r the liberation of Macedonia
and Albania from the Turks, and had struggled, not only against the
Turks, but against foreign armed bands of propagandists. Some eight
years subsequently to the foundation of the Macedonian Committee of
native origin, the Bulgars founded in 1893 their committee which
was called the Macedo-Adrianople Committee. During the First Balkan
War these experienced guerrilla fighters were valuable allies to
the Serbian forces operating against the Turks.

But even before the First Balkan War the Serbians had very distinctly
given the Macedonians to understand that they were to remain Serbian
subjects. This action on their part had had not a little to do
with rousing the Bulgarians to precipitate the Second Balkan War.
And when finally Serbia conquered all this territory, confirmed
to her down to Doiran by the treaty of Bucharest, King Ferdinand
of Bulgaria began at once a fiery anti-Serb propaganda throughout
the world, and took measures through provocatory agents and Bulgar
bands crossing from Bulgaria into Macedonia to create disturbances.

When the Great War broke out in July, 1914, this Bulgarian activity
in Serb Macedonia grew more intense. Thus it was that when the
Austrians attacked the Serbians on their front the Serbians had
still to detach enough of their forces to guard the Serbo-Bulgar
border to prevent the crossing into Serb Macedonia of Bulgar bands.
And added to this was the danger from Bulgaria herself. The Serbians
knew that the opportune moment had only to come and Bulgaria, too,
would hurl herself on the Serbian eastern flank. Thus another large
percentage of the Serbian fighting forces had also to be stationed
along the Bulgarian frontier to guard against possible attack from
that quarter.

Offsetting these handicaps, however, and more than equalizing them,
was the moral strength of the Serbian fighting units. They had
just emerged through two victorious wars; they had triumphed so
completely that there was small wonder if the Serbian farmers had
come to believe themselves invincible and their leaders infallible.
Practically every man in the Serbian army was a seasoned veteran;
he had had not only his baptism of fire, but he had been through
some of the bloodiest battles of modern times. He had got over
his first fright; he was in that state of mind where danger and
bloodshed no longer inspired either fear or horror. And even the
warlike savage trembles on entering his first