Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-28
Possession of Town Will
Determine Fate of Ferdi-
nand's Right Armies
DRIVE CENTER GROUP IN
British Have Had Important
Part in Macedonian Offen-
sive, Late Dispatches Show
By MAJOR GENERAL
SIR FREDERICK B. MAURICE
Former Director OF Operations Of the
British Army

Copyright, 1918, bv Ncw York Times 90.
London, Sept. 20.
The results of the victory won BY
the serbians are growing daily, indeed
almost hourly, in importance. ss..sasass
The Bulgarian army before the battle
was disposed in three groups. The left
group, extending from the sea to Lake
Doiran, had its main line of communi-
| cations up the Struma valley toward
| Sofia. The center group from Lake DOL
ran to the Cerna was supplied mainly
by the Vardar valley railway, and its I
| communications ran through veles to
Uskub The right group, which extend
| ed from the Cerna past Monastir to Lake
Okhrida, was based on Kirchevo. which
| lies forty miles northwest of Monastir
| and is connected by rail through Tetovo
and Uskub.
| The Serbian attack has completely
| driven in and defeated the center group
and the two outer groups have had In
consequence to fall back. Lateral COM
| munication between the left and GEN.
ter groups was either down the Strum-
| nitza and Vardar valley or by way of
Ishtib. The Serbians have been for
some time in contral af the Vardar val-
| ley as far as Gradsko, and now they
have occupied both Veles and Ishtib. 50
|
| that the left Bulgarian group Is for
| the present separated from the cen~
| ter group.
The center group could keep up COM
munication with the right group by way
of Priep and the Babuna pass. but now
the French have occupied Prilep and
! the Serbans have captured Popadiya
mountain. one Of the the main heights of
! the Rabuna range and their cavalry
| ha in the RahlIna valley.
the northern end of which they control
at veles The result Of this is that .
1.-The right group can now retire only by
one road on Kirchevo and Is completely
| sepa rated from the center group by the
| Karadjitse mountains
Right May he Cut On
| The three groups can only reunite X
the center group, which has been re-
tiring in such disorder before the Ser
bians, manages to check the advance Of
our Allies up the Nardar valley and to
cover Uskub.
The Serbians are already considerably
nearer to Uskub than is the Bulgarian
right group. and II the Serbians get
there first. then the right group will be
cut off altogether from the railways
and will have to find its way through
the mountains as best 1t may without
any prospects Of being supplied with
either food or munitions
We may be quite certain that both
the buigars themselves ana tneir trienus
reanze tne critical sltua,on IN wnic"
tnelr risn, mas oeen piaSeu oy ,he eo
,apse ol .ne,L een,eL anu WIN. ,'aey ar
up .roops to cover Uslxub, which is con-
nected by railway with both Nish and
SOFIA.
Equally we must bear in mind that
the Serbians have pushed ahead SO
rapidly that they are now a long way
from their railways, and though they
probably make smaller demands upon
their commissariat than any of their
Allies and can fight well on a ration
which would mean starvation to the
| British soldier, yet they must have
food and ammunition.
| The race for Iyskub is therefore one
great possibilities.
We have at last heard more about
the share of the British troops in these
operations 1t appears that on the 18th
and 10Th British and Greek troops at
tackled the enemy's positions in force
on either side of Lake Doiran. These
positions were extraordinarily strons
as the enemy occupied tiers of trenches
in hills which completely dominated the
Allied lines. The Bulgars must, there
fore, have been able to see everything
that the Allies were Going
The fighting appears IN hava hs.r
,orH soyara for ,hn p,I,,r. -. ,Ss
have made a determined resista nee and
to have lost heavily
"rN'S" reserve Sredu
Inc briish ATTACK against the enc
my man POSITIONS east OF tne iake
appea,s 10 nave iaieo' out west OF the
iahe tney met WIN more success. thougn
,ney couio ,o' @ holu an the GROUND they
nau won. Inc nrn'sh troops nave op-
niousiy hau nara TASK ana even Il
they uiu not a' once acAieVe much sue
cess, the general result IN keeping the
m ,Ia nrsran,,n. ht,,, g., S....as
swa,, hi ,oson,aa a,aS ~. cr~s~
ans 'p'os' '"' '''Ss'
IL Is pity that we were not tolo
, wh,ch had h,,har,o hoas spvIss
,s comnle,s,v T., tha AZ, ~ .S eA<
: ,ha pr,,,s,, "a ,,a..,,' ~nesr
s,na,Inr 81 has ns sS insue q uemon-
,aoI, "a ,,in ,,ara a',,,e Serious Az
nrao;ata ~" ~, ',,s,on a.. u"ao,e 70 sp
nlaved Tbev are now r.wards.s -
their important but somewhat thsnk,ss.
work by having tho enenv,s n,o.t o. .
midabJe positions In tbeir hanas "A sn.
are advancing against m. itch. - 49,
Rulparian left yroun which - u.Sh. NJ
hy now nosted In ,ha snr,,,,S.t,o
asohan,va ranra N"'ie DSs-
i"is 'anse 'he prhish nave aiready