Evening star., 1915-11-19
Every Variety of Military and
Naval Maneuvering Brought
to Play in Operations.
FORMER ARMY OFFICER
DESCRIBES THE SITUATION
Capt. Granville r. Fortesque, Speak
ing at National Press Club, Says
It Is Essential England Win.

Every variety of military and naval
strategy and maneuvering can be seen
in a narrow circle of fighting around
the Dardanelles, according to Granville
r. Fortesque, former captain, U. s.. A.
war correspondent and formerly mill
tary aid to the President under the
Roosevelt administration. Capt For
tesque spoke at the Press Club last
night on the political and military ma
ture of the fighting in Turkey.
He said in part:
The forcing of the Dardanelles is a
problem of inthralling interest. 1t Is
an example. If I may coin the phrase,
of intensive strategy. 1t combines
almost all the elements upon which the
whole theory of war rests. 1t promises
political results that may run like
food through the centuries Whatever
its issue, the maps of Europe and Asia
must be redrawn when this historic
struggle ends.
World policy that has issued from
the brains of Britain's greatest states
men for nearly hundred years bears
relation, remote intimate, to the
battling in progress along the Darda-
neIles today. From the viewpoint of
the British empire it is essential that
England win in this battling. How
necessary the present generation can
not guess. Not only in Turkey, but in
Egypt. in India and throughout the
east, the sun of England never will
shine so bright again if her armies fail
in Gallipoli. The capture of the mar
rows will mean the climax of the war.
Defeat will bring dragging decade Of
tragedy.
problem holds the d of the politi-
clan. The military side absorbs the SOL
dier.
Every Variety of Military Activity.
In a narrow circle he sees every va
riety of modern military activity, by
sea and land, being tested. He sees the
majestic superdreadnaught pitted
against the pestilent submarine; bat
tleships contending with forts; shells
of enormous size being stopped on
rabbit burrows; aeroplanes circling like
Sinbads roc overhead; sausage-shaped
balloons sway between sky and sea.
Every weapon. from the somber fif-
teen-inch gun to the glittering hand
bayonet, is employed. Every stratagem
devised for fighting civilized or un-
sea and land in the Dardanelles brings
out each thrilling incident of combat
between ship and fort, land force and
land force, the whole set down In an
environment pulsating with historic
interest. The ruined walls of Troy look
down on the rusty sides of the trans
port River Clyde. The hulk of the Els
lies in the Hellespont- So does the
fighting instinct bridge the ages
Speaking of the difficulties of English
position in the Dardanelles, Capt. For
tesque said:
1T is most difficult to convey a cor
in words. In order to comprehend in
telligently the advantage of position
and the tremendous superiority it gave
the Turks. it is necessary to describe
the peculiarities of the peninsula bit
by bit. Viewed from the sea, the salient
feature of the landscape are the cliffs
These rise sheer from the water 200 or
300 feet. The face of these cliffs is
mixture OF sandstone and clay. They
are extremely irregular, and for the
most part difficult of ascent. The cliff
sides are dotted with heavy brushwood
and crowned with the same growth
This brushwood affords the defenders
admirable cover and at the same time
is a formida BILE natural obstacle. Laced
with barbed wire. it forms an entangle-
ment whereon the corpse of many a
gallant English soldier hangs today
No Lack of Turkish Courage.
Referring to the qualities of the
TURKISH SoIuleF, tne speaker CoLtlHu ueu
"a great injustice was done the Turk
at the time of the Balkan war Turkey
was defeated. but it was not due to any
lack of courage on the part of the SOL
diers fighting under the star and cres-
cent. 1t was due to that basic military
flaw. defective organization. The most
conspicuous object in Constantinople
today is the Turkish soldier. He is
everywhere. You meet him from the
boundary right into the limits of the
city, awkward, serious and wearing his
Nl-fitt'ng khaki with an air of discom-
fort But with it all as soldier he is
impressive. l have watched them
drilling time and again, these tyro SOL
diers. and never have 1 seen anything
but Il startling earnestness, tongue
in-the-corner Of the mouth effort to exc
cute each evolution properly.
Men who go about their work in this
spirit viii take lot of beating. AT
present the majority belong to the
brotherhood of the awkward squad,
but you can see them evolve into bet
ter soldier men with only half hours
watching. Mustapha, Abdallah and
Hassan are scolded and perhaps sworn
at. II IL Is possible to swear in Turkish
by the native drill sergeants in the
conventional way. and in the end they
are turned out sturdy-looking. upstand-