Norwich bulletin., 1916-08-26
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

Doiran. the town at which ths
 Fra anco British forces from Salonika
 began their long expected drive re1
 gently, is described in the following
 war geography bulletin issued by tlla
 National Geographic Society from its
 Washington headquarters:
 Situated on the frcntier between Servia and Greece, and only about ten
 miles south of the Bulgarian boundary
 Doiran, also known as Polianino,- is 40 miles northwest of Safonilza on tha southern shores of the almost circular lake of the same name It was doubt less chosen as the point Of first attacA by the allies because it is connected 1 by rail with Salonika, the road from the Greek port to Constantinople here making a great loop to the northwest and then returning eastward by way o1 SereS, an important town about 45
 miles northeast of the Salonika base o4 operations.
 Lake Doiran, nestIing under tha southern declivities of the BeIasitza mountain range, Is probably the Lake
 Praislas mentioned by HerodotuE whose description of the Paeonians, living fn houses built over the edge | Of the water, fits in a measure the 1 modern fsherfOlk living in hutS in this vicinity. The women of present day l DOiran are not as famous for their industry, however, as were their noted l fOrerUnners Of whom the Greek his torian relates a typical story to the effect that Darius, seeing Q beautiful 1 PaeOnian girl carrying a pitcher of water on her head, leading a horse to i drink and at the same time spinning 1 fax, immediately ordered his Thracian general to send two tribes of these Paeonians into Asia in order that they might instiII a similar. spirit Of thrift | among the Persians.
 Eight miles west of Doiran is the l Vardar River, which rises in the Shar 1 Mountains, flows through the Jsz1Iu i plain and enters the Gulf Of SalOnika 1 thus constituting for hundreds of l years the principal route from Central ! Europe to the Aegean Sea. Between i the east) extend the Belasftza Noun ! tains, range some 50 miles in length i forming part of the southern boundary i of Bulgaria.
 '1The name of these mountains will l always be associated with one of the i most narrowing episodes of the Middle 1 Ages, for it was at the battle of BeIas- | ita that Samuel, the Bulgarian car who | had conquered practically all of the ! Balkan peninsula and whose sway ex- 1 tended from the Danube to NTorea, met 1 defeat at the hands of the redOu btaible 1 Byzantine emperor, Basil IT, surnamed 1 BulgarOktOnOs 0Slaycr Of Bulgarians). 1 Basil had laid the foundation for his ! success 9 quarter Of a century previ- 1 ously when he rode out in front of his 1 troops at AbydOs and challenged his ] rebel general, Bardas Phocas, to single l combat. PhOcas, wheeling his horse l preparatory to accepting the challenge, l fell from his charger and when picked l up by his soldiers was found to be dead
 1 During the battle of Be1asitza in i 1914 Rasi captured 15.G0O Bulgarians. ] He blinded the whole number. leaving ] but one eye to every hundredth man. 1 spared to this extent in order that he i might act as a guide for the host of 1 warriors thus returned to their czar i When Samuel beheld this helpless 1 army of his mutilated subjects march i ing toward him he tainted and two
 died the sIavonfc empire of the Bal i kans and for Q. century and a half 1 thereafter the Bulgarians were sub 1 jeCt to the Byzantine rulers"