skill
from professional soldiers, if not from the lay public.

The Bulgarians decided not to invade Greece; the Greeks made no
attack. Those who looked forward to the war being settled in the
Balkans, and to Saloniki becoming another Port Arthur, had missed
their calculations. But every gun and every man that the Allies had
to maintain at Saloniki might be a gun and a man kept idle, when
they might be needed elsewhere.

The Germans having disposed of Serbia, had at the same time forced
the further dissipation of English and French troops. That they
could once more turn to the main theatre of the war and try to push
back the siege wall in another direction. Meantime, Turkey had been
doing their bidding in another quarter. The natural response of the
British to any threat to their Indian Empire was to take the
offensive, for this was one certain way to impress the Oriental
mind. Having annexed Egypt and Cyprus and occupied the German
colonies throughout the world, Britain now proceeded to the
extension of her Asiatic domain. The threat of Mohammedan
insurrection was met by an invasion of Mohammedan regions.

Her expedition toward Bagdad, had it not been in the midst of the
greatest war in all history, would perhaps have been the most
spectacular and interesting of all the small campaigns in remote
regions which have gradually extended British influence. It marched
through Mesopotamia and the Garden of Eden. The Turks under German
direction replied with an offensive which in turn put General
Townshend's army in siege, requiring that it should have relief.

The self-interest of each one of the parties to the war is evident,
with the exception of Turkey. Why she ever entered in on the side of
Germany, or on either side, is a puzzle. She was the one to lose in
any event. German success meant German domination. German failure
must mean that Russia would realize her ambition to take
Constantinople, and the British must further strengthen their empire
at her expense.

For many decades the British and Russian empires have glowered at
each other across the dividing belts of Thibet, Afghanistan, and
Persia. The fear of a Russian invasion of India haunted British
statesmen until the German power became so threatening that England
struck hands with France and Russia. Now while the British were
advancing northward, the Russians made a southerly move to her
assistance. The grand duke, who had been sent to the Caucasus in
Febru