IN THE DARDANELLES

Grey River Argus, 19 October 1915, Page 5

IN THE DARDANELLES

% A DISASTROUS FAILURE.

A HISTORY OF BLUNDERS.

A WAR CORRESPONDENT'S PLAIN SPEAKING.

(Reed. 6 p.m.) LONDON, October 17. The "Sunday Times" publishes an interview with Mr Ashmead Bartlett, who is enthusiastic at the wonderful fighting qualities of the Australians and New Zealanders. He says that the results of the fighting at Gallipoli have been highly unfavourable to ourselves. Apart from the conception and doubtful paternity of the expedition we committed every conceivable blunder in the methods of carrying it out. Few minds engaged in the enterprise knew the Turks fighting qualities or. the geography of his country. The appalling slaughter at Gallipoli was not altogether vain for the blood of Australians, New Zealanders Britishers and Indians proved that we are still. a great fighting people, and our prestige is higher . than before the war. .' Despite the reverse which is serious, we cannot fulfil the wild pro- , mises made to Serbia. j As usual we were scrupulously fair ' to our enemies and warned them in [ time to be- ..prepared. The Allies ought to have occupied : . Serbian Macedonia two months ago. 1 Instead Bulgaria waited until the i failure of the Dardanelles was mani- 1 fest and then joined Germany. It is out of the question for the 1 Allies.- to- win a victory in the Bal- < kans this winter^ and it will require ; half a million men even to win the ( victory in the spring. s If defeated the Germans will merely < retire to their frontiers leaving us to ] keep Bulgaria and Turkey in subjec- : tion'. '"''.' ] The few divisions sent to Salonika * can do little, and the" time has come seriously to_ reconsider our position p without self-deception. • ■7 We must, no longer exhaust our resources Oni ani: enterprise of secondary importance.- ,