towards the end of a dismal summer, when everybody who is anybody in the united kingdom was departing for their annual holidays, dark clouds began to gather on the political horizon overshadowing that european storm-centre, the balkan peninsula. angry clouds had gathered over the seething races of those lands so frequently that no one heeded when the cry “wolf!” went up again. “balkan troubles again,” said those who thought they knew, and they turned with renewed interest to places for the holidays. but the clouds gathered apace, and ere europe was fully alive to the situation, protests, ultimata, and the usual amenities had been exchanged; the world found itself confronted by a war between the ottoman empire and its former subjects, now clearly defined nationalities, united to one purpose, and that the end of turkish rule in europe.
while the great powers slowly set in motion the cumbrous machinery of diplomacy the storm-clouds discharged their lightnings, setting ablaze all the country from the danube to the ?gean sea, from the adriatic to the black sea. over the borders of turkey in europe came hosts of armed men, ably led, well trained, and purposeful. they came down the valley of the maritza, the struma, down from the black mountains, and out of greece in the south, nations in arms, and determined to end oppression in turkey’s european possessions. with desperate valour they beat down fierce resistance until but a small shred was left of the empire carved by the sword of othman out of south-eastern europe.{10}
history was in the making while diplomacy still talked about the status quo, and to my mind present events, if not an actual repetition of former historic happenings, bear at least some resemblance to them. again an enemy’s angry gaze is directed towards constantinople, again, as the early days of the ninth century into modern times, the ruler in the seat of constantine prepares to meet invasion. and beneath the surface of the troubled waters is there is the feeling of a heavy ground-swell. the goths came down the valley of the maritza and met the roman legions at adrianople; the latter were defeated, emperor valens left among the slain. yet those goths were only the fringe of that great movement which broke the power of rome. in those remote days of the “v?lkerwanderung” central europe seethed with strong young nations bent on expansion forced by their growing numbers. slav pressed on teuton, and both races overflowed the boundaries set them by the c?sars.
are matters very different now? perhaps the only difference is that the desire to expand, subconscious in early days of christianity, is now informed of consciousness, is born of clearly defined necessities, and directed towards definite aims. the main line of advance since the first aryans crossed the balkans, swarmed over the peloponese, peopled the islands of the ?gean sea, and found their way to india has always been to southward, towards warm water; their movements to the north and west might be considered as purporting to guard their flanks, had they been conscious of strategic necessities.
the main line of advance of those thronged peoples between the ural and the vosges mountains is from the baltic to the balkans, and teuton and slav are pressing slowly, surely southward, as rivals, for they are keenly conscious of their own and each other’s aims. even now{11} this movement is scarcely realized by the states of western europe, notably great britain, though its tendency has been clearly defined for many years, and on the teuton side, a half-slav people, prussia gave it impetus. the movement has been so slow as to pass unobserved for many years, but it has been deliberate, because racial impulses have been curbed by the arts of diplomacy, by the science of strategy, and by a keen realization of economic necessities. each of these three factors has its victories to record, acts which to most people seemed but loose links in the chain of history rather than the firm steps towards the goal, distant but clearly seen by those who led the movement. the science of strategy brought schleswig-holstein into the german union, welded the german states together, and extended their line of outposts to the vosges mountains. diplomacy, following victory in the field, made of the german states an empire, reconciled austria, and forced italy into the triple alliance. diplomacy again brought heligoland as an outpost in the sea to germany, and political economy is endeavouring to bring holland into the german zollverein. thus we find the right flank of the teuton movement from the baltic to the balkans fully secured. neither has the left flank been neglected; wedged in between the balkan kingdoms and russia is roumania. a hohenzollern sits on the throne of that country, and all who know roumania will realize that austria is paramount there. in both servia and bulgaria la haute finance is in austrian hands, and german commercial enterprise has extended feelers into asia minor.
on the slav side of this great movement russia looms, apparently slow to move; but the slav temperament may be roused to dangerous frenzy, and signs are not wanting that the troubles of their southern kinsmen may cause a{12} popular upheaval, forcing the government into action. meanwhile russia is deliberately organizing her vast resources.
does it not seem as if the struggle between the balkan kingdoms and the porte were but the prelude, but a vanguard action, to clear the turk out of europe, and so make room for the titanic conflict impending between the slav and teuton peoples? when they meet, what then? consider the enormous highly organized strength available among the possible combatants—germany’s millions, austria’s vast resources! are those who live on the flanks of the impending movement prepared to hold their own? outside the ring surrounding slavs and teutons, denmark, holland, belgium, france, italy are the confines of a vast empire.
when last the teuton nations moved so many centuries ago a world-wide empire fell in ruins, an empire glutted with wealth yet teeming with a pauper population in its capital, luxurious, unnerved, disdaining any service to their country, unconscious of any obligations in return for the privileges of citizenship. so rome fell before the teuton.
again the teuton is stirring. germany is daily perfecting an already formidable navy, for flank defence first, then for further enterprise; austria has recently greatly added to the budget for naval and military purposes, and the road to saloniki is no longer closed by turkey; italy with her considerable naval power is allied to germany and austria.
what is great britain, the vast empire encircling the moving forces from west to east, doing towards her own safety? when the nations of europe were well aware of the trouble which has now reached its climax in the balkan peninsula, and were beginning to take at least{13} diplomatic action, great britain was having holidays and could not be disturbed. so our naval force in the mediterranean has been weakened to guard against the german’s left flank protection and the coast of egypt is left insufficiently protected.
while the balkan kingdoms were mobilizing the armies which have since swept triumphant over thrace, macedonia, thessaly, armies composed of the whole manhood of each nation, not of hired soldiers, great britain was collecting troops for cambridgeshire man?uvres, with much self-laudation, and the assistance of the territorial force, got together a number about equal to montenegro’s first levy for the war with turkey; and montenegro is about half the size of wales and sparsely populated. servia, a country hitherto denied a voice in the great committee of european states, at once mobilized troops exceeding in number the expeditionary force with which great britain proposes to take part in an armed conflict of the great powers, and moreover that small kingdom proved itself capable of even greater effort and produced as many fighting men as moltke required to vanquish france.
the allies acted sharply and decisively. seven weeks after the declaration of war the sultan’s troops were forced to retire behind the lines of chatalja, the outer defences of constantinople. constantinople was the seat of c?sar from the middle of the fourth century until mohammed the conqueror made it the capital of his empire in 1453. from here ottoman armies marched to victory; bulgars, greeks, serbs were conquered, enslaved, their national identity swamped by the rising tide of moslems as it flowed on over the plains of hungary even up to the bastions of vienna, that bulwark of the western world.{14}
from stamboul, where i write, successive sultans directed the policy of turkey as their power waned. here plans were devised, intrigues inaugurated to check the forces that threatened ottoman supremacy. here the sultan in his palace heard of fresh troubles in his empire, of defeats on the field of battle and in the council chamber. here between the deep calm of the orient and the restless striving of the west successive wearers of the sword of othman must have marked the signs of the times and wondered how disaster might be averted.
but disaster came, a swift retribution for years of indolence. as i write this the sound of firing is borne on the westerly wind into the city of constantine, tsarigrad, stamboul.
i was mightily drawn to revisit this ancient city now in these days of darkness, so i hurried out overland, crossing germany, poland, roumania, till i landed on the banks of the golden horn. when i had passed i noted a feeling of deep anxiety, to account for which the present troubles of turkey are insufficient; there seemed to me an undercurrent of unrest such as perchance preceded the “v?lkerwanderung” of some fifteen centuries ago. i came here to record as best i can the doings of these days in constantinople, the capital of a vanishing empire, and while i went about the city, revisiting places i have seen bathed in summer sunshine, now gloomy under a lowering sky, as i noted the many signs of “sturm und drang,” i was filled with grave forebodings; here where a mighty empire is tottering to its fall under pressure of the vanguard of a “v?lkerwanderung” i pondered whether another world-wide empire were as secure as that of the ottoman was till recently supposed to be.
b. g. b.
constantinople
