But German prestige is crumbling fast, and when Turkey's
surrender opens the Black Sea to the Allied fleets, southern Russia,
like Rumania, should be in a blaze. From the Ukraine to the Caucasus the
land is already seething with disaffection. The Don Cossacks have never
been subdued. Will the Germans dare to hold their thin communication
lines till the guns of Entente warships are thundering off Odessa and
Batum?
[Sidenote: Austria's condition is desperate.]
Lastly, there is Austria-Hungary. Bulgaria's capitulation opens the way
for the liberation of Serbia and an Allied push to the Austrian border
on the middle Danube. Beyond lie whole provinces full of mutinous
Jugoslavs and Rumanians. For that matter, all the non-German and
non-Magyar peoples of the Dual Empire are in a state of suppressed
revolt, held down by armies largely composed of their disaffected
brethren. Perhaps the Balkan winter may delay the Allied advance,
perhaps Germany may find enough troops to stifle Austrian disaffection,
but the condition of the Hapsburg realm is at best a desperate one, full
of explosive possibilities.
[Sidenote: Bulgars are disillusioned about Germany.]
[Sidenote: There may be a Balkan confederation.]
These are the major consequences which seem likely to flow from
Bulgaria's surrender. There remains the question of the future attitude
of Bulgaria herself. Will she remain a passive spectator of these
momentous happenings, or will she, striking in on the Allies' side, do
her share toward bringing them to pass? The latter eventuality is more
than possible.
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