The Washington herald., 1918-10-07
Rejection of Armistice Plea
Will Force Fall of Dual
Monarchy.
FACES ALLIED PINCERS
Staff Discloses Movement
in Progress Along the
Italian Front.
ADVANCE AGAINST DURAZZO
Forces Freed by Withdrawal of
Bulsarians Attacking North
ern Sectors.
ADVANCE AGAINST DURAZZO

The military situation in which
Austria finds herself is the most
desperate Of any nation in Eu-
rope and will force her, after
the rejection of her plea for
armistice, to lay down her arms
Internationally"
This statement represents both
State Department and a high
military officials opinion, and
these two are in a position to give
a correct analysis of the plight
of the Dual Monarchy. From
the military point of view, the
statement is based on .wo move
ments, the latter OF which was
disclosed when stress was laid on
the fact that the new Italian Of
fensive through Albania, for the
first time, applied the principle OF
the pincers to Austria. From
what has been disclosed as TO
this Italian movement, it is plain
to staff officers that it is perhaps
equal in importance with the
Macedonian drive, OF which it
was originally a part.
-s Drive Against Austriass.
Tbe Italia, asa,s;,,o a. a.. ..,.., a
was undertaken in close logical con-
nection with the combined Ameri-
can-allied naval attack on Durazzo,
the Austrian naval base, and the
whole movement is the first under
taken against Austria by a combi-
nation of the navy and army.
What the staff says is that the
Italians are going on. probably by
forced marches. directly towards
Durazzo. and that this is precisely
what Gen. Allenby is doing in Asia
Minor, taking the coast towns and
opening them up to the navy for
supplies, with his main objective
Constantinople.
1t is pointed out on the map that
the advantage lies clearly with the
Italian drive. 1t is to go ON stimuli
taneously with the drive of the Brit
ish, Greek, French and Serbian
armies, who have been largely freed
from duty in Bulgaria and are head
ing for more northerly sector for
attack against Austria. Stan officers
say that no nation, and least of all
Austria, could long remain without
having her territory oYerrun. She
can no longer afford to keep her best
army facing the Italians in Northern
Italy and must withdraw the greater
part of it to stem the tide of attack
from the east ond southeast 1t
would be poor military policy to leave
these flanks exposed in order to hold
what Italian territory she has. The
staff officers do not hesitate to pre-
dict that Austria is about to with
draw as unobtrusively as she can and
that in that respect she will only be
doing what Germany is doing In
France and Belgium. In both cases
the "evacuations" are being forced on
Germany and Austria. According to
the military view, the Austrian over
lures for an armistice. which was pre-
dicted by the staff after Bulgaria's S
surrender. is based entirely upon the
pressure of the allied armies and her
inability to lend forces to Germany
and fight her own battles against a
new army of a million men let loose
against her on the eastern and south
eastern frontier.
Austria Knoks situation
Austria, it was stated yesterday
knew that when Hungarian Premier
Wekerle and others assembled IL
Vienna they came to force Austria
to make the plea for an armistice
Austria, in fact. Knows the situation
so well that officials feel safe ir
making the prophecy that as soor
as her proffers of anything but un-
conditional surrender shall have beer
rejected. she will cut loose absolute
ly from Berlin and lay down hel
arms.
1t was pointed out yesterday thai
one of the main features of an ar
mistice is that neither side in the
fight shall continue during that time
to strengthen lines or to go on In
any way with the war.
One of the first stumbling blocks
to Austria, therefore, even if Gen
Foch would listen to a plea for ar
armistice, would be that she could
not faithfully carry out the term.
of an armistice, IL she lay down
her arms on her own borders ant
kept her forces at war with the al
lies on the Western front
In other words, Austria, to get any
countenance at all from the allies
must follow the precedent Of Bull
garia, which was obliged to with.
draw her fighting forces from every
quarter as a guarantee of her good
faith.