Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1917-06-01
TROUBLE IN BALKANS
"A NEW PHASE

I1AOL
was to push up the Vardar valley and
also to push from Monastir over the Ba-
buna Pass; but his troops were unable,
to make any progress in the Vardar val
ley and came to a dead hal just north
or Monastir. A e before sthat a
French force, moving up = the Vardar
valley to succor the Serbians, reached
the outskirts OF Kuprili just too late to
join hands with the Serbians, who had
been driven over the Babuna Pass and
In upon Monastir.
Still further to the eastward there is
a road up the Struma valley from the
h%hodoplan mountains which join Sofia
with kustendil. 1t was up that road
that King Constantine led the victorious
Greek army in the second Balkan war,
but he was checked in the mountains
before he had crossed the old Bulga-
rian frontier.
The only other line of advance open
to the allies is due eastward towar:
A~drlanople. along the railroad between
the Aegean sea and the Rhodopian
mountains; but his tx "A long. difficult
line, holding out very little hope of a
successful campaign so long as the al
lies are resolved to hold the whole front
from Valona to the Strulna.
Conceivabiy Sarrail means now to re-
peat his operation of 1916 and try to ad-
vance from Monastir over the Babuna
Pass and up the vardar valley into
southern Serbia. The fighting so far
reported would point to such a desire,
but the country Is very difficult and the
proht to be gained from an advance in
this direction-even if it were success
ful--ls relatively so small that it is
hard to believe that Sarraii means to go
beyond making a demonstration suf-
tciently considerable to hold German
divisions in the Balkans or to exert
pressure upon the ~Bulgarians for polit-
1cal ends. II they have already bee re.
serted by their German and Austrian
allies.
The golden moments in the Balkans,
so far as the allies are concerned, seem
to nave m Thu chance of interrupt
ing communications etwee Berlin and
Constantlnople ended last fall when the
collapse, OF Runania gave the central
powers other lines of communication
besides that which passes through Bel
grade, Nish and Sofia and is. theoreti-
caily at least, open to an attack by an
army coming up out of Saloliki.
The situation in Greece is worth
passing notice, because unless all signs,
fail we shall presently see a new effort
to upset King Constantine. 1t is an
open secret that he would have been
deposed by the allies but for the obpec-
tons of the car. who was supported
11SklSE 1HhIuCtlCdlly ny In0 kJClIlSQ
royal family for a time.
With the coming OF Lloyd-George the
British attitude changed utterly. From
that moment the British government
was satisfied to see Constantine de-
throned, as was the French govern
vented this last year. Now that the
car has gone there is strong reason
for believing that we may see a new
revolution in Greece. the establishment
OF a Greek republic and the eventual
passing of the control of Greek affairs
from the hands Of Constantine to those
of Venizelos. This would no longer
have a great meaning in the war, but it
might mean the salvation of Greece
from many of the evils which may
otherwise follow in of her
course.
A Greek republic, headed by Venice
los. whose loyalty to the allies is be-
You'd question, might sea the loss Of
territory to Bulgaria, to Serbia, to
Italy, which cannot, it would now
seem. be escaped in any other way.
So far as it is 10Y possible to judge.
there is little chance of a major opera
ton in the Balkans this year, unless the
Russian situation totally changes or the
pressure in the west is so great that
Germany has to recall all her divisions
and also call upon Austria to give her
Austrian troops now supporting the
Bulgarians. If his should happen, it
is far from improbable that Bulgaria
might consent to make a separate
peace; nor is it more improbable that
Turkey, now that Russia has renounced
her claim upon Constantinople, might
also change sides. But these are con-
%siderations Of remoter bearing. The
change of sides by Bulgaria and Turkey
would put a wholly different aspect on
the war. But it would be idle to ex-
pect this on the face of evidence that is
now at hand, for it is at least as reas-
enable to expect a Teutonic drive which
may roll Sarrail back upon Saloniki.