to Asia or Africa was by way of the Balkan valleys and across the
Bosphorus or Dardanelles. Hence arose the importance of the
ferryhouse--Constantinople. That city in those days was the center of
the known world and the clearing-house for the merchandise of Asia,
Africa, and Europe. From Scutari, on the opposite shore, the overland
route meandered across Asia Minor to Aleppo in Syria. Here the sign-post
to India pointed down the Euphrates Valley, by way of Bagdad, while that
to Egypt and Arabia followed the Levant or eastern shore of the
Mediterranean. Between each fork lay the Syrian desert. A glance at the
map shows the reason why in those days this was the only practical
route, as to-day it is the easiest. The wall of the Ural Mountains, the
Caspian Sea, the Caucasian Mountains, and the Black Sea shut out direct
communication from Europe to Asia, or _vice versa_, except by the
Constantinople ferry or a sea voyage.
[Sidenote: Another practical route.]
[Sidenote: The road for invasion of Egypt or India.]
[Sidenote: The Taurus range is the natural frontier of Egypt.]
In Asia Minor progress was further barred by the watershed of the
Euphrates and Tigris rivers to the south, and the Caucasian Mountains
to the east. A practical way was found at the lower elevations of the
Taurus and Amanus mountains--two parallel spurs which strike the sea at
the Gulf of Alexandretta. This narrow neck of the bottle, as it were, is
of enormous military importance alike to the Turks and to the British.
Through it must pass any army of invasion by land from Europe or Asia
Minor to Egypt or India; and, conversely, through it must pass any
invading army from Mesopotamia into Asia Minor. If the British should
conquer Mesopotamia and should intend to hold it--as they undoubtedly
would--they will have no strategical frontiers until they secure the
watershed of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the Taurus passage. If
they secure the latter, Syria, Palestine, and Arabia will fall to them
like apples off a tree. It would then be no longer necessary to defend
the Suez Canal. The natural frontier of Egypt is the Taurus mountain
range. Asia Minor is the real Turkey; the other portions of the
empire--Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, Arabia, and Turkey in Europe--are
only appendages. The eastern door into Asia Minor is Erzerum, and the
southern door is the Taurus passage. Turkey can only part with these at
the cost of her life. Russia has already captured Erzerum, and the
British possess the Island of Cyprus, which commands the head of the
Gulf of Alexandretta--twenty miles from the Taurus passage. That is,
broadly, the situation.
[Sidenote: Aleppo is the starting point of caravan routes.]
Near the crossing of the Taurus and Amanus mountains lies the city of
Aleppo, the starting-point for the overland caravan routes to Bagdad and
India, and also to Damascus, Mecca, and Egypt. Just as surely as pioneer
travelers always chose the easiest route, so the railways of to-day
follow in their footsteps. The physical features of nature constrained
both modern as well as ancient armies to travel the same way. Hence a
railway map of the Balkans and of Asiatic Turkey is a first
consideration in appreciating the strategical bearings of the
Anglo-Russian campaign in Turkey-in-Asia, or the alleged rival
Germanic-Turkish schemes for the invasion of Egypt, Persia, and India.
Of no less importance is a knowledge of the available sea routes and
inland rivers.
[Sidenote: Bulgaria and Turkey depend on aid from Germany.]
The ability of Bulgaria and Turkey to carry on the war depends on aid
from Germany in men, munitions, and money. These allies are the weakest
members of the Central Group, and may be the first to give in if
circumstances are adverse to their adventure.
[Sidenote: The importance of the Balkan railway.]
Their sole communication with the Central Powers is by the Balkan
railway from the Danube to Constantinople by way of Sofia. If this line
is severed, then these nations are out of the game. The Allies have all
winter been organizing the defenses of Salonica as a _pied-a-terre_ for
such an attack. Should Rumania join the Allies in the spring, then a
further attack may be expected from the north, in which Russian troops
would join. Turkey is now too preoccupied with her own troubles to be
able to assist Bulgaria.
[Sidenote: Asia Minor's only important line.]
[Sidenote: Railway planned from Aleppo to Bagdad.]
In Asia Minor the only railway of importance is the trunk line from
Scutari, on the Bosphorus, to the Taurus Tunnel, in course of completion
near Adana. One branch runs west to Smyrna, and another east to Angora.
Beyond the Taurus Tunnel is another in course of completion through the
Amanus Mountains. Every person and everything destined for the Bagdad
front or for the invasion of Egypt has to be transported over these
mountains. So also have rails for the completion of the Aleppo-to-Bagdad
railway. These tunnels are expected to be finished this year--when it
will be too late. From Aleppo the Syrian railway runs south through
Damascus to Medina and Mecca in Arabia. Branches reach the Levant
seaports of Tripoli, Beirut, and Haifa. Another railway was started from
Aleppo to Bagdad shortly before the war, and construction begun at both
ends. We have no reliable information as to how far it has progressed,
but the presumption is that there is a large gap between Ras-el-ain and
Mosul and between the latter place and Samara.
[Sidenote: The city of Aleppo key of railways as once of caravan
routes.]
It is at once apparent how important the city of Aleppo is as the
junction for the three main railways of Asiatic Turkey. Napoleon
considered that it was the key to India, because it commanded the
caravan routes. To-day it would be more correct to say that Aleppo is
the key to the outer _approaches_ to India and Egypt, the inner defenses
of which are impregnable.
[Sidenote: Reasons for a British army in Egypt.]
[Sidenote: Vantage points held by Great Britain.]
The British maintain a large army in Egypt not so much because it is
required there as because it is a most convenient central camp within
striking distance of all the battle-fronts in the East. This permits of
throwing a large army secretly and unexpectedly where it can be most
effective. Similar camps are available at Malta and Cyprus. Any attack
on Egypt on a formidable scale would be a veritable trap for the
invaders. It will be recalled that when Britain held up the Russian
advance on Constantinople, in 1878, she entered into a treaty with
Turkey guaranteeing the latter in the possession of Asia Minor (only)
against all enemies. The consideration was the lease of the Island of
Cyprus, which dominates the Taurus passage. In other words, Britain
holds the cork with which she can close the Syrian tube and put the
closure on any invasion of India or Egypt from this side. This treaty
was abrogated some eighteen months ago, when Turkey declared war on the
British Empire. Britain, in consequence, annexed Egypt and Cyprus.
At the outbreak of the war the Indian Government, apparently off their
own bat, despatched a small force to the Persian oil fields to seize and
hold the pipe-line, which had been tampered with and the supply cut off
for a time.
[Sidenote: The Turks threaten Basra.]
[Sidenote: British advance up the Tigris to Kut-el-Amara.]
It became necessary to hold in force three triangular points--Basra,
Muhammereh, and Awaz. A strong Turkish force, with headquarters at
Amara, was equidistant about 100 miles from both Basra and Awaz, and
could elect to strike the divided British forces either by coming down
the Tigris River to Basra, or by going overland to Awaz. Reinforcements
were sent from India, and Amara occupied. The oil fields seemed secure.
Then the unexpected happened. A Turkish army came down the
Shat-el-Hai--an ancient canal or waterway connecting the Tigris River at
Kut-el-Amara with the Euphrates at Nasiriyeh (or Nasdi)--about 100 miles
to the west of Basra--and threatened the latter place. (Shat-el-Hai
means the river which flows by the village of Hai. Kut-el-Amara means
the fort of Amara and is not to be confused with the town of Amara lower
down the Tigris River.) This led to the British driving the Turks out of
Nasiriyeh and also advancing up the Tigris River from Amara to occupy
Kut-el-Amara, where a battle was fought. The Turks were strongly
entrenched and expected to hold up the Anglo-Indian troops here, but a
turning movement made them retire on Bagdad--about 100 miles to the
northwest. It was known that large Turkish reinforcements were on the
way to Bagdad and an attempt was made to anticipate them.
[Sidenote: General Townshend's attempt to take Bagdad.]
General Townshend advanced on Bagdad with less than a division of mixed
Anglo-Indian troops--some 16,000 to 20,000 strong. At Ctesiphon he found
a Turkish army of four divisions, with two others in reserve, awaiting
him. After a two days' indecisive battle, Townshend, recognizing he had
insufficient forces, retired on his forward base at Kut-el-Amara. The
Arabs in the neighborhood awaited the issue of the battle, ready to take
sides, for the time being, with the winner.
[Sidenote: The Turks much stronger in numbers.]
[Sidenote: Secret of European success in Asia.]
It says much for the stamina of this composite division that, although
opposed throughout by five or six times their number of Turks and
Turkish irregulars, the latter were unable to overwhelm them. To the
Western mind, unacquainted with the mentality and moral weakness of the
Moslem under certain circumstances, this may appear a most foolhardy
adventure. To the Anglo-Indian the most obvious thing to do when in a
tight corner is to go for the enemy no matter what their numbers. All
Europeans in India develop an extraordinary pride in race, and an
inherent contempt for numbers. It is the secret of their success there.
Most Moslems fight well when posted behind strong natural defenses. In
open country, such as Mesopotamia, they do not show to so much
advantage. Another trait is that when their line of retreat is
threatened they are more timorous than European troops. This weakness
will have important bearings on the future of the campaign on the Tigris
Valley, because the communications of the Turks are threatened by the
Russians far in their rear and in more than one place.
[Sidenote: Kut-el-Amara of great strategical importance.]
Townshend's camp at Kut-el-Amara is well supplied with stores and
munitions, and will soon be relieved. When his retreat was cut off at
the bend of the Tigris River he could still have retired safely by
following the Shat-el-Hai to Nasiriyeh. There was no thought, however,
of retreat, Kut-el-Amara is geographically of great strategical
importance, and the British garrison there has served the useful purpose
of detaining large forces of the enemy where it was desired they should
remain while important Allied developments were taking place in their
flank and rear. Most of these Turkish reinforcements were withdrawn from
Armenia when the depth of winter appeared to make it impossible for the
Russians to break through the lofty hills of Caucasia.
[Sidenote: Turks deceived by rumor about Grand Duke Nicholas.]
[Sidenote: The Grand Duke's strategy.]
The rumor, so diligently put about, that the Grand Duke Nicholas had
been retired in disgrace, after so ably extricating the Russian armies
in Poland, and that he had been sent to Caucasia, served its purpose.
The Turks were deceived by it, and sent part of their forces from
Armenia to oppose the Anglo-Indian advance on Bagdad and arrived in time
to turn the scale after the battle of Ctesiphon. When the Grand Duke
fell on the unwary Turks their defeat was complete. Flying from Erzerum,
one army made for Trebizond, another for the Lake Van district, and the
rest went due west towards Sivas. The Grand Duke's right wing, center,
and left are following in the same directions. He has two flying wings
further south--one in the Lake Urumia district and the other advancing
along the main caravan route from Kermanshah to Bagdad, while the
British are furthest south at Kut-el-Amara. It will be observed that the
whole of the Allied armies from the Black Sea to Kut-el-Amara are in
perfect echelon formation, and it would be a strange coincidence if this
just happened--say, by accident. Like the Syrian and Arabian littoral,
Mesopotamia is another tube confined within the Syrian desert on the one
side and the mountains of Armenia and Persia on the ether. All egress is
stopped by the Allies' echelon formation, except by Aleppo.
[Sidenote: Possible to cut Turkish Empire in two.]
Petrograd advices at the time of writing (March 9th) state that the
Grand Duke's main army is making for the Gulf of Alexandretta with
intent to cut the Turkish Empire in two. This is not only possible, but
highly probable, and the echelon formation of the Allies, together with
the configuration of the country, lends itself to such an operation. The
British army in Egypt and the British fleet could in such an eventuality
cooperate to advantage.
[Sidenote: Russians must take Trebizond.]
[Sidenote: Turks will endeavor to hold Armenian Taurus.]
[Sidenote: The road that Xenophon traveled.]
As a preliminary the Russians must clear their right wing by capturing
Trebizond and utilizing it as a sea base. Asia Minor is a high
tableland, in shape like the sole of a boot turned upside down, with the
highlands of Armenia representing the heel. The Turks, having lost their
only base and headquarters at Erzerum, have now to rush troops, guns,
and stores from Constantinople to the railhead at Angora and endeavor to
rally their defeated forces to the east of Sivas. In the meantime, the
Russians will have overrun some 250 miles of Turkish territory before
they are held up even temporarily. The Turkish army in Syria will be
rushed to Diarbekr to rally their defeated right wing and endeavor to
hold the Armenian Taurus Mountains against the Grand Duke's left wing.
If the Russians break through here, then all is lost to the Turks in the
south. They, however, have a most difficult task before them, because
the hills here reach their highest. There is a road of sorts, because we
know that Xenophon in ancient times traveled it with his 10,000 Greeks,
and the Turks did the same recently, when they sent reinforcements to
Bagdad. Both must have traveled light, and the Russians will have to do
the same. This means that the Turks on the south will be better supplied
with guns than their opponents, who will have to rely once more on
their bayonets.
[Sidenote: British forces in the south ample.]
[Sidenote: The Tigris and other available routes.]
[Sidenote: Plans of the British army.]
[Sidenote: Russian and British forces would join.]
In the extreme south the British have ample force now to carry out their
part of the contract. We know that some 80,000 veteran Indian troops
have arrived from France, as well as other large reinforcements from
India. It is unlikely that these will all proceed up the Tigris River,
because sufficient troops are already there who are restricted to a
narrow front, owing to the salt marshes between the bend of the river
and the Persian mountains. Two other routes are available, the
Shat-el-Hai from Nasiriyeh to relieve the garrison at Kut-el-Amara from
the south, and the Euphrates River, to attack Bagdad from the southwest,
while the Russian flying wing at Kermanshah threatens it from the
northeast. The Turkish report of heavy fighting at Nasiriyeh would
indicate that one or both of these routes were being taken. Athens
reports that Bagdad is about to fall. As it falls, a British flotilla
will ascend the Euphrates and make direct for Aleppo. The British army
from Kut-el-Amara and the Russians from Kermanshah will, after the fall
of Bagdad--which is a foregone conclusion--ascend the Tigris River to
Mosul, where they may be expected to get in touch with the other Russian
flying wing from the Lake Urumia district. The combined force will then
be in a position to force a junction with the Grand Duke's left wing,
and then continue their advance on Aleppo.
[Sidenote: Turkish army might retire to defend the Taurus passage.]
Should the main army of the Grand Duke, as reported, converge on the
Gulf of Alexandretta with intent to destroy the Turkish southern army,
then the latter would be in a very dangerous position, because their
northern army being, as yet, without a base or organization, is not in a
position to take the offensive to assist them. If, on the other hand,
the Turkish army of the south declines battle at Aleppo and retires to
defend the Taurus passage, after abandoning half their Empire to the
Allies, the latter will, if they have not previously anticipated it,
have a difficult problem to solve as to how they are going to get their
large forces in the south over the Taurus range to assist the Grand Duke
in the final struggle. The forcing of the Taurus passage will mean
fighting on a narrow front and will take time.
So far this campaign had been conducted as one of India's little wars,
which come as regularly as intermittent fever.
[Sidenote: The Russians enter Armenia and later withdraw.]
When Turkey entered the war she reckoned that Russia was so busy on the
German and Austrian frontiers as to be unable to meet an attack in her
rear. Turkey thereupon concentrated her main armies at Erzerum and
invaded Caucasia. The Russians beat them back and entered Armenia, where
the inhabitants assisted them. The same cause which led to the
retirement from Poland--shortage of ammunition--compelled the Russians
also to withdraw from Armenia.
[Sidenote: Britain's reverse at Gallipoli.]
Contemporary with these events, Britain met with a severe reverse on the
Gallipoli peninsula, which likewise injured her prestige in the East.
[Sidenote: An Anglo-Russian campaign from Kurna to the Black Sea.]
It became a matter of first importance with both Britain and Russia that
they should not only reinstate their prestige in the East in striking
fashion, but that they should end once and for all time German intrigue
and Turkish weakness in the East. These considerations were contributing
factors in bringing about a joint war council and an Allied Grand Staff.
The latter immediately took hold of the military situation in Asiatic
Turkey, and the isolated operations of Britain and Russia in these parts
now changed into a great Anglo-Russian campaign stretching from the
junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers to the Black Sea.
The drama unfolding before us promises to be one of the most sensational
in the great world war. The end of the Ottoman Empire appears in sight.
Its heirs and successors may be the other great Moslem powers--Britain,
Russia, France, and Italy. The last two have yet to be heard from on the
western shores of Asia Minor.
[Sidenote: The possible future.]
The future may see the British in possession of Turkey's first capital,
Mosul; the French in possession of their second capital, Konia; the
Russians in possession of their third and last capital, Constantinople,
and the Italians occupying Smyrna. Each of these powers is a Mohammedan
empire in itself; and the greatest Moslem country in the world is the
British Empire.
[Sidenote: Britain may be stronger than ever in the East.]
The Moslems in India not only approve of the idea of removing the
Sheik-Ul-Islam, head of the Mohammedan creed, from Constantinople to
Delhi or Cairo, under British protection, but the head of their church
in India volunteered as a private soldier to fight in France, and is now
with the Anglo-Indian army in Mesopotamia. It would seem as if Britain
and Russia, at the end of this war, would find themselves stronger than
ever in the East.
* * * * *
Great Britain suffered one of her greatest losses during the war on June
7, 1916, when the cruiser _Hampshire_, on board of which was Earl
Kitchener on his way to Russia, was sunk by a German mine or torpedo.
Over 300 lives were lost in this disaster. Earl Kitchener had been
throughout the war the chief force in raising and training the British
army, and to his ability and zeal was due largely the great feats of
landing large numbers of British troops in France within a time which in
the period of peace would have been considered impossible.
KITCHENER
LADY ST. HELIER
Copyright, Harper's Magazine, October, 1916.
[Sidenote: Lord Kitchener a mystery to the outside world.]
[Sidenote: Fond of old friends.]
To the outside world Lord Kitchener was something of a mystery; they
knew little of him personally, he shunned publicity, he was not a seeker
after popularity. Though he had few personal friends, he was endeared to
that chosen few in a way unique and rare. He was shy and reserved about
the deep things of life, but a charming companion in ordinary ways--very
amusing and agreeable. He had a great sense of humor, and his rapid
intuition gave him a wonderful insight into character, and he soon
arrived at a just estimate of people, and of the motives of those with
whom he came into contact. He did not make many new friends, and the
people who knew him well, and with whom his holidays or hours of
relaxation were passed, were confined to those he had known for many
years. He always impressed one with a deep sense of decency in
conversation and conduct; one felt in talking to him how impossible it
would be to drift into the easy-going discussion of questions and
problems of our modern life, and it seemed impossible to imagine his
taking a silent acquiescence in the jokes and insinuations which are not
considered now extraordinary or unpleasant.
[Sidenote: Economy in expenditure in Egypt.]
[Sidenote: Kitchener's unsparing activity in South Africa.]
Lord Kitchener's strength lay in the fact that his views broadened as he
went on in life. As long as he was confined to Egypt and had to carry
out his task with the minimum of force and expenditure, he was careful
even to penuriousness, and his subordinates groaned under his exacting
economy; but he was justified in his care by the wonderful development
of the country devolving from his unsparing activity. When he went to
South Africa with a great staff and unlimited funds, he took a new
departure. He worked himself unceasingly, and exacted the same from
those around him, but he recognized inevitable limitations and was most
considerate.
[Sidenote: Medical aid for Egyptian women organized.]
[Sidenote: Trained English nurses sent to Egypt.]
[Sidenote: Lives of babies saved.]
[Sidenote: Expected to return to Egypt.]
Ceaseless activity characterized his work in Egypt, when he went there
after failing to be appointed Viceroy of India, which most of his
friends anticipated, and which he would have accepted. Perhaps Egypt was
a disappointment after the wider sphere India presented, but nothing
ever prevented him from doing what came to him to do and giving his best
to it. When he returned there, the question of infant mortality and the
unhygienic condition of Egyptian women during child-bearing, from the
neglect and ignorance of the most elementary measures, came under his
observation, and he was deeply interested in devising means of providing
medical treatment for them, and of training native women in midwifery
and all that would conduce to improving the conditions under which they
lived. He enlisted the sympathy and interest of the wives of officials,
and of Englishwomen in Egypt, and carried out a scheme which in itself
was a wonderful example of what his interest and driving power could
accomplish. These women whose help he enlisted could tell endless
stories of the task he set them to do and his tacit refusal to listen to
any difficulties that arose in carrying it out. A number of trained
English nurses were despatched to Egypt and sent to different
localities, where they gave training to a large number of native women
in midwifery and kindred subjects. The scheme was a great success, and
the benefit it has been to thousands of native women is indescribable,
as regards both their general treatment and the care of themselves and
their children at birth. Little was known about the subject in England,
and much less about all that was done to mitigate the evil; but it was a
wonderful piece of administration, though perhaps not one that appealed
specially to him; and when some one, knowing what had been achieved,
congratulated him on his success and the boon it was to the women in
Egypt, his characteristic reply was: "I am told I have saved the lives
of ten thousand babies. I suppose that is something to have done." At
that time, only a fortnight before the prospect of war seemed possible,
he was talking with the keenest interest of his return to Egypt and of
what he had still to do there.
[Sidenote: The dinner at Lord French's.]