dred thousand men
from France and Poland and hurled them all together upon the
Roumanians. At the same time, another force composed of Turks,
Bulgarians, and some Germans marched north through the Dobrudja to
attack Roumania from the south. Thus, the very trick that the French
wished Roumania to work upon Bulgaria was now worked upon her by the
central powers. France and England were helpless. They sent one of the
best of the French generals to teach the Roumanians the latest science
of war, but men and guns they could not send. Look at the map and see
how Roumania was shut off from all help except what came from Russia.
Here Sturmer was doing his part to help Germany. Ammunition and troops
which were intended to rescue Roumania, never reached her. The Germans
had spies in the Roumanian army and before each battle, knew exactly
where the Roumanian troops would be and what they were going to do.

The German gun factories had sold to Roumania her cannon. On each gun
was a delicate sight with a spirit level--a little glass tube supposed
to be filled with a liquid which would not freeze. Slyly the Germans
had filled these tubes with water, intending, in case Roumania entered
the war on their side, to warn them about the "mistake." When the guns
were hauled up into the mountains and freezing weather came, these
sights burst, making the guns almost useless. Overwhelmed from both
the northwest and the south, the Roumanian army, fighting gallantly,
was beaten back mile after mile. Great stores of grain were either
destroyed or captured by the Germans. The western part of Roumania
where the great oil wells are, fell into the hands of the invaders, as
did Bukharest, the capital.

Sturmer had done his work well. Germany, instead of being almost
beaten, now took on fresh courage. Thanks to Roumanian wheat,
Roumanian oil, and above all, the glory of the victories, the central
powers were now in better shape to fight than if Roumania had kept out
of the war. The German comic papers were full of pictures which
declared that as England and France had always wanted to see a
defeated Hohenzollern they might now take a long look at King
Ferdinand of Roumania.

Questions for Review

1. What was the great disappointment connected with the rise to power
of the "young Turks"?
2. What would you say was the secret of the success of Venizelos in
Greece?
3. What mistake did the Greeks make at the close of the war of 1913?
4.