Evening star., 1916-12-03
When Rumania Entered War.

When Rumania Entered War.
Going back three months it is worth
while to recall the frame of mind of
allied and neutral opinion, when. at
last. Rumania made up her mind. The
defeat of the Germans at Verdun was
at last unmistakable, the extent of the
Russian victory at the Styr and the
Sereth was written on all the war
maps and there was still DOUBT
whether the front of the central pow
ers in the east had been restored. The
Somme was still a progressive if slow
moving advance; Gorilla had fallen and
sarrail seemed a growing menace at
Saloniki.
Not since the moment when Germany
launched her gas attack al Ypres and
her gigantic phalanX at the DunaJec IN
the spring of 1915 had allied fortunes
seemed SO prosperous or the fortunes
of the central powers so nearly des-
perate 1t is by this comparison that
it is possible to appreciate the ma gni-
tude of the moral triumph of the Ger
mans.
We still know very little of the open
ing moves of the Rumanian campa ign.
We do know that there was at the out
set a colossal blunder, which l have
already mentioned in these articles
Rumania did not attack Bulgaria; she
did not destroy the only army at hand
when she entered the war. Why? First
of all. / said several weeks ago, be-
cause she was convinced. for political
rather than military reasons. that her
true line of operation was in Transyl-
vania. where millions of her fellow
Latins beckoned to her as the people
of the lost provinces had beckoned to
the French in August. 1914.
Eoo1oJ
But it seems now that there were
two other reasons. Rumania believed,
had some semblance of a reason for be-
lieving, that Bulgaria would not at
tack her. There was cleverly simulat-
ed apprehension at Berlin. which the
world took for real; there were secret
passages between Bucharest and Sofia,
which Bucharest took for real. There
We're days in which the main mass of
the Rumanian army was rushing west
ward and northward, in which the Bull
garians stood idly by, made no declara-
ton of war. 1t was only when Ruma-
MIA was hopelessly committed to the
Transylvania adventure that Bulgaria,
directed by Mackensen. struck in the
Dobrudja.
Rumania counted upon Sarrail and the
Saloniki army to strike and to occupy
all the energies of the Bulgars. Why
did this not happen? Here the answer
is less clear: but it seems a reasonable
conjecture that at the critical moment
Sarrail found himself threatened with
an attack by the Greek army and the
Greek king. The precious days when
his blow might have been decisive seem
to have been passed in ultimatums is
sued to Constantine and in preparations
made against an attack in the rear.
When at last Sarrail moved and Mon
astir fell, Rumania was in what seem
ed and seems a death agony and Bul-
garia was no longer to be coerced into
a Macedonian effort with a vision OF
Rumanian destruction in her eye.
Golden Moments Passed.
And SO the golden moment passed, the
best hour and the finest chance the
allies have had to break the bridge be-
tween Berlin and Constantinople since
Mackensen went south year ago and
Serbia fell in dust and ashes under his
attack. To apportion the blame is the
part of history, it may be that the
whole fault was Rumanian il may he
that the allies promised what they
could not fulfill: 1t may be that Bul-
garia deceived Rumania she deceived
Serbia a year ago. 1t may be that Com
stantine was the true destroyer OF Ru-
mania as he was of Serbia year ago
but the fact is unmistakable, the fail
ure was absolute.
Looking now to the military operations,
it is plain that they are among the most
confused and intricate of the war There
is no clear march Of events, no real pic
ture of the fashion in which in two short
months armies that were victoriously
penetrating deep into Hungarian terrific
ries and driving before them thousands of
refugees were routed, driven back Fer
the mountains and pursued to the Walla
chan plains. where, as these lines are
written, they seem facing a defeat that
will cost them their capital and the half
of their kingdom. at the very least.
Studying these operations. however, 1t
will be noted that the decisive moment in
the campaign was that in which Macken