The Alaska daily empire., 1916-05-02
CONSTANT NTlNOPIE NOW OBJECTIVE;
 GRAND DUKE TO
 PRESS TO THERE
lsneclnl correaponaenee.l

has revived speculation as to tho final outsome of the Russian opera tions against Turkey. The fall of Erzerum In Febraury was the first real indication that the Caucasus operations were really being con ducted on Q large scale.
 All through the winter the Rus lans were active In Persia and minor movements were indicated on the Russo.Turl1ish border of the Turkish province of Lazlstan. But an this was interpreted as on effort to main. tain the Russian influence In Per sia. The extremely difficult charac- ter of the country and the season of the year made 1t seem impossible that any serious effort agalnst Tur- key should be carried on.
 object ls Back Door
 or constantlnOPie
 Then came the fall of Erzerum, which was sufficient to serve notice on the world that Grand Duke Nicho- las had organized another great force estimated at nearly 100000 men, and was Indeed about to conduct a great offensive operation the object of which was the back door of Con. stantinople.
 Whether this decision was reached as result of the British failure on the Galliponi Peninsula, or wheth- CT 1t was originally intended as sup plementary to that ill-fated expedi- tion. no one can say.
 Until the fall of Trebizond was an- nounced April IS there had been no definite news from this theatre since the capture of Erzerum. What the Russians were doing, where they were operating no one knew
 From time to time report was issued from Constantinople, annouuc ing an unsuccessful attack here and ther. Various followers of the war believed that the difficult nature of the ground, made much more diffi- cult because of the heavy snow, was holding the Russians in position and preevntlng them from fighting their way over the strong defensive bar rier. The report, from Petrograd gave a definite idea of what had been going on during this period of apparent inaction.
 1t then became evident that since the fall of Erzerum the Russians had advanced against Turkish resistance over the most difficult terrain in any theatre of the war and ct the very worst season of the year for dis tance of more than 100 miles.
 There has been no greater indiy- ldual feat of the war, and to sympa- thlzers of the allies it promises well for the continuance of the Russian offensive In this territory when the spring thaws have cleared the noun tains Of snow and have made the weather conditions more favorable Russia Soon May Have
 Matters Her Own Way
 Russia is. of course, driving at Constandnople from the back door. But it is perhaps unnecessary for Russia Co reach Conslantinople in or der to achieve her object Where the Mediterranean bites deep into Asia Minor along the Holy Land. a line can be drawn from the Gulf of Alexandria to the Black Sea-a line but 300 miles long If the Russians can reach this line. clearing out the Turks before them, matters will be very much in their hands.
 Any defensive that the Turks can take along this line can be outilanked from the sea- And the Russians control the Black Sea as surely as the allies control the Mediterranean. Moreover. the British own the Island of Cyprus. which. in a moment of hysteria. they offered to Greece No better base from which to operate against such Turkish line could be asked for
 No theatre Of the war is so filled with possibilities The stagnauon in the west. the inability of the Teu- tons to get at the heart of things in European Russia. even though they are successful when the amount of territory occupied is measured - these things an make territory which owing to its immenslty and it's terrain. invites strategy in it's widest sense, peculiarly Interesting to students of war.
 czar's Men in France
 New Peril To Germany
 No news of the week has been more surprising than the admission of the French government that a strong contingent of Russians has landed in France to be placed in the French line. This is the most dan gerous thing that Germany has to face.
 The Russian soldier Is an excellent fighting unit. All that he needs is good leadership and good arms and he will fight as well as any soldier in Europe In the charge after the artillery preparations he is equal to the best that France has produced
 Attempts have been made to find some Hidden significance In this transfer Of troops There seems to be nothing mysterious in it These troops. whatever their port Of em- barkation might have been, were un- doubtedly dispatched at time when the French were being forced back from their position in Verdun. They needed all of the force that could be summoned.
 As the fall of Verdun would have affected all of the belligerents, it