have taken place during this period, although steady fighting has been going on in the last two fields. In view of the threatened descent on Servia by the central Powers in an attempt to open up a road through that country to Turkey, and Bulgaria's friendly attitude to this operation, the British are exerting themselves to form other expeditionary forces for duty in this new and most complicated theatre of war. It has been reported that three army corps of a total strength of 110,000 are now on Lemnos Island in the Ægean, whence they can be used either against the Turks on Gallipoli or in Anatolia or jammed northward across Macedonia to stop the Austro-German drive on Servia. Success in the Turkish field will require the use of sufficient military strength by the Allies in a concerted attack where the Ottoman army will be compelled to come out and fight on terms as nearly equal to their adversaries as possible. So far the Allies have depended upon piece-meal attacks which have netted them practically nothing; and they have suffered @normous casualties.

The action of the British submarines in the Sea of Marmora has been notable. They have navigated the difficult Strait of the Dardanelles, sunk ship after ship of

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all varieties in the Sea of Marmora, have actually gone right up into the Golden Horn and torpedoed vessels lying at the wharves of Stamboul. These daring exploits have had the effect of partially interrupting traffic through the Bosphorous and the Marmora, thus greatly complicating the supply arrangements of the Turks for their forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The Turks are still somewhat short of munitions but not as yet desperately in need of them. The Russian Black Sea fleet has been able to control the Black Sea to a sufficient extent to prevent the transport of coal to Constantinople by water, thus causing a coal famine in the Turkish capital, since all its supply has to be brought overland now from Anatolia.

It is important to remember all the time that the Turkish campaign is indissolubly involved with developments in the Balkans, and the fate of the whole Allied attempt to force the Straits depends on the international situation north of them. If the Bulgars side with the Teutons and Turks, even should Greece and Roumania both side with the Entente Allies, the latter's chances will be none too good. The ultimate fate of Turkey depends on the outcome of the campaigns now being waged in western Europe and Russia.

URING the last two months there has been a notable strengthening of British forces on the continent. About 400,ooo men are now fighting on a line the extent of which was prolonged from 30 miles in July to about 50 miles in September. This leaves the French approximately 400 miles of front to hold, and the Belgians occupy 8 miles in Flanders. The accessions to the British troops in France have more than made up for the French losses during the last five months, and in addition the French have called out the class of recruits for the year 1917, which will net them about 250,000 youths of from 17 to 18 years of age. These will not be fully trained until about March, 1916.

Along this front no new strategic de

velopments had occurred since September, 1914. The centre of activity in the few weeks preceding September 19th was in the area around Verdun, where the Germans took the initiative. Fighting has also occurred in the area around and north of Arras in the same region, where during May the French tried to break the German line. It was there, in fact, that what passed for the much-heralded "Spring Drive" was actually begun and thrown back so definitely that it had not been renewed for three months.

In September of this year the French. and English were still at a loss to know where the next German stroke might fall. In the meanwhile the French and English looked forward to a tremendous German offensive, because when the present Rus

sian campaign is completed, no matter whether it ends in the destruction of the Russian army or the taking up of defensive positions of such strength that most of the Austro-German troops can be released from the eastern frontier for duty elsewhere, the Germans could be counted on to turn and strike immediately on one or more of three other possible fronts. As the French theatre is that in which the most decisive results can be obtained, it was presumed that the Germans would be apt to attack there, following the principle of strategy that the most dangerous opponent, if there be any possibility of destroying him, be attacked first. If, therefore, the Germans felt that they could gain the ascendancy over the French, they could be expected to attack this front.

Now this would be exactly what the French desire because under such circumstances they can fight a defensive battle on their own soil and among positions of their own construction and choosing. So long as there was any possibility that the Germans would attack them in force the French could well afford to wait unless compelled to attack by political conditions or the military situation of their allies on other fronts. This condition existed until September 19th, at which time a new activity sprang up all along the British and French fronts, clear from Nieuport on the English Channel to the Swiss frontier. This took the form of large movements of troops, supplies, and ammunition to all points of contact, sure signs of an impending attack. The Germans on their side also brought up additional personnel and material to strengthen their resistance. On the 20th, artillery activity began on the French front, especially in the area between Ypres, on the British front, and Verdun. The artillery fire kept increasing in intensity until by the 24th it had attained proportions never equalled in this theatre of war. The maximum fire was directed at the German works between Arras and La Bassée (the Artois district) and on a fifteen-mile front which centred roughly at the town of Souain, in the Champagne district, a position situated about half way between Rheims and Verdun.

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On September 25th tremendous infantry attacks were launched at the German lines, particularly against the areas which had been subjected to the maximum artillery fire. In the Champagne area the French gained on a fifteen-mile front a slice of ground formerly held by the Germans of from one half to a maximum of two and a half miles in depth. In the British front around Ypres, after initial success, the attacks were thrown back. Slightly south of La Bassée near the end of the British line where it joins the French an advance of a few hundred yards took place and in the vicinity of Souchez, north of Arras, the French made gains which in one place indented the German position for a distance of a mile and a half. This ground was taken in the first rush.

Since that time up to the end of the month the battles in these areas have continued with the greatest intensity. The advance lines sway back and forward, in some places one side or the other gains or loses. The lines are constantly reinforced by fresh troops and a general battle is on. The reasons that make it seem possible that this could be a main offensive are that the Germans and Austrians are about as widely distributed in the various theatres of war as they will be, and that the conditions in Russia and the Balkans are such that something must be done by way of diversion, or the consequences will be very serious for the Allies. In other words victories must be won on the western front and a lot of men used up, to show Russia definitely that something is being accomplished. If it is a main operation, to hope for success it must be pushed without interruption probably for months. Under these circumstances the operations are being inaugurated at a time of the year which offers the least advantages for the attacker; within a very few weeks the rains will begin, followed by the cold and inclement weather of winter, which renders offensive fighting much more difficult than defensive in this theatre of war.

We constantly hear the word "line" applied to the positions of the contenders in France. This word does not properly express what these positions really are. "Line" signifies a strip of troops and

in France is entirely organized for defense. Railroads connect all needed points, which requires little transportation of other kinds to be used. Under such conditions the German position partakes of the character of a solid which must be carved to pieces in order to destroy it.

So far (up to the end of September) the French in the Champagne area have reached the first main line of German defense in a few places. They have captured the outlying trenches. The battle rages in front of this main line. In the Artois region this first main line has not yet been opened up for attack. Now the direction of the main French attacks indicates that they are striving to squeeze the German salient in France at its two extremities. It will be remembered that this line is bow-shaped, from Ypres to Verdun. Could the French and English make sufficient headway opposite the points where their main attacks have been launched, i. e., at Arras and at Soissons, the apex of the German salient would be forced to fall back or squeezed until all its railroad and other communications were cut and its isolation became complete.

To counteract this move the Germans have made counter attacks in the Argonne region immediately adjoining the right flank of the main French attack in the Champagne region. Should the French make headway, their right would be exposed to a flank attack. The Germans

captured a couple of the advanced French lines of trenches in the Argonne and the fight continues there as well. The French appear to be trying to cause the Germans to reinforce heavily their troops in the area from Verdun to Ypres; then, if they succeed, to launch a great attack from the line of Verdun-Toul against the Germans in the Lorraine area, with the idea of eventually blasting a way to the Rhine which would cause the whole German force in France to fall back to protect its communications.

These are merely the strategic conceptions of what the French are aiming to accomplish. Whether they will have any success or not remains to be seen. So far the French have gained a small strip of front from which renewed assaults may be launched. Up to October 1st no German positions of importance or lines of communications had been taken or destroyed. The losses of the contenders have been heavy, an incident of this kind of warfare. Exactly what they are cannot yet be determined. The French appear to have captured nearly a whole German division in the Champagne fight on the first day. On the whole Allied front they claim a capture of a total of 23,000 German prisoners, whereas the Germans claim to have captured less than half that number. These losses, though large, are nothing to what the losses in killed and wounded have been and will be if the offensive is kept up.

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P TO the middle of July, Field Marshal Mackensen's army was fighting its great battle for the possession of the railroad line from Lublin to Kholm. In this contest the attempt was made by the Germans to envelop the Russian left flank so as to cut off the great Russian force from a northern retreat by seizing their communications with Brest-Litovsk. strenuously, however, did the Russians defend this flank that the Austro-Germans were compelled to envelop their enemy's

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right from the direction of Ivangorod, which they accomplished successfully by July 28th, throwing this main Russian force back in full retreat. The Russians saved their communications, however, which enabled them to escape disaster.

While these battles were taking place in southern Poland, Von Hindenburg, in East Prussia, had assembled all his columns in their appointed places for the main advance. He had, apparently, been so slow in making this move that many persons in countries pertaining to the