hen Italy sent troops to Saloniki to
cooperate in the campaign of the Entente Allies on the Macedonian front.
For more than a year Italy's position with regard to Germany had been an
anomalous one, for although she withdrew from the Triple Alliance on May
25, 1915, and declared war against Austria, she remained officially at
peace with Germany until August 27, 1916.

RUMANIA ENTERS THE WAR

After many months of hesitation, Rumania finally decided to enter the
war on the side of the Allies and declared war on Austria, August 27.
The next day Germany declared war on Rumania, and the issue was squarely
joined in the Balkans, which then became the scene of a mighty struggle
for the possession of Germany's road to Constantinople and the East.
Tremendous activity at once began on the Balkan front, with Rumania's
endeavor to aid Russia in cutting off Bulgaria and Turkey from the
Central Powers. In the event of the success of this move, it was
expected that the Allies would start a gigantic drive toward
Constantinople.

The most important gain for either side in the Balkans up to the middle
of September was the capture by the Bulgarians and Germans, on September
7, of the great fortress of Turtukai, fifty miles to the southeast of
Bucharest, the Rumanian capital, and chief defense of the capital on
that side. Russian troops were rushed to the aid of the Rumanians,
and the loss of Turtukai was offset by Rumanian successes across the
Hungarian border, where they captured a number of towns, driving the
Austrian defenders before them as their invasion of Hungary progressed.

RUSSIAN ARMIES ACTIVE

By September 10, Russian troops were massed in great force in
southeastern Rumania, and engaged the Bulgarians on the whole
seventy-mile front from the Danube to the Black Sea, fighting fiercely
to wrest the offensive from the enemy invading Rumania. In Transylvania
the Rumanians were advancing rapidly, having captured the important town
of Orsova, on the Danube, which gave them a grip on the Austrian second
line of defense behind the mountains dividing Transylvania from Hungary.
The entrance of Rumania into the war had increased the Austro-Hungarian
front by about 380 miles, which military men regarded as altogether too
long for the Teutonic armies to hold with any hope of success.

The Russians were also on September 10 winning ground in their campaign
against Lemberg, the capital of Galicia. They had advanced until they
were wit