Norwich bulletin., 1915-06-02
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

Island of Tenedos-Among the ad- vanced camps of foremost importance is the allied French and English base on the small island of Tenedos, which lies just before the Aegean mouth of the DardaneIles. The following des- cription of this point, whence the great military and naval attempt upon the formidably fortified strait is being made, is given in today's war primer of the National Geographic Society:
 '"The island of Tenedos commands the approach to the Dardanelles, lying but eight miles south-southwest from the mouth of the Strait and about five miles from the coast of Asia Minor. Removed from the field of the guns of the Dardanelles forts, within short Steaming distance of the waterway under attack and within comfortable reach of the mainland, readily supplied with provisions from the neighboring islands and mainland ports of Greece, surrounded by deep water, and having an ideal anchorage for battleships Tenedos admirably fulfills the require ments of an advanced base. For months now this little island has been abuzZ with activities incident upon one of the most stupendous undertakings of the Allies.
 ''Tenedos, despite it's insignificant size, commerce, population count, and productivity, has been visited by many an imposing hostile fleet and army, brought thither by it's strategic value as a forepost on the worlds most dis puted waterway. Aeolians originally settled here, and Persia, Athens. Rome, Constantinople and, now, France and Great Britain have successively brought it under their control. The island has been an Ottoman possession since 1922, being included under the administration of the archipelelago Vilayet.
 Uneven, rocky, almost mountainous in parts, there are yet within the six teen square miles of the islands area some very fertile soils. There is some fruitful garden land and rich pastur- age, but the most important is wine, of which some 5,00O.00O gallons are ex- ported each year. Tenedos supports a population of about 4,000, only one third of whom are Mohammedans. The only town, of the same name as the island, is enclosed by roughened walls. and shelters, among other remains from times long past, great store houses erected by Justinian, store houses, mayhap, that now are doing service as modern arsenals."
 Ancona, the seaport bombarded by the Austrians during their first raid upon the Italian coast, forms the sub Ject of the National Geographic So-
 
 After Venice the most important city along the Italian coast of the Ad- rlatiC Sea is Ancona, which was visit ed by the Austrian fleet immediately following 1taly's declaration of war. It is also a port capable of strong de- fense, it's forts being thoroughly mod ern and Well-placed on the semiheights that surround the city. Its harbor, the finest on the southwestern coast of the Adriatic, and one of the best possessed Ky +I-- engineering improvements from the days of Grecian settlement down to the present day. The harbOr basin is an oval about half a mile in diameter.
 "Venice lies 138 miles away to the northwestward, by direct water route, while Rome lies 132 miles to the south west. The town is contained between two eXtremities of a rocky promontory, Monte AStagno to the south and Monte Guasco to the north. On these heights are formidable harbor defenses. The city, itself, is the he~ quarters for the Italian 7th army corps. Railways con- meet the port with Brindisi and all the seaside cities to the south. It also has rail connection on trunklines with Rome and with Bologna. While the number of vessels annually visiting the harbor has materially decreased, the tonnage has increased somewhat. Sta tistics for a recent year show that An coma was a port of call for ], 1,4O0 ves- sels. with a total tonnage of 961,61 During the eighties of the last cen- tury, between 2,000 and 2,500 ships vis- ited this port each year.
 "Ancona is one of Italy's ancient, ci- ties, and, despite it's commercial pros perity, 1t makes it's antiquity painfully evident by an unkempt, OVerWOrn ap- pearance, it's streets being dirty and it's houses, for the most part dingy. Refugees from Syracuse founded the city about 390 B. C., and gave to it the name by which it is known today. Greek merchants early established a purple factory here, and started the place upon it's centuries of brisk trad ing intercourse. The city was sacred to Venus during Roman times, and, so, l aYa1VksI7LXXA