New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-08-24
THE DARDANELLES EXPEDI.
TON.
Why the Allies Attack Can Hardly
Be Called "a Movement"
To the Editor Of The Tribune.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: Having given full space TO Mr. Stew
art, of Toronto, in his ridicule Of the crit
cisms directed at the English for the Darda'
nelles expedition, hope you will permit ne
to answer through your columns some Of the
twenty points in as short and concise
manner as possible:
l. Your correspondent speaks Of flank
attack common military move
ment performed often enough in the
present war" To talk of an attack which
after six months of heavy fighting, has cost
the allied feet some of its best battleshp'
and tremendous losses in officers and men
as movement" is, to say the least, euphe'
mistic
2 As to relieving the Turkish pressure
on the Russian forces this expedition some
how seems TO have failed, since the TURKS
according to all news from the 'front.' nave
still troops enough in the field against the
Russians not only to hold them, but to I'M
part to them as much speed as hindenoufs
or Mackensen ever could.
g. As to making the way easy for me
british expedittonary force in Mesopotamls'
| am willing to concede that that intention
might have been in the mind Of the Brltlsn
War Office, since their only aim seems 10 oe
not to beat the enemy in open and hones
warfare, but TO get at him through his COM
merce-a mistake. the consequences Of wnieh
England will probably feel in the not 100
distant future.
4. II the unity Of the allied forces Is to
be shown by the fact that "a Russian cruiser
IL 81 ~ M
the spectacle of the English Willingly eeaihs
the front seats to the others, no ms'e'
whether they are Belgians, French, Kusssn''
Canadians, Indians or Australians.
5. If the expedtionary force was sent ou'
to the Dardanelles 10 show chat Great n'iF
ain felt so sure of midas allegiance that sne
did not hesitate to strike at the centre o.
the Mahometan faith ITSELF | can only re-
peat that the price paid for this little eA.
cursion. which really did not prove anything
of the kind, seems rather high.
6. ITO control the straits leading 10 u,
Black Sea, so that munitions could be pooisD
into Russia" was no doubt one Of the ms'l
intentions We must not forget that a. 'ns
same time this road would have led 70 ehe1p
wheat, which the English would unquesti0n,
ably have preferred to the rather high p''cs'
American product.
7. To use Constantinople as base i0'
the invasion of Austria-Hungary and ger
many when one has the whole western Sn'
the whole eastern frontier Of Germany pr''
tically open seems rather modest.
s. Argument "ships vs.. forts must !es'.
to experts, but the facts in this case az
that a good many more ships have been SUES
than forts have been taken.
9. If the British officers have sueh
splendid knowledge of the defenees oil 20.
Dardanelles. they somehow seem not 70 u''
their knowledge. Besides, il is rather anus
ing to talk about the knowledge they game.
in 1878, if that knowledge shall be USED !"
make attacks in 1915. -,
10. If it is true that "the finances =.
Turkey never permitted the installation OK
proper defensive system till the beginhln.
of the war" and that "defences put up s'h1'
had TO be improvised," then it is really ~
markable that it took the Allies six monm'
of their heaviest fighting and the saer'n',
of goodly number of their best ships ~.
Of thousands of their men 70 gain eSs'"
nothing.
SIEGFRIED JAC0BSSOHN'
New York, Aug. II, 1915: