!THE GREAT WAR 1914 - IQ 19 THOMAS H.RUSSELL, AM, LLD. THE OFFICIAL STORY OF AMERICAN OPERATIONS IN FRANCE ^r GENERAL JOHN J.PERSHING AND SPECIAL CHAPTERS BY HON. JAMES MARTIN MILLER FORMER U.S. CONSUL TO FRANCE (V) Uudciwood & Underwood The Great A Pictorial History of the 1914-1919 Fight for Freedom and Liberty by THOMAS H. RUSSELL, A.M., LL.D. Member American Histcriciil Association THE OFFICIAL STORY OF AMERICAN OPERATIONS IN FRANCE by GENERAL JOHN PERSHING Commander-in-Chief WILLIAM DUNSEATH EATON Contributing Editor Author "The War in Verse and Prose," "A Soldier of Navarre," etc. Special Chapters by HON. JAMES MARTIN MILLER Former United Stated Consul to France Author "Spanish- American War," "Russian-Japanese War," etc. OFFICIAL COPYRIGHTED ILLUSTRATIONS NEW YORK TFIE CHRISTIAN HERALD 1919 DEDICATION To the soldiers and sailors of the United States and Canada; to the men of the armies and navies of nations allied with us; to the splendid courage and devotion of American, French, British and Belgian women, who have endured in silence the pain of losses worse than death, and never faltered in works of mercy for which no thanks can ever pay; to all the agencies of good that have helped save civilization and the w^orld from the most dreadful menace of all time, this volume is dedicated. Copyright, 1919 by L. H. Walter J) 52% h' ■' PREFACE With the signing of an armistice November 11, 1918, by the pleni- potentiaries of the nations at war, active hostilities were halted while the sweeping terms of the truce were being complied with by Ger- many. The collapse of the Teutonic forces came with a suddenness that was surprising, and the collapse was complete. The German army and na\y ceased to be a menace to the civilized world — and all civilization rejoiced with an exceeding great joy. Remarkable events in the world's history followed with amazing rapidity, and are duly recorded in all their interesting details in these pages. The flight and abdication of the Kaiser; the abject sur- render of the German high seas fleet and submarines to the British Grand Fleet and its American associates; the withdrawal of the de- feated German armies from Belgium and France; the return of the French flag to Alsace and Lorraine; the occupation of Metz, Strass- burg, Cologne, and Coblentz by Allied and American forces, and the memorable entry of Belgian troops as conquerors into Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) ; the sailing of the President of the United States to take part in the Peace Conference — all these events and many others form part of the marvelous record of the recent past, furnishing material that has never been equaled for the use of the historian. Now the eyes of all America are turned to the eastern horizon, and would fain scan the wide waters of the Atlantic, on the watch for the home-coming heroes of the great conflict. A million young Americans are coming home — but a million more will stay abroad awhile, to safeguard the fruits of victory and insure the safety of the world. Truly the story of their achievements, in permanent form, should find a place in every American home, for in the words of Gen- eral Pershing, their great commander : "Their deeds are immortal and they have earned the eternal gratitude of their country." T. H. R. To the honor of those nations upon whom the laurel of victory has descended. To those who have vouchsafed for us the permanence of the higher ideals of humanity and civilization. To those who have sheltered posterity from the dominance of barbarity, brutality, serfdom, bigotry and degradation. To those who have striven against the Teuton and the Turk that God-given and God-ordained freedom may triumph. To those noble stoics of Belgium, of France, of Serbia, of Roumania, of Poland and ail other peoples who have felt the mailed fist of the ruthless oppressor; who have looked upon their devastated fields, their dism.antled cathedrals, their vio- lated hearth-stones and the desecrated graves of their kindred, and that peace, tranquillity, contentment and prosperity may again be restored to them in bounteous meed. To those heroes who by their valor, their vigor and their inspired devotion to right and patriotism have so nobly fought and conquered. To those martyrs whom God in his immutable manifesta- tions has chosen for the ultimate sacrifice of their lives upon the altar of freedom and humanity's cause. In honor to these who have attained this glorious victory. In honor to the commingling flags of the allied nations reflect- ing in their rainbov/ hues a covenant of everlasting peace in this their hour of triumph, may we all consecrate our purposes and our lives to a brotherhood of mankind, a spirit of broadest humanity and universcil peace on earth. — /. J. Robinson. CONTENTS CHAPTEB PAGE PBEsroENT Wilson's War Message , 11 I. Why We Went to War 17 Eeview of America's Good Keasons for Fighting^^-Memories of Beautiful France — Why I Was Not Accepted aa Consul to Grermany — Why We Went to War — Work or Fignt — Eationlng the Nations, by Hon. James Martin Miller, Former U. S. Con- sul to France — What the Yankee Dude '11 Do. II. United States Enters the War 25 The President Proclaims War — Interned Ships Are Siezed — Congress Votes $7,000,000,000 for War — Enthusiasm in the United States — Eaising an American Army — War to Victory, Wilson Pledge — British and French Commission Beaches America — ^American Troops in France. ni. Americans at Chateau Thierry 77 Personal Accounts of Battle — Gas and Shell Shock — Marines Under Fire — Americans Can Fight and Yell — Getting to the Front Under Difficulties — The Big Day Dawns — The Shells Come Fast — A Funeral at the Front — Impression of a French Lieutenant — Keeping the Germans on the Eun. IV. American Victory at St. Mihiel ,..„. 86 First Major Action by All American Army — Stories to Folks Back Home — Huns Carry Off Captive Women — Hell Has Cut Loose — Major Tells His Story — Enormous Numbers of Guns and Tanks — Over the Top at 5:30 A. M. — Texas and Okla- homa Troops Fight in True Eanger Style — Our Colored Boys Win Credit. y. The War in the Air 94 Air Craft — Liberty Motors and Air Service — The Dangers of Aviation — Air Plane's Tail Shot Off — Champions of the Air — • Lieut. Lehr's Personal Stories of Air Fighting at the Front — American Aviator Grabs Iron Cross as Souvenir — Eyes of the Army Always Open. ' VI. Causes of the World War and How War Was Declared..103 VII. Invasion of Belgium 113 Belgians Eush to Defense of Their Frontier — Towns Bombarded and Burned — The Defense of Liege — Destruction of Louvain — Fall of Namur — German Proclamation to Inhabitants. CONTENTS chapter page Surrender of Brussels 119 Belgian Capital Occupied by the Germans Without Blood- shed — Important Part Played by American Minister Brand Whitlock — March of the Kaiser's Troops Through the City — Belgian Forces Eetreat to Antwerp — Dinant and Termonde Fall. VIII. Britain Raises an Army 127 Earl Kitchener Appointed Secretary for War — A New Volun- teer Army — Expeditionary Force Landed in France — Field Marshal Sir John French in Command — Colonies EaUy to Britain's Aid — The Canadian Contingent — In- dian Troops Called For — Native Princes Offer Aid. IX. Early Battles of the War 137 Belgian Resistance to the Grerman Advance — The Fighting at Vise, Haelen, Diest, Aerschot and Tirlemont — Mons and Charleroi the First Great Battles of the War — ^Allies Make a Gallant Stand, but Forced to Eetire Across the French Border. X. German Advance on Paris , . . 161 Allies Withdraw for Ten Days, Disputing Every Inch of Ground with the Kaiser's Troops — Germans Push Their Way Through France in Three Main Columns — Official Eeports of the Withdrawing Engagements — Paris Almost in Sight. XI. Battle op the Marne 171 German Plans Suddenly Changed — Direction of Advance Swings to the Southeast When Close to the French Capital — Successful Eesistance by the Allies — The Prolonged Encounter at the Marne — Germans Eetreat, with Allies in Hot Pursuit for Many Miles. Xn. The Russian Campaign 192 Slow Mobilization of Troops — Invasion of German and Aus- trian Territory — Cossacks Lead the Van — Early Successes in East Prussia — *'0n to Berlin" — Heavy Losses In- flicted on Austrians — German Troops Eushed to the De- fense of the Eastern Territory. XIII. The Austro- Servian Campaign 214 Declaration of War by Austria — Bombardment of Belgrade — Servian Capital Eemoved — Seasoned Soldiers of Servia Give a Good Account of Themselves — Many Indecisive Engagements — Servians in Austrian Territory. 8 CONTENTS CHAPTEB PAGE XIV. Stories from the Battlefield 222 Thrilling Incidents of the Great War Told by Actual Combatants — Personal Experiences from the Lips of Sur- vivors of the "World's Bloodiest Battles — Tales of Pris- oners of War, Wounded Soldiers, and Kefugees Eendered Homeless in the Blighted Arena of Conflict — Hand-to- Hand Fighting — Frightful Mortality Among OflBcers — How It Feels to Be Wounded— In the ' * Valley of Death ' ' — A Belgian Boy Hero — A British Cavalry Charge — Spirit of French Women — In the Paris Military Hospital — German Uhlans as Scouts — How a German Prince Died —Fearful State of Battlefields. XV. The Mystery of the Fleets 256 Movements of British Battleships Veiled in Secrecy — Ger- man Dreadnoughts in North Sea and Baltic Ports — Activ- ity of Smaller Craft — English Keep Trade Eoutes Open —Several Minor Battles at Sea. XVI. Submarines and Mines 269 Battleships in Constant Danger from Submerged Craft — Opinions of Admiral Sir Percy Scott — Construction of , Modern Torpedoes — How Mines Are Laid and Exploded on Contact. XVII. Aero-Military Operations 275 Aerial Attacks on Cities — Some of the Achievements of the Airmen in the Great War — Deeds of Heroism and Daring — Zeppelins in Action — Their Construction and Oj)eration. XVIII. Battle of the Aisne 284 Most Prolonged Encoimter in History Between Gigantic Forces — A Far-Flung Battle Line — Germans Face French and British in the Aisne Valley and Fight for Weeks — Armies Deadlocked After a Desperate and Bloody Struggle. XIX. Fall of Antwerp 311 Great Seaport of Belgium Besieged by a Large German Force — Forts Battered by Heavy Siege Guns — Final Sur- render of the City — Belgian and British Defenders Escape — Exodus of Inhabitants — Germans Eeach the Sea. X^ The Wounded and Prisoners 323 Typical Precautions Used by the German Army — The Sol- dier 's First-Aid Outfit — System in Hospital Arrange- ments — How Prisoners of War Are Treated — Kegulations Are Humane and Fair to AU Concerned. 9 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XXI. HORROES OF THE WaR 331 Plan to Send Santa Claus Gifts From America to "War- Stricken Children of Europe — A Widespread Response — Movement Indorsed by Press, Pulpit and Leading Citizens — Approved by Governments of Contending Nations. XXII. Later Events of the War 338 Results of the Battle of the Rivers — Fierce Fighting in Northern France — Developments on the Eastern Battle Front — The Campaign in the Pacific — ^Naval Activities of the Powers. XXIII. Sinking of the Lusitania 380 Torpedoed by a Submarine — Crisis in German-American Relations — The Diplomatic Exchanges. XXIV. A Summer of Slaughter 382 Submarine Activities — Horrors in Serbia — Bloody Battles East and West — Italy Declares War and Invades Austria — ^Russians Pushed Back in Galicia, XXV. Second Winter of the War 397 XXVI. Climax of the War .^ 404 XXVII. World's Greatest Sea Fight 420 XXVni. Battles East and West 428 XXIX. Continuation of War in 1917 452 XXX. General Pershing's Own Story 461 XXXI. When the Days of Reckoning Dawned 469 XXXII. Home Follows the Flag 484 XXXIII. Terms of the Armistice 489 XXXIV. Honor to the Victors 497 XXXV. Chronology of the World War 507-514 10 INTRODUCTION PRESIDENT WILSON'S EPOCHAL ADDRESS Calling for Action Against Germany, Delivered by Him to the Congress in Extraordinary Session, April 3, 1917 "Gentlemen of the Congress: I have called the congress into extraordi- nary session because there are serious, very serious, choices of policy to be made, and made immediately, whici it was neither right nor constitutionally permissible that I should assume the responsibility of making. ' ' On the 3d of February last I officially laid before you the extraordinary announcement of the imperial German government that on and after the first day of February it was its purpose to put aside all restraints of law or of human- ity and use its submarines to sink every vessel that sought to approach either the ports of Great Britain and Ireland or the western coast of Europe or any of the pcrts controlled by the enemies of Germany within the Mediterranean. HOPED FOB modified WARFARE "That had seemed to be the object of the German submarine warfare earlier in the war, but sine© April of last year the imperial government had somewhat restrained the commanders of its undersea craft in conformity with its promise then given to us that passenger boats should not be sunk and that due warning would be given to all other vessels which its submarines might seek to destroy, when no resistance was offered or escape attempted, and care taken that their crews were given at least a fair chance to save their lives in their open boats. ' ' The precautions taken were meager and haphazard enough, as was proved in distressing instance after instance in the progress of the cruel and unmanly business, but a certain degree of restraint was observed. "The new policy has swept every restriction aside. Vessels of every kind, whatever their flag, their character, their cargo, their destination, their errand, have been ruthlessly sent to the bottom without warning and without thought of help or mercy for those on board, the vessels of friendly neutrals along with those of belligerents. "Even hospital ships and ships carrying relief to the sorely bereaved and stricken people of Belgium, though the latter were provided with safe conduct through the proscribed area by the German government itself and were distin- guished by unmistakable marks of identity, have been sunk with the same reckless lack of compassion or of principle. RELII» ON LAW OP NATIONS "I was for a little while unable to believe that such things would be in fact done by any government that had hitherto subscribed to the humane practices of civilized nations. "International law had its origin in the attempt to set up some law which would be respected and observed upon the seas, where no nation had right of dominion and where lay the free highways of the world. By painful stage after stag© has that law been built up, with 'meager enough results, indeed, after all was accomplished that could be accomplished, but always with a clear view, at least, of what the heart and conscience of mankind demanded, *'This minimum of right the GermLan government has swept aside under the plea of retaliation and necessity and because it had no weaipona which it could use at sea except these which it is impossible to employ as it is employ- ing them without throwing to the winds all scruples of humanity or of respect for the understandings that were supposed to underlie the intercourse of the world. 71 PRESIDENT. WILSON/8 WAB ADDRESS CHALLENGE TO ALL MANKIND "I am not now thinking of the loss of property involved, immense and serious as that is, but only of the wanton and wholesale destruction of the lives of noncombatants, men, women and cJhildren, engaged in pursuits which have always, even in the darkest periods of modern history, been deemed innocent and legitimate. Property can be paid for; the lives of peaceful and innocent people cannot be. The present German submarine warfare against commerae is a warfare against mankind. " It is a war against all nations. American ships have been sunk, American lives taken, in ways which it has stirred us very deeply to learn of, but the ships and people of other neutral and friendly nations have been sunk and overwhelm.ed in the waters in the same way. "There has been no discrimination. The challenge is to all mankind. Each nation must decide for itself how it will meet it. The choice we make for ourselves must be made with a moderation of counsel and a temperateness of judgment befitting our character and our motives as a nation. We must put excited feelings away. Our motive will not be revenge or the victorious assertion of the physical might of the nation, but only the vindication of right — of human right — of which we are only a single champion. "When I addressed the congress on the 26th of February last I thought that it would suffice to assert our neutral rights with arms, our right to use the seas against unlawful interference, our right to keep our people safe against unlawful violence. "But armed neutrality, it now appears, is impracticable. Because sub- marines are in effect outlaws when used as the German submarines have been used against merchant shipping, it is impossible to defend ships against their attacks, as the law of nations has assumed that merchantmen would defend them- selves against privateers or cruisers, visible craft giving chase upon the open sea. "It is common prudence in such circumstances, grim necessity, indeed, to endeavor to destroy them before they have shown their own intentions. They must be dealt with upon sight if dealt with at all. "The German government denies the right of neutrals to use arms at all within the areas of the sea which it has proscribed, even in the defense of rights which no modern publicist has ever before questioned their right to defend. ' * The intimation is conveyed that the armed guards which we have placed on our merchant ships will be treated as beyond the pale of law and subject to be dealt with as pirates would be. Armed neutrality is ineffectual enough at best. In such circumstances and in the face of such pretensions it is worse than ineffectual; it is likely only to produce what it was meant to prevent; it is practically certain to draw us into the war without either the rights or the effectiveness of belligerents. "There is one choice we cannot make, we are incapable of making: We will not choose the path of submission and suffer the most sacred rights of our nation and our people to be ignored or violated. The wrongs against which we now array ourselves are no common wrongs. They cut to the very roots of human life. MUST ACCEPT EESPONSIBIUTT ' ' With a profound sense of the solemn and even tragical character of the step I am taking and of the grave responsibilities which it involves, but in unhesitating obedience to what I deem my constitutional duty, I advise that the congress declare the recent course of the imperial German government to be in fact nothing less than war against the government and people of the United States; that it formally accept the status of belligerent which has thus been thrust upon it; and that it take immediate steps not only to put the • 12 ' PBESIDENT WILSON'S WAM ADDRESS country in a more thorough state of defense but also to exert all its power and employ all its resources to bring the government of the German empire to terms and end the war. COURSE WE MUST PURSUE "What this will involve is clear. It will involve the utmost practicable co-operation in counsel and action with the governments now at war with Ger- many and, as incident to that, the extension to those governments of the most liberal financial credits, in order that our resources may so far as possible be added to theirs. "It will involve the organization and mobilization of all the material resources of the country to supply the materials of war and serve the incidental needs of the nation in the most abundant and yet the most economical and efficient way possible. "It will involve the immediate full equipment of the navy in all respects, but particularly in supplying it with the best means of dealing with the enemy's submarines. ARMY OF 500,000 MEN "It will involve the immediate addition to the armed force of the United States already provided for by law in case of war at least 500,000 men, who should, in my opinion, be chosen upon the principal of universal liability to service, and also the authorization of subsequent additional increments of equal force so soon as they may be needed and can be handled in training. "It will involve also, of course, the granting of adequate credits to the government, sustained, I hope, so far as they can equitably be sustained by the present generation, by well conceived taxation. * ' I say sustained so far as may be equitable by taxation because it seema to me that it would be most unwise to base the credits which will now be necessary entirely on money borrowed. It is our duty, I most respectfully urge, to protect our people, so far as we may, against the very serious hardships and evils which would be likely to arise out of the inflation which would be produced by vast loans. MUST SUPPLY THE ALLIES "In carrying out the measures by which these things are to be accom- plished we should keep constantly in mind the wisdom of interfering as little as possible in our own preparation and in the equipment of our own military forces with the duty — for it will be a very practical duty — of supplying the nations already at war with Germany with the materials which they can obtain only from us or by our assistance. They are in the field, and we should help them in every way to be effective there. "I shall take the liberty of suggesting, through the several executive departments of the government, for the consideration of your committees, measures for the accomplishment of the several objects I have mentioned. I hope that it will be your pleasure to deal with them as having been framed after very careful thought by the branch of the governmerit upon which the responsibility of conducting the war and safeguarding the nation wiU most directly fall. SEEKS FREEDOM OP WORLD "While we do these things, these deeply momentous things, let us be very clear, and make very clear to all the world, what our motives and our objects are. My own thought has not been driven from its habitual and normal course by the unhappy events of the last months, and I do not believe that the thought of the nation has been altered or clouded by them. "I have exactly the same things in mind now that I had in mind when I addressed the senate on the twenty-second of January last; the same that I had in mind when I addressed the congress on the third of February and on the twenty-sixth of February. PEESIDENT WILSON'S WAM ADDRESS "Our object now, as then, is to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power and to set up amongst the really free and self -governed peoples of the world such a concert of purpose and of action as will henceforth insure the observance of those principles. "Neutrality is no longer feasible or desirable where the peace of the world is involved and the freedom of its peoples, and the menace to that peace and freedom lies in the existence of autocratic governments backed by orga- nized force which is controlled wholly by their will — not by the will of their people. "We have seen the last of neutrality in such circumstances. We are at the beginning of an age in which it will be insisted that the same standards of conduct and of responsibility for wrong done shall be observed among nations and their governments that are observed among the individual citizens of civilized states. NO QUAEREL WITH GERMANS ' ' We have no quarrel with the German people. We have no feeling towards them but one of sympathy and friendship. It was not upon their impulse that their government acted in entering this war. It was not with their pre'vious knowledge or approval. It was a war determined upon as wars used to ba deteriained upon in the old, unhappy days when peoples were nowhere consulted by their rulers and wars were provoked and waged in the interest of dynasties or of little groups of ambitious men who were accustomed to use their fellow- men as pawns and tools. "Self- governed nations do not fill their neighbor states with spies or set the course of intrigue to bring about some critical posture of affairs which will give them an opportunity to strike and make conquest. "Such designs can be successfully worked out only under cover and where no one has the right to ask questions. Cunningly contrived plans of deception or aggression, carried, it may be, from generation to generation, can be ivorked out and kept from the light only within the privacy of courts or behind the carefully guarded confidences of a narrow and privileged class. They arc haxjpily impossible'where public opinion commands and insists upon full infor- mation concerning all the nation's affairs. MENACE OF INTRIGUES "A steadfast concert for peace can never be maintained except by a part- nership of democratic nations. No autocratic government could be trusted to keep faith within or observe its covenants. It must be a league of honor, a partnership of opinion. "Intrigue would eat its vitals away; the plottings of inner circles who could plan what they would and give account to no one, would be a corruption eeated at its very heart. "Only free peoples can hold their purpose and their honor steady to a common end and pjefer the interest of mankind to any narrow interest of their own. WELCOME TO FREE RUSSIA "Does not every American feel that assurance has been added to our hopo for the future peace of the world by the wonderful and heartening things that have been happening within the last few weeks in Eussia? "Russia was known by those who knew it best to have been always in fact democratic at heart in all the vital habits of her thought, in all the inti- mate relationships of her people that spoke their natural instinct, their habitual attitude toward life. The autocracy that crowned the summit of her political structure, as long as it had stood and terrible as was the reality of its power, was not in fact Russian in origin, character or purpose; and now it has been 14 PRESIDENT WILSON'S WAR ADDRESS sTiaken off and the great, generous Russian people have added in all their native majesty and might to the forces that are fighting for freedom in the world, for justice, and for peace. Here is a fit partner for a league of honor. "One of the things that has served to convince us that the Prussian autoc- racy was not and could never be our friend is that from the very outset of the present war it has filled our unsuspecting communities and even our offices of government with spies and set criminal intrigues everywhere afoot against our national unity of counsel, our peace within and without, our industries, and our commerce. "Indeed, it is now evident that its spies were here even before the war began, and it is unhappily not a m.atter of conjecture, but a fact proved in our courts of justice, that the intrigues which have more than once come perilously near to disturbing the peace and dislocating the industries of the country have been carried on at the instigation, with the support, and even under the per- sonal direction of official agents of the imperial government accredited to the government of the United States. SOUGHT TO IGNORE PLOTS "Even in checking these things and trying to extirpate them we have sought to put the most generous interpretation possible upon them because we knew that their source lay not in any hostile feeling or purpose of the German people towards us (who were, no doubt, as ignorant of them as we ourselves were) but only in the selfish designs of a government that did what it pleased and told its people nothing. "But they played their part in serving to convince us at last that that government entertains no real friendship for us and means to act against our peace and security at its convenience. That it means to stir up enemies against us at our very doors the intercepted note to the German minister at Mexico City is eloquent evidence. FIGHT FOR HUMAN EIGHTS "We are accepting this challenge of hostile purpose because we know that in such a government, following such methods, we can never have a friend, and that in the presence of its organized power, always lying in wait to accomplish we know not what purpose, there can be no assured security for the democratic governments of the world. ' ' We are now about to accept gage of battle with this natural foe to liberty and shall, if necessary, spend the whole force of the nation to cheek and nullify its pretensions and its power. We are glad, now that we see the facts with no veil of false pretense about them, to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its people, the German people included; for the rights of nations, great and small; the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience. SEEK NO SELFISH ENDS "The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for our- selves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the right of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them. "Just because we fight without rancor and without selfish object, seeking nothing for ourselves but what we s'hall wish to share with all free peoples, we shall, I feel confident, conduct our operations as belligerents without passion and ourselves observe with pjoud punctilio the principles of right and of fair play we profess to be fightii}^ for. PRESIDENT WILSON'S WAR ADDRESS SILENT AS TO AUSTRIA "I have said nothing of the governments allied with the imperial German government because they have not made war upon us or challenged us to defend our right and our honor. "The Austro-Hungarian government has, indeed, avowed its unqualified indorsement and acceptance of the reckless and lawless submarine warfare adopted now without disguise by the imperial German government, and it haa therefore not been possible for this government to receive Count Tarnowski, the ambassador recently accredited to this government by the imperial and royal government of Austria-Hungary ; but that government has not actually engaged in warfare against citizens of the United States on the seas. "On these premises I take the liberty, for the present at least, of post- poning a discussion of our relations with the authorities at Vienna. We enter this war only where we are clearly forced into it because there are no other means of defending our rights. "It will be all the easier for us to conduct ourselves as belligerents in a high spirit of right and fairness because we act without animus, not in enmity towards a people or with the desire to bring any injury or disadvantage upon them, but only in armed opposition to an irresponsible government which haa thrown aside alf considerations of humanity and of right and is running amuck. GERMANS IN AMERICA "We are, let me say again, the sincere friends of the German people, and shall desire nothing so much as the early reestablishment of intimate relations of mutual advantage between us, however hard it may be for them, for the time being, to believe that this is spoken from our hearts. "We have borne with their present government through all these bitter months because of that friendship, exercising a patience and forbearance which would otherwise have been impossible. "We shall, happily, still have an opportunity to prove that friendship in our daily attitude and actions towards the millions of men and women of German birth and native sympathy who live amongst us and share our life, and we shall be proud to prove it towards all who are in fact loyal to their neighbors and to the government in the hour of test. They are, most of them, as true and loyal Americans as if they had never known any other fealty or allegiance. They will be prompt to stand with us in rebuking and restraining the few who may be of a different mind and purpose. If there should be dis- loyalty it will be dealt with with a firm hand of stern repression; but if it lifts its head at ail it will lift it only here and there and without countenance except? from a lawless and malignant few. CIVILIZATION IN BALANCE " It is a distressing and oppressive duty, gentlemen of the congress, which I have performed in thus addressing you. There are, it may be, many mouths of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. "But the right ia more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts — for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own govern- ments, for the rights and liberties of smaU nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free. "To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which, she has treasured. God helping her, she can do no other." 16 CHAPTER I WHY WE WENT TO WAE MEMORIES OF BEAUTIFUL FEANCE— WHY I WAS NOT ACCEPTEB AS CONSUL TO GERMANY By Hon, James Martin Miller FORMER UNITED STATES CONSUL IN FRANCE To have lived on the principal battle ground of the world war was a privilege the author did not appreciate at the time. As repre- sentative of the United States Groverninent in the Consular district of France that includes the departments of the Aisne, Ardennes, Mame, Aube, Meuse, Vosges, Haute-Marne and Meurthe-et-Moselle, he lived and had his headquarters at Reims, some years before the war, Reims is (or rather was) a beautiful city of 112,000 people. The story of the city goes back to the days of the Roman empire, and bears the mark of many Gallic insurrections. In comparatively later times Joan of Arc caused Charles VII to be crowned in the great Cathedral there — one of the most glorious and stately in all Europe, now a ruin. A history of the eight departments (or small states) mentioned above would include a history of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71, and of the greatest and most desperate of all wars, the one just brought to a close. My Consular district bordered on Belgium, Luxemburg and Alsace-Lorraine. The Mame, the Aisne, the Vesle, and other streams whose names adorn with sad pride so many of America's battleflags, flow through it. After 1914 Belgium saw very little fighting ; but this district saw almost four years of continuous and enormous battle. It was overrun time and again. Neither Belgium nor any other country suffered such devastation, nor such material destruction. Today it is a vast graveyard. Hundreds of thousands of men dyed its soil with their lifeblood. All America and all the world knows about Chateau Thierry and St. Mihiel, and the gallantry of American troops in those two brilliant and significant actions. It is difficult to realize the stupendous tragedy that through all those years hung over that beau- tiful country, whose fields were once as familiar to me as any fields of home. I look back to that time with affection, in the glow of happy memories. Americans before this war had held, the Monroe Doctrine in high reverence. Presidents had strengthened it in their messages. Candi- dates for office for more than half a century had argued as a campaign issue that the United States must never be drawn into foreign entanglements; that no European nation ever would be allowed to interfere in the affairs of the American continents. This doctrine was so deeply rooted that objectors everywhere rose up when we began to talk of "preparedness" against the ultimate day when we could no 17 MEMORIES OF BEAUTIFUL FRANCE longer keep out of the fight. Many declared it would be "unconstitu- tional" for the United States to send troops to Europe. The war lords of Germany took advantage of this traditional sentiment among our people and felt sure that the United States never v/ould come in, no matter how many American lives nor how much American property Germany might destroy, nor how many of our ships German pirates might sink at sea, without warning. The German govenmient had built up a propaganda in this country that at one time threatened to poison the minds of all our people. There were some among us who hated England, and wanted to see Germany win for no other reason than that. Others hated Russia, and so desired Germany to win. Germany's secret intrigues in Mexico came near to getting us into a war with that country. In the face of all these things there was a strong sentiment amo:ii: our people and even in Congress favorable to Germany. It is easy now to say that we should have gone to war when the Lusitania was sunk, but pro-German feeling was so noisy and so strong, even though it was held by a minority, that the Congress itself was affected and withheld its hand. Public sentiment had to be erystalized so that it would stand back of the administration. With our lack of a secret service capable of coping with the German agents who were busy everywhere and all the time, we were at a disadvantage in gathering evidence to convince our people that the Germans were menacing our very existence. Even after the secret service was built up it took many months of hard work and several thousand government men to uncover and stamp out their organizations and their ruthless plots. The slimy tracks of the German ambassador at Washington had to be followed through devious under- ground channels that no one had suspected. The embassy had filled the country with German poison gas, and backed the German campaign of wholesale arson. Germans living here, many of them American bom, were busily counteracting public opinion as the evidences accumulated. Democracies are always at a disadvantage in dealing with monarchies; in the initial stages of war at least. We have seen it demonstrated that a democracy must become autocratic if it is to carry on a war successfully. But an American autocracy takes the shape of a temporary delegation of unusual power in conditions that cannot wait for the slow action of ordinary times ; and those who exercise it are put in power by the people themselves, to do the people's will. It was necessary to consolidate not only the direction of the nation itself, but of our military afi;airs abroad. We soon got the home situation in hand, and then the President of the United States threw his influence, backed by all the American people, toward bringing the allied armies and those of the United States under one head in the person of General Foch as Field Marshal. This was not accomplished until after the 18 /f>J f^ ^ ^lloto:^eo^ge] (SIR DOUGLAS HAIG) KVv'OODROW WILSON! JS*| »| ili i' l ''ll'!i yi ii| i i' M'l i' l! i | |il M< l! HIWII l W B t ' VI ' -V ''' li) ' l il ''MI7yw ' ' i lH| i| r." ^ Top — How British fighting men advance to attack after going over the top, spread out in thin columns. Very different from mass formations of the enemy and less costly In human life. (British Official Photo, from I. F. 8.) Bottom — A remarkable actual war photograph of British machine gunners operat- ing from Qerman second line ; captured in the great Cambral drive. The men ar© coolly preparing mess. (Copyright, U. d U.) mmim. mmm i^^...^... o fW' ii dM A* " 'M'- Above — American negro infantrymon advancins toward the front in the Argunne along a screened highway. It can truly be said of these American soldiers and their ilk in the campaign in France that "the colored troops fought nol>ly." Below — Men of the 132nd II. S. Infantry, 33rd Division, in a front line trench, looking toward the valley of the Meuse, where it is estimated 70,000 men lie buried, (17. S. Official Photos.) 71 Si'ti mOQ naAt*%.Uuimmt^.^ IV ' > o 5 '^ '^ c 0) O) OJ o to ^ -Ctf .M K", 71 O .t4_, ^ O S-T3 — TT ^?2« 'aj = 0) O rQ (c g ai - C "" >, ^^ oj "V o i- ,. a. ^ oT "S, V oi K ,™ cS o .ti c c 2 H 22c-S *■ -C »j 2 o 1) t, oSg. £5 So Above—Scene in Chateau Thierry after the battle that brought undying glory to American arms, anil especially to the Marine Corps. The effects of the heavy bom- bardment by the artillery of the Third Division are plainly to be seen. (Photo from I. F. S.) Beloiv — American and French soldiers looking over the town of Chateau Thierry after the battle. This was the scene of America's first great victory in the war. The town was stormed and the enemy routed by the troops the Germans had chosen to belittle. (Copyright by C. P. I.j Photo from W. N. U.) MEMORIES OF BEAUTIFUL FRANCE great Italian disaster, when it looked as though the Austro-HungariaLi armies would crush Italy. The same may be said of the threatened disaster to the British army early in 1918, when von Hindenburg began his great drive toward Calais and Paris. Here were Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria, four monarchies dominated by the German government, fighting nearly all the democracies of the world, not considering Kussia, which dropped out shortly before the United States effectively entered the war. We will not consider Japan's position as a nominal member of the entente, except for her action at the beginning of the war in capturing Kiauchau, China, the German fortified port and naval base in the Orient, and sweeping Germany out of the Pacific by taking the Marshall islands. Beyond this, Japan sent soldiers to Eastern Siberia to help in police duty, and in guarding the great stores of supplies accumulated by the Russians at Vladivostok. These stores had been bought largely upon the credit extended to Russia by the United States. With Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary gone as monarchies, Japan is the greatest of the remaining imperial states. We have seen more than a dozen kings, emperors, princes and grand dukes pass into the discard as a result of a war which they themselves brought on. France tried to discard kings and princes in 1798. The sov- erignty of the people was proclaimed in that war, but the governments which have ruled France since have been many, and presented wide differences. In this present age, no doubt it will be much easier to establish a stable democracy upon the wreck of a monarchy than it could have been a century ago. Still, the construction of a democracy is a difficult ordeal for people who have always been imperialists. The several monarchies, big and little, that have fallen in this war, present most perplexing problems. There are boundary and racial disputes of the most bitter kind between some of their peoples. But the great democracies of the world that won this war are taking the part of "big brothers" to these, and are seeing to it that their petty quarrels and internal differences are held in check. Each of these countries, even though they establish democracies, will have strong royalist parties that will constitute a standing threat. France even to this day has a royalist group of considerable strength. Their persistent claim is that France will again be a monarchy. The United States is really the only democracy without such a party. It is the only republic that was not founded on the ruin of a monarchy. WHY I WAS NOT ACCEPTED AS CONSUL TO GERMANY I have had some personal experience with the late German Imperial Government. As a war correspondent it was my duty tc give to the world an account of the forcible deportation of King Mataafa 19 MEMORIES OF BEAUTIFUL FRANCE from Samoa to the Marshall Islands, where he was kept in exile six years. The Germans had shoved him aside to make room for Malieto, an imbecile and a German figurehead. I was there again when Mataafa, at the end of those six years, returned to Samoa, to the great joy of his people. A few years later I discovered that Germany's policy was to "mark" any individual who wrote or spoke in criticism of anything German. I was appointed United States Consul to Aix la Chapelle, Ger- many, four years after those articles appeared. My appointment came from President Eoosevelt, and was confirmed by the United States Senate. When I arrived in Germany I found I was United States Consul so far as the United States Government was concerned, but I was put off in the matter of my exequatur (certificate of authority) from the government to which I was accredited; and without an exequatur, I could not act, I was kept cooling my heels in the consulate several months before I found out what was the matter. My newspaper articles describing what the Germans had done in Samoa, published four years earlier, were being held against me. My presence in Germany was not desired. I had crossed the Atlantic with Prince Henry, the Kaiser's brother and Admiral of the German Navy, in February, 1901, when the Prince brought his party of a dozen or so militarists to this country to "further cement the amity and good will" existing between the great republic and the great empire. It later developed that this was a well planned operation in German propaganda. As a representative of the Associated Press, I had written of it. That was just after I had written the Samoan articles. Speck von Sternberg was the German Ambassador to Washing- ton. He was in Paris. I went there to see him and ascertain, if I could, why my exequatur was withheld. The Government at Wash- ington could get no information on the subject. The whole affair was clothed in mystery. After some conversation I suggested to Ambassador von Sternberg that perhaps the foreign office at Berlin was withholding the document because of my writings on German colonial matters. Then it came out — my guess was true. Some underlings in the foreign office had the case in charge. The Ambassador suggested that as I knew Prince Henry, I would better write him at Kiel. I did this, with the result that the obstacle was removed and the exequatur issued. It arrived too late, for President Eoosevelt the day before had promoted me to the Consul-Gener&lship at the important seaport of Auckland, New Zealand. My family being in France at that time, I applied for and immediately received a transfer to the consular dis- 20 UNITED STATES m THE WAB trict in France, mentioned elsewhere in this chapter. My exequatur came the day following my arrival in France. My experience in Germany had been widely published in American and other newspapers. Some of our more sensational papers had accounts of my being ' ' expelled ' ' from Germany, which were not true. I left Germany wholly upon my own volition. WHY WE WENT TO WAR During two years preceding our entrance upon war, Germany had been carrying on open warfare against us, within our own bor- ders. For more than thirty years Germany's policy of preparatory penetration had been in course. As we know now, every country, all round the globe, but especially the United States in North America and Brazil and Venezuela in South America, had been filled with Germans, ostensibly settlers, business men and followers of the higher professions, but for the greater part agents of Germany, in continuous contact with Potsdam and under Potsdam direction. It was the busi- ness of these imported Germans to foster the German idea, exalt Germany's leadership in military power and in science and the arts, impress their language, their literature, music and customs upon our people, and to do all those things which might work for the day when Germany, having faked a partnership with Almighty God, should reach out for world dominion. The processes were pressed with that strange blend of industry, stupidity, mendacity and cunning which characterize the Prussian and all his acts. Under our noses a German solidarity was attempted here, and in part achieved. Organizations having Prussian ends in view were numerous, large, popular and unsuspected. Threading them through and through was a spy system unbelievably thorough and amazingly adroit. Potsdam had us marked as a nation of easy- going money getters, to be bled white, crammed with her muddy kultur and taught the goose-step, at her imperial leisure, after France and England had fallen to her guns. But her blend of qualities, no matter how strong in itself, was nullified by just one lack: the total inability of the Prussian mind to understand the mind of the world exterior to Germany. In the day of test it failed. Because of that inability, and knowing full well how readily the German mind could be terrorized, the outbreak of war in Europe brought an outbreak of blind German violence in the United States. We were to be impressed by the German power to strike. Our soil was chosen as a garden of domestic sedition, and of foreign conspiracy against powers with which we were at peace. To keep us busy with troubles of our own, German propaganda and German money in Mexico raised on our southern border a threatening spectre of war. 21 WHY WE WENT TO WAR We were to have been rushed into conflict with Mexico and kept em- ployed there while being terrorized by wholesale arson and sabotage at home, so that by no chance could any friendly European power look to us for help. The scheme came near to succeeding, for our people were aroused by Mexican aggression, and the flaunting insults of Mexican authority, prompted by German agents. The policy of our Government saved us from falling into a trap that might have held us fast while Germany overran the whole of Europe and made ready to come a-plundering here at her own time and convenience. If the truth had been known by the people then as clearly as it was known at Washington, nothing could have held us back. We would not have bothered with Mexico at all. We would have joined the free nations of Europe, and nobody may guess what would have happened. Certainly we could not have assembled the men and the resources we actually and swiftly did assemble later, when the real hour sounded. We would have cut a sorry figure and gone into the mess confusedly. Washington knew. The President knew so well that through 1915 and 1916 he and others in high places never ceased crying a warning to "prepare." The President himself toured the country and told the people every-where that with a world on fire we could not hope to escape unsinged. He said openly as much as he dared. Under the surface the Government did much more. The rapid movement of events once we were declared a combatant would have been impossible otherwise. That rapidity of effective action surprised the world only because it had all been planned before a word was said. In the years of our neutrality our course as a nation was surely shaping itself for war, without an outward sign or act, Kuthless destruction of property and of life became too open, too frequent, too outrageous, for the patience of even a long-suffering, tolerant people such as we. The first impulse of genuine resentment was given when the Lusitania went down with its neutral passengers, a defenseless ship on a peaceful errand, drowning mor« than a hundred Americans of both sexes and all ages without the slightest notice, or the faintest chance of escape. Any nation other than ours would have gone to war in a moment over such a blow in the face. We did not. Farther, we endured a sudden and flagrant increase of German propaganda in high quarters anfl low, and of German insolence openly and defiantly parading itself. The catalogue of provocations grew daily, and daily bred anger, but our temper held until in February of 1917, when Germany proclaimed unrestricted piracy by submarines, and under the thin pretext of starving out the British Isles, American and other ships were destroyed with all on board, wholesale. Even then our hand was withheld until Germany advised us that 22 WHY V/E WENT TO WAR we might send just one ship a week to Europe, one snip and no more, provided that solitary ship were painted in a manner prescribed in the permission, and then held strictly to a course laid down by the German admiralty. Germany, a third rate naval power, had arbi- trarily forbidden us the freedom of the seas. Then our patience broke. For this and all the other causes Ger- many had given us, and for our own safety and the rescue of a world that without us would have perished, the United States went to war. V70RK OR FIGHT Back of every American soldier about fifty men and women wera needed in order that he be supplied with everything his physical, moral and military well being might require. They were^put there. The result was a sweeping change, an immense expansion of energy in the United States itself. The draft took care of the army. No time or trouble had to be given to filling the ranks and keeping them full. The enormous sums of money necessary to finance our allies as well as ourselves were promptly oversubscribed in a series of loans, the first and least of which ran into three billion dollars, the fourth into six billions, a sum larger than any single loan ever fioated by any other nation. Idleness was abolished. The order to "work or fight" was strictly enforced upon all the people, rich and poor alike, for any attempt to except any one or any class would have been blown away in a gale of laughter. In a space incredibly brief the United States became a nation of actual workers, in which every individual did his or her share, submitting meanwhile, with good grace and no mur- muring, to being rationed. Interstate utilities were taken over and operated by the government, including the railway, telegraph and telephone lines ; and government fixed prices on the necessaries of life. Everything was subordinated to the one and only purpose of winning the war. All that we were and all that we had was thoroughly mobil- ized behind the fighting arms, the army and the navy. RATIONING THE NATIONS Almost immediately after the first military and naval prepara- tions had been set in operation the United States Government, taking no chance as against the future, began to regulate the lives and living of Americans at home. A policy of -conservation, so well devised that it v/ent into efi'ect without the slightest disturbance of daily living and daily routine, was at once adopted. England, France and Belgium had to be fed. Belgium had to be clothed and housed as well as fed. Out of our abundance had to come the means to those ends, as well as to equip and maintain vast armies of our own, from bases three thousand miles away in Europe and twice as far in Asia. The whole nation was mobilized for war. Britain and Prance had come through more than three years of 23 WHY WE WENT TO WAR clofic-lipped but bone-cracking effort, in which every aspect of domestic life was changed, the final ounce of strength exerted, privations un- heard of endured in grim silence. America saved them, and not alon» by force of arms against the common enemy. ^ CHAPTER n. UNITED STATES ENTEES THE WAR. The President Proclaims War — Interned Ship's Are Seised-^ Congress Votes $7,000,000,000 for War — Raising an American Army— War to Victory Wilson Pledge— British and French Commission Reaches America. On April 2, 1917, Congress having been called in special session,- President Wilson appeared before a joint session of both houses and in an address worthy of its historical importance asked for a formal declaration that a state of war existed with Germany, owing to the ruthless and unrestricted submarine campaign. He recommended the utmost practical co-operation with the Entente Allies in counsel and action; the extension of liberal financial credit to them, the mobilization of all the material resources of the United States for the purpose of providing adequate munitions of war, the full equip- ment of the Navy, especially in supplying it with means for dealing with submarines, and the immediate enrollment of an army of 500,000 men, preferably by a system of universal service, to be increased later hy an additional army of equal size. The President took pains to point out that in taking these measures against the German govern- ment, the United States had no quarrel with the German people, who were innocent, because kept in ignorance of the lawless acts of their autocratic government, which had become a menace not only to the peace of the world, but to the cause of fundamental human liberty. The object of the United States, said the President, was to vindicate the principles of peace and justice as against selfish and autocratic power, and to insure the future observance of these principles. After due debate the following joint resolution, declaring war with Germany was adopted by the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives and signed by the President on April 6, 1917 : ** Whereas, the imperial German government has committed repeated acts of war against the government and the people of the United States of America ; therefore, be it "Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, That the state of war between the United States and the imperial German government which has thus been thrust upon the United States is hereby formally declared ; and that the President be, and he is, hereby authorized and directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of the United UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR States and the resources of the government to carry on war against the imperial German government; and to bring the conflict to a successful termination, all of the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Congress of the United States." THE PRESIDENT PROCLAIMS WAR. Immediately after signing the resolution of Congress, President "Wilson issued a formal proclamation of war, embodying in it an earnest appeal to all American citizens "that they, in loyal devotion to their country, dedicated from its foundation to the principles of liberty and justice, uphold the laws of the land and give undivided and willing support to those measures which may be adopted by the constitutional authorities in prosecuting the war to a successful issue and in obtaining a secure and just peace." The President further enjoined all alien enemies within the United States to preserve the peace and refrain from crime against the? public safety, and from giving information, aid, or comfort to the enemy, assuring them of protection so long as they conducted them- selves in accordance with law and with regulations which might be promulgated from time to time for their guidance. The great mass of German- American citizens promptly avowed the utmost loj^alty to the United States, but numerous arrests of suspected spies followed all over the country. INTERNED SHIPS ARE SEIZED. Following the declaration of war all the German merchant vessels interned in ports of the United States were seized by representatives of the Federal authority, their crews rem.oved and interned, and guardians placed aboard. These ships in American waters num- bered 99, of an aggregate value of about $100,000,000, and included some of the finest vessels of the German merchant marine; for instance, the Vaterland, of 54,283 tons, valued at $8,000,000, and numerous other Atlantic liners. The disposition to be made of the German ships was left to the future for decision, with great proba- bility, however, that they would be used to transport munitions and supplies to the Allies in Europe through the German submarine blockade. CONGRESS VOTES $7,000,000,000 FOR WAR. Prompt action was taken by Congress to furnish the sinews of war. By April 14 a bond and certificate issue of $7,000,000,000 had been unanimously voted by both houses, and preparations were made to float a popular subscription for the bonds. Tliree billions of the amount was intended for loans to the Allies, and the remainder for active prosecution of the war by the United States. The debates in Congress indicated that the country stood solidly behind the Presi- dent in a determination to bring the military autocracy of Germany to a realizing sense of its responsibility to civilization. 26 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR RAISING AN AMERICAN ARMY. Legislation was immediately presented by the War Department to the military committees of the Senate and House of Representa- tives, to provide for raising an army for active participation in the war. This legislation was described by President Wilson as follows : "It proposes to raise the forces necessary to meet the present emergency by bringing the regulau army and the National Guard to war strength and by adding the additional forces which will now be needed, so that the national army will comprise three elements — the regular army, the National Guard and the so-called additional forces, of which at first 500,000 are to be authorized immediately and later increments of the same size as they may be needed. *'in order that all these forces may comprise a single army, the term of enlistment in the three is equalized and will be for the period of the emergency. "The necessary men will be secured for the regular army and the National Guard by volunteering, as at present, until, in the judgment of the President, a resort to a selective draft is desirable. The addi- tional forces, however, are to be raised by selective draft from men ranging in age from 19 to 25 years. The quotas of the several states in all of these forces will be in proportion to their population.'* Recruiting for the army and navy became active as soon as war was declared. On April 15 President Wilson issued an address to the nation, calling on all citizens to enroll themselves in a vast "army of service," military or industrial, and stating that the hour of supreme test for the nation had come. The United States prepared to rise to its full measure of duty, confident in the patent justice of its cause, and echoing the sentiment of its President when he said : "The hope of the world is that when the European war is over arrangements will have been made composing many of the questions which have hitherto seemed to require the arming of the nations, and that in some ordered and just way the peace of the world may be maintained by such co-operations of force among the great nations as may be necessary to maintain peace and freedom throughout the world." ENGLAND WELCOMES U. S. AS x«lN" ALLY. The news of the President's proclamation of war, following the action of Congress, was received in England and France, Russia and Ital.y, with enthusiasm. A great service of thanksgiving was held in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, attended by the King and Queen, min- isters of state, and an enormous congregation that joined in singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the national anthem, while the Stars and Stripes by official order was flown for the first time in history from the tower of the Parliament buildings at Westminster and on public buildings throughout the British empire. A high commission was 27 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR appointed to visit the United States for a series of war conferences, and Premier Lloyd George expressed the national satisfaction in glow- ing terms of welcome to the United States as an ally against Germany, paying at the same time an eloquent tribute to the masterly address of President Wilson to Congress, which stated the case for humanity against military autocracy in such an unanswerable manner, the Brit- ish premier said, that it placed the seal of humanity's approval on the Allied cause and furnished final justification of the British attitude toward Germany in the war. POPULAR DEMONSTRATION IN PARIS. In France, the Stars and Stripes were flung to the breeze from the Eiffel Tower on April 22, and saluted by twenty-one guns. This marked the opening of the ceremonies of ' ' United States day ' ' in Paris. The French tricolor and the star-spangled banner were at the same hour unfurled together from the residence of William G. Sharp, the American ambassador, in the Avenue d'Eylau, from the American Embassy, from the city hall, and from other municipal government buildings. It was a great day for the red, white and blue, 40,000 American flags being handed out gratis by the committee and waved by the people who thronged the vicinity of the manifestations, which included the decoration of the statues of Washington and Lafayette. Members of the American Lafayette flying corps, a delegation from the American Ambulance at Neuilly and the American Field Ambu- lances were the guard of honor before the Lafayette statue. Ambassador Sharp and his escort were received at the city hall by the members of the municipal council and other distinguished persons. Adrien Mithouard, president of the municipal council, welcomed Ambassador Sharp, who was greeted with great applause when address- ing the people of Paris. He said : ' ' Citizens of Paris : IMay I say to you, on this day you have with such fine sentiment set apart to honor my country, that America remains no longer content to express to France merely her sympathy. In a cause which she believes as verily as you believe to be a sacred one, she will consecrate all her power and the blood of her patriotic sons, if necessary, to achieve a victory that shall for all time to come insure the domination of right over wrong, freedom over oppression, and the blessings of peace over the brutality of war. ' ' The French Government also appointed a war commission to visit the United States forthwith for conference. Resolutions expressing the great satisfaction of the Allied nations at the action of the United States were adopted by the British House of Commons, the French Chamber of Deputies, the Russian Duma, and the Italian Parliament. 2s UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR ENTHUSIASM IN THE UNITED STATES. War being declared, the people of the United States were not slow in letting the President know that they stood solidly behind him. From all parts of the country came assurances that the action of the Government was approved. Organizations of every conceivable kind passed resolutions pledging their support to all war measures decided to be necessary to carry the war to a successful issue. Recruiting was at once started for both the Army and the Navy. The recruiting depots were thronged daily and thousands were enrolled for active serv- ive while Congress was debating the respective merits of the volunteer system and the "selective draft" advocated by the general staff of the Army and approved by the President and his cabinet. The full quota of men desired for the Navy, to place the ships already in commission in a high state of efficiency, was soon secured. More men offered themselves for naval service, indeed, than could be accepted pending the action of Congress. Volunteers for the aviation corps, the marines, the field artillery, the engineer corps, and all the various branches of the military establishments came forward freely, and a general desire was expressed to send an American force to tlie trenches in Europe at the earliest possible moment consistent with proper training for the Sa'd. As the reports of American diplomats from the war zone, freed from German censorship, were given to the public, the martial spirit of America grew apace. Ambassador Gerard's corroboration of Ger- man atrocities in the occupied territory of France, and Minister Brand Whitlock's report on the situation in Belgium and the illegal and atrocious deportation of Belgian citizens for hard labor, ill treatment, and starvation in Germany, added fuel to the flame of national indig- nation, already running high as the result of continued destruction of American merchant vessels and the loss of American lives by sub- marine piracy and murder, continued almost without cessation since the infamous sinking of the Lusitania, one of the never-to-be-forgotten crimes of German ruthlessness. One hundred million free-bom people were at length aroused to action. The Na\y was ready for immediate service where it could do most good, and promptly took over patrol duty in the western Atlantic, relieving British and French men-of-war -for service elsewhere. The raising of an army of a million or more men for active participation in the war waited only on the action of Congress. American women responded nobly to the President's call for uni- versal service, flocking to the Red Cross headquarters in every city and setting to work immediately in the preparation of comforts for the great army gathering on the horizon. They were promptly organ- ized, so that their efforts might count to the best advantage- 29 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR In Au^st, 1916, the United States Navy included 356 war craft of all kinds, as against 693 credited to Great Britain, 404 to France, and 309 to Germany. The latter figure does not include an unknown number of submarines of recent construction. THE BRITISH COMMISSION ARRIVES. On Sunday, April 22, the British war commission reached Wash- ington, headed by the Right Hon. Arthur James Balfour, secretary of state for foreign affairs and former premier. The commission included Rear Admiral Sir Dudley R. S. De Chair, naval adviser to the foreign office ; Major-General G. T. M. Bridges, representing the British army ; Lord Cunliffe of Headley, governor of the Bank of England; and a number of other distinguished ofiicials and naval and military officers, with clerical assistants. The party met with an enthusiastic welcome in Washington. Mr. Balfour was received by the President in private conference next day, and after a round of receptions and social func- tions of various kinds, arrangements were made for the business meet- ings affecting war policies, which were the object of the visit. Mr. Balfour informed the President that the British commission had come to Washington not to ask favors, concessions, or agreements from the United States, but to offer their services for the organization of the stupendous undertaking of fighting Germany. He said that if the United States was confronted by the same problems that confronted England at the outset of the war, the British commission could be of service in pointing out many grievous mistakes of policy and organiza- tion that proved costly to the British cause. He was, in turn, assured by the President that the United States would fight in conjunction with the Allies until the Prussian autocracy was crushed and Ameri- cans at home and abroad were safe from the ruthlessness of the Berlin government. MARSHAL JOPFRE IN WASHINGTON The French war commission soon followed the British envoys, arriving in Washington on Wednesday, April 25, on board the presi- dential yacht ]\Iayflower from Hampton Roads. Headed by IM. Rene Viviani, minister of justice and former premier of France, the com- mission included the famous hero of the Marne and idol of the French army and people, Marshal Joft're; also Admiral Chocheprat, repre- senting the French navy; the Marquis de Chambrun (Lafayette's grandson), and other distinguished Frenchmen. The fame of Marshal Joffre and the traditional friendship for France secured for the partj^ an enthusiastic popular greeting. Its members were accorded similar official receptions to those of the British commissioners, and they simi- larly expressed their desire to be of service to the American people by giving the Washington government the benefit of their costly expe- rience in three years of war. 99 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAE ALLIES CONTINUE THEIR WESTERN DRIVE Following the spring drive of the Allies on the western front and the retirement of the Germans to the so-called Hindenburg line, the British and French continued their offensive during the months of May, June and July, 1917, which concluded the third year of the great struggle. Great battles in the Champagne and along the Aisne were fought hy the French, who in April had captured Aube- rive, and they advanced their forces from one to five miles along a fifty-mile front, inflicting great and continual losses on the enemy. At the end o;*! the third year, the French line ran from northwest of Soissons, through Rheims, to Auberive. French troops also appeared in Flanders during this period and co-operated with the British on the left of Field Marshal Haig's forces. The chief com- mand of the French armies was in the hands of General Petain, the gallant defender of Verdun, who was appointed chief of staff after the battle of Craonne. The continuation of the British offensive northeast of Arras, following the bloody battle of Vimy Ridge, which was firmly held by the Canadians against desperate counter-attacks, placed the British astride the Hindenburg line, and the Germans retired to positions a mile or two west of the Drocourt-Queant line. These they held as the third year closed at the end of July. In June, 1917, the British began an attack on Messines and Wytschaete, in an effort to straighten out the Ypres salient. By this time their flyers dominated the air, and they had gained the immense advantage of artillery superiority. By way of preparation, the British sappers and miners had spent an entire year in mining the earth beneath the German positions, and the offensive was begun with an explosion so terrific, when the mines were sprung, that it was heard in London. Following immediately with the attack, the British won and consolidated the objective ground, capturing more than 7,500 German -prisoners and great stores of artillery. This victory placed them astride the Ypres-Commines canal, having advanced three miles on an eight-mile front. Portuguese and Belgian troops assisted in this offensive, which resulted in the greatest gain the Allies had made in Belgium since the German invasion. Fighting in this terrain had been confined for many months to trench-raiding operations. GERMAN LOSSES TO JULY, 1917 It is estimated that during April, May, and June the Germans suffered 350,000 casualties on the western front. The totals of the German official lists of losses for the entire war to July 19, 1917, were as follows: Killed or died of wounds, 1,032,800; died of sickness, 72,960 ; prisoners and missing, 591,966 ; wounded, 2,825,581 ; making a grand total of casualties of 4,523,307. The German naval and colonial casualties were not included in this total. UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR FURTHER GAINS LN FLANDERS Fighting continued almost steadily in Flanders during the month of August, although the Allies were greatly hampered in their opera- tions by heavy rains and mud. On a nine-mile front east and north of Ypres, a long drawn-out battle carried the advancing French and British troops more than a mile into the intricate hostile trench system on August 16, after successive advances on previous days. From Dreigrachten southward the French surged across the River Steenbeke, capturing all objectives, while at the same time the British occupied considerable territory in the region of St. Julien and Lange- marck, captured the latter town, and carried the fighting beyond Langemarck. The main difficulty encountered was the mud in the approaches to the town, the infantry plunging deep into the bog at every step. Not infrequently the soldiers had to rescue a comrade who had sunk to the waist in the morass, but they continued to push for- ward steadily, facing machine-gun fire from hidden redoubts and battling their way past with bombs and rifle fire. There were concrete gunpits about the positions in front of the town, which was flooded from the Steenbeke River, but the infantry divided and bombed their way about on either side until they had encircled the town and passed beyond, where the Germans could be seen running away. Little resistance was offered in the town itself, but the Germans suffered severely from the preliminary bombardment, which worked havoc in their ranks, according to the prisoners taken in the Langemarck region. The contact between the French and British forces was excel- lent throughout the fight ; in fact, the perfect co-operation of the two armies continued to be one of the minor wonders of the war. CANADIAN VICTORIES AT LENS Canadian troops added to their laurels by the storming and cap- ture of Hill 70, dominating the important mining center of Lens, in northern France, August 15, following up their victory by the occu- pation of the fortified suburbs of the city and apparently insuring its redemption from German hands, after a struggle that had lasted for two years. The men of the Dominion swept the Germans from the famous hill, defeated all counter-attacks, and thus gained command of the entire Loos salient. It was on this hill that the British forces under Sir John French were badly broken in their efforts to reach Lens in the first battle of Loos, in September, 1915. Hill 70 was the last high ground held by the Germans in the region of the Artois, and its fail menaced their whole line south to Queant and north to La Bassee. The Canadian attack began at 4:25 o'clock, just as the first hint of dawn was appearing. All night the British big guns had been pouring a steady stream of high explosive shells inro the German positions, great detonations overlapping one another like the rapid 32 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR crackling of machine-gun fire and swelling into a mighty volume of thunder that shook the earth and stunned the senses. Then, a short time before the hour set for the attack arrived, the batteries ceased abruptly and a strange, almost oppressive stillness crept over the terrain which until then had been an inferno of crashing noise and death. It had been raining and gray clouds still hung over the trenches where crouched the Canadian infantrymen, waiting eagerly for the arrival of the moment which would summon them to attack. Suddenly, ten minutes before the time set for the advance, every British gun within range broke out with a hurricane of shell- ing, and solid lines of crimson lightning belched from the German trenches as the explosives broke about them. To this lurid picture was added the spectacle of burning oil, which the British threw on the enemy lines. Great clouds of pinkish colored smoke rolled across the country from the flaming liquid and the murky sky threw back myriad colors from the conflagration below. The moment of attack arrived, and as the British guns dropped their protecting barrage fire in front of the Canadian trenches, the clouds parted and the yellow crescent moon appeared. Under the light of this beacon the Canadians leaped over the parapets and began their methodical advance behind their barrage fire. The British barrage was without a flaw, says an eyewitness. Behind it the Canadians mounted Hill 70 and swept along the rest of the line. On the crest of the hill, where so much blood had been spilled before, heavy fighting might have been expected, for the posi- tion was well manned with machine guns. The resistance here, how- ever, was not strong, and it was not until the dwellings in the outskirts of the suburbs were reached that vigorous fighting occurred. The ground over which the infantry advanced was honeycombed with British shell holes and the barbed wire defenses had been leveled, so that they gave little trouble. FIGHT IN CELLARS AND DUGOUTS The first serious resistance from the Germans was met at a point where the enemy was strongly intrenched in connecting cel- lars and there sanguiiiary fighting occurred. The place was a sample of many other suburbs about Lens. The city is surrounded by col- liery communities which are so close together and so near the city proper that they really form part of the town. Lens, before the war, had a population of 30,000, but had become a mass of ruins. Following their usual tactics, the Germans had carried out sys- tematic destruction of the houses and had constructed strong under- ground defenses. The whole city was undermined with tunnels and dugouts, which had been reinforced with concrete, and most of the ruined buildings had been turned into machine-gun emplacements. The effect of the preliminary British bombardment was most demoralizing to the enemy. The first German prisoners taken were in a completely dazed state as a result of the terrific bombardment 33 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAB they had undergone, and other Germans .were seen to flee to the rear, deserting their posts as the attack began. The result of this preliminary fire was shown in the speed of the Canadian infantry's advance. The extreme depth reached in the first stage was 1,500 yards, and this was achieved in ninety-three minutes. This new front, taken into conjunction with positions secured previously in the southwestern outskirts of Lens, established an angular line like a pair of shears whose points reached out to the north and south of the city. As the Canadians pushed in on the northwest, a simultaneous advance was started by the troops on the lower blade of the shears, and close fighting began, with the Germans intrenched in their con- creted cellars, which were linked up with barbed wire and filled with hundreds of machine guns. The capture of the entire city of Lens was then only a matter of time, as Hill 70 insured the holding of the ground won by the Canadians, German reinforcements being placed under the range of irresistible fire from that dominating height. Among the prisoners taken in the attack were many German lads apparently not more than 17 years of age. The German commander. Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, made frantic efforts to recapture the lost positions around Lens. The taking of Hill 70 stirred the German high command as nothing else had done on the western front for many months, and a grim battle was waged for several days. On August 16 the enemy came on ten separate times, but they seldom got close enough to the Canadians for fighting with bayonet or bomb. The Prussian Guards participated in the counter-attacks and were subjected to a terrible concentrated fire from the British artillery and Canadian machine guns. Their losses were frightful and all German efforts to retake Hill 70 came to naught, while their hold on the central portion of the mining city became most precarioiis, as the Canadians consolidated the advan- tageous positions their valor had finally won. RUSSIAN VICTORIES AND COLLAPSE After the Russian revolution in March, 191'i, the military affa,irs of the new nation entered upon a curious phase. At first the Russian army made a feint to advance on Pinsk, to cover the actual opera- tions resumed in the month of July against Lemberg. This latter front extended for eighteen and a half miles and was held by troops known as ** Regiments July First." These troops, reinvigorated by the consciousness of political liberty, confounded German military prophets by the magnitude and extent of the oft'ensive which they began. Led by Alexander Kerensky, the revolutionary minister of war, and observed by American army officers, they forced the Teutons to evacuate Brzezany, and then captured many important positions, irujluding terrain west and south of Halicz and strongly-defended positions northwest of Stanislau. On July 11 Halicz was taken, thus £S a 3 c'-> il i, 3oi -01 t." 01 -a c wo. '^s >. 'O 0) -a o> 2 M **-* OrH ffi -la Cl> 3 o b "2 ^ O -i a; S ^ ^?^ e^ r> r I s H BcHa^^ °;ja£.^j?'^^^BRi{risH fleet -E*r-C^..r,T. noiH iirt GERMAN* ^jjjj^V^ /^tiT^--""" CRUISERS 110 FLEET ^:'Tir I CMRySTM BATTLESHIPS 68 48fUISERS^ E..^^'a'£ .V •Briitol PORTLAND Channel^ ««^ ^^ L .llF^" BnGSstts ^,^g ^^.^E!^/ ?T«!SiipPHRB^^ (X'LiANS '-•^^ tX/.-- > J*^ — -^^ d.V^.ew.;v.(le DREADNOUGHTS 2 I 37 f^JL'^" »'?>»; BR liT A I N y > HCLIGOLANQ.j^ ^ 6O0.O00 Id J-:. ■- folOflkS HELPER y S ^ ii*fttt>fttRg. IGWf .- ' ■■—■ _ ''^ copefff/3, ^iw^. '<■ . ^..-,. LONDON ,^^^^R^wMM_._ ""'■'"*, - ■--"::: '''^^SNOuTH r. ALA I > Mi A N N L t^ y**^ va- 1. S70 000; .^H Men '1 Firs! q 7 n H D r» c I f c I- r'o w t p n iblmj^ FRANCC w Ih RUSSIA ULRMAWV PAffiS «*j N UneoTpaUle 2.000.000 -';'?.ldMeo 4.000 00 Nmi, s •■ '4. -^i? " Montpellier * ^,V TOULON -* '** ^^m ^•^\^ M(T1 Hlhf si Line _ '"•"' "'imzonoooo sE^;ii.4oo.oooUc;;;^pc l! iinclM C OR SI Ajaccio aE*"., FRENCH FLEET CRUISERS 30 DATTLESHIPSSI -^iJSft' Ciyita Vfcci MaddalenE> 'ROME at -—■ .-^ Ancona Ifcv ' \ All-'^THO- 7^ ^•. HUNCARI/ ■■■<«?. f LT-ET JJLS. 1 1 6AT ITALIAN FLEET 16 BATTLESHIPS ;vi«^ 20 CRUISERS ;? E >a COM TROLL R I A Rood War Map Showing Naval and Military Forces of Europe at a Glance. Also All tl i'lai •^ "T^m f\ N a. o lfc-^»ii r I N I- A N D ._^ :A S'rrfERSeUHG ■Vitebsk Smolonsk MOSCOW, . . ^^^-^''^-^fft.jt.i. ^M _s. s - 5- .O0"""'~1 ^^-^.hiKih ^lo*^** '^"t'WARiAW C.,;,tKMVic..v,r.eJ !atc.-te4.000.000 I t loci. 1, '^^--^-f^a-sorod llo'--'"fTrain«lMl.N 5 500 000 ' -, o Rlilam — •— '' j^*"""!;' , *- ■» _. '^ f'-- rotection. {Britiah Official Photo, Copyright by U. d U.) UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR smasliing tlie Austro-German front between Brzezany and the Car^ patiiians. This Russian operation broadened by mid-July, so that it extended from the Gulf of Riga to the Roumanian front, a distance of 800 miles. The Germans were reported to be rushing troops from the Italian and French fronts. Widespread enthusiasm was created throughout Russia, and the moral effect on the other entente powers was tremendous. Before the third year closed, at the end of July, however, Rus- sia's offensive suffered a collapse. German spies, anarchists, peace fanatics, and other agitators succeeded in destroying the morale of some of the Russian troops in Galicia, where a retreat became neces- sary when unit after unit refused to obey orders. Brzezany, Halicz, Tarnopol, Stanislau and Kaloma were lost, together with all the remaining ground gained during the offensive. The Russians sur- rendered many prisoners, heavy guns, and an abundance of supplies and ammunition. The death penalty was invoked as a check to further insubordina- tions and the provisional government introduced a policy of "blood and iron" in an effort to avert disaster. South of the Carpathians and in the Vilna region there was little disaffection among the Russian troops, and Russia had not yet thrown up her hands, although the situation on the eastern front was disap- pointing to the Allies. Alexander Kerensky, a popular hero, became the strong man of Russia. A counter-revolution was promptly and forcibly crushed in Petrograd and an ''extraordinary national coun- cil," meeting at Moscow, August 25, took steps to end the crisis. All loyal Russians, conservative and radical, were called to the aid of Kerensky, who ignored factional and party lines and succeeded in bringing something like order out of the political chaos in the new republic. Every effort was made to restore the power as well as the will of Russia to gain ultimate victory, and Elihu Root, head of a United States commission to Russia, assured the American people on his return from Petrograd that the ill effects of the revolution would soon pass away, leaving Russia once more united for action against the Teuton foe. On August 15, Nicholas Romanoff, the deposed czar of Russia, and his entire family were removed from the palace at Tsarskoe-Selo, near Petrograd, and transported to Tobolsk in Siberia. Fifty serv- ants who were devoted to him accompanied the ex-emperor into exile. Instead of the gorgeous imperial train in which he was wont_ to travel, an ordinary train composed of three sleeping cars, a dining ear, and several third-class coaches was used for the transportation of Nicholas and his party, which included the former Empress Alexandra, whose pro-German attitude was a prime cause of his downfall. On arrival at Tobolsk the ex-czar and his entourage were received as political prisoners. UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR GERMAN SUBMAEINE CAMPAIGN FAILS The campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare, which was relied upon by Germany to win the war by the extinction of the British mercantile marine and the stoppage of transatlantic supplies, had proved a failure by August, 1917, after six months' duration. While the tonnage destroyed by the undersea instruments of fright- fulness was sufficiently serious to cause grave alarm on both sides of the Atlantic, it formed but a small percentage of the ships actively and continually engaged in the transportation of munitions and supplies, while it was practically counterbalanced by the activities of Allied shipbuilders and by the seizure for Allied service of interned German ships in the countries that entered the war subsequent to February 1, 1917, when the campaign of unrestricted destruction began. Determined efforts were made by the British, French and United States navies to cope with the undersea enemy, and these were increasingly successful. Many merchant ships and transports were convoyed to safety by the destroyers of the three great naval Allies, and by August the fear that Britain could be starved out by means of German submarines had practically disappeared. The record of einkings of British vessels for the first twenty-four weeks after the "unrestricted" warfare began was as follows: Over Under 1,600 1,600 Smaller Week tons. tons, craft. Fifteenth 22 10 6 Sixteenth 27 5 Seventeenth 21 7 Eighteenth 15 5 11 Nineteenth 14 3 7 Twentieth 14 4 8 Twenty-first 21 3 1 Twenty-second ... 18 3 Twenty-third 21 2 Twenty -fourth ... 14 2 3 Over Under 1,600 1,600 Smaller Week tons. tons. craft. First .... 14 9 3 Second .... 13 4 3 Third .... 16 8 21 Fourth , . . . 19 7 10 Fifth 18 13 2 6 Sixth ... 17 6 Seventh , . . . 19 9 15 12 Eighth , . . . 40 9 Ninth ... 38 13 8 Tenth ... 24 22 16 Eleventh ,... 18 5 3 Twelfth ... 18 5 3 Thirteenth . , . ... 18 1 2 Fourteenth . . . ... 15 3 5 Total 474 164 143 Grand total of ships sunk 781 KESra OF GREECE DEPOSED King Constantine I of Greece was forced by the Allies to abdicate feis throne on June 12, 1917, in favor of his second son. Prince Alex- ander. The kingdom remained, but not a pro-German one as before. In order to block the designs of the King and court, who were doing their best to deliver Greece to the Germans, the Entente powers were obliged to make a succession of demands upon the Greek government, including the demobilization of most of the army, the surrender of the fleet, and the withdrawal of Greek troops from Thessaly. In an effort to enforce their demands the Entente allies landed marines in Athens UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR — who were fired upon — and finally declared an embargo on imports into Greece. Turmoil and intrigue continued, and pressure was brought to bear upon Constantine which compelled him to abdicate the throne. Venizelos returned as premier and Greece was announced as a belligerent on the side of the Entente. THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN In the Trentino the Italians took the offensive in June and after terrible fighting captured the Austrian positions on Monte Ortigara and Agnello Pass. These they were forced to relinquish, however, in the face of Austrian counter-attacks. The Italian campaign on the Isonzo and in the Trentino, con- tinued throughout the summer, was perhaps the most scientific of all the campaigns, involving tremendous technical difficulties, which were solved with amazing ingenuity and skiU. The campaign was largely an engineers' and an artilleryman's war, waged in the mountains, much of it in regions of perpetual snow — highly picturesque and spectacular. Finally, it was as little destructive as war well can be, because the Italians were fighting in territories which they hoped to hold after the conflict, and they spared the towns and villages to the greatest extent possible. BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN THE EAST The capture of Bagdad by the British in March, 1917, after a brilliant campaign in Mesopotamia, had a deep moral effect in the Orient, particularly in Arabia, where the natives revolted against Turkish rule and established an independent government in Mecca. In the Holy Land the British in 1917 opened a new era in the history of the East. Their advance by August 1 had carried them nearly to Gaza. Their objective was Jerusalem, which the Turks partly evacuated at their approach, after doing untold damage in the holy city and inflicting many atrocities upon the inhabitants, WAR MISSIONS OF THE ALLIES In cementing America's association with the nations which had become her allies, numerous exchanges of missions were arranged. France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Russia, Japan and other entente belligerents sent delegations to the United States as a step toward unification, military, financial and otherwise. The United States i^ent missions to Russia and other countries. AERIAL ATTACKS ON LONDON Cities from Bagdad to London were subject to aerial raids by the Germans during the summer, notable attacks being those by Zep- pelins and aeroplanes on London and the eastern coast cities of England. In five attacks on England in May, June and July, 298 37 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR persons were killed and 863 injured. Insistent demands were then made by the English people for reprisals in kind. AN ESTIMATE OP CASUALTIES An estimate of the total war losses, made near the close of the third year of the war and voiced by Arthur Henderson of the British War Council, placed the number of men killed at 7,000,000 since August, 1914. French general headquarters on August 1 estimated ■ortion of the army on the North and that on a line farther South. Then began the double exposure of the Southern force to fire in the front and on the flank which required a steady falling back until the entire Italian army was moving towards newly-established positions farther West. The commanding height of Monte Nero, which the Italians had occupied after deeds of great valor, was defended against onslaughts from three sides which gradually resulted in envelop- ment and the capture of many thousands of Italian troops and hun- dreds of guns. A general retreat of the Italian forces was then carried out, with shielding operations by rear guards, and the main body of General Cadoma *s army retired to the Tagliamento. 49 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR Tlie Germans encountered stubborn resistance on the Bainsizza Plateau and heaps of enemy dead marked the lines of their advance. In one of the mountain passes a small village, commanding the pass, was taken and retaken eight times during desperate artillery, infantry and haid-to-hand fighting. Goritz was shelled heavily and what remained of the city was further reduced to a mass of debris. One of the main bridges from Goritz across the Isonzo was blown up by the Italians and the enemy movement thus was further impeded. West of Goritz the town of Cormons also was shelled heavily. The great German guns opened enormous craters and literally Lore the towns to pieces. The heaviest pressure began to be felt on the Carso front on Friday, October 26. The Teutons then increased their bombardment to deafening intensity and supplemented this with huge volumes of poison gas and tear-shells. The humid air and light winds permitted great waves of the deadly gases to creep low toward the Italian lines, the rear guards protecting themselves with gas masks and by hiding in caverns. Amid the onslaught of overwhelming masses of the enemy, the Italians fell back slowly. The retreat, as in other instances of the war, was the most terrible for tlie civilian inhabitants. There was an enormous movement Westward. All the roads were packed with dense traffic, with four or five lines abreast of teams, automobiles, motor trucks, pack mules, artillery wagons, and ox carts. The sol- diers marched or rode, singly, in groups, in regiments, in brigades, or in divisions. ' ' It was such a time as the world has seldom witnessed, * ' said a Ked Cross spectator. "Even fields and bj^'-roads were utilized for the colossal migration. The only wonder was that the great army was able to withdraw at all and establish itself along the new line of defense. "Many heartrending scenes were witnessed along the route, as the torrential rain and the vast zone of mud increased the misery of the moving multitude. Food was scarce and many went without it for days, while sleep was impossible as the throng trudged west- ward. The military hospitals were evacuated, with all other estab- lishments, and pale and wounded patients obliged to join in the rear- guard march or fall into the hands of the enemy. The roads were strcAvn with dead horses. "Families with eight or ten children, the youngest clinging tightly to the grandfather, trudged amid ranks of soldiers of many descriptions." 50 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR The safe retirement of the Tagliamento was due to the unex- ampled heroism of large bodies of Italians, of such spirit as the Alpine troops on Monte Nero, who refused to surrender, and the regi- ments of Bersaglieri at Monte Maggiore, the members of which per- ished to the last man rather than yield ground. It was by such resist- ance in the face of overwhelming forces of the enemy that the civil population was able to retire. And it was owing to the valor of Ital- ian aviators, combating the Austro-German army of the air, that the fleeing women, children and old men, who crowded the roads, were not struck down by bursting bombs. By November 1 General Cadoma's forces had ejffected their retirement behind the Tagliamento River line, but at the cost of tre- mendous losses, aggregating 180,000 prisoners and 1,500 guns. It was soon seen, however, that the Tagliamento line could not be suc- cessfully held against the enemy and a further retirement was car- ried out. Southward through the mountainous country to a shorter line along the Piave River East of Venice and Northwesterly to the Trentino boundary. This gave French and British reinforcements the opportunity to arrive in sufficient numbers to aid in checking the invaders. As one result of the Italian reverses. General Cadoma was relieved of the chief command, though he was credited with a masterly retreat. He was succeeded by General Diaz. The Austro-German offensive continued steadily for three weeks and on November 21 was being pressed on three main fronts : First, along the Piave River; second, from the Piave to the Brenta; third, from the Brenta across the Asiago Plateau. The Italian troops were holding firm and inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. The spirit of the Italian people was calm and public opinion strongly supported the most stubborn resistance to the invader. Although all the fruits of Italy's two years of strife had been swept away in a single month and a dread enemy was reaching ever forward, seeking her most treas- ured possessions of art and industry, the internal dissensions which Germany probably hoped to start had not appeared. The population of Venice, however, had been reduced from 160,000 to 20,000, ANARCHY RAMPANT IN RUSSIA The Imperial government of Russia, lieaded by Premier Kerensky, was ousted on November 7, when a period of practical anarchy set in. On the evening of that day a congress of workmen's and soldiers' delegates assembled in Petrograd, with 560 delegates in attendance. Without preliminary discussion the congress elected officers pledged to make "a democratic peace." They included fourteen so-called Maximalists or members of the Bolsheviki (majority), the radical Socialist party suspected of pro-German tendencies, headed by Nikolai UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR Lenine and Leon Trotzky ; also seven revolutionary Socialists. These leaders at once sent an ultimatum to the Kerensky government, demanding their surrender within 20 minutes. The government replied indirectly, refusing to recognize the Bolsheviki committeei. Eioting then broke out and the Winter Palace, headquarters of the provisional govei*nment, was besieged by troops favorable to the rebels. The cruiser Aurora, firing from the Neva River, and the guns of the St. Peter and St. Paul fortress bombarded the palace and early next morning compelled the surrender of the government forces defending it. Women of the ''Battalion of Death," armed with machine guns and rifles, were among the defenders, who held out for four hours. Soon the Bolsheviki were in complete control of the city, Kerensky was in flight, several members of his cabinet were arrested by the rebels, and the provisional government was no more. Several weeks of political and industrial chaos in Russia followed the Lenine coup d' etat, which was a triumph, probably temporary, of extremists. A number of the commissioners appointed by the Lenine-Trotzky faction to carry on the government, gave up their posts within a few days, characterizing the Bolsheviki regime as "impossible" and as inevitably involving "the destruction of the revolution and the country." On November 23, Leon Trotzky, styling himself "National Com- missioner for foreign affairs, ' ' addressed to the embassies of the Allies in Petrograd a note proposing "an immediate armistice on all fronts and the immediate opening' of peace negotiations." An official announcoment was also made that the Bolsheviki government had decided to undertake without delay the reduction of the Russian armies, beginning with the release from their military duties of all citizen soldiers conscripted in 1899. SECOND "liberty LOAN" OVERSUBSCRIBED The second "Liberty Loan" of the United States war bond issues was largely oversubscribed by the patriotic citizens of the country. When the books closed on October 27 it was announced that the subscriptions received from approximately 9,000,000 per- sons amounted to over $5,000,000,000, the amount of the bond issue being $3,000,000 000. BRITISH SMASH HINDENBURG LINB By a series of attacks on the morning of November 21 that took the German enemy completely by surprise, the British Third army, under command of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Julian Byng, broke through the Hindenburg line on a front of 32 miles between St. Quentin and the Scarpe, The following day, when they consolidated the new positions gained, 10,000 German prisoners were sent to the rear, with a large number of guns and quantities of material abandoned 62 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR by the astonished enemy, while at one point the victorious troops were 6^ miles in advance of their former positions and the city of Cambrai was brought within easy range of their guns. It was the greatest and most successful surprise of the war. There was no preliminary bombardment to warn the enemy, and the advance continued steadily for two days, when the towns of Mas- nieres, Marcoing, Ribecourt, Havrincourt, Graincourt, and Fles- quieres, long occupied by the enemy, all were behind the British lines. Just before dawn on the 20th there was absolute quiet along the whole line. A few minutes later British tanks were rumbling along over "No Man's Land" flanked and followed by the infantry. The tanks smashed down the barbed wire entanglements and were atop the trenches and dugouts before their German defenders were aware of their peril. The German artillery could lay down no barrage, and line after line of trenches had been captured before they got into action. Then the British guns opened, but not for barrage purposes. They were shelling and silencing the enemy artillery. Following through the gaps made by the tanks, English, Scottish, and Irish regiments swept over the enemy's outposts and stormed the first defensive system of the Hindenburg line on the whole front. The infantry and tanks then swept on in accordance with the program and captured the German second system of defense, more than a mile beyond. This latter was known as the Hindenburg sup- port line. English rifle regiments and light infantry captured La Vae- querie and the formidable defense on the spur known as Welsh ridge. Other English county troops stormed the village of Ribecourt and fought their way through Coillet wood. In severe hand-to-hand fighting at Flesquieres, near Cambrai, on the 21st, British troops, preceded by tanks, stormed the town. The Germans fired on the tanks with seven big guns at short range. The British infantry charged the guns, captured them, and killed the crews. Three other big guns were captured in a similar manner at Premy Chapelle. British cavalry captured a battery at Rumilly, sabering the crews. Highland territorial battalions crossed the Grand ravine and entered Flesquieres, where fighting took place. "West Riding terri- torials captured Havrincourt and the German trench systems north of the village, while the Ulster battalions, covering the latter 's left flank, moved Northward up the West bank of the Canal du Nord. Later in the day the advance was continued and rapid progress was made at all points. English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh battalions secured the crossings on the canal at Masnieres and captured Marcoing and Neuf Wood. 53 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR On the following day, Wednesday, November 21, reinforcements which the enemy hurried up to the battlefield to oppose the British advance were driven out of a further series of villages and other fortified positions. Thousands of cavalry co-operated with the great army of tanks and infantry in continuing the successful assault begun on November 20. Open fighting went on at many places and the mounted troops, who long had waited for a chance to vindicate their existence in this war, rendered invaluable services in "mopping up" AMERICAN COMMISSION IN EUROPE A special American Commission, headed by Colonel Edward M. House, personal friend and trusted adviser of President Wilson, arrived in London on November 8, on its way to attend the Alli^' conference which met in Paris November 22, to perfect a system of co-ordination among the nations at war with Germany and secure a better understanding of their respective needs. BRITISH NEAR JERUSALEM On November 24 the British forces contending against the Turks in Palestine had advanced to the suburbs of Jerusalem, after inflict- ing a severe defeat upon the enemy at Askelon, with Turkish casual- ties of 10,000. More than seventy guns were captured at Askelon, and the British subsequently occupied the ancient port of Jaffa (Poppa). The fall of Jerusalem was then considered imminent and the end of Turkish dominion in the Holy Land was plainly in sight. ITALIAN BATTLE FP.ONT, MAY 4, 1918. The Heavy Line Show3 the Position of the Hostile Armies, When the Austrians Threatened a, New Drive in 1918. The Shaded I-ane Shows the Italian Positions Before the Austro-Ger- man Offensive, in the Fall of 1917, 54 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR WIN AND LOSE AT CAMBRAI For the first time since the war began England celebrated on November 23 the victory of Field Marshal Haig and General Byng at Cambrai, in the old-fashioned way, by the ringing of beUs in London and other cities. Heavy fighting continued for several days at the apex of the wedge driven into the German line, especially at Bourlon Wood and the village of Fontaine, where attacks and counter- attacks followed in rapid succession. Up to November 30 the British held their gains near Cambrai and that city lay under their guns. Then the Germans in a determined attack surprised the British in their turn, and forced them back from their new positions for a distance of about two miles, nearly to the Bapaume-Cambrai road, . Next day, by fierce fighting, the British recaptured Gouzeau- court. The battle then raged over a fifteen-mile front, desperate efforts being made by the Germans to regain all the ground taken by the British west and south of Cambrai. The British had had no chance to dig themselves in and consolidate tlieir positions in the ground won, and on December 1 and 2 the struggle was in the open, a fierce hand-to-hand conflict unlike anything previously seen in the war. The British lost guns, for the first time in more than thirty months. They also lost many men, taken prisoner by the enemy, but soon succeeded in checking the counter-offensive. In their attempt to deliver a great simultaneous encircling attack, to surround the victorious British in their new Cambrai salient, the Germans sent forward great forces of infantry, supported by a terri- fic bombardment. The British met the shock brilliantly, finally held their own, and the German drive was declared to have missed its end, at enormous sacrifice of life. On the night of December 5 the British strengthened their line by abandoning certain untenable positions near Cambrai, falKng back deliberately and successfully, unknown to the enemy, upon a well- chosen line which ruled out the dangerous salient made by Bourlon "Wood. Here they prepared to maintain their hold upon the captured length of the Hindenburg line against any pressure. The German casualties in the battle of Cambrai were estimated art; 100,000 men, greatly exceeding those of , the British in consequence of the nature of the massed attacks made by infantry in the counter- offensive. As the year 1917 closed there was a succession of German attacks and counter-attacks by the British in the Cambrai sector, the British lines holding firmly at all points and continuing to hold during the winter. 55 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAB SOME RESULTS OP THE YEAR 1917 The British War Ofl&ce issued the following statement of captures and losses during 1917: Captures — prisoners on all fronts, 114,544; gunfi, 781. Losses — prisoners, 28,379; guns, 166. The following figures, obtained from reliable sources, teU the real story of Grermany's "ruthless" submarine campaign against British shipping. Tonnage of British ships of more than 1,600 tons in August, 1914^ — 16,841,519; loss by enemy action in 3I/2 years, less new con- struction, purchase, and captures, 2,750,000: remaining tonnage January 1, 1918—14,091,519. On December 3, 1917, it was announced officially in London that East Africa had been completely cleared of the enemy. Every German colony was then occupied by Allied forces. DISASTER AT HALIFAX As the result of a collision in the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia, between the French munition ship "Mont Blanc" and the Belgian relief ship "Imo" on December 6, thousands of tons of high explosives blew up, kilUng more than 1,260 persons, injuring thousands, and destroying millions of dollars in property in the city. JERUSALEM CAPTURED BY BRITISH Advancing steadily upon Jerusalem in the Palestiae campaign against the Turks, the British forces under General Allenby finally, on December 10, captured the Holy City and restored it to Christen- douL The Turks were driven to the north, with heavy losses, the port of Joppa was occupied, and Palestine was slowly but surely freed from Mussulman dominion. General Allenby formally entered and took possession of Jerusalem on December 11 with a small repre- sentative force of British and colonial troops, being received and welcomed with impressive ceremoni(^ by the inhabitants. WAR DECLARED AGAINST AUSTRIA The United States Congress on December 7, 1917, passed a resolu- tion declaring a state of war to exist with Austria-Hungary. Austrian aliens, however, were permitted free movement in the United States, only Germans being classed as alien enemies and subjected to reetric- tions as such. It was announced by the Secretary of War during the winter that 500,000 American troops would b© on the fighting line in France in the spring of 1918 and that a total of 1,500,000 men would be available for the front during the year. A portion of the French front was taken over by the United States troops under General Pershing early in 1918 and in a number of trench raids and patrol engagements in the last weeks of winter they gave a good account of themselves, receiving their baptism of enemy fire and gas with the utmost gallantry and winning several 56 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAB minor engagements. A small number of Americans were captured in German raids up to March 10, but the losses inflicted upon the enemy more than counterbalanced those sustained. RUSSIA FORCED INTO " PEACE" On November 28, a few days after German emissaries had been sent to Petrograd to parley with the peace faction in disorganized Russia, the Bolshevik de facto government under Nicolai Lenine and Leon Trotzky began negotiations for an armistice with Germany; and on December 3 an armistice was arranged. The Cossacks under General Kaledines and General Komiloff began a revolt against the Bolsheviki, who organized their forces as Eed Guards, and a virtual reign of terror was inaugurated in Russia while negotiations for a separate peace with Germany proceeded with numerous interruptions. The administration of Lenine and Trotzky became an absolutely despotic regime, all forms of opposition being summarily dealt with while crime was rampant and blood flowed freely in Petrograd and Moscow. The Ukrainian provinces formed a separate republic and proceeded to make peace with Germany and Austria. Formal announcement of the armistice with the Petrograd govern- ment was made at Berlin December 16, with the statement that peace negotiations would begin immediately at Brest-Litovsk on the Eastern front. Russia thus violated her pledge to the Allies not to make a separate peace. The peace delegates of Russia and Germany began their sessions December 23. On Christmas Day Ensign Krylenko, the Bolshevik commander-in-chief, reported that the Germans were transferring large numbers of troops to the Western front against the AUies, contrary to one of the Russian conditions of the armistice. Early in the new year, January 2, 1913, the negotiations at Brest-Litovsk were suspended for several days, owing to the nature of the German terms of peace, which demanded that Russia surrender to Germany the territory including Poland, Courland, Esthonia and Lithuania. Foreign Minister Trotzky declared that the Russian workers would not accept the German terms. Germany, however, stood pat and on January 10 negotiations were resumed, continuing at intervals for several weeks. In the middle of February the Bolshevik government announced that it had with- drawn Russia from the war with the Central Empires and had ordered the demobilization of the Russian armies, but refused to sign a formal treaty of peace with Germany. Premature rejoicing ensued in Germany, and on February 17 Berlin announced a resumption of wtar with Russia. Two days later the German armies began an advance into Russia along the whole front from Riga south to Lutsk, occupying the latter city without fighting. A complete surrender to Germany followed, Lenine and Trotzky 57 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR stating that they would sign the peace treaty on the German terms, which included all the territory claimed by Germany along the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, comprising the western part of Esthonia, Courland with the Moon Islands in the Gulf of Riga, most of the provinces of Kovno and Grodno, and nearly ail of Vilna, with a huge indemnity. Despite the surrender, the Germans continued their invasion of Russia, with an eye to booty, and captured without organized resistance of any kind thousands of guns and vast quantities of rolling stock, motor trucks, automobiles, and muQitions of war. The invasion continued well into the month of March in the general direction of Petrograd, while to the south Austria, at first seemingly reluctant to join the German incursion into helpless territory, also invaded the Ukraine on the pretense of ' ' restoring order. ' ' SINKING OF THE "tUSCANIA" The first serious disaster to American troops on the voyage to France occurred on February 5, when the steamship "Tuscania," a British transport with 2,179 United States troops on board, was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off the north coast of Ireland. The close proximity of British convoy and patrol boats enabled most of those on board to be rescued, 1912 sursdvors being landed within a few hours at Buncrana and Larne in Ireland. The lives lost included 267 American soldiers besides a number of the crew. The attacking submarine is believed to have been destroyed by the British patrol before the "Tuscania" sank. LONG-DISTANCE PEACE TALK Early in 1918, while the Russian debacle complicated the war situation in Europe and the United States hummed with war activities, a series of speeches by statesmen of the powers at war resulted in demonstrating the futility of ail hopes of a general peace. In an address to Congress on January 8 President Wilson, follow- ing and indorsing a notable speech by the English premier, Mr. Lloyd- George, laid down fourteen definite peace and. war aims of the United States, closely agreeing with the expressed aims of the European Allies; **and for these," said Mr. Wilson, "we will fight to the death." Subsequently, in February, Mr, Wilson stated four general principles on which the nations at war should agree in seeking a satis- factory peace. The German chancellor, Von Hertling, addressing the Reichstag, declared that Germany could agree to Mr. Wilson's basic principles of peace, but British and French statesmen promptly pointed out that the German practices in Russia, and eleswhere as opportunity offered, failed to agree with Von Hertling 's profession of the Wilson principles. German suggestions of an informal discus- sion of peace terms were therefore declined by the allied powers, and in March, 1918, all eyes were turned toward the Western front in anticipation of a long-threatened German drive. 58 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR THE WOELD'S GREATEST BATTLE All previous battles of the Great War paled into comparative insignificance when the German offensive of 1918 opened on the West- ern front, March 21, with a desperate and partially successful attempt of a million men to break through the British line, attacking fiercely from the Ailette to the Scarpe, along a front of sixty miles. For weeks the battle raged over the territory of the Somme, and when a second German drive occurred farther north, from Givenchy to Ypres, fully 3,000,000 men were engaged on both sides, and all records of human combat were broken. The loss of life was appalling, but in the absence of official reports while the fighting was in progress, could only be guessed at, though the world Imew that the rivers of France and Flanders ran with blood. The Germans attacked in masses and successive waves, and paid the penalty of their desperate strategy. For though the British, and later the French, lines were bent backward for miles, and gaps were occasionally torn in them by the foe's furious attack, the Allied defensive withstood the onslaught and after a month of the most terrific struggle the world has ever seen, both British and French forces presented an unbroken front to the disappointed enemy. The city of Amiens, one of the keys to Paris, had been a chief objective of the German drive, but all efforts to capture that impor- tant railroad center failed. True, Noyon, Peronne, Bapaume, Albert and Montdidier, on the south, and Festubert, Neuve Chappelle, Armentieres, and Paaschendaele, to the north, were successively cap- tured from the Allies, in spite of the most gallant and heroic resist- ance. But then the lines held firmly, and all the Germans lad to show for an awful sacrifice of life and morale was a few miles of advance into territory already devastated by war. On April 21, when the Hun offensive had lasted a full month, not only were the armies of the Allies intact, and better still, their spirit and morale unbroken, but the utmost confidence prevailed among them. All the Allied forces, British, French, Canadian, and American, on the Western front, had been by this time placed under the supreme command of the eminent French strategist, General Fer- dinand Foch, an important step in the co-ordination of effort that met with universal approval among the Allied nations. GENERAL PERSHING OFFERS AID A magnanimous offer by General Pershing, approved oy Presi- dent Wilson, to brigade the United States troops in France with the British and French forces, was gratefully accepted by General Foch. While the Americans bore only a minor part in the big battles, or rather the continuous battle of March and April on the Somme, and ?9 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR had no part at all in the fighting in Flanders, they held splendidly to their section of the front-line trenches in the vicinity of Toul, and gave the enemy a taste of their quality in many a trench raid. Sev- eral attacks by German storm troops were also beaten off, the most important of these occurring late in April, when the Americans defeated a force of some 1,200 picked Hun troops, driving them back to their own lines with a loss of 400, while the total losses of the Americans was about 200. GERMANY PREPARES TO STRIKE The great German drive had been in course of preparation for months before it began. The Russian situation had been settled, and large bodies of troops were thereby released for service on the West- ern front. The Kaiser and his general staff then determined upon a final effort to win a decisive victory in the west. Their plan was to vanquish the British and French, if possible, before the United States could transport a sufficient number of men to France to turn the tide of numbers in favor of the Allies, and enable them to take the offensive with good prospects of success. German troops were therefore concentrated noar the points chosen for attack, and this was done with the utmost secrecy, the troop trains running unlighted at night, so as to escape the observa- tion of Allied aviators. Two hundred divisions in all were gathered for the German drive, and fully half of them were assembled near the British front on the Somme. March 21 was set as the date for the attack and every precaution was taken to render it a surprise to the British. The German troops were led to believe that they would be irresistible, and that Paris, their long-looked-for goal, would soon be won. Meanwhile the Allies had not been idle. Expecting the drive, but not knowing where it would strike first, preparations had been made all along the line, not merely for strenuous defense of the posi- tions held, but also for eventualities in case of enforced retreat. New positions i)ack of the lines were prepared, reserves were distributed at strategic points, and full co-operation between the Allied armies was arranged for. The British took over the section of the French front between St. Quentin and Chauny, in addition to their former front, and by so doing relieved the strain on the far-flung French line. The Germans counted for victory upon their concentration of vast bodies of troops and the element of surprise, hoping to break through between the British and French armies before Allied reserves could be brought up in sufficient numbers to halt them. OPENING DAYS OP THE BATTLE On the day set, Thursday, March 21, the great battle opened, after a six-hour bombardment, the British 3rd and 5th armies being 60 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR attacked simultaneously. The German infantry advanced in waves, of which there seemed no end, and these were followed by batteries of trench mortars, until the front line of German trenches had been reached. Then, wave after wave, the advance was continued, in the face of a furious British fire, until the defenders were compelled to draw back through sheer force and weight of numbers. The Ger- man waves moved forward at the calculated rate of 200 yards every four minutes, wherever it was found possible to do so. Each wave, on reaching its objective point, dropped to the ground and opened fire with rifles and machine guns, placing a barrage 2,000 yards ahead of them, under cover of which the succeeding wave advanced. Thus each wave passed over the one ahead of it, and fresh troops were constantly coming to the front. With such tactics, against a spirited and determined foe, the losses of the attackers were nat- urally enormous. In fact, it was estimated that the casualties suf- fered by the Germans during the first few days of such fighting amounted to 250,000 men. But, driven on by ruthless commanders, they continued to advance in masses, though mowed down by the British at every successive step. "All the German storm troops, including the guards, were in brand-new uniforms," said the correspondent of the New York Times. "They advanced in dense masses and never faltered until shattered by the machine-gun fixe. The supporting waves advanced over the bodies of the dead and wounded. The German commanders were ruthless in the sacrifice of life, in the hope of overwhelming the defense by the sheer weight of numbers. * * * Still they came on, with most fanatical courage of sacrifice. "When the first lines fell, their places were filled by others, and the British guns and machine-guns could not kill them fast enough." Two batteries of field artillery at Epehy, it is said, "fired steadily with open sights (that is, pointblank) at four hundred yards for four hours, into the German masses swarming over No Man's Land." On the first day, some field batteries aided the Germans, but these were soon left behind in the advance over difficult and shell- torn ground, and the battle became one of rifle and machine-gun fire and hand-to-hand combat. -• - ^ ^-ai- v- ^ • -^ On the north the British 3rd army- made a splendid resistance and held its ground well, but the 5th army farther south, which bore the principal brunt of the attack, under General Gough, was grad- ually forced to retreat, though in good order, in a northwesterly direction, towards Amiens. French troops were ordered from the southwest to reinforce the British in the vicinity of Noyon. There the French stemmed the tide of Germans, and the drive was soon turned northward, with Amiens as its evident objective. 61 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR ALLIED LINES BEGIN TO HOLD FIRM The battle continued along these lines, with the British still slowly retiring, with their faces to the foe, until the 26th of March, the French stretching their lines farther and farther to the left to keep in touch with the British, and never failing to maintain connec- tion between the two armies. The Germans' fond hope of cutting them apart was doomed to disappointment, French and British cavalry aided in keeping the line intact, and for the second time since the early days of tlie war the horsemen came into their own, doing valiant service in covering the retreat of the British and imped- ing the enemy's advance at many points where their aid proved invaluable. On March 27 and 28, the situation began to improve. British reinforcements arrived at the points of greatest danger, and the defense stiffened, then held the lines firmly before Amiens, and at a distance from that threatened city sufficiently great to prevent its successful bombardment by all but the heaviest artillery of the enemy. The devastated and shell-torn condition of the terrain taken over by the Germans was unfavorable for bringing up the great guns to withm striking distance. From that time on, the Allies were supremely confident of their ability to cope with any forces. While the Allied armies, especially the British, lost heavily in men and guns during the Hun advance, many of the German divisions engaged in the drive were literally cut to pieces. The 88th division was reported by prisoners to be practically annihilated. The same prisoners, taken in counter-attacks, expressed the utmost surprise at the relatively small number of dead whom they had found in the British and French trenches as they advanced. They had been informed by their officers that the offensive would be over in eight days, and that a complete victory over the Allies would be won within three or four weeks. GERMAN DRIVE IS HALTED The eighth day of the German offensive, far from finding the Huns victorious, resulted in tremendous attacks by the Germans being stopped by the unbeatable British, wliile the French won a brilliant victory at the south of the line. Meanwhile the Germans had begun another attack in the Flanders sector, with the object of wresting from the British the control of Messines Ridge, which dominated the lowlands of Flanders and had been so gallantly won by the Canadians in the previous year. They gained a partial footing on the ridge, but the greater part of it was grimly held, and all efforts of the enemy to advance through Ypres towards the Chan- nel ports were frustrated. Another sector was added to the north end of the battle line on the eighth day, March 28, when the Germans attacked heavily on 62 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR both sides of the River Scarpe toward Arras. Here some of the fiercest fighting oi the offensive soon developed, but the ground gained by the Germans was insignificant. Daily, however, they claimed to have captured thousands of Allied troops and hundreds of guns; while, on the other hand, enormously long ambulance trains were reported passing through Belgium with the German wounded, the hospitals in northern France not having sufficient accommodation for the sufferers. On every battlefield of the 100-mile front — for the fighting now covered that enormous stretch of territory, in two sec- tions, north of La Bassee and south of Arras — the German dead lay literally in heaps. On March 29, the ninth day of the great battle in France, the German diive was practically halted, and both British and French reports noted a decrease of the fighting, enemy activity being mani- fested only by local attacks all along the front, which was being strengthened each day by the arrival of Allied reinforcements. PARIS BOMBARDED AT LONG RANGE Soon after the great offensive opened, the city of Paris was sur- prised hy being bombarded from a distance of approximately 70 miles by a new German long-range gun, which was discovered by French airmen to be concealed in a concrete tunnel in a wood behind the German lines. A number of persons were killed and wounded by the nine-inch shells from this new weapon, 54 women being killed when a shell struck a church in the suburbs of the city on Good Friday. The Allied commanders refused to regard the long-range gun as of a«iiy great militaiy importance except as a means of spread- ing terror among the civilian population, — ^and the population of Paris refused to be terrorized by such a method, exhibiting the same spirit as that of the people of England with regard to the futile aerial raids. * '^ :>; French estimates of the German losses for the first eleven days of the offensive placed them at between 275,000 and 300,000 men. The Germans claimed that during the same period they had captured 70,000 prisoners and 1,000 field guns. ANOTHER ATTACK ON AMIENS Having been foiled in an attempt on March 31 to break through the valley of the Oise, Paris ceased to be the German objective, and another offensive against Amiens was undertaken on April 4. By this time a French army had repaired the ragged line between the French on the south and the remainder of the British army of General Gough, whose enforced retirement had been conducted in good order. Though outnumbered two to one, the British and French repulsed the attack on Amiens with heavy losses to the Germans, who were effecuually stopped at a distance of fifteen kilometers (nine miles) from that city. This ended the first phase of the great battle. UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR BATTLE RENEWED IN THE NORTH The second phase of the battle which was expected to prove decisive began April 9 with an attack on the British, aided by Portu- guese troops, on a front of fifteen miles, from La Bassee to Yprcs. The center, held by three Portuguese divisions, was broken through, and on April 12 the situation seemed critical. Determined counter- attacks by the British, however, and reinforcements by the French, stopped the Germans in the next few days, and this offensive, like that farther south in the valley of the Somme, gradually died out, leaving the Germans with gains of only a few square miles of devas- tated territory to show for their continued heavy losses. And the reserve forces of the Allies were still intact, the strategy of General Foch in this respect being universally applauded as correct under the circumstances. SHELLS FIRED BY THE MILLION In the beginning of the offensive which thus failed to accomplish ita object, the most desperate means were employed by the Germans to break down resistance. In the first six hours of bombardment on March 21, when three great German armies were massed for the attack, under Generals Von Bulow, Von Marwitz, and Von Hutier, commanding from the north to south in the order named, it is estimated that at least 1,500,000 shells were fired by one single army — that opposed to General Gough's forces on the south, while the British 3rd army, under General Byng, to the north, was similarly assailed. Most of the shells contained gas and were designed to destroy the occupants of the trenches about to be stormed. Only the utmost individual valor and persistency of the thin British line, as it retired still fighting, prevented the desperate and over-confident foe from turning the gradual retreat into a decisive defeat. As it was, the Germans paid dearly for every yard of ground they gained, as their successive waves of troops swept over the zone of trenches and then engaged the groups of Allied forces in the open beyond. All the German units were under orders to advance as far and as fast as possible, being provided with three days' rations and two days' water. After the first few days, the difficulty of bringing up supplies, with the expected objectives far from being gained, aided in slowing up and then halting their advance. Behind the German storm troops great numbers of reserves were assembled, to fill up the gaps torn in the ranks and restore the divisions to tlieir normal strength as fast as they were depleted by the defense. The German tactics took no account of human life, but expended it in the most reckless manner, with appalling results throughout the drive. The Allies, on the other hand, sought at all times to conserve their forces by intrenching as fast as possible at every point during the period 64 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR of their retirement. Their artillery was constantly in action, and aided greatly in checking the German advance. ALLIES CONTROL IN THE AIR German aeroplanes played no great part in the advance, although they bombed the British and French rear nightly, and the air service of the Allies proved superior throughout the battle. For the first time in a great battle British and French airmen attacked the enemy infantry from low altitudes with their machine guns and bombs, and rendered invaluable assistance in damming the swelling tide of the Hun hordes. Having gained the mastery of the air, as they did prior to the British drive on the Somme in 1916, they retained it until the foe was halted. To a considerable extent they replaced the heavy guns of the Allies by their constant bombing and gun fire. Between March 21 and March 31, the French and British pilots shot down more than 100 German planes, losing about one-third of that number in the air battles. After the first few days there were practically no German machines in the air over the fighting front, as was the case on the Somme in 1916, but at the end of March the Hun planes began to reappear in mass formation patrols, sometimes consisting of as many as fifty planes in a group of patrols. Then followed a period of intense air fighting, of which a single day's record of the French may be cited as an example. On April 12, the Allied a^^ation report shows that French fighting scouts made 250 flights, fought 120 combats in the sky, shot down eight Germans and damaged 23 others, burned five enemy balloons, damaged five more, and bombarded German troops with 45 tons of explosives. GERMANS PAIL IN THEIR OBJECT The last part of the month of April was marked by a succession of minor attacks by the Germans along the entire front of the halted offensive, and by the development of counter-attacks by the Allies at various points where it was deemed necessary or advisable to strengthen their defensive p(^tions, but up to May 1 the Germans were as far as ever from their main objectives in the west. Judged from the standpoint of their confident expectations, and the promises of success held out as an encouragement to their troops, the long- heralded and long-prepared spring offensive of 1918 was a failure. Their much-vaunted strength of numbers and of organization failed as completely to gain a decisive result as their initial drive on Paris in 1914. Though they threw into the fighting in March and April about 125 divisions, they failed to separate the French and British armies, which was a prime object of their strategy, and they sustained losses which, while not irreparable, must have greatly affected the morale of their men. "Eemember Verdun!" said a famous French 65 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR commander, commenting on the drive. "The Boche is making this tremendous effort and sustaining these losses to effect a complete rupture of our front, and if he does not do that he has failed." BRITISH LOSSES MADE GOOD On April 25 the British minister of munitions announced in the House of Commons that the losses of guns and ammunition sustained by Field Marshal Haig's forces in France and Flanders during the big German drive had been more than replaced. The losses were placed by Mr. "Winston Spencer Churchill at nearly 1,000 guns, between 4,000 and 5,000 machine guns, and a quantity of ammuni- tion "requiring from one to three weeks to manufacture." More than twice the number of guns lost or destroyed had been placed at the disposal of the British, air and ground services, said the minister. GERMANS START ANOTHER ATTACK Another determined attack in the Somme region was begun by the Germans on April 24, after three weeks' further preparation. The enemy evidently had not abandoned hope of capturing Amiens, and he again began hammering at the gateway to that city. The first onslaught was repulsed by the British, but on the following day, April 25, the enemy succeeded in gaining about a mile of ground. The combined British and French armies were covering the roads to Amiens, with reserves close at hand, and part of General Pershing's American forces were co-operating with the French. The utmost confidence prevailed that the united forces under General Foch, who was called by Marshal Joffre "the greatest strategist in Europe," would not only meet and defeat this renewed drive by the enemy, but that before long the tide of battle would turn strongly in favor of the Allies, whose reserve armies were held in leash by their supreme commander, awaiting the strategic hour to strike. BOTTLING UP U-BOAT BASES One of the most thrilling exploits of the war occurred on the night of April 22, 1918, when British naval forces performed an almost incredible feat, by entering the harbors of Ostend and Zee- brugge, German submarine bases, and practically bottling them up. French destroyers co-operated with the British in the daring under- talking. At midnight, under cover of a remarkably developed smoke screen, furnished by the raiders themselves, five old British cruisers were run aground in the harbor channels, blown up, and abandoned by their crews. The ships were loaded with concrete. An old sub- marine, loaded with explosives, was also run under a bridge connecting the mole, or breakwater, at Zeebrugge with the shore, and there blown up, so as to prevent interruption of the raiders while they were doing their work alongside the mole. 66 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR Facing dangerous and unknown conditions of navigation, the harbor was rushed by British monitors and destroyers, under heavy fire from the shore batteries. A storming party of volunteers, sailors and marines, was landed under extreme difficulties from the cruiser Vindictive. This party boarded a German destroyer lying alongside the mole, defeated her crew, and sank the ship. The concrete-laden vessels were duly sunk with a view to blocking both harbors, and every gun on the mole at Zeebrugge was destroyed. The effects of the raid were not easily ascertainable. It was soon learned that the submarine base at Zeebrugge at least had been put out of business for a while. The gallantry and daring of the deed were generally recognized as fully in keeping with the best traditions of the British navy. The loss of life was quite heavy, but the British lost only one destroyer and two coastal motor boats, many of the raiders returning safely to the other side of the Channel. Even the men on the exploded submarine succeeded in escaping. The officer who planned the raid, however, was among the killed. GERMAN ATTACK ON YPEES FAILS On Monday, April 29, the German 4th army under General von Arnim, having gained possession of Mount Kemmel, a dominating position, began a general assault on the British hill positions on the Kemmel front, southwest of Ypres. The intention was to capture Ypres forthwith, by the overwhelming power of numbers, and the day's fighting was a crucial test of the holding power of the Allies in the Ypres salient. The result of the attack was a stunning defeat for the enemy, who was repulsed all along the line and suffered frightful losses. In the words of a French general, "It was a great day for the Allies ! ' ' The repulse of the German attack was a real defeat, for it upset all the confident calculations of the enemy, who from the height of Mount Kemmel had seen, first Ypres, and then channel ports, within his grasp. It brought disappointment and disillusion to his troops, who had been urged on to their disastrous massed attacks by flamboyant promises of success. The effect was seen in a renewal of German peace propaganda, which all the Allies had learned by this time to disregard as unworthy of the slightest serious attention. "Extraordinary nervousness and depression prevail in Germany, owing to the losses in the western offensive," said Renter's corre- spondent at Amsterdam on April 29, quoting a German military writer, Capt. von Salzmann, who said : * ' Our losses have been enor- mous. The offensive in the west has arrived at a deadlock. The enemy is much stronger than our supreme -'command assumed. The region before Ypres is a great lake, and therefore impassable. The whole country between our Amiens front and Paris is mined and will, be blown up should we attempt to pass." 67 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR The preliminary bombardment southwest of Ypres April 29 started in the early morning and took in the ten-mile front from Meteren, west of Bailleul, to Voormezeele, two miles south of Ypres. Infantry attacks in this area followed with great fury, and sanguinary fighting continued all day. The Germans at the outset advanced with fixed bayonets, but they came under such an intense machine-gun fire that most of them were never able to employ the steel. The French at Locre and the British at Voormezeele repulsed every attack, thrusting the enemy back whenever he gained a footing in advanced positions, and firmly holding every point around Ypres at the end of the day. General von Arnim's losses were particularly staggering at Locre, where he used battalion after battalion in a vain attempt to hold the Tillage, a key to Mount Rouge. The previous German capture of Mount Kemmel did the enemy little good, for the Allied artillery kept the crest of the hill so smothered with shell fire that it was impossible for the Huns to occupy it in force. The attack, which was the fourth great battle of Ypres, was the biggest effort the Germans had made in the Flanders offensive, the enemy employing thirty fresh battalions of reserves, in addition to the large number of divisions in position at the beginning of the battle. The net result was a tremendous setback for the Germans, who paid an awful price. Next morning the battlefield in front of the defenders' positions was covered with the bodies of gray-uni- formed men. AMERICAN TROOPS IN ACTION American units were in action in Picardy, east of Amiens, on April 28, having reinforced the British and French in that sector, to aid in keeping the foe from Amiens and Paris. Their baptism of fire in the direct line of the German offensive made their previous experi- ences pale into the insignificance of skirmishes. During the various engagements in which they participated in the last days of April and the first week of May they acquitted themselves with great credit. After a preliminary bombardment of two hours, a heavy German attack was launched against the Americans in the afternoon of April 30 in the vicinity of Villers-Bretonneux, and was repulsed with heavy losses to the enemy, who left dead and wounded on the field, while the American losses were reported as "rather severe." There was hand-to-hand fighting all along the line, and the violent struggle lasted for a considerable time before the enemy was finally thrust back, leaving prisoners in the American hands. Their French comrades were full of praise for the marked bravery displayed throughout by the American troops, who were fighting at one of the most difficult points on the whole battle front. 68 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR U. S. TROOPS RUSHED TO FRANCE As a result of the great German offensive movements and terri- torial gains in the spring of 1918, there was a tremendous increase in the military activities of the United States, particularly in rushing troops to Europe. After the selection of General Foeh as general- issimo of the Allied forces, the American troops in the v/ar zone were brigaded with the French and British all the way from the North Sea to Switzerland, and their numbers steadily increased. In the United States the training of the new National Army, national guards, and officers in the numerous cantonments and train- ing camps was intensified and hurried. As fast as the men were brought into condition they were shipped to France. At first much of the space on the transports was devoted to supplies and materials for the camps and depots in France, but as the situation became crit- ical owing to successful enemy offensives, fewer supplies and more men were sent. Great Britain lent her ships and the number of transports was largely increased, so that each month of 1918 showed a greater movement of troops across the Atlantic. The troop movement record for the spring and summer months of 1918 was a wonderful one, in view of the submarine menace. In April, 117,212 American troops were successfully transported; in May, 244,345 ; in June, 276,382, and in July 300,000. The month of August found more than 1,500,000 Americans in France, England and Italy. This immense number of men were carried over without the loss of a single eastbound American transport. An Army of 5,000,000 Planned On August 5, 1918, plans were announced for increasing the effective strength of the United States army to 5,000,000 forthwith, by an extension of the draft age limits and rapid intensive training. Official statements showed that the armed forces of the United States already amounted to a total of 3,074,572 men, including 2,570,780 in the army and 503,792 in the navy. The national army at this date contained 1,400,000 men, the regular army 525,741, the national guard 434,511 and the reserve corps 210,528. The regular navy had 219,158 men, the marine corps 58,463, the coast guard 6,605, and the reserve 219,566. On June 5 of this year 744,865 men reaching the age of 21 since June 5, 1917, were registered for selective draft purposes. Defeating the Submarine Danger Meanwhile giant strides were taken in the American program of shipbuilding to offset the ravages of submarine warfare. The U. S. Shipping Board was reorganized and galvanized into a high state of efficiency. Under the leadership of Charles M. Schwab, director-gen- eral of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, and Edward M. Hurley, 69 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR chairman of the board, the work in the shipj'-ards on the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, and on the Great Lakes, was speeded up until ships were being built at the rate of 5,000,000 tons a year. In the first ihree weeks of July, 1918, twenty-three ships of 122,721 deadweight tons were completed, making a total of 223 new vessels built under the direction of the board up to that time, the aggregate tonnage being 1,415,022 tons. On July 4 alone eighty-two vessels were launched, their splash being "heard around the world," "With the increased tonnage being put out by the British, French, and Italian shipyards, and the output of neutral countries friendly to the Allies, this practically put an end to the submarine peril. In addition the United States requisitioned seventy-seven Dutch ships with an aggregate tonnage of about 600,000, while arrangements were made with Sweden for about 400^000 tons of shipping and contracts were let for the building of a considerable number of ships in Japanese shipyards. The knowledge that there were over a million American troops facing the enemy on the battle fronts in Europe came as a decided shock to the German army and people, who were forced to realize the failure of their submarine campaign. Americans Prove Their Mettle After the American forces in France had their first serious encounter with the Germans on April 20 at Seicheprey, a village near Renners forest, which they recovered from the enemy in a gallant counter-attack, the fighting was of a more or less local character throughout the rest of the month and in May, with varying fortunes. On May 27 the Germans began another great offensive, taking the Chemin des Dames from the French and crossing the Aisne. On the following day they crossed the Vesle river at Fismes. But on this day also the Americans won their first notable victory, by cap- turing the village of Cantigny and taking 200 prisoners. The United States marines added to their laurels in this fight and held the posi- tion firmly against many subsequent counter-attacks. Continuing their drive toward Paris, the Germans occupied Sois- sons on May 29, Fere-en-Tardenois May 30, and next day reached Chateau Thierry and other points on the Marne, where they were halted by the French. "■ /j In the early days of June several towns and villages fell to the Germans, but the French by counter-attacks recaptured Longpont, Corey, and some other places. On Jime 6 American marines by a spirited attack gained two miles on a two and a half mile front, taking Hill 142 near Torcy and entering Torcy itself. The following day, with French aid, they completed the capture of Vilny, Belleau, and important heights nearby. In another battle northwest of 70 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR Chateau Thierry the Americans advanced nearly two and a half milea on a six-mile front, taking about 300 prisoners. These battles confirmed the impression that the American troops as fighters were equal to their allies. Another Enemy Offensive On June 9 the Germans began the fourth phase of their offensive, planned by their high command to enforce peace. They attacked between Montdidier and the Oise, advancing about four miles and taking several villages. On the next day they claimed the capture of 8,000 French. The same day the American marines took the greater part of Belleau Wood. On June 11 they completed the capture of Belleau Wood, taking 300 prisoners, machine guns and mortars. The French at the same time defeated the Germans between Bubescourt and St. Maur, taking 1,000 prisoners. Other battles followed on the 12th and 13th, but on the 14th the latest German offensive was pro- nounced a costly failure. From this time to the end of the month the fighting was of a less serious character, though the Americans in the Belleau and Vaux region gave the Germans no rest, attacking them continually and taking prisoners at will. July 4 Celebrated Abroad America's Independence day, 1918, was officially celebrated in England, France, and Italy, as well as in the United States, making it a truly historic occasion. On that day Americans assisted the Australians in taking Hamel with many prisoners. On the 8th and 9th the French advanced in the region of Longpont and northwest of Compiftgne, taking Castel and other strong points near the west bank of the Avre river. July 14, the French national holiday, was generally observed in America and by the American soldiers in France. Then, on July 15, the Germans began the fifth and disas- trous last phase of the offensive which they started in the spring, on March 21. Stinging Defeat for Austria But Italy meanwhile had scored a great success against the Aus- trians. French and British regiments, with some Americans, were helping to hold the Italian line when, , on June 15, the Austrians, driven by their German masters, began an offensive along a 100-mile front, crossing the Piave river in several places. For two days they continued violent attacks, penetrating to within 20 miles of Venice, at Capo Silo. Then the Italians, British, and French counter-attacked with great vigor and soon turned the Austrian offensive into a great rout, killing thousands, taking other thousands prisoner, and captur- ing a vast amount of war material, including many of the Austrian heavy-caliber guns. The entire Austrian plan to advance into the 71 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAB rich Italian plains, where they hoped to find great stores of food for their hungry soldiers, resulted in miserable failure. The defeat increased the discontent in Austria-Hungary and added to the bad feeling entertained towards Germany. Peace feelers were thrown out by Austrian statesmen, but the continued influence of German militarism prevented them from receiving serious atten- tion by the Allies. A Waterloo for the Crown Prince When the German divisions of the Crown Prince of Prussia began their last desperate offensive on July 15, they attacked from Chateau Thierry on the west to Massiges, along a 65-mile front, cross- ing the Marne at several places. East and west of Reims the battle raged, with the Allies holding strongly everywhere and the Germans suffering heavy losses. The enemy aimed at Chalons and Epernay and hoped by turning the French fiauk at Reims to capture the cathedral city without a direct assault upon its formidable defenses. General Gouraud, the hero of Gallipoli, was in command of the French forces on the right, while General Mangin and General de Goutte held the left. Most of the Americans taking part in the battle were under the command of these noted generals, and strong Italian and British forces were with Gen- eral Gouraud 's army. The French constituted about 70 per cent of the Allies engaged. General Foch Strikes In a single day the German offensive was effectually blocked at the Maine. Despite the enemy's utmost efforts he could make no further advance. Then Foch, the great French strategist and Allied generalissimo, struck the blow for which he had patiently bided his time ! Apparently having advance information of the German plans, or perhaps surmising them, General Foch had been preparing a surprise for the Crown Prince. In the forest of Villers-Cotterets on the Ger- man right flank, he had quietly massed large forces, including some of the best French regiments, together with the foreign legion, Moroc- can and other crack troops, and many Americans. Everything pos- sible had been done to keep these troop movements secret from the enemy. On Thursday morning, July 18, 1918, a heavy attack was launched in force at the Germans under General von Boehm all along the line from Chateau Thieriy on the Marne to the Aisne river north' west of Soissons. The Germans were taken completely by surprise, and town after town was captured from them with comparatively slight resistance. When the first shock of surprise was over, their resistance stiffened, 72 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR but the Allies ccntmued to advance. Mounted cavalry were once more used to assist the infantry in the open, while tanks in large numbers were used to clear out enemy machine-gun nests. The American troops, fighting side by side with the French, did their work in a manner to excite the admiration of their allies, and acquitted themselves like veterans. Thousands of prisoners were taken, with large numbers of heavy guns and great stores of ammuni- tion, besides thousands of machine guns, many of which were turned against the enemy. The strategy of General Foch received world- wide applause. His master stroke met with immediate success. By the 20th of July Soissons was threatened by the Allies. The Germans, finding themselves caught in a dangerous salient and attacked fiercely on both flanks, hurriedly retreated to the north bank of the Mame and were rapidly pressed back farther. Their condi- tion was critical and the German Crown Prince was obliged to call for assistance from Crown Prince Bupprecht of Bavaria, command- ing in the north. Taking advantage of this, the British and French in the north made frequent attacks, gaining ground and taking pris- oners at numerous points. For ten days the Allies continued their victorious progress on both sides of the Soissons-Reims salient, the Germans continuing to retire under strong pressure. They were forced back to the Ourcq river, then to the Vesle, where they made a determined stand. Fere- en-Tardenois and Fismes fell into the hands of the victorious French and Americans, the latter gaining a notable victory in the occupation of Fismes over the vaunted Prussian guards, who had been brought up to endeavor to stay their progress. The first week of August saw most of the Reims salient wiped out by the German retreat, while rear-guard actions were being fought along the Vesle as the Germans sought defensive positions farther in the rear. The prisoners captured by the Allies in their drive up to that time numbered more than 35,000 and more than 700 hea\'y guns also fell into their possession, with immense quantities of ammunition and stores. The Germans, however, succeeded in destroying many of the ammunition dumps and vast supplies which had been stored in the salient for their expected drive on Paris. As they retired the Germans burned many of the occupied French villages, pursuing their usual policy. As many as forty fires were observed on the horizon at one time as the Allies advanced. Soissons was retaken on August 2, and the valley of the Crise was crossed by the Allies, who dominated the plains in the German rear with their big guns. The German losses in the great battle and retreat from the Mame were variously estimated at from 120,000 to 200,000. General von 73 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR Boehm avoided a first-class disaster, but his defeat was a serious one and had far-reaching moral consequences among the enemy. It was estimated that from the beginning of their offensive in March, the German armies lost more than 1,000,000 men in killed, wounded and prisoners. The Austrians in their ill-fated offensive of 1918 lost more than 250,000 men. FocH A JVIarshal op France On August 6 General Ferdinand Foch, commander-in-chief of the Allied forces, was elevated by the French council of ministers to the rank of a Marshal of France. In presenting his name Premier Cle- menceau said : ' ' At the hour when the enemy, by a formidable offensive, counted on snatching the decision and imposing a German peace upon us, General Foch and his admirable troops vanquished him. Paris is not in danger, Soissons and Chateau Thierry have been reconquered, and more than 200 villages have been delivered. The glorious Allied armies have thrown the enemy from the banks of the Marne to the Aisne." Americans at Fismes The American troops covered themselves with glory at many points in the Allied drive, notably in the hand-to-hand fighting in the streets of Fismes on August 4, when they captured that German base. The fighting was said to have been the bitterest of the whole war, the Pi-ussian guards asking no quarter and being bayoneted or clubbed to death as they stood by their machine guns. British Victory in the North On the Amiens front, in Picardy, the British Fourth Army, under General Hawlinson, and the French First Army, under Gen- eral Debentry, stormed the German positions on August 8 on a front of over 20 miles, capturing 14,000 prisoners and 150 guns, and making an advance of over seven miles. Allied Gains in Picardy Before the Germans had time to recover from the surprise of Marshal Foeh's attack on the Marne, and while they were still retreat- ing to the Vesle, the Allies delivered another heavy blow, this time on the Albert-Montdidier front in Picardy. Here the British and French suddenly attacked in force on the morning of August 8, stormed the enemy positions along a thirty-mile front and on the first day of the attack penetrated to a depth of seven miles. For several days the enemy retreated, closely pursued by allied cavalry and tanks, which for the first time fought in a combination that proved irresistible. The tanks used were of a new small variety, known as "whippets," which rapidly wiped out the machine-gun 7^' UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR nests with which the enemy sought to stem the tide of the victorious onrush. Some American troops fought with the British in their advance and gained high praise from the Allied commanders. By August 15 the total number of prisoners captured by the Brit- ish Fourth Army, under General Rawlinson, was 21,844. In the same period of one week the prisoners taken by the French First Army amounted to 8,500, making a total of 30,344 Germans captured in the operations of the Allied armies on the Montdidier- Albert front, besides 700 hea%y guns, quantities of machine guns, and other important spoils of war. North of the Somme, between Albert and Arras, the Germans continued to fall back to the old Hindenburg line, where there were strong defensive positions, with the British and French keeping in close touch with their retreat. On August 15 they had definitely given up the towns of Beaumont-Hamel, Serre, Bucquoy, and Pui- sieux-au-Mont, and at several points had crossed the Ancre river. Field Marshal Haig announced that the proportion of German losses to those of the Allies in the Picardy offensive were greater than at any other period of the war. The total Allied casualties were not as large as the number of Germans taken prisoner. Joy in Amiens and Pakis One important result of the British drive was that Amiens, the "dead city of Picardy," began to come to life again. Its population of 150,000, including 40,000 refugees, had fled before the German offensive in March, 1918, but the former inhabitants began to return when the menace of the invader disappeared, as the invader himself was chased back toward the Somme. A service of thanks to the Allied arms was held in the Great Cathedral of Notre Dame in Amiens, August 15. Despite the damage from German guns and bombs, the cathedral retained the title of the most beautiful in all France. The city of Paris, at the same time, quietly celebrated the great change in the situation wrought in one short month. Just four weeks before, on July 18, the residents of Paris had been awakened by the sounds of such a cannonade as they never had heard before. It was General Mangin's counter-preparation against the great German attack which the enemy believed was to bring him to the gates of Paris. In the meantime the Germans, who were at the gates of Amiens, Reims, and Compiegne, had been soundly beaten and outgen- eraled at every point, and the initiative had been forced from them by the military genius of Marshal Foch. The effect upon the Germans was apparent from the fact that General Hans von Boehm, the Ger- man "retreat specialist" had been appointed to the supreme com« mand on the Somme front. The German withdrawal norUi of Albert 75 UNITED STATES ENTERS WAR was looked upon as the first application of liis tactics. It was General von Boehm and his former command, the German Eighth Army, that stood the brunt of the Allied pressure in the Marne salient previous to the retreat of the Huns to the north of the Vesle river, where they jvere still standing in the middle of August. BoLSHEviKi Execute Ex-Czar Former Czar Nicholas of Russia was executed by the Bolsheviki in July, 1918, having been held as a prisoner since his dethronement. ^ /voflTW ^ seA vV\Vi_>(s. ARRAS : PAS. DOUJ.LE,NS AMIENS' "^^ "'Raw SCALE OF MILES P S lO L* ^ ^ ^ PAILROAOS < ROAOS '■ CATTLC UMC VCSTCRDAV rAATHCST CCRMArr AOVANCC **•« MIHOCNCURG LIME ••••»••••«••■••** BATTLE LINE ON THE WESTERN FRONT AUGUST 21, 1918 Shaded portions of map show territory gained by American and Allied troops during July and August, 1918. Most of the territory gained by the Germans in their 1918 offensive was recaptured by the Allies before September 1, 1918. 76 CHAPTER III. AMERICANS AT CHATEAU THIERRY Personal Accounts of Battle — Gas and Shell Shock — Marines Under Fire — Americans Can Fight and Yell — Getting to the Front Under Difficulties — The Big Day Dawns — The Shells Come Fast — A Funeral at the Front — Impression of a French Lieu- tenant — Keeping the Germans on the Run. The name of Chateau Thierry will be long remembered in the United States, for it was there the American fighting quality was for the first time clearly impressed upon the Germans, to their immense astonishment, and with far-reaching effect. The German people and the German army had been told that the United States had no army, navy, or fighting quality; that the talk of an American army in Europe was "Yankee bluff," and nothing more; that even if we could raise an army we could not send it across the ocean, first because we had no ships, second because if we had ships the submarines of Germany would surely sink them. Yet here at Chateau Thierry they were confronted by United States troops and soundly beaten. That effect upon the Germans was in itself of tremendous signifi- cance ; but the historic effect was greater, and will grow in importance with the passage of time, for it is a fact, unperceived by onlooking nations at the moment, that it was the turning point of the war; and that the turning was accomplished by troops of a nation that hated war and was supposed to be incapable of military development ; and that these troops had met and whipped the choicest troops of a power that above all things was military, that had assumed pro- prietary rights in the art of war, and believed itself invincible. Late in February, 1918, General Ludendorff had told a Berlin newspaper correspondent that on the first of April he would be in Paris. It was inconceivable to the Germans that with the thorough preparation of a mighty army for an offensive that by sheer weight of numbers should drive through an opposition twenty times as strong as that which then confronted them, they could not witJi ease push in between the French and British forces,' thrust straight through to Paris (as a spectacular performance rather than a vital military oper- ation) , and then walk over to the channel ports of France and bring both France and England to a plea for mercy. From the 21st of March until along in May, 1918, it looked a3 though they might succeed. That is, to anyone unaware of the strategy of Marshal Foch, who sold terrain by the foot for awful prices in German lives, and held an unbroken front until such time 77 AMERICANS AT CHATEAU THIERRY as American forces could be brought into action, instead of wearing out his reserves and weakening his power for an offensive. Unity of command had been accomplished by that time at the urgent demand of the United States Government. Foch had saved France and the world at the first battle of the Marne. Being given supreme authority over all the allied forces, as soon as the arrival of American troops in great numbers had been thoroughly established, he was ready ; and the offensive passed from German to allied hands. The tremendous German drive, which Ludendorff had confidently promised the German people would bring a smashing and decisive victory, was stopped. Retrocession began. On the Marne again, in July, 1918, in the sector held by Americans an action began at Chateau Thierry which forced the German retreat that in a few weeks was to shake the heart of Germany, scare out Bulgaria, Austria and Turkey, in the early autumn bring Germany to a plea for peace, send LudendonT himself into retirement, dethrone the Kaiser, do away with the imperial form of government, set up a republic, and create condi- tions that would quash for all time the power of Prussia to disturb a decent world. Floyd Gibbons, correspondent of the Chicago Tribune, a non- combatant who wanted to see the combat he was there to report, was in that memorable action. He lost his left eye there, and was other- wise severely shattered, but he got his story through. His home paper some months afterward gave Gibbons well earned credit for that con- tribution to current history. It said he "helped to put the Marines where they belong in the war's history, for he was with them in their early exploits and fell in one of their battles. Six thousand out of 8,000 engaged was their toll. They fought with the French through Belleau Wood, heartening the brave, tired, discouraged poilus, and after they came out upon the other side the name of the battlefield was changed to the 'Wood of the American Marines.' Mr, Gibbons says that when Marshal Foch began his great offensive, which in cosmic importance is second only to creation, he selected the units in which he had the most faith. These units were chosen not because tlicy were braver nor more sacrificial, but because they knew. They were the Foreign Legion of France, two divisions of American Regu- lars, and the United States Marines." From that day there was no change in the favorable fortunes of war on the western front. AMERICANS CAN FIGHT AND YELL An eyewitness of the first days of the Chateau Thierry battle thus describes the capture of the Belleau wood: "The Americans moved stealthily with fixed bayonet until they got into the edge of the woods and atop of the German machine gun- 78 AMERICANS AT CHATEAU THIERRY ners. Then the farm boys cheered, and the lumberjacks shouted, and the Indians yelled. They were where they could mix it at close range with the Boche, and that was what they wanted. * * Their yells could be heard a mile away. They were up against two of the Kaiser's redoubtable divisions, the Two Hundredth Jae- gers and the Two Hundred and Sixteenth reserve division. They fought with vim and joy. "They had lost comrades at the hands of the Germans and now were to avenge them. No quarter was asked or expected. The Ger- mans had orders to fight to the death and the Americans needed no such order. ** Without much artillery on either side and without gas, the Americans fought the Germans through that woods, four kilometers (nearly three miles) long, for six hours. At last we got through and took up a position across the northern end of the woods. '^ Perhaps the most sensational part of the fight was when about 200 Germans got around behind our men. They were chased into a clearing, where the Americans went at them from all sides with the bayonet, and I am told that three prisoners were all that were left of the Germans." "How did you do it?" inquired a dazed Prussian officer, taken prisoner at Chateau Thierry by an American soldier. "We are storm troops. ' ' "Storm eh!" said the American. "I come from Kansas, where we have cyclones. ' ' That was and is the idea. This spirit enabled American soldiers to go wherever they wanted to go. A European officer on observation duty with the United States force at Chateau Thierry wanted to know how our soldiers got through as they did. "They seem to have been trained somewhere," he said, "for they fight all right. But that doesn't explain to me the way they keep going." The American officer with whom he was talking gave this explana- tion: "They were thoroughly trained in our camps at home in all but one thing. They were not trained to stop going. ' ' It was a splendid exhibition, the first of many of its kind. A PERSONAL ACCOUNT The following is one of hundreds of thrilling experience stories that could be told by officers and men who fought at that front. Details of the participation of the United States Marines in the counter-attack of the allies against German forces on the Marne, July 18, are given in a letter written shortly afterward by Major Robert L. Denig, of the United States Marines, to his wife, in Phila* 79 AMERICANS AT CHATEAU THIERRY delphia, and which had been forwarded to Washington for the his- torical files of the Marine Corps. It is the best and truest form of war history, and important in that it gives details of action during those July days when American troops stopped the German drive. It also establishes the fact that the Marines who helped stop the German drive on Paris at Belleau wood early in June were honored by being brought from this wood to Vierzy and Tigny, near Soissons, for participation with a crack French division in the great counter-attack which started the disintegration of the German front in the west. Names that became familiar through the fighting in Belleau wood are mentioned in Major Denig's letter as being prominent in the allied counter-attack — Lieut. Col. Thomas Holcomb, Lieut. Col. Ben- ton W. Sibley, Lieut. Col. John A. Hughes, Capt. Pere Wilmer and others who took a prominent part in the fighting. The letter in sub- stance follows: "We took our positions at various places to wait for camions that were to take us somewhere in France, when or for what purpose we did not know. Our turn to enbus came near midnight. GETTING TO THE FRONT UNDER DIFFICULTIES "We at last got under way after a few big 'sea bags' had hit near by. We went at a good clip and nearly got ditched in a couple of new shell holes. Shells were falling fast by now and as the tenth truck went under the bridge a big one landed near with a crash and wounded the two drivers, killed two Marines and wounded five more. "We did not know it at the time and did not notice anything wrong till we came to a crossroad, when we found we had only eleven cars all told. We found the rest of the convoy after a hunt, but even then were not told of the loss, and did not find it out till the next day. "After twelve hours' ride we were dumped in a big field, and after a few hours' rest started our march. It was hot as hades and we had had nothing to eat since the day before. We at last entered a forest ; troops seemed to converge on it from aJl points. We marched some six miles in the forest. A finer one I have never seen — deer would scamper ahead and we could have eaten one raw. "At 10 that night, without food, we lay down in a pouring rain to sleep. Troops of all kinds passed us in the night — a shadowy stream, more than a half-million men. Some French officers told us that they had never seen such concentration since Verdun, if then. THE BIG DAY DAWNS "The next day, July 18, we marched ahead through a jam of troops, trucks, etc., and came at last to a ration dump, where we fell to and ate our heads off for the first time in nearly two days. Whep 80 AMERICANS AT CHATEAU THIERRY we left there the men had bread stuck on their bayonets. I lugged a ham. All were loaded down. "We finally stopped at the far end of the forest, nearing a dress- ing station. This station had been a big, fine stone farmhouse, but was now a complete ruin — wounded and dead lay all about. Joe Murray came by with his head all done up — his helmet had saved him. The lines had gone on ahead, so we were quite safe. ''Late in the afternoon we advanced again. Our route lay over an open field covered with dead. "We lay down on a hillside for the night near some captured German guns, and until dark I watched the cavalry, some 4,000, come up and take positions. "At 3 :30 the next morning the regiment was soon under way to attack. We picked our way under cover of a gas infected valley to a town where we got our final instructions and left our packs. GAS AND SHELL SHOCK "We formed up in a sunken road on two sides of a valley that was perpendicular to the enemy's front. We now began to get a few wounded; one man with ashen face came charging to the rear with shell shock. He shook all over, foamed at the mouth, could not speak. I put him under a tent and he acted as if he had a fit. MARINES ADVANCE UNDER FIRE "At 8:30 we jumped off with a line of tanks in the lead. For two 'kilos' the four lines of Marines were as straight as a die, and their advance over the open plain in the bright sunlight was a picture I shall never forget. The fire got hotter and hotter, men fell, bullets sung, shells whizzed-banged and the dust of battle got thick. "Lieut. Overton was hit by a big piece of shell and fell. After- wards I heard he was hit in the heart. He was buried that night and the pin found, which he had asked to have sent to his wife. "A man near me was cut in two. Others when hit would stand, it seemed, an hour, then fall in a heap. I yelled to Wilmer that each gun in the barrage worked from right to left, then a rabbit ran ahead and I watched him, wondering if he would get hit. Good rabbit — it took my mind off the carnage. "About sixty Germans jumped up out of a trench and tried to surrender, but their machine guns opened up, we fired back, they ran and our left company after them. That made a gap that had to be filled, so Sibley advanced one of his to do the job, then a shell lit in a machine gun crew of ours and cleaned it out completely. DIGGING IN "At 10 :30 we dug in — the attack just died out. I found a hole or old trench and when I was flat on my back I got some protection. 81 AMERICANS AT CHATEAU THIERRY Holcomb was next me ; Wilmer some way off. We then tried to get reports. Two companies we never could get in touch with. Lloyd came in and reported he was holding some trenches near a mill with sii men. "Gates, with his trousers blown off, said he had sixteen men of various companies; another officer on the right reported he had and could see some forty men, all told. That, with the headquarters, was all we could find out about the battalion of nearly 800. Of the twenty company officers who went in, three came out, and one, Gates, was slightly wounded. THE SHELI,S COME FAST "From then on to about 8 p. m. life was a chance and mighty uncomfortable. It was hot as a furnace, no water, and they had our range to a 'T.' Three men lying in a shallow trench near me were blown to bits. "You could hear men calling for help in the wheat fields. Their cries would get weaker and weaker and die out. The German planes were thick in the air; they were in groups of from three to twenty. They would look us over and then we would get a pounding. ""We had a machine gun officer with us, and at 6 o'clock a runner came up and reported that Sumner was killed. He commanded the machine gun company with us. He was hit early in the fight, by a bullet, I hear. At the start he remarked : 'This looks easy ; they do not seem to have much art. ' "Well, we just lay there all through the hot afternoon. * ' It was great — a shell would land near by and you v/ould bounce in your hole. ' ' As twilight came we sent out water parties for the relief of the wounded. At 9 o'clock we got a message congratulating us, and say- ing the Algerians would take us over at midnight. We then began to collect our wounded. Some had been evacuated during the day, but at that, we soon had about twenty on the field near us. "A man who had been blinded wanted me to hold his hand. Another, wounded in the back, wanted his head patted; and so it went; one man got up on his hands and knees; I asked him what he wanted. He said : ' Look at the full moon, ' then fell dead. I had him buried, and all the rest I could find. "The Algerians came up at midnight and we pushed out. They went over at daybreak and got all shot up. We made the relief under German flares and the light from a burning town. "We went out as we came, through the gulley and town, the latter by now all in ruins. The place was full of gas. We pushed on to the forest and fell down in our tracks and slept all day. 82 ^ M ^^ CUS^ . £"2 2 rj 3 *-■ in B? S-'S Wis S,o m «H !a)S o* n t, „•« 0) cm ■^ 03 b^ o X" c to >» U c ■- - m oi th-O cj o o' 'B'O c a* -■ " '^ - "^ o "O " "A aara S2«" '^^^ H O OJ 4) R iS o ""d 60'° ■» * r- t^ 1-1 W CO O '*' W '-' I ^ ft O o.t,ST3c«>'a 3 o CD 3 ■'::?>' Above — Going over the top. Allied troops with full equipnient are seen leaving their trench and advancing to attack. This is the moment that tried men's souls, and showed themselves and their comrades the stuff that was in them. (Photo from I. F. S.) Below — Scene when Cambrai was captured by the British, showing large num- bers of British troops moving forward across the battlefield. In the foreground the men are seen leaving a communication trench. (British Official Photo, Jrom I. F. S.) Above — Machine-gun team of an American balloon company at work on the Above — Machme-gun team ot an American balloon company at worK on me French front, trying to get an enemy airplane. These anti-aircraft guns are known as "Archies." lirloir — Men of the 313th U. S. Field Artillery cleaning and jiolishing 75-millimeteT shells, to be sent over to the Hun at night. Dirty or rusted shells are dangerous to use, (17. S. Official Photos.) Above — General Pershing decorating Private Nick Connors, Infantry, 42nd Divi- sion, with the Distinguished Service Cross, for bravery at Chateau Thierry. Below — Y. M. C. A. Secretary H. F. Butterfleld, with a volunteer detail of the 104th Infantry, 26th Division, loaded with cigarettes, chewing gum, and tobacco for the boys of the 104th, who were chasing the retreating foe in France. (17. S. Official Photos.) Above — Company M and Company K, 336th U. S. Infantry, S2nd Division, advan- cing on the enemy's positions and driving out the Huns, while the 307th Engineers of the 82nd Division clear the way by blovving up wire entanglements. (Official U. S. I'hoto.) BHow — Photo taken from the body of the German soldier at the left (in gray sweater) near Chateau Thierry. The three women in the picture were at the time operating a German machine-gun under armed guard. (Photo from U. «£ U.) 8° AMERICANS AT CHATEAU THIERRY A FUNERAL AT THE FRONT "That night the Germans shelled us and got three killed and seventeen wounded. We move a bit farther back to the cross road and after burying a few Germans, some of whom showed signs of having been wounded before, we settled down to a short stay, "It looked like rain, and so Wilmer and I went to an old dressing station to salvage some cover. "We were about to go when we stopped to look at a new grave. A rude cross made of two slats from a box had written on it : "Lester S. Wass, Captain U. S. Marines. July 18, 1918," "The old crowd at St. Nazaire and Bordeaux — Wass and Sum- ner killed, Baston and Capt. LeRoy T, Hunt wounded. We then moved further to the rear and camped for the night, Dunlap came to look us over, A carrier pigeon perched on a tree with a message. We decided to shoot him. It was then quite dark, so the shot missed. I then heard the following remarks as I tried to sleep : ' Hell ! he only turned around ! ' ' Send up a flare ! ' ' Call for a barrage ! ' etc, ' ' The next day we were back in a town for some rest and to Lick our wounds." IMPRESSION OF A FRENCH LIEUTENANT A French lieutenant thus describes the American fighting qual- ity: "The finest thing in the combat was the dash of the Americans. It was splendid to see those grand fellows, with their tunics thrown off and their shirt sleeves rolled up above their elbows, wading the rivers with the water to their shoulders and throwing themselves on the Eoche like bulldogs. "Any one who has seen such a sight knows what the American army is good for henceforth and to the end of the war. At the sight of these men, magnificent in their youth, physical force, good temper and dash, the Germans fied 'with eveiy leg' or surrendered without awaiting the order to throw away their arms and take off their sus- penders, which is the first thing a prisoner is told to do, in order that he may be compelled to keep his hands employed and out of mis- chief, "The Germans hurried toward our lines gripping their trousers, haggard and mad with terror, "Would that every mother in France who has lost a son in the war could have seen that epic sight. They would have seen them- selves revenged, and it would have been some consolation to them in their sorrow. ' ' KEEPING THE GERMANS ON THE RUN The trench deadlock in northern France and Belgium was broken by Ludendorff's fatuous drive in March, 1918, After the allies had stopped it and inaugurated their counter-offensive all Europe made a 83 AMERICANS AT CHATEAU THIERRY startling discovery. The Germans were tenacious enough in trench warfare ; in open fighting, known as war of maneouvre, they could not stand before American and the allied troops. Incessant attacks, rap- idly delivered at the same time at many points on the long line be- tween the North Sea and the Swiss border, were more than they could withstand. The mechanically trained troops of the central empires were futile before armies of men who did their own thinking and delighted in fighting an enemy they could see from the feet up. Ger- man armies had twice been almost at the gates of Paris. The first time they were driven back they dug themselves in. That was in 1915. The second time, in the spring of 1918, they were allowed no time for digging in. From the July days of 1918, when American soldiers at Chateau Thierry beat the best troops that ever were trained in Prussia, they were kept going. How industriously may be inferred from the story of the young corporal who was sitting on the roadside trying to iie the soles of his shoes to the uppers, in a hurry. Some- body asked him what was the matter, "0, nothing much," said he. "Only I came over here to kill Germans, but they never told me I 'd have to run 'em to death. ' ' A STRANGER TO HIS OWN CHILD There never was a war so prolific of personal incident in every shade of experience possible to human life. The devastated provinces of France offer perhaps more of these happenings than any other part of the steel-swept, shell-wrecked fronts of all Europe. An Asso- ciated Press correspondent tells one that is especially touching. He was motoring toward Denaen, one of the cities the Germans had occupiied through four hard years, when a French officer going in the same direction asked him for a lift, explaining that he had lived there but had neither seen nor heard from his wife during all that time. Entering the city and turning into his street the officer saw the first house was in ruins. He gave a nervous start. A few doors farther on was his home. The officer climbed out with an effort, his eyes fixed on the place. There was no sign of life. The windows were shuttered and on the door was a sign showing German officers had been living there. The officer pulled the bell with shaking hand. No one answered. He backed away like a man in a trance and leaned against the car, trembling. Suddenly the door opened and an aged servant appeared, leading a beautiful baby girl with a wealth of golden curls. The officer took one step toward the child and halted. He was a stranger to his own flesh and blood. The child hid behind the nurse, peering out in fright. The half blind eyes of the old nurse had recognized her master 81 AMERICANS AT CHATEAU THIEERY and she held out her hands, repeating, "Monsieur! Monsieur!" in ecstasy. He crossed the road and grasped her hands, but the baby drew back. A door opened and a comely young matron came to see what was going on. She caught sight of her husband, then stopped. Her hands flew to her breast. She swayed for a second. With a sob of joy she hurled herself into his arms. The correspondent moved away. And thus they were left, the nurse beaming on the happy couple and the curly headed youngster looking with troubled eyes at this strong man who had appropriated her mother so completely without a word. WHAT PERSHING THOUGHT OP HIS YANKS An American newspaper man who returned from Europe about the time hostilities ceased was informed that General Pershing sug- gested to Marshal Foch in June 1918, that he thought it bad policy to stick around waiting for the boche and that he felt the time had come to jump in and attack — "But" he was told, "we have not got the troops." * * Whats the matter with the Americans 1 ' ' Pershing asked. * ' They are not yet trained ' ' was Foch 's reply. "Try them and see" said General Pershing. "They will go, any- where you send them, and I will bet my life on it. ' ' Pershing took the initiative in urging the offensive, supplied the troops that gave Foch his mobile reserve enabling him to strike his blow, and those American troops ' ' delivered the goods. ' ' HEALTH OF ARMY SURPRISING Official reports to the war department show that the general health of the American army during the war had been surprisingly good. The death rate for all forces at home and abroad up to August 30th, 1918, was 5.9 per 1,000 men per year, or little more than the civilian death rate for men of the same age groups. There were 316,000 cases of influenza among the troops in the United States during the late summer and fall of 1918 and of 20,500 deaths, between September 14th and November 8th, 19,800 were ascribed to the epidemic. ARMY REACHED TOTAL OP 3,664,000 An ofScial report shows that on the day the Armistice was signed more than twenty-five per cent of the male population of the United States between the ages of 19 and 31 years, were in military service, the army having reached a total of 3,664,000, with more than 2,000,000 of this number in Europe. As compared with an army strength of 189,674 in March 1917, one week before war was declared by the United States. 85 CHAPTER IV. AMERICAN VICTORY AT ST. MIHIEL First Major Action ty All American Army — Stories to Folks ai Home — Huns Carry Off Captive Women — Hell Has Cut Loose — Major Tells His Story — Enormous Numbers of Guns and Tanks — Over the Top at 5:30 A. M. — Texas and Oklahoma Troops Fight in True Ranger Style — Our Colored Boys Win Credit. The first major action by an all American army was that which began before the St. Mihiel salient September 11, 1918. The Germans had occupied that salient almost four years, and had built it into what they believed to be an impregnable position. The Americans, under direct command of General Pershing, reduced it in a three days' advance. The salient was a huge bulge, almost twenty miles in depth, turning southwest from Combres at the north base and Hattonville at the south and looping down around the towns of St, Mihiel and Ailly. It was powerfully held by masses of enemy troops. General Pershing's army attacked from the west, south and east all the way from Bonzee to Norroy, and by September 13th had pushed it back to a straight line drawn from Combres to Hattonville. The French attacked at Ailly, the apex of the salient as it was on September 11. The entire operation was conducted with rapidity and with irresistible energy. The dash and enthusiasm of the American sol- diers astonished and delighted the French and British as completely as it staggered the Germans. By September 13th the Americans had taken forty-seven towns and villages, reduced the German front from forty miles to twenty, captured the railway that connects Verdun with Commercy, opened the cities of Nancy and Toul to the allies, and with the French and British on the east, created a new battle front on a line running from Hattonville on the west to Pagny on the east — Pagny being a town on the Moselle river, at the German border. The importance of this victory could hardly be overestimated. It opened the way to and was followed up by the demolition of the whole German line from the Swiss border to the North Sea, and hastened the great German retreat. In the action itself, September 11 to 13, about 15,000 Germans were taken prisoner by the Ameri- cans. STORIES TO THE FOLKS BACK HOME Sidelight stories of what happened in the St. Mihiel fight, mostly in letters written home by men who were in it, go far toward showing ^6 AMERICAN VICTORY AT ST. MIHIEL how completely the Germans were taken off their guard. Corp. Ray Fick of the 103d Infantry wrote home in this wise : ' ' We got into the woods and then kept on going until we reached a big city where there was a brewery, but they had set fire to the whole city before they left. We got some beer and wine just the same. It was a little stale, but it was fine. The Huns' warehouses were all fixed for the winter and the boys got cigars and cigarettes, but I was a little too late to get in on it. *'The whole thing was very interesting all the way through. The Huns sure did make themselves scarce in a hurry, but they kept many prisoners, a troop train and an ammunition train. ''Cigarettes are scarce and we look for smokes all the time. The Red Cross and the Salvation Army are the ones who look to our com- forts. If any one wants to give, tell them the Red Cross and the Salvation Army are the ones to get it. ' ' HUNS CARRY OFF CAPTIVE WOMEN But Corporal Fick uncovers another Hun procedure that has no fun in it. While the Huns lost no time in getting away from there, they took care to carry off their captured women slaves. "The women they have held captives for the last four years," he writes, "were driven ahead of them, but they were brought back by the Americans. Truckload after truckload passed us on the way, and they sure were happy to be free again." "hell has cut loose" Another soldier wrote to his father telling about the first day of attack as he saw it : "Hell has let loose. The woods are a mass of whistling shell and shrapnel. Every time the big twelves go off the flash lights up the entire camp like a flashlight picture, then the ground heaves and tumbles like old Lake Michigan does on a stormy day. "The infantry have cleared the top and have gone on far in advance, almost outside of the range of fire. Our big objective has been wiped off the map and our men are preparing to keep right on going after them and backing up the doughboys who are doing such great work. "I went up to the front last night on an ammunition caisson (which is the only way to get up there) and saw the thing commence. It started with one solitary gun of ours (a big one, too). Then the others joined in on the chorus, and it has been steady ever since. "When the doughboys were told that they were going over the top at the zero hour, you never heard shouting to equal it ; the Board of Trade on a Monday morning was just a whisper in comparison. "Dad, that is the general feeling of our boys over here — always 87 AMEEICAN VICTORY AT ST, MIEIEL waiting to move up. I told a lad in one of the outfits that the artillery v/as right back of them and would blow them through to the objective if they did not make it, and he laughed and said, 'Hoboken hy Christmas. ' They were all in the best of mood and roaring to go. ' ' These letters are good specimens of the thousands that have come ever the sea. They not only give good sidelights on an event that will loom large in history, but they show the indomitable cheer and liigh spirit of our soldiers. MAJOR TELLS HIS STORY Concurrently with the action that originated at St. Mihiel on September 11, 1918, another great battle developed northwest of Verdun. It lasted about three weeks, and is graphically described by Lt. Col. B. M. Chipperfield (then a major) of the 23d Division. Lt. Col. Chipperfield was a participant in as well as an eyewitness of the v^hole engagement. Under date of September 29, 1918, (he described it substantially as follows, in a letter to a friend at home : ''For several days preparations had been in progress for the action that began on Thursday, September 26th. The American troops were moved up by night, jamming the roads with their advancing columns and transport trains. "Thousands and thousands of them," wrote Major Chipperfield, * ' trudged along without a light and in almost quiet. ENORMOUS NUMBERS OP GUNS "Tanks and cannon and guns of all sorts, every kind of vehicle, ambulance wagon, and transport passed in this continuous procession. It seemed that there was no end to it, and one could not help but admire the wonderful resources that had been gathered together by the United States to help perform its part in this great struggle for freedom. "I think the greatest collection of guns that has ever been gath- ered together for participation in any conflict of the world was taken to the front where the attack was about to be made. It is estimated there were 6,000 of these guns, and the soldiers that were gathered together numbered hundreds of thousands . "These guns and soldiers were conducted to their places so secretly and quietly that, although they marched many miles, the enemy did not even know a small part of the strength and could only specidate what it all meant. UNDER ENFILADING FIRE "In the arrangement of the plan of battle our division was on th© extreme right. Across the river was a German stronghold. Here there were located a large quantity of artillery and many machine 88 AMERICAN VICTORY AT ST. MIHIEL guns. Our officers understood that it was going to be a difficult advance, for a bridge had to be built across a creek, but everything in our division went like clockwork. It had all been planned in advance, and the plan was carried out exactly as made. "It was arranged that at 11:30 o'clock on Thursday night the battle was to begin. Before that time I had reached my destination at the headquarters of the otlier division, and together with the rest of the headquarters staff we were in a favorable place to watch the commencement. "At 11 :25 it was silent as the grave, and the night was beautiful. Precisely at 11:30 from every conceivable direction the great bom- bardment commenced. In an instant the whole night was filled with a roar and thunder and reverberation of the cannon from every quar- ter. The shriek and whistle and whine and clamor of the sliells made a fearful chorus as they were hurled in the direction of the field occupied hy our adversaries. "From every quarter came the flash of the explosions, until the night was lighted as bright as day. Signal rockets rose from every portion and part of our lines and also from the enemy lines. It looked as though the heavens were ablaze and raining fire. It was a scene which has probably never been seen before upon any battlefield and may never be witnessed again. ' * Apparentlj^ this fierce bombardment took the enemy entirely by surprise because our fire was so deadly and the extent so great that they could only make uncertain reply. They seemed to be stupefied. "For six hours this terrific bombardment continued. It is esti- mated that each of the guns fired an average of three shots a minute and that 1,000,000 projectiles and charges of ammunition were used. OVER THE TOP AT 5 :30 A. M. "As 5:30 approached the bombardment increased. The machine guns joined in the chorus and a curtain of steel and fire was placed in front of our troops and rained upon the guns and cannon of the enemy. "After a brief period of this fire our men started over the top, and as they did so they swept the enemy before them in their irre- sistible rush. They advanced kilometer after kilometer. They could not be resisted or stayed at any stage of the attack. "Soon the prisoners commenced to come in, and they told of the terrific effect that the great bombardment had upon the Germans. They said the bombardment was so terrible that it disrupted their plans so that they could not be carried out and that they could not resist the attack. "Several times during the night I went out to witness the scene and as long as life lasts it will be remembered. 89 AMERICAN VICTORY AT ST. MIHIEL ON DEAD man's HHIj "Once when two of our regiments came over a hill and saw the valley that lay before them being terrifically shelled by the cannon and assailed by hail from the machine guns, the whole column wa» Been to pause and a look of worry came over the faces of these men that for just an instant was pitiful. They knew that ahead of them lay death for many and it is not strange that for several seconds the lines were held up, but then a look of fierce determination and of courage took the place of the former expression and with a great resolve and courage, dash, and daring, the lines shot forward at a redoubled step and the determination to do or die was manifested in every action. "These machine guns were speedily put out of business, and then the attack would go on. That portion of the lines that the division of which I am a member was given for the purpose of the attack, it was thought would take the entire day, but our division was on its objective by early afternoon and had commenced to dig in, from which position they could defy the Germans with impunity. "While the attack was going on I went up to Dead Man's HilL This hill is the last word in the destructiveness of war. "It is literally rent to atoms. Dugouts have been blown to pieces. Hundreds of thousands of men had been killed in the earlier battles before Verdun, and many of the bodies could not be reached for burial, the place was so torn up." OTHER PERSONAL GLIMPSES Many other personal glimpses of the fighting come from officers and men. One division was made up largely of Illinois regiments, among others the 3d Illinois Infantry, commanded by Col. John V. Clinnin. The position held by these troops was vital to the entire advance, and it required rapid action on the first day to reach the objective at the same time as the other units. Mcnomme creek is a little stream which is not shown on maps. It runs eastward from the village of Septsarges to the Meuse. The stream holds vivid memories for the Illinois infantry. It was tliere that it met the most severe resistance, the Germans catching our men just as they were relieving other young soldiers. The men fought their way down to the creek. On the other side along the highway between Septsarge and Dannevoux the Germans had entrenched them- selves and were shelling the road which the Americans had crossed. They were also using intrenched machine guns at the edge of the woods. "I heard bullets whistling overhead," said a wounded soldier in a hospital. "We were lying near the edge of the creek at the time 90 AMERICAN VICTORY AT ST. MIHIEL and knew that a machine gun was shooting at us, so I just started out and got it." "Our colonel was right up there with us getting into line," said Private Hiram E. Burnett. "One night when the shells were bursting all around and several men were wounded the colonel went over the top just like any of us." The Bois des Forges has been a battle ground since the war began, with trenches in front and miles of barbed wire, machine gun nests and concrete pillboxes inside. A frontal attack on such a stronghold apparently meant suicide, but the Illinois men, led by Col. Sanborn and Col. Abel Davis, took it so neatly and quickly that they bagged nearly 1,000 soldiers, fifteen officers, twenty-six guns ranging from 105s down, 126 machine guns, twenty-one flatcars, two rolling kitch- ens, an ambulance and thousands of rounds of ammunition. "We were looking for you in front," said a captured German officer. ' ' We did not expect that you would come through the swamp and outflank us. We did not think that any Yankee outfit was so foxy." "a great show" _ "It was a great show when we crossed that river and rushed on through the woods, cleaning up machine gun nests," said Private Gray McKindy of Woodstock. "The machine guns in the woods started throwing bullets as soon as we reached the river. They thought they could stop us from going up the opposite hill, but we did it and got every gun there." Private Kenneth W. Steiger was one of those who went in on the second night when his captain called for volunteers to make up a patrol. Steiger became separated from the others in the darkness and ran into a party of three Germans. Quickly covering them with his rifle he brought all three back. Private Bernard Snyder returned with prisoners before dark on the first day. Making use of his ability to speak German, he induced a dozen Germans to lay down their arms, pick up stretchers and carry American wounded back five kilometers (three miles) to where ambulances were waiting. A FIGHTING CHAPLAIN Lieut. Jorgen R. Enger, the chaplain of a Kansas-Missouri out- fit, carried the wounded for three days from the Montfaucon woods two miles to the ambulance. Searching in the woods in the darkness one night with shells bursting and bullets whistling he found a husky sergeant wounded in the foot and growing weaker and weaker from loss of blood. The chaplain shouldered the man and carried him back to a dressing station, saving his life. ' ' I didn 't think a chaplain would do a thing like that, ' ' said the 91 AMERICAN VICTORY AT ST. MIHIEL sergeant. "I w»iild rather save you than save a general," replied the chaplain. When not searching for wounded hidden in the tangle of under- brush the chaplain was busy helping the surgeons at a first aid dress- ing station. "I never thought any clergyman would have the opportunities for doing good such as I am having," he said when I saw him. Col. Eugene Houghton, Wisconsin, who was a British major until America entered the war, distinguished himself by personally leading a unit of New York men. According to them he escaped death repeatedly as by a miracle, "desert? no, wanted to fight" Capt. Carl F. Laurer while assisting in the examination of German prisoners, was surprised when an American prisoner was brought before him. "Where do you belong?" asked the captain. "I am with an aerial squadron in the south of France" replied the prisoner. ' ' I walked fourteen days to get here. " " Did you desert ? ' ' asked Captain Lauer. "No," the man replied, "I want to fight. That is what I came to France for. When I get home the folks will ask what I did in the war and when I answer 'worked' they will say 'Why the devil didn't you fight?' " The boy's wish was gratified and he was sent forward. * * We have everything good and plenty — rations, ammunition and other things. It looks like a regular Sunday." TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA TROOPS SHOW GREAT FIGHTING FORM In this district, the 36th Division, made up of troops from Texas and Oklahoma, veterans and raw recruits together, showed splendid fighting form. They were under terrific shell fire day after day, but they met several murderous attacks firmly, and drove the boches back in brilliant counter attack, chasing them in true Ranger style. All these men showed the same spirit that animated Roosevelt's renowned Rough Riders in the war with Spain, so many of whom were Texas and Oklahoma men. Reporting this fight. General Naulin, commanding the Corps of which the 2d and 36th Divisions were parts, said "the 36th Division, a recent formation not yet completely organized, was ordered into line on the night of October 6-7 to relieve, under conditions particularly delicate, the 2d Division, and to dislodge the enemy from the crest north of St. Etienne and throw him back to the Aisne. Although being under fire for the first time, the young soldiers of Maj. Gen. W. R. Smith, rivaling in combative spirit and tenacity the old and valiant regiment of General LeJeune, accomplished aU the tasks set for them.*' 92 AMERICAN VICTORY AT ST. MIHIEL Every American knows full well the bright record of the 2d Division of Infantry, the regulars of which were composed of the 5th and 6th Marines and the 9tb. and 23rd Infantry, These are the boys who stopped the Germans up in Belleau Wood when the boches were headed for Paris and cocksure of getting there, blandly unaware that they were goose-stepping toward an American knock-out. OUR COLORED TROOPS WIN CREDIT American negro troops had a considerable share in the last few months of fighting, and acquitted themselves in a highly creditable manner. They were great trench diggers and trench fighters, and their endurance on the march was a marvel to the allied armies. They were very popular with the French people, who were delighted with their good nature and their never-ceasing songs. Eegular negro melodies these songs were, nearly all of them of the camp-meeting variety — and sung with that choral beauty which especially distin- guishes all of their musical performances. The negro notion of war and indifference to death was instanced in the case where a white officer overheard one of them at the zero hour call out, ' ' Good night, ol' world!" "The colored boys," said Charles N. Wheeler, a distingijjshed correspondent with the American annies, "are great fighters, and are no better and no worse than any other group of American soldiers in France, whatever the blood strain. They do take pardonable pride in the fact that 'Mistah' Johnson, a colored boy, was the first Ameri- can soldier in France to be decorated for extraordinary bravery under fire. THEY CAN FIGHT AND SING "The color line has about died out in the American army — in France. They play together, sing their songs together — the blacks and the white — and they go over the top together. They come back together, too, the wounded, and there is no thought of the color of a man's skin. They mix together on the convoy trains going up to the front, and all sing together, sharing each other's dangers and their joys. It is not an uncommon sight to see a crowd of white doughboys around a piano in some ' Y ' or Red Cross hut, singing to beat the band, with a colored jass expert pounding the stuffing out of the piano. The white boys enjoy immensely the wit of the colored comrades, and many a bleak and drab day of privation ^nd suffering is made a bit brighter by the humor that comes spontaneously to the lips of the 'bronze boys.' "The children of France love them. I suppose that is because they wear American soldiers' uniforms. I have seen scores of white children holding the hands of colored boys and trudging along on the march with them or romping into their tents and sitting on their knees and just exuding the affection that all the children of France have for anything and everybody from the United States. ' ' 93 THE WAR IN THE AIR AIR CRAFT The Hughes report on air craft, submitted in October, 1918, con- tained a full account of the difficulties, drawbacks and questionable management that had held back the manufacture and shipment of airplanes to Europe. In September there were on the French- Belgian front between 300 and 400 machines, all of which were in the scout and observation classes, with no regulation combat planes of American build; but American airmen had conducted many suc- cessful actions against German battle planes, and a good many Ameri- cans were operating French and British battle planes in action back of the German lines. The combined American, British, French and Canadian planes had before that time cleared the air of German observation and other machines in front of the allied lines, thereby preventing hostile observation of allied camps and artillery positions and movements of troops preparatory to attack. The efficiency of this combined air service is credited with having contributed in an important degree, first to retarding the movement of supplies from the enemy rear to the enemy fighting line, and next to disturbance of the enemy in retreat. The Americans especially dis- tinguished themselves by flying at high speed along the last of the enemy trenches and clearing up the German troops therein by con- tinuous streams of machine gun fire. American flyers also made suc- cessful raids across the German border, blowing up munitions works, railway centers, and German troops at concentration points. Between early September and late October, 1918, they dropped thousands of tons of high explosives inside of Germany. At the same time, in association with British and Canadian aviators, they put a definite end to German air raids upon the British Isles and interior France. The Canadian air service during the summer and early autumn of 1918 increased at the rate of 300 planes per month, all manufactured in Canada. LIBERTY MOTORS AND AIR SERVICE After July, 1918, the output of Liberty motors for the Govern- ment caught up with the immediate demand. It increased until in October it reached a rate of about 5,000 a month. The Ford factory at Detroit alone reported at the end of October an established monthly rate of increase of over 1,500. AMERICAN FLYERS DOWN 473 PLANES IN TWO MONTHS Except for Sunday and one or two other days, the American aviators had unfavorable flying weather during the week previous to the signing of the armistice. American flyers made a great record in the closing days of war. In the period from September 12 to 11:00 o'clock on the morning of November 11, American aviators claim they brought down 473 94 THE WAR IN THE AIR German machines, making a grand total of 845 enemy planes. Day bombina- groups from the time they began operations dropped a total of 116,818 kilograms of bombs within the German lines. THE WAE IN THE AIR Aviation is the most perilous of all services, calling for young bodies, high spirit, quick wit, personal initiative, and unshakable nerve. Thus it has drawn in the best and brightest of America's sons — brilliant, clear-eyed, steady youths, who take the air and its perils with joyous ardor. The danger, the romance, the thriU of air fighting, are things that never were known in war until this one called into being vast aerial navies that grappled in the sky and rained upon the earth below "a ghastly dew" of blood. There are no tales of this war more fascinating than those that have been told b^^ these men. Courage and modesty being inseparable, our aviators avoid print and cannot be interviewed with any satis- faction. But sometimes they write home to a mother, a sweetheart or a pal, and these letters now and then come to light. CHANCE OF LIVING NOW "I cannot describe my feelings, right off the bat," said Eddie Rickenbacker, the ace of American aces, the day following the signing of the armistice. "But I can say I feel ninety-nine per cent better. There is a chance of living now and the gang is glad. ' ' Rickenbacker became a captain during the last phase of the war and has twenty-six victories over enemy airmen to his credit. To Rickenbacker, whose home is in Columbus, Ohio, the allied command gave the honor of making the last flight over the German front and firing the last shot from the air on the morning of November 11, 1918. AIR plane's tail SHOT OFF In reporting this nwst remarkable occurrence Edward Price Bell, an American correspondent, wrote as follows from the front : A British observer, flying a powerful machine at 16,000 feet over Ostend, had the machine's tail shot off by the direct hit of a shell — a very unusual occurrence. The machine turned upside down, out of control, and the pilot was thrown out of hiS seat. By some inexplicable maneuver he managed to clamber on to the bottom of the fuselage of the machine, astride of which he sat as if he was riding a horse. Though the machine was out of control, owing to the loss of its tail planes, yet by moving forward and backward he so managed to balance it that it glided fairly steadily downward, although upside down. He successfully brought it across the German lines, and came 95 THE WAR IN TEE AIR safely to within a few hundred feet of the ground. Then he crashed and was injured, but is now recovering in a hospital. When it is considered that this incident occurred at a height of 16,000 feet, over hostile territory, and that during the airman's ter- ribly precarious ride he was subject to antiaircraft fire, and liable to the attack of hostile scouts, it is not too much to say that his was a record achievement. Recently, another airman was shot down, out of control, from 13,000 feet, and fell fluttering like a leaf, toward the ground. At a height of 9,000 feet he fainted. Shortly afterward he came to and found himself in the machine upside down, in a marsh, absolutely unhurt. Many airmen, of course, have been through several "crashes" without sustaining so much as a broken collar bone. JOINS THE SKY FIGHTERS This story of Lieut. Manderson Lehr, who refused a transfer home and shortly after died in combat, is taken (by permission) from his personal letters written to a friend in this country. It is typical of many that might be told by or about brilliant young Americans who would not wait for America's participation in the war, but went voluntarily, with high hearts and eager hands, to help those other boys of France and the British Empire to whom had fallen so large and so momentous a part in the world's salvation. Nearly all of these American lads, the choicest spirits of our nation, took up whatever work they could find — anything, so long as it was useful, or contributed in any way to winning out against the German hordes, or stem the flood of German crime that was sweep- ing over Europe, that would later, if it were not stopped, cover our continent with an inundation of blood and desolation. Most of them, like Lieutenant Lehr, went into ambulance service; and afterward when the air planes were ready and needed men to fly them, took to the air. These were the men who "put out the eyes" of the German armies and piloted the allies to many a -".actory. And alas ! Many of them, like Lehr, gave up their lives — though not in vain, nor without having sent down to crashing death, each one, his share of the flyers of the foe. LEHR'S STORY Lieutenant Lehr's story begins with a letter from France just after his arrival in Paris on May 15, 1917, when he joined the Ambulance Corps — later entering the air service. It covered a period of more than a year's experiences at the front. The last letter from Lieut. Lehr was dated June 14th, 1918, when tile big German drive was about at it^ climax. According to news THE WAR IN THE AIR reports from the front Lehr had a period of intense activity up to July 15th, when he was reported missing. "Bud" was regarded as one of the most adept of American fliers. One of the last news reports from the front told of him still flying under French colors and having twice returned from raids with his passenger killed by enemy attacks and of his being awarded the war cross. The same report told of a 150 mile raid into Germany with eight other French Machines — when a patrol of twelve German planes were attacked and three of them sent down in flames, while all the nine French machines returned safely. The following are a few of Lehr's later letters from the front: FLYING AT THE FRONT Sector at the Front, Oct. 12, 1917. — It's blowing terrifically, wind and rain. You can't imagine how I picture you people at home, warm, happy and safe. I've been out here a week now. Three days of it has been flying weather. Up 25,000 feet and ten miles into Germany is my record so far and I've actually had one combat with a boche. He was below me, at flrst, far in the distance. I was supposed to be protecting a bombing expedition of ten machines. I saw this spot, started away from the rest and through excitement, anticipation and the goodness knows what, I climbed, went faster and faster until I had the sun between us and the German below me. Then I dived; he heard me and "banked"; we both looped and then came head on, firing incessantly. My machine gun was empty and the boche had more, for he got in behind me and ' ' Putt ! Putt ! Putt ! ' ' past my ear he came, so I dove, went into a "vrille" with him on top, came out and squared off, and he let me have it again. All I could do was to maneuver, for I had no shells left and I did not want to beat it, so I stuck. We both came head on again and I said a little prayer, but the next time I looked Mr. Boche was going home. I "peaked" straight down, made my escadrille, accompanied them home and when I got out of my furs I was wringing wet in spite of the fact it was cold as ice where I had done my fighting. CONSIDERS HIS OWN TACTICS I looked my machine over and found five holes in it, but nothing serious. Tomorrow is going to be bad and no one will fly unless they call for volunteers, and then I think most of us will go. I'd like to figure out what I did wrong. First of all, I was so excited that I fired all my shots at the German and he maneuvered out of my way and then came at me as I was helpless. My captain gave me "harkey" for staying when out of bullets, so I guess the rest was 0. K., but I'd hate to run from any boche. 97 THE WAR IN THE AIR MEN DIE IN FAULTY PLANES The machine I've been flying has been condemned, so I expect to be sent back to get another one, a brand new one that has never been on the front. Twenty-five pilots in the last month have been killed by wings dropping off. I 've seen twelve go and it surely takes the old pep out of you. I was above one and saw his wing crumple, then fall. A man is so utterly helpless he must merely sit there and wait to be killed, and when you're flying the same type of machine it doesn't help your confidence any. I was glad they condemned mine, for I've put my old "cuckoo" through some awful tests and it's about ready to fall apart. We expect to change soon and go up to a new offensive in F . If I get through that I'm going to change over to the American army. They have offered me a commission and I think I'll take it. My fingers are cramped and my feet have long since been numb. Now I'm going to wrap up in my fur leathers and go to bed. This is war. FIGHTS WITH PLYING CIRCUS Feb. 1, 1918. — Had a great time this last week, and made six long bombardments. For the first three times we had no trouble getting across whatsoever. Coming out the last three times we got some real competition. It was in the form of the flying circus or "tangoes," which consists of fifteen of the best pilots in Germany, commanded by Baron von Richthofen, who seems a good sort, for when you fight him and you both miss he waves and we wave back. We had been at it consistently for four days, and so they sent these birds down opposite us to stop us. We had been in Germany for some distance and had reached our objective and bombed it. There was a heavy fog below us, so I took a couple of turns to make sure we could see our objective. We dropped our bombs and then I turned to the right to see the damage. I had to take a large turn, for the "archies" were shooting pretty close. I looked for my escadrille, and saw these machines way off in the distance. I started for them and soon caught up with them. Then I swerved and dipped up to them, for I thought them a little strange. I got up closer, and, wow ! all three dived at me like a rock and bullets flew by me, cutting my plane, so I pulled up at them, fired, swerved so my gunner could let them have it also and then saw the iron cross flash by, so I knew it was the Huns. I started getting altitude and went up high and then the boches got the sun between them and my plane and came again, but I thought this would happen and "peaked." They went under me and that left me on top, so I gave them about 120 bullets, and one went for home. The other two came by again and I went into a tight spiral so my gunner could pump at them — but nothing doing. Thej beat it home and so did I, for it had been three to one, 08 1. French Cuirassier being fed by Belgian woman. Z. Major Richardson of the British Army and two of his bloodhounds used to find wounded soldiers on Belglaa battlefields, (/ntemationoi Vw3» 8ervio9.) Above — Red Cross men tenderly caring for the wounded. The services of the American Red Cross were invaluable to the army in France and won the admiration of all thf Allies. Hfluir — Wounded man making his way i)ainfullv back to the rear, with grim determination to keep going and all the grit of the typical American soldier. (oMcial Photos by Signal Corps, U. S. A.) <-> c g-o ? rt ? to' p ^•o °§ 4) U .s « c *" •1-1 ." O en U CD J= *-• *^ bfi o ii o u SS "! S '=*^ -i-j *-" en '*- a; ™ ^ >. en a 0,-0 §s *J o ^ c'>-a ca U o O CI. THE WAR IN THE AIR When I landed I had five holes in my machine. One of the wires had heen shot away and gave me some trouble in landing. Feb. 10, 1918. — We have been pretty busy and had some exciting times. I almost got mine day before yesterday and feel pretty lucky to be here. We started out on a long trip into Germany and all the way over we had no trouble at all. After we bombed, my observer and I dived down on some villages and used our own guns on them. We got so low that the anti-aircraft guns were popping too close, so we beat it. We soon saw a bunch of hangars below us and we dived down on them and shot at them. In a few minutes a bunch of Huns came up from the hangars after us and we beat it to catch up with the others. We got up with them and looked behind us and there were a number of Germans sneaking down on us. Then the battle commenced and for forty minutes we had a hot fight. We picked off (censored) of them and they went plunging down in flames. Then the others went back and we all returned safely, but I noticed that my machine worked queerly, and when I landed I had a hard time, and barely got to the ground without smashing to pieces. I looked the machine over, and you should have seen it. From top to bottom it was one mass of holes. One bullet passed through my combination and hit a can of tobacco. Another cut a main spar on one of my wings, and another hit my stabilizer, tearing it half in two. One other hit my gas tank and put a hole clear through it. Luckily my gas was low and it did not explode, but, believe me, I was lucky, IN THE BIG GERMAN DRIVE April 20, 1918. — The orderly has just tapped on my window to put down my shade, which means the Gotlias are on their way. The guns are starting. This attack has been frightful — day after day long lines of ambulances roll by our camp carrying large numbers of wounded. Tomorrow we shall continue our work of knocking dov/n their batteries and bombing their railroads. To-night, novf, they are trying to get us. I started on a "permission" about three weeks ago and had beautiful visions of peace and content for a week, but was called back immediately at the beginning of this horrible attack. Things look bad, and in a few days we are moving fai-ther up. Our work here has been hard and exciting and always working in any kind of weather. While our loss has been heavy we have accomplished wonders. Going over on cloudy days when the heavy black clouds hang down to within fifty meters of the ground, spotting a group of trucks, a line of cars, or a battery of troops, then bombing them, shooting them up with your machine guns and shooting back up into the elouds midst a rain of luminous machine gun bullets ft THE WAR IN THE AIR from the ^ound is interesting work. But the terror of those on the ground, poor devils! Yet it's got to be brought home. Out of tweuty-four trips we lost eight machines. Poor Chuck Kerwood was among them. Chuck is an American boy from Philadelphia, and he has been with us for five months. I had a chance to go back to the states as an instructor, and almost took it, but when the time came around to leave this band of men who have been in it for almost four years, I couldn't do it. They are men, and have pulled me out of tight holes when I was green at this game, and they did it at the risk of their lives. Now I've seen them drop off one at a time, fine young Frenchmen, and I guess the least I can do is to stay right by them and I feel my work is here. In Hospital, May 3, 1918. — Well, here I am at last, but I fooled them for six months. Finally one slipped up behind me. I never saw him, but felt him. Only got it in the leg, so it isn't very serious, except that the bullet was incendiary. They have oodles of sulphur on them and I'm afraid of complications. This is a nice hospital in a nice location ; only thing that I hate about it is that I may not be able to get back to my escradrille for fifteen or twenty days. SEVERE BOMBING BY GERMANS May 16, 1918 — Going to have another operation tomorrow and then I think I'll be well. And, believe me, if I am I am going back and get somebody for this. We are now on the Somme, near Kouen. I suppose you know Baron von Richthofen has been brought down. I'm sorry, for he was a game, clean scrapper, and I know, for I've had several brushes with him. The Huns came over here last night and dropped sixty bombs, killing 125 people and wounding I don't konw how many. Several of the bombs hit about 300 meters from here and our beds shook like the dickens. COMMENTS ON HIS WAR CROSS At the Front, June 14, 1918. — I've been back here from the hospital for several days and we are having beautiful weather, doing lots of work and losing lots of men, but getting results. I think by now you have all my letters explaining the change into the American arm}- and the croix de guerre, which doesn't signify a great deal. Things look pretty bad now, but the French are holding strong with the constant arrival of Americans and I think the Hun advance is stopped. We have been working at very low altitudes and while we have lost men heavily the work was extremely effective. We have been shifted from one part of the front to another so that one hardly has time to unpack before we go to a new attack. Our car has a broken piston, so we have had to walk more than usual and my leg gets so worn out in a short time that it is slow going. MO TEE WAR IN THE AIR GREAT FRENCH FLYER BRINGS DOWN 115 At the beginning of the year, Lieut. Rene Fonck, the great French flyer and ace of aces of all the belligerent forces, had only nineteen successes to his credit, but during the last days of fighting the wily Lieutenant scored many victories bringing his totals up to seventy five enemy airplanes officially destroyed, with forty more probable successes awaiting official verification. The final list of Lieut. Fonck IS all the more astonishing when it is considered that he made flights only when he thought himself in the fittest condition, and every time he 'flew he triumphed over the German Aviators. His wonderful success is accredited to his incomparable tactics, keen eyesight and most remarkable skill. OTHER CHAMPIONS OF THE AIR Among other champion flyers of the allied forces Col. W. A. Bishop of the British is credited with seventy-two victories ; Lieuten- ant Coppens of Belgium, wounded during the late fighting, and with a leg amputated, holds the record of thirty-six victories; Lieutenant Baracchini the Italian flyer has thirty victories to his credit; Eddie Rickenbacker, the American ace, is responsible for twenty-six enemy victims, and Edward Parsons, another American flyer is credited with eight official victories and seven more unconfirmed. Captain Kosakofi' the Russian ace held seventeen successes to his credit at the close of Russias fighting. ENEMY ACES ALSO SCORE Lieutenant TJdet of Germany is the ace of enemy aces and holds the record of sixty victories; Captain Brunmwsky of the Austrian forces is next with thirty-four to his credit ; Sergeant Fiselier the German flyer serving for Bulgaria is credited with seven victims, and Captain Schults also a German serving for Turkey had eleven victories. QUENTIN ROOSEVELT LOSES HIS LIFE On Sunday July 14th, 1918, a violent encounter took place be- tween German battleplanes and American Air forces trying to break through the German defense over the Marne, In this engagement Lieut. Quentin Roosevelt was brought down and killed near Chambry, then behind the German lines. He was buried with military honors by German airmen, at the spot where he fell. His grave was located later by one of his fellow air scouts. AMERICAN AVIATOR GETS IRON CROSS One of the remarkable feats performed by Yankee air men, was that of Lieut. Wm. T. "Webb Jr. of Buffalo, a member of an American squadron which encountered a German battleplane while flying over the German lines. The American flyers surrounded the German Pokker like a flock of birds, and instead of shooting it down, which 101 THE WAR IN THE AIR would have been easy, they maneuvered their planes so the boehe machine was forced toward the American lines. The German airmen fought desperately, but. in vain, to break through, and was forced lower and lower to the ground. Upon reaching the ground he refused to stop his motor until, after bumping over two fields, a bullet was fired through his gas tank setting it afire. The two Germans jumped from the machine to the ground uninjured. Both wore iron crosses. Lieut. Webb landed his machine, jumped out, grabbed an iron cross from one of the terrified Germans, and rose again to join his companions. EYES OF THE ARMY ALWAYS OPEN Few civilians have any idea of the intense, close watch that was kept upon the enemy throughout the struggle. Soldiers on "listening post" would crawl out every night to and sometimes into the enemy lines and on their return report what they had heard. By day, aviators came back from flights over enemy positions and gave details of what they had seen. Every hill, tree-top, church spire, tall build- ing and captive balloon watched ever}'- move of the enemy and reported it. Thes^ reports by the ears and eyes of the armies enabled American and allied commanders to plan their infantry and artillery attaelu;. AMERICAN INFORMATION SERVICE CHART Knowledge of conditions in Germany during the war was so accu- rate that the American general staff had computed many weeks in advance almost the exact date on which the breaking point would be reached. A chart in Secretary Baker's office shows the fluctuations in the "morale of the German nation" from August, 1914, to the month of November, 1918. The chart shows how German morale fell and rose under the influence of the military situation, the results of the submarine cam- paign, the unanimity of purpose evidenced by the different groups in the reichstag, and the economic condition of the country. So accu- rate was the information that the "morale line" reached the zero point between Nov. 10 and 15. The chart indicates clearly that practically every major opera- tion of the German military forces was inaugurated when the morale line showed dangerous slumps. A big map in the war office locates not only every allied unit but the composition of the opposition forces, their commanders, and, in most cases, their headquarters. The war supplement to this book contains a full account of American aviation, list of our sixty-three "aces," honor roll and names of American aviators who received decoratiom for braverv. lOiJ CHAPTER VL CAUSES OF THE WAE National and Race Prejudices — The Triple Alliance — The Triple Entente — Teuton vs. Slav — Influence of Russian Diplomacy/ — Russia vs. Austria — Control of Balkan Seaports — England's Commercial Supremacy Chal- lenged by Germany — Assassination of Archduke Fran- cis Ferdinand of Austria by a Serb. ''ITHIN the space of less than a week from August 1, 1914, five of the six ** great powers" of Europe became involved in a war that quickly developed into the greatest and most sanguinary struggle of all time. The European conflagration, long foreseen by statesmen and diplo- mats, and dreaded of all alike, had broken out. Beginning with the thunder of Austrian guns at Belgrade, the reverberations of war were heard in every capital of the Old World. Austria's declaration of war against Servia was followed by the alignment of Germany with its Teuton neigh- bor against the forces of Russia, France and England. Italy alone, of the six great powers, declined to align itself with its formal allies and made a determined effort at the outset to maintain its neutrality. Soon the highways of Europe resounded with the hoof- beats and the tramp of marching hosts, with the rattle of arms and the rumble of artillery. Of such a war, once begun, no man could predict the end. But the world realized that it was a catastrophe of unparalleled proportions, a failure of civiliza- tion in its stronghold, a disaster to humanity. For more than forty years the great powers of Europe had been at peace with one another. Though war had threatened now and then, diplomacy had avoided the actual outbreak. Brt that the dreaded conflict was inevitable had long been 103 104 CAUSES OF THE WAR recognized. For its coming immense armaments had been pre- pared, until the burdens of taxation laid upon the people had become in themselves a source of danger. But behind it all lay the sinister influence of the "junker" element of Germany — the military party, swollen with pride in the development of the German army by more than forty years of preparation for conflict, and the naval party, eager for "der Tag" which should bring a trial of the new German navy against the battle fleets of an enemy. Fostering and encouraging these militaristic sentiments was the growing desire of Germany for *'a place in the sun," which was translatable only as a desire for world domination. Greater and wider markets for German commerce were urgently demanded, and visions of Germany as mistress of the seas, with a great colonial empire, and of the Kaiser as the undisputed militarj^ overlord of Europe, already filled and fired the Teuton imagination. The political alignment of the great powers prior to the war was as follows : On the one side was the Triple Alliance, including Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy ; while on the other was the Triple Entente, comprising Great Britain, France and Russia. As the event proved, the uncertain ele- ment in this line-up was Italy, which had a real grievance against Austria in the latter 's possession of the former Ital- ian territory known as the Trentino, and which w^as not con- sulted by Germany and Austria prior to the outbreak of hostilities. She therefore declined to enter the war as a mem- ber of the Triple Alliance, but was later found in the field against Austria, and thenceforth rendered powerful aid to the cause of ''the Allies," as the members of the Triple Entente and their supporters soon came to be known. It was in the Balkans, long regarded as the zone of danger to European peace, that the war-clouds gathered and dark- ened rapidly. For generations Austria and Russia had strug- gled diplomatically for the control of Balkan seaports, with tbe Balkan states acting as buffers in the diplomatic strife. Servia acted as a bar to Austria's commercial route to the LiSIgean, by way of the Sanjak of Novi Bazar to Saloniki, while Russia was Servia 's great ally and stood stoutly be- hind the little Slav kingdom in its opposition to Austrian aggression. CAUSES OF THE WAR lOfe AMBITIONS OF SERVIA Then came the recent Balkan Wars, and their onteome was viewed with alarm. Austria uneasily watched the approach of Servia to the Adriatic and the ^gean. The formation of the new new autonomous state of Albania, between Servia and the Adriatic, was all that prevented Austria from attacking Servia during that crisis. The terms of peace left the situa- tion, as it concerned Austria and Eussia, practically as it had been. Austria made no further progress toward the sea, and Russia remained the ally of Servia. Bulgaria had failed in its efforts to reach Salonica. At this stage another element exerted its influence. Servia awoke to the possibility of a Greater Servia. An Empire of the Slavs had long been dreamed of. In Austria-Hungary itself millions of Slavs were dreaming of it and awaiting the disruption of Austria-Hungary, held together now, as they argue, only by the indomitable will of the old Emperor, Franz Joseph. The hatred between the Slavs and the Teutonic Austrians is intense. The annexation by Austria of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which Servians predominate, increased the Servian hatred and the indignation of the whole Slav world to the point of violence. A conflict was avoided with difficulty. These principalities had hoped to form part of a Greater Servia. Had not Russia been exhausted by the war with Japan, Servia would have called upon her ally and the crisis would have come then. As it was, the Balkans teemed with plots and counterplots against the Austrians, culminating in the assassination of the Arch-Duke and heir-apparent to the Austrian throne, Francis Ferdinand, known for his anti-Slav principles, and therefore feared and hated as the king to be. The assassination occurred at Serajevo in Bosnia, where Serv- ian disaffection was seething. Austria immediately laid the crime on the Servian government. AUSTEIA DECLAEES WAB li'ailing in her peremptory demands for satisfaction, Aus- tria declared war, July 28, 1914, apparently for revenge^ ^nt behind her righteous indignation she still held in view her m- CAUSES OF THE WAli traditional ambition, a port on the Mediterranean^ to be se- cured by the complete control of the Novi Bazar route to Salonica, a route which, besides its commercial importance, is of tremendous strategic value to the nation which com- mands it. The treaty of Berlin of 1878, after the Eusso- Turkish War, had given Austria the military, political, and commercial control of the route within the Sanjak of Novi Bazar, then a part of Turkey. But now, in the division of spoils following the Balkan Wars, Servia gained control of Novi Bazar, Pristina, Uskub, and Istip, or practically the entire route to a short distance north of Salonica, where the new boundaries of Greece had been extended. This meant that Austria saw herself shut out from the Sanjak, and only by the destruction and subsequent occupation of Servia could Austria regain her ascendancy over the route. Victory would mean a long step by Austria toward the sea. PLOTS AIs^D COUNTERPLOTS The *' balance of power" among European nations has hitherto been maintained because the formation of a single nation out of the Balkan States has not been possible. Al- though the people of these states have similar pursuits, aiid live much alike in all regions, they have preserved their orig- inal racial differences. A village of Albanians may be within a few miles of a village of Greeks. Yet through centuries both have remained racially distinct. Here and there the bar- riers have given way som.ewhat, but in general ^the races per- sist side by side, sometimes peaceably, more often in mutual distrust or open feud. Such division has been fostered by the great nations, and new states have been created, as re- cently Albania, since the formation of a great state in the Balkans by the union of all or the absorbing greatness of one, would overthrow the balance of power, and besides inter- pose an insurmountable obstacle between Austria and Kussia, and the sea. Thus the states have been played against each other. Sometimes the game has been one of diplomacy, or one of force, hurling the states at each other's throats. HOW WAR WAS DECLARED Ultimatum hy Austria to Servia — War Declared by Austria — - Russia Mobilizes — Germany Declares War on Russia Augvst 1 — France and England Involved — Germans Enter Belgium — Scenes in European Capitals. N SUNDAY, June 28, 1914, a Servian student named Prinzep shot and killed the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the thrones of Austria-Hungary, and his morgan- atic wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, in the streets of Serajevo, a town in Bosnia which the royal couple were visiting. Nearly four weeks later, on July 23, the Austro-Hungarian government, fixing responsibility for the assassination upon Servian intrigues, presented to Servia a number of demands which formed a very drastic ultimatum, requiring compliance within forty-eight hours, with the alternative of war. Ser-^da was required to condemn "the propaganda directed against Austria" and to take proceedings against all accessories to the plot against the Archduke Francis Ferdinand Vvdio were in Servia. Austrian delegates were to supervise the proceedings, and SerATLa was also to arrest certain Servian officials whose guilt was alleged. These exorbitant conditions made it quite obvious that no concessions on Servia 's part would be accepted. It was a plain prelude to war. Nevertheless, a virtual acceptance by Servia followed. Acting on the advice of Russia, Servia acceded to all that was required of her, making only two reservations of the most reasonable character. These reservations were found enough to serve as an excuse for war. Austria at once declared herself dissatisfied and though tlie actual declaration of war wa& 107 108 HOW WAR WAS DECLARED delayed for a brief period, a state of war practically existed between the two countries from Saturday evening, July 25. EFFOKTS TO LOCALIZE THE WAR Then began efforts on the part of Great Britain to localize the Avar. Sir Edward Grey, the able foreign secretary in Mr. Asquith's cabinet, repeated solemn warnings in every chan- cellery of Europe. According to the English "white book," the very day that he was notified of the violent tone of Aus- tria's note to Servia — the day it was presented — he warned the Austrian Ambassador in London that if as many as four of the Great Powers of Europe were to engage in war, it would involve the expenditure of such a vast sum of money and such interference with trade, that a complete collapse of European credit and industry would follow. Tlie reply of Russia to this warning was quite conciliatory. The Russian foreign minister, M. Sazonoff, assured the British minister that Russia had no aggressive intentions, and would take no action unless forced. Austria's action, M. Sazonoff added, in reality aimed at over- throwing Russia 's influence in the Balkans. Thus, on Monday, July 27, Sir Edward Grey was able to state in tlie House of Commons that his suggestion of a joint conference, composed of the Ambassadors of Germany, France and Italy, and himself, with a view to mediation between Aus- tria and Russia, had been accepted by all except Germany, which power had expressed its concurrence with the plan in principle, but opposed the details on the ground that there was a prospect of direct ''conversations" (diplomatic exchanges) between Austria and Russia. This statement was believed in England to lack sincerity. On that Monday afternoon the Rus- sian Ambassador at Vienna warned Austria that Russia would not give way and expressed his hope that some arrangement might be arrived at before Servia was invaded. Austria's reply came next day in the shape of a formal dec- laration of war against Servia. Germany's attitude pro-austrian On July 30 Sir M. de Bunsen, British Ambassador at Vienna, made the following statement to Sir Edward Grey regarding the attitude of Germany in the crisis : HOW WAR WAS DECLARED 109 ** Although I am not able to verify it, I have private infor- mation that the German Ambassador (at Vienna) knew the (text of the Austrian ultimatum to Servia before it was dis- patched, and telegraphed it to the German Emperor. I know from the German Ambassador himself that he endorses every line of it. ' ' Naturally enough the Russian foreign minister complained that ** conversations" with Austria were useless in the face of such facts. Russia then declared that her forces would be mobilized the day that Austria crossed the Servian frontier. The attitude of Germany at once stiffened and it became evi- dent that Germany meant to regard even the partial mobiliza- tion of Russia as a ground for war, not only against Russia, hut also against the latter 's ally, France. In vain Russia protested that her partial mobilization was merely a precaution. In vain did the Czar himself offer to give Ms word that no use would be made of any of his forces. Ger- many was aware, as subsequent facts have proved, that her own state of mobilization was very much further advanced than that of Russia. GERMAN ULTIMATUM TO EUSSIA By Friday, July 31, Germany was ready for the fray and a final ultimatum to St. Petersburg was launched. On the same day Russia declared war against Austria. By six o'clock on Saturday evening, August 1, war between Germany and Russia began, when Germany dismissed the Russian Ambassador, and by Sunday morning Germany was invading France. The next day, August 3, the German Ambassador left Paris and the French Ambassador at Berlin was ordered to demand his passports. At this point Great Britain passed from the position of general peacemaker to that of a principal. In the House of Commons on Monday, August 3, Sir Edward Grey stated that the question whether Austria or Russia should dominate the Southern Slav races was no concern of England, nor was she bound by any secret alliance to France. She was absolutely free to choose her course with regard to the crisis which had overtaken her. But there were two cardinal points in the situa- w HOW WAR WAS DECLARED tion which had arisen which ultimately concerned Great Brit- ain. The first essential feature of British diplomacy, said Sir Kdward, was that France should not be brought into such a condition in Europe that she became a species of vassal state to Germany. On the morning of July 31, therefore, he had informed the German Ambassador that if the efforts to main- tain peace failed and France became involved Great Britain would be drawn into the conflict. In his speech of August 3 the British foreign minister also stated that he had given France on the previous day the writ- ten assurance that if the German fleet came into the English Channel or through the North Sea to assail her, the British fleet would protect her to the uttermost. TO PROTECT BELGIAN AUTONOMY On the same afternoon, in the same place, Sir Edward Grey reiterated the other dominant principle of British foreign pol- icy — that England can never look with indifference on the seizure by a great continental power of any portion of Belgium and Holland. More than a hundred years ago it was declared by Napoleon, who was a master of pohtical geography, that Antwerp was *'a pistol leveled at the head of London." ' When on July 31 the British foreign minister inquired by telegraph both at Paris and Berlin whether the tv/o govern- ments would engage to respect the neutrality of Belgium, France replied with an assurance that she was resolved to do so unless compelled to act otherwise by reason of the violation of Belgium's neutrality at the hands of another power. The German secretary of state, Kerr von Jagow, replied that he could give no such assurance until he had consulted the Em- peror and Chancellor, and doubted whether he could give any answer without revealing the German plan of campaign. He furthermore alleged the commission of hostile acts by Belgium. Developments quickly followed. The German government proposed that Belgium should grant its armies free passage through Belgian territory. The proposal was accompanied by an intimation that Belgium would be crushed out of existence if it refused to comply. In fact, it was an ultimatum presented HOJV WAR WAS DECLAIiED Ui at 7 o'clock on Sunday evening, August 2, to expire within twelve hours. Then came Sir Edward Grey's speech in parliament on August 3, w^hen it was fully realized that Germany and Eng- land were on the verge of war. What followed was related in the House of Commons next day. SCENES IN" PAELIAMENT Germany's reply to the speech by Sir Edward Grey, the British foreign secretary, indicating the attitude of Great Britain in regard to the contemplated violation of Belgian territory by Germany was a second ultimatum from Berlin to Brussels, saying Germany was prepared to carry through her plans by force of arms if necessary. The British government was officially informed by Bel- gium on August 4 that German troops had invaded Belgium and that the violation of that country's neutrality, which the British foreign secretary had intimated must be followed by action on the part of the British, had become an accomplished fact. Definite announcement of Great Britain's intentions under these circumstances was expected in the house of commons that afternoon. TELEGEAM SENT TO BEELIN On the assembly of the house the premier, Mr. Asquith, said that a telegram had been sent early in the morning to Sir Edward Goschen, British ambassador in Berlin, to the following effect: ''The king of the Belgians has appealed to His Britannic Majesty's government for diplomatic intervention on behalf of Belgium. The British government is also informed that the German government has delivered to the Belgian govern- ment a note proposing friendly neutrality pending a free passage of German troops through Belgium and promising to maintain the independence and integrity of the kingdom and its possessions on the conclusion of peace, threatening in case of refusal to treat Belgium as an enemy." lia HO IF WAR WAS DECLARED Sir Edward Grey, the British foreign secretary, had re- quested an answer within twelve hours. Premier Asquith then read a telegram from the German foreign minister, which the German ambassador in London had sent to Sir Edward Grey. It was as follows : ''Please dispel any distrust that may subsist on the part of the British government with regard to our intentions by repeating most positively the formal assurance that even in case of armed conflict with Belgium, Germany will under no pretensions whatever annex Belgian territory." The reading of this telegram was greeted with derisive laughter by the members of the house. Premier Asquith continued : ''We understand that Belgium categorically refused to assent to a flagrant violation of the law of nations. "His majesty's government was bound to protest against this violation of a treaty to which Germany was a party in common with England and must request an assurance that the demand made upon Belgium by Germany be not proceeded with and that Belgium's neutrality be respected by Germany and we have asked for an immediate reply. "We received this morning from our minister in Brussels the following telegram: " 'The German minister has this morning addressed a note to the Belgian minister for foreign affairs stating that as the Belgian government has declined a well intentioned pro- posal submitted to it by the imperial German government the latter, deeply to its regret, mil be compelled to carry out, if necessary by force of arms, the measures considered indis- pensable in view of the French menace.' "" >> ENGLAND AND GERMANY AT WAB By 11 o'clock that evening England and Germany were at war. Their respective ambassadors were handed their pass- ports and Great Britain braced herself for a conflict that was felt to theaten her very existence as a nation. CHAPTER VII. THE INVASION OF BELGIUM Belgims Mush to Defense of Their Frontier — Towns BomhoMed and Burned — Defense of Liege — Fall of Liege — — Fall of Namur — Peasants and Totmispeople Flee — Destruction of Louvain. AT 10 o'clock on the night of August 2 German troops crossed the Belgian frontier, coming from Aix-la- Chapelle, or Aachen, temporary headquarters of the gen- eral staff, and the bloody invasion of Belgium, involving the violation of its neutral treaty rights, began. Simultaneously the German forces entered the independent duchy of Luxem- burg to the south, en route to the French border, and also came in touch with French outposts in the provinces of Alsace, and Lorraine. The events that followed in Belgium furnished a genuine surprise to the world. Instead of finding the Belgian people indifferent to the violation of their territory and the Belgian army only a slight obstacle in the road to Paris, as was prob- ably expected by the German general staff, a most gallant and determined resistance was offered to the progress of the Ger- man hosts. The army of the little State was quickly mobilized for defense and its operations, while ineffectual in stopping the Kaiser's irresistible force, delayed its advance for three invaluable weeks, giving time for the complete mobilization of the French and for the landing of a British expeditionary force to co-operate with the latter in resisting the German approach to Paris. Just across the Belgian border lay the little towns of Vise and Verviers, and these were the first objects of German at- tack and Belgian defense. Both were occupied after desperate resistance by the Belgians and Vise was partly demolished by 113 114 INVASION OF BELGIUM fire in reprisal, it was claimed, for the firing by civilians oa the German invaders. The subsequent bombardment and burning of towns and villages by the Germans were explained in every case as measures of revenge for hostile acts on the part of non-combatants and intended to prevent their occur- rence elsewhere by striking terror into the hearts of the Bel- gian populace. Whatever the pretext or the excuse, the his- torical fact remains that the result of the German progress —From the literary Dieest— Copyright, 1G14, by Punt & Waen&lb Comi>any. EELGIUT.I— THE FIRST BATTLEFIELD OF THE WAR The map shows the more important railroad lines connecting the cities ot iirussels, Antwerp and Namur and those of Northern Franco. Pans is 200 miles by rail from Brussels and 190 from Namur. INVASION OF BELGIUM ^-^^ toward the Franco-Belgian frontier constituted a martyrdom for Belgimn and gained for the plucky little kingdom the full- est sympathy of the civilized world. THE ATTACK 01^ LIEGE The ancient city of Liege was attacked by the German artillery on August 4. The town itself was occupied five days later, but the modern forts surrounding it continued for some time longer to hold out against the fierce German attack. It became necessary to bring up the hea^/iest modern Krupp siege guns in order to reduce them. Amidst all the plethora of events which crowded them- selves into the first few days following the outbreak of the war, none was more remarkable than the Belgian stand at Liege against the German advance. The struggle round Liege bids fair to become historic, and the garrisons of the Liege forts when they looked out fear- lessly from tne banks of the Meuse on the vanguard of the German host, and took decision to block its further progress, proved their claim once again to Julius Csesar's description of their ancestors, "The Belgians are the bravest of the Gauls." THE FALL OF LIEGE New^s of the fall of Liege and the occupation of the city by German troops was received with great rejoicing in Berlin on August 8th. Dispatches received at Amster- dam from the German capital said: The news of the fall of Liege spread with lightning rapidity throughout Berlin and created boundless enthusiasm. The Emperor sent an aide-de-camp to announce the capture of the city to crowds that assembled outside the palace. Policemen on bicycles dashed along Unter den Linden pro- claiming the joyful tidings. Imperial Chancellor Bethmann- HoUweg drove to the castle to congratulate the Emperor on the victory and was enthusiastically cheered along the way. PEASANTS AND TOWNSPEOPLE FLEE Following the fall of Liege came a number of sanguinary engagements in northern Belgium; the unopposed occupation 116 INVASION OF BELGIUM of Brussels on August 20, and a four days' battle beginning on August 23, in which the Germans forced back the French and British allies to the line of Noyon-LaFere across the northern frontier of France. In the northern engagements the Belgians gave a good account of themselves, but were everywiiere forced to give way before the innumerable hosts of the Kaiser, though not without inflicting tremendous losses on the invaders. The retirement of the civilian population before the ad- vancing masses of the German army was a pathetic spectacle. It was a flight in terror and distress. On Tuesday, August 18, the German troops surged down upon Tirlemont, a town twenty miles southeast of Louvain, around which they had been massing for some days, presum- ably by rail and motor cars. The stories which had reached the inhabitants of Tirlemont of the happenings at surrounding towns and villages had not added to their peace of mind, and soon the moment for flight arrived. All kinds of civilians set out towards Brussels and Ghent for refuge. At times the road was full of carts bearing entire families, with pots and pans swaying and banging against the sides as the vehicles bumped over the roadway. The younger women, boys and menfolk who had been left in the towns and villages fled on foot. Priests, officials and Eed Cross helpers mingled with the crowd. This stream of unfortunates uprooted from their homes was thus described by an eyew^itness : "These masses of broken-hearted people moved silently along, many weeping, few talking. With them they brought a few of their possessions, as pathetically miscellaneous as the effects one might seize in the panic haste of a hotel fire. Ox wagons, bundles and babies on dog-drawn carts or on men 's backs, bicycles and handcarts laden with kitchen utensils, all mingled with the human stream. Here were to be seen sewing machines, beds, bedding, food, and there a little girl or boy with some toy clasped uncomprehendingly in a dirty hand; they also knew that danger threatened and that they must save what they held most dear. And even among these un- happy people there were some more unfortunate than the others — men and women who had no bundle, children who had no doll. All the way to Louvain there flowed this human INVASION OF BELGIUM HT stream of misery. Back along the Tirlemont road rifle firing could be heard and entrenchments were to be seen in the town itself." These scenes between Tirlemont and Louvain were typical of those on every road leading to the larger cities of Belgium as the inhabitants fled before the approach of the dreaded Uhlans. FAIili OF NAMUR On the afternoon of Sunday, August 23, the fortress of Namur was evacuated by the Belgians, and the town was later occupied by the Germans. The fortress was said to be as strong as Liege and it owed its importance in the present war to the fact that it was the apex of the two French flanks. One ran from Namur to Charleroi and the other by Givet to Mezieres. Warned by their experiences at Liege, the Germans made most determined efforts against Namur. From the north, south and east they were able to bring up their big guns unhindered, and by assaults at Charleroi and Dinant they endeavored to break the sides of the French triangle. Namur finally collapsed but clever strategy enabled the French to fall back upon their main lines. The fall of Namur, nevertheless, was a decided blow to the allies. This was admitted by the French minister of war, who said at midnight Monday, August 24, of the failure of the ^' Namur triangle": '^It is, of course, regrettable that owing to difficulties of execution which could not have been foreseen our plan of attack has not achieved its object. Had it done so it w^ould have shortened the war, but in any case our defense remains intact in the face of an already weakened enemy. Our losses are severe. It will be premature to estimate them or to estimate those of the German army, which, however, has suffered so severely as to be compelled to halt in its counter- attack and establish itself in new positions." The object of the French triangle, having its apex at Namur, was to break the German army in two. The British troops, as related in another chapter, were cooperating with the French at Mens. iin INVASION OF BELGIUM Wlien the Belgians evacuated Namur the Germans had knocked to pieces three of the forts to the northeast of the town with howitzer fire. Between these forts they advanced and bombarded the town, which was defended by the Belgian Fourth Division. Namur was evacuated when the defenders found themselves unable to support a heavy artillery fire. The Germans attacked in a formation three ranks deep, the front rank lying down, the second kneeling, and the third standing. They afforded a target which was fully used by the men behind the Belgian machine guns. Some fifty or sixty howitzers were brought into action by the Germans, who concentrated several guns simultaneously on each fort and smothered it with fire. DESTRUCTION OF LOUVAIN At this stage of the w^ar in Belgium an event occurred that riveted universal attention upon the German operations. On Tuesday, August 25, the beautiful, historic, scholastic city of Louvain, containing 42,000 inhabitants, was bombarded by the Germans and later put to the torch. The fire, which burned for several days, devastated the city. Many artistic and historical treasures, including the priceless library of Louvain University and several magnificent churches, centuries old, were totally destroyed. Only the Hotel de Ville (City Hall), one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Europe, was spared and left standing in the midst of ruins. The Eotterdam Telegraf, a neutral newspaper, declared that in the devastation of Louvain ''a wound that can never be healed ' ' was inflicted ' ' on the whole of civilized humanity. ' ' Frank Jewett Mather, the well-known American art critic, bitterly denounced the act as one of wanton destruction, saying that Louvain ''contained more beautiful works of art than the Prussian nation has produced in its entire history. ' ' Thus when the first month of war ended, the Germans had made good with their plan of seizing Belgium as a base of operations against France and had arrived in full force at the first line of French defenses, well on the way to the 2oveted goal, Paris. But poor little Belgium, the ''cockpit of Europe,'* ran ^ed with blood. SURRENDER OF BRUSSELS Belgian Capital Occupied hy the Germans Without Blood- shed — Important Part Played by American Minister Brand WliitlGch—Belgian Forces Retreat to Antiverp — Dinant and Termonde Fall. AFTER the usual reconnoissances by Uhlans and motor- cycle scouts, the van of the German army arrived at Brussels, the capital city of Belgium, on August 20. The seat of government had been removed three days before to Antwerp. The French and Russian ministers also moved to Antvv^erp, leaving the affairs of their respective countries in the hands of the Spanish legation. Brand Whitlock, United States minister to Belgium, remained at Brussels and played an important part in negotiations which led to the unresisted occupation and march through the city by the Germans in force on August 21 and the consequent escape of Brussels from bombardment and probable ruin. At the approach of the German army the inhabitants of the capital were stricken with fear of the outcome. When the Belgian civic guards and refugees began pouring into the city from the direction of Louvain, they brought stories of un- speakable German atrocities, maltreatment of old men and children, and the violation of women. "The Belgian capital reeled with apprehension," said an American resident. "Within an hour the gaiety, the vivacity, and brilliancy of the city went out like a broken arclight. The radiance of the cafes was exchanged for darkness ; whispering groups of residents broke up hurriedly and locked themselves into their homes, where they put up the shutters and drew in their tricolored Belgian flags. 119 no SUREENDER OF BRUSSELS *'The historic Belgian city went throngli a state of morbid consternation, remarkably like that from which it suffered on June 18, 1815, when it trembled with the fear of a French vic- tory at Waterloo. ''In less than twenty-four hours the Belgian citizens were chatting comfortably with the German invaders and the alle- gations of German brutality and demoniacal torture dissolved into one of the myths which have accompanied all wars. ''Neither in Brussels nor in its environs was a single of- fensive act, so far as I know, committed by a German soldier. In a city of over half a million people, invaded by a hostile army of perhaps a quarter of a million soldiers, no act, suf- ficiently flagrant to demand punishment or to awaken protest came to my attention. ' ' SUEKENDEB OF CITY DEMANDED Prior to the occupation the German commander had sent forward a flag of truce demanding the surrender of the city. This was at midnight of Wednesday, August 19. The Belgian commandant replied that he was bound in honor to defend the town. Brand Whitlock, the United States minister, then came to the fore. He recommended to the commandant and to Burgo- master Max the unconditional surrender of the city, pointing out how resistance might bring increased misfortune on the citizens. But the military commander remained adamant until orders arrived from King Albert consenting to the surrender of the city. Mi. Whitlock was later congratulated officially by the king for his action. Undoubtedly he had a great deal to do with saving Brussels. HISTORIC TREASURES OF BRUSSELS The city of Brussels, thus occupied by the Germans, con- tains art treasures that are priceless. The museum and pub- lic galleries are filled with masterpieces of the Flemish and old Dutch school, while the royal library comprises 600,000 volumes, 100,000 manuscripts and 50,000 rare coins. Unques- tionably the Brussels Museum is one of the most complete on the Continent. SUEEENDER OF BRUSSELS in A prominent historic landmark of Brussels is the King's House (also called the Dreadhouse), an ancient structure, re- cently renovated. Within its walls both the Counts Egmont and Hoorn spent the last night before their execution, in 1567, by the hirelings of the Duke of Alva, the Spanish Philip II 's tyrannical governor of the Netherlands, who, by means of the sword and the Inquisition, sought to establish the Catholic religion in those countries. Brussels boasts another historic relic known the world over — the equestrian statue of Godfrey of Bouillon, who led the Crusaders to the Holy Land. It stands upon the Place Eoyale, and was unveiled in 1848. The magnificent Town Hall of Brussels would probably have suffered destruction, together with the city 's other beau- tiful buildings, had not the government yielded without a strugglec HEAVY WAR TAX LEVIED General von der Goltz, appointed by the Kaiser military governor of Belgium, levied a war tax of $40,000,000 on the capture of the capital. Other cities occupied by the Germans were also assessed for large sums, which in several instances had to be paid immediately on pain of bombardjnent. It was announced September 1 that the four richest men in Belgium had guaranteed the payment to Germany of the war tax. The four men were Ernest Solvay, the alkali king; Baron Lam- bert, the Belgian representative of the Eothschilds; Eaoul Warocque, the mine owner, and Baron Empain, the railway magnate. BELGIANS EETEEAT TO ANTWERP After the German occupation almost normal conditions were soon restored in Brussels, so far as civic life was con- cerned. It was speedily announced that the Germans intended to regard the whole of Belgium as a German province and to administer it as such, at least during the continuance of the war. The Belgian army retired to the north within the forti- fications of Antwerp, where they were joined by French troops, but desultory fighting against the German invader continued at many points and the Franco-British allies soon came into contact with the advancing German army,, 122 SURNENDER OF BRUSSELS THE CITY AND PORT OF ANTWERP Antwerp is one of the largest, most modernly equipped and efficient ports in Europe. It is only a short distance across the English Channel, and is the head of 1,200 miles of canals in Belgium which connect with the canal systems of Holland, France and Germ.any. On the harbor alone over $100,000,000 has been spent and extensions are in progress which will cost $15,000,000 more. For the prosperity of Belgium, Antwerp is many times more important than Brussels, the capital. "While the country has an enormous amount of coal and many factories and other industries, these would be of little value without the imports which enter through Antwerp. The city has about 360,000 inhabitants. Although located fifty-three miles inland on the Scheldt River, it has natural advantages for harbor purposes which have been recognized since the seventh century. Napoleon looked over the spot and started large harbor construction. ANTWERP AND ITS FORTIFICATIONS SURRENDER OF BRUSSELS ri.l Ever since that time, according to popular belief, Antwerp has encouraged commerce. Over eighty different steamboat lines use the docks and quays. The passenger lines include boats to New York and Boston, New Orleans, London, Liv- erpool, Manchester, Grimsby, South American ports, Cuba, the Congo, East and South Africa and the far East. In 1912 a total of G,973 ocean-going vessels entered the port, and 41,000 other vessels. Antwerp in 1870 ranked fifth in the ports of the world. Today it is believed to be second or third. Ten years ago the freight received from the inland was principally by the canals. Approximately 2,300,000 tons were received by rail and 5,500,- 000 tons by canal boats. This ratio has not been maintained, but the canal traffic now is much larger than the rail tonnage. This gives an idea of the extensive use to which the European countries put their canals, and the reader may guess the value of the city at the head of the canal system to the Germans. BLOODLESS CAPITULATION OF GHEl'TT Historic Ghent, with its quarter of a million inhabitants, was also surrendered peaceably to the Germans, and again the energy and initiative of an American, United States Vice- Consul J. A. Van Hee, had much to do with the avoidance of tragedy and destruction. Learning that the advance guard of the German army was only a few miles outside the city, the burgomaster went out on the morning of September 8 to parley with Gen. von Boehn — in the hope of arranging for the German forces not to enter. An agreement finally was reached whereby the Ger- mans should go around Ghent on condition that all Belgian troops should evacuate the city, the ci\^c guard be disarmed, their weapons surrendered, and the municipal authorities should supply the Germans with specified quantities of pro- visions and other supplies. The burgomaster was not back an hour when a motor car driven by two armed German soldiers appeared in the streets. At almost the same moment that the German car entered 114 SURRENDER OF BRUSSELS the city from the south a Belgian armored car^ armed with a machine gun, mth a crew of three men, entered from the east on a scouting expedition. The two cars, both speeding, encountered each other at the head of the Rue Agneau, directly in front of the American consulate. Vice-consul Van Hee, standing in the doorway, was an eyewitness to what followed. The Germans, taken completely by surprise at the sight of the foe's grim war car in its coat of elephant gray, bearing down upon them, attempted to escape, firing with their car- bines as they fled. Notwithstanding the fact that the side- walks were lined with onlookers, the Belgians opened on the fleeing Germans ^T.th their machine guns, w^hich spurted lead as a garden hose spurts water. The driver, fearing the Germans might escape, swerved his powerful car against the German motor precisely as a polo player ^' rides oif " his opponent. The machine gim never ceased its angry snarl. The Germans surrendered, both being wounded. Appreciating that Ghent stood in imminent danger of meeting the terrible fate of its sister cities, Aerschot and Louvain, sacked and burned for far less cause, Mr. Van Hee hurriedly found the burgomaster and urged him to go along instantly to German headquarters. They found General von Boehn and his staff at a chateau a few miles outside the city. The German commander at flrst was furious with anger and threatened Ghent with the same punishment he had meted out to the other places where Germans were fired on. Van Hee took a very firm stand, however. He told the general the burning of Ghent would do more than anything else to lose the Germans all American sjTiipathy. He reminded him that Americans have a great sentimental interest in Ghent because the treaty of peace be- tween England and the United States was signed there just a century ago. The general finally said : ''If you will give me your word that there will be no further attacks upon Germans in Ghent, and that the wounded soldiers wdll be taken under American protection and returned to Brussels by the consular authori- SUBRENDER OF BRUSSELS l«5 a ties wlien they have recovered, I will agree to spare Ghent and will not even demand a money indemnity. ' ' The news that Mr. Van Hee had succeeded in his mission spread through the city like fire in dry grass and when he re- turned he was acclaimed by cheering crowds as the saviour of Ghent. THE BUKGOMASTEE's APPE^yij Blazoned on the front of the Town Hall suddenly ap- peared a great black-lettered document. It was a manly and inspiring proclamation by the burgomaster, similar to the splendid proclamation issued by M. Adolphe Max, burgomas- ter of Brussels, just before the German entry. He assured the inhabitants that he and all the town officials w^ere remaining in their places, and that so long as life and liberty remained to him he would do all in his power to protect their honor and their interests. He reminded them that under the laws of war they had the right to refuse ail information and help to the invaders; and called upon each citizen, or his wife, to refuse such information and help. Finally, he urged the citi- zens to remain calm, and stay in their homes. ^'Vive la Belgique! Vive Ghent!" The proclamation ended in great capitals with this patriotic cry. DINANT AND TEBMONDE FALL But other cities and towns of Belgium were not as for- tunate as Brussels and Ghent in escaping damage and de- struction. Dinant, a town of 8,000 inhabitants, fifteen miles south of Namur, and dating back to the sixth century, was partially destroyed by the Germans in their advance on September 3 and 4. Early reports stated that a number of the most promi- nent citizens had been executed, including Mr. Humbert, owner of a large factory, who was slain in the presence of his vnte and children. The Germans alleged that citizens had fired on them from the heights about the city. They then drove all of the inhabi- tants out, shot some of the men as examples, took the gold from the branch of the National Bank and burned the business section. 126 SUERENDEli OF BRUSSELS On September 4 the town of Termonde met a similar fate. This town, 16 miles from Ghent, was fired in several places before the Kaiser's troops passed on. They also blew up a bridge over the River Escaut to the north, seeming to re- nounce for the moment their intrusion into the country of the Waes district. Afterward they directed an attack against the southwest front position of the Antwerp army and were re- pulsed with great losses. Describing the burning of Termonde by the Germans, a Ghent correspondent said : "By midday Sunday the blaze had assumed gigantic pro- portions and by Sunday evening not a house stood upright. This was verified at Zele, where there were thousands of refu- gees from Termonde. The Germans also pillaged Zele. The suburb of St. Giles also suffered from bombardment and fire." A courier who knew Termonde as a flourishing town mth fine shops, an ancient town hall of singular beauty and a num- ber of churches of historic interest, found the place on Sep- tember 11 a smoldering ruin, except for the town hall and one church, on a stone of which he saw the inscription "1311." These two structures w^ere left intact, without so much as a broken window. Termonde was burned for much the same reason as Lou- vain. On September 4 a German force came back from the field after having been severely handled by the Belgians, and the German commander, it is said, exclaimed : " It is our duty to burn them down ! ' ' The inhabitants were given two hours' grace, and German soldiers filed through the town, breaking windows with their rifles. They were followed by other files of troops, who sprayed kerosene into the houses, others applied lighted fuses and the town was systematically destroyed. BOMBARDMENT OF MALINES On Thursday night, August 27, the German artillery bom- barded the ancient Belgian town of Malines. During the bom- bardment many of the monuments in the town were hit by shells and destroyed. When the artiller^^ had ceased firing the inhabitants of Malines were advised to leave the town. CHAPTER Vin BRITAIN RAISES AN ARMY Earl Kitchener Appointed Secretary for War — A New Volun- teer A.rmy — Expeditionary Force Landed in France — Field Marshal Sir John French in Command — Colonies Rally to Britain's Aid — The Canadian Contingent — Indian Troops Called For — Native Princes Offer Aid. FTER the declaration of war by Great Britain against Germany on August 4, the first important development in England was the appointment of Earl Kitchener of Ivhartoum as secretary of state for war. This portfolio had been previously held by the Rt. Hon. H. H. Asquith, premier and first lord of the treasury. Lord Kitchener being the idol of the British army and most highly esteemed by the nation gen- erally for his powers of organization and administration, as well as for his military fame, the appointment increased the confidence of the British people in the Liberal Government and awakened their enthusiasm for war. Parliament unanimously passed a vote of credit for $500,000,000 on August 6. Lord Kitchener immediately realized the serious nature of the task confronting his country as an ally of France against the military power of Germany. His first step was to increase the regular army. The first call was for 100,000 additional men. This was soon increased to 500,000. Within a month there were 439,000 voluntary enlistments and then a further call was made for 500,000 more, bringing the strength of the British army up to 1,854,000 men, a figure unprecedented for Great Britain. The war fever grew apace in England. All classes of so- ciety furnished their quota to the colors for service in Belgium and France. The period of enlistment was ''for the war" and a wave of patriotic fervor swept over the British Isles and over 127 128 BRITAIN RAISES AN ARMY all the colonies of Britain beyond the seas. Political differ- ences were forgotten and the empire presented a united front, as never before. If Germany had counted on internal dissen- sion keeping England out of the fray, the expectation proved unfounded. Englishmen, Irishmen and Scotsmen stood shoul- der to shoulder. The Irish Home Rule controversy was dropped by common consent. The men of Ulster and the Irish Nationalists struck hands and agreed to forget their differ- ences in the presence of national danger. Trade resumed normal conditions and the Bank of England rate, which earlier in the week had mounted to 10 per cent, was reduced on August 8 to 5 per cent. There were some panicky conditions and a disquieting col- lapse on the London Stock Exchange during the last days of feverish diplomacy, and it was due to the financial solidity of the British nation, no less than to its level-headedness and the promptness of government measures, that the declaration of war, instead of precipitating worse conditions, cleared the atmosphere. BEITISH TEOOPS LAND IN FRANCE Wliile the British army was being mobilized, the utmost secrecy was observed regarding all movements of troops. The newspapers refrained from publishing even the little they knew and an expeditionary force, composed of the flower of the Brit- ish army and numbering approximately 94,000 men of all arms of the service, was assembled, transported across the Eng- lish Channel and landed at Boulogne and other French ports behind a veil of deepest mystery, so far as the British public and the world at large were concerned. The old town of Plymouth, on the Channel, was the chief port of embarkation for the troops and the main concentration point in England, but troops embarked also at Dublin, Ireland; Liverpool ; Eastbourne ; Southampton, and other cities. Not a mention of the midnight sailings of transports carrying troops, horses, automobiles, artillery, hospital and commissary equip- ment and supplies was allowed to be printed in the newspapers, BRITAIN RAISES AN ARMY 129 nor was it known how many troops were being sent across the Channel. The landing in France was effected between the 10th and the 20th of August without the loss of a single man, and on the 23d, having joined forces with the French army under General Joffre, commander-in-chief, the British found themselves in touch with the German enemy at Mons in Belgium. FIELD-MAESHAL, FRENCH IN COMMAND The expeditionary force was in supreme command of Field Marshal Sir John D. P. French, a veteran officer of high mili- tary repute, with Maj.-Gen. Sir A. Murray as chief of staff. Other noted officers were Lieut.-Gen. Sir Douglas Haig, com- mander of the First Corps ; Lieut.-Gen. Sir James Grierson, commander of the Second Corps ; Maj.-Gen. W. P. Pulteney, commander of the Third Corps, and Maj.-Gen. Edmund Al- lenby, in command of the Cavalry Division. The home army was left in command of Gen. Sir Ian Hamilton. Hardly had the expedition landed in France when the death was reported of the commander of the Second Corps, Sir James Grierson, who succumbed to heart disease vv^hiie on his way to the front, dropping dead on a train. He was given a notable military funeral in London. Gen. Sir H. L. Smith-Dor- rien was appointed to succeed him in command of the Second Corps. The British troops were received in France with loud ac- claim and Field Marshal French, on visiting Paris for a confer- ence at the French war office before proceeding to the front, was greeted by a popular demonstration that showed how welcome British aid was to the French in their critical hour. The British field force was composed of three army corps, each com|5rising two divisions, and there was also an extra cavalry division. Each army corps consists of twentyrf our infantry battalions of about one thousand men each on a war footing ; six cavalry regiments, eight batteries of horse artillery of six guns each, eighteen batteries of field artillery, two howitzer batteries, and troops of engineers, signal corps, army service corps and other details. 130 BRITAIN RAISES AN ARMY The number of men in each army corps was therefore ap- proximately as follows : Infantry 24,000 Cavalry 3,600 Horse artillery 800 Field artillery 1,800 Howitzer batteries 250 Signal, army service, commissary, etc 900 Tims the first British field force landed in France aggre- gated about 94,000 men, including the extra cavalry division. These were added to almost daily during the following weeks, until by September 20 the British had probably 200,000 men co-operating with the French army north and east of Paris. COLONIES RALLY TO BRITAIN At the prospect of war with Germany the dominions of the British Empire overseas eagerly offered their aid. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, all came forward with offers of men, money, ships and supplies. The Australian premier issued a statement to the people in which he said: "We owe it to those who have gone before to preserve the great fabric of British freedom and hand it on to our children. Our duty is quite clear. Remember we are Britons." CANADA OFFERS MEN A formal offer of military contingents was cabled to England by the Canadian government August 1. A meeting of tlie cabinet was presided over by Premier Borden. It was tailed to deal with the situation in which Canada found her- self as the result of the European war. The government unanimously decided to make England an offer of men. Infantry, cavalry and artillery would be included in any force sent forward and it would number 20,000 men if transportation could be obtained for that number. It was estimated that within two weeks it would be possible to dispatch 10,000 efficient soldiers, and within three months this number could be increased to 50,000. Many offers for foreign service arrived from the com- mandants of militia corps throughout the dominion. M>. cja •»i ^ X a J5 (« in u bo « 4^ ♦J J5 ^ 0. (< et M-i O 5£ (0 C/l c 4> cfl l_ *^ u cd O u 3 4; < J3 s^ -4-t bf^ c 3 ^ "O -4-* rt V f 1 (/) c rt u Ui Ahox-c — Remarkable photograph of a flanie-throwins attack by French troops. The "flammenwerfer" or flame-thrower was originated liy the Germans, like other diabolical methods of warfare. The .-Mlie.'! perfected the machine and turned it on the enemy with great .success, and the Germans did not like their own medicine. Note the reservoir on the soldier's back. tCoiiprifiht. U. <(■ U.) Brlon- — .\ Belgian scouting part>- in P^Ianders, making its way over a pontoon bridge, and dressed in the new khaki uniform of the Belgian army, which turned the tables on the Hun. (Photo, U. d U.) CHARGE OF THE3 BRITISH 9TH LAKCEKS ON A GERMAN BATTERY DURING THE BATTLE OF MONS The battery had Inflicted heavy losses on the British troops. All the gunners were cut down and the iruns put out of action. — Drawn by Dudley Tennant for The Graphic, from Dotei by a trooper. BRITAIN RAISES 'AN ARMY i»3 In all 40,000 Canadian troops were tendered to and accepted by the British Government in the early days of the war ; also 20,000 men from Australia and 8,000 from New Zealand, a total of 68,000 men. By the request of the Dominions in each case, the cost of the equipment, maintenance and pay of the forces was defrayed by the three governments — in itself a generous and patriotic additional offer. The Dominions at the same time declared their readiness to send additional contingents if required, as well as drafts from time to time to maintain their field forces at full strength. TROOPSHIPS SAIL UNDER CONVOY The first intimation that Canadian troops had been dis- patched to the front from Valcartier Camp came on Septem- ber 24, when the Hon. T. W. Crothers, the Dominion minister of labor, announced in a speech before the Canadian Trades and Labor Congress, assembled in convention at St. John, New Brunswick, that 32,000 Canadian volunteers ''left for the front a day or two ago." It was understood that the troops had sailed from Quebec in twenty armed transports, convoyed by a fleet of British warships, which had been collected at con- venient ports for the purpose. There were two army divisions in the force that sailed, each comprising three brigades of infantry (12,000 men), 27 guns, 500 cavalry, and 2,000 staff, signallers, medical corps and supemumaries. THE FINAL REVIEW AT VALCARTIER Before they sailed away the Canadian army marched past the reviewing stand at the Valcartier Camp, Quebec, under the eyes of 10,000 civilians. There were 32,000 soldiers equipped for active service and everyone was impressed with the serious scene. The Duke and Duchess of Connaught, the Princess Patri- cia, Col. Sam Hughes, the Canadian minister of militia, and Col. V. H. C. Williams, commandant of the camp, looked on with pride as the great parade, almost a full army corps, passed the royal standard. They marched in column of half battalions, and took a full hour to go by. 132 BRITAIN RAISES AN 'AR3IY Officers commanding the four infantry brigades: Lieut- Col. R. E. W. Turner, V. C, D. S. 0., of Quebec, a veteran of the South African war, mentioned in dispatches for especially gallant service ; Lieut.-CoL S. M. Mercer, Toronto, Command- ing Officer of the Queen 'p Own Rifles; Lieut.-Col. A. W. Cur- rie of Victoria, Commanding Officer of the 50th Fusihers; Lieut.-Col. J. E. Cohoe of St. Catharines, Commanding Offi- cer of the 5th Militia Infantry Brigade. The officer appointed to command the artillery brigade was Lieut.-Col. H. E. Burstall of Quebec, of the Artillery Headquarters Staff. Officer in command of the Strathcona Horse, Lieut.-Col. A. C. Macdonnell, D. S. 0., of Winnipeg, a South African veteran. Officer in command of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, Lieut.-Col. C. M. Nelles of Toronto, Inspector of Cavalry for Militia Headquarters. The commanding officer of the whole army division was an English general selected by the British War Office. It was understood that the Canadian troops would land in the south of England and march through London to train- ing quarters at Aldershot and Salisbury Plains, the infantry going to Aldershot and the artillery to Salisbury Plains, for several weeks' training under active service conditions before going to the firing line. CANADA FIGHTS AGAINST AUTOCKACY ** Canada will spend its last dollar and shed its last drop of blood fighting for the principle of democracy, against that of autocracy, as exemplified in the present European conflict." This was the emphatic statement made by Sir Douglas Cameron, lieutenant-governor — chief executive — of the prov- ince of Manitoba, passing through Chicago on September 28. ** Great Britain is not fighting for empire," he said. **It is not fighting for greater commercial gains. We are fighting for the annihilation of autocracy and it is the sentiment of the people of Canada that they will fight against Germany's domination to the bitter end. ** England does not want more commerce, except as it can be gained through the paths of peace. We would not draw BRITAIN RAISES AN ARMY. 133 tHe sword to increase it, but we will fight to the last drop of blood to protect it. **The men of Canada have responded nobly to the call to arms. We have sent about 31,800 provincial troops, every one a volunteer, and we have that many more already enlisted if they are needed. Our trouble is to equip them as fast as they enlist. **In Canada we are turning our attention to agricultural pursuits. Wheat is at a premium; a farmer can get from $1 to $1.10 per bushel in cash for wheat on his wagon. All Europe will be in dire need of foodstuffs next year and for some years to come and we in Canada hope to profit by the opportunity. ''Economic conditions in the dominion received a terrible blow when the war came; we were shocked, staggered, and business has received a hard setback ; finances are depressed. The government has offered help to the banks, but they do not need it yet. "We want immigrants in our country— Germans or any other good, strong, virile nationality. We have no quarrel with the German people. We like them; they are used to a high standard of living and are the finest kind of citizens. ' ' To my mind, this war cannot be of long duration. Ger- many, with all its preparedness, could not lay by stores enough to support 65,000,000 people for any great length of time when there is no raw material coming in. The country will be starved out, if not beaten in the field, for I do not believe Germany can gain control of the high seas and cover the world with its merchantmen." INDIAN TROOPS CALLED FOR The announcement by Lord Kitchener in the House of Com- mons late in August that native troops from India were to be summoned to the aid of the British army in France "came like a crash of thunder and revealed a grim determination to fight the struggle out to a successful finish." There was some talk in England of increasing the army by temporary conscription, but Premier Asquith declined to con- sider any such proposal. In the House of Commons on September 9 a message was 134 BRITAIN RAISES 'AN AR3IY read from the Viceroy of India, which said that the rulers of the Indian native states, nearly 700 in number, had with one accord rallied to the defense of the empire with personal offers of services as well as the resources of their states. Many of the native rulers of India also sent cables to King George offering him their entire military and financial re- sources, while the people of India by thousands offered to volunteer. Conditions in India were indeed so satisfactory, from the British standpomt, that Premier Asquith was able to announce that two divisions (40,000) of British (white) soldiers were to be removed from India. The aid that India could offer was not lightly to be consid- ered. The soldiery retained by the British and the rajahs, con- stituting India's standing army, amount to about 400,000, not taking into consideration the reserves and the volunteers. The rajahs maintain about 23,000 soldiers, who are named Imperial Service Troops, expressly for purposes of Imperial defense, and these have served in many wars. They served with British, German, French, and United States troops in China from Sep- tember, 1900, to August, 1901, and gained the highest laurels for efficiency and good conduct. The first Indian troops called for by Lord Kitchener in- cluded two divisions of infantry and a brigade of cavalry, add- ing about 70,000 combatants to the allied armies in France, with approximately 130 pieces of artillery, both light and heavy, and howitzers. Twelve Indian potentates were selected to accompany this expeditionary force. These included the veteran Sir Pertab Singh, regend of Jodhpur; Sir Ganga Bahadur, Maharajah of Bikanir, and Sir Bhupindra Singh, Maharajah of Patiala. The expeditionary force contained units of the regular army and contingents of the Imperial Service Troops in India. From twelve states the viceroy accepted contingents of cavalry, infantry, sappers and transport, besides a camel corps from Bikanir. The Maharajah of Mysore placed $1,600,000 at the dis- posal of the Government in connection with the expenditure for the expeditionary force. In addition to this gift, the Ma- harajahs of Gwalior and BhoDal contributed larire sums of BRITAIN RAISES "AN ARMY 135 money and provided thousands of horses as remounts. Ma- harajah Repa offered his troops and treasure, even his pri- vately-owned jewelry, for the service of the British King and Emperor of India. Maharajah Holkar of Indore made a gift of all the horses in the army of his state. A similar desire to help the British Government was shown by coromittees representing religious, political, and social asso- ciations of all classes and creeds in India. In the House of Lords on August 28 Earl Kitchener an- nounced that the first division of the troops from India was already on the way to the front in France. At the same time the Marquis of Crewe, secretary of state for India, said: *'It has been deeply impressed upon us by what we have heard from India that the wonderful wave of enthusiasm and loyalty now passing over that country is to a great extent based upon the desire of the Indian people that Indian soldiers should stand side by side with their comrades of the British army in repelling the invasion of our friends' territory and the attack made upon Belgium. We shall find our army there reinforced by native Indian soldiers — high-souled men of first-rate train- ing and representing an ancient civilization ; and we feel certain that if they are called upon they will give the best possible account of themselves side by side with our British troops in encountering the enemy. ' ' KING GEORGE PRAISES COLONIES On September 9 a message from King George to thp British colonies, thanking them for their aid in Britain's emergency, was published as follows : ''During the last few weeks the peoples of my whole empire at home and overseas have moved with one mind and purpose to confront and overthrow an unparalleled assault upon the continuity of civilization and the peace of mankind. "The calamitous conflict is not of my seeking. My voice has been cast throughout on the side of peace. My ministers earnestly strove to allay the causes of the strife and to appease differences with which my empire was not concerned. Had I stood aside when in defiance of pledges to which my kingdom was a party, the soil of Belgium was violated and her cities made desolate, when the very life of the French nation was 136 BRITAIN RAISES AN ARMY threatened with extinction, I should have sacrificed my honor and given to destruction the liberties of my empire and of mankind. **I rejoice that every part of the empire is with me in this decision. * ' Paramount regard for a treaty of faith and the pledged word of rulers and peoples is the common heritage of Great Britain and of the empire. My peoples in the self-governing dominions have shown beyond all doubt that they whole-heart- edly indorse the grave decision it was necessary to take, and I am proud to be able to show to the world that my peoples oversea are as determined as the people of the United Kingdom to prosecute a just cause to a successful end. * ' The Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia and the Dominion of New Zealand have placed at my disposal their naval forces, which have already rendered good service for the empire. Strong expeditionary forces are being pre- pared in Canada, Australia and New Zealand for service at the front, and the Union of South Africa has released all Brit- ish troops and undertaken other important military responsi- bilities. ** Newfoundland has doubled the number of its branch of the royal naval reserve, and is sending a body of men to take part in the operations at the front. From the Dominion and Provincial governments of Canada, large and welcome gifts of supplies are on their way for use both by my naval and mili- tary forces. *'A11 parts of my oversea dominions have thus demon- strated in the most unmistakable manner the fundamental unity of the empire amidst all its diversity of situation and circumstance. ' ' A message similar to the foregoing was addressed by King George to the princes and the people of India. The King's eldest son, the young Prince of Wales, volun- teered for active service at the outset of the war and was gazetted as a second lieutenant in the First Battalion, Grena- dier Guards. He also inaugurated and acted as treasurer of a national fund for the relief of sufferers by the war. This fund soon grew to $10,000,000 and steadily climbed beyond that amount. CHAPTER IX EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR Belgian Resistance to the German Advance — The Fighting at Vise, Haelen, Biest, Aerschot and Tirlemont — Mons and Charleroi the First Great Battles of the War — Allies Make a Gallant Stand, hut Forced to Retire Across the French Border, FROM the first day of the German entry into Belgium brief and hazy reports of battles between the patriotic Belgians and the invaders came across the Atlantic. Many absurd and mischievous reports of repeated Belgian ** victories'* were received throughout the month of August. These were for the most part rendered ridiculous by the steady advance of the German troops. The resistance of the Belgians was gallant and persistent, but availed only to hinder and delay the German advance which it was powerless to stop. Up to August 23, there were no ''victories" possible for either side, because never until then were the opposing armies definitely pitted against each other in an engagement in which one or the other must be broken. All the time these Belgian ** victories," which were no more than resistances to German reconnoissances, were being reported, the German line was not touched, and behind that line the Germans were methodically massing. When they were ready they came on. The Belgian army retired from the Diest-Tirlemont line, from Aerschot and Louvain, from Brussels, because to have held these positions against the overwhelming force opposed to them would have meant certain destruction. The rearguards held each of these 137 138 EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR points witli the greatest heroism so long as that was neces- sary, and then retired in good order on the main force. VISE ATTACKED AND FIKED The first fighting of any severity in Belgium occurred at Vise, near the frontier, early in the German advance. Ger- man troops crossed the frontier in motors, followed by large bodies of cavalry, but the Belgians put up a stubborn resist- ance. The chiefs of the Belgian staff had foreseen the inva- sion and had blown up the bridges of the River Meuse outside the toTvm, as well as the railway tunnels. Time after time the Belgians foiled with their heavy fire the attempts of the Germans to cross by means of pontoons. Vise itself was stubbornly defended. Only after a protracted struggle did the Germans master the town, which they fired in several places on entering. BATTLES OF HAELEN-DIEST At the end of the first week of the Belgian invasion it was estimated that the Germans had concentrated most of their field troops, probably about 900,000 combatants, along a 75- mile line running from Liege to the entrance into Luxemburg at Treves. With this immense army it was said there were no less than 5,894 pieces of artillery. This was only the first-line strength of the Germans, the reserves being massed in the rear. Part of the right wing was swung northward and westward in the direction of Antw^erp, and swept the whole of northern Belgium to the Dutch frontier. On August 10 the Belgian defenders fought a heavy en- gagement with the Germans at Haelen, which was described in the dispatches as the first battle of the war. A Belgian victory was claimed as the result, the German losses, it was said, being very heavy, especially in cavalry, while the Bel- gian casualties were reported relatively small. But the Ger- man advance was merely checked. The covering troops were speedily reinforced from the main body of the army and the advance swept on. The result of the Haelen engagement was thus described in the dispatches of August 13 : *^The battle centered around Haelen, in the Belgian EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR 139 province of Limbonrg, extending to Diest, in the north of the province of Brabant, after passing round Zeelhem. **At 7 o'clock last evening all the country between the three towns mentioned had been cleared of German troops, except the dead and wounded, who were thickly strewn about the fire zone. Upward of 200 dead German soldiers were counted in a space of fifty yards square. *'A church, a brewery and some houses in Haelen were set afire, and two bridges over the Demer were destroyed by Belgian engineers. '* Great quantities of booty were collected on the battle- field, and this has been stacked in front of the town hall of Diest. Many horses also were captured. **The strength of the German column was about 5,000 men. ' ' Another report said of the encounter : "A division of Belgian cavalry, supported by a brigade of infantry and by artillery, engaged and defeated, near the fortress of Diest, eighteen miles northeast of Louvain, a divi- sion of German cavalry, also supported by infantry and by artillery. ''The fighting was extremely fierce and resulted in the Germans being thrown back toward Hasselt and St. Trond.'^ Meanwhile the forts at Liege, to the southeast, still held out, though fiercely bombarded by German siege guns. The fortress of Namur was also being attacked. The Germans had bridged the river Meuse and were moving their crack artillery against the Belgian lines. French troops had joined the Belgian defenders and the main battle line extended from Liege on the north to Metz on the south. A visit to Haelen and other towns by a Brussels corre- spondent August 17, ' ' showed the frightful devastation which the Germans perpetrated in Belgian territory. "For instance, at Haelen itself houses belonging to the townspeople have been completely wrecked. Windows were broken, furniture destroyed, and the walls demolished by shell fire. Even the churches have not been respected. The parish church at Haelen has been damaged considerably from shrapnel fire. 140 EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR **0n the battlefield there are many graves of Gernians marked by German lances erected in the form of a cross." ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF DIEST A correspondent of the New York Tribune said : '* Across the battlefield of Diest there is a brown stretch of harrowed ground half a furlong in length. It is the grave of twelve hundred Germans who fell in the fight of August 11. All over the field there are other graves, some of Ger- mans, some of Belgians, some of horses. When I reached the place peasants with long mattocks and spades were turn- ing in the soil. For two full days they had been at the work of burial and they were sick at heart. Their corn is ripe for cutting in the battlefield, but little of it will be harvested. Dark paths in their turnip fields are sodden wdth the blood of meii and horses." The Belgians, in contempt of German markmanship, had forced the enemy to the attack, which had been made from three points of the field simultaneously. The fighting had been fierce, but now that both sides had swept on, no one seemed to know how those in the fight had really fared. Only by the heaps of dead could one make estimate : *'At least, there were most dead on the side toward the bridge. A charge of 300 Uhlans, who were held in check for a short time by seventeen Belgians at a corner, seems, how- ever, to have come near success. The derelict helmets and lances that covered the fields show that the charge pressed w^ell up to the guns and to the trenches in the turnip fields where the Belgian soldiers lay. On the German left mitrail- leuses got in their work behind, and in the houses on the out- skirts of the villages. Five of these houses were burned to the ground, and two others farther out broken all to pieces and burned. In a shed was a peasant weeping over the dead bodies of his cows. *'It would be easy now at the beginning of this war to write of its tragedy. The villages have each a tale of loss to tell. All of the twelve hundred men in the long grave were men with wives, sweethearts, and parents. All the Belgian soldiers and others who were buried where they fell have mourners. EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR 14.1 A LETTER FROM THE GRAVE "A letter wliicli I picked up on the field and am endeavor- ing to have identified and sent her for whom it is intended will speak for all. It is written in ink on half a sheet of thin notepaper. ^There is no date and no place. It probably was written on the eve of battle in the hope that it would reach its destination if the writer died. This is the translation : ** * Sweetheart: Fate in this present war has treated us more cruelly than many others. If I have not lived to create for you the happiness of which both our hearts dreamed, remember my sole wish now is that you should be happy. For- get me and create for yourself some happy home that may re- store to you some of the greater pleasures of life. For myself, I shall have died happy in the thought of your love. My last thought has been for you and for those I leave at home. Accept this, the last kiss from him who loved you.* *' Postcards from fathers with blessings to their gallant sons I found, too, on the field, little mementos of people and of places carried by men as mascots. Everywhere were broken lances of German and Belgian, side by side ; scabbards and helmets, saddles and guns. These the peasants were col- lecting in a pile, to be removed by the military. High up over the graves of twelve hundred, as we stood there, a German biplane came and went, hovering like a carrion crow, seeking other victims for death. * ' In the village itself death is still busy. A wounded Ger- man died as we stood by his side and a Belgian soldier placed his handkerchief over his face. Soldiers who filled the lit- tle market-place may be fighting for life now as I write. The enemy is in force not a mile away from them, and in a moment they may be attacked. It is significant that all German prisoners believed they were in France. The deception, it appears, was necessary to encourage them in their attack^ and twelve hundred dead in the harrowed field died without knowing whom or what they were fighting.'* THOUGHT THEY WERE IN ERAKCE A number of German prisoners were taken by the Belgians during the fighting at Haelen-Diest. From these it was 142 EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR learned that the German soldiers really believed they were fighting in France. At Die^t it is said that 400 surrendered the moment they lost their officers and were surprised to learn that they were in Belgium. King Albert of Belgium was constantly in the field dur- ing the early engagements of the war, moving from point to point inside the Belgian lines by means of a high-powered automobile, in which he was slightly wounded by the explosion of a shell. He was thus enabled to keep in touch with the field forces, as well as with his general staff, and speedily endeared himself to the Belgian soldiery by his personal dis- regard of danger. The Belgians by their gallant fight against the trained legions of Germany quickly won the admiration even of their foes. The army of Belgium was brought up to its full strength of 300,000 men and everywhere the soldiers of the little coun- try battled to halt the invaders. Often their efforts proved effective. The losses on both sides were truly appalling, the Germans suffering most on account of their open methods of attack in close order. But their forces were like the sands of the sea and every gap in the ranks of the onrushing host was promptly filled by more Germans. TIELEMONT AND LOUVAIN The fighting at Tirlemont and Louvain was described by a citizen of Ostend, who says he witnessed it from a church tower at Tirlemont first and later proceeded to Louvain. He says: ''Until luncheon time Tuesday, August 18, Tirlemont was quiet and normal. Suddenly, about 1 o 'clock, came the sound of the first German gun. The artillery had opened fire. ''From the church tower it was possible to see distinctly the position of the German guns and the bursting of their shells. The Belgians replied from their positions east of Louvain. It was a striking sight, to the accompaniment of the ceaseless thud-thud of bursting shells with their puffs of cottonlike smoke, tearing up the peaceful wheat fields not far away. EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR 143 BELGIANS EETIBE AT LOUVAIN **GradnaIly working nearer, the shells began to strike the houses in Tirlemont. This was a signal for the populace, which had been confident that the Belgian army would pro- tect them, to flee. All they knew was that the Germans were coming. From the tower the scene was like the rushing of rats from a disturbed nest. The people fled in every direc- tion except one. '*! moved down to Louvain, where everything seemed quiet and peaceful. The people sat in the cafes drinking their evening beer and smoking. Meanwhile the Belgian troops were retiring in good order toward Louvain. TOWN IN PANIC WITH REFUGEES **By midnight the town was in the throes of a panic. Long before midnight throngs of refugees had begun to ar- rive, followed later by soldiers. By 11 o'clock the Belgian rear guard was engaging the enemy at the railroad bridge at the entrance to the town. "The firing was heavy. The wounded began to come in. Riderless horses came along, both German and Belgian. These were caught and mounted by civilians glad to have so rapid a mode of escape. TROOPS HINDERED BY CIVILIANS **I remember watching a black clad Belgian woman run- ning straight down the middle of a road away from the Germans. Behind her came the retiring Belgian troops, dis- heartened but valiant. This woman, clad in mourning, was the symbol of the Belgian populace. **At some of the barricades along the route the refugees and soldiers arrived simultaneously, making the defense dif- ficult. All about Tirlemont and Lotivain the refugees inter- fered with the work of the troops. The road to Brussels always was crowded with refugees and many sorrowful sights were witnessed among them as they fled from the homes that had been peaceful and prosperous a few days before. lU EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR BRUSSELS FILLED WITH EEFUGEES ** Brussels is filled with refugees from surrounding towns, despite the large numbers who left the city for Ghent and Ostend during the last few days," said a correspondent, writing from Ghent on August 20. ''The plight of most of the refugees is pitiable. Many are camped in the public square whose homes in the suburbs have been fired by the Prussians. The r#ads leading into Brussels have been crowded all day with all kinds of con- veyances, many drawn by dogs and others by girls, women and aged peasants. "Most of these people have lost everything. Few of them have any money. The peasant is considered lucky who suc- ceeded in saving a single horse or a cow. "Military men characterize the German force which is mo\dng across Belgium as overwhelming, saying it consists of at least two or three army corps. The advance of this huge force is covered over the entire thirty-mile front by a screen of cavalry. The Germans had no difficulty in taking Louvain, which was virtually undefended. "In the high wooded country between Louvain and Brus- sels the Germans found an excellent defensive position. Hav- ing occupied Louvain, the Kaiser's troops pushed forward with great celerity, the cavalry opening out in fan-shaped formation, spreading across country. "At one point they ran into a strong force of Belgian artillery, which punished them severely. Later in the day a Belgian scouting force reached Louvain and found it unoc- cupied, but received imperative orders to fall back, because of the danger of being outflanked and annihilated." ALLIES MEET THE INVADEES By August 20 the Germans were in touch with the French army that had advanced into Belgium and occupied the line Dinant-Charleroi-Mons, the right of the French resting on Binant and the left on Mons, where they were reinforced by the British expeditionary force under Field Marshal French. EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR 145 There was a heavy engagement at Charleroi, and a four days* battle was begun at Mons August 23. Slowly but surely the i'ranco-British army was forced back across the French border, to take up a new position on the line, Noyon-Chanu- La Fere, which constituted the second line of the French de- fense. The German right, opposing the British, was under com- mand of General von Kluck ; General von Buelow and General von Hansen commanded the German center opposing the Franco-Belgian forces between the Sambre and Namur and the Meuse. The Grand Duke Albrecht of Wuerttemberg oper- ated between Charleroi and the French border fortress of Maubeuge, The German Crown Prince led an army far- ther east, advancing toward the Meuse. The Crown Prince of Bavaria commanded the German forces far- ther south toward Nancy, and General von Heeringen was engaged in repulsing French attacks on Alsace-Lorraine, in the region of the Vosges mountains, where the French had met with early successes. Meanwhile on August 18 the town of Aerschot had been the scene of a bloody engagement and was occupied and partly destroyed by the Germans. The occupation of Brussels fol- lowed on August 20-21 and the German line of communica- tions was kept open by a line of occupied towns. After overwhelming the Belgians the Kaiser's great ad- vance army swept quickly into deadly conflict with the alfies. The first mighty shock came at Charleroi, where the French were forced back, and on August 23 came the first battle with the British at Mons. THE BATTLE OF MONS — FOUR DAYS OF FIGHTING EETREAT OF THE ALLIES All England was thrilled on the morning of September 10 when the British government permitted the newspapers to publish the first report from Field Marshal Sir John D. P. French, commander-in-chief of the British army allied with the French and Belgians on the continent, telling of the heroio fight made by the British troops, i^ugust 23-26, to keep from being annihilated by the Germans. 146 EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR The withdrawal of the British army before the German advance was compared to the pursuit of a wildcat by houndSc the English force backing stubbornly toward the River Oise, constantly showing its teeth, but realizing that it must reach the river or perish. The report of Field Marshal French created much surprise in England, as it was not known until his statement was made public just how hard pressed the British army had been. The communication was addressed to Earl Kitchener, the secretary for war, and its publication indicated that the gov- ernment was responding to the public demand for fuller infor- mation on the progress of operations, so far as the British forces in France were concerned. The report, as published in the London Gazette, the official organ, was as follows : FIELD MABSHAL FRENCH 's EEPOET **The transportation of the troops from England by rail and sea was effected in the best order and without a check. Concentration was practically completed on the evening of Friday, August 21, and I was able to make dispositions to move the force during Saturday to positions I considered most favorable from w^hich to commence the operations which General Joffre requested me to undertake. The line extended along the line of the canal from Conde on the west, through Mons and Binche on the east. "During August 22 and 23 the advance squadrons did some excellent work, some of them penetrating as far as Soig- nies (a town of Belgium ten miles northeast of Mons) and several encounters took place in which our troops showed to great advantage. *'0n Sunday, the 23d, reports began to come in to the effect that the enemy was commencing an attack on the Mons line, apparently in some strength, but that the right of the position from Mons was being particularly threatened. "The commander of the First Corps had pushed his flank back to some high ground south of Bray and the Fifth Cavalry evacuated Binche, moving slightly south. The enemy there- upon occupied Binche. EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR 147 ''The right of the third division under General Hamilton was at Mons, which formed a somewhat dangerous salient and I directed the commander of the Second Corps if threat- ened seriously to draw back the center behind Mons. *'In the meantime, about five in the afternoon, I received a most unexpected message from General Joffre by telegraph, telling me that at least three German corps were moving on uiy position in front and that a second corps was engaged in a turning movement from the direction of Tournai. He also informed me that the two reserve French divisions and the Fifth French Army Corps on my right were retiring. CHOSE A NEW POSITION" ''In view of the possibility of my being driven from the Mons position, I had previously ordered a position in the rear to be reconnoitered. ''This position rested on the fortress of Maubeuge on the right and extended west to Jenlain, southeast of Valenciennes on the left. The position was reported diflficult to hold be- cause standing crops and buildings limited the fire in many important localities. "When the news of the retirement of the French and the heavy German threatening on my front reached me, I endeav- ored to confirm it by aeroplane reconnoissance, and as a result of this I determined to effect a retirement to the Maubeuge position at daybreak on the 24th. "A certain amount of fighting continued along the whole line throughout the night and at daybreak on the 24th the second division from the neighborhood of Harmignies made a powerful demonstration as if to retake Binche. This was supported by the artillery of both the first and the second divisions while the first division took up a supporting posi- tion in the neighborhood of Peissant Under cover of this demonstration the Second Corps retired on the line of Dour, Quarouble and Frameries. The third division on the right of the corps suffered considerable loss in this operation from the enemy, who had retaken Mons. "The Second Corps halted on this line, where they in- trenched themselves, enabling Sir Douglas Haig, with the First Corps, to withdraw to the new position. 148 EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR NIGHT ATTACK ON THE LEFT ^ * * Toward midnight the enemy appeared to be directing his principal effort against our left. I had previously ordered General Allenby with the cavalry to act vigorously in advance of my left front and endeavor to take the pressure off. ''About 7:30 in the morning General Allenby received a message from Sir Charles Fergusson, commanding the fifth di\dsion, saying he was very hard pressed and in urgent need of support. On receipt of this message General Allenby drew in his cavalry and endeavored to bring direct support to the fifth division. ''During the course of this operation General DeLisle of the Second Cavalry Brigade thought he saw a good oppor- tunity to paralyze the further advance of the enemy's infan- try by making a mounted attack on his flank. He formed up and advanced for this purpose, but was held up by wire about 500 yards from his objective. GENERAL SIVHTH-DOERIEN IN RETREAT ' ' The Nineteenth Infantry Brigade was brought by rail to Valenciennes on the 22d and 23d. On the morning of the 24th, they w^ere moved out to a position south of Quarouble to sup- port the left flank of the Second Corps. With the assistance of cavalry Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien was enabled to effect his retreat to a new position. "At nightfall a position was occupied by the Second Corps to the west of Bavay, the First Corps to the right. The right was protected by the fortress of Maubeuge, the left by the Nineteenth Brigade in position between Jenlain and Bavay and cavalry on the outer flank. The French w^ere still retir- ing and I had no support except such as was afforded by the fortress of Maubeuge. ARMY IN GREAT PERIL "I felt that not a moment must be lost in retiring to an- other position. I had every reason to believe that the enemy's forces were somewhat exhausted and I knew that they had suffered heavy losses. The operation, however, was full of danger and difficulty, not only owing to the very superior forces in my front, but also to the exhaustion of the troops. EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR 149 **Tlie retirement was recommenced in tlie early morning of the 25tli to a position in the neighborhood of Le Cateau and the rear guard were ordered to be clear of Maubeuge and Bavay by 5 :30 a. m. **The fourth division commenced its detrainment at Le Cateau on Sunday, August 23, and by the morning of the 25th eleven battalions and a brigade of artillery with the divisional staff were available for service. I ordered General Snow to move out to take up a position with his right south of So- lesmes, his left resting on the Cambrai-Le Cateau road south of La Chapriz. In this position the division rendered great help. ''Although the troops had been ordered to occupy Cam- brai-Le Cateau-Landrecies position and ground had, during the 25th, been partially prepared and entrenched, I had grave doubts as to the wisdom of standing there to fight. * ' Having regard to the continued retirement of the French right, my exposed left flank, the tendency of the enemy's western corps to envelop me, and, more than all, the exhausted condition of the troops, I determined to make a great effort to continue the retreat till I could put some substantial obsta- cle, such as the Somme or the Oise between my troops and the enemy. EETEEAT IS ORDERED ** Orders were therefore sent to the corps commanders to continue their retreat as soon as they possibly could toward the general line of Vermand, St. Quentin and Ribemont, and the cavalry under General Allenby were ordered to cover the retirement. Throughout the 25th and far into the evening the First Corps continued to march on Landrecies, following the road along the eastern border of the forest of Mormal, and arrived at Landrecies about 10 o 'clock. I had intended that the corps should come further west so as to fill up the gap between Le Cateau and Landrecies, but the men were exhausted and could not get further in without a rest. ' ' The enemy, however, would not allow them this rest and about 9:30 that evening the report was received that the Fourth Guards brigade in Landrecies was heavily attacked 150 EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR by troops of the Ninth German army corps, who were coming through the forest to the north of the town. FRENCH AID IS GIVEN ** At the same time information reached me from Sir Dong- las Haig that his first division was also heavily engaged south and east of Marilles. I sent urgent messages to the com- mander of two French reserve divisions on my right to come up to the assistance of the First Corps, which they eventually did. '*By about 6 in the afternoon the Second Corps had got into position, with their right on Le Cateau, their left in the neighborhood of Caudry, and the line of defense was con- tinued thence by the fourth division toward Seranvillers. ** During the fighting on the 24th and 25th the cavalry became a good deal scattered, but by early morning of the 26th General Allenby had succeeded in concentrating two brigades to the south of Cambrai. ' * On the 24th the French cavalry corps, consisting of three divisions under General Sordet, had been in billets, north of Avesnes On my way back from Vavay, which was my poste de commandemente during the fighting of the 23d and the 24th, I visited General Sordet and earnestly requested his co- operation and support. He promised to obtain sanction from his army commander to act on my left flank, but said that his horses were too tired to move before the next day. "Although he rendered me valuable assistance later on in the course of the retirement, he was unable for the reasons given to afford me any support on the most critical day of all — namely, the 26th. GERMANS USE HEAVY GUNS **At daybreak it became apparent that the enemy was thromng the bulk of his strength against the left of the posi- tion occupied by the Second Corps and the fourth division. At this time the guns of four German army corps were in posi- tion against them, and Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien reported to me that he judged it impossible to continue his retirement at daybreak. **I sent him orders to use his utmost endeavors to break EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR 151 off. the action and retire at the earliest possible moment, as it was impossible for me to send him support. ''The French cavalry corps under General Sordet was coming up on our left rear early in the morning, and I sent him an urgent message to do his utmost to come up and sup- port the retirement of my left flank, but owing to the fatigue of his horses he found himself unable to intervene in any way. "There had been no time to intrench the position properly, but the troops showed a magnificent front to the terrible fire which confronted them. AEMY FACED AKNIHELATIOIT **At length it became apparent that if complete annihila- tion VMS to be avoided retirement must be attempted, and the ordej^ was given to commence it about 3 :30 in the afternoon. The movement was covered with most devoted intrepidity and determination by the artillery, which had itself suffered heavily, and the fine work done by the cavalry in the further retreat from the position assisted materially the final comple- tion of this most difficult and dangerous operation. ' ' I cannot close the brief account of this glorious stand of the British troops without putting on record my deep appre- ciation of the valuable services rendered by Sir Horace Smith- Dorrien. I say without hesitation that the saving of the left wing of the army under my command on the morning of the 26th could never have been accomphshed unless a commander of rare and unusual coolness, intrepidity and determination had been present to personally conduct the operations. *'The retreat was continued far into the night of the 26th and through the 27th and the 28th, on which date the troops halted on the liae from Noyon, Chauny and LeFere. PRAISES SOEDEt's HELP "On the 27th and 28th I was rtiuch indebted to General Sordet and the French cavalry division which he commands for materially assisting my retirement and successfully driv- ing back some of the enemy on Cambrai. General d'Amade also, with the Sixty-first and Sixty-second Reserve divisions, moved down from the neighborhood of Arras on the enemy's 152 EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR right flank and took much pressure off the rear of the British forces. *'This closed the period covering the heavy fighting which commenced at Mons on Sunday afternoon, August 23, and which really constituted a four days' battle. "I deeply deplore the very serious losses which the Brit- ish forces suffered in this great battle, but they were inevi- table, in view of the fact that the British army — only a few days after concentration by rail — was called upon to with- stand the vigorous attack of five German army corps. *'It is impossible for me to speak too highly of the skill evinced by the two general ofiicers commanding army corps, the self-sacrificing and devoted exertions of their staffs, the direction of troops by the divisional, brigade and regimental leaders, the command of small units by their officers and the magnificent fighting spirit displayed by the noncommissioned officers and men. [Signed] ** J. D. P. French, ** Field Marshal." TOLD BY A WOUNDED SOLDIER A British soldier, who was wounded in the fight during the retreat from Mons, told the following story of the battle there : *^It was Sunday, August 23, and the British regiments at Mons were merry-making and enjoying themselves in lei- sure along the streets. Belgian ladies, returning from church, handed the soldiers their prayer books as souvenirs, while the Belgian men gave the men cigarettes and tobacco. ** About noon, when the men were beginning to think about dinner, a German aeroplane appeared overhead and began throwing out a cloud of black powder, which is one of their favorite methods of assisting batteries to get the range. **No sooner had the powder cloud appeared than shrapnel began to burst overhead and in a nr&ment all was confusion and uproar. But it didn't take the regiments long to get into fighting trim and race through the city to the scene of opera- tions, which was on the other side of the small canal, in the suburbs. EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAH 153 <<' 'Here our outposts were engaging the enemy fiercely. The outposts lost very heavily, most of the damage being done by shells. The rifle fire was ineffective, although at times the lines of contenders were not more than 300 yards apart. *'The first reinforcements to arrive were posted in a glass factory, the walls of which were loop-holed, and we doggedly held that position until nightfall, when we fixed bayonets and lay in wait in case the enemy made an attempt to rush the po- sition in the darkness. DESTEOY BRIDGES BEHIND THEM *' About midnight orders came to retire over the canal and two companies were left behind to keep the enemy in check temporarily. After the main body had crossed the bridge was blown up, leaving the two outpost companies to get across as best they could by boats or swimming. Most of them man- aged to reach the main body again. "The main body retired from the town and fell back through open country, being kept moving all night. When daylight arrived it was apparent from higher ground that Mons had been practically blown away by the German artil- lery. ''Throughout the morning we continued to fight a rear- guard action, but the steady march in retreat did not stop until 6 o'clock in the evening, when the British found them- selves well out of range of the German artillery in a quiet valley. "Here all the troops were ordered to rest and eat. As they had been without food since the previous morning's breakfast it was rather amusing to see the soldiers going into the turnip fields and eating turnips as though they were apples. "At 8 o'clock all lights were extinguished, the soldiers were ordered to make no noise and the pickets pushed a long distance backward. Long before dawn the troops were hastily started again and continued the retirement. "By noon the enemy was again heard from and a large detachment was assigned the task of fighting to protect our rear. 154 EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR WATCH DUEL IN AIB *'Dnring the afternoon both the German and British armies watched a duel in the air between French and German aeroplanes. The Frenchman was wonderfully clever, and succeeded in maneuvering himself to the upper position, which he gained after fifteen minutes of reckless effort. Then the Frenchman began blazing away at the German with a revolver. ''Finally he hit him, and the wounded German attempted to glide down into his own lines. The glide, however, ended in the British lines near my detachment, the West Kent In- fantry. We found the aviator dead when we reached the ma- chine. We buried him and burned the aeroplane. ''At dusk a halt was made for food, and as the Germans had fallen behind the English spent a quiet night. At dawn, however, we found the Germans close to our heels, and several regiments were ordered to prepare intrenchments. This is tedious and tiresome work, especially in the heat and with- out proper food, but we quickly put up fortifications which were sufficient to protect us somewhat from the artillery fire. "It was not long before the German gunners found the range and began tearing up those rough fortifications, con- centrating their fire on the British batteries, one of which was completely demolished. Another found itself with only six men. Both these disasters bore testimony to the excellent markmanship of the German gunners. OFFICER SPIKES THE GUNS **As it became evident that we must leave these guna be- hind and continue the retreat, an officer was seen going around putting the guns out of action, so that they would be of no use to the Germans. His action required cool bravery, be- cause the Germans, having found the range, continued firing directly at these batteries. "Things rapidly got hotter, and the commanding officer ordered a double-quick retreat. We were not long in doing the retiring movement to save our own skins. **I was wounded at this time by a Maxim bullet. For a EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR 155 moment I tliouglit my head had been blown off, but I recov- ered and kept on running until I reached a trench, where I had an opportunity to bandage the wound. I rushed off to the ambulances, but found the doctors so busy with men worse off than I that I went back to my place in the line." THE BATTLE AT CHAELEEOI The loss of life in the Franco-German battle near Char- ier oi was admittedly the greatest of any engagement up to that time. It was at Charleroi that the Germans struck their most terrific blow at the allies' lines in their determination to gain the French frontier. Though the tide of battle ebbed and flowed for awhile the French were finally forced to give way and to retreat behind their own frontier, while the Brit- ish were being forced back from their position at Mons. The fighting along the line was of the fiercest kind. It was a titanic clash of armies in which the allies were compelled to yield ground before the superior numbers of the German host. One of the wounded, who was taken to hospital at Dieppe, said of the fighting at Charleroi : ''Our army was engaging what we believed to be a sec- tion of the German forces commanded by the crown prince when I was wounded. The Germans at one stage of the bat- tle seemed lost. They had been defending themselves almost entirely with howitzers from strongly intrenched positions. The Germans were seemingly surrounded and cut off and were summoned to surrender. The reply came back that so long as they had ammunition they would continue to fight. "The howitzer shells of the Germans seemed enormous things and only exploded when they struck the earth. When one would descend it would dig a hole a yard deep and split into hundreds of pieces. Peculiarly enough the howitzer shells did much more wounding than killing. The other shells of the Germans, like cartridges, the supply of which they seemed to be short of, did only little damage. AEEOS CONSTANTLY ABOVE ''The German aeroplane service was perfect. An air- craft was always hovering over us out of range. We were certain within an hour after we sighted an aeroplane to get 156 EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR the howitzers among us. Whenever we fired, however, we did terrific execution with our seventy-five pieces of artillery. I counted in one trench 185 dead. Many of them were killed as they were in the act of firing or loading. **The ground occupied by the Germans was so thick with dead that I believe I saw one soldier to every two yards. You might have walked for a mile on bodies without ever putting foot to the ground. They buried their dead when they had time, piling fifteen or twenty in a shallow pit." THE FKENCH IN ALSACE-LORRAINE On August 9 the advance guard brigade of the French right wing, under General Pau, a veteran of the Franco-Prus- sian war of 1870-71, invaded Alsace, fought a victorious action with an intrenched German force of equal numbers and occu- pied Muelhausen and Kolmar. The news of the French entry into the pro\4nce lost in 1871 was received all over France with wild enthusiasm. The mourning emblems on the Stras- burg monument in Paris were removed by the excited popu- lace and replaced by the tricolor flag and flowers in token of their joy. Muelhausen was soon after retaken by the Ger- man forces, only to be recaptured later by the French and then evacuated once more. On the day of the first French occupation of Muelhausen France declared war against Austria in consequence of the arrival of two Austrian army corps on the Rhine to assist the main German army. After the French occupation of Muelhausen a large Ger- man army was sent to the front in Alsace-Lorraine and suc- ceeded in dislodging the French from that city, but not with- out severe fighting. Two weeks after the war began the French defeated a Bavarian corps in Alsace and for awhile General Pau more than held his own in that former province of France. On August 21 the Germans drove back the French who had in- vaded Lorraine, and occupied Luneville, ten miles inside the French border. About the same time the French reoccupied Muelhausen, EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR 157 after three days* fighting around the city. Another French army was reported to be within nineteen miles of Metz. But before the end of the month the French had been compelled to evacuate both their former provinces. They continued during September, however, to make frequent assaults on the German frontier positions, but without regaining a sure foothold on German soil, the bulk of their eiforts being de- voted to the defense of their own frontier strongholds. FIGHTING ABOUND NANCY An official dispatch from the foreign office in Paris, dated August 28, said: ''Yesterday the French troops took the offensive in the Vosges mountains and in the region between the Vosges and Nancy, and their offensive has been interrupted, but the Ger- man loss has been considerable. *'Our forces found, near Nancy, on a front of three kilo- meters, 2,500 dead Germans, and near Vitrimont, on a front of four kilometers, 4,500 dead. Longwy, where the garrison consisted of only one battalion, has capitulated to the Crown Prince of Germany after a siege of twenty-four days." FRENCH TRAPPED IN ALSACE The German view of early operations in Alsace-Lor- raine was given in the following dispatch September 2 from the headquarters of the general staff at Aix-la-Chapelle : *'The French forces were trapped in Alsace-Lorraine. Realizing that the French temperament was more likely to be swayed by sentiment than by stern adherence to the rules of actual warfare, the German staff selected its own battle line and waited. The French did not disappoint. They rushed across the border. They took Altkirch with little oppo- sition. Then they rushed on to Muelhausen. Through the passes in the Vosges mountains they poured, hdrrse, artillery, foot — all branches of the service. Strasburg was to fall and so swift was the French movement that Imes of communi- cation were not guarded. "Then the German general staff struck. Their troops from Saarburg, from Strasburg and from Metz, under the command of General von Heeringen, attacked the French all 158 EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR along the line. They were utterly crushed. The Germans took 10,000 Frenchmen prisoners and more than one hundred guns of every description. Alsace-Lorraine is now reported absolutely cleared of French troops. ''The armies of Crown Prince Frederick Wilhelm and of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria are moving in an irre- sistible manner into France. In a 3-day battle below Metz the French were terribly cut up and forced to retreat in al- most a rout. It is declared that in this engagement the French lost 151 guns and were unable to make a stand against the vic- torious Germans until they had passed inside of their sec- ondary line of defense." THE GERMAN "SPY POSTERS " Just prior to the declaration of war, cable dispatches from Paris told of a remarkable series of posters dotting the coun- tryside of France. These posters, innocently advertising "Bouillon Kub," a German soup preparation, were so clev- erly printed by the German concern advertising the soup, that they woufd act as signals to German army ofiS;cers lead- ing their troops through France. In one of our photographic illustrations, one of these "spy posters" is seen posted on the left of an archway past Vv'hich the French soldiers are marching en route to meet the Germans near the Alsace frontier. The ingenuity of the signs was remarkable. Thus a square yellow poster would carry the information, "Food in abun- dance found here," while a round red sign would advertise, ' ' This ground is mined. ' ' Many geometrical figures and most of the colors were utilized, and animal forms, flowers and even the American Stars and Stripes were employed to con- vey their messages of information. The French Minister of the Interior got wind of the sys- tem, and orders were telegraphed throughout France to de- stroy these posters. Bouillon Kub, therefore, is no longer ad- vertised in France. A SOLDIER *S EXPERIENCE TJNDER FIRE A wounded French soldier described his experiences un- der fire during the Alsace campaign. He said in part : EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR 159 ** There! A blow in the breast, a tearing in the body, a fall with a loud cry and a terrible pain; there I lay one of the victims of this terrible day. My j&rst sensation was anger at the blow, my second an expectation of seeing myself ex- plode, for, judging by the sound of the ball, I believed I had a grenade in my body; then came the pain, and with it help- lessness and falling. **0h, how frightful are those first moments! Where I was hit, how I was wounded, I could form no idea; I only felt that I could not stir, saw the battalion disappear from sight and myself alone on the ground, amid the fearful howl- ing and whistling of the balls which were incessantly striking the ground around me. ''With difficulty could I turn my head a little, and saw behind me two soldiers attending on a third, who was lying on the ground. Of what happened I can give no account except that I cried for help several times as well as I could, for the pain and burning thirst had the upper hand. At last both of them ran to me, and with joy I recognized the doctor and hospital attendant of my company. " 'Where are you wounded?' was the first question. I could only point. My blouse was quickly opened, and in the middle of the breast a bloody wound was found. The balls still constantly whizzed around us; one struck the doctor's helmet, and immediately I felt a violent blow on the left arm. Another wound ! With difficulty I was turned round, to look for the outlet of the bullet ; but it was still in my body, near the spine. At last it was cut out. They were going away — ' The wound in the arm, doctor. ' This, fortunately, was looked for in vain ; the ball had merely caused a blue spot and had sunk harmlessly into the ground. "I extended my hand to the doctor and thanked him, as also the attendant, whom I commissioned to ask the sergeant to send word to my family. The doctor had carefully placed my cloak over me, with my helmet firmly on my head, in order in some measure to protect me from the leaden hail. "Thus I lay alone with my own thoughts amid the most terrible fire for perhaps an hour and a half. All my thoughts, as far as pain and increasing weakness allowed, were fixed on 160 EARLY BATTLES OF THE WAR my family. Gradually I got accustomed to the danger which surrounded me, and only when too much sand from the strik- ing bullets was thrown on my body did I remember my little enviable position. At last, after long, long waiting, the sani- tary detachment came for me." THE REAL TRAGEDY OF WAR It is not a pleasant picture — this story of the French sol- dier. It has little in it of the grandeur, the beat of drums, the sound of martial music, which is supposed to accompany war. The tread of marching feet has died away, the excite- ment is gone, and man the demon is supplanted by man the everyday human creature of suffering and home folks and fear. It is only a personal account of an individual experience, yet in it may be found the real significance and the real trag- edy of war ; for, after the fighting is over, after the intoxica- tion of legalized murder has gone, after nations turn their attention from victories to men, it is the aggregate of indi- vidual experiences which counts the costs of war. Thousands of German, French, Belgian, Austrian, Rus- sian, and British men in the prime of life have been miserably slain and lie in obscure graves of which the enemy now is the guardian, while others writhe in the agony of lingering wounds or sullenly brood over their fate in the dull routine of mili- tary prisons. In every part of the warring countries mothers weep over the sons they shall see no more, and wives over the husbands snatched from them forever. In many a man- sion, in many a comfortable home, in many a peasant's cot- tage, the empty chair is eloquent of the absent father, brother, husband or son who shall be absent forever. CHAPTER T GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS dllies Withdraw for Ten Days, Disputing Every IncH of Grou/nd With the Kaiser's Troops— Germans Push Their Way Through France in Three Main Columns — Official Reports of the Withdrawing Engagements — Paris Almost in Sight. FLUSHED with their successes over the Allies at Mons and Charleroi, the Germans pushed their advance toward the French capital with great celerity and vigor. During the last week of August and the first few days of Septi^mber, it appeared inevitable that the experience of Paris in 1870-71 was to be repeated and that a siege of the city by the German forces would follow immediately. It was conceded that the armies of the Allies had been forced back and that Paris was endangered. The German advance was general, all along the line. The flower of the Kaiser's army had marched through Belgium and pushed back the lines of the Allies to the formidable rows of forti- fications that surround Paris. The Germans advanced in three main columns, constantly in touch with one another, from the right, passing through Mons, Cambrai and Amiens, to the extreme left in Lorraine. The center threatened Ver- dun, and from that point the right advance swept through Northern France like an opening fan, with the fortress of Verdun as the pivot. Three million men were engaged in the main struggle. When the Germans first reached the Franco-Belgian frontier near Charleroi they were opposed by 700,000 French and 150,- 000 British troops. After being driven back the Allies began 161 162 GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS assembling 1,000,000 men between the frontier and Paris. The Allies hoped to hold the whole German army in check while the Russians pursued their successes in eastern Grer- many. French troops guarded the entire frontier, batthng to check the other German invading columns. The holding of the Germans, once they broke through the fortifications that formed the cliief reliance of the French, would be impossible. The next stand would be around Paris, which was well forti- fied. The invaders were, of course, attempting to get through where there were no forts. ALLIES MAKE STRENUOUS EESISTANCB Strenuous resistance to the onward movement of the Grer- man enemy was made by the Allies from day to day, but for a period of ten days there was an almost continual retire- ment of the French and British upon Paris. It was in fact a masterly retreat, but a retreat nevertheless. From the line of La Fere and Mezieres, occupied by the Allies after the bat- tles at Mons and Charleroi, they fell back 70 miles m seven days, disputing every step of the way, but withdrawing grad- ually to the line of defenses around the French capital. From Cambrai the Germans pushed through Amiens to Beauvais ; from Peronne to Roye, Montdidier, Creil, and on to the forest of Chantilly. From the region of Le Gateau and St. Quen- tin the German advance was by Noyon to Compiegne (famous for its memories of Joan of Arc's famous sortie), at which point the Allies made a desperate stand and the Germans had to fight for every inch of ground. They then passed through Senlis, which was first bombarded, down to Meaux, almost within sight of Paris, the head of the German ai-my resting on a line between Beaumont, Meaux and La Ferte, at which point the resistance of the Allies finally forced a change in German plans. Other German forces passed through Laon, Soissons and Chateau Thierry. Farther to the east, the road from Meziereg led the Germans to Rheims, Mourmelon, and opposite Chalons on the River Mame. Another German army from the direction of Longwy, under the command of the Crown Prince, was operating tnrough Suippes and on the wooded Argonne plateau, with GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS 163 its five passes, famous in the action of 1792 which preceded the battle of Vahny. At the entrance to this hilly country stands the little town of Sainte Menehould, where there was severe fighting with the French. Here the German Crown Prince made Ms headquarters. The great plain of the Argonne is full of most wonderful ecclesiastical buildings and many magnificent cathedrals, townhalls and ancient fortresses were passed by the warring armies in their advance and withdrawal, some of these his- toric structures sustaining irreparable damage. The German advance continued southward toward Paris until September 4. EELENTLESS PURSUIT OF THE BRITISH All reports agree that during the retirement of the Allies, the Germans pursued the British headquarters staff with un- canny precision throughout the ten days from Mons back to Compiegne. After fierce street fighting in Denain and Lan- drecies Sir John French withdrew his headquarters to Le Cateau, which was at once made the target of a terrific bom- bardment. The town caught fire, burning throughout one night, and the British headquarters had to be evacuated, this time in favor of St. Quentin, in the local college. Here the same thing happened and Field Marshal French was com- pelled once more to retire, to the neighborhood of Com- piegne. In an official report issued on Sunday, September 6, it is stated that, ''The 5th French army on August 29 advanced from the line of the Oise Eiver to meet and counter the Ger- man forward movement and a considerable battle developed to the south of Guise. In this the 5th French army gained a marked and solid success, driving back with heavy loss and in disorder three German army corps, the 10th, the Guard, and a reserve corps. In spite of this success, however, and all the benefits which flowed from it, the general retirement to the south continued and the German armies, seeking persist- ently after the British troops, remained in practically con- tinuous contact with the rearguards. ''On August 30 and 31 the British covering and delaying troops were frequently engaged, and on September 1 a very 164 GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS vigorous effort was made bj^ the Germans, which brought about a sharp action in the neighborhood of Compiegne. This action was fought principally by the 1st British Cavalry Bri- gade and the 4th Guards Brigade and was entirely satisfactory to the British. The German attack, which was most strongly pressed, was not brought to a standstill until much slaughter had been inflicted upon them and until ten Geiman guns had been captured. The brunt of this affair fell upon the Guards Brigade, which lost in killed and wounded about 300 men." This affair was typical of the numerous rearguard en- gagements fought by both the British and the French forces during their retirement. MASTEBLY TACTICS IN BETIEING Pressing hard upon the rear of the Allies for ten days was the greatest military machine that has ever been assembled in one cohesive force. Through Belgium had poured nearly 2,000,000 German troops, made up of about 800,000 first-Une soldiers and more than 1,000,000 reserves. The twenty-six- hour march of part of the German army through Brussels was stunning evidence of the might of the **war machine,'* and despite fierce fighting all the way, the great army had never faltered in its 150-mile advance in Belgium. But the numerical might of the German advance was matched by the masterly tactics of the Allies in retiring. By these tactics, in which General Joffre, the French commander- in-chief, co-operated with the British field-marshal, Sir John French, the Allies prevented their lines being overwhelmed by the superior numbers of their foe, but the German right flank and center, strung out over a line more than 150 miles long, northeast of Paris, kept smashing on. Losses were frightfully heavy, but the Kaiser's order was **Take Paris I'* It was believed certain that the German general staff had staked everything on investing Paris immediately, by com- pletely breaking down the opposition massed between the Ger- man lines and the city. Paris had therefore prepared for the siege, with her great circles of forts strengthened and her food supply replenished. Many of the residents fled the city in panic, fearing a repetition of the dread days of 1871, with their privation and distress, but the spirit of the French peo- GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS 165 pie generally remained unshaken and General Gallieni, mili- tary governor of Paris, assumed complete control of the situ- ation in the city. GOVEENMENT MOVED TO BOKDEAUX On August 26 the French cabinet had resigned in a body and it was reconstructed on broader lines under Premier yiviani to meet the demands of the national emergency. ^ German troops were reported within 40 miles of Paris on September 3, and at 3 A. M. of that day a proclamation was issued by President Poincare, announcing that the seat of government would be temporarily transferred from Paris to Bordeaux. The minister of the interior stated that this de- cision had been taken * ' solely upon the demand of the military authorities because the fortified places of Paris, while not necessarily likely to be attacked, would become the pivot of the field operations of the two armies. ' * The text of President Poincare 's proclamation was as follows : * * ENDURE AND FIGHT ! " "Frenchmen: For several weeks our heroic troops have been engaged in the fierce combat with the enemy. The cour- age of our soldiers has won for them a number of marked ad- vantages. But in the north the pressure of the German forces has constrained us to retire. This situation imposes on the president of the Eepublic and the government a painful de- cision. "To safeguard the national safety the public authorities are obliged to leave for the moment the city of Paris. Under the command of its eminent chief, the French army, full of courage and spirit, will defend the capital and its patriotic population against the invader. But the war must be pursued at the same time in the rest of the French territory. "The sacred struggle for the honor of the nation and the reparation of violated rights will continue without peace or truce and without a stop or a failure. None of our armies has been broken. "If some of them have suffered only too evident losses, the gaps in the ranks have been filled up from the waiting reserve 166 GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS forces, while the calling out of a new class of reserves brings us tomorrow new resources in men and energy. ** Endure and fight! Such should be the motto of the allied army, British, Russians, Belgians and French. * ' Endure and fight ! While on the sea our allies aid us to cut the enemy's communications with the world. "Endure and fight! While the Russians continue to carry a decisive blow to the heart of the German empire. * * It is for the government of this republic to direct this re- sistance to the very end and to give to this formidable struggle all its vigor and efficiency. It is indispensable that the government retain the masteiy of its own actions. On the demand of the military authorities the government there- fore transfers its seat momentarily to a point of the territory whence it may remain in constant relations with the rest of the country. It invites the members of parhament not to remain distant from the government, in order to form, in the face of the enemy, with the government and their colleagues, a group of national unity. **The government does not leave Paris without having as- sured a defense of the city and its entrenched camp by all means in its power. It knows it has not the need to recom- mend to the admirable Parisian population a calm resolution and sangfroid, for it shows every day it is equal to its great- est duties. *' Frenchmen, let us all be worthy of these tragic circum- stances. We shall gain a final \ictory and we shall gain it by untiring will, endurance and tenacity. A nation that will not perish, and which, to live, retreats before neither suffering nor sacrifice, is sure to vanquish." The removal of the French government departments to Bordeaux was accomplished within twenty-four hours and the southern city became at once a center of remarkable ac- tivity. Ambassador Herrick, representing the United States, remained in Paris to render aid to his fellow-countrjonen who w^ere seeking means of returning to America and were more than ever anxious to get away when a state of siege became imminent. GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS 167 A radical change in the French military operations was put in effect after the Germans had swept in from Belgium, and had taken the cities of Lille, Roubaix, and Longwy. The French army had attempted to strike and shatter the Germans at their weakest point, and failed. Paris prepared for the worst when the Kaiser's conquer- ing army reached La Fere, about seventy miles away. From Amiens to La Fere the Germans pressed their attack hardest. As the Allies were seen to be gradually falling back, reserve troops were assembled in Paris and the forts put in readiness for siege. THE FORTIFICATIONS OF PARIS Paris has one of the strongest fortification systems of any city in the world. The siege of the giant city would be a much greater undertaking than forty-four years ago, as the forti- MAP OP TSESCH C&PITAL, WITH SIABS DTDICATHIO POSmBH OF FOBTTnCATIOIfS. 168 GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS fications liave been essentially augmented and strengthened since the Franco-Prussian war. The fortifications consist of the old city walls, the old belt of forts and the new enceinture of the fortified camps, which have been advanced far outside of the reach of the old forts. The main w^all, ten meters (33 feet) high, consists of ninety- four bastions and is surrounded by a ditch fifteen meters wide. Behind the wall a ringroad and a belt line run around the city. The belt of old forts surrounds this main fortification of the city at a little distance and consists of not less than six- teen forts. Those farthest advanced are hardly half a mile distant from the main wall. The experiences of the last war, the immense progress of the artillery, and especially the wider reach of the modern siege guns induced the French army authorities to build a belt of still stronger forts, which surrounds the old fortress of 1870 like a protective net. The forts, redoubts and batteries belonging to this last belt of fortifications are situated at least two miles from the city limits proper, and even Versailles is taken into this belt of fortifications. The circumference of the circle formed by them is 124 kilometers (nearly 77 miles) and the space included in it amounts to 1,200 square kilometers. This new belt of fortifi- cations consists of seven forts of the first class, sixteen forts of the second class and fifty redoubts or batteries, which are connected with each other by the ''Great Belt Line," of 113 kilometers (71 miles). FORM LARGE FORTIFIED CAMPS The strongest of these forts form fortified camps, large enough to give protection to strong armies and also the pos- sibihty for a new reconcentration. There are three of these camps. The northern camp includes the fortifications from the Fort de Cormeilles on the left to the Fort de Stains on the right wing, with the forts of the first class, Cormeilles and Domont, and the forts of the second class, Montlignon, Montmorency, Ecouen and Stains, and it is protected in the rear by the strong forts in the vicinity of St. Denis. The eastern camp goes from the Ourcq canal and the forest of Bondy to the Seine, and its main strongholds are the forts of GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS 169 Vaujours and Villeneuve-St. Georges, with the smaller forts of Chelles, Villiers, Champigny and Sully. On the left bank of the Seine the southwestern camp is situated, including Versailles, whose main forts are those of St. Cyr, Haut-Buc, Villeras and Palaiseau, to which the large redubt of Bois d'Arcy and the forts of Chatillon and Hautes- Bruyeres, situated a little to the rear, belong likewise. ^ To invest this strongest fortress of tiie world the line of the Germans ought to have a length of 175 kilometers and to its continuous occupation, even if the ring of the investing masses were not very deep, a much greater number of troops would be necessary than were used in 1870 for the siege of Paris. GERMAN AMMUNITION CAPTURED A correspondent at Nanteuil, September 12, thus described the capture of a German ammunition column while the Ger- mans were feeling their way toward Paris: ''The seven-kilometer column was winding its way along Crepy-en-Valois when General Pau sent cavalry and artillery to intercept it. The column was too weakly guarded to cope with the attack, and so was captured and destroyed. This capture had an important bearing on the subsequent fighting. ** A noticeable feature of the operations has been the splen- did marching quahties of the French troops. This was dis- played especially when two divisions, which were sent to intercept the expected attempt of the Germans to invest Paris, covered eighty kilometers (49i/^ miles) in two stages." ALLIES PLAN TO PROTECT PARIS The plan of the Allies on September 1 was to make a deter- mined stand before Paris, in the effort to protect the city from the horrors of a siege. With their left wing resting on the strongly fortified line of the Paris forts and with their right wing strengthened by the defensive line from Verdun to Bel- fort, they would occupy a position' of enormous military strength. If the Germans concentrated to move against their front the French reserve armies could assemble west of the Seine, move forward and attack the German invading columns in flank. 170 GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS If in their effort to continue the great turning movement the Germans pushed forward across the Seine and attempted by encircling Paris to gain the rear of the allied armies, the French could mass their reserve corps behind their center at Bheims, push forward against the weakened German center in an attack that if successful would cut off the German invading columns and expose them to annihilation. Such were the conditions and the possibilities when the German advance reached its climax on September 4. H O t 1 ^ POSITION OF HOSTILE ARMIES, SEPTEMBER 4. 1914 Heavy dotted line denotes battle front of the Allies; lighter line the position of the German Troops. CHAPTER XI. BATTLE op: THE MARNE German Plans Suddenly Changed — Direction of Advcmce Swings to the Southeast When Close to the French Capital — Successful Resistance hy the Allies — The Prolonged Encounter at the Marne — Germans Retreat With Allies in Hot Pursuit for Many Miles. SUDDENLY the German plans were changed. With Paris ahnost in sight, almost within the range of their heavy^ artillery, the German forces on the right of the line on September 4 changed the direction of their advance to a southeasterly course, which would leave Paris to the west. The people of the gay capital, who for several days had been preparing themselves once more for the thunder of the Prus- sian guns, began to breathe more freely, while al] the world wondered at the sudden and spectacular transformation in the conditions of the conflict. What had happened? Why was the advance thus checked and the march on Paris abandoned ? Was it a trick, designed to lead the Allies into a trap? Or were the German troops too exhausted by forced marches and lack of rest to face the determined resistance of the allied forces before Paris? These were the questions on every tongue, on both sides of the Atlantie, while the military experts sought strategic reasons for the change in German plans. When the movement towards the east began the right of the German forces moved through Beaumont and L'Isle towards Meaux, apparently with the intention of avoiding Paris. Their front some twenty-four hours later was found to be extending across the River Marne as far south as Qou- 171 172 ' BATTLE OF THE MARNE lommiers and La Ferte-Gaucher, the two opposing lines at that time stretching between Paris on the left flank and Ver- dim on the right. On Monday, September 7, there came news that the south- ward movement of the German army had been arrested, and that it had been forced back across the Marne to positions where the German right wing curved back from La Ferte- sous-Jouarre along the bank of the River Ourcq, a tributary of the Marne, to the northward of Chateau Thierry. All this territory forms part of the district known as the ''Bassin de Parish ' ' Then came a turn in the tide of war and the German plans were temporarily lost sight of when the AlHes assumed the offensive along the Marne and the Ourcq and the Germans began to fall back. For four days their retreat continued. Ten miles, thirty miles, forty-five miles, back toward the northeast and east the invaders retired and Paris was relieved. The tide of battle had thrown the Germans away from the French capital and Frenchmen believed their retire- ment was permanent. BATTLE OF THE MAKNE Important and interesting details of the battle of the Marne and the movements that preceded it are given in an offitcial report compiled from information sent from the head- quarters of Field Marshal Sir John French (commander-in- chief of the British expeditionary forces), under date of Sep- tember 11. This account describes the movements both of the British force and of the French armies in immediate touch with it. It carries the operations from the 4th to the 10th of September, both days inclusive, and says: **The general position of our troops Sunday, September 6, was south of the Biver Marne, ^^th the French forces in line on our right and left. Practically there had been no change since Saturday, September 5, which marked the end of our army's long retirement from the Belgian frontier through Northern France. **0n Friday, September 4, it became apparent that there was an alteration in the advance of almost the whole of the BATTLE OF THE MARNE 173 jfirst German army. That army since the battle near Mons on the 23d of August had been playing its part in a colossal strategic endeavor to create a Sedan for the Allies by out- flanking and enveloping the left of their whole line so as to encircle and drive both the British and French to the south. THE CHANGE IN GERMAN STRATEGY ** There was now a change in its objective and it was" observed that the German forces opposite the British were beginning to move in a southeasterly direction instead of con- tinuing southwest on to the capital, leaving a strong rear guard along the line of the River Ourcq (which flows south of and joins the Marne at Lizy-sur-Ourcq) to keep off the French Sixth Army, which by then had been formed and was to the northwest of Paris. They were evidently executing what amounted to a flank march diagonally across our front. *' Prepared to ignore the British as being driven out of the fight, they were initiating an effort to attack the left flank of the main French army, which stretched in a long curved line from our right toward the east, and so to carry out against it alone an envelopment which so far had failed against the combined forces of the Allies. ''On Saturday, the 5th, this movement on the part of the Germans was continued and large advance parties crossed the Marne southward at Trilport, Sammeron, La Ferte-sous- Jouarre and Chateau Thierry. There was considerable fight- ing with the French Fifth Army on the French left, which fell back from its position south of the Marne toward the Seine. **0n Sunday large hostile forces crossed the Marne and pushed on through Coulommiers and past the British right, farther to the east. They were attacked at night by the French Fifth, which captured three villages at the point of bayonets. -^ ALLIES TAKE THE OFFENSIVE *'0n Monday, September 7, there was a general advance on the part of the Allies. In this quarter of the field our forces, which had now been reinforced, pushed on in a north- easterly direction in co-operation with the advance of the 174 BATTLE OF THE MARNE French Fifth Army to the north and of the French Sixth Army to the eastward against the German rearguard along the Eiver Ourcq. ** Possibly weakened by the detachment of troops to the eastern theater of operations and reaUzing that the action of the French Sixth Army against the line of Ourcq and the advance of the British placed their own flanking movement in considerable danger of being taken in the rear and on its flank, the Germans on this day commenced to retire toward the northeast. ''This was the first time that these troops had turned back since their attack at Mons a fortnight before and from reports received the order to retreat when so close to Paris was a bitter disappointment. From letters found on dead soldiers there is no doubt there was a general impression among the enemy's troops that they were about to enter Paris. GEKMAN EETREAT IS HASTENED "On Tuesday, September 8, the German movement north- eastward was continued. Their rear guards on the south of the Marne were being pressed back to that river by our troops and by the French on our right, the latter capturing three villages after a hand-to-hand fight and the infliction of severe loss on the enemy. ' ' The fighting along the Ourcq continued on this day and was of the most sanguinary character, for the Germans had massed a great force of artillery along this line. Very few of their infantry were seen by the French. The French Fifth Army also made a fierce attack on the Germans in Montmirail, regaining that place. ''On Wednesday, September 9, the battle between the French Sixth Army and what was now the German flank guard along the Ourcq continued. "The British corps, overcoming some resistance on the River Petit Morin, crossed the Marne in pursuit of the Ger- mans, who now were hastily retreating northwest. One of our corps was delayed by an obstinate defense made by a strong rear guard with machine guns at La Ferte-sous- Jouarre, where the bridge had been destroyed. BATTLE OF THE MARNE 175 ''On Thursday, September 10, the French Sixth Army continued its pressure on the west while the Fifth Army by forced marches reached the line of Chateau Thierry and Dor- mans on the Marne. Our troops also continued the pursuit on the north of the latter river and after a considerable amount of fighting captured some 1,500 prisoners, four guns, six machine guns and fifty transport wagons. "Many of the enemy were killed or wounded and the nu- merous thick woods which dot the country north of the Marne are filled with German stragglers. Most of them appear to have been without food for at least two daj^s. ''Indeed, in this area of the operations, the Germans seem to be demoralized and inclined to surrender in small parties. The general situation appears to be most favorable to the Allies. "Much brutal and senseless damage has been done in the villages occupied by the enemy. Property has been wantonly destroyed. Pictures in chateaus have been ripped up and houses generally have been pillaged. "It is stated on unimpeachable authority also that the inhabitants have been much ill-treated. TRAPPED IN A SUNKEN ROAD "Interesting incidents have occurred during the fighting. On the 10th of September part of our Second Army CorpSy advancing into the north, found itself marching parallel with another infantry force some little distance away. At first it was thought this was another British unit. After some time, however, it was discovered that it was a body of Germans retreating. "Measures promptly were taken to head off the enemy, who were surrounded and trapped in a sunken road, where over 400 men surrendered. "On September 10 a small party uAder a noncommissioned officer was cut off and surrounded. After a desperate resist- ance it was decided to go on fighting to the end. Finally the noncommissioned officer and one man only were left, both of them being wounded. "The Germans came up and shouted to them: 'Lay dowu 176 BATTLE OF THE MARNE your arms!' The German commander, however, signed to them to keep their arms and then asked to shake hands with the wounded noncommissioned officer, who was carried off on his stretcher with his rifle by his side. ** Arrival of reinforcements and the continued advance have delighted our troops, who are full of zeal and anxious to press on. SUCCESS OF THE FLYING CORPS "One of the features of the campaign on our side has been the success obtained by the Eoyal Flying Corps. In regard to the collection of information it is impossible either to award too much praise to our aviators for the way they have car- ried out their duties or to overestimate the value of the intelli- gence collected, more especially during the recent advance. '*In due course certain examples of what has been effected may be specified and the far-reaching nature of the results fully explained, but that time has not arrived. **That the services of our Flying Corps, w^hich has really been on trial, are fully appreciated by our allies is shown by the following message from the commander-in-chief of the French armies, received September 9 by Field Marshal Lord Kitchener : *' 'Please express most particularly to Marshal French my thanks for the services rendered on every day by the English flying corps. The precision, exactitude and regu- larity of the news brought in by its members are evidence of their perfect organization and also of the perfect training of the pilots and the observers. — Joseph Joffre, General.' **To give a rough idea of the amount of work carried out it is sufficient to mention that during a period of twenty days up to the 10th of September a daily average of more than nine reconnaissance flights of over 100 miles each has been main- tained. YITE. GERMAN PH,0TS SHOT **The constant object of our aviators has been to effect an accurate location of the enemy's forces and, incidentally, since the operations cover so large an area, of our own units. Nevertheless, the tactics adopted for dealing with hostile air craft are to attack them instantly with one or more British BATTLE OF THE MARNE 177 macliines. This has been so far successful that in five cases German pilots or observers have been shot while in the air and their machines brought to ground. ** As a consequence the British Flying Corps has succeeded in estabhshing an individual ascendancy which is as service- able to us as it is dangerous to the enemy. **How far it is due to this cause it is not possible at present to ascertain definitely, but the fact remains that the enemy have recently become much less enterprising in their flights. Something in the direction of the mastery of the air already has been gained in pursuance of the principle that the main object of military aviators is the collection of information. ''Bomb dropping has not been indulged in to any great extent. On one occasion a petrol bomb was successfully exploded in a German bivouac at night, while from a diary found on a dead German cavalry soldier it has been discov- ered that a high explosive bomb, thrown at a cavalry column from one of our aeroplanes, struck an ammunition wagon, resulting in an explosion which killed fifteen of the enemy. ' *" LOSSES AT THE MAENE ENORMOUS Some idea of the terrific character of the fighting at the Marne and of the great losses in the prolonged battle may be gained from the following story, telegraphed on September 14 by a correspondent who followed in the rear of the allied army: "General von Kluck's host in coming down over the Marne and the Grand Morin rivers to Sezanne, twenty-five itjiles southwest of Epemay, met little opposition, and I believe little opposition was intended. The Allies, in fact, led tl/eir opponents straight into a trap. The English cavalry led the tired Germans mile after mile, and the Germans believed the Englishmen were running away. When the tre- mendous advance reached Provins' the Allies' plan was. accomplished, and it got no farther. "Fighting Sunday, September 6, was of a terrible char- acter, and began at dawn in the region of La Ferte-Gaucher. Xhe Allies' troops, who were drawn up to receive the Ger- mans, understood it would be their duty to hold on their very 178 BATTLE OF THE MARNE best that the attacking force at Meaux might achieve its task in security. The battle lasted all night and until late Monday. "The Germany artillery fire was very severe, but not accurate. The French and English fought sternly on and slowly beat the enemy back. ''Attempts of the Germans to cross the Mame at Meaux entailed terrible losses. Sixteen attempts were foiled by the French artillery fire directed on the river and in one trench 600 dead Germans were counted. COUNTBY STREWN WITH DEAD * ' The whole country was strewn with the dead and dying. When at last the Germans retired they slackened their rifle fire and in once place retired twelve miles without firing a single shot. One prisoner declared that they were short of ammunition and had been told to spare it as much as possible. ''Monday saw a tremendous encounter on the Ourcq. In one village, which the Germans hurriedly vacated, the French in a large house found a dinner table beautifully set, with candles still burning on the table, where evidently the German staff had been dining. A woman occupant said they fled pre- cipitately. "There was a great deal of hand-to-hand fighting and bayonet work on the Ourcq, which resulted in the terrible Magdeburg regiment beating a retreat. "Monday night General von Kluck's army had been thrown back from the Mame and from the Morin and to the region of Sezanne and his position was serious. Immediate steps were necessary to save his line of communications and retreat. To this end reinforcements were hurried north to the Meaux district and the Ourcq and tremendous efforts were made to break up the French resistance in this section. GERMAN GUNS ARE SILENCED "The second attempt on the Ourcq shared the fate of the first. Though all Monday night and well on into Tuesday the great German guns boomed along this river, the resistance of the allies could not be broken. 'Hold on!' was the com- mand and every man braced himself to obey. While the BATTLE OF THE MAENE 179 Ourcq was being held the struggle of Sezanne was bearing fruit. *'The German resistance on Thursday morning was broken. I heard the news in two ways: from the silence of the German guns and from the wounded who poured down to the bases. ' ' The wounded men no longer were downhearted, but eager to rejoin the fray. On every French lip was the exclamation that 'They are in full retreat!' and 'They are rushing back home ! ' and in the same breath came generous recognition of the great help given by the British army. * ' The number of wounded entailed colossal transportation work. I counted fifteen trains in eight hours. A fine, grim set of men, terribly weary but amiable, except for the ofiS.eers. GERMANS LEAVE SPOILS BEHIND *'The enemy crossed the Marne on the return journey north under great difficulties and beneath a withering fire from the British troops, who pursued them hotly. The Ger- man artillery operated from a height. There was again much hand-to-hand fighting and the river was swollen with dead. ** Tuesday night the British were in possession of La Ferte- sous-Jouarre and Chateau Thierry and the Germans had fallen back forty miles, leaving a long train of spoils behind them. ''On the same day, in the neighborhood of Vitry-le-Fran- cois, the French troops achieved a victory. Incidentally they drove back the famous Imperial Guard of Germany from Sezanne, toward the sv/amps of Saint Gond, where, a century ago. Napoleon achieved one of his last successes. The main body of the guard passed to the north of the swamps, but I heard of men and horses engulfed and destroyed. " 'It is our revenge for 1814,' the French officers said. * If only the emperor were here to see. ' BRITISH KEEP UP PURSUIT "Wednesday the English army continued the pursuit to- ward the north, taking guns and prisoners. '^On that day I found myself in a new France. The good 180 BATTLE OF THE MABNE news had spread. Girls threw flowers at the passing soldiers and joy was manifested everywhere. ' ' The incidents of Wednesday will astound the world when made known in full. I know that two German detachments of 1,000 men each, which were surrounded and cornered but which refused to surrender, were wiped out almost to the last man. The keynote of these operations was the tremendous attack of the Allies along the Ourcq Tuesday, which showed the German commander that his lines were threatened. Then came the crowning stroke. **The army of the Ourcq and of Meaux and the army of Sezanne drew together like the blades of a pair of shears, the pivot of which was in the region of the Grand Morin. The German retreat was thus forced toward the east and it speed- ily became a rout." BETEEAT SEEN FROM THE SKY The best view of the retreating German armies was obtained, according to a Paris report, by a French military airman, who, ascending from a point near Vitry, flew north- ward across the Marne and then eastward by way of Rheims down to the region of Verdun and back again in a zigzag course to a spot near Soissons. He saw the German hosts not merely in retreat, but in flight, and in some places in disorderly flight. *'It was a wonderful sight," the airman said, *'to look down upon these hundreds and thousands of moving military columns, the long gray lines of the Kaiser's picked troops, some marching in a northerly, others in a northeasterly direc- tion, and all moving with a tremendous rapidity. * ' The retreat was not confined to the highways, but many German soldiers were running across fields, jumping over fences, crawling through hedges, and making their way through woods without any semblance of order or discipline. ''These men doubtless belonged to regiments which were badly cut up in the fierce fighting which preceded the general retreat. Deprived of the majority of their officers, they made a mere rabble of fugitives. Many were without rifles, having BATTLE OF THE MARNE 181! abandoned then* weapons in their haste to escape their French and British pursuers. '^ GEKMANS ABANDON" GUNS The London Times correspondent describes the German retreat in a hurricane, with rain descending in torrents^ the wayside brooks swollen to little torrents. *'The gun wheels sank deep in the mud, and the soldiers, unable to extricate them, abandoned the guns," he said. **A wounded soldier, returned from the front, told me that the Germans fled as animals flee which are cornered and know it. *' Imagine the roadway littered with guns, knapsacks, car- tridge belts, Maxims and heavy cannon. There were miles of roads hke this. ''And the dead! Those piles of horses and those stacks of men I have seen again and again. I have seen men shot so close to one another that they remained standing after death. ''At night time the sight was horrible beyond description. They cannot bury whole armies. "In the day time over the fields of dead carrion birds gathered, led by the gray-throated crow of evil omen with a host of lesser marauders at his back. Bobbers, too, have descended upon these fields. "Trainload after trainload of British and French troops swept toward the weak points of the retreating host. "The Allies benefited by this advantage of the battle- gound ; there is a network of railways, like the network of a spider's web." FIGHTING DESCRIBED BY U. S. OFFICEES Two military attaches of the United States embassy at Paris, Lieut.-Col. H. T. Allen and Capt. Frank Parker, both of the Eleventh cavalry, U. S. A., returned on September 15 from an automobile trip over the battlefield where from Sep- tember 8 until the night of September 11 the French and Germans were fiercely engaged. This battle was the one which assured the safety of Paris. On September 1 the German left and center were sep- arated, but like a letter "V" were approaching each other, 182 BATTLE OTJ\ THE MARNE with Paris as their objective. Had the Allies attacked at that time they would have had to divide their forces and, so weakened, give battle to two armies. By retreating they drew after them the two converging lines of the V and when the Germans were in wedge-shaped formation, attacked them on the flank and center at Meaux and made a direct attack at Sezanne. The four days' battle at Meaux ended with the Germans crossing the river Aisne and retreating to the hills north and west of Soissons. Col. Allen and Capt. Parker saw the end of the battle north of Sezanne, which resulted in the retreat of the Germans to Eheims. The battles, as Col. Allen and Capt. Parker describe them, were as follows: On the 8th the Germans advanced from a line stretching from Epernay and Chalons, a distance of twenty-five kilome- ters (sixteen miles). In this front, counting from the German right, were the Tenth, the Guards, the Ninth and Twelfth Army Corps. The presence of the Guards, the corps d' elite of the German army, suggested that this was intended to be a main attack upon Paris and that the army at Meaux was to occupy the center. The four combined corps numbered over 200,000. The French met them, they assert, with 190,000. The Germans advanced until their left was at Vitry-le- Francois and their right rested at Sezanne, making a column 15 miles long, headed west toward Paris. The French butted the line six miles east of Sezanne, in the forests of La Fere and Champenoise. It was here that the greater part of the fight occurred. It was fighting at long distance with artillery and from trench to trench with the bayonet. THIETY THOUSAND MEN KILLED During the four days in which fortune rested first on one flag and then on another 30,000 men of both armies are said to have been killed and a considerable number of villages were wiped from the map by the artillery of both armies. Two miles from Sezanne a French regiment was destroyed by an ambush. The Germans had thrown up conspicuous trenches and with decoys sparsely filled them. From the forest in the rear the mitrailleuse was trained on the French. BATTLE OF THE MARNE 183 The Frencli infantry charged this trench and the decoys fled, making toward the flanks, and as the French poured over the trenches the hidden guns swept them. In another trench the Arnericaa attaches counted the bodies of more than 900 German guards, not one of whom had attempted to retreat. They had stood fast with their shoul- ders against the parapet and taken the cold steel. Every- where the loss of life was appalling. In places the dead lay across each other three and four deep. TUECOS FIEECEST FIGHTEES OF ALL ''The fiercest fighting of all seems to have been done by the Turcos and Senegalese. In trenches taken by them from the guards and the famous Death's Head Hussars, the Ger- mans showed no bullet wounds. In nearly every attack the men from the desert had flung themselves upon the enemy, using only the butt or the bayonet. Man for man no white man drugged for years with meat and alcohol is a physical match for these Turcos, who eat dates and drink water, '* said Richard Harding Davis, who saw the end of the fighting at Meaux. * ' They are as lean as starved wolves. They move like panthers. They are muscle and nerves and they have the warrior's disregard of their own personal safety in battle, and a perfect scorn of the foe. *'As Kipling says, *A man who has a sneaking desire to live has a poor chance against one who is indifferent whether he kills you or you kill him.' " NIGHT BATTLE DESCEIBED BY SOLDIER The following narrative of a night engagement during the prolonged battle of the Marne is quoted from a French sol- dier 's letter to a compatriot in London : ''Our strength was about 400 infantrymen. Toward mid- night we broke up our camp and marched off in great silence, of course not in closed files, but in open order. We were not 184 BATTLE OF THE MARNE allowed to speak to each other or to make any unnecessary noise, and as we walked through the forest the only sound to be heard was that of our steps and the rustling of the leaves. It was a perfectly lovely night ; the sky was so clear, the atmosphere so pure, the forest so romantic, everything seemed so charming and peaceful that I could not imagine that we were on the warpath, and that perhaps in a few hours this forest would be aflame, the soil drenched by human blood, and the fragrant herbs covered with broken limbs. **Yet all those silent, armed men, marching in the same direction as I did, w^ere ever so many proofs that no peace meeting or any delightful romantic adventure was near, and I wondered what thoughts were stirring all those brains. Suddenly a whisper passed on from man to man. It was the ofificer's command. A halt was made, and in the same whisper we were told that part of us had to change our direction so that the two directions would form a V. A third division pro- ceeded slowly in the original direction. COMMANDS ARE WHISPERED **I belonged to what may be called the left leg of the V. After what seemed to be about half an hour, we reached the edge of the forest, and from behind the trees we saw an almost flat country before us, with here and there a tiny little hill, a mere hump four or five feet high. On the extreme left-hand side the land seemed to be intersected by ditches and trenches^ *' Another whispered command was passed from man to man, and we all had to lie down on the soil. A moment after- ward we were thus making our way to the above-mentioned ditches and trenches. It is neither the easiest nor the quickest way to move, but undoubtedly the safest, for an occasional enemy somewhere on the hills at the farther end of the field would not possibly be able to detect us. I don't know how long it took us to reach the ditches, which were, for the greater part, dry ; nor do I know how long we remained there or what was happening. We were perfectly hidden from view, lying flat down on our stomachs, but we were also unable to see any- thing. Everybody's ears were attentive, every nerve was. strained. The sun was rising. It prow.sed tp be a hot day. BATTLE OF THE MARNE 185 riEST SHOT IS HEAED ** Suddenly we heard a shot, at a distance of what seemed to be a mile or so, followed by several other shots. I ventured to lift my body up in order to see what was happening. But the next moment my sergeant, who was close by me, warned me with a knock on my shoulder not to move, and the whis- pered order ran, * Keep quiet ! Hide yourself ! ' Still, the short glance had been sufficient to see what was going on. Our troops, probably those who had been left behind in the forest, were crossing the plain and shooting at the Germans on the crest of the hill, who returned the fire. * ' The silence was gone. We heard the rushing of feet at a short distance ; then, suddenly, it ceased when the attacking soldiers dropped to aim and shoot. Some firing was heard, and then again a swift rush followed. This seemed to last a long time, but it was broken by distant cries, coming appar- ently from the enemy. I was wondering all the time why we kept hidden and did not share in the assault. * ' The rifle fire was incessant. I saw nothing of the battle. Would our troops be able to repulse the Germans? How strong were the enemy! They seemed to have no guns, but the number of our soldiers in that field was not very large. ATTACKED WITH BAYONETS "A piercing yell rose from the enemy. Was it a cry of triumph? A short command rang over the field in French, an order to retreat. A swift rush followed ; our troops were being pursued by the enemy. What on earth were we waiting for in our ditches? A bugle signal, clear and bright. We sprang to our feet, and *At the bayonet!' the order came. We threw ourselves on the enemy, who were at the same time attacked on the other side by the division which formed the other 'leg' of the V, while the 'fleeing' French soldiers turned and made a savage attack. i *'It is impossible to say or to describe what one feels at such a moment. I believe one is in a state of temporary mad- ness, of perfect rage. It is terrible, and if we could see our- selves in such a state I feel sure we would shrink with horror. "In a few minutes the field was covered with dead and wounded men, almost all of them Germans, and our hands 186 BATTLE OF THE MARNE and bayonets were dripping with blood. I felt hot spurts of blood in my face, of other men's blood, and as I paused to wipe them off, I saw a narrow stream of blood running along the barrel of my rifle. ''Such was the beginning of a summer day." SCENES ON THE BATTLEFIELD Writing from Sezanne a few days after the battle of the Marne a visitor to the battlefield described the conditions at that time as follows: "The territory over which the battle of the Marne was fought is now a picture of devastation, abomination and death almost too awful to describe. ''Many sons of the fatherland are sleeping their last sleep in the open fields and in ditches where they fell or under hedges where they crawled after being caught by a rifle bullet or piece of shell, or where they sought shelter from the mad rush of the franc-tireurs, who have not lost their natural dex- terity with the knife and who at close quarters frequently throw away their rifles and fight hand to hand. "The German prisoners are being used on the battlefield in searching for and burying their dead comrades. Over the greater part of the huge battlefield there have been buried at least those who died in open trenches on the plateaus or on the high roads. The extensive forest area, however, has hardly been searched for bodies, although hundreds of both French and Germans must have sought refuge and died there. The difficulty of finding bodies is considerable on account of the undergrowth. "Long lines of newly broken brown earth mark the graves of the victims. SDme of these burial trenches are 150 yards long. The dead are placed shoulder to shoulder and often in layers. This gives some idea of the slaughter that took place in this battle. "The peasants, w^ho are rapidly coming back to the soene, are marking the grave trenches with crosses and planting flowers above or placing on thorn simple bouquets of dahlias, sunflpwers an«l rosea. BATTLE OF THE MARNE 187 POUGHT OX BEAUTIFUL CHATEAU LAWNS ' ' Some of the hottest fighting of the prolonged battle took place around the beautiful chateau of Mondement, on a hill six miles east of Sezanne. This relic of the architectural art of Louis XIV occupied a position which both sides regarded as strategically important. ''To the east it looked down into a great declivity in the shape of an immense Greek lamp, with the concealed marshes of St. Sond at the bottom. Beyond are the downs and heaths of Epernay, Eheims and Champagne, while the heights of Argonne stand out boldly in the distance. To the west is a rich agricultural country. "The possession of the ridge of Mondement was vital to either the attackers or the defenders. The conflict here was of furnace intensity for four days. The Germans drove the French out in a terrific assault, and then the French guns were brought to bear, followed by hand-to-hand fighting on the gardens and lawns of the chateau and even through the breached walls. ' ' Frenchmen again held the building for a few hours, only to retire before another determined German attack. On the fourth day they swept the Germans out again with shell fire, under which the walls of the chateau, although two or three feet thick, crumpled like paper." The same correspondent described evidences on the battle- fields of how abundantly the Germans were equipped with ammunition and other material. He saw pyramid after pyra- mid of shrapnel shells abandoned in the rout, also innumer- able paniers for carrjring such ammunition. These paniers are carefully constructed of wicker and hold three shells in exactly fitting tubes so that there can be no movement. The villages of Oyes, Villeneuve, Chatillon and Soizy-aux- Bois were all bombarded and completely destroyed. Some fantastic capers were played by the shells, such as blowing away half a house and leaving the other half intact; going through a window and out by the back wall without damaging the interior, or goin^ a few inches into the wall and remaining fast without exploding. Villeneuve, which was retaken three times, was, including its fine old church, in absolute r^^ins. 188 BATTLE OF THE MARNE A SERIES OF BATTLES The battle line along the Marne was so extended that the four-days' fighting from Sunday, September 6, to Thursday morning, September 10, when the Germans were in full retreat, comprised a series of bloody engagements, each worthy of being called a battle. There were hot encounters south of the Marne at Crecy, Montmirail and other points. At Chalons-sur-Marne the French fought for twenty-four hours and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. General Exel- mans, one of France's most brilliant cavalry leaders, was dangerously wounded in leading a charge. There was hard fighting on September 7 between Lagny and Meaux, on the Trilport and Crecy-en-Brie line, the Ger- mans under General von Kluck being compelled to give way and retire on Meaux, at which point their resistance was broken on the 9th. General French's army advanced to meet the German hosts with forced marches from their temporary base to the southeast of Paris. The whole British army, except cavalry, passed through Lagny, and the incoming troops were so wearied that many of them at the first opportunity lay down in the dust and slept where they were. But a few hours ' rest worked a great change, and a little later the British troops were following the German retreat up the valley with bulldog tenacity. The British artillery did notable work in those days, according to the French military surgeons who were stationed at Lagny. At points near there the bodies of slain Germans who fell before the British gunners still littered the ground on September 10, and the grim crop was still hea\'ier on the soil farther up the valley, where the fighting was more desperate. As far as possible the bodies were buried at night, each attending to its own fallen. MANY SANGUINARY INCIDENTS Sanguinary incidents were plentiful in the week of fight- ing to the south of the Marne. In an engagement not far from Lagny the British captured thirty Germans who had BATTLE OF THE MARNE 181 given up their arms and were standing under guard when, encouraged by a sudden forward effort of the German front, they made a dash for their rifles. They were cut down by a volley from their British guards before they could reach their weapons. "Among dramatic incidents in the fighting," according to an English correspondent, "may be mentioned the grim work at the ancient fishponds near Ermenonville. These ponds are shut in by high trees. Driving the enemy through the woods, a Scotch regiment hustled its foes right into the fishponds, the Scotchmen jumping in after the Germans up to the middle to finish them in the water, which was packed with their bodies." VAST GRAVEYARD AT MEAUX Some idea of how the Germans were harassed by artillery fire during their retreat was obtained on a visit to the fields near Meaux, the scene of severe fighting. The German in- fantry had taken a position in a sunken road, on either side of which were stretched in extended lines hummocks, some of them natural and some the work of spades in the hands of German soldiers. The sunken road was littered with bodies. Sprawling in ghastly fashion, the faces had almost the same greenish-gray hue as the uniforms worn. The road is lined with poplars, the branches of which, severed by fragments of shells, were strewn among the dead. In places whole tops of trees had been torn away by the artillery fire. Beside many bodies were forty or fifty empty cartridge shells, while fragments of clothing, caps and knapsacks were scattered about. This destruction was wrought by batteries a little more than three miles distant. Straggling clumps of wood intervened between the batteries and their mark, but the range had been determined by an officer on an elevation a mile from the gunners. He telephoned directions for the firing and through glasses watched the bursting shells. THE BATTLE AT CEECY A graphic picture of the fight in Crecy wood was given by a correspondent who said ; 190 BATTLE OF THE MARNE The French and English in overwhehning numbers had poured in from Lagny toward the River Marne to reinforce the flanking skirmishers. One of the smaller woods south- east of Crecy furnished cover for the enemy for a time, but led to their undoing. The Allies' patrols discovered them in the night as the Germans were moving about with lanterns. Suddenly the invaders found their twinkling glow-worms the mark for a foe of whom they had been unaware. Without warning a midnight hail storm from Maxims screamed through the trees. The next morning scores of lanterns were picked up in the wood, with the glasses shattered. A dashing cavalry charge by the British finally cleared the tragic wood of the Germans. BRITISH BLOW UP A BRIDGE At Lagny one of the sights of the town was a shattered bridge, which was blown up by General French as soon as he got his army across it. At that time British infantry and artillery had poured through the town and over the bridge for several days. General French's idea was to keep raiding detachments of German cavalry from incursions into the beautiful villas and gardens of the western suburbs. Fifteen minutes after the bridge had been reduced to a twisted mass of steel and broken masonry a belated order came to save it, but the British engineers who had received the order to destroy it had done their work well. The inhabitants were cleared out of all the neighboring houses, which were shaken by the terrific explosion Avhen the charge was set off. Every window in the nearby houses was shattered. The people of Lagny took the destruction of their beautiful bridge in good part. They were too grateful for their deliv- erance from the Germans to grumble about the wrecked bridge. GERMAN LOSSES AT THE MARNE There is no doubt that the German losses in the engage- ments at the Marne far exceeded those of the Allies and were most severe, in both men and material. The Germans made incredible efforts to cross the Marne. The French having destroyed all the bridges, the Germans tried to construct BATTLE OF THE MARNE 191 three bridges of boats. Sixteen times the bridges were on the point of completion, but each time they were reduced to matchwood by the French artillery. *' There is not the slightest doubt," said a reliable corre- spondent, ''that but for the superb handling of the German right by General von Kluck, a large part of Emperor Wil- liam's forces would have been captured at the Marne. The allied cavalry did wonders, and three or four additional divi- sions of cavalry could have contributed towards a complete rout of the Germans." The general direction of the German retirement was north- east, and it was continued for seventy miles, to a line drawn between Soissons, Eheims and Verdun. A week after the battle the field around Meaux had been cleared of dead and wounded, and only little mounds with tiny crosses, flowers and tricolored flags recalled the terrible struggle. The inhabitants of neighboring villages soon returned to their homes and resumed their ordinary occupations. FALL OF MAUBEUGE "While the fighting at the Marne was in progress, German troops achieved some successes in other parts of the theater of war. Thus, the fortified French town of Maubeuge, on the Sambre river midway between Namur in Belgium and St. Quentin, France, fell to the Germans on September 7. The investment began on August 25. More than a thousand shells fell in one night near the railway station and the Rue de France was partially destroyed. The loss of life, however, was comparatively slight. At 11:50 o'clock on the morning of September 7 a white flag was hoisted on the church tower and trumpets sounded * ' cease firing, ' ' but the firing only ceased at 3 :08 o 'clock that afternoon. In the meantime the greater part of the garrison succeeded in evacuating the town. The German forces marched in at 7 :08 o 'clock that evening. The retreat of the German forces from the Marne ended the second stage of the great war. CHAPTER Xn THE RUSSIAN CAlSiPAIGN Slow Mobilization of Troops — Invasion of German and Aus- trian Territory — Cossacks Lead the Van — Early Suc- cesses in East Prussia — "On to Berlin'' — Heavy Losses Inflicted on Austrians — German Troops Rushed to the Defense of the Eastern Territory. WHEN at 7: 30 o'clock on the evening of August 1, 1914, the German Ambassador at St. Petersburg handed the declaration of war to the Russian foreign minister, the immediate reason was that Russia had refused to stop mobilizing her army, as requested by Germany on July 30. The general mobilization of the Russian army and fleet was proclaimed on July 31 and martial law was proclaimed forthwith in Germany. The government of the Kaiser had given Russia twenty-four hours in which to reply to its ulti- matum of the 30th. Russia paid no attention to the ultimatum, but M. Goremykin, president of the Council of the Russian Empire, issued a manifesto which read : ''Russia is determined not to allow Servia to be crushed and will fulfill its duty in regard to that small kingdom, which has already suffered so much at Austria's hands." Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia on August 6. From that time on the Russian army had two main objec- tives — first, the Austrian province of Galicia, and second the eastern frontier of Germany, across which lay the territory known as East Prussia. And while the early days of the great conflict saw a German host pouring into Belgium, animated by the battle-cry, "On to Paris !" the gathering legions of the Czar headed to the west and crossed the Prussian frontier with hoarse, resounding shouts of "On to Berlin!" 192 THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN 193 MOBILIZATION WAS SLOW The mobilization of the Eussian army was slow compared with that of Germany, France and Austria, and some weeks elapsed after the declaration of war before Russia was pre- pared to attack Germany with the full force of which it was capable. The immense distances to be traversed by troops proceeding to the frontier and by the reserves to their re- spective depots caused delays that were unavoidable but were minimized by the eagerness of the Russian soldiery to get to the front. In Russia, as in all the other great countries en- gaged in the conflict, with the probable exception of Austria, the war was popular and a wave of patriotic enthusiasm and martial ardor swept over the land, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, from St. Petersburg to Siberia. In Russia military service is universal and begins at the age of 20, continuing for twenty-three years. There are three divisions of the Russian army — the European, Cau- casian and Asiatic armies. Military service of the Russian consists of three years in the first line, fourteen years in the reserve (during which time he has to undergo two periods of training of six weeks each) and five years in the territorial reserve. The Cossacks, however, hold their land by military tenure and are liable to serve at any time in the army. They provide their own horses and accouterments. The total strength of the Russian army is about 5,500,000 men ; the field force of the European army consists of 1,000,000 soldiers with about the same number in the second line. There were besides at the beginning of the war over 5,000,000 men un- organized but available for duty. AKMY EEOKGANIZED EECENTLY Since the disastrous war with Japan the Russian army has been reorganized and it has profited largely by the harsh experience of the Manchurian campaign. The physique of the Russian infantryman is second to none in Europe. The Russian *'moujik" (peasant) is from childhood accustomed to cover long distances on foot, so that marches of from 30 to 40 miles are covered without fatigue by even the youngest recruits. They wear long boots, whieli are made of excellent soft leather, so that sore feet were rJ4 THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN quite the exception even in Manclinria, where very long marches were undergone by many of the units. Each regiment of infantry contains four battalions com- manded by a major or lieutenant-colonel. The battalion con- sists of four companies of 120 men, commanded by a captain, so that each regiment on a war footing numbers upwards of 2,000 men. The Russian cavalry is divided into two main categories. There are the heavy regiments of the Guard, which consist mainly of Lancer regiments, and there are also numberless Cossack or irregular cavalry regiments, which are recruited chiefly from the districts of the Eiver Don and the highlands of the Caucasus. The horses of the Russian horse and field artillery are distinctly poor and very inferior to those of the cavalry. The artillery is therefore somewhat slow in coming into action. But the horses, while weedy-looking, are very hardy and pull the guns up steep gradients. The Russian gunners prefer to take up * ' indirect ' ' rather than * * direct ' ' positions. Batteries are also rather slow in changing positions and in moving up in support of their infantry units. THE RUSSIAN COSSACKS What the Uhlans are to the German army, the Cossaclis of the Don and the Caucasus are to the Russians — scouts, advance guards and *' covering'* cavalry. They are good all- round fighters, capable of long-continued effort and tireless in the saddle; they are also trained to fight in dismounted action. As a soldier the Cossack is altogether unique; his ways are his own and his confidence in his officers and himself is perfect. His passionate love of horses makes his work a pleasure. The Cossack seat on horseback is on a high pad- saddle, with the knee almost vertical and the heel well drawn back. Spurs are not worn, and another remarkable thing is that he has absolutely no guard to his sword. The Russian soldier scorns buttons; he says, "They are a nuisance; they have to be cleaned, they wear away the cloth, they are heavy, and they attract the attention of the enemy. ' ' The Cossack pony is a quaint little beast to look at, but the finest animal living for his "work, and very reiaarkalblt THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN 195 for his wonderful powers of endurance. The Cossack and his mount have been likened to a clever nurse and a spoilt child — each understands and loves the other, but neither is com- pletely under control. The Cossack does not want his horse to be a slave, and recognizes perfectly that horses, like chil- dren, have their whims and humors and must be coaxed and reasoned with, but rarely punished. The famous knout (whip) is carried by the Cossacks at the end of a strap across the left shoulder. Most of the men are bearded and in full dress, with the high fur cap stuck jauntily on the head of square cut hair, the Cossack presents a picturesque and martial fig- ure. The appearance of these men is quite different from that of the clean-shaven regular infantryman of the Russian army. EUSSIAN PLAN OF CAMPAIGN" "While the direct objective of the Russians was Berlin, there were many reasons why a bee-line course could not be followed. Germany had prepared an elaborate defense sys- tem to cover the direct approaches to Berlin, and the fortresses of Danzig, Graudenz, Thorn, and Posen were important points in this scheme. The nature of the country also adapts itself to these defensive works and would make progress slow for an attacker. Moreover, as Austria and her forces mobilized before Rus- sia, a diversion was created by the Austrian invasion of south Poland, in which the Germans also took the offensive. Under these circumstances the Russian plan of campaign resolved itself into three parts: — (1) A northern movement from Kovno and Grodno on Insterburg and Konigsberg as a counter-attack. ( 2 ) A central movement from Warsaw towards Posen with supporting movements north and south. (3) A southern movement on Lublin in Poland to repulse the invaders combined with a movement from the east on Lemberg in order to turn the Austrian flank. The first purpose of Russia was to clear Poland of enemies, as they threatened the Russian left flank. At the same tim.e Kussia took the offensive by an invasion of Prussia in the 196 THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN north. This latter movement led to a victory at Gumbinnen and the investment of Konigsberg. Later came victory at Lublin, rolling back the Austrians, and the capture of Lem- berg, which signalized the Russian invasion of Austrian ter- ritory. Thus Russia was for awhile clear of the enemy, while she established a strong footing in both Prussia and Austria. We can now understand the main Russian plan a little better. In the north the army was to advance from Konigs- berg and endeavor to cut off Danzig and break the line of PRAGUE LEMBERG T R DE FENC£' THE RU&SIAN PLAN OF CAMPAIGN In the above view the German lines of defense are shown black, the Austrian lines of defense are Indicated by crossed lines, and the Russian advances are shown by arrows. defenses between that place and Thorn, thus leaving this fortress in the rear. In the south the Austrians, already heavily punished, would be driven back on the Carpathian passes to the south, and westward also toward Cracow, which is the key to the situation. If Cracow fell Russia would have a good route into Germany, and the move would be supported by advances from Warsaw, thus threatening Breslau from two sides. THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN GERMAN- TROOPS HURRIED EAST Early in September, however, the danger of the Russian advance into Germany, which apparently had given the Ger- man general staff but little concern at first, was fully realized and large bodies of German troops were detached from the western theater of war and hurried to the eastern frontier. Germany had evidently reckoned on Austria being able to hold its ground better, and was badly prepared for a flanking move on Breslau so early in the campaign. But the Servian and Russian defeats of Austria left Germany to bear the full force of the terrific Russian onslaught, and her forces proved equal to the occasion. Under General von Hindenberg the German army of the east soon repelled the Russian invaders and forced them to retire from East Prussia across their own border, where they were followed by the Germans. A series of engagements on Russian soil followed, in which the advan- tage lay as a rule with the Germans. The losses on both sides were heavy, but the Germans captured many thousands of Russian prisoners and considerable quantities of arms and munitions of war. The immense resources of the Russian empire in men and material made the problem of Russian invasion a very serious one for Germany. This was fully realized by the Kaiser, who about October 1, at the end of the second month of the war, proceeded in person to his eastern frontier to direct the defensive operations against Russia. CZAR NICHOLAS AT THE FRONT About the same time the Czar, Nicholas II, also took the field in person, arriving at the front on October 5, accom- panied by General Soukhomlinoff, the Russian minister of war. *'I am resolved to go to Berlin itself, even if it causes me to lose my last moujik (peasant)," the Czar is reported as saying in September. The spirit and temper of the Russian government may be judged by the fact that before the war was many days old the name of the Russian capital was officially changed from *'St. Petersburg," which was consid^ ered to have a German flavor, to '^Petrograd," a purely Russian or Slavic form of nomenclature. 198 THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN EUSSIA PEEPAEES TO STEIKE AUSTEIA By the third week of August, according to an announce- ment from Petrograd, Eussian troops had checked an attempt by the Austrians to enter Poland from the GaUcian frontier and were preparing to invade Austria on a large scale. At that time Russia was said to have 2,000,000 men under arms for the invasion of Germany and Austria, also 500,000 on the Roumanian and Turkish borders, and 3,000,000 men in reserve. (The latter w^ere called out by imperial ukase before Czar Nicholas started for the front.) The Poles had been promised self-government and had been called on to support Russia. The Jews throughout the Russian empire were also promised a greater measure of protection, freedom of action and civil rights. These measures inaugurated an era of better feeling in Russia and Poland and were strongly approved by the allies of Russia. Most of the Austrian reserves were mobilized by August 15 and Germany's ally announced that she would soon have her total war strength of 2,000,000 men in the field. Austria sent some troops to join the German forces in Belgium and an army of several hundred thousand men was gathered along the Austro-Russian frontier under command of the Archduke Frederick. General Rennenkampf was in command of the Russian forces for the invasion of East Prussia, while Gen- eral Russky led the Russian army operating against Galicia. INVASION OF PEUSSIA "Within a week the Russian movement in eastern Germany assumed menacing proportions, the great army of invasion having moved rapidly, considering the natural obstacles. More than 800,000 men were sent over the border into Prussia. The Germans evacuated a number of towns, after setting them afire, and a considerable part of the Kaiser's eastern field forces was bottled up in military centers. Germany's active field force was at this time infemor in numbers to the invading army. By the capture of Insterberg the Russians paralyzed one of the main German strategic centers and gained control of an important railroad. The German Twentieth Army Corps was reported to have been routed near Lyck. At the start THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN 199 the Russian forces extended from Insterberg to Goldapp, a distance of about thirty-two miles. Seventy-five miles further on was the first of the two strong German lines of fortifica- tions. Early victories were claimed by the Russians in their ad- vance into Austria, which was made slowly. Austria then turned to fight the Russian invasion. It was forced to gather all its forces for this principal struggle and hence retired from offensive operations against the Servians. Unless she could halt the Russians pouring in from the north, a success against Servia could do her no good. By the first of September the Russian advance into East Prussia was well under way and the sfa-ong fortress of Konigsberg was in danger of a siege. German troops were being rushed to its defense. In Galicia there were fierce encounters between the Russian invaders and the Austrians. Several victories were claimed by the Russians all along the line and whole brigades of Austrian troops were reported destroyed, while the Russian losses were also admittedly heavy. The fiercest fighting occurred in the vicinity of Lem- berg, the capital of Galicia, which was soon to fall to General Russky. The Austrian attack on Russian Poland failed and the Austrians w^ere driven back across their own frontier. The Russians were seeking to destroy the hope of the Kaiser for help from Austria in Eastern Germany, where the Rus- sian advance, ridiculed or belittled by Germany before it be- gan, became more menacing every day. The German war plans had contemplated a quick, decisive blow in France and then a rapid turn to the East to meet the Russians with a tremendous force. But the belligerency of the Belgians and the cooperation of the British balked these plans, while the Russians moved faster than was expected by their fbe. Aus- tria had failed everywhere to stop the Czar's forces, and then came a crushing blow to Austrian hopes in a ruinous defeat near Lemberg and the loss of that fortress. THE FALL OF LEMBEEG The capture of Lemberg from the Austrians early in September after a four days' battle was one of the striking Russian successes of the war. Details reached the outer 200 THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN world on September lOtli from Petrograd (St. Petersburg) as follows, the story being that of an eyewitness : "The commencement of the fighting which resulted in the capture of Lemberg began August 29th, when the Rus- sians drove the enemy from Zisczow (forty-five miles east of Lemberg) and moved on to Golaya Gorka — a name which means 'the naked hill.' * * We spent the night on Naked Hill, and the actual storm- ing of the to^^^l was begun at 2:30 o'clock in the morning. Then followed a four days' battle. A virtually continuous cannonade continued from dawn to darkness without ces- sation. ' * Even in the darkness the weary fighters got little sleep. Whenever a single shot was heard the men dashed for their places and the battle boiled again with renewed fury. ''The enemy's counter attacks were delivered with great energy and a dense hail of lead and iron was poured over our ranks. The Russian advance was greatly impeded by the hilly nature of the ground and the great number of extinct craters, which formed splendid natural fortifications for the enemy, which held them doggedly. Out of these, however, the enemy was driven in succession. "We suffered much from thirst, for the stony country was devoid of springs. The days were oppressively hot and the nights bitterly cold. EUSSIAN ARTTLLEEY SUPERIOB "Both sides fought with great obstinacy, but the nearer we approached Lemberg the harder the struggle became. However, it soon was evident that we were superior in artil- lery. "At length the enemy was driven from all sides beneath the protection of the Lemberg forts. Our troops were very weary, but in high spirits. "For two days the fight raged around the forts, but we were always confident of the prowess of our artillery. The big guns of both sides rained a terrific hail down on the armies, which suffered terrific losses. "At last we noticed that the resistance of the forts was THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN 201 growing weaker. A charge at double quick was ordered, and we carried the first line of works. "It was evident from that point that many of the enemy's guns had been destroyed. Not enough of them had been left to continue an effective defense, but the enemy was undis- couraged and tried to make up with rifle fire what it lacked in artillery. LOSSES BECOME HEAVIER *' Between the first and second lines our losses were heavier than before, but under bayonet charges the enemy broke and fled in panic. **Our troops entered the town at the enemy's heels. We ran into the town, despite our fatigue, with thunderous cheer- ing. "An episode which had much to do with ending the enemy's dogged resistance occurred during the fighting be- tween the first and second lines. The Austrians in the hope of checking the Eussian effort to encircle the town had thrown out a heavy screen of Slav troops with a backing of Magyars who had been ordered to shoot down the Slavs from behind if they showed any hesitation. "This circumstance became known to the Eussian com- mander, who ordered a terrific artillery fire over the heads of the Slavs and into the ranks of the Magyars. This well- directed fire set the whole line in panic. ' ' More than 35,000 Austrians and Eussian wounded were abandoned on the field of battle between Tarnow, Lemberg and Tarnopol owing to lack of means of transportation, ac- cording to reliable reports. Both armies declined to ask for an armistice for the burial of the dead and the collection of the wounded, each fearing to give an advantage to the other. THE BATTLE BEFOEE LEMBEEG The immense superiority of the Austrian forces east of Lemberg enabled the Austrians at first to adopt the offensive. As soon, however, as the Austrians realized the impossibility of an advance on Warsaw they concentrated their large and overwhelming forces in an attempt to outflank the right wing <)f the Eussian army, which was drawing slowly but surely towards Lemberg. On the other Eussian flank the two Eus- 202 THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN sian army corps, after crossing the River Zlota Lipa without much opposition, continued their advance to the River Knila Lipa, where they found the bridges had all been destroyed by the Austrian advance guards. Two bridges were constructed on the Rogarten-Halicz line, which enabled a crossing to be effected in spite of heavy and incessant artillery fire from the Austrian 24-centimeter gTins. Once across the river, the two Russian corps crossed the upper reaches of the River Boog and so approached the town of Lemberg from the east. The main Austrian army, how- 3R1S& oUnkovo ODVINSK, KOWO ©VILNA ..aurSberg^ oAn^^urg ^ mBIN€ oHeilsbcra^Ldnen fy ^ . , , -lt!''^***V<<*»nP*^!L— if*^ ''^'^ ^ STETTIN)*) Ni 6ra^yo •i^lSffvPlC***'^ otfcino Angermurvieo y g. .^ROMBERO T FRANKFORT oLUbben K^i*"", ,... NoKa Pe1;ft)krf o oRsdQfn ©LUBLt '.P0SEN9 o y» Wodaweir' •Puttusk oflonsk oOstrolenks Schri \ oLIssa .^vog lormesk oPinsh SAW ^BREST-UTOVSK Siedlce 7 SpTOl+auo, ^--rigtTwo • - N . oTomssjof ;; OPI BPILSEN ^^^..^ - ^ V.-.x^.,) KILLED FOE IN" EEVOLVEK DUEL While their men battled on a road near Antwerp, it is said that a Belgian cavalry sergeant and an officer of German Uhlans fought a revolver duel which ended when the Belgian killed his foe, sending a bullet into his neck at close range. The daring Uhlans had approached close to the Antwerp fortifications on a reconnoitering expedition. They w^ere seen by a small Belgian force, which immediately went out on the road to give battle. As they neared each other, the German commander shouted a jibe at the Belgian sergeant. There was no answer, but the sergeant rode at a gallop straight for the Uhlan. Miraculously escaping the shots aimed at him, he drew up alongside the offiicer and informed him that his life was to be forfeited for the insulting words he had uttered. Both began firing with their revolvers, while at the same tim§^ their men clashed. Only a few of the soldiers witnessed the thrilling duel, for ' they themselves were fighting desperately. After their offi- cer's death the Uhlans withdrew, leaving a number of dead. Someone carried word of the duel to King Albert, who had just arrived in Antwerp, and he called before him and per- sonally congratulated the sergeant, Henri Pyppes. The latter 226 STORIES FROM THE BATTLEFIELD was wounded in the arm by one of the Uhlan's bullets, but he refused to be taken to the hospital and remained on duty in the field. LITTLE STORIES FROM FRANCE Count Guerry de Beauregard, a French veteran of the war of 1870, thus announced the death of a son at the front : **One son already has met the death of the brave beyond the frontier at the head of a squadron of the Seventh Hussars. Others will avenge him. Another of my sons, an artilleryman, is with the general staff. My eldest son is with the Twenty- first Chasseurs. Long live France!" A wounded French soldier who was taken to Marseilles verified a remarkable story of his escape from death while fighting in German Lorraine. The soldier owes his hfe to a small bust of Emperor William, which he picked up in a vil- lage school and placed in his haversack. A German bullet struck the bust and, thus deflected, inflicted only a slight wound on the soldier. Twenty German prisoners taken during the melee near Crecy, were herded together in a clearing, their rifles being stacked nearby. In a rash moment they thought that they were loosely guarded and made a combined rush for the rifles. ''They will never make another," was the laconic re- port of the guard. SAYS DEAD FILLED THE MEUSB Edouard Helsey of the Paris newspaper, Le Journal, re- ported to be serving with the colors, wrote under date of August 29: ''It would be difficult to estimate the number of Germans killed last week. Whole regiments were annihilated at some points. They came out of the woods section by section. One section, one shell — and everything was wiped out. "At two or three places which I am forbidden to name corpses filled the Meuse until the river overflowed. This is no figure of speech. The river bed literally was choked by the mass of dead Germans. The effect of our artillery sur- passes even our dreams." FOUNDERING OF THE BRITISH CRUISER ABOUKIR A few minutes after the Aboukir was struck by a torpedo from the German submarine U-9 eariy on September 22, 1914, she listed to port at an angle of 45 degrees and the captain sang out from the bridge: "Every man for himself!" The drawing depicts the scene that followed, as described by a survivor. Two-thirds of the crew of 650 were drowned or killed by the explosion. The boats of the cruisers Hogue and Cressy, which were soon after also torpedoed and sunk, are seen coming to the rescue. The total loss was over 1,400 lives. — Drawn by Charles Dixon, R. I., for The Graphic. L 1 1 inliiHiiifit**'^'*''^'^'***"-" ■■- J Top — One of the fast "Whippets," or email British tanks, that created havoc and terror in the German ranks in 1918. They precede the Infantry and completely destroy machine grun nests. (British Official Photo from I. F. 8.) Bottom — The first Amerlcan-buUt tamk. called the "America," hlgfeat of all, weifhln^ 41 toofl and propelled by stMun. (Copyright, V. i V.) STORIES FROM THE BATTLEFIELD 227 DETROIT AETIST's NAEROW ESCAPE Lawrence Stem Stevens, an artist of Detroit, narrowly escaped death near Aix-la-Chapelle at the hands of a crazed German lieutenant, by whom he was suspected of being a spy. Stevens left Brussels on Aug. 24 in an automobile. He was accompanied by a photographer and a Belgian newspaper correspondent, and his intention had been to make sketches on the battlefield. His arrest at Laneffe thwarted this plan. He underwemt a terrifying ordeal at the hands of his demented captor, although he was not actually injured. On the evening of Aug. 24 he was court-martialed and sen- tenced to death and held in close confinement over night. Early on the morning of Aug. 25 he was led out, as he sup- posed, to be shot, but the plans had been changed and instead he was taken before Gen. von Arnim. After being forced to march with German troops for two days, Stevens fell in with a party of American correspondents at Beaumont, from which point he traveled to Aix-la-Chapelle on a prison train, and eventually reached Rotterdam and safety. SAD PLIGHT OF FRENCH FUGITIVES M. Brieux, the noted French dramatist, who witnessed the arrival at Chartres of a train full of fugitives who had fled from their homes before the German advance, described his experience for the Figaro. The fleeing people gathered round him and told him stories and he wrote his impressions as follows : ''Children weep or gaze wide-eyed, wondering what is the matter. Old folks sit in gloomy silence. Women with hag- gard cheeks and disheveled hair seem to belong to another age. ''They tell of invaders who scattered powder around or threw petroleum into their houses and then set them afire. "And when did this happen? Yesterday! It is not a matter of centuries ago in distant climes, but yesterday, and quite near to us. Yet one cannot believe it was really yester- day that these things were done." 228 STORIES FROM THE BATTLEFIELD One of the fugitives explained to M. Brieux why after the first hour of their flight she had to carry her elder child as well as her baby. She showed him a pair of boots. ' ^ I felt the inside with my fingers, ' ' says Brieux. * * Nails had come through the soles. I looked at the child's feet. They were dirty mth red brown clots. It was blood. ' ' CHAUNCEY DEPEW ON A RUNNING-BOAED Chauncey M. Depew, former United States Senator for Xew York, was in Geneva when the trouble began. He said on his return : "After crossing the border into France we picked up men joining the colors on the way to Paris, until our train could hold no more. *' Whenever I stuck my head into a corridor the soldiers would set up a cheer on seeing my side whiskers. They mis- took me for an Englishman and cried: *Long live the entente cordiale!" lis THE ** VALLEY OF DEATH*' The fiercest fighting of all that preceded the Eussian vic- tory at Lublin was in a gorge near the village of Mikolaiff, which the Eussian soldiers reverently named the ''Valley of Death." The gorge was full of dead men, lying in heaps, accord- ing to an officer who participated in the battle. ''When we attacked at 3 o'clock in the morning," he said, "the gorge contained 15,000 Austrians, a large proportion of whom were mowed dowm by the artillery fire which plowed through the valley in the darkness. The Austrians surrendered and we entered the gorge to receive their arms, while their general stood quietly on a hill watching the scene. Eight of his standards being turned over to the Eussians was more than he could bear, for he drew a pistol and shot himself." GENERAL USE OF KHAKI UNIFORMS The war put everybody into khaki, with a few exceptions. On the battle line or in the field the English soldier and the English officer get out of their richly colored and historic STORIES FROM THE BATTLEFIELD 229 uniforms and into kliaki, of a neutral hue. The Germans are in gray. The Austrians have most of their soldiers in khaki, and the Eussians all wear khaki-colored cloth. The French still cling to their blue coats and brilliant red trousers, al- though steps are being taken to reclothe the army in more modern fashion, and the Belgians have a uniform that is very similar to the French. The French and Belgian'^officers are dangerously orna- mented with gilt trimmings during warfare and present such brilliant targets that some of the Belgian regiments during hard fighting with the Germans have lost nearly all of their leaders. The new twentieth century mode of warfare puts the ban on anything that glitters, even the rifle barrels, bayonets and sabers. A BELGIAN BOY HERO On a cot in the Red Cross hospital at Ostend, September 12, lay one of the heroes of the war. He is Sergeant van der Bern of the Belgian army, and only 17 years old. He was only a corporal when he started out with twenty-nine men on a reconnoitering expedition during which he was wounded, but displayed such valor that his bravery was publicly re- lated to all the soldiers, and Van der Bern was promoted. Van der Bern and his little command came suddenly upon a band of fifty Uhlans while on their expedition. Outnum- bered, his men turned and fled. The corporal shouted to them and dashed alone toward the Germans. The other Belgians rallied and threw themselves upon the Uhlans. Within a few minutes only Van der Bern and two others of his command remained. Twenty-seven Belgians were dead or wounded. "Within a few minutes more the corporal's companions fell, mortally wounded. Then the boy picked them up and dis- playing almost superhuman strength carried them to safety. As he was making his retreat, burdened by the two wounded men, Van der Bern was hit twice by German bullets. He staggered on, placed his men in charge of the Red Cross and without a word walked to headquarters and reported the engagement. Then he fell in a faint. 230 STORIES FROM THE BATTLEFIELD WHEN THE GERMANS EETREATED A vivid description of the rout and retreat of the Ger- mans during hurricane and rain on September 10, which turned the roads into river ways so that the wheels of the artillery sank deep in the mire, was given by a correspondent writing from a point near Melun. He described how the horses strained and struggled, often in vain, to drag the guns away, and continued : **I have just spoken with a soldier who has returned wounded from the pursuit that will go down with the terrible retreat from Moscow as one of the crowning catastrophes of the world. They fled, he declares, as animals flee who are cornered, and know it. ^ ''Imagine a roadway littered with guns, knapsacks, car- tridge belts, Maxims and heavy cannons even. There were miles and miles of it. And the dead — those piles of horses and those stacks of men! I have seen it again and again, men shot so close to one another that they remained standing after death. The sight was terrible and horrible beyond words. ''The retreat rolls back and trainload after trainload of British and French are swept toward the weak points of the retreating host. This is the advantage of the battleground which the Allies have chosen. The network of railways is like a spider's web. As all railways center upon Paris, it is possible to thrust troops upon the foe at any point with al- most incredible speed, and food and munitions are within arm's reach." PRINCE JOACHIM WOUNDED Prince Joachim, youngest son of Emperor William, was wounded during a battle with the Russians and taken to Berlin. On September 15 it was reported from Berlin that the wound was healing rapidly, despite the tearing effect of a shrapnel ball through the thigh. The empress and the surgeons were having considerable trouble in keeping the patient quiet in bed. He wanted to get on his feet again and insisted that he ought to be able to rejoin his command at the front in about a fortnight. "The prince treats the wound as a trifle," said the Berlin dispatch. ' ' He smihngly greeted an old palace servant whom STORIES FROM THE BATTLEFIELD 231 lie had known since childliood with the remark: *Ain I not a lucky dog?' " From an officer who was with Prince Joachim when he was wounded the following description of the incident was obtained : "It was during the hottest part of the battle, shortly before the Russian resistance was broken, that the prince, who was with the staff as information officer, was dispatched to the firing line to learn how the situation stood. He rode off with Adjutant Captain von Tahlzahn and had to traverse the distance, aloaost a mile, under a heavy hail of shell and occasional volleys. "As the Russian artillery was well served and knew all the ranges from previous measurements, the ride was not a particularly pleasant one, but he came through safely and stood talking with the officers when a shrapnel burst in their vicinity. The prince and the adjutant were both hit, the latter receiving contusions on the leg, but the shot not pene- trating. "To stop and whip out an emergency bandage which the prince, like every officer and private, carries sewed inside the blouse, and bind it around the thigh to check the bleeding was the work of but a moment. It was a long and dangerous task, however, to get him back to the first bandaging station, about a mile to the rear, under fire and from there he was transported to the advanced hospital at Allenstein, where he remained until he was able to travel. "Prince Joachim, who was already recommended for the Iron Cross for bravery before Namur, received the decora- tion shortly before he was wounded. The prince, who has many friends in America, conveyed through his adjutant his thanks for assurances of American sympathy and interest.'* EX-EMPRESS DEVOTED, TO FRANCE The aged ex-Empress Eugenie of France, widow of Na- poleon m, has been living for many years in retirement in the county of Hampshire, England. She was recently visited by Lord Portsmouth, an old friend, who found the illustrious lady full of courage and devotion to the French cause in the 232 STORIES FROM THE BATTLEFIELD ^r.* present war. In explaining her failure to treat her guest as she would have desired, the empress said : ''I cannot give you dinner because most of the men of my kitchen have gone to war." A ''battleship on wheels" Just before the war France added to its equipment the most modern of fighting devices. It is a train of armored cars with rapid-fire guns, conning towers and fighting tops. As a death-dealing war apparatus it is the most unique of anything used by any of the nations. This "battleship" on wheels consists of an armored locomotive, two rapid-fire gun carriages and two armored cars for transporting troops. The rapid-fire guns are mounted in such manner that they can be swung and directed to any point of the compass. Rising from the car behind the locomotive, is a conning tower from which an officer takes observations and directs the fire of the rapid-fire guns. Rails running on top of the cars per- mit troops to fire from the roof of the cars. For opening railway communications this ''battleship on wheels" is un- excelled. GAVE HIM A PORK TO MATCH The scene is a village on the outskirts of Muelhausen, in Alsace. A lieutenant of German scouts dashes up to the door of the only inn in the village, posts men at the dooru^ay and entering, seats himself at a table. He draws his saber and places it on the table at his side and orders food in menacing tones. The village waiter is equal to the occasion. He goes to the stables and fetches a pitchfork and places it at the other side of the visitor. "Stop! What does this mean?" roared the lieutenant, furiously. "Why," said the waiter, innocently, pointing to the saber, "I thought that was your knife, so I brought you a fork to match." DECORATED ON THE BATTLEFIELD On a train loaded with wounded which passed through Limoges, September 11, was a young French officer, Albert Palaphy, whose unusual bravery on the field of battle won for him the Legion of Honor. STORIES FROM THE BATTLEFIELD 233 As a corporal of the Tenth. Dragoons at the beginning of the war, Palaphy took part in the violent combat with the Germans west of Paris. In the thick of the battle the cav- alryman, finding his colonel wounded and helpless, rushed to his aid. Palaphy hoisted the injured man upon his shoulders, and under a rain of machine gun bullets carried him safely to the French lines. That same day Palaphy was promoted to be a sergeant. Shortly afterward, although wounded, he distinguished himself in another affair, leading a charge of his squad against the Baden guard, whose standard he himself cap- tured. Wounded by a ball which had plowed through the lower part of his stomach and covered with lance thrusts, he was removed from the battlefield during the night, and learned he had been promoted to be a subheutenant and nominated chevalier in the Legion of Honor. This incident of decorating a soldier on the battlefield recalls Napoleonic times. ''after you/' said the FRENCHMAN" Lieutenant de Lupel of the French army is said to have endeared himself to his command by a most unusual exhibi- tion of what they are pleased to term ''old-fashioned French gallantry." Accompanied by a few men, Lieutenant de Lupel succeeded in surrounding a German detachment occupying the station at Mezieres. The lieutenant, on searching the premises, came upon the German officer hiding behind a stack of coal. Both men leveled their guns, and for a moment faced each other. "After you," finally said the Frenchman courteously. The German fired and missed and Lieutenant de Lupel killed his man. The French soldiers cheered their leader, and he has been praised everywhere for his action. A "walking wood" at crecy A correspondent describes a "walking wood" at Crecy. The French and British cut down trees and armed themselves with the branches. Line after line of infantry, each man 234 STORIES FROM THE BATTLEFIELD bearing a branch, then moved forward unobserved toward the enemy. Behind them, amid the lopped tree trunks, the artillery- men fixed themselves and placed thirteen-pounders to cover the moving wood. The attack, which followed, won success. It almost went wrong, however, for the French cavalry, which was following, made a detour to pass the wood and dashed into view near the ammunition reserves of the Allies. German shells began falling thereabouts, but British sol- diers went up the hills and pulled the boxes of ammunition out of the way of the German shells. Ammunition and men came through unscathed. By evening the Germans had been cleared from the Marne district. CHAPLAIN CAPTUKES AUSTRIAN TEOOPERS The Bourse Gazette relates the storv of a Russian regi- mental chaplain who, single-handed, captured twenty-six Aus- trian troopers. He was strolling on the steppes outside of Lemberg, when suddenly he was confronted by a patrol of twenty-six men, who tried to force him to tell the details of the position of the Russian troop?. While talking to the men, the priest found that they were all Slavs, whereupon he delivered an impassioned address, dwelling on the sin of shedding the blood of their Slav brethren. At the end of the address, the story concludes, the troopers ■with bent heads followed the priest into the Russian camp. A BRITISH CAVALRY CHARGE Here is a picturesque story of a British cavalry charge at Thuin, a town in Belgium near Charieroi, and the subse- quent retreat to Compiegne : **0n Monday morning, August 24, after chafing at the long delay, the 2nd British Cavalry Brigade let loose at the enemy 's guns. The 9th Lancers went into action singing and shouting like schoolboys. *'For a time all seemed well; few saddles were emptied, and the leaders had charged almost within reach of the oilus, advancing vvith full packs, bayonets fixed, and typical daring and curage. The spirit of the poilu is admirably illustrated in this snapshot. (Fholo by I. F. ti.) Si a s o o c tl H c o o u luck was with me again, for the enemy was made useless ano at once began sinking by the head. Then it careened far over, but all the while its men stayed at the guns looking for their invisible foe. "They were brave and true to their country's sea tradi- tions. Then it eventually suffered a boiler explosion and com- pletely turned turtle. With its keel uppermost it floated until the air got out from under it and then it sank with a loud sound, as if from a creature in pain. "The whole affair had taken less than one hour from the 266 MYSTERY. OF THE FLEETS time of shooting off the first torpedo tuitil the CreSsy went to the bottom. ''I set my course for home. Before I got far some British cruisers and destroyers were on the spot and the destroyers took up the chase. *'I kept under water most of the way, but managed to get off a wireless to the German fleet that I was heading homeward and being pursued. But although British destroyers saw me plainly at dusk on the 22d and made a final effort to stop me, they abandoned the attempt, as it was taking them too far from safety and needlessly e:^posing them to attack from our fleet and submarines.** MERCHANTMEN CAPTUEED AND SUNK During the first months of the war a large number of mer- chant vessels, principally Germai a7.d British, were captured or sunk. According to a British Admiralty return, issued Sep- tember 28, twelve British ships with an aggregate tonnage of 59,331 tons had been sunk on the high seas by German cruisers up to September 23. Eight other British ships, whose ton- nage aggregated 2,970, had been gunk by German mines in the North Sea, and 24 fishing crafty with a tonnage of 4,334, had been captured or sunk by the Germans in the same waters. British ships detained at German ports numbered 74, with a total tonnage of 170,000. On the other side the Admiralty reported 102 German, ships, with a total tonnage of 200,000, detained in British ports since the outbreak of xhe war ; while 88 German ships, of an aggregate tonnage of 338,000, had been captured since hostili- ties began. The return also showed that 168 German ships, with an aggregate tonnage of 283,000, had been detained or captured by the Allies. Fifteen ships, with a tonnage of 247,000, were detained in American ports, while fourteen others, with a ton- nage of 72,000, remained in the Suez Canal. The German mines in the North Sea had also destroyed seven Scandinavian ships, with a tonnage of 11,098. GERMAN CRUISERS ACTIVE Several German cruisers were amazingly active in distant waters early in the war. Amon^ these were the Goeben, Bres- lau, Emden, Karlsruhe, and Leipzig, which captured or sank MYSTERY OF THE FLEETS 267 a mimber of vessels of the enemy. The German cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau also operated in the Pacific, bombarding the French colony of Papeete, on the island of Tahiti, and inflicting much damage, including the sinking of two vessels. On August 26 the big converted German liner Kaiser Wil~ helm der Grosse, while cruising on the northwest coast of Africa, was sunk by the British cruiser Highflyer. The German cruiser Dresden was reported sunk by British cruisers in South American waters in the second week of Sep- tember. The Emden, operating under the German flag in the Indian Ocean, sank several British steamers. Several Aus- trian vessels succumbed to mines off the coast of Dalmatia and in the Baltic there were a number of casualties in which both Eussian and German cruisers suffered. The Russian armored cruiser Bayan was sunk in a fight near the entrance to the Gulf of Finland. On September 20 the German protected cruiser Koenigs- berg attacked the British fight cruiser Pegasus in the harbor of Zanzibar and disabled her. Off the east coast of South America the British auxiliary cruiser Carmania, a former Cunard liner, destroyed a German merchant cruiser mounting eight four-inch guns. About the same time the German cruiser Hela was sunk in the North Sea by the British sub- marine E-9. The Kronprinz Wilhelm, a former German linery which had been supplying coal to German cruisers in the Atlantic, was also sunk by the British. GEKMAN COLONY OCCUPIED The British Admiralty announced on September 12 that the Australian fleet had occupied Herbertshoehe, on Blanche Bay, the seat of government of the German Bismarck Archi- pelago and the Solomon Islands. The Bismarck Archipelago, with an area of 18,000 square miles and a population of 200,000, is off the north coast of Australia and southwest of the Philippine Islands. The group was assigned to the German sphere of influence by an agree- ment with Great Britain in 1885. German New Guinea was included in the jurisdiction. GERMANS SINK RUSS CRUISER On October 11 German submarines in the Baltic torpedoed and sank the Bussian armored cruiser Pallada with all its 268 MYSTERY OF THE FLEETS crew, numbering 568 men. The Pallada had a displacement of 7,775 tons and was a sister ship of the Admiral Makarov and Bayan. She was launched in November, 1906, and had a water-line length of 443 feet; beam, 57 feet; draft of 2I14 feet, and a speed of 21 knots. She carried two 8-inch, eight 6-inch, twenty-two 12-pounders, four 3-pounders, and two tor- pedo tubes. Seven inches of Krupp armor protected the ves- sel amidships and four inches forward. The Pallada was engaged in patrolling the Baltic with the Admiral Makarov when attacked by the submarines. She opened a strong fire on them, but was blown up by a torpedo launched by one of the submerged craft, while the Makarov escaped. BRITISH CRUISER HAWKE SUNK On October 15th, while the British cruisers Hawke and Theseus were patrolling the northern waters of the North Sea, they were attacked by a German submarine. The Hawke, a cruiser of 7,750 tons, commanded by Capt. H. P. E. T. Wil- liams, was torpedoed and sank in eight minutes. Only seventy- three of her crew of 400 officers and men were saved. BRITISH AVENGE AMPHION^S LOSS Capt. Cecil H. Fox, who was in command of the British cruiser Amphion when she was destroyed by a German mine early in the war, had his revenge on October 17, when, in com- mand of the cruiser Undaunted, he sank four German torpedo boat destroyers off the coast of Holland. Only 31 of the com- bined crews of 400 men were saved and these were taken as prisoners of war. CHAPTER XVT SUBMARINES AND MINES Battleships in Constant Danger from Submerged Craft — - Opinions of Admiral Sir Percy Scott — Construction of, Modern Torpedoes — How Mines Are Laid and Ex- ploded on Contact. SIR PERCY SCOTT, admiral in the Britisli navy, whd through his inventions made possible the advance in marksmanship with heavy guns and increased the possi- bilities of hitting at long range and of broadside firing, said recently that everything he has done to enhance the value of the gun is rendered useless by the advent of the latest type of submarine, a vessel which has for its principal weapon the torpedo. Dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts are doomed, because they no longer can be safe at sea from the submarine nor find safety in harbors. **The introduction of vessels that swim under water,*' he said, **has in my opinion entirely done away with the utility] of the ships that swim on top of the water. The functions of a war vessel were these : Defensively, [1] to attack ships that come to bombard our forts, [2] to attack ships that come to blockade us, [3| tS attack ships convoying a landing party, [4] to attack the enliny's fleet, [5] to attack ships interfering with our commerce; offensively, [1] to bombard an enemy^s ports, [2] to blockade an enemy, [3] to convoy a landing party, [4] to attack the enemy's fleet, [5] to attack the enemy's conmcierce. **The submarine renders 1, 2 and 3 impossible, as no man of war will dare to come even within sight of a coast that is adequately protected by submarines. 3^he fourth functioii 269 270 SUBMARINES AND MINES of a battleship is to attack an enemy's fleet, but there will be no fleet to attack, as it will not be safe for a fleet to put to sea. Submarines and aeroplanes have entirely revolution- ized naval warfare; no fleet can hide itself from the aero- plane's eye, and the submarine can deliver a deadly attack in broad daylight. ''In time of war the scouting aeroplanes will always be high above on the lookout, and the submarines in constant readiness. If an enemy is sighted the gong sounds and the leash of a flotilla of submarines will be slipped. 'Whether it be night or day, fine or rough, they must go out in search of their quarry; if they find her she is doomed and they give no quarter; they cannot board her and take her as prize as in the olden days; they only wait till she sinks, then return home without even knowing the number of human beings they have sent to the bottom of the ocean. *'Not only is the open sea unsafe; a battleship is not im- mune from attack even in a closed harbor, for the so-called protecting boom at the entrance can easily be blown up. "With a flotilla of submarines commanded by dashing young offi- cers, of whom we have plenty, I would undertake to get through any boom into any harbor and sink or materially damage all the ships in that harbor." A PEACTICAL MAn's VIEWS This is not a mere theorist or dreamer talking, says Bur- ton Roscoe in commenting on Admiral Scott's statements; it is the one man in England most supremely versed in naval tactics, the man to whom all nations owe the present effective- ness of the broadside of eight, twelve and fourteen inch guns and the perfection in sighting long range guns. The newest type of submarine torpedo is 100 per cent effi- cient. The torpedo net of steel that used to be the ship's defense against torpedoes is now useless. The modern tor- pedoes need only to come in contact with a surface like the torpedo net or the armor plate of a battleship to discharge a shell which will burst through a two-inch armor caisson, rupture the hull of a battleship, and sink it in a few minutes. The torpedo submarines of the modern type have a sub- merged speed of from eight to ten knots an hour. Only a small surface, including the bridge or conning tower, is ex- SUBMARINES AND MINES 271 posed, thus making it almost impossible to Mt them with the clmnsy guns aboard ship. The highest type of submarine has a submerged tonnage of 812 tons and its length is 176 feet. Each submarine carries from one to six torpedoes, each of which is capable of sinking the most heavily armored ves- sel afloat. The sighter in the conning tower moves swiftly up within range of the vessel he is attacking and gives the signal for the discharge of the torpedo. The men aboard the attacked ship have no warning of their impending death except a thin sheaf of water that follows on the surface ia the wake of the submerged torpedo and which lasts only an instant BUN BY COMPRESSED AIR By a compressed air arrangement motive power is fur- nished the torpedo in transit for its propellers. A gyroscope keeps it on a plane and upright. A striker on the nose of the torpedo is released by a fan which revolves in the water. The nose of the torpedo strikes the side of the battleship and the compact jars the primer of fulminate of mercury. Tho high explosive of gunpowder forces out a shell and explodes with it after the shell has penetrated the armor. Then the work is done. It is generally believed the principal harbors and fortifica- tions in England are heavily supplied with torpedoes of the new type. It is also believed that the^fortifications about the Eiver Elbe are thus equipped. If this is a fact the defending nation will be able not only to repulse any fleet attempting an invasion but also to destroy it. By throwing across the Straits of Dover, or across the lower end of the North Sea, a flotilla of its powerful submarines England can prevent any naval invasion of France or England or Belgium by Germany should the attacking fleet take this route. In the latest type of submarine the United States is de- ficient. There are only twenty-nine submarines in the United States naval service at the present time and only eighteen under construction. The old type of torpedo did not have penetrative power 272 SUBMARINES AND MINES m m ^,%4 * • •)>> (U es u 4J -(J ra o. CO .a Salg- c3 s; "i> tJ3' r:i-" ja en a Mi; +^+3 _o "^K. a -^ >.a) 13 gafca n > fcT "cl ■w flj o'S a,^ 2* s a 3-M& O (D 5 So -. a a© a S3 £-a P !-l4J d 0) ti - (S uio a 2 •S-2^2 -u -j-Ja'*- CS m^£>. en OT * «i3 •4^ o M i"o2Ha "Oat: 23 %^ O ii o ^ o a?''"^„ a o o a* . a -^ fc, tJ 00 in 33 £S V. 5 ^•«Sg' Lrf .::; 5 > O O His -3^^ OJ _ ro i^" J* i O a ta a> o u a bO a & to a 3 a si a Eh -a ■a o fa « c o tm a c 4) 3 5 o ^ hi (^ « V B m « « o 3 O > 5 c H >. t. > O o c « j4&ore — An American supply train in the town of Esnes, seen from the cemetery. In the background Hill 300. wliich was held by the Germans .since earl.v in the war and has been the scene of many attacks and great slaughter. Note the utter ruin of the town a.s it was found by the .\mericans. liilov — An Ameiican i)atr()l anixins' at the ruins of the house used as an observa- tory by the German Crown Prince duiin^r the famous battle of Verdun. It is said that he watched the operations in comfort while seated before the eyepiece of a periscope carried up through the roof. (U. S. Official Photos.) Above — American automatic rifle team malting it liot for tlie Huns. Note tlie pro- tective barricade of ammunition boxes and sandbags. Below — How hiand grenades are thrown at the enemy in the trenches. American soldiers soon became expert at this superlative kind of baseball. (U. S. Official Photos.) BATTLE OF THE AISNE 291 inhabitants of Rheims, with their addresses, including four priests, and ending with the words, 'And some others.' n HOW THE BATTLE DEVELOPED The following descriptive report from Field Marshal Sir John French's headquarters was issued September 22: ''At the date of the last narrative, September 14, the Ger- mans were making a determined resistance along the River Aisne. The opposition has proved to be more serious than was anticipated. ' ' The action now being fought by the Germans along their line is naturally on a scale which, as to extent of ground cov- ered and duration of resistance, makes it undistingiiishable in its progress from what is known as a 'pitched battle.' "So far as we are concerned, the action still being con- tested is the battle of the Aisne. The foe we are fighting is just across that river, along the whole of our front to the east and west. The struggle is not confined to the valley of that river, thsugh it will probably bear its name. ' ' On Monday, the 14th, those of our troops which had on the previous day crossed the Aisne, after driving in the Ger- man rearguards on that evening, found portions of the enemy's forces in prepared defensive positions on the right bank and could do little more than secure a footing north of the river. This, however, they maintained in spite of two counter-attacks delivered at dusk and 10 p. m., in which the fighting was severe. "During the 14th strong reinforcements of our troops were passed to the north bank, the troops crossing by ferry, by pontoon bridges, and by the remains of permanent bridges. Close co-operation with the French forces was maintained and the general progress made was good, although the opposi- tion was vigorous and the state of the roads, after the heavy rain, made movements slow. FIEST CORPS MAKES CAPTURE "One division alone failed to secure the groiinS it expected to. The First Army Corps, after repulsing repeated attacks, captured 600 prisoners and twelve guns. The cavalry also took a number of prisoners. -^ "There was a hea^T rain throughout the night of Sep- 292 BATTLE OF THE AISNE tember 14-15 and during the 15th the situation of the British forces underwent no essential change. But it became more and more evident that the defensive preparations made by the enemy were more extensive than was at first apparent. The Germans bombarded our hues nearly all day, using heavy guns brought, no doubt, from before Maubeuge as well as those with the corps. ** All the German counter-attacks, however, failed, although in some places they were repeated six times. One made on the Fourth Guards Brigade was repulsed with heavy slaughter. "Further counter-attack\^ made during the night were beaten off. Rain came on towards evening and continued intermittently until 9 a. m., on the 16th. Besides adding to the discomfort of the soldiers holding the line, the wet weather to some extent hampered the motor transport service, which was also hindered by broken bridges. '*0n Wednesday, the 16th, there was little change in the situation opposite the British ; the efforts made by the enemy were less active than on the previous day, though their bom- bardment continued throughout the morning and evening. **0n Thursday, the 17th, the situation still remained un- changed in its essentials. The German heavy artillery fire was more active than on the previous day. The only infantry attacks made by the enemy were on the extreme right of our position, and, as had happened before, they were repulsed with heavy loss, chiefly on this occasion by our field artillery. NATUEE OF THE FIGHTING * ' In order to convey some idea of the nature of the fighting it may be said that along the greater part of our front the Germans have been driven back from the forward slopes on the north of the river. Their infantry are holding strong lines of trenches amongst and along the edges of the numerous woods which crouTi the slopes. These trenches are elaborately constructed and cleverly concealed. In many places there are wire entanglements and lengths of rabbit fencing. * ' Both woods and open are carefully aligned, so that they can be swept by rifle fire and machine-guns, which are invisible from our side of the valley. The ground in front of the infan- try is also, as a rule, under cross fire from the field artillery BATTLE OF THE AISNE 293 placed on neighboring heights, and under high angle fire from pieces placed well back behind the woods on top of the plateau. '* A feature of this action, as of the previous fighting, is the use by the enemy of numerous heavy howitzers, with which they are able to direct long range fire all over the valley and right across it Dpon these they evidently place great reh- ance. ''Where our men are holding the forward edges of the high ground on the north side they are now strongly in- trenched. They are well fed, and in spite of the wet weather of the last week are cheerful and confident HEAVY BOMBAEDMENT BY BOTH SIDES "The bombardment by both sides has been heavy, and on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday was practically continuous. Nevertheless, in spire of the general din caused by the reports of the immense number of heavy guns in action along our front on Wednesday, the arrival of the French force acting against the German right flank was at once announced on the east of our front some miles away by the continuous roar of their quick-firing artillery, with which the attack was opened. ''So far as the British are concerned, the greater part of this week has been passed in bombardment, in gaining ground by degrees, and in beating back severe counter-attacks with heavy slaughter. Our casualties have been severe, but it is probable that those of the enemy are heavier. "The rain has caused a great drop in the temperature and there is more than a distant feeling of autumn in the air. "On our right and left the French have been fighting fiercely and have been gradually gaining ground. One village already has been captured and recaptured twice by each side and at the time of writing remains in the hands of the Ger- mans. "The fighting has been at close quarters and of the most desperate nature, and the streets of the village are filled with dead of both sides. CHEEKING MESSAGE TO THE FRENCH "As an example of the spirit which is inspiring our allies the following translation of an Ordre du Jour (order of the 294 BATTLE OF THE AISNE day), published on September 9, after the battle of Mont- mirail, by the commander of the French Fifth Army, is given : *' 'Soldiers: Upon the memorable fields of Montmirail, of Vauchamps, of Champaubert, which a century ago wit- nessed the victories of our ancestors over Bliicher's Prussians, your vigorous offensive has triumphed over the resistance of the Germans. Held on his flanks, his center broken, the enemy now is retreating towards the east and north by forced marches. The most renowned army corps of old Prussia, the contingents of Westphaha, of Hanover, of Brandenburg, have retired in haste before you. •* 'This first success is no more than the prelude. The enemy is shaken but not yet decisively beaten. You have still to undergo severe hardships, to make long marches, to fight hard battles. May the image of our country, soiled by bar- barians, always remain before your eyes ! Never was it more necessary to sacrifice all for her. ** 'Saluting the heroes who have fallen in the fighting of the last few days, my thoughts turn toward you, the victors in the last battle. Forward, soldiers, for France ! ' LETTER FEOM A GERMAN" SOLDIER "So many letters and statements of our wounded soldiers have been published in our newspapers that the following epistle from a German soldier of the Seventy -fourth Infantry regiment. Tenth Corps, to his wife also may be of interest : ** 'My Dear Wife: I have just been living through days that defy imagination. I should never have thought that men could stand it. Not a second has passed but my hfe has been in danger, and yet not a hair of my head has been hurt. " 'It was horrible; it was ghastly, but I have been saved for you and for our happiness, and I take heart again, although I am still terribly imnerved. God grant that I may see you again soon and that this horror may soon be over. " *None of us can do any more; human strength is at an end. I will try to tell you about it. On September 5 the enemy were reported to be taking up a position near St. Prix, southeast of Paris. The Tenth Corps, which had made an astonishingly rapid advance of course, was attacked on Sun- day. " 'Steep slopes led up to the heights, which were held in BATTLE OF THE AISNE 295 considerable force. With our weak detachments of the Sev- enty-fourth and Ninety-first regiments we reached the crest and came under a terrible artillery fire that mowed us down. However, we entered St. Prix. Hardly had we done so than we were met with shell fire and a violent fusillade from the enemy's infantry. Our colonel was badly wounded — he is the third we have had. Fourteen men were killed around me. We got away in a lull without my being hit. ' ' ' The 7th, 8th, and 9th of September we were constantly under shell and shrapnel fire and suffered terrible losses. I was in a house which was hit several times. The fear of death, of agony, which is in every man's heart, and naturally so, is a terrible feeling. How often I have thought of you, my darhng, and what I suffered in that terrifying battle which extended along a front of many miles near Montmirail, you cannot possibly imagine. '* 'Our heavy artillery was being used for the siege of Maubeuge. We wanted it badly, as the enemy had theirs in force and kept up a furious bombardment. For four days I was under artillery fire. It was like hell, but a thousand times worse. ' ' ' On the night of the 9th the order was given to retreat, as it would have been madness to attempt to hold our position with our few men, and we should have risked a terrible defeat the next day. The first and third armies had not been able to attack with us, as we had advanced too rapidly. Our morale was absolutely broken; in spite of unheard-of sacrifices we had achieved nothing. * ' ' I cannot understand how our army, after fighting three great battles and being terribly weakened, was sent against a position which the enemy had prepared for three weeks, but, naturally, I know nothing of the intentions of our chiefs ; they say nothing has been lost. ** 'In a word, we retired towards Oormontreuil and Eheims by forced marches by day and night. We hear that three armies are going to get into line, intrench and rest, and then start afresh our victorious march on Paris. It was not a defeat, only a strategic retreat. I have confidence in our chiefs that everything will be successful. ** 'Our first battalion, which has fought with unparalleled 296 BATTLE OF THE AISNE bravery, is reduced from 1,200 to 194 men. These numbers speak for themselves.' " EVENTS FKOM SEPTEMBEE 21 TO 24 The next report from the official chronicler at the front, dated September 24, was in part as follows : "The enemy is still maintaining himself along the whole front, and in order to do so is throwing into the fight detach- ments composed of units from the different formations, the active army, reserve, and landwehr, as is shown by the uni- forms of prisoners recently captured. "Our progress, although slow. on account of the strength of the defensive positions against which we are pressing, has in certain directions been continuous, but the present battle may well last for some days more before a decision is reached, since it now approximates nearly to siege warfare. "The nature of the general situation after the operations of the 18th, 19th, and 20th, cannot better be summarized than as expressed recently by a neighboring French commander to his corps: 'Having repulsed repeated and violent counter- attacks made by the enemy, we have a feeling that we have been victorious.' ' ' So far as the British are concerned, the course of events during these three days can be described in a few words. Dur- ing Friday, the 18th, artillery fire was kept up intermittently by both sides during daylight. At night the Germans counter- attacked certain portions of our line, supporting the advance of their infantry as always by a heavy bombardment. But the strokes were not delivered with great vigor and ceased about 2 a. m. During the day's fighting an aircraft gun of the Third Army Corps succeeded in bringing down a German aeroplane. ARTILLERY FIRE BECOMES MONOTONOUS **0n Saturday, the 19th, the bombardment was resumed by the Germans at an early hour and continued intermittently under reply from our guns, which is a matter of normal routine rather than an event. "Another hostile aeroplane was brought down by us, and one of our aviators succeeded in dropping several bombs over BATTLE OF THE AISNE 297 the German line, one incendiary bomb falling with considerable effect on a transport park near LaFere. *'A buried store of the enemy's munitions of war also was found not far from the Aisne, ten wagonloads of live shells and two wagons of cable being dug up. Traces were discov- ered of large quantities of stores having been burned — all tending to show that as far back as the Aisne the German retirement was hurried. "On Sunday, the 20th, nothing of importance occurred until the afternoon, when there was an interval of feeble sun- shine, which was hardly powerful enough to warm the soaking troops. The Germans took advantage of this brief spell of fine weather to make several attacks against different points. These were all repulsed with loss to the enemy, but the casual- ties incurred by us were by no means light. ''The offensive against one or two points was renewed at dusk, with no greater success. The brunt of the resistance naturally has fallen on the infantry. In spite of the fact that they have been drenched to the skin for some days and their trenches have been deep in mud and water, and in spite of the incessant night alarms and the almost continuous bombard- ment to which they have been subjected, they have on every occasion been ready for the enemy 's infantry when the latter attempted to assault. Indeed, the sight of the troops coming up has been a positive relief after long, trying hours of inac- tion under shell fire. OBJECT OF GERMAN" ATTACKS ''The object of the great proportion of artillery the Ger- mans employ is to beat down the resistance of their enemy by concentrated and prolonged fire — to shatter their nerve with high explosives before the infantry attack is launched. They seem to have rehed on doing this with us, but they have not done so, though it has taken them several costly experiments to discover this fact. * ' From statements of prisoners, it appears that they have been greatly disappointed by the moral effect produced by their hea^^ guns, which, despite the actual losses inflicted, has not been at all commensurate with the colossal expendi- ture of ammunition which has really been wasted. "By this it is not implied that their artillery fire is not 298 BATTLE OF THE AISNE good. It is more than good — it is excellent. But the Britisli soldier is a difficult person to impress or depress, even by immense shells filled with a high explosive, which detonate with terrific violence and form craters large enough to act as graves for five horses. * ' The German howitzer shells are from eight to nine inches in calibre, and on impact they send up columns of greasy black smoke. On account of this they are irreverently dubbed ' coal boxes,' 'Black Marias,' or 'Jack Johnsons' by the soldiers. ''Men who take things in this spirit are, it seems, likely to throw out the calculations based on loss of morale so care- fully framed by the German military philosophers. ' ' The German losses in officers are stated by our prisoners to have been especially severe. A brigade is stated to be commanded by a major; some companies of foot guards by one-year volunteers ; while after the battle of Montmirail one regiment lost fifty-five out of sixty officers. LETTER FOUND ON GERMAN OFFICER "The following letter, which refers to the fighting on the Aisne and was found on a German officer of the Seventh Reserve Corps, has been printed and circulated to the troops : ' ' ' Cerny, South of Paris, Sept. 17. — My Dear Parents : — Our corps has the task of holding the heights south of Cerny in all circumstances till the Fourteenth Corps on our left flank can grip the enemy's flank. On our right are other corps. We are fighting with the English guards, Highlanders and Zouaves. The losses on both sides have been enormous. For the most part this is due to the too-brilliant French artillery. " 'The English are marvelously trained in making use of ground. One never sees them and one is constantly under fire. The French airmen perform wonderful feats. We cannot get rid of them. As soon as an airman has flown over us, ten minutes later we get shrapnel fire in our position. We have little artillery in our corps ; without it we cannot get forward. " 'Three days ago our division took possession of these heights and dug itself in. Two days ago, early in the morn- ing, we were attacked by immensely superior English forces — one brigade and two battalions — and were turned out of our BATTLE OF THE AISNE 299 positions. The fellows took five guns from us. It was a tre- mendous hand-to-hand fight, ** 'How I escaped myself I am not clear. I then had to bring up support on foot. My horse was wounded and the others were too far in the rear. Then came up the Guard Jager Battalion, Fourth Jager, Sixth Regiment, Reserve Regi- ment Thirteen, and Landwehr Regiments Thirteen and Six- teen, and, with the help of the artillery, we drove the fellows out of the position again. Our machine-guns did excellent work; the English fell in heaps. ** *In our battahon three iron crosses have been given. Let us hope that we shall be the lucky ones the next time. *' * During the first two days of the battle I had only one piece of bread and no water. I spent the night in the rain without my greatcoat. The rest of my kit was on the horses, which have been left miles behind with the baggage and which cannot come up into the battle because as soon as you put your nose up from behind cover the bullets whistle. * ' ' War is terrible ! We are all hoping that a decisive battle will end the war. Our troops already have got round Paris. If we beat the English the French resistance will soon be broken. Russia will be very quickly dealt with ; of this there is no doubt. *' *We have received splendid help from the Austrian heavy artillery at Maubeuge. They bombarded Fort Cerfon- taine in such a way that there was not ten meters of parapet which did not show enormous craters made by the shells. The armored turrets were found upside down. " * Yesterday evening about 6, in the valley in which our reserves stood, there was such a terrible cannonade that we saw nothing of the sky but a cloud of smoke. We had few casualties. ' TELEPHONE AN" AID TO SPIES ** Espionage is carried on by the enemy to a considerable extent. Recently the suspicions of Some of the French troops were aroused by coming across a farm from which the horses had been removed. After some search they discovered a tele- phone which was connected by an underground cable with the German lines, and the o^vner of the farm paid the i)enalty in the usual way in war for his treachery. 300 BATTLE OF THE AISNE ''After some cases of village fighting, which occurred ear- lier in the war, it was reported by some of our officers that the Oermans had attempted to approach to close quarters by forc- ing prisoners to march in front of them. The Germans have recently repeated the same trick on a larger scale against the French, as is shown by the copy of an order issued by the French officials. It is therein referred to as a ruse, but if that term can be accepted, it is a distinctly illegal ruse. EEFERS TO RHEIMS CATHEDRAL *'Full details of the actual damage done to the cathedral at Rheims will doubtless have been cabled, so that no descrip- tion of it is necessary. The Germans bombarded the cathe- dral t^vice with their heavy artillery. * ' One reason it caught fire so quickly was that on one side of it was some scaffolding which had been erected for restora- tion work. Straw had also been laid on the floor for the recep- tion of German wounded. It is to the credit of the French that practically all the German wounded were successfully extricated from the burning building. ''There was no justification on military grounds for this act of vandalism, which seems to have been caused by exas- peration born of failure — a sign of impotence rather than of strength. ' ' FIVE MORE DAYS OF BATTLE On September 29 Field Marshal French's headquarters reported as follows: "The general situation as viewed on the map remains practically the same as that described in the last letter, and the task of the army has not changed. It is to raaintain itself imtil there is a general resumption of the offensive. _ "No ground has been lost. Some has been gained, and every counter-attack has been repulsed — in certain instances with very severe losses to the enemy. "Of recent events an actual narrative will be carried on from the 25th to 29th, inclusive. During the whole of this period the weather has remained fine. "On Friday, the 25th, comparative quiet reigned in our fiphere of action. The only incident worthy of special mention was the passage of a German aeroplane over the interior of BATTLE OF THE AISNE 301 our lines. It was flying high, but drew a general fusillade from below, with the result that the pilot was killed outright and the observer was wounded. The latter was captured by the French. ''That night a general attack was made against the greater part of the Allies' position, and it was renewed in the early morning of Saturday, the 26th. The Germans were every- where repulsed with loss. Indeed, opposite one portion of our lines, where they were caught in mass by our machine-guns and howitzers firing at different ranges, it is estimated that they left 1,000 killed or wounded. ''The mental attitude of our troops may be gauged from the fact that the ofBicial report next morning from one corps, of which one division had borne the brunt of the fighting, ran thus laconically: 'The night was quiet except for a certain amount of shelling both from the enemy and ourselves. ' AN" ALL-DAY ATTACK *' At 3 :40 a. m. an attack was made on our right. At 5 a. m. thexie was a general attack on the right of the th division, but no really heavy firing. Further ineffectual efforts to drive us back were made at 8 a. m. and in the afternoon, and the artillery fire continued all day. "The Germans came on in 'T' formation, several lines shoulder to shoulder, followed almost immediately by a column in support. After a very few minutes the men had closed up into a mob, which afforded an excellent target for our fire. ' ' On Sunday, the 27th, while the German heavy guns were in action, their brass bands could be heard playing hymn tunes, presumably at divine service. "The enemy made an important advance on part of our line at 6 p. m., and renewed it in strength at one point, with, however, no better success than on the previous night. Snip- ing continued all day along the whole front. "On Monday, the 28th, there was nothing more severe than a bombardment and intermittent sniping, and this inactivity continued during Tuesday, the 29th, except for a night attack against our extreme right. A TYPICAL BATTLE INCIDENT "An incident that occurred Sunday, the 27th, serves to illustrate the type of fighting that has for the last two weeks 302 BATTLE OF THE AISNE been going on intermittently on various parts of our lines. It also brings out the extreme difficulty of ascertaining what is actually happening during an action apart from what seems to be happening, and points to the value of good intrench- ments. *' At a certain point in our front our advance trenches were on the north of the Aisne, not far from a viHage on a hillside and also within a short distance of Geiman works, being on a slope of a spur formed by a subsidiary valley running north and a main valley of the river. It was a calm, sunny after- noon, but hazy, and from our point of vantage south of the river it was difficult exactly to locate on the far bank the well- concealed trenches. * * From far and near the sullen boom of guns echoed along the valley, and at intervals in a different direction the sky was flecked with the almost motionless smoke of anti-aircraft shrapnel. * ' Suddenly and without any warning, for the reports of the distant howitzers from which they were fired could not be dis- tinguished from other distant reports, three or four heavy shells fell into the village, sending up huge clouds of dust and smoke, w^hich ascended in a brownish-gray column. To this no reply was made by our side. ''Shortly afterwards there was a quick succession of re- ports from a point some distance up the subsidiary vallej'' on the side opposite our trenches and therefore rather on their flank. It was not possible either by ear or by eye to locate the guns from which the sounds proceeded. Almost simultaneously, as it seemed, there was a corresponding succession of flashes and sharp detonations in the line along the hillside along what appeared to be our trenches. "There was then a pause and several clouds of smoke rose slowly and remained stationary, spaced as regularly as poplars. ''Again there was a succession of reports from German quick-firers on the far side of the misty valley and like echoes of detonations of high explosives ; then the row of expanding smoke clouds was prolonged by several new ones. Another pause and silence, except for the noise in the distance. "After a few minutes there was a roar from our side of BATTLE OF THE AISNE 303 the main valley as our field guns opened one after another in a more deliberate fire upon the positions of the German guns. After six reports there was again silence save for the whirr of shells as they sang up the small valley. Then followed flashes and balls of smoke — one, two, three, four, five, six — as the shrapnel burst nicely over what in the haze looked like some ruined buildings at the edge of the wood. TKYnSTG TO ENFILADE THE TKENCHES ** Again, after a short interval, the enemy's gunners re- opened with a burst, still further prolonging the smoke, which was by now merged into one solid screen above a considerable leng*th of the trenches and again did our guns reply. And so the duel went on for some time. ** Ignoring our guns, the German artillerymen, probably relying on concealment for immunity, were concentrating all their efforts in a particularly forceful effort to enfilade our trenches. For them it must have appeared to be the chance of a hf etime, and with their customary prodigality of ammuni- tion they continued to pour bouquet after bouquet of high explosives or combined shrapnel and common shells into our works. ** Occasionally, with a roar, a high angle projectile would sail over the hill and blast a gap in the village. One could only pray that our men holding the trenches had dug them- selves in deep and well, and that those in the village were in cellars. ' * In the hazy valleys, bathed in sunlight, not a man, not a horse, not a gun, nor even a trench was to be seen. There were only flashes, and smoke, and noise. Above, against the blue sky, several round, white clouds were hanging. The only two visible human souls were represented by a glistening speck in the air. On high also were to be heard more or less gentle reports of the anti-aircraft projectiles. ''But the deepest impression created was one of sympathy for the men subjected to the bursts along that trench. Upon inquiry as to the losses sustained, however, it was found that our men had been able to take care of themselves and had dug themselves well in. In that collection of trenches on that Sunday afternoon were portions of four battalions of British 304 BATTLE OF THE AISNE soldiers— the Dorsets, the West Kents, the King's Own York- shire light infantry, and the King's Own Scottish Borderers." AKMIES IN A DEADLOCK Later reports from the Aisne valley, up to October 17, when the big battle had been five weeks in progress, indicated little change in the general situation. Bombardments and artillery duels, varied by general attacks, occurred daily all along the line. The main positions of both armies were firmly held, though the French had gained some ground north of Rheims and continually threatened the German center. The left of the Allies' line had crept north to and beyond Arras, where there was severe fighting for several days ; and at the end of the thirty-fifth day of thp. battle of the Rivers the lines of the opposing armies extended almost continuously from beyond Arras on the northwest, south in a great curve to the Aisne valley, thence east to Verdun, where the Crown Prince's army kept hammering away at that fortress without success, and thence southwest to Nancy and the Alsatian border. ^ By this time the armies of the center were in a species of deadlock. The strain on both sides had long promised to get beyond human endurance and the antagonists of the Aisne were likened by a French officer to two exhausted pugilists, who would soon be unable to inflict further punishment upon each other. But there was no sign of ''throwing up the sponge" on either side, though beyond the actual sphere of conflict it was felt that ' ' something must give way soon. * * )> A BLAZING VALE OF DEATH Writing on September 16, the fourth day of the battle, a special correspondent behind the British lines by Senlis and Chantilly, said : "I have passed through a smiling land to a land wearing the mask of death; through harvest fields rich with great stacks snugly builded against the mnter to the fields of a braver harvest; by jocund villages where there is no break in the ebb and flow of everyday life to villages and towns that despoiling hands have shattered in ruins. "And I have passed up this Via Dolorosa toward the very har\^esting itself— toward those great plains stretching away BATTLE OF THE AISNE 305 on the banks of the Eiver Aisne, where the second act of this drama of battles is at this moment being played. ''Details of this fight, which, as I write, reaches its fourth day of duration, are very scanty, but partly from personal observation and partly from information which has reached me I know that the struggle so far has been a terrible one, equal to, if not greater than, the struggle on the banks of the Mame. "The events of Monday (September 14) revealed a foe bat- tling desperately for his life ; and this defense of General von Kluck's army demanded of the Allies their utmost strength and determination. "Picture this battlefield, which will assuredly take its place with that of the Marne as one of the greatest combats of the greatest war. Through the middle of it flows the great river, passing from the east to the west. The banks of the river here are very steep. Above the plain, which sweeps away from the northern bank, rises the ' ' massif ' * of Laon. It is an ideal area for great movements and for artillery work directed upon the valley of the river. Passing eastward a little, there are the heights behind the city of Eheims and above the Vesle, a tribu- tary of the Aisne. Here again nature has builded a strong- hold easy to defend, difficult exceedingly to attack. **I know of heroic work against these great lines, work that will live with the most momentous of this struggle. I know of smashing attacks the thought of which takes one's breath away. I have heard narratives of the trenches and of the bridges — ^these engineers, French and English, have indeed 'played the game' — ^which no man can hear unmoved ; how the columns went down again and again to the blazing death of the valley, and how men worked, building and girding in a very inferno — ^worked with the furious speed of those whose time of work is short. HEROISM IN THE TRENCHES "And in the trenches, too, the tale of heroism unfolds itself hour by hour. Here is an example, one among ten thousand, the story of a wounded private : 'We lay together, my friend and I. . . . The order to fire came. We shot and shot till our rifles burned us. Still they swarmed on towtirds us. We took careful aim all the while. "Ah, good, did you see that?" 306 BATTLE OF THE AISNE I turned to my friend and as I did so heard a terrible dull sound like a spade striking upon newly turned earth. His head was fallen forward. I spoke, I called him by name. He was moaning a little. Then I turned to my work again. They are advancing quickly now. Ah ! how cool I was. I shot so slowly, ... so very slowly. ** 'And then — do you know what it feels hke to be wounded? I rose just a little too high on my elbow. A sting that pierces my arm like a hot "svire — too sharp almost to be sore. I felt my arm go away from me — it seemed like that — and then my rifle fell. I believe I was a little dazed. I looked at my friend presently. He was dead. ' THE GKIM STOKY OF SENLIS **So, on these green river banks and aeross these fair wooded plains the Germans make their great stand — the stand that if they are defeated will be their last in France. And meanwhile behind them lie the wasted fields and the broken villages. It is impossible adequately to describe the scenes which I have witnessed on the line of the great retreat, but here and there events have had place, w^hieh, in truth, cry to high heaven for report. Of such is the grim story of Senlis. * ' I spent many hours in Senlis and I will recount that story as I saw it and as I heard it from those who lived through the dreadful procession of days. On Saturday, September 5, the Germans reached this beautiful old cathedral town and entered into occupation. They issued a proclamation to the inhab- itants calling upon them to submit and to offer no sort of resistance on pain of severe reprisals. **But the inhabitants of Senlis had already tasted the bitter draft of war making. The people had become bitter to the point of losing care of their own safety. They were reckless, driven to distraction. '^ Bitter was the price exacted for the recklessness! The trouble began when, exasperated beyond measure by their insolence, a brave tobacconist declared to a couple of the Prus- sians: 'I serve men, not bullies.' He followed his words with a blow delivered fiercely from the shoulder. *'The infuriated soldiers dragged him from his shop and hurled him on his knees in front of the door. His wife rushed out shrieking for mercy. Mercy ! As well ask it of a stone I BATTLE OF THE AISNE 307 A shot rang out. . . . Another. . . . Man and wife lay dead. ''Immediately the news of this murderous act flew through the towTi. Outraged and furious, the conquerors marched in- stantly to the house of the mayor — their hostage — and arrested him. They conveyed him without a moment 's delay to the mihtary headquarters, where he was imprisoned for the night. On Wednesday morning a court-martial sat to decide his fate. A few minutes later this brave man paid for the indiscretion of his people with his life, dying splendidly. ''And then guns were turned on this town of living men and women and children. Shells crashed into the houses, into the shops, into the station. At Chantilly, seven kilometers away, the amazed inhabitants saw a great column of black smoke curl up into the air; they guessed the horrible truth. Senlis was burning. "The work, however, was intermpted. At midday the glad tidings were heard, 'The Turcos are here.' Within the hour broken and blazing Senhs was re-relieved and rescued. The Turcos pursued and severely punished the enemy. "Today these streets are terrible to look upon. House after house has been shattered to pieces — broken to a pile of stones. One of the small turrets of the cathedral has been demolished, and a rent has been torn in the stone work of the tower. The station is like a wilderness." RHEIMS CATHEDRAIj DAMAGED A correspondent gives a vivid account of the German bom- bardment of Rheims, during the battle on the Aisne, as viewed by him from the belfry of the famous cathedral. "What a spectacle it was!" he said. "Under the cold, drifting gray rainclouds the whole semicircle of the horizon was edged by heights on which the German batteries were mounted, three miles away. "There was nothing but the inferno of bursting shells, those of the Germans landing anywhere within the space of a square mile. Sometimes it was just outside the town that they fell, trying to find the French troops lying there in their trenches, waiting to go forward to the attack of the hills, when their artillery should have prepared the way. ' ' The cathedral tower made a wonderful grand stand from 308 BATTLE OF THE AISNE whicli to watcli this appalling game of destruction. It was under the protection of the Red Cross flag, for directly the shells began to hit the cathedral in the morning some German wounded were brought in from a hospital nearby and laid on straw in the nave, while Abbe Andreaux and a Red Cross sol- dier pluckily climbed to the top of the tower and hung out two Geneva flags. ''The crescendo scream the shells make has something fiendish in it that would be thrilling apart from the danger of which it is the sign. You hear it a full second before the shell strikes, and in that time you can tell instinctively the direction of its flight. ''Then comes the crash of the explosion, which is hke all the breakages you ever heard gathered into one simultaneous smash." SAVING THE GERMAN WOUNDED A few of the German shells struck the cathedral and set it on fire. The scene was thus described by Abbe Camu, a priest of Rheims : "It was all over in an hour. There were two separate fires. AVe put the first out with four buckets of water, all we had in the place, but soon another sheU struck the roof and the wind drove the flames along the rafters inside of the nave. We rushed up, but it was flaming all along and as we could do nothing, we hurried do^vn. "There were holes in the ceiling of the nave and sparks began to fall through them into a great heap of straw, ten feet high and twenty yards long, which the Germans had piled along the north aisle. We tried to catch the sparks in our hands as they fell, and such of the German wounded as were able to walk helped us. But the first spark that fell on the pile set it blazing. There was time to think of nothing but getting out the wounded. ' ' They screamed horribly. We carried many of those that could not walk, while others dragged themselves painfully along to the side door in the north aisle. Those who had only hand and arm wounds helped their comrades. We got ()ut all except thirteen, whose bodies were left behind. "When at last I came out of the flaming building I found the whole body of wounded huddled together around the doors. BATTLE OF THE AISNE 309 Opposite to them was a furiously hostile crowd of civilians of the towTi and a number of soldiers mth their rifles already leveled. **I sprang forward. 'What are you doing?' I cried. a 'They shall all bum,' shouted the soldiers in answer. 'They shall go back and burn with the cathedral or we will shoot them here.' *' 'You are mad!' I exclaimed in reply. 'Think of what this means. All the world will hear of the crime the Germans have committed here, and if you shoot these men the world will know that France has been as criminal in her turn. Any- how,' I said, 'you shall shoot me first, for I will not move.' "Unwillingly the soldiers lowered their rifles and I turned to six German officers who were among the wounded and asked if they would do what I told them to. They said they would and I asked them to tell their men to do the same. Then I formed them up in a sofld body, those who could walk unaided carrying or helping those who could not. I put myself at the head and we set off to the Hotel de Ville, which is only a few hundred yards away. "Well, then the crowd, mad with grief and rage, set on us. I can't describe it. You have never seen anything so dreadful as that scene. They beat some of the Germans and some of them they got down. " ' Can't you help me?' I called to a French officer I caught sight of. " 'You will never get to the Hotel de Ville like this,' he rephed, so I forced my wounded through the gateway of a private house and we managed to close the gates after us. ' ' They had been roughly handled, some of them, and they stayed there a day and a night before we could move them again. ' ' [The damage done to the cathedral at Rheims, by the way, though by no means slight, inexpressibly sad and truly re- grettable, was not nearly so great as' was indicated by many early reports. The friends of architectural art and beauty hope to see the cathedral fully restored at no distant date.] "slaughter" at soissons Much of the fighting during the battle of the Aisne cen- tered around Soissons. On September 16 a correspondent described the fighting there as follows ; 310 BATTLE OF THE AISNE *'For the last three hours I have been watching from the hills to the south of the town that part of the terrific struggle that may be known in history as the battle of Soissons. *'It has lasted for four days, and only now can it be said that victory is turning to the side of the Allies. **The town itself cannot be entered for it still is being raked both by artillery and rifle fire, and great columns of smoke mark several points at which houses are burning. *'The center of the fighting lies where the British and French pontoon corps are trying to keep the bridges they have succeeded in throwing across the river. *'Men who have come from the front line tell me that the combat there has been a positive slaughter. They say that the unremitting and desperate firing of these four days and nights puts anything else in modern warfare into the shade, that river crossings are as great an objective on one side to take and keep as on the other to destroy. ' ' SEVEN DAYS OF HELL A wounded soldier, on being brought back to the hospital at Paris, after only one week in the valley of the Aisne, said in a dazed sort of way : ''Each day was like the others. It began at 6 o'clock in the morning with heavy shellfire. There was a short interval at which it stopped, about 5 :30 every day. Then in the night came the charges, and one night I couldn't count them. It was awful — kill, kill, kill, and still they came on, shoving one another over on to us. Seven days and nights of it and some nights only an hour's sleep ; it was just absolute hell ! ' ' None of the wounded found another word to describe the battle and the sight of the men bore it out. Muddied to the eyes, wet, often mth blood caked on them, many were suffering from the curious aphasia produced by continued trouble and the concussion of shells bursting. Some were dazed and speechless, some deafened, and yet, strange to say, said a correspondent, no face wore the terrible animal war look. They seemed to have been softened, instead of hardened, by their awful experience. CHAPTER XIX FALL OF ANTWERP Great Seaport of Belgium Besieged hy a Large German Force — Forts Battered by Heavy Siege Guns — Final Surrender of the City — Belgian and British Defenders Escape — Exodus of Inhabitants — Germans Reach the Sea. HEN the battle of the Marne ended in favor of the Allies and the Germans retired to take up a defensive position along the Aisne, the Belgian army renewed its activities against the invader. With the fortified city of Antwerp as their base, the Belgians began (on September 10) an active campaign, having for its object the reoccupation of their cities and towns which had been taken and garrisoned by German troops. In some cases they were successful in regaining pos- session of points which they had been forced to abandon dur-^ ing the German advance in August, and there were many hot encounters with the Germans who were left to hold open the German lines of communication through Belgium. But the forces of the Kaiser were too numerous and too mobile for successful opposition, and soon the Belgian army, despite the most gallant efforts, was compelled once more to retire behind the outer forts of Antwerp and there await the coming of an enemy who was approaching in force. Great credit must be given to the Belgian army for the patriotic manner in which it met the sudden invasion by the Germans, and for its continiied resistance against tremendous odds. Inspired by the example of King Al- bert and his devoted Queen, who spent most of their time with the Belgian forces in the field, and shared with them the vicissitudes of war, the defenders of Bel- gium fought with the utmost pertinacity. The resistance 311 312 FALL OF ANTWERP of the Belgians when invaded, and the success of the Allies in halting the advance upon Paris and turning it into a retreat at the Marne, appear to have inflamed the German generals with a desire to crush Belgium completely under an iron heel. An object lesson of the power and possibilities of the great fighting machine must be given somewhere. Halted in France by the Franco-British armies and meeting with varying fortunes against the Russian hosts in the eastern campaign, Germany chose to make Belgium once more the international cockpit and hurled an army against Antwerp. This move, if successful (as it proved to be) would serve two purposes— rfirst, the further punishment of Belgium for her unexpected resistance, and second, the striking of a direct blow at Great Britain, the possession of Antwerp being strategically regarded as "a pistol leveled at the head of London. ' * THE SIEGE OF ANTWERP In the third week of September the Germans, having massed a force believed to be sufficient for the capture of Antwerp, brought up their heavy Krupp siege guns which had been used successfully at Liege and Namur, and planted them within their seven-mile range, so as to command the outer belt of forts east and south of the city. [See map of the fortifications of Antwerp on page 102.] These huge how- itzers were reinforced by heavy siege guns furnished by Aus- tria. The fortification system of Antwerp was believed by its builders to be practically impregnable, but they had not reckoned with the tremendous shattering power and great range of the latest Krupp siege guns. For Antwerp was destined to fall, her outer and inner defenses broken down, within ten days from the time the siege began in earnest. BRITISH MARINES AID DEFENDERS The number of German troops engaged before Antwerp was variously estimated at from 80,000 to 200,000. The siege proper began on Tuesday, September 29. For more than a week previously there had been daily engagements in the suburbs of the city and on several occasions the Belgians made a sortie in force, only to encounter overwhelming num- bers of the German enemy, before whom they were compelled FALL OF ANTWERP 313 to retire behind the shelter of the forts. In all these engage- ments the Belgians gave a good account of themselves and inflicted severe losses on the enemy. But the odds against them were too great and then when the great siege guns began to thunder, it was soon realized that the city was in imminent danger. King Albert did all in his power to encourage the defense and by his presence among his troops on the firing lines around the city added greatly to his reputation as a patriotic soldier. A force of several thousand British marines, coming from Ostend, aided the Belgian defense in the last days of the siege, but all efforts were unavailing. One by one the forts succumbed to the German fire with which the Belgian guns could not cope, and German troops penetrated nearer and nearer to the doomed city. Finally, on October 9, when the inhabitants were in a state of terror as a result of the long-continued bombardment of the forts, and the shelling of the city, further resistance was seen to be useless, the defending forces, Belgian and British, made their escape to Ostend or into the neutral territory of Holland, the city formally capitulated through the Burgomaster, and occupation by the Germans followed inunediately. The bulk of the British marines made their way back to Ostend, but a rearguard, consisting of 2,000 British, together with some Belgians, was cut off by the advance of the Germans across the Scheldt, and rather than surrender to them marched across the border into Holland and surrendered arms to the Dutch authorities. The men were interned and will be held in Holland till the end of the war. It is probable that this rearguard was deliberately sacrificed to enable the Anglo- Belgian army to make good its retreat. The fate of Antwerp shows what might have happened to Paris had the Germans been able to bring up their great siege guns to the outer fortifications of the French capital and pro- tect them while they performed their tremendous task of battering the defenses to pieces. The wrecking of Antwerp's outer and inner forts in ten days proves that solid, massive concrete, chilled steel and well-planned earthworks afford little or no security against the monstrous cannon of the Kai- 314 FALL OF ANTWERP ser^s armies. There appeared to be but one way of with- standing them. As seems to have been demonstrated in the valley of the Aisne, they are apparently ineffective against field forces deeply intrenched in a far-flung line. THE FIGHTING OUTSIDE ANTWERP Early on Tuesday morning, October 6, one of the fiercest of the engagements outside Antwerp ended with the crossing of the River Nethe by the Germans and their approach to the inner forts. Monday had been the sixth day of the siege and the Belgian army was fighting with reckless courage to save Antwerp. As a precaution, the boilers of all the German ships lying in the harbor were exploded on Sunday, in order to prevent, if possible, use of these ships as transports for German troops across the North Sea or elsewhere. The det- onation of the bursting boilers, resounding through the city, set the excited Sunday crowd very near to a panic. This was accelerated by the constant fear of airship attacks, and most of the population that was not already in active flight from the city sought safety in cellars. The entire war has presented no greater picture of desola- tion than that of the hosts fleeing from the last Belgian stronghold. For forty-eight hours before the city fell great crowds of the citizens, dumb with terror as the huge German shells hurtled over their heads, were fleeing toward England and Holland in such numbers that the hospitality of those countries was likely to be taxed to the utmost. The suburban town of Lierre was bombarded early in the week, the church was destroyed, and a number of citizens killed and wounded. The next day the village of Duffel was bombarded and the population fled into Antwerp. Many still had confidence in the ability of the Antwerp forts to with- stand the German attack. Although the Germans succeeded in crossing the Nethe, their repeated attempts to effect a passage over the Scheldt were repulsed and they then concentrated their attention on an approach to Antwerp from the southeast. In their trenches the Belgians resisted gallantly to the last. ''Most wonder- ful," said an American observer on October 7, ''is the patient. FALL OF ANTWERP 315 unfaltering courage of the average Belgian soldier, who has been fighting for nine weeks. Tired, with hollow eyes, un- kempt, unwashed and provided with hasty, though ample, meals, he is spending most of the tijjae in the trenches. "King Albert, the equal of any soldier in his devotion to duty, daily exposes himself to personal danger, while the Queen is devoting her time to the hospitals. ' ' The effect of the German siege artillery was especially destructive near Vosburg. Several villages sufferea heavily and the barracks at Contich were wrecked. The forts at Waelhem and Wavre-St. Catherines were totally destroyed by the terrific shell fire. Most of the fighting around Antwerp was a battle of Krupps against men. Every day and night the fighting con- tinued with deadly effect against the forts, while the shrapnel and shell made many of the trenches untenable. As fast as "^he Belgians were compelled to withdraw from a position the Jermans moved up and occupied it. The Bel- gians fought stubbornly with infantry and frequently they repulsed the Germans, but these repulses always meant a renewal of the artillery attacks by the Germans, with the eventual retirement of the Belgians until the end of endurance was reached and the city defenses were evacuated by their brave garrison. An instance of the tenacity with which the infantry stuck to their positions was reported from the Berlaere, where the conunanding officer and his aid-de-camp were in one of the most exposed positions. Sandbags protected them for some time, but at last the aid-de-camp was struck by shrapnel and had his face virtually blown away. Unperturbed by this ter- rible proof of the danger of his position, the commanding officer stuck to his post, and for further shelter placed the body of his junior over his body. In this position he lay firing, whenever possible, from 8 o 'cjock in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. FIERCE FIGHT TO CROSS NETHE The crossing of the River Nethe was attended by great loss to the Germans. They hurled their infantry recklessly against the Belgian trenches, and while they lost enormous numbers, eventually succeeded in crossing the river. 316 FALL OF ANTWERP One of the unsuccessful attempts was described by an inde- pendent observer as follows: *' The Germans succeeded in getting a pontoon completed and they came down to the river bank in solid masses to cross it. As they came every Belgian gun that could be turned on the spot was concentrated on them and they were blown away, blocks of them' at a time, and still the masses came on. ' ' The Belgian, officers spoke with enthusiasm of the steadi- ness and gallantry with which, as each German company was swept away, another pushed into its place. But it was a dread- ful sight, nevertheless. * 'At last the bridge went, shattered and blown to bits. The Belgian guns continued for a while to search the opposite river bank, but the Germans fell back and no more masses of men came down to where the pontoon had been. Allowing for all exaggerations, there can be no doubt that the German loss must have been extremely heavy. ' ' Near Termonde, on Wednesday, the 7th, the fighting was just as fierce. The Belgians had four batteries of field guns there which succeeded in destroying the locks of the river (the Scheldt), thus flooding a part of the river and blocking the Ger- mans. Later they engaged in a hot duel with the German artil- lery. Two of the Belgian batteries were completely destroyed early in the action and all of the men serving them were killed. Not until the last of the remaining guns were put out of action did the Belgians withdraw. Of the casualties in and around Antwerp during the siege it is possible only to make an estimate. It was said after the Germans entered the city that their total loss in killed, wounded and missing was near forty-five thousand men. German officers were credited before the attack with saying that they would sacrifice 100,000 men, if necessary, to take Antwerp. It is prob- able that the German casualties numbered at least twentv-five thousand, while the Belgian losses in actual killed and wounded were probably five thousand. The latter fought from en- trenched positions, while the heavy German losses were sus- tained in the open and at the river crossings. The casualties among the British marines, who arrived only a day or two be- fore the city capitulated, were comparatively insignificant. FALL OF ANTWERP 317 STOKY OF AN EYEWITNESS — HAEROWING SCENES ATTENDING THE FALL OF ANTWERP AND THE EXODUS OF ITS PEOPLE A vivid picture jf the pathetic scenes attending the fall of Antwerp was given by Lucien A. Jones, correspondent of the London Daily Chronicle, who wrote on October 11th as follows: * ' Antwerp has been surrendered at last. The bitterest blow which has fallen upon Belgium is full of permanent tragedy, but the tragedy is lightened by the gallantry with which the city was defended. Only at last to save the historic buildings and precious possessions of the ancient port was its further defense abandoned. Already much of it had been shattered by the long-range German guns, and prolonged resistance against these tremendous engines of war was impossible. Owing to this the siege was perhaps the shortest in the annals of war that a fortified city has ever sustained. Heroic efforts were made by the Belgians to stem the tide of the enemy's advance, but the end could not long be delayed when the siege guns began the bombardment. "It was at three minutes past noon on Friday, October 9th, that the Germans entered the city, which was formally surren- dered by Burgomaster J. De Vos. Antwerp had then been under a devastating and continuous shell fire for over forty hours. "It was difficult to ascertain precisely how the German at- tack was planned, but the final assault consisted of a continuous bombardment of two hours' duration, from half past 7 o'clock in the morning to half-past 9. During that time there was a continuous rain of shells, and it was extraordinary to notice the precision with whiah they dropped where they would do the most damage. The Germans used captive balloons, whose officers signaled the points in the Belgian defense at which they should aim. GEilMAN GTJNS CONCEALED **The German guns, too, were concealed with such clever- ness that their position could not be detected by the Belgians. Against such methods and against the terrible power of the German guns the Belgian artillery seemed quite ineffective. Firing came to an end at 9.30 on Friday, and the garrison es- caped, leaving only ruins behind them. In order to gain time for an orderly retreat a heavy fire was maintained against the 318 FALL OF ANTWERP Germans up to the last minute and the forts were then blown up by the defenders as the Germans came in at the gate of Malines. ''I was lucky enough to escape by the river to the north in a motorboat. The bombardment had then ceased, though many buildings were still blazing, and while the little boat sped down the Scheldt one could imagine the procession of the Kaiser's troops already goose-stepping their way through the well-nigh deserted streets. MANY HAEEOWING SCENES ** Those forty hours of shattering noise almost without lull seem to me now a fantastic nightmare, but the sorrowful sights I witnessed in many parts of the city cannot be forgotten. ''It was Wednesday night that the shells began to fall into the city. From then onward they must have averaged about ten a minute, and most of them came from the largest guns which the Germans possess, 'Black Marias,' as Tommy Atkins has christened them. Before the bombardment had been long- in operation the civil population, or a large proportion of it, fell into a panic. "It is impossible to blame these peaceful, quiet-living burghers of Antwerp for the fears that possessed them when a merciless rain of German shells began to fall into the streets and on the roofs of their houses and public buildings. The Burgomaster had in his proclamation given them excellent ad- vice, to remain calm for instance, and he certainly set them an a.dmirable example, but it was impossible to counsel perfection to the Belgians, who knew what had happened to their fellow- citizens in other towns which the Germans had passed through. FOUGHT TO GET ON THE BOATS "Imjnense crowds of them — ^men, women and children — gathered along the quayside and at the railway stations in an effort to make a hasty exit from the city. Their condition was pitiable in the extreme. Family parties made up the biggest proportion of this vast crowd of broken men and women. There were husbands and wives with their groups of scared children, unable to understand what was happening, yet dimly con- scious in their childish way that something unusual and ter- rible and perilous had come into their lives. FALL OF ANTWERP 319 "There were fully 40,000 of tliem assembled on tlie long quay, and all of them were inspired by the sure and certain hope that they would be among the lucky ones who would get on board one of the few steamers and the fifteen or twenty tug- boats available. As there was no one to arrange their sys- tematic embarkation a wild struggle followed amongst the frantic people, to secure a place. Men, women and children fought desperately with each other to get on board, and in that moment of supreme anguish human nature was seen in one of its worst moods; but who can blame these stricken people? APPALLED BY THE HORROE OF WAR ''They were fleeing from Hes harbares/ and shells that were destroying their homes and giving their beloved town to the flames were screaming over their heads. Their trade was not war. They were merchants, shopkeepers, comfortable citizens of middle age or more ; there were many women and children among them, and this horror had come upon them in a more appalling shape than any in which horror had visited a civilized conmiunity in modern times. ''There was a scarcity of gangways to the boats, and the only means of boarding them was by narrow planks sloping at dangerous angles. Up these the fugitives struggled, and the strong elbowed the weak out of their way in a mad haste to escape. "By 2 o'clock Thursday most of the tugboats had got away, but there were still some 15,000 people who had not been able to escape and had to await whatever fate was in store for them. A GREAT EXODUS OF INHABITANTS "At the central railway station incidents of a similar kind were happening. There, as down by the river, immense throngs of people had assembled, and they were filled with dismay at the announcement that no trains were running. In their despair they prepared to leave the city on foot by cross- ing the pontoon bridge and marching towards the Dutch fron- tier. I should say the exodus of refugees from the city must have totaled 200,000 men, women and children of all ages, or very nearly that vast number, out of a population which in normal times is 321,800. 320 FALL OF ANTWERP ' 'I now return to tlie events of Thursday, October 8tli. At 12.30 in the afternoon, when the bombardment had already lasted over twelve hours, through the courtesy of a Belgian officer I was able to ascend to the roof of the cathedral, and from that point of vantage I looked down upon the scene in the city. *' All the southern portion of Antwerp appeared to be deso- late ruin. "Whole streets were ablaze, and the flames were rising to a height of twenty and thirty feet. ''From my elevated position I had an excellent view also of the great oil tanks on the opposite side of the Scheldt. They had been set on fire by four bombs from a German Taube aero- plane, and a huge thick volume of black smoke was ascending two hundred feet into the air. It was like a bit of Gustave Dore's idea of the infernal regions. CITY ALMOST DESERTED **The city by this time was almost deserted, and no attempt was made to extinguish the fires that had broken out all over the southern district. Indeed there were no means of dealing with them. For ten days the water supply from the reservoir ten miles outside the city had been cut off, and this was the city's main source of supply. The reservoir was just behind Fort Waelthen, and a German shell had struck it, doing great mischief. It left Antwerp without any regular inflow of water and the inhabitants had to do their best with the artesian wells. Great efforts were made by the Belgians from time to tim^e to repair the reservoir, but it was al\v ays thwarted by the Ger- man shell fire. KILLED BEFORE HIS WIFE's EYES ' ' After leaving the cathedral, I made my way to the south- em section of the city, where shells were bursting at the rate of five a minute. "With great difficulty, and not withomt risk, I got as far as Rue Lamoiere. There I met a terror-stricken Belgian woman, the only other person in the streets besides myself. In hysterical gasps she told me that the Bank Nationale and Palais de Justice had been struck and were in flames, and that her husband had been killed just five minutes before I came upon the scene. His mangled remains were FALL OF ANTWERP 321 lying not one hundred yards away from where we were standing. ^ ' Except for the lurid glare of burning buildings, which lit up che streets, the city was in absolute darkness, and near the quay I lost my way trying to get to the Hotel Wagner. For the second time that day I narrowly escaped death by shell. One burst with terrific force about twenty-five yards from me. I heard its warning whirr and rushed into a neighboring porch. Whether it was from the concussion of the shell or in my anxiety to escape I caromed against the door and tumbled down, and as I lay on the ground a house on the opposite side crashed in ruins. I remained still for several minutes, feeling quite sick and unable to get up. Then I pulled myself together and ran at full speed until I came to a street which I recognized. TAKE REFUGE IN CELLAES "How many of the inhabitants of Antwerp remained in the city that night it is impossible to say, but they were all in the cellars of their houses or shops. The Burgomaster, M. De Vos, had in one of his several proclamations made many sug- gestions for safety during the bombardment, for the benefit of those who took refuge in cellars. Among the most useful of them, perhaps, was that which recommended means of escape to an adjoining cellar. The power of modern artil- lery is so tremendous that a cellar might very well become a tomb if a shell fell on the building overhead. ''Sleep was impossible that night, in the noise caused by the explosion of shells in twenty different quarters of the town. About 6 o'clock I was told that it was time we got out, as the Germans were entering the city. We hurried from the hotel and found the streets completely deserted. I walked down to the quay-side, and there I came across many wounded soldiers, who had been unable to get away in the hospital boat. **0n the quay piles of equipment had been abandoned. A broken-down motor-car, kit-bags, helmets, rifles and knap- sacks were littered in heaps. Ammunition had been dumped there and rendered useless. The Belgians had evidently at- tempted to set fire to the whole lot. The pile of stuff was still smoldering. I waited there for half an hour, and during that 322 FALL OF ANTWERP time hundreds of Belgian soldiers passed in the retreat. Just about this time a pontoon bridge which had been the means of the Belgian retreat was blown up to prevent pursuit by the Germans. ** At 8 o'clock a shell struck the Town Hall, and about 8 :15 another shell shattered the upper story and broke every win- dow in the place. BUEGOMASTEE PARLEYS WITH GEEMANS ''That was the German way of telling the Burgomaster to hurry up. A quarter of an hour later M. De Vos went out in his motor-car toward the German line to discuss the con- ditions on which the city should be surrendered. "At 9:30 o'clock the bombardment of the city suddenly ceased, and we understood that the Burgomaster had by this time reached the German headquarters. Still we waited, pain- fully anxious to learn what would be the ultimate fate of Ant- werp. Belgian soldiers hurried by and at 10:30 proclama- tions were posted on the walls of the Town Hall urging all in the city to surrender any arms in their possession and begging all to remain calm in the event of the Germans' occupation. A list was also posted of several prominent citizens who were appointed to look after the interests of those Belgians who remained. ''The 'impregnable' city of Antwerp had fallen, but with- out dishonor to its gallant defenders. ' ' GERMAN MILITARY GOVERNOR OF ANTWERP APPOINTED GERMAN OFFICIAL REPORTS On October 10 Baron von der Schutz was appointed mili- tary governor of Antwerp. It was expected that the city would become the base for Zeppelin attacks upon England and also for a German naval campaign in which mines and submarines would play an important part. This was inti- mated in dispatches from Berlin following the German occu- pation of the city. The German General Staff, in announcing the capture, added that they could not estimate the number of prisoners taken. "We took enormous quantities of supplies of all kinds,'* said the official statement. Top — Close view of the first Handley-Page bombing aeroplane built In America. It Is proposed to fly these planes across the Atlantic under their own power, drlvea by Twin Liberty motors of 400 H. P. each. Bottom — Submarines of United States Navy at base in am Atlantic port awaltlnc orders for coast defense duty. (.Copyright, U. d U.) Above — African troops of the French army en route to the Riviera to enjoy a well-earned rest after the battle of Douaumont, in which their ranks were consider- ablv depleted. These colored fiffhters of France are commanded entirely by white officers and have done splendid service. ( Copyright. U. d- U.) . , . ■, Below — Colored Canadians imitating the Germans that they captured in this dug- out near the Canal du Nord, as they put up their hands and shouted ' T^^rnprad i {Canadian Official Photo, from U. S.) 'Kamerad !" CHAPTER XX THE WOUNDED AND PRISONERS Typical Precautions Used hy tJie German Army — The Soldiers' First-Aid Outfit — System in Hospital Ar- rangements — How Prisoners of War Are Treated — Regulations Are Humane and Fair to All Concerned. MODERN armies take the best possible care of their wounded and none has brought this department of war- fare to greater perfection than the Germany army. One detail of this work shows the German army at its best. Every soldier has sewn under a comer of his coat a strip of rubber cloth. Under this strip is a piece of antiseptic gauze, a strip of bandage and plaster and cloth for the outer bandage. This cloth bears in simple pictures directions for dressing every sort of wound. When a soldier is wounded either he or some comrade rips open this package and applies at once the life saving dressing, which will last at any rate until the soldier is brought to a station, where the first scientific attention is given. Through this simple and inexpensive device thousands upon thousands of German soldiers, who have been slightly wounded in battle, have returned to their comrades within a few days completely well and have taken their places in the ranks once more. Without this care a large percentage of the wounds would become inflamed, as has been the case with hundreds of wounded French prisonei's captured by the Ger- mans. The ordinary procedure of caring for the wounded in the German army is for the sanitary corps, which is well provided Avith stretchers and bandages, to gather up the wounded on or 323 324 THE WOUNDED AND PRISONERS near the firing lines and bring them to a gathering point a little way behind the lines. Here the army surgeons are ready to begin work at once upon the most urgent cases. They are assisted by members of the corps, who remove the temporary bandages, and put on dressings which will last until the soldier reaches a hospital. Then from this first gathering point the wounded soldiers are put on stretchers in Red Cross wagons and carried to the field hospitals a few miles farther back, where doctors and nurses are at work. HOSPITALS IN VILLAGE CHURCHES These hospitals are usually established in village churches or town halls. One room is cleared and arranged for an operat- ing room, where bullets and pieces of shell are removed and amputations are made if necessary. ''I have just visited such a field hospital," said a corre- spondent with the right wing of the German army in France, writing on September 28. ''It was in a Httle whitewashed village church heated by a stove. Everywhere were white beds made of straw and covered with sheets. Perhaps twenty wounded were here, including two captured Irishmen. They lay quite still when the army doctor ushered us in, for they were too seriously wounded to pay much attention to any- thing. ''Near this hospital was another in a town hall. While we were there a consulting surgeon arrived to investigate the condition of a seriously wounded lieutenant, whose leg might need amputation. Two orderlies put the patient on a stretcher, and he was taken into the next room for examination. Later in the day the amputation was performed. MOVED TO HOSPITALS IN CITIES "From these little field hospitals, as soon as the men can be moved, they are taken to some general hospital in the near- est large city, where several thousands can be cared for. Such a hospital exists in this neighborhood in the building of a nor- mal college, where every corner is used in housing wounded men. "I made a quick trip through this building and the memory of it is oae of the most heartrending pictures I have of the war. THE WOUNDED AND PRISONERS 325 Boom after room was filled with the victims of the conflict. Every man was seriously wounded. Some had suffered ampu- tations and the heads of others were so bandaged that no fea- ture could be seen, only a tube to the nose permitting breathing. HOBROR IN" HOSPITAL SIGHTS *'In one room a surgeon had a soldier on the operating table and was pulling pieces of shell from a huge hole in the inner side of one of his legs. On a stretcher on the floor, wait- ing for his turn to come under the surgeon's care, was an officer. His face was covered with blood, he was waving his arms mldly and gasping for air. This scene left an impression of the utmost horror upon me. ''Slightly wounded soldiers, whom it is not necessary to leave for a while in the field hospitals, are sent directly to these larger hospitals and thence, after a short convalescence, are loaded into Red Cross trains and sent home for recovery. Later they return to take their places in the regiments. Such trains can be seen daily along any main line of railroad. In some cases freight cars with straw bedding are used. ' * One of the finest examples of charity given during the war is a splendid Red Cross train entirely equipped as a modern hospital, even having a first class operating room. This was given to the German army by the citizens of Wilmersdorff, who also employed an excellent surgeon. Scores of lives will be saved through a small outlay of money. GRAVEYARDS 0]Sr BATTLEFIELDS ''Near the large hospital I visited was a graveyard where there were scores of neatly marked fresh graves, each bearing a cross or tablet with the name of the soldier and his regiment, division and corps marked on it. In some cases comrades had added a word or two of scripture. The deaths are too numer- ous for an imposing ceremony at each burial, but for every one an army chaplain reads scripture and offers a short prayer, while a few comrades stand by with bared heads. "The identity of each soldier is easily determined from the name plate which he wears in a little leather purse suspended from around the neck. After a battle these plates are gath- ered from the dead and from these the death lists are made 326 THE WOUNDED AND PRISONERS out. [It was said that after tlie battle of the Marne no fewer than 68,000 of these name plates or tags were found collected in one place. — Ed.] * ' After a battle where the deaths mount into the thousands some field will be shut off for a cemetery and there the bodies are buried, each grave receiving some kind of a cross wherever it is possible, but here no names can be attached. There will be many homes in which there will be vacant places and where it will not even be known where the absent ones are buried. KAISER INSISTS ON ENTERING ''While here I heard a touching story about a lieutenant who was dying in the hospital, while the Kaiser was inspect- ing it. The Kaiser came to the room where the officer lay and the attendants asked him not to enter, as a man was dying. The Kaiser immediately pushed his way in, went up to the lieu- tenant, put his hand on the officer's shoulder, and said in German: 'Hello, here I am!' ' ' The lieutenant began murmuring with his eyes closed. *' 'I have been dreaming and I dreamed that my Kaiser came to me, put his hand on my shoulder and spoke to me. ' " 'Open your eyes,' said the Kaiser. ' ' The lieutenant obeyed, smiled a smile of recognition, and then closed his eyes in the final sleep. SURGEONS WIN IRON CROSSES "So far, according to official announcement, there have been between 50,000 and 60,000 wounded and immediately after a great battle the sanitary corps has been unable to cope quickly enough with the work, but under ordinary circum- stances the provision made has been ample. The number of the sanitary corps was determined upon the experience in the Eusso-Japanese war, in which the losses were by no means so heavy as they have been in this war, but where in a few cases numbers have been lacking the surgeons and their assistants have put forth herculean efforts. Many surgeons are now wearing the iron cross for bravery, winning the insignia by dragging out wounded from the rain of bullets. THE WOUNDED AND PRISONERS 327 TEEATMENT OF PRISOKERS OF WAR The prisoner of war has been a conspicuous figure in the news that has come from the seething caldron of Europe. Many thousands of prisoners have been taken from the con- tending armies by their adversaries. For them the average American reader, perusing "war news" in the comfort of his security from the great conflict, has felt perhaps a grain of sorrow and wondered vaguely what horrors befell them after capture. Early in September the German war department sent broadcast a statement that 30,000 Eussians had been taken prisoners by the German soldiers after heavy battles in East Prussia, particularly around Ortelsburg, Hohenstein and Tan- nenburg. The statement mentioned the fact that among the prisoners were many Eussian officers of high rank. "What is done with these prisoners, how they are handled and treated and whether high officials are punished more severely than mere privates, are questions frequently asked and seldom answered, for the procedure followed in such mat- ters is but little known. REGULATIONS ARE HUMANE TO ALL The international laws of warfare, embodied in The Hague conventions, the Geneva convention and the declaration of London, contain provisions that provide expressly what man- ner of treatment shall be accorded prisoners of hostile nations who are taken in battle. If these provisions of international law are lived up to, the lot of the prisoner of war is not so hard as many people have been led to believe. After the first year of the war, however, stories of ill- treatment of prisoners in German prison camps began to be told, and before long there were many well-authenticated cases of the kind. Inhuman treatment was reported by Eng- lish and Canadian prisoners, and protests were duly made by the British government through neutral channels. The grow- ing shortage of food in Germany was alleged as the cause of some of the complaints, but cases of actual brutality, involv- ing cowardly physical abuse and even killing were also re- ported. The nation which captures its enemy's soldiers and makes prisoners of them is held entirely responsible 828 THE WOUNDED AND PRISONERS for whatever happens and shoulders at once a responsibility that is commensurate with the number of prisoners who are taken and detained. The law of warfare says that a prisoner must be as fair with his captors as they are with him. He must be ' ' humanely treated," so it is prescribed, and when he is questioned by his captors he must give his true name and the rank he holds in the army which has been defeated and of which he was once a part. Contrary to general belief, he is not stripped of ' * every- thing" and thrown into a dungeon and fed on a crust of bread and a mug of stale water. His captors do not deprive him of his personal possessions, except weapons, horses and military papers. Furthermore, they must give him complete religious lib- erty, and it is specifically decreed that he must be given oppor- tunity to attend a church of the denomination to which he belongs. And there he may pray as much for the success of his own nation or the much-desired rehef from Retention as the state of his mind dictates. PRISONERS MAY BE CONFINED The prisoner of war may be interned in a town br a fort, or even a camp, according to the convenience of his captors, but the enemy may not confine him, except, the law says, as '*an indispensable measure of safety," and then only as long as the circiunstances make it necessary. Of course the law gives the commanding officer considerable leeway in such matters, for he is left to determine when the **indispefisaBle" occasion arises. At other times when the prisoner is at liberty^ He is subject to all the rules and regulations of the army of the government that captured him, and if he refuses to obey the rules or acts in an insubordinate manner toward the officers in command, he may be punished and disciplined according to his offense. And here it is again left to the discretion of his ^ptors as to ;what measure of punishment shall be inflicted upon hinu ATTEMPTS AT ESCAPE If a prisoner of war attempts to escape and his <^ptors are vigilant to the extent of retaking him before he leaves the ter- ritory they occupy, or before he has a diance to rejoin his own THE WOUNDED AND PBISONERS 329 army, lie may be severely punished. On the other hand, if he elndes his captors and makes a clean getaway and his army is again unfortunate, and he is captured the second time, the perfectly good escape from previous captivity must go unpim- ished and he must be treated as a prisoner of war, just as though he had not made the successful dash for liberty and further glory. The government th^t holds prisoners of war is chargeable with their maintenance and must provide them with food, cloth- ing and shelter as good as that provided for its own troops. The officers of the captors are required to keep records of all the prisoners under their charge, and if relief societies, which have been extensively formed by the women of Europe and many American women as well, wish to minister to their needs and comforts, the officers m command must afford them every possible facility. And if the friends of prisoners or the wel- fare societies see fit to send them presents and clothing, medi- cine and other necessities, such goods must be admitted to them free of any war duty that might be imposed by the nation holding them, and the railroads owned by the government are bound to carry such supplies free of transportation charges. CAPTIVES MUST BE PAID FOR WORK Prisoners of war may be put to work by the government that captures them and the duties must be assigned with a view to their aptitude, fitness and rank. The tasks must not be unduly severe, so as to border on cruelty, and they must have no bearing whatever on the operations of the war. The prison- ers must be paid for the work they do, moreover, at a rate equal to that being paid to the soldiers of the national army, and prisoners may be authorized to work for the public service, for private persons or on th§ir own account. The wages of these prisoners, the law says, must go toward improving their condition, and the balance must be paid them after their release, with the proper deduction for their board and keep. AVhen officers of hostile armies who are captured are put to work they must get the same wage rate as is paid to the corresponding officers of the government whose captives they are. All these moneys must be ultimately refunded by their own governments to their captors after the war is over. 330 THE WOUNDED AND PRISONERS peace is declared and the intricate problems of indemnities come up for solution. A prisoner of war may even be paroled by his captors, and this is done sometimes when he is disabled or there are circum- stances tl at prompt his enemies to let him go to those who are near and dear to him. When parole is granted to a prisoner he makes a solemn pledge and promise that he will live up to the terms under which he is released, and even his own nation may not ask him to perform a service that is inconsistent with that pledge. BREAKER OF A PAROLE It goes hard mth the prisoner on parole who is caught fighting against the nation that released him, for he is not entitled to be treated as a prisoner of war, and the judgment meted out to him is as terrible as it is sure. Certain codes of honor are supposed to be observed even in international war- fare, and a soldier who breaks his word of honor is considered the most despicable of men. CHAPTER XXr HOEROES OF THE WAR American Relief for War-Stricken Peoples of Europe — MU-^ lions of Dollars Contributed in Cash and Gifts — Canadd Aids the Belgians — Devastation of Poland Even Greateri and More Terrible tha/n that of Belgium. SOON after the world became aware of the fact that the German army's progress through Belgium on its dash to Paris in August of 1914 had resulted in the absolute dev- astation of the little buffer state, an enterprising and sympa- thetic American citizen, Mr. James Keeley, editor of the Chicago Herald, penned a remarkable open letter *' to the Chil- dren of America," in which he suggested the sending of a "Christmas ship" to Europe, filled with gifts of a useful char- acter for the little ones of all the belligerent nations. The response was immediate and most truly generous. Newspa- pers and civic organizations all over the United States joined in gathering from young and old the contributions that freighted a United States warship with a cargo of gifts worth over two million dollars, and at Yuletide these gifts were sys- tematically distributed among the innocent victims of the war in all the countries concerned. The idea of the Christmas ship was nobly conceived and splendidly executed. Eulers of the belligerent nations recog- nized the beauty of the idea and paused awhile in their martial activities to welcome and thank the American commissioner who enacted the role of an international Santa Claus. But the -slaughter on the fighting lines of eastern and western Eurojte went on unabated and the peaceful symbolism of the Christmas ship was soon forgotten in the daily recurrence of battle and bloodshed. 331 332 HORRORS OF THE WAR AWFUL CONDITIONS IN POLAND While the frightful state of Belgium commanded the sym- pathy of the civilized world in the winter of 1914-15, the condi- tions in Poland were even worse. At the end of March the great Polish pianist, Ignace Paderewski, paid a visit to London on behalf of the suffering Poles and his efforts resulted in the formation of an influential relief committee. Among the members were such men as Premier Asquith, ex-Premier Bal- four, Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd-George, Cardinal Bourne, archbishop of Westminster; Admiral Lord Charles Beresford and the Eussian and French ambassadors. An American woman, Lady Eandolph Churchill, also took an active part in the work of the committee, which soon succeeded in raising a large sum for the rehef of the most urgent distress in Poland. While in London on his mission of mercy, Mr. Paderewski said : " Is it the death agony or only the birth pangs ? That is the question which every Pole throughout the world is asking him- self as tragedy follows tragedy in the long martyrdom of our beloved nation. You have only heard the details of Belgium, but I tell you they are as nothing with what has happened in Poland. ' ' The scene of operations in Poland is seven times larger than that of Belgium, and she has had to endure seven times the torture. Remember, the battle of Europe is being fought in the east, not in the west, and while the tide of battle has reached a sort of ebb along the trenches about the frontiers of Alsace and Flanders, the great waves roll backward and for- ward from Germany to Russia and break always on Poland. "Our country, in fact, is just as Belgium was called — the cockpit of Europe, and it may now be called the battlefield of the world, if not of civilization. * ' It is only perhaps we Poles who have known to its utmost depths what this war has really meant. It is not only that there are 10,000,000 human beings on the verge of starvation, nay, actually perishing; there is worse than that. ''Remember that both Belgium and Poland are still under the yoke. The Russians, it is true, occupy some fifteen thou- sand miles of our country, but this is really nothing, for the HORRORS OF THE WAR 333 Germans occupy five-sixths of it, and the desolation passes all comprehension. CALLS IT COMPULSOKY SUICIDE *'As to actual battles, I can hardly speak of them. It is torture even to think of them. Only consider ! Our one nation is divided as it were into three sections, which were thrust each against the others to work out their destruction. It is parri- cide ! It is fratricide, nay suicide ! Compulsory suicide ! That is what it is ! *' Listen to what it means to us all. I was told by a man from Austria that an army doctor, a Pole by birth, who was deputed to go over the Austrian battlefields and verify identi- fication marks on the bodies, found among the 14,000 dead hardly any but Pohsh names. He looked in vain for any others, and in the end went mad with horror at the thought of it. An- other story that came to me the other day told of another case of the tragedy of Poland which is almost too terrible for the human mind to contain. The incident took place during a charge. Both armies had been ordered to attack, and the Poles, as usual, were in the front lines. As they met in the shock they recognized each other. '- * One poor fellow, as he was struck through by a bayonet, cried out in his death agony, * Jesu Maria ! I have five children ! Jesu Maria ! ' The words went as straight to the brain of his conqueror as a dagger to the heart, and killed his reason. Some- where among the madhouses of Europe there is a lunatic. He is not violent, but he never laughs. He only wanders about with the words of his dying victim, 'Ah, Jesu Maria! I have five children. Jesu Maria ! ' ''The promise of Grand Duke Nicholas that Poland shall be a nation once again went straight to the very heart of every one of our 25,000,000 fellow countrymen. That one promise has been suificient to change the whole mentality of the nation * and fill their souls with new hope. It has cleared up any doubt that might have existed in the minds of the Poles in Austria and Pi ussia as to what it is that the allies are fighting for — namely : the principles of nationality for which we have suffered, ah ! how many centuries I " 334 HORRORS OF THE WAR MILLIONS OF POLES DESTITUTE The ruin wrought by war in Belgium affected 7,000,000 people. In Poland more than twice that number have been rendered destitute. Not less than 15,000 villages have been laid waste, burned, or damaged in Russian Poland alone. The loss in property has been estimated at $500,000,000, but may reach double that sum. In Galieia the conditions are reported to be equally ap- palling, though the smashup has not been as complete, because the Russians have been able to maintain their positions more permanently than they have in the district west and northeast of the Polish capital. The greater part of Poland lying in a broad sweep of coun- try west, southwest and northeast of Warsaw has been swept over and battered to pieces by shot and shell like the strip of Flanders on both sides of the Yser river. Without any direct interest in the present great conflict, the unhappy Poles found themselves impressed into the armies of these three great powers and fighting against their own racial brethren. That meant that brother was to fight against brother, and as the stress of the war increased and the age limit was raised to 38 years and even higher, nearly every able- bodied Pole was impressed into service. Almost the first move of the Russians at the outbreak of hostilities was to invade Galieia. This brought with it instantly all the most frightful horrors of war. Embracing as it does a large part of the grain-growing district of the Polish peoples, the devastation of Galieia meant suffering for not only that province, but for Russian Poland as well. The crops had only been partially harvested by August, when the war began. The panic of war stopped the work in the fields, even where the peasants were not compelled to flee before the invader. The men were called to the colors and the crops were allowed to rot in the fields. Numerous towns were sacked. The advance to Lemberg by the Russians was swift. In the panic that followed this great city of 200,000 had scarcely 70,000 left when the invaders took possession. Families were broken up ; none of the refugees had time to take supplies or clothes, V Germany's first move against Russia came from the great HORRORS OF THE WAR 335 fortresses along the Oder and Vistula. All of western Poland was overrun. When the Russian advance from Warsaw drove hack the invaders, the scars of the conflict left this section of Poland badly battered. Then came Von Hindenburg's vic- torious armies, and again this section was torn by shot and shell and wasted. While some of the larger places, such as Lodz, Plock, Lowicz, Tchenstochow and Petrokov, were spared, the smaller towns, villages, and hamlets in the direct line of battle suffered equally from the defenders and invaders. All the section to the northeast of Warsaw between the East Prussian frontier and the Bug, Narew, and Niemen rivers has suffered even a worse fate, as the bitterness en- gendered by the devastation worked by the Russians in East Prussia led to reprisals that not even the strict discipline of the German army could curb. Not only were the peasants' homes pounded to bits by the opposing artillery fire, but the armies as they fought back and forth took all the cattle, horses, and stock that came to their hands. Disease added to the suffering of the stricken people. THOUSANDS OF VILLAGES DESTROYED Henry SienMewicz, the great Polish writer and author of ''Quo Vadis," a refugee in Switzerland, said, on March 15, 1915: *'In the kingdom of Poland alone there are 15,000 villages burned or damaged; a thousand churches and chapels de- stroyed. The homeless villagers have sought shelter in the forests, where it is no exaggeration to say that women and children are dying from cold and hunger by thousands daily. ** Poland comprises 127,500 square kilometers. One hun- dred thousand of these have been devastated by the battling armies. More than a million horses and two million head of homed cattle have been seized by the invaders, and in the whole of the 100,000 square kilometers in the possession of the soldiers not a grain of corn, not a scrap of meat, nor a drop of milk remain for the civil population. 336 HORRORS OF THE WAR **The material losses up to the present are estimated at 1,000,000,000 rubles ($500,000,000). No fewer than 400,000 workmen have lost their means of iivelinood. * ' The state of things in Galicia is just as dreadful for the civil population — innocent victims of the war. Of 75,000 square kilometers all except 5,000 square kilometers around Cracow are in possession of the Russians. They conunandeered 900,- 000 horses and about 200,000 head of horned cattle and seized all the grain, part of the salt fields, and the oil wells. ''The once rich province is a desert. Over a million inhab- itants have sought refuge in other parts of Austria, and they are in sheer destitution." Truly/ 'War is heU!" RELIEF FOR BELGIAN SUFFERERS Following the invasion and over-running of Belgium by the Germans, the problem of feeding the Belgian population became an urgent one. The invaders left the problem largely to the charitable sympathies of the civilized world, and from almost every quarter of the globe aid was sent in money or provisions for the stricken people. In spite of the enormous war drains upon the resources of the British Empire, every one of the Overseas Dominions did its full share in Belgian relief, while the United States, through the Rockefeller Foun- dation and other agencies, as well as the South American countries, also contributed to alleviate the suifering in the little kingdom. The contributions continued during more than two years and the relief was administered most efficiently by means of commissions. RELIEF ASKED FOR SERBLi. On April 3, 1915, the leading United States newspapers printed an appeal received from Nish, the war capital of Ser- bia, which set forth a terrible situation in terms that con- firmed a report already made pubhc by Sir Thomas Lipton, who dedicated his famous steam yacht, the Erin, as a hos- pital ship for use in the Mediterranean, and visited Serbia in February and March. The appeal was dated February 23 and said in substance as follows : "Typhus is raging in Serbia, and unless immediate aid be sent the mortality will be appalling. HORRORS OF THE WAR 337 ** Typhus is a filth disease and is spread by lice, which flourish only in dirt. There are not enough buildings to house the sick and they lie huddled together on dirty straw. **They have not changed their clothes for six months, and consequently personal cleanliness, which is absolutely essen- tial in checking the disease, is impossible. They cannot get proper nourishment, as there is not enough available, nor is there money to buy it if it were. ' * The doctors can usually only work for two weeks before contracting the disease, as they have no means of protecting themselves. Yet they volunteer for typhus hospitals, know- ing that they are probably going to their death, for the mor- tality is over 50 per cent. **The following four things are most urgently needed: * ' 1. Tents and portable chicken runs, as these make excel- lent houses. There is no lumber in Serbia, so nothing can be built here. *'2. Beds and bed linen. It is impossible to keep straw free from lice. "3. Underclothing. Dirty clothes make an ideal breeding place for lice. **4. Disinfectants and whitewash. ** Speedy help is essential, as every day's delay costs hun- idreds of lives. * * The response to this touching appeal was immediate and generous, Germans and Austrians in America contributing freely. A large amount of cash and supplies for the Austrian prisoners was sent to the American consul at Nish, who was also acting consul for Germany and Austria in Serbia. GERMAN EEPOKT OF VILLAGES EAZED A dispatch from Berlin by wireless March 23 stated that according to a report received there from Cracow, the damages due to the war in Poland and Galicia at that time amounted to 5,000,000,000 marks ($1,250,000,000). In Galicia 100 cities and market places and 6,000 villages had been more or less damaged, while 250 villages had been destroyed. Horses to the number of 800,000 and 500,000 head of cattle, with all grain and other provisions in Galicia had been taken away by the Russians. CHAPTER XXII LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR Results of the Battle of the Aisne — Fierce Fighting in North- em France — Developments on the Eastern Battle Front — The Campaign in the Pacific — Naval Activities of the Powers. WITH a battle front reachmg from the Belgian coast on the North Sea to the frontier of Switzerland, or a total distance of 362 miles, the operations in the western theater of war toward the end of October were being con- ducted on a more gigantic scale than was ever witnessed before. On both sides reinforcements were being rushed to the front. German efforts to break through the Allies' lines were concentrated on the main center at Verdun and on the right flank of the Allies' left wing, above its elbow, between Noyon and Arras, while powerful coincidal movements were in progress on the extreme western end of the line in Belgium and on the southeastern wing in Alsace. At Verdun con- tinuous fighting of the fiercest character had been going on for over sixty days, surpassing in time and severity any in- dividual battle in history. The army of the Crown Prince had been unable to force the French positions in the vicinity of Verdun and the check sustained by the Germans at this point early in the campaign constituted a principal cause of General von Kluck 's failure in his dash toward Paris. All along the tremendous battle front the allies ' lines as a rule held firm in the thirteenth week of the war, when the great conflict had entered upon what may w^ell be called its fourth stage. The third stage may be said to have ended with the fall of Antwerp and the subjugation of all Belgium but a small portion of its southwestern territory. On the main front the Allies were maintaining the offensive at some vital points, while repulsing the German assaults at others. One or two 338 LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR 339 of the French forts commanding Verdun had fallen but the main positions remained in the hands of the French, and all along the line it was a case of daily give-and-take. FIERCE FIGHTING IN FLANDEKS After capturing Antwerp the Germans pushed on to Ostend, an "open" or unfortified town, and occupied it with slight resistance from the Belgian army, which was reforming its broken ranks to the south, between Ostend and the French frontier, and preparing to contest the passage of the Kaiser's forces across the Eiver Yser. Moving northward from Lille, the Allies encountered the Germans at Armentieres, which was occupied by a Franco-British force and there was also fierce fighting at Ypres, where there is a canal to the sea. For more than a week the Belgians gallantly held the banks of the Yser in spite of the utmost endeavors of the Germans to cross, and it was not until October 24 that the latter finally succeeded in getting south of the river, with the French seaport of Dunkirk as their next objective point. Bloody engagements were fought at Nieuport, Dixmude, Deynze and La Bassee. At this time the battle line formed almost a perpendicular from Noyon in France north to the Belgian coast, south of Ostend. A battle raged for several days in West Flanders and Northern France and both sides claimed successes. The losses of the Allies and the Germans were estimated in the thousands and the wounded were sent back to the rear by the trainful. In the Flemish territory the flat nature of the terrain, with its numerous canals and almost total absence of natural cover, made the losses especially severe. The passage of the Yser cost the Germans dearly and Dixmude was strewn with their dead. And their advance could get no farther. The necessity of holding the French ports, Dunkirk and Calais, was fully realized by the Allies, who threw large rein- forcements into their northern line. The Germans also drew heavily on their center and left wing to reinforce the right, and for a while the forces opposing one another at the extreme western end of the battle front were greater than at any other point. The Germans were firmly held on a line running from south of Ostend to Thourout, Eoulers and Menin, the last mentioned place being on the border north of Lille. Flanking attacks being no longer possible, as the western flanks of both 340 LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR armies rested on the North Sea, the Germans were compelled to make a frontal assault along the line formed by the Belgian frontier. As the Belgian troops, assisted by a British naval brigade, were pushed back from the Yser, they were gradually merged into the army of the allies, by whom they were re- ceived with the honors due the men who had made, for twelve long weeks, such a gallant and determined defense of their country against invasion and despoilment. BKITISH WAESHIPS AID BELGIANS Soon after the German occupation of Ostend, several Brit- ish warships shelled the German positions in and around the city and aided in hampering the German advance along the coast. The principal vessels engaged in this work were three monitors which were being completed in England for the Brazilian government when the war started and which were bought by the admiralty. These monitors, which had been renamed Mersey, Humber and Severn, drew less than nine feet of water and could take up positions not far from shore, from which their 6-inch guns and 4.7-inch howitzers, of which each vessel carried two, were able to throw shells nearly four miles across country, the range being given them by airmen. French warships of light draft later joined the British monitors and destroyers and assisted in patrolling the coast, shelling German positions wherever the latter could be discov- ered by the aeroplane scouts. One reported feat of the naval fire was the destruction of the headquarters of a German gen- eral. Von Trip, in which the general and his staff lost their lives. From time to time German aerial attacks were made in the vicinity of Dover, across the Straits, but these mthout exception proved to be without military importance in their results. Steps were taken to organize anti-aircraft artillery forces on the eastern coast of England and the continued failure of Zeppelin attacks, annoying as they were, soon restored the equanimity of the British public in this respect. INDIAN TROOPS IN ACTION The first word of the employment of British Indian troops at the front came on October 27, when it was reported that in the fighting near Lille a reserve force of Sikhs and Ghurkas, LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR the former with bayonets and the latter with the kukri (a short, curved sword) played havoc with an attacking force of Germans. ''Never has there been such slaughter," said the dispatches. "Twenty thousand German dead and wounded, nearly half the attacking force, lay upon the field, while the British losses did not exceed 2,000. J) THE FKENCH CAMPAIGN IN ALSACE At the end of October the French right wing in Alsace- Lorraine was reported to be making distinct progress. It was said to be advancing through the passes of the Vosges in the midst of heavy snowstorms. Paris reported that the Ger- mans, who were attempting a movement against the great French frontier fortress of Belf ort, had been driven back with heavy losses, while from other sources the Germans were re- ported to be bringing up heavy mortars for the bombardment of Belfort. There were persistent reports of German defeats in Alsace, but these were repeatedly denied in Berlin. The situation in the territory coveted by the French appeared to resemble that farther west — neither side was making much headway. THE EUSSIAN" CAMPAIGN In the eastern theater of war the conflict during October was waged with fortunes that favored, first one side and then the other. Contradictory claims were put forth from time to time by Petrograd, Vienna and Berlin, but the net result of the operations at the end of the thirteenth week of the war appeared to be that while the intended Russian march on Berlin had been completely checked, the Germans had been repulsed with heavy losses in all their attempts to cross the Vistula and occupy Warsaw, the capital of Russian Poland, which was at one time seriously threatened. The fighting along the Vistula was fierce and prolonged for several days at a time. The Germans made numerous attempts to cross the river at different points by means of pontoon bridges, but these were destroyed by the Russian artillery as fast as completed. The slaughter on both sides was considerable. On October 28 the Russian battle front reached from Suwalki on the north to Sambor and Stryj on the south, a distance of about 267 miles. The German opera- 342 LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR tions on the Vistula were still in progress and Poland fur- nished the main arena of battle. East Prussia was practically free from Russian troops, save at a few points near the bound- ary, but they strongly maintained their positions in Galicia. THE AUSTRO-SERVIAN CAMPAIGN After eleven weeks' bombardment by the Austrians, the Servian defenders of Belgrade were still bravely resisting, although half the city had been destroyed. The situation was such as to cause at once astonishment, pity and admiration. In the open field the Servians continued to hold their own against the Austrian forces opposed to them. Their Monte- negrin allies, under General Bukovitch, were reported to have defeated 16,000 Austrians, supported by six batteries of ar- tillery, at a point northeast of Serajevo. The battle termi- nated in a hand-to-hand bayonet conflict which lasted four hours. The Austrians are said to have lost 2,500 men, killed and wounded, while the Montenegrins claimed that their losses amounted to only 300 men. THE CAMPAIGN IN THE PACIFIC Beginning with the loss of its colonies in the China sea, Germany was compelled to witness during the first two years of the war the passing into enemy hands of practically all its colonial possessions, which more than balanced its tem- porary possession of enemy soil in Europe. One by one its colonies in Asia and Africa were captured, and in these operations not only the Japanese but the Belgians assisted, the latter in Africa. Late in October, 1914, the Japanese received the surrender of Tsing Tau, the important German city in Kiauchau, China. The place had been battered for weeks by land and sea by the Japanese forces, and the surrender was ordered, it was said, to save the German forces and civilians from cer- tain annihilation if a defense by the garrison to the end were to be carried on. German warships were powerless to assist the beleaguered city, as Japanese and English war vessels had driven them far from the coast of China. The Japanese cruiser Takachiho was sunk by a mine in Kiauchau Bay on the night of October 17. One officer and nine members of the crew are known to have been saved. LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR 343 The cruiser carried a crew of 284 men. Her main battery con- sisted of eight 6-inch gmis. MAIN FLEETS STILL INACTIVE Up to the last week in October the main fleets of the war- ring powers were still inactive, but rumors of intended Ger- man naval activity were frequent. The cat-and-mouse atti- tude of the British and German fleets in the North Sea was continued, the Germans lying snug in their ports, protected by their mines and submarines, while the British battleships lay in wait at all points of possible egress. The situation tried the patience of the people of both countries and there were frequent demands for action by the great and costly naval armaments. But the Germans apparently were not ready to risk a general engagement, and the British could not force them to come out and fight. The British admirals, therefore had, perforce, to pursue a policy of ''watchful waiting," irk- some as it was to all concerned, and "the tireless vigil in the North Sea," as it was termed by Mr. Asquith, was maintained day and night. No sea captain becalmed in the doldrums ever whistled for a wind more earnestly than the British Jack tars prayed for a chance at the enemy during those three months of playing the cat to Germany's mouse; and on the other hand, the German sailors were, no doubt, equally desirious of a chance to demonstrate the fighting abilities of their brand- new battleships. All were equally on the qui vive, for any hour might bring to the Germans the order to put to sea, and to the British the welcome cry of "Enemy in sight!" CARING FOR BELGIAN REFUGEES The plight of the Belgian people, including the refugees in Holland, England and France, was pitiable in the extreme and by the end of October had roused the sympathy of the entire world. A conservative estimate placed the number of Belgians expatriated at 1,500,000 out of a population of 7,000,- 000. On October 26 Mr. Brand Whitlock, United States min- ister to Belgium, reported that the entire country was on the verge of starvation, while Holland and England had their hands full caring for the Belgians who had sought refuge in those countries. In eight cities of Holland there were said to be 500,000 Belgian refugees. Over 70,000 arrived in London in one week and a central committee in London had twenty- 344 LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR seven subcommittees at work in different cities in England, Scotland and Wales, placing the refugees in homes as rapidly as possible. The humanitarian problem of taking care of the Belgians was one of tremendous responsibility, but the people of the three countries in which most of them sought refuge rose nobly to the occasion and spared no effort to lessen their sufferings. MORE CANADIANS FOR THE FRONT It was announced in Ottawa, Canada, on October 19 that the Dominion Government had decided to put 30,000 more men in training in Canada, to be despatched to England when ready. As soon as the first unit of 15,000 was embarked, probably in December, another 15,000 men would be enlisted to replace them, the plan being to keep 30,000 men continuously in training, to be drawn upon in units of 10,000 or 15,000 as soon as equipped, during the continuance of hostilities in Europe. Thus with the 32,000 Canadian volunteers already landed in England, and 8,000 under arms guarding strategic points in the Dominion, Canada would soon raise 100,000 men as part of her contribution to Imperial defense. But this was only a beginning. Later in the war Canada stood ready to furnish half a million men to the cause of the Empire, if required. Nearly 360,000 of that number had been enlisted when the war was two years old. The greatest prob- lems were encountered in the first year, or rather in the first six months of the war, after which time efforts were systema- tized, the military machine worked smoothly, and the Domin- ion's splendid response to the call to arms was maintained throughout. General prosperity in the face of adverse con- ditions happily attended this record of patriotic achievement, and the predominant spirit in Canada was one of buoyant optimism as to the inevitable outcome of the great conflict. THE **EMDEN" DRIVBN ASHORE A WRECK During the first three months of the war the German cmiser Emden, operating principally in the Indian ocean, played havoc with British merchantmen, sinking over twenty vessels en- gaged in far Eastern commerce, besides a Russian cruiser and a French torpedo-boat. But she met her match in the second week of November, when she was engaged off the Cocos or LATER EVENTS OF. THE WAR 345 Keeling group of islands, southwest of Java, by the fast Aus- tralian cruiser Sydney and driven ashore a burning wreck after an hour's fight, with a loss of 280 men. NAVAL BATTLE OFF CHILEAN COAST Early in November a fleet of five German cruisers, under Admiral von Spee, encountered a British squadron composed of the cruisers Good Hope, Monmouth and Glasgow, in com- mand of Bear- Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock, off the coast of Chile, in the Southern Pacific. Despite a raging gale, a long-range battle ensued, resulting in the defeat of the British and the loss of the flagship Good Hope, with the admiral and all her crew, and of the cruiser Monmouth. The Glasgow escaped in a damaged condition. The loss of life was about 1,000, officers and men. Up to November 15, the struggle in the coast region of Belgium continued with terrific intensity and appalling loss of life on both sides. The Germans occupied Dixmude Novem- ber 11, only to lose it on November 13, after a fierce attack by reinforced British troops. DAILY COST OP WAE The daily cost of the present war to the nations engaged in the struggle is estimated at not less than $54,000,000 a day — a sum which fairly staggers the imagination. This enor- mous cost of the armies in the field gives a decided advantage to the nation best supplied with the ''sinews of war" and may contribute to a shortening of hostilities. War is indeed a terrible drain upon the resources of a nation and only a few there are that can stand many months of war expenditures like those of August-October, 1914, amounting in the grand aggregate to nearly five billions of dollars ($5,000,000,000). TURKEY ENTERS THE WAR On October 29 an act which was regarded in Russia as equivalent to a declaration of war by Turkey was committed at Theodosia, the Crimean port, when that town was bom- barded without notice by the cruiser Breslau, flying the Turkish flag, but commanded by a German officer and manned by a German crew. The Breslau was a former German ship, and was said to have been purchased by the Turkish govern- ment, with the German battleship Goeben, when they sought refuge in the Dardanelles at the beginning of the war, from the French and British fleets in the Mediterranean. 346 LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR FOUETH MONTH OF THE WAB The month of November, the fourth month of the war, was marked by the heaviest losses to all the nations concerned, but made little change in the general situation. Along the Aisne the battle begun early in September con- tinued intermittently. Both sides literally dug themfA3lves in and along the battle line in many places, the hostile trendies were separated by only a few yards. At the end of the month the burrowing had been succeeded by tunneling, and both sides prepared for a winter of spasmodic action. It was a military deadlock, but a deadlock full of danger for the side that first developed a weak point in its far-flung front. With the utmost fairness and impartiality it can be said that at the beginning of December both the allied armies and the German forces facing them from the Belgian coast east and south to the borders of Alsace-Lorraine were exhausted by the strenuous efforts of the campaign. By December 5, the 130th day of the war, after a seven- weeks ' struggle by the Germans for the possession of the French and Belgian coast, there was a general cessation of offensive operations by both sides and the indications were that this condition was due to pure physical weariness of leaders and men. The world had never before witnessed such strenuous military operations as those of the preceding three months and the temporary exhaustion of the armies therefore was not surprising. In the last days of November, the city of Belgrade fell into the hands of the Austrians after a siege that had lasted, with continual bombardments, since the war began. The city was finally taken by stonn at the point of the bayonet in a furious charge which fairly overwhelmed the gallant defense of the Servians. In this month it began to be generally realized that the war was likely to be of prolonged duration. Strenuous prepa- rations for the winter campaign were made on both sides and the recruiting for the new British army surpassed all previous records, the serious menace of the war being at last recognized. The month of November was also marked by enormous contributions of cash and food stuffs by the people of the United States for the relief of the impoverished and suffering LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR 347 Belgians. The people of Chicago alone contributed over $500,000 and this was but a sample of the manner in which Americans rose to the opportunity to alleviate the distress in Belgium. "The United States has saved us from starva- tion," said a Belgian ofiQcial on December 1. The casualties of all the armies in the field during the month of November exceeded those of any previous period of the war. Basing an estimate of the total casualties upon the same percentage as that employed in the table given on another page, it is therefore safe to say that up to December 5 the total losses of the combatant nations in MUed, wounded and missing aggregated not less than 3,500,000 men. DECEMBEB IN THE TRENCHES The month of December, 1914, the fifth month of the war, registered but little change in the relative positions of the combatant nations. In the west the Hues held firm from the North Sea to Switzerland. Daily duels of artillery and daily assaults here and there along the battle fronts proved unavail- ing, so far as any change in general conditions was concerned. Frequently the assaults were of a desperate character, espe- cially in Flanders, where in the middle of the month the Allies assumed the offensive all along the line and sturdily strove to push back the German front in Belgium. But the utmost valor and persistence in attack were invariably met by reso- lute resistance. Both sides were strongly entrenched and the gain of a few yards today was usually followed by the loss of a few yards tomorrow. Never before in the history of warfare had the science of entrenchment been developed to such an extent. The German, French, British and Belgian armies literally burrowed in the earth along a battle front of 150 miles. In many places the hostile trenches were separated by only a few yards, and min- ing was frequently resorted to. Tunneling toward each other, both the contending forces occasionally succeeded in blowing up the enemy's trench, and whole companies of unsuspecting troops were sometimes annihilated in this way. In the trenches themselves scenes unparalleled in warfare were witnessed. With the arrival of winter the troops on either side proceeded 348 LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR to secure what comfort they could by all manner of clevv-r and unique devices. Winter clothing was provided as far as possible, but on both sides there was inevitable suffering for lack of suitable supplies for the winter campaign, and indi- vidual initiative had frequently to supply the deficiencies of official forethought. Many unique features of trench life were developed dur- ing the first month of winter warfare. Two-story trenches became common on both sides of the firing line. Bombproof underground quarters for staff and commanding officers were constructed, and these were fitted up so as to provide all the comforts of the winter cantonments of old-time warfare. The ever-necessary telephone was installed at frequent points in trenches that stretched for scores of miles in practically un- broken lines. Board roofs were built and provision made for heating the dugouts in which thousands of men passed many days and nights before their reliefs arrived. On the German side miles of trenches were provided with stockade walls, leaving ample room inside for the rapid movement of troops. The British built trenches with lateral individual dugouts at right angles to the main trench, protecting the men against flank fire — and these aroused the admiration even of their enemies. In the French trenches the ingenuity of a French engineer provided a system of hot shower baths on the firing line, and from all points along the deadlocked battle front came stories of the remarkable manner in which the troops of all the armies speedily accommodated themselves to unprece- dented conditions and maintained a spirit of cheerfulness truly marvelous under the circumstances, especially as there was no cessation of the constant endeavor to gain ground from the enemy and no end to the daily slaughter. IN THE GERMAN TRENCHES A correspondent with the German army who visited the firing line in the Argonne forest late in November, by special permission of the German crown prince, described the condi- tions in the trenches as follows: *'Here in the now famous Argonne forest — the scene of some of the war's most des- perate fighting — the Germans are trenching and mining their LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR 349 way forward, literally yard by yard. This afternoon I reached the foremost trench, south of Grandpre. About 160 feet ahead of me is the French trench. Picture to yourself a canebrake- like woods of fishpoles ranging in size from half an inch to saplings of two and three inches thick and so dense that you can hardly see forty yards even now when the leaves have fallen. Ajnong these is a scattering of big trees, the trunks of which are veritable mines of bullets. ** Irregular lines of deep yellow clay trenches zigzag for miles. Other trenches run back from these to what looks like a huge Kansas 'prairie-dog town' — human burrows, where thousands of soldiers are literally living underground. From the lines of trenches running parallel to one another comes a constant spitting, sputtering, popping of rifles, maMng the woods resound like a Chinese New Year in San Francisco or an old-time Fourth of July. Field guns and hand grenades furnish the 'cannon-cracker' effect. Through the woods the high-noted 'zing zing' of bullets sounds like a swann of angry bees, while high overhead shrapnel and shell go shrieking on their way. Here and there you may see spades full of earth being thrown up as if by invisible hands, marking the onward work of the German gopher-like pioneers in their subterranean warfare. That is the Argonne forest. *'As the trench I am in was still in the hands of the French three days ago and as the crown prince is advancing steadily, the trenches are temporary and contain little in the way of comforts. In deep niches cut in the side the soldiers rest, play ^ards or even sleep on damp ledges between fights. "The trenches also serve as a cemetery. When the enemy's fire is so hot that it is impossible to stick your head out or to take the dead out to bury them, the grave is made in a niche or a ledge cut into the side of the trench. ' ' GEBMAN ADVANCE HALTED The western operations in December made it clear that the German advance to the Channel ports of France had been definitely halted. In the terrible battle of Ypres in Flanders, following the prolonged engagements along the Yser river, the Allies succeeded in repulsing the desperate German on- 350 LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR slaught, and the German offensive was brouglit to a full stop. Towns and villages in Flanders, in Artois and in Champagne, that had been captured in the early German rush, w^ere retaken one by one by the Belgians, French and British, slowly but surely, until the Germans were forced to act upon the de- fensive along a line of entrenchments prepared to enable them to keep open their communications through Belgium with their great base at Aix-la-Chapelle. An incident of the desperate ^hting at Ypres, in which British and French troops practically annihilated six German regiments, including the crack Second regiment of Prussian Guards, has been graphically described by an eye-witness as follows : *' A long valley stretches out before us and the little rise on which we stand — about fifty feet above the plain — commands it. The British guns are shooting almost horizontally at the German infantry trudging through the mud 2,000 yards away. "I count easily five regiments together, but further to the right a sixth one evidently wards off a flank attack on the part of the French colonial troops. The lone regiment is the Sec- ond Prussian regiment of the guard, the emperor's own, the elite of the Kaiser's army, 2,500 of the brawniest, most dis- ciplined men in the world. It is now 1 o'clock. In one hour only 300 of these men will leave the field. *'A gust of wind brings to our ears the sound of music. The guards' band is encouraging the men. At the foot of the small hill on which we stand are twenty lines of trenches filled with Scotch and English infantry. The men are silently awaiting the attack. Not a rifle is being fired. The trenches are the Germans' goal; these and the British batteries once taken, the road into Ypres is clear. ' ' In the valley the Germans halt. The range is only 1,500 yards now and every British shot is telling. The effects are appalling. The gray masses move onward once more, seem to hesitate, but sharp bugle blasts launch them forward again and on the run they come for the trenches. *'At 1,000 yards our batteries again stop them. Whole rows are mowed down, vast spaces appearing between the ranks. The companies intermingle, then the regiments them- LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR 351 selves seem to amalgamate and melt into one another. Offi- cers are seen galloping along the sides, evidently trying to bring order out of chaos. ' ' The artillerymen work silently, the perspiration stream- ing down their cheeks, and continue sending on their mes- sengers of death. ' ' The Second regiment of the Guard alone, off to the right, seems untouched, and on it comes. Suddenly the sound of a bagpipe is heard. The Scots are awake. From the trenches an avalanche rushes forward toward the disordered Germans. *'At the double-quick Scots and English, a few feet apart, yelling like demons, pounce on the attackers. Rifles are silent. It is cold steel alone. Our battery captains cry * Stop firing. ' There is a risk of shelling our own men now. We become spectators. "On the right the Guard has suddenly turned toward the hill. A bugle blast and the mass of men half turns and seems to be thrown on the back of the British, outflanked. The situ- ation is desperate. Our artillery is useless. ' ' Listen ! Over the valley, rising louder and still louder, comes a song which the Germans have heard before. A crash of brass, a hoarse roar fills the air, echoing across the valley, drowning the shouts and curses of the human wave fighting below. "The 'Marseillaise* — the English and Scots have heard it. 'Hold tight, the French are coming,* we scream. They cannot hear us, but we must shout — the strain is too intense. "Past our batteries a company of Spahis rushes like a cyclone. Two more follow, then the Zouaves. Rifles close to their hips, bayonets low, throwing out over the valley its glor- ious anthem, the human flood crashes against the Guard. "The lines waver in an indescribable jumble of gray, yel- low, blue, and red uniforms, then seem to bounce back from the very force of the shock. Men appear, raised from their feet, and raised high in the air. "Caught in a vise between the British and the French, the Guard alone remains. Ten times the shattered remnants of the Kaiser's proud regiment charged, and ten times was thrown back, first against the French, then against the Brit- 352 LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR ish. Crying, 'Comrades, comrades!' hundreds began throw- ing their guns aside. *'At 2 o'clock it was over. The Allies had lost 1,200 men. Only 300 prisoners remained of the Second Prussian regiment of the Guard. PKOGpESS OF THE EASTEEN CAMPAIGN The campaign in the eastern theater of war attracted the attention of the whole world in December, when the German operations begun in November under Field Marshal Von Hindenburg, the victor of Tannenberg earlier in the war, were continued with varying successes. Early in the month the Germans captured Lodz, the second city and chief manu- facturing center of Eussian Poland, with a population of about 500,000, after a bombardment of a week's duration, the city being set on fire in many places. The Russians made a, desperate resistance, and the fighting around Lodz consti- tuted the most bitter struggle of the entire war on this front. A general Russian retirement in the direction of Warsaw fol- lowed, but the Germans failed in their subsequent efforts to envelop the flanks of the Russian army to the north and south. Russian reinforcements from Warsaw coming up promptly, the Germans were in their turn compelled to retire. Two German army corps were then practically cut off by the Rus- sians, but made a successful retreat, fighting their way back to safety with the bayonet in one of the most brilliant exploits of the war. Thus the net result of the German campaign in Poland in December left the general situation there practi- cally unchanged and the Russian front unbroken, while in East Prussia, too, the Russian invasion continued despite German efforts to roll it back across the frontier. The losses on both sides in the eastern campaign in Decem- ber were appalling, the fighting being of the fiercest possible nature. A typical struggle occurred a few miles west of Lodz in the little churchyard of Beschici, where the Russians, in one of the final phases of the struggle for the PoUsh city, showed that in spite of their defeats and discouragements they knew how to fight and die. This churchyard hes on a small emi- nence which formed a sahent into the German lines. The LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR 353 Germans were able to make an attack from three sides with infantry and artillery. All the Eussian trenches were enfiladed by shrapnel from one direction or another, but the Russians clung to their positions obstinately. When the Germans finally captured the trenches 878 Russian corpses were found in a space about eighty yards square. It was resistance of this nature which the Germans had to overcome in order to capture Lodz. Later in December it became clear that Russia was getting her millions into tho field and that the strategy of the commander-in-chief, the Grand Duke Nicholas, would soon be aided by the weig:ht of overwhelming numbers. BELGIUM THANKS AMEKICA During November and December Madame Vandervelde, wife of a member of the Belgian cabinet, toured the United States soliciting aid for her suffering fellow-countrymen. The response everywhere was extremely generous and in appre= ciation of the aid given the war victims of her country Madame Vandervelde penned the following poem, entitled ''Belgium Thanks America : ' ' Today it's Christmas morning; we hear no Christmas bell. But still we tell the story which once we loved to tell. "Good will! Good will!" we read it, and "Peace!" — we hear the name, And crouch among the ruins, and watch the cruel flame, And hear the children crying, and turn our eyes away — For them there's neither bread nor home this happy Christmas day. But look! there comes a message from far across the deep, From hearts that still can pity and eyes that still can weep — O little lips a-hunger! O faces pale and wan! There's somewhere — somewhere — peace on earth, somewhere good will to man. Across the waste of waters, a thousand leagues away. There's some one still remembers that here it's Christmas day. God of Peace, remember, and in thy mercy keep The hearts that still can pity, the eyes that still can weep. Amid the shame and torment, the ruins and the graves. To theirs, the land of freedom, from ours, t^e land of slaves. What answer can we send them? We can but kneel and pray: God grant — God grant to them, at least, a happy Christmas day. 354 LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR GRIM REALITIES OF THE WAR A vivid picture of the horrible realities of the war, as seen in a field hospital near the firing line, was given in ' ' The New Republic" of November 28 by Mr. Henry W. Nevinson, who described his experiences at Dixmude in Belgium as follows : ''When I entered Dixmude one night in the middle of Octo- ber the first bombardment was over, but from both sides the heavy shells flew^ across the town. From the end of the main street came an incessant noise of rifles and machine guns. Unaimed bullets wailed through the air, and pattered as they struck the walls. Flaming houses shed a light upon the ruined streets, but only one house looked inhabited, and all the others which were not burning stood silent and empty, expecting destruction. ' ' That one house was used as an outlying hospital or dress- ing-place nearest the firing line, and the wounded had to be led or carried only two or three hundred yards to reach it. They sat on the dining-room chairs or lay helpless on the floor. A few surgeons were at work upon them, cutting off loose fingers and throwing them into basins, plugging black holes that welled up instantly through the plug, straining bandages, which in a minute ceased to be white, round legs and heads. The smell of fresh, warm blood was thick on the air. One man lay deep in his blood. You could not have supposed that anyone had so much in him. Another's head had lost on one side all human semblance, and was a hideous pulp of eye and ear and jaw. Another, with chest torn open, lay gasping for the few minutes left of life. And as I waited for the ambulance more were brought in, and always more. **In a complacent and comfortable account of hospital work I lately read that ' deaths from wounds are happily rare ; one surgeon put the number as low as 2 per cent.' Happy hospital, far away in Paris or some Isle of the Blest! The further from the front the fewer the deaths, because so many have died already. ''In the nearest hospitals to the front, half the wounded, and on some days more than half, die where they are put. Often they die in the ambulance, and one's care in drawing them out is wasted, for they will never feel again. I found =* Oi CD C o O to !- . " 01 i* CQ r. O 0)-^' 0) ^-^^■ti ?i bob 3^ 3 . o rQ aj C o m t- 03 ►t- > aj:'^ .« m-t-i_. .^ c Oj to 01 ''i 1^ 1^ ^> ' — o . -^ fc-ii'^ o rttj o t, cti rt ^ bo ^ t> 01 0) »*. dj S-c «M Cj OJ 01 •r; 0; 0) C to ti ^■•=^ S to r C" ffi Copyrlgrht, Underwood & Underwood, N. T. Top: United Stat«« Warship North Dakota. Bottom: N«w tjpe of rapid-firing machinfl gun UMd bj tli* Uniivd StatM Axmj- *-< c o ® •^ c '' "=> CO o iSs^ cs: !- b , 0) o c 2 Is !^' ? o^ OJ t. rj S m C ^ 0) c oj a* N C-C C O) "■^ h-c ° M to w C " t« ,- l§s" -3 C tO•■-• g 03 b£ -: £ a; M 'M Oij 4-1 -^ > a> c i* t- to ,- lE-i nJ •- C-1-; o t- 0; W CS C -^ _. -•-' as ?SJ= 4; ■^ 'Er O •- "a O 3 C ° _£^ ■S ~ >'° 2 o C <^ 3 !- r . .*^ fw 0; CO mi: t. arapets of his trenches were completely broken. ''The Ninetieth 'Winnipeg Rifles, which held the extrcMte left til 378 LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR of the brigade position at tlie most critical moment, was expelled from the trenches early Friday morning by an emission of poisonous gas, but recovering in three-quarters of an hour it counter-attacked, retook the trenches it had abandoned and bayoneted the enemy. "General Alderson, commanding the reinforcements, directed an advance by a British brigade which had been brought up in support. "As the troops making it swept through the Canadian left and center, many of th«m going to certain death, they paused for an instant with deep-throated cheers for Canada, indicating the warm admiration which the Canadians' exertions had excited in the British army. "On Monday morning General Curry was again called upon to lead his shrunken Second Brigade, reduced to a quarter of its original strength, into action at the apex of the line, which position the brigade held all that day. On Wednesday it was relieved and retired to the rear. 'Not a Canadian gun was lost in the long battle of retreat.' " Concluding his account. Sir Max wrote: "The empire is en- gaged in a struggle without quarter and without compromise against an enemy still superbly organised, still immensely powerful, still confident that its strength is the mate of its necessity. To arms then, and still to arms ! The graveyard of Canada in Flanders is very large." GERMAN DRIVE TO THE COAST Before the beginning of the spring campaign, it was realized by the Allies that the German general staff was preparing for a determined drive to the coast through the British and Belgian lines that protected the approach to Calais. It was for this reason that the British took the offensive at Neuve Chapelle and at the im- portant strategic point known as Hill 60. The purpose of Field Marshal French was to strike the first blow, and the attacks were seemingly successful; but later news from the front showed that "something went wrong" at Neuve Chapelle, which in a large measure upset the British plans. At HiU No. 60, though the British captured that important position, they were held back from further advance. Then came the long-expected German attack in the direction of Ypres, which was considered as one of the keys to the French seaport of Calais. By this attack the Allies were forced back from the Ypres canal, and the pofiitiona gained by the Germans brouglit them within twenty-five milea of the coast at Dunkirk. The fiffhtiM^ at Neuve Chapelle, Hill 60 and Ypres was prob- ably the tacmt ttutguhnkry of the entire war up to that time. The loasM oa hoik oidw were enormous. Germans, British, Belgians and Ft««c1i w»r« kiiled literally br the tkoHsand, the British losses LATER EVENTS OF THE WAR 379 at Neuve Cbapelle alone being estimated at 20,000, while the German ca.sualties in forcing the passage of the Ypres canal a few days later exceeded 9,000 men. PRAISE FOR THE CANADIANS It was in the most furious conflict of the western campaign — a battle between Langemarcke and Steenstrate, in Flanders — that the Canadian troops saved the British army from what seemed almost inevitable defeat. The Canadian division was in the front line of the British forces on April 23, when the Germans made their sudden assaults and broke through the line for a distance of five miles. Only the brilliant counter-charges of the Canadians saved the situ- ation. They had many casualties, but their gallantry and determina- tion brought success and, in the language of the official report of the prolonged battle, ''their conduct was magnificent throughout." The correspondent, describing the harrowing scene of the battle on April 23, said: "Long ago Kitchener's army was given its baptism of fire, but yesterday it got its initiation into hell. ' ' In their great effort to smash the Allies on the Yser the Ger- mans also sustained terrible losses. By April 27 it was asserted that the German force that managed to pass the Yser and took possession of the town of Lizeme had been practically annihilated. The fighting was said to have been far more terrible than that of the autumn of 1914, when the Yser canal ran red with blood. It was charged by the Allies that in the fighting in Flanders late in April the Germans used asphyxiating gases, which placed thousands of the allied troops hors de comhat, including many of the Canadian division. Strong protects against the German use of such methods were voiced by the allied generals, and a formal denunciation was made by Lord Kitchener in the British parliament. ALLIED TROOPS AT THE DARDANELLES On April 25-27, a strong force of British and French troops under General Sir Dan Hamilton effected a landing on both sides of the Dardanelles, to co-operate with the allied fleets seeking to force a passage through the straits to the Bosporus. The landing was resisted by Turkish troops, but the Allies succeeded in estab- lishing themselves on the Gallipoli peninsula by May 1, and made several thousand Turks prisoners of war. The bombardment of the Turkish forts in the Dardanelles by the allied warships was continued. The French cruiser Leon Gambetta, with a displacement of 12,351 tons and crew of 714 men, commanded by Rear Admiral Fenet, cruising at the entrance of the Otranto canal in the Ionian sea, was torpedoed the night of April 26th by the Austrian sub- marine U-5, and went to the bottom in ten minutes; 578 lives were lost; all officers on board, including Rear Admiral Fenet, perished. CHAPTER XXIII SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA Destruction of the Great Cunard Liner hy a German Sub- marine Causes a Serious Crisis in German- Aynerican Relations — Over a Hundred Americans and Many Canadians Drowned, Including Citizens of Prominence and Wealth — Prompt Diplomatic Action hy President Wilson — The German Campaign of Frightfulness and Its Results. STEAMING majestically over a smiling sea, with the green hills of Erin in sight over the port bow and all well a'board, the greatest, fastest and most beautiful transatlantic liner in com- mission was nearing the end of her voyage from New York to Liverpool, It was the hour after luncheon on the great ship, the hour of the siesta or the promenade, the most peaceful hour of the day. Little children by the score played merrily about the great decks; families and friends foregathered in the lounges or beside the rail to watch the Irish coast slip by; all the internal economy of the giant ship moved smoothly, as if by clockwork. It was more than a floating hotel, replete with comfort and luxury. It was a floating town, with a whole townful of people. Over fourteen hundred men, women and children were on the passenger list and six hundred men in the Cunard uniform con- stituted the crew. Among the passengers were many citizens of the United States and Canada, and there was an unusually large proportion of women and children on board, the families of men who had been drawn into the maelstrom of war. For in spite of the calm and peace prevailing on the great passen- ger ship, the shadow of war impended over all. The bloody strug- gles of the great European cataclysm were proceeding at the other end of the English Channel and dire hints of dangers on the sea in the "war zone" had accompanied the sailing of the ship. 'But on this bright May day, as the liner approached its destination, danger seemed far distant and few indeed among passengers or crew gave serious thought to its imminence. 380 SINKING OF THE LU SIT AN I A 381 All was truly well on board. The skies were clear, the sea was smooth, and though the myriad passengers realized that they had entered a danger zone of the world's greatest war they had abound- ing confidence in the giant ship, in its veteran commander, and in the line to which it belonged, that had never yet lost the life of a single passenger committed to its care. And confidently they looked forward to a safe arrival in port next morning, the happy ending of a wartime voyage which the children on board, and their children's children, should recall with pride for a century to come. BUT— Right ahead in the path of the floating palace, athwart the pre- scribed course of the Lusitania there lurked the deadliest slink- ing serpent of the seas — the tiny volcanic hull of an enemy sub- marine, most dangerous of war's new weapons. Lying leisurely in wait, its body submerged just beneath the swelling undulations of a summer sea, invisible, ruthless, insatiable ; only the protrusion of a foot or so of periscopic tube betokened its presence without be- traying its purpose. But in that innocent-looking tube lay vast po- tentialities for evil — ^nay, devilish certainties of dealing death and destruction. For the little steel-encased arrangement of lenses and mirrors peeping from the depths was the mechanical eye of the sub- marine and sufficed to betray to watchful Teutons below the ap- proach of the great ship, treasure laden with human freight of non-combatants and neutrals, but flying the flag of the German's foe. For the crew of the submarine "der Tag" had come. Without a thought of the innocents and neutrals aboard; reckless alike of im- mediate results and ultimate consequences, animated only by the deadly designs of a war-madness and a deliberate campaign of frightfulness, the firing signal was flashed from the German com- mander's station and the fatal torpedo was launched against the unsuspecting and unprotected leviathan. Traveling true to its mark, it tore its frightful way through the thin sheathing of the ship and, exploding on impact, pierced her vitals and sealed her doom. * * * Barely a quarter of an hour elapsed before the giant vessel dis- appeared from sight, plunging bow foremost to the bottom in waters scarcely more than one-third of her length in depth, so that the shock of her bow striking the bottom of the sea was felt by the gallant captain on the bridge before he was torn loose from his ill-fated vessel. And when the waters of the Atlantic closed over the hull of the Lusitania, within sight of the Irish coast on that fatal Friday, the lives of over eleven hundred non-combatant men, women and chil- dren, including more than a hundred American neutrals, were ruth- lessly sacrificed to the Teuton god of war. CHAPTER XXIV > A SUMMEE OF SLAUGHTER Submarine Activities — Horrors in Serbia — Bloody Battles East and West — Italy Enters the War and Invades Austria — Russians Pushed Back in Galicia. The Lusitania was the twenty-ninth vessel to be sunk or dam- aged in the first week of ^lay, 1915, in the war zone established by Germany about the British isles. Most of these vessels were tor- pedoed by German submarines, although in some cases it has not been established whether the damage was inflicted by mines or underwater boats. Sixteen of the twenty-nine vessels were British trawlers. There were four British and one French merchantman in the list. The others were vessels of neutral nations. One of them was the American steamer Gulflight, torpedoed off Scilly islands on May 1, with the loss of three lives. There were three Norwegian, two Swedish, and one Danish merchant vessel sunk. BLOODY BATTLES EAST AND WEST. The second week in May saw minor German successes on the western front, but these were immediately succeeded by determined efforts on the part of the Allies to retrieve lost ground. The week of May 10 to 15 was marked by fierce assaults by the British and French upon the German positions in Flanders and northern France. Thousands of lives were sacrificed on both sides. At one point on the Yser where the Germans were beaten back, they left 2,000 dead on the field, but this was only a small percentage of the total losses during this series of engagements in May. Around Ypres early in the month the Canadians lost heavily, but made a splendid record for gallantry and endurance in the face of odds. The Germans began at this time the use of asphyxiating gases in their attacks. The results were horrifying in the extreme, and as these inhuman A SUMMER OF SLAUGHTER 38o assaults witli gas were continued, the Allies prepared to adopt the use of similar noxious gases by way of retaliation. BRITISH WAESHIP TOEPEDOED. On May 12 the British warship Goliath was sunk by a Turkish torpedo during the continued attack by the Allies on the Darda- nelles. Twenty officers and 160 men of the crew were saved and over 500 lives were lost. The Goliath was one of the older British battleships of the pre-dreadnaught type. She was built in 1898, was 400 feet long and 74 feet wide, with a displacement of 12,950 tons. Her armament consisted of four twelve-inch and twelve six- inch gims, twelve twelve-pounders, six three-pounders, tand two machine guns. In the determined attack on the Dardanelles, land forces of British and French troops co-operated with the combined fleets. The Turks made a stubborn resistance, but were compelled to give way gradually before the terrific bombardment of the warships and the persistent attacks by land. In the fighting on the Gallipoli peninsula the British colonial troops from New Zealand covered themselves with glory, fighting like veterans and breaking down Turkish opposition with the bayonet. On May 19 one of the most important forts at the Narrows, guarding the entrance to the Sea of Marmora, was silenced by the warships' fire, and this was an important step on the Allies* way to Constantinople. Meanwhile an immense German army, said to number 1,600,000 men, had been forcing the Russians back in Galicia to the San River and the gates of Przemysl. A German bombardment of this fortress seemed imminent on May 20. ITALY ENTEES THE WAE. On Sunclay, May 23, Italy finally plunged into the great conflict with a declaration of war against Austria. The formal declaration, presented to the Austro-Hungarian foreign minister, Baron von Burian, by the Duke of Avarna, Italian ambassador at Vienna, asserted that Italy had "grave motives" for annulling her treaty of alliance with Austria and "confident in her good right," resumed her liberty of action. The declaration of war continued as follows: "The government of the King, firmly resolved to provide by all means at its disposal for safeguarding Italian rights and interests, cannot fail in its duty to take, against every existing and future menace, the measures which events impose upon it for the fulfillment of national aspirations. "His majesty, the King, declares that he considers himself from tomor- row (May 24, 1915), in a state of war with Austria-Hungary." Thus the ninety-sixth anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria, of England, found eleven of the countries of Europe at war, their rulers includ- ing three of her grandsons, two arrayed in a bitter struggle against the third. The Triple Alliance on this date became the Quadruple Alliance, when Italy joined the .-illies. Austria was of course supported by Germany. Italy war expected to put 3,000,000 men in the field. 384 A SUMMER OF SLAUGHTER WHY ITALY WANTED WAR The reasons why Italy entered the great conflict were succinctly stated on May 19 by Signor Enrico Corradini, nationalist leader, as follows : "1. The necessity for Italy to take advantage of the present revolution in European affairs to settle her national irredentist problem at the expense of Austria. Our right to the Trentino, Trieste and Istria, now held by Austria, is not questioned by rea- sonable people anywhere in Europe. "2. The necessity for Italy to arrive at a secure and definite settlement of her military frontiers on the north and east. "3. The necessity for Italy to create for herself by her inter- vention a new moral and political position in the new European order of the future, to replace that which she had, thanks to her alliance with the central empires, a position which was liquid^-ted at the outbreak of the war. "4. The necessity for Italy to contribute to repelling the dan- ger of a German hegemony which would flourish at the expense of the various individual cultures and civilizations," INVASION OP AUSTRIA Italy promptly threw an army across the Austrian frontier and began active operations in the direction of Trent and Trieste. The fortified city of Luzerne soon fell into Italian hands and continued successes marked the progress of the invaders all through the month of June. The Austrian strategy at first appeared to provide for a series of withdrawals after skirmishing; but late in the month a more determined resistance developed, the defenses of the Austrian troops being skilfully prepared. The loss of life during the month was comparatively light on both sides, but on June 26 the Italians — already masters of Plava on the left bank of the Isonzo river, and the heights dominating that town — were massing heavy bodies of troops before Gorizia and Tolmino for crucial battles at those two points, both of which blo* (UTS gc^ _— d c'u ^ O L 5 0-1 IJ ^•^ ° I' 5 3 ■" 'V u ^ dtM t) d oj fe-d^ •-■tt-i C £ o OS S - .^tM-« o o d d C d-g ugg.2 0) Si, +2 yi^ Above — Easing the pain of the woiinfled in an evacuation hospital in France. The Red Cross nurses in the photo (two girls from Aberdeen, S. D., are giving wounded Yank a newspaper from God's country and some chocolate, and he evidently appre- ciates their work. Beloiv — The first batch of American troops to return -from France after the armi- stice. The photo shows the camouflage of S. S. Mauretania as she arrived in New York harbor, bearing 5,000 men, of whooi X.XOO were wounded. (U. S. Official Photoa.'> O while the softly-failing snows of late winter covered, but could not conceal, the ensanguined landscape. Modern warfare was seen at Verdun in all its panoply of terror. Amid fire and fury, the rich and fertile countryside was transformed into a vast scene of ruin and desolation, while heroism and self-sacrifice abounded on both sides, men were maddened by the frenzy of the fight and the ghastly horrors of night and day, and Death stalked gloatingly and glutted, but never surfeited, over the bloody field. The German attacks followed one another so fast and so furi- ously that the weeks of fighting became one prolonged battle, and a description of one attack will almost serve for all. Thus, a wounded French officer said of the seven days of continuous fight- ing which opened the German offensive against Verdun: **The first symptom of the battle favorable to the French was the inability of the Germans to silence the French artillery. The attack opened with strong reconnoitering parties advancing, wherein was noted an unusually large proportion of officers. For the first time the German officers were seen to be leading their men into battle, instead of driving them, as had been the rule — and this was said to be at the behest of the watching Kaiser. Then came the infantry in great numbers. During the next two days the fighting waxed fiercer and fiercer. "At first fourteen German divisions were engaged, then sixteen, 406 CLIMAX OF TEE WAR and finally seventeen divisions (340,000 men). The French com- mand at this point carried out a maneuver which will be recorded as a masterpiece in military history. "If the Germans had been only fifteen yards away, the French could have been submerged by the attack, providing the attacking forces were prepared to make any sacrifice, but the distance being 1,500 yards there was little chance for the Germans against the op- posing artillery. The French troops were accordingly swung back to positions from which they could see the Germans approaching over exposed ground. The effect was that the immediate front of the attack, which was originally twenty-five miles in extent, was reduced to nine miles, but even this soon proved too wide. The Ger- man losses were so great that the attack could not be kept up at all points ; and at the end of the seventh day the offensive dwindled to fragmentary attacks, — but only to be renewed with added vigor after a brief period of rest for the infantry on both sides, while the artillery kept up its daily and nightly duel without ceasing, until the entire terrain became an earthly inferno, thickly scattered over with the dead and the dying." THE DEADLY MINE IN CAURES WOOD. Frightful in result, too, was the tragic stratagem played on the Germans in Caures Wood, near the village of Beaumont. The whole wood had been mined by the French, and was connected electrically with a station in the village. "When the Germans had advanced, fully a division strong, to attack the wood, the French regiment holding it ran, as if seized with panic, back toward the village. The Germans pursued them with shouts of victory. Soon the last Frenchman had emerged from the trees, but the French commander waited until the Germans were all in the mined area. They were just beginning to debouch on the other side when he pressed the button. There was a tremendous roar, drowning for a moment even the boom of the cannon. The wood was covered with a cloud of smoke, and even on the French trenches in Beaumont ** there rained a ghastly dew." "When the French re-entered the wood, unopposed, they found not a single German unwoundod, and hardly a score alive. CLIMAX OF TEE WAE 407 GERMAN LOSSES AT VERDUN. The German successes during the weeks of fighting in the vicinity of Verdun, consisting of a series of advances along the front, without any decisive result so far as the strength of the defense of the n.ain fortress was concerned, were gained at the cost of enormous loFses in killed and wounded. These losses were esti- mated on Apri/ 7 to have reached the huge total of 200,000 — one of the greates^ battle losses in the whole range of warfare. During the period frjm February 21, when the battle of Verdun began, to April 1, it was said that two German army corps had been with- drawn from the front, having lost in the first attacks at least one- third of their force. They subsequently reappeared and again suf- fered like losses, the German reinforcements being practically used up as fast as they were put in line. Declarations gathered from prisoners and the observations of the French stafi: led the latter to estimate that at least one-third of the total number of men engaged were the minimum losses of the German infantry during the first forty days of the battle, or 150,000 men of the first fighting line alone. Concerning the German losses before Verdun, Col. Feyler, a Swiss military expert, wrote on April 10 as follows: '*It is certain that the first great attacks in February and March caused the German assailants very exceptional losses. The 18th army corps lost 17,000 men and the 3d corps lost 22,000. These are figures which in the history of wars will form a magnificent eulogy on the heroism of these troops. It will become a classic example, like that of the Prussian Guard at St. Privat, France, August 18, 1870. It is probable that before Verdun, as at St. Privat, the leaders under- estimated the defenders' strength, especially in cannon and machine guns. ''There are other examples. In the unfruitful attack on Fort Vaux, the 7th reserve regiment was literally mowed down by machine guns, while the 60th regiment lost 60 per cent of its effect- ives. In the attack on the Malancourt and Avocourt woods, March 20, three regiments of the 11th Bavarian division, whose record in this war seems to have been particularly praiseworthy, lost about 50 per cent of their men. " LOSSES OF THE FRENCH. "While the greater bulk of the total losses in killed and wounded before Verdun was sustained by the Germans, however, it must not be imagined for an instant that the French defenders of the_ fortress escaped lightly. On the contrary, their losses were likewise enor- tnous. being estimated by the German general staff at a total of CLIMAX OF THE WAR not less than 110,000 from February 20 to April 1. A considerable number of French troops, ofiScers and men, were also captured by the Germans during the numerous attacks in February, March and April upon the French trenches and other positions before Verdun. A MILLION MEN ENGAGED. Some idea of the tremendous forces engaged on both sides in what will probably be called in history "the Siege of Verdun," m.ay be gained from the brief summary made on April 1 by an observer present with the army of the Crown Prince of Germany on the north front of the Verdun battlefield, from which point of vantage he telegraphed as follows: "Probably not far from a million men are battling on both sides around Verdun. Nevei in the history of the world have such enormous masses of military been engaged in battle at one point. "On the forty-mile semicircular firing-line around the French fortress, from the River Meuse above St. Mihiel to Avocourt, the Germans probably have several thousand guns, at least 2,500, in action or reserve. "Were each gun fired only once an hour, there would be a shot every second. "As probably half the guns are of middle and heavy caliber, the average weight per shell is certain to be more than twenty-five pounds. It follows that even in desultory firing about 160,000 pounds of iron, or from four to five carloads, are raining on the French positions every hour. And this is magnified many times when the fire is increased to the intensity which the artillerymen call 'drumming' the positions of the enemy. "To the German guns must be added the tremendous amount of artillery used by the French in their defense, estimated to be almost as large now as that of the Germans. The conclusion is that more than 6,000 cannon, varying from 3-ineh field guns to 42- centimeter (16-inch) siege mortars, are engaged in hurling thou- sands of high explosive shells hourly in the never-ceasing, thun- derous artillery duels of the mighty battle of Verdun." FROM A GERMAN OFFICER'S VIEWPOINT. The stories told by those who, on the German side, lay in trenches under shell-fire before Verdun for days at a time and week after week, freezing, thirsting, in mud and water, between the dead and the djdng, thrilled the hearer with their pathos and devotion. These were the men who, like the waves of the sea, beat almost inces- santly against the obstinate fortifications of Verdun, and there learned a new respect for the French enemy. Such a story was written from the front in April by a German ofBcer named Boss — CLIMAX OF THE WAR 409 a man of Scottish descent — who, before the war, was editor of a newspaper in Munich. In the Berlin Vossische Zeitung he said : ''It is a worthy, embittered foe against whom this last decisive struggle is aimed. France is fighting for her existence. She is no weaker than we are in men, guns, or munitions. Only one thing decides between us— will and nerves. Every doubting, belittling word is a creeping poison which kills joyful, strong hope and does more damage than a thousand foes. Only if we are convinced to our marrow that we shall win, shall we conquer. "In this colossal combat, where numbers and mechanical weapons are so utterly alike, moral superiority is everything. We have more than once had the experience that the effective result of a battle has depended upon who considered himself the victor and acted accordingly. Often the merest remnant of will and nerves was the factor that influenced the decision. "War, which only smoldered here and there during the endless trench fighting, like damp wood, burns here with such all-consuming fire that divisions have to be called up after days and hours in the trenches, and are ground to pieces and burned up into so many cinders and ashes. "Such intensity of battle as is here before Verdun is unheard of. No picture, no comparison, can give the remotest conception of the concentration of guns and shells with which the two antagonists are raging against each other. I have seen troops who had held out in the fire for days and weeks, to whom in exposed positions food could hardly be brought, on whose bodies the clothes were not dry, who, yet reeking with dirt and dampness, had the nerve for new storming operations." BATTLE OF CATLLETTE WOOD. Among the fiercer struggles before Verdun, the battle of Cail- lette Wood, east of the fortress city, will have a place in history as one of the most bloody and thrilling. The position of the wood, to the right of Douaumont, was im- portant as part of the French line. It was carried by the Germans on Sunday morning, April 2, after a bombardment of twelve hours, which seemed to break even the record of Verdun for intensity. The French curtain of fire had checked their further advance, according to a special correspondent of the Chicago Herald, and a savage countercharge in the afternoon had gained for the defenders a corpse-strewn welter of splintered trees and shell-shattered ground that had been the southern comer of the wood. Further charges had broken against a massive barricade, the value of which as a defense paid good interest on the expenditure of German lives which its construction demanded. 410 CLIMAX OF THE WAR "A wonderful work had been accomplished that Sunday morning in the livid, London-like fog and twilight produced by the lowering clouds and battle smoke. FORMED A HUMAN CHAIN UNDER FIRE. "While the German assaulting columns in the van fought the French hand to hand, picked corps of workers behind them formed an amazing human chain from the woods to the east over the shoulder of the center of the Douaumont slope to the crossroads of a network of communicating trenches 600 yards in the rear. Four deep was this human chain, and along its line nearly 3,000 men passed an unending stream of wooden billets, sandbags, chevaux-de-frise, steel shelters, and light mitrailleuses — in a word, all the material for defensive fortifications passed from hand to hand, like buckets at a country fire. Despite the hurricane of French artillery fire, the German com- mander had adopted the only possible means of rapid transport over the shell-torn ground covered with debris, over which neither horse nor cart could go. Every moment counted. Unless barriers rose swiftly, the French counter-attacks, already massing, would sweep the assailants back into the wood. Cover was disdained. The workers stood at full height, and the chain stretched openly across the hillocks, a fair target for the French gunners. The latter missed no chance. Again and again great holes were torn in the line by the bursting melinite, but as coolly as at maneuvers the iron-disciplined soldiers of Ger- many sprang forward from shelters to take the places of the fallen, and the work went on apace. USE THE DEAD AS A SHELTER. Gradually another line doubled the chain of the workers, as the upheaved corpses formed a continuous embankment, each additional dead man giving greater protection to his comrades, until the bar- rier began to form shape along the diameter of the wood. There others were digging and burying logs deep in the earth, installing shelters and mitrailleuses or feverishly building fortifications. At last the work was ended at fearful cost ; but as the vanguard sullenly withdrew behind it, from the whole length burst a havoc of flame upon the advancing Frenchmen. Vainly the latter dashed forward. They couldn't pass, and as the evening fell the barrier still held, covering the German working parties, burrowed like moles in the mass of trenches and boyeaux. FRENCH PLAN TO BLAST BARRICADE, So sound was the barricade, padded with sandbags and eartb- m o (-1 ^ M 9 Oi ■4J 1 e3 s-< CO v from Bethincourt April 9, but hold linds south. 32. French lines bombarded continuously, April 10-15, with violent as- saults but no decisive results. CLIMAX OF THE WAR 413 works, that the artillery fire fell practically unavailicg, and the French general realized that the barrier must be breached by ex- plosives, as in Napoleon's battles. It was 8 'clock and already pitch dark in that blighted atmos- phere when a special blasting corps, as devoted as the German chain workers, crept forward toward the German position. The rest of the French waited, sheltered in the ravine east of Douaumont, until an explosion should signal the assault. In Indian file, to give the least possible sign of their presence to the hostile sentinels, the French blasters advanced in a long line, at first with comparative rapidity, only stiffening into the grotesque rigidity of simulated death when the searchlights played upon them, and resuming progress when the beam shifted. Then as they approached the barrier they moved slowly and more slowly. When they arrived within forty yards the movement of the crawling men became imperceptible. The blasting corps lay at full length, like hundreds of other motionless forms about them, but all were working busily. With a short trowel, the file leader seuflfled the earth from under his body, taking care not to raise* his arms, and gradually making a shallow trench deep enough to hide him. The others followed his example until the whole line had sunk beneath the surface. Then the leader began scooping his way forward, while his followers deepened the furrow already made. Thus literally inch by inch the files stole forward, sheltered in a narrow ditch from the gusts of German machine-gun fire that constantly swept the terrain. Here and there the sentinels' eyes caught a suspicious movement or an incautiously raised head senk down pierced by a bullet, but the stealthy, molelike advance continued. Hours passed. It was nearly dawn when the remnant of the blasting corps reached the barri- cade at last and huiTiedly put their explosives in position. Back they wriggled breathlessly. An over-hasty movement meant death, yet they must hurry lest the imminent explosions overwhelm them. Suddenly there was a roar that dwarfed the cannonade and all along the barrier fountains of fire rose skyward, hurling a rain of fragments upon what was left of the blasting party. THEEE OUT OF FOUB,DIE. The barricade was breached, but 75 per cent of the devoted corps had given their lives to do it. As the survivors lay exhausted the attackers charged over them, cheering. In the melee that followed there was no room to shoot or wield the rifle. Some of the French fought with unfixed bayonets, like the stabbing swords of the Roman legions. Othera 414 CLIMAX OF THE WAR had knives or clubs. All were battle-frenzied, as only Frenchmen can be. The Germans broke, and as the first rays of dawn streaked the sky only a small section of the wood was still in their hands. There a similar barrier stopped progress, and it was evident that the night's work must be repeated; but the hearts of the French soldiers were leaping with victory as they dug furiously to con- solidate the ground they had gained, strewn with German bodies, thick as leaves. Over 6,000 Germans were counted in a section a quarter of a mile square, and the conquerors saw why their cannon- ade had been so ineffective. The Germans had piled a second bar- rier of corpses close behind the first, so that the soft human flesh would act as a buffer to neutralize the force of the shells. FRENCH DEFENSE TRULY HEROIC. While all the German attacks upon the French lines in front of Verdun were marked with the utmost valor and intensity of devotion, the continuous defense made by the French under Gen- eral Petain was equally vigorous and often truly heroic. Volun- teers frequently remained in the French trenches from which the rest of the French defenders had been compelled to retire, to telephone information about the advancing enemy to the French batteries, and some of the heaviest losses of the Germans occurred when they believed themselves succesvsful in an attack. The consequences of such devotion on the part of French vol- unteers were exemplified early in the morning of April 12, at a point called Caurettes Woods, along the northeastern slopes of the hill known as Le Mort Homme (Dead Man's Hill), where a French withdrawal had been carried out. Volunteers remained behind to signal information to the French batteries, and an eyewitness of the attack described what followed thus : "The French seventy-fives immediately concentrated on the hostile trench line. The Germans suffered heavily, but persevered, and soon dense columns appeared amid the shell-torn brushwood on the southern fringe of the Corbeaux Wood, pouring down into the valley separating them from the former French position on the hillside. "Thinking the French still held the latter, the Germans de- ployed with their latest trench-storming device in the form of liquid fire containers, with special groups of four installed, two men working the pump and two directing the fire jet. "The grayness of the dawn was illuminated by sheets of green and red flame and black oily clouds rol'ed along the valley toward the river like smoke from a burning ' gusher. * CLIMAX OF THE WAR 415 "Suddenly the air was filled with shrill whistling, as shells of the seventy-fives were hurled against the attackers. Thanks to the devoted sentinels dying at their posts in the sea of fire, the range was exact, and the exploding melinite shattered the charging columns. "An appalling scene followed. The shells had burst or over- thrown the fire containers and the Germans were seen running wildly amid the flames which overwhelmed hundreds of wounded and disabled. FRENCH TROOPS CHARGE. **In this scene of confusion the French charged with bayonet, despite the furnace heat and fumes produced by the red-hot con- tainers flying in all directions. The enemy offered little resist- ance. It was like a slaughter of frenzied animals. "The French mitrailleuse corps pressed close on their comrades' heels, placing weapons at vantage points that had escaped the fire and showering a leaden hail upon "^he main body of Germans retreat- ing up Corbeaux Hill. "Hundreds fought in a terror-stricken mob to hide in a hole that might have sheltered a s^^-ore. Those beneath were stifled. Those above threw themselves screaming into the air as the bul- lets pierced them or fell dead in a wild dash toward a safer refuge. Flushed with success, the French charged again right to the en- trance of the wood, and the slaughter recommenced, "Five of the heroic sentinels, wonderful to say, returned with the French wave that ebbed when victory was won for that day," CONDITIONS AT VERDUN ON APRIL 20. Several determined attacks were delivered by the Germans on the French lines at Verdun between April 15 and 20, enormous masses of men, sometimes as many as 100,000, being hurled against points in the northeast sector of the battle front. But the French defense held firm, although some trenches were lost and a consider- able number of French prisoners were taken. Up to this tim.e the total number of prisoners taken by the Germans at Verdun, from the beginning of the offensive, February 21, was claimed to be 711 officers and 38,155 men. Such were the conditions before Verdtin on April 20, when, with spring well under way on the Western battle fronts, there was daily expectation of a vigorous drive by the Allies against the German lines between Verdun and the sea. While both sides expressed confidence in the outcome of the war, no man could foretell with any degree of certainty what the final result of the great struggle would be- 416 CLIMAX OF THE WAR ZEPPELITT RAIDS OX ENGLAND. During the month of March and early in April a number of Zeppelin raids upon various parts of England did more or less damage, though none of an important military character. The east coast of Scotland also suffered from a Zeppelin visit in April. Reports and figures issued by the British War Office showed *.hat during the fifteen months from Christmas, 1914, to April 1, 1916, no fewer than thirty-four separate aerial raids occurred in 'Glreat Britain, including those of aeroplanes and Zeppelins. The total casualties suffered, mainly by civilians, men, women, and children, were 303 killed and 713 injured. This record of results is interesting when it is remembered what they must have cost tfie Germans in money and men, in view of the comparatively small amount of damage that seems to have been done. Germany, how- ever, insisted that her air raids had done more substantial harm to England than the War Office would admit. RUSSIAN ACTIVITIES IN THE EAST. With the approach of spring in 1916, new activities began or. the Eastern front, and the Russians threatened a vigorous attack on the German lines in the north "after the thaw." By the middle of the summer the Russians expected, according to semi-official reports, to have twelve million men armed, drilled, and equipped for battle. On April 1 the Berlin government declared' 'that in the Russian off'ensive on the Eastern front, against Field IVtarshal von Hinden- burg, which lasted from March 18 to March 30, the losses to the Russians were 140,000 out of the 500,000 men engaged. This cam- paign was carried on mostly in the frozen terrain of the Dvinsk marshes, and along the Dvina River, and the German losses were also heavy, although the Russian attacks were as a rule repulsed. FALL OF TREBIZOND. In Asia Minor, however, Russian successes of the winter were crowned in the early spring by the fall of the Baltic seaport of Trebi- zond, which was occupied on April 18. This citj'", the most important Turkish port on the Black Sea, was captured by the Russian army advancing from Erzerum. Aided by the Russian Black Sea fleet, the invaders pushed past the last series of natural obstacles along the Anatolian coast when, on Sunday, April 16, they occupied a strongly fortified Turkish position on the left bank of the Kara Dore River, twelve miles outside the fortified town. The official Russian report said : "Our valiant troops, after a sanguinary battle on the Kara Dere River, pressed the Turks without respite, and surmoiuited incredible CLIMAX OF TEE WAH 417 obstacles, everywhere breaking the fierce resistance of the enemy. The well-combined action of the fleet permitted tbe execution of most hazardous lauding operations, and lent the support of its artilleiy to the troops operating in the coastal region "Credit for this fresh victory also is partly due the assistance given our Caucasian army by the troops operating in other directions in Asia Minor. By their desperate fighting and heroic exploits, they did everything in their power to facilitate the task of the detachments on the coast." GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. The long-continued controversy between the United States and Germany over the methods and results of German submarine war- fare came to a climax with the torpedoing of the British channel steamer Sussex, on March 24, 1916, in pursuance of the new German policy of attacking merchant vessels without warning. There was no pretense that the Sussex was an ** armed merchantman," and no warning was given the passengers and crew, the former includ- ing a number of Americans on their way from Folkestone to the French port of Dieppe. The ship, though badly damaged, made port with assistance, but the loss of life from the explosion and drowning amounted to fifty, and several American passengers were injured. Germany disclaimed responsibility for the disaster, but the weight of evidence pointed to a German submarine as the cause, and in view of the repeated violations of German promises to the United States to give due warning to passenger vessels and insure safety to their occupants. President Wilson and his advisers, in April, seriously considered the advisability of breaking off diplo- matic relations with the German Em^pire, by way of a protest in the name of humanity. On April 18 the President decided to lay the whole matter before Congress. The record of German submarine attacks involving death or injury to American citizens up to this time included the sinking or damaging of the following vessels : British steamer Falaba, 160 lives lost, including one American; American steamer Gulflight, three Americans lost; British steamship Lusitania, 1,134 lives lost, including 115 Americans; American steamer Leelanaw, sunk; liner Arabic sunk, two Americans killed; liner Hesperian sunk mysteri- ously, three days after Germany had promised to sink no more liners; Italian liner Ancona sunk (by Austrian submarine), with loss of American lives ; Japanese, liner Yanaka Maru sunk in Medi- terranean ; British liner Persia sunk, United States Consul McNeely killed; steamer Sussex attacked, several Americans seriously in- jured; British steamers Manchester Engineer, Eagle Point and Berwyn Dale attacked, endangering American members of crewa. 418 CLIMAX OF THE WAR A FIITAX. NOTE TO GEEMAKY. On Wednesday, April 19, President Wilson appeared before Congress, assembled in joint session for the purpose of hearing him, and announced that he had addressed a final note of warning to Germany, giving the Imperial German Government irrevocable no- tice that the United States vrould break off diplomatic relations if the illegal and inhuman submarine campaign was continued. The language used by the President, after recounting the course of events leading to his action, was as follows: "I have deemed it my duty, therefore, to say to the Imperial German Government that if it is still its purpose to prosecute relent- less and indiscriminate warfare against vessels of commerce by the use of submarines, the government of the United States is at least forced to the conclusion that there is but one course it can pursue ; and that unless the Imperial German Government should now imme- diately declare and effect an abandonment of its present method of warfare against passenger and freight-carrying vessels this gov- ernment can have no choice but to sever diplomatic relations with the government of the German Empire altogether/* THE GERMAN WAR CLOUD PASSES. Germany replied to the President's note on May 4, denying the implication of intentional destruction of vessels regardless of their nature or nationality, and declaring that in future no merchant vessels should be sunk without warning or without saving human lives, ' * unless the ships attempt to escape or offer resistance. ' ' On May 8, President Wilson dispatched a reply to Germany's note, accepting the German promises as to the future conduct of sub- marine warfare, but refusing to regard them as contingent on any action between the United States and any other country. Germany later admitted that a German submarine sank the Sussex, and prom- ised that the commander would be punished and indemnities paid to the families of those who perished. This was regarded at Washington as practically closing the sub- marine controversy, and the German war-cloud, which had assumed serious proportions, gradual!}^ passed away. ABORTIVE REVOLT IN IRELAND. An attempt at rebellion by Irish extremists, accompanied by bloody riots in Dublin and other cities in the south and west_ of Ireland, followed the sinking on April 21 of a German vessel which, convoyed by a submarine, endeavored to land arms and ammunition on the Irish coast. Sir Roger Casement, an anti-Britisli Irishman of considerable note, who had been resident in Germany for some months, was taken prisoner upon landing from the submarine. Top — American flghters in France, Just out of the trenches, are seen at a wayside station of the American Red Cross, receiving welcome refreshments within gunfire of the battle front. (Photo from I. F. 8.) Bottom — First aid given to a wounded Germaa prisoner by American soldiers near the front. Am example of American fair play In striking contrast to Boche method* iOopvriffht, Committee on Public Information.) So buffi p .. ox:" O.SS So* ™ s (l* f> C to 53 £> cm • ' -< c-o a; oj Oi'O'C *^§C " C ■go • - 1. 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