WAR RESUMED IN ASIA MINOR.

TURKISH OFFENSIVE. A GREEK REVERSE.

Although so far only very meagre particulars have reached London, there is now no doubt that the Turks have launched a big offensive in Asia Minor, and have, after about three days’ fighting, inflicted on the Greeks a severe reverse by compelling them to evacuate the important railway junction of Afium Karahissar.

The first news of the retreat from this town came yesterday afternoon in the shape of a Central News telegram from Athens, which said: “The Greek forces have to-day been obliged to evacuate Karahissar before superior enemy forces.”

Last night the following telegram was received from a Greek semiofficial source: ATHENS, Tuesday. The official communiqué of yesterday says:

“Owing to a very violent enemy offensive, the evacuation of Afium Karahissar was ordered yesterday. Our troops occupied a line west of that town. A violent charge of enemy cavalry, supported by artillery, was repulsed near Elvanlar. The enemy was pursued.”

Afium-karahissar is situated about 200 miles east of Smyrna, at the junction of the railways from Smyrna to Angora, via Eskishehr and Smyrna to Konia. From it there runs northward the line to Eskishehr (about seventy miles), and thence to Ada Bazar (another seventy miles).

From Ada Bazar there is a railway running westward to Ismid and Scutari (on the Bosphorus, opposite Constantinople). Afiumkarahissar remained in the possession of the Greeks in September last year after the series of sanguinary battles in which the Hellenic army endeavoured, but without success, to reach Angora. The place changed hands several times in the course of the conflict, which finally ended in a stalemate that had lasted for close on a year until the present fighting began on Saturday.

It is well known that since the autumn of 1921 the Kemalists have received large supplies of arms and munitions. Most of these came from the Bolsheviks, who, as frequently mentioned in The Daily Telegraph, formed, for their own purposes, some sort of pact with the Turkish Nationalists.

But they also obtained military material from other sources, the Greek Navy being greatly impeded in its task of preventing the transport of contraband by the unwillingness of the French and Italian governments to allow the right of search. Moreover, it will be recalled that under the agreement concluded between the Angora and Italian governments, an outline of which was given in The Daily Telegraph some time ago, the latter consented to furnish the Turks with four batteries of heavy artillery, but whether these guns have been delivered is a matter of uncertainty. The Kemalists were also furnished with several consignments of war material by the Germans.