The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1916-03-24
TURKS AT BAY
BROKEN AGAIN
Routed After Effort to Hold the
Russians
ADVANCE ON ERZINGAN
Elimination OF Ottoman is Purpose OF
Campaign-Caueasian Army VIII
Soon Strike in Any
Direction

Petrograd. -(Dispatch 10 the Lon
don Daily Chronicle) still pursuing,
is the unbroken tenor OF the bulletins
OF the Caucasian army but now and
again clearer glimpse is given of the
long pursuit in the broken-up lands
Of Armenia and each glimpse reveals
fresh stage of accomplishment in
the great and expanding operation.
Gen. Judenich's centre, thrusting on
along the main road from Erzerum, has
stormed and taken Mamakhatun, the
chief town of the district OF Terdjan,
in the valley leading down 10 the plain
of Erzingan.
The battle was more than a rear
guard action. The Turks realizing
the Importance of Mamakhatun as the
key to Erzingan seem TO have rallied
their forces here and made a desper-
ate stand on the heights. but again
they were broken and i'm retreatine
down the valley were compelled to al
low the Russians the next day TO oc-
cupy the village Of Kotur at the june
tion of the Tuzlu and Euphrates, Al
miles east of Erzingan
The advance of the Caucasian army
carried out with amazing precision
determination and method, is develop
ing into one of the cardinal operations
and its final success means the elm
ination Of Turkey from the ranks OF
the belligerents. The responsibility
attending such difficult operation is
great and Gen. Judenich's plan OF
campaign is revealing itself as a care
full and far-seeing piece of strategy.
Locking the door of approach from
Mosul at Bitlis on his left and thrust
ing forward his right flank from the
coast and supporting II from the sea.
he clipped the wings OF the already
beaten third Turkish army and isolat-
ed ii in the highlands, and is now
proceeding to push back its centre.
His immediate goal is Erzlngan, a
place of much military importance,
the headquarters of the 9th Turkish
army corps and presumably a sec
Ondary base. From Erzingan broad
perspectives open, to Sivas on the one
hand and to Kharput and western
Aleppo comes into view. and the
seizure of Aleppo would mean not
only the capture of the Bagdad rail
way. but the isolation OF Syria and
Mesopotamia from the centre, and the
effective crippling of Turkey.
This prospect must be noted in or
der TO show the magnitude of the
operation in which the Caucasian
army is engaged, but at the same time
the difficulties in the way of It's devel-
opment must not be minimized BY
skilful use of his command Gen. Juden-
ich has not only been able to extend
the area of his own communications,
but has narrowed down the communi-
cations of the Turks and neutralized
their coast bases; but now the ad-
vance OF the centre is bringing up
the Russian army to a region where,
thanks to The Angora railway, the
land communication of the Turks are
more fully developed and where more
frequent breaks in the mountain bar
rier permit of more complete con-
nection between Anatolia and Meso-
potamia and Syria.
Hitherto the Russians have had TO
deal with the beaten and retreating
third army, perhaps slightly re-en-
forced; but the strength of the Turk
ish endorsements will grow as the
Russians move westward and in west
ern Anatolia, based Immediately on
their main line of communication, the
Turks with troops and guns brought
up from the Dardanelles and Thrace
are organizing strong resistance. A
line of fortihcations is being hastily
constructed from Kerasund on the
coast through Karahissar to Sivas,
and guns from Gallipoli brought up
by rail from Angora are there
BY carefully co-ordinating the
movements of his flanks and centre
and by detaching the Kurds from
their Turkish allegiance, Gen. Juden-
ich is making his position in Anatolis
very strong.