NOTES ON THE WAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15687, 14 August 1914, Page 4

NOTES ON THE WAR.

MASSING OF GERMAN TROOPS. Two reports on the massing of the German troops for tho advance on tho north-east frontier of France are to hand,

nd they substantially agree. One cable

states that Belgian airmen report a solid mass' of shining armour from Liege to Durcn (Germany), while the military correspondent of the London Times states that a million men aro massed to launch against Northern Franco and Bolgium, the particular points aimed at being Namur and Brussels, Mczieres and Verdun. This shows the German advance to be following tho lino of tho Meuse, the chief natural defence of Belgium. Brussels itself has no fortifications, but Liege with. 12 forte and Namur with nine, protect the two most important passages of tho Meuse.' Moziores and Verdun, in France, are both fortified towns on tho Meuse, some considerable distance apart. Merieres is eleven miles from Sedan and is the capital of the Department of Ardenneß. It is connected by a suspension bridgo with Charlevillc, on the opposite sido of the river. In massing this enormous body of troops'in Belgium- and Luxemburg, Germany has made good uso of the strategic railways constructed with a view to pouring troops through theso countries into Fraate. There arc several useful lines of railway joining the main Brussols-Motz line at Marloio, Libramont, Arlon, and Luxemburg. Six good roads are availablo for the passago of German troops. By tho longcstlof them German territory is only 70 miles from Fronch; by the shortest, Treves to Longuy, it is only 30 milos. For tho last ton years the Germans have been engaged in providing frontier railways flanking tho pro- 1 jeeted front, and in linking them up with tho two bates on the middlo Rhino at Coblontz and Cologne. An advance against Mezieres would be in conformity i with tho strategy Germany has all along been expected to use, namely, an attempt to turn the enormously strong fortresses on tho Franco-German frontier properVerdun, Toul Epinal, and Belfort— with tho natural barrior of the Vosgos Mountains make the French frontier to Alsace-Lorraine almost impregnable. The success attending the operation of the Belgian left wing must have an important bearing on the attempted turning movement. It would be obviously impossible for the Germans to accomplish it with a victorious army threatening their lines of communication..

THE FIELD OF WATERLOO. The destinies of Europe are at present being fought out not far from a point where they were previously decided— fateful field of Waterloo—which lies on the line of tho suggested German advance to

Brussels. It.was at Charleroi, 19 miles from Namur, that Napoleon aimed to concentrate his troops, so as to drive a wedge between tbo allies. When Napoleon'conceived this plan, Wellington and Blucher had their headquarters at Brussels, and the Prussians had headquarters at Namur—on which tho Germans are now; advancing—: with the. fourth corps at Liege. :

BALKAN TROUBLES. ', i Indications i of coming trouble in tho Balkans aro- contained in tho reports that Montenegrins havo occupied Scutari, and Roumania is taking measures to guard her frontiers and to uphold tho Treaty of Bucharest. Upon this treaty depends the status quo in the Balkans; It was signed on August 10, 1913, after the second Balkan war. Tho signatories to the treaty were Bulgaria, Roumania, Greece, Servia, and Montenegro. By tho terms of tho treaty ' the territory taken from Turkey was apportioned among tho Balkan states, as followsSorvia received the east half of Novibazar, Kossovo, and Central Macedonia ; Bulgaria, tho Upper Struma and the Mesta Valleys, and part of Western Thrace; Montenegro, tho west half of Novibazar, Ipek, and Djakova; Greece, Epiruj, Southern Macedonia, Salonika, and a strip of seaboard in Western Thraco, extending to Kavala; and Albania, which had been constituted an autonomous State by tho Treaty of London, December 30, 1912, after the first Balkan war, tho Adriatic Coast, from Scutari to! Chimara, and the hinterland to the Valley' of tho Black Drin. Turkey retained practically all Thrace, oast of tho Maritza, j and a semi-circle of territory west of it,! as a glacis for Adrianoplo fortrew. Ron- [ mania took from Bulgaria a further strip of territory, between tho Danube and tho Black Sou. On. the frontier of Novibazar, which was divided between Montenegro and Servia,. fighting is now taking place between tho Servians and Montenegrin,"* and the Austrian*. ATTITUDE OF ROUMANIA. Tho attitude of Roumania has recently been a matter of some speculation, and 1 when war broke out between Austria and Servia, Austria detached the 12th Army Corps to guard against possible attack from Roumania, which lies liko a wedgo between Russia and Hungary, along part of their borders, and has been usually considered the traditional enemy of Russia. It was Russia which look away from Roumania a large slice of her very finest country—Bessarabia—in a particularly coldblooded manner. Roumania, which was then subject to Turkey, had been helping Russia in tho war against Turkey in 1877, and her strength thrown into the balance at the time when the Russians were almost chechmated beforo Plevna, had decided tho war in Russia's favour. Her only reward was that Russia, in the treaty made after the war, whilst freeing Roumania with one hand, practically took away the best p;a* of her territory with tho other. In recent years it has more than onco been rumoured tint Roumania was likely to become a supporter of the Triple Alliance. Tho Prinoo who rules her is a Hohenzollorn, and his sympathies have often been assumed to bo with his family connections on the throne of Germany.