THE FALL OF ASTIR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16123, 11 January 1916, Page 9

THE FALL OF ASTIR.

RETREAT OF SERVIANS.

TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS.

EXHAUSTED TROOPS FIGHT

BRAVELY

Graphic descriptions ha\e been receive'! here, in despatches from Salonika, of the scenes preceding the last agony and the fall of Monastir, wrote Mr. A. Beaumont to the London Daily Telegraph, from Milan on December 4. For three weeks this agony had been prolonged, amid general distress and desolation, and three days ago the last refugees arrived at Salonika, with harrowing details of the suffering and panic which preceded the final surrender, which Iras effected as much for the saving of the heroic little army as of the inhabitants remaining in the doomed city. Telegraphic inquiries were sent all day long to Monastir, says the C'ornere's correspondent, asking if the town still resisted, and up till nine o'clock on Monday '.'vening Monastir replied invariably, "We a.e still holding out." Then, for three hours, no answer came. At midnight, Colonel Vassitch wired from a point outside the town, saying that he was still holding positions on the Cerna, and after this there was nothing more. Greekfrontier messages, which followed, stated that the Bulgarians had advanced southeast, ten miles beyond Monastic and that the vanguard had already appeared at Kenali, near the railway.

The conditions were grave, as it. was | evident that the Bulgarians were trying to surround the heroic little Servian army. ; Nothing remained for it but to retreat' precipitately in the direction of'Ochnda. while steps were taken to hand the town j over to the invaders and to save the inhabitants from bombardment. The Bui- : garians had also succeeded in occupying part of the road to Resna. Trains had i ceased going beyond Fiorina, in Greek territory. Small detachments of Servian '. troops lingered at a distance of two and a half miles south-west of the town, protecting the retreat of the main forces. j Two regiments which, at the last moment, had been hurried from the north to reinforce the heroic defenders of Monastir mere retreating with the rest of the troops along the road to Albania. A Terrible Retreat. The aspect of the troops was heartrending, and the hardships they endured baffles all description. They trudged along, foot sore, weary, and hungry, in a whirlwind of snow, over paths, bearing their sufferings heroically. Holding together in groups and small detachments, the stronger ones encouraged and helped the weaker ones. Nearly all were almost overcome by hunger and cold. The pic ture was no longer one of an army, but of a ghost of an army, and the wonder was they still held together. The But garians were pressing them hard, and finding difficulties, also, in their pursuit, but, naturally better supported, thev formed a semi-circle extending over a line of twelve miles frcm Prilep to Novak and Krushevo. Reinforcements of two Servian regiments from the north, which formed a total of 6000 men, might have prolonged the defence, but they -were so exhausted by their march of 17 days over impossible roads, with uniforms torn and ragged, hardly any boots, and a scarcity of bread, that they were unfit for strong resistance. They went for 48 hours without eating, and lost 120 of their number, who fell, overcome by the rain and the snow, and were left dead on the mountain paths. These troops could not be called reinforcements, rather a multitude of haggard spectres, more fit for the hospital than for the battlefield. Yet, despite their condition, they were ordered, on the very day of their arrival, to join in the battle outside the town, and the marvel of it all was that they still fought like tigers. But their strength soon gave out, and rather than sacrifice such heroes, their commander decided upon retreat, leaving the town in the enemy's hands. '"" Notorious Brigand. Bulgarian Comitadjis, under the leadership of Paul Kristoff, immediately, as vou know, took possession of the city, and published their violent manifesto saving: ''Five hundred vears ye mere under the lurks; three under the Serbs, now v 0 are free."

hat this freedom may mean was brought homo to me personally, ,lv too I"- lv . ldl -\: three ears ago, when this,* verv Kiistoff followed me from Soria to Kustendil. intending to shoot me. I had left Sofia in the train when a wild, cruel unscrupulous-looking fellow, accompanied by two others, entered my compartment after Radomir. He. took out a long auto matie pistol, loaded it, and sat opposite me, with ,;s two fellow-brigands, armed like himself. lie point blank asked me win. I was. A copy of the. Daily Telegraph perhaps saved me. as T handed it to him and pointed to my last article winch it happened to contain. This was during the first Balkan war. KrUtoff Teft me at KustendU. telling me that I was to e Vhel T handed J* Ver M* P" to the local commander. 1,, 8 conception of freedom is evidently peculiarly Bulgarian.