer Raps In
competentcy Of British-French
Assume Management of Affairs
Prestige to be Lost in Failure of
Balkan EXPEDITION.


Prestige to be Lost in Failure of
Balkan EXPEDITION.
No mention was made n last
weeks review of Serbia or Serbian
operations. This was partly because
Of the greater importance Of the
Italian campaign, which seemed to
be in crucial stage, and partly be-
cause there had been nothing that
was not anticipated and, to an extent,
discounted in the weeks happenings.
In fact, in the two weeks which
have passed since the Serbian cam
paign was discussed in this column
only the expected has occurred The
Teuton-Bulgar com bination has COM
pletaly, and with German thorough
ness, disposed OF the Serbian army.
4 fraction, a very small fraction
OF it, still remains In Macedonia
where, with the forces Of the British
and the French, it Is still offering
resistance to the invaders. The re.
mainder Is now but little more than
scattered bands operating separately
in guerrilla fashion il the wild, rough
hills of Eastern Albania and Monte
negro.
They are still being pursued by
the Teutons, but such pursuit car
no more be maintained with q con.
tinuous coherent line than can the
retreat. Nor does it demand as many
men as continuous line, for the yer!
reason chat cohesion is not only moi
necessary, but impossible, and, con
sequently, no troops are kept mac
tive for the sole purpose of preserv
ing close contract.
General alignment and genera
contact between the larger 1odies i:
all that Is needed-is all Of which
the terrain IS capable. The result i:
that great numbers OF the Austro
Germans, who were previously occu
pied in the fighting In northern Ser
bia, have been freed to joint the Bull
gars in their operations against tht
Serbs, the French, and the British il
Macedonia.
This increased pressure IS nov
making itself felt. For weeks, al
most, indeed, from the time the frs
material contingent Of the French ex
peditionary force reachcr Serbian
soil, Krivolak has been the point o
rest for the flank OF the French army
This army, fighting a hopeless fgh
for the railroad from the Greek from
D., tier to Uskub, held the line as far a.
Krivolak, the right flank resting OF
or very near the Greek frontier a
Doiran.
When the Bulgarisn drobe acros
the railroad and took Babuna Pass
there was naturally created in th'
French line sharp salient Of Thicl
Krivolak was the apexA one side ex
tending along the Vardar River, tn
other southwest along the Cerna ant
| the Kara Rivers. This was mad
necessary by the exposure of tn,
French flank.
It was against this salient that tn
increased pressure Of the Teuton re
| Inducements was mace manifest
The result OF i has been th enforced
abandonment by the French Of tn
Vardar line from Krivolak to Demi
| Kapu, the latter a railroad station
not more than twenty miles north o
the Greek frontier.
In their retreat, of course, tn
Allies are drawing nearer and neare
| to the Greek frontier, and it IS in
| eyitable that in short time the con
tingency that the Allies had foreseel
| will soon become reality-the iron
tier will be crossed and King Con
stntine will he forced to make his de
| cision.
Whichever way he decides, tn
ultimate outcome viii be what he s.
! studiously wishes to avoid. An in
tternational boundary is but lin
| drawn on a map. 1t Is literally bu
a step from one country to another
and at some points this step will II
| all likelihood be taken by the vic
! torious invaders, with due apologies
Of course, for the military necessit.
making the move mandatory. w
/ shall then have the curious anomal..
| Of two belligerents gghting on th'
territory of neutral, with almost th'
! certainty of number of casualties tt
that neutral's citizens. The Teutcns
Of course, will do all in their powe
to aggravate the situation so as tt
force the Greek king into the war.
1t is obvious that if Greece is
{ forced to a decision now, utterly
regardless of the wishes Of the peo-
pie, which, we may presume, favor
the Allies, or of treaty obligations,
which favor Serbia, this decision
can SAVIOR Only the central powers.
To do otherwise with upward Of
100000 Teutons and Bulgars with
striking distance Of the Greek bor-
der, and only defeated and much
inferior force between, would be
little, If at all, short Of madness.
In a few weeks Greece would take
her place beside martyred Belgium
and totally crushed Serbia. 1t is NJ
wonder that Constantine resents th'
efforts of the Lilies to force him t
decide between perfdy and cruci
iXion.
In view Of the sure defeat Of thu
allied forces in Macedonia it woult
seem a logical military move for thu
Allies to anticipate matter by retir
ing without further sacrifice. AS
military move, considering only the
forces already involved. it would bt
the course Of wisdom. But, unfortu
nately there are, for the Allies, otheI
considerations beside military.
The principal Of these is Rumania
Were the Allies to abandon Serbia
the loss OF prestige throughout the
near and far east would be as grea
as to have incslculable results. Botf
Teutons and Allies are exerting ever!
influence on Rumania to take up the
sword. AS Rumania sees the proba
bility Of her sister states in the Bal
kans being greatly augmented in ter
ritory, lealth and population, her fu
ture peace and indeed her salvation
may force a decision.
The Allies, as long as they car
maintain themselves in Macedonia
may postpone Rumania's action. They
certainly can not dictate it. Rumanis
already sees before her a nation
which, deluded by false hopes, anc
deceived by broken promises. has
been crushed by the heel of the con
queror. Promises will not stir her
nor will dreams. engendcced bp the