The Waikato Independent. THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1916. THE FALL OF TREBIZOND.

Waikato Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1742, 20 April 1916, Page 4

The Waikato Independent. THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1916. THE FALL OF TREBIZOND.

After a long spell without any material successes news by cable was flashed throughout the civilised world yesterday of the capture of Trebizond by the Russians. This is a most important success, as Trebizond is the largest seaport on the southern shore of the Black Boa, and marks a very decisive victory in the operations of the armies of the Grand Duke Nicholas. The fact that its fall follows the announcement of a Turkish defeat in a six days’ attack upon the Russian centre is of especial signilicauce. Trebizond has been a doomed city ever since the fall of Erzeroum, and its inhabitants have been preparing for the inevitable for over 1 wo uTonths. Towards the end of February the Russians cut off the town’s supplies from the eastward, and about the middle of March it was announced that the Russians were attacking the environs of the town from the east and south and the sea. Since then, however, there has been nothing to indicate, that the town was at the mercy of the Russians.

Trebizond is situated near the southeast corner of the- Black Sea. The name is a variant of Trapezius, which suggests the Greek origin of the port. From the day of its foundation as a Greek colony it has been a place of

considerable commercial imp nance, unu it was for years tJie capital 01 an empire which was established by -AieAius Comueuus after the dismemberiuctic oi me i>yzaunue hmpiro uuout ine time or the .fourth Urusaue, mur.

me empire of the Drum! Uommeuus muiuiueu to exist tin i4d.l, when the cuy was taKen by Mohammed li < its mug existence as an almost unknown eemre of a thriving empire was due to its isolation. The city and its territory lie between a precipitous mountain range, 7,000 ft. high, and the Black Sea. me»e is only one passable road to tne pou, and that is the caravan route wmch runs through Erzeroum to Persia, The harbour, which is open to the north-east gales, is at times very unsafe, and has become very much silted up, uut although the .Russian railway from the Caspian to Batum has attracted much of its trade with Persia, Trebizoud is still the chief port of Annum., and its trade is considerable. The present vilayet of Trebizond is divided into four sanjaks, the eastern one being very deeply indented and mountainous.. That supplies the reason why the Russians are being shipped to a point 70 miles east of the town. The mineral wealth of the vilayet is great, and its soil extremely fertile. In 1000 the exports of the province amounted to nearly 14 millions, and its imports to over Li millions. Before the war British, French’ and Russian Consuls resided there. The population is close on 40,000. a little less than half of whom are Christians, chiefly Greeks, the remainder being Armenians. It was near Trebizoud that Xenophon and his 10,000 Greeks in their great retreat reached the sea. The fog of war has never descended so thickly anywhere as on the Armenian battlefield, and it is difficult to follow the operations there. It is pretty certain, however, that the Grand Duke detached a separate army to capture the fort, which stands indefensible once the hills which surround it are in the enemy’s hands. A march al ng the coast, following the earlier landing at Rizeth, with a simultaneous move from the south-west of a portion of the main army, probably accounted for the fall of the town. Russia’s progress in the whole of this theatre is necessarily slow. A veritable tangle of mountains, with few passable roads, makes rapid manoeuvring out of the question, and on top of this every day takes the Russians further from their railhead, and extends their lines of communication. • Simultaneously the Turks *are shortening their communication lines, and thus a stand and an attack on the mobile portion of the Russian force pursuing them was inevitable. That attack was made during the past week, and was safely sustained by the Grand Ducal forces, and an early march upon Erzingan and Sivas may now be anticipated.