Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-09-27
The Victories in the East.

CLOSE upon the continued Franco-Brtish-
American successes in the West, come the
great Allied victories in Palestine and on the
Macedonian 'front.' like the piling of Pelion on Ossa
The West remains, of course. fundamental. the
destined scene Of the decision that will really decide
Events in the East, however, carry not only
dramatic appeal to the imagination, but also
substantial perhaps a powerful military and politi-
cal effect.
General AIenby's sweeping advance across the
plains of Sharon over the field Of prophetic Arma-
geddon and on to Nazareth would be impressive
indeed simply for its deliverance of hallowed
ground from Turkish dissertation. But his achieve
ment is also freghted high with strategic import
Advancing more than fifty miles in two days.
feat unparalleled in the present war-the British
forces have virtually blotted out two entire Turk
ish armies Early reports placed the captures at
some twenty-five thousand men and two hundred
and fifty cannon, with a prospect of these numbers
being greatly augmented from forty thousand or
more of the enemy whom brilliant maneuver had
pocketed The least that be said of the victory
is that il dooms the Turks power in Palestine, cuts
deeply into the personnel and materiel of his fight
ing strength. and shakes his morale to its very
foundations Still more farreaching the poten-
tiaIities. Being now within seventy-hve miles, or
less. of Damascus. the capture of which seems fore
gone General Alenby can look rather confidently
beyond TO the important Turkish railway junction.
AIeppo, where the Damascus and the Bagdad lines
Join the road to ConstantinOpe. Now, The Jour
nails war reviewer, Mr.. J. W. t. Mason, points out,
the British army in Mesopotamia, working its way
northwestward along the Euphrates, also has
AIeppo as its objective. Hence, there is the very
interesting possibility of these two British expedi-
tions linking up for a still more formidable
paign. THE Arabian desert" Mr.. Mason writes.
which separates General AIIenby's forces from
those in Mesopotamia loses its density north of
Damascus permitting the two British armies to
unite under single strategic direction for the APP
proach to AIeppo" And he ventures the further
remark that with Aleppo in British possession and
with the nearby port of Alexandretta also seized.
"a major campaign might be begun for the cap
tufe of Constantinople through Asia Minor"
Whether not ambitious and, it seems,
remote a project is undertaken, its mere posi-
biIity is enough to strike CONSERVATION into the
already sinking Mosem heart.
No less significant is the situation of the Bull
gars and -Teutons in Macedonia, which now prom
Uses a Waterloo to Germsny's Balkan hopes. The
outlooming heroes of this field are the Serbs, whose
reconstructed army the glorious for the stormy
fortunes it has survived, is fighting with the grim
joy of exiIes. nightly back upon their netherlands
borders to set her free from brutal oppressor's
chains Calamity supported by Entente contin-
gents including French, British, Italian and Greek
troops the Serbian drive threatens the enemy with
disaster. Operations up to Tuesday resulted in the
driving of breach between the eastern and west
TANKS of the Bulgar-German forces, whose
main lines of communication" the dispatch added
had been cut" - The capture of guns ran high
into the hundreds, and OF prisoners far into the
thousands, while the entire strategy of the stua-
ton growing continually darker for the re-
treating enemy
continuation of the Balkan and Palestine sue
cesses will inevitably strip the Kaiser of his Bull
garian and Turkish support and will hasten the
collapse of Austria we'll. With his Western line
waverng under relentless blows from the sea to the
Alps. the Kaiser dare not divert any considerable
force Of reserves TO cope with the mounting peril
in the East He must leave his accomplices to shift
best they can; and they cannot be long in reaIiz
ing, IL indeed they do not realize already how des
perats is the German Is it not quite posi-
BILE then, that We may see rather early dissolu-
ton of the conspiracy that Joined the unspeakable
Hun to the unspeakable Turk and the venaI Bull
gar!an? Is ii not conceivable that in 1919 we may
see GERMANY the arch criminal of the black creu