The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-11-21

than two months cut the enemy's lines
Of communication from Metz and
threatened the capture OF al his
forces left in France.
when RussIa's vast man-power
gets into action Germany win be
crushed as under q steam roller" said
everyone in 1914, and for a time this
prediction bade fair to be realized.
The Russians invaded East Prussia
and were making fine progress there
and in Poland, which was kept up,
with some reVerses, until early In
1915. when Won Hindenburg admins
tered to them q succession Of terrific
defeats. These were not due 50 much
to the military supremacy OF the Ger
mans as to the shameful betrayal OF
the Russian armies by corrupt oficials
who left them almost destitute Of
arms and supplies. From that time
on Russia's main successes were won
against the Austrians and were tenn
porary. Decentralization steadily
spread through the cars dominion,
fostered by German agents, and the
outcome was the deposition OF Mich
olas and his dynasty and the estab-
lishment OF a confused semblance of
government by the soviets of the sol
diers, workers and peasants cOndi-
ton that remains to be cleared up,
though the power Of the bolsheyiki is
rapidly waning.
Italy, Once Defeated, Triumphs.
Italy, declaring that the terms OF
the Triple Alliance had been violated
by Austria, entered the war on the
side Of the allies on May o, 1915.
Turkey had gone In with Germany be-
fore the war was three months old,
and Bulgaria cast her lot with the
Teutons in October, 1915. The for
tunes of the Italians were spectacular.
They won over the Austrians for a
long time and invaded the regions Of
Italia Irridenta along the Adriatic,
threatening Trieste. Then subtle
TeutOn propaganda, coupled with de
featist work at home, brought disaster
on them. Helped by German divisions,
the Austrians made a tremendous
drive and forced the Italians back to
the Piave river line. There the con-
test stood for many months, until the
middle of June, 1918, when under Gen
eraI Diaz, the Italians not only stop
ped another offensive, but turned it
into a great defeat and rOut which
eliminated in the surrender of Aus
tria. This was fastened by the fall
ing to pieces OF the Austro-Hungarian
empire, the states OF which were es-
tablishing their independence, follow
ing the lead Of the Czecho-SlOvaks.
Turkey, with the aid Of Germans,
administered to Great Britain two set
backs that were rather humiliating.
The first was at the Dardanelles,
which the British tried to force. first
with navy alone, then with land and
sea forces. Both attempts were disas-
trous failures. The other defeat by
the Turks was in MesopOtamia, where
General Townshend and his army
were captured at Kut-el-Amara. Both
these reverSes were more than COM
pensated for by the later conquest of
Mesopotamia and the Holy Land and
the consequent surrender of Turkey.
AS for Bulgaria, she was beaten
largely by the regenerated Serbian
army, which had great assistance from
the French, Greeks and British. Ser
bia had been wholly Overrun in the
first few months Of the war, but her
spirit never died out and in the late
summer OF 1918 she not only regained
her own, but forced Bulgaria to her
knees
Roumania kept out OF the conflict
for some time and then joined the al
lies, though they would have prefer
red that she remain neutral. She in
vaded Pennsylvania and at first
threatened to give Austria a great
deal of trouble, but Germany came to
its ally's aid, Russia collapsed and
Roumania was forced to give up.
Nu.-a-a In +hn Air