New-York tribune. [volume], August 25, 1918, Page 3, Image 23

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REAPPEARANCE OF THE RUSSIAN FRONT
Czecho-Slovak Intervention Recon?
stitutes Both Political and Military
Barriers to German Aggression in
Land the Romanoffs Once Ruled
With a Little Help From the Entente
New Power Will Cause Reshifting
of Men From Western Front and
Make Passage of Rhine Easier
By W. L. McPherson
. .. ? .:? CMS. hu The Tribune Association [Sen- York Tribune)
THE re-creation of an roaster
front is not an empty drean
It seems so only to those wh
view the situation too narrowly?
and from the strictest militar
angle.
The Kastern front can be recom
stituted in two senses?one military
the other political and psychological
A new front of the second sort woul<
be well worth the effort to establisl
it, even though a new front of tht
first sort may be beyond presen
possibilities.
Cannot Expect
Great Armies Again
We cannot expect, of course. t<
see Russia put such armies in tht
field as she mobilized in 1914 anc
maintained in 1015, 1916 and a par
of 1917?-from the Baltic Sea to th<
Rumanian border. In all that perio<
Russia more than offset the military
power of Austria - Hungary. Sh<
would have overrun the Hungariar
plains and possibly marched to th?
gates of Vienna had not Germany
besides defending her own Easterr
frontier, gone to Austria-Hungary'i
aid in Galicia and in the Carpa?
thians. Russia absorbed the shock
of Austrian power and a large pari
of the shock of German power
through the early years of the war
She saved France by tieing up Ger?
man resources and gave Great Brit?
ain time to create the Kitchener ar?
mies.
The Allies cannot look to her now
to repeat the opportune East Prus?
sian and Galician offensives of 1914.
Or to repeat the great Brusiloff of?
fensive of 1916, which temporarily
?recked Austria-Hungary's Eastern
armies and cut short the first Aus
;ro-Hungarian assault on Italy. Nor
can the Entente Powers themselves
undertake to man a new line from
Riga to the Bukovina. At this stage
of the war a military decision must
be sought on the Western front. The
way to Berlin lies over the Rhine,
not over the Vistula. Yet any re
constitution of a Russian front which
will draw more German forces east
and keep them there will help to end
the war by making the Allied march
across the Meuse, the Rhine and the
Elbe swifter and easier.
Must Threaten
Germany From Rear
What is needed?and what is now
practicable?is the reestablishment
of an Eastern front, political and
psychological in character, with suf?
ficient military backing to compel a
?shifting of German troops east?
ward. Russia must become again a
threat to the German rear. And she
can become such a threat only
through a national reorganization.
following Allied intervention.
In the months since the Brest
Eitovsk theaty was signed Russia
"as cea.-ed to be a nation. She has
r.ad only a shadow of central gov?
ernment. Her territory has shrunk
?'?te Balzac'a Magic Skin.
At Hrest-Litovs.k von K?hlmann
and von < zernin played on the cre?
dulity and folly of the Bolshevists.
?hey rudely dismembered the an?
cient Romanoff empire, L?nine and
"rotzky looking on with fatuous
complacency. Germany took, under
?e disingenuous "self - determina?
tion" clauses of the treaty, the bulk
'?? Western Russia Finland, Lithu
4-n-ia, Courland, Poland and the
olcraine She gave three Trans
Caucasian governments to Turkey.
Ut*r, without any warrant but
?rte Bhe stripped Russia of Livonia
?Bd Esthonia, Carelia, the Crimea
*M the whole northern Black Sea
"'?^t. She allotted Bessarabia to
Boroania.
***** Expected Both
?^Pplie? and Recruit?
In ?H this territory the most
PqpuloTM and the most highly devel
*&?1 industrially |n the former Ro
**??? Empire- Berlin ?et up a
^rroan overlord.Chip. Germany be
? fi ?t once to exploit it? resources
''Ujtt own hen? fit and to lay plans
for reducing the rest of Russia, Si?
beria included, to a condition of
economic dependency. It was her
purpose, undoubtedly, to recruit her
armies with conscripts furnished by
the puppet states she had established
in Western Russia. In Finland site
is now demanding that Finnish
troops shall attack the Allied forces
which have been landed on the Kola
peninsula and at Archangel.
The Bolshevist government at
Moscow has been a pliant German
tool. It ?surrendered the Baltic fleet,
[t made no resistance to the inva?
sion of Southern Russia. It cedec
C'arelia to the Finns. Four month:
ago German domination of Russia
seemed assured. There was no or
ganized power anywhere capable o:
disputing Lenine's policy of nationa
dismemberment and suicide o:
checking German penetration to ant
beyond the Urals.
Accident Gives
Allies a Chance
But a pure accident saved Russia
Out of a clear sky came the Czecho
Slovak intervention. History con
tains no more romantic or dra
matic episode than the sudden tram
formation wrought in the Russia
situation by the chance interpositio
of these Austro-Hungarian ex-pris
oners of war. Their adventure is
chronicle more stirring than tb
March to the Sea of Xenophon's Te
Thousand.
The Czecho - Slovaks had giadl
surrendered to Brusiloff and ha
subsequently entered the Russia
ranks. Peace left them in an en
br.rrassing situation. They could m
afford to be exchanged as prisoner
They were no longer prisoners, b
rebels. They demanded an oppo
tunity to get out of Russia by wj
of Vladivostok. Most of them su
rendered their arms. The Bolshev
government promised them trar
portation to the Pacific Coast.
Germany could have read the futu
she would have speeded them
their way,
Germany Barred
Retreat From Russia
But Germany didn't want to
them escape to join the Allied arm
in France and Italy. German in)
er.ee with the Bolshevists was exc
ed to stop them on their way throt
Siberia. Despite Lenine's pr.^mh
they were held up and attacked
various points on the Siberian r
road. To protect themselves t!
routed and disarmed the Red Gua
who attempted to interfere v
them. Then they seized the Siber
railroad. A few of them had
through to Vladivostok and
mained there. They eventually t
over that port. The rest, scattc
between the Urals and Lake 1
kal, extended their hold on the
berian system until they hek
practically from Irkutsk to the I
Mountains.
Few Men Hove Done
Miraculous Work
The strength of the Czecho
vaks has been estimated at from
000 to 120,000, Probably there 1
been less than 80,000 of them u
arms. But they have done a <
which looks miraculous. Ha
cleared the Siberian line from '.
Baikal to the Urals, they have
cently marched west into Ri
proper and established thems
on the line of the Volga River.
r ine and Trotzky have sent ai
against them. But, they have
their own everywhere through
discipline, high intelligence as
diera and extraordinary cou
Every Czecho-Slovak is an a
; patriot. He is fighting for the
; ation of his race for the real i y
, of a dream which his people
cherished for centuries.
The Czecho-Slovak army has
tained itself in Siberia and F
because it has never clashed
1 the bulk of the population. It
not oppress the people, It rei
! the local government? and war;
WHERE ALLIED FORCES ARE AT WORK IN RUSSIA
against the Red Guards and the
Austrian. Hungarian and German
prisoners who have joined the Bol?
shevists. In Eastern Russia and
most of Siberia the Bolshevist rule
has been tacitly or openly repudi?
ated. The Czecho - Slovaks merely
assist friendly communities to set up
self-government.
Allies Slow to
Realize Opportunity
Without their fortuitous interpo?
sition Russia would have been hope?
lessly lost to the Allies. Either the
Germans would have exercised a
completer and completer control
through a puppet Soviet dictatorship
at Moscow or the country would
have lapsed into anarchy. The Al?
lied powers were slow to realize the
value of tSo Czecho-Slovak achieve?
ment. They had despaired of Rus?
sia. But the spectacular success of
these marooned representatives of
anti-Bolshevism and anti-German?
ism at last stirred the Entente to
action.
To relieve them arid to secure
their communications with the Pa?
cific and with the Arctic had become
an Allied moral obligation. Japan
v. as evidently willing to go to their
rescue. But unfortunately the Uni?
ted States balked for a long time at
anything which looked like a mili?
tary effort antagonistic to the al?
leged Moscow government. The or?
ganization of the Austrian, Hunga?
rian and German prisoners of war
through German influence and their
employment to fight the Czecho-Slo
vaks finally compelled Allied action.
Teuton Prisoners
Mostly Far East
Military policy i -quires all tht
Allied powers to protect the Czecho
Slovaks from enemy forces and t(
prevent the escape from Siberia ot
ex-prisoners who would join the ene
my's ranks. Fortunately, the bull
of the Austrian. Hungarian anr
German ex-prisoners are in Lasten
Siberia, where they have assimilatec
l with themselves the remaining Roc
Guards and the worst convict ele
ments. These forces can be isolatei
by a movement through Manchuri;
Lo Chita, east of Lake Baikal, when
the unfinished Amur River brand
of the Siberian railroad joins t.h>
eastern Chinese branch. They cai
be bottled up in Eastern Siberia am
dealt with at leisure.
Before the Czecho-Slovak advent
ore came to a head the Allied pro
gramme in Russia contemplate'
nothing more than landings in Vladi
vostok and on the Kola Peninsul
. to protect military stures furnishe
1 to the pre Soviet, governments au
still side-tracked there. Marine
, were disembarked both at Vladivos
? ol: and at the terminal of the Mui
; mansk railroad.
But with the Czecho-Slovak su<
cesses and the rapid decline of S(
viet power a wider vista opened. I
.has been found practicable to ?ntei
j vene in a military way to fveo Rui
"""'-"'
sia from German domination and to
arouse a desire, both in what is left
of Russia and in the western and
southern provinces annexed by Ger?
many, to drive the Germans back
again within their own borders.
Every Germanized state?Finland,
perhaps, excepted?is sick of Ger?
man arrogance and rapacity. A new
Russia, freed, nationalized and in?
vigorated, would become an agent for
the liberation of the lost Caucasus
provinces, the Crimea, the Ukraine,
Poland, Lithuania, Courland, Livonia
and Esthonia. The Germans would
be thrown everywhere on the defen?
sive. They would have to renounce
their conquests or create a new
Eastern front, to retain them.
Have Entered Russia
At Many Points
The Allies have now entered Rus?
sian territory at many points. The
Czecho-Slovaks hold Vladivostok and
seme territory west of it toward the
Ussuri River. They also hold the
Transsiberian line west of Lake
Baikal all the way to the Urals.
West of the Urals they have ad?
vanced to the upper Volga River.
French, British, American and Jap?
anese detachments have reached
Vladivostok, where they will operate
to clear the railroa?? west to the Chi?
nese border and to contain and capt?
ure the Teuton ex-prisoners and Red
Guards who control the ?Siberian
maritime province.
The main force of the Japanese.
with Chinese auxiliaries, is probably
moving up through Manchuria from
Port Arthur. It intends, apparent?
ly, to strike from the northwestern
Manchurian border for Chita and
then clear the railroad west to Lake
Baikal and Irkutsk. A Russian
force under General Semenoff has
twice tried to invade ?Siberia from
Manchuria and has twice been
driven back by the Bolshevists. But
the Red Guards and their Teuton
associates are not likely to make a
serious stand against trained Japan?
ese troops. The purely military dif?
ficulties of an expedition to Chita
and Lake Baikal are not great. But
transport and supply* may make
s< me trouble after the cold weather
sets in.
Czecho-Slovaks'
Rear Will Be Safe
When Chita and Irkutsk -are
reached the first purpose, of the Si
b? rian relief expedition will have
been accomplished. The rear of the
Czecho-Slovaks will be secured. A
line of retreat to the Pacific through
Manchuria will be opened fur them
in case it becomes desirable for them
to bead again for the East.
From Irkurtsk west to the Urals
through Tomsk and Omsk, there u
in, obstacle at present to an extern
' sion of the Allied line. This countrj
! is under the control of an anti-Bob
: shevist government, which has de
1 clared its independence of Russia
There are Czecho-Slovak detach
nient- al the principal railway cen
tres, working in harmony with th?
local authorities. No lighting hat
been reported in Central and West
' ern Siberia for several months past.
The second purpose of the Siberian
expedition will be to round up the
Teuton ex-prisoners in Eastern Si?
beria. East of Chita the unfinished
Amur River branch of the Siberian
railroad turns northeast, following
the line of the Shilka River until the
latter empties into the Amur. This
uncompleted railroad, the Shilka and
the Amur rivers are the main line of
communication between the Province
of Aum, the Bolshevist stronghold,
and Trans-Baikalia.
Bolshevists Along
the Chinese Border
From the Amur strong Bolshevist
contingents made their way into the
Trans-Paikal province. They for?
merly held Irkutsk, across the lake,
but were driven out early this sum
l mer by the Czecho-Slovaks. They now
bar the way to an Allied advance
lrom the Chinese border. If defeat?
ed they will have to retire down the
Amur railroad line, the Shilka and
the Amur rivers, on the last of which
there are many river vessels avail?
able. How far the Allies intend to
pursue them in that direction is a
'question of military expediency
solely.
At present the Red Guards are rel?
atively strong in numbers, but they
probably have little artillery and are
i under lax discipline. The Czecho
' Slovaks, so far as they have com?
into contact with these forces, both
in Trans-Baikalia and in and about
Vladivostok, have killed the tier
mans, Austrians and Hungarians
and disarmed the Russians. The pol?
icy of disarming the Russians wil
probably be followed. The Teuton ex
prisoners who surrender will be in
terncd in Japan.
, Forces in Control
' Along the Ussuri
The Czecho-Slovaks and the othe
Allied forces in Vladivostok are nov
in contact with the Amur Bolshevist
: and their auxiliaries in the Ussur
1 River region, west of Vladivostok
The Siberian railroad runs west fron
the Pacific to the L'ssuri and ther
; joins a branch line coming dowi
from the Amur. The northern ter
? minus of this branch is Khabarovsk
i Just north of the Ussuri junction i
N'ikolskoye. The Red Guards cam
down the railroad line in force am
occupied N'ikolskoye. They intendc*
to cut the Chinese Eastern Railroa
between the Ussuri and the Manehu
rian frontier. The Czecho-Slovak
marched west from Vladivostok earl
this summer and ejected the enem
from this town. But they have bee
hard put to hold their own again?
more numerous enemy forces gatl
cred on the line of the Ussuri.
Last Friday Tokio announced tha
Japanese troops had advanced bf
yond N'ikolskoye. Lieutenant Genei
al Otani is beginning to get the si*
uation in hand.
In the narrow section near th
j Pacific Coast a round-up of the Bo
shevists and Teuton prisoners ;
more practicable. Communication
- north are good and the Allies, if the
cared to do so, could march to th
Amur and. proceeding up it. occup
' Hlagoveschenk. That would extii
?guish the Bolshevist movement i
the East. The Japanese, as a pn
: caution, have already seized Nik
lnevsk, on the Pacific Coast, at ti
mouth of the Amur. This port
about TOO miles north of Vladivosto
But for a successful campaign in tl
maritime province and alone ti
' Amur a considerable Allied force
will be needed.
The Allies have established them
! selves at two other points in Asiatic
Russia. The British have recently
dispatched small contingents to
Bokhara and Baku. Both these
operations are defensive in charac?
ter. After the treaty of Brest
Litovsk was signed all Middle Asia
seemed to lie open to Germany. The
Germans thought so themselves.
They believed they had found a new
route to India. The "Berlin to Bag?
dad" slogan was dropped. Bagdad
was ia British hands. The German
public found a new watchword of
empire. It was "Berlin to Bokhara."
Bokhara lies close to the northern
| most projection of India, and an al
I tentative route south lies through
Persia and Afghanistan.
British First
To Reach Bokhara
The British, however, have beaten
, the Germans to Bokhara. The Bok
haran province is probably loosely
attached to the new independent
government of Turkestan, which is
anti-Bolshevist. But conditions are
unsettled. The British expedition
composed of East India troops, came
up through Baluchistan and Easterr
Persia.
The new Persian government seem;
to have turned away from Turke\
and the Pan-Turanian agitators
Since Russia disappeared and G real
Britain annulled the partition ol
Persia with Russia into "spheres o:
influence" relations between Tehe
ran and London have become mon
cordial. With Persia's active or pas
sive good will the British can main
tain a force in Bokhara, protecting
the Bokharan railroad and guardinj
the northern approaches to India.
Persia also put no obstacles in th?
way of the second British expeditioi
?across her northwestern province
? from Mesopotamia to Baku. Las
spring, when the right wing of th
British army in Mesopotamia wa
making rapid progress up the Tigri
and east of the Tigris toward Mosu
a Turkish force?mostly Kurds
moved from Lake Van into North
western Persia with the appareil
intention of working down on th
right flank of the advancing Britisl
The Turks reached Lake Urumial
but got no further.
Now British troops?a small bud;
naturally ? have passed throug
Northwestern Persia from the T
gris, taken ship at Enzeli, on th
t'aspian Sea. and disembarked t
Baku.
Allies Aid Bolshevist
Forces at Baku
Baku is the terminus of the rai
road across Transcaucasia from Bi
turn, on the Black Sea. At Bres
Litovsk Russia surrendered to Tu
key the districts of Kars, Erivan at
Batum. The Turks had to fight
get possession of them, for the A
menian population resisted and tl
independent governments set up
the rest of the Caucasus were ho
tile. Turkey finaly got. possession ?
the greater part of the three di
tricts.
But Turkish ambitions didn't st<
there. The Pan-Turanian agitato
wanted to open a road into Bokha
and Turkestan. Turkish troops ha
been trying for some time to ta
Baku, the chief west shore port,
the Caspian and the centre of
great oil trade. Control of Bak
with its shipping, means control of!
the Caspian.
Armenians and Bolshevists joined'
in opposing the Turkish invasion of
Eastern Transcaucasia. They have
defended Baku and the British expe?
dition is cooperating with them. Baku
h also the key to the control of the
trans - Caspian railroad, running
oast from the Caspian Sea into Tur?
kestan, and of the routes into North?
eastern Persia.
With a sufficient force Baku could
also be used as a base for operations
up the Volga River. The Czecho?
slovaks hold the upper Volga. Be?
tween the Volga and the Pon are the
Cossacks, who arc strongly anti-Bol?
shevist. A connection with the
1 zecho-Slovaks could be made along
this line. Lut it would be a long
precarious route, far inferior to the
route across Siberia. The occupa
tion of Baku is. therefore, probably
;; purely precautionary measure?
1 ke the occupation of Bokhara.
Allies Hold Base
On Arctic Coast
There remains the Allied expedi?
tion into Northern Russia. Mur?
mansk, the ice-free port?n the Kola
peninsula, was the chief entry point.
of Allied supplies for Russia when
Russia was at war with Germany.
Archangel came second. The Allies
U ok possession of the Murmansk lit?
toral after L?nine and TrotZky
turned Russia over to the Germans.
They had to protect the vast quanti?
ties of material stored there.
The Murmansk railroad and coast
were also threatened by the Finm.
acting under German instructions
As chaos spread in Russia the Alli?e
forces in the north were increase?
British, American and French ma
rir.es were easily landed there, since
the Kola peninsula is only a relative?
ly short distance from the base of
the Allied fleets north of Scotland
The Finnish - German expedition tc
seize the railroad has not yet mate
rialized. The Finns do not want tc
fight the Allies, although Germain
has compelled L?nine to cede Careli:;
t(i Finland as a bait for Finnish am?
bitions.
Recently the Allies also landed at
Archange!, where a pro-Ally inde
pendent government has been set u[
and a new state has been proclaimed
embracing several of the northerT
Russian provinces. The Red Guare
forces in Archangel have retreatec
down the railroad toward Vologda
the junction point of the Archange
line with a line running west U
Petrograd. The Allies have pursue,
the Red Guards 100 miles down th'
Archangel-Vologda railway to Pa
bareshkaia, where they have beer
held up. They are in a friendl;
country, however, and ought to h
able to reach Vologda, if sufficientl;
reinforced.
Reds Fail to Break
Line of the Volga
From Vologda the Archangel rail
toad continues south to Yaroslav
This city was the centre of an anti
Bolshevist uprising a couple o
months ago. The Bolshevists retoo!
it after hard lighting. From Yaro
slav the railroad turns southeas
through Kovroff and Nijni-Novgoroi
(the great Eastern Russia trad
centre i to Russayevka, from whicl
branches radiate to Kazan. Simbrins
and Samara. Volga River town
which are held by the Czecho-Slc
vaks. Thus another line of eommu
nication with the Czecho-Slovaks ca
be established by way of Archange
The Volga River line from Kaza
to Simbrinsk and Samara?about 20
miles in length?represents the Cz<
:h< -Slovaks' western front. The
hold other towns eastward to th
Urals. But. in this rear region fight
ing has died out, as it has in West
ern Siberia. The people are livin
under practically autonomous loc;.
governments.
Within the last six weeks the Mo:
cow Soviet government has bee
making desperate efforts to break tl"
Volga une. But according to L?nine
own confession the Red Guards hav
been very reluctant to face th
Czecho-Slovaks. The only depend?
i.le Soviet troops are 'he Letts, wh
seem to have pro-German sympi
thies.
Few Anti-Bolshevists
Among Don Cossacks
In the Don Cossack territory tl ei
are some anti-Bolshevist force.-, bl
they are poorly organized and ha\
undertaken no aggressive mov?
ments. In a way. however, they pr<
tect the southern flank of the Czech?
Slovak army in Russia proper. T!
( zecho-Slovaks are about 500 mil*
ea.-t of Moscow.
General March was emphatical
right when he said the other day thi
"the idea of trying to establish an
Eastern front in Russia with a little
handful of Americans is simply ri?
diculous." Intervention in Russia
would be ridiculous if the United
States alone were to undertake it.
But it has behind it the military
strength of all the Western Allies. It
has also the merit of employing for
the first time since the fall of Kiao
Chau the untouched strength of Ja?
pan. It also employs to some extent
the resources of China.
( hance Justifies
Allied Intenenhon
Vor its own limite?! purposes Al?
lied intervention is fully justified on
military as well as political ground.*1.
It takes a chance on the establish?
ment of a new front of collision with
Germany?a grandiose idea, but not
half so grandiose as the venture
which the Czecho-Slovaks have dem?
onstrated to be entirely practicable.
The Czecho-Slovaks had the faith
which moves mountains. And they
did move mountains.
In the main, however, and for the
present the Allied front in Russia?
a country of magnificent distances
must be largely a moral front. It
could not stand if it were not. It
represents a purpose?self interest?
ed, of course, but genuine?to put thi
Russian nation again on its feet. The
Allies do not want to conquer Russia
They want to save her. In so far a!
that purpose boemos clear to thosi
Russians who still hope for nationa
regeneration, native cooperation wii
undoubtedly follow. The great masi
of the Russians apparently care litth
about the form of government unde
which they live. But they are begin
ning to have a real desire for th
return of order and economic sta
bility. They recognize in a vagu
way. moreover, that Germany an
Germany's Bolshevist tools have con
mitted a ghastly crime against Ru?
sia and Slavdom. The new Russi?
whatever else it is, will be anti-Gei
man.
Would at Least
Resist Germans
Whether a new government. pr<
Ally and nationalistic in cbaracte
would reenter the war, is an obscui
problem. But it would resist Ge
man penetration at every point,
would try to recover the Russi?
Black Sea fleet. It would try to r
gain the Crimea (which Turkey co
et s i and the Black Sea coast, whi<
Germany holds by no warrant b
the sword. It would try to reur.i
the dismembered parts of the empii
11 might go further and denoun
the iniquitous Brest-Litovsk treat
thus putting Germany on notice th
her possession of the lost WTeste
provinces will terminate as soon
Germany's ability to hold them
force, vanishes.
Germany is in the same positi
with her military conquests as N
pele?n. His rule was propped up
bayonets. Wherever the hayon?
were withdrawn the imperial stru
ure crumbled.
So the conquered Russian deper
encies are now a peril rather than
a? set to Germany. She has ruthle
ly exploited Poland and the Ukrai
She is trying to conscript the Fin
She is ordering the Lithuanians a
the people of the Baltic state?
raise armies for "domestic defem
? that is, against Russia. But
mies which are raised in Lithuar
Courland. Livonia and Estho
would be no longer of use to G
many if a new Eastern front sho
be created. They would turn agai
their conquerors and oppressors
Napoleon's foreign contingents
whenever they had the chance.
Ukraine Already
Revolts Against Huns
The Ukraine i=- already in re1
against German tyranny. Polanc
smouldering with disaffection.
new nationalized Russia, re-crea
by Allied aid, would inevitably I
to attempts in the several provir
to attain freedom through Rus?
and Allied assistance. Germ
mig if not have to face on a i
Eastern front two or three milli
of soldiers- armies like those of
Grand Duke Nicholas or Brusi
But she would have to face the su
hostility of millions of Slav subje
eager to be free and ready to st
for freedom as soon as the grij
German military occupation bega
relax.
There can. therefore, easily t
new moral and psychological East
front, which, if the war lasts a J
loneer. may suddenly change int
real military front. For Germ
Russia is becoming a quicksand,
cannot draw out. Yet if she si
she will be gradually engulfed
suffocated.