Norwich bulletin., 1917-11-01
THE. WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society.


 rave a few miles counted for as
 much in the scales of victory as in
 the present contest in West Flanders,
 says a bulletin issued here today by
 Of the National Geographic Society.
 The distance which separates the
 Allied forces from full control Of the
 coast of Belgium is only thirty miles.
 Possession of these thirty miles Of
 coastline would rot only wipe out the German submarine bases in Belgium,
 but it would also give the Allies a new
 front upon which to attack in an ef-
 fort to drive the enemy out of Bel
 gium and northern France. Posses
 sion of this coast. therefore. would be
 a double victory to the Allies, sorely
 hampering the enemys submarine op-
 erations, and at thA same time afford
 iEg an opportunity to roll up ms right flank on land. Y Nowhere else may be found
 mere striking contrast between peace and war than that afforded by the Belgian coast iE 1913 and in 1917. Practically the entire coastfine in normal times is given up to the pleas u1e es of seaside cities and rest resorts.
 L. Panne, Coxyde,Plage. oost-Luin- korke Nieuport-Bains Westende,
 Middlekerke. Le Coz Mer, Wend-
 uyne sur Mer, Blankenberghe. Heyst- saIr- Mer. and Knocke-sur- -Mer, are all places which remind one of the sea- side cities of New Jersey Of these. Ostend, Nieuport Rains and Blank enberghe are the most pretentious. "In these Atlantic Cities. Cape Mays. and Asbury Parks of Belgium. laughter and happiness reigend with a care-free abardon that only Euro pean resort could know, while today war on land, under sea, and in the air. harries the seuirs of the few brave people who still remain there. Duinkerke is the Hooge- -Blikker, 105 feet high. the highest point of the Bel
 gian dunes, and also the widest point.
 Just outside of Nieupert- Rains. in the village of Lomhartzyde. there is Z eel ebrated figure Of the Madonna. held in high veneration by Flemish fishermen from time inmemorial and to which the Flemings are today addressing their appeal that their land shall be liberated from the iron heel of the in vader.
 "Ostend is famous not only as a seaside resort but for its great fish oyster parks. Oysters in large num- bers are brought here and kept in clarified sea water. The visitor may order his plate of shell fish right out of the water.
 i Should the A lilies get control of the coast of Belgium as. far inland as Bruges, they would come into cos session of a splendid system of canals thence by way of Nieuport, to Ostend and Bruges. There is also a canal from Bruges to the coast near Blank enberghe, another to Ghent. and a Fieyst with Ghent. A railroad para1- Iels the coast, all the way from the French border to the Dutch frontier. West Flanders, where the big Eng fish smash is new on, is generally flat ard low, and in parts marshy. Under a system of intensive arSrtcuiture, the province was one of the most produc- tive in Belgium in the years before ~F 4t,n population was engaged in -nanufac- turing. the principal ir7 oeing linen weaving and lace making" Riga-"Not even the greatest op- tinist can fail to realize the serious the fall of the Baltic seaport of Riga, says a bulletin issued by the National
 Geographic Society from it's Washing
 With an import and export trade
 totaling $100. .000. 900 two years before the outbreak of the world war, Riga,
 became the tn1rc seaport of the Rus
 sian empire. and the second sea
 volume of business by Petrograd.
 The city is divided into several
 sections. The old town has narrow,
 winding streets. while the Petrograd modern sections. All three of these
 divisions of the city are situated on the right or east bank of the River
 Dvina, while the Mitau euburg is on the left bank. The two banks are connected by long floating bridge which is removed during the four months in the year when the river is frozen over. ~l
 Riga is situated, ten naiies -eoye
 the mouth of the Divine. and is 36s miles by rail southwest of Petrograd. Vessels of light draft reach the city proper by means of a canal. but the chief harbor is on the shores of the Baltic.
 "The importance of Riga as sea- pert is due in very large measure to the fact that by means of the Dvina and numerous canals 1t is connected ey water with the basins of the Vol ga. which flows into the Caspian. and the Dnieper, which enters the Black Sea. Thus. practically the whole of Southern, Central and Western Eu- rcpean Russian can find an outlet in- to the Baltic through this port In addition to the cheap water transpor- tation, railroad runs across Russia