e Allied troops were arriving at Saloniki. On October 3d,
seventy thousand French troops arrived. A formal protest was made by the
Greek commandant, who then directed the harbor officials to assist in
arranging the landing. In a short time the Allied forces amounted to a
hundred and fifty thousand men, but the German campaign was moving
rapidly.

The German Balkan army captured Belgrade on the 9th of October, and by
that date two Bulgarian armies were on the Serbian frontier. Serbia
found herself opposed by two hundred thousand Austro-Germans and a
quarter of a million Bulgarians. Greece and Roumania fully mobilized and
were watching the conflict, and the small allied contingent at Saloniki
was preparing to march inland to the aid of Serbia.

The conduct of Greece on this occasion has led to universal criticism.
The King himself, no doubt, was mainly moved by his German wife and the
influence of his Imperial brother-in-law. Those that were associated
with him were probably moved by fear. They had been much impressed by
the strength of the German armies. They had seen the success of the
great German offensive in Russia, while the French and British were
being held in the West. They knew, too, the strength of Bulgaria. The
national characteristic of the Greeks is prudence, and it cannot be
denied that there was great reason to suppose that the armies of Greece
would not be able to resist the new attack. With these views Venizelos,
the greatest statesman that Greece had produced for many years, did not
agree, and the election seemed to show that he was supported by the
majority of the Greek people.

This was another case where the Allies, faced by a dangerous situation,
were acting with too great caution. In Gallipoli they had failed,
because at the very beginning they had not used their full strength.
Now, again, knowing as they did all that depended upon it, bound as they
were to the most loyal support of Serbia, the aid they sent was too
small to be more than a drop in the bucket. It must be remembered,
however, that the greatest leaders among the Allies were at all times
opposed to in any way scattering their strength. They believed that the
war was to be won in France. Military leaders in particular yielded
under protest to the political leaders when expeditions of this
character were undertaken.

Certainly this is true, that the world believed that Serbia had a right
to Allied assistance. The gallant little natio