away Greek territory which did not belong to us, we really could not
give away Serbian territory which did not belong to us seeing that
Serbia was an Ally actually embattled on our side and with a
victorious campaign already to her credit. Macedonia at a later date
upset the applecart.

Things were already from our point of view in something of a tangle in
the Balkans by the vernal equinox of 1915; but they had got into much
more of a tangle by the time that spring was merging into summer. At
that stage, the failure of our naval effort against the Dardanelles
had been followed by our military effort coming to a disconcerting
standstill, and the Bulgarian and Greek Governments in common with
their military authorities made up their minds that the operation
against the Straits was doomed. That was bad enough in all conscience,
but worse was to follow. Because then the Russian bubble was suddenly,
dramatically, and publicly pricked, the Tsar's stubborn soldiery,
without ammunition and almost without weapons, could not even maintain
themselves against the Austro-Hungarian forces, much less against the
formidable German hosts that were suddenly turned loose upon them, and
within the space of a very few weeks the situation on the Eastern
Front, which at least in appearance had been favourable enough during
the winter and the early spring, suddenly became transformed into one
of profoundest gloom from the Entente point of view. Even a much less
unpromising diplomatic situation than that which had existed in the
Balkans between December and May was bound to become an untoward one
under such conditions. Our side had come to be looked upon as the
losing side. No amount of skill on the part of our Foreign Office nor
of the Quai d'Orsay could compensate for the logic of disastrous
facts. The performances of H.M. Government in connection with Bulgaria
and Greece at this time have been the subject of much acid criticism.
But in time of war it is the victorious battalions that count, not the
wiles of a Talleyrand nor of a Great Elchi. The failure in the
Dardanelles and the Russian collapse settled our hash in the Near East
for the time being, and no amount of diplomatic juggling could have
effectually repaired the mischief.

Exactly what line the General Staff would have taken up had they been
called upon, say at the beginning of July, to give a considered
opinion in the form of a carefully prepared memorandum as to the
course tha