The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1918-04-25

MA CITY TIMES, THURSDAY
mile, without Huurr oi lear though
Uulnumbcfei uy t1 one DO their fe-
lreat ium Serbia ! 1i with these
ifsncbmen AZ ihr.r camp fires and ln.
their tents. talking with them, playing
poker. bon never once did ] hear a.
private soldier mention the idea of fe.
treat
IF made me error 100 that retreat
General Sugi' Todd us after hl' troops
had safely reached Greek soil Near
krlyolak I permitted q iarge store OF
supplies 10 accumulate within OOJ meters
oi ihe enemy and ] lost twenty men
who tried 40 save them OiHcrNfe ]
ann satisfied W0iH lHc results
The fourth retreat was that of Coll
onel Nawgh. thr defender Of M0nm
tr and the last Serbian commander 90
leave thc soil 0I hi, native land twas
the blind faith of ihc Sefblans ln Colonel
kavi.H aud their unrels0nlng 0brll.
snCr. that made thfr retreat from tIc
,1u'hvevern corner 0, serbia au ur.
derby one
The Last Serbian Stand
Here IS where We made our last
stand Colonel Naisirh explained l1
three American correspondents whom Doe
took 90 the front two days before lIs
retreat We saw that a trench which
ram along the face of a hIll skirlcd a
small stone monument 900 such a way
that the monument itself q queer piece
.oi carving standing solitary 900 iHr
| |h'Rk Macedonian countryside. formed q
shelter for several of The small band 0'
rrrH3ns whom ihc colonel bad So.
Iea'ed 10 hold off the BuIgar rush
"Ih, monument y0u scc. marks 'hc
spot where 700 Scrh0ans were killed
|ur wounded when my troops took the
|u'y ni MDna,'0r from the Turks In the
/ last Balkan war three years ago II O.
Serbian wouldn't be willing iO die
/ fighting with that monument 90 view
. there wouldn't be a drop of fighting
blood rn his body" added the colonel
They were mostly middle aged men
100 the trench They kept their eye,
| fixed ON the slx-miIc valley that
spread between them and pulcpe
Don't lei them come too fast" Col.
orel Nassich told them as he went
along the trench "Ihe hes, Bulgarian
cavalry will Cpme across that valley
Things. my children Of being able 10
stand off the 4th cavalry"
He was referring 20 Prince Cyril'
own regiment, every man Of which Is
said 10 be as handsome as a hero in
! "Graustark"
81 am depending upon you 20 hold
them" were hls parting words
Some promised verbally 10 do II,
others smiled checriully, one old man
nalled his rifle
No One Is Frightened
We passed down behind the hill, and
SAT ON the ground 10 eat During the
meal a band VI soldiers came with a
dozen oxen hitchcd them 90 a three
inch gun that stood In a field near by
dragged it from its ccIarllke hiding
place. and moved into the roadway a
Icsurcly and grotesque cayalcadc II
was all part Of the retreat The moving
| ol this gun but 1t was done as delib-
cratcly as a house moving For miles
along the range of hills that formed
| Colonel VaSichs line the same activ-
| ity was under way; but no one was
j frightened There was something IN the
personality Of this thin pale com
mander-he was III and was wrappeJ
m a blanket and a huge muiiler-ihaI
seemed TO suggest to the mind, Of hi,
soldiers the nobility of death itself
When the time came 10 run two
day, later the line OF middIc-aged men
IN the trench beside the monument did
not iall backward; it fell instead, after
a time. earthward-wiped out by the
bulgarian fire And the remainder Of
! Colonel VasSich's army Knowing that
The front line would fight to the fin
ish move to safety, without panic,
while the men ON the hillside were dy-
ing.
In reality there are only three kinds
]