The Washington times., 1915-10-10
EIGHT DEFENSE LINES
PREPARED BY SERBS
Re.enforced Concrete Positions
Containing Heavy Guns Said
to Be Manned by Freedmen.

NEW YORK. Oct. 1o.-warning that
the Serbs are well equipped to meet =
new attack Is given In the Hamburgei
Fremdenblatt OF September q. copies OF
which have been received here. The
newspaper says:
THE second campaign against Serbia
has begun. rs appears from the Ger.
man general stan report. the first at'
take this time does not take plac:
against the kingdom from the west.
but from the north across the Danube.
1t does not find Serbia unprepared.
1.-THE Serbian army has had three.
quarters Of a year to recuperate from
the campaign against the Austro-Hun
garian armies. Even II II has succeed.
ed in offering successful resistance.
has. nevertheless, suffered in these deI
feats great and heavy losses. which. y
seemed. could scarcely be replaced <b5
the small country. exhausted by three
wars in close succession.
Toll Taken by Allies.
Then, In addition, there came in win
| ter, an enemy which ragged as furiously
| in the ranks OF the Serbian army AZ
had formerly the Austrian machin0N
| guns and cannon-the spotted typhus,
4 eighty per cent OF the cases ended In
| death; II may be imagined how much
Serbia lost through this disease. Ever
| the physicians who hurried to It's as.
sistance from France. Russia ana
America and fought heroically against
| this foe. had to pay their death toll to
| the terrible disease. Only when ths
rigors Of winter grew less and wheu
DOORS and windows could be opened and
the sleeping rooms cleaned was the
force Of the epidemic broken.
Even II Serbia itself could not OF
would not rouse itself to new onenS
sive, IL nevertheless equipped itself te
| meet the attack Of Austria Hungary
and Germany. Ceaselessly throuSnous
the winter supplies from France and
England went UP from Salonih to Nish
to All the gaps in the armament.
| Army Equipped Anew. !
with the tacit consent Of the Greek
government (Which probably could not
do otherwise under the pressure Of Eng
LAM a Serbian bureau was establishes
in Saloniki, in which Serbian officers
supervised the unloading of English ana
French munitions and the transporta-
ton to Nish. In the beginning the
English and French transport vessels
sailed directly to the auays OF Saiontkn
but when Greece. in order to preserve AZ
least a semblance Of neutrality. pro.
tested against this the ships anchored
outside in the harbor and their suppiice
were landed on lighters.
I'm this way they succeeded In giving
q complete new equipment to the Ser
bian army, which had lost almost
everything. Above all. particular paini
were taken to equip with sufficient
heavy artillery the REINFORCED concrete
defensive positions which Serbia has ar
ranged in eight successive rows In its
| northeast corner These guns, more
over are served by French artillery
men. For some time past, also. French
aviators have been enrolled In the Ser
bian army.
Men Up to S. Drawn IN.
I'm order to place the army again on
a defendable basis every one was made
soldier VINO could carry gun. Even
| the desks of the ministers were emptied
| and their officials thrust into uniforms
All men up to fifty years Of age were
| drawn into service. as well as the
| wounded. whose complete recovery ir
| many cases could not be waited for.
| Thus Serbia once more brought an
| army to its feet conservatively esti
| mated at 10000 to $4,000 men. The
loss in officers. on the other hand, coulC
| not be made good, so easily. Therefore
| they were Obliged to promote to officers
| rank many soldiers who had distin
| guished themselves on the battlefield
| All cadets. no matter how young theI
| were. were made lieutenants. Finally
| twenty colonels were promoted to th'
| rank of generals"