New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-12-17

Bulgar and the chief prize he hopes to
bring home from his long war.
Aside from the opinions Of her allies
Germany has also the appeal of King Con-
stantine to consider 1t is practically GER
tain now that he will lose his throne. It
is probable that he will be driven out of his
country, with such troops as remain faith
/ ful TO him, if he can succeed in retreating
with these troops northward to a junction
with the Bulgar army that has just been
driven out of Monastir.
Constantine's Army
/ Constantine's army is not large, and its
fighting quality is pretty poor now, owing
to the dissensions that have Slapped its
unity and deprived it of many of its best
officers. Single handed it could not make
much Of a showing against the Allies. but
/ if it were aided by strong German drive
from the north, it might operate in the
rear of the Sarrail armies fighting about
Monastir and compel them to withdraw to
avoid development, thus repeating the sue
'cessful Serbo-Greek operation against
david Pashas army in November. 1872.
Once Monastir had been retaken, the Ger
man road 10 the Hellenic peninsula would
be open and German troops could descend
TO Larissa by the valleys west Of Olympus,
through which the Greeks advanced TO vic
tory in the First Balkan War.
The Sarrail army in Greece is now in |
the position of the British army in Spain
in the campaign which terminated only
when Wellington took his stand behind the
lines Of Torres Vedras and before Lisbon
A similar position has been created by the
Allies about Salonica. They have been at
work fortifying this city for more than a
year. Under the joint pressure of the Ger
mans i'm the front and Constantine in the
rear they might easily be driven in on their
prepared lines. 1t is less probable that
these lines, covered by the fire Of the Allied
fleets. could be forced but they could he
contained by trench lines shutting them in
from the Struma to the Gulf Of Salonica;
and the only Allied army in the Balkans
would then be shut up as completely as If
il were i'm a bottle, and, no matter how
great its numerical strength, the Bulgarian
/ field army, supported by the Greek troops
which followed Constantine, would be sutfi-
cient to hold it. stiffened by few German
regiments and plentiful supply Of Ger
/ man heavy artillery.
SaIonioa Probably Next
To shut the Allies up in front Of Sa-
lonica and put a permanent end to any
menace from this direction would free
many thousand German and Austrian
troops. It would make possible the carry
ing out Of the plan the Germans have
never actually abandoned of an invasion
Iof Egypt by the Suez Peninsula. And such
campaign. we're it once well under way.
would unquestionably put such strain
upon British transport as to make an aban-
|donment of Salonica far from unlikely. F.
For it should be remembered that the chief
explanation of the practical failure of the
Sarrail army is found in the difficulties of
transport.
/ All things considered, it seems highly
probable that tie next German operation
will be directed at Salonica, with the mini
mum purpose Of containing the Sarrail
army in Salonica and retaking Monastir,
and the maximum hope of the expulsion Of
the Allies from the Balkans as the British
were expelled from the Spanish Peninsula
following the Battle Of Corunna in the Ma
noleonic time. Such an operation would
have the character Of that defensiye-often-
siyc dear TO the hearts Of German gen
erals: it would dispose Of what might BE-
come an eventual menace by attacking al
/ the time and under the conditions most
/ favorable to the Germans
Meantime, what are the Allies to 90!
All their efforts to settle the Eastern Ques-
/ ton and to open the Dardaneles TO-
Russian ships and Allied munitions have
/ failed dsastrously The first effort, the
venture Of the Allied fleets under Winston
/ Churchilrs guidance. resulted IN the loss OF
several battleships and the abrupt termina- 1
ton Of naval attacks when German SUD
marines arrived. Gallipoli was the second
failure. II was probably inevitable haa
the Germans not made their thrust through
Serbia. but this thrust added the destruc-
ton of Serbia to the disaster Of Galllpoli.
For the last year the Allies have been
laboriously constructing an army ana
campaign in the Balkans. The main pur-
pose Of this campaign was TO get TO me
Belgradc-Sofa-Co nstantinop!e railroad ana
cut OF Che Turk from the Central Powers
Now. when the Sarrail army has only lust