The Washington herald., 1918-11-13
TwENTY-FIRsT INsTALLMEyr.

II" EsN11 r iitsl
II should advise you to get up at
o'clock tomorrow morning" said Gen.
Mertens. "and take to the Anatolian
hills. That's what we are going to
do
The troops AT all the fortiications
had their orders to man the guns un-
til the last shell had been fired and
then to abandon the forts.
Once these defenses became helpless,
the problem Of the allied fleet would
have been a simple one. The only bar
! TO their progress would have been the
mine field. which stretche, from a
point about two miles north OF Eren-
keui to Kilid- -Bahr. But the allied
fleet had plenty of mine swcepcrs.
which could have made a channel in
few hours. North OF TChanak. ss
! | have already explained. there were
/ few guns. but they We're of the l>7S
model. and could not dischargc pro-
jectiles that could pierce modern ar
NOR plate North of Point Nagarr.
there were only two batteries. and
both dated from 1855. Thus once
.
there was nothing to bar the passa &c
! to Constantinople except the German
] and Turkish warships. The Goeben
was the only frst-c!ass fighting ship
/ in either fleet, and il would not have
lasted long against the Queen Eliza
beth. The disproportion in the
strength of the opposing fleets. in
deed. was 80 enormous that il is
doubtful whether there would ever
have been an engagement.
I NnvHI Attack Justihed.
/ Thus the allied fleet would have ap-
/ peared pefOre Constantinople on the
morning of the Goth. What would
have hs opened then? We have heard
much discussion as to whether this
purely naval attack was justified.
! Enver. in his conversation with me.
/ had laid much stress on the ahsurdity
OF sending a feet to Ccnstantiuo-le,
supported by no ade, .Iatc landing
force. and much Of the criticism
since passed upon the Dardanelles ex-
| pedItiOn has centered on that point.
Yet it is my opinion that thl~ eNclu-
sively naval attack was justified. I
base this judgment purely u-on the
political situation which then existed
/ in Turkey Under ordinary circum-
stances such an enterprise would
probably have ben a foolish one but
the political conditions in COnstanti-
nople then were not ordinary. There
was no solidly established govern
ment in Turkey at that time. A po-
litcal COmmitten exceeding forty
. members, headed hv Talaat. Enver.
and Djemal, controlled the Central
A pn hut
throughout the empire was exceed
ingly teruous. As matter or fact
the whole Ottoman state. on that 18th
day Of March 1915. when the allied
fleet abandoned the attack was on
the brink or dissolution. All over
Turkey ambitious chieftains had
I arisen. vhr were rlomen'arir, ~
peCtinG its fall. ana who were looking
for tn" OPPORTUNITY to seize their
parts Of tho iurortran,r NS yreyi-
ouS!y described. Ii,mal had a1rra .ly
. organized practically az independen,
government in syria. In Smyrna
. Rahmi Boy tho Governor ronor.l. had
often disreCarded the authorities At
the raritaL IN AdrianopIc Fadji
Adj. one OF the most courageous
TURKS Of the time. was believed tn
he plotting to set up his own govern
ment Arabia Was already practical
ly an independent nation. Among the
subject races the spirit II revolt wa :
rapidly spreading. The Greeks and
q the ArmeHians would also have wei
& coined an opportunity to strengthen
the hands of the allies. The existing
financial and industrial conditions
seemed to make revolution inevita BILE.
Many farmers went on strike: they
had no seeds and would not accept
them as a free gift from the govern
ment because, they said as soon as
/ their crops should be Carnered the
armies would Immediately requisition
them. As for ConstantinODle the
. TopulaCe there and the best elements
among the Turks. far from opposing
the arrival of the allied fleet. would
have welC med ii with JOY. TIL"
Turks themselves were praying that
the British and French would take
their city. for this would relieve them
of the controlling gang. CmanCipate
them from the hated Germans, bring
about peace. and end their miseries.
Autos Ready for Flight.
] No one understood this better than
Talaat. lie was taking no chances
on making an expeditions retreat. in
case the allied fleet appeared before
the city Fer several months the
Turkish leaders had been casting en-
viOus glanCes at A Minerva automo-
bile that had been reposng in the
Belgian legation ever since Turkeys
deClartion of war. Talaat finally OBJ
I tained possession OF the coveted prize
: He had obtained somewhere another
automobile, which he had loaded with
! extra tires. gasoline, and all the other
/ essentials of a protracted journey. This
was evidently intended to accompany
! the more pretentious machine as a kind
; Of mother ship" Talaat stationed
these automobiles on the Asiatic side
of the city with chauffeurs constantly
at hand. Everything was prepared
I to leave for the interior Of Asia at
a moments notice.
ssBut the great allied armada never
Ntufned to the attack. ..
I About a week after this mornentous
/ defeat. l happened to drop In at the
/ German embassy. Wangenheim had
! a distinguished visitor whom he
askeI me to meet. | went into his
private office and there was Won der