Evening star., 1916-12-03

10 10 DSlllO lllu.
the only railroad which con-
meets Russia with her new ally.
Rumanian Plan Collapses.
BY this time 1t is clear that the whole
Rumanian plan has collapsed. and Ru-
manian high command is utterly be-
wildered by the rapidity of the blows
that have fallen. Falkeuhayn has a
railroad system resembling the end OF
the railroads going south through the
mountain passes into Rumania. He can
move his troops along the bar Of the
rake and send them by one prong and
then by another. The Rumanians have
no railroad parallel to the frontier. and
must take long and time consuming
journeys from one army to another.
They are now threatened with inva-
sion by the northern passes into Mol
davia, by the Predeal. Torzburger. Red
Tower and Vulcan passes into Wal
lachfa: they are menaced to the east
and south by Mackensen. who. from the
other side of the Danube about CernA-
voda and Hirsova. threatens t. see, a
crossing and move on Bucharest. Still
they fight Falkenhayn fails to get
into Moldavia. He is held up in the
Predeal and Torzburger passes. He
gets south through the Red Tower pass.
but does not reach the plain. Even in
the Vulcan pass there is pause. dur
ing which Russia assumes the part OF
defending Moldavia and the Dobrudja.
Fourth Act in Tragedy.
Now comes the fourth act in the trag-
edy, counting the Rumanian offensive as
the first. Mackensen as the second and
Falkenhayns first operation as the third.
A great force the main mass of the Ger
mans, bursts through the Vulcan pass
and flows down over the plain and ap-
proaches Craiova. We do not know how
it succeeded in breaking through. We do
know that the decisive action WAS fought
along the -Jiu river at Ter-Jiu far south
of the pass. We know that the Ru-
tnarians We're heavily beaten and we kri1w
that this defeat compelled them to abaf-
don the railroad which goes west from
Bucharest through Craiova to the DAN
ube at OrSova
When the Germans took Craiova they
cut this railroad and thus isolated the
Rumanian army which had advanced into
hungary and taken OrsoVa at the Iron
Gates of the Danube. 1t wa now cut on
from the mass of Rumanian troops which
were fighting along the Alt river, con-
siderable stream which comes out. sof
TranSy1vania and crosses the whole Wal
lachian plain, forcing the mountain wal
at Red Tower pass. Today Orsova and
Turnu-Se verin are reported in German
asserts that the Rumanian army on this
front is isolated and doomed. How 1t can
escape seems indiscoverable because
Falkenhayn and the mass of the German
forces are between II and the capital sos
Mackensen Again in Action. -
Now. at last. Mackensen reappears sm
the stage. We have heard Of retirements
by the Mackensen force upon the Com
stanza- bucharest railroad, retirements,s Il
would seem, to prepared positions north
of and defending this line. Now Macken-
sen is reported across the Danube. not at
Cernavoda, not east of Bucharest not
coming from the Dobrudja. but far to the
west of Zimneca. But at Zmneca his
troops are behind the mass of the Ru-
manian armies facing west and fighting
along the Alt. or facing north and holding
the Transylvania mountains from Red
Tower to Predeal.
AS / write the position of the Ruma-
mans remains in doubt. but all the infor-
nation at hand points to a successful
drive OF Mackensen which would interpose
between the Rumanians and their capital,
for the fall of Alexandria is reported and
is forty miles east Of the AIT
and less than fifty from the RunlaniaR
capital.
Recall now the mission of Kluck in the
famous rush upon Paris He carried the
end of net which was pinned down by
the other German armies from Switzer-
land westward. His effort was TO inter-
pose between Paris and the allied left. the
armies of Field Marshal French and Gen.
Lanzerac. Now the situation in Rumania
is on all fours with the earlier condition.
The Rumanian armies are half surrounded
by the semi-circle of German armies
reaching from the f'redeal pass all the
way round to Alexandria: they are threat
sned. not alone with the loss of communf-
nj wit Ia fhnfy- Vaf4 l.,f tl,
plete envelopment and capture. with a
Sedan, three four times ma gnified,
which may be the great test victory of tho
war, viewed as a single contest.
Yet Far From Certain.
All this is only possible: 1t is. as yet.
far from certain. We must know many
things about the situation before can
pronounce the Rumanian situation hope
less or even desperate: that 1t is grave no
one can deny. We do not know the ac-
tual state of the troops They may bs
shaken and without the neces-
sary strength for fresh stand. They
may be still capable of a blow recallinG
the French blow at the Marne. The fact
that the Germans report so few captures
Of men or guns gives a measure OF hope
to the allies.
If the Rumaanian army is still un-.
shaken, If 1t is in any measure COM.
parable in spirit and training to the
French armies that retreated from the
Sambre and the Meuse to the Marpe
hen we may yet sect a counter thrust
The German strategy has been daring
m the extreme. 1t has been delibsn-
ate risking of all on a single throw
and there is every chance that 1t may
succeed. We can see the immense pos
sibilities of the present situation. bnt'
On the other hand We must recall that
the French general who directs Rif-
nanian strategy is pupil OF Jonf1t
and learned the lesson of the Marne on
the ground.
Again we know next to nothing of
what Russia is doing save in Moldayta
and the Dobrudja. Only the fainteu6
suggestions have come to us of Rukso
sian operations, although we know ve13-
Russian forces have been
sent into Rumania. Certainly not A1F
of these have been consumed In the
sterile campaign in the Dodbrudia on:4ns
he defensive stand along the Moioess
Wan frontier. Not impossibly nG&Ee
Russian army will presently appfG
west of Bucharest at the Argelu -
army appeared In front g
T{sN0 pnRn.