Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/493

WORLD WAR Greek forces. Bulgaria's reply to the Allies' note concerning her warlike preparations having proved unsatisfactory, on October 6 the Ministers representing France, England and Italy at Sofia asked for their passports. Serbia was invaded by a great Austro-German army October 7, in an attempt to open up a route to Constantinople to aid the Turks. The Serbians drove the invaders' right wing across the Danube, crushed their left wing, but were unable to save Belgrade, which was occupied by the enemy. Bulgaria entered the war as an ally of the Central Powers and Turkey on October 11, and invaded Serbia at several points. The Greek Government declining to fulfill their treaty with Serbia (a defensive alliance) ; the French troops landed at Salonica to act against Bulgaria, encouraged to do so by Ex-Premier Venizelos of Greece who was eager to have his country join the Allies. The bulk of the Greek people favored the Entente, but the disaster at the Dardanelles and the fate of Serbia now over-run by Austrians, Gennans, and Bulgarians caused King Constantine to adopt a neutral attitude which favored the Central Powers.

The attempt made by the French and British to help Serbia had come too late, owing to the time wasted in parleys with Bulgaria.

The Franco-British force, while inflicting heavy losses on the Bulgars, could not save Serbia, her army retired before the enemy, and practically all her people went into exile. The remainder of the army was shipped by the Allies to Corfu where it was reorganized.

The Anglo-Indian expeditionary force which invaded Mesopotamia and which achieved a victory over the Turks near the Persian Gulf, and later in an advance toward Bagdad, met with a succession of disasters which forced the

British commander General Townshend to retire to the Arab river town of Kut-el-Amara where he was besieged by Turks and Arabs.

1916

The year 1916 did not open very propitiously for the Allies in the land campaigns except in Africa, where all but one of the German colonies had been captured. At sea they had maintained their supremacy—which was further sustained by the outcome of the Jutland battle