The Alaska citizen., 1917-04-23
r II o \ E 2 6 2
THE BEGINNING OF THE END.

In the nlul> Ol many nllldIE ODHtlN- CTS. the idea is beginning to take shape that perhaps the gigantic moves of the allied armies on different fields herald the last phase ot the big war, The windup, however, i, not expected to come with suddcnness, nor a, a big coIlapsing of the resistance Of all the Tcutonic allies. but rather by looping otf, member by member.
 Indication, point to Turkey being the first oi the combination to be disposed of. On account oi the present big offensive of the allied armies in France. the attention of most all untrained observers has been dl- yyrtcd from the important activities of the British and Russian armies in the Far East France is nearer home and ir therefore of more interest to the part of the world on this side ot the Atlantic,
 The importance oi the gains being made on the western front can hardly be overesti- mated, but months, and possibly years, must cIapse before the Tcutonic combination could be broken by operating on this front alone. The big drive now being undertaken by the French and British may possibly produce defi- mite results but the cost will possibly reach million men, and billions of dollars worth of supplies of all kinds And the Germans will probably still remain in possession of foot hold in France and Belgium.
 But the allies are not relying on this movement alone to produce decisive results. They have taken a page from the book of the German general staff and organized a series ol offensive moves on different fronts which are being made simultaneously. The most important oi these moves appears to be taking place ill AFesopotama Persia and Palestine, where Russian and British armies are gradually destroying the power of Turkey
 Two British forces-one ill Palestine and the other to the south, n the Tigris river region-are rapidly driving the Turks be fore them, taking important cities, Bagdad being the most important from military and political standpoint. Here was the Turkish base of supplies for all the Tigris region and also Persia. Its loss carries serious cOnse- quences for all the Turkish forces in these two regions. It also commands the routes to the Persian border, to the Euphrates river district and a third one to Damascus Pc hucally it means much to the prestige of allied arms among the eastern people, and will cause much disturbance among the Mos lem world. In fact, there are already ru- mors of revolt against the Turkish rule, and 1t Is possible that the downfall of the Turkish NIIl1IIN lIIcN tdIC II OH lIlc ldl Ol DdSQdQ.
 Further to the east a large Russian army that has advanced through Asia Minor, talk ing Bitlis, Erzeroum, Hamadan and AIosul, which Is on the Persian Mesopotamian bor- der, has formed a junction with the British 1lgris forces and are now driving the Turks back toward the mountains. The British forces ill Palestine are also pushing the Turks in this same direction, and it is only a ques- tion of time until the Turks will be placed between three fires, and forced to capitu- late This gives the allies uninterrupted con trol of Mesopotamia, Palestine and Persia, and will have struck a death blow to the Ottoman power in the east. These activities in the eyes of military experts outrank in immediate importance those that are taking place in France, in that the results will be felt sooner, and will possibly result in the removal of Turkey as factor in the struggle.