The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-31
General Review of Second Year of Great World War in Europe
 Compiled by the Associated Press

Riga-Dvinsk region but here the Ger
 mans have held their own and no decisive result has as yet been gained by either side
 In another theatre of the war the year was marked by other and important Rus sian successes. Following the diseasters
 on the eastern front in the closing months
 of 1915, the Grand Duke Nicholas was removed as commander in chief of the Russian armies and sent to take charge of the operations against the Turks in the Caucasus. After months of prepara- tion he began great drive across Ar | menia in January, 1916, which resulted | in the capture of Erzerum and the port | of Trebizond and expellipg Turks from the greater part of Armenia. After comparative Hull of some months the grand duke resumed his advance simul- taneously with a serious uprising against | the Turks by the Arabs in Arabia. The | Arabs took the sacred city of Mecca. Jiddah and Taif. and besieged Medina, | the city where Mohammed was buried,
 and one of the holiest spots of the Mo l hammedan world In the meantime the | Russians took Mamakhatun and Baiburt, | but these operations have not yet reached | a definite conclusion.
 REVERSES FOR ALLIES | In connection with the Turkish cam | paign the year saw a serious reverse for | the Franco-British arms and less irn-
 portant but highly dramatic disaster for | the British. The disastrous attempt of
 the French and British to force the | Dardanelles and seize Constantinople was
 definitely abandoned in November,e 1915,
 and the allied troops withdrawn from the | Gallipoli peninsula. About 10000 troops
 had been used in this venture, supported | by mighty fleet. Six battleships, five | English and one French, were sent to
 the bottom as we'll as some minor craft | and the casualties were unofficially re- ported to be almost equal to the original ] number of the expeditonary force. This 1 was the result of six months of some Of | the most sanguinary fighting of the war 1 The second disaster of the British 1 was the surrender of 10000 troops un- | der General Townshend to the Turks l at Kut- -E1 -Amara on the Tigris. This | expedition had made sensational dash
 more than 300 miles up the river in an attempt to seize Bag gdad. It was
 within 10 miles of the city when it was decisively defeated by the Turks
 and forced to fall back 100 miles. Hece it was surrounded and forced to sur
 render after relief force had made l several vain efforts at rescue Two new nations entered the ranks
 of the belligerents during the year. On | October 13, 1915, Bulgaria threw in l her lot with the central powers and l on March 9, 1916. Germany declared war on Portugal after the republic
 had seized all German ships interned | in her ports.
 The entrance of Bulgaria into the
 arena was signalzed by a combined assault on Servia by Austria, Germany ! and Bulgaria, which resulted in the ! complete overwhelming of the hope- lessly outnumbered Servians and the ! subjugation of their country. The rem
 nants of the Servian army were driven 1 across the frontier into the wilderness 1 of Albania whence they were rescued by the British, French and Italians 1 They were shipped to Corfu, where l they were reorganized and re-equipped | and later to the number of about 100,- 900, joined the Franco-British forces 1 at Saloniki The survivors of the Gal l liroli campaign were also gathered at l the Grecian seaport well as a large 1 British army from Egypt This com
 Dined force is estimated at 500, ,000 men
 and is presumably being held for an | attempt to wrest Servia from the Bul- l garians.
 l The principal success won by Aus trian arms during the year was a great l offensive undertaken against Italy in | May. The Austrian forces swept the
 Italian invaders back over wide 1 stretch of country in the Southern Iy- l rol, reconquered about 270 square l miles of Austrian territory and carried | the battle into Italy. The Italians ral- l lied, however, and at the close of the | 12 months had regained large portion of ground and were vigorously press ing counter offensive in accordance with the plans of the entente for con- certed action.
 UPLAND SEA BATTLE
 On the sea the year witnessed an event of surpassing interest. The Ger man grand fleet, steaming out from it's mine fields and impregnable har-
 bors at Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, en- I gagged the British fleet in the mightiest naval battle of history
 1 The battle was fought off the coa st of Jutland on May S1. It's results are
 so obscured by the conflicting claims I of the combatants that they will prob i ably not be definitely known until tine l war is over, if then. The Germans as- l sert that the British losses were far i heavier than theirs and on that ground | claim the victory. The British, deny- l ing greater losses, point to the fact that they still control the seas as the basis | of their right to the title of victors. 1 London also claims that since the bat 1 tie 200 British ships, which had been l tied up in Baltic ports since the be- ginning of the war; have been able to make their way to English ports un- molested by German warships.
 The German official account of the 1 fight says that the British losses were 1 117,150 tons a against 60,720 tons sunk l by the British. The British admiralty | makes no attempt to estimate the loss l in tonnage, but unofficial British esti- mates place the German loss at 109.220 tons against 112,350 for the British 1 Officially the Germans have admitted the loss of only one capital ship, the Lutzow. 26,600 tons, vessel surpass- ing in tonnage and armament many battelships. The British claim to have l sunk in addition two dreadnaughts and \ probably a third. The principal losses admitted by them for their side are the | three battle cruisers. the Invincible, the 2 IndAfa tigahla and tha Oueen Mary