THE BALKAN WAR

Southland Times, Issue 17225, 21 December 1912, Page 6

THE BALKAN WAR

A M BABBA I xjRS' CON KEREN' 'E. KIN Ur RECEiV ES DEFECATES. AUBTRt t-BERVI AX D H 'EKTETYBETTE ED. (By Telegraph.—Pn-ss Association.— Copyright). I,OXI KEV, December RE The Morning Dost, slates that as a result of the Ambassadors' t'onfereiu-e. the Adriatic and Albanian autonomy questions .-r-e Well on Inwards settlement. S.-rvia is -I.owing a spirit of unselfishness in her de-dre not to endanger iCni-oppim pence. Tlie King will ir-ceiv" (lie peace delegates at Buckingham Palace on :-atarday. Tin- fan I'.f.-ne.- has adjourned lilt Saturday, awaiting a courier bringing Turkish ins t met ions. Tin- Daily Aiail says that tin- Turks have heeii insiinele.l to negotiate with the Greeks. The Daily .Mail's Belgrade eoiTf-spon-il.'iir says i 1 1 at the Am,tro-Bervian diili-f-ulty lias He. 11 seitle.l. Barvia will recognise an autonomous Albania, receiving the use of a commercial port on the Albanian coast, cuun-cl.-d by a neutral rail way. The Alnnrioti ll.mse fund lor noneomhalanl s lias reached fß i ,.'.i | a. AUSTRIA CRITICISED. PATTIS. December Id. The newspapers reprobate Austria’s provocative attitude towards Servia, especially her demonstrative policy of mobilisation. THE GREEK'S FIGHTING. A THEN'S. December 20. Received December 2", 10.-I p.m. A chock sustained hy the Garibablian Region, when (hey lost all their officers and 400 killed and wounded caused the rumours of a Turkish victory at .lanina, where 30,000 Turks are bravely fighting Rizaui is stil! uncapUire.l, and there have been heavy losses on both sides. Mien tenant Musuris Hew over .lanina and dropped bombs. The Turkish riflemen penetrated the wing of the machine, but the flier returned to camp safely. A Greek vessel lias wirelessed that the Turks massacred Christians at Ality-Ic-ne. Part of tiie Turkish fleet lias been beached near tin- Dardanelles. It was damaged in (he recent naval light. The Greeks captured the steamer Trevarrack, witli coal, bound to Constuza. fearing that the Turks would commandeer the cargo at the Bosphorus. It is reported that Admiral Halil Pasha, four officers, and many men were killed in the naval engagement aboard the flagship Klicoreddin Rargarassa. and also that the vessel was greatly damaged. Bhells pierced both sides. A tire occurred, but was extinguished. Tnreo other ships were severely damaged. AMICABLE SOLUTION IN SIGHT. RO.X'DOX, December 20. Received December 20, 11.a p.m. Reuter slates that the Ambassadorial discussions have, cleared the air. If peace is concluded in a reasonable time there need lie no apprehension over questions which hitherto have caused anxiety. CHIEF MAR DANGER,. OUTBREAK BV ONE COUNTRY. RUBBIA HOPES FOR GOOmVjRL. LONDON. December 13. Continental bourses are weak, and large realisations have been made in St. Petersburg. The Russian Government agrees witli Sir Edward Grey Rial the chief danger of European war lies now in they possibility of a single power being templed to take isolated action. Russia still counts on a final triumph for European goodwill. "ARMING TO THE TEETH.” FRANCE ASKS WHY. LONDON', December T3. The Paris newspapers complain that Austria, while arming to tiro teeth, gives no distinct indication of the nature or extent of her demands upon Servia. M. VenezeloK, Hie Grecian Premier, states that the .prime concern of Hie Balkan Government was to consolidate the Balkan Fnion in such u way as to prevent it from being exposed to renewed attacks. GENERAL BAVOI’E. Till-: MOLTKE 01-’ THE BALKANS. (By "One Who Knows Him,” in (ho Daily News.) General Michael Bavoff. whose daring and victorious leadership is just notv attracting world-wide attention, lias always enjoyed Hie reputation of being one of Bulgaria's strong men. Abroad his existence was hardly suspected; but in Hiis country people bad long been accustomed to see in him Hie future Commander-in-chief of the Bulgarian mobilised legions. To those who know the Bulgarian Generalissimus and have followed in's past career, all tills wfts in perfect accord with the fitness of tilings. During a period of some twenty-five years Genera! BavolT had passed through a variety of searching tests. and had come out with an enhanced reputation. He had in turn occupied nearly all the important posiiions in the Bulgarian army, and hud everywhere displayed the same high qualities as leader and organiser. As far hack as ISS.". when he was still- a youthful captain. Hie responsibilities of a general were thrust upon him. and as commander of Hie left wing of the Bulgarian army *t the battle of Blivnitza lie proved himself a brave leader no loss than a consummate tactician.

A few years later, when the allpowerful Slamboulol'f was looking for a man to under! akc the task of reorganising the Bulgarian army, his choice fell niion Savoff, who. as A!mister of War, endowed the then Principality with a military force in conformity with all the modern requirements. Bulgaria was then traversing ■■pinny days, and dangers threatened tin- country on all sides. The ambition of Ihe two Alinisters was to inaugurate an independent national policy: and the success of these efforts couid he ensured only hy making of Bulgaria a military factor that could not be safely neglected. Soldiers were then also politicians: and General Savoff. who bad quarrelled with the dictator, was temporarily driven into private life, dragging in Ids fall the omnipotent Premier. lie had, however. made Ids mark as a first rate organiser, and Ids reinstatement in ]S!I7 as commander of one of the Eastern divisions was an act of justice. Here he was to win fresh titles, which soon secured for him the enviable position of head of the Military Academy in Sofia. For a man who was' horn a leader of men there could be nothing more attractive than Hie delicate mission of training fnlnre leaders: and to the performance of his new duties he brought the same enthusiasm rind energy witieh bad distinguished his former work. lie seemed to insHl a new life into that institution. and to imparl to Ids pupils the same restless activity which forms the principal trait of ids own character. In the meanwhile events had been fast developing in the Balkans. anil doubts began to be- expressed in many quarters that the Bulgarian arm;,- was not equal to tile work which it might any moment be railed to undertake. .After a period of stress, the military machine had been somewhat neglected and many parts allowed to ge( rusty. When, in Hot;, it was decided once more to renovate the entire military organisation of the century, the man who ten tears pre\bandy had given such a good account of himself resumed, as if by right, his former post of War Minister. I Ms sec olid administration lasted some live years, which will always be remembered as the most fertile chapter in the history of the Bulgarian army. Every department of that vast organisation was overhauled from top to bottom: the armament ef the troops was replaced by the latest patterns of war weapons ltd engines, and entirely new services were created. Bn! the greatest piece of creative verb which Hemral Savoff performed daring lie- second term of Ids .Ministry Waundoubtedly the gi ■ -a 1 Military .Act e|' Hail, which to this day forms the basis of Bulgaria's war force. For a parallel one will have to go to Prussia's military history after the Xapoleoiiic wars. '(’lie comparison is not merely superlioial. for in both cases it was the same idea which prompted a

similar policy—the recognition that the nations laid historical problems to solve, and that his could he accomplished only by the force of arms. Tin- 'immediate corollary of this truth was that the army should he made synonymous with iho nation, and that every man lit to hiar arms should form part of the lighting machine. This is the all-pervasive principle of General Savoffs great reform. and the ]U'( sent niohilised iorccs of I tnlgaria re;,resent that conception transhtted into a living fact.