m
BINDING
Vol. Ill
The binding design on this volume is an authorized facsimile
of the original art binding on the official British copy of the Ver^
sailles Peace Treaty, which was signed by King George V and
deposited in the Archives of the British Government.
1 Iflti
7
*
Vinkme of the Lusitania
^*^A Gernmn picture issued in
\\ commemoration of the disaster
' Painting by ClauS fcergtn
(?WP
m
W
mfci
THE GREAT EVENTS
OF
THE GREAT WAR
A COMPREHENSIVE AND READABLE SOURCE RECORD OF THE
WORLD'S GREAT WAR. EMPHASIZING THE MORE IMPORTANT
EVENTS. AND PRESENTING THESE AS COMPLETE NARRATIVES
IN THE ACTUAL WORDS OF THE CHIEF OFFICIALS AND MOST
EMINENT LEADERS
NON-PARTISAN
NON-SECTIONAL
NON-SECTARIAN
COORDINATE WITH "THE GREAT EVENTS BY FAMOUS HISTORIANS"
AND ARRANGED UPON THE STANDARD SYSTEM OF THE NATIONAL
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AS ESTABLISHED UNDER THE COUNSEL
OF THE LEADING SCHOLARS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA. WITH
OUTLINE NARRATIVES. INDICES, CHRONOLOGIES. AND COURSES
OF READING ON SOCIOLOGICAL MOVEMENTS AND INDIVIDUAL
NATIONAL ACTIVITIES
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CHARLES F. HORNE, Ph.D
I
DIRECTING EDITOR
WALTER F. AUSTIN, LL.M.
With a staff of specialists
VOLUME III
3s
tlfje jSatiottal Slumttt
b3
COPYRIGHT, I920,
By THE NATIONAL ALUMNI
CONTENTS
VOLUME III — 1915
Germany's Year of Triumph
PAGE
An Outline Narrative of
The Building of Germany's Empire of Middle Europe xiii
CHARLES F. HORNE
I The "Prussian Terror" in France
Official Slaughter and "the Great Pillage" . . 1
WILLIAM HOHENZOLLERN, the former Kaiser.
BISHOP HENRY CLEARY, of New Zealand.
PREFECT L. MIRMAN, chief Civil Magistrate of the invaded
Region.
II Turkey Loses the Caucasus {January 4)
The Russian Victory of Sarikamish ... 38
ROBERT MACHRAY, Military Authority on the Near East.
III The U-Boat War on Commerce (Feb. 4)
Germany's Defiance of the Neutral Nations . 49
PRINCE VON BULOW, former Imperial Chancellor of Germany.
ADMIRAL VON TIRPITZ, organizer of the U-boat warfare.
WILLIAM ARCHER, the noted British author.
IV Neuve Chapelle (March 10)
The First Great Artillery Assault . . -65
COUNT CHARLES DE SOUZA, the renowned French military
authority.
FRANK R. CAN A, F.R.G.S., British publicist.
BERLIN POPULAR MAGAZINE ACCOUNT.
V The Naval Disaster of the Dardanelles (March 18)
Turkey Proves the British Fleet is not Invincible . 79
HENRY MORGENTHAU, U. S. Ambassador to Turkey.
HENRY W. NEVINSON, British military expert.
VI The Surrender of Przemysl (March 22)
Austria Loses her Last Eastern Stronghold . . 93
GENERAL ALEX. KROBATIN, Austrian Minister of War.
STANLEY WASHBURN, official British observer at the front.
DIARY OF A RUSSIAN OFFICER,
vii
viii CONTENTS
v>a<;ic
VII The "Battle of the Passes" (March 23- April 16)
Russia Reaches the Peak of her Success Against
Austria . . . . . .106
COUNT CHARLES DE SOUZA, the renowned French military
authority.
OCTAVIAN TASLAUANU. a Rumanian officer under Austria.
GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS, the Russian Commander.
MAJOR E. MORAHT, the German military critic.
VIII Germany Protests Against American Munition
Sales (April 4)
She Demands a Revision, in her Favor, of Neu-
trality Laws . . . . -125
BARON STEPHEN BURIAN, Austria's Minister of Foreign
Affairs in 1915.
ROBERT LANSING, U. S. Secretary of State.
IX The Canadians Defy the First Gas Attack (April 22)
The Second Battle of Ypres . . . 137
OFFICIAL GERMAN PRESS REPORT.
' GENERAL SIR JOHN FRENCH, the British Commander.
SIR MAX AITKEN, Member of the Canadian Parliament.
X The Armenian Massacres (April-December)
The Last Great Crime of the Turks . . .154
LORD BRYCE, former British Ambassador to the U. S.
DR. MARTIN NIEPAGE, German teacher in Asia Minor.
DR. HARRY STURMER, German diplomat in Constantinople.
XI Dunajec: the Breaking of the Russian Front (May
1)
The Triumph of German Artillery . .177
GENERAL VON MACKENSEN, the German Commander in the
Field.
GENERAL KROBATIN, Austrian Minister of War.
GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS, The Russian Commander in the
Field.
STANLEY WASHBURN, British Official Observer with the
Russians.
XII The Sinking of the Lusitania (May 7)
Germany and the United States at Open Clash . 187
LORD MERSEY, Judge at the Official Examination.
GOTTLIEB VON JAGOW, German Minister of Foreign Affairs.
PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON.
CONTENTS
XIII Britain Democratized under Lloyd George (May
25) .
The Munitions Crisis .....
JULES DESTREE, a noted French author.
GEORGES CLEMENCEAU, Prime Minister of France.
IX
PACK
201
XIV Italy joins the Allies (May 23)
The Italian "People's War" on Austria .
EMPEROR FRANZ JOSEF, of Austro-Hungary.
VON BETHMANN-HOLLWEG, Chancellor of Germany in 1015.
ANTONIO SALANDRA, Prime Minister of Italy in 1915.
214
XV The Fall of Warsaw (Aug. 4)
Russia Loses her Whole Outer Line of Defense
GENERAL VON DER BOECK, German infantry general and
critic.
MARGARETE MUNSTERBERG, condensing German official
accounts.
PRINCESS CATHARINE RADZIWILL, of Russia.
229
XVI Britain's Failure at the Dardanelles (Aug. 6-10)
The Anzacs Lose the Main Assault at Sari-hair
LORD KITCHENER, British Minister of War in 1015.
SIR IAN HAMILTON, British Commander at the Dardanelles.
ELLIS BARTLETT, British eye-witness.
LEMAN VON SANDERS, German General commanding in
Turkey.
252
XVII Germany's Secret Attack upon America (Sept. g)
Disclosure of Criminal Methods Employed Against
Neutrals . . . . . .274
ROBERT LANSING, U. S. Secretary of State.
CONSTANTIN DUMBA, Austrian Ambassador to the U. S.
PROF. E. E. SPERRY, official publicist for the U. S. Government.
XVIII The Big Allied Offensive in the West (Sept. 25-
Oct. 6)
The Battles of Champagne and Loos .
COUNT CHARLES DE SOUZA, French military authority.
COLONEL A. M. MURRAY, British military critic.
FRENCH GOVERNMENTAL STATEMENT.
GERMAN GOVERNMENTAL STATEMENT.
A GERMAN OFFICER PARTICIPATING.
302
CONTENTS
PAGE
XIX Russia's Desperate Rally (Sept.-Oct.)
The Czar takes Personal Command of His Armies 316
NICHOLAS II, Czar of Russia.
OFFICIAL RUSSIAN BULLETIN.
AN HUNGARIAN OFFICER IN THE ATTACK.
EDWIN GREWE. British authority on Eastern Europe.
XX Bulgaria Joins the Central Powers {Oct. 11)
She Seeks the Destruction of Serbia . . .324
A. MENSHEKOFF. RussiaD patriotic leader.
PRINCESS CATHARINE RADZIWILL, of the Russian Court.
WASSIL RADOSLAVOFF, Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
ITALIAN PRESS DISPATCH.
XXI The Crushing of Serbia (Oct. 6-Nov. 30)
The Heroic Struggle against Hopeless Odds . 341
VLADISLAV SAVIC. Serbian scholar and soldier.
ROBERT MACHRAY, Military authority on the Near East.
XXII Execution of Edith Cavell (Oct. 12)
Teutonic Obstinacy in its Ugliest Mood . . 359
MAITRE DE LEVAL. Belgian lawyer.
BRAND WHITLOCK. U. S Minister in Belgium.
HUGH GIBSON, Secretary to the U. S. legation.
REV. H. S. GAHAN, British chaplain in Brussels.
DR. A. ZIMMERMANN, afterward^German Minister of State.
XXIII The Middle-Europe Empire Established (Nov. 5)
A German Railroad from Berlin to Constantinople 372
HARRY PRATT JUDSON, President of the University of Chicago.
R. W. SETON-WATSON, Lecturer of London University.
MANIFESTO OF THE GERMAN "INTELLECTUALS."
DR. LUDWIG STERN, German publicist.
XXIV The Serbian Exodus (Nov.-Dec.)
The Awful Winter Flight Across the Mountains . 394
HENRI BARBY, French eye-witness.
FORTIER JONES, American eye-witness.
DR. NIERMEIJER, President of the Holland Investigating
Committee.
ANTHONY ANTHANASIADOS, Serbian eye-witness.
KOSTA NOVAKOVITCH. Secretary of United Labor Unions of
Serbia.
XXV Poland's Agony (Nov.-Dec.) . . . .411
FREDERICK C. WALCOTT. U. S. Member of Polish Relief
Commission.
M. TROMPCZYNSKI, Polish Member of Prussia's Legislature.
ILLUSTRATIONS
VOLUME
Ill
The Lusitania {page 187)
Painting by Claus Bergen.
• •
PAGE
Frontispiece
The Winter-long Battle for the Carpathians
Painting by Anton Hoffmann.
. 106
The United Defense
Crayon by Lucien Jonas.
• •
. 141
Germany in the Air
Painting by M. Zeno Diemer.
• •
• 303
XI
1915
GERMANY'S YEAR OF TRIUMPH
AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE OF
THE BUILDING OF GERMANY'S GRIM EMPIRE OF
MIDDLE EUROPE
BY CHARLES F v HORNE
THE year of 191 5 was one of sore amazement to western
Europe. In 1914 Germany had failed; her plan for
conquering Europe by one swift blow had been met by a
France more strong, a Britain more alert, a Russia more
loyal, than she had reckoned on. But in 191 5 the Allies'
leaders misread and misjudged this Germany as completely
as she had misjudged them, and with results almost equally
disastrous. They seemed to think that Germany, having
struck with her utmost force, had exhausted her forty years
of preparation and was now helpless. They assumed that
they had only to "carry on," only to continue the same
effort as before, and soon she would be entreating mercy at
their feet.
Therein they underrated both the German power and the
German temper. The whole German people now gave them-
selves up to winning the War at any cost. To the mere mili-
tary colossus of 19 14 there succeeded in 19 15 a national
colossus far mightier, less brutal, but more patiently and
sternly terrible. The German people as individuals almost
ceased to exist. Every one was set to labor for the State,
either in the army itself or in preparing its munitions. Fam-
ily life became a minor matter, as did personal business.
The little manikins no longer moved or thought or even
dreamed as human beings; they were become mere cogs in
the mighty war-machine which was to establish the German
supremacy over Europe.
It is worth noticing that European victory, and no longer
world victory, was the purpose of this less blatant Germany
xiii
xiv AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE OF
of 191 5. World victory was now quite frankly laid aside
as too large an attempt. It was to be the goal of a later war,
for which this one was to prepare the foundations. The
valiant army of France, the unconquerable navy of Britain,
the ever-replenishing hordes of Russia, these had proven too
strong to be destroyed at once. So Germany concentrated
on making the most of what she had already partly accom-
plished, the extension of her power over a newly created
empire including all middle Europe.
The plans of her leaders for establishing this empire
were shrewdly laid. The Germans recognized, more clearly
than the Allies, the nature of the deadlock on the French
front. What this deadlock really meant was not that Ger-
many was growing feebler, but that the new devices for
defensive war had so outranked new measures for attack
that a lesser army in the trench line could hold back a stronger
one. Advance must be a matter of a few feet or rods, won
only at a cost impossible to pay, even in cheapest "cannon-
fodder." Hence, inverting her purpose of the preceding
campaigns, Germany in 19 15 planned to remain on the de-
fensive in the West, while she won the War in the East.
In the West her purpose became civic rather than mili-
tary. She set herself to consolidate her rule over Belgium
and the captured parts of northern France in the hope that
these might ultimately become a part, and a submissive part,
of her Mid-Europe Empire. Her governors therefore tram-
pled underfoot all civilian protests within the conquered re-
gion. They governed these lands in the same spirit as they
had ravaged them. Their motto was still that no other peo-
ple could possess any rights when these came in conflict with
German wishes. 1 In the military strife in the West, Ger-
many planned merely to hold her trench line as cheaply as
she could ; while France and Britain, kept in hot anger by her
treatment of the captured provinces, exhausted their strength
against her defenses. Meanwhile in the East, her new em-
pire was to be expanded and consolidated by her fiercest war-
fare.
1 See § I, "The Prussian Terror in France," by the Kaiser, Bishop
Cleary, etc.
THE BUILDING OF GERMANY'S EMPIRE xv
THE SWINGING PENDULUM OF VICTORIES
With this end in view, Germany began the year by en-
couraging Turkey to a vigorous attack on Russia, so as to
deplete the Russian strength. Enver Pasha, the vainglori-
ous Turkish leader, was persuaded to undertake an Asiatic
campaign against the Russians in Armenia and the Caucasus.
This resulted in brilliant Russian victories. 1 They were
disastrous to the Turks, but not at all so to Germany, whose
control over her Ally was thereby increased. Also Russian
strength was distracted from the main front, the Polish
front, where Germany's own attack was later to be made.
In similar fashion, Russia unwittingly played the Ger-
man game, by devoting herself to a gigantic and most heroic
attack upon the Austrian forces in the Carpathian moun-
tains. Here for months was fought the remarkable "Battle
of the Passes." All through the bitter eastern winter of
19 14-15, the Russians struggled onward, high above the
line of constant snow, to force their way over the Carpa-
thian mountain passes and so enter Hungary and break the
last shadow of Austria's power. Nature fought against them
even more than the fiery Hungarians, who were. now bat-
tling not for conquest but for their homes. Yet even
against Nature the Russians pushed on. They won the
crest of the mountain range; they were ready for the plunge
into the land beneath; and it was spring at last, the fateful
first of May, 1915. 2
Up to that first of May the pendulum of the war seemed
still swinging in the Allies' favor. Russia had won three
great victories : in the Caucasus, in the Carpathians, and a
third in the surrender of Przemysl (pra-mel), the one strong
fortress which had held out against her in Galicia. The
Austrian army in Przemysl surrendered on March 22nd,
surrendered to starvation after six months of siege, the only
old-time lengthy siege of the War. 3 Everywhere, the strug-
gle in the East seemed to promise Russian victory; and
everywhere in the Allied countries hope ran high.
1 See § II, "Turkey Loses the Caucasus," by Machray.
' See § VII, "Battle of the Passes," by De Souza, Duke Nicholas, etc.
8 See § VI, "Surrender of Przemysl," by Gen. Krobatin, etc.
xvi AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE OF
This was in spite of the first serious setback in the Dar-
danelles, which had given Turkey breathing space, time to
recover her courage after the defeat in the Caucasus and
become once more convinced of her own and German su-
periority. In March a combined French and British war-
fleet had attempted to force the strait of the Dardanelles,
the Turks' guarded passage between Europe and Asia. Its
conquest would have captured Constantinople, and crushed
all Turkey at a blow. Almost, the bold scheme succeeded.
We know now that with a little more effort it would have
succeeded; but it failed. The ships were driven back; and
the reanimated Turks gathered an army and munitions, and
made enthusiastically ready to resist any future attack. They
applauded themselves as being the only people who had
"proved that the British fleet was not invincible." 1
Meanwhile, the early spring had also seen a lack of Ally
success on the Western trench line. France and Britain
were both hopeful of beating back the Germans there. The
French tried it in March in the Champagne district, west of
the Argonne forest, but without success. Next, the British
at Neuve Chapelle ( noov-sha-pel ) made an even larger ef-
fort, with even less result. For the Neuve Chapelle assault
British munition factories had been working all the winter
making a store of projectiles, to be used in one huge ar-
tillery attack such as the world had never known before.
This, on March ioth, was hurled against the Germans. The
bombardment was tremendous, awesome; it lasted for three
days of tumult. Then the British infantry rushed upon the
battered trench-line hoping to break through, capture the
dazed remnant of the defenders, and then attack the other
German positions from the rear. But they had overcounted
the effect of the great bombardment. Other German de-
fenses, other troops, were ready behind the foremost
trenches ; and soon the British were brought to a halt in costly
failure. 2
It was no part of Germany's plan to seem too passive
1 See § V, "Naval Disaster of the Dardanelles," by Ambassador
Morgenthau, etc.
1 See § IV, "Neuve Chapelle," by De Souza, etc.
THE BUILDING OF GERMANY'S EMPIRE xvii
in the West. Shortly after Neuve Chapelle, she launched a
cautious offensive of her own against Ypres. Here for the
first time she tried that new and hideous weapon, poison gas.
On April 22nd, she directed a deadly cloud of this against
the point where the French and British trenches met. A
French regiment facing the full strength of the gas was
practically annihilated, hundreds of men perishing in awful
torture. The British portion of the line was held by the
Canadian troops ; and these, encountering the poison less di-
rectly, were able to survive and even at last to beat back
the German infantry assault that followed hard upon the
gas. The whole War contained nothing more terrible than
the launching of this new form of agonizing destruction,
nor more splendid than the heroism with which it was met. 2
Soon afterward the Germans tried another similar device,
the flame thrower, by which they hurled a stream of burn-
ing oil against their foes. The fire started conflagrations
everywhere it fell. But against this also the Allied soldiers
held firm, nor did the fire prove practical of employment in
large quantities. Moreover, hasty inventions were contrived
to meet the gas assaults. Thus defense soon reasserted itself
as stronger than attack. The Western struggle was again at
deadlock by the first of May.
A MIGHTIER WARFARE BEGUN AT THE DUNAJEC
On that fateful date Germany launched her own real
main attack, the one for which she had been preparing all
winter. How the German High Staff must have smiled at
the French and British bombardments in Champagne and at
Neuve Chapelle! How they must have congratulated them-
selves upon their own superiority ! They too had been pre-
paring a bombardment, and it was such a monster one as
made that of Neuve Chapelle seem the effort of a child. It
was directed against the Russian army on the Dunajec (doo'-
nah-jek) River, in Austria's province of Galicia just south
of the Polish border : that is, about midway of the long
Eastern battle line. It did what the Britons had hoped to do
2 See § IX, "Canadians Defy the First Gas Attack," official German
and British reports.
xviii AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE OF
with their bombardment ; it fairly wiped out the Russian
forces who encountered it. The German infantry then
moved forward, seized the Russian lines at Gorlice, and
brought the great guns onward for another attack. This
Battle of the Dunajec, or of Gorlice, was the beginning of
the great German drive on Russia, "Von Mackensen's bat-
tering-ram," as it was called. The Russians could find no
defense against it. None seemed possible. 1
The long Russian line was thus broken in the center.
The victors to the southward in the battle of the Carpathian
passes had to turn back from the Hungarian invasion, lest
their line of supplies be broken and themselves entrapped.
That was why Germany had been so willing that the Rus-
sians should expend their best blood in the Carpathians ; she
knew she could check that advance the moment Mackensen
was ready. She had thus saved Austria a second time.
All through May and June that dreadful "battering-ram"
kept on advancing through Galicia. Russian soldiers by the
hundred thousands strove to bar its passage by the mere
weight of human bodies. They perished in numbers un-
counted and uncountable. Przemysl was recaptured by the
advancing Germans and Austrians on June 3rd. Lemberg,
the Galician capital, was regained June 22nd. It had fallen
to the Russians in the great battle of the preceding Septem-
ber; and for almost a year they had retained over Galicia
a rule more complete, and far more kindly, than that of the
Germans over Belgium. By July 1st the great Mackensen
drive seemed slowing up, but by that time practically all
Galicia was once more in Austro-German hands, a restored
province of the rapidly developing Mid-Europe Empire.
ITALY ENTERS THE WAR
A further check was put, at least to Austria's share in the
Russian drive, by what was perhaps the main event of the
year, Italy's entrance into the War. 2 This was formally
announced on May 23rd, and was followed by a rapid Italian
advance across the Italo-Austrian frontier in the Alps and
along the Isonzo River. The Teutons, however, refused to
1 See § XI. "Dunajec," by Gen. Mackensen, Duke Nicholas, etc.
* See § XIV, "Italy Joins the Allies," by Franz Josef, Salandra, etc.
THE BUILDING OF GERMANY'S EMPIRE xix
become unduly anxious over this attack. They trusted to
the strong natural barrier of mountains to hold the Italians
in check, and sent there only the weaker Austrian reserves,
the regiments of the "Landstrum" or older men. For a year
the Landstrum held the Italians fairly in check, while Aus-
tria still used her main strength against her former foes,
Russia and Serbia.
This sudden entry of Italy into the struggle was an event
not clearly understood at the time, especially in neutral lands,
where there was a tendency to regard it as a mere selfish
grasping after territory, an attempt to get in line with the
victorious Allies and so share their spoils. Such views were
only possible because the European situation was misun-
derstood. Distant neutral peoples still labored under the
illusion that Germany had exhausted herself at the Marne;
and they had been told that the spring battles of Neuve
Chapelle and Ypres had been great Ally triumphs, proofs of
an ever-increasing superiority of force. They pictured the
Germans at home as exhausted, starving and despairing. Of
the new national colossus which had prepared the munitions
for the tremendous Mackensen drive they had no conception
whatever. That drive was to them but another of the see-
saw movements on the Eastern front; no one foresaw that
it was the beginning of Russia's destruction.
The Allies' leaders, however, were under no misconcep-
tion as to the terrible meaning of the astounding artillery
battle of the Dunajec. In it they foresaw Verdun and all the
other tremendous battles of 191 6. Italy knew well that she
was entering on a struggle of life and death. German prop-
agandists had done everything possible to keep her neutral ;
but, as her leaders grimly stated their position, a victorious
Germany would surely trample Italy under foot despite every
promise. The only future that awaited her in that direction
was one of vassalage such as had already been forced upon
Austria. So she might better make her fight for freedom
now, while she had great allies to help her, than be driven
to a hopeless struggle afterward, alone.
In other words, Italy was at last awake to the full mean-
ing of the German world-menace. The scales had fallen
xx AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE OF
from her eyes, as they were to fall from those of America
two years later; and the entry of the one into the War was
of somewhat the same character as that of the other.
THE AROUSAL OF DEMOCRACY AGAINST GERMANY
Indeed Italy's step was but a part of that general arousal,
that intensifying of effort, with which Western Europe met
the realization of Germany's increasing power. Now came
the real nationalization of the Great War. France to be
sure could increase her effort but little. From the first she
had recognized this as a struggle to the death, and had sum-
moned every Frenchman to her aid. Britain, however, had
so far fought in her old dogged but leisurely fashion. In
May, 191 5, after the news of the Dunajec, she underwent
a revolution. 1
It was a quiet, orderly revolution, typically British, ap-
proved of by all classes. Nevertheless it meant the com-
pletest change. The country had always been an oligarchy,
that is it had been ruled by its upper classes, now it became
a democracy. Lloyd George, the Welsh lawyer, leader and
trusted friend of the working classes, was taken into the
central group of rulers. Later he was to become Prime Min-
ister; for the moment he was made Minister of Munitions,
and his special business was to draw all the civilian, popula-
tion into the making of war munitions. The famous war
hero, Lord Kitchener, was already busy building up a great
army ; and when at last volunteering failed, the nation turned
sturdily to conscription, a method of State control over the
liberty of the individual which Britons had always held in
abhorrence. They had declared it the distinguishing mark
between autocracy and their own freedom. Now, however,
the whole nation had been hardened to a temper matching
that of France and Germany. They meant to have an army
and munitions to equal these of the Dunajec. There was to
be no more dallying with the War. It was to be fought with
the strength of every Briton.
Perchance British determination would never have
reached this height had it not been for the new and fero-
1 See § XIIT, "Britain Democratized," by Destree and Clemenceau.
THE BUILDING OF GERMANY'S EMPIRE xxi
cious methods of warfare adopted by the Germans both
overhead and underseas. These were all part of Germany's
mistaken policy of "fright fulness" which was at last to unite
the world against her. She began with warship raids on
British seacoast resorts in the autumn of 1914. These could
have no direct result beyond the destroying of a small amount
of private property and the slaying of some dozens of civil-
ians, defenseless folk who by every principle of International
Law or common humanity should have been spared and
even protected. The whole question was as to the moral
effect of such destruction. Were the Britons really, as the
German schools had taught, a nation of "shopkeepers," who
would figure these bombardments as a simple matter of profit
and loss, and decide that war under such conditions was a
poor investment to be sold out promptly to escape further
cost?
Of a similar nature were the airplane raids which began
against both France and Britain late in 19 14, and the Zeppelin
raids which began early in 191 5. With these Germany at
first anticipated a real military advantage, such as the de-
struction of munition factories, stored munitions, railroads,
or even bodies of troops. Such a hope, however, must have
been soon abandoned. The important military centers were
too well protected; their destruction from aircraft proved
infinitesimal. Soon the German airplanes and Zeppelins
were, quite frankly, bombing Paris and London and lesser
towns at random as an expression of "frightfulness," doing
as much promiscuous damage as they could to private prop-
erty and to civilian lives.
To these assaults the Allies, being less prepared with
aircraft, could at first make no response in kind. The French,
as soon as they possessed the means, responded with similar
raids ori Germany. The British, however, endured the con-
tinued "strafing" with grim scorning for almost two years
before they would even admit the necessity of checking it
by reprisals. Not until the last year of the War did Ger-
many come forward with a proposal that such aerial at-
tacks should be abandoned by both sides. It was she who
at last adopted the shopkeeper's reasoning she had attributed
xxii AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE OF
to Britain. The weight of retributive attacks had become
so heavy that Germany decided that for her the slaughter
of civilians no longer paid.
THE SUBMARINE ATTACK ON COMMERCE
The new submarine warfare adopted by Germany in
19 1 5 was an even graver defiance of humanity and of In-
ternational Law. So far as the latter is concerned, it is of
course true that there were no submarines when the inter-
national law, as to capture and destruction of ships at sea,
was agreed to by Germany in common with other nations.
It is therefore conceivable that Germany might logically and
even humanely have rejected the old law and proclaimed more
satisfactory ones of her own. But here, as in all of her
defiances of humanity, she simply rejected all righteousness
and plunged into elemental ferocity. Her first large step in
this direction was taken in February, 1915. 1
Up to that time, as we have seen, Germany had used
her submarines as other nations might have used them, to
combat warships. In this legitimate field, in addition to the
previously told triumph of Lieutenant Weddigen, she on
February 1, 191 5, sank a British battleship, the Formidable;
and later in the War one French and two other British bat-
tleships were thus destroyed, though none of them were of
the huge "dreadnaught" class. But these successes were
too few and too costly to be worth the effort and the loss
involved. In direct warfare the submarine did not pay.
Moreover, the British blockade, gradually increasing in se-
verity, was a serious menace to Germany. So the German
Government resolved to use its U-boats in a new way, as
commerce destroyers; and on February 5th she made an-
nouncement of this to the world.
Under old established sea law a merchant ship could not
be destroyed until it had been actually boarded and exam-
ined to make sure it was an enemy ship or carrying "con-
traband goods," and until ample provision had been made
for the safety of the civilian crew. Such a course was obvi-
1 See § III, "The U-boat War on Commerce," by von Biilow, von
Tirpitz, etc.
THE BUILDING OF GERMANY'S EMPIRE xxiii
ously impossible to a tiny and fragile submarine. If it even
approached an enemy merchant ship it might be captured
or destroyed. In the later years of the War, larger subma-
rines carried heavy guns of their own; but the early U-boats
depended solely on the deadly torpedo, which must be
launched from a distance. Hence the U-boat captain could
not even tell which ships were enemies, since these would
probably pretend neutrality.
Germany met the problem by announcing that she would
sink all merchant ships that approached her enemies' coasts.
This meant obviously the shooting or drowning of many
French and British sailors who had been protected by the
older laws. Such was indeed the grim result; and the sea
slaughter that followed would in itself sufficiently explain
that general tensing of the Allies' purpose which has been
pointed out as characteristic of the spring of 191 5.
For neutral nations the new German U-boat warfare
meant an even more serious situation. It was the cause
which was finally to drag into the War not only the United
States but Brazil and China and several other neutrals, and
was to breed against Germany an abiding hatred among Nor-
wegians, Dutch, and those other small neutrals who, because
of their immediate proximity to Germany's fright fulness,
dared not openly defy her. No Power had ever before,
even in war time, destroyed neutral vessels, or slain neutral
citizens on the high seas. Except for pirates the neutrals
had been safe; and against pirates all the sea Powers had
united. Yet here was a leading Power going back to piracy,
deliberately announcing death and destruction to any neu-
tral who dared to sail the seas where she forbade.
Germany knew full well what she was doing. She thought
she could afford to ignore the anger of the outer ring of
nations. The only one strong enough to assail her was the
United States; and German statesmen easily persuaded
themselves that this country was too peace-loving to be driven
into war. They even ventured to make secret war on Amer-
ica, sending agents to blow up munition factories and per-
form other crimes against her civil law. They did this so
openly that the United States Government was compelled to
xxiv AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE OF
demand the recall of the Austrian Ambassador for obvious
violation of the diplomatic laws. 1
Germany, through her submissive Austrian tools, went
even one step further. She had the Austrians protest against
the sale of American munitions of war to the Allies. The
protest took the wholly illogical ground that since Ameri-
cans were not in a position to deliver merchandise equally
to both parties to the War, their sales to the Allies became
"opposed to the spirit of International Law." Not content
with drowning neutral sailors to stop their trading with the
Allies, Germany sought to give a show of justice to her action
by this Austrian protest. In itself the protest would be un-
important, except for the fact that it partly accomplished
what it was presumably intended to do. It confused some
Americans into thinking there might be justice in the Aus-
trian plea, when in truth there was none whatever. Ger-
many had herself made a business of selling "munitions,"
and sometimes even regiments of soldiers, in every war that
America had ever fought, and not once had she been in a
position to traffic equally with each party to the war. In
other words, Germany was again inventing an absolutely
new rule, labeling it "International Law," and summoning
neutrals to apply it for her benefit. Her plea, as a future
question not of law but of abstract justice, had a speciously
plausible sound. How unjust its application would really
have been was decisively pointed out in the reply made by
the United States Government. 2
Confusion of American opinion was further increased
by the fact that Britain at the time of the new U-boat attack
began expanding the established methods of enforcing mari-
time International Law, so as to enable her to check all sup-
plies from reaching Germany by sea. The United States
Government protested to Britain, but admitted that the new
British methods were within debatable grounds of law. The
dispute was thus one to be settled within courts of law.
Moreover, America's dispute with Britain was wholly dif-
ferent from that with Germany, because the British steps in-
1 See § XVII, "The Secret Attack upon America," by Lansing,
Dumba, etc.
1 See § VIII, "Germany Protests against America," by Burian, etc.
THE BUILDING OF GERMANY'S EMPIRE xxv
jured Americans only in property, which could be restored
or paid for, and did not strike at American lives, which were
as beyond repayment as they were beyond restoration.
Nevertheless, the confusion of mind among Americans
caused by Austria's protest, Germany's arguments, and the
controversy with Britain, made it possible for Germany to
venture her next step in frightening neutrals from the seas.
On May 7, 1915, she sank the Lusitania. 1
There is no need to dwell here upon the horror of that
tragedy. Americans know of it too well. It was of a piece
with all Germany's policy of fright fulness; and our frank
unwillingness to fight made us to German judgment a fit-
ting subject for the lesson of submissive fear which she
meant the sinking of the Lusitania to teach to all the neu-
trals. German psychology misread Americans as wholly as
it had misread the Belgians and the Britons.
THE GREAT GERMAN ATTACK ON RUSSIA
By the summer of 19 15 the world had thus become almost
a unit in its disgust and anger against the Germans, though
by no means a unit in its fear of them. That was to come
later. The meaning of Dunajec was not at first widely un-
derstood. Germany now proceeded to make her new power
clear. In the west she launched in June a series of smashing
attacks against the French in the Argonne. These were con-
ducted by the armies of the Crown Prince, and had perhaps a
dynastic rather than a military purpose. At any rate, they
were as resolutely met as they were delivered. The Germans
could advance but a few yards, paying dearly for each one;
and after three weeks they abandoned the assault.
If it had been intended only, to concentrate the Allies'
attention on the west, it had succeeded. Germany's mighty
movement against Russia seemed for the moment almost for-
gotten. This Mackensen advance had been, as we have
seen, partly delayed by Italy's entrance into the War; but
by July 1 st Galicia was reconquered and Mackensen was
turning his advance northward into Poland, threatening
Warsaw from the south.
1 See § XII, "Sinking of the Lusitania," by von Jagow, Wilson, etc.
xxvi AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE OF
So began the third great German assault against War-
saw; and this time it was successful. Hindenburg, whose
main armies lay along the Prussian-Polish border to the
north of Warsaw, suddenly struck southward with all his
strength, while Mackensen was striking northward. The
main Russian armies were thus caught between the two,
and might well have been surrounded in Warsaw and cap-
tured there. Their commander, the Grand Duke Nicholas,
foreseeing this, fought delaying battles as long as he could,
and then retreated, leaving Warsaw to its fate. The Ger-
mans entered it on August 4th, triumphant indeed at having
captured the great city, but sorely regretful that they had
not also captured within it the main Russian army. 1
From that time Russian resistance continued crumbling
before the mighty blows of Hindenburg and his able lieu-
tenant, Mackensen. The greatest of Russian fortresses
along the Western frontier was Kovno on the Niemen (ne-
men) River, the chief defense against East Prussia. This
was stormed and captured by the Germans on August 17th.
Its loss startled Russia far more than that of Warsaw. The
latter was, after all, a Polish, not a Russian city ; but Kovno
was Russian, and in one sense was the outermost defense
of Petrograd itself.
Directly east of Warsaw the strong Russian fortress
town of Brest-Litovsk (le-tofsk) was captured on August
25th ; and between this loss of Kovno in the north and Brest-
Litovsk in the south, the Russian armies were again threat-
ened with encirclement. To escape, they on September 1st
abandoned Grodno, another strong fortress position between
the two extremes. Their line was now withdrawing toward
the interior of Russia, losing mightily in men, munitions
and territory, but always managing to evade that final sur-
rounding and capture which was the avowed aim of the Hin-
denburg campaign.
On September 5th the Czar announced that he himself
would take over the active command of the Russian forces.
This made no immediate change ; but gradually the Russian
resistance stiffened. Once more Hindenburg made a desperate
1 See § XV, "The Fall of Warsaw," by Van der Boeck, Princess
Radziwill. etc.
THE BUILDING OF GERMANY'S EMPIRE xxvii
effort to entrap an army, this time the one at the northern
end of the long Russian line, at Vilna. After a week of
battle Vilna was captured on September 18th. But the
Russians again withdrew in safety, and the German losses
in the long and bitter battle had been so heavy that Germany
saw it was time to pause. Her success in the campaign had
been enormous. Poland had been added to the Mid-Europe
Empire ; much of the Russian frontier lands had been occu-
pied ; and the Russian armies had been sorely battered. To
have advanced further against them in the face of the on-
coming Russian winter, would have been to repeat the blunder
of Napoleon. 1
Moreover, the Russian forces seemed once more as
strong as ever. Immediately after their escape from Vilna,
they began attacking again. At Dvinsk, to the north of
Vilna and Kovno, there was a great battle lasting all through
mid-October. When the Russians had no better weapons,
they fought with clubs or with bare hands ; and the Germans
made no progress forward. Soon a new line of trenches ex-
tended all along the eight hundred miles of the Eastern
front ; and the exhausted Germans were perhaps more glad
of the chance of shelter than were the furious and uncon-
querable Russians,
THE ALLIES' EFFORTS TO AID RUSSIA
Meanwhile what were the Allies doing to aid Russia in
her dark hour of need? Britain continued her unfortunate
attack upon the Dardanelles. If she could break the Turk-
ish resistance there, she could bring to Russia some of the
much needed ammunition. Having failed to force a passage
through the strait by her ships alone, she sent an army to
their aid. But by the time the army arrived in May, the
Turks were fully ready, self-assured and eager for the fight.
The Britons could scarcely even force a landing, much less
sweep the Turks from the entire Dardanelles peninsula and
capture Constantinople. The main assault was heroically
delivered, chiefly by Australian and New Zealand troops,
on August ioth, and was a costly failure. 2 All year these
^ee § XIX, "Russia's Desperate Rally," by the Czar, et al.
1 See § XVI, "Britain's Failure at the Dardanelles," Kitchener.
xxviii AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE OF
troops remained on the narrow strand they had won under
the protection of the battleships, an unfortunate spectacle
to the nations of the East, who were thus taught by ever-
present example that the Britons were not invincible. At
length, in December, Britain formally withdrew her forces,
formally admitted her defeat.
France also sought to relieve the pressure upon Russia.
In September, Marshal Joffre ordered the first great French
offensive on the Western front, the attack in Champagne.
Hitherto Joffre had proclaimed his advocacy of the famous
"nibbling" process. That is, he meant to let the Germans
do all the costly attacking, while his sheltered defensive
troops killed as many foemen as they could, yielding a little
ground when the attack became too heavy, and falling back
to the next defense. Let Germany work her savage will of
plunder and torture in the captured region ; that, France
could not stop. But in the end the "nibbling" would exhaust
Germany's strength, and the British blockade would reduce
her to starvation along with her victims. The iron patience
of the nibbling process, however, had not allowed for Rus-
sia's possible overthrow and the consequent opening to Ger-
many of all the foodstores of the East. So now, to relieve
Russia, Joffre undertook the Champagne offensive. 1
Midway between the sorely battered city of Rheims
(ranee) and that Argonne forest where the Germans had
just attacked in vain and where Americans were later to
win undying glory, the French let loose a three days' bom-
bardment, the heaviest yet known in the West. Then half
a million Frenchmen charged forward on a narrow front
around Perthes, the scene of their unsuccessful spring attack.
For ten days they battled onward, but succeeded in ad-
vancing their line only some two miles. Of course German
reinforcements were drawn to the spot by thousands, and
to that extent the German advance against Russia may have
been weakened by the Champagne assault. But it was de-
livered at terrible expense, both in men and munitions ; and
the French official expressions of satisfaction over the re-
sult were by no means convincing to outsiders. In brief,
1 See § XVIII, "The Big Allied Offensive," official statements.
THE BUILDING OF GERMANY'S EMPIRE xxix
the military lesson of 19 15 on both the Eastern and the
Western front was that while the new enormous artillery
assault could break a second-rate trench defense, yet when
both offensive and defensive were of the highest grade, the
defense was still immeasurably the stronger.
GERMANY SEIZES THE ROAD TO CONSTANTINOPLE
With the dying down of the French attack in the West
and of the great German advance in the East, there came in
October the most tragic event of the tragic year, the crushing
of heroic little Serbia. 1 Germany had planned this as her
most important coup, the step which was to establish as a
definite reality her Empire of Middle Europe. Her two
Allies, Turkey and Austria, were wholly in her hands. Ger-
man generals commanded their armies; and in Turkey's
case German officers controlled her navy also. But between
the German-Austrian territorial block and its Turkish out-
post intervened the middle Balkans, where Bulgaria was neu-
tral, and Serbia a foe. German diplomacy convinced Bul-
garia that the War was practically won for Germany, and so
persuaded the Bulgarian king to do what the Germans had
accused Italy of doing. He entered the War hastily on what
he deemed the winning side, so as to share in the spoils.
Germany was glad to promise the Bulgarians anything and
everything. They were to be lords of all the Balkans. Of
course this lordship could only be preserved under Germany's
control and protection; but for the moment Germany was
careful not to emphasize this feature of the bargain. 2
The arrangements for Bulgaria's entry into the War
were conducted so secretly that the Allies were caught un-
awares. Moreover, the redoubtable General Mackensen was
secretly shifted from the Russian front and with some of
the best German troops was sent across Austria to the Ser-
bian border. Now, suddenly, he began a fourth Teuton in-
vasion of Serbia; and just at the most disastrous moment
for the sturdily resisting Serbs, Bulgaria declared war upon
them and attacked them from the rear.
1 See § XXI, "The Crushing of Serbia," by Savic, etc.
'See § XX, "Bulgaria joins the Central Powers," by Menshekoff,
Radoslavoff, etc.
xxx AN OUTLINE NARRATIVE OF
There was some effort to give Allied help to the Serbians
by an army gathered at Salonika, the nearest port in neutral
Greece. But this aid was both too feeble and too late. The
Serbs fought desperately all through October and Novem-
ber. They yielded no inch of soil until it was deep dyed
with blood. They fought the German-Austrian army on
their Danube frontier for a week before they withdrew from
Belgrade. Their secondary capital, Nish, fell to the Bul-
garians on November 5th. The Serbian Government was
withdrawn from town to town southward and westward,
until on November 25th its members abandoned Prisrend,
the last little border city that remained to them, and fled
across the Albanian mountains to the Adriatic coast. Here,
under shelter of the Italian warships, they established them-
selves at Scutari (skoo-tah-re), an exile government in a
foreign land.
But they had still subjects. Undying in its fame for-
ever, will be that last retreat of the Serbian army. Hope-
lessly outnumbered, surrounded, except for the snow-cov-
ered Albanian mountains at their backs, without ammunition
and even without food, the Serbian soldiers still refused sur-
render. They preferred the starvation march across those
frozen winter mountains. Many of the Serbian women and
children chose that alternative also, rather than face the
torture they knew they must expect from their unhuman
conquerors. It was the exodus of a nation. 1 Few of the
women and children survived; but of the men, with Italian
aid, there ultimately gathered over a hundred thousand in
the Adriatic Island of Corfu, the nucleus of a new Serbian
army which ultimately marched in victorious triumph back
into its empty and hideously martyred land.
THE SHRIEKING YEAR OF MASSACRE
General Mackensen and his German troops promptly
withdrew from conquered Serbia and left it in Austrian and
Bulgarian hands. Of the butcheries, the deliberate torturings
which followed there, we can only speak in despairing horror.
American Indians never maltreated their victims with more
1 See § XXIV, "The Serbian Exodus," by Barby, Novakovitch, etc
THE BUILDING OF GERMANY'S EMPIRE xxxi
fiendish cruelty and delight. In fact the series of wide-
spread massacres with which the Mid-Europe Empire was
inaugurated in 19 15 make that perhaps the record year for
all eternity of man's inhumanity to his fellows.
Here is the record. In the West, Germany continued
to hold her dominion over Belgium and Northern France
by her established policy of "fright fulness." Of this the
most notorious, though by no means the most barbaric,
case was the sudden, secret process of law and falsehood
by which her officials executed the British nurse, Edith
Cavell, on October 12th. 1 On the Western oceans, as we
have seen, Germany began the murder of civilians and
neutrals by means of submarines, including the sinking of
the Lusitania. From the Western skies Zeppelins and other
aircraft dropped their bombs. In the East Germany over-
ran Poland, professed a heartfelt friendship and pity for
the suffering Poles, and then exploited them in a slavery
and starvation ten times worse than that which desolated
Belgium. The Belgians were saved by American charity
and by the publicity Americans gave to each injustice. The
Poles, shut off from Western knowledge and Western pity,
were compelled to endure their Calvary unaided. 2
These were German and official brutalities, deliberately
carried out for the consolidation of the expanding German
Empire. In the farther East, where Germany had linked
forces with the uncivilized hordes of Asiatic origin, with
Turks and Bulgars and Hungarians, the massacres were
more personal, undertaken as much for pleasure as for busi-
ness. Of such nature were the Serbian atrocities, and the
still more unspeakable massacres of Armenians by the Turks.
For these outbreaks of her Eastern partners Germany is only
indirectly responsible ; she did not command them but only
allowed and unofficially encouraged them by precept and
example. Meanwhile Germany herself raised constant out-
cry, because on the Western front the French and British
employed some of their African and Hindu troops. These
1 See § XXII, "Execution of Edith Cavell," by Whitlock, Zimmer-
etc.
2 See § XXV, "Poland's Agony," by Walcott and Trompczynski.
xxxii THE BUILDING OF GERMANY'S EMPIRE
troops were trained to civilized warfare and kept under
civilized command. Yet at the very moment of her protest,
Germany linked hands with the most unhuman of Asiatics,
and permitted these monsters to work their ghoulish wills
unrestrained. The details of the Turkish slaughter of the
Armenians are the most foul, the most unprintable, that his-
tory has been called on to record since the first Hunnish in-
vasion of Europe almost fifteen hundred years ago. 1
To Germany, however, these endless sickening horrors
were but minor incidents, unfortunate, but inseparable from
the one great triumph, the establishment of her Empire of
Middle Europe. 2 This had become a visible fact, symbolized
by the sending of a German train under German officials
all the way from Berlin to Constantinople. This was first
accomplished in November, and soon became a regular sys-
tem, affording unbounded satisfaction to every German.
The new extension of empire had become possible
through three main steps, each destructive to Germany's al-
lies. Indeed, like the fabled god of old, Germany seemed
able to grow only by devouring her own children; for even
in Poland, which she now held as a conquered province, she
had begun by proclaiming Polish independence and then de-
stroying it. The three steps of her advance to Constanti-
nople had been : first, the breakdown of Austria, compelling
her obedience to German commanders ; second, the Armenian
massacres, which threw the Turkish leaders into the arms
of German diplomats as their only shelter from punishment
by outraged Christianity; and third, the German assistance
and protection which had enabled Bulgaria to destroy the
Serbs, and had thereby bound her in iron chains to Germany,
her one defense against the sternly indignant ''brotherhood
of Democracy." This brotherhood was being born, with
many throes, through all the western world. It was founded
everywhere on the increasing rule of the people. Only by
thus appealing to Democracy could the former rulers find the
strength to persist in the tremendous War.
1 See § X, "The Armenian Massacres," by Lord Bryce. Dr. Sturmer.
etc
2 See § XXIII, "Middle Europe Empire Established," by Presi-
dent Judson, et al.
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
THE CAPTURED PROVINCES FACE OFFICIAL SLAUGHTER
AND "THE GREAT PILLAGE"
WILLIAM HOHENZOLLERN BISHOP HENRY CLEARY
PREFECT L. MIRMAN
As M. Mirman well points out in his narrative herewith, we re-
tell these stories of German robbery and slaughter in no desire for re-
venge ; but only because it is the somber duty of History to make sure
that they are not forgotten, that men shall not build the future on any
mistaken idea of the character and the possibilities of that mass of
people who once sought to force their mastership upon the surround-
ing nations — and who may some day seek to do the same again. We
must all be eager for a renaissance of the German conscience, a re-
construction of the German mode of life and thought. But it would
be madness to let this hope for the future of the Teuton lead us to
ignore his demon-worship of the past.
Remember that each statement made in the following narrative has
been tested and retested, and has stood long before the public gaze
to invite contradiction or disproof, if such, alas, were possible. Dr.
Cleary, the Roman Catholic Bishop of New Zealand, a clergyman
of the noblest repute, speaks wholly from his personal experience.
M. Mirman, on the other hand, is the official speaker for the entire
body of French civic authority in the invaded districts. His report
becomes thus the sworn and solemn statement of united France. There
have been individual German reports by men who declared that they,
being at the front, saw nothing of these savageries. If the reporters
were truthful men, they were very fortunate ones ; for there have
also been shoals of individual reports by Germans who took active
part in the atrocities and who gloried in them. Moreover, they found
in their German homes a ready audience to applaud and encourage
them. The little local newspapers of Germany in 1914 and 1915 are
not pleasant reading to one who hopes for the spiritual future of the
human race.
Among so many German voices speaking, we have chosen here
the most authoritative one. We let the German Kaiser himself de-
clare the proclaimed policy of the "super-race." One would like to
doubt the authenticity of this damning statement of one who, from
his own human imperfection, assumes to become at once judge, jury,
and executioner over an entire race — a race who have overwhelmingly
disproved the verdict of degeneracy which is here made the reason
for destroying them. Unfortunately we have as yet no evidence against
the genuineness of this terrible self-indictment. It was officially pub-
lished in France in January, iqiq, as part of an intercepted letter sent
by the Kaiser early in the War to his fellow-plotter, the aged Emperor
of Austria. C. F. h.
W., VOL. III.— 1. I
2 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
BY KAISER WILLIAM II.
MY soul is torn asunder, but everything must be put to
fire and blood. The throats of men and women, chil-
dren and the aged must be cut and not a tree nor a house
left standing.
With such methods of terror, which alone can strike so
degenerate a people as the French, the war will finish be-
fore two months, while if I use humanitarian methods it
may be prolonged for years. Despite all my repugnance I
have had to choose the first system.
BY RT. REV. DR. CLEARY
Both in Northern France and Belgium one hears very
numerous stories of oppression and outrage against the
civilian population. Some of these, told at second, third, or
tenth hand, I felt bound to regard as exaggerated or wholly
untrue. Others were stated in a form which did not aid
investigation. Others, relating to fully detailed cases of
alleged crimes, some of them of peculiar atrocity, I had not
the time, nor as to certain of them the inclination, to inves-
tigate. I here refer only to acts of oppression and vio-
lence, vouched for by eye-witnesses of good standing, of de-
clared competency and good character. The more public
and striking outrages described hereunder are, moreover,
supported by a very considerable mass of independent and
convergent testimony which cannot be lightly set aside, and
which induces a strong conviction that, on the whole, the
German army of occupation did, in point of fact, translate
into action the policy of "ruthlessness" and "terrorization"
against the non-combatant population of the part of France
to which reference is here made.
Hostages
During my stay in France, I met a number of prominent
and respected civilians — mayors, parish priests, merchants,
etc. — who had been seized by the German troops as hos-
tages or sureties for the "good behavior" of the local popu-
lation towards the invaders. The "good behavior" usually
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 3
included the safety of the German communications; the
prompt supply of transport, money, or other things requisi-
tioned; and the avoidance of any of the many (and often
vague) things which the German commander, in his abso-
lute discretion, might regard as helping the French enemy
or interfering with the invaders' military plans. Failure,
or alleged failure, on the part of the inhabitants exposed
the hostages to heavy fines, deportation, long imprisonment,
or prompt death at the hands of a firing party. Now, hos-
tages have, in such circumstances, no effective power of
control over a scattered and distracted population, and they
are in no way responsible for the military action of their
country's forces. For these reasons, the taking and, on oc-
casion, execution or other penalizing of hostages is abhor-
rent to Christian sentiment and the modern practice of civ-
ilized war. Part 2, Chapter I, of the "German War Book"
deals with this question of hostages, and it admits what fol-
lows : "Every writer outside Germany has stigmatized this
measure as contrary to the law of nations, and as unjustified
towards the inhabitants of the country." The same official
publication goes on to say that this practice of taking hos-
tages "was also recognized on the German side as harsh and
cruel," but that its supreme justification was "the fact that
it proved completely successful." In the war of 1870, the
Germans, says the "War Book," forced their French hos-
tages "to accompany trains and locomotives." In the town
of (where I was billeted for a week in the mayor's
house) the Germans, when in retreat before the advancing
French troops, found yet another use for hostages. A large
number of the townsfolk, variously estimated for me by
many eye-witnesses, were "rounded up" as hostages by the
retreating invaders. Those unhappy civilians were placed in
two guarded lines along two adjoining bridges and their
approaches, at the very edge of the town. One of these
bridges was over a canal, the other over a river beside the
canal ; and over these two bridges the German troops pro-
ceeded to retreat between the two long rows of French hos-
tages: the idea was that the oncoming French would, in
order to save their own people, forego the military advan-
4 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
tage of blowing up the bridges with high explosive shells
or of treating the flying enemy to doses of bursting shrapnel
or machine gun fire. The French shrapnel did, however,
spatter over the bridges, smiting friend as well as foe. All
my local informants assured me that, as each hapless hos-
tage dropped, slain or wounded, he was thrown by his cap-
tors into the water, from which the bodies of twenty-two of
them were subsequently recovered.
Although permitted and authorized by the German
"War Book," the exposure of civilians to the fire of their
own troops is, of course, contrary to the usages of civilized
war. It is expressly forbidden by Chapter XIV. of the
British "Manual of Military Law."
Pillage
In every war there occurs, in some or other degree, the
looting of private property. (By looting is meant private
thefts committed by individuals.) I am able to bear per-
sonal testimony to the generally splendid conduct of our
New Zealand troops in this respect; and I have reason to
believe that the restraint practiced by them, in this matter,
represents the general attitude of the whole army. In the
old wars, for instance, fowls, even in friendly countries,
were commonly looked upon by soldiers as "derelict goods,"
the lawful prize of the first comer. And so they were re-
garded by both German officers and men. But since the en-
forced retirement of the invaders, domestic fowls have
again gradually multiplied in Northern France ; and it is a
high tribute to our men to state that these important "live
stock" of the French people, in the regions traversed by me,
are practically as safe from confiscation as they would be
in New Zealand or the British Isles. The fowl-runs in the
war area represent a testimonial to the good conduct of our
men, just as surely as another excellent testimonial is fur-
nished by the great and highly reciprocated kindness and
affection which they manifest to the children. This some-
times shows itself in quaint and "spoiling" ways (as some of
them would to their own little ones), but always with the
best intentions.
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 5
In modern military law, the seizure of the private prop-
erty of non-belligerents is not permissible, except under the
pressure of immediate military necessity ; and where it is so
taken, it is to be paid for on the spot, or its receipt acknowl-
edged by a proper document. Over all the regions of France
and Belgium traversed by me, and formerly occupied by
German troops, the plunder of the private property of
civilians was carried out in a generally wholesale way, with-
out any pretense of military necessity, without payment,
and usually without receipt, under the orders and direct su-
pervision of army officers, and as an act of settled State pol-
icy. The evidence of this public policy of plunder was
simply overwhelming; it extended over the whole occupied
area visited by me; and it spared no class or section of the
people — involving rich and poor alike to the extent of their
respective chattel resources. Collating the oral and ocular
evidence furnished to me by, literally, hundreds of towns-
people, villagers, and peasantry, I found that the general
official procedure was as follows :
At an early suitable moment after the occupation of a
country district or center of population, official arrange-
ments were made for the seizure and exportation of the
greater part of the chattel property of the inhabitants. For
this purpose, a sufficient supply of motor lorries was as-
sembled. Squads of soldiers, under the supervision of
officers, proceeded with the work of plunder. Others raided
the fields and farms, collected and drove off all horses, cattle,
sheep, pigs, etc., and took possession of all fowls and Belgian
hares (which were numerously raised in Northern France
for food purposes). Returns were demanded of all stock,
stores of grain and other foodstuffs — the failure of a boy
to mention a quantity of wheat concealed in a cellar resulted
in his being shot by a firing-party close to my last billet in
France. Grain and forage were seized and sent away; so,
too, was a great part (sometimes nearly all) the food in
dwellings; and much of the sustenance of even poor people
was roughly thrown about, damaged, wasted, or destroyed.
This was in 1914-15. Bed-coverings were almost invariably
taken; so, usually, were linen and woolen articles (under-
6 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
clothing of every sort included), napkins, towels, curtains,
table-covers, etc., ornaments, and furniture, excepting (as
a rule) bedsteads and other heavy and cumbrous pieces.
Locked drawers, presses, etc., were broken open. Money,
plate, costly ornaments of comfortably portable size, and
jewelry seem (according to the information given to me by
numerous victims of this modern Great Pillage) to have
been specially favored by the officers. And when the work
was done to the satisfaction of the Command, the long pro-
cession of high-loaded motor lorries set out on its way
towards the Rhine.
I will give here just three partial instances of the truly
Prussian thoroughness with which this policy of plunder
was carried out, in violation of natural right and the law
of nations. One woman villager, a worker's wife, showed
me her gutted (but somewhat reorganized) home, and
wound up her detailed description of the official pillage with
these words : "Those Prussians did not even leave me my
baby's little booties or socks or shirts — they took every-
thing, everything, everything." Only a few doors away
from her humble abode stood the big house of a manufac-
turer with whom I was billeted for some days. He had sent
away his wife and children shortly before the invaders oc-
cupied the village. These made a pretty clean sweep of his
house. Several Prussian officers were billeted there. They
personally stole every article of jewelry in the place, and all
the valuable gold and silver family plate, some of it con-
sisting of old and treasured heirlooms ; they seized a number
of costly gold and other ornaments; they invaded every
drawer, and even carried away his wife's silk dresses. All
his oil-paintings were taken away, except a few, of lesser
value, and some of these were slashed with sword-cuts. "lis
ont tout pille [they have pillaged everything]," said my host
to me in his account of the behavior of his guests from be-
yond the Rhine. Just one other instance out of a great
number that might be cited : It occurred at a little farm-
house, the home of a poor, childless, and very old widow,
just behind our fighting lines. I was billeted in that shell-
cracked farmhouse, within German gun-fire range, for
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 7
thirty-two days, while serving as chaplain in the fighting
lines. The local evidence went to show that the poor old
woman's home and little farm, like many others in the neigh-
borhood, was pretty thoroughly "cleaned up" by the plunder-
parties. Her own story, and that of another old eye-wit-
ness living in the house, was to this effect : That the mili-
tary officials took practically everything, down to the last
fowl; that they compelled the old woman to cook her own
stolen food for them; that they fed inordinately thereon,
drank great quantities of her coffee, and, said she, "what
they did not devour, they wasted," leaving hardly a scrap of
eatable food in the place. "Payment?" she replied, in an-
swer to a question; "not a sou!" And receipt for goods
taken ? "There was no receipt," said she. The same replies
were, in substance, made to me in all of the hundreds of
cases of officer-led plunder of which I have a recollection.
And, according to international law and to established con-
ventions (to which Germany was a party), such a course of
conduct in war is illegal : it is thieving, naked and unadorned.
Levies
Article 52 of the Hague Regulations declares, in regard
to requisitions: — "They must be in proportion to the re-
sources of the country." This provision is, as to its pur-
port and effect, embodied in section 416 of the British "Man-
ual of Military Law," and the British Requisitioning In-
structions. The same just and humane Hague Regula-
tion was affirmed by Article 40 of the Declaration of Brus-
sels, accepted by Germany. But it is also set aside in Chap-
ter IV of the "German War Book," where it declares that
"it will scarcely ever be observed in practice," and that
"in cases of necessity the needs of the army will alone de-
cide." Over a great part of the country visited by me, the
civilian population not alone had their chattel property sys-
tematically plundered, but they were, in addition to this,
subjected to racking (sometimes confiscatory) money fines
and levies. Some small hamlets, robbed of practically every-
thing, and living in part on borrowed money, had to pro-
vide, on short notice, forced contributions running into £160
8 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
and upwards. From the information supplied to me by my
manufacturing host and others, some of these compulsory
payments, in the circumstances of the contributors,
amounted in practical effect to the "buccaneering levies"
(brandscJiatz'itngcn) which are declared to be illegal in
Chapter IV of the "German War Book." Yet this cruel and
unjust measure is in full accord with the spirit of the mili-
tarist writers whose pagan principles are crystallized in
the "War Book." One of these is Clausewitz, an authority
of high standing with Prussian militarists. In the fifth chap-
ter of his "Vom Kriege," he declares that the military right
of requisitioning private property "has no limits except those
of the exhaustion, impoverishment, and devastation of the
whole country." And, despite its condemnation of "buc-
caneering levies" and some commendable references to the
rights of private property, the "German War Book" itself
reaches the same merciless conclusion. This is stated in the
third paragraph of the Introduction and in a fierce foot-
note quotation thereto from Moltke, which is given with ap-
proval. Both in text and footnote we find, nut-shelled, the
Prussian policy of "terrorismus" against both the persons
and the property of non-combatant populations.
Murder of Civilians
Another and more terrible form of this established Prus-
sian militarist policy of "terrorization" of peaceful popula-
tions is the frequent and unnecessary taking of civilian lives.
From numerous eye-witnesses — of the classes' already de-
scribed — I heard details of the murders of many unarmed
civilians. One of these, already referred to above, was a
mere boy, guilty of no military offense punishable by death.
As illustrating the methods followed by officers in some such
cases of murder, I cite two' instances vouched for by com-
petent and respectable eye-witnesses frequently seen by me.
During the early days of my stay at the front, in North-
ern France, I visited one of my priests, a Catholic chaplain,
who was then billeted, with two other New Zealand officers,
at a better class of farmhouse, quite close to the trenches. I
had been informed that the house-mother there was witness
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 9
to a tragedy that had been reported to me. I found her to
be an extremely pious Catholic woman, of middle age, fairly
educated, and speaking better French than is common among
the peasantry of that region. She confirmed, even in most
details, the story which I had heard, and told me, in sub-
stance, what follows : — Her brother, a farmer, lived near
by — a quiet, inoffensive man, very industrious, extremely
careful not to mix himself up in military or political mat-
ters, not guilty of spying or any civil or military offense,
and immensely devoted to his wife and three children. While
my informant was on a visit to him, there entered some
German officers. One of them (without any judicial for-
mality) drew his sword and severed the farmer's hand at
the wrist, the hand dropping to the floor. They then fired
three revolver shots at him, two of the shots penetrating
the victim's abdomen, the third his throat. All this took
place in the presence of the victim's sister (my informant),
and of his wife and three children, all of whom were frantic
with horror at the sudden tragedy. The poor man's sister
cried to him : "Oh, brother, you are dying ; make an act of
sorrow for your sins and of love of God." He replied
faintly: "I cannot, sister; say them for me." Then his
sister knelt beside him and began to recite the prayers.
When she was so engaged, the dying man cried out : "I am
done for!" and, making a big sign of the Cross over him-
self, began to recite the acts of sorrow for sin and of love
of God. And so he died. The sorrow-riven widow, seem-
ingly almost unbalanced by grief, left the scene of the
tragedy, and lives in a town where I was billeted in the
mayor's house for a week. In that town, the hostages were
killed, as already described, and close to it occurred the fur-
ther outrages to which reference is made hereunder.
A little over a mile westward from the town last re-
ferred to, there stands, close together, a group of small
farmhouses — some of them at one time billets for our sol-
diers. I visited some of them from time to time — one of
these (not a billet) being the home of a widow whose hus-
band had also been cruelly murdered without any judicial
formality, by German officers. He had hidden under some
io THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
hay in his barn as soon as he heard the rattle of German
rifles "shooting up" the country around about. (I found
a rather widespread impression among the peasantry, for
many miles around, that persons running away, or found
hiding, were regularly shot on sight by the then newly ar-
rived invaders.) In the course of their search of the little
farm in question, they discovered the hidden man, and the
officers perforated him with seven revolver bullets. This is
the statement made to me by his widow and by the family
next door (only some twenty yards away ) , who quite plainly
heard the shots that widowed their plundered neighbor and
orphaned her children. The next door house referred to
was also pretty thoroughly stripped, but the occupying
troops did not otherwise molest the house-mother and the
five delightful little children there, who used to swarm joy-
ously about me when I visited the billets near by. When,
in company with two of my chattering little friends, I paid a
first visit of sympathy to the widow of the murdered man,
she was busy winnowing peas in the barn, the same barn,
grinding heavily on the handle of a big noisy machine.
Her face looked towards the wall furthest from me. When
she had finished the loaded hopper, she turned suddenly at
the sound of my greeting. I shall carry to my death the
agony staring out of her eyes and set in the closely crowded
wrinkles prematurely carved by grief, and the utter hope-
lessness and helplessness that marked her mechanically-told
tale of swift tragedy. There must be many such eyes in
France and Belgium, that shall ever be riveted upon such
sudden horror, until death, in mercy, closes them.
Of the various other cases brought to my notice, I will
mention only those that follow : — In the neighboring town
(a little over a mile away) seventeen civilians were (I was
informed on the spot) put to death by the invaders; in a
village close by, several others. I had heard a great deal
about a ghastly massacre perpetrated close to the village of
D . I spent part of a January day investigating the
matter, right upon the spot, and among those (including
the parish priest) who were likely to furnish me with reliable
information. I learned, in substance, that eleven flying peas-
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE n
ants (several of them being refugees from other invaded
districts) were "rounded up" a few hundred yards outside
the village, compelled (without trial) to dig a big pit, and
then shot into it by a party of Prussian troops, under the
direction of a Prussian colonel. The parish priest (who, by
the way, was for a time a hostage) showed me the position
of the pit into which the victims were shot. It is in an open
field, outside the village. Three of the murdered men, local
people, were exhumed and interred in consecrated ground
in the parish cemetery, beside the ruins of the once beautiful
church which the Prussians fired and destroyed on the eve
of their retreat before the advancing French. A Prussian
major assured the parish priest (so the latter informed
me) that the civilian population of the place had not fired
upon or molested the invaders. Such a course of action
would, indeed, have been an act of supreme folly on the
part of the women, children, and the few men (mostly old
or unfit) left at the time in those French countrysides — espe-
cially in view of the well-known and oft-proclaimed meth-
ods of proscription and terrorism with which any civilian
interference would be avenged, even upon the innocent, as
was done in the well-remembered days of 1870. In view
of this well-known German policy, the local authorities at
D (and in these parts of France generally, so far as I
know) seized the few shotguns and other weapons of offense
in each commune, and stored them, under lock and key, in
the Mairie, whenever there arose any probability of the early
arrival of the invaders. In a town in which I was billeted, it
was suggested or asserted by German officers that shots
were fired by civilians. This, however, was hotly denied
by prominent citizens, and one mayor assured me (as he had
previously assured these officers) that the shots complained
of were fired, in his full view, by organized French troops
in retreat. That, however, did not save the place from enor-
mous levies. And both the clergy and the civil authorities
rather frequently voice the conviction that such accusations
were merely a pretext for pursuing the German State policy
of "ruthlessness" and "terrorismus" in the form of ex-
actions in blood and coin. In any case, I was assured, many
12 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
times over, that no proper trial, or no judicial proceeding
of any sort, preceded the penalty of death or of confiscatory
levies. The "German War Book" declares that the slay-
ing of prisoners is sometimes "expedient" — although it
acknowledges the proceedings to be always "ugly." But
even a civilian prisoner does not lightly lose, either by nat-
ural law or international convention, his right to a fair trial
before forfeiting his life.
And even if attacks were really made by individuals
upon the invaders, the Prussian method of inflicting gen-
eral penalties, in such cases, is forbidden by Article 50 of
the Hague Convention : "No collective penalty, pecuniary
or otherwise, shall be inflicted upon the population on ac-
count of the acts of individuals, for which it cannot be re-
garded as collectively responsible." But a wide range of
tragic outrage and wrong is left to the discretion of officers
in the following words of sweeping menace contained in the
official Introduction to the "German War Book" : "Certain
severities are indispensable in war; nay, more, true hu-
manity very often lies in a ruthless application of them."
But neither militarist sanction, nor even the plea of "or-
ders," can be held to justify "inherently immoral'' acts of
violence and inhumanity.
Some "Not Bad"
Everywhere that I went, both in France and Belgium,
I found that the people asserted differences in conduct among
the various national elements of the German army of oc-
cupation. Even among French soldiers and some veterans
of the war of 1870, I met sometimes with good words, some-
times with merely negative and comparative commendation,
for Rhinelanders, Saxons, and a few others. I came across
a certain number of cases in which both German officers
and men were, for instance, ashamed of the evil work of
State-organized plunder. And this was especially the case
where they were billeted upon, and kindly treated by, the
people whose homes they were ordered to pillage. In such
cases, the work of plunder, although carried out, was gen-
erally by no means so searching and merciless as it too fre-
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 13
quently was elsewhere. Regarding such troops, the people
would remark that they were "not bad," "not at all bad,"
that there were some "quite respectable men among them,"
and that this or that officer was "courteous" or "amiable,"
etc. Yet even the least objectionable of the invaders seem
to have, under "orders," inflicted rather severe ordeals
upon the people.
I had read a number of statements to the discredit of
the Bavarian troops during the early part of the war. I
was, therefore, quite unprepared for the practically uni-
versal verdict in their favor all over those invaded parts of
the war-zone where I was in touch with the civilian popu-
lation. These troops may or may not have been average
samples of the Bavarian armies. On that point I venture
no expression of opinion. But this I know : that, over the
districts where I found they had been in occupation, the
unfailing answer to inquiries was to this effect : That,
among the invaders of these parts, the Bavarians were the
most inclined to consideration and mercy in the gathering
of spoil, less given than others to the "shooting up" of
civilians, and, in billets, comparatively unobjectionable. The
statement (published in British papers early in the war)
was several times re-told to me in France, that two Ba-
varian regiments had mutinied against the execution of some
of the "frightfulness" orders given in Belgium, and had
been transferred elsewhere; and some instances were men-
tioned to me of real kindness, on their part, towards the
people.
I mentioned this unexpectedly favorable verdict regard-
ing Bavarians to a British officer occupying an important
position in Belgium : he was one of the comparatively few
who spoke French, and, practically from the beginning of
the war, mixed freely with the people in (among others)
the selfsame areas as were covered by my experiences at
the front. He assured me that his information, derived
from the people, expressed, on every side, the same opinion.
And he told me the following illustrative case, which was
afterwards repeated to me, in substance, by some residents
near the spot :
i 4 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
This British officer's story relates to a now battered and
uninhabited farmhouse, at present within our lines. For
over a month I visited it or passed by it almost daily, on
my way to or from the fire-trench. During the German
occupation, the farm-buildings were used for a time as
billets for a detachment of Bavarians. Just before their
arrival there, the house-mother had died, leaving several
helpless little children. The Bavarians told the bereaved
father that he might pursue serenely his usual outdoor oc-
cupations, and that they, in the meantime, would look after
the household and the motherless little ones. The cooking,
washing, tidying-up, etc., were (I was assured) carried out
with great, fastidious care; the house was a picture, the
children shining examples of neatness and greatly attached
to the big, hefty fellows from beyond the Rhine.
The Prussians
I met several French civilians who spoke not unkindly
of individual Prussian soldiers who had been billeted upon
them. I met one, and only one Frenchman in my experi-
ence who spoke well of a Prussian officer. That w?s the
parish priest (already referred to), and he spoke very
kindly indeed of the Prussian major already mentioned in
the course of this letter. But in regard to the other Prus-
sian officers with whom he had come into contact, his
mildest expression was that they were all "arrogant" and
"evil-mannered." For the rest, I made numerous other in-
quiries regarding Prussian officers, as distinguished from
officers of other sections of the German army. Such in-
quiries or remarks were ordinarily met with set lips and
flashing eye; with declarations that, though the Prussian
private was sometimes "not bad," the Prussian officers were
the most ruthless in pillage and the murder of civilians ; and
with such epithets (hundreds of times repeated) as "brutal,"
"merciless," and (over and over again) ce sont tons des
barbares — mais tons, tons (they are all barbarians, all,
all). The general verdict, as expressed to me, was that the
worst and most callous violators of the usages of civilized
warfare were the Prussian officers, and that the worst of the
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 15
Prussians were the Pomeranians, both officers and men.
In this connection, it is, perhaps, a curious coincidence that,
East Prussia is the home of the system known as "Prussian-
ism," which has overlain Germany and organized the Em-
pire, less as a State than as an Army bent on conquest.
The usually magnificent calm of French patience often
breaks into a glow of hate when the Prussians and their
ways are mentioned. With sundry other nationalities of
the German Empire, it seemed to me that the peasantry of
those regions felt that, under happier auspices, they might
live, in peace, as neighbors, in a neighborly way. I thus
gathered that, even amidst the fierce resentments aroused
by such methods of warfare, the Northern French peasant
is often able to judge as does President Wilson, between the
German people and the Prussian military oligarchy. These,
and their methods of pagan "frightfulness," have seared
the brain and soul of the Flandrian populations.
Destruction of Churches
From townsfolk, villagers, peasantry, British officers
and others I learned that the German method of dealing with
churches proceeded generally along the following lines in
the parts of France under consideration here : When a re-
treat from a hamlet, village, or town seemed to them an
early likelihood, the German officers in command requisi-
tioned all the kerosene and benzine around about, intro-
duced straw, firewood, and other inflammable material into
the church, piled up chairs, benches, etc., flooded the place
as well as they could with the liquid, and then set the whole
thing alight. They also, at times, distributed explosives
in places where they were calculated to increase the damage.
In sundry cases it was evident to even the most casual
observer that the building was of little or no use for purposes
of military observation or offense, being without tower,
spire, or other such feature, and being overlooked (in some
cases which I noted) by taller buildings. Occasionally, one
sees only one building in a village burned down — it is the
church. More numerous still are the churches destroyed
by German guns firing high explosive shells. I ascertained
16 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
that, in several cases, the church towers had been used by
both French and Germans in turn for observation purposes.
In such cases, the destruction of the observation post was a
legitimate, though regrettable, military measure. But one
curiously frequent and significant fact struck me in connec-
tion with the churches burned down or otherwise destroyed
by retreating German troops in the area of France to which
I refer. It is this : Over a wide area, nearly every tower
was left standing, a conspicuous landmark in the flat land-
scape. With a minimum of trouble, they could have all
been immediately used for observation purposes by the ad-
vancing French troops. The spires, where present, were
burned down or blown down; and the towers in question
could easily have been in great part demolished by high ex-
plosives, such as were sometimes used upon the walls. But
they were left, and still they stand. And it is assumed that
they were spared for a German military purpose, namely,
to serve as useful landmarks for "ranging" the German ar-
tillery. In one small area visited by me, close to our lines,
six churches were destroyed. Two of the priests were killed,
and a third had an extremely narrow escape.
Mention might here be made of a peculiar form of
"frightfulness" followed by the Germans in destroying some
of the churches in this district by high explosive shells.
After a vigorous, accurate, and destructive bombardment of
one church only (other buildings around being left com-
paratively little damaged) the firing suddenly ceased for a
time. The parishioners (a very pious population here-
abouts) felt confident that the bombardment was at an end,
and they gradually assembled in and around their church to
see and estimate the damage done. The vast majority of
the gatherings naturally consisted of women, children, and
old men — the fit men of military age being away in camp or
billet or trench. Suddenly, without warning, the German
guns broke out again, this time in a furious tempest of
shrapnel, with results to the civilian population which you
can well imagine. I heard of this form of "ruthlessness"
from a number of persons, and (as regards one very con-
siderable center of population) from some New Zealand
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 17
officers who were present, as well as from one of the priests
of my diocese, a military chaplain, who witnessed the de-
struction, by these means, of one church of great beauty
from his billet in the same square.
Various Crimes
Article 44 of the Hague Regulations says : "Any com-
pulsion, by a belligerent, on the population of occupied ter-
ritory, to give information as to the army of the other bel-
ligerent, or as to his means of defense, is prohibited." This
just and humane provision is one of the many such repudi-
ated in the "German War Book." It says in Part II, Chap-
ter I : "A still more severe measure is the compulsion of
the inhabitants to furnish information about their own
army, its strategy, its resources, and its military secrets. The
majority of writers of all nations are unanimous in their
condemnation of this measure. Nevertheless, it cannot be
entirely dispensed with; doubtless it will be applied with
regret, but the argument of war will frequently make it
necessary."
The compulsory betrayal of a country by its invaded in-
habitants is thus, quite properly, forbidden by the Hague
Regulations. They also (Articles 23 and 52) forbid the
forcing of the inhabitants of an occupied region to engage
in work designed to injure their country. The official "Ger-
man War Book" also treats as "a scrap of paper" this
valued provision of Christian and civilized warfare, and it
authorizes such unjust compulsion of civilians even to the
extent of "shooting some of them" in case of refusal (Part
II, Chapter I). During my stay in France I heard a
few vague allegations of attempted compulsion under both
these heads, but no time was left to investigate them. I
merely set down here the provision officially made for such
very terrible forms of compulsion. The evidence recently
supplied shows that, in point of fact, Belgian and French
deportees were compelled to engage (even in the fire-area)
in work designed to injure their respective countries.
The same official "War Book" approves of certain
other resorts "on which," says Professor Morgan, "Inter-
w., VOL. III.— 2.
18 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
national Law is silent because it will not admit the possi-
bility of their existence" among civilized peoples. I refer
to the German War Lord's sanction of "the exploitation of
the crimes of third parties (assassination, incendiarism,
robbery, and the like) to the prejudice of an enemy." This
sufficiently explains certain forms of German official activ-
ity in the United States. The "War Book" seeks to justify
the "inherently immoral" exploitation of crime by the fol-
lowing un-Christian doctrine of Professor Lueder : "The
ugly and inherently immoral aspect of such methods cannot
affect the recognition of their lawfulness. The necessary
aim of war gives the belligerent the right and imposes upon
him, according to circumstances, the duty not to let slip the
important — it may be the decisive — advantages to be gained
by such means."
Conclusion
In view of the "War Book's" repudiation of so many
principles and methods of civilized warfare, it seems, to
some extent, superfluous to adduce evidence of "ruthless-
ness" and "terrorization" by armies trained and acting un-
der its instructions. The Prussian militarists' "War Book"
is, in effect, the expression of armed materialism running
amok. It provides for, or permits, or supposes, practically
every form of "f rightfulness" laid to the charge of "Prus-
sianism" during this great struggle; so far as lies in its
power, it flings aside the precious results of the Church's
centuries of effort (crystallized and extended in interna-
tional conventions) to mitigate the atrocities of pagan war-
fare.
With human nature as it is, war has more than suffi-
cient horror, even when hedged around about by the re-
strictions called for by chivalry, Christian moral principles,
and international agreements. In the mass of men engaged
in war there will also ever be some who will fall at times
short of the ideals that become the Christian warrior. But
just as surely, in the stress of war, will many tend to fall
below the lower, as before the higher, ideal of soldierly
right and duty ; and depth will naturally and inevitably call
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 19
to depth in the practical application of the hard, crude ma-
terialism of the Prussian military code. And, just as nat-
urally, such forms of military "fright fulness" as it sanctions
or directs, tend to increase in number and intensity, to the
progressive degradation of war. We witness the further
developments of this tendency in the deliberate sinking of
Belgian relief ships, in the large deportations of unprotected
girls in France and Belgium (against which the Holy See
has raised its voice in protest), and (not to mention other
things) in the open and repeated destruction of hospital
ships and the attempted slaughter of wounded soldiers and
nurses upon the high seas — in direct violation of Hague
Convention, No. 10. The fundamental issue now is this:
Are we, or are we not, to hold what is still safe, and to re-
store what is being lost, of Christian and civilized inter-
course between nation and nation?
BY THE FRENCH CIVIL AUTHORITIES
L. Mirman, Prefect; G. Simon, Mayor of Nancy; G. Keller, Mayor
of Luneville
This is a statement of horrors, but a statement of plain
truths ! Where have we discovered our facts ? They are
taken from three sources: First, Four reports issued by
the French Commission of Inquiry; 1 and "Germany's Vio-
lation of the Laws of Warfare," published by the French
Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Second, Two volumes con-
taining twenty-two reports of the Belgian Commission,
and the Reply to the German "White Book" of May 15,
191 5 ; Third, Notebooks found upon a large number of Ger-
man soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers, who
have been wounded or taken prisoners, and translated under
the direction of the French Government. These valuable
records, in which the bandits and their leaders have impru-
dently given themselves away, are real "pieces a conviction."
These reports in their entirety form an overwhelming
indictment. We wish that every one could study them in
1 The members of this Commission were MM. G. Payelle (Premier
President de la Cour des Comptes), A. Mollard (Ministre Plenipoten-
tiaire), G. Maringer (Conseiller d'Etat), E. Paillot (Conseiller a la
Cour de Cassation).
20 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
full. But the books are large, running to thousands of
pages, and will not find their way to the general public.
Yet every one ought to know how the Germans carry on
war. We have therefore made selections from these docu-
ments in order to compile this brief statement. A dismal
task, this wading through mud and blood ! And a hard task,
to run through all these reports, pencil in hand, with the
idea of underlining the essential facts! You find yourself
noting down each page, marking each paragraph; and, lo
and behold, at the end of the book, you have selected every-
thing — that is to say, nothing. One might as well start to
gather the hundred finest among the leaves of a forest, 01
to pick up the hundred most glittering grains among the
sand on a beach. All we can do is to take the first examples
which come to hand. This, then, is not a collection of the
most stirring and striking German crimes, but simply a book
of samples. Two classes of outrage stand out, and must
remain ever present to the mind : murdered civilians can
be counted in thousands; houses willfully burned, in tens
of thousands.
Robbery
We shall not waste time over the looting of cellars, of
larders, of poultry yards, of linen-chests, or of whatever
can be consumed promptly, or immediately made use of
by the troops — all these are the merest trifles. Let us also
dismiss pillage, organized on a large scale by the authorities,
of all sorts of raw material and industrial machinery : the
bill on this score will come to several thousand million
francs. Let us likewise put aside official robberies, com-
mitted by governors of towns, or provinces, from municipal
treasuries (even the treasury of the Red Cross at Brussels
was robbed), usually under the form of fines, or of taxes
imposed under transparent pretenses. There again there
will be millions to recover.
We shall deal here with personal robberies only, as dis-
tinct from the pilfering carried on by hungry soldiers, dis-
tinct too from the regular contributions levied on a con-
quered country by an unscrupulous administration. These
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 21
robberies are innumerable, committed sometimes by private
soldiers, but often by officers, doctors, and high officials.
Here are some examples :
(1) Soldier thieves: They are rougher in their deal-
ings, and kill those who offer resistance. It is a case of
"Your money or your life." Madame Maupoix, aged 75,
living at Triaucourt, was kicked to death while soldiers
ransacked her cupboards. Monsieur Dalissier, aged 73, be-
longing to Congis, was summoned to give up his purse : he
declared that he had no money; they tied him up with a
rope and fired fifteen shots into his body. Let us pass quickly
over the "soldier thief" — merely small fry!
(2) Officer thieves: At Baron, an officer compelled the
notary to open his safe, and stole money and jewelry from
it. Another, after going through several houses, was seen
wearing on his wrists and ringers six bracelets and nine
rings belonging to women. Soldiers who brought their
officer a stolen jewel received a reward of four shillings.
The robberies at Baccarat and Creil were "directed" by offi-
cers. At Creil, a captain tried to induce Guillot and De-
monts to point out the houses of the richest inhabitants, and
their refusal cost them harsh treatment. At Fosse, a French
military doctor in charge of an ambulance, conveying two
hundred patients, and himself wounded, was arrested and
taken before a captain. The captain told the doctor that he
would have him shot, and meanwhile opened the doctor's
tunic with his own hand, took out his pocketbook and appro-
priated the 400 francs he found in it.
Officers and privates sometimes share the stolen money.
From a diary belonging to a titled Lieutenant of the Guards,
let us quote this note : "Fosse. Village entirely burnt.
The 7th Company made 2,000 francs in booty." From an-
other officer's notebook: "More than 3,000 francs booty
for the battalion."
Another diary, after the sacking of a place, gives a de-
tailed account of the distribution thus : "460 francs for
the first lieutenant, 390 francs for the second lieutenant,
etc."
(3) Doctor thieves: At Choisy-au-Bac, two army doc-
22 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
tors, wearing their brassards, personally sacked the house of
a family named Binder. At Chateau-Thierry some doctors
were made prisoners : their mess-tins were opened and found
to be full of stolen articles. After Morhange, a French doc-
tor of the 20th Corps remained in the German lines to be
near his wounded. He was accosted by one of his German
"confreres," who with his own hands stole his watch and
pocketbook.
At Raon-sur-Plaine, after the retreat of our troops, Dr.
Schneider remained behind with thirty wounded. Next day
up came a German ambulance with Professor Vulpius, a
well-known German scientist of Heidelberg University, who
must have presided over many international medical con-
gresses. As soon as he was installed, "Herr Professor"
intimated to his French fellow-doctors that he was "going
to begin with a small customary formality." The for-
mality was a simple one : his colleagues were to hand over
to him "all the money they had on them." "I strongly pro-
tested" (declared the French doctor, on oath), "but we were
compelled to hand over our purses and all their contents.
Having relieved us in this way, he turned to our poor
wounded, who were all searched and stripped of their
money. There was nothing to be done : we were in the
hands, not of a doctor, but of a regular brute."
(4) Royal thieves: After living about a week in a
chateau near Liege, H.R.H. Prince Eitel Fritz, the Duke
of Brunswick, and another nobleman of less importance,
had all the dresses that could be found in the wardrobes
belonging to the lady of the house and her daughters
packed up before their own eyes, and sent to Germany.
These thieves are often facetious: they give as compen-
sation a so-called receipt or bond (in German, of course),
which means, "Good for a hundred lashes," or "Good for
two rabbits," or "To be shot," or "Payable in Paris."
They are also disgusting. In houses robbed by them they
leave, by way of visiting cards, excrement in beds, on tables,
and in cupboards.
These thieves have a partiality for safes, and in this
connection the story of Luneville deserves recording. A
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 23
house near the station, belonging to M. Leclerc, was set on
fire; the walls alone remained standing, and in one of them
(on the second floor) a safe was left intact. A non-com-
missioned officer, named Weill, with a party blew up the
wall with dynamite, and the safe was extricated from the
rubbish, carried to the station, put on a truck, and sent to
Boche-land. This man Weill, before the war, often came
to Luneville on business with hops, was always well re-
ceived there, made himself agreeable and knew everybody.
When the Germans settled in the unfortunate town he played
a very important part, in spite of his low rank, in acting as
agent, confidential clerk and guide to the Commanding Of-
ficer.
The robbers are also business-like in their transport
arrangements as to carriages, military wagons, lorries, and
motor cars. At Compiegne, where the home of the Orsetti
family was sacked, silver plate, jewelry and articles of value
were collected in the courtyard of the chateau, then clas-
sified, registered, packed and "put into two carts, upon which
they took care to place the Red Cross flag." We read in
the notebook of a wounded German soldier, under medical
treatment at Brussels, "A car has arrived at the hospital,
bringing war booty, a piano, two sewing machines and all
sorts of other things."
In 1870, our clocks were in most demand; now, pianos
form the attraction, and an immense number have been sent
to Germany. They are the article particularly favored by
the Boche ladies. In a chateau retaken by our troops, an
officer left behind a letter from his wife, in which is writ-
ten, "A thousand thanks for the beautiful things you sent
me. The furs are magnificent, the rosewood furniture is
exquisite; but don't forget that Elsa is always waiting for
her piano."
These women, however, are not all as patient in waiting
as Elsa. They frequently come and choose for themselves,
and preside over the packing. They have been seen arriving
in motor cars from Strasbourg or Metz, at many towns in
Lorraine, at Luneville, Baccarat, and elsewhere.
All notebooks, more or less, contain such items as these :
24 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
"Wholsale pillage and abundant loot," "Everything de-
stroyed or sacked," "Looting going strong," "Played the
piano; looting going strong." This very German formula
frequently occurs, "Methodically plundered." And again,
"We have been allowed to plunder; we didn't require to be
told twice : whole bales of loot."
"Rcthel. The Vandals could not have done better."
(The officer who makes this indiscreet admission and seems
to protest against the thefts committed, writes on the fol-
lowing page : "I have found a silk rainproof coat and a
camera for Felix.")
"Convey. The village, and the workmen's cottages
looted and sacked. Atrocious. There is something, after
all, in what they say of German barbarians."
"Ottignies. The village was pillaged. The blond beast
has made plain what he is. The Huns and the free-lances of
the Middle Ages could not have done better."
"Cirey. During the night incredible things were done :
shops sacked, money stolen, rapes : enough to make one's
hair stand on end."
Incendiarism
In order to punish imaginary crimes, attributed to in-
dividuals or townships, or without even taking the trouble
to discover any kind of pretext, the Germans often, espe-
cially after looting, set everything on fire so as to make all
traces disappear. Sometimes, as at Courtaqon, they com-
pelled the inhabitants to provide the material for burning
their own houses; or, as at Recquignies, forced prisoners
"to set the houses of the doctor and mayor on fire with
lighted straw." But generally they do the work themselves.
They have a special service for this, and all the requisite in-
cendiary material is carefully prepared ; torches, grenades,
fuses, oil pumps, firebrands, satchels of pastilles containing
very inflammable compressed powder, etc. German science
has applied itself to the perfecting of the technic of incen-
diarism. The village is set alight by a drilled method.
Those concerned act quite coolly, as a matter of duty, as
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 25
though in accordance with a drill scheme laid down and
perfected beforehand.
Of course, fire once let loose, these people have to see
that it does its work completely : accordingly, at Louvain,
they destroyed the fire-engines and fire-escapes ; at Namur,
they stopped the firemen at the very moment they were pre-
paring to do their duty.
In this way they sometimes willfully burned down whole
blocks of dwellings (Luneville) : sometimes an entire dis-
trict (105 houses at Senlis, 112 at Baccarat) : sometimes
almost a whole town itself (more than 300 houses at Ger-
beviller, 800 at Sermaize). On other occasions they did
not leave a house standing (Nomeny, Clermont-en-Ar-
gonne, Sommeilles).
The complete list of buildings, cottages, farms, villas,
factories, or chateaux, burned willfully in this way by hand,
will be a formidable one, amounting to tens of thousands.
Refinement of cruelty frequently occurs. At Aerschot
"women had to witness the sight of the conflagration hold-
ing their hands up. Their torture lasted six hours." At
Crevic, the Germans began their sinister work by burning
a chateau which they knew belonged to General Lyautey.
The troops, commanded by an officer, shouted out for Ma-
dame and Mademoiselle Lyautey "that they might cut their
heads off."
The houses destroyed by fire were not always unin-
habited. At Maixe, M. Demange, wounded in both knees,
dragged himself along and fell prostrate in his kitchen ; his
house was set on fire and Madame Demange was forcibly
prevented from going to the rescue of her husband, who
perished in the flames. At Nomeny, Madame Cousin, after
being shot, was thrown into the burning building and
roasted. At the same place, M. Adam was thrown alive
into the flames. Let us note in common with him, to their
credit, an act of comparative humanity. Finding that the
unhappy man was not being burnt fast enough, they ended
his misery in the flames by shooting him. At Monceau-sur-
Sambre, where they set fire to 300 houses, they confined
26 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
the two brothers S. in a shed, and the unfortunate men were
burnt alive.
The soldiers' diaries are rilled with descriptions of in-
cendiarism, some of which we now quote. "Returned by
Mazerulles, which was burnt as we passed through, because
the engineers found a telephone there connected up with
the French." "The whole village was in a blaze. Every-
thing destroyed in the street, except one small house; in
front of the door was a poor woman with her six children,
her arms raised and begging for mercy. And every day it
is the same thing."
Parux. "The first village burnt (in Lorraine, on Au-
gust ioth) ; after that the fun began. Villages in flames,
one after the other." Another notebook simply states,
"Sommepy — horrible carnage. The village entirely burnt;
the French thrown into the burning houses; civilians with
the rest." Another recalls theatrical memories. "The vil-
lage is ablaze; it reminds one of the conflagration of Wal-
halla in the Twilight of the Gods.' "
Here is a poet speaking: "The soldiers set up the red
cock {i.e., fire) upon the houses, just as they like." This
poet is moved, and speaks of "pure vandalism" on the part
of his companions in arms. And again, a musician writes,
"Throwing of incendiary grenades into the houses; a mili-
tary concert in the evening — 'Nun danket alle Gotf ! (Now
thank we all our God)." Finally, a Bavarian : "The village
(Saint-Maurice, Meurthe-et-Moselle) was surrounded, and
the soldiers posted one yard apart so that no one could
escape. Then the Uhlans set fire to the place, one house
after the other. No man, woman, or child could possibly
escape. Only the cattle were removed in safety, because
cattle have some value. Any one trying to escape was shot.
Everything in the village was destroyed." We shall see
presently that they even went so far as to burn ambulances.
Murder
Not having sufficient space for a complete catalogue, we
shall here simply mention the judicial murders of Miss Ca-
vell, Eugene Jacquet, Battisti, and others, in order to honor
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 27
the memory of those noble victims. For the same reason, as
they are now well known to every one, we content ourselves
with merely recalling the criminal torpedoing of the Lusi-
tania, Ancona, Portugal, Amiral-Ganteaume ... all mer-
chant steamers, without any military character whatever,
employed in carrying passengers of every nationality, and
the last named crowded with refugees.
We may pass over the crimes committed from a distance,
so to speak, on unfortified towns, with field-pieces, long-
range guns, aeroplanes, and Zeppelins, merely noting that
the Germans were the first to fire shells into the center of
towns indiscriminately. If they made an exception, it was
to aim at the cathedral square, when people were leaving
after Mass, as at Nancy, or into the market-place at the time
when women are busiest, as they did at Luneville.
We only mention here such outrages as were committed
at close quarters with hand-weapons, bayonets or rifles. The
list is a long one. Will the exact number of victims ever
be known ? In Belgium alone it has been proved that up to
now more than 5,000 civilians have been assassinated:
grown men, old people, women and children. They slaugh-
tered their victims sometimes one by one, sometimes in
groups, often in masses. They were not content only with
killing. At one place they organized round the massacre
such tragic scenes, and at another displayed such refinements
of cruelty that reason falters in face of their acts, and asks
what terrible madness has brought this race to such low
depths ? Is it possible ? Yes, it is. Judge by the following
examples :
A Westphalian prisoner states, "The commanding offi-
cer ordered us to shoot two women, and we did so. One of
them was holding a child by the hand, and in falling she
dragged the child over with her. The officer gave orders
to shoot the child, because it could not be left alone in the
world." At Rouves, a Government clerk refused to tell a
Bavarian officer the numbers of the French regiments in the
neighborhood. The officer killed him with two shots from
his revolver. At Crezancy, another officer shot with his own
hand young Lesaint, 18 years old, "to prevent his being a
28 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
soldier later on." At Embermenil, Madame Masson was
shot for having, in absolute good faith, given some wrong
information. As she was obviously in a state of pregnancy,
they made her sit down on a bench to meet her fate. At
Ethe, two priests were shot "for having buried some
weapons." At Marqueglise, a superior officer ordered the
arrest of four young fugitives. Learning that two of them
came from Belgium, he exclaimed, "The Belgians are filthy
people," and without more ado took his revolver and shot
them one after the other. Three were killed outright, the
fourth expired the following day.
At Pin, some Uhlans found two young boys on the road.
They tied them by the arms to their horses and galloped off.
The bodies of the poor lads were found a few miles away —
their knees were "literally crushed"; one had his throat cut
and both had several bullets in their heads.
At Herimenil, during the pillage, the inhabitants were
shut up in a church, and kept there for four days without
food. When Madame Winger, 23 years of age, and her
three young servants, one girl and two boys, were too slow
in leaving her farm to go to the church, the captain ordered
his men to fire on them. Four more dead bodies !
The Germans arrived at Monchy-Humieres. A group
of inhabitants watched them marching past. No provoca-
tion whatever was offered, but an officer th5ught that he
heard some one utter the word "Prussians." He at once
called out three dragoons, and ordered them to fire upon
the group — one killed and two wounded — one of the latter
being a little girl of four.
At Sommeilles, when the fire — which destroyed the
whole place — broke out, Madame X. took refuge in a cellar
belonging to M. and Madame Adnot, who were there, with
their four children, the eldest a girl of 1 1 years. A few days
after, on returning to the village, our soldiers found the
seven bodies in the cellar lying in a pool of blood, several
of them being horribly mutilated. Madame X. had her
right arm severed from her body; the little girl's foot had
been cut off, and the little boy of five had his throat cut.
At Louveigne a certain number of men were shut up in
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 29
a blacksmith's shop; in the afternoon the murderers opened
the door as if it were a pigeon-shooting competition, drove
the prisoners out, and shot them down — a ghastly group of
17 corpses.
At Senlis the heroic Mayor, M. Odent, and six members
of his staff were shot.
At Gerbeviller they forced their way into the house of
M. and Madame Lingenheld; seized the son, aged 36, ex-
empt from service, and wearing the badge of the Red Cross,
tied his hands, dragged him into the street and shot him.
They then returned to look for the father, an old man of
70. Meanwhile the mother, mad with terror, made her
escape. On coming out she saw her son lying on the ground.
As he still showed signs of life, they threw paraffin over
him and roasted him. The father was shot later on with
fourteen other old men. More than 150 victims were identi-
fied in this parish.
At Nomeny, M. Vasse provided shelter for a number of
neighbors in his cellar. Fifty soldiers got in and set fire
to the house. To escape the flames the refugees rushed out
and were shot one by one as they emerged. Mentre was
killed first; his son Leon, with his little eight-year-old sister
in his arms, fell next : as he was not quite dead they put the
barrel of a rifle to his ear and blew his brains out. Then
came the turn of a family named Kieffer. The mother was
wounded; the father, his boy and girl, aged respectively 10
and 3, were shot down. They fell on them with fury.
Striffler, Guillaume, and Vasse were afterwards massacred.
Young Mile. Simonin, 17 years old, and her small sister,
afraid to leave their refuge in the cellar, were eventually
driven out by the flames, and immediately shot at. The
younger child had an elbow almost blown off by a bullet;
as the elder girl lay wounded on the ground, she was de-
liberately kicked by a soldier. At Nomeny 40 victims were
identified.
The following depositions on the massacres at Nomeny
are made by prisoners, one a Bavarian officer in the Reserve,
the other a private in the same regiment. The lieutenant
says : "I gathered the impression that it was impossible
30 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
for the officers at Nomeny to prevent such acts. As far as I
can judge, the crimes committed there, which horrified all
the soldiers who were at Nomeny later on, must be put down
to the acts of unnatural brutes." The soldier says, "At five
o'clock regimental orders were received to kill every male
inhabitant of Nomeny, and to raze everything to the ground ;
we forced our way into the houses." Here is a more de-
tailed account of a massacre near Blamont : "All the vil-
lagers fled : it was terrible ; their beards thick with blood, and
what faces! They were dreadful to look at. The dead
were all buried, numbering sixty. Among them were many
old men and women, and one unfortunate woman half con-
fined — the whole being frightful to look at. Three children
were clasped in each other's arms, and had died thus. The
Altar and the vaulting of the church were destroyed be-
cause there was a telephone 2 communicating with the en-
emy. This morning, September 2nd, all the survivors were
expelled. I saw four small boys carrying away on two
sticks a cradle containing a baby of five or six months. All
this is dreadful to see. Blow for blow : thunder against
thunder! Everything is given up to pillage. I also saw
a mother with her two children ; one had a big wound on the
head, and one eye knocked out."
Outrages on Women and Children
We might write a long and heartbreaking chapter on
this pitiful subject, but let the following suffice. The Report
of the French Commission of Inquiry concludes with these
words, "Outrages upon women and young girls have been
common to an unheard-of extent." No doubt the bulk of
these crimes will never come to light, for it needs a con-
catenation of special circumstances for such acts to be com-
mitted in public. Unfortunately and only too often these
circumstances have existed, e.g., at Beton-Bazoches and
Sancy-les-Provins, a young girl, and at St. Denis-les-Re-
' To whom did it belong, and where was it? Telephones exist in
every district of Meurthe-et-Moselle. Besides, our army installed field
telephones which were not all destroyed at the time of their retreat.
It is a most foolish pretext.
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 31
baix, a mother-in-law and a little boy of eight years old,
and at Coulommiers a husband and two children, were wit-
nesses to outrages committed on the mother of the family.
Sometimes the attacks were individual and sometimes com-
mitted by bodies of men, e.g., at Melen-Labouxhe, Margaret
W. was violated by twenty German soldiers, and then shot
by the side of her father and mother. They did not even
respect nuns. 3
They did not even spare grandmothers (Louppy-le-
Chateau, Vitry-en-Perthois, etc.).
Nor did they respect children. At Cirey, a witness (a
University professor), whose statements one of us took
down a few days after the tragedy, cried to a Bavarian
officer, "Have you no children in Germany?" All the officer
said in reply was, "My mother never bore swine like you."
Now and then they let themselves loose on a whole fam-
ily; at Louppy, the mother and her two young girls, aged
thirteen and eight, respectively, were simultaneous victims
of their savagery.
The outrages sometimes lasted till death. At Nimy,
the martyrdom of little Irma G. lasted six hours, till death
delivered her from her sufferings. When her father tried
to rescue her he was shot, and her mother was seriously
wounded. Indeed, it was certain destruction to any fren-
zied parent who tried to defend his child. A clergyman of
Dixmude says, "The burgomaster of Handzaeme was shot
for trying to protect his daughter." And how many other
cases have occurred ! We have not the heart to continue the
list.
Martyrdom of Civilian Prisoners
After having burnt our villages, and shot the inhabi-
tants by dozens in some places, and by hundreds in others,
they frequently deported all or a part of the survivors to
Germany. It is impossible at this moment to establish the
number of those deported, but they were sent off by tens
8 See the report of the French Commission. See also the moving
letter of Cardinal Mercier to von Bissing : "My conscience forbids my
divulging to any tribunal the information, alas, only too well substan-
tiated, which I possess. Outrages on nuns have been committed."
32 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
of thousands. These unfortunate people, men, women and
children, who had witnessed and survived fires and mas-
sacres, who had seen their houses blazing and so many of
those dear to them fall under the bullets of the assassin,
and who were forced in some places to dig graves for their
victims, and in others to hold a light for the executioners
while they were finishing off the wounded, — these poor
wretches are dispatched to Germany. What a journey, and
what a place of residence!
Before February 28, 191 5, more than 10,000 persons,
old men, women, and children, who had been deported from
France to Germany, had been repatriated by way of Switzer-
land. All those who received them on their return were
"alarmed at their ragged condition and weakness," which
was so great that the French Commission of Inquiry re-
ceived special instructions to question these victims. They
took the evidence of over 300 witnesses in 28 different lo-
calities. To do justice to their case one ought to quote the
whole report — children brutally torn away from their
mothers, poor wretches crowded for days together in car-
riages so tightly packed that they had to stand up, cases of
madness occurring among these half-stifled crowds, howl-
ing with hunger. But we must confine our quotations to a
few items of "Kultur." "While the men of Combres set
out for Germany, the women and children were shut up in
the village church. They were kept there for a month, and
passed their nights seated in the pews. Dysentery and croup
raged among them. The women were allowed to carry ex-
crement only just outside the church into the churchyard."
"At least four of the prisoners were massacred because
they could not keep up with the column, being completely
exhausted." "Fortin, aged 65, and infirm, could not go
any further. They tied a rope to him, and two horsemen
held the ends so that he had to keep the pace of the horses.
As he kept falling down at every moment, they made him
get up by poking him with their lances. The poor wretch,
covered with blood, prayed them to kill him."
"One hundred and eighty-nine inhabitants of Sinceny,
who were sent to Erfurt, arrived there after a journey of
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 33
84 hours, during which each of them got nothing but a sin-
gle morsel of bread weighing less than four ounces. An-
other convoy spent four days on the railway journey and
were only fed once, and were beaten with sticks and fists and
with knife handles." The same brutalities were experi-
enced in the German cities through which they passed, and
very few of the civilian prisoners escaped being buffeted by
the infuriated crowds or being spat upon.
So much for the journey. Now for what happened to
them after their arrival! "The declarations made to us
show clearly that the bulk of the prisoners almost col-
lapsed from hunger. After food had been distributed,
when anything was left, you saw some of them rush to the
neighborhood of the kitchens; hustled and beaten by the
sentries, these unfortunates risked blows and abuse to try
and pick up some additional morsels of the sickening food.
You saw men, dying of hunger, picking up herring heads,
and the grounds of the morning's decoction."
At Parchim, where 2,000 French civilians from 12 to
yy years of age were interned, two starving prisoners who
asked for the scraps left over were beaten with the butt-
ends of rifles to such an extent that they died of their
wounds. The young son of one of them who tried to pro-
tect his father was tied to a stake for a week on end.
On oath, Dr. Page deposes : "Those who had no money
almost died of hunger. When a little soup was left, a
crowd of unfortunates rushed to get it, and the non-commis-
sioned officers got rid of them at last by letting the dogs
loose on them." But what is the need of all these details
and of all this evidence ? Look at the 10,000 who came back
after being repatriated and see what the bandits have done
to them. Reader, summon up your courage and peruse to
the bitter end the conclusions of the Official Commission of
Inquiry. "It is impossible to conceal the melancholy and
indignation we felt on seeing the state of the 'hostages' 4
whom the Germans had returned to us after they had kid-
naped them in defiance of the rights of nations. During
* Through old habit, the Commission makes use of this word; they
are not "hostages," of course.
W., VOL. III.— 3.
34 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
our inquiry we never ceased hearing the perpetual coughs
that rent them. We saw numbers of young people whose
cheerfulness had disappeared apparently forever, and whose
pale and emaciated faces betrayed physical damage probably
beyond repair. In spite of ourselves we could not help
thinking that scientific Germany had applied her methodical
ways to try and spread tuberculosis in our country. Nor
were we less profoundly moved to thought by the sight of
women mourning their desolated hearths and missing or cap-
tive children, or by the moral impression left on the faces
and bearing of many prisoners by the hateful regime which
was intended to destroy, in those who were subjected to it,
the feeling of human dignity and self-respect."
German Excuses: Lies and Calumny
The Bodies have taken up three positions in succession.
In the first place, in their speeches, in their writings and
by commemorative pictures and medals, they have gloried
in their misdeeds, thus declaring that Kultur is above mo-
rality (as stated by their writer, Thomas Mann), that the
right of German might is above everything. Then, in the
second place, when they discovered that in the world outside
them there was something known as a "moral conscience,"
not understood by them, but still to be reckoned with, they
cynically denied the charg-es. Finally, when they were driven
from this second trench, when simple negation became im-
possible, they had perforce to explain their crimes.
Their commonest explanation is this, "Civilians fired on
us." 5 The French Commission of Inquiry came to the
following conclusion on this point : "This allegation is
false, and those who put it forward have been powerless
to give it the appearance of truth, even though it has been
their custom to fire shots in the neighborhood of dwellings,
in order to be able to affirm that they have been attacked
8 Need it be noted here that even if in any locality an imprudent
civilian had fired a shot, it would still remain — in accordance with the
Hague Convention, International Law, and plain morality — a crime to
massacre in a heap, haphazard, and without inquiry, so many innocent
souls?
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 35
by innocent inhabitants, on whose ruin or massacre they had
resolved."
Inquiries conducted by high magistrates have estab-
lished the fact that German officials are very frequently
guilty of premeditated lies. It is probable, all the same, that
many German soldiers, on entering Belgium or France, were
obsessed by the idea of civilians firing on them. The cry
of a soldier trembling with fear, drunk, or thirsting for pil-
lage — "Man hat geschosscn (they have fired)" — is enough
for a locality to be delivered up at once to' the wildest fury.
"When an inhabitant has fired on a regiment," said a soldier
at Louvain, "the place belongs to the regiment." What a
temptation for a Boche soldier to fire a shot that will at
once unloose pillage and massacre !
Some mistakes have possibly been made which could
have been avoided by the least inquiry. Read this admission
recorded in his diary by a Saxon officer: "The lovely vil-
lage of Gue-d'Hossus has been given over to the flames,
though innocent in my opinion. I hear that a cyclist fell
off his machine and that his fall caused his rifle to go off of
itself. As a consequence there was firing in his direction.
Then, the male inhabitants were simply hurled straight
away into the flames. Such horrors will not be repeated,
we must hope . . . There ought to be some compulsion to
verify suspicions of guilt in order to put a check on this
indiscriminate shooting of people."
The only shots fired at them inside, or in the neighbor-
hood of, villages have been those of French or Belgian sol-
diers covering their retreat. Sometimes this has been dis-
covered, but too late, and they have continued their crimes
— in order to justify them.
Here is the statement of a neutral : "In one village
they found corpses of German soldiers with the fingers cut
off, and instantly the officer in command had the houses set
on fire and the inhabitants shot ... In the same district a
German officer was billeted with a famous Flemish poet;
the officer behaved courteously, was treated with considera-
tion, and allowed himself to talk freely : his complaint was
the misdeeds of his soldiers. Near Haelen, he told his host,
36 THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE
he had to have a soldier shot on finding in his knapsack
some fingers covered with rings : the man, on being ques-
tioned, admitted that he had cut them off the bodies of
the German dead."
In exceptional cases an inquiry is held ; and in every such
instance the truth is discovered and massacre prevented.
At the end of August, Liebknecht, a member of the
Reichstag, set out in his car for Louvain. He came to a vil-
lage where there was considerable excitement going on.
The Germans had just found three of their men lying dead
on the road, and accused the peasants of being responsible
for the deed. Liebknecht examined them, and was not long
in obtaining proof that the Germans had been killed by
Belgian riflemen. At Huy there were shots in the night ; two
soldiers wounded ; the populace accused ; the mayor arrested
and condemned to death ; but he knew that there were no
Allied troops in the neighborhood, and also that his own
people had not fired a shot. "Shoot me, if you like," he said
calmly, "but not before extracting the bullets from the
wounded." The officer, less of a brute than some, gave his
consent to this. The bullets in the wounds were German
bullets.
In their private diaries they accuse one another, each
throwing on his neighbor the responsibility for crimes com-
mitted. A cavalryman writes : "It is unfortunately true
that the worst elements of our Army feel themselves au-
thorized to commit any sort of infamy. This charge ap-
plies particularly to the A.S.C." A bombing officer: "Dis-
cipline becoming lax. Brandy. Looting. The blame lies
with the infantry." An infantry officer : "Discipline in
our company excellent — a contrast with the rest. The Pio-
neers are not worth much. As for the Artillery, they are a
band of brigands." A final extract seems to be the only one
that gives the truth : "Troops of all arms are engaged in
looting."
What is our object in repeating these reports of horror?
Is it to incite our soldiers to commit, if chance arises,
atrocities like theirs? We repudiate with horror a thought
such as that. Defensive reprisals (asphyxiating gas, liquid
THE "PRUSSIAN TERROR" IN FRANCE 37
fire, etc.) are sometimes indispensable. Reprisals for re-
venge would be unworthy of us. But — without speaking
of personal punishments, demanded by outraged conscience,
and essential in order that the two indivisible principles of
right and of responsibility may still exist in the world — we
must make it absolutely impossible for the Wild Beast to
break out again.
It is not enough for these crimes to be known by Gov-
ernments and by a few hundred people with leisure and
inclination to read collections of great volumes. They
must be known by everybody, by the entire people, by the
People, who — in our proud and free countries — control,
support, direct their Governments and are .the sole masters
of their own destiny.
Our peoples ought to know the crimes committed in
the name of "Kultur," in order, at all costs, to take the
precautions necessary to prevent forever their return. That
is our first object. The second is this : to all our martyrs
we have a sacred duty — that of remembrance. There, where
they fell, we shall doubtless carve their names in stone or
bronze. But what of a time further away? When, after
the long sufferings of this war, freed humanity takes up
again its works of peace, we shall see the Germans reap-
pear in every land, at every crossroad — men of commerce,
industry, finance, science, men of the people and of society
— in every place where those of all countries, all races and
all colors meet and rub elbows. And what is our attitude
to be ? Our answer is this : So long as the nation in whose
name and by whose hands these atrocities have been com-
mitted has not herself solemnly cast from her the scoundrels
who dragged her into such decadence, we shall consider
that it would betray our martyrs for us even to rub shoul-
ders with their executioners, and that until the day arrives
— if it ever does arrive — of a striking moral repentance, to
forget would be to condone.
TURKEY LOSES THE CAUCASUS
THE RUSSIAN VICTORY OF SARIKAMISH
JANUARY 4TH
ROBERT MACHRAY
No Turkish accounts of the Great War have been issued, except
a few wholly empty and boastful proclamations. No reliable account
ever can be issued now, because of the general Turkish downfall. The
Russian anarchy has been almost equally destructive both of eye-wit-
nesses and official records of the great events of the early years of the
War. Hence we are obliged to appeal to a western historian, a British
expert on the "Near East" for a clear narrative of the spectacular mid-
winter campaign which Turks and Russians fought against each other
amid the mighty mountains of the Caucasus.
The Caucasus mountain region divides Europe and Asia to the
eastward of the Black Sea. Its summits are among the highest peaks
in the world, including Mt. Ararat of Biblical fame, which is over
21,000 feet high. Here occurred much of the hard fighting of the pre-
ceding Russo-Turkish war of 1878, which made famous the Caucasus
fortresses of Kars and Erivan. And here in December of 1914, not far
from Kars, the chief Russian stronghold, there gradually developed a
bitter battle, which reached its climax of Russian victory at Sari-
kamish on January 4, 1915. Hence the new year was ushered in by
an Ally triumph.
Northern Armenia was soon afterward occupied by the Russians,
and also northern Persia, with its capital Tabriz. The Turks had
previously seized northern Persia ; and as they retreated the advancing
Russians snatched it in their turn. The Persians were helpless be-
tween the two. The Russians had previously "policed" this part of
Persia ; now they gradually spread over it as conquerors. The Turks
fell back unwillingly to their own domains along the Euphrates River
valley. Here they were later to fight Britons as well as Russians.
BY ROBERT MACHRAY
OF unusual interest, both from the military and the po-
litical points of view, and not less remarkable in its
broadly human aspects was the campaign in the Caucasus.
It was no small affair, no mere episode; involving, as it
did, the fate of above a quarter of a million men, and rang-
ing over a front of some three hundred miles, it would have
been rightly deemed something tremendous in any war
38
TURKEY LOSES THE CAUCASUS 39
other than the present colossal conflict of the nations. Yet
the large scale on which it was conducted in such a region
and at the particular season of the year, the extraordinary
boldness and at least partial success of the Turkish plan of
attack, and the overwhelming triumph of the Russians that
was its final result, came as a great surprise to the world,
whose attention had been absorbed by the vast issues in the
western and in the main eastern theaters of operations. The
general public had been hardly aware that fighting of an
important character was proceeding in the Caucasus; in
our newspapers, as a rule, the communiques dealing with it,
issued by the Russian Headquarters Staff, which were al-
most the only sources of information available, had been
consistently stowed away in a corner as if they did not
count. Then suddenly this indifference was changed by
the publication of a memorable telegram on January 4th
from the Grand Duke Nicholas, that most laconic of men,
addressed to General Joffre, another strong, silent man,
which began with the significant words, "I hasten to give
you good news," and definitely announced two crushing de-
feats of the Turks that were sheer, irremediable disaster,
as later was seen to be the case.
Up to that time even the Russians themselves in other
parts of their empire took comparatively slight notice of
the struggle in the Caucasus, as in their view it was a very
secondary business when compared with the gigantic and
terrible contest being waged in Poland and Galicia. Nor
at first did they appreciate the greatness of the achieve-
ment of their arms in that area at anything like its full value
— they spoke of it as a "pleasant little success this Christ-
mas," that is, at their Christmas, which is twelve days after
ours. Further, the fact is that while sharp fighting with
the Turks was not unexpected, it did not follow the line an-
ticipated by the Russian Command, who looked and pre-
pared for it much more to the southeast.
Although Turkey was suspected by the Allies almost
from the commencement of the Great War in August, she
did not commit the provocative acts, including the bombard-
ment of Odessa, until the end of October. During the in-
40 TURKEY LOSES THE CAUCASUS
tervening period of three months, and particularly towards
the latter part of it, Austro-German pressure on the Rus-
sian front in Europe necessitated a withdrawal of some
portion of the Russian troops normally stationed on the
Turkish frontier and in Caucasia, and known as the "Army
of the Caucasus." This force, which was under the imme-
diate control of the Governor-General of the Caucasus, was
intended to be, and generally was, kept independent of the
Russian main armies and separate from them, and in ordi-
nary times was credited with 180,000 effectives, comprised
in three army corps, various brigades of rifles, several di-
visions of cavalry, and numerous bands of Cossacks. The
southern boundary of Caucasia marches with both Turkish
and Persian territory, and the activities of this army were
not confined entirely to the viceroyalty, for it also sup-
plied the body of soldiers that Russia maintained in the
northern part of Persia, which under the Anglo-Russian
Agreement of 1907 is recognized as the "Russian Sphere."
Last year, before the war, the number of these soldiers was
estimated at 3,000, distributed in detachments throughout
northern Persia, notably at Teheran, its capital, and in the
province of Azerbaijan at Tabriz, its second city. De-
tailed, at all events nominally, for the preservation of order
and the protection of Russian interests in that long-dis-
tracted country, and too inconsiderable to be designated an
army of occupation, they yet constituted in a very real sense
the advance-guard of the Russian Empire in that quarter
of the globe.
When the Russians saw that war with the Turks was in-
evitable, their first preoccupation in that region was their
frontier, which was so vulnerable, so little defended by for-
tifications of any sort, that it was called the Achilles' heel
of Russia. Attack was easy on that side, and thinking it
was there that the Turks would operate in force, they re-
duced their strength, already decreased by drafts to Eu-
rope, in the mountain districts of the Caucasus, and con-
centrated the troops thus obtained north and south of the
Arasces, which forms the international boundary, the cen-
tral point being Julfa, the terminus of a railway from Tiflis,
TURKEY LOSES THE CAUCASUS 41
and some eighty miles distant from Tabriz by the best road
in Persia.
The Turks, however, either foresaw what the Russians
would do, or were informed by their spies of what was
taking place, and when they developed their great offensive
it was found that while their attack did include this south-
eastern part of Caucasia, their main assault was made else-
where, namely, in the mountains of the Caucasus on their
own and the Russian frontier. Their objective was not
Tabriz-Julfa-Tiflis, or Khoi-Julfa-Tiflis (Khoi lies west of
Tabriz and is rather nearer Julfa), but Sarikamish-Kars-
Tiflis. They deliberately selected the much harder route be-
cause, it must be held, they deemed the many difficulties
which it presented as more than counterbalanced by the
relatively inferior strength of the Russians who were de-
fending it, and by the decided military advantage that comes
from a surprise. The plan of the Turkish Command, who
no doubt were acting under German inspiration, has been
characterized as mad, but it is only right to say that it was
madness with reason in it; the best justification of it is that
it met with a large measure of success, and indeed very
nearly succeeded altogether.
It was at the end of November that the Turks began to
put their plan of campaign into execution, and winter had
already set in, not only in the mountains, but throughout the
Armenian plateau. The Russians were held up but still
fighting hard at Koprokoi, and had made no further advance
of moment on the rest of their front, north or south. There
was no longer talk in Petrograd of the imminent fall of
Erzerum ; instead, the military critic of the Retch admitted
that the Turks were making a spirited struggle in spite of
their enormous losses, and that they were well-trained, well-
equipped, disciplined, and enduring. The phrase "enormous
losses" has been used so often in this war, and with so
elastic a signification, that apart from figures being given,
it has come to have little meaning; but whether their losses
were enormous or not, the Turks were now in great strength,
in far greater strength than the Russians.
Under Hassan Izzet Pasha, its Commander-in-Chief,
42 TURKEY LOSES THE CAUCASUS
the Ottoman "Third Army," which included some of Tur-
key's best troops, had been concentrated at Erzerum; it
consisted of three army corps, each of three divisions: the
9th Army Corps, whose headquarters was Erzerum itself;
the 10th Army Corps, from Erzingan; and the nth Army
Corps, from Van. With auxiliaries this army numbered
about 120,000 men. On its right, deployed southeast of
Erzerum, were forces, perhaps drawn from Van or even
Mosul; and still farther on its right were two or three
Turkish regiments and masses of Kurdish irregulars. This
right wing, which extended into Persia, was nowhere strong,
and was not prominent in the unfolding of the Turkish of-
fensive, but it kept more or less busily employed considerable
Russian forces whose presence was much needed in the
center — they had the satisfaction, however, of inflicting on
it a defeat on December 26th at Dutak that prevented it
from cooperating in the main attack, as may have been tfie
design.
Of far greater consequence was the Turkish left wing,
which was made up of two divisions of the 1st Army Corps,
brought at the outset of the war from Constantinople and
landed at Kopa and other ports on the Black Sea south of
Batum, and supplemented by many irregulars in the district
of the Chorok (northeast of Erzerum), where its concentra-
tion was effected. It had been the original intention of the
Turks that this army should strike at Batum when it was in
sufficient force by additions from oversea, but as the result
of Russian resistance on land, and especially of various ac-
tions between the Turkish and Russian Fleets, which ended
in the latter gaining the control of the Black Sea, the idea
was rendered impracticable and was abandoned. Mean-
while, the plan for the big offensive in the Caucasus had
been evolved, and the 1st Army Corps and its supports were
fitted into it as the left wing. This wing may have had
from 30,000 to 35,000 combatants; the precise figure is un-
certain, but it must have been fairly large. Hassan Izzet
Pasha, or Enver Pasha, if it was he who really was in chief
command, had in all probability upwards of 160,000 men
at his disposition, and the operations he set on foot soon
TURKEY LOSES THE CAUCASUS 43
disclosed the familiar German turning movement which
aims at the envelopment and destruction or surrender of an
enemy army in some particular locality — in this case, the
Russians on the line Sarikamish-Kars.
Naturally the Russians, like any other people in the
same circumstances, do' not make a point in their com-
muniques of announcing their retirements and reverses, and
definite Turkish information is lacking; but while some of
the details of this remarkable movement are obscure, its
principal outlines are sufficiently clear.
I. In the Center; the main attack. During the last days
of November and the first of December the ioth Army
Corps moved out from Erzerum in a northeasterly direction
by roads or tracks which must have been passable, two di-
visions marching on Ardost in the Sivri valley, and one
division on Id in the adjoining valley of the Olti, a southern
tributary of the Chorok. The Russians had occupied these
frontier posts, which are in Turkish territory, early in No-
vember; the Turks now drove them out, and advancing on
the Russian side of the mountains, took Olti, a little town,
out the most important in the neighborhood, and the starting
place of several tracks leading southward to Sarikamish, to
the railway two or three miles east of it, and even to Kars.
Pushing the Russians before it, but slowly, for they fought
with characteristic "stubbornness," giving way only under
the pressure of greatly superior numbers, the ioth Army
Corps marched on to Sarikamish, with the intention, of
course, of taking the Russians there in flank and rear, and
capturing the railway to Kars. It reached its objective in
the fourth week of December. At the same time the Rus-
sians were assailed in front by the 9th Army Corps, which
now appeared upon the scene. In conjunction with the
nth Army Corps, the 9th Corps, by the third week in De-
cember, had compelled the Russians, after severe fighting,
but here also far outnumbered, to withdraw from Koprokoi
and other positions east of it on the main road to Sari-
kamish, and had forced them back into the mountains. Be-
sides the main road there are in the vicinity two paths from
the foothills that cross over to Sarikamish on different
44 TURKEY LOSES THE CAUCASUS
passes, and on one of these tracks at Korosan, a few miles
from the highway, the nth Corps halted, attacked and "con-
tained" the Russians immediately in front of them, while
the 9th Corps fought its way over the pass on the main road,
and got into touch with the 10th Corps. These two corps
then assaulted the Russian forces, and after several days'
sanguinary onslaughts, but with numbers still decidedly in
their favor, took Sarikamish and two or three miles of the
railway beyond it, as the year drew to an end.
II. The Right Wing ; largely negligible, as noted above.
III. The Left Wing; most important outflanking
movement, and scarcely subsidiary to that of I., but co-
ordinated with it. In addition to the highway from Erze-
rum to Sarikamish there is but one other good road, and
that is to speak relatively, in the Little Caucasus. It climbs
up from Batum through the valley of the Chorok to Artvin,
thence to Ardanuch on the south side of the river, and next
to Ardahan, from which it goes down direct to Kars. The
1st Corps, operating in the Chorok region, and materially
assisted by the rebellious Adjars of the country, seized this
road, occupied Ardanuch, and after a desperate Russian
resistance lasting seventeen days, which must have been one
of the most heroic in history, took Ardahan, and threatened
an immediate descent on Kars, which if it succeeded would
cut off the retreat of the Russians west of it, that is, at
Sarikamish, from Kars.
To sum up. On January 1st the Turks were in pos-
session of Sarikamish and part of the railway, though they
had destroyed a bit of it, and on January 2nd they also
held Ardahan. It looked for all the world as if the Turkish
plan were working out into a great victory. Reading be-
tween the lines of the messages wired by the correspondents
of our journals, it could be discerned that Petrograd was
anxious and uneasy; the correspondent of the Times said
that "it must be recognized that the Turks under German
leadership have displayed exceptional qualities of general-
ship." The Turks themselves appeared to be in no doubt
of the issue; it is stated that Enver Pasha was so confident
of the result that he said that he expected to be in Tiflis
TURKEY LOSES THE CAUCASUS 45
within a few days. It was perhaps of this particular time
that the writer of the German official communique was
speaking when he reported that in Berlin military circles
the situation of the Turkish Army in the Caucasus was con-
sidered to be exceedingly favorable.
But the Russian Viceroy and his military advisers had
grasped the situation, too. The Turks had been made to
pay very dearly for every foot of their advance. Even
so they remained far more numerous than the Russians, who
therefore needed to be strongly reenforced. Persia was
denuded of Russian soldiers, and large bodies of troops were
hurried forward to the front by rail from Kars, Erivan,
and Jul fa — almost, but not quite, too late. They would
have been altogether too late if the ist Army Corps had been
able to make its contemplated descent on Kars, and the first
concern of the Viceroy had been to send supports to the
gallant regiment which alone had so long withstood the
attack of the two divisions of this Corps before and at
Ardahan. Yet larger reinforcements were dispatched to
Sarikamish, and they arrived to find that though the place
had been reft from Russian hands the battle was being
waged with no less determined persistence and tenacity by
their compatriots. Neither at Ardahan nor at Sarikamish
were the Russians, even in the closing stages, nearly so
numerous as the Turks.
It was, however, written, as the Turks themselves would
say, that their plan, even on the edge of seeming fulfillment,
was doomed to failure of the most disastrous kind ; but the
writing was, all said and done, the writing of that first-class
fighting man, the Russian infantryman, who, like another
famous first-class fighting man, does not know when he is
beaten. Beaten he was at Ardahan and at Sarikamish, but
at both he, as it were, held out and would not acknowledge
defeat. From neither was he forced in rout and disorder;
from Ardahan he fell back slightly, and from Sarikamish
about three miles. When the reinforcements came up the
Russians, thanks to the valor of these hard-pressed but un-
daunted infantry of theirs, were at once in a position to
undertake a vigorous offensive, which developed into glori-
46 TURKEY LOSES THE CAUCASUS
ous victories, gained practically simultaneously. In point of
time they succeeded first at Ardahan, Sunday, January 3rd.
It had been understood that they consummated their over-
whelming triumph at Sarikamish on the same day, but an
official survey of the operations, published in Petrograd on
February 1st by the Headquarters Staff of the Army of the
Caucasus, definitely fixes the date as Monday, January 4th;
the only difference is that the Turkish left wing was smashed
a day earlier than the center. Details of the course of the
struggle are lacking, but the immediate cause of the tre-
mendous change in the fortunes of the belligerents was the
artillery which the Russian reinforcements were able to
bring on the scene in both areas — a comparatively easy mat-
ter with respect to the Sarikamish front, to which the rail-
way gave access, but an extremely arduous business at Arda-
han, forty miles up the mountains by road from Kars.
Hardly any information regarding the battle of Ardahan
can be obtained beyond statements that after the place was
bombarded the Russians drove the 1st Army Corps out of
it at the point of the bayonet, and by repeated charges ut-
terly routed the enemy, who was crushed into fragments.
These broken remnants fled in confusion back to Ardanuch,
but, hotly pursued, were not allowed to rest there long, as it
was reoccupied by the victors on January 18th. Some sur-
vivors from the wreck made good their escape into their
own territory, while others sought refuge in the fastnesses
of the Chorok ranges, where the Ad jars gave them shelter,
but as a combatant force the Turkish left wing had been
swept out of existence. The fighting in and about Sari-
kamish lasted in all nearly a fortnight, but the various and
varying accounts of its later phases convey a somewhat
blurred impression rather than provide a consecutive narra-
tive. That impression is mainly of great masses of Turks,
brave to the last but famished and half-frozen, being mown
down by guns and maxims and rifle-fire on the main road,
in the passes, and on the lower slopes of the mountains ; or
of their fierce attacks repulsed and Russian counter-attacks
driven home, the cold steel finishing what was left undone
by shell and bullet — the whole against a background of
TURKEY LOSES THE CAUCASUS 47
snow, in an atmosphere so arctic that the wounded suc-
cumbed to the cold where they fell. Doubtless it was all
desperate and sanguinary enough. By the end, the 9th
Corps, with the exception of its general, Iskhan Pasha, its
divisional commanders, and a few hundred officers and men
who capitulated, was totally destroyed, while the 10th Corps
was decisively defeated and put to flight, what remained of
it making its way back to Olti as best it could, and losing
more men and material ever as it went. Thus, of the
Turkish center one-third was absolutely demolished, and
another third battered to pieces and dispersed; with the left
wing gone this meant that the plan of campaign, well-con-
ceived as it was, and carried out with success for about a
month, had after all finally crashed down in blackest ruin.
News of this disaster reached Enver Pasha, who was
probably at Erzerum or Koprokoi at this time, and with a
view to attempting to retrieve the situation, or at least of
covering the retreat of the 10th Corps, he hastened to Koro-
san, where the 1 ith Corps, the remaining third of the center,
was still in position, holding, or perhaps being held by, the
Russians in front of it. Putting himself at the head of the
nth Corps, whose commander he is said to have had exe-
cuted — why is not clear — Enver moved it up to Kara Urgan,
a post on the main road to Sarikamish just on the frontier,
and was joined by fresh troops in such numbers that, ac-
cording to one account, which, however, must be grossly
exaggerated, his force was 100,000 strong. Kara Urgan
is about a dozen miles west of Sarikamish, and the Russians
advancing from the latter on the former engaged this army,
whose offensive was so resolute that for four days they
made no headway against it. On January nth the tide
turned, but it was not till January 16th, when a strongly
fortified Turkish position at Zivin, a few miles west of
Kara Urgan, was stormed, that victory was assured and the
Turks were thoroughly routed. "Despite violent snow-
storms, which lasted from the 8th to the 16th of January,
rendering the roads very difficult, our troops by dint of the
greatest heroism and extraordinary tenacity progressed con-
tinuously with attack after attack," says the Russian com-
48 TURKEY LOSES THE CAUCASUS
munique of February ist; "the enemy's forces were com-
pletely broken up and retreated precipitately, abandoning
wounded and ammunition and flinging their guns down
precipices." In other words, Kara Urgan repeated the
same story as Ardahan and Sarikamish. For five days the
Russians kept indefatigably pursuing the Turks, dislodging
them from point after point, until they fled, demoralized
and shattered, back towards Erzerum. This completed the
debacle, and with the exception of desultory and insignifi-
cant encounters in the Olti region with the remains of the
ioth Corps, concluded the campaign in the Caucasus. On
the stricken fields of the Caucasus the Turks are reported to
have suffered a loss of more than a hundred guns, and their
loss in killed and prisoners cannot have been much, if at
all, short of 70,000 men.
THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE
GERMANY'S DEFIANCE OF THE NEUTRAL NATIONS
FEBRUARY 4.TH
PRINCE VON BULOW ADMIRAL VON TIRPITZ
WILLIAM ARCHER
On February 4, 1915, Germany took a step which challenged all the
world to war. She declared that her U-boats would sink at sight any
merchant ship which they even suspected of being an enemy. This
obviously meant in threat, and actually caused in practice, the torpe-
doing of many neutral vessels. Now, the right of neutral sailors, and
even of neutral merchandise, to safety at sea had been guaranteed to
them for generations by every civilized nation, including Germany.
Hence this declaration was a breaking, not of some special treaty as in
the case of the invasion of Belgium, but of all treaties. It struck at
the very basis of all International Law, and claimed for Germany the
right to be sole arbiter of all her acts, including even the killing of
f <reigners who had committed no crime and with whom she had
no war.
Such slaying of even a single citizen abroad has long been held as
an absolutely necessary cause of war, if the injured nation meant to
claim any sort of equal rank among others. Several years ago when
a mob in one of America's southern cities slew some Italians, the U. S.
Government felt called upon not only to deny all participation in the
matter but to express its utmost disapproval and its desire to have the
offenders adequately punished. Yet here was a government actually
commanding its subjects to slay law-abiding foreigners. Had other
nations been of as arrogant a temper as the Germans, this challenge
must have meant universal war.
The neutrals, however, with the United States at their head, were
determined to make every possible allowance for the exigencies of the
Great War. They attempted only by words of protest to prevent the
threatened killing of their people; and with words Germany was very
ready to meet them. With each government she undertook elaborate
and long-delayed discussions, while to the mass of shipping men she
let the actions of her U-boats speak for her.
Of course the real issue for her was, could she block the bulk of
neutral trade from Britain by terrorizing neutral sailors? She did not
want to draw any further foes into the War if it could be evaded ; but
she meant to put fear into the hearts of all men at sea, as she had al-
ready sought to do by "frightfulness" on land. As regards France
and Britain, the new form of submarine warfare was but a continuation
of Germany's already announced attitude of the "superman." She
W., VOL. III.— 4. 4.0
50 THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE
meant to break every pledge of the past, every restraint of morality or
Christianity, if she thereby increased her chance of victory.
The British losses through this submarine attack were heavy. Dur-
ing the four years from 1915 onward, 5,622 British merchant ships were
sunk, amounting to about half of all she possessed. Among neutrals,
Norway, the victim to suffer most, lost about one eighth as much as
Britain. The United States lost 19 merchant vessels during her two
years of neutrality, and 126 during her two years of war. More than
15,000 British civilian sailors were killed, and 775 Americans on Ameri-
can ships. These figures are exclusive of Americans slain on British
ships as in the Lusitania case, that subject being reserved for another
article.
Britain's standpoint in the matter is here presented by one of her
ablest writers, Mr. William Archer. The German standpoint is voiced
by her former Chancellor, Prince von Biilow and by Admiral von
Tirpitz, the man who organized and directed the U-boat assaults.
C. F. H.
BY PRINCE VON BULOW
THE history of England, who has always dealt most
harshly with her vanquished foe in the few European
wars in which she has taken part in modern times, gives us
Germans an idea of the fate in store for us if defeated.
Once embarked upon a war, England has always ruthlessly
devoted all means at her disposal to its prosecution. Eng-
lish policy was always guided by what Gambetta called "la
souverainete da but." England can only be got at by
employing like decision and determination. The English
character being what it is, since in the course of the world's
history we are now for the first time at war with England,
our future depends upon our employing all our means and
all our forces with equal ruthlessness, so as to secure the
victory and obtain a clear road. Since the German people,
with unparalleled heroism, but also at the cost of fearful
sacrifices, has waged war against half the world, it is our
right and our duty to obtain safety and independence for
ourselves at sea. We must also win really sufficient and,
above all, practical, guarantees for the freedom of the seas
and for the further fulfillment of our economic and political
tasks throughout the world. The result of the great strug-
gle in this particular respect will be decisive for the total
result of the war and also for the judgment that will be
passed upon it.
THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE 51
BY ADMIRAL VON TIRPITZ *
The historical decision to make a war zone around the
United Kingdom and Ireland was arrived at on the evening
of February 2nd in a conference between von Pohl and the
Chancellor with the consent of the Foreign Office, in the
presence of the Minister of the Home Office, and apparently
without opposition from the Grand General Staff.
Von Pohl obtained the consent of the Chancellor, who
was still sadly unconversant with the world conditions and
our own submarine power and then on February 4th sprang
his prepared draft of the declaration of the Emperor while
sailing through Wilhelmshaven Harbor.
It was disloyal of von Pohl not to consult beforehand
with the Secretary of State as to the wording of the draft.
He was also disloyal to me as he had always previously
sought my advice in reaching critical decisions. I was en-
titled to this.
His act was, on the whole, the product of boundless
va lity. He wished above all that the declaration should be
made over his name, and February 4th was the last date on
which this could be done, for on that day he took over the
command of the High Seas Fleet and was already, strictly
speaking, no longer chief of the naval staff.
So, against my advice and on the decision of Bethmann-
Hollweg, submarine war was to begin, threatening every
ship sailing in the direction of Great Britain and Ireland.
Unless the dignity, and therewith the power, of the em-
pire was to be seriously impaired and the confidence of the
enemy fatally strengthened, there was nothing for it now
but to stand fast.
In the face of the whole world, seriously and with a
flourish of trumpets, as it were, the declaration, in my opin-
ion so premature and so unfortunate, had been made.
On February 12th came America's first note of protest
against submarine warfare. In a responsible bureau this
could hardly have been unexpected, but to von Pohl's as-
1 From the "Von Tirpitz Memoirs," copyright, 1919, by Dodd. Mead
& Co.
52 THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE
tonishment and chagrin it caused the Foreign Office to make
an about-face in regards to the U-boat policy.
The Chancellor's representative at headquarters, von
Reuter, later said that the Chancellor had been misunder-
stood by von Pohl. Von Pohl energetically denied the pos-
sibility of a misunderstanding, maintaining that he had care-
fully explained to the Chancellor the full consequence of
the step.
Thus, scarcely had submarine warfare, born February
4th, drawn its first breath, when its own fathers, terrified,
hastened to smother it. In my opinion we should never
even have considered a modification of our submarine
policy, once it was announced to the world, unless England
consented to modify some of her own interpretations of
maritime law during the war.
America's first protest resulted in our allowing the shell
of submarine warfare to stand as a sop to the German pub-
lic, ever irritating America, but by orders from our political
leaders to our submarine commanders we had hollowed out
the military kernel. We were acting on a program of big
words and little deeds. Our method of submarine warfare
had now become, according to Bethmann's prediction, inef-
fective for final German victory, but a fruitful source of
vexatious incidents with the United States.
BY WILLIAM ARCHER
It took Germany some six months to make up her mind
to the systematic employment of her U-boats as commerce-
destroyers. During those six months (August, 1914-Janu-
ary, 191 5, inclusive) a good deal of harm was done to Al-
lied shipping by a few warships which had been at large
at the outbreak of hostilities, notably by the Emden in the
Indian Ocean. The proceedings of these ships were, if not
incontestably legal, at least plausibly defensible under inter-
national law. It is true that they constantly sank their
prizes instead of taking them into port to have their status
determined by a Prize Court; but it is generally admitted
that the destruction of a prize is permissible when circum-
stances render it dangerous or impracticable to bring it into
THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE 53
harbor; and as practically all Germany's oversea harbors
had been seized very early in the war, it is manifest that
there was neither port nor Prize Court within the raiders'
reach. The right to sink captured ships is limited by the
imperative condition that the captor "must make due pro-
vision for the safety of passengers and crew, and for the
preservation of the ship's papers"; and this condition the
raiders honorably observed. Captain Muller, of the Em-
den, collected the crews and passengers of a number of prizes
on board a single vessel, which he then set free.
A few isolated instances of submarine attacks on mer-
chant shipping occurred in this period, but only one was
marked by gross inhumanity.
The first commercial victim was the steamship Glitra,
from Grangemouth to Stavanger, which was stopped by a
U-boat about noon on October 20, 1914, nine miles S.W.
of Skudesnaes. A boat's crew of 5 men boarded the steamer,
and when the captain lowered the British flag the German
officer tore it up and trampled upon it. The "Gott strafe
England" craze was then, it will be remembered, at its
height. The crew were allowed ten minutes to take to their
boats, and then the ship was sunk, it is believed by opening
the bottom valves. The Hamburger Nachrichten described
this exploit as "a brisk Viking-stroke."
On November 23rd the Malachite was held up in Havre
roadstead, the crew were allowed ten minutes to leave the
ship, and it was then sunk by shell-fire. Three days later
(November 26th) the Primo was sunk off Cape Antifer.
In neither of these cases was the crew exposed to any seri-
ous danger.
Very different was the case of the Amiral Ganteaume.
This passenger ship, bound from Calais to Havre, with
2,500 refugees on board, was wantonly torpedoed, without a
moment's warning, twelve miles from Cape Grisnez. The
Channel passenger steamer Queen ranged up alongside of
the stricken ship, and "with great resourcefulness and dar-
ing" took off most of the passengers. About 50, however,
lost their lives. That the disaster was not due to a mine
was proved by the discovery of a fragment of a torpedo
54 THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE
in the hull of the ship, which did not ultimately sink. This
was the first of the German maritime outrages, and it was
no fault of the perpetrators that it was not also the worst.
Had the torpedo taken full effect, the death-roll would
have been longer than that of the Lusitania. The attack
was without a shadow of excuse. What military purpose
could be served by sinking a passenger ship bound from
one French port to another, and manifestly ( for the incident
took place in broad daylight) crowded with civilians? Who-
ever was responsible for the attack, which took place on
October 26th, was clearly animated by the sheer lust of
murder which is awakened in so many Germans by the
sight of defenseless enemies. The sailor who commanded
the unknown U-boat was a true brother-in-arms of the
soldiers who, a few weeks earlier, had marched burning and
massacring through Belgium.
On January 22, 191 5, the steamship Durward was
stopped by a U-boat about thirteen miles from the lightship
Maas. The crew was ordered to take to the boats, no time
being allowed for the removal of their private belongings.
The submarine then towed the boats to a certain distance,
ordered them to wait there while it sank the ship, and then
towed them onwards in the direction of the lightship. A
week later (January 30th) two ships, the Ben Cruachan
and the Linda Blanche, were sunk, in both cases with rea-
sonable consideration for the safety of the crews. The men
of the Ben Cruachan were given ten minutes to leave the
ship, the German officer, who spoke "perfect English," bid-
ding them "get as many of their belongings together as they
could." The ship was sunk by bombs. In the case of the
Linda Blanche, the men on board the submarine "handed
cigars and cigarettes to the crew" as they took to their boats.
Deliberate inhumanity had not yet developed into a system,
though the Kolnische Zcitung, about the middle of the
month, had published an article declaring that "in future
German submarines and aircraft would wage war against
British mercantile vessels without troubling themselves in
any way about the fate of the crews." This was evidently
THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE 55
an inspired forecast, and it was to be promptly and amply
justified by events.
A few days before Christmas, 1914, Grand Admiral von
Tirpitz granted an interview to the representative of the
United Press of America, which very clearly indicated that
Germany was already planning a submarine "blockade" of
the British Islands. "America," he said, "has not raised her
voice in protest, and has done little or nothing against the
closing of the North Sea to neutral shipping by England.
What would America say if Germany should declare a sub-
marine war against all enemy trading vessels?" By the
"closing of the North Sea" he meant the measure to which
Britain had been driven by the German practice of indis-
criminate mine-sowing under neutral flags. In the interests
of neutral as well as British shipping, the Government had
announced on November 3rd, not that the North Sea was
"closed," but that a safe passage through it would be kept
open for all neutral ships entering and leaving it by way of
the Straits of Dover. It was only the northern passage be-
tween the Hebrides and the Faroe Islands that was closed,
in the sense that vessels using it must do so at their peril.
On January 26, 191 5, it was announced that the Ger-
man Federal Council had decided to take under its control
all the stocks of corn and flour in the country, on and from
February 1st. It was at once anticipated that this measure
would cause the British Government to regard all cargoes of
foodstuffs destined for Germany as consigned to the Ger-
man Government, and therefore contraband of war. The
Germans afterwards tried to represent their attempted block-
ade as a measure of retaliation against this action of the
British Government; but, to say nothing of the fact that the
blockade had been threatened by von Tirpitz six weeks
earlier, it was definitely announced before the British Gov-
ernment had taken any step whatever. The notification of
the intended blockade was issued in Berlin on February
4th; not until the following day did the British Foreign
Office announce that the Government was considering what
steps it should take in view of the German commandeering
of foodstuffs.
56 THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE
It so happened that, on January 23rd, a steamship named
the Wilhelmina had cleared from New York for Hamburg,
conveying a cargo of food shipped by an American firm,
and consigned to an American citizen in Germany. The
Foreign Office note of February 5th ran as follows: "If
the destination and cargo of the Wilhelmina are as supposed,
the cargo will, if the vessel is intercepted, be submitted to
a Prize Court in order that the new situation created by
the German decree may be examined, and a decision reached
upon it after full consideration." This course was, in fact,
pursued, and it was determined that the action of the Ger-
man Government in taking foodstuffs under its exclusive
control justified the Allies in treating all provisions con-
signed to Germany as contraband of war. But it is clearly
absurd to represent as a result of this British measure a
U-boat campaign which had been formally announced while
the British Government was still considering its course of
action, and before it had issued any statement whatever on
the subject.
The German proclamation ran thus :
"The waters round Great Britain and Ireland, includ-
ing the English Channel, are hereby proclaimed a war
region.
"On and after February 18th every enemy merchant
vessel found in this region will be destroyed, without its
always being possible to warn the crews or passengers of
the dangers threatening.
"Neutral ships will also incur danger in the war region,
where, in view of the misuse of neutral flags ordered by the
British Government, and incidents inevitable in sea warfare,
attacks intended for hostile ships may affect neutral ships
also.
"The sea passage to the north of the Shetland Islands,
and the eastern region of the North Sea in a zone of at least
30 miles along the Netherlands coast, are not menaced by
any danger.
"(Signed) Berlin, February 4th,
"Von Pohl,
"Chief of Marine Staff."
THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE 57
It will be seen that the warfare here threatened differs
from the "unlimited" warfare of two years later in the po-
sition assigned to neutral shipping. Neutrals are warned
that they had better avoid the "war region," but it is in-
dictated that if they are attacked it will only be by mistake,
and that, for these mistakes, they will have to blame the
nefarious policy of the British Government with regard
to the use of neutral flags.
There was not a single point at which this proclamation
did not fly in the face of international law as stated by all
jurists and as interpreted by all courts.
The use of a neutral flag by a vessel attempting to elude
capture has always been held legitimate. Attacking under
false colors is rightly prohibited — but that is a totally dif-
ferent matter.
The warship which doubts the genuineness of the flag
displayed by a merchantman can put the matter to the test
by exercising its unquestioned right of "visit and search."
Thus the mistakes with which neutrals were threatened were
m* stakes which had no right to happen. As for the avowed
intention of attacking enemy ships without warning (for
nothing else was implied in the impudent phrase "without
its being always possible to warn," etc.), it stood in flagrant
contravention of every accepted principle and of all civilized
practice. We have already seen, in discussing the case of
the Emden and other raiders, that the sinking of prizes had
hitherto been regarded as a measure to be resorted to only in
the most exceptional circumstances. Here are some pro-
nouncements of German authorities on the point :
Gessner : As a general rule, the captor may not scuttle
or otherwise destroy the prize he has taken in the open sea.
He may do so, however, on his own responsibility, in cir-
cumstances of force majeure.
Heffter : The destruction of an enemy prize is not
justifiable except in case of extreme necessity.
Bluntschli : As a rule, enemy prizes must be taken
into the captor's port for adjudication. Destruction is per-
missible only in case of absolute necessity. The blockade of
58 THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE
the captor's port does not in itself constitute a case of ab-
solute necessity.
Germany now claimed the right to make a universal rule
of what had hitherto been sanctioned only as a rare excep-
tion, arguing that the submarine had created a new situa-
tion which had not been anticipated at the time when inter-
national law took shape. That was, it is true, an arguable
point, and it was natural that Germany should decline to be
bound by so strict a reading of existing regulations as would
have made her U-boats entirely powerless as a weapon
against the commerce of her enemies. But she not only
resolved to sink every enemy ship that came in her way ; she
made up her mind to do so without that preliminary visit and
search which had hitherto been held indispensable, and
especially without taking those measures for the security of
non-combatant crews and passengers which had been re-
garded as the most imperative of obligations. Here, she
could allege no excuse in the nature of force majeure. It
was perfectly possible for her to act humanely, as one or
two of her commanders proved. By doing so she might to
some extent have reduced the effectiveness of her campaign
of havoc; but she would have had her reward in retaining
some shred of the respect of the civilized world. Her dis-
regard of every consideration of humanity was exactly on
a level with her frequent use, in Belgium and Northern
France, of civilian screens to mask an infantry advance.
Such practices are defensible only on the theory that Ger-
many must forego no possible advantage, of however das-
tardly a nature — the theory, indeed, which her "War Book"
indicates almost without disguise, and on which she has con-
sistently acted in every domain of warlike activity. But in
her U-boat campaign, as in her treatment of Belgium, she
has exceeded even the brutality which her theory demands.
We shall have to record many deeds of a callous cruelty
from which no appreciable advantage was to be reaped —
deeds which betray in their perpetrators a positive delight
in murder for its own sake.
February, 191 5, opened with an attempt to torpedo the
hospital-ship Asturias, which fortunately failed. We shall
THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE 59
have to speak more at length of this incident when the time
comes to chronicle the deliberate and systematic war upon
hospital-ships. For the present it remained an isolated and
motiveless crime, which may be bracketed with the attack
on the Amiral Ganteaume, as showing the reckless ferocity
which was beginning to prevail among the U-boat com-
manders.
The "blockade," as we have seen, was proclaimed on
February 4th, but a fortnight's grace was allowed to neu-
trals to clear out of the "war region," and leave the British
to their fate. As a matter of fact, nothing of great im-
portance occurred during this fortnight.
On February 19th, the day after the expiry of the
period of grace, the Norwegian oil-steamer Belridge was
torpedoed off Beachy Head, but managed to reach port.
On the following day there were two victims : the Cambank
was torpedoed without warning, while the crew of the
Downshire were allowed five minutes to take to their boats.
On the 23rd the Oakly, and on the 24th the Deptford, were
torpedoed without warning. The 24th, too, witnessed the
sinking of the Harpalion. The entire absence of warning
is apparent from the account of the attack given by the sec-
ond officer, Mr. Harper: "We had just sat down to tea,
and the chief engineer was saying grace. He had just ut-
tered the words, 'For what we are about to receive may the
Lord make us truly thankful,' when there came an awful
crash. I never saw such a smash as it caused." There is a
certain grim humor in the situation, which, however, the
sailors do not appear to have appreciated.
Mr. Asquith stated in the House of Commons on March
1st that the lawless submarine war was about to be met by
a tightening of the strangle-hold upon Germany; and an
Order-in-Council of March nth made the definite an-
nouncement in the following terms : "His Majesty has de-
cided to adopt further measures in order to prevent com-
modities of any kind from reaching or leaving Germany,
though such measures will be enforced without risk to neu-
tral ships or to neutral or noncombatant life, and in strict
observance of the dictates of humanity."
60 THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE
Two days earlier (March 9th) three ships, the Tan-
(jlstan, Blackwood, and Princess Victoria, had been tor-
pedoed off Scarborough, Hastings, and Liverpool respec-
tively. In no case was any warning given, and of the crew
of the Tangistan — 38 in number — only one was saved.
On March 1 ith (the date of the Order-in-Council) Com-
mander Otto Weddigen makes his last appea r ance on the
scene. From the small U 9 with which he sank the three
cruisers, he had been transferred to a much more powerful
craft, the U 29. On this day, off the Casquet rocks, he
sank the steamer Aden-wen, but gave the crew ten minutes to
take to their boats, observing, "We wish no lives to be lost."
He also provided a dry suit for a sailor who had fallen into
the water, thus acting up to the nickname which he had
earned of "the polite pirate." He had, unfortunately, only
a few days more of life before'him. On March 26th the Ad-
miralty announced that U 29 had been sunk. "There seems
to be no doubt," said The Times, "that Captain Weddigen's
career has now come to an end, with that of his new boat.
Our satisfaction at the occurrence is mingled with some re-
gret at the death of a man who, so far as is known, behaved
bravely and skillfully, and where it was possible displayed to
his victims the humanity expected of seamen, but which has
not been characteristic of all his brother officers."
This is almost the last good word that has to be, or can
be, said for German conduct at sea. It istrue that on March
13th, a few days before Weddigen lost his life, some human-
ity had been shown in the sinking of the coMier.Hartdale. The
boats got off, but the captain, chief officer, steward, and a
boy remained on board until the ship was awash. The boy
was unfortunately drowned, but the three men were taken
on board the submarine and were well treated. Ultimately,
they were transferred to the Swedish steamship Heimdal,
which had taken the boats in tow. It is also related that in
the course of the summer, when attacks upon fishing boats
were the order of the day, and when many fishermen were
brutally done to death without being given a chance for their
lives, a welcome exception to the general practice occurred
when the commander of one submarine allowed the crew of
THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE 61
a trawler he attacked to get away in their boat. "We are
not Prussians," he declared to the skipper; "it is only the
Prussians who would let you drown." At sea as on land,
unfortunately, the Prussians were enormously in the ma-
jority.
The Atlanta was sunk on March 14th, and the Fingal on
the 15th. In the latter case there was a death-roll of six,
including the chief mate and the stewardess, who is said to
have been the first woman victim of the submarine war. On
March 25th the Dutch steamship Medea was deliberately
sunk by gunfire off Beachy Head. The crew, however, were
all saved. Two days later the Aguila was sunk by the same
method. The crew were nominally given four minutes to
leave the ship, but the submarine opened fire while the boats
were being launched, killing the chief engineer, the boat-
swain, and a donkey-man, and wounding the third engineer
and several seamen. A member of the crew said that one
boat contained ten men, the stewardess, and one woman
passenger. As it was being launched the passenger cried
o it, "I'm shot!" and fell over the edge of the gunwale next
to tne ship's side. The next moment heavy seas capsized the
boat, and neither passenger nor stewardess was ever seen
again. The Germans, however, were not entirely callous, for
they told the trawler Ottilie where the boats had been left,
and enabled her to find them. On the same day, March 27th,
the steamer Vosges was sunk by shell fire after a two hours'
chase, the chief engineer being killed.
The following day, Sunday, March 28th, witnessed the
first U-boat atrocity on a grand scale. The Elder-Dempster
liner Falaba, Liverpool to South Africa, was just passing out
of St. George's Channel when she was pursued by a sub-
marine. Seeing that escape was hopeless, the captain stopped.
"There is some doubt," says The Times, "about the exact
number of minutes' grace accorded by the German com-
mander, but it is agreed that well within ten minutes the
Falaba was torpedoed at 100 yards range, when the enemy
could not fail to see that the deck was still crowded and the
first boat was actually half-way down the davits. The tor-
pedo struck near the engine-room, and the Falaba sank
62 THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE
rapidly. The callousness of the attack was aggravated by
the conduct of the Germans when their victims were strug-
gling in the water. As they raised their arms, reaching out
for life-buoys or scraps of wreckage, the Germans looked
on and laughed, and answered their cries for help with jeers.
This charge of inhumanity is not founded on any isolated
allegation. It is the definite testimony of some half-dozen
survivors." The captain was not drowned, but died of ex-
posure.
Among the victims — in in number — was an American
citizen, Mr. Leon Thrasher. This naturally intensified the
indignation felt in America, and it was already foreseen in
many quarters that if Germany persisted in so reckless a
disregard of the rights not only of noncombatants, but of
neutrals, the traditional aloofness of America could not be
permanently maintained. "The sinking of the Falaba/'
said the New York Times, "is perhaps the most shocking
crime of the war." Though less wanton and purposeless
than the attack on the Amiral Ganteaume, it was equally cruel
in intention and more disastrous in effect. It proved beyond
all question that the spirit of modern Germany was as ruth-
lessly inhuman at sea as on land ; but the world had not
long to wait for still more startling evidence to the same
effect.
Hitherto we have followed with some minuteness the
record of German submarine activities, in order to trace the
gradual decline from legitimate and honorable warfare to
indiscriminate maritime murder. Henceforth, on the other
hand, anything like a complete "Catalogue of the Ships"
would be a mere weariness of the spirit, even were it possible.
We must be content to register some of the more salient inci-
dents of the campaign of massacre.
As to the principles inspiring it there is no longer any
doubt. Six months after the outbreak of the war Germany
had finally realized that her scheme of world-conquest had
miscarried, and that she was standing on the defensive. The
mass of her people, and her soldiers and sailors not the least,
had from the outset taken quite seriously the ten-thousand-
times repeated phrase "Dleser tins aufgezzvungene Krieg"
THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE 63
("This war which has been forced upon us"). On the part
of her rulers it had at first been a conscious and purposeful
lie — a deliberate move in the war gambit invented by Bis-
marck, who openly confessed that the people would not
throw themselves with sufficient ardor into a war in which
they knew themselves to be the aggressors. But even the
rulers have by this time repeated the formula so often that
they have perhaps come to believe in it ; and rulers and people
are at one in holding that, when Germany is on the de-
fensive, she is absolved from all the traditional decencies of
civilized warfare, and not only entitled, but in duty bound,
to ignore every obligation of humanity that conflicts in the
slightest degree with her immediate interest and convenience.
Only thus can we account for the fact that such events as
the sinking of the Falaba, to say nothing of the greater crimes
to follow, seem to have elicited scarcely a word of protest
in Germany. Much light is thrown upon the German frame
of mind by a little incident which occurred just at the time we
have now reached.
Dn April 1, 191 5, three trawlers, the Jason, Gloxinia,
and Nellie, were sunk by the U 10. The crew of the Jason
were taken on board the submarine and were well treated.
The commander expressed regret, but said, "We have orders
to sink everything. It is war, and you started it." That
is the whole German case. It is built upon the distinction
which undoubtedly exists between the rights of the aggressor
and the rights of his victim. If a highway robber were to
attack me on a lonely road, I should not consider myself
bound, in repelling him, to adhere to the delicacies of the
duello, or even to the principles of fair-play. The Germans
were right in insisting upon this ethical distinction — the weak
point of their case lay in the fact that they, and not the
Allies, were the highway robbers. It may also be mentioned
that even the victim of an assault is scarcely justified in
massacring the wife and children of his assailant.
The most notable feature of April, 1915, was the harry-
ing of the British fishing fleet. On April 19th the Admiralty
announced : "To-day a German submarine sank by a tor-
pedo the trawler Vanilla. The trawler Fermo endeavored
64 THE U-BOAT WAR ON COMMERCE
to rescue the crew, but she was fired at and driven off. All
hands on the Vanilla were lost. This killing of fisher-folk
for no military purpose should not escape attention. It is
the second murder of this character committed within a
week."
The Fermo was chased for four hours and barely es-
caped. Three days later the trawler St. Lawrence was shelled
and sunk. Most of the crew escaped, but the submarine
prevented the rescue of two men who had been left on board.
Meanwhile, neutrals were learning the baselessness of the
pretense in the German manifesto that what they had to
fear in the war zone were only inevitable errors and acci-
dents. Neutral ships were being destroyed with the greatest
deliberation. On March 31st the Norwegian barque Nor was
burnt because her cargo of timber rendered her practically
unsinkable. On April 22nd, two Norwegian sailing ships, the
Oscar and the Eva, were deliberately sunk by gunfire ; and
the Norwegians suffered other losses. In the first half of
April two Dutch steamers, the Katwyk and the Schieland,
were torpedoed and sunk. On May 1st the American tank
steamer Gul flight, from Port Arthur (Texas) to Rouen,
was torpedoed without warning off the Scilly Islands. The
captain died of heart failure, and the wireless operator and
a Spanish seaman were drowned. This event caused great
excitement in the United States; yet the feeling it aroused
was but a ripple compared with the tidal wave of horror
and indignation which swept over not only America, but all
countries in which war madness had not stifled human feel-
ing, at the news of the Lusitania's destruction, which just
a week later was flashed round the world.
NEUVE CHAPELLE
THE FIRST GREAT ARTILLERY ASSAULT
MARCH IOTH
COUNT DE SOUZA FRANK R. CANA
A BERLIN MAGAZINE ACCOUNT
No one may put into words the miseries that men endured during
the first winter of the trench warfare. Once that double set of trenches
with the "No-man's land" between was stretched across France, men
had to hold it night and day, ever on the watch against surprise attack.
New necessities are rapidly met by new inventions of that alert and
most brilliant of earthly organisms, the human brain. But in that brief
interim between necessity and invention, what must not men suffer !
The cold, which froze feet and fingers ; the damp, which sent rheuma-
tism and kindred ills through every muscle; the strain of watchfulness
upon exhausted nerves ; the ever-present hunger and the racking bom-
bardments — active warfare came as a relief from these. The British
to a man welcomed the first big spring assault of 1915, the battle of
Neu /e Chapelle.
Both the French and British accounts of this battle must be read
with some reserve. Patriotic writers are naturally trying to find some
good, some reason for satisfaction with, a. struggle most exhaustive
of ammunition, cruelly costly of human life, and inconclusive of re-
sult. In brief, both France and Britain were over-hopeful. They
thought their winter of preparation, combined with Germany's ex-
haustive winter campaign against Warsaw in the east, had made them
stronger than their foe. They attempted to test this by an early spring
offensive. They had gathered what seemed to the experts of that day
a huge store of ammunition. They employed it, the French in the
Champagne district and the British at Neuve Chapelle, in an effort to
break, in their favor, the deadlock of the trenches. The French learned
at minor cost that the Germans had so extended trenches behind
trenches that the defensive was still immeasurably stronger than their
offense. The British learned this also, but only after an attack far more
persistent and furious and self-destructive. It was then that Marshal
Joffre's policy of "nibbling," of leaving to the Germans the offensive
with its heavy losses, was adopted — because no other policy had yet
proved possible.
BY COUNT CHARLES DE SOUZA
THE battle of Neuve Chapelle was an action in which
through a surprise attack the British reconquered the
position which the Germans had occupied in October and
w., vol. in.— 5. 65
66 NEUVE CHAPELLE
powerfully organized in front of the British pivot at La
Bassee. This position formed a salient in the British line,
and in order to preserve the integrity of that line (in other
words to make it stronger), it was necessary to take the vil-
lage of Neuve Chapelle — which had been once before at-
tacked unsuccessfully (October 28th). The former attempt
had failed because it had been made with inadequate means.
This time the operation was carried out by two army corps,
the 4th Corps and the Indian Corps, which were swiftly and
secretly concentrated on the line Rue d'Enfer-Richebourg
St. Vast, their forward movement being covered and sup-
ported by the fire of 350 guns, British and French.
The Germans were surprised, outnumbered, outflanked
on both sides, and, after a stubborn struggle, they were
ousted from the position. The victory was complete, and
would have been more satisfactory had it been less costly.
The British casualties exceeded 12,000 out of 50,000 men
engaged on that occasion.
This was due to the impetuosity of the new troops and of
some officers who misunderstood the object of the attack,
advanced too quickly and too far, and thus uselessly exposed
their men to the effects of the severe counterblows which
the Germans, with their accustomed thoroughness, did not
fail to deliver. There was also confusion in the matter of
bringing up reinforcements. The position, however, re-
mained in the possession of the British, although their oppo-
nents did all they could to recapture it — a fact which when
contrasted to the previous engagement makes it clear that
the enemy was inferior both on the defense and the attack.
The French offensive in Champagne which synchronized
with the battle of Neuve Chapelle was a more lengthy and
methodical affair; it had also a totally different object. It
started at the beginning of February and reached its climax
at the date of Neuve Chapelle; it was carried out ostensibly
to relieve the "pressure" exercised at the time by the Ger-
mans on the Russians in East Prussia and Suwalki ; and for
that reason it may be characterized as the first attempt at a
coordination of movements between the two fronts. Locally
it yielded good results ; it displayed once more the offensive
NEUVE CHAPELLE 67
qualities of the French troops and gave them good practice
in the newly adopted methods of artillery preparation and
the combination of infantry and artillery assaults on a large
scale ; but its primary object was not attained, simply because
it was sought on a wrong assumption. Hindenburg's con-
temporaneous move in East Prussia was a false one, meant
mainly to distract the attention of the Russians from an-
other sector of their front.
It was part of the enemy's plan to exaggerate the num-
ber of their forces in that quarter, and they succeeded so far
as to lead the Allies to believe that strong German units were
being withdrawn from the Western front. It was computed
in many quarters that Hindenburg had fifteen army corps
with him in East Prussia, whereas he could not have had
more than a third of that number.
Nevertheless, General d'Esperey's movement in Cham-
pagne was brilliant. The artillery bombardment was heavy
and effective. Strong hostile positions were stormed be-
tween Souain, Perthes and Beausejour, and the French
made many captures, the Germans admitting in their com-
muniques that their losses in that part of France were greater
than those they had suffered in East Prussia, which were
computed by themselves at 15,000.
Finally, this French movement paved the way for the
bigger one which was carried out at the same spot in the
autumn.
BY FRANK R. CANA
Early in March there were spells of bright weather, and
the water-logged country began to dry up. The time had
come for a vigorous offensive movement by the British
troops. The reasons which Sir John French gave for this
offensive deserve careful consideration. The interdepend-
ence of the operations of the Russians, French, and British
should be particularly noted. It should also be noted that Sir
John was contemplating, not a general advance, but a move-
ment with a definite local objective. The British were to
"hold" the enemy to the Western front, an operation incon-
68 NEUVE CHAPELLE
sistent with "the grand offensive." Sir John, in his dispatch
of April 5th, wrote as follows : —
"About the end of February many vital considerations
induced me to believe that a vigorous offensive movement by
the forces under my command should be planned and carried
out at the earliest possible moment.
"Amongst the more important reasons which convinced
me of this necessity were : The general aspect of the Allied
situation throughout Europe, and particularly the marked
success of the Russian army in repelling the violent on-
slaughts of Marshal von Hindenburg; the apparent weaken-
ing of the enemy in my front, and the necessity for assisting
our Russian Allies to the utmost by holding as many hostile
troops as possible in the Western theater; the efforts to this
end which were being made by the French forces at Arras
and Champagne ; and, perhaps the most weighty considera-
tion of all, the need of fostering the offensive spirit in the
troops under my command after the trying and possibly
enervating experiences which they had gone through of a
severe winter in the trenches."
Such were the Commander-in-Chief's reasons, and they
clearly limit the character of the offensive he now under-
took, known as the battle of Neuve Chapelle. The object
of the battle was the capture of Neuve Chapelle and the
establishment of the British line as far forward as possible
to the east of that place. This part of the German line was
held by the Bavarians, supported by Prussian regiments, the
Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria being in command.
Neuve Chapelle, after the heavy fighting in November,
1914, had again passed into the hands of the Germans.
The village lies four miles north-northwest of La Bassee
and about a mile west of a high ridge which comes from the
direction of Lille. The little river Des Layes flows between
Neuve Chapelle and the high ground. On this high ground
is Aubers; below Aubers, and on the side of the Layes
furthest from Neuve Chapelle, is the hamlet of Pietre.
South of Pietre is the Bois de Biez, the German position in
the wood being protected by a defended bridge-head over
the Layes. It was Sir John French's hope that the taking
NEUVE CHAPELLE 69
of Neuve Chapelle would be followed up by the capture of
the Aubers ridge. This would have jeopardized the Ger-
man position at La Bassee and made the enemy fear for the
safety of Lille, which is some ten miles east of Aubers.
The whole of the German front was immensely strong.
Every house in the village of Neuve Chapelle had been turned
into a fort, while just north of the village was a triangle of
road enclosing an area in which were a few big houses, with
walls, gardens, orchards, etc. In this triangle the enemy,
with the aid of many machine guns, had established a strong
post, which flanked the approaches to Neuve Chapelle. .
It will be seen that the task assigned to the British troops
was difficult. No attempt could be made to take the German
positions without adequate artillery preparation, and at
Neuve Chapelle, for the first time in the war, so far as the
British were concerned, a force of artillery had been con-
centrated sufficient for its purposes. The German method
of bringing an overwhelming and sustained mass of shell
fir 2 on to a given area, and "flattening out" all opposition,
was now employed against them. Sir John French had
given to General Haig and troops of the 1st Army the task
of capturing Neuve Chapelle. The 4th Corps under Sir
Henry Rawlinson and the Indian Corps under Sir James
Willcocks were chosen to make the attack, supported by a
large force of heavy artillery, a division of cavalry, and
some infantry of the general reserve. At the same time
troops of the 2nd Army were told to keep the enemy in front
of them occupied, thus preventing reinforcements being
sent by the Germans from those portions of his line to the
main point of attack. These supplementary operations of
the 2nd Army had the desired effect and resulted in the cap-
ture of the village of L'Epinette (near Armentieres) and
adjacent farms, but do not call for any further mention. To
the left and to the right of the British army the French
troops also supported its action by very heavy artillery, ma-
chine gun, and infantry fire.
An operation such as that contemplated required much
prevision. Though the attack was not delivered until March
10th, Sir Douglas Haig had received his secret instructions
;o NEUVE CHAPELLE
on February 19th. None save a few staff officers knew of
the plans until all was ready, and the Crown Prince Rup-
precht was taken by surprise. At half -past seven in the
morning of the 10th of March, some four hundred great
guns and howitzers began to play on the German lines at
Neuve Chapelle. The bombardment was most effective,
except on the extreme northern portion of the front of at-
tack. Hell opened its mouth and belched forth fire and
brimstone. The wind was torn, the ear pierced by the rush
and roar of thousands of high explosive and shrapnel shells.
A wall of fire fell upon the German trenches, and the men
in them were dazed and mazed ; many went mad with horror.
Others were still hiding in their dug-outs after the fight was
over. The cruel wire entanglements which guarded the
trenches were in several places swept away by shrapnel fire.
And the hail of shell continued, the gunners working with
a grim joy as they marked how, under the bombardment
from their huge howitzers firing lyddite, the enemy's
trenches fell in and disappeared, and houses were hurtled
into the sky. Meantime the troops who were to make the
charge waited. They were the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and
25th Brigades of the 8th Division, 4th Corps, and the Garh-
wal Brigade. At length the artillery ceased, and at 8.5 a. m.
the 23rd and the 25th Brigades dashed forward to the Ger-
man trenches on the northwest of Neuve Chapelle, while
the Garhwal Brigade assaulted the enemy trenches south of
the village. The artillery had only stopped momentarily to
get its new range; as the infantry rushed at the German
trenches, the guns turned their fire on to Neuve Chapelle
itself.
In the trenches attacked by the 25th and Garhwal Bri-
gades there was little opposition, and both lines were car-
ried with slight loss. This was not the case with the 23rd
Brigade, which found the wires still largely uncut, and as
they endeavored to force them they fell in scores from the
enemy's machine gun and rifle fire, the loss being especially 1
severe in the Middlesex Regiment and Scottish Rifles. The
success of their comrades saved the Brigade, for both the
25th and Garhwal Brigades pushed on to the village of
NEUVE CHAPELLE 71
Neuve Chapelle, so that the Germans opposing the 23rd Bri-
gade found their southern flank turned. Thus helped, the
23rd Brigade made progress. The manner in which the
various British brigades rendered mutual help was a marked
feature of the fight. The Germans fought desperately for
possession of the village, and it had to be cleared house by
house, the British advancing over heaps of dead mixed with
the debris of houses, smashed guns, and impedimenta of all
kinds. The Germans in Neuve Chapelle itself were now
without hope; it was death or surrender, for the British ar-
tillery was playing beyond the village and created a curtain
of shrapnel fire through which nothing could pass alive.
Prince Rupprecht was unable to send a single man to the
aid of the defenders, and by 11 a. m. the whole village and
the roads leading northwards and southwestwards from it
were in the hands of the British.
Notwithstanding the temporary holding up of the 23rd
Brigade the day had been so far extremely favorable for
th : British ; it ended less auspiciously. As we have stated,
it had been designed to follow up the capture of Neuve
Chapelle by an advance on Aubers. Nor were the Germans
at 11 a. m. in any position to have withstood an energetic
advance. Their resistance had been completely paralyzed,
as was proved by the 21st Brigade being allowed to* form
up in the open without a shot being fired at it. But the
happy moment was lost. After taking Neuve Chapelle, too
much time was occupied in reorganizing the various units,
and the further advance did not begin till 3.30 p. m. There
were reasons for the delay. The infantry was greatly dis-
organized by the violent nature of the attack, and by its
passage through the enemy's trenches and the buildings of
the village. It was necessary to get units to some extent
together before pushing on. Moreover, telephonic commu-
nication being cut by the enemy's fire rendered communica-
tion between front and rear most difficult. The left of the
23rd Brigade having been held up had not only caused de-
lay in itself, but had involved a portion of the 25th Brigade
in fighting to the north out of its proper direction of ad-
vance. All this required adjustment. An orchard, held by
.72 NEUVE CHAPELLE
the enemy north of Neuve Chapelle, also threatened the flank
of an advance towards the Aubers ridge. These were all
valid reasons, but Sir John French placed it on record that
"this delay would not have occurred had the clearly ex-
pressed orders of General Haig been more carefully ob-
served." We need not go behind or beyond the field-mar-
shal's criticism; war has to take account of the personal
equation.
When the advance was resumed at half -past three both
the 2 ist and 24th Brigades made progress, the former
towards the Pietre windmills and the appropriately named
Rue d'Enfer (a collection of three or four farmsteads) ; the
latter towards Pietre hamlet. Both, however, were even-
tually held up by concentrated machine gun fire from Ger-
mans established in houses and trenches. The 25th Bri-
gade was directed towards the Des Layes River, but was
also held up by machine gun fire from the bridge-head held
by the Germans. At the same time two Indian brigades,
the Dehra Dun and the Jullundur, had moved to attack the
Biez wood, but they, too, were stopped at the line of the
river by the enfilading fire of the Germans from the bridge.
This bridge over the Layes and its neighborhood imme-
diately assumed considerable importance. "Whilst artillery
fire was brought to bear," wrote Sir John French, "as far
as circumstances would permit, on this point, Sir Douglas
Haig directed the ist Corps to dispatch one or more bat-
talions of the ist Brigade in support of the troops attacking
the bridge. Three battalions were thus sent to Richebourg
St. Vaast. Darkness coming on, and the enemy having
brought up reinforcements, no further progress could be
made, and the Indian Corps and 4th Corps proceeded to con-
solidate the position they had gained."
The day had not proved as successful for the British as
had been hoped, but there was no justification for the criti-
cism of armchair tacticians, who, fed by lying rumors as
to the magnitude of the losses and the "failure" of the ad-
vance, declared the whole attack to be "a ghastly mistake."
During the day the whole of the labyrinth of trenches at
and around Neuve Chapelle had been taken on a front of
NEUVE CHAPELLE 73
4,000 yards {2 l / 2 miles) and the British had consolidated
themselves on a new front about 1,200 yards beyond the
enemy's advanced trenches. More ground had been gained,
in short, than on any other day since the battle of the
Aisne.
On the next day, March nth, the battle was resumed.
The Germans had hurried to Lille by train and motors a
mass of men from distant parts of the Western front, and
these were poured into Aubers, the line of the Layes, and
the Biez wood, to oppose the further British advance. We
tell the story of the end of the battle substantially in the
words of Sir John French.
"The attack on the German positions was begun on the
morning of March nth by the 4th and Indian Corps, but
it was soon seen that a further advance would be impos-
sible until the artillery had dealt effectively with the vari-
ous houses and defended localities which held up the troops
along the entire front. Efforts were made to direct the
artillery fire accordingly; but owing to the weather condi-
tions, which did not permit of aerial observation, and the
fact that nearly all the telephonic communications between
the artillery observers and their batteries had been cut, it
was impossible to do so with sufficient accuracy. Even when
the British troops which were pressing forward occupied
a house here and there, it was not possible to stop the fire
of its supporting artillery, and in consequence some of the
British fell victims to their own guns. The infantry were
therefore withdrawn. The two principal points which
barred the advance were the same as on the preceding day
— namely, the enemy's position about Moulin de Pietre and
at the bridge over the river Des Layes.
By the 12th the Germans had been heavily reenforced.
The chief feature of the day's fighting were violent counter-
attacks delivered by them, and supported by artillery. These
counter-attacks completely failed, Sir John French calling
special attention to the ease with which they were repulsed.
The British troops were elated and ready to continue the
struggle, but the Commander-in-Chief decided otherwise.
Most of the objects for which the operation had been un-
74 NEUVE CHAPELLE
dertaken had been attained, and on the night of March 12th
Sir Douglas Haig was directed to hold and consolidate the
ground gained and to suspend, for the time, further of-
fensive operations. The Crown Prince Rupprecht, stung
especially by the fact that his army had been beaten by the
British, whom he had openly reviled in orders to his troops,
endeavored on the 13th by numerous further attacks to re-
gain the ground lost, but all the attacks failed. Later Prince
Rupprecht endeavored to minimize his defeat by declaring
that the British had brought up forty-eight divisions against
three German divisions — an obvious falsehood which yet
found credence in Germany.
Thus ended one of the sternest battles on the Western
front. The severity of the contest can be judged from the
casualty lists. The British lost 190 officers and 2,337 men
killed, 359 officers and 8,174 men wounded, and 27, officers
and 1,728 men "missing" (many of these were killed but
their bodies were not found — the rest were taken prisoners).
Thus the total British casualties were nearly 13,000. The
enemy suffered more; they left several thousand dead on
the battlefield, seen and counted by the British, and removed
over 12,000 wounded by train. They lost in prisoners 30
officers and 1,657 men — their total casualties being between
17,000 and 1 8,000. 1 Many of the prisoners taken on the
first day were bright yellow in color from the effect of the
lyddite shells; one Prussian officer who survived the tor-
nado of shell fire on the advanced trenches angrily ex-
claimed, "This is not war, it is murder." That their own
weapons should be turned against them always roused the
ire of the Prussians.
Sir John French did not consider the price of victory too
high. In a special Order of the Day to Sir Douglas Haig
and the 1st Army the Commander-in-Chief said: "I am
anxious to express to you personally my warmest apprecia-
tion of the skillful manner in which you have carried out
your orders, and my fervent and most heartfelt appreciation
of the magnificent gallantry and devoted, tenacious courage
1 These figures of German losses, except as regards prisoners, have
no official authority.
NEUVE CHAPELLE 75
displayed by all ranks whom you have ably led to success
and victory."
At Neuve Chapelle the Indian troops played a conspicu-
ous part. The Indians, entirely unaccustomed to heavy ar-
tillery engagements before coming to France, had in a few
months become inured to the novel conditions of warfare.
They were much elated by the result of the action, and con-
tinually asked when they were going to have another chance.
Many stories were told of their prowess. One Gurkha made
his way into a house, and single-handed captured five Ger-
mans, whom he marched off at the point of his kukri. Of
similar incidents in the fight much might be written. We
make the following extract from a dispatch by the "Eye-
witness" at British headquarters, as it pays a deserved trib-
ute to the bravery of the German officers. The German offi-
cer, as an American observer of his conduct said, was too
often "a combination of soldier, blackmailer, and burglar,"
but he was not lacking in the first requisites of a leader —
courage : —
"In their counter-attacks from the Bois du Biez the Ger-
man losses were tremendous. Line after line went down be-
fore our rifles. Indeed, in their picturesque phraseology,
some of our Sepoys said that shooting the enemy was like
cutting grain.
"Our men in action in this quarter were so excited that
they clambered up on to the parapets in order to see better,
and obtain greater freedom to use their rifles. In some of
the captured trenches then held by us there was not room on
the banquettes, or raised portions, from which men fire, for
all the men in the trench to shoot at the same time, and as
the action proceeded, those below in rear could not restrain
their impatience. They shouted, 'Get down and give us a
chance,' some even pulling down those in front in order to
take their places. One battalion reserved its fire until the
Germans were only fifty yards away, and then opened both
with rapid rifle fire and with machine guns.
"The German officers displayed the most reckless cour-
age. On more than one occasion they invited certain death
by riding forward on horseback to direct the attack to 1 within
76 NEUVE CHAPELLE
a few hundred yards of our line. None of those who so
exposed themselves escaped. One Jager in charge of a ma-
chine gun kept his gun in action throughout our bombard-
ment, and then, when our men charged down upon him,
awaited death, calmly standing on the parapet of the trench,
and emptying his revolver at them."
BY MARGARETE MUNSTERBERG
Translated from the popular Berlin periodical, the "Kriegs-Rundschau"
The battlefield of Neuve Chapelle and Givenchy — about
7 or 8 kilometers broad — is bounded on the north by the rail-
road Merville-Laventie-Armentieres, on the south by the
Canal d'Aire a la Bassee and is crossed by two main high-
ways, from Estaires to La Bassee, and from Bethune to
Armentieres. Through this territory, in a southwesterly di-
rection, flow the rivers Lawe and Louane, which, supplied
by a multitude of brooks and small rivulets which issue from
ponds, empty into the Canal d'Aire a la Bassee. In a north-
easterly direction the Lys with its tributaries flows through
the battlefield, and farther on joins the Deule. The char-
acter of the whole region follows from this great abundance
of water; it is almost perfectly flat and does not rise any
higher than 19 meters, and about 21 meters in the south near
Givenchy. Isolated groves and hedges break the monotony
of this land upon which the exceedingly fierce battles of
March ioth-i4th were fought.
As early as October 29, 1914, our infantry regiment
had stormed Neuve Chapelle, and until March 10th we were
undisputed masters of the place. At the beginning of March,
however, when the foggy weather began and observation
from the air was impossible, our opponent succeeded, around
March 10th, in carrying out movements of troops, unnoticed
by us. As appeared through reports in English newspa-
pers, he concentrated no less than two army corps, consist-
ing of two English divisions, two Indian divisions and Ca-
nadian troops, besides very strong artillery, a part of which
was French, for a joint attack upon our positions. The at-
tack surprised us greatly, but found us by no means unpre-
pared, so that one Jager battalion and one infantry regi-
NEUVE CHAPELLE 77
ment were able for the present to repel the attack of the
English.
These, however, directed an overwhelming artillery fire
— about ten to twelve grenades (frequently of American
origin) to one meter of the trench — against our lines of de-
fense, which were completely buried. In spite of these un-
favorable conditions, the English attack was warded off
twice, and again and again the enemy started new strong
artillery fire. Contemporaneous with this attack upon Neuve
Chapelle, the English started a further attack upon Given-
chy; an English infantry division advanced against two
German battalions, but was repulsed with enormous losses
through the fire of our infantry and artillery. The English,
advancing in great masses, were mowed down in sections.
Meanwhile the fight over Neuve Chapelle continued. Here
Indian troops rushed ahead — and seemingly unarmed. In
the preceding days numerous Indians had deserted to our
lines, hence our troops believed that in this case they were
again dealing with deserters and so did not shoot. This sin
of omission was thoroughly avenged; for close before our
positions the Indians began to throw hand grenades and
attacked the garrison of our trenches with knives.
Through these attacks by very superior numbers on
March 10th, our troops in the trenches suffered severely, so
that reserves had to be brought forward. These gathered
under terrible English fire and advanced against the English
with contempt of death. Although they did not succeed on
this day in throwing the opponent out of the positions
taken by him, nevertheless they were able to prevent a fur-
ther advance of the greatly superior enemy forces and to
hold the new positions against all attacks of the opponent.
On March nth in the forenoon strong German artil-
lery fire was directed against the enemy positions, and the
attacks of the enemy were repulsed, although he succeeded
in invading Neuve Chapelle at isolated points.
After more reserves had reached us on March 12th in the
forenoon, we did the attacking; and the burning desire to
settle with the hated English accelerated the steps of each
soldier. We succeeded in gaining ground at several points
78
NEUVE CHAPELLE
and in throwing the opponent back on Neuve Chapelle.
The complete reconquest, however, of the place Neuve
Chapelle itself, which was constantly under heavy enemy
fire, would have required needless sacrifices, and for this
reason we limited ourselves to attaining the general lines
previously held by us.
The strategic plan of the enemy to break through had
failed with enormous losses, and the English found them-
selves forced to give up their plans. But the great moral
success of the fighting round Neuve Chapelle and round
Givenchy lies in the repulse by comparatively weak German
troops, of his attempt to break through which was under-
taken with such great masses. Although the opponent suc-
ceeded in winning slight tactical successes and in gaining
territory, these successes are quite out of proportion to the
enormous losses, particularly of officers, which were char-
acterized as "heavy" even by the enemy himself.
The papers have brought details, taken from letters and
reports of officers, about the English method of warfare,
which have been made known to the German troops as offi-
cial warnings. According to these, in the battles round
Neuve Chapelle, 250 Englishmen, in German cloaks and
helmets, lured a band of German soldiers toward them,
only to shoot them down from a short distance. German
prisoners were used, as it were, as cover by the English dur-
ing their advance. 2
2 There are in this magazine narrative several statements against
which the reader should be warned. First is the habitually reckless
German talk about American ammunition. Not until a much later
period did American ammunition reach the Allies' cannon in any ap-
preciable amount. Second is the implied charge of wholesale de-
sertion by the British Indians. No such case is anywhere on record;
the Indian regiments fought loyally and heroically throughout the
War. More important still is the series of implications in the final
paragraph. German publications frequently made vague charges of
this type; but all actual evidence indicates that the Britons fought as
honorably as they did heroically. The German Government never made
any effort to establish these charges, presumably finding them more
useful as rumors, a form which protected their falsity from British
disproof.
THE NAVAL DISASTER OF THE
DARDANELLES
TURKEY PROVES THE BRITISH FLEET IS NOT INVINCIBLE
MARCH l8TH
HENRY MORGENTHAU HENRY NEVINSON
A consecutive Turkish narrative of the defense of the Dardanelles
will probably never be written ; but from Ambassador Morgenthau,
that strong and observant American diplomat who stood nearest to
the heart of the Turkish Government, we have a frank and careful
record of what the Turkish leaders said and hoped for at the time.
The British view of the disastrous event is given by a British expert
on military and naval affairs.
The personages mentioned in Mr. Morgenthau's account have been
already introduced in our earlier volume. Wangenheim and Pallavi-
cini were the German and Austrian Ambassadors in Turkey. Enver
was their Turkish tool, the Minister of War and actual ruler of
Turkey. Talaat, the Minister of Finance, had been the leader of
Enver's faction until the War crowded Enver to the front. Mr.
Churchill was the sorely harassed but ever-energetic British Minister
of Naval Affairs.
The "Dardanelles" is the name given to the southern portion of
the series of Turkish waterways which, by connecting the Mediter-
ranean with the Black Sea, separate Europe from Asia in the neigh-
borhood of Constantinople. The southern or Mediterranean mouth
of the Dardanelles is more than a hundred miles from Constanti-
nople; but only this portion of the passage is easily defensible. Once
this opening had been forced, the road to Constantinople would have
been open, and the city must have surrendered or been destroyed by
the huge naval guns. The assault was made chiefly by British ships ;
though they were aided by four French men-of-war, of which the
largest, the Bonvct, was sunk in the main action, of March 18th.
The importance of this assault was that its success would have
broken Turkey's strength completely and enabled the Allies to reach
Russia with a mass of much needed military supplies. Its failure,
on the other hand, released the East from its fear of British power,
and tremendously strengthened the will of the Turks for war. This
was again one of those evenly balanced moments which hang great
with fate. Had word but reached the Allied commanders of the ex-
haustion of the Turkish ammunition ; had they but endured their
heavy losses but a little longer, the entire issue of the Great W'ar
might have been changed. Its three last terrible years might have been
escaped.
79
8o
DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES
BY HENRY MORGENTHAU *
ON March 18th, the Allied fleet made its greatest attack.
As all the world knows, that attack proved disastrous
to the Allies. The outcome was the sinking of the Bouvet,
the Ocean, and the Irresistible and the serious crippling of
four other vessels. Of the sixteen ships engaged in this
battle of the 18th, seven were thus put temporarily or per-
manently out of action. Naturally the Germans and Turks
rejoiced over this victory. The police went around, and
ordered each householder to display a prescribed number of
flags in honor of the event. The Turkish people have so
little spontaneous patriotism or enthusiasm of any kind that
they would never decorate their establishments without such
definite orders. As a matter of fact, neither Germans nor
Turks regarded this celebration too seriously, for they were
not yet persuaded that they had really won a victory. Most
still believed that the Allied fleets would succeed in forcing
their way through. The only question, they said, was
whether the Entente was ready to sacrifice the necessary
number of ships. Neither Wangenheim nor Pallavicini be-
lieved that the disastrous experience of the 18th would end
the naval attack, and for days they anxiously waited for
the fleet to return. The high tension lasted for days and
weeks after the repulse of the 18th. We were still mo-
mentarily expecting the renewal of the attack. But the great
armada never returned.
Should it have come back ? Could the Allied ships really
have captured Constantinople? I am constantly asked this
question. As a layman my own opinion can have little
value, but I have quoted the opinions of the German gen-
erals and admirals, and of the Turks — practically all of
whom, except Enver, believed that the enterprise would suc-
ceed, and I am half inclined to believe that Enver's attitude
was merely a case of graveyard whistling. In what I now
have to say on this point, therefore, I wish it understood
that I am giving not my own views, but merely those of the
officials then in Turkey who were best qualified to judge.
1 Reprinted by permission from "Ambassador Morgenthau's Story."
DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES 81
Enver had told me, in our talk on the deck of the Yuruk,
that he had "plenty of guns — plenty of ammunition." But
this statement was not true. A glimpse at the map will show
why Turkey was not receiving munitions from Germany or
Austria at that time. The fact was that Turkey was just'
as completely isolated from her allies then as was Russia.
There were two railroad lines leading from Constantinople
to Germany. One went by way of Bulgaria and Serbia.
Bulgaria was then not an ally ; even though she had winked
at the passage of guns and shells, this line could not have
been used, since Serbia, which controlled the vital link ex-
tending from Nish to Belgrade, was still intact. The other
railroad line went through Rumania, by way of Bucharest.
This route was independent of Serbia, and, had the Ru-
manian Government consented, it would have formed a clear
route from the Krupps to the Dardanelles. The fact that
munitions could be sent with the connivance of the Ru-
manian Government perhaps accounts for the suspicion that
guns and shells were going by that route. Day after day
the French and British ministers protested at Bucharest
against this alleged violation of neutrality, only to be met
with angry denials that the Germans were using this line.
There is no doubt now that the Rumanian Government was
perfectly honorable in making these denials. It is not un-
likely that the Germans themselves started all these stories,
merely to fool the Allied fleet into the belief that their
supplies were inexhaustible.
Let us suppose that the Allies had returned, say on the
morning of the nineteenth, what would have happened?
The one overwhelming fact is that the fortifications were
very short of ammunition. They had almost reached the
limit of their resisting power when the British fleet passed
out on the afternoon of the 18th. I had secured permis-
sion for Mr. George A. Schreiner, the well-known Ameri-
can correspondent of the Associated Press, to visit the Dar-
danelles on this occasion. On the night of the 18th, this
correspondent discussed the situation with General Mertens,
who was the chief technical officer at the straits. General
W., VOL. III. — 6.
82 DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES
Mertens admitted that the outlook was very discouraging
for the defense.
"We expect that the British will come back early to-
morrow morning," he said, "and if they do, we may be able
to hold out for a few hours."
General Mertens did not declare in so many words that
the ammunition was practically exhausted, but Mr. Schreiner
discovered that such was the case. The fact was that Fort
Hamidie, the most powerful defense on the Asiatic side,
had just seventeen armor-piercing shells left, while at Kilid-
ul-Bahr, which was the main defense on the European side,
there were precisely ten.
"I should advise you to get up at six o'clock to-morrow
morning," said General Mertens, "and take to the Anatolian
hills. That's what we are going to do."
The troops at all the fortifications had their orders to
man the guns until the last shell had been fired and then
to abandon the forts.
Once these defenses became helpless, the problem of the
Allied fleet would have been a simple one. The only bar to
their progress would have been the mine-field, which
stretched from a point about two miles north of Erenkeui
to Kilid-ul-Bahr. But the Allied fleet had plenty of mine-
sweepers, which could have made a channel in a few hours.
North of Tchanak, as I have already explained, there were
a few guns, but they were of the 1878 model, and could not
discharge projectiles that could pierce modern armor plate.
North of Point Nagara there were only two batteries, and
both dated from 1835 ! Thus, once having silenced the outer
straits, there was nothing to bar the passage to Constanti-
nople except the German and Turkish warships. The
Goeben was the only first-class fighting ship in either fleet,
and it would not have lasted long against the Queen Eliza-
beth. The disproportion in the strength of the opposing
fleets, indeed, was so enormous that it is doubtful whether
there would ever have been an engagement.
Thus the Allied fleet would have appeared before Con-
stantinople on the morning of the twentieth. What would
have happened then? We have heard much discussion as
DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES 83
to whether this purely naval attack was justified. Enver, in
his conversation with me, had laid much stress on the ab-
surdity of sending a fleet to Constantinople, supported by no
adequate landing force, and much of the criticism since
passed upon the Dardanelles expedition has centered on that
point. Yet it is my opinion that this exclusively naval at-
tack was justified. I base this judgment purely upon the
political situation which then existed in Turkey. Under
ordinary circumstances such an enterprise would probably
have been a foolish one, but the political conditions in Con-
stantinople then were not ordinary. There was no solidly
established government in Turkey at that time. A political
committee, not exceeding forty members, headed by Talaat,
Enver, and Djemal, controlled the Central Government,
but their authority throughout the empire was exceedingly
tenuous. As a matter of fact, the whole Ottoman state, on
that eighteenth day of March, 191 5, when the Allied fleet
abandoned the attack, was on the brink of dissolution. All
over Turkey ambitious chieftains had arisen, who were mo-
mentarily expecting its fall, and who were looking for the
opportunity to seize their parts of the inheritance. As previ-
ously described, Djemal had already organized practically
an independent government in Syria. In Smyrna Rah mi
Bey, the Governor-General, had often disregarded the au-
thorities at the capital. In Adrianople Hadji Adil, one of
the most courageous Turks of the time, was believed to be
plotting to set up his own government. Arabia had already
become practically an independent nation. Among the sub-
ject races the spirit of revolt was rapidly spreading. The
Greeks and the Armenians would also have welcomed an
opportunity to strengthen the hands of the Allies. The ex-
isting financial and industrial conditions seemed to make
revolution inevitable. Many farmer" s went on strike ; they
had no seeds and would not accept them as a free gift from
the Government because, they said, as soon as their crops
should be garnered the armies would immediately requisi-
tion them. As for Constantinople, the populace there and
the best elements among the Turks, far from opposing the
arrival of the Allied fleet, would have welcomed it with
84 DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES
joy. The Turks themselves were praying that the British
and French would take their city, for this would relieve
them of the controlling gang, emancipate them from the
hated Germans, bring about peace, and end their miseries.
No one understood this better than Talaat. He was
taking no chances on making an expeditious retreat, in case
the Allied fleet appeared before the city. For several months
the Turkish leaders had been casting envious glances at a
Minerva automobile that had been reposing in the Belgian
legation ever since Turkey's declaration of war. Talaat
finally obtained possession of the coveted prize. He had ob-
tained somewhere another automobile, which he had loaded
with extra tires, gasolene, and all the other essentials of a
protracted journey. This was evidently intended to accom-
pany the more pretentious machine as a kind of "mother
ship." Talaat stationed these automobiles on the Asiatic
side of the city with chauffeurs constantly at hand. Every-
thing was prepared to leave for the interior of Asia Minor
at a moment's notice.
But the great Allied armada never returned to the at-
tack.
BY HENRY WOODD NEVINSON
Orders for washing and clean clothes (to avoid septic
wounds) were issued on February 18th, and next morning,
in clear and calm weather, "General Quarters" was sounded.
The firing began at eight, and the first scene in the drama
of the Dardanelles Expedition was enacted.
The main forts to be destroyed were four in number;
two on either side the entrance. One stood on the cliff of
Cape Helles, just to the left or southwest of the shelving
amphitheater afterwards celebrated as V Beach. Another
lay low down, on the right of the same beach, close in front
of the medieval castle of Seddel Bahr, where still one sees
lying in heaps or scattered over the ground huge cannon-
balls of stone, such as were hurled at Duckworth's fleet
more than a century before. Upon the Asiatic side stood
the fort of Kum Kali, at the very mouth of the strait, not far
from the cliff village of Yenishehr, and separated from the
DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES 85
plain of Troy by the river Mendere, near neighbor to the
Simois and Scamander conjoined. About a mile down the
coast, close beside Yenishehr village, is the remaining fort
of Orkhanieh. None of these forts was heavily armed.
The largest guns appear to have been 10.2 inch (six on
Seddel Bahr, and four on Kum Kali), and when our squad-
ron drew their fire their extreme range was found to be
12,500 yards.
Throughout the morning of February 19th, Admiral
Carden concentrated his bombardment upon these forts at
long range, and they made no reply. Hoping that he had
silenced or utterly destroyed them, he advanced six ships
to closer range in the afternoon, and then the reply came in
earnest, though the shooting was poor. At sunset he with-
drew the ships, though Kum Kali was still firing. In evi-
dence, he admitted that "the result of the day's action
;howed apparently that the effect of long range bombard-
ment by direct fire on modern earthwork forts is slight."
It was a lesson repeated time after time throughout the cam-
paign. The big naval shells threw up stones and earth as
from volcanoes, and caused great alarm. But the alarm was
temporary, and the effect, whether on earthworks or
trenches, usually disappointing. For naval guns, constructed
to strike visible objects at long range with marvelous ac-
curacy, have too flat a trajectory for the plunging fire (as
of howitzers) which devastates earthworks and trenches. It
was with heavy howitzers that the Germans destroyed the
forts of Liege, Namur, and Antwerp, and, owing to this
obvious difference in the weapons employed, Mr. Churchill's
expectation of crushing the Dardanelles defenses by the big
guns of the Queen Elisabeth and the Inflexible was frus-
trated.
Nevertheless, after a few days of driving rain and heavy
sea (a common event at this season, which might have been
anticipated), Admiral Carden renewed the bombardment on
February 25th, employing the Queen Elisabeth, Irresistible,
Agamemnon, and Gaulois. The Queen Elisabeth, firing
beyond the enemy's range, assisted in silencing the powerful
batteries on Cape Helles, and though the Agamemnon was
86 DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES
severely struck at about 11,000 yards' range, the subsidiary
ships Cornwcdlis, Vengeance, Triumph, Albion, Suffren,
and Charlemagne stood in closer, and by the evening com-
pelled all the outer forts to cease fire. Next day landing-
parties of marines were put ashore to complete their destruc-
tion; which they did, though at Kum Kali they were driven
back to their boats with some loss. The story that marines
had tea at Krithia and climbed Achi Baba for the view —
places soon to acquire such ill-omened fame — is mythical.
But certainly they met with no opposition on the Peninsula,
and if a large military force had then been available, the
gallant but appalling events of the landing two months later
would never have occurred. Had not the War Council per-
sisted in the design of a solely naval attack, even after their
resolve had begun to waver, a large military force might
have been available, either then, or to cooperate with a simi-
lar naval movement only a week or two later.
Stormy weather delayed further attack till March 4th,
when a squadron, including the Triumph, Albion, Lord
Nelson, and Ocean, passed up the strait to a position beyond
the village of Erenkeui, conspicuous upon a mountainside
of the Asiatic coast, and bombarded Fort Dardanus. The
fort stands upon Kephez Point, which projects as though to
defend the very entrance of the Narrows. Over the top of
the promontory the houses and mosques of Chanak and
Kilid Bahr could be plainly seen, where those towns face
each other across the narrowest part of the passage. Of
the eight lines of mine-field drawn across the strait, five lay
between Kephez Point and Chanak. Day and night our
mine-sweeping trawlers were engaged upon them, and con-
siderable praise must be given to the courage and endurance
of their crews, who for the most part had been North Sea
fishermen before the expedition. Their service throughout,
whether for mine-sweeping or transport, was of very high
value. It almost justified the remark made to me by a skip-
per whom I had met before on the Dogger Bank : "If the
Kayser had knowed as we'd got trawlers, he would never
have declared war!"
A similar advance to engage the forts at Dardanus, and,
DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES 87
after those were thought to be silenced, the forts at Chanak
and Kilid Bahr, was made next day, and again, in stronger
force, on March 6th. At the same time, on the 6th, the
Queen Elizabeth, stationed off Gaba Tepe on the outer
coast, flung her vast shells clear over the Peninsula into the
Chanak forts, her fire being directed by aeroplanes. She
was supported by the Agamemnon and Ocean, and there
were high hopes of thus crushing out the big guns defend-
ing the Narrows, some of which were believed to be 14-inch.
Nevertheless, when the four French battleships advanced
up the strait on the following day (March 7th), supported
at long range by the Agamemnon and her sister ship Lord
Nelson, the Chanak forts replied with an effective and dam-
aging fire. It was impossible to say when a fort was really
out of action. After long silence, the Turkish and German
gunners frequently returned and reopened fire, as though
nothing had happened. In his evidence, Admiral Carden
stated that when the demolition parties landed after the
bombardment of the outer forts, they found 70 per cent, of
the guns apparently intact upon their mountings, although
their magazines were blown up and their electrical or other
communications destroyed. Still worse than these disap-
pointing results was the opportunity left to the enemy of
moving, not only bodies of men, but field-guns and heavy
howitzers from one point of the Peninsula and Asiatic coast
to another, and opening fire upon the ships from concealed
and unexpected positions. Our landing-parties of marines
also suffered considerably from the advantage thus given
to the enemy, as happened to a body which landed at Kum
Kali for the second time on March 4th. All such dangers
and hindrances would have been removed if the navy had
been supported by sufficient military force to occupy the
ground behind the ships as they advanced.
Mr. Churchill, though striving to restrain his impa-
tience, strongly urged Admiral Carden to press forward
the naval attack with the utmost vigor. In a telegram of
March 1 ith he wrote : "If success cannot be obtained with-
out loss of ships and men, results to be gained are important
enough to justify such a loss. The whole operation may
88 DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES
be decided, and consequences of a decisive character upon
the war may be produced by the turning of the corner Cha-
nak. . . . We have no wish to hurry you or urge you be-
yond your judgment, but we recognize clearly that at a cer-
tain period in your operations you will have to press hard
for a decision; and we desire to know whether, in your
opinion, that period has now arrived. Every well-con-
ceived action for forcing a decision, even should regret-
table losses be entailed, will receive our support."
To this Admiral Carden replied that he considered the
stage for vigorous action had now been reached, but that,
when the fleet entered the Sea of Marmora, military opera-
tions on a large scale should be opened at once, so as to
secure communications. On March 15th Mr. Churchill,
still anxious not to allow his impatience to drive him into
rashness, telegraphed again that, though no time was to be
lost, there should be no undue haste. An attempt to rush
the passage without having cleared a channel through the
mines and destroyed the primary armament of the forts was
not contemplated. The close cooperation of army and navy
must be carefully studied, and it might be found that a
naval rush would be costly without military occupation of
the Kilid Bahr plateau. On these points the Admiral was
to consult with the General who was being sent out to take
command of the troops. To all of this Admiral Carden
agreed. He proposed to begin vigorous operations on
March 17th, but did not intend to rush the passage before a
channel was cleared. This answer was telegraphed on
March 16th. But on the same day the Admiral resigned his
command owing to serious ill-health.
Rear-Admiral Sir John de Robeck, second in command,
was next day appointed his successor. He was five years
younger, was, of course, fully cognizant of the plans, and
expressed his entire approval of them. Yet it appears from
his evidence that though strongly urged by Mr. Churchill
to act on "his independent and separate judgment," and
not to hesitate to state objections, his real motive in carry-
ing on the prearranged scheme was not so much his con-
fidence in success as his fear lest a withdrawal might injure
DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES 89
our prestige in the Near East ; and, secondly, his desire to
make the best he could of an idea which he regarded as
an order. "The order was to carry out a certain operation,"
he said, "or to try to do it, and we had to do the best we
could." If the ships got through, he, like many others, ex-
pected a revolution or other political change in Turkey.
Otherwise, he saw that transports could not come up, and
that the ships could not remain in the Sea of Marmora for
more than a fortnight or three weeks, but would have to run
the gauntlet coming down again, just as Admiral Duck-
worth did in 1807. In his telegram accepting the com-
mand, however, he made no mention of these considera-
tions, but only said that success depended upon clearing the
mine-fields after silencing the forts.
Indeed, he had small time for any considerations. For
on the very first day after receiving his command (March
1 8th) he undertook the main attempt to force the Nar-
rows. The weather was favorable — no mist and little wind.
The scheme was to attack in three squadrons successively.
The first blow was given by the four most powerful ships
— Queen Elizabeth, Inflexible, Lord Nelson, and Agamem-
non — which poured heavy shell at long range into the forts
at Chanak and Kilid Bahr, while the Triumph and Prince
George bombarded Fort Dardanus on the Asiatic coast,
and Fort Soghandere, opposite to it upon the Peninsula.
This bombardment lasted from about 11 a. m. till 12.30
p. m., and all six ships found themselves exposed to heavy
fire from the forts, and from hidden howitzers and field-
guns in varied positions upon both shores. At about 12.30
the second squadron, consisting of the four French ships,
came up into action, advancing beyond the former line in
the direction of Kephez Point. Though suffering consid-
erably (chiefly owing to their inability to maneuver in such
narrow waters, thus presenting very visible and almost fixed
targets to the enemy's guns), the ten ships maintained the
bombardment for about an hour (till nearly 1.30). The
enemy's forts then fell silent, and it was hoped that many
of them, at all events, had been destroyed.
Accordingly, the third squadron, consisting of six Brit-
90 DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES
ish ships (Irresistible, Vengeance, Ocean, Swiftsure, Ma-
jestic, and Albion), were brought up, with the design of
advancing first through the Narrows, so as to insure a clear
passage for the greater ships which made the first attack.
At the same time the four French ships, together with the
Triumph and Prince George, were ordered to withdraw, so
as to leave more room for the rest. During this maneuver,
all or nearly all the guns in the forts opened fire again,
their silence having been due, not to destruction, but to the
absence of the gunners, driven away by the gases or terror
of our shells. Most of the ships suffered, and as the Bouvet
moved down channel with her companion ships, she was
struck by three big shells in quick succession. The blows
were immediately followed by a vast explosion. It is dis-
puted whether this was due to a shell bursting in her maga-
zine, or to a torpedo fired from the Asiatic coast, or, as the
Admiralty report said, to a mine drifting down the current.
In two or three minutes she sank in deep water just north
of Erenkeui, carrying nearly the whole of her crew to the
bottom. The cries of the men dragged down with her, or
struggling in the water as they were swept downstream,
sounded over the strait.
At 2.30 the bombardment of all the forts was renewed,
but they were not silenced. At 4 o'clock the Irresistible drew
away with a heavy list. Apparently she also was struck by
a mine adrift; but she remained afloat for nearly two hours,
and nearly all her crew were saved by destroyers, which
swarmed round her at great risk to themselves, since they
offered a crowded target. A quarter of an hour after she
sank, the Ocean was struck in a similar manner (6.50 p. m.)
and sank with great rapidity. Most of her crew, however,
were also saved by destroyers near at hand. Many of the
other ships were struck by shell. The Inflexible and Gaulois
suffered especially, and only just crawled back to be
beached, the one at Tenedos, the other at Rabbit Island. At
sunset the fleet was withdrawn. It had been proved once
more that, in an attack upon land forts, ships lie at a great
disadvantage. In this case the disadvantage was much in-
creased by the narrowness of the waters, which brought
DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES 91
the ships within range of howitzer and other batteries hid-
den upon both shores, and also gave special opportunity for
the use of mines drifting on the rapid current, or anchored
right across the channel in successive rows. The mines of
the second row were opposite the intervals in the first, and
so on, until the passage was covered as with a net, each row
containing twenty-six mines. Whether shore-torpedoes
were also used is still uncertain. But, without them, the
fleet suffered under sufficient disadvantages to explain the
failure. The first serious attempt to force the Straits was
the last.
Mr. Churchill wished to renew the attempt at once.
Perhaps he thought that English people are given to ex-
aggerate the loss of a battleship. After all, the loss of even
three battleships is far surpassed by the loss of lives and
calculable wealth in one day's ordinary fighting in France,
and the objective in the Dardanelles was at least as vital.
Lord Fisher and Sir Arthur Wilson agreed that the action
should be continued, and the London and Prince of Wales,
in addition to the Queen and Implacable, were actually sent
to reenforce. The French also sent an old battleship (the
Henri IV.) to replace the Bonvet. At first Admiral de
Robeck shared this view. It was suspected at the Ad-
miralty that the ammunition in the forts was running short,
and, at a much later date, Enver Pasha is reported to have
said:
"If the English had only had the courage to rush more
ships through the Dardanelles, they could have got to Con-
stantinople; but their delay enabled us thoroughly to fortify
the Peninsula, and in six weeks' time we had taken down
there over 200 Austrian Skoda guns." 2
That delay of six weeks was fatal, but the navy was not
to blame. On March 22nd Admiral de Robeck and Ad-
2 Speaking of this naval attack, Dr. Stiirmer writes: "To their
great astonishment the gallant defenders of the coast forts found that
the attack had suddenly ceased. Dozens of the German naval gun-
ners who were manning the batteries of Chanak on that memorable
day told me later that they had quite made up their minds the fleet
would ultimately win, and that they themselves could not have held
out much longer." — 'Two War Years in Constantinople."
9 2
DISASTER OF THE DARDANELLES
miral Wemyss consulted with Sir Ian Hamilton (who on
the very day before the engagement had arrived at Tenedos
to take command of the land forces) and with General
Birdwood ; and as their decision to await the concentration
of the army was accepted by Lord Fisher and the other
Admiralty advisers, Mr. Churchill reluctantly yielded. Gen-
eral Birdwood, it is true, wished to land at once, even with
such troops as were at hand. Sir Ian "thought there was
a good deal to be said for it," and as to the fleet, he urged
the Admiral to keep on hammering the forts. But his or-
ders from Lord Kitchener were "not to land if he could
avoid it," and in any case to await the arrival of the 29th
Division.
And where was the 29th Division? On March 23rd its
first transport was just reaching Malta, where nearly all
the officers attended a special performance of Faust.
THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL
AUSTRIA LOSES HER LAST EASTERN STRONGHOLD
MARCH 22ND
GENERAL KROBATIN STANLEY WASHBURN
DIARY OF A RUSSIAN OFFICER
Przemysl, as told in our preceding volume, was the chief Austrian
stronghold in the eastern Austrian domain, the Polish province of
Galicia. In 1914 it had been twice besieged by the Russians. They
had assailed it for a month in vain after their great victory at Lemberg,
had withdrawn from the siege at the time of Hindenburg's first ad-
vance on Poland, and had then returned to renew the beleaguerment
in November. For four months thereafter Przemysl loomed large
in the eyes of the world as the one remaining point of Austrian re-
sistance east of the Carpathian Mountains and the plains of Hungary.
The siege of Przemysl presented the only example of such old-
time strategic warfare in the European field of the War. The city
was completely surrounded and the army within it was reduced to
surrender by starvation. This entailed of course much misery to the
civilian population. These were mainly of Slavic race and had small
sympathy for the Austrian cause in which they suffered. Indeed,
as the following anonymous diary of a Russian prisoner within the
city shows, the final surrender was to most of the inhabitants an
occasion for much rejoicing. They could not guess how soon they
were to be once again under Austrian control. The grim seesaw
of the hungry armies back and forth across this Polish region of
Central Europe meant an awful and repeated tragedy of destruction
to the defenseless Poles.
The official Austrian account of the siege is here given by the Aus-
trian Minister of War, and the Russian view is presented by Mr.
Stanley Washburn, the official British witness with the Russian army.
BY GENERAL KROBATIN
THE garrison of the fortress held Przemysl to the very
last hour that human force could do so in the military
sense of the word. General Kusmanek only surrendered
when such a course was dictated by feelings of humanity
and military consideration. On the day of the surrender
there was not one morsel of food in the fortress, and no
breakfast could be supplied to the men.
Events developed around Przemysl more quickly than
93
94 THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL
was expected. The last sortie officially reported was di-
rected towards the east, and was undertaken not with the
view of effecting the relief of the fortress, but to find out
if the surrounding Russian force was as strong towards
Grodek and Lemberg as in the other directions, and whether
the Russians had fortified their positions in the Grodek di-
rection, as well as to the south and west of the fortress. It
was ascertained during the sorties that this was the case.
The Russians, in fact, built counter-fortifications all around
the fortress, even in the direction of their own territory,
preparing for all eventualities. In fact, the last reports com-
ing from the fortress all confirmed the report that the Rus-
sians built a new fortress all around the besieged terri-
tory. The fortifications were so constructed as to consti-
tute an impenetrable obstacle to inward attacks, just the
counter-form of the fortifications and defensive works of
the fortress itself. The Russian ring was constructed ex-
clusively against Przemysl with unparalleled skill and rapid-
ity, and with all available means of modern technic.
On the west a well-fortified defending line and on the
south a large Russian army stood in the way of any at-
tempt to relieve Przemysl. In addition, the roads leading
towards Russia were well fortified, as the last sortie proved.
This was the military situation of the fortress during the
last weeks.
With regard to provisions the fortress was well sup-
plied at the outset, but the stores were consumed at the
time of the first investment, which lasted until October
nth. On that date the fortress was relieved, and General
Borvevich entered the fortress with his army. The rail-
way lines had been blown up by the retreating Russians.
On the Galician roads it was impossible to transport any-
thing at that time, and this fact obliged us to provision the
army fighting to the east of Przemysl from the stores of
the fortress, the army being cut off from all other points
of supply.
It was thus necessary to draw provisions from the ample
stores of Przemysl in the hope that as soon as the railway
line was reconstructed the stores could be replaced. The
THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL 95
railway line was reconstructed, and on October 23rd the
first trains began to move towards the fortress.
At the end of ten days, however, and before the defi-
ciencies could be made good, Przemysl was invested anew.
At this period the situation in North Poland made it
necessary for us to withdraw our flank in Galicia. During
the ten days at our disposal the transport of ammunition
took first place. The question of provisioning the fortress
appearing at that time to be a secondary matter, when
eventually food supplies were dispatched to Przemysl it was
too late.
During the first days of the investment, in November,
General Kusmanek took stock of the available quantity of
foodstuffs, and drew up a scale of rations. He took great
care that neither officers nor men should get more than
the minimum of everything. For breakfast they had only
tea, for their midday meal a small piece of meat and half a
pound of bread, and in the evening tea again, with some
bread. To add to the meat supply thousands of horses were
slaughtered, which was all the more necessary on account
of the shortage in fodder. Later on this minimum was
further reduced, so that the men of the garrison were on
almost starvation diet for the last two months of the siege.
It has been said in some quarters that flying machines
and dirigibles might have been used in bringing in supplies,
but this idea was excluded from the beginning. Such flour
or meat as could have been thus brought in would only have
sufficed a few hundred men for a few days, and to have
made any appreciable difference all the aeroplanes and
dirigibles of the world would have had to have been em-
ployed daily. The commander of the fortress vetoed the
idea that certain members of the garrison should receive
food by this means whilst the rest put up with the rations
available in the fortress. Even the game shot by some of
the officers was not allowed to be brought in, but was
cooked and eaten in the hunting field. The aeroplanes
only brought in letters, medicines, and material for the
wireless telegraphy.
The food supply grew daily more and more scanty, un-
96 THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL
til on the morning of the 22nd there was not a particle of
bread in the stores, not a pound of meat or flour available,
so that the commander of the fortress decided to surrender.
The sortie above referred to had no effect whatever
but soon after this the Russian besieging army began a vio-
lent attack from the north and east with the object of as-
certaining what powers of resistance the famished and ex-
hausted garrison still possessed. How our poor soldiers
could bear the brunt of these attacks is a mystery, but Gen-
eral Tamassy's Honveds succeeded in repulsing them.
These weak and famished soldiers had courage and en-
thusiasm enough to face the onslaught of the healthy, well-
fed Russians, and succeeded in repulsing them from beneath
the fortress. True, this was their last effort.
After this battle, which lasted seven hours, General
Kusmanek and his staff saw that another sortie was im-
possible, the investing ring being too strong for even a
well-fed army to break through.
BY STANLEY WASHBURN
In spite of all the very obvious failures to achieve any
definite advantage over the Russians, the spirits of the anti-
Russian element were kept buoyed up by the spectacle of
the great fortress in Galicia still holding out. "As long
as Przemysl stands out there is hope," seems to have been
the general opinion of all who wished ill to the Russians.
Thus the fortress, which at the outset might have been
abandoned with small loss of prestige to the Austrians,
gradually came to have a political as well as military sig-
nificance of the most far-reaching importance. In the gen-
eral crash after the battle of the Grodek line, the loss of a
town which until then had never been heard of in the
West, outside of military circles, would have escaped any-
thing more than passing comment. Not until the Russian
armies had actually swept past its trenches and masked its
forts, did the world at large know that such a place was
on the map; even then the greatest interest manifested was
in the vexed question as to how its name was pronounced,
if indeed it could be done at all, an opinion which was held
THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL 97
by not a few people. 1 This place, which could have been
given up earlier in the war without any important sacri-
fice, was held tenaciously and became one of the vital points
of strategy in the whole campaign. An army, which turned
out to be a huge one, was isolated from the field armies
of Austria at a time when she needed every able-bodied
man that she could get; and Przemysl, which, as we see
now, was doomed from the start, was allowed to assume
an importance in the campaign which made its fall not only
a severe military loss but a blow to the hopes of the Aus-
trians, both at home and in Galicia. The fall of this for-
tress has gone further towards shattering any hopes of ulti-
mate victory that have been entertained than anything that
has occurred since the war started.
One's preconceived idea of what a modern fortress
looks like vanishes rapidly as one enters Przemysl. In time
of peace it is probable that a layman might pass into this
town without suspecting at all that its power of resisting at-
tack is nearly as great as any position in all Europe. Now,
of course, innumerable field works, trenches, and impro-
vised defenses at once attract the attention; but other than
these there is visible from the main road but one fortress,
which, approached from the east is so extremely unpre-
tentious in appearance that it is doubtful if one would give
it more than a passing glance if one were not on the lookout
for it.
Przemysl itself is an extremely old town which I be-
lieve was for nearly 1,000 years a Russian city. From re-
mote days of antiquity it has been a fortress, and following
the ancient tradition, each successive generation has kept
improving its defenses until to-day it is in reality a modern
stronghold. Why the Austrians have made this city, which
in itself is of no great importance, the site of their strong-
est position, is not in the least obvious to the layman ob-
server. The town itself, a mixture of quaint old buildings
and comparatively modern structures, lies on the east bank
of the river San and perhaps 3 kilometers above the point
The pronunciation generally adopted in America is pra-meel.
W., VOL. III.— 7.
98 THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL
where the small stream of the Wiar comes in from the
south. The little city is hardly visible until one is almost
upon it, so well screened is it by rolling hills that lie all
about it. Probably the prevailing impression in the world
has been that the Russian great guns have been dropping
shells into the heart of the town; many people even in
Lwow believe it to be in a half-ruined condition. As a
matter of fact, the nearest of the first line of forts is about
10 kilometers from the town itself, so that in the whole
siege not a shell from the Russian batteries has fallen in the
town itself. Probably none has actually fallen within 5
kilometers of the city. There was therefore no danger of
the civilian population suffering anything from the bom-
bardment while the outer line of forts held as they did from
the beginning.
The only forts or works which we were given the op-
portunity of seeing, were those visible from the road, the
authorities informing us that they had reason to believe that
many of the trenches and positions were mined, and that
no one would be permitted in them until they had been ex-
amined by the engineers of the army and pronounced safe.
If the works seen from the road are typical of the defenses,
and I believe they are, one can quite well realize the im-
pregnable nature of the whole position. The road from
Lwow comes over the crest of a hill and stretches like a
broad ribbon for perhaps 5 kilometers over an open plain,
on the western edge of which a slight rise of ground gives
the elevation necessary for the first Austrian line. To the
north of the road is a fort, with the glacis so beautifully
sodded that it is hardly noticeable as one approaches, though
the back is dug out and galleried for heavy guns. Before
this is a ditch with six rows of sunken barbed wire entangle-
ments, and a hundred yards from this is another series of
entanglements twelve rows deep, and so criss-crossed with
barbed wire that it would take a man hours to cut his way
through with no other opposition.
After a few experiments against the works, the Rus-
sians seem to have reached the conclusion that it would not
be worth while even to attempt carrying the trenches by as-
THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL 99
sault. Indeed, in the opinion of the writer, neither the
Russians nor any other troops ever could have taken them
with the bayonet ; the only method possible would have been
the slow and patient methods of sapping and mining which
was used by the Japanese at Port Arthur. But methods
so costly, both in time and lives, would seem to have been
hardly justified here because, as the Russians well knew, it
was merely a question of time before the encircled" garrison
would eat itself up, and the whole position would then fall
into their hands without the cost of a single life.
The strategic value of Przemysl itself was in no way
acutely delaying the Russian campaigns elsewhere, and
they could afford to let the Austrian General who shut him-
self and a huge army up in Przemysl, play their own game
for them, which is exactly what happened. There was no
such situation here as at Port Arthur, where the menace of
a fleet in being locked up in the harbor necessitated the cap-
ture of the Far Eastern stronghold before the Russian sec-
ond fleet could appear on the scene and join forces with it.
Nor was there even any such important factor as that which
confronted the Germans at Liege. To the amateur it seems
then that the Austrians, with eyes open, isolated a force
which at the start must have numbered nearly four army
corps, in a position upon which their program was not
dependent, and under conditions which made its eventual
capture a matter of absolute certainty providing only that
the siege was not relieved from without by their own armies
from the South.
Between the outer line of forts and the Wiar River are
a number of improvised field works, all of which looked as
though they could stand a good bit of taking, but of course
they were not as elaborate as the first line. The railroad
crosses the little Wiar on a steel bridge, but the bridge now
lies a tangle of steel girders in the river. It is quite obvi-
ous that the Austrian commander destroyed his bridges
west of the town because they afforded direct communica-
tions with the lines beyond ; but the bridge over the Wiar
has no military value whatsoever, the others being gone,
save to give convenient all rail access to the heart of
ioo THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL
Przemysl itself. The town was given up the next day and,
as the natural consequence of the Austrian commander's
conception of his duty, all food supplies had to be removed
from the railway trucks at the bridge, loaded into wagons,
and make the rest of the journey into the town in that way,
resulting in an absolutely unnecessary delay in relieving
the wants of the half-famished garrison within. The only
bright spot that this action presents to the unprejudiced
observer is that it necessitated the dainty, carefully-shod
Austrian officers walking three kilometers through the mud
before they could embark on the trains to take them to the
points of detention for prisoners in Russia. There cannot
be the slightest doubt that the rank and file of the garrison
were actually on the verge of starvation, and that the ci-
vilian population were not far from the same fate. As near
as one can learn the latter consisted of about 40,000 persons.
I am told that the prisoners numbered 131,000 men and
some 3,600 officers, and that perhaps 20,000 have died dur-
ing the siege from wounds and disease. This, then, makes
a population at the beginning of nearly 200,000 in a fortifi-
cation which, as experts say, could have easily been held by
50,000 troops. One officer even went so far as to declare
that in view of the wonderful defensive capacity of the po-
sition, 30,000 might have made a desperate stand. The for-
tress was thus easily three times overgarrisoned. In other
words, there were perhaps at the start 150,000 mouths to
feed in the army alone, when 50,000 men would have been
able to hold the position. This alone made the approach of
starvation sure and swift. The fact that in this number of
men there were 3,600 officers, nine of the rank of General,
indicates pretty clearly the extent to which the garrison
was overofficered. Kusmanek, the commander of the for-
tress, is said to have had seventy-five officers on his per-
sonal staff" alone.
As far as one can learn there was no particular pinch in
the town until everything was nearly gone, and then condi-
tions became suddenly acute. It is improbable that econ-
omy was enforced in the early dispensing of food supplies,
and the husbanding of such resources as were at hand.
THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL 101
When the crisis came, it fell first upon the unfortunate sol-
diers, with whom their officers seem to have little in com-
mon. Transport horses were killed first, and then the cav-
alry mounts went to the slaughter house to provide for the
garrison. The civilians next felt the pinch of hunger, and
every live thing that could nourish the human body was
eaten. Cats, I am told, were selling at ten kr. each and
fair-sized dogs at twenty-five kr. The extraordinary part
of the story is that according to evidence collected from
many sources the officers never even changed their standards
of living. While the troops were literally starving in the
trenches, the dilettantes from Vienna, who were in com-
mand, were taking life easily in the Cafe Sieber and the
Cafe Elite. Three meals a day, fresh meat, wines, ciga-
rettes and fine cigars were served to them up to the last.
One of the haggard starved-looking servants in the hotel
where I was quartered told me that several of the staff offi-
cers lived at the hotel. "They," he said, "had everything
as usual. Fresh meat and all the luxuries were at their dis-
posal until the last. Yet their soldier servant used to come
to me, and one day when I gave him half of a bit of bread
I was eating, his hands trembled as he reached to take it
from me." My informant paused and then concluded sar-
donically, "No, the officers did not suffer. Not they. It
was cafes, billiards, dinners and an easy life for them to
the end. But the rest of us. Ah, yes, we have suffered.
Had the siege lasted another week we should all have been
black in the face for want of food."
An Austrian sister who had been working in the hos-
pital confirmed the story. "Is it true that people were starv-
ing here?" I asked her. "Indeed, it is true," she told me,
"the soldiers had almost nothing and the civilians were little
better off. As for us in the hospitals — well, we really suf-
fered for want of food." "But how about the officers?"
I asked. She looked at me sharply out of the corner of her
eyes, for she evidently did not care to criticize her own peo-
ple, but she seemed to recall something and her face sud-
denly hardened as she snapped out: "The officers starve?
Well, hardly. They lived like dukes always." More she
102 THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL
would not say, but the evidence of these two was amply con-
firmed by the sight of the sleek, well-groomed specimens
of the "dukes" that promenade the streets. While the sol-
diers were in a desperate plight for meat, the officers seemed
to have retained their own thoroughbred riding horses until
the last day. I suppose that riding was a necessity to them
to keep in good health. The day before the surrender they
gave these up, and 2,000 beautiful horses were killed, not
for meat for the starving soldiers be it noted, but that they
might not fall into the hands of the Russians. Perhaps I
can best illustrate what happened by quoting the words oi
a Russian officer who was among the first to enter the town.
"Everywhere," he told me, "one saw the bodies of freshly-
killed saddle horses, some of them animals that must have
been worth many thousand roubles. Around the bodies
were groups of Hungarian soldiers tearing at them with
knives; with hands and faces dripping with blood, they were
gorging themselves on the raw meat. I have never seen in
all my experience of war a more horrible and pitiable spec-
tacle than these soldiers, half crazed with hunger, tearing
the carcasses like famished wolves." My friend paused and
a shadow crossed his kindly face. "Yes," he said, "it was
horrible. Even my Cossack orderly wept — and he — well, he
has seen much of war and is not overdelicate."
I can quote the statement of the Countess Elizabeth
Schouvalov as further corroborative evidence of conditions
existing in the town. The Countess, who is in charge of a
distribution station to relieve the wants of the civil popula-
tion, said to me : "It is true that the people were starving.
Common soldiers occasionally fell down in the street from
sheer weakness for want of food. Some lay like the dead
and would not move. But their officers !" A frown passed
over her handsome features. "Ah!" she said, "they are not
like the Russians. Our officers share the hardships of the
men. You have seen it yourself," with a glance at me,
"you know that one finds them in the trenches, everywhere
in uniforms as dirty as their soldiers, and living on almost
the same rations. A Russian would never live in ease while
his men starved. I am proud of my people. But these offi-
THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL 103
cers here — they care nothing for their men. You have
seen them in the streets. Do they look as though they had
suffered?" and she laughed bitterly.
Immediately on reaching the town we sought out the
headquarters of the new Russian Commandant of the for-
tress. Over the door of the building, in large gold letters,
were words indicating that the place had formerly been the
headquarters of the 10th Austrian Army Corps. At the en-
trance two stolid Russian sentries eyed gloomily the con-
stant line of dapper Austrian officers that passed in and out,
and who were, as we subsequently learned, assisting the
Russians in their task of taking over the city. General Arti-
monov, the new governor, received us at once in the room
that had been vacated only a few days before by his Aus-
trian predecessor, General Kusmanek. On the wall hung a
great picture of the Austrian Emperor. The General placed
an officer, Captain Stubatitch, at our disposal, and with him
our way was made comparatively easy. From him and
other officers whom we met, we gathered that the Russians
were utterly taken by surprise at the sudden fall of the
fortress, and dumbfounded at the strength of the garrison,
which none believed would exceed the numbers of the
Russians investing them; the general idea being that there
were not over 50,000 soldiers at the disposal of the Austrian
commander.
Three days before the fall a sortie was made by some
30,000 Hungarian troops. Why out of 130,000 men only
30,000 were allotted to this task in such a crisis does not
appear. Neither has any one been able to explain why,
when they did start on their ill-fated excursion, they made
the attempt in the direction of Lwow rather than to the
south, in which direction, not so very far away, the armies
of Austria were struggling to reach them. Another remark-
able feature of the last sorties was, that the troops went to
the attack in their heavy marching kit. Probably not even
the Austrians themselves felt any surprise that such a half-
hearted and badly organized undertaking failed with a loss
of 3,500 in casualties and as many more taken prisoners.
One does not know how these matters are regarded in Aus-
104 THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL
tria, but to the laymen it would seem that some one should
have a lot of explaining to do as to the last days of this siege.
The fall of Przemysl strikes one as being the rarest
thing possible in war — namely, a defeat, which seems to
please all parties interested. The Russians rejoice in a
fortress captured, the Austrians at a chance to eat and rest,
and the civilians, long since sick of the quarrel, at their city
once more being restored to the normal.
DIARY OF A CAPTURED RUSSIAN OFFICER IN PRZEMYSL
March 15th.
Severe frosts have set in. The cold is terrible. Food is
getting scarcer and scarcer. The dinner ration is getting
very small. The soldiers' dinner consists of a little white
beet-root (cattle food) with a mixture of some sort of acid
stuff.
March 17th.
Four days ago they requisitioned the cows of all the
inhabitants, in spite of the beseeching and crying of the
women and children. The servants and orderlies have been
warned that bread will be issued to-morrow for the last
time. The day after to-morrow one ration for every four.
Our wretched orderly imagines that by washing his stomach
with hot water now and then during the day he loses the
wish to eat.
The Sisters of Mercy tell us that in the city they openly
talk of the speedy surrender of the fortress. The Austrian
administration have told us that we must have money to
hand over on deposit. This, if you please, on the eve of sur-
render ! Absurd ! We have all agreed not to hand over a
penny. All day yesterday the artillery crashed from the
forts. They say that in two directions from the fortress
a force of 70,000 men this morning advanced to try and
break through towards the Carpathians. To-day all forts
and bridges are to be blown up. There remain in the for-
tress 40,000 soldiers incapable of fighting. Medicines also
have run out. For a long time there has been no soap or
vaseline. Iodine for a couple of days only is left. The
wounded even are not getting bread now ; they are giving
THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL 105
them the last of the biscuits. The Austrian officers are
already arranging and packing for the journey into Russia.
During the whole of to-night uninterrupted heavy ar-
tillery fire has been going on; all night long rockets have
been lighting everything up from the forts. The Russians
this morning began the bombardment of the town. Two
shells burst close to the hospital; the windows were blown
to bits. To-day we had no bread.
March 21st.
To-day is the third day we have had no bread. Our
Mother Superior sold a cow for £140 and a three-day-old
calf for £12 10s. A dog costs £2 10s. The recent gloomy
weather has changed to sunny. The snow has thawed al-
ready. The River San is free of ice. They say the Aus-
trians have burned twenty-one millions worth of paper
money, four aeroplanes, and have destroyed as far as pos-
sible all stores and carriages. They have thrown the guns
into the San River. Just before turning in they warned us
that the forts and bridges in the town would be blown up
at four in the morning.
March 22nd.
The fortress is surrendering. The artillery fired up to
5 a. m. At 5.30 a. m. explosions were heard, at first sep-
arately, but later a regular hell was let loose. We opened
the windows so that they should not be broken. The sun
had already risen, and the plumes of smoke, lit up by the
sun, presented a beautiful scene. The thunder and crash
of the explosions went on uninterruptedly. It was impos-
sible to get near a window ; one was flung backwards. The
panic had become terrible. At every explosion the doors
were blown open. Bridges, powder magazines, stores,
everything was blown up in two hours. The Ruthenes were
overjoyed at the Russian victory. We could no longer re-
main in the hospital, and for the first time we went out into
the streets. Our soldiers were embracing the Austrian sol-
diers. In one place a ring had been formed, and our cav-
alrymen were dancing with the Ruthene women. All the
footpaths were thronged with people.
THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES
RUSSIA REACHES THE PEAK OF HER SUCCESS AGAINST
AUSTRIA
MARCH 23RD-APRIL l6TH
COUNT DE SOUZA
GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS
OCTAVIAN TASLAUANU
MAJOR MORAHT
The "Battle of the Passes" must have been one of the most agoniz-
ing, as it was one of the most long continued, efforts of human en-
durance throughout the War. Any dates given to this strange battle
must necessarily be vague, as it really began in November of 1914
and continued every day through the long winter; but it reached
its peak of violence and of Russian success in April of 1915. The
Russian Commander-in-Chief, the Czar's uncle, Grand Duke Nicholas,
in his official announcement here given, sets dates to the main struggle
as extending from March 23rd to April 16th. But the Austrian
officer, Taslauanu, whose frank record we also present, found himself
before the end of November with only five soldiers remaining out of
over 250.
This long and terribly costly battle was fought for possession of
the Carpathian Mountains, or rather of the passes which led over them,
the mountains being so desperately contested not for themselves,
but because they were the key to Hungary and indeed to the whole
Austrian Empire, of which Hungary was the main protector. The Rus-
sian Duke had visions, mistaken visions, of winning the War in that
one great effort. But that long struggle amid winter storms, often
at icy heights above ten thousand feet, was beyond even Russian
endurance. The proud tone of the Grand Duke's statement of his
soldiers' spirit contrasts strikingly with the mood of both Russian
and Austrian common soldiers as pictured by Taslauanu. The latter
was a young officer from Fagaras, a Rumanian district then part of
the Austrian domains. His lukewarm obedience to Austrian com-
mand and his ready resentment against his Hungarian associates are
typical of the difficulties the Austrian generals had to surmount. It
is a strange fantasia of fighting that he presents in his book, "With the
Austrians in Galicia." Would that we had more such glimpses into
the realities of the eastern War!
To these two antagonistic pictures by eye-witnesses of the Carpa-
thian battle, we prefix a general review of its strategic importance by
the great French critic, De Souza; and to it all. we add a summariz-
ing of the final situation by the noted German critic, Moraht. The
latter seems, however, to have been overhopeful. Despite his confi-
dence in the Austrians, they were very definitely beaten. The ex-
hausted Russians needed only a brief respite after mid-April, and
106
LAS
f^'.
|M
i
t of
.
iter
|he Wirier-long Battle for the
CarpathiahV
A Russian Cossack Division re-
pulsed by the Hungarians
Painting hy the leadet of the
of Ait, Anton Hcumsnrr
n by
■v*
THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES 107
there would have been little to bar them from a swift rush across the
Hungarian plain, had not the tremendous German triumph on the
Dunajec ensued upon May 1st. It snapped the cord of Russian vic-
tory in an instant by separating the army in the Carpathians from
its essential line of supplies. The weight of the battle of the Dunajec
outweighed a hundredfold even that of the great "Battle of the Passes."
BY COUNT DE SOUZA
WHILST the Russians, with limited means, were try-
ing to oppose and defeat the German attacks in Po-
land, the Grand Duke, with his main forces, was venturing
upon a move which was meant to be the finishing stroke of
the war.
The primary object of this move was the capture of the
Carpathians, the great range of mountains which separates
Galicia from the Magyar plains. This range constituted
the strongest position or barrier on the Teutonic front, and
the Grand Duke and those of his staff who shared and
supported his views calculated that once they were in pos-
session of it they could deal more easily and at leisure with
their foes.
With such a pivot in their possession, the Russians,
it was said, could maneuver at ease, and take Germany in
flank from the south; Hungary would be at their mercy;
the Serbs would be definitely relieved; and, finally, Aus-
tria would be forced from the list and compelled to sue for
a separate peace. Thus Germany would have been left to
face the Triple Entente alone. The view seemed sound and
it had some factors to recommend it. The peculiar po-
sition of two neutral nations at the time, who were neigh-
bors to the Dual Monarchy, was a particular inducement
for Russia to act in the way she did; and it must be ad-
mitted that had everything turned out in the political sphere
as the Grand Duke hoped and expected, there is no saying
what success he might have achieved. Unfortunately, the
military disadvantages of the enterprise as regards the
threatening spirit and strength of the Germans, outweighed
appreciably its political prospects. One may take for
granted of course that the Grand Duke and his staff did
weigh and consider everything, except perhaps one factor
io8 THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES
which in spite of their previous experiences, they seemed to
have left out of their reckoning — the talent of the leaders
of the opposite camp and the latter's facilities for rapid
mobilization and concentration. These leaders, however,
had been thwarted ; and they had been repulsed twice from
Poland. This made the Grand Duke overconfident and
led him to plunge deeper and deeper into his bold and dar-
ing movement.
When he considered that his position was secure in Po-
land, he proceeded to a vast concentration in Southern and
Western Galicia, the movement starting almost as soon as
the Austrians, after their unsuccessful attempt to relieve
Przemysl, were definitely checked on the San; and thus
synchronizing, practically, with Hindenburg's second at-
tempt in Poland. The 3rd Army, under Plehve, pushed
across the Vistula, the Biala, and the Dunajec, towards Cra-
cow (December ist-6th). The 2nd, under Dmitrieff, in-
vaded North Hungary almost as far as Barf eld; whilst the
8th Army advanced frontally against the range itself, and
the 9th acted towards Bukovina, along the Dniester and
the Pruth, to protect the Russian communications from that
direction. Behind all these forces yet another army, which
was concentrated in that quarter, laid siege to Przemysl.
This was the 7th Army, under General Selivanoff.
It was then, and after their second failure in Poland,
that the Germans redrew entirely their plans in regard to
Russia ; these to be well grasped must be approached from
the standpoint of outside events.
At that stage the great German offensive in the West
had come to an end; the German armies in France and
Flanders stood on the defense on fortified ground, their lo-
cal needs being reduced to a minimum. Turkey had joined
the Central Empires, and it was calculated that the Allies
would thereby be appreciably weakened on their main
fronts. The Kaiser's generals thought that without too
many misgivings they could center, at least momentarily,
their attentions on Russia, and endeavor to defeat her, to
crush her, to sever her from her alliances and thus remove
her from the field of combat, which would pave the way for
THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES 109
another onslaught against France or else lead to the new
conditions of peace that Germany, baffled but not crushed,
was striving for. For she was unaware of the stringent
policy of man-economy that France had deliberately and
wisely entered into, and she interpreted Joffre's refusal to
attack as a sign of weakness and exhaustion.
The disposition of the Russian forces such as it has
been shown, and which was entailed by the Grand Duke's
scheme, greatly favored Germany, for it left her free to
manipulate at ease her own line, and to prepare behind that
line any counter-move that she would wish to attempt.
The Russians, as yet, were not too numerous, and besides,
attacked by the Turks, they were entering in a remote re-
gion (the Caucasus) into a fresh campaign, which would
naturally absorb some of their reserves and new forma-
tions, and their surplus strength. But the best prospects
for Germany lay on the Carpathians; for the assailants
could be nailed there and made to pay the full toll of any
gains; then, afterwards, Russia would be too weak to stand
the accumulated strength of her opponents. Herein lies the
key to the great Teuton offensive of 191 5, and to the mys-
terious and apparently aimless German and Austrian moves
which preceded it.
Needless to say, as the right view of events was not
taken all these moves were misinterpreted, and thereby Ger-
many, although she finally failed, reaped nevertheless the
major profits of her undertaking; for she succeeded once
more in blinding the world as to the results she achieved
and as to her true position, and she succeeded in drawing
on to her side yet another well-armed and powerful neutral
State — Bulgaria.
The battle of the Carpathians constituted on her part
a delaying action ; and not as was supposed and believed, an
attempt to relieve Przemysl; in the same way the fresh of-
fensives which she carried out in the spring, in Courland,
Suwalki, North Poland, and in Bukovina, were not real
attacks, but false ones, which were designed to mislead the
Russians. Finally, the eventual defeat of the latter was
due to faulty distribution and unsound strategy; and not
no THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES
to lack of means or shortage of materials; so it can be taken
for granted that Russia lost the campaign directly she em-
barked on the conquest of the Carpathians.
This operation, the most tremendous of the kind which
has ever been undertaken, imposed on the Grand Duke de-
mands and sacrifices which prevented him from keeping
himself at full strength elsewhere; and which, in the end,
practically exhausted his forces. Yet, as we shall see, the
Grand Duke, at the crucial moment, acquired a sufficiency
of troops and material to make good his position, and to
hold his gains. He failed to make proper use of them ; and
this is the true cause of Russia's disappointment.
The capture of the Carpathians in itself, however, was
a brilliant feat of arms of which the Russian armies and
their leaders, and especially General Ivanof, who devised
the operation, could well be proud. It was a triumph in
tactics and it displayed to the full the qualities of dogged-
ness and endurance for which the Muscovite soldier is
famous. In the teeth of a most formidable and desperate
opposition they overcame all difficulties. They fought in
the snow-clad peaks with an unconcern and an ease which
astonished their opponents; they charged up steep rocky
inclines and dislodged the well entrenched defenders from
strong and thoroughly prepared positions; they defeated all
counter-attacks, and by the end of March they were masters
of the Carpathians. The Duklow pass, the Luchow pass,
the Rosztoki pass were in their hands and sotnias of Cos-
sacks, pushing forward, sallied into the Hungarian plains,
and filled with consternation the apprehensive population
who fled in thousands in anticipation of the Muscovite in-
vasion. The number of prisoners made by the victors in
that operation was estimated at 80,000. About this time
(March 22nd) Przemysl fell, the victors capturing there a
whole army (130,000 men), and an immense booty; and
thus Russia then looked truly irresistible and triumphant.
The world, which was always prone to look away from the
main quarter of the struggle, was ready and eager to hand
over to the Grand Duke the palm of victory — and there is
absolutely no doubt that amongst those who praised and
THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES in
glorified his action, there was not a single individual who
understood the position ; and who therefore had an inkling
into what was brewing.
We shall see more fully presently the favorable effect of
the Russian undertaking on the enemy's plans ; ere now it
can be shown that far from fearing the result, the Germans
did what they could to egg on the Russians on their costly
and daring enterprise. They took advantage of the neces-
sity there was at one time of affording tactical help to the
Austrians, to foster the belief that considerable German
forces were being concentrated in Hungary, behind the
Carpathian range. And in order to heighten the effect of
their announcements in the matter, they sent two generals
of some notability, Marwitz and Lisingen, to take charge
of affairs in that quarter. No one in the opposite camp had
then a doubt that full German army corps had reen forced
the Austrians; and it was owing to this that the Grand
Duke took so seriously the enemy's countermove in Buko-
vina and the occupation of the Uszok pass by a small Ger-
man contingent. And whilst the Grand Duke, thinking that
the enemy was going to make an effort — a frontal effort —
to reconquer the Carpathians, kept accumulating troops and
material in that direction, the Germans were actively and
feverishly busy with their secret preparations, behind an-
other sector of their front.
BY OCTAVIAN TASLAUANU
November 16th.
The fighting in the Carpathians, thanks to the difficul-
ties of the ground and the severity of the season, demanded
the greatest effort and suffering of which our Army was
ever capable. Those who have not taken part in it can have
no idea of what a human being is capable. The resources
of vital energy accumulated in our organism are simply
prodigious. In particular, our Rumanian soldiers com-
pelled the admiration of all by their fortitude. This qual-
ity in this country of mountains and winter made them first-
rate troops. The great Napoleon said : "La premiere
qualite du soldat est la Constance a supporter la fatigue et
ii2 THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES
la privation. La pauvrete, les privations et la miser e sont
Creole du bon soldat." 1
You can bet we did our schooling all right, even going
so far as the examinations, and if the bold Corsican had
been with us and we had had an ideal to defend, we should
certainly have been reckoned picked troops in spite of our
faults. But our leaders were anything but Napoleons,
though, as a matter of fact, the Major of the 22nd Terri-
torials rejoiced in the name of Napoleon. I have no opin-
ion about his military ability, as I was never close to him,
but I never heard of him distinguishing himself in any ac-
tion.
November 17th.
We had some frightful news this morning. The fight-
ing Hungarian Lieutenant Szinte's company had been scat-
tered, and he himself had bolted at top speed, thereby crush-
ing one of his feet and taking all the skin off his nose.
Michaelis, the bookseller, had gone forward with fifty men
to a wooded height. A few men of my company, including
Sergeant Corusa, told me that they saw some thirty Rus-
sians stealing away in front of their line. They began to
call out, "Feuer einstellen — Tiizet szilntes" ("Cease fire!").
At this double command, in German and Hungarian,
our men got up and left their shelter behind the trees. Then
the Russians were heard to whisper: "Brzo, brzol"
("Quick, quick!"), and they fired rapidly on our poor sim-
pletons and then bolted. In a few seconds we had
only dead and wounded left, for hardly fifteen came back
untouched. Poor Michaelis, hit in the left shoulder by a
bullet which came out the other side, was killed and buried
on the frontier. A Rumanian stretcher-bearer laid him on
straw at the bottom of a trench and recited a paternoster
over him. That was a real good soul, in a man devoted to
his duty. God rest it. His brother, the engineer, had had
his forehead scraped by a bullet. Two other officers had
been seriously wounded. I was left alone, of all those who
1 The highest quality of a soldier is constancy in endurance of
fatigue and privation. Poverty, privation and misery are the school
of the ?ood soldier.
THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES 113
had left Fagaras with the battalion. Michaelis, my last
companion, had just left me for ever.
In the afternoon I took fifty men to hold a slope cov-
ered with juniper trees. The men hastily dug trenches, and
I manufactured a shelter of boughs and branches. Once
more it snowed, and there was no question of making fires.
November 18th.
Everything was wrapped in a mantle of snow, whose
virginal whiteness soothed us and made our thoughts turn
calmly to death, which we longed for as never before. The
men dug coffin-shaped trenches, so that when in the eve-
ning I went to inspect them lying in these ditches covered
with juniper, they looked to me as if they had been buried
alive. Poor Rumanians!
November 20th.
An unforgetable day. I doubt if fiction has ever re-
corded scenes more comic, and yet more interesting, than
those of November 20th.
First, a description of the situation is necessary.
We were holding the hills between the road from Rado-
szyce in Hungary and that which passes through Dolzyca
to the frontier. The terrain was very uneven and thickly
wooded. Here and there a clearing or meadow could be
seen, though even^these were invaded by junipers. The line
of our positions was prolonged over the wooded height op-
posite us, so that we had to fire to our left straight through
the woods without seeing anything. The reports of our pa-
trols did not enable us to get any very clear idea of the ex-
tent of our front, so Major Paternos and I went out to
confirm their news from the spot.
The forest began in face of us, thirty or forty paces
down the slope. We made our way into it and reached a
stream. On the other side of the stream the woods be-
came thicker, and we could get up the slope only with the
assistance of projecting tufts and branches. Beyond the
top we found a battalion, about 300 strong, of the 47th In-
fantry. They had all gone to ground, and their Captain
showed us, thirty paces away, the crest covered with juni-
pers, and told us : "The Russians are there." But the un-
w., VOL. III.— 8.
114 THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES
dergrowth was so thick that nothing could be seen and no
one could get through. This Captain was in despair, feel-
ing that he had no chance of getting away. We understood
it. His situation was very difficult. We shivered even as
we listened.
Our sector was broken on the right, but on our left,
three hundred paces off, the next sector had good trenches,
which wound round in a bend to the Dolzyca road. The
gaps were due to our lack of men.
In the morning the 12th Company was on duty. Mine
rested in shelters in the woods, and we were served out
with bread, tinned stuffs, winter underclothes, boots — even
children's elastic slippers — and other luxuries.
The men, cold or no cold, lost no time in undressing to
change their linen. I then saw human bodies which were
nothing but one great sore from the neck to the waist. They
were absolutely eaten up with lice. For the first time I
really understood the popular phrase, "May the lice eat
you!" One of the men, when he pulled off his shirt, tore
away crusts of dried blood, and the vermin were swarming
in filthy layers in the garment. The poor peasant had grown
thin on this. His projecting jaws and sunken eyes were
the most conspicuous features of him. Even we officers
were regular hives. Fothi yesterday counted fifty. He
pulled them one by one from the folds of his shirt collar.
He counted them, threw them in the fire, and while we
drank our tea and smoked, we scratched ourselves and
laughed.
About midday I decided to change also. I began by
washing, for I was filthy and black. From the time of our
arrival at Laszki-Murowane, six weeks before, I had not
known what it was to wash my mouth. The post had
brought me from Hungary a toothbrush and some paste.
What a joy once more to have white teeth and a clean
mouth! In one's daily life at home one cannot imagine
that such pleasures can exist. One thing at least war teaches
us — to appreciate as never before the pleasures of peace!
I had just put on my shirts again — I always wore two
or three — when I heard a shout from all sides : "The Rus-
THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES 115
sians are on us !" Private Torna came to our shelter to
announce : "Sir, the Russians are breaking through our
line on the top !" I did not yet believe it, but, at any cost,
I asked my friend Fothi to conduct the company to the
trenches. Meanwhile I hastily put on my boots, took my
rifle, and rejoined the company as it was emerging from
the wood.
There I stopped. I could hardly believe my eyes. What
was it I saw ? Along the whole front, the Russians and our
men were in contact, staring at, threatening (with bayo-
nets fixed), shouting at, and, in places, blazing away at each
other.
Among the junipers, near to the trench we had dug
three days back, the Russians and our men were scrambling
together, fighting and kicking, around a supply of bread
intended for the 12th Company. This struggle of starving
animals for food only lasted a few seconds. They all got
up, each man having at least a fragment of bread, which
he devoured voraciously.
With a rapid glance I counted the Russians. They were
not more numerous than ourselves, and I saw them drag
our men away one by one by pulling at the corners of their
blankets — for our shepherds had turned their blankets into
overcoats. One or two of them, a little more knowing than
the rest, unfastened these coverings and, with a shake of
the shoulders, left them in the hands of the Russians. The
latter, well content with their prize, went their way laugh-
ing, while our men came back to us. I thought to myself
that, after all, it could not be much worse in Siberia than
it was here.
Some of the Russians now tried to surround us. One
raw young recruit came quite close up to us and raised
his rifle at me. I held mine to the ready in response. It
was a thrilling moment. I don't know what it was, but
something in my look prevented him from firing, and I
too refrained. He took to his heels and fled. But the
shock had been too much for me, and, like a savage, I yelled
in a fury : "Disarm them !" I threw myself on to the group
nearest to us, and Fothi and I together wrenched the rifles
u6 THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES
out of the hands of the two Russian soldiers. They all
surrendered forthwith like lambs. We took sixty of them.
All our men wished to escort the prisoners. I selected three
as a guard, the third to walk behind and carry the Rus-
sian's rifle. I was obliged to have recourse to threats be-
fore I could induce them to enter the trench, and I then
marched them off in file to the Commander-in-Chief.
And this is how bread, holy bread, reconciles men, not
only in the form of Communion before the holy altar, but
even on the field of battle. The peasants, who, in their own
homes, whether in Russia or elsewhere, sweat blood in order
to insure the ripening of the golden ear of corn which is to
feed their masters, once they are on the battlefield forget
the behests of these masters who have sent them forth to
murder their fellows, and they make peace over a scrap of
bread. The bread which they have produced and harvested
makes them brothers. After this scene not a single shot dis-
turbed the forest, and those who had been able to preserve
a whole loaf, quickly shared it brotherly fashion with the
prisoners, the latter offering them tobacco in exchange. All
this, of course, took place in front of our bivouacs in the
heart of the forest.
I sent Fothi to the Major to ask for reinforcements, as
I was expecting a second attack. The prisoners told me
that the Russians had come about four hundred strong. I
did not have long to wait. An hour later, on the edge of
the wood, a party of Russians appeared. They were stand-
ing with their rifles at the slope, beckoning to us to ap-
proach. One of our men left his party and came to tell us
that the Russians wished to surrender, but that we ought to
surround them. It was no doubt a fresh ruse. A quarter
of an hour before I had sent out a patrol of two men — a
Rumanian and a Saxon — and they had not returned. The
Rumanian had surrendered and the Saxon had been killed.
My reinforcements arrived, sixty men of the ioth Com-
pany, under Second Lieutenant Szollosy, the man who was
always the best hand at cursing and belaboring our Ruma-
nians. I sent his sergeant-major, a brutal and thoroughly
repellent Saxon, together with twenty men, to the right to
THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES 117
surround the Russians. I certainly doomed them to death.
I reckoned that if the Russians wished to surrender they
would not wait for us to surround them first. They would
lay down their arms and give themselves up. On the other
hand, if they did fire on our men, all who had gone out to
the corner of the forest would fall victims. But calcula-
tions are all very fine; on the field of battle they are apt to
be misleading.
Surrender was the last thing in the world that the Rus-
sians against whom our men were advancing with fixed
bayonets had in mind. I went over the top, clambering
over the body of a man whose brains were sticking out of
his head, and signed to them to surrender — they were at
most 200 yards away. But they still continued to call to us
without attempting to move. I thereupon gave the com-
mand, "Fire!" and held my own rifle at the ready. At this
point my calculations broke down. My Rumanians refused
to fire, and, what was more, prevented me from firing either.
One of them put his hand on my rifle and said :
"Don't fire, sir; if we fire, they will fire too. And why
should Rumanians kill Rumanians?" (He was thinking of
the Bessarabians.)
I accordingly refrained, but, beside myself with rage,
tried to> rejoin my right wing, where incredible things were
happening. The schoolmaster Catavei and Cizmas barred
my way, exclaiming : "Stop, don't go and get yourself shot,
too!"
Our men were advancing towards the Russians, and,
with their arms at the slope, were shaking hands with them ;
and the fraternizing business started again.
"Surrender, and we will surrender, too. We're quite
ready."
Our men were bringing in Russians, and vice versa. It
was a touching sight.
I saw one of my Rumanians, towards Saliste, kiss a
Russian and bring him back. Their arms were round each
other's necks as though they were brothers. They were old
friends, who had been shepherd boys together in Bessarabia.
n8 THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES
We took ninety Russians as prisoners in this way; whilst
they took thirty of our men.
But this was not the last of the adventures of that won-
derful day.
I was afraid of a third attack. A Moldavian from Bess-
arabia, noticing what a handful we were, said to me: "If
we had known there were so few of you we should have
gone for you with sticks."
I again applied to the Major for reinforcements and
a machine gun. As it happened, he had just called up a com-
pany of the 96th Infantry Regiment; they arrived almost
immediately — 125 men, under Lieutenant Petras — and
went to lengthen our right wing. As for me, the Major sent
me to a bank on the left, to direct two machine guns where
to fire in order to cut off the retreat of those Russians who
had remained in the wood. I had hardly advanced a hun-
dred yards before I heard a shout of "Hurrah!" in my sec-
tor. I called out to the Major to find out what it meant,
and went on. In a hollow I found a field officer — unfortu-
nately, I have forgotten his name — who sent a lieutenant to
accompany me to the machine guns. But it was a Russian
machine gun that welcomed us as soon as we reached the
trenches. The bullets whizzed by, thick and fast. One
grazed my leg, another came within a hand's-breadth of my
head. The Russians employ detachments of snipers, who
creep into advanced positions and pick off officers only.
Major Paternos had the fingers of his left hand shot off in
his observation post. They are wonderful shots. I showed
my respect for them by not leaving the trench until night-
fall, when I returned to my sector.
Lieutenant Petras had attacked the Russians in the
wood. That was the meaning of the cheers I had heard,
of which the most patent result was the reduction of the
relieving company of the 96ths to twenty-five men. Those
who had entered the wood never returned, and had cer-
tainly fallen a prey to the Russians.
Once again I had escaped the dangers of that fateful
day, which the Commander-in-Chief assured us, in a special
Army Order, would be inscribed on the page of history.
THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES 119
Our scrap with the Russians may have been extremely
comic, but at least we had held our positions — and that
alone was a victory. We had been allotted the task of
keeping the crest, from which, if they had been able to
seize it, the Russians would have threatened our line in the
rear and on the flank; and we had fulfilled it. Major Pa-
ternos told us to draw up a list of the men who had dis-
tinguished themselves. We all received the second-class
medal for valor, and three officers — Fothi, Szollosy and
myself — were also awarded the Signum Laudis bar. The
Hungarian deserved it perhaps least of any of us. He was
not even present when we took the prisoners; but he had
the impudence to go to the Major and declare, in front of
us all, that it was he who captured the first Russian.
We marched through a huge forest to Hocra, where
the Command of the Twentieth Division was stationed. We
only got there late at night, and our strength had dwindled
to a quarter of what we had at the start. Our little Buda-
pest gentlemen had littered the road like flies. Many of
them remained behind in the woods, weeping, and no one
bothered about them. Some of our veterans had dropped
behind, too. It was by the mercy of God if they escaped
the frost and the wolves.
November 25th.
All these villages of the Galician frontier were crammed
with Jewish refugees from the Galician frontier. We found
rooms filled by thirty to forty persons, men, women, little
girls, children, and, of course, a seasoning of soldiers, all
sleeping together in a heap. It is difficult to imagine a
more complete picture of misery.
Our numbers were so seriously reduced that we were
obliged to form two companies, a half-battalion, the last
unit which preserved its individual supply arrangements,
for although we were attached to the 1st Regiment of Hon-
veds, we were messed by ourselves. Here my company was
dissolved, as it had now only the strength of a platoon, of
which I was still the Commander. There were only two
officers with precedence over me, and both of these were
Hungarians — Szinte and Szollosy — so that in spite of the
120 THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES
regret of my men and the indignation of many of my
friends, I still remained a subaltern.
The dispersion of my company was the last straw. I
made up my mind to say good-by to battlefields, as I was
nothing but a shadow and it was all I could do to drag
myself along.
November 27th.
At night we returned to Havaj. We left early for
Stropka-Polena in a thick mist, cold and penetrating.
Marching was a difficult business, for the men were worn
out.
At Polena, a halt. But Austrian bureaucracy could not
even leave us alone in the field. We had to get out a re-
turn of all the men's belongings which were missing, and
ever would be. What was there that our poor fellows did
not lack? Everything they had on them was in rags, and
filthy beyond words. Lice swarmed over them like bees in a
hive. Most of them were barefooted, and had wrapped up
their feet in rags tied round their tattered socks. The feet
of many were terribly torn and sore, but it was useless for
them to go to the doctors. Strict orders had been issued that
only those half dead should be admitted to hospital. One
of our men remained in action for two weeks with his left
arm broken by a piece of shrapnel, so he said. He was ac-
tually afraid to go to the doctor. There was, in fact, no
question that the bone of his forearm was broken, but no
flesh wound was to be seen.
About midday we once more took the northwest road for
Galicia. We climbed hills which had been well plowed by
Russian artillery. To get through a wood we had to swing
by the trees. At the top we were stopped by Colonel Gom-
bosh. It was useless to tell him that we had our Major's
orders to occupy another hill. He would not hear of it.
He needed a reserve, and we must stay. Shells of all kinds
fell thick and fast in the forest, and there was violent fight-
ing everywhere, the swish of machine gun bullets being
conspicuous.
Colonel Gombosh sent Szinte to take a house about 1 ,000
meters behind the Russian front line. Then he showed me
THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES 121
a knoll from which I was to watch for his return and shoot
his company wholesale if he returned with it. We then
began to realize that we were dealing with one who had lost
his wits. But Szinte's men went off to the Russian trenches
— and few of them came back.
Night fighting in forests, where it is almost impossible
to see even in daytime, has something quite unreal about it.
All is confusion, and fear reigns supreme. Only the flashes
can be seen, and it is by them that the enemy, his strength
and position, can be seen. Group fights with group. Often
enough you come upon your enemy from behind without
knowing that it is your enemy. I once met a lieutenant
whose cap was absolutely cut up at the back. He had got
up to the Russians, crawling at full length. Bullets had
sliced through his clothes. But he had come, dragging him-
self along from tree to tree.
The men passed the night in a wide trench, dug specially
for the reserve, and I myself sheltered behind a tree, shiv-
ering with cold. The bullets struck the tree-trunks with a
sound like the cracking of a whip. We heard that the Rus-
sians were using explosive bullets. The minute you got up
or moved from your protecting tree, you were gambling
with your life. It was indeed a night of horror. At two
o'clock in the morning certain platoons received an order to
fix bayonets and drive the Russians from a trench. They
approached, sent out scouts ahead, and found the trench full
of the — 24th Territorials! They were within an ace of ex-
ecuting their orders and killing every single occupant. The
Colonel's information was defective. The trench had been
only partly occupied by the Russians, and was actually held
both by our men and them. In fact, they had been having a
shooting-match down the same communication trench. In
the morning we returned to Havaj.
November 28th.
We went back to the trenches. Towards five o'clock
in the afternoon the Russians were at Stropko-Polena. They
bade us good-night by sending over four shells, which
burst round the village church. We did trench duty that
night, relieving each other every two hours.
122 THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES
In the night one of our patrols brought us in three Rus-
sian soldiers, well-clad, healthy young men, two of whom
were Russians, the third a Jew, "master of the Hebrew
tongue." I can't say where he came from. It was he who
had persuaded the others to surrender.
Our popular Major Paternos left us at last. He got
poisoning in the wound on his hand and had a sharp fever.
That night I felt ill myself : I was reduced to skin and bones
— I could hardly stand up. I had had quite enough of sol-
diering, and so made up my mind to go.
November 29th.
In the morning with tears in my eyes I said good-by to
my men. Then, having gone through all the formalities, I
walked as far as Bukocz and drove to Eperjes in two days,
and from there took the last train to Budapest. Both
Eperjes and Cassorie were empty of inhabitants. I was
the last officer of the unit who had started out with the bat-
talion from Fagaras and had left the fighting area. After
myself there was none left but Dr. Schuller.
Of our regiment of more than 3,500 men I had left only
170 at Havaj. Of the nth Company, which had left Faga-
ras 267 strong, only five now remained, and six counting
myself.
God had willed that I should return alive.
BY GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS
At the beginning of March (Old Style), in the principal
chain of the Carpathians, we only held the region of the
Dukla Pass, where our lines formed an exterior angle. All
the other passes — Lupkow and further east — were in the
hands of the enemy.
In view of this situation, our armies were assigned the
further task of developing, before the season of bad roads
due to melting snows began, our positions in the Carpathians
which dominated the outlets into the Hungarian plain.
About the period indicated great Austrian forces, which
had been concentrated for the purpose of relieving Przemysl,
were in position between the Lupkow and Uzsok Passes.
THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES 123
It was for this sector that our grand attack was planned.
Our troops had to carry out a frontal attack under very dif-
ficult conditions of terrain. To facilitate their attack, there-
fore, an auxiliary attack was decided upon on a front in the
direction of Bartfeld as far as the Lupkow. This secondary
attack was opened on March 19th and was completely de-
veloped.
On the 23rd and 28th of March our troops had already
begun their principal attack in the direction of Baligrod, en-
veloping the enemy positions from the west of the Lupkow
Pass and on the east near the source of the San.
The enemy opposed the most desperate resistance to the
offensive of our troops. They had brought up every avail-
able man on the front from the direction of Bartfeld as
far as the Uzsok Pass, including even German troops and
numerous cavalrymen fighting on foot. His effectives on
this front exceeded 300 battalions. Moreover, our troops
had to overcome great natural difficulties at every step.
Nevertheless, from April 5th — that is, eighteen days
after the beginning of our offensive — the valor of our
troops enabled us to accomplish the task that had been set,
and we captured the principal chain of the Carpathians on
the front Reghetoff-Volosate, no versts (about 70 miles)
long. The fighting latterly was in the nature of actions in
detail with the object of consolidating the successes we had
won.
To sum up : On the whole Carpathian front, between
March 19th and April 12th, the enemy, having suffered
enormous losses, left in our hands, in prisoners only, at least
70,000 men, including about 900 officers. Further, we cap-
tured more than thirty guns and 200 machine guns.
On April 16th the actions in the Carpathians were con-
centrated in the direction of Rostoki. The enemy, notwith-
standing the enormous losses he had suffered, delivered, in
the course of that day, no fewer than sixteen attacks in
great strength. These attacks, all of which were abso-
lutely barren of result, were made against the heights which
we had occupied further to the east of Telepovce.
i2 4 THE BATTLE OF THE PASSES
BY MAJOR E. MORAHT
The territory of the fighting in the Carpathians still
claims the chief interest — especially because everywhere
where the general position and the weather conditions and
topographical conditions permitted the Austro-Hungarian-
German offensive has begun. As has been emphasized on
previous occasions, the eagerness for undertaking actions
on the part of our allies had never subsided at any point, in
spite of the strenuous rigors of a stationary warfare. As
early as April 14th an advance enlivened the territory north-
west of the Uzsok Pass. The position on the heights of
Tucholka has been won. The heights west and east of the
Laborcz valley are in the hands of the Austro-Germar:
allies, and each day furnishes new proofs of the forward
pressure. Of especial importance is the capture of Russian
points of support southeast of Koziowa, east of the Orawa
valley. The advance takes its course against the Galician
town of Stryi. The progress which theAustro-German south-
ern army made has so far been moving in the same direction,
and one can understand why the Russians instituted the
fiercest counter-attacks in order to force the allied troops
to halt in this territory. The counter-attacks, however,
ended with a collapse of the Russians, and the resultant pur-
suit was so vigorous that twenty-six more trenches were
wrested from the foe. Daily our front is being advanced
in a northeasterly direction, and there is little prospect for
the Russians of being able to oppose successful resistance
to our pressure. For it is not a matter of the success of
a single fighting group that has been shoving forward like
a wedge from the great line of attack, but of a strategic
offensive led as a unit, and everywhere winning territory,
the time for which seems to have arrived.
GERMANY PROTESTS AGAINST AMERICAN
MUNITION SALES
SHE DEMANDS A REVISION, IN HER FAVOR, OF NEUTRAL-
ITY LAWS
APRIL 4TH
BARON STEPHAN BURIAN ROBERT LANSING
On April 4, 1915, Germany made formal protest against the United
States Government for allowing its subjects to send war munitions
to the Allies. This first brought the question officially before the
American people ; but it had already been familiar to them through
the widespread German propaganda. The German protest was brief
and did not much discuss the merits of the case; but in the following
June there came from the Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs a
similar protest, carefully thought out, and shrewdly worded. The
Austrian argument is here presented as making the strongest state-
ment of the case for the Teutonic Powers. We give also the official
position taken by the United States Government in the reply of Sec-
retary Lansing.
As to the general merits of the case, and also the misleading
character of several of the Austrian official statements, it scarcely
seems necessary to add a single word to Mr. Lansing's vigorously
phrased "retort courteous," especially to its last two paragraphs. Yet
to the American who may have become confused by the floods of
argument over this matter, it may be well to reemphasize the follow-
ing central fact. What Germany and Austria asked us to do was to
reject the established International laws and proclaim a new one for
their benefit. Quite aside therefore from the wisdom of the new law
itself — and it was most unwise — rises the superior consideration that
to have altered the old law during the stress of the Great War would
have been to shift the scales of combat suddenly, blindly and without
that intent, against the other side. The Allies would have been de-
prived of a great assistance upon which they had counted from the
beginning. The change would have brought them measurably near to
disaster, would have been only one step removed from declaring open
war against them. It was characteristic of the old Germany that she
should have expected — or at least requested — the United States thus
to defy and do her utmost to ruin the rest of the world for Ger-
many's benefit, and that the request should have been based on the
grounds of morality at a moment when Kaiser, Chancellor and all their
Generals were vehemently declaring that they themselves would over-
step all morality for the sake of victory.
As to the abstract morality of the ammunition trade in times of
peace, we face there a solemn problem for the future. It is obvious
125
126 GERMANY PROTESTS MUNITION SALES
that so long as some criminals will rob and murder, honest folk
must defend themselves by some form of weapons. To forbid all
sale of firearms would be to place these same honest folk wholly
at the mercy of the malefactors who chose to manufacture arms in
secret. It would be the noble but scarcely practical method of the
missionary who blesses the heathen while they devour him. Car-
ried out on the vast scale on which Germany urged it, this new law
would have been the surest possible way of surrendering the whole
world to the German autocrats. They had declared themselves su-
perior to those American scruples upon which they now sought to
build. c. F. h.
BY BARON BURIAN
Vienna, June 29, 191 5.
THE far-reaching effects which result from the fact that
for a long time a traffic in munitions of war to the
greatest extent has been carried on between the United
States of America on the one hand and Great Britain and
its allies on the other, while Austria-Hungary as well as
Germany have been absolutely excluded from the American
market, have from the very beginning attracted the most
serious attention of the Imperial and Royal Government.
If now the undersigned permits himself to address him-
self to this question, with which the Washington Cabinet
has been concerned until now only with the Imperial Ger-
man Government, he follows the injunction of imperative
duty to protect the interests intrusted to him from further
serious damage which results from this situation as well to
Austria-Hungary as to the German Empire.
Although the Imperial and Royal Government is abso-
lutely convinced that the attitude of the Federal Govern-
ment in this connection emanates from no other intention
than to maintain the strictest neutrality and to conform
to the letter of the provisions of international treaties,
nevertheless the question arises whether the conditions as
they have developed during the course of the war, certainly
independently of the will of the Federal Government, are
not such as in effect thwart the intentions of the Washing-
ton Cabinet or even actually oppose them. In the affirma-
tive case — and affirmation, in the opinion of the Imperial
and Royal Government, cannot be doubted — then immedi-
ately follows the further question whether it would not
GERMANY PROTESTS MUNITION SALES 127
seem possible, even imperative, that appropriate measures
be adopted toward bringing into full effect the desire of
the Federal Government to maintain an attitude of strict
parity with respect to both belligerent parties. The Im-
perial and Royal Government does not hesitate to answer
also this question unqualifiedly in the affirmative.
It cannot certainly have escaped the attention of the
American Government, which has so eminently cooperated
in the work of The Hague, that the meaning and essence
of neutrality are in no way exhaustively dealt with in the
fragmentary provisions of the pertinent treaties. If one
takes into consideration particularly the genesis of Article 7
of the Fifth and Thirteenth Conventions, respectively, upon
which the Federal Government clearly relies in the present
case, and the wording of which, as is in no way to be de-
nied, affords it a formal pretext for the toleration of traffic
in munitions of war now being carried on by the United
States, it is only necessary, in order to measure the true
spirit and import of this provision, which moreover ap-
pears to have been departed from in the prevention of the
delivery of vessels of war and in the prevention of certain
deliveries to vessels of war of belligerent nations, to point
out the fact that the detailed privileges conceded to neu-
tral states in the sense of the preamble to the above-men-
tioned convention are limited by the requirements of neu-
trality which conform to the universally recognized prin-
ciples of international law.
According to all authorities on international law who
concern themselves more particularly with the question now
under consideration, a neutral government may not permit
traffic in contraband of war to be carried on without hin-
drance when this traffic assumes such a form or such dimen-
sions that the neutrality of the nation becomes involved
thereby.
If any one of the various criteria which have been laid
down in science in this respect be used as a basis in deter-
mining the permissibility of commerce in contraband, one
reaches the conclusion from each of these criteria that the
exportation of war requisites from the United States, as
128 GERMANY PROTESTS MUNITION SALES
is being carried on in the present war, is not to be brought
into accord with the demands of neutrality.
The question now before us is surely not whether
American industries which are engaged in the manufacture
of war material should be protected from loss in the ex-
port trade that was theirs in time of peace. Rather has
that industry soared to unimagined heights. In order to
turn out the huge quantities of arms, ammunition, and other
war material of every description ordered in the past months
by Great Britain and her allies from the United States, not
only the full capacity of the existing plants but also their
transformation and enlargement and the creation of new
large plants, as well as a flocking of workmen of all trades
into that branch of industry, in brief far-reaching changes
of economic life encompassing the whole country, became
necessary. From no quarter then can there come any ques-
tion of the right of the American Government to prohibit
through the issuance of an embargo that enormous ex-
portation of war implements that is openly carried on and
besides is commonly known to be availed of by only one
of the parties to the war. If the Federal Government would
exercise that power it possesses, it could not lay itself open
to blame if, in order to keep within the requirements of the
law of the land, it adopted the course of enacting a law.
For while the principle obtains that a neutral state may not
alter the rules in force within its province concerning its atti-
tude toward belligerents while war is being waged, yet this
principle, as clearly appears from the preamble to the Thir-
teenth Hague Convention, suffers an exception in the case
"oil V experience acquise en demontrerait la necessite pour
la sauvegarde de ses droits." [Where experience has shown
the necessity thereof for the protection of its rights.]
Moreover, this case is already established for the Ameri-
can Government through the fact that Austria-Hungary,
as well as Germany, is cut off from all commercial inter-
course with the United States of America without the ex-
istence of a legal prerequisite therefor — a legally consti-
tuted blockade.
In reply to the possible objection that, notwithstanding
GERMANY PROTESTS MUNITION SALES 129
the willingness of American industry to furnish merchan-
dise to Austria-Hungary and Germany as well as to Great
Britain and her allies, it is not possible for the United States
of America to trade with Austria-Hungary and Germany
as the result of the war situation, it may be pointed out that
the Federal Government is undoubtedly in a position to im-
prove the situation described. It would be amply sufficient
to confront the opponents of Austria-Hungary and Ger-
many with the possibility of the prohibition of the exporta-
tion of foodstuffs and raw materials In case legitimate com-
merce in these articles between the Union and the two Cen-
tral Powers should not be allowed. If the Washington
Cabinet should find itself prepared for an action in this
sense, it would not only be following the tradition always
held in such high regard in the United States of contending
for the freedom of legitimate maritime commerce, but would
also earn the high merit of nullifying the wanton efforts of
the enemies of Austria-Hungary and Germany to use hun-
ger as an ally.
The Imperial and Royal Government may therefore, in
the spirit of the excellent relations which have never ceased
to exist between the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the
United States of America, appeal to the Federal Govern-
ment in sincere friendship, in view of the expositions here
set forth, to subject its previously adopted standpoint in
this so important question to a mature reconsideration. A
revision of the attitude observed by the Government of the
Union in the sense of the views advocated by the Imperial
and Royal Government would, according to the convictions
of the latter, be not only within the bounds of the rights and
obligations of a neutral government, but also in close keep-
ing with those principles dictated by true humanity and
love of peace which the United States has ever written on
its banner.
BY ROBERT LANSING
Washington, August 12, 191 5.
The Government of the United States has given careful
consideration to the statement of the Imperial and Royal
w., VOL. III.— 9
130 GERMANY PROTESTS MUNITION SALES
Government in regard to the exportation of arms and am-
munition from the United States to the countries at war
with Austria-Hungary and Germany. The Government of
the United States notes with satisfaction the recognition
by the Imperial and Royal Government of the undoubted
fact that its attitude with regard to the exportation of arms
and ammunition from the United States is prompted by its
intention to "maintain the strictest neutrality and conform to
the letter with the provisions of international treaties," but
is surprised to find the Imperial and Royal Government
implying that the observance of the strict principles of the
law under the conditions which have developed in the pres-
ent war is insufficient, and asserting that this Government
should go beyond the long recognized rules governing such
traffic by neutrals and adopt measures to "maintain an atti-
tude of strict parity with respect to both belligerent parties."
To this assertion of an obligation to change or modify
the rules of international usage on account of special con-
ditions the Government of the United States cannot ac-
cede. The recognition of an obligation of this sort, un-
known to the international practice of the past, would im-
pose upon every neutral nation a duty to sit in judgment on
the progress of a war and to restrict its commercial inter-
course with a belligerent whose naval successes prevented
the neutral from trade with the enemy. The contention of
the Imperial and Royal Government appears to be that the
advantages gained to a belligerent by its superiority on the
sea should be equalized by the neutral Powers by the es-
tablishment of a system of non-intercourse with the victor.
The Imperial and Royal Government confines its comments
to arms and ammunition, but if the principle for which it
contends is sound it should apply with equal force to all
articles of contraband. A belligerent controlling the high
seas might possess an ample supply of arms and ammuni-
tion, but be in want of food and clothing. On the novel
principle that equalization is a neutral duty, neutral nations
would be obliged to place an embargo on such articles be-
cause one of the belligerents could not obtain them through
commercial intercourse.
GERMANY PROTESTS MUNITION SALES 131
But if this principle, so strongly urged by the Imperial
and Royal Government, should be admitted to obtain by
reason of the superiority of a belligerent at sea, ought it
not to operate equally as to a belligerent superior on land?
Applying this theory of equalization, a belligerent who lacks
the necessary munitions to contend successfully on land
ought to be permitted to purchase them from neutrals, while
a belligerent with an abundance of war stores or with the
power to produce them should be debarred from such traffic.
Manifestly the idea of strict neutrality now advanced by
the Imperial and Royal Government would involve a neu-
tral nation in a mass of perplexities which would obscure
the whole field of international obligation, produce eco-
nomic confusion and deprive all commerce and industry of
legitimate fields of enterprise already heavily burdened by
the unavoidable restrictions of war.
In this connection it is pertinent to direct the attention
of the Imperial and Royal Government to the fact that Aus-
tria-Hungary and Germany, particularly the latter, have
during the years preceding the present war produced a great
surplus of arms and ammunition, which they sold through-
out the world and especially to belligerents. Never during
that period did either of them suggest or apply the prin-
ciple now advocated by the Imperial and Royal Govern-
ment.
During the Boer War between Great Britain and the
South African republics the patrol of the coast of neigh-
boring neutral colonies by British naval vessels prevented
arms and ammunition reaching the Transvaal or the Orange
Free State. The allied republics were in a situation almost
identical 'in that respect with that in which Austria-Hun-
gary and Germany find themselves at the present time.
Yet, in spite of the commercial isolation of one belligerent,
Germany sold to Great Britain and the other belligerent,
hundreds of thousands of kilos of explosives, gunpowder,
cartridges, shot and weapons ; and it is known that Austria-
Hungary also sold similar munitions to the same purchaser,
though in small quantities. While, as compared with the
present war, the quantities sold were small (a table of the
132 GERMANY PROTESTS MUNITION SALES
sales is appended), the principle of neutrality involved was
the same. If at that time Austria-Hungary and her present
ally had refused to sell arms and ammunition to Great
Britain on the ground that to do so would violate the spirit
of strict neutrality the Imperial and Royal Government
might with greater consistency and greater force urge its
present contention.
It might be further pointed out that during the Crimean
War large quantities of arms and military stores were fur-
nished to Russia by Prussian manufacturers; that during
the recent war between Turkey and Italy, as this Govern-
ment is advised, arms and ammunition were furnished to
the Ottoman Government by Germany; and that during
the Balkan wars the belligerents were supplied with muni-
tions by both Austria-Hungary and Germany. While these
latter cases are not analogous, as in the case of the South
African War, to the situation of Austria-Hungary and
Germany in the present war, they nevertheless clearly in-
dicate the long established practice of the two empires in
the matter of trade in war supplies.
In view of the foregoing statements, this Government
is reluctant to believe that the Imperial and Royal Govern-
ment will ascribe to the United States a lack of impartial
neutrality in continuing its legitimate trade in all kinds of
supplies used to render the armed forces of a belligerent
efficient, even though the circumstances of the present war
prevent Austria-Hungary from obtaining such supplies
from the markets of the United States, which have been
and remain, so far as the action and policy of this Govern-
ment are concerned, open to all belligerents alike.
But in addition to the question of principle there is a
practical and substantial reason why the Government of
the United States has from the foundation of the republic
advocated and practiced unrestricted trade in arms and mili-
tary supplies. It has never been the policy of this country
to maintain in times of peace a large military establishment
or stores of arms and ammunition sufficient to repel in-
vasion by a well equipped and powerful enemy. It has de-
sired to remain at peace with all nations and to avoid any
GERMANY PROTESTS MUNITION SALES 133
appearance of menacing such peace by the threat of its
armies and navies. In consequence of this standing policy,
the United States would, in the event of an attack by a for-
eign Power, be at the outset of the war seriously, if not
fatally, embarrassed by the lack of arms and ammunition
and by the means to produce them in sufficient quantities to
supply the requirements of national defense. The United
States has always depended upon the right and power to
purchase arms and ammunition from neutral nations in case
of foreign attack. This right, which it claims for itself, it
cannot deny to others.
A nation whose principle and policy it is to rely upon
international obligations and international justice to pre-
serve its political and territorial integrity might become the
prey of an aggressive nation whose policy and practice it is
to increase its military strength during times of peace with
the design of conquest, unless the nation attacked can, after
war had been declared, go into the markets of the world and
purchase the means to defend itself against the aggressor.
The general adoption by the nations of the world of the
theory that neutral Powers ought to prohibit the sale of
arms and ammunition to belligerents would compel every na-
tion to have in readiness at all times sufficient munitions of
war to meet any emergency which might arise and to erect
and maintain establishments for the manufacture of arms
and ammunition sufficient to supply the needs of its military
and naval forces throughout the progress of a war. Mani-
festly the application of this theory would result in every
nation becoming an armed camp, ready to resist aggression
and tempted to employ force in asserting its rights rather
than appeal to reason and justice for the settlement of
international disputes.
Perceiving, as it does, that the adoption of the principle
that it is the duty of a neutral to prohibit the sale of arms
and ammunition to a belligerent during the progress of a
war would inevitably give the advantage to a belligerent
which had encouraged the manufacture of munitions in time
of peace and which had laid in the vast stores of arms and
ammunition in anticipation of war, the Government of the
134 GERMANY PROTESTS MUNITION SALES
United States is convinced that the adoption of the theory-
would force militarism on the world and work against that
universal peace which is the desire and purpose of all na-
tions which exalt justice and righteousness in their relations
with one another.
The Government of the United States in the foregoing
discussion of the practical reason why it has advocated and
practiced trade in munitions of war wishes to be understood
as speaking with no thought of expressing or implying any
judgment with regard to the circumstances of the present
war, but as merely putting very frankly the argument in
this matter which has been conclusive in determining the
policy of the United States.
While the practice of nations, so well illustrated by the
practice of Austria-Hungary and Germany during the
South African War, and the manifest evil which would
result from a change of that practice render compliance with
the suggestion of the Imperial and Royal Government out
of the question, certain assertions appearing in the Aus-
tro-Hungarian statement as grounds for its contention can-
not be passed over without comment. These assertions are
substantially as follows : ( I ) That the exportation of arms
and ammunition from the United States to belligerents con-
travenes the preamble of the Hague Convention, No. 13,
of 1907. (2) That it is inconsistent with the refusal of
this Government to allow delivery of supplies to vessels of
war on the high seas. (3) That "according to all authori-
ties on international law who concern themselves more
properly with the question," exportation should be pre-
vented "when this traffic assumes such a form or such di-
mensions that the neutrality of a nation becomes involved
thereby."
As to the assertion that the exportation of arms and
ammunition contravenes the preamble of the Hague Con-
vention, No. 13, of 1907, this Government presumes that
reference is made to the last paragraph of the preamble,
which is as follows : "Seeing that, in this category of ideas,
these rules should not, in principle, be altered, in the course
of the war, by a neutral power, except in a case where ex-
GERMANY PROTESTS MUNITION SALES 135
perience has shown the necessity for such change for the
protection of the rights of that Power."
Manifestly the only ground to change the rules laid
down by the convention, one of which, it should be noted,
explicitly declares that a neutral is not bound to prohibit
the exportation of contraband of war, is the necessity of a
neutral Power to do so in order to protect its own rights.
The right and duty to determine when this necessity ex-
ists rests with the neutral, not with a belligerent. It is
discretionary, not mandatory. If a neutral Power does not
avail itself of the right, a belligerent is not privileged to
complain, for in doing so it would be in the position of de-
claring to the neutral Power what is necessary to protect
the Power's own rights. The Imperial and Royal Govern-
ment cannot but perceive that a complaint of this nature
would invite just rebuke.
With reference to the asserted inconsistency of the
course adopted by this Government in relation to the ex-
portation of arms and ammunition and that followed in not
allowing supplies to be taken from its ports to ships of war
on the high seas, it is only necessary to point out that the
prohibition of supplies to ships of war rests upon the prin-
ciple that a neutral power must not permit its territory to
become a naval base for either belligerent. A war ship may,
under certain restrictions, obtain fuel and supplies in a neu-
tral port once in three months. To permit merchant ves-
sels acting as tenders to carry supplies more often than
three months and in unlimited amount would defeat the pur-
pose of the rule and might constitute the neutral territory
a naval base. Furthermore, this Government is unaware
that any Austro-Hungarian ship of war has sought to obtain
supplies from a port in the United States, either directly or
indirectly. This subject has, however, already been dis-
cussed with the Imperial German Government, to which the
position of this Government was fully set forth December
24, 1914.
In view of the positive assertion in the statement of the
Imperial and Royal Government as to the unanimity of the
opinions of text writers as to the exportation of contraband
136 GERMANY PROTESTS MUNITION SALES
being unneutral, this Government has caused a careful ex-
amination of the principal authorities on international laws
to be made. As a result of this examination it has come to
the conclusion that the Imperial and Royal Government has
been misled and has inadvertently made an erroneous asser-
tion. Less than one-fifth of the authorities consulted ad-
vocate unreservedly the prohibition of the export of contra-
band. Several of those who constitute this minority ad-
mit that the practice of nations has been otherwise. It need
not be inopportune to direct particular attention to the
declaration of the German authority, Paul Einicke, who
states that, at the beginning of a war, belligerents have
never remonstrated against the enactment of prohibitions on
trade in contraband, but adds "that such prohibitions may be
considered as violations of neutrality, or at least as un-
friendly acts, if they are enacted during a war with the pur-
pose to close unexpectedly the sources of supply to a party
which heretofore had relied on them."
The Government of the United States deems it unneces-
sary to extend further at the present time a consideration
of the statement of the Austro-Hungarian Government. The
principles of international law, the practice of nations, the
national safety of the United States and other nations with-
out great military and naval establishments, the prevention
of increased armies and navies, the adoption of peaceful
methods for the adjustment of international differences,
and finally, neutrality itself, are opposed to the prohibition
by a neutral nation of the exportation of arms, ammunition,
or other munitions of war to belligerent Powers during the
progress of the war.
THE CANADIANS REPEL THE FIRST GAS
ATTACK
THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES
APRIL 22ND
OFFICIAL GERMAN PRESS REPORT
SIR JOHN FRENCH SIR MAX AITKEN
What the British tried to do at Neuve Chapelle, break the deadlock
on the western front, the Germans attempted in the second battle
of Ypres. They had developed a terrible new ag£nt, the poison-gas,
by which they hoped to wipe out every life in an opposing trench and
so break the Ally line of defense, sweep over it at will, and drive
their foemen to despair with agony and terror.
Such a weapon of death and torture was in direct opposition to the
International Laws of war as adopted by the Hague Convention of
1909. The German charge, that France had also been experimenting
with some form of gas as a weapon, cannot be as wholly dismissed
as most of the official German charges, which were so often, as we
have already seen, the boldest falsehoods intended to befog the evi-
dence of their own depravity. Yet the French at most had done no
more than consider the use of small quantities of stupefying gas,
thrown in shells, and intended to daze an enemy for just a moment
while the French attacked. That is to say, the French soldiers them-
selves were to rush through the stupefying gas. That the reader may
balance the two devices, we give here in full the official German charge
upon which they sought to excuse their own use of the poison-gas.
In reality, of course, the German leaders cared nothing for such ex-
cuses. They had made their position fiercely clear, that they would
seize on any means whatsoever, no matter how false or cruel, if it
would help them to victory.
As to the British, they were too firmly set in the old methods of
fighting to have even considered gas as a weapon. Hence they were
as astounded as they were infuriated and disgusted when that poison-
ous cloud swept down on them at Ypres, and they learned the horror
of torturing death which it contained. Surely History will never for-
get the splendid heroism of their resistance.
The glory and the agony of it fell mainly to the Canadians, that
first contingent which had rushed so loyally to Britain's aid. So we
let a Canadian speak of it here, and give also the official story as nar-
rated by the British commander, Field Marshal — as he had by this
time become — Sir John French.
*37
138 THE YPRES GAS ATTACK
OFFICIAL GERMAN PRESS REPORT OF JUNE 25, 191 5
FOR every one who has kept an unbiased judgment, the
official assertions of the strictly accurate and truthful
German military administration will be sufficient to prove
the prior use of asphyxiating gases by our opponents.
April 1 6th the French were making increased use of as-
phyxiating bombs. But let whoever still doubts, consider
the following instructions for the systematic preparation
of this means of warfare by the French, issued by the
French War Ministry, under date of February 21, 1915:
"Ministry of War, February 21, 191 5.
"Remarks concerning shells with stupefying gases :
"The so-called shells with stupefying gases that are
being manufactured by our central factories contain a fluid
which streams forth after the explosion, in the form of
vapors that irritate the eyes, nose, and throat. There are
two kinds : hand grenades and cartridges.
"Hand Grenades. — The grenades have the form of an
egg; their diameter in the middle is six centimeters, their
height twelve centimeters, their weight 400 grams. They
are intended for short distances, and have an appliance for
throwing by hand. They are equipped with an inscription
giving directions for use. They are lighted with a small bit
of material for friction pasted on the directions, after which
they must be thrown away. The explosion follows seven
seconds after lighting. A small cover of brass and a top
screwed on protect the lighted matter. Their purpose is to
make untenable the surroundings of the place where they
burst. Their effect is often considerably impaired by a
strong rising wind.
"Cartridges. — The cartridges have a cylindrical form.
Their diameter is twenty-eight millimeters, their height ten
centimeters, their weight 200 grams. They are intended
for use at longer distances than can be negotiated with the
hand grenades. With an angle of twenty-five degrees at
departure, they will carry 230 meters. They have central
lighting facilities and are fired with ignition bullet guns.
The powder lights a little internal ignition mass by means
THE YPRES GAS ATTACK 139
of which the cartridges are caused to explode five seconds
after leaving the rifle. The cartridges have the same pur-
pose as the hand grenades but because of their very small
amount of fluid they must be fired in great numbers at the
same time.
"Precautionary measures to be observed in attacks on
trenches into which shells with asphyxiating gases have been
thrown. — The vapors spread by means of the shells with
asphyxiating gases are not deadly, at least when small quan-
tities are used and their effect is only momentary. The
duration of the effect depends upon the atmospheric condi-
tions.
"It is advisable therefore to attack the trenches into
which such hand grenades have been thrown and which the
enemy has nevertheless not evacuated before the vapors are
completely dissipated. The attacking troops, moreover,
must wear protective goggles and in addition be instructed
that the unpleasant sensations in nose and throat are not
dangerous and involve no lasting disturbance."
Here we have a conclusive proof that the French in their
State workshops manufactured shells with asphyxiating
gases fully half a year ago at least. The number must have
been so large that the French War Ministry at last found
itself obliged to issue written instructions concerning the
use of this means of warfare. What hypocrisy when the
same people grow "indignant" because the Germans much
later followed them on the path they had pointed out!
Very characteristic is the twist of the French official di-
rection : "The vapors spread by the shells with asphyxi-
ating gases are not deadly, at least not when used in small
quantities." It is precisely this limitation that contains the
unequivocal confession that the French asphyxiating gases
work with deadly effect when used in large quantities.
BY SIR JOHN FRENCH
Headquarters, June 15, 1915.
I much regret that during the period under report the
fighting has been characterized on the enemy's side by a
cynical and barbarous disregard of the well-known usages
140 THE YPRES GAS ATTACK
of civilized war and a flagrant defiance of the Hague Con-
vention.
All the scientific resources of Germany have apparently-
been brought into play to produce a gas of so virulent and
poisonous a nature that any human being brought into con-
tact with it is first paralyzed and then meets with a lin-
gering and agonizing death.
The enemy has invariably preceded, prepared and sup-
ported his attacks by a discharge in stupendous volume of
these poisonous gas fumes whenever the wind was favor-
able.
Such weather conditions have only prevailed to any ex-
tent in the neighborhood of Ypres, and there can be no
doubt that the effect of these poisonous fumes materially
influenced the operations in that theater, until experience
suggested effective counter-measures, which have since been
so perfected as to render them innocuous.
The brain power and thought which has evidently been
at work before this unworthy method of making war
reached the pitch of efficiency which has been demonstrated
in its practice shows that the Germans must have harbored
these designs for a long time.
As a soldier I cannot help expressing the deepest regret
and some surprise that an Army which hitherto has claimed
to be the chief exponent of the chivalry of war should have
stooped to employ such devices against brave and gallant
foes.
It was at the commencement of the second battle of
Ypres on the evening of April 22nd that the enemy first
made use of asphyxiating gas.
Some days previously I had complied with General
Joffre's request to take over the trenches occupied by the
French, and on the evening of the 22nd the troops holding
the lines east of Ypres were posted as follows :
From Steenstraate to the east of Langemarck, as far as
the Poelcappelle Road, a French Division. Thence, in a
southeasterly direction toward the Passchendaele-Becelaere
Road, the Canadian Division. Thence a Division took up
the line in a southerly direction east of Zonnebeke to a
■F
Jnqm- flsa no
il baton A
i to
r
A
e^tftiited Defense
, British and Belgians
to hold the Germans
,
at Amienju — te ~~Jy
A noted French Crayon called the "Rampart
of Amiens" by Z-ucien Jonas
THE YPRES GAS ATTACK 141
point west of Becelaere, whence another Division continued
the line southeast to the northern limit of the Corps on its
right.
Of the 5th Corps there were four battalions in Di-
visional Reserve about Ypres; the Canadian Division had
one battalion of Divisional Reserve and the 1st Canadian
Brigade in Army Reserve. An Infantry Brigade, which
had just been withdrawn after suffering heavy losses on
Hill 60, was resting about Vlamernighe.
Following a heavy bombardment, the enemy attacked
the French Division at about 5 p. m., using asphyxiating
gases for the first time. Aircraft reported that at about
5 p. m. thick yellow smoke had been seen issuing from the
German trenches between Langemarck and Bixschoote.
The French reported that two simultaneous attacks had
been made east of the Ypres-Staden Railway, in which these
asphyxiating gases had been employed.
What follows almost defies description. The effect of
these poisonous gases was so virulent as to render the whole
of the line held by the French Division mentioned above
practically incapable of any action at all. It was at first im-
possible for any one to realize what had actually happened.
The smoke and fumes hid everything from sight, and hun-
dreds of men were thrown into a comatose or dying con-
dition, and within an hour the whole position had to be
abandoned, together with about fifty guns.
I wish particularly to repudiate any idea of attaching
the least blame to the French Division for this unfortunate
incident.
After all the examples our gallant Allies have shown
of dogged and tenacious courage in the many trying situa-
tions in which they have been placed throughout the course
of this campaign it is quite superfluous for me to dwell on
this aspect of the incident, and I would only express my firm
conviction that, if any troops in the world had been able
to hold their trenches in the face of such a treacherous and
altogether unexpected onslaught, the French Division would
have stood firm.
The left flank of the Canadian Division was thus left
142 THE YPRES GAS ATTACK
dangerously exposed to serious attack in flank, and there
appeared to be a prospect of their being overwhelmed and
of a successful attempt by the Germans to cut off the Brit-
ish troops occupying the salient to the East.
In spite of the danger to which they were exposed the
Canadians held their ground with a magnificent display of
tenacity and courage ; and it is not too much to say that the
bearing and conduct of these splendid troops averted a
disaster which might have been attended with the most seri-
ous consequences.
They were supported with great promptitude by the
reserves of the divisions holding the salient and by a bri-
gade which had been resting in billets.
Throughout the night the enemy's attacks were repulsed,
effective counter-attacks were delivered, and at length touch
was gained with the French right, and a new line was
formed.
The 2nd London Heavy Battery, which had been at-
tached to the Canadian Division, was posted behind tlw
right of the French Division, and, being involved in their
retreat, fell into the enemy's hands. It was recaptured by
the Canadians in their counter-attack, but the guns could not
be withdrawn before the Canadians were again driven back.
During the night I directed the Cavalry Corps and the
Northumbrian Division, which was then in general reserve,
to move to the west of Ypres, and placed these troops at the
disposal of the General Officer Commanding the Second
Army. I also directed other reserve troops from the 3rd
Corps and the First Army to be held in readiness to meet
eventualities.
In the confusion of the gas and smoke the Germans
succeeded in capturing the bridge at Steenstraate and some
works south of Lizerne, all of which were in occupation by
the French.
The enemy having thus established himself to the west
of the Ypres Canal, I was somewhat apprehensive of his
succeeding in driving a wedge between the French and Bel-
gian troops at this point. I directed, therefore, that some
of the reinforcements sent north should be used to sup-
THE YPRES GAS ATTACK 143
port and assist General Putz, should he find difficulty in
preventing any further advance of the Germans west of the
canal.
At about ten o'clock on the morning of the 23rd, con-
nection was finally insured between the left of the Canadian
Division and the French right, about 800 yards east of the
canal; but as this entailed the maintenance by the British
troops of a much longer line than that which they had held
before the attack commenced on the previous night, there
were no reserves available for counter-attack until rein-
forcements, which were ordered up from the Second Army,
were able to deploy to the east of Ypres.
Early on the morning of the 23rd I went to see General
Foch, and from him I received a detailed account of what
had happened, as reported by General Putz. General Foch
informed me that it was his intention to make good the
original line and regain the trenches which the French Di-
vision had lost. He expressed the desire that I should main-
tain my present line, assuring me that the original position
would be reestablished in a few days. General Foch fur-
ther informed me that he had ordered up large French re-
enforcements, which were now on their way, and that troops
from the North had already arrived to reenforce General
Putz.
I fully concurred in the wisdom of the General's wish
to reestablish our old line, and agreed to cooperate in the
way he desired, stipulating, however, that if the position
was not reestablished within a limited time I could not allow
the British troops to remain in so exposed a situation as that
which the action of the previous twenty-four hours had
compelled them to occupy.
During the whole of the 23rd the enemy's artillery was
very active, and his attacks all along the front were sup-
ported by some heavy guns which had been brought down
from the coast in the neighborhood of Ostend.
The loss of the guns on the night of the 22nd prevented
this fire from being kept down, and much aggravated the
situation. Our positions, however, were well maintained
by the vigorous counter-attacks made by the 5th Corps.
144 THE YPRES GAS ATTACK
During the day I directed two brigades of the 3rd Corps,
and the Lahore Division of the Indian Corps, to be moved
up to the Ypres area and placed at the disposal of the Sec-
ond Army.
In the course of these two or three days many circum-
stances combined to render the situation east of the Ypres
Canal very critical and most difficult to deal with.
The confusion caused by the sudden retirement of the
French Division, and the necessity for closing up the gap
and checking the enemy's advance at all costs, led to a mix-
ing up of units and a sudden shifting of the areas of com-
mand, which was quite unavoidable. Fresh units, as they
came up from the South, had to be pushed into the firing
line in an area swept by artillery fire, which, owing to the
capture of the French guns, we were unable to keep down.
All this led to very heavy casualties, and I wish to place
on record the deep admiration which I feel for the resource
and presence of mind evinced by the leaders actually on the
spot.
The parts taken by Major-General Snow and Brigadier-
General Hull were reported to me as being particularly
marked in this respect.
An instance of this occurred on the afternoon of the
24th, when the enemy succeeded in breaking through the
line at St. Julien.
Brigadier-General Hull, acting under the orders of Lieu-
tenant-General Alderson, organized a powerful counter-at-
tack with his own brigade and some of the nearest available
units. He was called upon to control, with only his brigade
staff, parts of battalions from six separate divisions which
were quite new to the ground. Although the attack did not
succeed in retaking St. Julien, it effectually checked the
enemy's further advance.
It was only on the morning of the 25th that the enemy
were able to force back the left of the Canadian Division
from the point where it had originally joined the French
line.
During the night, and the early morning of the 25th,
the enemy directed a heavy attack against the Division at
THE YPRES GAS ATTACK 145
Broodseinde cross-roads, which was supported by a power-
ful shell fire, but he failed to make any progress.
During the whole of this time the town of Ypres and
all the roads to the East and West were uninterruptedly
subjected to a violent artillery fire, but in spite of this the
supply of both food and ammunition was maintained
throughout with order and efficiency.
During the afternoon of the 25th many German prison-
ers were taken, including some officers. The hand-to-hand
fighting was very severe, and the enemy suffered heavy
loss.
During the 26th the Lahore Division and a Cavalry Di-
vision were pushed up into the fighting line, the former on
the right of the French, the latter in support of the 5th
Corps.
In the afternoon the Lahore Division, in conjunction
with the French right, succeeded in pushing the enemy back
some little distance toward the north, but their further ad-
vance was stopped owing to the continual employment by
the enemy of asphyxiating gas.
On the right of the Lahore Division the Northumber-
land Infantry Brigade advanced against St. Julien and actu-
ally succeeded in entering, and for a time occupying, the
southern portion of that village. They were, however,
eventually driven back, largely owing to gas, and finally
occupied a line a short way to the south. This attack was
most successfully and gallantly led by Brigadier-General
Riddell, who, I regret to say, was killed during the progress
of the operation.
Although no attack was made on the southeastern side
of the salient, the troops operating to the east of Ypres
were subjected to heavy artillery fire from this direction,
which took some of the battalions, which were advancing
north to the attack, in reverse.
Some gallant attempts made by the Lahore Division on
the 27th, in conjunction with the French, pushed the enemy
further north; but they were partially frustrated by the
constant fumes of gas to which they were exposed. In
w., vol. in.— 10.
146 THE YPRES GAS ATTACK
spite of this, however, a certain amount of ground was
gained.
The French succeeded in retaking Lizerne, and made
some progress at Steenstraate and Het Sas ; but no further
progress was made toward the recapture of the original line.
THE COMING OF THE GAS UPON THE FRENCH DESCRIBED BY A
BRITISH EYE-WITNESS
Utterly unprepared for what was to come, the [French]
divisions gazed for a short while spellbound at the strange
phenomenon they saw coming slowly toward them. Like
some liquid the heavy-colored vapor poured relentlessly
into the trenches, filled them, and passed on. For a few sec-
onds nothing happened; the sweet-smelling stuff merely
tickled their nostrils; they failed to realize the danger.
Then, with inconceivable rapidity, the gas woiked, and
blind panic spread. Hundreds, after a dreadful fight for
air, became unconscious and died where they lay — a death
of hideous torture, with the frothing bubbles gurgling in
their throats and the foul liquid welling up in their lungs.
With blackened faces and twisted limbs one by one they
drowned — only that which drowned them came from inside
and not from out. Others, staggering, falling, lurching on,
and of their ignorance keeping pace with the gas, went back.
A hail of rifle fire and shrapnel mowed them down, and
the line was broken. There was nothing on the British left
— their flank was up in the air. The northeast corner of
the salient around Ypres had been pierced. From in front
of St. Julien away up north toward Boesinghe there was
no one in front of the Germans.
BY SIR MAX AITKEN
The battle which raged for so many days in the neigh-
borhood of Ypres was bloody, even as men appraise battles
in this callous and life-engulfing war. But as long as brave
deeds retain the power to fire the blood of Anglo-Saxons,
the stand made by the Canadians in those desperate days
will be told by fathers to their sons ; for in the military rec-
ords of Canada this defense will shine as brightly as, in the
THE YPRES GAS ATTACK 147
records of the British Army, the stubborn valor with which
Sir James Macdonnel and the Guards beat back from
Hougoumont the Division of Foy and the Army Corps of
Reille.
The Canadians wrested from the trenches, over the
bodies of the dead and maimed, the right to stand side by
side with the superb troops who, in the first battle of Ypres,
broke and drove before them the flower of the Prussian
Guards.
Looked at from any point, the performance would be
remarkable. It is amazing to soldiers, when the genesis and
composition of the Canadian Division are considered. It
contained, no doubt, a sprinkling of South African vet-
erans, but it consisted in the main of men who were ad-
mirable raw material, but who at the outbreak of war were
neither disciplined nor trained, as men count discipline and
training in these days of scientific warfare.
It was, it is true, commanded by a distinguished Eng-
lish general. Its staff was supplemented, without being re-
placed, by some brilliant British staff officers. But in its
higher and regimental commands were to be found lawyers,
college professors, business men, and real estate agents,
ready with cool self-confidence to do battle against an or-
ganization in which the study of military science is the ex-
clusive pursuit of laborious lives. With what devotion,
with a valor how desperate, with resourcefulness how cool
and how fruitful, the amateur soldiers of Canada con-
fronted overwhelming odds may, perhaps, be made clear
even by a narrative so incomplete as this.
The salient of Ypres has become familiar to all students
of the campaign in Flanders. Like all salients, it was, and
was known to be, a source of weakness to the forces holding
it; but the reasons which have led to its retention are ap-
parent, and need not be explained.
On April 22nd the Canadian Division held a line of,
roughly, five thousand yards, extending in a northwesterly
direction from the Ypres-Roulers railway to the Ypres-
Poelcappelle road, and connecting at its terminus with the
French troops. The Division consisted of three infantry
148 THE YPRES GAS ATTACK
brigades, in addition to the artillery brigades. Of the in-
fantry brigades the first was in reserve, the second was on
the right, and the third established contact with the Allies
at the point indicated above.
The day was a peaceful one, warm and sunny, and
except that the previous day had witnessed a further bom-
bardment of the stricken town of Ypres, 1 everything seemed
quiet in front of the Canadian line. At five o'clock in the
afternoon a plan, carefully prepared, was put into execution
against our French allies on the left. Asphyxiating gas of
great intensity was projected into their trenches, probably
by means of force pumps and pipes laid out under the
parapets.
The fumes, aided by a favorable wind, floated back-
wards, poisoning and disabling over an extended area those
who fell under their effects. The result was that the French
were compelled to give ground for a considerable distance. 2
The glory which the French Army has won in this war
would make it impertinent to assert the compelling nature
of the poisonous discharges ander which the trenches were
lost. The French did, as every one knew they would, all
*The great bombardment of Ypres began on April 20th, when the
first 42 centimeter shell fell into the Grand Place of the little Flemish
city. The only military purpose which the wanton destruction of
Ypres could serve was the blocking of our supply trains, and on the
first day alone 15 children were killed as they were playing in the
streets, while many other civilians perished in the ruined houses.
2 The French troops, largely made up of Turcos and Zouaves,
surged wildly back over the canal and through the village of Vlamer-
tinghe just at dark. The Canadian reserve battalions (of the 1st
Brigade) were amazed at the anguished faces of many of the French
soldiers, twisted and distorted by pain, who were gasping for breath
and vainly trying to gain relief by vomiting. Traffic in the main
streets of the village was demoralized, and gun-carriages and ammu-
nition wagons added to the confusion.
The chaos in the main streets of the village was such that any
coherent movement of troops was, for the moment, impossible ; gun-
carriages and ammunition wagons were inextricably mixed, while gal-
loping gun-teams without their guns were careering wildly in all
directions. When order had been to some extent restored, Staff Offi-
cers learned from fugitives who were in a condition to speak that
the Algerians had left thousands of their comrades dead and dying
along the four-mile gap in our Ally's lines through which the Germans
were pouring behind their gas.
THE YPRES GAS ATTACK 149
that stout soldiers could, and the Canadian Division, offi-
cers and men, look forward to many occasions in the future
in which they will stand side by side with the brave armies
of France.
The immediate consequences of this enforced with-
drawal were, of course, extremely grave. The 3rd Brigade
of the Canadian Division was without any left, or, in other
words, its left was "in the air."
It becaroe imperatively necessary greatly to extend the
Canadian lines to the left rear. It was not, of course, prac-
ticable to move the 1st Brigade from reserve at a moment's
notice, and the line, extended from 5,000 to 9,000 yards,
was naturally not the line that had been held by the Allies
at five o'clock, and a gap still existed on its left. The new
line, of which our recent point of contact with the French
formed the apex, ran, quite roughly, from there southwest
to the wood of St. Julien.
As shown above, it became necessary for Brigadier-Gen-
eral Turner (now Major-General), commanding the 3rd
Brigade, to throw back his left flank southward, to protect
his rear. In the course of the confusion which followed on
the readjustment of the position, the enemy, who had ad-
vanced rapidly after his initial successes, took four Brit-
ish 4.7 guns, lent by the 2nd London Division to support the
French, in a small wood to the west of the village of St.
Julien, two miles in the rear of the original French trenches.
The story of the second battle of Ypres is the story of
how the Canadian Division, enormously outnumbered —
for they had in front of them at least four divisions, sup-
ported by immensely heavy artillery — with a gap still ex-
isting, though reduced, in their lines, and with dispositions
made hurriedly under the stimulus of critical danger, fought
through the day and through the night, and then through
another day and night; fought under their officers until,
as happened to so many, these perished gloriously, and then
fought from the impulsion of sheer valor because they came
from fighting stock.
The enemy, of course, was aware — whether fully or not
may perhaps be doubted — of the advantage his breach in the
150 THE YPRES GAS ATTACK
line had given him, and immediately began to push a formid-
able series of attacks on the whole of the newly-formed
Canadian salient. If it is possible to distinguish, when the
attack was everywhere so fierce, it developed with particular
intensity at this moment on the apex of the newly-formed
line running in the direction of St. Julien.
It has already been stated that four British guns were
taken in a wood comparatively early in the evening of April
22nd. The General Officer Commanding the Canadian Di-
vision had no intention of allowing the enemy to retain pos-
session of either the wood or the guns without a desperate
struggle, and he ordered a counter-attack towards the wood
to be made by the 3rd Infantry Brigade under General
Turner.
The assault upon the wood was launched shortly after
midnight of April 22nd-23rd by the 10th Battalion and
1 6th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion, respectively com-
manded by Lieut-Colonel Boyle and Lieut-Colonel (now
Brigadier-General) R. G. E. Leckie. The advance was
made under the heaviest machine gun and rifle fire, the wood
was reached, and, after a desperate struggle by the light of
a misty moon, they took the position at the point of the
bayonet.
An officer who took part in the attack describes how the
men about him fell under the fire of the machine guns,
which, in his phrase, played upon them "like a watering
pot." He added quite simply, "I wrote my own life off."
But the line never wavered.
When one man fell another took his place, and, with
a final shout, the survivors of the two Battalions flung
themselves into the wood. The German garrison was com-
pletely demoralized, and the impetuous advance of the Ca-
nadians did not cease until they reached the far side of the
wood and entrenched themselves there in the position so
dearly gained. They had, however, the disappointment of
finding that the guns had been destroyed by the enemy, and
later in the same night, a most formidable concentration of
artillery fire, sweeping the wood as a tropical storm sweeps
the leaves from the trees of a forest, made it impossible for
THE YPRES GAS ATTACK 151
them to hold the position for which they had sacrificed
so much.
Within a few hours of this attack, the 10th Canadian
Battalion was again ordered to advance by Lieut.-Colonel
Boyle, late a rancher in the neighborhood of Calgary. The
assault was made upon a German trench which was being
hastily constructed within two hundred yards of the Bat-
talion's right front. Machine gun and rifle fire opened upon
the Battalion at the moment the charge was begun, and
Colonel Boyle fell almost instantly with his left thigh pierced
in five places. Major MacLaren, his second in command,
was also wounded at this time.
The fighting continued without intermission all through
the night of April 22nd-23rd, and to those who observed
the indications that the attack was being pushed with ever-
growing strength, it hardly seemed possible that the Ca-
nadians, fighting in positions so difficult to defend and so
little the subject of deliberate choice, could maintain their
resistance for any long period.
Reinforcements of British troops, commanded by
Colonel Geddes, of the Buffs, began to arrive in the gap
early on Friday morning. At 6 a. m. on Friday, the 2nd
Canadian Brigade was still intact, but the 3rd Canadian
Brigade, on the left, was bent back upon St. Julien. It
became apparent that the left was becoming more and more
involved, and a powerful German attempt to outflank it
developed rapidly. The consequences, if it had been broken
or outflanked, need not be insisted upon. They would not
have been merely local.
It was therefore decided, formidable as the attempt un-
doubtedly was, to try to give relief by a counter-attack upon
the first line of German trenches, now far, far advanced
from those originally occupied by the French. The attack
was carried out at 6.30 a. m. by the 1st (Ontario) Bat-
talion and the 4th Battalion of the 1st Brigade, under Brig-
adier-General Mercer, acting with Geddes' Detachment.
The 4th Battalion was in advance and the 1st in support,
under the covering fire of the 1st Canadian Artillery Bri-
gade.
152 THE YPRES GAS ATTACK
It is safe to say that the youngest private in the ranks,
as he set his teeth for the advance, knew the task in front
of him, and the youngest subaltern knew all that rested on
its success. It did not seem that any human being could live
in the shower of shot and shell which began to play upon
the advancing troops.
They suffered terrible casualties. For a short time every
other man seemed to fall, but the attack was pressed ever
closer and closer. The 4th Canadian Battalion at one mo-
ment came under a particularly withering fire. For a mo-
ment — not more — it wavered. Its most gallant Command-
ing Officer, Lieut.-Colonel Birchall, carrying, after an old
fashion, a light cane, coolly and cheerfully rallied his men,
and at the very moment when his example had infected
them, fell dead at the head of his Battalion. With a hoarse
cry of anger they sprang forward (for, indeed, they loved
him) as if to avenge his death.
The astonishing attack which followed, pushed home
in the face of direct frontal fire, made in broad daylight
by battalions whose names should live forever in the memo-
ries of soldiers, was carried to the first line of the German
trenches. After a hand-to-hand struggle, the last German
who resisted was bayoneted, and the trench was won.
The measure of our success may be taken when it is
pointed out that this trench represented, in the German ad-
vance, the apex in the breach which the enemy had made
in the original line of the Allies, and that it was two and
a half miles south of that line. This charge, made by men
who looked death indifferently in the face — for no man who
took part in it could think that he was likely to live — saved,
and that was much, the Canadian left. But it did more.
Up to the point where the assailants conquered, or died,
it secured and maintained during the most critical moment
of all, the integrity of the Allied line. For the trench was
not only taken — it was held thereafter against all comers,'
and in the teeth of every conceivable projectile, until the
night of Sunday, April 25th, when all that remained of the
war-broken but victorious battalions was relieved by fresh
troops.
THE YPRES GAS ATTACK 153
Although the gas fumes were extremely poisonous, they
were not, perhaps, having regard to the wind, so disabling
as on the French lines (which ran almost east to west), and
the Canadians, though affected by the fumes, stoutly beat
back the two German assaults. Encouraged by this success,
they rose to the supreme effort required by the assault on
the wood, which has already been described. At 4 a. m. on
the morning of Friday, the 23rd, a fresh emission of gas
was made both on the 2nd Brigade, which held the line run-
ning northeast, and on the 3rd Brigade, which, as has been
explained, continued the line up to the pivotal point defined
above, and had there spread down in a southeasterly direc-
tion.
The Royal Highlanders of Montreal, 13th Battalion,
and the 48th Highlanders, 15th Battalion, were more espe-
cially affected by the gas discharge. The Royal Highland-
ers, though considerably shaken, remained immovable on
their ground. The 48th Highlanders, who no doubt re-
ceived a more poisonous discharge, were for the moment
dismayed, and, indeed, their trench, according to the tes-
timony of very hardened soldiers, became intolerable. The
Battalion retired from the trench, but for a very short dis-
tance and for a very short time. In a few moments they
were again their own men. They advanced on and reoc-
cupied the trenches which they had momentarily abandoned.
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
THE LAST GREAT CRIME OF THE TURKS
APRIL-DECEMBER
LORD JAMES BRYCE DR. MARTIN NIEPAGE
DR. HARRY STURMER
This most wholesale of all the awful Turkish massacres of the past
may, we are confident, be called the last. For surely never again will
Civilization sink to such a depth of consciencelessness as to allow the
Turks to rule over any other people. A Turk is not even fit to rule a
Turk.
These massacres began by Turkish Government command in April,
1915, and continued just so long as there remained any living Armeni-
ans within Turkish reach. As to the German relationship to this par-
ticular group of horrors, we let Germans speak for their race. Dr.
Niepage and Dr. Sturmer were both German Government employees
in Turkey, the one a teacher in Asia Minor, the other a war-corre-
spondent and former army officer in Constantinople. Both recoil in
an agony of protest against what they saw ; but it is sadly noteworthy
that both have to admit that the mass of their countrymen in Turkey
showed no such emotional weakness.
Of the torture and slaughter of over a million people, it is im-
possible to give full details. These two German reports do but brush
the edge of the immeasurable foulness. Its general outline is there-
fore given from Lord Bryce's report to the British Government, made
in October of 1915. James Bryce, former British Ambassador to the
United States, is a personage of such world-wide honor and high re-
pute both as statesman and as man of letters that his words may
always be fully accepted. In this case they are conservative under-
statements of the unspeakable truth. His full report is sickening with
tales of torture and of beastly lust. The blot upon Germany which
permitted these things to happen is so black, so broad, that it spreads
out beyond Germany and falls with some portion of its shame and sin
upon every civilized human being. c. f. h.
BY LORD BRYCE
I AM grieved to say that such information as has reached
me from several quarters goes to show that the num-
ber of those who have perished in Armenia is very large.
It has been estimated at the figure of 800,000. Though
hoping that figure to be beyond the mark, I cannot venture
i54
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES 155
to pronounce it incredible, 1 for there has been an unparal-
leled destruction of life all over the country from the fron-
tiers of Persia to the Sea of Marmora, only a very few of
the cities of the ^gean coast having escaped. This is so,
because the proceedings taken have been so carefully pre-
meditated and systematically carried out, with a ruthless
efficiency previously unknown among the Turks. The mas-
sacres are the result of a policy which, as far as can be
ascertained, has been entertained for some considerable time
by the gang of unscrupulous adventurers in possession of
the Government of the Turkish Empire. They hesitated
to put it in practice until they thought the favorable mo-
ment had come, and that moment seems to have arrived
about the month of April, 191 5. That was the time when
these orders were issued, orders which came down in every
case from Constantinople, and which the officials found
themselves obliged to carry out on pain of dismissal.
There was no Moslem passion against the Armenian
Christians. All was done by the will of the Government,
and done not from any religious fanaticism, but simply be-
cause they wished, for reasons purely political, to get rid
of a non-Moslem element which impaired the homogeneity
of the Empire, and constituted an element that might not
always submit to oppression. All that I have learned con-
firms what has already been said elsewhere, that there is no
reason to believe that in this case Musulman fanaticism
came into play at all. So far as can be made out, though of
course the baser natures have welcomed and used the op-
portunities for plunder which slaughter and deportations
afford, these massacres have been viewed by the better sort
of religious Moslems with horror rather than with sympa-
thy. It would be too much to say that they have often
attempted to interfere, but at any rate they do not seem to
have shown approval of the conduct of the Turkish Govern-
ment.
There is nothing in the precepts of Islam which justifies
the slaughter which has been perpetrated. I am told on
1 Later statistics carry this grim figure above a million.
156 THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
good authority that high Moslem religious authorities con-
demned the massacres ordered by Abdul Hamid, and these
are far more atrocious. In some cases the governors, being
pious and humane men, refused to execute the orders that
had reached them, and endeavored to give what protection
they could to the unfortunate Armenians. In two cases I
have heard of the governors being immediately dismissed
for refusing to obey the orders. Others more pliant were
substituted, and the massacres were carried out.
As I have said, the procedure was exceedingly system-
atic. The whole Armenian population of each town or
village was cleared out, by a house-to-house search. Every
inmate was driven into the street. Some of the men were
thrown into prison, where they were put to death, sometimes
with torture; the rest of the men, with the women and
children, were marched out of the town. When they had
got some little distance they were separated, the men being
taken to some place among the hills, where the soldiers, or
the Kurdish tribes who were called in to help in the work
of slaughter, dispatched them by shooting or bayoneting.
The women and children and old men were sent off under
convoy of the lowest kinds of soldiers — many of them just
drawn from gaols — to their distant destination, which was
sometimes one of the unhealthy districts in the center of
Asia Minor, but more frequently the large desert in the
province of Der el Zor, which lies east of Aleppo, in the
direction of the Euphrates. They were driven along by the
soldiers day after day, all on foot, beaten or left behind
to perish if they could not keep up with the caravan; many
fell by the way, and many died of hunger. No provisions
were given them by the Turkish Government, and they had
already been robbed of everything they possessed. Not a
few of the women were stripped naked and made to travel
in that condition beneath a burning sun. Some of the
mothers went mad and threw away their children, being un-
able to carry them further. The caravan route was marked
by a line of corpses, and comparatively few seem to have
arrived at the destinations which had been prescribed for
them — chosen, no doubt, because return was impossible and
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES 157
because there was little prospect that any would survive their
hardships. I have had circumstantial accounts of these de-
portations which bear internal evidence of being veracious,
and I was told by an American friend who has lately re-
turned from Constantinople that he had heard accounts at
Constantinople confirming fully those which had come to
me, and that what had struck him was the comparative
calmness with which these atrocities were detailed by those
who had first-hand knowledge of them. Things which we
find scarcely credible excite little surprise in Turkey. Mas-
sacre was the order of the day as in Eastern Rumelia in
1876, and, in 1895-6, in Asiatic Turkey.
When the Armenian population was driven from its
homes, many of the women were not killed, but reserved
for a more humiliating fate. They were mostly seized by
Turkish officers or civilian officials, and consigned to their
harems. Others were sold in the market, but only to a
Moslem purchaser, for they were to be made Moslems by
force. Never again would they see parents or husbands —
these Christian women condemned at one stroke to slavery,
shame and apostasy. The boys and girls were also very
largely sold into slavery, at prices sometimes of only ten to
twelve shillings, while other boys of tender age were de-
livered to dervishes, to be carried off to a sort of dervish
monastery, and there forced to become Musulmans.
To give one instance of the thorough and remorseless
way in which the massacres were carried out, it may suffice
to refer to the case of Trebizond, a case vouched for by
the Italian Consul who was present when the slaughter was
carried out, his country not having then declared war
against Turkey. Orders came from Constantinople that all
the Armenian Christians in Trebizond were to be killed.
Many of the Moslems tried to save their Christian neigh-
bors, and offered them shelter in their houses, but the Turk-
ish authorities were implacable. Obeying the orders which
they had received, they hunted out all the Christians, gath-
ered them together, and drove a great crowd of them down
the streets of Trebizond, past the fortress, to the edge of the
sea. There they were all put on board sailing boats, car-
158 THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
ried out some distance on the Black Sea, and there thrown
overboard and drowned. Nearly the whole Armenian popu-
lation of from 8,000 to 10,000 were destroyed — some in
this way, some by slaughter, some by being sent to death
elsewhere. After that, any other story becomes credible;
and I am sorry to say that all the stories that I have received
contain similar elements of horror, intensified in some cases
by stories of shocking torture. But the most pitiable case
is not that of those whose misery was ended by swift death,
but of those unfortunate women who, after their husbands
had been killed and their daughters violated, were driven
out with their young children to perish in the desert —
where they have no sustenance, and where they are the
victims of the wild Arab tribes around them. It would seem
that three-fourths or four-fifths of the whole nation has
been wiped out, and there is no case in history, certainly
not since the time of Tamerlane, in which any crime so
hideous and upon so large a scale has been recorded.
Let me add, because this is of some importance in view
of the excuses which the German Government put forward,
and which their Ambassador in Washington is stated to have
given, when he talked about "the suppression of riots," for
the conduct of those who were their allies, that there is no
ground for the suggestion that there had been any rising on
the part of the Armenians. A certain number of Armenian
volunteers fought on the side of the Russians in the Cau-
casian Army, but they came from the Armenian population
of Trans-Caucasia. It may be that some few Armenians
crossed the frontier in order to fight alongside their Ar-
menian brethren in Trans-Caucasia for Russia, but at any
rate, the volunteer corps which rendered such brilliant ser-
vice to the Russian Army in the first part of the war was
composed of Russian Armenians living in the Caucasus.
Wherever the Armenians, almost wholly unarmed as they
were, have fought, they have fought in self-defense to de-
fend their families and themselves from the cruelty of the
ruffians who constitute what is called the Government of the
country. There is no excuse whatever upon any such
ground as some German authorities and newspapers allege,
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES 159
for the conduct of the Turkish Government. Their policy
of slaughter and deportation has been wanton and unpro-
voked. It appears to be simply an application of the maxim
once enunciated by Sultan Abdul Hamid : "The way to
get rid of the Armenian question is to get rid of the Arme-
nians" ; and the policy of extermination has been carried out
with far more thoroughness and with far more bloodthirsty
completeness by the present heads of the Turkish Admin-
istration — they describe themselves as the Committee of
Union and Progress^ — than it was in the time of Abdul
Hamid.
Even if the statistics were more abundant and more
eloquent still, they might fail to convey to our imagination
the actuality of what has happened. A nation blotted out !
It is easy to say it with the lips, more difficult to realize what
it means, for it is something totally beyond our experience.
Perhaps nothing brings it home more crushingly than the
record which we have of one little community of sensitive,
refined Armenian people, and of the terrible fates by which
they were individually overtaken. They were the mem-
bers of an educational establishment in a certain Anatolian
town, which was endowed and directed by a society of for-
eign missionaries; and the following is taken directly from
a letter which was written by the President of the College
after the blow had fallen.
"I shall try to banish from my mind for the time the
sense of great personal sorrow because of losing hundreds
of my friends here, and also my sense of utter defeat in
being so unable to stop the awful tragedy or even mitigate
to any degree its severity, and compel myself to give you
concisely some of the cold facts of the past months as they
relate themselves to the College. I do so with the hope that
the possession of these concrete facts may help you to do
something there for the handful of dependents still left to
us here.
"(i) Constituency: Approximately two-thirds of the
girl pupils and six-sevenths of the boys have been taken
away to death, exile or Moslem homes.
"(ii) Professors: Four gone, three left, as follows:
160 THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
"Professor A., served College 35 years. Professor of
Turkish and History. Besides previous trouble arrested
May 1st without charge, hair of head, mustache and beard
pulled out in vain effort to secure damaging confessions.
Starved and hung by arms for a day and a night and severely
beaten several times. Taken out towards Diyarbekir about
June 20th and murdered in general massacre on the road.
"Professor B., served College 33 years, studied at Ann
Arbor. Professor of Mathematics, arrested about June
5th and shared Professor A.'s fate on the road.
"Professor C, taken to witness a man beaten almost to
death, became mentally deranged. Started with his family
about July 5th into exile under guard and murdered beyond
the first big town on the road. (Principal of Preparatory
Department, studied at Princeton.) Served the College
20 years.
"Professor D., served College 16 years, studied at Edin-
burgh, Professor of Mental and Moral Science. Arrested
with Professor A. and suffered same tortures, also had
three finger nails pulled out by the roots; killed in same
massacre.
"Professor E., served College 25 years, arrested May
1st, not tortured but sick in prison. Sent to Red Crescent
Hospital and after paying large bribes is now free.
"Professor F., served the College for over 15 years,
studied in Stuttgart and Berlin, Professor of Music, escaped
arrest and torture, and thus far escaped exile and death
because of favor with the Kaim-makam secured by personal
services rendered.
"Professor G., served the College about 15 years,
studied at Cornell and Yale (M.S.), Professor of Biology,
arrested about June 5th, beaten about the hands, body and
head with a stick by the Kaim-makam himself, who, when
tired, called on all who loved religion and the nation to
continue the beating; after a period of insensibility in a dark
closet, taken to the Red Crescent Hospital with a broken
finger and serious bruises.
"(iii) Instructors, Male: Four reported killed on the
road in various massacres, whose average term of service
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES 161
is eight years. Three not heard from, probably killed on
the road, average term of service in the College four years.
"Two sick in Missionary Hospital.
"One in exile.
"One engaged in cabinet work for the Kaim-makam,
free.
"One, owner of house occupied by the Kaim-makam,
free.
"(iv) Instructors, Female:
"One reported killed in Chunkoosh, served the College
over twenty years.
"One reported taken to a Turkish harem.
"Three not heard from.
"Four started out as exiles.
"Ten free.
"Of the Armenian people as a whole we may put an
estimate that three- fourths are gone, and this three-fourths
includes the leaders in every walk of life, merchants, pro-
fessional men, preachers, bishops and government officials.
"I have said enough. Our hearts are sick with the sights
and stories of abject terror and suffering. The extermina-
tion of the race seems to be the objective, and the means
employed are more fiendish than could be concocted locally.
The orders are from headquarters, and any reprieve must
be from the same source."
BY DR. MARTIN NIEPAGE
When I returned to Aleppo in September, 191 5, from a
three months' holiday at Beirout, I heard with horror that a
new phase of Armenian massacres had begun which were
far more terrible than the earlier massacres under Abdul-
Hamid, and which aimed at exterminating, root and branch,
the intelligent, industrious, and progressive Armenian na-
tion, and at transferring its property to Turkish hands.
Such monstrous news left me at first incredulous. I
was told that, in various quarters of Aleppo, there were
lying masses of half-starved people, the survivors of so-
called "deportation convoys." In order, I was told, to cover
the extermination of the Armenian nation with a political
v, r ., VOL. III.— 11.
162 THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
cloak, military reasons were being put forward, which
were said to make it necessary to drive the Armenians out
of their native seats, which had been theirs for 2,500 years,
and to deport them to the Arabian deserts. I was also told
that individual Armenians had lent themselves to acts of
espionage.
After I had informed myself about the facts and had
made inquiries on all sides, I came to the conclusion that all
these accusations against the Armenians were, in fact, based
on trifling provocations, which were taken as an excuse
for slaughtering 10,000 innocents for one guilty person, for
the most savage outrages against women and children, and
for a campaign of starvation against the exiles which was
intended to exterminate the whole nation.
To test the conclusion derived from my information,
I visited all the places in the city where there were Ar-
menians left behind by the convoys. In dilapidated caravan-
saries (hans) I found quantities of dead, many corpses
being half-decomposed, and others, still living, among them,
who were soon to breathe their last. In other yards I found
quantities of sick and starving people whom no one was
looking after. In the neighborhood of the German Tech-
nical School, at which I am employed as a higher grade
teacher, there were four such hans, with seven or eight hun-
dred exiles dying of starvation. We teachers and our pupils
had to pass by them every day. Every time we went out we
saw through the open windows their pitiful forms, emaci-
ated and wrapped in rags. In the mornings our school-
children, on their way through the narrow streets, had to
push past the two-wheeled ox-carts, on which every day
from eight to ten rigid corpses, without coffin or shroud,
were carried away, their arms and legs trailing out of the
vehicle.
After I had shared this spectacle for several days I
thought it my duty to compose the following report :
"As teachers in the German Technical School at Aleppo,
we permit ourselves with all respect to make the following
report :
"We feel it our duty to draw attention to the fact that
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES 163
our educational work will forfeit its moral basis and the
esteem of the natives, if the German Government is not in
a position to put a stop to the brutality with which the
wives and children of slaughtered Armenians are being
treated here.
"Out of convoys which, when they left their homes on
the Armenian plateau, numbered from two to three thou-
sand men, women and children, only two or three hundred
survivors arrive here in the south. The men are slaugh-
tered on the way; the women and girls, with the exception
of the old, the ugly and those who are still children, have
been abused by Turkish soldiers and officers and then car-
ried away to Turkish and Kurdish villages, where they
have to accept Islam. They try to destroy the remnant of
the convoys by hunger and thirst. Even when they are
fording rivers, they do not allow those dying of thirst to
drink. All the nourishment they receive is a daily ration
of a little meal sprinkled over their hands, which they lick
off greedily, and its only effect is to protract their starvation.
"Opposite the German Technical School at Aleppo, in
which we are engaged in teaching, a mass of about four
hundred emaciated forms, the remnant of such convoys, is
lying in one of the hans. There are about a hundred chil-
dren (boys and girls) among them, from five to seven years
old. Most of them are suffering from typhoid and dysen-
tery. When one enters the yard, one has the impression of
entering a mad-house. If one brings them food, one no-
tices that they have forgotten how to eat. Their stomach,
weakened by months of starvation, can no longer assimilate
nourishment. If one gives them bread, they put it aside
indifferently. They just lie there quietly, waiting for
death.
"Amid such surroundings, how are we teachers to read
German Fairy Stories with our children, or, indeed, the
story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible? How are we
to make them decline and conjugate irrelevant words, while
round them in the yards adjoining the German Technical
School their starving fellow-countrymen are slowly suc-
cumbing? Under such circumstances our educational work
1 64 THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
flies in the face of all true morality and becomes a mockery
of human sympathy.
"And what becomes of these poor people who have
been driven in thousands through Aleppo and the neigh-
borhood into the deserts, reduced almost entirely, by this
time, to women and children? They are driven on and on
from one place to another. The thousands shrink to hun-
dreds and the hundreds to tiny remnants, and even these
remnants are driven on till the last is dead. Then at last
they have reached the goal of their wandering, the 'New
Homes assigned to the Armenians,' as the newspapers
phrase it.
" 'Ta'alim el alcman ('the teaching of the Germans') is
the simple Turk's explanation to every one who asks him
about the originators of these measures.
"The educated Moslems are convinced that, even though
the German nation discountenances such horrors, the Ger-
man Government is taking no steps to put a stop to them,
out of consideration for its Turkish Ally.
"Mohammedans, too, of more sensitive feelings — Turks
and Arabs alike — shake their heads in disapproval and do
not conceal their tears when they see a convoy of exiles
marching through the city, and Turkish soldiers using cud-
gels upon women in advanced pregnancy and upon dying
people who can no longer drag themselves along. They
cannot believe that their Government has ordered these
atrocities, and they hold the Germans responsible for all
such outrages, Germany being considered during the war as
Turkey's schoolmaster in everything. Even the mollahs in
the mosques say that it was not the Sublime Porte but the
German officers who ordered the ill-treatment and destruc-
tion of the Armenians.
"The things which have been passing here for months
under everybody's eyes will certainly remain as a stain on
Germany's shield in the memory of Orientals.
"In order not to be obliged to give up their faith in the
character of the Germans, which they have hitherto re-
spected, many educated Mohammedans explain the situa-
tion to themselves as follows: 'The German nation,' they
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES 165
say, 'probably knows nothing about the frightful massacres
which are on foot at the present time against the native
Christians in all parts of Turkey. Knowing the German
love of truth, how otherwise can we explain the articles we
read in German newspapers, which appear to know of noth-
ing except that individual Armenians have been deservedly
shot by martial law as spies and traitors?' Others again
say : 'Perhaps the German Government has had its hands
tied by some treaty defining its powers, or perhaps inter-
vention is inopportune for the moment.'
"I know for a fact that the Embassy at Constanti-
nople has been informed by the German Consulates of all
that has been happening. As, however, there has not been
so far the least change in the system of deportation, I feel
myself compelled by conscience to make my present report."
At the time when I composed this report, the German
Consul at Aleppo was represented by his colleague from
Alexandretta — Consul Hoffmann. Consul Hoffmann in-
formed me that the German Embassy had been advised in
detail about the events in the interior in repeated reports
from the Consulates at Alexandretta, Aleppo and Mosul.
He told me that a report of what I had seen with my own
eyes would, however, be welcome as a supplement to these
official documents and as a description in detail. He said
he would convey my report to the Embassy at Constanti-
nople by a sure agency. I now worked out a report on the
desired lines, giving an exact description of the state of
things in the han opposite our school.
Consul Hoffmann wished to add some photographs
which he had taken in the han himself. The photographs
displayed piles of corpses, among which children still alive
were crawling about.
In its revised form the report was signed by my col-
league, Dr. Graeter (higher grade teacher), and by Frau
Marie Spiecker, as well as by myself. The head of our
institution, Director Huber, also placed his name to it and
added a few words in the following sense : "My colleague
Dr. Niepage's report is not at all exaggerated. For weeks
we have been living here in an atmosphere poisoned with
1 66 THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
sickness and the stench of corpses. Only the hope of speedy
relief makes it possible for us to carry on our work."
The relief did not come. I then thought of resigning
my post as higher grade teacher in the Technical School,
on the ground that it was senseless and morally unjustifi-
able to be a representative of European civilization with
the task of bringing moral and intellectual education to a
nation if, at the same time, one had to look on passively
while the Government of the country was abandoning one's
pupils' fellow-countrymen to an agonizing death by starva-
tion.
Those around me, however, as well as the head of our
institution, Director Huber, dissuaded me from my inten-
tion. It was pointed out to me that tliere was value in our
continued presence in the country, as eye-witnesses of what
went on. Perhaps, it was suggested, our presence might
have some effect in making the Turks behave more hu-
manely towards their unfortunate victims, out of considera-
tion for us Germans. I see now that I have remained far
too long a silent witness of all this wickedness.
Our presence had no ameliorating effect whatever, and
what we could do personally came to little. Frau Spiecker,
our brave, energetic colleague, bought soap, and all the
women and children in our neighborhood who were still
alive — there were no men left — were washed and cleansed
from lice. Frau Spiecker set women to work to make soup
for those who could still assimilate nourishment. I, my-
self, distributed two pails of tea and cheese and moistened
bread among the dying children every evening for six
weeks; but when the Hunger-Typhus or Spotted-Typhus
spread through the city from these charnel houses, six of us
succumbed to it and had to give up our relief work. Indeed,
for the exiles who came to Aleppo, help was really useless.
We "could only afford those doomed to death a few slight
alleviations of their death agony.
What we saw with our own eyes here in Aleppo was
really only the last scene in the great tragedy of the ex-
termination of the Armenians. It was only a minute frac-
tion of the horrible drama that was being played out simul-
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES 167
taneously in all the other provinces of Turkey. Many more
appalling things were reported by the engineers of the Bag-
dad Railway, when they came back from their work on the
section under construction, or by German travelers who met
the convoys of exiles on their journeys. Many of these
gentlemen had seen such appalling sights that they could
eat nothing for days.
One of them, Herr Greif, of Aleppo, reported corpses
of violated women lying about naked in heaps on the rail-
way embankment at Tell-Abiad and Ras-el-Ain. Another,
Herr Spiecker, of Aleppo, had seen Turks tie Armenian
men together, fire several volleys of small shot with fowling-
pieces into the human mass, and go off laughing while their
victims slowly perished in frightful convulsions. Other
men had their hands tied behind their back and were rolled
down steep cliffs. Women were standing below, who
slashed those who had rolled down with knives until they
were dead. A Protestant pastor who, two years before, had
given a very warm welcome to my colleague, Doctor Grae-
ter, when he was passing through his village, had his finger
nails torn out.
The German Consul from Mosul related, in my presence,
at the German club at Aleppo that, in many places on the
road from Mosul to Aleppo, he had seen children's hands
lying hacked off in such numbers that one could have paved
the road with them. In the German hospital at Ourfa there
was a little girl who had had both her hands hacked off.
In an Arab village on the way to Aleppo Herr Hol-
stein, the German Consul from Mosul, saw shallow graves
with freshly-buried Armenian corpses. The Arabs of the
village declared that they had killed these Armenians by
the Government's orders. One asserted proudly that he per-
sonally had killed eight.
In many Christian houses in Aleppo I found Armenian
girls hidden who by some chance had escaped death ; either
they had been left lying exhausted and had been taken for
dead when their companions had been driven on, or, in
other cases, Europeans had found an opportunity to buy
the poor creatures for a few marks from the last Turkish
1 68 THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
soldier who had violated them. All these girls showed
symptoms of mental derangement; many of them had had
to watch the Turks cut their parents' throats. I know poor
things who have not had a single word coaxed out of them
for months, and not a smile to this moment. A girl about
fourteen years old was given shelter by Herr Krause, Depot
Manager for the Bagdad Railway at Aleppo. The girl had
been so many times ravished by Turkish soldiers in one night
that she had completely lost her reason. I saw her tossing
on her pillow in delirium with burning lips, and could hardly
get water down her throat.
A German I know saw hundreds of Christian peasant
women who were compelled, near Ourfa, to strip naked by
the Turkish soldiers. For the amusement of the soldiers
they had to drag themselves through the desert in this con-
dition for days together in a temperature of 40 Centigrade,
until their skins were completely scorched. Another witness
saw a Turk tear a child out of its Armenian mother's
womb and hurl it against the wall.
There are other occurrences, worse than these few ex-
amples which I give here, recorded in the numerous reports
which have been sent in to the Embassy from the German
Consulates at Alexandretta, Aleppo and Mosul. The Con-
suls are of opinion that, so far, probably about one million
Armenians have perished in the massacres of the last few
months. Of this number, one must reckon that at least
half are women and children who have either been mur-
dered or have succumbed to starvation.
It is a duty of conscience to bring these things into pub-
licity, and, although the Turkish Government, in destroy-
ing the Armenian nation, may only be pursuing objects of
internal policy, the way this policy is being carried out has
many of the characteristics of a general persecution of
Christians.
All the tens of thousands of girls and women who have
been carried off into Turkish harems, and the masses of
children who have been collected by the Government and
distributed among the Turks and Kurds, are lost to Chris-
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES 169
tendom, and have to accept Islam. The abusive epithet
"giaour" is now heard once again by German ears.
At Adana I saw a crowd of Armenian orphans march-
ing through the streets under a guard of Turkish soldiers;
their parents have been slaughtered and the children have
to become Mohammedans. Everywhere there have been
cases in which adult Armenians were able to save their lives
by readiness to accept Islam. Sometimes, however, the
Turkish officials first made the Christians present a petition
to be received into the communion of Islam, and then an-
swered very grandly, in order to throw dust in the eyes of
Europeans, that religion is not a thing to play with. These
officials preferred to have the petitioners killed. Men like
Talaat Bey and Enver Pasha, when prominent Armenians
brought them presents, often tempered their thanks with
the remark that they would have been still better pleased if
the Armenian givers had made their presents as Mohamme-
dans. A newspaper reporter was told by one of these gen-
tlemen : "Certainly we are now punishing many innocent
people as well. But we have to guard ourselves even against
those who may one day become guilty." On such grounds
Turkish statesmen justify the wholesale slaughter of de-
fenseless women and children. A German Catholic ecclesi-
astic reported that Enver Pasha declared, in the presence of
Monsignore Dolci, the Papal Envoy at Constantinople, that
he would not rest so long as a single Armenian remained
alive.
The object of the deportations is the extermination of
the whole Armenian nation. This purpose is also proved
by the fact that the Turkish Government declines all as-
sistance from Missionaries, Sisters of Mercy and European
residents in the country, and systematically tries to stop their
work. A Swiss engineer was to have been brought before
a court-martial because he had distributed bread in Anatolia
to the starving Armenian women and children in a convoy
of exiles. The Government has not hesitated even to de-
port Armenian pupils and teachers from the German schools
at Adana and Aleppo, and Armenian children from the
German orphanages, without regard to all the efforts of
i;o THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
the Consuls and the heads of the institutions involved. The
Government also rejected the American Government's offer
to take the exiles to America on American ships and at
America's expense.
The opinion of our German Consuls and of many for-
eigners resident in the country about the Armenian massa-
cres will some day become known through their reports.
I can say nothing about the verdict of the German officers in
Turkey. I often noticed, when in their company, an omi-
nous silence or a convulsive effort to change the subject
when any German of warm sympathies and independent
judgment began to speak about the Armenians' frightful
sufferings.
When Field Marshal von der Goltz was traveling to
Bagdad and had to cross the Euphrates at Djerablus, there
was a large encampment of half-starved Armenian exiles
there. Just before the Field Marshal's arrival, so I was
told at Djerablus, these unhappy people, the sick and dying
with the rest, were driven under the whip several kilometers
away over the nearest hills. When von der Goltz passed
through, there were no traces left of the repulsive spectacle;
but when I visited the place shortly afterwards with some
of my colleagues, we found corpses of men, women and
children still lying in out-of-the-way places, and fragments
of clothes, skulls and bones which had been partly stripped
of the flesh by jackals and birds of prey.
The author of the present report considers it out of the
question that, if the German Government is seriously de-
termined to stem the tide of destruction even at this eleventh
hour, it would find it impossible to bring the Turkish Gov-
ernment to reason. If the Turks are really so well inclined
to us Germans as people say, cannot they have it pointed out
to them how seriously they compromise us before the whole
civilized world, if we, as their allies, have to look on pas-
sively while our fellow-Christians in Turkey are slaugh-
tered in their hundreds of thousands, their women and
daughters violated, their children brought up as Mohamme-
dans ? Cannot the Turks be made to understand that their
barbarities are reckoned to our account, and that we Ger-
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES 171
mans will be accused either of criminal complicity or of con-
temptible weakness, if we shut our eyes to the frightful
horrors which this war has produced, and seek to pass over
in silence facts which are already notorious all over the
world? If the Turks are really as intelligent as is said,
should it be impossible to convince them that, in exterminat-
ing the Christian nations in Turkey, they are destroying
the productive factors and the intermediaries of European
trade and general civilization? If the Turks are as far-
sighted as is said, can they blind themselves to the danger
that, when the civilized States of Europe have taken cog-
nizance of what has been happening in Turkey during the
war, they may be driven to the conclusion that Turkey has
forfeited the right to govern herself and has destroyed once
for all any belief in her tolerance and capacity for civili-
zation? Will not the German Government be standing for
what is best in Turkey's own interest, if it hinders Turkey
from ruining herself morally and economically ?
In this report I hope to reach the Government's ear
through the accredited representatives of the German na-
tion.
When the Reichstag sits in Committee, these things must
no longer be passed over, however painful they are. Noth-
ing could put us more to shame than the erection at Con-
stantinople of a Turco-German palace of friendship at huge
expense, while we are not in a position to shield our fellow-
Christians from barbarities unparalleled even in the blood-
stained history of Turkey. . . .
Even apart from our common duty as Christians, we
Germans are under a special obligation to stop the complete
extermination of the half-million Armenian Christians who
still survive. We are Turkey's allies and, after the elimina-
tion of the French, English and Russians, we are the only
foreigners who have any say in Turkish affairs. We may
indignantly refute the lies of our enemies abroad, who say
that the massacres have been organized by German Con-
suls. We shall not be able to dissipate the Turkish nation's
conviction that the Armenian massacres were ordered by
Germany, unless energetic steps are at last taken by German
172 THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
diplomatists and officers. And even if we cleared ourselves
of everything but the one reproach that our timidity and
weakness in dealing with our ally had prevented us from
saving half a million women and children from slaughter
or death by starvation, the image of the German War would
be disfigured for all time in the mirror of history by a hide-
ous feature.
It is utterly erroneous to think that the Turkish Gov-
ernment will refrain of its own accord even from the de-
struction of the women and children, unless the strongest
pressure is exercised by the German Government. Only just
before I left Aleppo, in May, 1916, the crowds of exiles
encamped at Ras-el-Ain on the Bagdad Railway, estimated
at 20,000 women and children, were slaughtered to the last
one.
BY DR. HARRY STURMER
I have spoken to Armenians who said to me : "Formerly
Sultan Abdul Hamid massacred us from time to time by
thousands. At stated intervals, in regular pogroms, we
were turned over to the knives of the Kurds, and certainly
suffered terribly. After that the Young Turks, at Adana,
in 1909, showed they, too, could shed the blood of thou-
sands of us. But since our present sufferings, rest assured
we look with longing back upon the massacres perpetrated
under the old regime. Now we have to complain not of a
definite number of murdered people; now our whole race is
slowly but surely being exterminated by the chauvinistic
hatred of an apparently civilized, apparently modern, but,
for that very reason, terribly dangerous Government. Now
they are taking our women and children, who die on those
long wearisome trips on foot that they have to make while
being deported, or in the concentration camps without any-
thing to eat. The few pitiful survivors of our people in the
villages and cities of the interior, where the local authori-
ties eagerly carry out the Central Government's orders, are
then forcibly converted to Islamism, and our young girls
are put into harems and houses of prostitution.
"Now that the Young Turks find themselves bleeding
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES 173
white in a disastrous war, they are trying to right the bal-
ance of the races and permanently establish themselves as
the predominant element in the country. That is why these
are not merely abortive outbreaks, but calculated political
measures against our people ; and therefore we can hope for
no mercy. Since Germany, weak and conscienceless, per-
mits our extermination, if the war lasts much longer the Ar-
menian people will simply cease to exist. And so we now
look back with regret to Abdul Hamid's times, terrible as
they were."
Was there ever any more terrific tragedy in the history
of a race? And this was a race quite free of all illusions
of nationalism, cognizant that it would be helpless crowded
in between two great nations. The Armenians had felt no
real impulse toward Russia until the Young Turks, whose
comrades they had been in revolt against Abdul Hamid,
foully betrayed them. They had been completely loyal to
their Osmanli citizenship, more so than any other element
of the empire, with the exception of the Turks themselves.
I believe I have in these few paragraphs sufficiently
characterized the spirit animating this policy of extermina-
tion, as well as its results. I only wish to put in evidence
one more incident, which affected me most because it was a
matter of personal experience.
One summer's day in 1916 [in Constantinople], at about
noon, my wife went alone to the Grand Rue de Pera to
do some shopping. We lived only a few steps from Galata
Serai, and daily could see the troops of unhappy Armenians
enter the police station under escort of the gendarmes.
Eventually you get hardened even to such sad sights and
come to regard them not as individual but as political mis-
fortunes. But this time my wife returned after a few min-
utes, all a-tremble. She hadn't been able to go on. As she
passed the "Caracol" she heard the sound of some one being
tortured, muffled groans as of some animal in agony, half
dead of pain. "An Armenian," was what a person standing
at the entrance of the building told her. At that moment
the crowd was driven away by a policeman.
"If such things can be done in the bright light of day
174 THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
in the busiest part of the European city of Pera, then I
wonder what they do to the poor Armenians in the unciv-
ilized districts of the interior?" asked my wife. "If the
Turks behave like wild beasts here in the capital, so that a
woman can't go into the main street without meeting with
this kind of terrible shock, then I can't go on living in this
fearsome country."
Then she gave utterance to her boundless indignation
at what, for more than a year, she had seen whenever we
went out on to the streets : "You are brutes, contemptible
brutes, you Germans, to allow the Turks to do this. You
have the country absolutely in hand. Cowardly brutes you
are, and I'm never going to set foot in your accursed land
again."
At the moment when my wife, in her sorrow, indigna-
tion, and disgust at such cowardice, broke out into tears
and flung at me her curse against my country, at that mo-
ment I mentally tore the ties that bound me to Germany.
Truly, I had known enough for a long time.
I remembered the conversations I had had with gen-
tlemen from the German Embassy in Constantinople, and
also with the American Ambassador, Morgenthau, about
the Armenian question. I had never believed in the as-
surances, given out by the German Embassy, that it, the
German Embassy, had done everything possible to stop the
murderous persecutions of harmless Armenians, a long dis-
tance away from the front, who, from their very nature and
social position, were in no position to meddle with political
matters. I equally distrusted the German Embassy's as-
sertion that it had done all it could to prevent the deported
women and children — deported, no doubt, for that very
purpose — from being allowed to perish. On the contrary,
I gathered the impression that the German Government's
conduct in the Armenian matter was controlled by a mixture
of motives — on the one hand, cowardice and lack of con-
science; on the other, by shortsighted stupidity.
The American Ambassador, who warmly espoused the
Armenian cause, naturally preserved a good deal cf reserve
when talking to a German journalist like myself, and would
THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES 175
not give his real opinion of the conduct of his German col-
league. Nevertheless, in my many conversations with this
sympathetic person, who has done so much for humanity in
Turkey, I heard nothing which would tend to destroy my
impression of the German Embassy's conduct, and yet I
gave some indication of my impression during my conversa-
tions with Mr. Morgenthau.
Germany's attitude gave evidence of the most shameless
cowardice, I have said. We certainly had sufficient control
of the Turkish Government in military, financial, and po-
litical matters to be able at least to force it to observe the
most elementary rules of humanity.
I can't help imagining that, in spite of pretty official
speeches, which I often heard at the German Embassy about
the Armenian problem, the diplomats at bottom had very
little interest in the salvation of this people. How do I
come to make such a frightful charge? I was often at the
German Embassy when the Armenian Patriarch, after some
particularly terrible attack upon his people, came with tears
in his eyes, and begged for help. And I never could discern
anything in the excited hurryings hither and thither of our
diplomats except anxiety to preserve German prestige and
wounded vanity, but never a worry for the fate of the Ar-
menian people. I, time and again, heard from German lips
from all sorts of individuals, from the lowest to the highest,
expressions of hatred, based on absolute misunderstanding
of the facts, against the Armenians, unconsidered repeti-
tions of the official Turkish publications.
And, unfortunately, the fact has been established by
nurses and doctors returning from the interior that German
officers, more eager than some of the Turkish officials of
local districts, who hated to carry out the instructions of the
Committee of Union and Progress, light-heartedly took part
in the extermination and expulsion of the Armenians. A
well-known instance, and one sufficiently established by
proof, was that of two traveling German officers who came
to a little village in further Asia Minor, where some Arme-
nians had taken refuge in the interior of a house, refusing
to be driven away like animals. Guns had been placed in
176 THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES
position to drive them out of their shelter. But no Turks
were to be found with the courage to carry out orders and
fire on women and children. These German officers, then,
without any orders, took up the matter as a sporting affair,
and seized the occasion to show their skill in artillery prac-
tice. Certainly such shameful occurrences were not taking
place daily, but they exactly fit in with the spirit which in-
spired the utterances of dozens of highly educated, highly
placed Germans — not military people — with regard to the
Armenians.
Just such a case of criminal interference by military per-
sons, in the interior of Anatolia, was officially brought to
the attention of the embassy. At that time Count Wolff -
Metternich happened to be the German Ambassador, a man
who, in spite of his years, and in contrast to Freiherr von
Wangenheim, victim of a weak and criminal optimism and
pro-Turk blindness, now and then dared to oppose the
Turkish Government. In the present instance he reported
the matter to Germany; whereupon this very crime which
he reported was made the pretext for his dismissal.
The mixture of "consciencelessness," cowardice, and
blindness displayed by our Government in the Armenian
matter, alone would suffice to undermine the loyalty of any
thinking human being who believes in humanity and civiliza-
tion. Not every German will light-heartedly, like those diplo-
mats of Pera, face the shame of having history note that the
refinedly cruel extermination of a civilized and worthy peo-
ple coincided with the period of Germany's hegemony in
Turkey.
DUNAJEC: THE BREAKING OF THE
RUSSIAN FRONT
THE TRIUMPH OF GERMAN ARTILLERY
MAY 1ST
GENERAL VON MACKENSEN GENERAL KROBATIN
GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS STANLEY WASHBURN
The battle of the Dunajec River, or of Gorlice as it might be more
accurately called, was not only the turning point of 1915; it was the
turning point of the entire War upon the eastern front. Up to that
time Russia had hoped to win by her own strength ; had dreamed of
sweeping over the Carpathians, holding Austria in conquest, and
sweeping on to Berlin. After the terrible crushing of her defense
line which began along the Dunajec, she was forever on the defensive;
many of her councilors were urging peace; many almost openly sup-
ported Germany. No hope of victory remained to Russia except
through a western victory by Britain and France.
The Dunajec was also a revolution in modern warfare. So prodigal
an employment of explosives had not even entered the imagination
of earlier leaders. The preparation of such quantities of ammuni-
tion demanded indeed the labors of an entire nation. Germany was
willing to give herself thus utterly to the waging of war. Unless the
Allies could come promptly and effectively to the same position, they
would be hopelessly outclassed. So important does it thus become to
the reader to understand not only the battle of the Dunajec itself
but also its influence upon the world in its own immediate hour,
that we give here the official reports of the struggle, German, Aus-
trian and Russian, and then a general survey by the British observer
sent with the Russian troops.
The Dunajec River flows through northwestern Galicia, not far
from the ancient Polish capital of Cracow. East of the Dunajec
lies the town of Gorlice, and as the breaking Russians fell back
through Gorlice, its name is often given to the battle. The Russians
were driven back day by day to the San River in mid Galicia. On
the banks of the San lie the two strongly defensible towns of Jaroslav
and Przemysl. The Russian withdrawal from the second of these
took place on June 3rd ; and as this committed the retreating army
definitely to the abandonment of western Galicia it may be regarded
as the final despairing yielding of the month-long struggle. The
Carpathian attack against Austria had to be abandoned wholly. In-
deed, only by utmost skill did Brusiloff, the Russian general in the
Carpathians, save his army from being surrounded there and so
cut off.
W., VOL. III.— 12. 177
178 BREAKING THE RUSSIAN FRONT
BY GENERAL VON MACKENSEN
TO the complete surprise of the enemy, large movements
of troops into West Galicia had been completed by the
end of April. These troops, subject to the orders of Gen-
eral von Mackensen, had been assigned the task in conjunc-
tion with the neighboring armies of our Austrian ally of
breaking through the Russian front between the crest of the
Carpathians and the middle Dunajec. It was a new problem
and no easy undertaking. The heavens granted our troops
wonderful sunshine and dry roads. Thus flyers and artil-
lery could come into full activity and the difficulties of the
terrain, which here has the character of the approaches of
the German Alps, or the Horsal hills in Thuringia, could
be overcome. At several points ammunition had to be trans-
ported amid the greatest hardships on pack animals and
the marching columns and batteries had to be moved forward
over corduroy roads. All the accumulation of information
and preparations necessary for breaking through the enemy's
line had been quietly and secretly accomplished. On the
first of May in the afternoon the artillery began its fire on
the Russian positions. These in some five months had been
perfected according to all the rules of the art of fortifica-
tion. In stories they lay one over the other along the steep
heights, whose slopes had been furnished with obstacles. At
some points of special importance to the Russians they con-
sisted of as many as seven rows of trenches, one behind the
other. The works were very skillfully placed, and were
adopted to flanking one another. The infantry of the allied
[Teutonic] troops in the nights preceding the attack had
pushed forward closer to the enemy and had assumed posi-
tions in readiness for the forward rush. In the night from
May ist to 2nd the artillery fired in slow rhythm at the en-
emy's positions. Pauses in the fire served the pioneers for
cutting the wire entanglements. On the 2nd of May at
6 a. m. an overwhelming artillery fire, including field guns
and running up to the heaviest calibers, was begun on the
front many miles in extent selected for the effort to break
through. This was maintained unbroken for four hours.
BREAKING THE RUSSIAN FRONT 179
At 10 o'clock in the morning these hundreds of fire-
spouting tubes suddenly ceased and the same moment the
swarming lines and attacking columns of the assailants threw
themselves upon the hostile positions. The enemy had been
so shaken by the heavy artillery fire that his resistance at
many points was very slight. In headlong flight he left his
defenses, when the infantry of the [Teutonic] allies ap-
peared before his trenches, throwing away rifles and cook-
ing utensils and leaving immense quantities of infantry am-
munition and dead. At one point the Russians themselves
cut the wire entanglements to surrender themselves to the
Germans. Frequently the enemy made no further resistance
in his second and third positions. On the other hand, at
certain other points of the front he defended himself stub-
bornly, making an embittered fight and holding the neigh-
borhood. With the Austrian troops, the Bavarian regiments
attacked Mount Zameczyka, lying 250 meters above their
positions, a veritable fortress. A Bavarian infantry regi-
ment here won incomparable laurels. To the left of the Ba-
varians Silesian regiments stormed the heights of Sekowa
and Sakol. Young regiments tore from the enemy the des-
perately defended cemetery height of Gorlice and the per-
sistently held railway embankment at Kennenitza. Among
the Austrian troops Galician battalions had stormed the
steep heights of the Pustki Hill, Hungarian troops having
taken in fierce fighting the Wiatrowka heights. Prussian
guard regiments threw the enemy out of his elevated posi-
tions east of Biala and at Staszkowka stormed seven suc-
cessive Russian lines which were stubbornly held. Either
kindled by the Russians or hit by a shell, a naphtha well
behind Gorlice burst into flames. Higher than the houses
the flames struck up into the sky and pillars of smoke rose
to hundreds of yards.
On the evening of the 2nd of May, when the warm
Spring sun had begun to yield to the coolness of night the
first main position in its whole depth and extent, a distance
of some sixteen kilometers, had been broken through and a
gain of ground of some four kilometers had been attained.
At least 20,000 prisoners, dozens of cannon and fifty ma-
180 BREAKING THE RUSSIAN FRONT
chine guns remained in the hands of the allied troops that
in the battle had competed with one another for the palm of
victory. In addition, an amount of booty to be readily esti-
mated, in the shape of war materials of all sorts, including
great masses of rifles and ammunition, had been secured.
From the German Official Press Headquarters
Reports of prisoners are unanimous in describing the
effect of the artillery fire of the [Teutonic] allies as more
terrible than the imagination can picture. The men, who
were with difficulty recovering from the sufferings and ex-
ertions they had undergone, agreed that they could not im-
agine conditions worse in hell than they had been for four
hours in the trenches. Corps, divisions, brigades, and regi-
ments melted away as though in the heat of a furnace. In
no direction was escape possible, for there was no spot of
ground on which the four hundred guns of the Teutonic
allies had not exerted themselves. All the Generals and
Staff Officers of one Russian division were killed or
wounded. Moreover, insanity raged in the ranks of the
Russians, and from all sides hysterical cries could be heard
rising above the roar of our guns, too strong for human
nerves. Over the remnants of the Russians who crowded
in terror into the remotest corners of their trenches there
broke the mighty rush of our masses of infantry, before
which also the Russian reserves, hurrying forward, crum-
bled away.
In barely fourteen days the army of Mackensen car-
ried its offensive forward from Gorlice to Jaroslav. With
daily fighting, for the most part against fortified positions,
it crossed the line of three rivers and gained in territory
more than ioo kilometers in an airline. On the evening of
the fourteenth day, with the taking of the city and bridge-
head, Jaroslav, they won access to the lower San. It was
now necessary to cross this stream on a broad front. The
enemy, though, still held before Radymo and in the angle of
San-Wislok with two strongly fortified bridge-heads the
west bank of this river. For the rest he confined himself
to the frontal defense of the east bank.
BREAKING THE RUSSIAN FRONT 181
While troops of the guard in close touch with Austrian
regiments gained, righting, the crossing of the river at Jaro-
slav, and continued to throw the enemy, who was daily re-
ceiving reinforcements, continually further toward the east
and northeast, Hanoverian regiments forced the passage of
the river several kilometers further down stream. Bruns-
wickers, by the storming of the heights of Wiazowinca,
opened the way and thereby won the obstinately defended
San crossing. Further to the north the San angle was
cleared of the enemy that had still held on there. One
Colonel, fifteen officers, 7,800 prisoners, four cannon,
twenty-eight machine guns, thirteen ammunition wagons,
and a field kitchen fell into our hands. The rest found them-
selves obliged to make a hasty retreat to the east bank. „
These battles and successes took place on the 17th of
May in the presence of the German Emperor, who, on the
same day, conferred upon the Chief of Staff of the army
here engaged, Colonel von Seeckt, the order pour le merite,
the commander of the army, General von Mackensen, hav-
ing already received special honors. The Emperor had
hurried forward to his troops by automobile. On the way
he was greeted with loud hurrahs by the wounded riding
back in wagons. On the heights of Jaroslav the Emperor
met Prince Eitel Friedrich, and then, from several points of
observation, for hours followed with keen attention the
progress of the battle for the crossing.
In the days from the 18th to the 20th of May the Teu-
tonic allies pressed on further toward the east, northeast,
and north, threw the enemy out of Sieniawa and took up
positions on the east bank of the river upon a front of twenty
or thirty kilometers. The enemy withdrew behind the Ler-
baczowa stream. All his attempts to win back the lost
ground were unsuccessful.
In the month of May 863 officers and 268,869 men were
taken prisoners in the southeastern theater of war, while
251 cannon and 576 machine guns were captured. Of these
numbers, the capturing of 400 officers, including two Gen-
erals, 153,254 men, 160 cannon, including twenty-eight
182 BREAKING THE RUSSIAN FRONT
heavy ones, and 403 machine guns, is to the credit of the
troops under General Mackensen.
Including prisoners taken in the eastern theater of war,
the total number of Russians who have fallen into the hands
of the Germanic allied troops during the month of May
amounts to about 1,000 officers and more than 300,000
men.
BY GENERAL KROBATIN
Vienna, May 13th.
From January to the middle of April the Russians vainly
exerted themselves to break through to Hungary, but they
completely failed with heavy losses. Thereupon the time
had come to crush the enemy in a common attack with a
full force of the combined troops of both empires.
A victory at Tarnow and Gorlice freed West Galicia
from the enemy and caused the Russian fronts on the Nida
and in the Carpathians to give way. In a ten days' battle
the victorious troops beat the Russian Third and Eighth
Armies to annihilation, and quickly covered the ground from
the Dunajec and Beskids to the San River — 130 kilometers
(nearly 81 miles) of territory.
From May 2nd to 12th the prisoners taken numbered
143,500, while 100 guns and 350 machine guns were cap-
tured, besides the booty already mentioned. We suppressed
small detachments of the enemy scattered in the woods in
the Carpathians.
Near Odvzechowa the entire staff of the Russian Forty-
eighth Division of Infantry, including General Korniloff,
surrendered. The best indication of the confusion of the
Russian Army is the fact that our Ninth Corps captured
in the last few days Russians of fifty-one various regiments.
The quantity of captured Russian war material is piled up
and has not yet been enumerated.
North of the Vistula the Austro-Hungarian troops are
advancing across Stopnica. The German troops have cap-
tured Kielce.
East of Uzsok Pass the German and Hungarian troops
took several Russian positions on the heights and advanced
BREAKING THE RUSSIAN FRONT 183
to the south of Turka, capturing 4,000 prisoners. An at-
tack is proceeding here and in the direction of Skole.
In southeast Galicia strong hostile troops are attacking
across Horodenka.
BY GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS
Petrograd, June 3rd.
As Przemysl, in view of the state of its artillery and its
works, which were destroyed by the Austrians before their
capitulation, was recognized as incapable of defending it-
self, its maintenance in our hands only served our purpose
until such time as our possession of positions surrounding
the town on the northwest facilitated our operations on the
San.
The enemy having captured Jaroslav and Radymno and
begun to spread along the right bank of the river, the main-
tenance of these positions forced our troops to fight on an
unequal and very difficult front, increasing it by thirty-five
versts (about twenty-four miles), and subjecting the troops
occupying these positions to the concentrated fire of the
enemy's numerous guns.
Przemysl was bombarded with heavy guns up to 16-inch
caliber, and the enemy delivered his principal attack against
the north front in the region of Forts 10 and II, which the
Austrians had almost completely demolished before the sur-
render of the fortress.
When we repulsed these attacks the enemy succeeded
in taking several of our guns, which had bombarded the
enemy's columns until the latter were close to the muzzles,
and the last shell was spent.
BY STANLEY WASHBURN
The world's history records nothing that has even ap-
proximated to this German drive which fell on one Russian
Army, the bulk of which remained at its post and perished.
The total number of German army corps sent down to
do this job is uncertain. I have heard from many in high
authority estimates differing so widely that I can supply no
statement as absolutely correct. Perhaps sixteen is not far
1 84 BREAKING THE RUSSIAN FRONT
from the actual number, though probably reinforcements
and extra divisions sent in pretty steadily to fill losses,
brought up the total to a larger number than the full strength
of sixteen corps. However, the details at this time are im-
material. The main point is that the Russians were en-
tirely outnumbered in men, guns and ammunition. The
statements about the German massed guns also vary as
widely as from 2,000 to 4,000. Certainly they had not less
than 200 guns equal to or exceeding 8-inch types. These
were concentrated on the front which was held by three or
four corps of the devoted Dunajec army.
Men who know have told me that what followed was
indescribable. I have not heard that there was any panic,
or attempt to retreat on the part of the troops. In char-
acteristic Russian fashion they remained and took their
grueling. For whole versts behind the line, I am told that
the terrain was a hash of earth, mangled bodies, and frag-
ments of exploded shell. If the statement that the Germans
fired 700,000 shells in three hours is true, and it is ac-
cepted in the Russian Army, one can readily realize what
must have been the condition of the army occupying that
line of works. Much criticism has been brought against the
General commanding because he had no well-prepared sec-
ond line of trenches. No doubt he ought to have had it, but
it would have made little difference beyond delaying the
advance a few days. The German machine had been pre-
paring for two months, and everything was running as
smooth as a well-oiled engine, with troops, munitions and
supplies being fed in with precision and regularity.
Russia is not an industrial nation, and cannot turn her
resources into war material overnight as the Germans have
been able to do. She was outclassed in everything except
bravery, and neither the Germans nor any other army can
claim superiority to her in that respect. With the center
literally cut away, the keystone of the Russian line had been
pulled out, and nothing remained but to retire. In this re-
tirement five Russian armies were involved.
The unfortunate army of the Dunajec, whose commander
and number are as well known in England as here, began
BREAKING THE RUSSIAN FRONT 185
then to fall back with what there was left of it on the San,
tearing up railroads and fighting a rearguard action with
what strength it could command. In the meantime the army
of Brusiloff, which up to this time had never been defeated,
was well through the Carpathians and going strong. The
crumbling of their right neighbor left them in a terrible
plight, and only skillful and rapid maneuvering got them
back out of the passes in time to get in touch with the frag-
ments of the retreating center, which by the time it reached
the San had got reinforcements and some ammunition.
BrusilofFs right tried to hold Przemysl, but as the com-
mander assured me, there was nothing left of the fortifica-
tions. Besides, as I gather from officers in that part of his
army, further retirements of the next army kept exposing
their flank, and made it imperative for the whole army to
commence its retreat toward the Russian frontier.
I have good reason for believing that the Russian plan
to retire to their own frontier was decided on when they
lost Przemysl, and that the battles on the Grodek line, around
Lwow, were merely rearguard actions. In any case, I do
know that while the fighting was still in progress on the
San, and just as Przemysl was taken, work was commenced
on a permanent line of defense south of Lublin and Cholm,
the line in fact which is at this moment being held by the
Russians. My belief, then, is that everything that took place
between the San and the present line must be considered
inevitable in the higher interests of Russian strategy. The
interim between leaving the San and taking up what is now
approximately the line on which they will probably make a
definite stand, will make a very fine page in Russian history.
I cannot at this time go into any details, but the Allies will
open their eyes when they know exactly how little the Rus-
sians had in the way of ammunition to hold off this mass of
Germans and Austrians whose supply of shell poured in
steadily week after week.
Next to the army of Brusiloff is that army which had
been assaulting and making excellent headway in the East-
ern Carpathians. They, too, were attacked with terrible
energy, but taken independently could probably have held
1 86 BREAKING THE RUSSIAN FRONT
on indefinitely. As it was they never moved until the re-
tirement of all the other armies west of them rendered
their position untenable. The German and Austrian com-
muniques have constantly discussed the defeat of this army.
The world can judge whether it was demoralized when it
learns that in six weeks, from Stryj to the Zota Lipa, it cap-
tured 53,000 prisoners. During this same period, the army
of Bukovina in the far left was actually advancing, and only
came back to preserve the symmetry of the whole line. The
problem of falling back over this extremely long front with
five great armies, after the center was completely broken,
was as difficult an one as could well be presented. In the face
of an alert enemy there were here and there local disasters
and bags of Russian prisoners, but with all their skill, and
with all their railroads, and superiority in both men and
ammunition, the Germans and the Austrians have not been
able to destroy the Russian force, which stands before them
to-day on a new and stronger line. The further the Rus-
sians have retired, the slower has been their retreat and the
more difficult has it been for the enemy to follow up their
strokes with anything like the same strength and energy. In
other words, the Russians are pretty nearly beyond the
reach of enemy blows which can hurt them fatally.
The Austrians have followed up the Eastern armies and
claim enormous victories, but it must be pretty clear now,
even to the Austrians and Germans, that these victories,
which are costing them twice what they are costing the
Russians, are merely rearguard actions. In any case, the
Austrian enthusiasm is rapidly ebbing away. After two
months of fighting the Germans have finally swung their
main strength back toward the line of Cholm-Lublin, with
the probable intent of finishing up the movement by threat-
ening Warsaw and thus closing up successfully the whole
Galician campaign, which, as many believe, had this end in
view. But now they find a recuperated and much stronger
Russian Army complacently awaiting them on a selected po-
sition which is in every way the best they have ever had.
THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES AT OPEN CLASH
MAY 7TH
LORD MERSEY PRESIDENT WILSON
GOTTLIEB VON JAGOW
On May 7, 1915, the dispute between Germany and the United
States, caused by the U-Boat warfare upon merchant ships, passed
from the diplomatic to the acute and embittered stage. The British
passenger steamer Lusitania was torpedoed, and sank with a loss of
nearly twelve hundred lives, one-third of those who perished being
women and children. Less than eight hundred of those aboard were
saved. Of the slain, 124 were United States citizen passengers. Only
35 Americans survived, the percentage of mortality being higher
among them than in any other class aboard. Apparently they gave
their chance at the life-boats to others.
The sinking of the Lusitania was a deliberate step taken by the
German Government in its course of terrorizing the seas. Neutrals
had been already threatened, as we have seen, by the decree of Feb-
ruary 4th. Yet neutrals continued to sail the oceans. This seemed
unendurable to German dignity. Perhaps the threat had been too
indefinite ; Germany had only implied that neutrals might be slain,
and each time this fate had actually happened to citizens of the power-
ful United States (not when it happened to feebler neutrals), she
had apologized and expressed her regret. So now she reversed her
method. She warned Americans by newspaper that if they sailed on
British ships, specifying in particular the Lusitania, they would be
slain — and then they were, 124 of them.
It is one of the strangest of human illogicalities that in the minds
of all Germans, and some other people, this precedent threat seems
somehow to lighten Germany's guilt or even to remove guilt alto-
gether. A man announces, "If anybody in our town comes on the
main street to-morrow I'll shoot them." They all come, with or with-
out knowledge of his threat, and he shoots all he can. Then his
family congratulate him on his marksmanship, and say, "It's their
fault for coming on the public street; he warned them not to."
Of course the real question at issue was that of the February 4th
decree, in which Germany had asserted the right to change Interna-
tional Law to the extent of sinking British ships without examination
as to their character or effort to save the civilians aboard. Against
this, the United States had declared all along, that it would not
submit to any such change if it involved killing an American citizen.
Germany, not yet prepared to go to the length which she did two
years later, of destroying American ships, was nevertheless determined
187
1 88 THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
not to spare British ships because of the presence of Americans on
board. She used the Lusitania case to make this definite.
Perhaps she was surprised by the vehemence of American resent-
ment. The slaying of 124 people, even if some of them were rather
prominent, meant nothing to the German war lords. At first they
sought to brazen the matter out ; they revived the munition trade
question ; they asserted that the Lusitania was really an armed war-
ship ; their propagandists secured affidavits in America — affidavits after-
ward admitted to be perjuries — declaring that guns and ammunition
had been secretly stored upon the Lusitania.
The United States brushed all these pleas aside. The pacifist
Secretary of State, Mr. Bryan, resigned ; and President Wilson in his
own hand wrote to Germany the first of those clear and decisive
notes which became so prominent a feature of the War. That note
is given here, following upon the earlier official defense by Von
Jagow, Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs. We present also the
British law-court report of the disaster, as it was announced by the
presiding judge, Lord Mersey, after a long and careful investigation
into every tale.
The United States courts also made their own investigation of the
case, and the United States Government declared positively that the
Lusitania was not armed and carried no store of explosives. Yet
such is the old German official temperament that Admiral von Tirpitz,
head of the German submarine service, in 1919 brushed all these offi-
cial statements aside and repeated the first German assertion as if it
were a proven fact instead of a proven perjury. Note again, what
our volumes have already had to emphasize, the German official faith
in the power of persistent falsehood. Says Von Tirpitz: "With
criminal recklessness and despite warnings from our accredited am-
bassador, Americans embarked on this armed cruiser already heavily
laden with ammunition." Then he adds : "After the torpedo struck
there was a second explosion inside caused by the mass of ammuni-
tion on board. This was the sole cause of the immediate sinking of
the Lusitania and the great loss of human life."
c. F. H.
BY LORD MERSEY
The Voyage
The Departure from New York
THE Lusitania left New York at noon on the 1st of May,
191 5. I am told that before she sailed notices were
published in New York by the German authorities that the
ship would be attacked by German submarines, and people
were warned not to take passage in her. I mention this mat-
ter not as affecting the present inquiry but because I believe it
is relied upon as excusing in some way the subsequent killing
of the passengers and crew on board the ship. In my view,
THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA 189
so far from affording any excuse the threats serve only to
aggravate the crime by making it plain that the intention to
commit it was deliberately formed and the crime itself
planned before the ship sailed. Unfortunately the threats
were not regarded as serious by the people intended to be
affected by them. They apparently thought it impossible
that such an atrocity as the destruction of their lives could
be in the contemplation of the German Government. But
they were mistaken : and the ship sailed.
The Ship's Speed
It appears that a question had arisen in the office of the
Cunard Company shortly after the war broke out as to
whether the transatlantic traffic would be sufficient to justify
the Company in running their two big and expensive ships
— the Lusitania and the Mauretania. The conclusion arrived
at was that one of the two (the Lusitania) could be run
once a month if the boiler power were reduced by one-fourth.
The saving in coal and labor resulting from this reduction
would, it was thought, enable the Company to avoid loss
though not to make a profit. Accordingly six of the Lusi-
tania s boilers were closed and the ship began to run in these
conditions in November, 1914. She had made five round
voyages in this way before the voyage in question in this
inquiry. The effect of the closing of the six boilers was to
reduce the attainable speed from 24.3/2 to 21 knots. But this
reduction still left the Lusitania a considerably faster ship
than any other steamer plying across the Atlantic. In my
opinion this reduction of the steamer's speed was of no sig-
nificance and was proper in the circumstances.
The Torpedoing of the Ship
By May 7th the Lusitania had entered what is called the
"Danger Zone," that is to say, she had reached the waters in
which enemy submarines might be expected. The Captain
had therefore taken precautions. He had ordered all the
life-boats under davits to be swung out. He had ordered all
bulkhead doors to be closed except such as were required
to be kept open in order to work the ship. These orders had
190 THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
been carried out. The portholes were also closed. The look'
out on the ship was doubled — two men being sent to the
crow's nest and two men to the eyes of the ship. Two offi'
cers were on the bridge and a quartermaster was on either
side with instructions to look out for submarines. Orders
were also sent to the engine-room between noon and 2 p. m.
of the 7th to keep the steam pressure very high in case of
emergency and to give the vessel all possible speed if the tele-
phone from the bridge should ring.
Up to 8 a. m. on the morning of the 7th the speed on the
voyage had been maintained at 21 knots. At 8 a. m. the
speed was reduced to 18 knots. The object of this reduction
was to secure the ship's arrival outside the bar at Liverpool
at about 4 o'clock on the morning of the 8th, when the tide
would serve to enable her to cross the bar into the Mersey
at early dawn. Shortly after this alteration of the speed a
fog came on and the speed was further reduced for a time to
15 knots. A little before noon the fog lifted and the speed
was restored to 18 knots, from which it was never subse-
quently changed. At this time land was sighted about two
points abaft the beam, which the Captain took to be Brow
Head; he could not, however, identify it with sufficient cer-
tainty to enable him to fix the position of his ship upon the
chart. He therefore kept his ship on her course, which was
S. 87 E. and about parallel with the land until 12.40, when,
in order to make a better landfall he altered his course to
N. 67 E. This brought him closer to the land, and he sighted
the Old Head of Kinsale. He then (at 1.40 p. m.) altered
his course back to S. 87 E., and having steadied his ship on
that course, began (at 1.50) to take a four-point bearing.
This operation, which I am advised would occupy 30 or 40
minutes, was in process at the time when the ship was tor-
pedoed, as hereafter described.
At 2 p.m. the passengers were finishing their midday meal.
At 2.15 p. m., when ten to fifteen miles off the Old Head
of Kinsale, the weather being then clear and the sea smooth,
the Captain, who was on the port side of the lower bridge,
heard the call, "There is a torpedo coming, sir," given by
the second officer. He looked to starboard and then saw a
THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA 191
streak of foam in the wake of a torpedo traveling towards his
ship. Immediately afterwards the Lusitania was struck on
the starboard side somewhere between the third and fourth
funnels. The blow broke number 5 life-boat to splinters.
A second torpedo was fired immediately afterwards, which
also struck the ship on the starboard side. The two torpedoes
struck the ship almost simultaneously.
Both these torpedoes were discharged by a German sub-
marine from a distance variously estimated at from two to
five hundred yards. No warning of any kind was given. It
is also in evidence that shortly afterwards a torpedo from
another submarine was fired on the port side of the Lusitania.
This torpedo did not strike the ship : and the circumstance is
only mentioned for the purpose of showing that perhaps
more than one submarine was taking part in the attack.
The Lusitania on being struck took a heavy list to star-
board and in less than twenty minutes she sank in deep water.
Eleven hundred and ninety-eight men, women, and children
were drowned. 1
Sir Edward Carson, when opening the case, described
the course adopted by the German Government in directing
this attack as "contrary to International Law and the usages
of war," and as constituting, according to the law of all civil-
ized countries, "a deliberate attempt to murder the passen-
gers on board the ship." This statement is, in my opinion,
true, and it is made in language not a whit too strong for the
occasion. The defenseless creatures on board, made up of
harmless men and women, and of helpless children, were
done to death by the crew of the German submarine acting
under the directions of the officials of the German Govern-
ment. In the questions submitted to me by the Board of
Trade I am asked, "What was the cause of the loss of life?"
The answer is plain. The effective cause of the loss of life
was the attack made against the ship by those on board the
submarine. It was a murderous attack because made with a
deliberate and wholly unjustifiable intention of killing the
1 The commander of the U-boat was Captain Schwieger. He after-
ward perished in the destruction of his submarine in September, 1917,
so joining his victims in the ocean's deeps.
192 THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
people on board. German authorities on the laws of war at
sea themselves establish beyond all doubt that though in some
cases the destruction of an enemy trader may be permissible,
there is always an obligation first to secure the safety of the
lives of those on board. The guilt of the persons concerned
in the present case is confirmed by the vain excuses which
have been put forward on their behalf by the German Gov-
ernment as before mentioned.
One witness, who described himself as a French subject
from the vicinity of Switzerland, and who was in the sec-
ond-class dining-room in the after part of the ship at the
time of the explosion, stated that the nature of the explo-
sion was "similar to the rattling of a maxim gun for a short
period," and suggested that this noise disclosed the "secret"
existence of some ammunition. The sound, he said, came
from underneath the whole floor. I did not believe this gen-
tleman. His demeanor was very unsatisfactory. There was
no confirmation of his story, and it appeared that he had
threatened the Cunard Company that if they did not make
him some immediate allowance on account of a claim which
he was putting forward for compensation, he would have the
unpleasant duty of making his claim in public, and, in so
doing, of producing "evidence which will not be to the credit
either of your Company or of the Admiralty." The Com-
pany had not complied with his request.
It may be worth while noting that Leith, the Marconi
operator, was also in the second-class dining-saloon at the
time of the explosion. He speaks of but one explosion. In
my opinion there was no explosion of any part of the cargo.
Orders Given and Work Done After the Torpedoing
The Captain was on the bridge at the time his ship was
struck, and he remained there giving orders until the ship
foundered. His first order was to lower all boats io the rail.
This order was obeyed as far as it possibly could be. He
then called out, "Women and children first." The order was
then given to hard-a-starboard the helm with a view to head-
ing towards the land, and orders were telegraphed to the
engine-room. The orders given to the engine-room are diffi-
THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA 193
cult to follow and there is obvious confusion about them. It
is not, however, important to consider them, for the engines
were put out of commission almost at once by the inrush of
water and ceased working, and the lights in the engine-
room were blown out.
Leith, the Marconi operator, immediately sent out an
S.O.S. signal, and, later on, another message, "Come at
once, big list, 10 miles south Head Old Kinsale." These
messages were repeated continuously and were acknowl-
edged. At first, the messages were sent out by the power
supplied from the ship's dynamo; but in three or four min-
utes this power gave out and the messages were sent out by
means of the emergency apparatus in the wireless cabin.
All the collapsible boats were loosened from their lash-
ings and freed so that they could float when the ship sank.
The Launching of the Life-boats
Complaints were made by some of the witnesses about
the manner in which the boats were launched and about
their leaky condition when in the water. I do not question
the good faith of these witnesses, but I think their complaints
were ill-founded.
Three difficulties presented themselves in connection with
the launching of the boats. First, the time was very short:
only twenty minutes elapsed between the first alarm and the
sinking of the ship. Secondly, the ship was under way the
whole time : the engines were put out of commission almost
at once, so that the way could not be taken off. Thirdly,
the ship instantly took a great list to starboard, which made
it impossible to launch the port side boats properly and
rendered it very difficult for the passengers to get into the
starboard boats. The port side boats were thrown inboard
and the starboard boats inconveniently far outboard.
In addition to these difficulties there were the well-meant
but probably disastrous attempts of the frightened passen-
gers to assist in the launching operations. Attempts were
made by the passengers to push some of the boats on the port
side off the ship and to get them to the water. Some of these
boats caught on the rail and capsized. One or two did, how-
w., VOL. III.— 13.
194 THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
ever, reach the water, but I am satisfied that they were seri-
ously damaged in the operation. They were lowered a dis-
tance of 60 feet or more with people in them, and must have
been fouling the side of the ship the whole time. In one
case the stern post was wrenched away. The result was that
these boats leaked when they reached the water. Captain
Anderson was superintending the launching operations, and,
in my opinion, did the best that could be done in the cir-
cumstances. Many boats were lowered on the starboard side,
and there is no satisfactory evidence that any of them leaked.
There were doubtless some accidents in the handling of
the ropes, but it is impossible to impute negligence or in-
competence in connection with them.
The conclusion at which I arrive is that the boats were
in good order at the moment of the explosion and that the
launching was carried out as well as the short time, the mov-
ing ship and the serious list would allow.
Both the Captain and Mr. Jones, the First Officer, in their
evidence state that everything was done that was possible to
get the boats out and to save lives, and this I believe to be true.
The Navigation of the Ship
At the request of the Attorney-General part of the evi-
dence in the inquiry was taken in camera. This course was
adopted in the public interest. The evidence in question
dealt, firstly, with certain advice given by the Admiralty to
navigators generally with reference to precautions to be taken
for the purpose of avoiding submarine attacks ; and sec-
ondly, with information furnished by the Admiralty to Cap-
tain Turner individually of submarine dangers likely to be
encountered by him in the voyage of the Lusitania. It was
made abundantly plain to me that the Admiralty had devoted
the most anxious care and thought to the questions arising
out of the submarine peril, and that they had diligently col-
lected all available information likely to affect the voyage of
the Lusitania in this connection. I do not know who the offi-
cials were to whom these duties were entrusted, but they
deserve the highest praise for the way in which they did their
work.
THE SINKING OF THE LUSiTANIA 195
Captain Turner was fully advised as to the means which
in the view of the Admiralty were best calculated to avert the
perils he was likely to encounter, and in considering the
question whether he is to blame for the catastrophe in which
his voyage ended I have to bear this circumstance in mind.
It is certain that in some respects Captain Turner did not
follow the advice given to him. It may be (though I seri-
ously doubt it) that had he done so his ship would have
reached Liverpool in safety. But the question remains, was
his conduct the conduct of a negligent or of an incompetent
man. On this question I have sought the guidance of my
assessors, who have rendered me invaluable assistance, and
the conclusion at which I have arrived is that blame ought
not to be imputed to the Captain. The advice given to him,
although meant for his most serious and careful considera-
tion, was not intended to deprive him of the right to exercise
his skilled judgment in the difficult questions that might
arise from time to time in the navigation of his ship. His
omission to follow the advice in all respects cannot fairly
be attributed either to negligence or incompetence.
He exercised his judgment for the best. It was the judg-
ment of a skilled and experienced man, and although others
might have acted differently and perhaps more successfully,
he ought not, in my opinion, to be blamed.
The whole blame for the cruel destruction of life in this
catastrophe must rest solely with those who plotted and
with those who committed the crime.
BY GOTTFRIED VON JAGOW
Official German Statement
Berlin, May 28, 191 5.
The Imperial Government has subjected the statements
of the Government of the United States to a careful exami-
nation and has the lively wish on its part also to contribute
in a convincing and friendly manner to clear up any misun-
derstandings which may have entered into the relations of
the two Governments through the events mentioned by the
American Government.
196 THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
With regard firstly to the cases of the American steamers
dishing and Gul flight, the American Embassy has already
been informed that it is far from the German Government
to have any intention of ordering attacks by submarines or
flyers on neutral vessels in the zone which have not been
guilty of any hostile act; on the contrary, the most explicit
instructions have been repeatedly given the German armed
forces to avoid attacking such vessels. If neutral vessels
have come to grief through the German submarine war dur-
ing the past few months by mistake, it is a question of iso-
lated and exceptional cases which are traceable to the misuse
of flags by the British Government in connection with care-
lessness or suspicious actions on the part of the captains of
the vessels. In all cases where a neutral vessel through no
fault of its own has come to grief through the German
submarines or flyers according to the facts as ascertained by
the German Government, this Government has expressed
its regret at the unfortunate occurrence and promised indem-
nification where the facts justified it. The German Gov-
ernment will treat the cases of the American steamers Cash-
ing and Gulflight according to the same principles. An in-
vestigation of these cases is in progress. Its results will be
communicated to the Embassy shortly. The investigation
might, if thought desirable, be supplemented by an Interna-
tional Commission of Inquiry, pursuant to Title Three of
The Hague Convention of October 18, 1907, for the pacific
settlement of international disputes.
In the case of the sinking of the English steamer Falaba,
the commander of the German submarine had the intention
of allowing passengers and crew ample opportunity to save
themselves.
It was not until the captain disregarded the order to lay
to and took to flight, sending up rocket signals for help, that
the German commander ordered the crew and passengers by
signals and megaphone to leave the ship within ten minutes.
As a matter of fact, he allowed them twenty-three minutes
and did not fire the torpedo until suspicious steamers were
hurrying to the aid of the Falaba.
With regard to the loss of life when the British passenger
THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA 197
steamer Lusitania was sunk, the German Government has
already expressed its deep regret to the neutral Govern-
ments concerned that nationals of those countries lost their
lives on that occasion. The Imperial Government must state
for the rest the impression that certain important facts most
directly connected with the sinking of the Lusitania may
have escaped the attention of the Government of the United
States. It therefore considers it necessary in the interest of
the clear and full understanding aimed at by either Govern-
ment primarily to convince itself that the reports of the facts
which are before the two Governments are complete and in
agreement.
The Government of the United States proceeds on the
assumption that the Lusitania is to be considered as an ordi-
nary unarmed merchant vessel. The Imperial Government
begs in this connection to point out that the Lusitania was one
of the largest and fastest English commerce steamers, con-
structed with Government funds as auxiliary cruisers, and is
expressly included in the navy list published by British Ad-
miralty. It is, moreover, known to the Imperial Govern-
ment from reliable information furnished by its officials
and neutral passengers that for some time practically all the
more valuable English merchant vessels have been provided
with guns, ammunition and other weapons, and reenforced
with a crew specially practiced in manning guns. According
to reports at hand here, the Lusitania when she left New
York undoubtedly had guns on board which were mounted
under decks and masked.
The Imperial Government furthermore has the honor to
direct the particular attention of the American Government
to the fact that the British Admiralty by a secret instruction
of February of this year advised the British merchant ma-
rine not only to seek protection behind neutral .flags and
markings, but even when so disguised to attack German sub-
marines by ramming them. High rewards have been offered
by the British Government as a special incentive for the de-
struction of the submarines by merchant vessels, and such
rewards have already been paid out. In view of these facts,
which are satisfactorily known to it, the Imperial Gov-
198 THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
ernment is unable to consider English merchant vessels any
longer as "undefended territory" in the zone of maritime war
designated by the Admiralty Staff of the Imperial German
Navy, the German commanders are consequently no longer
in a position to observe the rules of capture otherwise usual
and with which they invariably complied before this. Lastly,
the Imperial Government must specially point out that on
her last trip the Lusitania, as on earlier occasions, had Cana-
dian troops and munitions on board, including no less than
5,400 cases of ammunition destined for the destruction of
brave German soldiers who are fulfilling with self-sacrifice
and devotion their duty in the service of the Fatherland.
The German Government believes that it acts in just self-
defense when it seeks to protect the lives of its soldiers by
destroying ammunition destined for the enemy with the
means of war at its command. The English steamship com-
pany must have been aware of the dangers to which pas-
sengers on board the Lusitania were exposed under the cir-
cumstances. In taking them on board in spite of this the
company quite deliberately tried to use the lives of Ameri-
can citizens as protection for the ammunition carried, and
violated the clear provisions of American laws which ex-
pressly prohibit, and provide punishment for, the carrying
of passengers on ships which have explosives on board. The
company thereby wantonly caused the death of so many pas-
sengers. According to the express report of the submarine
commander concerned, which is further confirmed by all
other reports, there can be no doubt that the rapid sinking of
the Lusitania was primarily due to the explosion of the cargo
of ammunition caused by the torpedo. 2 Otherwise, in all
human probability, the passengers would have been saved.
The Imperial Government holds the facts recited above
to be of sufficient importance to recommend them to a careful
examination by the American Government. The Imperial
Government begs to reserve a final statement of its position
3 All charges that the Lusitania had explosives or guns aboard were
definitely disproved by the legal proceedings conducted before Justice
Mayer in the United States courts.
THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA 199
with regard to the demands made in connection with the
sinking of the Lusitania until a reply is received from the
American Government, and believes that it should recall here
that it took note with satisfaction of the proposals of good
offices submitted by the American Government in Berlin and
London with a view to paving the way for a modus Vivendi
for the conduct of maritime war between Germany and
Great Britain. The Imperial' Government furnished at that
time ample evidence of its good will by its willingness to
consider these proposals. The realization of these proposals
failed, as is known, on account of their rejection by the
Government of Great Britain.
BY WOODROW WILSON
Official Address to the German Government
The Government of the United States notes with gratifi-
cation the full recognition by the Imperial German Gov-
ernment, in discussing the cases of the Cushing and the Gulf-
light, of the principle of the freedom of all parts of the open
sea to neutral ships and the frank willingness of the Im-
perial German Government to acknowledge and meet its
liability where the fact of attack upon neutral ships "which
have not been guilty of any hostile act" by German aircraft
or vessels of war is satisfactorily established; and the Gov-
ernment of the United States will in due course lay before
the Imperial German Government, as it requests, full in-
formation concerning the attack on the steamer Cushing.
With regard to the sinking of the steamer Falaba, by
which an American citizen lost his life, the Government of
the United States is surprised to find the Imperial German
Government contending that an effort on the part of a mer-
chantman to escape capture and secure assistance alters the
obligation of the officer seeking to make the capture in re-
spect of the safety of the lives of those on board the mer-
chantman, although the vessel had ceased her attempt to
escape when torpedoed. These are not new circumstances.
They have been in the minds of statesmen and of interna-
tional jurists throughout the development of naval warfare,
and the Government of the United States does not under-
200 THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
stand that they have ever been held to alter the principles
of humanity upon which it has insisted. Nothing but actual
forcible resistance or continued efforts to escape by flight
when ordered to stop for the purpose of visit on the part of
the merchantman has ever been held to forfeit the lives of her
passengers or crew. The Government of the United States,
however, does not understand that the Imperial German
Government is seeking in this case to relieve itself of liabil-
ity, but only intends to set forth the circumstances which
led the commander of the submarine to allow himself to be
hurried into the course which he took.
Your Excellency's note, in discussing the loss of Ameri-
can lives resulting from the sinking of the steamship Lusi-
tania, adverts at some length to certain information which
the Imperial German Government has received with regard
to the character and outfit of that vessel, and your Excel-
lency expresses the fear that this information may not have
been brought to the attention of the Government of the
United States. It is stated in the note that the Lusitania was
undoubtedly equipped with masked guns, supplied with
trained gunners and special ammunition, transporting troops
from Canada, carrying a cargo not permitted under the laws
of the United States to a vessel also carrying passengers,
and serving, in virtual effect, as an auxiliary to the naval
forces of Great Britain. Fortunately these are matters
concerning which the Government of the United States is in
a position to give the Imperial German Government official
information. Of the facts alleged in your Excellency's note,
if true, the Government of the United States would have
been bound to take official cognizance in performing its
recognized duty as a neutral power and in enforcing its na-
tional laws. It was its duty to see to it that the Lusitania
was not armed for offensive action, that she was not serving
as a transport, that she did not carry a cargo prohibited
by the statutes of the United States, and that, if in fact she
was a naval vessel of Great Britain, she should not receive
clearance as a merchantman; and it performed that duty and
enforced its statutes with scrupulous vigilance through its
regularly constituted officials. It is able, therefore, to assure
THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA 201
the Imperial German Government that it has been misin-
formed. If the Imperial German Government should deem
itself to be in possession of convincing evidence that the
officials of the Government of the United States did not
perform these duties with thoroughness, the Government of
the United States sincerely hopes that it will submit that
evidence for consideration.
Whatever may be the contentions of the Imperial German
Government regarding the carriage of contraband of war
on board the Lusitania or regarding the explosion of that
material by the torpedo, it need only be said that in the view
of this Government these contentions are irrelevant to the
question of the legality of the methods used by the German
naval authorities in sinking the vessel.
But the sinking of passenger ships involves principles
of humanity which throw into the background any special cir-
cumstances of detail that may be thought to affect the cases,
principles which lift it, as the Imperial German Government
will no doubt be quick to recognize and acknowledge, out
of the class of ordinary subjects of diplomatic discussion
or of international controversy. Whatever be the other
facts regarding the Lusitania, the principal fact is that a
great steamer, primarily and chiefly a conveyance for pas-
sengers, and carrying more than a thousand souls who had
no part or lot in the conduct of the war, was torpedoed
and sunk without so much as a challenge or a warning,
and that men, women, and children were sent to their death
in circumstances unparalleled in modern warfare. The fact
that more than one hundred American citizens were among
those who perished made it the duty of the Government of
the United States to speak of these things and once more,
with solemn emphasis, to call the attention of the Imperial
German Government to the grave responsibility which the
Government of the United States conceives that it has in-
curred in this tragic occurrence, and to the indisputable prin-
ciple upon which that responsibility rests. The Government
of the United States is contending for something much
greater than mere rights of property or privileges of com-
merce. It is contending for nothing less high and sacred
202 THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
than the rights of humanity, which every Government hon-
ors itself in respecting and which no Government is justified
in resigning on behalf of those under its care and authority.
Only her actual resistance to capture or refusal to stop when
ordered to do so for the purpose of visit could have af-
forded the commander of the submarine any justification
for so much as putting the lives of those on board the ship
in jeopardy. This principle the Government of the United
States understands the explicit instructions issued on Au-
gust 3, 1914, 3 by the Imperial German Admiralty to its com-
manders at sea to have recognized and embodied, as do the
naval codes of all other nations, and upon it every traveler
and seaman had a right to depend. It is upon this princi-
ple of humanity as well as upon the law founded upon this
principle that the United States must stand.
The Government of the United States is happy to observe
that your Excellency's note closes with the intimation that
the Imperial German Government is willing, now as before,
to accept the good offices of the United States in an attempt
to come to an understanding with the Government of Great
Britain by which the character and conditions of the war
upon the sea may be changed. The Government of the United
States would consider it a privilege thus to serve its friends
and the world. It stands ready at any time to convey to
either Government any intimation or suggestion the other
may be willing to have it convey and cordially invites the
Imperial German Government to make use of its services in
this way at its convenience. The whole world is concerned
3 The reference made by President Wilson in his first note of May
13th to the German Government regarding the sinking of the Lusi-
tania to the "humane and enlightened attitude hitherto assumed by
the Imperial German Government in matters of international right,
and particularly with regard to the freedom of the seas," was based
upon the instructions of August 3, 1914, which the German Govern-
ment sent to its naval commanders. These German rules are now in
the possession of the State Department. While no mention is made
in them of submarine warfare, the extent and method of the exercise
of the right of search and the stoppage of ships is prescribed with
great nicety, and provision is made for the safety of passengers and
crew. After outlining the purpose of visiting and searching vessels,
they say: "Before destruction all persons on board, if possible with
their personal effects, are to be placed in safety."
THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA 203
in anything that may bring about even a partial accommoda
tion of interests or in any way mitigate the terrors of the
present distressing conflict.
In the meantime, whatever arrangement may happily be
made between the parties to the war, and whatever may in
the opinion of the Imperial German Government have been
the provocation or the circumstantial justification for the
past acts of its commanders at sea, the Government of the
United States confidently looks to see the justice and hu-
manity of the Government of Germany vindicated in all
cases where Americans have been wronged or their rights
as neutrals invaded.
The Government of the United States therefore very
earnestly and very solemnly renews the representations of
its note transmitted to the Imperial German Government
on the 15th of May, and relies in these representations upon
the principles of humanity, the universally recognized un-
derstandings of international law, and the ancient friendship
of the German Nation.
The Government of the United States cannot admit that
the proclamation of a war zone from which neutral ships
have been warned to keep away may be made to operate
as in any degree an abbreviation of the rights either of
American shipmasters or of American citizens bound on
lawful errands as passengers on merchant ships of bel-
ligerent nationality. It does not understand the Imperial
German Government to question those rights. It under-
stands it, also, to accept as established beyond question the
principle that the lives of non-combatants cannot lawfully
or rightfully be put in jeopardy by the capture or destruc-
tion of an unresisting merchantman, and to recognize the
obligation to take sufficient precaution to ascertain whether
a suspected merchantman is in fact of belligerent nationality
or is in fact carrying contraband of war under a neutral flag.
The Government of the United States therefore deems it
reasonable to expect that the Imperial German Government
will adopt the measures necessary to put these principles into
practice in respect of the safeguarding of American lives and
ships, and asks for assurances that this will be done.
BRITAIN DEMOCRATIZED UNDER LLOYD
GEORGE
THE MUNITIONS CRISIS
MAY 25TH
JULES DESTRE'e GEORGES CLEMENCEAU
The Britain which emerged from the Great War was a wholly dif-
ferent country under a different form of government from the Brit-
ain which had entered the struggle in 1914. The great change took
place in 1915 when the mass of the people took over government
control from the aristocratic leaders to whom the masses had so long
bowed. The most important date in this slow moving and progressive
change was May 25th, when a new British Cabinet was formed in
which the chosen leader of the masses took a prominent part as Min-
ister of Munitions. Later, this same leader, Mr. Lloyd George, was
made Prime Minister and as such carried the war to its successful
close; but for the moment the all-important position was this newly
created Ministry of Munitions. By it the working classes of Britain
were drawn into doing their full part for victory — and right well they
did it. They thus learned their power, and learned to use their power ;
and never again could it be taken from them.
Up to that time Britain had been "muddling along," her leaders
working earnestly for victory, but always with the detached British
sense of being secure on their island, and thus able to do beyond
the island as much or as little as they chose, and at their own good
leisure. Slowly in 1915 the success of the German submarine attack
roused them from their imperturbability. They saw that for them as
for France, invasion, starvation, even ultimate defeat, was no longer
impossible. They must fight harder or must perish. So they did the
one thing possible, took their people into their confidence, confessed
the country's need, and called Democracy to their aid.
The first great need, as Neuve Chapelle and the Dunajec had shown,
was ammunition, and after that every form of war supplies. Lloyd
George summoned the people to create these. How they succeeded
we have let their allies tell. The French Premier, Clemenceau, like
Lloyd George a product of the stern necessity of the War, here esti-
mates the work of his great confrere. Another well-known French-
man, the author Destree, describes the steps of the transformation.
BY JULES DESTREE
ON May 14, 191 5, The Times Military Correspondent
on the Western front wrote that the absence of an
unlimited supply of high explosives had proved a fatal ob-
204
BRITAIN DEMOCRATIZED 205
stack to success. In saying this he gave free and open ex-
pression to criticisms that had been rife in the lobby of the
House of Commons and in private circles for a long time
past. The failure of the British Army to reap the full fruits
of its splendid achievements at Neuve Chapelle, and the
ebb and flow in the defense of Hill 60 on April 17th were
cases in point. An energetic campaign was organized in
the newspapers after the publication of The Times letter.
Questions were put in the Commons. Popular feeling was
deeply stirred.
This feeling was unquestionably justified. The War
Office had displayed a lack of foresight in its arrangements
for the production of munitions, a shortcoming which it
shared, however, with the other partners in the Alliance; of
that the Russian reverses afforded decisive proof.
The daily output of munitions did not equal the neces-
sary consumption. How immense this consumption is, it
would be difficult to realize did we not know that the number
of shells consumed at Neuve Chapelle alone was greater
than the total employed in the whole South African cam-
paign.
Moreover, the English factories had manufactured a
great quantity of shrapnel, but only a comparatively re-
stricted supply of high explosives. This was diametrically
opposed to the requirements of the situation. In fact, the
nature of the terrain and the strength of the enemy's de-
fensive works were such that, before an infantry attack
could be launched, even under protection of shrapnel fire, it
was necessary that the hostile positions should be subjected
to such a deluge of high explosives as to render the most
thoroughly organized defenses untenable.
These defects having been made manifest by bitter ex-
perience, measures were taken to remedy them.
May 25, 191 5, witnessed the formation of the Coalition
Government in England. Mr. Lloyd George became head
of a newly-created department — the Ministry of Munitions.
No better appointment could have been made. Mr. Lloyd
George was endowed with conspicuous organizing ability and
possessed great influence with the working classes. The
206 BRITAIN DEMOCRATIZED
new Minister lost no time in setting to work. He remedied
the most urgent defects and, a month later, laid on the table
of the House the Munitions Bill that was to solve the great
problem once for all.
To realize the immensity of the task performed by the
present Ministry of Munitions it is necessary to read the
two speeches delivered by Mr. Lloyd George in the House
of Commons on June 23 and July 28, 191 5. These frank
and open statements show us both the difficulties that had
to be confronted and the manner in which they were over-
come.
The problem may be stated as follows :
Experience had shown that of the two opposing forces,
the advantage would rest with the one that could outdo the
other in the expenditure of munitions. From that time
onwards the question ceased to be a purely military one :
it became a labor question. It was in the workshops, the
factories, the arsenals, that victory was to be wrought out.
This had been perfectly well understood by the Germans,
and in this as in so many other respects they had the ad-
vantage over the Allies of preparation and foresight. These
preparations were of tw T o kinds. They consisted, in the
first place, in the accumulation of reserves of munitions and
of the raw material necessary for their manufacture; and,
secondly, in the measures insuring the immediate and ef-
fective mobilization of the national industries for the sole
and exclusive purpose of carrying on the war. The Cen-
tral Empires were able to turn out 250,000 shells a day, or
nearly 8,000,000 a month. The British rate of production
was 2,500 high explosive shells and 13,000 shrapnel shells
a day. Thus, the problem before the Allies was first of all
to equal and then to surpass the formidable productive
capabilities of their adversaries. The sooner they did so,
the sooner victory would be theirs.
England's reserves in the matter of labor and machinery
were immense. But they were all unsystematized. The
problem was to organize these resources, and to organize
them without delay.
Mr. Lloyd George's first step was to select his staff. A
BRITAIN DEMOCRATIZED 207
large number of business men, technical engineers, and others
freely placed their services at his disposal, most of them
without demanding any remuneration from the State. Each
one of them was put in charge of a particular branch, e.g.,
metals, explosives, machinery, labor, chemical research, and
so on.
But Mr. Lloyd George's principal aim being to obtain
quick returns, he regarded it as an urgent necessity to de-
centralize the work as much as possible. The United King-
dom was split up into a certain number of districts; special
committees were formed for the purpose of organizing the
work in each district. They consisted of local business men
who were familiar with the resources and the labor condi-
tions of the place; of engineers who, in order to fit them for
their duties, had undergone a brief period of service in the
Government Arsenals or in one of the following works :
Elswick, Vickers-Maxim, or Beardmore; and of a technical
engineer and a Secretary in touch with the Ministry of
Munitions.
One of the great difficulties was the matter of raw ma-
terial. Some England possessed in abundance, some could
only be obtained with difficulty. The department had also
to see to it that no attempt was made by unscrupulous sup-
pliers to make a corner in their goods. The doings of the
metal markets were carefully looked into, with immediately
beneficial results.
Having provided the raw material, the next thing was
to get to work on it. Where was the plant to come from?
A vast registration scheme was set on foot, and in a
short time the Government had an accurate idea of the ma-
chinery at their disposal. As soon as the process of classi-
fication was completed it was of course evident that what
was chiefly lacking were certain machines required in the
manufacture of large shells. The Government thereupon
took all the big machine works under its direct control for
the duration of the war. Henceforth these works were
Government works, and on July 28, 191 5, Mr. Lloyd George
remarked with satisfaction that there had not been a word
of protest on the part of any machine-tool manufacturers,
2o8 BRITAIN DEMOCRATIZED
although the change involved a considerable diminution in
their profits. Owing to this measure, supplemented by the
creation of a committee of machine-tool manufacturers of
the United Kingdom, the output of material required for
the manufacture of munitions was greatly increased, and
will increase still further as time goes on.
The Government was thus able to reorganize the pro-
duction works themselves. These were of two kinds. First,
there were the munition works properly so called, where
it was necessary to extend the plant or increase the rate of
production. Then there were factories which had to be
altered so as to adapt them to the new kind of work. Finally,
the Government decided to create sixteen large works — a
number subsequently increased to twenty-six — the equip-
ment of which is being carried out with the utmost dispatch.
The next thing was to organize the labor and recruit
fresh hands. There was a choice of two methods, the
compulsory and the voluntary. After going into the mat-
ter with the Trades Union leaders it was the latter method
that was decided upon. It was more in accordance with
English traditions and sentiment. A vast recruiting cam-
paign was started, the headquarters being the town hall, in
one hundred and eighty different centers. It lasted a week,
and was an immense success. Mr. Lloyd George stated,
on July 23, 191 5, that the Government had got together
100,000 workmen, most of whom were experts in machinery
and shipbuilding. True, it was not possible to employ them
all, some already doing Government work, others being
indispensable to the civil life of the country. But when all
deductions were made it was found that the number of men
was amply sufficient for present needs. To them we must
add the skilled workmen who had joined the army and who,
as far as possible, were brought home to serve their coun-
try in an industrial capacity.
All the workmen were assigned either to the works al-
ready in existence — which in many cases were short of
hands and unable for this reason to fulfill their contracts —
or else they were allotted to the new factories.
But in view of influence wielded by the Labor Unions,
BRITAIN DEMOCRATIZED 209
various provisions were inserted in the Munitions Act. They
related to the settlement of labor disputes, and to the pro-
hibition of strikes and lock-outs the grounds for which had
not been submitted to the Board of Trade.
To obviate such disputes, which were generally called
forth by the excessive profits accruing to the employers and
the demands of the wage-earners, the system of "Controlled
Establishments" was instituted. Every establishment en-
gaged on munition work was placed, so far as the regula-
tion of profits and salaries was concerned, under direct Gov-
ernment control. Any modification in the rate of wages had
to be submitted to the Ministry of Munitions, which had
power to refer the question to an Arbitration Board spe-
cially set up by the Act.
To complete this rapid survey it must be added that a
department was created by the Ministry of Munitions, un-
der the control of an Under-Secretary, whose special business
it was to examine war inventions.
On December 20, 191 5, Mr. Lloyd George, in a speech
delivered in the House of Commons, summarized the results
of the first six months of his tenure of office.
From every point of view his report was exceedingly
satisfactory. We will take a few points.
Orders placed before the formation of the department
were delivered with an increase of 16 per cent, on previous
deliveries. The number of new orders placed increased by
80 per cent.
The State regulation of the metal market resulted in a
saving of from 15 to 20 million pounds sterling.
The output of shells for a single week became three times
as great as the entire output for May, 191 5, which means
that the rate of production was twelve times as great.
The enormous quantity of shells consumed during the
offensive of September, 191 5, was made good in a month.
The output of machine guns was five times as great; that
of hand grenades increased forty fold.
The production of heavy artillery was accelerated, and
the heaviest guns of the early days of the war are now
among the lightest.
W., VOL. III.— 14.
210 BRITAIN DEMOCRATIZED
An explosive factory in the South of England which
on October 15, 191 5, started to fill bombs at the rate of 500
a week with a staff of 60 was in March, 1916, turning out
15,000 a week, with a staff of 250.
An entirely new factory which started work at the end
of October, 191 5, with one filling shed and six girl fillers
and an output of 270 a week, was, in March, 1916, employing
175 girls and handling 15,000 bombs a week.
The Ministry of Munitions built housing accommoda-
tion for 60,000 workers, and canteens and mess-rooms in
munition works.
The number of strikes was reduced to three.
These figures speak volumes in themselves.
Mr. Kellaway, M. P., Parliamentary Secretary to Dr.
Addison (Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Mu-
nitions), stated on July 7, 1916, the following facts:
"Of the 4,000 controlled firms now producing munitions,
95 per cent, had never produced a gun, shell or cartridge
before the war. In ten months they produced more shells
than all the Government arsenals and great armament shops
existing at the outbreak of war; and that was only a very
small percentage of the total weekly production of shells
in the country. Ninety arsenals have been built or adapted,
and all except a very few are producing heavy guns, how-
itzers, big shells or explosives. Our weekly output of .303
cartridges is greater by millions than our annual output
before the war, while the output of guns and howitzers has
been increased by several hundreds per cent. . . . One of our
leading armament firms has a factory devoted entirely to the
provision of a particular gun for the French Government"
— "Russia has been supplied with great quantities of gre-
nades, rifle cartridges, guns and explosives. . . ."
We have already referred to the eagerness with which
the workers responded to the appeal made to them by the
Ministry of Munitions. As soon as ever the people under-
stood the urgency of the situation thousands upon thou-
sands of fresh hands — both men and women — thronged to
offer their services at factory and workshop.
It should be noted that women were among the very
BRITAIN DEMOCRATIZED 211
first to come forward, even before the Munitions Act came
into force. In one of the largest and best-known arsenals
in the north, as far back as January, 191 5, thousands of
young girls were at work, and 65 per cent, of them were
quite new to the task. They came to it straight from their
villages.
The tangible results of this effort have been immense.
At present the all-important question of munitions and
equipment has been solved so far as Great Britain is con-
cerned. The extension of the British front proves not merely
that the British are numerically in a position to take an in-
creased share of the burden, but that they have sufficient re-
serves of ammunition to await an enemy attack, or to take
the offensive themselves, with equanimity, unbeset by any of
the anxieties that troubled them at Neuve Chapelle.
Looking at the moral aspect of the thing, the manner in
which the English people, so strongly individualistic in their
ideas, so stoutly opposed to State interference, came to
recognize the necessity of submitting to a discipline as strict
as that introduced by the Munitions Act, is a fresh proof
that the gravity of the present crisis and the loftiness of
their duty are alike appreciated by them.
This immense effort is bound to result, not merely in
the British Army's having everything it requires and in its
being enabled to carry on the campaign with effect : it en-
ables a similar service to be rendered to the Allies, whose
industrial centers are in the hands of the enemy.
"We know," said Mr. Lloyd George, "that the Allies are
awaiting an effort on our part which seems to be almost
superhuman. That effort we shall make. To-morrow we
shall be in a position to provide the people who are fighting
with us for the cause of humanity with all that they need
for the common task. It should be known that our wealth,
like our natural resources and the output of our factories, is
a common patrimony which we shall share with our Allies.
. . . There is not a sacrifice which our people — the whole
of our people, from the highest to the lowest — is not pre-
pared to make. We are, and shall be, sparing in nothing;
we are seeking day and night for an opportunity of doing
212 BRITAIN DEMOCRATIZED
more, and there is nothing, nothing in the world, we are
not determined to attempt. Tell those who have been dis-
turbed by the Labor situation, of the magnificent sacrifices
which have been made by our trade unions in renouncing
until the end of the war their dearest privileges. Tell them
that our workmen are fully conscious of the vital importance
of the task which is entrusted to them. Tell them that the
Government has now under its control all the factories
capable of producing guns, rifles and shells, as well as all the
foundries and machine-tool factories, and that all this world
of industry does not produce a single pound of metal which
is not destined for the needs of the armies. A numerous
and expert body of labor is concentrated in these immense
workshops and I have not hesitated to bring back from the
front all the engineers and other useful workmen. Both
in the firing line and in the country there is not a single
person who does not understand our needs, and who has
not endeavored to facilitate my task. . . ."
BY GEORGES CLEMENCEAU
England did not want war. It must be said once more
to her credit, and, alas ! to her confusion, that she had not
prepared for it. Had not Belgian neutrality been violated,
who could say when she would have drawn the sword?
But now, behold her in the midst of the conflict. Slowly,
but with a stubborn determination that nothing avails to
diminish or to daunt, she has transformed herself into a
military power.
She has accumulated vast numbers of guns, shells, and
men. She has fenced herself about with four million bayo-
nets. Wheresoever throughout all the length and breadth
of the earth the noisome German weed had taken root, the
British Tommy has turned up his sleeves and set about
clearing the ground.
People render thanks to the British Fleet because, with-
out stirring from its stations and without firing a shot, it
has destroyed the German menace, blockaded the enemy's
ports, and insured the provisioning of our armies. It is
true! The silence of the long vigil it has kept detracts
BRITAIN DEMOCRATIZED 213
nothing from its grandeur. But England's miracle lies not
there. It is not on the sea that England's miracle has been
wrought. Dreadnoughts, cruisers, torpedo flotillas — these,
after all, belonged to the England of tradition. The reason
why the ancient Northern Island has grown in the esteem
and admiration of men is that, for the first time in her im-
memorial history, she has ceased to be an island, ceased to
desire to be but an island.
She has made herself one with the continent of Europe
by giving those splendid tall sons of hers who are fighting
heroically in the Flanders trenches, by her guns, her con-
voys, and, above all, by the lofty serenity with which she
has accepted (on our historic soil) the destiny of suffering
and passionate strife.
And the splendor of the deed resides in this — that it is
not the work of an hour, but the inevitable culmination of a
history of ten centuries.
Other nations there are that have shed more freely of
their life blood on the storied battlefields of Europe. Others
have withstood the shock of mightier assaults, and been called
upon to oppose with grimmer heroism the onrush of the bar-
barous foe. No other nation has resolved with such method
and inflexibility to see through to the bitter end the task
to which it has set its hand. No other nation has been
conscious of such a complete metamorphosis in its customs,
in the exercise of its rights and its claims to individual free-
dom.
ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES
THE ITALIAN "PEOPLE'S WAR" ON AUSTRIA
MAY 23RD
EMPEROR FRANZ JOSEF VON BETHMANN-HOLLWEG
ANTONIO SALANDRA
Few events of history have been viewed from such widely dif-
fering standpoints as the entry of Italy into the Great War. We
give here first the view of the aged Austrian Emperor, Franz Josef,
as expressed in his official proclamation. This is presumably the last
document of the Middle Ages that will ever appear in the world, and
as such it is worth preserving. Quaintly medieval indeed is its atti-
tude and phrasing. This war of all the universe is made a private
matter. "The King of Italy," says Franz Josef, "has declared war on
me." Did this still clear-minded old aristocrat of eighty-seven years
actually regard the contest in this light, as a personal clash between
himself and the Italian monarch? As such, it would have been hopeless
indeed for him. Or is the Austrian's whole attitude as false as the
boasts of victory by which he seeks to encourage his already despondent
armies and ignore his placing of German generals in control?
We give also the official German attitude toward Italy as expressed
by the Imperial Chancellor in his speech to his parliament announcing
the new war. This is in a way but an expansion of Franz Josef's
charge that Italy, beloved and even pampered by the two Teuton
empires, had broken faith with them, had treacherously betrayed and
deserted their alliance.
Let the historian, once more, for the sake of saving future genera-
tions from the deliberately created confusion of the War, speak
here with clearest definiteness. For any such charge against Italy
there is absolutely no ground whatever. No Teuton leader of the
inner circle believed, or could possibly have believed, this charge
when it was made. No one who had read the public records could
have believed it. It was an absolutely mendacious charge made by
the Teuton Governments for the purpose of inflaming the passions
and blinding the judgment of their ignorant subjects — and perchance
of ignorant neutrals.
There was. however, a charge against the Italian Government, less
absurd than this flat falsehood, a charge seriously considered in many
neutral lands. This was that Italy had entered the War merely as
a move in the old-style game of statecraft, merely as a business ven-
ture in which she hoped to win a valuable increase of territory. This
charge may now be dismissed almost as completely as the other. In
briefest form, the facts of Italy's relations with the Teuton empires
were as follows :
Italy had by repeated warfare up to 1866 won her own freedom
214
ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES 215
from the tyranny of Austrian rule. But the Hapsburg emperors and
their almost equally guilty Austrian subjects still held by force their
lordship over the Italian peoples of Trieste and other Alpine and
Adriatic districts, known in Italy as the lands "unredeemed." While
this tyranny still continued no real friendship of Italy for Austria
was possible ; and Italy had allied herself with the Teuton empires
only on the practical basis of necessity. The limits of that alliance
were very narrow, and there was never the slightest obligation on
Italy to join the Teutons in the War in 1914, or the slightest possi-
bility that she would. There was, on the contrary, every probability
of her seizing any opportunity she could to demand from Austria the
freedom of her helpless brothers.
Recognizing this, Germany from the beginning of the War main-
tained in Italy a propaganda system of the largest kind. Its head was
Prince von Biilow, the former Imperial Chancellor. He expended mil-
lions of money in Italy in whatever secret form seemed most of use
for Germany. He bought newspapers and financed politicians. He
even negotiated with the Italian Government, and in Austria's name
offered to yield to Italy much if not all of the "unredeemed" lands.
The only question was, would he "deliver the goods." Both Austria
and Germany insisted that the lordship of the territory should not be
transferred until "after the war." The Italians put no faith in this
Teuton promise.
There, really, is why Italy entered the War. She had grown like
all the rest of the world to fear Germany and to distrust her. She
believed that the Teutons if victorious would reduce her again to her
ancient vassalage. She concluded, just as America came afterward to
conclude, that she must either fight the Teutons at once with the
Allies' aid, or be left to fight them afterward alone. It is true that
before declaring war she made with the Allies secret treaties prom-
ising her all and rather more than all of her "unredeemed" Austrian
lands. But even to the extremest of her territorial claims there was
some color of "national" right We cannot blame her for seeing that
right in its fullest and most Italian form.
Signor Salandra, in the official address given herewith in which he
explains his country's action, takes for granted that the preceding
facts are known. To the Italian public of 1915 they were of course
fully known. Indeed, the Italian Government was to a considerable
extent carried perforce into the War by the vehement popular demand.
The Italian masses had weighed the need of war and were every-
where clamorously urging it. The Government ministry which had
held off from war was overwhelmingly swept aside. The old Aus-
trian Emperor was indeed as wrong in that as in most other things
when he referred to the war as coming from the Italian King. The
Italian Democracy was for the moment fiercely awake ; and this was
for Italy a "people's war."
C. F. H.
216 ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES
BY EMPEROR FRANZ JOSEF
Official Austrian Proclamation of War
THE King of Italy has declared war on me. Perfidy
whose like history does not know was committed by the
Kingdom of Italy against both allies. After an alliance of
more than thirty years' duration, during which it was able
to increase its territorial possessions and develop itself to an
unthought of flourishing condition, Italy abandoned us in
our hour of danger and went over with flying colors into the
camp of our enemies.
We did not menace Italy; did not curtail her authority;
did not attack her honor or interests. We always responded
loyally to the duties of our alliance and afforded her our
protection when she took the field. We have done more.
When Italy directed covetous glances across our frontier
we, in order to maintain peace and our alliance relation,
were resolved on great and painful sacrifices which particu-
larly grieved our paternal heart. But the covetousness of
Italy, which believed the moment should be used, was not
to be appeased, so fate must be accommodated.
My armies have victoriously withstood mighty armies in
the north in ten months of this gigantic conflict in most loyal
comradeship of arms with our illustrious ally. A new and
treacherous enemy in the south is to you no new enemy.
Great memories of Novara, Mortaro, and Lissa, which con-
stituted the pride of my youth ; the spirit of Radetzky, Arch-
duke Albrecht, and Tegetthoff, which continues to live in my
land and sea forces, guarantee that in the south also we
shall successfully defend the frontiers of the monarchy.
I salute my battle-tried troops, who are inured to victory.
I rely on them and their leaders. I rely on my people for
whose unexampled spirit of sacrifice my most paternal thanks
are due. I pray the Almighty to bless our colors and take
under His gracious protection our just cause.
BY VON BETHMANN-HOLLWEG
When I last spoke there was still a glimpse of hope that
Italy's participation in the war could be avoided. That hope
ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES 217
proved fallacious. German feeling strove against the belief
in the possibility of such a change. Italy has now inscribed
in the book of the world's history, in letters of blood which
will never fade, her violation of faith.
I believe Macchiavelli once said that a war which is
necessary is also just. Viewed from this sober, practical,
political standpoint, which leaves out of account all moral
considerations, has this war been necessary? Is it not, in-
deed, directly mad ? Nobody threatened Italy ; neither Aus-
tria-Hungary nor Germany. Whether the Triple Entente
was content with blandishments alone history will show
later. Without a drop of blood flowing, and without the
life of a single Italian being endangered, Italy could have
secured the long list of concessions which I recently read
to the House — territory in Tyrol and on the Isonzo as far
as the Italian speech is heard, satisfaction of the national
aspirations in Trieste, a free hand in Albania, and the valu-
able port of Valona.
Why have they not taken it? Do they, perhaps, wish
to conquer the German Tyrol ? Hands off ! Did Italy wish
to provoke Germany, to whom she owes so much in her
upward growth of a great power, and from whom she is
not separated by any conflict of interests? We left Rome
in no doubt that an Italian attack on Austro-Hungarian
troops would also strike the German troops. Why did Rome
refuse so light-heartedly the proposals of Vienna? The
Italian manifesto of war, which conceals an uneasy con-
science behind vain phrases, does not give us any explana-
tion. They were too shy, perhaps, to say openly what was
spread abroad as a pretext by the press and by gossip in the
lobbies of the Chamber, namely, that Austria's offer came
too late and could not be trusted.
What are the facts? Italian statesmen have no right
to measure the trustworthiness of other nations in the same
proportion as they measured their own loyalty to a treaty.
Germany, by her word, guaranteed that the concessions
would be carried through. There was no occasion for dis-
trust. Why too late? On May 4th the Trentino was the
same territory as it was in February, and a whole series of
218 ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES
concessions had been added to the Trentino of which no-
body had thought in the winter.
It was, perhaps, too late for this reason, that while the
Triple Alliance, the existence of which the King and the
Government had expressly acknowledged after the outbreak
of war, was still alive, Italian statesmen had long before
engaged themselves so deeply with the Triple Entente that
they could not disentangle themselves. There were indica-
tions of fluctuations in the Rome Cabinet as far back as De-
cember. To have two irons in the fire is always useful.
Before this Italy had shown her predilection for extra dances.
But this is no ballroom. This is a bloody battlefield upon
which Germany and Austria-Hungary are fighting for their
lives against a world of enemies. The statesmen of Rome
have played against their own people the same game as they
played against us.
It is true that the Italian-speaking territory on the north-
ern frontier has always been the dream and the desire of
every Italian, but the great majority of the Italian people,
as well as the majority in Parliament, did not want to know
anything of war. According to the observation of the best
judge of the situation in Italy, in the first days of May
4th-5th of the Senate and two-thirds of the Chamber were
against war, and in that majority were the most responsible
and important statesmen. But common sense had no say.
The mob alone ruled. Under the kindly disposed toleration
and with the assistance of the leading statesmen of a Cabinet
fed with the gold of the Triple Entente, the mob, under the
guidance of unscrupulous war instigators, was roused to a
frenzy of blood which threatened the King with revolution
and all moderate men with murder if they did not join in
the war delirium.
The Italian people were intentionally kept in the dark with
regard to the course of the Austrian negotiations and the
extent of the Austrian concessions, and so it came about that
after the resignation of the Salandra Cabinet nobody could
be found who had the courage to undertake the formation
of a new Cabinet, and that in the decisive debate no member
of the Constitutional Party in the Senate or Chamber even
ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES 219
attempted to estimate the value of the far-reaching Austrian
concessions. In the frenzy of war honest politicians grew
dumb, but when, as the result of military events (as we
hope and desire), the Italian people become sober again it
will recognize how frivolously it was instigated to take part
in this world war.
We did everything possible to avoid the alienation of
Italy from the Triple Alliance. The ungrateful role fell
to us of requiring from our loyal ally, Austria, with whose
armies our troops share daily wounds, death, and victory,
the purchase of the loyalty of the third party to the alliance
by the cession of old-inherited territory. That Austria-Hun-
gary went to the utmost limit possible is known. Prince
von Biilow, who again entered into the active service of the
empire, tried by every means, his diplomatic ability, his
most thorough knowledge of the Italian situation and of Ital-
ic. 1 personages, to come to an understanding. Though his
work has been in vain, the entire people are grateful to him.
Also this storm we shall endure. From month to month
we grow more intimate with our ally. From the Pilitza to
the Bukowina we tenaciously withstood with our Austro-
Hungarian comrades for months the gigantic superiority of
the enemy. Then we victoriously advanced.
So our new enemies will perish through the spirit of
loyalty and the friendship and bravery of the central powers.
In this war Turkey is celebrating a brilliant regeneration.
The whole German people follow with enthusiasm the dif-
ferent phases of the obstinate, victorious resistance with
which the loyal Turkish Army and fleet repulse the attacks
of their enemies with heavy blows. Against the living wall
of our warriors in the west our enemies up till now have
vainly stormed. If in some places fighting fluctuates, if
here or there a trench or a village is lost or won, the great
attempt of our adversaries to break through, which they
announced five months ago, did not succeed, and will not
succeed. They will perish through the heroic bravery of
our soldiers.
Up till now our enemies have summoned in vain against
us all the forces of the world and a gigantic coalition of
220 ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES
brave soldiers. We will not despise our enemies, as our
adversaries like to do. At the moment when the mob in
English towns is dancing around the stake at which the
property of defenseless Germans is burning, the English
Government dared to publish a document, with the evidence
of unarmed witnesses, on the alleged cruelties in Belgium,
which are of so monstrous a character that only mad brains
could believe them. But while the English press does not
permit itself to be deprived of news, the terror of the censor-
ship reigns in Paris. No casualty lists appear, and no Ger-
man or Austrian communiques may be printed. Severely
wounded invalids are kept away from their relations, and
real fear of the truth appears to be the motive of the Gov-
ernment.
Thus it comes about, according to trustworthy observa-
tion, that there is no knowledge of the heavy defeats which
the Russians have sustained, and the belief continues in the
Russian "steam-roller" advancing on Berlin, which is
"perishing from starvation and misery," and confidence ex-
ists in the great offensive in the west, which for months has
not progressed. If the Governments of hostile States believe
that by the deception of the people and by unchaining blind
hatred they can shift the blame for the crime of this war
- nd postpone the day of awakening, we, relying on our good
onscience, a just cause, and a victorious sword, will not
allow ourselves to be forced by a hair's breadth from the
path which we have always recognized as right. Amid this
confusion of minds on the other side, the German people
goes on its own way, calm and sure.
Not in hatred do we wage this war, but in anger — in holy
anger. The greater the danger we have to confront, sur-
rounded on all sides by enemies, the more deeply does the
love of home grip our hearts, the more must we care for our
children and grandchildren, and the more must we endure
until we have conquered and have secured every possible real
guarantee and assurance that no enemy alone or combined
will dare again a trial of arms. The more wildly the storm
rages around us the more firmly must we build our own
house. For this consciousness of united strength, unshaken
ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES 221
courage, and boundless devotion, which inspire the whole
people, and for the loyal cooperation which you, gentlemen,
from the first day have given to the Fatherland, I bring you,
as the representatives of the entire people, the warm thanks
of the Emperor.
BY SIGNOR SALANDRA
I address myself to Italy and to the civilized world in
order to show not by violent words, but by exact facts and
documents, how the fury of our enemies has vainly attempted
to diminish the high moral and political dignity of the cause
which our arms will make prevail. I shall speak with the
calm of which the King of Italy has given a noble example,
when he called his land and sea forces to arms. I shall speak
with the respect due to my position and to the place in
which I speak. I can afford to ignore the insults written in
Imperial, Royal, and Archducal proclamations. Since I speak
from the Capitol, and represent in this solemn hour the
people and the Government of Italy, I, a modest citizen,
feel that I am far nobler than the head of the house of the
Hapsburgs.
The commonplace statesmen who, in rash frivolity of
mind and mistaken in all their calculations, set fire last July
to the whole of Europe and even to their own hearths and
homes, have now noticed their fresh colossal mistake, and
in the Parliaments of Budapest and Berlin have poured
forth brutal invective of Italy and her Government with the
obvious design of securing the forgiveness of their fellow-
citizens and intoxicating them with cruel visions of hatred
and blood. The German Chancellor said he was imbued
not with hatred, but with anger, and he spoke the truth, be-
cause he reasoned badly, as is usually the case in fits of rage.
I could not, even if I chose, imitate their language. An
atavistic throwback to primitive barbarism is more difficult
for us who have twenty centuries behind us more than they
have.
The fundamental thesis of the statesmen of Central Eu-
rope is to be found in the words "treason and surprise on
the part of Italy toward her faithful allies." It would be
222 ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES
easy to ask if he has any right to speak of alliance and respect
for treaties who, representing with infinitely less genius, but
with equal moral indifference, the tradition of Frederick the
Great and Bismarck proclaimed that necessity knows no
law, and consented to his country trampling under foot and
burying at the bottom of the ocean all the documents and all
the customs of civilization and international law. But that
would be too easy an argument. Let us examine, on the con-
trary, positively and calmly, if our former allies are entitled
to say that they w r ere betrayed and surprised by us.
Our aspirations had long been known, as was also our
judgment on the act of criminal madness by which they
shook the world and robbed the alliance itself of its closest
raison d'etre. The "Green Book" prepared by Baron Son-
nino, with whom it is the pride of my life to stand united in
entire harmony in this solemn hour after thirty years of
friendship, shows the long, difficult, and useless negotiations
that took place between December and May. But it is not
true, as has been asserted without a shadow of foundation,
that the Ministry reconstituted last November made a change
in the direction of our international policy. The Italian Gov-
ernment, whose policy has never changed, severely con-
demned, at the very moment when it learned of it, the ag-
gression of Austria against Serbia, and foresaw the conse-
quences of that aggression, consequences which had not been
foreseen by those who had - .^meditated the stroke with such
lack of conscience.
In effect, Austria, in consequence of the terms in which
her note was couched, and in consequence of the things de-
manded, which, while of little effect against the Pan-Serbian
danger, were profoundly offensive to Serbia, and indirectly
so to Russia, had clearly shown that she wished to provoke
war. Hence we declared to von Flotow that, in consequence
of this procedure on the part of Austria and in consequence
of the defensive and conservative character of the Triple
Alliance Treaty, Italy was under no obligation to assist
Austria if, as the result of this demarche, she found herself
at war with Russia, because any European war would in
ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES 223
such an event be the consequence of the act of provocation
and aggression committed by Austria.
The Italian Government on July 27th and 28th em-
phasized in clear and unmistakable language to Berlin and
Vienna the question of the cession of the Italian provinces
subject to Austria, and we declared that if we did not ob-
tain adequate compensation the Triple Alliance would have
been irreparably broken. Impartial history will say that
Austria, having found Italy in July, 191 3, and in October,
1 91 3, hostile to her intentions of aggression against Serbia,
attempted last summer, in agreement with Germany, the
method of surprise and the fait accompli.
The horrible crime of Serajevo was exploited as a pre-
text a month after it happened — this was proved by the
refusal of Austria to accept the very extensive offers of
Serbia — nor at the moment of the general conflagration
would Austria have been satisfied with tlu unconditional ac-
ceptance of the ultimatum. Count Berchtold on July 31st
declared to the Duke of Avarna that, if there had been a
possibility of mediation being exercised, it could not have
interrupted hostilities, which had already begun with Serbia.
This was the mediation for which Great Britain and Italy
were working. In any case, Count Berchtold was not dis-
posed to accept mediation tending to weaken the conditions
indicated in the Austrian note, which, naturally, would have
been increased at the end of the war.
If, moreover, Serbia had decided meanwhile to accept
the aforementioned note in its entirety, declaring herself
ready to agree to the conditions imposed on her, that would
not have persuaded Austria to cease hostilities. It is not true,
as Count Tisza declared, that Austria did not undertake
to make territorial acquisitions to the detriment of Serbia,
who, moreover, by accepting all the conditions imposed upon
her, would have become a subject State. The Austrian Am-
bassador, Herr Merey von Kapos-Mere, on July 30th, stated
to the Marquis di San Giuliano that Austria could not make
a binding declaration on this subject, because she could not
foresee whether, during the war, she might not be obliged,
against her. will, to keep Serbian territory.
224 ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES
On July 29th Count Berchtold stated to the Duke of
Avarna that he was not inclined to enter into any engage-
ment concerning the eventual conduct of Austria in the case
of a conflict with Serbia.
Where is, then, the treason, the iniquity, the surprise, if,
after nine months of vain efforts to reach an honorable un-
derstanding which recognized in equitable measure our rights
and our liberties, we resumed liberty of action? The truth
is that Austria and Germany believed until the last days
that they had to deal with an Italy weak, blustering, but not
acting, capable of trying blackmail, but not enforcing by
arms her good right, with an Italy which could be paralyzed
by spending a few millions, and which by dealings which
she could not avow was placing herself between the coun-
try and the Government.
I will not deny the benefits of the alliance ; benefits, how-
ever, not one-sided, but accruing to all the contracting par-
ties, and perhaps not more to us than to the others. The
continued suspicions and the aggressive intentions of Aus-
tria against Italy are notorious and are authentically proved.
The Chief of the General Staff, Baron Conrad von Hoetz-
endorf, always maintained that war against Italy was in-
evitable, either on the question of the irredentist provinces
or from jealousy, that Italy intended to aggrandize herself
as soon as she was prepared, and meanwhile opposed every-
thing that Austria wished to undertake in the Balkans,
and consequently it was necessary to humiliate her in order
that Austria might have her hands free, and he deplored that
Italy had not been attacked in 1907. Even the Austrian
Minister of Foreign Affairs recognized that in the military
party the opinion was prevalent that Italy must be sup-
pressed by war because from the Kingdom of Italy came the
attractive force of the Italian provinces of the empire, and
consequently by a victory over the kingdom and its political
annihilation all hope for the irredentists would cease.
We see now on the basis of documents how our allies
aided us in the Lybian undertaking. The operations bril-
liantly begun by the Duke of the Abruzzi against the Turkish
torpedo boats encountered at Preveza were stopped by Aus-
ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES 225
tria in a sudden and absolute manner. Count Aehrenthal
on October 1st informed our Ambassador at Vienna that
our operations had made a painful impression upon him
and that he could not allow them to be continued. It was
urgently necessary, he said, to put an end to them and to give
orders to prevent them from being renewed, either in Adri-
atic or in Ionian waters. The following day the German
Ambassador at Vienna, in a still more threatening manner,
confidentially informed our Ambassador that Count Aehren-
thal had requested him to telegraph to his Government to
give the Italian Government to understand that if it con-
tinued its naval operations in the Adriatic and in the Ionian
Seas it would have to deal directly with Austria-Hungary.
And it was not only in the Adriatic and in the Ionian
Seas that Austria paralyzed our actions. On November 5th
Count Aehrenthal informed the Duke of Avarna that he
had learned that Italian warships had been reported o# Sa-
lonika, where they had used electric searchlights — and de-
clared that our action on the Ottoman coasts of European
Turkey, as well as on the ^Egean Islands, could not have been
allowed either by Austria-Hungary or by Germany, because
it was contrary to the Triple Alliance Treaty.
In March, 1912, Count Berchtold, who had in the mean-
time succeeded Count Aehrenthal, declared to the German
Ambassador in Vienna that, in regard to our operations
against the coasts of European Turkey and the yEgean
Islands, he adhered to the point of view of Count Aehrenthal,
according to which these operations were considered by the
Austro-Hungarian Government contrary to the engagement
entered into by us by Article VII. of the Triple Alliance
Treaty. As for our operations against the Dardanelles, he
considered it opposed, first, to the promise made by us not to
proceed to any act which might endanger the status quo in
the Balkans, and, secondly, to the spirit of the same treaty,
which was based on the maintenance of the status quo.
Afterward, when our squadron at the entrance to the
Dardanelles was bombarded by Fort Kumkalessi and replied,
damaging that fort, Count Berchtold complained of what
had happened, considering it contrary to the promises we
w., VOL. III.— 15.
226 ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES
had made, and declared that if the Italian Government de-
sired to resume its liberty of action, the Austro-Hungarian
Government could have done the same. He added that he
could not have allowed us to undertake in the future similar
operations or operations in any way opposed to this point
of view. In the same way our projected occupation of Chios
was prevented. It is superfluous to remark how many lives
of Italian soldiers and how many millions were sacrificed
through the persistent vetoing of our actions against Turkey,
who knew that she was protected by our allies against all
attacks on her vital parts.
We were bitterly reproached for not having accepted the
offers made toward the end of May, but were these offers
made in good faith? Certain documents indicate that they
were not. Franz Josef said that Italy was regarding the
patrimony of his house with greedy eyes. Herr von Beth-
mann-Hollweg said that the aim of these concessions was
to purchase our neutrality, and, therefore, gentlemen, you
may applaud us for not having accepted them. Moreover,
these concessions, even in their last and belated edition, in
no way responded to the objectives of Italian policy, which
are, first, the defense of Italianism, the greatest of our duties ;
secondly, a secure military frontier, replacing that which
was imposed upon us in 1866, by which all the gates of Italy
are open to our adversaries; thirdly, a strategical situation
in the Adriatic less dangerous and unfortunate than that
which we have, and of which you have seen the effects in the
last few days. All these essential advantages were sub-
stantially denied us.
To our minimum demand for the granting of inde-
pendence to Trieste the reply was to offer Trieste adminis-
trative autonomy. Also the question of fulfilling the prom-
ises was very important. We were told not to doubt that
they would be fulfilled, because we should have Germany's
guarantee, but if at the end of the war Germany had not
been able to keep it, what would our position have been?
And in any case, after this agreement, the Triple Alliance
would have been renewed, but in much less favorable con-
ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES 227
ditions, for there would have been one sovereign State and
two subject States.
On the day when one of the clauses of the treaty was
not fulfilled, or on the day when the municipal autonomy of
Trieste was violated by an imperial decree or by a lieu-
tenant's orders, to whom should we have addressed our-
selves? To our common superior — to Germany? I do not
wish to speak of Germany to you without admiration and
respect. I am the Italian Prime Minister, not the German
Chancellor, and I do not lose my head. But with all respect
for the learned, powerful, and great Germany, an admirable
example of organization and resistance, in the name of
Italy I declare for no subjection and no protectorate over
any one. The dream of a universal hegemony is shattered.
The world has risen. The peace and civilization of future
humanity must be founded on respect for existing national
autonomies. Among these Germany will have to sit as an
equal, and not as a master.
But a more remarkable example of the unmeasured pride
with which the directors of German policy regard other na-
tions is given in the picture which Herr von Bethmann-
Hollweg drew of the Italian political world.
I do not know if it was the intention of this man, blinded
by rage, personally to insult my colleagues and me. If that
was the case, I should not mention it. We are men whose
life you know, men who have served the State to an advanced
age, men of spotless renown, men who have given the lives
of their children for their country.
The information on which this judgment was based is
attributed by the German Chancellor to him whom he calls
the best judge of Italian affairs. Perhaps he alludes io
Prince von Biilow, with the brotherly desire to shoulder
responsibilities upon him. Now, I do not wish you to en-
tertain an erroneous idea of Prince von Billow's intentions.
I believe that he had sympathies for Italy, and did all he
could to bring about an agreement. But how great and
how numerous were the mistakes he made in translating his
good intentions into action! He thought that Italy could
be diverted from her path by a few millions ill-spent and
228 ITALY JOINS THE ALLIES
by the influence of a few persons who have lost touch with
the soul of the nation — by contact, attempted, but, I hope,
not accomplished, with certain politicians.
The effect was the contrary. An immense outburst of
indignation was kindled throughout Italy, and not among
the populace, but among the noblest and most educated
classes and among all the youth of the country, which is
ready to shed its blood for the nation. This outburst of
indignation was kindled as the result of the suspicion that a
foreign Ambassador was interfering between the Italian
Government, the Parliament, and the country. In the blaze
thus kindled internal discussions melted away, and the whole
nation was joined in a wonderful moral union, which will
prove our greatest source of strength in the severe struggle
which faces us, and which must lead us by our own virtue,
and not by benevolent concessions from others, to the ac-
complishment of the highest destinies of the country.
THE FALL OF WARSAW
RUSSIA LOSES ITS WHOLE OUTER LINE OF DEFENSE
AUGUST 4TH
GENERAL VON DER BOECK MARGARETE MUNSTERBERG
PRINCESS CATHARINE RADZIWILL
When the Von Mackensen battering ram had driven the Russians
out of Galicia, General Von Hindenburg, the German commander-in-
chief in the East, resolved to carry this victory to a yet larger success.
He hoped to break the Russian power completely. For this purpose
he launched his own forces from Prussia southward into Poland;
while Mackensen attacked it from Galicia, marching north. Between
them they hoped to entrap in Warsaw the main Russian armies.
The chief defenses of the Russians were a series of strong fortress
cities. The main ones, naming them from north to south, were
Riga on the Baltic coast, Kovno and Grodno on the Niemen River,
which in part separates Russia and East Prussia, Ossowiec and Lomza
defending Poland from East Prussia, Novo Georgiewsk directly in
front of Warsaw and guarding the junction of the two great Polish
rivers, the Vistula and the Bug. Further south upon the Vistula lies
Ivangorod.
The fortresses to the south fell first, Ivangorod and then Warsaw
itself. But following this in quick succession came the storming of
the northern strongholds. Their line was broken first at Lomza, then
at Kovno. Kovno was chief of the northern bulwarks of Russia ;
and the German reports glowed with accounts of the tremendous bat-
tle there. Russia, however, regarded the Kovno defense as so feeble
that its commander was accused of selling out to the enemy and was
publicly disgraced.
Very different was the .gallant defense of Ossowiec and Novo
Georgiewsk. Even these fell at last ; but their resistance gave the
Russian armies time to escape the enclosing pincers of the German
generals. The Russians fell back to a second line of which the central
defense was Brest-Litovsk, on the truly Russian border east of the
Polish capital, Warsaw.
But Brest-Litovsk was also doomed to fall. Its surrender on
August 26th was the crown of Germany's victory. After this success
the noted German bulletin, here given, was issued, boasting that Rus-
sia's main army was destroyed, and her strength was broken. General
Boeck here outlines for us the course of German victory which led
to Warsaw's capture. Miss Margarete Munsterberg has then con-
densed for us the popular Berlin narratives of enthusiastic victory,
including the extravagant official bulletin. Princess Radziwill gives the
Russian view, or rather the Russian court view. The epic of the
220
230 THE FALL OF WARSAW
Russian soldier himself, the patient courage with which he opposed
the tremendous German artillery, the loyalty with which he rushed
into hopeless battle, often unarmed and never fitly protected by artil-
lery, these have not yet found a voice. Perhaps they never can find a
sufficient one.
BY GENERAL VON DER BOECK
IN order to understand the significant events of the last
four months on the eastern front, it will be necessary to
recall briefly the military situation that obtained there dur-
ing the winter of 1914-15.
As a result of the battles at Lodz and at Limanova dur-
ing November and December, the Russian front in Poland
and in Galicia over a stretch of almost 400 kilometers was
compelled to retreat, thus shattering the Russian plan of an
offensive. During the early months of 191 5, the Russians
mobilized their great numerical superiority in the hope of
smashing through the Carpathians into Hungary and thus,
if possible, of coming to the aid of the Serbs; this plan,
too, miscarried.
The time had therefore arrived for the allied Central
Powers to launch a crushing blow at their mighty eastern
antagonist by a combined attack of their victorious troops.
The execution of this ambitious plan had been prepared
with great care and secrecy by the German and the Austro-
Hungarian chief command, so that the Russians were taken
quite unawares when, during the early days of May, 191 5,
the allied Powers inaugurated a successful attack against
the right flank and the rear of the invader's position on the
Dunajec.
Because of this great but stubbornly contested victory of
the Teuton Powers under the command of General von
Mackensen (May 1st), the Russian front was pushed in
many places from its position near the Hungarian border
back upon the confluence of the Dunajec and the Vistula.
The immediate and energetic pursuit of the eastward retreat-
ing enemy placed those of his forces still in the Carpathians
in great jeopardy. It is easy to understand, therefore, that
the Russians made obstinate attempts to check the further
advance of the allied [Teuton] Powers. This resistance
THE FALL OF WARSAW 231
was broken, however, in the battle of Tarnow-Gorlice (May
13th), so that the Russians had to withdraw their right
wing beyond the San, and their left wing to the vicinity of
the fortress of Przemysl, which had been in their possession
since March 22nd; to Przemysl, too, they withdrew the
troops that had been driven in the meantime from the west-
ern ranges of the Carpathians.
After a short breathing-spell for the establishment of
communications and the advance of the rearguard, the al-
lied Powers renewed the pursuit. While the army of Arch-
duke Joseph Ferdinand, which constituted the left wing, was
pushing its way over the San, the right wing of Von Macken-
sen's army drove the enemy from the vicinity of Przemysl,
at the same time recapturing the fortress (June 3rd). The
enemy withdrew his right wing in the direction of Lublin,
his center and his left wing, in part northeastward, in part
eastward, back upon Lemberg. Thus the situation offered a
division of the Russian forces, and bore in itself the germ
of the defeat of the Russians in Poland.
As a matter of course, the events in West Galicia just
recounted did not remain without influence on the situation
along the west bank of the Vistula. Here the Russians
abandoned the positions that they had held for months on
the Nida between the Vistula and Pilica, withdrawing north-
easterly toward Radom. The Woyrsch army-group fol-
lowed on their heels. West of Warsaw, however, the Rus-
sians still occupied very strong positions.
On the other hand, the Russian retreat had an ever in-
creasing effect on their left wing in the eastern Carpa-
thians, especially since the army of Von Linsingen, which
faced this wing, developed considerable activity, with the
result that these Russian troops were driven across the
upper Dniester (June 24th). By this success, the army-
group under Pflanzer-Baltin, at the extreme right wing of
the allied Powers, was relieved of the pressure of continual
attacks by strong Russian forces.
After the ejection of the enemy from West and Central
Galicia, Mackensen's army continued its advance without a
pause, again defeating the Russians at Grodek (June 20th)
232 THE FALL OF WARSAW
and shortly thereafter occupying Lemberg, the capital of
Galicia (June 22nd).
While Linsingen's army and the right wing of Macken-
sen's army followed the rapidly retreating enemy eastward
to the sector of the Zlota-Lipa and the upper Bug, the greater
part of Mackensen's army turned northward in order (along
with the army of Archduke Joseph Ferdinand) to remain
on the heels of the main part of the Russian army, which
was yielding between the Bug and the Vistula.
However, before we can follow the movements of both
these armies further, it will be necessary to turn to the left
wing of the German forces in the east, which had under-
taken an offensive at the same time — an offensive that was
related to the attack of the right wing just described in so
far as both had the purpose of embracing from both sides
the so-called "central-position" of the enemy in Russian
Poland.
In the winter battle in the Masurian district (February
7th and 8th), Field-Marshal von Hindenburg had again
trounced the Russian forces invading East Prussia so se-
verely that since that time they had taken up a defensive
position, on Russian soil, on the strongly fortified Niemen-
Bobr-Narew line, venturing only occasionally to disturb our
weak covering forces in this region. One such aggression
was undertaken against the border-city Memel (March
17th), resulting in a short-lived occupation of this city by
the Russians. In order to punish them for this attack on
an unfortified city and to prevent a repetition of similar
unamiable behavior, a special army was created in the north-
ern part of East Prussia under the command of General
von Below, which was entrusted with the task of driving
out the Russian forces that had appeared north of the Nie-
men, as well as occupying Samogitia and Courland. De-
spite the obstinate resistance of Russian forces hurriedly
summoned to this region, Von Below's army accomplished its
task in the course of a few months; supported by our ma-
rines, it occupied the Baltic ports Libau and Windau and
forced the Russians back in the direction of Diinaburg, Fried-
richstadt, and Riga.
THE FALL OF WARSAW 233
Eichhorn's army assumed the defense of East Prussia
against the fortress of Kovno and the Russian troops still
stationed west of the Niemen. In order effectively to oppose
invasion of the southern boundary of East and West Prus-
sia from the strongly fortified river-line Bobr-Narew, and
at the same time to carry out the planned offensive against
the right wing of the "central position" in Russian Poland,
two new armies were created in North Poland in the end of
June under Generals von Gallwitz and von Scholtz. In
close cooperation, both these armies then drove the strong
Russian forces opposing them back upon the Bobr-Narew
line and then advanced to the attack of this line from Novo-
Georgiewsk to Lomza. After they had occupied the for-
tresses of Ostrolenka and Rozan and Pultusk, they crossed
the Narew at several points; then they broke the resistance
of the strong Russian troops opposing them on the left bank,
and resumed their advance between the Narew and the Bug,
in a southeasterly direction. In the early days of August,
the fortress of Lomza was taken, and the fortress of Novo-
Georgiewsk surrounded and besieged.
Let us return now to the right wing, to Mackensen's
army, which we left pursuing its way northward after the
crossing of the San and the capture of Lemberg, following
up the retreat of the main Russian forces between the Bug
and the Vistula. Naturally, the Russians resisted this pur-
suit most obstinately, summoning fresh troops for the pur-
pose; failure to check the triumphant advance of the armies
of the allied Central Powers meant that the Russian posi-
tion along the fortified Vistula line would prove untenable.
During the month of July, therefore, severe engagements
developed south of the line Cholm-Lublin, ultimately ter-
minating in favor of the [Teuton] Allies. After the army
of Archduke Joseph Ferdinand, fighting on the left wing of
the Mackensen army-group, had succeeded in breaking the
desperate resistance of the Russians in the vicinity of Kras-
nik, the right wing advanced between the Bug and along
both banks of the Wieprz, so that by the end of July the
stretch of the vital railway line, Kiev-Ivangorod-Warsaw,
234 THE FALL OF WARSAW
between Cholm and Lublin, had fallen into the possession of
this army-group.
This strong pressure from the south was not without
its effect upon the Russian forces still battling along the
left bank of the Vistula. Their left wing forthwith with-
drew between the Vistula and the Pilica mainly in the di-
rection of the fortress Ivangorod, energetically followed by
the troops under Woyrsch. While the right wing of this
army-division, consisting of Austro-Hungarian troops,
turned toward Ivangorod, General Woyrsch himself, with his
Silesian Landwehr, effected the crossing of the Vistula be-
low the fortress, where, despite strenuous counter-attacks
by the Russians, he succeeded in maintaining himself in a
hurriedly improvised bridgehead-like position. This suc-
cess was of great moment for the later operations along the
right bank of the Vistula.
North of the Pilica also, fighting continually, the Rus-
sians withdrew toward Warsaw, and finally, after they had
been compelled to abandon the Blonie position they had so
long held (August 3rd), they sought shelter behind the outer
fortifications of Warsaw, the evacuation of which, first by
the civilian population, and then by the greater part of the
garrison, had already been ordered by the Russian High
Command.
In the meantime, Mackensen's army had continued its
pursuit of the Russians between the Bug and the Vistula.
Its right wing, which touched the Bug, had already won
a safe crossing of this river at Vladimir- Volynski, and it
fought its way against strong opposition through the nar-
rows between the lakes northeast of Leczna, reaching the
line Vlodava-Parczev ; at the former point a second crossing
of the Bug was won and made tenable. On the left wing
of Mackensen's army-group, the army under Archduke Jo-
seph Ferdinand defeated the strong Russian forces opposing
it at Lubartov and drove them northward across the lower
Wieprz.
This uninterrupted pursuit of the Russians between the
Bug and the Vistula on the part of Mackensen's army-group,
together with the advance of the right w r ing of Hindenburg's
THE FALL OF WARSAW 235
army-group (the armies of von Scholtz and von Gallwitz)
against the lower Bug, described above, as well as the pres-
sure of those forces of the allied Central Powers still on the
left bank of the Vistula, made the situation of the Russians
in their central position in Russian Poland untenable, so
that only a speeding up of the retreat they had already in-
augurated could save them from worse, as the events which
now followed blow on blow clearly demonstrate.
On August 4th, the army-group under Prince Leopold
of Bavaria captured and penetrated the outer and inner for-
tifications of Warsaw and occupied the city with the ex-
ception of the suburb of Praga on the right bank of the
Vistula, whence the Russian rearguard still bombarded War-
saw. Simultaneously the Austro-Hungarian troops under
General von Kovess captured and occupied the fortress of
Ivangorod and soon established on the right bank of the
Vistula a junction with the left wing of Mackensen's army-
group.
By the occupation of both these Vistula strongholds the
long series of successes achieved by the allied Powers since
the early days of May, on the Dunajec in Galicia, in South
and North Poland, and in the Baltic Provinces, were fittingly
crowned.
BY MARGARETE MUNSTERBERG
Condensed from the accounts in the popular Berlin periodical,
"Kricgs-Rundschan"
On July 20, 191 5, German troops forced a crossing over
the Narew River. Meanwhile Austrian-Hungarian and
German armies captured Kostrzyn and Radom, and after
bitter fighting pressed onward from the south, between the
Bug and Vistula Rivers, toward the Vistula Fortress Ivan-
gorod. This was closely hedged in by the allied [Teuton]
troops on July 21st, after the opponent had made vain efforts
to hinder our forward march toward the north and toward
the east. In the early morning of July 28th General von
Woyrsch forced the crossing over the Vistula at several
points. The Mackensen army, after a short interruption,
resumed its attack on July 29th, and broke through the Rus-
236
THE FALL OF WARSAW
sian position to the west of Wieprz. This success as well
as the attacks of Austrian-Hungarian and German troops
just east of the Vistula, of Prussian guard troops near
Kruke and of other German troops in the region of
Wojslawice made the Russian front give way between the
Vistula and the Bug. On July 30th the enemy evacuated
his positions along the whole line.
During the pursuit we captured Lublin and passed
through Cholm.
An exceedingly obstinate defense of the Russian posi-
tions round Ivangorod ensued. It was marked by the fol-
lowing official communication from Vienna on August 2,
191 5: "To the west of Ivangorod our Siebenbiirgen regi-
ments have wrested from the enemy at the point of the bayo-
net eight concrete bulwarks built in storied form. Four
of these works were captured alone by the infantry regi-
ment, 50, which consists chiefly of Rumanians. The semi-
circle around Ivangorod was drawn considerably tighter.
We captured 15 officers and over 2,300 men and carried off
29 pieces of artillery, among them 21 heavy guns, further
11 machine guns, a large deposit of tools and much muni-
tion and war material. Our proved Siebenbiirgen troops
may count this day among the most glorious of their hon-
orable history."
The Austrian-Hungarian troops of the Woyrsch army
took possession of the western part of Ivangorod on August
3rd. Meanwhile Mackensen once more drove to flight the
Russians who were fighting desperately to the northeast of
Cholm and to the west of the Bug. On August 4th Ivan-
gorod fell into the hands of the allied Austrian-Hungarian
and German troops.
On the same day Warsaw was conquered.
After the Russians on August 3rd had been thrust back
to the outer line of defense, Prince Leopold of Bavaria had
his army start the attack on Warsaw. The announcement of
victory from the great headquarters on August 5, 191 5, read
thus : "The army of Prince Leopold of Bavaria broke
through and yesterday and to-night took possession of the
outer and inner lines of forts of Warsaw, in which the Rus-
THE FALL OF WARSAW 237
sian rearguard still offered stubborn resistance. This
morning the city was occupied by our troops."
The Russian command dismissed the fall of Warsaw in
the official communication of August 6th in the following
words : "As a result of the conditions brought about by
the general situation, our troops to the west of Warsaw were
commanded to fall back on the right shore of the Vistula.
According to the report which has arrived, this command
was carried out. The troops that covered Warsaw returned,
without being attacked by the enemy, to the new front
marked out for them, after they had blown up behind them
all bridges over the Vistula."
At a stormy session of the Duma on August 1st, the
Russian War Minister, Polivanof, said in a long speech:
"At this moment the enemy has concentrated unusually
strong forces against us, which step by step are encompassing
the territory of the military district of Warsaw, whose
strategic boundary lines have always been the weak spot on
our western border. Under these conditions we may leave
a part of this district to the enemy, and fall back upon
positions where our army can prepare once more to take
the offensive. This is the end which crowns the tactics tried
in 18 1 2. To-day we may leave Warsaw to the enemy, as
we evacuated Moscow at 'that time, in order to insure final
victory."
The revolutionary papers of Warsaw during the critical
days of the evacuation are said to have spread declarations
inciting the people to oppose the military authorities. The
men of the Ochrana kept up a reign of terror.
In the papers of Germany and its friends the conquest of
Warsaw was celebrated as the "crowning event of the first
war year." The voices of the enemy press everywhere be-
trayed ill-concealed worry over the "successful withdrawal"
of the Russian armies. The irresistible advance of the Ger-
man and Austrian-Hungarian armies from the south as well
as in the north brought these worries to the point of despair,
of accusations and foolish hopes. Russia scolded the "in-
activity" of the allies on the West front, France complained
of the desultoriness of the Russian strategy, England
238 THE FALL OF WARSAW
smoothed things over by pointing to Constantinople. There
was much racking of brains over the German "pincers" in
the east.
Meanwhile the German group on the Narew was fast
approaching its goal — the closing in of Novo-Georgiewsk.
In spite of the stubborn resistance of the Russians on the
line from Lomza to the mouth of the Bug River, on August
7th our troops took possession of Zegrze, an outer forti-
fication of Novo-Georgiewsk. The next day the strongest
Vistula fortress in the east was isolated between the Narew
and the Vistula.
From August 9th to 10th Lomza was stormed. Conse-
quently the Russian defensive positions gave way at the
Bobre in the direction of Ossowiec and farther on toward
the Niemen; the strength of the fortresses of Grodno and
Kovno, however, still made resistance possible.
Fort Benjamin, east of Novo-Georgiewsk, which the en-
emy had evacuated, was occupied August 10th; our airships
at the same time threw bombs on Novo-Georgiewsk and
Brest-Litovsk. In forced marches the groups of Generals
von Scholz and von Gallwitz pressed on toward the south-
east as far as Sokolow, breaking the stubborn resistance of
the Russians section by section. Toward the northeast the
crossing over the Nurzec between* the Narew and the Bug
was forced after bloody fighting.
Contemporaneously with the advance of the German
group at the Narew, the troops of Archduke Josef Ferdi-
nand, of General von Woyrsch and Marshal von Macken-
sen broke the resistance of the Russians between the Bug and
the Vistula. After the capture of Lubartow and a victory
near Miechow, they advanced on August 7th and 8th across
the Wieprz ; on August 14th they gained the railroad Lukow-
Brest-Litovsk, to which Mackensen had pressed on across
the Rokitno marshes. German troops under Mackensen
protected the eastern wing of the victoriously advancing
armies.
While the pincers from the Narew and the Bug-Vistula
were closing tighter and tighter, an event of great signifi-
cance was going on by the Niemen :
THE FALL OF WARSAW 239
The Storming of Kovno
On August 1 6th troops of the army of General von
Eichhorn under the leadership of General Litzmann stormed
the forts of the southwestern front of Kovno. Forty-five
hundred men and 240 guns were captured. On August 18th,
so memorable in German war history, the following official
announcement of victory was made : "The fortress Kovno
with all forts and innumerable material, including more than
400 guns, is in German hands since to-night. It was taken
by storm in spite of the most stubborn resistance."
A few days later a longer account was given out from
high headquarters :
"On August 17th the chief bulwark of the Niemen line,
the first-class fortress Kovno, fell into our hands. As early
as July the extensive forests in front of the western side of
the fortress were evacuated by the enemy ; thus it was made
possible to prepare adequate ways of approach and to make
the necessary explorations. On August 6th the attack on
the fortress began. Through the daring assistance of the
infantry, observation points were won for the artillery, and
the guns were successfully installed, though with extreme
difficulty in the roadless wooded regions. So it was pos-
sible, on August 8th, for the artillery to open fire. While it
directed an overwhelming fire on the protecting outposts and
at the same time on the permanent works of the fortress,
infantry and pioneers were working their way forward un-
ceasingly, day and night, with constant heavy fighting. Not
less than eight bulwarks were taken by storm up to August
15th, each a fortress by itself, which had been built during
months of toil with all the means of the engineering art and
obviously enormous expenditure in money and labor. Fre-
quent very strong counter-attacks of the Russians against
the front and the southern flanks of our attacking troops
were repulsed with heavy losses for the opponent.
"On August 1 6th the attack was carried nearly up to the
permanent line of forts. By means of artillery fire of the
utmost strength, brilliantly directed with the aid of balloon
and aircraft observations, the garrison of the forts, the con-
2 4 o THE FALL OF WARSAW
necting lines and the intermediate batteries were shaken to
such a degree and the works so greatly damaged that the
latter too could be stormed. By pressing on irresistibly, the
infantry at first broke through Fort 2; then, by wheeling in
against its rear and crushing the front, it stormed the whole
line of forts between the Jesia and Niemen. The artillery,
which was hurriedly moved forward, immediately began to
bombard the central fortification of the Western front and
after its fall, on August 17th, to bombard the enemy forces
which had retreated to the eastern shore of the Niemen.
Under cover of the artillery, which had been drawn up close
to the Niemen, the river was won in the midst of enemy
fire, at first by single small sections, then by stronger forces.
A double set of bridges was quickly erected in place of the
bridges destroyed by the enemy.
"In the course of August 17th, the forts of the northern
front, which had already been attacked from the north, as
well as the eastern front and finally the southern front
capitulated. Besides more than 20,000 prisoners, we won an
immeasurable booty, over 600 guns, among them innumer-
able ones of heavy caliber and highly modern construction,
huge stores of munitions, innumerable machine guns, search-
lights and army tools of all kinds, automobiles and rubber
tires, provisions worth millions. Considering the great ex-
tension of this modern fortress, an exact counting of the
booty will naturally be the work of days. The booty in-
creases from hour to hour. Hundreds of recruits were
picked up in the city deserted by the enemy. According to
their statements, in the last moment 15,000 unarmed reserves
were removed like fugitives from the city.
"This circumstance obviously proves that the Russian
command considered the speedy fall of the strongest Rus-
sian fortress an impossibilty ; so also do the desperate coun-
ter-attacks of the Russians — though unsuccessful, like the
previous ones — which started once more from the south,
even after the fall of the fortress. How highly they valued
the possession of this fortress is proved not only by its
powerful structure and its unusually plentiful artillery equip-
ment, but also by the fact that the resistance of the outer
THE FALL OF WARSAW 241
garrison was kept up till the last moment and by the number
of prisoners which fell into our hands, which, under these
conditions, was comparatively large."
The success on the Niemen was followed immediately by
the conquest of Novo-Georgiewsk.
As early as August 16th a large fort and two interme-
diate works on the northeastern front of the strong Vistula
fortress had been taken by storm. Twenty-four hundred
prisoners and 19 guns fell into the hands of the victor. On
the next day, two more forts on the northeastern front were
stormed and 20 guns captured. On August 18th, while the
German colors were being hoisted over Kovno, the German
storm troops occupied the Wkra section on the northeastern
side of Novo-Georgiewsk and captured 125 guns. Then the
fate of the defenders was decided. The report of our high-
est command of August 20th says: "The fortress Novo-
Georgiewsk, the last stronghold of the enemy in Poland, has
been taken after stubborn resistance. The whole garrison
was captured : 6 generals, over 85,000 men, in the final battle
yesterday alone over 20,000. The number of captured guns
rose to over 700, the amount of the remaining war material
taken by us cannot yet be determined."
The irresistible advance of the victorious armies next
caused the enemy to evacuate Ossowiec, the stronghold in
the marshes which had already cost much blood ; for he had
learned his lesson from the fall of Kovno and Novo-Geor-
giewsk. On August 22nd Ossowiec was occupied. The
small fortress, Olita, and the larger one, Grodno, could still
maintain themselves, protected as they were by marshes and
lakes, which reminded one of the Masurian district.
Meanwhile after having occupied the city Sidlice (Au-
gust 1 2th), the Woyrsch army had advanced across the Bug
near Miolnik on August 18th. The opponent offered strong
resistance to our advance, especially to the west of Brest-
Litovsk. On the eastern shore of the Bug around Wlodawa
the northward pursuit of the Mackensen group was kept up
energetically. For the Russians the railroad to the north
from Brest-Litovsk played an important part; for the de-
parture from Brest-Litovsk might be endangered by the
242 THE FALL OF WARSAW
troops of General von Gallwitz which were marching from
the north via Bialystok, and by the group of Prince Leopold
of Bavaria which was advancing eastward to Litovsk. On
August 22nd, therefore, in the region round Bielsk as well
as to the east of Wlodawa as far as the neighborhood of
Kovel, the enemy started violent counter-attacks which, how-
ever, could not long prevent the advance of our troops.
After Austrian, Hungarian, and German cavalry had
entered Kovel on August 23rd, German forces drove the en-
emy northeast of Wlodawa deeper and deeper into the woody
and marshy zone. Heavily beaten, the Russians fled also be-
fore the army of Prince Leopold of Bavaria into the in-
terior of the Bialovieska forest. On August 26, 191 5, Brest-
Litovsk had fallen.
The official communication read : "The fortress of Brest-
Litovsk has fallen. While the Austrian-Hungarian corps
of Field-Marshal von Arz, after fighting, took two forts of
the western front yesterday afternoon, the Brandenburg re-
serve corps 22 took by storm the works of the northwestern
front and penetrated by night into the central fortification.
Thereupon the enemy gave up the fortress. On the whole
front of the army group, from Bialovieska forest to the
marshy district by the Pripet, the pursuit is in full swing.
"Highest Command."
The official statement from Vienna said : "The for-
tress Brest-Litovsk has fallen. The Hungarian 'Landzvehr'
troops of General von Arz wrested from the enemy the vil-
lage Kobylany, situated southwest of the fortress, thereby
broke through the outer circle of defense and fell upon the
nearest fortification. At the same time West Galician, Si-
lesian and North Moravian army infantry took by storm a
fort south of the municipality Koroszczyn. German troops
took possession of three works on the northwestern front and
early this morning occupied a citadel situated by the rail-
road bridge. Meanwhile the allies also forced back the en-
emy across the Lesna and in the woody and marshy region
southeast of Brest-Litovsk. Our cavalry, which pursued
them northward from Kovel, beat Russian rearguards near
Bucin and Wyzwa."
THE FALL OF WARSAW 243
The result of the offensive in Russia was officially
summed up thus at the end of August :
"At the present point of time, when a certain end has been
reached in our continuous operations through the fall of the
interior Russian line of defense, it is instructive to recall
briefly the result reached so far by the offensive, which began
on May 2nd when we broke through near Gorlice.
"The strength of the united Russian forces which grad-
ually suffered the main brunt of our attack may be estimated
low, at about 1,400,000 men. In the battles the round sum
of 1,100,000 men were captured and at least 300,000 men
were killed or wounded, if the number of those thus put out
of combat (not including the sick) is estimated very low.
It must be higher, for the enemy has naturally suffered
enormous bloody losses since he tried to cover his hasty re-
treat chiefly by infantry without any consideration of human
life, in order to save the remainder of his artillery.
"Thus we may say that the armies which had the brunt of
our offensive have been completely annihilated.
"The fact that our opponent still has troops on the bat-
tlefield may be explained thus : he has drawn upon the divi-
sions held in readiness for an offensive against Turkey in
Southern Russia; he has hastily brought forward a great
many half-trained reserves from the interior of Russia;
finally he has moved numerous soldiers, singly and in small
companies, to the north from those fronts where our pres-
sure made itself less felt. All these measures have not been
able to check disaster.
"The enemy has been driven from Galicia, Poland, Cour-
land, Lithuania; his closed front has been torn open, his
armies are rushing back in two wholly divided groups. Not
less than twelve fortresses, among them four large ones of
wholly modern construction, fell into the hands of our brave,
loyal fighters and with them the outer as well as the inner
line of protection of the Russian Empire."
BY PRINCESS RADZIWILL
The loss of Kovno, strange as it may appear, produced in
Petrograd a far deeper impression than the fall of Warsaw.
244 THE FALL OF WARSAW
Important as the latter undoubtedly was from the political
point of view, it lay far more within the limits of probabil-
ity to see the Polish capital taken by the enemy, who, ever
since the beginning of the wai , had lain almost at its doors,
than to admit the possibility of one of the greatest and strong-
est Russian fortresses being stormed by the German troops.
Besides, Kovno was in Russia, and its possession by the
Kaiser meant a good deal more to every Russian patriot
than any Polish territory. Apart from sentimental rea-
sons, Kovno represented an immense quantity of war ma-
terial, guns, ammunition, and provisions of every kind, which
had accumulated within its walls from the beginning of the
campaign. It was bitter to see all this captured, and even
more so to find that we had not been given a chance to de-
fend it. The evacuation of the fortress began late in June,
when, by order of the Grand Duke, a certain quantity of guns
had been withdrawn. In July some of the advance forts
which defended the entrance to the stronghold had fallen
into the hands of the Germans, but it was only on the 6th
of August that a serious attack was started, and on the 8th
heavy siege artillery opened a murderous fire against our
positions. Eight forts in succession were stormed between
that date and the 15th of August, and the cannonade sur-
passed in intensity anything ever experienced before. The
firing was heard farther than Vilna, and carried terror into
the hearts of the unfortunate inhabitants of the country sur-
rounding the besieged town. On the 16th of August the Ger-
man infantry had been able to advance as far as the line of
the permanent fortifications which defended the immediate
approach to the fortress, taking by assault trenches and po-
sitions which, when not held by a small number of men —
many of them wounded, — were already abandoned. The
whole day of the 17th of August passed in one attack on the
eastern side of the Niemen; the bridge was destroyed by
German shells, the forts on the north flank were burned
down, and in the evening the entire southern side fell into
the hands of the enemy. The town itself, with its last line
of fortifications, then had to capitulate, together with the
20,000 men still left of its once strong garrison.
THE FALL OF WARSAW 245
It was this capitulation which was so bitterly resented by
Russian society. It produced a disastrous impression in
Petrograd, and shook the last remnants of the Grand Duke's
former popularity. A letter received from the Russian capi-
tal, which bore the date August 20th, expressed itself in the
following terms upon this subject :
"I do not know what impression the fall of Kovno may
have produced abroad. Here the consternation surpasses
everything I have ever seen before, and even after the disas-
ters of Mukden and Tsu Shima, at the time of the Japanese
war, there was not such a general depression as now per-
vades the whole atmosphere of Petrograd. The pessimists,
who prophesied that no good could ever result from the
Grand Duke being in supreme military command, rejoice to
see their prognostications verified, but even they forbear
from indulging in the usual T told you so' dear to the hu-
man heart. The situation is felt to be far too serious for
vain boasting. The one thing which dominates is the knowl-
edge that not only we have been beaten, but also that we did
not defend ourselves as we ought to have done. It is most
difficult to persuade a whole nation as bitterly disappointed
as Russia has been that strategical reasons require us to
retire and avoid the chance of an encounter face to face with
our enemy. One must be a soldier to judge of such things,
and laymen can only feel the disgrace of this surrender of
our positions. One cannot understand how it happens that
our army, which, according to what we have been told, was
plentifully supplied with all that it required, found itself
suddenly without the means of defense. The nation does not
differentiate between a retreat executed in perfect order, as
ours has been, and a flight. It easily mistakes the one for
the other, and its intelligence fails to grasp how it comes
about that, after we have been assured all along that our
territory was secured against any invasion of the enemy by
a line of fortresses so strong that no army in the world could
possibly take them, this line, the erection of which had
cost so much money, was suddenly pronounced to be worth
nothing at all — to constitute, indeed, a danger for our troops
had they remained. The impression that lies have been told
246 THE FALL OF WARSAW
is possessing the mind of the public, which begins to say
definitely that somebody has been guilty of systematic deceit.
It is a thousand pities, because once the confidence of the
nation in its leaders is shaken it will not respond with the
one-time readiness to future appeals to its spirit of self-sac-
rifice and devotion. The great danger of such a frame of
mind is too serious not to engross the attention of all those
who look farther than the present day.
"It is now that the mistake made from the very begin-
ning of confiding the supreme command to a member of the
Imperial family becomes apparent in all its nakedness. It
would have been easy to punish any Commander-in-Chief of
lesser birth, but with a Grand Duke this could not be thought
of. A certain portion of Petrograd society is clamoring for
the dismissal of the Grand Duke Nicholas, and curious
stories are related concerning his growing unpopularity
among the army, his tyrannical character and general reck-
lessness; but either these stories do not reach Tsarskoye Selo,
or the Sovereign is afraid of deposing a relative quite capable
of resisting his authority. This at least is what one hears
from all sides, though, personally, I do not believe any of
these stories. Ruthless as the Grand Duke may be, he would
not dream of opposing the Emperor or failing in the per-
formance of any Royal command. I am satisfied that the
story of his refusal to defend Kovno has been invented by
busybodies anxious to appear to know everything. The re-
treat was a necessity in consequence of the lack of ammuni-
tion. Had we stopped to meet the Prussians and their big
guns, we should simply have sacrificed the bulk of our army
to no purpose. Besides, the conditions of modern war-
fare have quite done away with the old tradition of strong
fortresses. It is too little realized that not one of them can
resist the murderous fire of the fat and lean Berthas with
which the Prussians are provided. And so mankind is bound
to be impressed by events of such magnitude as the loss of
Ivangorod and of Kovno, which most probably will be fol-
lowed by the fall of the other fortresses on the Vistula and
beyond it. In military circles they are quite convinced that
Brest-Litovsk, too, will fall, after which arises the question
THE FALL OF WARSAW 247
whether the Germans will be able to cope with the difficulty of
the Pinsk Marshes and to cross that most dangerous region.
My private opinion is that they will not succeed in this part
of their devilish program. It is August already, and in an-
other three weeks the autumn rains will start, which, even
in the best of cases, must considerably delay them, and turn
their attention to their winter quarters in preference to every-
thing else.
"I also fail to see the reason for the panic which seems
to have got hold of the population of Petrograd; in these
days of aircraft and railways one is apt to forget the dis-
tances which make our country such a wonderful place. It is
easy for newspaper reporters to say that within a few days
the enemy will be at the gates of our capital. In reality,
such a thing is out of the range of human possibility if we
take into account the difficulty of moving a whole army, with
its baggage and artillery, in an unknown country, where the
roads are full of obstacles of a nature this enemy does not
even suspect. Certainly the situation is serious, but not des-
perate. The Germans are far from having won the war,
which will turn out to be a question of patience and endur-
ance. Strong as they are, their number will diminish sooner
than that of the Allies, and this day twelve months we shall
see whether they stand as well as they do at the present mo-
ment. If only we remain quiet in regard to matters of home
politics, I quite believe that we shall teach the Germans a
lesson they will be compelled to take to heart, whether they
wish it or not."
My correspondent saw perhaps clearer than most people
the unfortunate turn which the campaign had taken during
that summer of 1915. If one had been assured that ammu-
nition would be forthcoming in the near future, one might
have looked at things with more equanimity. Unfortunately,
such was far from being the case. On the contrary, one
dreaded that, despite the promises of the Government, the
indifference of officials would allow the important matter of
the armaments to remain in a condition of shocking and
culpable neglect. People clamored for the day when the
Duma would meet again, and all kinds of things were fore-
248 THE FALL OF WARSAW
seen in connection with that impending event. Rumors of
a revolution went about, which were further strengthened by
unrestrained gossip.
On the 21st of August the railway line of Wlodawa-
Brest-Litovsk was in the hands of the Germans, who began
with their usual thoroughness to mass their armies around
Brest-Litovsk, the most important point of defense upon
which the Grand Duke had reckoned in his continual retreat.
It must not be forgotten, when reviewing the events of that
memorable month of August, 191 5, that the principal aim of
the German Staff was to cut the communications between
the different Russian armies, especially of the groups which
were still gathered about the Niemen, and which consti-
tuted, even without sufficient ammunition, a formidable
source of danger to the enemy, who advanced toward Vilna
as hurriedly as circumstances allowed, hoping to enter this
town even before they had captured Brest-Litovsk, and
thus cut off our troops from their base. But all their efforts
to surround us, or to oblige us to accept the battle which
they hoped would end in our defeat, were useless. The Grand
Duke began to reproach himself for not having insisted that
he must have ammunition enough to cope with the enter-
prising adversary. With great courage he accepted blame
which was not his alone, and determined to save the army at
all costs. A retreat, painful though it might be, would not
rob the troops of their courage and affect their morale in a
dangerous manner, as would a lost battle. No matter at
what cost, the army had to be saved. This point established,
the Grand Duke acted in accordance with it, and so, in spite
of a storm of indignation, and even of ridicule, he brought
the Russian army beyond the reach of the German artillery,
there to entrench and prepare itself for the day when once
more it would take the offensive.
The Austrians, who were sent forward to attack the ad-
vance works of the fortification that guarded the entrance
to Brest-Litovsk, were commanded nominally by their own
officers, in reality by Germans. They started a desperate
assault during the early hours of the 25th of August against
the line of forts which stretched from the village of Wys-
THE FALL OF WARSAW 249
sokie-Litovsk, where stood the splendid castle of the Coun-
tess Potocka, up to the town of Brest itself. For a whole
day they fought without intermission, and thousands of men
perished in trenches that had to be carried with the bayo-
net. The Russians retired towards the Bug, defending their
ground inch by inch, burning the town, blowing up the
railway station, the post-office (buildings that might prove
of some utility to the enemy), and the barracks which had
been occupied by their troops. After nearly twenty-four
hours of uninterrupted struggle, and as the last line of for-
tifications was about to be stormed, the Prussians, who up
to that time had remained passive spectators of the battle
which had been raging, sent one of their reserve corps to the
assistance of the Austrians, and it was this corps which
was the first to enter the still burning ruins of what had once
been the flourishing town of Brest-Litovsk. The railway
line had already been occupied by the Germans a few days,
and they started at once to repair it, so as to assure their line
of communication with Warsaw and with Eastern Prussia
in the north and west, and with Kowal in the south.
In spite of their clamorous joy at this new success, it
remains to be proved whether later on it turns out to be
of real advantage to them. The whole population of Brest,
which was mostly Jewish, did not take kindly to the invaders,
or to the new regulations which the latter introduced into
the happy-go-lucky Lithuanian town. In Warsaw they had
received some sympathy of a kind, but in Brest it was dif-
ferent. First of all, most of the inhabitants had fled, and
those who remained were utterly ruined, and could not be
of much use to their conquerors. Provisions also were lack-
ing. The factories were devoid of machinery, and the whole
place presented an aspect of desolation. The Germans were
in possession of the fortress which they had coveted for such
a long time ; they found nothing but ruin. This is the plain
and unvarnished truth. The great successes of the Prus-
sians were only obtained because they met with absolutely
no resistance. Had the Russians possessed as much ammu-
nition as their enemies, it is a question whether the Germans
could have advanced into the interior of Poland and Lithua-
250 THE FALL OF WARSAW
nia as easily as they did. This was a fact to which they
were very careful not to draw the attention of the world.
On the contrary, they hastened to issue a notice which they
hoped would excite German enthusiasm, so as to prepare the
nation for the further sacrifices which its Government per-
fectly well knew it would have to ask from it within a very
short time. This notice is so typical of German lies that
it deserves to be reproduced here, if only to point out the
numerous inaccuracies with which it abounds :
"The strength of the Russian armies which opposed
us," begins this extraordinary official communique, "cannot
be estimated as less than 1,400,000 men. Of this number,
1,100,000 have fallen into our hands and are prisoners,
whilst at least 300,000 men have been killed or are com-
pletely disabled. Probably the numbers are even higher than
stated, if we take into account that, in order to save what was
left of their artillery, the Russians covered the retreat of
the latter with their infantry, which must, in consequence,
have suffered enormously.
"We can therefore assume with absolute certainty that
once for all our enemy has been entirely annihilated, and
if he can still bring into the field some troops to oppose us,
this can only be explained by the fact that a few divisions
were left in the south of Russia, against the possibility of an
attack from Turkey. But these are composed of only half-
trained men, gathered together from all parts of Russia,
who are absolutely incapable of holding the field against us.
We have driven our enemy out of Galicia, Poland, Cour-
land, and Lithuania ; we have broken through his lines, and
no fewer than twelve fortresses, of which four are large and
modern, have been captured by us ; with them has fallen the
last line of defense which Russia possessed against us." x
It is amusing to enter into the details of this document,
and to ask those who had composed it how they could ex-
plain the fact that, according to their own account, they had
'We have presented two translations of this noted German Gov-
ernment announcement so that the reader may choose for himself
between the spirit in which it is read by a Russian and by a German-
American (see the preceding account). Both translations are honest,
but note the difference of expression.
THE FALL OF WARSAW 251
killed and taken prisoners more men than the number which
they had indicated themselves as having opposed them.
Among the many wonderful things which the Germans have
performed, this is surely one of the most remarkable achieve-
ments.
We would also ask the Germans how it happened that
this destroyed Russian army revived suddenly from the dead,
and succeeded in preventing the famous Marshal von Hin-
denburg himself from taking Riga, which he had declared
he could capture whenever he liked. Why, too, was the
important fortress of Dunaburg — or Dwinsk, to give it its
Russian name — at Christmas, 191 5, still in possession of the
Czar, in spite of the repeated assurances of the German
military authorities that its capture was but a matter of a
few hours. The Prussian Staff is no longer so eager to talk
to us about the annihilation of the Russian armies as it
was in August, 191 5.
It was fondly expected at Berlin, and among the native
German population, that the capture of Brest-Litovsk would
open the way to Southern Russia, and that Kiev would be
the next town to fall into the hands of Von Mackensen and
of Prince Leopold of Bavaria, who suddenly had been en-
trusted with the leadership of the German vanguard. In
reality, the conquest of the old Lithuanian town had no such
results, and proved rather a source of embarrassment than
anything else to the further successes of the Kaiser's sol-
diers. It must not be forgotten that the aim of the Germans
was to strike terror into the hearts of their adversaries, and
that a good deal of their triumphs lay in the rapidity of their
march forward. To capture Petrograd, Kiev, Odessa, the
territories surrounding the Black Sea, the Germans would
have to be very much more advanced before the winter in-
terfered with further progress. And winter, or rather au-
tumn with its rains, was almost at hand. As far as Brest-
Litovsk the road had been relatively easy to follow, owing
to the absence of serious resistance on the part of the Rus-
sians; but after Brest matters would prove very different,
because this town lies on the confines of the Pripet Marshes
— far more formidable enemies than an army of soldiers.
BRITAIN'S FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES
THE "ANZACS" WIN AND LOSE THE MAIN ASSAULT AT
SARI BAIR
AUGUST 6TH-I0TH
LORD KITCHENER GENERAL HAMILTON
ELLIS BARTLETT AIDE OF GENERAL VON SANDERS
Britain tried for months to win the Dardanelles by naval power
alone, as a previous section of our work has shown. Then in April of
1915 she brought land troops also to the Dardanelles and gradually
developed a resolute assault, employing at length over 120,000 men.
By this time, however, the Turks, previously unready and uncertain
of their will to war, were well equipped with German guns, were led
by German officers, and were self-confident, eager and fanatically
aroused.
The Dardanelles peninsula is steeply mountainous, and its excel-
lent defensive positions were resolutely held by a Turkish army
much exceeding the Britons in numbers. So that while the British
struggled doggedly for months, they never succeeded in fighting their
way beyond the protection of the ships' guns which guarded their
landing places. Even their landings were sharply opposed, and every
foot of ground along the rugged coast was dearly bought.
The main British assault was the one herein described. It aimed
to win the summit of the peninsula ridge, from which the other shore,
within the mouth of the Dardanelles, could have been bombarded.
For the section of this topmost ridge known as Sari Bair, the British
fought for five days. On the fourth day, August 9th, they held the
summit for a moment, but lost it the next morning before reinforce-
ments could reach the exhausted remnant of survivors.
We have here the story of their gallant attack as their Minister
of War, Lord Kitchener, told it officially, also as their commanding
general, Sir Ian Hamilton, reported it, and then as a noted British
war-correspondent and eye-witness enthusiastically described it. The
Turks unhappily had no such writers to glorify their deeds; but the
resistance seems to have been as desperate as the assault.
Not until the end of the year did the Britons admit that their
advance was hopeless in face of the determined Turkish resistance
and the great natural strength of the peninsula. Then they suddenly
withdrew their troops, lest a worse fate befall them. Their total
casualties at the Dardanelles exceeded fifty thousand.
For this daring expedition upon a foreign coast, Britain relied
mainly on her colonial troops from Africa and Asia. The volunteers
from Australia and New Zealand were gathered here; and from their
initials and those of the other colonials, their force was known as
252
FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES 253
the Anzacs. Regular "Ghurka" troops from India also fought here,
and some Frenchmen, besides a few home troops from the British
Isles. To Britons the Dardanelles expedition ranks as the chief disas-
ter of the War, as also the occasion of some of its most desperate
battles.
BY LORD HERBERT KITCHENER
ON the Gallipoli Peninsula during the operations in June
several Turkish trenches were captured. Our own lines
were appreciably advanced and our positions were consoli-
dated.
Considerable reinforcements having arrived, a surprise
landing on a large scale at Suvla Bay was successfully ac-
complished on the 6th of August without any serious oppo-
sition.
At the same time an attack was launched by the Aus-
tralian and New Zealand corps from the Anzac position,
and a strong offensive was delivered from Cape Helles in
the direction of Krithia. In this latter action French troops
played a prominent part and showed to high advantage their
usual gallantry and fine fighting qualities.
The attack from Anzac, after a series of hotly contested
actions, was carried to the summit of Sari Bair and Chunuk
Bair, dominating positions in this area. The arrival of
transports and the disembarkation of troops in Suvla Bay
were designed to enable troops to support this attack. Un-
fortunately, however, the advance from Suvla Bay was not
developed quickly enough, and the movement forward was
brought to a standstill after an advance of about two and
one-half miles.
The result was that the troops from Anzac were unable
to retain their position on the crest of the hills, and after
being repeatedly counter-attacked they were ordered to with-
draw to positions lower down. These positions were ef-
fectively consolidated, and, joining with the line occupied
by the Suvla Bay force, formed a connected front of more
than twelve miles.
From the latter position a further attack on the Turkish
entrenchments was delivered on the 21st, but after several
hours of sharp fighting it was not found possible to gain
254 FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES
the summit of the hills occupied by the enemy, and the
intervening space being unsuitable for defense, the troops
were withdrawn to their original position.
In the course of these operations the gallantry and re-
sourcefulness of the Australian and New Zealand troops
frequently formed the subject of eulogy in General Hamil-
ton's reports.
It is not easy to appreciate at their full value the enor-
mous difficulties which attended the operations in the Dar-
danelles or the fine temper with which our troops met them.
There is now abundant evidence of a process of de-
moralization having set in among the German-led, or rather
German-driven Turks, due, no doubt, to their extremely
heavy losses and to the progressive failure of their resources.
It is only fair to acknowledge that, judged from a hu-
mane point of view, the methods of warfare pursued by the
Turks are vastly superior to those which have disgraced
their German masters.
Throughout, the cooperation of the fleet was intensely
valuable, and the concerted action between the sister services
was in every way in the highest degree satisfactory.
BY GENERAL SIR IAN HAMILTON
The first step in the real push — the step which above all
others was to count — was the night attack on the summits
of the Sari Bair ridge. The crest line of this lofty moun-
tain range runs parallel to the sea, dominating the underfea-
tures contained within the Anzac position, although these
fortunately defilade the actual landing-place. From the main
ridge a series of spurs run down towards the level beach,
and are separated from one another by deep, jagged gullies
choked up with dense jungle. Two of these leading up to
Chunuk Bair are called Chailak Dere and Sazli Beit Dere;
another deep ravine runs up to Koja Chemen Tepe (Hill
305), the topmost peak of the whole ridge, and is called the
Aghyl Dere.
It was our object to effect a lodgment along the crest of
the high main ridge with two columns of troops, but, seeing
the nature of the ground and the dispositions of the enemy,
FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES 255
the effort had to be made by stages. We were bound, in fact,
to undertake a double subsidiary operation before we could
hope to launch these attacks with any real prospect of suc-
cess.
(1) The right covering force was to seize Table Top,
as well as all other enemy positions commanding the foot-
hills between the Chailak Dere and the Sazli Beit Dere ra-
vines. If this enterprise succeeded it would open up the
ravines, for the assaulting columns, whilst at the same time
interposing between the right flank of the left covering
force and the enemy holding the Sari Bair main ridge.
(2) The left covering force was to march northwards
along the beach to seize a hill called Damakjelik Bair, some
1,400 yards north of Table Top. If successful it would be
able to hold out a hand to the Ninth Corps as it landed south
of Nibrunesi Point, whilst at the same time protecting the
left flank of the left assaulting column against enemy troops
from the Anafarta valley during its climb up the Aghyl Dere
ravine.
(3) The right assaulting column was to move up the
Chailak Dere and Sazli Beit Dere ravines to the storm of
the ridge of Chunuk Bair.
(4) The left assaulting column was to work up the Aghyl
Dere and prolong the line of the right assaulting column by
storming Hill 305 (Koja Chemen Tepe), the summit of
the whole range of hills.
To recapitulate, the two assaulting columns, which were
to work up three ravines to the storm of the high ridge,
were to be preceded by two covering columns. One of these
was to capture the enemy's positions commanding the foot-
hills, first to open the mouths of the ravines, secondly to
cover the right flank of another covering force whilst it
marched along the beach. The other covering column was
to strike far out to the north until, from a hill called Damaj-
kelik Bair, it could at the same time facilitate the landing
of the Ninth Corps at Nibrunesi Point, and guard the left
flank of the column assaulting Sari Bair from any forces
of the enemy which might be assembled in the Anafarta
valley.
256 FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES
The whole of this big attack was placed under the com-
mand of Major-General Sir A. J. Godley, General Officer
Commanding New Zealand and Australian Division.
Amongst other stratagems the Anzac troops, assisted by
H.M.S. Colne, had long and carefully been educating the
Turks how they should lose Old No. 3 Post, which could
hardly have been rushed by simple force of arms. Every
night, exactly at 9 p. m., H.M.S. Colne threw the beams of
her searchlight onto the redoubt, and opened fire upon it for
exactly ten minutes. Then, after a ten-minute interval, came
a second illumination and bombardment, commencing al-
ways at 9.20 and ending precisely at 9.30 p. m.
The idea was that, after successive nights of such prac-
tice, the enemy would get into the habit of taking the search-
light as a hint to clear out until the shelling was at an end.
But on the eventful night of the 6th, the sound of their foot-
steps drowned by the loud cannonade, unseen as they crept
along in that darkest shadow which fringes the searchlight's
beam — came the right covering column. At 9.30 the light
switched off, and instantly our men poured out of the scrub
jungle and into the empty redoubt. By 1 1 p. m. the whole
series of surrounding entrenchments were ours.
Once the capture of Old No. 3 Post was fairly under
way, the remainder of the right covering column carried on
with their attack upon Bauchop's Hill and the Chailak Dere.
By 10 p. m. the northernmost point, with its machine gun,
was captured, and by 1 o'clock in the morning the whole
of Bauchop's Hill, a maze of ridge and ravine, everywhere
entrenched, was fairly in our hands.
The attack along the Chailak Dere was not so cleanly
carried out — made, indeed, just about as ugly a start as any
enemy could wish. Pressing eagerly forward through the
night, the little column of stormers found themselves held
up by a barbed-wire erection of unexampled height, depth,
and solidity, which completely closed the river bed — that is
to say, the only practicable entrance to the ravine. The
entanglement was flanked by a strongly-held enemy trench
running right across the opening of the Chailak Dere. Here
that splendid body of men, the Otago Mounted Rifles, lost
FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES 257
some of their bravest and their best, but in the end, when
things were beginning to seem desperate, a passage was
forced through the stubborn obstacle with most conspicuous
and cool courage by Captain Shera and a party of New
Zealand Engineers, supported by the Maoris, who showed
themselves worthy descendants of the warriors of the Gate
Pah. Thus was the mouth of the Chailak Dere opened in
time to admit of the unopposed entry of the right assaulting
column.
Simultaneously the attack on Table Top had been
launched under cover of a heavy bombardment from H.M.S.
Colne. No general on peace maneuvers would ask troops
to attempt so break-neck an enterprise. The flanks of Table
Top are so steep that the height gives an impression of a
mushroom shape — of the summit bulging out over its stem.
But just as faith moves mountains, so valor can carry them.
The Turks fought bravely. The angle of Table Top's ascent
is recognized in our regulations as "impracticable for infan-
try." But neither Turks nor angles of ascent were destined
to stop Russell or his New Zealanders that night. There are
moments during battle when life becomes intensified, when
men become supermen, when the impossible becomes simple
— and this was one of those moments. The scarped heights
were scaled, the plateau was carried by midnight. With this
brilliant feat the task of the right covering force was at an
end. Its attacks had been made with the bayonet and bomb
only ; magazines were empty by order ; hardly a rifle shot had
been fired. Some 150 prisoners were captured, as well as
many rifles and much equipment, ammunition and stores.
No words can do justice to the achievement of Brigadier-
General Russell and his men. There are exploits which
must be seen to be realized.
The right assaulting column had entered the two south-
erly ravines — Sazli Beit Dere and Chailak Dere — by mid-
night. At 1.30 a. m. began a hotly-contested fight for the
trenches on the lower part of Rhododendron Spur, whilst
the Chailak Dere column pressed steadily up the valley
against the enemy.
The left covering column, under Brigadier-General
W., VOL. III.— 17.
258 FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES
Travers, after marching along the beach to No. 3 Outpost,
resumed its northerly advance as soon as the attack on Bau-
chop's Hill had developed. Once the Chailak Dere was
cleared the column moved by the mouth of the Aghyl Dere,
disregarding the enfilade fire from sections of Bauchop's
Hill still uncaptured. The rapid success of this movement
was largely due to Lieutenant-Colonel Gillespie, a very fine
man, who commanded the advance guard, consisting of his
own regiment, the Fourth South Wales Borderers, a corps
worthy of such a leader. Every trench encountered was
instantly rushed by the Borderers, until, having reached the
predetermined spot, the whole column was unhesitatingly
launched at Damakjelik Bair. Several Turkish trenches
were captured at the bayonet's point, and by 1.30 a. m. the
whole of the hill was occupied, thus safeguarding the left
rear of the whole of the Anzac attack.
Here was an encouraging sample of what the New Army,
under good auspices, could accomplish. Nothing more try-
ing to inexperienced troops can be imagined than a long
night march, exposed to flanking fire, through a strange
country, winding up at the end with a bayonet charge against
a height, formless and still in the starlight, garrisoned by
those specters of the imagination, worst enemies of the sol-
dier.
The left assaulting column crossed the Chailak Dere at
12.30 a. m., and entered the Aghyl Dere at the heels of the
left covering column. The surprise, on this side, was com-
plete. Two Turkish officers were caught in their pajamas ;
enemy arms and ammunition were scattered in every direc-
tion.
The grand attack was now in full swing, but the coun-
try gave new sensations in cliff climbing even to officers and
men who had graduated over the goat tracks of Anzac. The
darkness of the night, the density of the scrub, hands and
knees progress up the spurs, sheer physical fatigue, ex-
haustion of the spirit caused by repeated hairbreadth escapes
from the hail of random bullets — all these combined to take
the edge of the energies of our troops. At last, after ad-
vancing some distance up the Aghyl Dere, the column split
FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES 259
up into two parts. The Fourth Australian Brigade strug-
gled, fighting hard as they went, up to the north of the
northern fork of the Aghyl Dere, making for Hill 305 (Koja
Chemen Tepe). The Twenty-ninth Indian Infantry Bri-
gade scrambled up the southern fork of the Aghyl Dere
and the spurs north of it to the attack of a portion of the
Sari Bair ridge known as Hill Q.
Dawn broke, and the crest line was not yet in our hands,
although, considering all things, the left assaulting column
had made a marvelous advance. The Fourth Australian In-
fantry Brigade was on the line of the Asmak Dere (the
next ravine north of the Aghyl Dere) and the Twenty-ninth
Indian Infantry Brigade held the ridge west of the farm
below Chunuk Bair and along the spurs to the northeast.
The enemy had been flung back from ridge to ridge ; an excel-
lent line for the renewal of the attack had been secured, and
(except for the exhaustion of the troops) the auspices were
propitious.
Turning to the right assaulting column, one battalion,
the Canterbury Infantry Battalion, clambered slowly up the
Sazli Beit Dere. The remainder of the force, led by the
Otago Battalion, wound their way amongst the pitfalls and
forced their passage through the scrub of the Chailak Dere,
where fierce opposition forced them ere long to deploy.
Here, too, the hopeless country was the main hindrance,
and it was not until 5.45 a. m. that the bulk of the column
joined the Canterbury Battalion on the lower slopes of
Rhododendron Spur. The whole force then moved up the
spur, gaining touch with the left assaulting column by means
of the Tenth Gurkhas, in face of very heavy fire and fre-
quent bayonet charges. Eventually they entrenched on the
top of Rhododendron Spur, a quarter of a mile short of
Chunuk Bair — i.e., of victory.
At 7 a. m., the Fifth and Sixth Gurkhas, belonging to
the left assaulting column, had approached the main ridge
northeast of Chunuk Bair, whilst, on their left, the Four-
teenth Sikhs had got into touch with the Fourth Australian
Brigade on the southern watershed of the Asmak Dere.
The Fourth Australian Brigade now received orders to leave
260 FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES
half a battalion to hold the spur, and, with the rest of its
strength, plus the Fourteenth Sikhs, to assault Hill 305
(Koja Chemen Tepe). But by this time the enemy's opposi-
tion had hardened, and his reserves were moving up from
the direction of Battleship Hill. Artillery support was asked
for and given, yet by 9 a. m. the attack of the right assault-
ing column on Chunuk Bair was checked, and any idea of
a further advance on Koja Chemen Tepe had to be, for the
moment, suspended. The most that could be done was to
hold fast to the Asmak Dere watershed whilst attacking
the ridge northeast of Chunuk Bair, an attack to be sup-
ported by a fresh assault launched against Chunuk Bair
itself.
At 9.30 a. m. tne two assaulting columns pressed for-
ward whilst our guns pounded the enemy moving along the
Battleship Hill spurs. But in spite of all their efforts their
increasing exhaustion, as opposed to the gathering strength
of the enemy's fresh troops, began to tell — they had shot
their bolt. So all day they clung to what they had captured,
and strove to make ready for the night. At 1 1 a. m. three
battalions of the Thirty-ninth Infantry Brigade were sent
up from the general reserve to be at hand when needed, and,
at the same hour, one more battalion of the reserve was
dispatched to the First Australian Division to meet the drain
caused by all the desperate Lone Pine fighting.
By the afternoon the position of the two assaulting col-
umns was unchanged. The right covering force were in oc-
cupation of Table Top, Old No. 3 Post and Bauchop Hill,
which General Russell had been ordered to maintain with
two regiments of mounted infantry.
At 4.30 a. m. on August 9th, the Chunuk Bair ridge and
Hill O were heavily shelled. The naval guns, all the guns
on the left flank, and as many as possible from the right
flank (whence the enemy's advance could be enfiladed) took
part in this cannonade, which rose to its climax at 5.15
a. m., when the whole ridge seemed a mass of flame and
smoke, whence huge clouds of dust drifted slowly upwards
in strange patterns on to the sky. At 5.16 a. m. this tre-
FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES 261
mendous bombardment was to be switched off on to the flanks
and reverse slopes of the heights.
General Baldwin's column had assembled in the Chailak
Dere, and was moving up towards General Johnston's head-
quarters. Our plan contemplated the massing of this col-
umn immediately behind the trenches held by the New Zea-
land Infantry Brigade. Thence it was intended to launch
the battalions in successive lines, keeping them as much as
possible on the high ground. Infinite trouble had been taken
to insure that the narrow track should be kept clear, guides
also were provided; but in spite of all precautions the dark-
ness, the rough scrub-covered country, its sheer steepness,
so delayed the column that they were unable to take full ad-
vantage of the configuration of the ground, and, inclining
to the left, did not reach the line of the Farm — Chunuk Bair
— till 5.15 a. m. In plain English, Baldwin, owing to the
darkness and the awful country, lost his way — through no
fault of his own. The mischance was due to the fact that
time did not admit of the detailed careful reconnoissance
of routes which is so essential where operations are to be
carried out by night.
And now, under that fine leader, Major C. G. L. Allan-
son, the Sixth Gurkhas of the 2gth Indian Infantry Bri-
gade pressed up the slopes of Sari Bair, crowned the heights
of the col between Chunuk Bair and Hill Q, viewed far be-
neath them the waters of the Hellespont, viewed the Asiatic
shores along which motor transport was bringing supplies
to the lighters. Not only did this battalion, as well as some
of the Sixth South Lancashire Regiment, reach the crest,
but they began to attack dowi] the far side of it, firing as
they went at the fast-retreating enemy. But the fortune of
war was against us. At this supreme moment Baldwin's
column was still a long way from our trenches on the crest
of Chunuk Bair, whence they should even now have been
sweeping out towards Q along the whole ridge of the moun-
tain. And instead of Baldwin's support came suddenly a
salvo of heavy shell.
These falling so unexpectedly among the stormers threw
them into terrible confusion. The Turkish commander saw
262 FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES
his chance. Instantly his troops were rallied and brought
hack in a counter-charge, and the South Lancashires and
Gurkhas, who had seen the promised land, and had seemed
for a moment to have held victory in their grasp, were forced
backwards over the crest, and on to the lower slopes whence
they had first started.
But where was the main attack — where was Baldwin?
When that bold but unlucky commander found he could
not possibly reach our trenches on the top of Chunuk Bair
in time to take effective part in the fight, he deployed for
attack where he stood — i.e., at the farm to the left of the
New Zealand Brigade's trenches on Rhododendron Spur.
Now his men were coming on in fine style, and, just as the
Turks topped the ridge with shouts of elation, two com-
panies of the Sixth East Lancashire Regiment, together
with the Tenth Hampshire Regiment, charged up our side of
the slope with the bayonet. They had gained the high ground
immediately below the commanding knoll on Chunuk Bair,
and a few minutes earlier would have joined hands with the
Gurkhas and South Lancashires, and, combined with them,
would have carried all before them. But the Turks by this
time were lining the whole of the high crest in overwhelming
numbers.
The New Army troops attacked with a fine audacity,
but they were flung back from the height and then pressed
still further down the slope, until General Baldwin had to
withdraw his command to the vicinity of the Farm, whilst the
enemy, much encouraged, turned their attention to the New
Zealand troops and the two New Army battalions of No. I
Column still holding the southwest half of the main knoll
of Chunuk Bair. Constant attacks, urged with fanatical per-
sistence, were met here with* a sterner resolution, and al-
though, at the end of the day, our troops were greatly ex-
hausted, they still kept their footing on the summit. And
if that summit meant much to us, it meant even more to the
Turks.
At daybreak on Tuesday, August ioth, the Turks de-
livered a grand attack from the line Chunuk Bair Hill Q
against these two battalions, already weakened in numbers,
FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES 263
though not in spirit, by previous fighting. First our men
were shelled by every enemy gun, and then, at 5.30 a. m.,
were assaulted by a huge column, consisting of no less than
a full division plus a regiment of three battalions. The
North Lancashire men were simply overwhelmed in their
shallow trenches by sheer weight of numbers, whilst the
Wilts, who were caught out in the open, were literally al-
most annihilated. The ponderous masses of the enemy
swept over the crest, turned the right flank of our line below,
swarmed round the Hampshires and General Baldwin's col-
umn, which had to give ground, and were only extricated
with great difficulty and very heavy losses.
BY ELLIS ASH MEAD BARTLETT
The great battle, the greatest fought on the Gallipoli
Peninsula, closed on the evening of August 10th. Both
armies then busily engaged in consolidating their new po-
sitions, in taking stock of gains and losses, replenishing their
ammunition and munitions, and reorganizing the divisions,
brigades, and battalions which of necessity became inter-
mingled in this rugged, mountainous country.
I have visited the ground over which the Anzac corps
advanced in its desperate efforts, extending over four con-
secutive days, to reach the crest of Sari Bair, commanding
the ridge overlooking the Dardanelles. The New Zealand
infantry, the Gurkhas, and some other battalions almost
reached the objective, but were unable, through no fault of
their own, to hold their position. A battalion of Gurkhas
actually reached the crest of the plateau, but the Turks,
taking advantage of the confusion, counter-attacked in great
force, and the gallant men from the hills were driven from
the crest to the lower spurs beneath.
It was a bitter disappointment to have to relinquish the
crest when it almost seemed to be within their grasp after
so many months, but there was no alternative. The Anzac
corps fought like lions and accomplished a feat of arms in
climbing these heights almost without a parallel. All
through, however, they were handicapped by the failure of
264 FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES
the corps to make good its positions on the Anafarta hills,
further north, and thus check the enemy's shell fire.
When all the details of these complicated arrangements
are collected and sifted, they will form one of the most fas-
cinating pages of the history of the whole war. It was a
combat of giants in a giant country, and if one point stands
out more than another it is the marvelous hardihood, tenacity,
and reckless courage shown by the Australians and New
Zealanders.
The main force debouched from the Anzac position in
Lone Pine — a position situated on a plateau 400 feet high,
southeast of the Anzac lines. The Australians rushed for-
ward to the assault with the fury of fanatics, taking little
heed of the tremendous shrapnel fire and enfilading rifle fire.
On reaching the trenches the great difficulty was to force
a way in, for the cover was so strong and heavy it had to be
torn away by main force. Groups of men effected entrances
at various points and jumped in on top of the Turks, who
fought furiously, caught as they were, in a trap. Some
surrendered, but the majority chose to die fighting. In
every trench and sap and dugout desperate hand-to-hand
fighting took place, four lines of trenches being captured
in succession, and fresh infantry being poured in as the
advancing lines were thinned by losses.
In this fighting bombs played the most important role,
and it was only by keeping up and increasing the supply that
the Australians were able to hold the position after it had
been won. The Turks massed their force, and for three
nights and days made desperate counter-attacks, frequently
retaking sections of the line, only to be driven out again.
In this extraordinary struggle, which took place almost un-
der ground, both sides fought with utter disregard of life.
The wounded and dead choked the trenches almost to the
top, but the survivors carried on the fight over heaps of
bodies. In spite of immense reinforcements, with most de-
termined courage the Australians held the ground thus won,
and finally the Turks wearied of the struggle.
The trenches were now merely battered shambles, and
the task of removing the dead and wounded took days to
FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES 265
accomplish. The bodies of 1,000 Turks and Colonials were
removed from the trenches alone, while hundreds of others
lie outside. The total Turkish losses in this section alone
are estimated at 5,000, chiefly incurred in furious counter-
attacks, among which each bomb burst with fearful effect.
The capture of Lone Pine is the most desperate hand-
to-hand fight that has taken place on the peninsula, but this
was but a diversion and preliminary to the main movement
northward, which began the same evening under cover of
darkness. No finer feat has been accomplished in the
course of the war than the manner in which the troops des-
tined for the main movement against Sari Bair Ridge
were deployed for the attack. Millions of rounds of am-
munition and thousands of shells were successfully con-
centrated at advanced posts without the enemy becoming
aware of the movement. Neither did he know of the
strong reinforcements which had reached the Australian
corps. All this required the utmost skill, and was suc-
cessfully kept a profound secret.
It was at 9 p. m., August 6th, when the force crept for-
ward from the outposts. For nights past the navy had
thrown searchlights on this and other lower positions and
had bombarded them at frequent intervals. This procedure
was not departed from on the 6th, and the Turks had no
suspicion of the coming attack. When the lights were
switched on to another position the Australians dashed for-
ward and speedily captured the positions in succession, and
throughout the night Bauchop's Hill and Big and Little Ta-
ble Tops were occupied.
By the morning of the 7th our whole force was holding
the front and slowly moving toward the main Sari Bair po-
sition in face of great difficulties, harassed by the enemy's
snipers and checked by the difficulties of the ground and the
scarcity of water. It was decided to postpone a further ad-
vance until nightfall. The forces were reorganized into three
columns.
For the final assault on Chunuk Bair, which was timed
to begin at dawn on August 9th, large reserves from another
division were thrown into the firing line to assist the New
266 FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES
Zealand and Indian infantry, and the men, as far as pos-
sible, rested through the day and the early part of the night.
The advance on the morning of the 9th was preceded by
a heavy bombardment of Chunnk Bair and O Hill by the
naval and land guns. The advance of No. 3 column was
delayed by the broken nature of the ground and the enemy's
resistance.
Meanwhile the Gurkhas charged gallantly up the slope
of Sari Bair, and actually succeeded in reaching the heights
on the neck between Chunuk Bair and Q Hill. It was
from here that they looked down on the Dardanelles, but
were unfortunately unable to hold the position in face of vio-
lent counter-attacks and heavy shell fire.
During this time the Turks counter-attacked the left col-
umn in great strength, and the column was compelled to
withdraw to the lower slopes of Sari Bair.
Meantime throughout the day and night the New Zealan-
ders succeeded in maintaining their hold on Chunuk Bair,
although the men were thoroughly exhausted. During the
night of the 9th the exhausted New Zealanders were relieved
by two other regiments. At dawn the Tenth Regiment of
the Turks, which had been strongly reenforced, made a
desperate assault on our lines from Q Hill and Chunuk Bair.
To the strength of a division, in successive lines, they hurled
themselves, quite regardless of their lives, on the two regi-
ments which, after desperate resistance, were driven from
their position by artillery fire and sheer weight of numbers
further down the slopes of Chunuk Bair.
Following up their success, the Turks charged right over
the crest and endeavored to gain the great gully south of
Rhododendron Ridge, evidently with the intention of forcing
their way between our lines and the Anzac position. But
they had reckoned without our artillery and ships' guns.
This great charge of four successive lines of infantry in
close formation was plainly visible to our warships and all
our batteries on land. In this section the Turks were caught
in a trap. The momentum of their charge down hill pre-
vented them from recoiling in time, and they were swept
FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES 267
away by hundreds in a terrific storm of high explosive
shrapnel, and common shells from the ships' guns and our
howitzers and field pieces.
As the shells from the ships exploded, huge chunks of
soil were thrown into the air, amid which you saw humar
bodies hurled aloft and then chucked to earth or throwr
bodily into deep ravines. But even this concentrated artil-
lery fire might not have checked the Turkish advance, unless
it had been assisted by the concentrated fire of ten machine
guns at short range. For half an hour they maintained a
rapid fire until the guns smoked with heat.
During the whole of this time the Turks were pouring
across the front in dense columns, attempting to attack our
men. Hardly a Turk got back to the hill. Their lines got
mixed up in a wedge as those in front tried to retire while
others pressed them from the rear. Some fled back over
the crest, seeking to regain their trenches; others dashed
downward to the ravines. In a few minutes the entire di-
vision had been broken up and the survivors scattered every-
where.
If they succeeded in driving us from the crest of Chunuk
Bair, the Turks paid a terrible price for their success. Thus
closed, amid these bloodstained hills, the most ferocious and
sustained "soldiers' battle" since Inkerman.
BY AN OFFICER OF THE GERMAN STAFF
This Narrative Received the Direct Approval of the German General
in Command, Marshal Liman von Sanders
Toward 4 p. m. on August 6th artillery preparation was
begun against our positions, with a stupendous expenditure
of ammunition. Days before, the enemy, after fair fighting - ,
had set up great tents at this point, marking them each with
the sign of the Red Cross ; and for this reason they had not
been fired upon. As a matter of fact, however, these tents
were not intended to serve as shelters for the wounded. Un-
der cover of night, the English set up heavy howitzers at
this point, — only thus was it possible for them to undertake
268 FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES
a surprise attack here. 1 After drumfire of an hour and a
half, 4,000 Britons attacked the strongly entrenched posi-
tions of the defenders. The situation grew critical. Indeed,
the enemy's plan of compelling the Turks to call up reserves
and thus to divert troops succeeded. Essad Pasha could do
nothing but call up reinforcements from all quarters. Mar-
shal von Sanders offered the services of Kannengiesser's
division, which in the interval had arrived from the southern
front. But it was soon evident that their active participation
was unnecessary, although for the time being the troops
were held at this point against possible eventualities.
By means of sham maneuvers at various points of attack,
though "sham" is scarcely the word, since extraordinarily
bloody battles developed both at the south group and at
Kanly Sirt, the British general, Hamilton, believed that he
had sufficiently committed his opponent ; and so, on the eve-
ning of August 6th, he inaugurated his grandiose plan, which
was to lay open the Dardanelles for the Allies from Kodja
Djemendagh on, and at the same time to cut off the rear-
ward communications of the Turkish army. Had this opera-
tion been successful, the way to Constantinople would have
been open; hard-pressed Russia could have received the
longed-for help by way of the Black Sea ; the Turkish army
on Gallipoli would have been put in an extremely dangerous
situation, and the name of Sir Ian Hamilton would have been
inscribed on the roster of the great strategists of the world.
Any one who observed the ensuing conflicts will unhesi-
tatingly give the highest praise to the death-defying courage
of the troops who landed on Suvla Bay. The "Anzacs," as the
English newspapers called the Australia-New Zealand Army
1 This is typical of the way in which German writers made such
charges, loosely, casually, and without offering any evidence, or ap-
parently making any investigation. Their method is not that of honest
men disgusted at an opponent's act of almost unbelievable treachery,
and determined to prove this evil deed despite the amazed doubt of
their hearers. It is the shallow method of those who seek only to in-
crease the anger of an audience already so prejudiced that they will
believe anything on the strength of a loose assertion. The high repute
of the Anzac fighters makes the accusation as unbelievable in matter
as it is slovenly of manner.
FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES 269
Corps, fought like lions. If the brilliantly planned operation
failed, it was because Sir Ian Hamilton met in the commander
of the Fifth Turkish Army 2 a master who in a few moves
answered "check" with "checkmate."
The night of the 6th of August settled down pitch black.
All day the rain had fallen unceasingly. Not a ray from
the moon, not a sparkle from the stars, could penetrate the
thick canopy of clouds. It was so dark that a man could
scarcely see his hand before his face. The great transports
entered Suvla Bay with all lights out. Not even their out-
lines were visible. Phosphorescence gleamed in the foam
of the waves breaking on the beach. But beyond stretched
the eerie blankness of the night. Everything that happened
out there was as if behind a veil. Without a word, without a
sound, the troops entered the lighters brought for the pur-
pose. On the northern and southern promontories and op-
posite Tuslagol Australians and New Zealanders landed with
noiseless footsteps.
The Turkish outposts before the main positions on the
rim of the heights which on the west overlook the lowland
of Tuslagol drew back in the face of overwhelming numbers,
and immediately a field telephone informed the army high
command of the landing of strong forces. Liman Pasha
without delay sent an alarm to the two divisions stationed in
the northeastern part of the peninsula for the protection of
the Gulf of Saros, and started them for Anaforta by forced
marches. At the same time the division of Djemil Bey, part
of the right wing of the southern troops, was started toward
Kodja Djemendagh. The enemy on Suvla Bay at once made
bridgeheads of Softa and Laletepe to assure the safety of
further landings.
Another part of the Anzac corps landed south of Suvla
Bay at the mouth of the Asmakdere. At the same time the
Thirteenth Kitchener Division and a mixed division made
up of New Zealanders and Australians, which had made use
of the landing place at Ari Burun, marched northward,
hugging the coast. Then turning eastward, they followed
2 Marshal Liman von Sanders.
270 FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES
the dry river beds of the Saslidere and the Agylldere and a
ravine running parallel to and between the two valleys toward
Kodja Djemendagh. On the morning of the 7th two new
divisions which had landed on Suvls Bay in the night marched
to the south to join those which had landed at the Asmak-
dere.
During the night of the 7th-8th Colonel Kannengiesser
received orders to march against the right wing of the north-
ern group. As the dawn began to break, he reached with
two regiments Djonk Bahir, a southeasterly spur of Kodja
Djemendagh, just as the enemy, after climbing to these
heights from the sea under cover of darkness, was making
preparations to dig in there. The order to attack was quickly
given. Some rapid fire salvos were discharged at the An-
zacs, busy at the work of entrenching; then the colonel him-
self led his troops in an assault on the surprised foe.
The Anzacs were about to abandon the heights in wild
flight when the colonel, pressing forward far in advance of
his men, was struck in the breast by a rifle bullet and fell
unconscious. At the sight the ranks of the attackers wavered.
Their dearly loved German leader might have led them to
certain victory, but-now they hesitated, and though they had
already won much ground, were inclined to retire slowly,
when Djemil Bey appeared with the Fourth Division. He
took in the situation at once, assumed command of the troops
and infused in them the spirit to carry forward their invin-
cible attack. Everywhere the British were thrown from the
heights. Not till halfway down the slope could they make
a stand, and under the protection of their ships' guns dig in.
On the same morning a regiment of the enemy moved
from the landing place at Softatepe, the northern promon-
tory of Suvla Bay, toward Kiretschtepe and attacked a bat-
talion of Gallipoli gendarmerie. These were oldish men —
the beards of some were white — recruited entirely from the
peninsula. But they were defending their homes, and the
greater strength of the enemy was unable to drive the gal-
lant fellows from their carefully prepared positions. An-
other body of the enemy had proceeded through Tuslagol,
now almost completely dried up, and from Laletepe against
FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES 271
Mestamtepe. At this point the attackers succeeded in holding
their positions.
During the night of the 7th-8th still other troops in con-
siderable numbers disembarked on Suvla Bay. The lack of
heavy artillery and the shortage of ammunition were now
seriously felt by the Turks. Had conditions in this respect
been different, the enemy's transport and battle fleet, which
was now calmly anchored between the two tongues of land
forming the bay, protected against U-boat attack by a steel
net stretched between the two headlands, could not have
stayed there, and the landing of troops would have been very
much more difficult.
Gradually, on the morning of the 8th, the pale gray of
the ships' hulls was detached from the fog wreaths which
still veiled the sea. Lightning flashed from the muzzles of
cannon. The roar came up like thunder from the sea. End-
less seconds passed. Then, from the slopes of Kodja Djemen-
dagh, there was the noise of the Anzac guns that had been
landed there; a shorter sound wave struck the ear. And
now broke loose a storm of iron and lead. The entire fleet
off shore directed its fire against the summit of Kodja Dje-
mendagh, which soon looked precisely like an active volcano.
The whole mountain cone was enveloped in a cloud of many-
colored smoke and dust. A terrible and yet a fascinating-
sight! Still nothing stirred in the Turkish lines.
Just as the hellish concert reached its climax, the Turkish
howitzers, which during the night, through prodigious ex-
ertions, had been placed on the heights north and south of
Anafarta, joined in. Only a single shot fell here and there.
On our side the costly ammunition had to be most carefully
husbanded. Very cleverly the enemy had set up on the land-
ing places field hospitals, from which fluttered, in plain view
from a great distance, the sign of the Red Cross. This, ac-
cording to army orders, must be rigorously respected.
The Marshal mounted his horse. His presence was
needed. Up on Kodja Djemendagh two divisions were sta-
tioned under the command of Djemil Bey. He had placed
his men so skillfully in the numerous fissures, ravines, and
declivities of the mountain that they were enduring fairly
272 FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES
well the terrific fire from the ships' guns. Signals flashed
among the fleet, and suddenly, at one stroke, every cannon
stopped firing. This was the moment Djemil Bey was wait-
ing for. Quickly he hurried to the observer's stand of the
mountain artillery, which high above on Jonkbahir was sta-
tioned in the front line. His surmise was right. There they
came, the Anzacs, ascending the heights in broad storming
columns. In good order so far as the difficulty of the ground
permitted. Even the new Kitchener troops had learned much
during their short period of training.
The artillery commander, trembling with excitement and
eagerness for the fray, looked questioningly but vainly at
Djemil Bey, whose orders had so far condemned him to in-
activity. Further waiting was exacted by that man of iron
nerves. Now the attackers*, climbing laboriously, were crowd-
ing closely together in the ravines and gullies, two thou-
sand meters away; they drew nearer — to fifteen hundred
meters, to a thousand. White stones visible only to the
defenders, the other side being painted dark, marked for the
Turks the exact distances from their lines. At this mo-
ment the mountain artillery started its salvos; the machine
guns began to crackle and snap; from the lines of riflemen
a hail of bullets sped forth against the Anzacs. It was a
scene of Death, of raging, frightful Death, mowing down all.
Not a man of those that peopled the slope survived.
New troops stormed forward in dense masses — a broad
front was impossible over the broken terrain of the ascent —
led by athletic young officers overflowing with enthusiasm.
Many of them perhaps had but recently left the benches of
the colleges of Cambridge, Oxford, London, or Edinburgh.
The foremost ranks faltered before the heaped-up bodies of
fallen comrades. Too late! Struck by the ceaseless hail
of iron, hundreds rolled upon the ground. Those who fol-
lowed, as soon as they came within range of the Turkish ar-
tillery and machine guns, suffered the same fate. Fearful
confusion resulted. The instinct for self-preservation gained
the upper hand. First single individuals, then small groups,
and finally great masses of the survivors, turned back. It
was the signal for the Turkish lines everywhere to advance,
FAILURE AT THE DARDANELLES 273
With bayonet and rifle stock the Ottoman horde stormed
down the slope. The Anzacs suffered terrible losses. Only a
few remained alive. Hundreds of unwounded prisoners fell
into the hands of the Turks.
That night Liman Pasha assigned Mustafa Kemal, who
had in many ways distinguished himself in the recent battles,
to the command of the troops in the Anafarta sector. The
general Turkish attack began on the morning of August
9th, and halted any new Anzac attempt to advance.
The enemy realized this only too soon, and changed his
tactics. His next move was to attack on the line Kiretsch-
tepe-Asmakdere. The only high ground he was able to hold
here was the hill of Mestantepe, and that was hotly con-
tested. From the greater height of Ismailtepe Colonel Salah-
heddin threw a division against Mestantepe in a wild forward
rush. The Turks were prevented from taking the whole
hill by the numerous machine guns which had been set up
there and by the guns of the fleet, but they pressed the en-
emy back a considerable distance. The division pushed for-
ward south of Asmakdere and pressed the enemy back close
to the coast; the same thing occurred north of Mestantepe.
By noon of the 9th the English everywhere except on Me-
stantepe had been crowded back to the coast.
The center of the fighting in the days that followed was
at Kiretschtepe. At that point the battalion of Gallipoli
gendarmerie, led by the brave Captain Kadri Bey, was hold-
ing back constantly increasing superior forces. The rein-
forcements ordered up by Liman Pasha from the Asiatic
side arrived on the evening of the 9th. On the morning of
the 10th Mustafa Kemal placed himself at the head of fresh
troops and once more attacked the Anzacs west of Kodja
Djemendagh. A bullet went through his coat and penetrated
his watch, in which it became imbedded. When shortly after-
wards Liman Pasha arrived on the scene, Kemal Bey handed
him the watch for a souvenir. The Marshal accepted the
gift r.nd responded by presenting to the Bey his own valuable
watch. All through that day the English brought up re-
enforcements. But to no avail! They had been decisively
beaten back ; and no later effort changed the situation.
w., VOL. III.— 18.
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
DISCLOSURE OF THE CRIMINAL METHODS EMPLOYED TO
WEAKEN AND TERRORIZE NEUTRALS
SEPTEMBER 9TH
SECRETARY LANSING AMBASSADOR DUMBA
PROFESSOR E. E. SPERRY
This volume has already been called on to describe the growing
antagonism against Germany roused in America by the unjustified Ger-
man protests and the submarine attacks. For a long time Germany was
doing worse deeds than these. She was, under the mask of diplomatic
friendship, conducting a secret war upon the United States. Her
agents seem without exception to have adopted that crafty doctrine
that all falsity was righteous in Germany's cause. Even her highest
representatives here broke their pledged honor at every point, and
hired agents as tricky as themselves to perpetrate every form of
crime, not hesitating even at wholesale murder. The aim of this
carnival of evil was threefold. First, it sought to prevent trade be-
tween the United States and the Allies. Second, it sought to give the
United States authorities so much trouble at home, whether with
strikers, with disasters, with Mexico or with Japan, that they would
have no heart for a vigorous opposition to Germany abroad. Third,
it sought to manufacture a public sentiment favorable to German
designs. It sought friends not through noble actions but through
bribery, threat or deception.
This secret warfare came first into the open on September 9, 1915,
when our Government having caught the Austrian Ambassador, Dr.
Constantin Theodor Dumba, in a particularly flagrant misuse of his
official privileges, Secretary Lansing sent the following note, formally
demanding the Ambassador's recall. The Ambassador's official defense
is also given. The Archibald there mentioned was afterward proved
to be a paid employee of the German Embassy, hired as a propaganda
writer. He used his American citizenship and his American passport
rights to enable him to act as a secret service agent of the Teuton
Governments.
Dr. Dumba devotes himself to explaining that the letters secretly
intrusted to Archibald were harmless — which of course does not touch
upon the fact that he was wrong to carry any letters whatever.
Whether Dumba's proposals were really as harmless as he says can
best be gathered from Professor Sperry's article, which follows.
As the official publicist for our Government, Dr. Sperry briefly re-
views the entire field of unlawful Teutonic actions in America, so
far as these were known when we were driven into the War. Our
Secret Service proved really far more efficient than that of the Ger-
274
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 275
mans. Their agents were checkmated at almost every point, by using
only the ordinary processes of civil law to convict them of their
crimes. Dr. Dumba could not be thus convicted because of his diplo-
matic immunity. As for the German Ambassador, Bernstorff, the
American Government apparently figured that a rogue whom they knew
so well was better in his position than a new one who might prove
wilier.
C. F. H.
BY SECRETARY LANSING
His Official Note to the Austrian Government, September 9, 1915
MR. CONSTANTIN DUMBA, the Austro-Hungarian
Ambassador at Washington, has admitted that he pro-
posed to his Government plans to instigate strikes in Amer-
ican manufacturing plants engaged in the production of
munitions of war. The information reached this Govern-
ment through a copy of a letter of the Ambassador to his
Government. The bearer was an American citizen named
Archibald, who was traveling under an American passport.
The Ambassador has admitted that he employed Archibald
to bear official dispatches from him to his Government.
By reason of the admitted purpose and intent of Mr.
Dumba to conspire to cripple legitimate industries of the
people of the United States and to interrupt their legitimate
trade and by reason of the flagrant violation of diplomatic
propriety in employing an American citizen protected by an
American passport as a secret bearer of official dispatches
through the lines of the enemy of Austria-Hungary, the
President directs me to inform your Excellency that Mr.
Dumba is no longer acceptable to the Government of the
United States as the Ambassador of his Imperial Majesty at
Washington.
Believing that the Imperial and Royal Government will
realize that the Government of the United States has no al-
ternative but to request the recall of Mr. Dumba on account
of his improper conduct, the Government of the United
States expresses its deep regret that this course has become
necessary and assures the Imperial and Royal Government
that it sincerely desires to continue the cordial and friendly
relations which exist between the United States and Aus-
tria-Hungary.
276 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
BY AMBASSADOR DUMBA
His Official Statement
There was nothing in the dispatches which Archibald
carried that cannot be satisfactorily explained. The pro-
posals regarding embarrassing steel works were nothing
more than a very open and perfectly proper method to be
taken to bring before men of our races employed in the big
steel works the fact that they were engaged in enterprises
unfriendly to their fatherland, and that the Imperial Gov-
ernment would hold the workers in munition plants where
contracts are being filled for the Allies as being guilty of
a serious crime against their country, something that would
be punishable by penal servitude should they return to their
own country.
There are thousands of workingmen in the big steel in-
dustries, natives of Bohemia, Moravia, Carniola, Galicia,
Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, and other peoples of the races
from Austria-Hungary, who are uneducated and who do
not understand that they are engaged in a work against
their own country. In order to bring this before them I
have subsidized many newspapers published in the lan-
guages and dialects of the divisions mentioned, attempting
in this way to bring the felonious occupation to their atten-
tion. But this has been difficult. In some of the great steel
plants of Pennsylvania these uneducated men of my coun-
try are nothing more or less than slaves. They are even
being worked twelve hours a day, and herded in stockades.
It is difficult to get at these workers except en masse, and
a peaceful walkout of these workingmen would be of the
greatest advantage to my Government, as well as an in-
demnity to themselves.
It is my duty as the representative of Austria-Hungary
to make known these facts to the Imperial Government, and
in so doing I am performing a service for which I was sent
to this country. The dispatches or letters carried by Archi-
bald contained nothing more than a proposal that we attempt
to call out the workmen of our own country from these
steel and munition works and provide for them other em-
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 277
ployment. To do so money would be necessary and a labor
employment bureau would have to be organized. This is
one of the things I shall bring before the Secretary of Labor
in Washington this week. This seems to me to be a legiti-
mate and entirely satisfactory means of preventing the
making and shipping of war materials to our enemies.
My letter which Mr. Archibald carried does not con-
tradict anything that Count von Bernstorff has said, for
his people and the great bulk of those who make up our
Austro-Hungarian races are entirely different types. The
greater part of German workmen of all ranks are educated.
They read and discuss matters and can be easily reached.
Not so with the many races and the great ignorant mass
of our peoples. Promises of better wages and easier em-
ployment must be made and their position in aiding the en-
emy must be brought home to them. Where there are a
hundred German-born men working in the factories there
are thousands of Austrians. Remedies for reaching these
races must differ, and there is no conspiracy in an open at-
tempt to call out the Austrian citizens at Bethlehem or else-
where. Such a proposal as this was the letter of which it
is said a photographic copy was made and its contents cabled
to the State Department at Washington.
BY PROF. E. E. SPERRY 1
The President of the United States, in his address to
Congress asking for a declaration of war, said of the Ger-
man Government : "One of the things that has served to
convince us that the Prussian autocracy was not and could
never be our friend is that from the very outset of the pres-
ent war it has filled our unsuspecting communities, and even
our offices of Government, with spies and set criminal in-
trigues everywhere afoot against our national unity of coun-
sel, 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
matter of conjecture, but a fact proved in our courts of
1 Condensed from the U. S. Government's official publication.
278 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
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 in-
stigation, with the support, and even under the personal
direction of official agents of the Imperial Government ac-
credited to the Government of the United States."
The information on which the President based his state-
ments was drawn from a varied and miscellaneous body of
documentary material. This includes first of all a great
number of such papers and records as are produced in the
usual course of business transactions. Among them are
telegrams from the German Government to its diplomatic
representatives in the United States; letters and telegrams
exchanged by them with their hired agents here ; records of
financial dealings, as checks, receipts, bank books, deposit
slips, orders to banks that money be paid and acknowledg-
ments thereof; reports of subordinates to superiors; hotel
registers and lists of telephone calls.
Another rich mine of information concerning the machi-
nations of Germany in the United States has resulted from
the legal prosecution of certain of her agents here for crim-
inal acts. This evidence includes confessions by accused per-
sons and their confederates to United States officials, ex-
aminations before Government officials, and testimony of-
fered in the courts of law.
From the evidence contained in such sources of informa-
tion as these there can be no appeal. It is conclusive and
unimpeachable. And it is the only kind of evidence on
which are based the statements in this pamphlet.
The commander-in-chief of Germany's agents here was
Count Johann von Bernstorff, Imperial German Ambassa-
dor to the United States. His coadjutor and able adviser
during some months was Constantin Theodor Dumba, the
Austro-Hungarian Ambassador. His chief lieutenants in
the execution of his plans were Captain Franz von Papen,
military attache of the German Embassy, Captain Karl Boy-
Ed, its naval attache, Dr. Heinrich F. Albert, commercial
attache, and Wolf von Igel, who also had diplomatic status.
Assisting this central group were many of the consuls of
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 279
Germany and Austria-Hungary scattered over the United
States, and beneath them were the rank and file of obscure
servitors who carried out the plans conceived by the General
Staff in Berlin and sent to the German Ambassador.
Franz von Rintelen, although a leader in similar enter-
prises, was not a member of this band nor responsible to
Ambassador von Bernstorff. He had a separate supply of
funds and operated as a free lance.
Interference with Industry 2
One chief purpose of the German and Austrian Ambas-
sadors was to prevent the export from the United States of
military supplies. Since Germany's shipping had been driven
from the seas early in the war, her overwhelming superiority
in accumulated munitions and in power to manufacture
was certain to be lost as the passing months brought to the
Entente states an increasing volume of American products.
To strike at the very source of these supplies, the Ameri-
can factory, was obviously an effective means to prevent
their export, and in a letter to Baron Burian, Foreign Minis-
ter of Austria-Hungary, Ambassador Dumba writes con-
cerning this design : "Besides, a private German employ-
2 The French papers have published certain secret circulars from the
German General Headquarters, among which the following (translated
from the French text) occurs :
"Circular of November 2, 1914
"General Headquarters to the military representative on the Russian
and French fronts, as well as in Italy and Norway:
"In all branch establishments of German banking houses in Sweden,
Norway, Switzerland, China, and the United States, special military
accounts have been opened for special war necessities. Main head-
quarters authorizes you to use these credits to an unlimited extent
for the purpose of destroying factories, workshops, camps, and the
most important centers of military and civil supply belonging to the
enemy. In addition to the incitement of labor troubles, measures must
be taken for the damaging of engines and machinery plants, the de-
struction of vessels carrying war material to enemy countries, the
burning of stocks of raw materials and finished goods, and the depriv-
ing of large industrial centers of electric power, fuel, and food. Spe-
cial agents, who will be placed at your disposal, will supply you with
the necessary means for effecting explosions and fires, as well as with
a list of people in the country under your supervision who are willing
to undertake the task of destruction.
"(Signed) Dr. E. Fischer."
28o THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
ment office has been established which provides employment
for persons who have voluntarily given up their places, and
it is already working well. We shall also join in and the
widest support is assured us."
This German employment bureau had a central office in
New York City and branches in Bridgeport, Philadelphia,
Pittsburg, Cleveland, Chicago, and Cincinnati. It was es-
tablished early in August, 191 5, by the attaches and re-
sponsible agents of the German and Austrian Embassies.
The pretended purpose of the Bureau was to provide em-
ployment for German and Austrian subjects who had volun-
tarily left positions in factories supplying the Allies.
That coercion and intimidation were regularly used by
the Bureau to drive employees from munition factories has
been proved by an examination of over 5,000 letters and
other papers in its files. The Austrian Government re-
enforced these efforts by circulating in this country,' through
the foreign language press, a proclamation which threatened
with a penalty of ten to twenty years' imprisonment, all
subjects who after working in such plants returned to their
native land. Captain von Papen also sent out a circular letter
of similar import.
Success rewarded these energetic efforts to harass Amer-
ican manufacturers. The Bureau manager's monthly re-
port, made to the German Embassy for February, 19 16,
contains the following statements:
"Since the Bureau began its work in August, 191 5,
through February, 1916, 2,828 Germans and 1,638 subjects
of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy have been provided for.
The total number of applicants is now 8,000. Of these
60 per cent, came from factories producing munition and
war material, and 40 per cent, would have been employed in
such plants if the agency had not provided for them."
"Engineers and persons in the better class of positions
were persuaded by the propaganda of the Bureau to leave
war material factories."
"The commercial employment bureaus of the country
have no supply of unemployed technicians. Many disturb-
ances and suspensions which war material factories have
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 281
had to suffer, and which it was not always possible to re-
move quickly, but which on the contrary often lead to long
strikes, may be attributed to the energetic propaganda of
the employment bureau."
Causing Strikes
The strike was a weapon which both the German and
Austrian Ambassadors intended to use with destructive ef-
fect on American industry. Ambassador Dumba, in a let-
ter to his Foreign Office, thus expressed their fundamental
purpose : "It is my impression that we can disorganize and
hold up for months, if not entirely prevent, the manufacture
of munitions in Bethlehem and the Middle West, which in
the opinion of the German Military Attache, is of importance
and amply outweighs the comparatively small expenditure
of money involved."
The most comprehensive and successful effort to pro-
voke strikes was made by Labor's National Peace Council,
an organization financed by Franz von Rintelen, who came
to the United States early in April, 191 5.
The alleged purpose of the Council was to express the
pacific sentiments of the workers and to prevent the United
States from entering the war. At its first meeting, on June
22, 1 91 5, it adopted among others the following resolu-
tion: "Resolved, By the representatives of labor in Peace
Congress assembled in the City of Washington, that an or-
ganization be and is hereby established, to be known as
Labor's National Peace Council, having for its purpose the
establishment and maintenance of peace universal by all hon-
orable means."
A serious attempt was made to paralyze America's for-
eign commerce by a strike of stevedores. One of Rintelen's
men had an interview with the President of the International
Longshoremen's Union, and other officials were approached.
Rintelen agreed to pay the strikers ten dollars a week while
idle, and asserted that he could command the $1,035,000
necessary for this purpose. He spent $10,000 on this project,
but the strike did not occur.
The total of his known expenditures was $468,000, and
282 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
in return he received almost nothing, except an occasional
newspaper article attacking President Wilson. Nearly all
the strikes which his hired men pretended they had started
and for which they received thousands of dollars had quite
other causes. Rintelen was shamelessly duped and swindled
by his supposed tools.
Pressure on Congress
The hand of the German Government was extended to
America to influence members of Congress through German-
American voters and their sympathizers. The German-
American National Alliance had long endeavored to weld
persons of German descent in the United States into a com-
pact body, to be used, when desirable, in the interests of
Germany. After the war began, in July, 191 4, prominent
German-Americans organized and supported other societies
which aimed to persuade or intimidate members of Congress
into adopting pro-German policies.
One of these organizations was the American Embargo
Conference, established to prevent the export of munitions.
That it was recognized as a valuable tool of the German
Government and probably received money from Berlin is
shown by the following telegram (September 15, 1916)
from Count Bernstorff to the German Foreign Office : "The
Embargo Conference in regard to whose earlier fruitful co-
operation Dr. Hale can give information is just about to
enter upon a vigorous campaign to secure a majority in
both houses of Congress favorable to Germany and request
further support. There is no possibility of our being com-
promised. Request telegraphic reply."
The Embargo Conference distributed to voters over
5,000,000 telegrams demanding an embargo on munitions,
and at a fixed date 250,000 of these identical messages poured
into Washington. The Conference paid to the telegraph
companies in Chicago alone the sum of $20,000. It also
distributed pamphlets and circular letters demanding an
embargo and denouncing American makers of munitions.
The Embargo Conference apparently served the German
Government well, for Count von Bernstorff, in the following
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 283
telegram to Berlin, requests $50,000 to be spent either on this
or a similar organization aiming to force pro-German poli-
cies on Congress :
"I request authority to pay out up to $50,000 (fifty
thousand dollars) in order, as on former occasions, to influ-
ence Congress through the organization you know of, which
can perhaps prevent war.
"I am beginning in the meantime to act accordingly.
"In the above circumstances a public official German
declaration in favor of Ireland is highly desirable, in order
to gain the support of the Irish influence here."
Causing War with Mexico
Rintelen also tried to prevent the export of munitions
by causing war between the United States and Mexico.
During his trial at New York City (May, 191 7), one of
the witnesses, an advertising man with whom Rintelen ad-
vised concerning his pacifist propaganda, testified that Rin-
telen said:
"That he came to the United States in order to embroil
it with Mexico and Japan if necessary; that he was doing
all he could and was going to do all he could to embroil
this country with Mexico ; that he believed that if the United
States had a war with Mexico it would stop the shipment
of ammunition to Europe; that he believed it would be only
a matter of time until we were involved with Japan.
"Rintelen also said that General Huerta was going to
return to Mexico and start a revolution there which would
cause the United States to intervene and so make it impos-
sible to ship munitions to Europe. Intervention, he said,
was one of his trump cards."
Within Mexico itself other German agents have been
conducting for many months a powerful anti-American
propaganda. Their aims are to destroy American prestige
by teaching that the United States is impotent, unable even
to prepare for war, and that Japan is its enemy ; also to cre-
ate implacable hostility to the United States by asserting that
it aims to control or conquer Mexico.
The culmination of Germany's attempt to provoke war
284 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
between the United States and Mexico is the following tele-
gram sent by the German Foreign Office to Count von Bern-
storff for transmission to the German Ambassador in Mex-
ico, Heinrich von Eckhardt :
"Berlin, January 19, 1917.
"On the first of February we intend to begin submarine
warfare unrestricted. In spite of this, it is our intention to
endeavor to keep neutral the United States of America.
If this attempt is not successful, we propose an alliance on
the following basis with Mexico : That we shall make war
together and together make peace. We shall give general
financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to re-
conquer the lost territory in New Mexico, Texas, and Ari-
zona. The details are left to you for settlement. You are
instructed to inform the President of Mexico of the above in
the greatest confidence as soon as it is certain that there
will be an outbreak of war with the United States, and sug-
gest that the President of Mexico, on his own initiative,
should communicate with Japan suggesting adherence at once
to this plan ; at the same time, offer to mediate between Ger-
many and Japan.
"Please call to the attention of the President of Mexico
that the employment of ruthless submarine warfare now
promises to compel England to make peace in a few months.
"ZlMMERMANN."
Destruction of Ships and Their Cargoes
If strikes should fail to close American munition plants,
if money were lacking to buy up all their products, and if the
Government refused an embargo, Germany's agents had yet
another resource — to destroy war materials and other sup-
plies for the Entente States while in course of shipment by
sea. One project of this kind was carried out under the di-
rection of Captain von Papen and Wolf von Igel. It con-
sisted in placing in the holds of steamers incendiary bombs
which, at a fixed time, would explode and ignite the sur-
rounding cargo. The bomb shells were manufactured from
designs by Dr. Walter T. Scheele, a German chemist of Ho-
boken, on the Friedrich der Grosse of the North German
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 285
Lloyd line, and were then taken to Dr. Scheele's laboratory
and filled with combustibles.
When the conspirators were tried, one of the witnesses
called was a detective who belonged to the New York bomb
squad and had worked on the case. Under the pretense that
he was a German secret service man employed by Wolf
von Igel, he had succeeded in making an appointment with
Captain von Kleist, superintendent of Scheele's factory, and
thus recounted the conversation with him :
"We sat down and we spoke for about three hours. I
asked him the different things that he did, and said if he
wanted an interview with Mr. von Igel, my boss, he would
have to tell everything. So he told me that von Papen gave
Dr. Scheele, the partner of von Kleist in this factory, a
check for $10,000 to start this bomb factory. He told me
that he, Mr. von Kleist, and Dr. Scheele and a man by the
name of Becker on the Friedrich der Grosse, were making
the bombs, and that Captain Wolpert, Captain Bode, and
Captain Steinberg, had charge of putting these bombs on
the ships; they put these bombs in cases and shipped them
as merchandise on these steamers, and they would go away
on the trip and the bombs would go off after the ship was
out four or five days, causing a fire and causing the cargo
to go up in flames. He also told me that they have made
quite a number of these bombs; that thirty of them were
given to a party by the name of O'Leary, and that he took
them down to New Orleans, where he had charge of put-
ting them on ships down there, this fellow O'Leary."
Between 300 and 400 bombs were manufactured, and
fires were started by them on thirty-three ships sailing from
New York alone.
Four of the bombs were found at Marseilles on a vessel
which sailed from Brooklyn in May, 191 5. The evidence
collected in the case led to the indictment of the following
men for feloniously transporting on the steamship Kirk
Oswald a bomb or bombs filled with chemicals designed to
cause incendiary fires : Rintelen, Wolpert, Bode, Schmidt,
Becker, Garbade, Praedel, Paradies, von Kleist, Schimmel,
Scheele, Steinberg, and others. The last three named fled
286 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
from justice, Scheele being supplied with $1,000 for that
purpose by Wolf von Igel. He eluded the Federal authori-
ties until April, 19 18, when he was found hiding in Cuba
under the protection of German secret service agents. All
the others except Schmidt were found guilty and sentenced,
on February 5, 191 8, to imprisonment for eighteen months
and payment of a fine of $2,000 each. It was proved during
the trial that Rintelen had hired Schimmel, a German law-
yer, to see that bombs were placed on ships.
A similar scheme was conceived by Albert Kaltschmidt,
of Detroit, who hoped, however, not only to disable ships
but to destroy them entirely. He hired Charles Respa,
Richard Hermann, and a man known as "Frenchy," for
$150 each, to undertake this work. Provided with an ample
supply of dynamite, painted to resemble coal, they went to
New York City and tried by the use of a launch to approach
coal barges and place the dynamite in the fuel intended for
ocean-going steamers. Guards were so vigilant, however,
that nothing could be accomplished.
Germany's official representatives on the Pacific coast
were engaged in similar enterprises. The leader was Franz
Bopp, German Consul-General at San Francisco. His chief
assistants were Baron Eckhardt von Schack, the vice-consul,
Lieutenant Wilhelm von Brincken of the consulate, and
Charles C. Crowley, a detective employed by Bopp as secret
investigator. Lewis J. Smith, a confederate, describes a
part of their operations in a statement made to Federal offi-
cials.
Johannes H. van Koolbergen, born in Holland and nat-
uralized in Canada, made a statement before British offi-
cials at San Francisco, concerning his relations with Con-
sul-General Bopp. After describing a pretended attempt to
blow up a tunnel on the Canadian-Pacific Railroad, van
Koolbergen says that he was again summoned to meet von
Brincken and that the following conversation occurred : "I
went up to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Von Brincken
took me to his room and explained to me how an instrument
could be made for the purpose of causing an explosion at
the time set, and asked me if I was capable and willing to
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 287
make such an instrument, and asked me how much I would
want for it. He explained to me that a club or association
of fifteen Germans who all worked as longshoremen on the
docks of San Francisco would have access to outgoing boats
and could place one or more of these infernal machines on
board boats of German enemies.
"The whole had to be small enough to go into a thermos
bottle. The object of it being that a man at the harbor
could carry a thermos bottle with him without being sus-
pected of having anything injurious or dangerous with him."
Van Koolbergen then describes the making of a dummy
bomb, and proceeds thus : "I then went to see von Brincken
in his room and showed him my work and he exclaimed that
it was 'famos.' Mr. Bopp [who saw it at the consulate]
said that Mr. von Brincken was very satisfied with this ma-
chine and ordered the thermos bottle put in the safe, where I
saw it yesterday, August 26, 1915."
The statements of Smith and van Koolbergen, combined
with a mass of other evidence consisting in part of letters
and telegrams, caused the Grand Jury to indict Consul-Gen-
eral Bopp, his staff and his hired agents, for conspiracy to
undertake a military enterprise against Canada. Among
the purposes of this enterprise specified in the indictment
was the following : "To blow up and destroy with their car-
goes and crews any and all vessels belonging to Great Britain,
France, Japan or Russia found within the limits of Canada,
which were laden with horses, munitions of war, or articles
of commerce in course of transportation to the above coun-
tries."
As the first ships marked for destruction sailed from
Tacoma, Smith rented a house there with half cleared land
attached, in order that he might have dynamite in his pos-
session with the pretended purpose of blowing up stumps.
Crowley followed him to Tacoma within a day or two, and
Smith's narrative of the events there is here given in con-
densed form :
"When the Talthybius [a British freighter] was ready
to sail Smith says that he prepared the bomb made of 40
sticks of dynamite, put the sticks in the suitcase. He did
288 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
not put dynamite either on the cars or on the boat, but told
Crowley that he did.
"At a later date, May 28th [191 5], Crowley came and
wanted another bomb prepared.
"The Shinsci Maru was the ship which they looked for
that Friday night, Crowley telling Smith that the bomb
must be gotten off on the first string of cars off the wharf.
He says that Crowley left him and that after a time he threw
the dynamite away ; that he went to Crowley's hotel and de-
ceived him in the belief that he had put a bomb on board
the ship that night.
"About the 29th of May, Saturday, Smith says they tried
to get a bomb into the cotton that the Hazel Dollar was
loading and that he told Crowley that he had put the bomb
in. Smith says he threw the dynamite away in a cesspool." 3
Attacks on Canada
The next chief purpose of the German Ambassador and
his lieutenants in America was to prevent Canada from giv-
ing military aid to England. That this enterprise was
carried on at the command of the German General Staff is
indicated by the following telegrams sent in January, 191 6,
to Count von Bernstorff :
"January 3rd. (Secret.) General Staff desires ener-
getic action in regard to proposed destruction of Canadian
Pacific Railway at several points with a view to complete
and protracted interruption of traffic. Captain Boehm, who
is known on your side and shortly returning, has been
given instructions. Inform the Military Attache and provide
the necessary funds. (Signed) Zimmermann."
"January 26th. For Military Attache. You can obtain
particulars as to persons suitable for carrying on sabotage
in the United States and Canada from the following per-
sons : (1) Joseph McGarrity, Philadelphia, Penn. (2) John
P. Keating, Michigan Avenue, Chicago., (3) Jeremiah
8 Of such revelations subsequent to the date of Prof. Sperry's report,
perhaps the most startling was the confession of L. Witcke, in August,
1919, that he had caused the terrible "Black Tom" disaster that shook
New York City, and had blown up other explosive stores and fac-
tories.
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 289
O'Leary, 16 Park Row, New York. One and two are abso-
lutely reliable and discreet. No. 3 is reliable, but not al-
ways discreet. These persons were indicated by Sir Roger
Casement. In the United States sabotage can be carried out
on every kind of factory for supplying munitions of war.
Railway embankments and bridges must not be touched.
Embassy must in no circumstances be compromised. Simi-
lar precautions must be taken in regard to Irish pro-German
propaganda.
"(Signed) Representative of General Staff."
The earliest attempt to carry out these plans of the Ger-
man General Staff was made by Horst von der Goltz, a
German citizen who came to the United States from Mex-
ico. In an affidavit he thus describes the origin and purposes
of this project :
"Shortly after my arrival at New York [from Mexico],
I received a letter signed by Dr. Kraske, Vice-Consul at
the German Consulate in New York, requesting me to attend
at the consulate at a certain hour, in order that I might meet
a gentleman who was interested in me. The letter was a
mere matter of form, intended to inform me of the hour of
a meeting proposed to me by Capt. von Papen.
"Attending to this request I had at first some conversa-
tion with Capt. von Papen concerning events in Mexico, and
afterwards was asked to give my opinion about a proposal
made in a letter to the German Embassy, the writer of which
asked for financial support, in order to carry out a scheme
by which he wrote he would be able to make raids on towns
situated on the Canadian coast of the Great Lakes.
"The proposal being rejected on account of the Embassy
receiving unfavorable information about the writer, I was
first requested to give my assistance to a scheme of in-
vasion intended to be put in execution by seizing some spot
on the west coast of Canada with the assistance of German
warships. Reservists from the United States were to be
sent to another neutral country, where they were to be
embarked. Such a step it was supposed would :
" ( 1 ) Prevent the Canadian contingents then under train-
ing from sailing for Europe.
w., VOL. IIL— 19.
290 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
"(2) Prevent Canada from supplying England with nec-
essaries on account of their being needed in the country
itself.
" ( 3 ) Bringing matters in the United States to a decision,
the Government being forced either to supply both parties
with arms and ammunition, or to prohibit the export of
those articles altogether."
After these plans had been discussed at the German Con-
sulate and at the German Club in New York City, it was
decided that von der Goltz should attempt to blow up the
Welland Canal, the grain elevators at Fort William, and, if
possible, the Sault Ste. Marie locks and railroad bridges.
Capt. von Papen supplied him at the German Club with the
needed fuses, wire, and generators, and referred him for
dynamite to Capt. Hans Tauscher, American agent for
Krupp and other German makers of munitions. Von der
Goltz told Tauscher about the plan to blow up the Welland
Canal and received from him an order for dynamite.
Von der Goltz then went to Buffalo on the New York
Central railroad with two suitcases containing about one
hundred pounds of dynamite, but was unable to carry out
his plans, because John Ryan, a Buffalo lawyer, did not give
him the telegraphic instructions which von Papen had sent.
With his confederates, Tauscher, von Papen, von Igel,
Fritzen, Tuchendler, and Covani, von der Goltz was indicted
for conspiracy to set on foot a military enterprise against
Great Britain. Von Papen and Boy-Ed, being attached to
the German Embassy, were recalled by Germany on De-
cember 10, 191 5, as the result of requests made by our
Department of State. Von Igel returned to Germany with
Ambassador Bernstorff in February, 191 7, forfeiting his
bond. Tauscher was acquitted, the jury appearing to be-
lieve his statement that he did not know the intended use of
the dynamite which he assisted von der Goltz to procure.
Fritzen pleaded guilty on another indictment on which he
was sentenced to eighteen months in prison.
Another attempt to blow up the Welland Canal was made
in September, 1915, by PaulKoenig, head -of the Bureau of
Investigation of the Hamburg-American Line. This Bu-
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 291
reau, increased in number after the war began, and operat-
ing from the offices of the steamship company at 45 Broad-
way, became the most dangerous sub-center of criminal in-
trigue maintained in America by the German Government.
Among Koenig's papers is one entitled, "History of the
Bureau of Investigation," and under the year 1914 occurs
this entry :
"August 22nd. German Government, with consent of
Dr. Buenz, entrusted me with the handling of certain in-
vestigation. Military Attache von Papen called at my office
later and explained the nature of the work expected. (Be-
ginning of Bureau's services for Imperial German Govern-
ment.)"
The measures adopted by Koenig to serve the German
Government by blowing up the Welland Canal were described
in a sworn statement made by George F. Fuchs, a member
of the secret service division of the Hamburg-American
Line, with whom Koenig had a conversation in Buffalo.
Fuchs made a written report to Koenig stating, "that with
the use of explosives the canal could be crippled at a spot
where the Chippewa River runs under the canal at Welland."
Koenig communicated with the German Embassy con-
cerning the execution of this criminal plot, and frequently
received money from both Boy-Ed and von Papen for vari-
ous kinds of subterranean work. Koenig endeavored to
protect himself and his fellow conspirators by depositing in
the German Embassy at Washington toward the close of
October, 191 5, such papers as contained evidence of the
many criminal plots in which they were engaged.
He did not succeed, however, in concealing all of the
incriminating evidence of his plot to destroy the Welland
Canal, and with an accomplice, Emil Leyendecker, was in-
dicted on December 23, 191 5, for "setting on foot a military
enterprise" against Great Britain.
Another military enterprise against Canada was under-
taken by a prosperous citizen of the German Empire living
in Detroit, Albert Kaltschmidt. He was a leader among the
German-Americans of his city, had organized the Deutscher-
bund there and was its secretary. The purposes of Kalt-
292 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
schmidt and his confederates are thus specified in their in-
dictment by the Grand Jury:
"(a) To blow up the factory of the Peabody's Com-
pany, Limited, at Walkerville, Ontario, . . . engaged in
manufacturing uniforms, clothing, and military sup-
plies. . . .
"(b) To blow up . . . the building known as the Wind-
sor Armories of the City of Windsor. . . .
"(c) To blow up and destroy other plants and build-
ings in said Dominion of Canada, which were used for the
manufacture ... of munitions of war, clothing, uni-
forms. . . .
"(d) To blow up and destroy the great railroad bridges
of the Canadian Pacific Railroad Co. at Nipigon. . . .
"(e) To employ and send into said Dominion of Canada
spies to obtain military information. . . ."
The first grant of money which Kaltschmidt received to
carry out these plans was $2,000, deposited on January 27,
1915, in a New York bank by Wolf von Igel. The original
order of von Igel that this sum be telegraphed to Kalt-
schmidt and the latter's receipt for it were introduced as
evidence during the trial.
With this working capital Kaltschmidt obtained the ma-
terials for his enterprise. In order that suspicion might not
be aroused by the purchase of explosives in Detroit, he sent
agents to Duluth, where they purchased the necessary dyna-
mite, took it to Detroit, and began the construction of bombs.
Two German reservists, Richard Herman and William M.
Jarasch, were hired as confederates in Chicago, where the
German consul-general, Baron Kurt von Reiswitz, was
privy to the plot. They laid plans under Kaltschmidt's di-
rection, to blow up the Detroit Screw Works, where shrap-
nel was being made, and the St. Clair tunnel which connects
Canada with the United States, but failed in both attempts.
Kaltschmidt was arrested in April, 1917, and his trial
completed during December of the same year. The jury
found him guilty on all charges in the indictment, and he
was sentenced to four years in the Federal prison at Leaven-
worth, Kansas, and to pay a fine of $20,000. His sister, Ida
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 293
K. Neef, was sentenced to three years in the Detroit House
of Correction and to pay a fine of $15,000. Her husband,
Fritz A. Neef, was sentenced to two years at Leavenworth
and to pay a fine of $10,000. Two other accomplices re-
ceived lighter sentences.
Another and more successful attack on the Grand Trunk
Railway was made at Vanceboro, Maine, where it crosses
the international bridge between the United States and
Canada. Captain von Papen ordered Werner Horn, a Ger-
man reserve lieutenant, to blow up the bridge and supplied
him with $700. Horn was arrested immediately after an
explosion which partly damaged the bridge, and at his trial
in Boston, during June, 191 7, made confession on the advice
of his lawyers.
Attempts to Give Germany Military Aid
Forgery of Passports
The third chief purpose of Germany's diplomatic offi-
cials in the United States was to send troops and munitions
to the Central Empires. When the war began in July,
1 91 4, large numbers of German reservists were living in
America, and in order to avoid capture on their way home
many of them sought under false names to obtain passports
as American citizens. They thus violated the law that
American passports shall be issued only to citizens of the
United States, and also discredited genuine passports,
thereby causing delay and distress to American citizens
abroad. Their action also was a violation of America's
neutrality and endangered its national honor and safety.
In order to have at hand an adequate supply of coun-
terfeit passports, the German Embassy maintained an office
in New York City, directed by Captain von Papen, where
they were forged by wholesale. German consuls in distant
cities, as Chicago and St. Paul, were informed concerning
this office and sent there for passports the reservists from
their several localities.
These operations were known almost from the first to the
United States Secret Service. Hans A. von Wedell, who
managed the office, took alarm and fled in November, 191 4,
294 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
supplied with money by von Papen. In the following letter,
found on one of his associates, who was arrested before he
had an opportunity to post it, von Wedell exonerates himself
from the charge of deserting his post and shows the com-
plicity of the German Ambassador in the business of forging
passports :
"His Excellency, The Imperial German Ambassador, Count
von Bernstorff, Washington, D. C:
"... My work was done. At my departure, I left the
service well organized, and worked out in minute detail, in
the hands of my successor, Mr. Karl Ruroede, picked out by
myself. . . . Also, Ruroede will testify to you that without
my preliminary labors, it would be impossible for him, as
well as for Mr. von Papen, to forward officers in any way
whatever. [He then explains in detail his reason for hid-
ing.] . . . Ten days before my departure I learned from a
telegram sent me by Mr. von Papen . . . that Dr. Starck
had fallen into the hands of the British. That gentleman's
forged papers were liable to come back and could ... be
traced to me. Mr. von Papen had repeatedly and urgently
ordered me to hide myself. Mr. Igel told me that I was
taking the matter altogether too lightly, and that I ought,
for God's sake, to disappear. . . .
"With expressions of the most exquisite consideration,
I am your Excellency's,
"Very respectfully,
"(Signed) Hans Adam von Wedell."
There are many cases, from which the following are a
selection, in which American passports were fraudulently
procured and used for unneutral purposes. Captain Boy-Ed,
Richard P. Stegler, a German citizen, Richard Madden, and
Vincent Cook secured through conspiracy an American pass-
port to be used by Stegler while serving as a spy in Europe.
Boy-Ed financed and directed Stegler 's operations, but was
protected from prosecution by his diplomatic immunity.
Madden and Cook were sentenced to ten months and Stegler
to sixty days in jail.
Albert Sanders and Charles Wunnenberg, German agents
in this country, have pleaded guilty in New York to the
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 295
charge of sending German spies to England equipped with
American passports. Gess D. Berko, an American citizen,
secured an American passport which was stolen by Stephan
Csiszar, an attache of the Austrian-Hungarian Consulate at
New York City, to return to Austria.
The diplomatic officials of Germany hired American citi-
zens protected by genuine passports to use them for dis-
honorable and unneutral purposes, such as to carry German
dispatches and to act as spies in England. E. G. Woodford,
for example, who was sent to Europe by German officials
here, was paid $550 for his services on orders from Berlin.
The payments to him are recorded in the cashbook of Wolf
von Igel.
Fraudulent Manifests
German agents in the United States also endeavored to
give military aid to their country by sending coal and other
supplies to German warships which were raiding commerce
in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Such action was a
violation of American neutrality, and in order to evade the
law the conspirators took false oaths before Federal offi-
cials concerning the ownership of vessels, the nature of their
cargoes, and their destination. These acts, even more than
the use of forged passports, were likely to cause friction
between the United States and countries with which it was
at peace.
The Hamburg-American Line, through its high officials
in New York, repeatedly defrauded the United States by
procuring false manifests. Among those involved were Dr.
Buenz, managing director, George Koetter, superintending
engineer, Adolph Hachmeister, purchasing agent, and Jo-
seph Pappinghaus, who together worked up an elaborate
machinery to deceive the Government. They confessed at
their trial that they had sent out twelve ships, which were
proved by the Government to have fraudulent papers and all
of which were captured and interned before reaching their
destination. Nine of these vessels were chartered, and the
Hamburg- American Line paid to the owners for their losses
about $1,400,000. The copy of Captain Boy-Ed's account
296 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
at a New York bank indicates that he had large sums at his
disposal for conducting Germany's naval operations from
the United States, and that he reimbursed the Hamburg-
American Line for this and other expenditures.
Gustav B. Kulenkampf of New York, who was em-
ployed by the Hamburg-American Line to draw up the false
manifests, stated at the trial that he received $750,000,
which was subject to the order of Captain Boy-Ed, naval at-
tache of the German Embassy, and was largely spent on the
Pacific Coast. His evidence proved that, like the forgery
of passports, fraud and perjury were committed under the
direction of German officials protected by the diplomatic
privileges which all civilized nations consider sacred. Buenz,
Koetter, and Hachmeister were found guilty of conspiracy
to defraud the United States, and were sentenced in De-
cember, 1 91 5, to eighteen months in the Federal peniten-
tiary at Atlanta. Pappinghaus was sentenced to a year and
a day.
Similar means were employed by German agents on
the western coast under the direction of Captain Boy-Ed to
send provisions and coal to German raiders in the Pacific.
The steamers Sacramento and Macallan were there engaged
in this illicit traffic. When the Sacramento once cleared
with a large cargo for Valparaiso, Chile, but reached there
empty, the captain explained that on the way down she had
been commandeered by the German fleet and her cargo re-
moved. Besides the Hamburg-American officials already
mentioned, more than fifteen individuals and firms have been
convicted in the United States courts of fraud or perjury
in their efforts to assist Germany by illegal means.
Perjury was also employed in a notable instance to jus-
tify Germany's conduct. When the passenger liner Lusi-
tania was sunk by a submarine on May 7, 191 5, with its
great load of non-combatants, the German Government and
its Ambassador in America asserted that she was in law
and fact a ship of war, because laden with ammunition and
armed with four cannon. In order to prove this statement,
Ambassador von Bernstorff sent to the Department of
State four affidavits swearing that the Lusitania was armed.
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 297
Three of these were worthless as testimony, and the fourth
had been procured by Paul Koenig, of the Hamburg- Ameri-
can Line, from Gustav Stahl, a German reservist. Federal
officials knew that the Lusitania was not armed and that
Stahl must have sworn falsely. He was accordingly tried
for perjury, confessed his guilt, and was sentenced to
eighteen months in the Federal penitentiary at Atlanta.
Violations of Parole
When the British fleet was clearing the seas of enemy
warships, two German cruisers, Prinz Eitel Friedrich and
Kronprinz Wilhelm, sought refuge in the harbor of Norfolk,
where they were interned. The German officers pledged their
word of honor to our Government, which had opened the
harbor for their protection, that they would not escape from
the jurisdiction of the United States, and accordingly were
allowed every liberty.
Several officers of the Kronprinz Wilhelm purchased a
yacht after some weeks had passed, on the pretense that it
was for pleasure cruises. They secretly stocked it with sup-
plies and one night sailed away. They were given the nec-
essary funds for their escape by the German Consul at Rich-
mond, and Captain Boy-Ed filed a message at Sayville, ask-
ing the German authorities in Berlin for instructions for
these officers. Paroled German officers at San Francisco
and Guam also violated their oaths to remain within the
jurisdiction of the United States.
Propaganda in German Interest
The aims of German propagandists in the United States
were to prove the justice of Germany's cause and the warmth
of her friendship for the American people ; to procure from
Congress an embargo on munitions shipped to the Allies
(although Germany sent to the United States a commission
with ample funds to buy such supplies for her own use,
which commission organized or bought out steamship com-
panies and chartered many vessels to transport its purchases
to Germany) ; to encourage pacificism by teaching the waste
and wickedness of war; to provoke strife between America
298 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
and the Allied states, especially England and Japan. So
eager have German agents been to cause friction between
the United States and England that Paul Koenig attempted
through perjury to manufacture evidence that supplies were
being sent from New York to British warships.
Ambassador von Bernstorff took a direct and active part
in purchasing the services of those who would aid Ger-
many by creating opinion in her favor. His expenditures
for this purpose during less than one month are revealed
by the following receipts :
Harvard Club, 27 West 44th Street,
New York, April 11, 1915.
My dear Count Bernstorff: — Since writing to you last
I have received by registered mail your check of $1,000 for
traveling expenses, for which I thank you very warmly.
Etc., etc.
(Signed) Edwin Emerson.
New York, April 19, 191 5.
I acknowledge herewith the receipt of $3,000 from the
German Embassy, Washington, D. C, for financing the
lecture tour of Miss Ray Beveridge, which sum was trans-
mitted to me through Privy Councillor Albert of New York.
H. A. Boas.
Washington, D. C, April 21, 1915.
I acknowledge herewith the receipt of $5,000 (five thou-
sand dollars) from the Imperial German Embassy in Wash-
ington for the purpose of propaganda.
James F. J. Archibald.
Emerson and Archibald were writers and H. A. Boas
was an officer of the Hamburg-American line.
Checks and receipts for other amounts show that Am-
bassador von Bernstorff paid into the treasury of Fair Play,
a violently pro-German sheet edited by Marcus Braun, the
sum of $10,000.
A.nother paper of the same character which suddenly
sprang into existence after the war began was the Bull, now
suppressed by the United States Government for its sedi-
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 299
tious expressions. That its editor, Jeremiah O'Leary, re-
ceived money from Franz von Rintelen is proved by the
sworn statements of some of Rintelen's other tools, and
there is good evidence, though not absolutely conclusive,
that he received money from other German agents.
Another paper founded since the war began and sup-
ported by the German Government was The Fatherland,
established by George Sylvester Viereck. While this pub-
lication professed to teach "undiluted Americanism" and
persistently boasted of its loyalty to the American Gov-
ernment and ideals, it steadily attacked the President and
other public men, and demanded the adoption of policies
which would make the United States an ally of Germany.
The inspiration of its real, rather than its pretended, pur-
poses is disclosed in the following letter from its editor to
Dr. Heinrich F. Albert, Germany's disbursing agent in the
United States :
Office of George Sylvester Viereck,
1 123 Broadway, New York, June 29, 191 5.
Dear Dr. Albert : — In thinking the matter over, I do not
think that Mrs. R would be the proper intermediary
inasmuch as she does not attend to her financial affairs her-
self. If it must be a woman, Mrs. G , the mother of our
friend, Mrs. L would be far better.
However, personally, I see no reason why this payment
could not be made every month through Mr. Meyer just
like the other payments. If there is any objection to that,
I would suggest that the payments be made to my personal
friend and lawyer, Mr. Ely Simpson, whose standing as my
legal adviser exempts him from any possible inquiry.
As I have already received $250 this month, I inclose a
statement for $1,500 for June. Will you please O. K. this
and I shall then send my secretary for the cash. I am send-
ing this letter by boy as for obvious reasons I do not wish
it to go through the mails. With kind regards, sincerely
yours, G. S. Viereck.
The German Government maintained on the Pacific coast
at least one similar periodical, the American Independent,
controlled by the American Independence Union, which was
300 THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA
a branch of the American Embargo Conference of Chicago.
Its editor, A. D. Bauer, has stated that he received from
the German Consul-General, Franz Bopp, $1,500 per month,
the payments being made in cash by Lieutenant von Brincken,
of the consulate.
The publications which were maintained in the United
States by the German Government or were subsidized by it,
supported in general the following measures : Enactment
by Congress of a law forbidding Americans to travel on
the ships of the belligerent states ; an embargo on munitions ;
prohibition by the Government of loans to the Allied powers
and the boycott of banks which made them; defeat of Wil-
son for reelection in 19 16 and also of Senators and Repre-
sentatives who would not vote for bills favored by the Ger-
man Government; pacificism in the sense that the United
States should not defend the lives and property of its citi-
zens from attack by Germany. They also systematically
defamed our Government and the public men of the United
States. 4
Letters and checks prove that the Austrian Embassy paid
subsidies to several foreign language newspapers, among
them Polish, Rumanian, and Hungarian publications.
The German War Office, acting through Ambassador
von Bernstorff and the Austrian Consul-General in New
York, von Nuber, directed the American Correspondence
Film Company, the purpose of which was to distribute Ger-
man war films in the United States. The German films ap-
parently had a wide circulation, for Secretary Zimmermann
telegraphs to von Bernstorff, "Spread films through all Mg
cities"; and Baron Burian, Foreign Minister of Austn -
Hungary, telegraphed to the president of the film comr- .y,
"Send films no longer used in United States to South Amer-
ica, China, and Siam."
4 Of such cases subsequent to the period of this Government report,
the most notable was perhaps that of the man, Fox, who wrote a
number of articles describing as an eye-witness the atrocities com-
mitted by the Russians while invading East Prussia. Fox confessed
that he had seen nothing of the sort whatever, that his articles were
wholly inventions, and that their character was dictated to him by
German officials who paid him for his falsehoods.
THE SECRET ATTACK UPON AMERICA 301
Finances of the German Agents
The diplomatic staff of Germany in the United States
had a generous supply of money with which to carry on its
operations. The essential features of its financial system
are described by Mr. Frederick A. Borgemeister, confidential
adviser to Dr. Albert, who was disbursing agent for the
German Embassy. In a statement which he made August
11-13, 1917, at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, before Federal
officials, he said that $7,000,000 worth of short-term Ger-
man treasury notes were sold by an American banking house
early in April, 191 5.
A sale of one-year notes of the German Empire realized
$3,600,000, which was paid into Dr. Albert's account. At
another point in his examination Mr. Borgemeister said,
"". . e constantly received through American correspondents
of the Deutsche Bank funds as we required." Besides the
money realized from the sale of securities, there was avail-
able, for example, $300,000 at one New York bank, and
$400,000 at another, and loans were also made from Ameri-
can banks. The total balances in the many banks where
Dr. Albert had deposits varied from $1,000,000 to
$5,000,000.
Captain Boy-Ed received substantial amounts, said Mr.
Borgemeister, from Dr. x\lbert, and also received funds di-
rectly from Germany.
All the criminal plots and conspiracies narrated in the
foregoing pages were undertaken prior to the summer of
191 5. The German Government, nevertheless, in Decem-
ber of that year, sent to the United States for publication in
the press the following authorized official lie :
"The German Government has naturally never know-
ingly accepted the support of any person, group of persons,
society or organization seeking to promote the cause of Ger-
many in the United States by illegal acts, by counsel of vio-
lence, by contravention of law, or by any means whatever
that could offend the American people in the pride of their
own authority."
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE IN THE WEST
THE BATTLES OF CHAMPAGNE AND LOOS
SEPTEMBER 25TH-OCTOBER 6TH
COUNT DE SOUZA COLONEL A. M. MURRAY
FRENCH AND GERMAN GOVERNMENTAL STATEMENTS
The constant fierce and heavy trench battle all along the Western
front was ever and again flaring up to special intensity, so that we
have local names for a hundred battles there, each of which would
have been accounted great in any earlier war. Of these, by far the
largest in 1915 was the French attack in Champagne in September.
With this was combined a formidable French and British attac 1 - fur-
ther north, usually called the battle of Loos. So that the u::..cd
assault was the nearest to a big general offensive which the west had
seen since the Germans had checked their eager foes at the Aisne
in 1914.
This September offensive had been widely advertised, doubtless with
the intent of drawing the Germans back from their terrible onslaught
on staggering Russia; and this publicity of the offensive has led to
endless dispute as to its purpose. Marshal Joffre announced ahead
of time that he meant to drive the Germans out of France at once.
But later French Governmental reports declared that such threats had
been issued only to weaken the enemy in Russia. Hence it is easy to
view the September attack in very diverse lights, as do the following
narratives — as a failure since it did not break the German lines, or as
a victory since it captured some of their strongest defenses and com-
pelled them to use huge forces in heavy counter-attacks.
Probably the historian of a future generation will summarize the
assault as simply another evidence that defense was in 1915 much
stronger than attack. He will weigh the diverse statements and esti-
mates of losses and conclude that while both sides suffered more than
they dared admit, the Ally losses were probably the heavier. He
will declare that the assault was a strategic necessity, that the Allies
simply had to make it so as to test their own power and to satisfy
their world, and that it was accomplished in about the best way and
at the least cost that human skill could devise. The heroism dis-
played on every side was of that highest character which so gloriously
distinguished the Great War.
302
■; „ I
ilohai^ aril riJiw
r
/.
/-,p
/
{£\ermany\in the Air
German airplanes
with the Fren>*i
Painting by Prof. M. Zeno DicaaBr^ —
9j>
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE 303
BY COUNT CHARLES DE SOUZA
IT was during the latter stages of the Russian retreat that
there was a notable increase of artillery activity on the
side of the Allies on the Western front — and during that
period also started the munitions campaign for increasing
the output of the war factories in England and in France.
This question was an involved one, but its aim was clear, at
least to those who viewed the progress of affairs with an
impartial eye : it was meant to replace an "advance" in kind
by a stationary one with shells ; in other words, to achieve
the results of a general offensive without incurring the losses
which such a movement would have entailed.
Up to then all artillery actions in the siege warfare had
been of a local character; but gradually as the Teutonic
eastern armies pressed on in Russia, more and more bat-
teries were brought into play by the Allies in France; until
the whole front from the Belgian coast to the Swiss frontier
became a continuous blaze of guns, the tremendous line of
fire being prolonged seawards by a fleet of seventy-five ves-
sels which bombarded the shore from Ostend to Zeebrugge;
and the general bombardment being supplemented by numer-
ous air raids which were carried out on the enemy's field
depots and communications.
Such action was calculated to disturb the German gen-
erals, who were bound to interpret it as an ominous sign of
a coming onslaught on the part of their Western foes; and
the immediate result of it was that strong German reserves,
not less than sixteen divisions — divisions which had been
intended for the Russian front — together with a certain num-
ber of units which had fought in Poland, were immediately
sent to France; and there was a distinct slackening of the
German forward movement in Russia. This occurred dur-
ing the first stage of the Allied general bombardment (Au-
gust-September).
Owing to a momentary shortage of shells, however, due
to excessive and unforeseen expenditure, the bombardment
abated somewhat, and as no attacks followed, the enemy,
who was still in doubt as to the real intentions of the Allies,
304 THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE
resumed his action in the East, towards Riga, Wilna, and the
Pripet Marshes. The Russians were not demoralized, and
they had been allowed some respite; so, in an endeavor to
establish themselves at last on some sound defensive line,
they frustrated Hindenburg's attempts to reach Riga ; to en-
velop a portion of their forces at Wilna; and to drive their
southwestern armies in confusion over the Marshes; and
they were also able to maintain their footing on the banks
of the Dniester from where the Austrians attempted vainly
to dislodge them. Nevertheless, they were in great difficul-
ties and would probably have been compelled to retire fur-
ther back, had not JofTre in the West been able to resume
his own action, and to launch combined attacks which com-
pelled the Germans to relinquish their object and to divert
more of their central reserves to France.
It was towards the end of September that the Allied
movement, which has been inaccurately described as a "gen-
eral" offensive, began. The true aim of the Allied offensive
was made sufficiently clear by the restricted sectors of the
front on which it was executed, but the issue was confused
by a variety of factors which made it appear that the chief
object of Joffre and his Generals was to pierce the German
lines; and which thereby spoilt some of the effects which
the movement was intended to produce. The proclamations
which the Allied Generals issued to stimulate the ardor of
their troops were wrongly interpreted, and, as usual, the
popular imagination assigned to Joffre objects which
the great commander had not the faintest intention nor the
slightest reasons to strive for. As always his mind
was intent on the strategic problem ; and barring the help he
was called on to afford Russia, he had no further aims, as
regards the Germans, than those he wished to attain through
hi? "nibbling" policy. In other words, he meant to refuse,
right to the end, to be drawn into a costly general attack
on the German fortified positions which, he knew, extended
for miles behind their main front.
But it must be said that General Joffre prepared his move
in a way which was bound, at least momentarily, to mislead
not only the enemy, but the Allies themselves.
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE 305
The renewed artillery activity was increased to the ut-
most intensity ; and finally powerful concentrations were car-
ried out at various points besides those on which to deliver
the attacks. The outcome of it all was that eight French
army corps out of a total of forty-two on the line took action
on a length of front not exceeding twenty miles ; and that the
British forces, which, on the receipt of further reinforce-
ments consisted of six army corps portioned into three
armies and had extended their front to fifty miles, took
action simultaneously on a front of not more than ten miles ;
so the much expected and tremendously advertised "general"
offensive of the Allies on the Western front resolved itself
into a minor one, in which only a small fraction of the troops
on the spot were employed.
The British forces on the fighting front consisted of two
armies, the 1st under Sir Douglas Haig, which had since
June gradually extended its front south of La Bassee towards
the Lorette Plateau which the French had captured in June ;
the 2nd army (General Plumer) to the north of it extended
as far as Boesinghe on the Yperlee Canal, where it was in
touch with the 36th French army corps (General Hely d'Ois-
sel). Other British forces, termed the 3rd army, were
mostly still in process of formation, and they lay in reserve
in the bases and training camps at the rear. Some portions
of it being intercalated, for training purposes, in the French
lines on the Somme. Of all these troops only the portions
under the immediate command of General Haig took action
in the battle of Loos.
In the center of the Allied line, in Champagne, portions
of the 4th and 5th French armies, under the higher control
of General de Castelnau, assaulted the German positions be-
tween Souain and Massiges; whilst in Artois half-a-dozen
divisions of the 10th French army, under General d'Urbal,
supported the action of the 4th British army corps towards
Lens.
The British, renewing the tactics of Neuve Chapelle, ad-
vanced suddenly and boldly on a broad front and carried
the German advanced lines very rapidly. The Germans,
locally, were taken by surprise; besides, the demands of the
v, r ., vol. in.— 20.
306 THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE
Argonne attack they had unwittingly started, prevented them
from reen forcing sufficiently and in time the sectors at
which they were themselves attacked. Thus it was that after
an artillery preparation, lengthy and powerful, which
wrecked the more advanced German defenses, the assailants
both in Artois and in Champagne were able to capture, at
a minimum cost, a good deal of ground, and to inflict severe
losses on the foe.
In Champagne especially the French, carried away by a
tremendous enthusiasm, played havoc amongst the enemy;
they cleared with comparative ease the field-works, dug-outs
and trenches which their guns had demolished, and they
stormed stronger strongholds bristling with arms and de-
fenses of every description. Colonials, infantry of the line
and reserve troops behaved equally well ; and mounted units
shared in the exhilarating work of rounding up the routed
enemy. The difficulty on that occasion was not so much of
vanquishing the foe, but of restraining the victorious troops
once the main task was accomplished.
In the general elation which prevailed some battalions
consisting of very young men got out of hand, and they were
seen rushing forward over the devastated ground towards
the rear of the enemy's second positions, where they were
naturally promptly slain, or taken prisoners, this enabling
the Germans to claim some captures, which were paltry in-
deed in comparison with those the French had made. The
latter at the end of a week's fighting summed up the enemy
losses as follows: 100,000 casualties, 23,000 prisoners, 155
guns, and over a hundred smaller pieces — quick-firers, trench
mortars, etc. — together with a considerable amount of other
material; all this for the Champagne battle alone.
Such a victory, had it been won by the other side, would
have filled the world with awe and admiration. Unfortu-
nately for the victors, it was won by them on French soil,
and it failed thereby to give satisfaction to the immense
army of amateur critics who were looking to an advance on
Berlin. The British army, especially, which had done won-
ders in the north, came under the lash of the irrepressible
fire eaters. Its more apparent — and inevitable — faults and
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE 307
deficiencies were laid bare; and whilst what it had achieved
was thrust aside or forgotten, what it had not achieved, and
was not intended to achieve, was constantly dwelt upon.
BY COLONEL A. M. MURRAY
The Paris communique issued on the night of Saturday,
September 25th, conveyed the first news of the beginning
of the Anglo-French offensive between the La Bassee Canal
and Arras, and of the French offensive in Champagne. Ac-
cording to a secret order issued by General Joffre on Sep-
tember 14th, and found by the Germans on a fallen French
officer, the troops engaged in the attack comprised thirty-
five divisions under General Castelnau, who had command of
the Champagne operations, eighteen divisions under Gen-
eral Foch, who commanded the Tenth French Army, thir-
teen British divisions under Field-Marshal French, and
fifteen cavalry divisions, of which five were British. In ad-
dition to these first line troops, twelve infantry divisions and
the Belgian Army were held in reserve. Five thousand guns
were to be brought into action, 2,000 being heavy guns, and
3,000 field pieces. Eliminating non-combatants, these for-
mations would yield something like 1,200,000 infantry, with
60,000 cavalry, and 100,000 artillerymen. When he issued
his first order General Joffre evidently hoped for decisive re-
sults, for he followed it up next day with a second order tell-
ing Generals commanding divisions that his intention was
to "drive the Germans out of France, liberate those of our
countrymen who have been suppressed for the last twelve
months, and snatch away from the enemy the valuable pos-
session of the occupied territory."
In the north, in the neighborhood of Loos, operations
began at 6.30 a. m. on Saturday, September 25th, the agreed
plan of attack being for the 2nd British Army under Sir
Douglas Haig to push its way between the La Bassee Canal
and Lens, while the French advance was to be made south
of Lens, the two forces forming a junction east of the town
with the object of surrounding it. With this purpose in
view, Sir Douglas Haig deployed the 1st Corps under Lieut. -
General Hubert Gough between the Canal and Vermelles,
3 o8
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE
while the 4th Corps, under Lieut. -General Sir Henry Rawlin-
son, prolonged the line of attack down to Grenay. The at-
tack of the first Corps had only a limited success. The 2nd
Division was pulled up at the start, and its failure to secure
the left flank interfered with the operations of the 9th Divi-
sion fighting on its right. The 26th Brigade of the latter
Division carried the Hohenzollern Redoubt, but failed to
reach Haisnes for want of support. The 27th Brigade ar-'
rived at 11 a. m., but by that time the Germans had been re-
enforced. The 7th Division had no better luck. One of its
brigades, the 22nd, broke through the German lines into the
Quarries, and reached Cite St. Elie, but not oeing reen-
forced, it was compelled to withdraw. The attack of the
1st Corps failed.
The 4th Corps did better. The objective of the 1st Di-
vision was Hulluch, and that of the 15th Division Cite St.
Auguste, while the 47th Division was ordered to secure the
right flank of the attacking force. The latter Division car-
ried out its mission as directed, while the 15th Division, ad-
vancing with great elan, pushed through Loos, the 44th Bri-
gade going over Hill 70 to Cite St. Auguste. There it was
heavily counter-attacked, and not being supported, fell back
behind the crest of Hill 70. The 1st Division was heavily
engaged on its way to Hulluch, and reinforcements arriv-
ing too late, it had to fall back west of the La Bassee-Lens
road. The net result of the attack was a gain of from 4,000
to 5,000 yards of depth along a front of between 4 and 5
miles.
The causes of failure were two. The preliminary bom-
bardment had been only partially effective, many of the Ger-
man trenches remaining intact, with the wire entanglements
uncut, and machine guns left in position. There were not
enough guns of a heavy nature brought into action, and the
bombardment was not sufficiently prolonged. The second
cause of failure was due to the error committed in placing
the reserve troops, the nth Corps and Guards Division, un-
der the Commander-in-Chief instead of handing them over
to the general commanding the 2nd Army. The nth Corps,
consisting of two divisions, was four and a half miles be-
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE 309
hind the fighting line, and the Guards Division still further
away. These troops did not leave their rendezvous till 9.30
a. m., and then it was too late, the battle being practically
over before midday. If they had been thrown into the fight-
ing line in the early morning they might have turned a
failure into a success.
Simultaneously with this, which was the main attack,
other attacks were made north of the La Bassee Canal, and
east of Ypres, but beyond holding the enemy and diverting
strong bodies of reserve troops towards these points, no ad-
vance was made, and no results were obtained. The attacks
were not pushed home, and were only undertaken as diver-
sions.
While the 1st British Army was attacking between La
Bassee and Lens the 10th French Army, under General
Foch's direction, drove the Germans out of the village of
Souchez, and then advanced towards Givenchy, gaining a
footing on Hill 119, while further south on the northeast of
Neuville St. Vaast our Allies reached the farm of La Folie.
This French army was strongly opposed on September 25th.
and was unable to penetrate into the German lines south of
Loos as far as the British troops did on the north of the
village, but 1,500 prisoners were taken, and Souchez was
left well in the rear.
On the night of the 25th the Crown Prince of Bavaria,
who was in command of the army opposing Sir John French,
brought up reserve troops from Belgium, and began a series
of vigorous counter-attacks with the intention of regaining
the ground he had lost. Being specially apprehensive about
the British advance towards the La Bassee-Hulluch road, he
concentrated large reinforcements of men and guns north
and south of Haisnes, and succeeded on the afternoon of
the 26th in recapturing Fosse 8, but elsewhere our troops
held their ground. On October 1st, during another vio-
lent counter-attack, the Germans recovered the greater part
of Fort Hohenzollern. On October 8th a general attack
was made by the Germans along the whole Anglo-French
line, but this attack, which was made with four divisions,
3io
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE
was everywhere beaten back with enormous loss to the
enemy.
While the events narrated above were taking place in Ar-
tois General de Castelnau gained a notable victory in Cham-
pagne. After a heavy artillery bombardment lasting over
three days the French infantry were launched against the
German first-line trenches extending along a fifteen-mile
front from Auberive to Ville sur Tourbe, and by the im-
petuosity of their attack carried the whole of the enemy's
entrenchments, capturing 16,000 unwounded prisoners with
200 officers and some seventy or more guns. The heaviest
fighting took place along the Souain-Somme Py road, and
north of Massiges, where the Breton and Vandean troops
were in force. North of Souain was the division of General
Marchand, of Fashoda fame. The farm of Navarin, which
was the objective of this division, lies on the summit of the
plateau between Souain and Somme Py, and to reach it Gen-
eral Marchand's men had to fight their way through two
miles of German trenches and field redoubts; but they swept
over the barrier with an elan which was irresistible, gain-
ing the position, but losing their gallant leader, who had
to leave the field wounded at the moment of victory.
After this memorable battle General de Castelnau con-
tinued his offensive unceasingly, and forced his way into the
German second line north of Navarin farm and Massiges.
On October 5th, after another terrific bombardment, the
French infantry carried by assault the village of Tahure,
and reached the summit of Hill 192, which is known as the
Butte de Tahure, and which the Germans regarded as in-
vincible. After losing this important tactical point the Ger-
mans daily tried to recover it by means of violent attacks,
which cost them many lives, but without any result. The ar-
tillery preponderance obtained by the French was the de-
termining factor of the situation, and promised well for fur-
ther victories.
The French objective in Champagne was the Bazancourt-
Challerange railway, which, like the Lens-La Bassee railway
in Artois, ran behind the enemy's positions, and was the main
line of supply for the German Army. The French on the
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE 311
Butte de Tahure were within two miles of this railway, and
soon began to make it untenable with their gunfire and aero-
planes. Their object was to reach the railway and force
the Germans back to the Aisne, so as to isolate the Crown
Prince from General Heeringen, who was in command of the
army facing Rheims. This was a strategical object worth
fighting for, and they went a long way towards achieving it.
FRENCH GOVERNMENTAL STATEMENT
During September 26th and 27th we succeeded north of
Souain and Perthes in occupying a front facing north and
in contact with the German second line along a stretch of
seven and a half miles. The ground thus conquered repre-
sented an area of some fifteen and a half square miles, and
was traversed by lines of trenches graduated to a great depth.
The borders of the woods were organized for defense, and
innumerable subterranean passages, trenches, and parallels
facilitated a resistance foot by foot.
We overcame all these obstacles, imposing our ascendancy
on the enemy, and progressing from trench to trench, and
on our way seizing batteries, munition depots, and material.
Our soldiers were out to conquer, and the joy of knowing
that a powerful German fortress was crumbling in the face
of their efforts spurred them forward with greater dash.
Our Generals and Colonels took up their posts of command
in the shelter of the German officers' huts, and the casemates
on which there still hung notices, "Stab Bataillons," "Kom-
pagnie fiihrer." The soldiers gayly made a rapid inventory
of the dwellings and the rustic canteens installed in the
woods.
Our artillery took up positions in the open country, as
in the days of war of movement. Our advance progressed
with success, for continuing which great honor is due to our
troops, in particular the Franc-Comtois and Africains, who
had assumed the task of taking a string of wooded hills
stretching between Auberive and Souain to the north Roman
road. The Epine de Vedegrange and Hill 150 are the only
points which mark this district on the map. It was there
that the Germans resisted with much determination in one
12
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE
-of their systems of trenches. Our troops advanced by suc-
cessive bounds, digging themselves in after each rush, so as
to indicate that they had taken possession of the terrain.
Thus they succeeded in reaching the enemy's second posi-
tion at this point, which we have baptized the "parallel of
the Epine de Vedegrange." This trench extends eastward
unbroken toward Hill 193. Our military vocabulary fur-
nishes many names for it — "Parallel of the wood of Chev-
ron," "Trench of Lubeck." Up to the Navarin farm, fur-
ther east, it is named "Trench of Kultur," "Trench of
Satyrs," and "Trench of Pirates." On the evening of the
25th we had not attained the second line to the east of Nava-
rin farm. The Germans were holding out in the pine woods
which terrace the eastern section of the Souain basin.
The next day our troops, who had gone forward west
to a point where the Souain-Tahure road traverses the
woods, succeeded in joining hands with those installed on
Llill 193. Thus the last defenders of the works in the woods
were surrounded. Here we made nearly 2,000 prisoners.
Meanwhile our African troops were gaining ground
toward the north, clearing the woods and taking possession
of the "Camp of Sadowa," which contained large quantities
of material, and the existence of which had already been
revealed by our airmen. Further east we pushed forward
our line, installing ourselves on the summit of Hill 201,
facing the Butte of Tahure, on which the enemy dug a sec-
ond line, named "Trench of the Vistula." An attack put us
in possession of a little fort at the extremity of the latter.
Along the remainder of the front the pressure was kept
up by violent bombardments, by grenade throwing, and by
swift attacks. On the ''Main de Massiges" ground was thus
gained by a sustained action of the colonial infantry. Al-
ternating the fire of the heavy artillery and the field guns
with assaults by grenadiers, we succeeded greatly in increas-
ing our gain of September 25th along the northern portion
of the promontory.
Germans surrendered in groups, even though not sur-
rounded, so tired were they of the fight, and so depressed
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE 313
by hunger and convinced of our determination to continue
our effort to the end.
A German trench stood in the way of our advance.
Our artillery concentrated its fire upon it. Toward the end
of the afternoon of the 26th, when the observation officer
suddenly gave the order to cease fire, he saw the Germans
stand up on the crest and put up their hands. "Seventy-
fives! Send a screen of fire behind," ordered the general
commanding the division, and immediately the Germans were
to be seen running toward our lines, while our colonial in-
fantry went off and installed themselves in the trenches.
There they stuck up the pennants with which they had di-
rected our artillery fire and which on the crest torn by shells
unfurled themselves like glorious standards.
GERMAN GOVERNMENTAL STATEMENT
October 4th.
The object of the attack was to drive the Germans out
of France. The result achieved is that the Germans on a
front of about 840 kilometers, at one place 23 kilometers,
and at another 12 kilometers wide (and at this latter not
by any soldierly qualities of the English attack, but by a
successful surprise by gas attack), have been pressed back
from the first line of their system of defense into their sec-
ond line, which is not their last.
After a careful computation the French losses in killed
and wounded and prisoners are at least 130,000, those of the
English 60,000, and the German losses are not one-fifth of
this number.
Whether the enemy has still the idea of attaining his
object need not be considered. Anyway, such a success
fought with a superiority of 6 or 7 to 1 and prepared for
after many months of work on war material in the factories
of half the world, including those of America, cannot be
styled a "brilliant victory." Still less can it be said that
the attack has compelled us to do anything which was not in
our plans, and especially to direct our advance against the
Russian army toward him. Apart from the fact that a cer-
tain division which was to have been transported away from
314
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE
the western front when the offensive started was held back,
and that another division was sent away in its stead to the
place where the former should have gone, the attack did not
cause the German chief army administration to use a single
soldier anywhere where they had not previously intended
to use him, ariangements having long before been settled.
Moreover, the attack has not been carried out without res-
pite day and night; neither has our defense been pushed
back at any point beyond our second line. Neither has the
enemy hindered us from removing our reserve troops as
safely and effectively as we were able to do during the May
offensive to the north of Arras.
Letter Found on a German Officer Slain in the Champagne
Assault
September 26th.
One o'clock in the morning. At 7 it will have been sev-
enty-two hours since, without interruption, we have been
frightfully bombarded — seventy-two hours of endless,
deafening uproar, which even the steadiest nerves can hardly
endure !
I was ordered into the trenches as an observer at 7 a. m.
Naturally, telephone lines were broken. I reached the posi-
tion of the reserves without much trouble, their trenches
being destroyed only here and there; but there the difficul-
ties began.
Mines and bombs were exploding at brief intervals, in-
terspersed with bullets from machine guns. From that point
on the trenches were so damaged that we were obliged to
crawl on all fours.
I left my telephone operator and went ahead, amid un-
interrupted cracklings, the bursting of grenades, the explo-
sion of shells, the whistling of bullets, the howling of shell
fragments, and fogs of smoke. By holding my breath be-
hind my respirator I got to a point where a trench had been
repaired thirty-five times. The communication trench was
completely leveled. Creeping closer and closer to the ground,
I arrived at the second trench, ten yards behind the first.
THE BIG ALLIED OFFENSIVE 315
Of the latter nothing remains. The second trench is just
deep enough to kneel in.
Profiting from a period of relative calm, I cast a glance
ahead. Our barbed-wire fences are destroyed. I signal
our batteries, which resume a rapid fire. Then I creep back
to get my telephone operator. It takes me four hours to
cover ground which ordinarily could have been covered in
twenty-five minutes.
This is becoming frightful. An explosion throws me
against a wall of a trench. A Lieutenant tells me a shell
struck in his shelter also. I rush out and see that all the
bombproof s on the slope are burning. A shell striking an
ammunition magazine causes a formidable explosion. The
French keep on firing into the fire. How I hate them!
How I admire the French artillery ! They are the mas-
ter gunners. We really cannot imitate them, I regret to say.
Continuing to fire into the fire, the enemy provokes a more
violent explosion than the preceding ones.
God knows what they have blown up now! From this
moment I have lost all sensation of fear.
RUSSIA'S DESPERATE RALLY
THE CZAR TAKES PERSONAL COMMAND OF HIS ARMIES
SEPTEMBER 5TH
CZAR NICHOLAS II.
AN ANONYMOUS HUNGARIAN OFFICER
EDWIN GREWE
On November 15, 1915, General Russky, then in command of the
Russian armies, issued an announcement pointing out that the Ger-
mans had been driven back in several places during the past month.
"By thus failing to advance," said the resolute general, "the Germans
are really retreating."
The words were true. Germany had reached the limit to which
she could, or at least to which she judged she safely could, carry her
advance. On September 5th the Czar, recognizing Russia's desperate
need, assumed personal command of his armies on the German front.
The former commander, his uncle Nicholas, was transferred to take
command of the Turkish front in the Caucasus. This did not mean
that the Czar really directed his armies, but only that by his presence
he encouraged them, and that the traitors and "profiteers" in office
who had done so much toward the betrayal o c their fighting coun-
trymen dared no longer act so openly against their country.
Russian resistance now strengthened, and the advance of the Ger-
mans slackened as they entered real Russia and must struggle across
its vast swamps. Their huge artillery became too heavy to trans-
port, and without it they found the Russians could still fight them
with equal strength. So Russia was saved by her marshes and her
courage. At the end of October the fighting line extended from Riga,
which had withstood all assaults in the north, to Dvinsk strongly
fortified on the Dvina River, then to Pinsk east of Brest-Litovsk, and
then to Rovno in the south where General Ivanoff gained repeated
Russian successes as early as September.
BY NICHOLAS II.
Proclamation Addressed to the Grand Duke Nicholas
AT the beginning of the war I was unavoidably prevented
from following the inclination of my soul to put myself
at the head of the army. That was why I intrusted you
with the Commandership-in-Chief of all the land and sea
forces.
Under the eyes of the whole of Russia your Imperial
316
RUSSIA'S DESPERATE RALLY 317
Highness has given proof during the war of steadfast brav-
ery which caused a feeling of profound confidence, and
called forth the sincere good wishes of all who followed
your operations through the inevitable vicissitudes of fortune
of war.
My duty to my country, which has been intrusted to me
by God, impels me to-day, when the enemy has penetrated
into the interior of the Empire, to take the supreme com-
mand of the active forces and to share with my army the
fatigues of war, and to safeguard with it Russian soil from
the attempts of the enemy.
The ways of Providence are inscrutable, but my duty
and my desire determine me in my resolution for the good
of the State.
The invasion of the enemy on the Western front neces-
sitates the greatest possible concentration of the civil and
military authorities, as well as the unification of the com-
mand in the field, and has turned our attention from the
southern front. At this moment I recognize the necessity
of your assistance and counsels on our southern front, and
I appoint you Viceroy of the Caucasus and Commander-
in-Chief of the valiant Caucasian Army.
I express to your Imperial Highness my profound grati-
tude and that of the country for your labors during the war.
[This proclamation by the Czar was, on October 23rd, re-
enforced by the following official statement :]
From May till October the Russian Army was subjected
to uninterrupted blows along a front of 700 miles. The
Austro-Germans applied every possible means, not excepting
such as are forbidden by international treaties, in order to
increase the pressure against us. Masses of their troops
were flung against this front and sent to destruction regard-
less of losses. Military history does not afford another
example of such pressure.
During these months of continuous and prolonged action
the high qualities and mettle of our troops under the diffi-
culties and arduous conditions of the retreat were demon-
strated afresh. Notwithstanding his obstinacy in fighting
318 RUSSIA'S DESPERATE RALLY
and his persistency in carrying out maneuvers, the en-
emy is still confronted by an army which fully retains its
strength, morale, and its ability, not only to offer a stanch
and successful resistance, but to assume the offensive and
inflict blows which have been demonstrated by the events
of recent days. This affords the best proof that the Aus-
tro-Germans failed to destroy, or even to disorganize, our
army.
Seeing that they failed in that effort during the five
months which were most favorable to them, it would be im-
possible for them to repeat the Galician and Vistula exploits
now that the successes of the Allies in the west have com-
plicated the strategical position. The crisis has passed favor-
ably for us. We issued safely from the difficult position
in the advanced Vistula theater, where we were enveloped
on three sides, and now stand based upon the center of our
empire, unexhausted by the war.
It is true that there is still much fierce and determined
fighting ahead. There may be movements rearward, but
there will certainly be advances also. Our army lives in
the expectation of a general offensive and looks with full
confidence to the armies of its allies. It will march boldly
and cheerfully forward, conscious that in so doing it is de-
fending the interests of our country and the interests of our
allies. Stern struggle with the forces of nature has schooled
the Russians to hardships and ingrained in them the in-
stinct to hasten to the succor and relief of a brother in need.
Hence an appeal from our allies will always find a warm re-
sponse from the Russian Army.
LETTER FROM AN HUNGARIAN OFFICER ON THE RUSSIAN
FRONT
Every tree is a little islet standing out of the gloomy
marshland, and shallow lakes which extend for mile after
mile. The roads are inundated by the water, which has
risen high owing to the floods of rain, and from the mis-
erable cottages, which at intervals are to be seen partly
submerged along the highways, strange looking men with
long beards and thick, matted hair, mostly woodcutters and
RUSSIA'S DESPERATE RALLY 319
others earning a precarious living from the products of the
surrounding wilderness, creep out and stare with amaze-
ment at the Austrian and German cavalrymen.
According to the figures almost half of the territory is
covered by wet, impassable, and uncultivated forest, wooded
territory, most of it being useless, bushy, and impenetrable.
The ground itself is divided into different kinds of marshy
lands, impassable muddy districts, immense weedy and
grassy territories, also regions covered by some kind of more
solid grassy substance, and other thousands and thousands
of acres of land perpetually under water.
The resources of this gigantic wilderness are naturally
very scanty, and the number of inhabitants very small. One
may not even think of any military comfort of billeting or
the kind, and camping in the open air, on account of the
climate, the lack of water, and owing to the milliards of
most dangerous insects and snakes, seems to be an impos-
sible undertaking. How an army of many hundred thou-
sands of men could undertake an advance movement on
this marshy ground covered with thick forest, mud, and
water is almost unimaginable, for only the hilly districts
contain roads used by pedestrians or the Russian ponies
used to these kinds of roads. The climate itself is unbear-
able for those used to healthy and dry districts ; the vapor-
ings of the marshes are liable to cause fever and typhoid.
BY EDWIN GREWE
In the German campaign against Russia the Germans
had not unlimited time to spare. Time would merely repair
the Russian strength; it was essential to Germany to break
it beyond repair. The time remaining in 191 5 before the
autumn rains was very short for any such decisive result.
At the beginning of September it might be put at six weeks,
or eight weeks at most. Consequently, in the early part of
September, with the advantages that had been recorded in
hand, the Germans pushed their effort to the utmost. On
September 1st they reached the outer defenses of Grodno,
and next day stormed it, though the small number of pris-
oners they took is an evidence that the Russians made no
320 RUSSIA'S DESPERATE RALLY
strong resistance but began to retreat when the outer forts
collapsed. Farther north they offered more determined re-
sistance between Grodno and Vilna at Orany, which is on
the railway line, but the fact was only significant that the
whole line between Warsaw and Vilna was now gone.
In order to prevent reinforcements being moved down,
von Below renewed his attacks in the Riga district and
stormed the bridgehead at Friedrichstadt on the Dvina.
At this, almost the blackest moment in Russian affairs, a
change was announced in the leadership of the Russian
armies which took most people by surprise. The Grand
Duke Nicholas, who had been compared a year before by
Mr. Balfour to the Prince Eugene of Marlborough's cam-
paigns, was transferred to the command in the Caucasus,
and the Czar, with General Alexieff as Chief of Staff, as-
sumed supreme command of the Russian armies.
The days immediately following the announcement of
the Czar's decision brought little improvement in the north-
ern situation, though victory in Galicia, to which fuller
reference will be made, was significant that the German
eggs were all being put into one basket. They were now
fighting east of Grodno, and, despite a vicious counter-at-
tack of the Russians at Skidel, were beginning to thrust
their forces into such positions north and south of the
Vilna railway junction as to create a new salient, in which,
as in previous loops, they hoped to lasso some considerable
portion of the Russian forces. On paper their chances of
doing so seemed more favorable than at any previous junc-
ture in this summer and autumn campaign, because the Rus-
sian retreating units were in a state of disorder which was
consequent on the events that have been described, and there
was no part of their line from which reinforcements could
profitably be drawn to help any other.
The Germans, on September 7th, were almost within
striking distance of Vilna, at Novo Troiki; farther south,
they took Volkovysk, which is east of Grodno, and is the
junction of the railway lines from Grodno and Bielostok;
and a few days later they repaired their check at Skidel by
capturing the town. They had now the essential railway
RUSSIA'S DESPERATE RALLY 321
communications south of Vilna and the main roads ; and they
had cut the railway north of Vilna, between Vilna and
Dvinsk, at Svientsiany. They followed this up by a con-
centration of large forces on this section north of Vilna,
and laid the foundations of their attempt to encircle Vilna
and the forces still holding the railway line there. That
was on September 13th. On the 12th Lord Kitchener, in a
review of the military situation, declared to the House of
Lords that in his belief the Germans would prove before
the end of the next month to have "shot their bolt." It
was a prediction which caused a good deal of surprise in
England, and in Berlin it was received with derision; but
events proved that Lord Kitchener was a prophet whose in-
sight was founded on a right appreciation of the weakening
effect of the German strivings.
The Germans had failed to advance quickly enough to
capture any considerable number of Russians retreating
from Grodno. The prospect of capturing those who might
be forced to retreat from Vilna represented their last chance,
and they accelerated their movements to the utmost to seize
it. The taking of Novo Troiki, a few miles east of Vilna,
and Orany, more to the southeast, represented the frontal
grip on the salient; the seizure of Skidel after the heavy
righting for it and the subsequent advance eastwards of that
place formed the southern prong of the pincers ; the massing
of troops in the line between Dvinsk and Vilna were prece-
dent to the application of the northern prong. On Monday,
the 13th, the capture by the Germans of Podbrozie and
Novo Svenziany on the railway line north of Vilna must
have convinced the Russian command that the moment for
the complete evacuation of Vilna had arrived. Stores, ma-
terial, and machinery had been removed long before : the
problem was the removal of the main body of troops from
the entrance of the salient.
While this removal was in progress a new menace was
developing in the north. Masses of German and Austrian
cavalry began, on September 15th, to pour over the region
of Svenziany, and beyond, to Widzy. It has been estimated
that their numbers were about 40,000 and that they were
w„ VOL. III.— 21.
3 22
RUSSIA'S DESPERATE RALLY
accompanied by 140 guns. They swarmed all over the re-
gion which lies in the triangle formed by the two railways,
one of which goes northward from Vilna to Dvinsk and
the other eastwards from Vilna to Minsk. It was the last-
named which they aimed to get astride, and by Friday, the
17th, they had arrived at Vileika on the Vilia, just to the
north of the railway junction Moldecezno. The Russians
before and during the raid had been lined up along the line
of the River Vilia.
This cavalry raid, imposing as it was on paper, and dar-
ing as it was in conception, failed of its effect. It never got
near enough to Moldecezno to close the gap here ; and mean-
while the great body of the Russian troops were steadily
retreating, not along the railway line but along the great
main road to Minsk, which lies south of the railway and
forms an acute angle with it at Vilna. Thus the northern
prong of the pincers, of which the Germans had sought to
make a long arm, proved too weak for its purpose. The
southern prong, which was of stronger stuff, could not
move its men fast enough. They forced their way past
Skidel to Mosty, and though they were only a day's march
from Lida, another junction which would have proved a
danger point to the Russian retreat, they could not fight
their way i toss that narrow space in time. They got as
far as Slonim by the 18th, but that was much too far south.
Thus the lower prong of the pincers could not close up,
and by September 18th the failure of the encircling move-
ment was sealed.
Vilna, of course, was lost to the Russians, and the rail-
way line which went with it, but yet again the salient had
been straightened out, and there was little prospect that an-
other would be formed. The failure had cost the Germans
more than the attempt was worth. The Russians had struck
hard at the cavalry at Vilecka on the 23rd, capturing men
a»d eight guns ; they inflicted other checks on them at Smor-
gon and along the line of the Vilia while they made their
own retreat good.
This plan, for which the credit or the blame must be as-
signed to von Hindenburg, sums up the more northerly
RUSSIA'S DESPERATE RALLY 323
operations, except for heavy and continuous fighting, which
continued long after the movement was ended, at Dvinsk,
and similar operations nearer Riga.
In the middle zone Prince Leopold of Bavaria had ad-
vanced as fast as the Russians would let him, eastwards of
Bielostok. An attempt on his part to hasten their retire-
ment met with a damaging check at Slonim; but on the
whole the German line from Vilna to the marshes progressed
slowly eastwards. Von Mackensen's part at this time was
subordinate to that of von Hindenburg. His was the sec-
tion which joined up the Germans of the north to the Ger-
mans of the south across the Pripet Marshes.
If the advance eastwards of Prince Leopold and of von
Mackensen had been slow and unproductive of much be-
yond wasted territory and desolate marsh, the German-Aus-
trians in Galicia south of the Pripet Marshes fared a good
deal worse. The Pripet River gives its name to a vast
basin of 50,000 square miles of sluggish tributary rivers
overflowing into vast swamps. More difficult fighting-
ground can hardly be imagined. It is the Russian version
of the Masurian Lakes. Theoretically, this vast region cut
the fighting lines and the armies operating between them
into two halves. In practice, connection could be maintained
by the Russians during much of the operations, along the
railway line running from Vilna. The occupation of Pinsk
by the Germans interrupted this intercommunication, and
Ivanoff's southern armies then became an independent unit
served by the Kiev railway. His was a splendid isolation,
which never ceased to give the Germans trouble; and even
in the darkest hours of the Russian retirement north of the
Pripet his soldiers were constantly able to respond with a
victory as a consolation. These operations were part of the
Russian strategic plan of never entirely losing touch with
Rumania and their former conquests in Galicia.
BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS
SHE SEEKS THE DESTRUCTION OF SERBIA
OCTOBER I ITH
A. MENSHEKOFF PRINCESS RADZIWILL
PRIME MINISTER RADOSLAVOFF
ITALIAN PRESS DISPATCH
We do not need to ask why Bulgaria entered the Great War. Her
prime minister, M. Radoslavoff, was very frank about it, and we give
here his official announcement to his people. He tells them it will be
good business, that he is convinced Germany is going to win ; and
moreover he has tried bargaining with both sides and Germany makes
him much better offers of extra territory than the Allies can afford to.
In this last statement the Bulgarian premier is quite right. Germany
compelled Turkey to surrender some territory to Bulgaria at once,
and promised her rule over most of unhappy Serbia as well. The
Allies could make no such reckless gifts of lordship over alien peo-
ples.
In other words, the Bulgarian leaders plunged eagerly into the
partnership of greed and conquest. Both the prime minister and
his chief, King Ferdinand, seem to have assumed that everybody con-
cerned in the War was equally venal, equally murderous, as them-
selves. There was, however, an opposition party in Bulgaria, who
disapproved this course; and that the fact may not be overlooked, we
give here a noted Italian dispatch describing the protest of the oppo-
sition leaders to the k.'ng. This King Ferdinand was not himself a
Bulgarian. He was a member of the ruling family of Coburg, a Ger-
man state, and had been forced upon Bulgaria by the western Powers
when the Balkan kingdom was released from Turkish vassalage.
Neither was Ferdinand a mere figure-head like some western kings ;
he was the real ruler of his state.
Bulgaria, as our previous volumes have told, had bitter reason for
enmity against the other Balkan states, and especially against Serbia ;
as they had all leagued against her in the last Balkan war (1913).
when her ambitious king had attempted to override them and seize
the lordship of the Balkans. Having failed in that larger scheme,
Ferdinand was now willing to rule the region as Germany's viceroy.
As to the eternal territorial disputes between Bulgaria and Serbia, the
unhappy fact was that the two races had become so intermingled dur-
ing the centuries of Turkish conquest that no man could have drawn
boundary lines and said, these regions hold Serbian people, those Bul-
garian. Historically, the Serbs had ruled almost the entire peninsula
at one time, and the Bulgars at another. So intense had now become
the rivalry between the two, that either people might have been guilty
3 2 4
BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS 325
of rejoicing over the annihilation of the other. To Bulgaria had
come the chance to put her hatred into action.
As to the other states among the Allies, the one which felt most
aggrieved by Bulgaria's action was Russia. Her feeling and her claim
to Bulgarian loyalty is here stated by two of her writers, M. Menshe-
koff, the well-known conservative republican leader, and Princess
Catharine Radziwill, the shrewdly observant lady of the court, re-
tailing the court gossip.
BY A.. MENSHEKOFF
A FOURTH front has been presented. War is declared
on Bulgaria. For us — the old generation of. Rus-
sians, who well remember the time when there was no such
thing as Bulgaria, when in her place were only Turkish
raiders, it is especially hard to think of this fratricidal war.
The war for Bulgaria's freedom in 1877 deeply shook all
Russia, and even that part of our youth too young to go
forth to the front, took a most ardent unreserved part in
waging the combat. That war was undertaken by Russia
for no advantage or conquest, but with a view of freeing
the Slav subjects from the Turkish yoke and persecution,
threatening them with total destruction. The Bashibazooks,
who soon after the outbreak of the war overran defense-
less Bulgaria, subjected the Bulgars, their wives and chil-
dren to ruthless death and destruction. Previous to an at-
tempt at freeing the Bulgars, Russia had to save them from
an imminent death. That the threat of total destruction
was not merely a threat is amply proved by the present
wholesale murder of the Armenians, which still goes on in
those outlying villages not as yet reached by our Caucasian
troops. The saving of 2,000,000 Bulgars from certain death
cost us, even according to Bulgarian figures, 200,000 lives,
and two milliards in money.
Of course, we had every right to expect that the little
Slav nation, virtually dragged by us from the jaws of a
waiting grave and returned to a life of right and freedom,
would remain with us — united in heart and mind for a long
time to come, if not forever. It is useless to say that we
made a bitter mistake. The mistake we made was already
known to those Russian heroes who fought under the banners
of Radyetsky, Gurko, and Skobelyoff, covering Bulgaria
326 BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS
with their bodies and drenching her soil with their blood.
Many of the officers and men coming home from the war
of 1877 had a great deal to say about the treatment they
received at the hands of our "little brothers."
Having learned to know the Mussulmans and Bulgars
alike, many of our warriors showed a decided preference
for the manly and honest character of the Turk, as compared
with the evasive and shrewd traits of our co-religionists.
Apparently the 500 years of slavery did not fail to effect a
decided change in the Slav blood, of which little, indeed, runs
through the veins of the present-day Bulgars.
By what miracle has Germany accomplished the subju-
gation, by peaceful means, of the monarchs and Govern-
ments of Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria? Some
great and tempting concessions were undoubtedly offered
by the Governments of Central Europe, and, like scattered
robbers gradually flocking in the well-organized band, Tur-
key and Bulgaria hastened to throw their fortunes in with
that of the Teutonic powers. They are clearly tempted with
the outlook of a huge world robbery, Bulgaria swayed
from side to side for a whole year. But when she saw the
Germans, according to the Bulgarian Premier Radoslavoff,
"capture a great strip of the enemy's territory, without losing
one foot of their soil," the argument advanced was final
and decisive.
The Government, which came into life thirty-seven years
ago, now joined hands with the highway nations of Europe,
and together with them it will undoubtedly suffer a ter-
rible fate. A hunger for the property belonging to other peo-
ples, the ambition to set up the Bulgarian crown supreme
in the entire Balkan Peninsula, a desire not to give Russia
her right of way to her only outlet to the ocean — here is
the Bulgarian plot in a nutshell. This we must realize as a
fact and deal with it accordingly.
BY PRINCESS RADZIWILL
The fact that Bulgaria threw in her lot at last with
Germany was not viewed in Russia with great surprise. Pub-
lic opinion had expected that something of the kind would
BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS 327
happen ever since King Ferdinand had begun to exhibit his
German sympathies and to turn a deaf ear to the advice which
the Allies had tried to give him. Relations between the
cabinets of Petrograd and of Sofia had been strained by the
Balkan wars, when Serbia had won in Russia the sympa-
thies which, by her conduct, Bulgaria had lost.
M. Sazonof hoped against hope that wisdom would pre-
vail among the Bulgarian politicians, and that even if the
King were determined to throw in his lot with that of the
German States and with Austria-Hungary, the secular en-
emy of the Slav cause, his advisers and ministers would not
allow him to embark oh such a suicidal policy. Unfortu-
nately these hopes proved entirely false, partly on account
of the weak diplomacy of the Russian representative at the
court of Sofia, M. Savinsky, who was anything but a states-
man, and who instead of giving his whole attention to the
difficult political situation of Bulgaria preferred spending
his time playing tennis and flirting with fair ladies. He
had been a great favorite in his circle at Petrograd, where
he had taken himself much too seriously, and at Stockholm,
previous to his appointment in Sofia, he had been greatly
petted by society. He was absolutely no match for King
Ferdinand, who did not even consider it a triumph to hood-
wink him. By the disquieting reports which M. Savinsky
sent to his immediate chiefs, he lured them on to a false
security that allowed the crafty Coburger to commit trea-
son the moment he thought he could do so without risk.
It would be difficult to find a more mismanaged affair
than the Balkan crisis. Bulgaria ought to have been per-
suaded into accepting the conditions offered to her, instead
of being merely irritated. Action should have been taken
instead of letting things drift until it became impossible to
improve them, or to remedy the decisions taken by the un-
scrupulous ruler of an unscrupulous people. But the Rus-
sian Foreign Office always kept a latent feeling of kindness
for Bulgaria, and never quite realized that all its efforts to
win her as an ally had not only failed, but had had the
opposite influence. Bulgaria did not care any longer for
Russia; it is to be doubted whether she had ever cared for
328 BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS
her at all. Bulgaria was ambitious; Bulgaria had dreams
about Constantinople, which she considered as her future
possession, and knowing that Russia would prove a serious
rival for her in that direction, she aspired to liberate herself
from any obligations in regard to her old patron, whom she
began to hate as events unfolded themselves in the Near
East, with a hatred the more ferocious that it was absolutely
unjustified. Russian influence, which in spite of official
opinion in Petrograd, had never been firmly established in
Bulgaria, and which, in his brief day of power, Prince Alex-
ander of Battenberg had attempted to shake off, was quite
dead when the Great War began; the Turk had far more
chance to be listened to at Sofia than M. Sazonof.
Nevertheless, there existed still in Petrograd enthusiastic
though weak-minded people who could not reconcile them-
selves to the accomplished facts of Bulgaria's misdeeds. It
was partly due to this foolish faction that a considerable
portion of Russian society felt that we ought not to draw
the sword against those Slav brethren, or bratouschki, whom,
earlier, we had delivered from the Turkish yoke.
To many, therefore, the treason of Bulgaria, bound as
she ought to have been by the closest ties of gratitude,
came as a shock; but the majority, who had seen it coming,
declared that, after all, it was a thousand times preferable
to have an avowed foe than to run the risk of being be-
trayed by a false friend.
This, however, was poor consolation in the face of the
fact that the alliance of Bulgaria with Germany and with
Turkey would assure the direct communication of these two
powers with each other, and thus add considerably to the al-
ready numerous difficulties with which the Allies were find-
ing themselves confronted in the Balkans. Some people
said that it would perhaps have been more judicious on the
part of Russia not to have issued its ultimatum to King
Ferdinand until he had thrown off his mask and spontane-
ously announced his intentions of becoming untrue to all the
promises which he had made. All the same, considering
the dignity of a great country like Russia, it could hardly
have been expected that she would remain quiet under provo-
BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS 329
cations which were as insolent as they were disgraceful.
King Ferdinand acted throughout with that hypocrisy in
which he had always shown himself a master. He began
by saying that he had done all that lay within his power
to remain upon good terms with the Russian Government,
but that the bulk of the Bulgarian nation, being opposed to
Russia, were not going to continue to be bullied by the latter
country, as had been the case lately. He therefore found
himself compelled to submit to the wishes of his people. He
also considerately added that he was convinced the Central
Powers would be victorious, and so he could not pursue any
other policy, an avowal which had at least the merit of being
perfectly frank, a thing that must have astonished Ferdi-
nand himself, so little used was he to tell the truth.
The Greek question also was causing trouble and anx-
iety, and altogether the position in the Balkans seemed to
have assumed a most grave character, one of the worst fea-
tures being the possibilities of new surprises every day com-
ing from the most unexpected quarters. With a man like
King Ferdinand treason was a matter of indifference, and
he could with perfect equanimity try to win the friendship
of those whom he had reviled a few days before. A man
who knew him well, and who happened to have been at Sofia
while negotiations were still going on between the Bulgarian
Government and Serbia, wrote to me as follows on his re-
turn:
"My journey has been a most interesting one, but I am
not at all sorry it has come to an end. Bulgaria is not a
nice country to live in at the present moment. One has all
the time the feeling that one is allowed to exist on sufferance,
and that the inhabitants of this land look upon one with the
eyes of a crocodile about to swallow the victim he has been
watching for a long time. King Ferdinand is surely medi-
tating some big coup from which he probably hopes to ob-
tain at last supremacy over the whole of the Balkan Penin-
sula, an ambition he has had ever since his acceptance of
the Bulgarian throne. It was a tremendous mistake not to
oblige Serbia to concede everything her neighbor asked from
her, rather than furnish Bulgaria with a pretext for joining
330 BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS
the ranks of her enemies. The idea that it would have been
useless because Ferdinand would always have remained the
tool of Austria was a perfectly foolish one. First of all,
Ferdinand has never been the tool of anybody, or of any-
thing, save perhaps of his own ambition. He has absolutely
no sympathies for Austria, or for Francis Joseph, who more
than once has humiliated him, and made him feel that they
had nothing in common. He hates Russia just as much, and
tolerates Germany and its Kaiser simply because it seems
to him that from that quarter he may expect the most. The
great strength of the man consists in his knowledge of his
own importance at this moment of crisis, when his going
over to one side or to the other means so much to those with
whom he chooses to throw in his lot. His uncommon cute-
ness makes him realize that where two quarrel then is the
opportunity for a third party to take what he considers his
own, and to get what he wants : Ferdinand certainly does not
belong to the people who miss their opportunities. He has
been preparing himself all along for the part he means to
play now, and he has contrived to assure himself of the co-
operation of many influential persons in Bulgaria, who from
quite different motives from his own would like to get rid
of Russian influence and Russia's constant interference in
the affairs of their country and of the Balkan Peninsula.
Being perfectly aware that it is highly improbable that Rus-
sia will be allowed to take Constantinople, he would like to
be the one personage indicated to supplant the Sultan on
that throne of ancient Byzantium which he has coveted ever
since he set foot on Bulgarian soil.
"With quite an artistic touch King Ferdinand has slowly
fomented an intense distrust against Russia amongst his
subjects, and persuaded them that Russia, instead of having
their interests at heart, is aspiring to put one of her Grand
Dukes in the Palace of Sofia, and to make Bulgaria a Rus-
sian province. The idea, of course, is a most distasteful one,
and Ferdinand has found in it one of his best pretexts for
persuading his ignorant and unsuspicious people that it would
be to their advantage to join the Central Powers in their
struggle against the Allies. His excellent argument for en-
BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS 331
forcing his opinions has been to put into prison all those
who ventured to question them or to challenge their sin-
cerity. Sofia swarms with spies, who keep the Government
informed of all the persons whose influence might be exer-
cised against the King and his schemes. I can assure you
that though King Ferdinand received me, and asked me to
dinner, and showed himself most gracious toward me — in
memory of the past, I suppose — yet I was not at all sure
when I went to bed that I might not be wakened during the
night by gendarmes come to arrest me, and I heaved a deep
sigh of relief when I had crossed the Bulgarian frontier.
Nothing that can happen in that land of surprises will aston-
ish me, and even if Ferdinand decided to pass over to the
enemy, and to put his army at the disposal of Germany, this
would not mean at all that he could not change his mind
at the eleventh hour, because after he had started on the war
path he might, if the allurement proved sufficiently strong
to tempt him, invoke that conscience of which he has made
such profitable use, and explain to his subjects that he had
convinced himself the Allies were in the right. No man alive
has ever practiced better than he has done the art of forget-
ting his resolutions of the day before in favor of his sympa-
thies of the next."
There was certainly a good deal in what my corre-
spondent wrote, and it is most likely that if the Russian For-
eign Office had been a little more tactful, Bulgaria's neutral-
ity might have been secured. M. Sazonof, however, was
far too honest to promise what he did not intend or mean to
grant. Rather than compromise himself by negotiations
which might have been interpreted in a false light, he pre-
ferred to send the ultimatum to the Bulgarian Government,
which resulted in the rupture of diplomatic relations between
Petrograd and Sofia. Very soon afterwards the Czar an-
nounced to his faithful subjects that the Bulgaria which we
had created and delivered from the Turkish yoke had turned
traitor to us, and joined the ranks of our enemies.
The great question which followed upon this announce-
ment was how to get to the help of Serbia before the latter
country had been entirely annihilated by the combined Aus-
332 BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS
trian and German armies. Whilst these events were taking
place, the Allies were landing as many men as they could at
Salonika, but were confronted by new difficulties coming
from Greece. The war was beginning once more to assume
a character more favorable to our enemies than it had done
for the last three months, and it was also getting more and
more agonizing, owing to the suspense which it entailed on
all those who were immediately concerned.
For Russians the fact of having to fight against Slav
brethren was inexpressibly bitter and painful. It added a
new horror to all those already experienced; but hard as it
was to draw the sword to punish people with whom one had
believed most sincerely that one would always remain on
brotherly and affectionate terms, awful as it seemed to find
that one's own familiar friend had turned false, the moral
disaster did not destroy the confidence which Russia felt as
to the ultimate issue of the war. That war had to be won,
even if the struggle lasted ten years, even if it extended to a
whole century. The German tyrant had to be crushed, Ger-
man arrogance had to be destroyed.
BY M. RADOSLAVOFF
To-day we see races that are fighting, not indeed for
ideals, but solely for their material interests. The more,
therefore, we are bound to a country in a material way, the
greater is that country's interest in our maintenance and
increase, since thereby that one will profit who helps us
and is tied to us by economic bonds.
If, therefore, we are to change our previous policy for
indefinite, unsafe, and to us even unknown advantages, that
means the ruin of our agriculture and trade, and indeed
everything that we have built up in thirty-six years, the
reconstruction of our entire business as a people, and the
seeking of new export markets for our goods.
The figures show that our trade, our interests, and our
economic life are inseparably linked with Turkey, Germany,
and Austria-Hungary. . . .
What would become of Bulgaria if Constantinople should
become Russian and we should lose the Constantinople
BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS 333
market ? We have seen that almost our entire export trade
in live stock, cheese, kashkawal, flour, etc., goes to Turkey
— that is to say, to Constantinople. If, now, Constantinople
is conquered by Russia, it will introduce there its autono-
mous protective staff, and will make impossible the present
exports of Bulgarian products to Constantinople. Even as
Bulgaria cannot now export anything to Russia, so it will
be unable to export anything to the Russian Constantinople.
There are no other export markets for these products at
present, and such cannot be easily found.
But if we go against Germany, it would for sanitary
and veterinary reasons immediately cut off the imports of
Bulgarian eggs and make more difficult our tobacco im-
ports. All this would cause an economic crisis in Bulgaria
such as we have never before witnessed and of which we
can scarcely form a conception. Our live stock industry,
as well as all mills that have been set up in Varna and Burgas
to grind flour for Constantinople, will be ruined. Our finest
and most useful industry will be destroyed, and the millions
invested in them lost. The live stock industry is the basis
of our agricultural life.
In heavy days for Bulgaria, Germany assisted and gave
it the required loan without any political conditions whatso-
ever. Every impartial Bulgar is in duty bound to confess
that through this loan Germany saved us from bankruptcy,
as well as from political subjugation. The war has shown
how mighty Germany, and even Austria-Hungary, is in an
economic sense. If these States, therefore, desire it, they
have always the power to render us valuable support. They
have done so till now, and we have no reason to suppose
that they will not support us also in the future. On the
contrary, from the assurances in German newspapers and
statements of German statesmen, we can with full confidence
count upon German financial help. Even as we write these
lines we are informed that Germany has again granted us a
loan of 125,000,000 lewas ($25,000,000) for the defraying
of current debts, without any political conditions.
Our greatest foe to-day is Serbia. It has subjugated
the purely Bulgarian Macedonia and is administering it in
334 BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS
a barbarian manner never before witnessed. For the Mace-
donian populace there are no laws and no human rights of
any sort. This populace is, without exception, exposed to
slaughter ; the streams are red with blood ; women have been
violated, and the male population suitable for military ser-
vice has been sent into the field to die for the creation of a
"Greater Serbia." One need only profess to be a Bulgar
in Macedonia to be beaten to death like a dog, so great is
the hatred of Serbia toward Bulgaria. After the wars the
Serbs had grown so arrogant that the transit of a Bulgar
through Serbia — no matter who he was — was absolutely
dangerous to his life, because in that State, which, accord-
ing to our Government organ, filar odni Prava, is ruled by
liars, there exist no laws for Bulgars. If we do not more
quickly deliver our brothers in Macedonia from the unbear-
able, cruel, and bloody yoke, not a Bulgar will be left in
this purely Bulgarian land. Things are, moreover, already
in such a condition that Bulgaria cannot possibly exist next
to a "Greater Serbia," inasmuch as the latter, which lays
claim to our country up to the Jantra, will continually chal-
lenge us until it destroys us.
We do not know the wording of the famous note which
the Quadruple Entente has delivered to the Bulgarian Gov-
ernment, but from what has been said and written in the
newspapers, these facts are seen:
i. That Russia and its allies give us nothing for our
neutrality, but, on the other hand, demand that we shall
take part in the war as soon as possible.
2. That Bulgaria is to turn over its armies to the
Quadruple Entente, placing them fully at the Entente's dis-
posal, leaving the Entente to command them and send them
wherever it seems advisable.
3. That the Bulgarian Army must conquer Constan-
tinople and then hand it over to Russia ; and,
4. In return for all this Bulgaria is permitted to retain
the territory up to the Enos-Midia line, and it is promised
some obscure and insufficient compensations in Macedonia,
but only in case Serbia is sufficiently compensated by Aus-
tria.
BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS 335
That means : give your army, so that we may mix it up
with our wild hordes and send them out for destruction on
the various scenes of battle; and then, when Serbia has
grown great and has taken South Hungary, Croatia, Dal-
matia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, and has grown to a State
of from fifteen to twenty millions Bulgaria will get a small
bit of land.
This shows most clearly how strongly the Quadruple En-
tente is allied to Serbia ; how it is unwilling to persuade the
latter to make concessions, and how it mocks our legitimate
demands. The Quadruple Entente is known for its noise
and its. making of alarms. It is known, too, that during
our last negotiations for a loan they published secret notes
and even meddled in our internal affairs merely in order to
evoke disturbances in the country to win Bulgaria for the
Quadruple Entente. In this respect Germany and Austria-
Hungary work quietly and without noise. From what well-
informed persons have told us we can with certainty state
that the promises of Germany and Austria-Hungary to Bul-
garia for its neutrality are, in the main, as follows :
1. All of Macedonia, including Skopie, Bitolia, Och-
rida, etc.
2. Friendly mediation between Bulgaria and Turkey
for the purpose of ceding the line to Dedeaghatch and the
territory west of the right bank of the Maritza. This agree-
ment with Turkey is expected in a short time.
Still further territorial promises have been made to us
at the expense of Serbia by the Central Powers in case of
our active military assistance. These promises are in ac-
cordance with our demands for a common frontier with Aus-
tria-Hungary along the Danube. The present war has
shown how absolutely necessary it is that we should have
a direct and immediate connection with Hungary in order
that we may be independent of a Serbia that has gone crazy.
But also other parts of Old Serbia have been set forth
for us in prospect.
Here we can see clearly the Quadruple Entente, in re-
turn for slight, uncertain, and doubtful advantages, demands
great sacrifices from us, and that Germany and Austria-
336 BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS
Hungary give us clearly and categorically to understand
the things they are willing to give us in return for incom-
parably slighter sacrifices on our part. But the question
has another side as well — we do not believe in promises of
any sort any more, anyway, and still less those of the Quad-
ruple Entente, which took up Italy as an ally after it had
in such treacherous fashion trampled under foot its word
of honor and broken a thirty-three-year-old treaty of al-
liance. On the contrary, we have full reason to believe in
a treaty with Germany, which has always fulfilled its treaty
obligations, and is fighting the whole world merely in ordei
to live up to its treaty obligations to the Austro-Hungarian
Monarchy.
Finally, we must hold to that group of the powers which
will win the victory in the present war, since only so can the
important territorial extensions and further developments
be insured. From the developments of the operations in the
various theaters of the war, on the front against France
and Belgium as well as the fronts against Italy, Russia, and
Serbia, one recognizes more clearly day by day that vic-
tory is inclining on the side of Germany and Austria-Hun-
gary. We need not linger long over the question, inasmuch
as it has become clear to the point of certainty for every
observer that Russia, which has lost fortresses like Warsaw
and Ivangorod, will soon be overthrown, and then the turn
will come for France, Italy, England, and Serbia. Ger-
many has proved that it is so strongly organized in a military
and material sense and can dispose of such enormous, su-
perior, and inexhaustible forces as will enable it soon to
overthrow its foes.
ITALIAN DISPATCH FROM LONDON "DAILY TELEGRAPH"
Five opposition members of the parliament, MM. Gues-
hoff, Danoff, Malinoff, Zanoff, and Stambulivski, were re-
ceived by the King in the Red Room at the Royal Palace,
and chairs had been placed for them around a big table. The
King entered the room, accompanied by Prince Boris, the
heir apparent, and his Secretary, M. Bobcovitch. "Be
seated, gentlemen," said the King, as he sat down himself
BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS 337
as if for a very quiet talk. His Secretary took a seat at a
table a little apart to take notes, but the conversation imme-
diately became so heated and rapid that he was unable to
write it down.
The first to speak was M. Malinoff, leader of the Demo-
cratic Party, who said : "The policy adopted by the Gov-
ernment is one of adventure tending to throw Bulgaria into
the arms of Germany, and driving her to attack Serbia.
This policy is contrary to the aspirations, feeling, and in-
terests of the country, and if the Government obstinately
continues in this way it will provoke disturbances of the
greatest gravity."
It was the first allusion to the possibility of a revolu-
tion, but the King listened without flinching. M. Malinoff
concluded : "For these reasons we beg your Majesty, after
having vainly asked the Government, to convoke the Cham-
ber immediately, and we ask this convocation for the precise
object of saving the country from dangerous adventures
by the formation of a coalition Ministry."
The King remained silent, and, with a nod, invited M.
Stambulivski to speak.
M. Stambulivski is the leader of the Agrarian Party, a
man of sturdy rustic appearance, accustomed to speak out
his mind boldly, and exceedingly popular among the peasant
population. He grew up himself as a peasant, and wore the
laborer's blouse up till very recently. He stood up, and,
looking the King straight in the face, said in a resolute tone :
"In the name of every farmer in Bulgaria I add to what
M. Malinoff has just said, that the Bulgarian people hold
you personally responsible more than your Government for
the disastrous adventure of 1913. If a similar adventure
were to be repeated now its gravity this time would be ir-
reparable. The responsibility would once more fall on your
policy, which is contrary to the welfare of our country, and
the nation would not hesitate to call you personally to ac-
count. That there may be no mistake as to the real wishes
of the country, I present to your Majesty my country's de-
mand in writing."
He handed the King a letter containing the resolution
33$ BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS
voted by the Agrarians. The King read it, and then turned
to M. Zanoff, leader of the Radical Democrats, and asked
him to speak. M. Zanoff did so, speaking very slowly and
impressively, and also looking the King straight in the face :
"Sire, I had sworn never again to set foot inside your
palace, and if I came to-day, it is because the interests of my
country are above personal questions, and have compelled
me. Your Majesty may read what I have to say in this
letter, which I submit to you in behalf of our party."
He handed the letter, and the King read it and still re-
mained silent. Then he said, turning to his former Prime
Minister and ablest politician : "Gueshoff, it is now your
turn to speak."
M. Gueshoff got up and said : "I also am fully in accord
with what M. Stambulivski has just said. No matter how
severe his words may have been in their simple, unpolished
frankness, which ignores the ordinary formalities of eti-
quette, they entirely express our unanimous opinion. We
all, as representing the Opposition, consider the present pol-
icy of the Government contrary to the sentiments and the
interests of the country because by driving it to make com-
mon cause with Germany it makes us the enemies of Russia,
which was our deliverer, and the adventure into which we
are thus thrown compromises our future. We disapprove
most absolutely of such a policy, and we also ask that the
Chamber be convoked and a Ministry formed with the co-
operation of all parties."
After M. Gueshoff, the former Premier M. Daneff also
spoke and associated himself with what had already been
said.
The King remained still silent for a while. Then he also
stood up and said: "Gentlemen, I have listened to your
threats and will refer them to the President of the Council
of Ministers that he may know and decide what to do."
All present bowed, and a chilly silence followed. The
King had evidently taken the frank warning given him as a
threat to him personally, and he walked up and down ner-
vously for a while. Prince Boris turned aside to talk with
the Secretary, who had resumed taking notes. The King
BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS 339
continued pacing to and fro, evidently very nettled. Then,
approaching M. Zanoff, and as if to change the conversation,
he asked him for news about this season's harvest.
M. Zanoff abruptly replied : "Your Majesty knows that
we have not come here to talk about the harvest, but of some-
thing far more important at present, namely, the policy of
your Government, which is on the point of ruining our
country. We can on no account approve a policy that is
anti-Russian. If the Crown and M. Radoslavoff persist in
their policy we shall not answer for the consequences. We
have not desired to seek out those responsible for the disas-
ter of 1 91 3, because other grave events have been precipi-
tated, but it was a disaster due to criminal folly. It must
not be repeated by an attack on Serbia by Bulgaria, as seems
contemplated by M. Radoslavoff, and which, according to
all appearances, has the approval of your Majesty. It would
be a premeditated crime, and deserve to be punished."
The King hesitated a moment, and then held out his hand
to M. Zanoff, saying: "All right; at all events, I thank
you for your frankness." Then approaching M. Stambuliv-
ski, he repeated to him his question about the harvest.
M. Stambulivski, as a simple peasant, at first allowed
himself to be led into discussion of this secondary matter,
and had expressed the hope that the prohibition of the ex-
port of cereals would be removed, when he suddenly remem-
bered, and said : "But this is not the moment to speak of
these things. I again repeat to your Majesty that the coun-
try does not want a policy of adventure, which cost it so dear
in 1913. It was your own policy, too. Before 1913 we
thought you were a great diplomatist, but since then we have
seen what fruits your diplomacy bears. You took advantage
of all the loopholes in the Constitution to direct the country
according to your own views. Your Ministers are nothing;
you alone are the author of this policy, and you will have to
bear the responsibility."
The King replied frigidly : "The policy which I have
decided to follow is that which I consider the best for the
welfare of the country."
"It is a policy that will only bring misfortune," replied
340 BULGARIA JOINS THE CENTRAL POWERS
the sturdy Agrarian. "It will lead to fresh catastrophes and
compromise not only the future of our country but that of
your dynasty, and may cost you your head."
It was as bold a saying as ever was uttered before a
King, and Ferdinand looked astonished at the peasant who
was thus speaking to him. He said : "Do not mind my
head; it is already old. Rather mind your own," he added,
with a disdainful smile, as he turned away.
M. Stambulivski retorted: "My head matters little,
Sire. What matters more is the good of our country."
The King paid no more attention to him, and took M.
Gueshoff and M. Danoff apart, who again insisted on con-
voking the Chamber, and assured him that M. Radoslavoff's
Government would be in a minority. They also referred
to the Premier's oracular utterances.
"Ah!" said the King, "has Radoslavoff spoken to you?
And what has he said?"
"He has said," replied the leaders, "that Bulgaria would
march with Germany and attack Serbia."
The King made a vague gesture, and then said : "Oh,
I did not know !"
The incidents of this famous interview are beginning
to be gradually known in Sofia, and have created a deep im-
pression in political circles.
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA
THE HEROIC STRUGGLE AGAINST HOPELESS ODDS
OCTOBER 6TH — NOVEMBER 30TH
VLADISLAV SAVIC ROBERT MACHRAY
Bulgaria's entrance into the War sealed Serbia's doom. Too late,
the Allies hurried an army to the Greek city of Salonika, the near-
est seaport on the Mediterranean, and endeavored to advance from
there to Serbia's aid. Bulgaria controlled the railroad route which
led from Salonika toward northern Serbia ; and from the north an
overwhelming German-Austrian attack was launched on October 6th.
As soon as this Teuton invasion was well launched, Bulgaria made
her sudden declaration of war and swooped like a vulture on the hard-
pressed Serbs.
The Allied army at Salonika and the Ally supplies might have
sufficed to save Serbia from the Teuton attack; but the Allied army
could not fight its way through the mountain passes held by the Bul-
garians. Thus this second Ally army in the Balkans, like the first at
the Dardanelles, met only repulse and brought disrepute to the Ally
cause throughout the East. Serbia was crushed, and to all the Balkans
German victory must have seemed assured.
The story of the disaster is told here by Vladislav Savic, a Serbian
soldier, and by the British authority on Serbian affairs, Robert
Machray, who quotes extensively from German sources, to show the
Teuton viewpoint as well.
BY VLADISLAV SAVIC
AFTER the German success in Russia during the summer
of 191 5, Germany, realizing the full importance of
the Balkan front, turned her attention to the south and de-
cided upon an offensive against Serbia. Having no trust in
Austrian forces or leadership and perfectly aware of the re-
sistance Serbia would offer, this time the new army of in-
vasion consisted mainly of German troops and its command
was intrusted to Mackensen, decidedly one of the ablest Ger-
man generals. On their part the Entente Powers were mis-
guided in their Balkan policy and totally failed to grasp the
situation. Instead of reenforcing the Serbian front as the
best means of inducing Rumania and Greece to side with
341
342 THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA
the Allies and of preventing Bulgaria from joining the
Central Powers, their diplomacy began the fruitless negotia-
tions with Bulgaria which only accelerated the German of-
fensive and the terrible disaster which befell Serbia.
In September, 191 5, the Austro-German forces under
the command of Field-Marshal Mackensen were massed on
the Serbian front along the Save and the Danube. Mean-
while the negotiations undertaken by the diplomacy of the
Entente Powers with Bulgaria were protracted without lead-
ing to any result. Bulgaria played her double game very
adroitly. She could not move before the Austro-German
forces were ready for cooperation with her. On the 19th
of September the Germans opened the bombardment of the
Serbian front. Four days later, on the 23rd of September,
Bulgaria ordered the general mobilization. The Serbian
headquarters entertained no doubt concerning the objective
of the Bulgarian military action. With an enormous front
some 320 miles in length towards Bulgaria, with her main
line of communication, Nish-Salonika, within reach of the
first successful Bulgarian raid, Serbia's military position was
extremely dangerous. The only chance to improve it was
quick, energetic action against Bulgaria. The Serbian head-
quarters did not expect by such a move to conquer Bulgaria
or to annihilate her army completely ,~ but they rightly judged
that it would hinder the Bulgarian mobilization in the west-
ern districts, and by occupation of some important centers
it might cripple her forces considerably and greatly hamper
her action. In that way the enemy's victory might be de-
layed, and by gaining some weeks the Allies might fulfill
their promise of assisting Serbia. The Serbian population
and army might have retreated to the south, using the rail-
way line Nish-Salonika, which would have saved many thou-
sands of lives and enormous quantities of war material.
With this object in view, the Serbian headquarters ordered
a new concentration of the army along the Serbo-Bulgarian
frontier. But the diplomacy of the Entente Powers al-
lowed itself to be the perfect dupe of Bulgaria. Fearing
that the Serbian action might spoil its cherished play at
Sofia, it brought strong pressure to bear upon the Serbian
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA 343
Government, which prevented the Serbian military action
against Bulgaria. From that moment Serbia was doomed,
the crushing of her army by the united Bulgaro-Austro-
German forces was inevitable, and her population was ex-
posed to fearful sufferings and privations unparalleled in
modern times.
But to the eternal glory of Serbia, even in the moment of
such supreme danger, she organized her small forces as best
she could, and offered a resistance which, better than any
victory could, speaks of the indomitable spirit of the Serbs.
At the end of September, 191 5, the Austro-German
forces were disposed along the Danube and the Save in the
following way:
Opposite the Serbian front Ram-Smederevo-Grocka was
the army of General Gallwitz, consisting of nine German di-
visions. Against the front Grocka-Belgrade-Ostruznica
were two German and two Austrian divisions. From Obre-
novac to the mouth of the Drina was the 19th Austrian army
corps, with some detached brigades along the Drina. That
whole army numbered in German and 53 Austrian bat-
talions.
To oppose them the Serbians could concentrate on the
northern front only 116 battalions, of which 40 battalions
belonged to the third ban. The remaining troops were en-
gaged on the Serbo-Bulgarian frontier. Besides outnum-
bering the Serbs by three to two in the infantry, the Austro-
German division disposed of two regiments of artillery, but
especially in heavy artillery their advantage over the Ser-
bian troops was enormous.
On October 6th the Austro-Germans, after heavy ar-
tillery preparation from pieces of every caliber, and with-
out sparing ammunition, began the crossing of the Drina,
the Save and the Danube. Bloody encounters took place at
Obrenovac, Ostruznica, Belgrade, Smederevo and Ram. At
all these places the first enemy's detachments, after having
succeeded in crossing the rivers, were annihilated before
being able to secure a footing or to develop their front.
Only after seven days of incessant battle of the most stub-
born character did the enemy succeed in forcing the rivers.
344
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA
The weight of his heavy guns was telling, the English,
French and Russian batteries of heavy artillery defending
Belgrade were silenced on the first day and their ramparts
shattered to dust, thus leaving the whole burden of defense
upon the Serbian infantry. Notwithstanding all this, the
defense was splendid and called forth the admiration of Ger-
man correspondents in the enemy's army. The enemy suf-
fered very heavy losses, and was only able to advance owing
to his numbers, which outflanked the Serbian positions and
pounded to pieces Serbian defensive works. But every new
position was fully taken advantage of by the Serbians, who
retreated contesting every inch and ceding only inch by inch
their territory.
On the 14th of October the Bulgarians, repeating their
treachery of 191 3, attacked the Serbians on the entire front
without previously declaring war. The Bulgars had concen-
trated against Serbia seven divisions, each consisting of six
regiments and one brigade, of infantry, in all 176 battalions
of infantry; whereas Serbia was only able to oppose them
with 78 battalions. In spite of being so greatly outnumbered,
the Serbians offered stubborn resistance, and every retreat
of the Serbs on the Bulgarian front was caused by the pres-
sure of the Austro-Germans. Thus on the river Timok
during twelve days, from October 13th to 24th, the Bul-
garians penetrated only one and a half miles into Serbian
territory, all their attacks being bloodily repulsed. But when
Austro-Germans penetrated deeper to the south, the Serbs
ordered the evacuation of Negotin, Zaecar and Knazevac.
In the direction of the valley of the Nishava the Serbians
and the Bulgarians had nearly equal forces, therefore all
Bulgarian attacks were very costly and fruitless. Nowhere
were the Bulgars able to dislodge the Serbs by their own
forces; these were obliged to retreat before the Bulgars in
view of the situation on the other fronts.
On the southern part of their front the Bulgars attacked
the Serbs on the front of Vlassina, east of Vrana, with
sixteen battalions, where the Serbs had only four or five
battalions. They penetrated into the valley of the Morava,
but their advance was stopped. Further south the Serbs
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA 345
had only two newly organized divisions, whose battalions had
no more than 600 rifles, with very small numbers of machine
guns and artillery pieces. The Bulgars had there four bri-
gades belonging to the 5th and 7th divisions and parts of
the 2nd and nth divisions. Therefore their advance to
Skoplje and Veles could not be prevented, and they occupied
both towns after much sanguinary fighting. The Bulgars
sent strong numbers to Kacanik Pass and to Karadag, but
their advance was stopped there, until circumstances on the
other front obliged the Serbs to abandon those positions also.
Always fighting and retreating until the end of October,
the Serbians entertained the hope that the British and French
troops would arrive in time, and in joining with the Serbian
army would be able to frustrate all enemy schemes. Not
only were the military operations influenced by this hope,
but the Serbian population also remained calm until the last
moment, and very few took any measures to protect their
lives or to save a portion of their property by escaping to
Greece and allied countries.
In the first days of November the Serbian headquarters
became aware that the Allied contingents would not be able
to join the Serbian army north of Skoplje, therefore the
higher command resolved to abandon the northern front al-
together, and always fighting, to retreat to the south, in
order to join the Allies and continue the resistance. The
Serbian army, pressed by overwhelming enemy forces, had
to execute the passage over the Western and Southern Mo-
rava, and these movements were executed by both armies
without leaving either men or material in enemies' hands.
The Bulgars, by being in possession of the passes Koncul
and Kacanik, cut off the communication of the Serbian army
with the Allies, who by now had reached Krivolak, on the
railway line from Salonika. In order to join the Allies and
beat the Bulgarian forces occupying the passes, it was nec-
essary to extricate the Serbian army from both the valleys
of the Southern and Western Morava. This was executed
in spite of enormous difficulties, there being only two travers-
able roads for the retreat of the entire army. The situation
was saved by a bold attack of the Serbian 3rd army in the
346
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA
flank of the enemy, but the retreat was continued under
the heaviest pressure of the enemy.
Nevertheless, headquarters was able to concentrate five
divisions and two brigades against the Bulgars for the bat-
tle for the possession of the passes. With these forces, the
Serbs attacked the Bulgars on the front Novo Brdo-Kacanik.
The main enemy positions were on the Velika Planina and
Zegovac mountains. In fierce battles from November 17th
to 2 1st, the Serbs took the Zegovac mountain, and their
operations against Velika Planina were also very successful.
The Bulgars were in a rather critical situation and began
to give way on the northern portion of the front. Every-
thing pointed to the complete success of the Kacanik opera-
tion, if the Serbs had had time to develop their advantage.
But again the pressure of the Austro-Germans was brought
to bear upon the whole military situation. On the 21st of
November the Austro-Germans were already in the posses-
sion of the Prepolac, and were attacking the Serbs defending
the Tenedol pass on the road to Pristina. Therefore the
whole operation was abandoned. But still the Serbian suc-
cesses on the Kacanik front enabled them to retire on the left
bank of the Sitnica river unmolested by the enemy, and
without leaving in his hands either arms or ammunition.
Thus the Serbs definitely failed to join the Allies, who,
being small in numbers, were unable to push further than
Krivolack, and soon were obliged to beat a retreat.
It was on the memorable Kossovo Field that the Serbian
army and nation realized that the great tragedy of her his-
tory was to be repeated once again. The curtain rose upon
the last act of the Serbian tragedy. Fate had yet some fear-
ful sufferings in store for them. In 191 5, as in 1389, on
the eve of the battle of Kossovo, the Serbian king and na-
tion were forced to choose between the Kingdom of Heaven
and Earth; to make peace with the hereditary foes and to
betray the noble cause of European freedom and liberty for
which they had fought so long. Now, as then, the Serbs did
not hesitate. They preferred honor and martyrdom to
shameful peace and treason. Like true heroes of Kossovo,
without fear or reproach, they had accepted battle on a front
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA 347
800 miles long, and for two months they had kept in abey-
ance the overwhelming forces of three military states single-
handed. An ally — Greece — betrayed them; the others,
through blunders, were unable to come in time to be of as-
sistance. The struggle proved vain; and the Serbian state,
built up by so much fighting and noble self-sacrifice, was
crushed by a shameful coalition of all its old-time foes.
BY ROBERT MACHRAY
Serbia, at the outset of the present War, was far from
strong, even relatively, and if during its initial months she
was amazingly successful in repulsing the first and second
Austrian invasions, she achieved her victory at a price which
was very heavy to so small and war-worn a State and weak-
ened her sensibly. This being the case, her even more won-
derful success in throwing back in absolute disaster the
third invasion by the Austrians, who had made sure of her
ruin, will remain one of the great, heroic stories of all time.
But her losses were again most serious and hard to bear.
Not only did she suffer in men and in war material, but the
ruthless invaders, adding their own profound hatred of the
Serbians to their faithful copying of the Prussian model, had
devastated and laid waste all the northwest part of the coun-
try — one of the best districts of poor Serbia — which they
had temporarily occupied, deliberately outraging and mur-
dering with fiendish cruelty its civilian population. At the
end of 1914 Serbia, though triumphant, was much weaker
than before, and was already become a tragic land — with
the shadows deepening over her. Bitterly chagrined and hu-
miliated by her overthrow at the hands of her little but in-
domitable adversary, Austria lost no time in concentrating
another large army on the Danube for the purpose of making
a fourth invasion, which was to be in such tremendous
strength in men and guns as should quickly make an end of
Serbia. During last January many definite statements were
in circulation regarding this projected new Austrian of-
fensive, and the Serbians, in spite of all their losses and suf-
ferings, bravely determined to resist it to the uttermost.
Their Allies were still unable to assist them by dispatching
348
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA
large bodies of troops to fight alongside of their own, but
France, Russia, and England sent naval missions with guns
and ammunition for the defense of Belgrade or to be placed
wherever their services would be most useful. Austria,
however, found it necessary to defer the contemplated attack
for some time — for several months, as it turned out — be-
cause her attention was almost entirely occupied, first by the
great Austro-German campaign against Russia in the Car-
pathians, Galicia, Poland, and Lithuania, and secondly by
her defensive operations against Italy, who joined the En-
tente in May.
It was not until the commencement of October that
Serbia was called on to face her enemy, who was no longer
alone, and the interval might have sufficed for some recupera-
tion, which at best could only have been slight, had it not
been that for by far the most of it she had to fight foes of
a different but extremely formidable kind. On being driven
out of Valievo in December, 1914, the Austrians had left
behind them a frightful legacy in the form of typhus and
other malignant maladies, and these diseases attacked the
unfortunate Serbians, spread all over the country, and
claimed thousands of victims. Utterly unprepared to com-
bat with any prospect of success these fresh and more in-
sidious enemies, which threatened her with extermination,
Serbia sent forth a cry for help, which was heard and
responded to in Great Britain, France, Russia, the United
States and other lands. The Red Cross did what it could;
other organizations, notably the society of women doctors
known as the Scottish Women's Hospitals, bestirred them-
selves actively in raising, equipping, and forwarding hospital
units to the scene; and many private persons, touched to the
heart by o'er-true tales of Serbia's plight, furnished money
for the much-needed medical supplies.
With her army reduced by war and her whole popula-
tion diminished and enfeebled by disease, tragedy already lay
heavy on the little country when, in October, Serbia con-
fronted the fourth, and infinitely most menacing, invasion of
her soil. A small State, but a great spirit, she rose to the
occasion nobly. Her people, albeit peasants, are a fighting
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA 349
race; they fought the Turks in 1806, 1876, 1877, and 191 2,
and the Bulgarians in 1885 and 1913. In many respects
they resemble their Slav kinsmen, the Russians, but are some-
what more progressive, more up to date, if the phrase may be
used about either of them. Like the Russian, the Serbian
peasant is a fine soldier ; both have the same fearlessness of
death, the same patient endurance of hardships, the same de-
votion whether to their leaders or their cause. The land
which the Serbian farms is his own, and that made for in-
dependence; all Serbia is covered with "crofts" of from ten
to twenty acres, and that made for a nation of free men. The
passionate desire of every Serbian was to continue to be free.
But their territory stood in the way of vast ambitions —
right in the path of the German Drang nach Osten, a position
of deadly peril. With a certain amount of assistance the
Serbians could have held the gate of the East, as their coun-
try was, against all comers, and they knew it. They had
puissant Allies, one of whom at least was vitally interested
in keeping the gate shut, and they looked to them for that
certain amount of assistance. As early as last July Serbia
asked Great Britain specially for forces in numbers suffi-
cient to help her. But whether they got the necessary as-
sistance or not, the Serbians took their stand; if they did
not get it, they were ready to meet their fate, doing the
best that was in their power.
It is known that they might have avoided this fourth in-
vasion; that is, on terms. Serbia was offered a separate
peace by the enemy but declined to accept it. She was re-
solved to live free or die. "It is better to die in beauty than
live in shame," said Pashitch, her Prime Minister, and these
immortal words expressed her very soul. A few weeks after
they had been uttered and had gone echoing round the globe,
another Serbian, Vassitch, the splendid soldier the memory
of whose glorious defense of the Babuna Pass will endure
forever, said, when the agony of Serbia had come full upon
her: "The Serbians will await at the foot of their cross
the hour of crucifixion, without deserting. Dying, they will
make their sacrifice, and will live again in history as an
example to future generations."
35o
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA
Almost unperceived, it might seem, what may be called
the center of the War shifted from Russia, in which it had
visibly lain from May to September, to the Balkans towards
the close of the latter month. Universal attention was still
fastened on the progress of the tremendous Austro-German
offensive against Russia. The army group of Marshal
Mackensen still had its place in official German reports of
actions in the Eastern theater, and his name figured in them
for some time after he had transferred his energies to the
Serbian area. According to a gleeful article in the Berliner
Tageblatt, this deception was maintained for the purpose
of concealing the movements into the south of Hungary of
German troops that were intended for the invasion of Ser-
bia, and was absolutely successful in accomplishing its ob-
ject. This journal went on complacently to remark that, of
course, the secret could not be kept permanently; but when
at length the foreign Press discovered there was to be this
incursion into Serbia, under the command of Mackensen,
the revelation did not matter, as the concentration on the
Serbian frontier of Austro-German forces had already been
completed. Serbia had wind early of these preparations,
and informed Great Britain of what was going on; but the
Entente Powers do not appear, it must be said, to have
realized adequately the potentialities of the situation — not,
it is certain, until too late. Thus, when the full fury of the
storm broke over Serbia, she had to stand up against it prac-
tically alone. During the first two weeks of September
Mackensen effected the desired combination of German and
Austrian troops north of the Danube and the Save, and in
the third week of the month German guns were shelling
Semendria, the Serbian fortified town which also is known
as Smederivo; but probably no one in it, in Serbia, or
among the other Allies, conceived that the arrangements
of the Austro-Germans were so perfected that within the
next three weeks both it and Belgrade, and even Nish, would
be in the possession of the enemy, and the German Drang
nach Osten all too plainly in process of accomplishment.
It was impossible for the Entente Powers to be alto-
gether blind to the gravity of the position which would be
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA 351
created by a successful Austro-German attack on Serbia, but
for a long time — for far too long a time — they sought to
fortify her against it solely, practically, by diplomatic ef-
forts, in which Great Britain took a leading part. They
endeavored to form a union of the Balkan States as against
Germany by trying to placate Bulgaria, the dissident State,
at the expense of the others, who, however, were in return
promised great compensations, but contingent on the winning
of the War by the Entente. To cut short a long story of
intrigue and treachery, Bulgaria, in the person of her King,
had made up her mind, probably owing to Austro-German
victories in Galicia, Poland, and elsewhere, coupled with
British failure in the Dardanelles, that the Entente would
be beaten, and therefore she sided with Germany. She
dissembled for months, but her mobilization, which took
place while those German shells were raining on Semendria,
at last showed the direction of her policy, and presently her
troops were being concentrated on Serbia's eastern boundary.
She still dissimulated, protesting that she had no aggressive
intentions whatever, but the Entente Powers took alarm —
somewhat late in the day !
At the outset it seemed that all was well. Two days after
the issue of the order for the mobilization of Bulgaria,
Greece began mobilizing her army, and as M. Venezelos pub-
licly stated that this was done as a precautionary measure,
because it was common knowledge that Bulgaria did not in-
tend to abide by the status quo in the Balkans, the Entente
believed that Greek help for Serbia was assured, and all the
more from the fact that Greece was under treaty obligations
to defend Serbia against Bulgaria. Venezelos went so far
as to affirm that if the treaty had not existed the true in-
terests of Greece were bound up with the success of the En-
tente Powers, and consequently she must take her stand
with them in the War. He invited the Allies to send to
Salonika a force of 150,000 men, this being the number
Serbia had covenanted under the treaty to contribute to any
joint action in the field by herself and Greece against Bul-
garia, but which she was not in a position to produce owing
to her having to fight the Austro-Germans.
352 THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA
But King Constantine intervened, and Venezelos re-
signed, and the hopes of the Entente were shattered. Greece
announced that she would remain neutral, this neutrality
towards the Entente being defined as of the most benevolent
kind. After entering a formal protest, she permitted the
troops of the Allies to disembark at Salonika. On the 12th
of October she categorically refused Serbia's request for
assistance ; by that date events had marched, Serbia had been
invaded, and was enduring with high courage and fortitude
the first days of her dreadful agony. Belgrade in flames,
smoking towns and villages, and a ruined countryside, south
of the rivers that were her northern frontier, with its popu-
lation in flight, had proclaimed the beginning of the immo-
lation of Serbia on the horrible altars of German ambition
and German Kultar.
With the beginning of October came the development in
force of the Austro-German offensive against Serbia on the
north, and its plan of operations had been carefully thought
out long beforehand in the thorough and efficient German
manner. Under Mackensen there were two large armies,
commanded respectively by General von Gallwitz, the Ger-
man leader who had won fame in the campaign in Russia by
forcing the Narew, and by General Kovess von Kovessaza,
an Austrian soldier of distinction. Gallwitz covered the line
of the Danube from Orsava to a point opposite Semendria
with forces exclusively German ; Kovess's troops, partly Aus-
trian and partly German, the former predominating, ex-
tended from the point opposite Semendria along the Danube,
the Save, and the Lower Drina; while on the Upper Drina
an Austrian army was in position near Vishegrad, over
against Ushitze. The right wing of Gallwitz touched the
left wing of Kovess, and MackenseiVs scheme was that simul-
taneously with a general advance along the front these two
wings together should move up the Morava Valley, and cap-
ture the railway running south to Nish and thence south-
east to Sofia-Constantinople and south to Salonika. He
was, no doubt, well informed as to what he might expect
from Bulgarian cooperation in the Timok Valley, the Nish-
ava Valley, and in Macedonia. His intention naturally was
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA 353
to defeat the Serbians in a decisive battle, and he hoped to
maneuver them into such a position that his object would
be achieved. He had difficult terrain to surmount, and a
desperate resistance by the Serbians to overcome, but he
had taken these factors into account. He knew in truth from
the start that Serbia, attacked on all sides with more than
double the numbers she could command and with far superior
artillery, was definitely in his hands unless her Allies could
give her help sufficient to withstand him. She did not get
that help, and he and the Bulgarians overran and occupied
her territory, but neither he himself nor they brought about
that decisive battle, about two-thirds of the Serbian forces
making good their retreat.
For several days early in October the Serbian works on
the riverine frontier were heavily shelled, and attempts
which though unsuccessful were persistent were made to
force a passage. As the bombardment increased in intensity
and more and more determined efforts to get across the
rivers were made, Serbia realized that the long-expected seri-
ous attack was in progress, and every Serbian braced him-
self to meet it. King Peter, according to an Austrian state-
ment which may be accepted as authentic, issued on the 2nd
of October an Order of the Day that expressed the feeling of
himself and his country. He said he was well aware that
every Serbian was ready to die for his native land; as for
himself, old age prevented him from leading his armies in
this struggle for life and death. "I am a weak old man,"
he went on, pathetically, "who can send only his blessings
to his Serbian soldiers, to the women and children. If this
fresh struggle should end in defeat, it will be a glorious death
for us all." This Order is melancholy but not uninspiring,
and it is curious to observe in it the same somber yet splendid
note which pervades so many other Serbian allusions to this
agonizing contest — not death or glory, but death and glory.
The strange thing about this Order is that King Peter made
no allusion in it to the assistance that was anticipated from
the Allies, though he must have known the tenor of Sir
Edward Grey's speech which promised aid, and he surely
had heard that French and British officers had arrived at
W.. VOL III.— 23.
354
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA
Salonika on the ist of October, the day before it was issued,
and were making arrangements for the landing of troops.
These landings began on the 5th of that month. The news
flashed throughout Serbia, bringing such joy and gladness
that Nish and many other of her towns and villages deco-
rated the public buildings with the flags of the Allies — poor
emblems which afterwards were found still flying by the
victorious enemy on his entrance into these places. What
wreck of great hopes ! How piteous and sad it all was !
On the afternoon of the day of the first landing of forces
by the Entente Powers at Salonika, Belgrade was subjected
to a tremendous bombardment, which continued for three
days and reduced to ruins considerable portions of it, not
even the hospitals being spared. In a semi-official com-
munique Serbia stated that the Austro-Germans, unable to
demoralize her troops in their positions on the Danube and
the Save, endeavored to destroy the city systematically and
annihilate its population by firing thousands of shells on the
town, which was "open," that is, unfortified. The bom-
bardment, it was said, was carried out methodically with the
object of killing as many persons as possible in the city
and of creating a panic. To further their own diabolical
ends, it was declared, the Germans, before the shelling of
Belgrade itself began, placed a curtain of fire upon the sub-
urbs and the roads leading into the country, so that civilians
trying to flee might be destroyed or thrown back into the
town. In other words, the attack on the Serbian capital
was a characteristic exhibition of German "frightfulness,"
and to bring it to a close before Belgrade was utterly de-
stroyed the Serbian army evacuated the city on the 8th of
October. Of course the Germans did not publish any of
these shocking details of their savage brutality. They an-
nounced that on the 6th and the 7th they forced the crossing
of the Danube, Save, and Drina at various points, and had
established themselves firmly on the Serbian side of these
rivers, Belgrade being captured apparently with no great
difficulty. It afterwards came out that the capital was not
taken without a desperate struggle, which went on even in
the streets and from house to house, and in which not a Ser-
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA 355
bian asked quarter and women and children died fighting.
Nor did the enemy achieve the crossing of the rivers till after
a magnificent resistance on the part of the defenders at every
point. On the 6th, 3,000 Germans and Austrians who had
got across the Danube near Belgrade were hurled back, only
500 escaping, the rest being killed or captured, and some-
what similar successes fell to the Serbians elsewhere. But
in the end the big guns of the Austro-Germans prevailed, and
the Serbians were driven out of the river trenches, only,
however, to withdraw to the hills behind.
Despite the merciless rain of shells, multitudes of the
citizens of Belgrade had managed during its bombardment
to get away — on foot, in ox-wagons, or in some sort of
conveyance, with part of their belongings; but the weather
was bad, rain fell heavily, the roads were deep in mud, and
the misery of most of these poor creatures was indescribable.
The exodus from Belgrade and the neighboring towns and
villages was the commencement cf the flight from before
the enemy of what was left of a people, the remnant consist-
ing of old men, women, and children, for every male who
could hold a rifle or throw a bomb was in the fighting line.
As, thanks to their powerful artillery, the Austro-Germans
advanced, slowly yet victoriously, though the Serbian armies
of the north, under the aged and ailing Marshal Putnik, their
Commander-in-Chief, stubbornly disputed every inch of
ground, and Semendria, Ram, Obrenovatz, and other places
on the frontier were occupied by the invaders, the same
dolorous scenes always occurred — endless processions of flee-
ing refugees in motion southward, those who could afford it
going by train to Nish, others in carts, and the rest, the vast
majority of these unfortunates, plodding laboriously along
the roads hour after hour in the mud and rain, carrying the
dearest of their possessions and accompanied by their small
flocks and herds. The sacrifice of Serbia was begun, and it
might be thought that her agony had already come full upon
her, but it was to deepen with every day that passed.
In his advance up the Morava Mackensen, having taken
Semendria on the nth of October, three days later captured
Pojarevatz, after extremely bitter fighting in which he had
356 THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA
exceptional losses. The Morava Valley was now open to
him, but his march forward was not rapid, as the Serbians
did not cease to oppose him in the mountainous region of
Podunavlie lying south of the fallen fortress. By the 23rd
of October, in spite of the tenacious courage with which he
was fought, he had, however, pressed on beyond Rakinatz
on the road to Petrovatz, and had reached the south bank of
the Jasenitza. About the same date his left wing crossed
the Danube at Orsava. In the fourth week of that month
he took Livaditza on the Morava plain, stormed Svilajnatz
on the 30th, and on November 1st was in Kragujevatz, which
the Serbians had evacuated after setting fire to the arsenal
and destroying the military stores they could not remove.
He had had to battle for every position, and more than once
was severely checked; an engagement which took place on
the hills before Kragujevatz, and in which the famous Shu-
madia division of the Serbian army figured splendidly, was
a distinct reverse.
On the nth of October Bulgaria had dropped the mask,
and her armies, without a declaration of war, invaded the
eastern frontier of Serbia. Feeling between the two Slav
nations of the Balkans had long been most bitter; during
the First Balkan War it appeared to be assuaged, but that
almost immemorial hatred of theirs quickly revived because
of the Serbian occupation of Macedonia in and after that
war, and with greater intensity than before. The war that
the Bulgarians now waged was in a large measure one of ex-
termination. They put into the field over 300,000 men,
against whom the Serbians could place little more than a
third of that number, as their main forces were in the north ; t
the struggle was far too unequal, and the result was in-
evitable. In this area the resistance of the Serbians was of
an even more determined nature, if that were possible, than
in the north, but it was' beaten down. The first efforts o f
the Bulgarians were directed to gaining control of that part
of the Belgrade-Constantinople railway which lay between
the frontier and Nish and the portion of the Nish-Salonika
line lying in Serbian territory. By the 17th of October they
had made good their hold on the latter from Vrania to
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA 357
Ristovatz, took Veles on the 20th, lost it two days later, but
recaptured it on the 29th. Uskub was taken on the 22nd.
They also were successful in their attack on the other rail-
way, Kniashevatz and Pirot both falling into their hands
on the 28th, and Nish itself on the 5th of November. On
the northeast, in the third week of October, they succeeded
in entering Negotin, Prahovo, and Kladovo, and acquired
the Serbian side of the Danube over against Rumania, thus
permitting the Austrians forthwith to send munitions to them
and to the Turks.
Dr. Momchiloff, President of the Bulgarian Sobranje,
spent several days on this front, and described the fighting
as exceeding in ferocity anything ever seen in previous Bal-
kan wars, terrible as they had been. He stated that the
Bulgarians found in the Serbian trenches old men, women,
and children acting as bomb-throwers, and that in many cases
they were "compelled to annihilate" whole villages, with all
their inhabitants, because of the hostility of the population.
According to German newspapers, this was not the only area
in which, after the forcing of the rivers in the north, civilians
shared in the conflict. The Frankfurter Zcitung recorded
the fact that the "war in Serbia had become a savage con-
test of the people," and a Vienna journal reported that the
campaign resembled those of "ancient times in which not one
stone was left upon another." How dark is the picture these
words conjure up! To German "frightfulness" add Bul-
garian hatred in face of Serbian desperation, and something
of the horror of the tragedy will be understood. Serbia had
had a good harvest, but the enemy seized it all ; famine stalked
through the land, and many perished of starvation. The
strain Serbia was enduring was set forth on the 26th of Oc-
tober in a telegram sent by M. Pashitch to London ; it read :
"Serbia is making superhuman efforts to defend her ex-
istence, in response to the advice and desire of her great Ally.
For this she is condemned to death by the Austro-Germans
and Bulgarians. For twenty days our common enemies have
tried to annihilate us. In spite of the heroism of our sol-
diers our resistance cannot be expected to be maintained in-
definitely. We beg you, the many friends of Serbia in Eng-
358
THE CRUSHING OF SERBIA
land, to do all that you possibly can to insure your troops
reaching us that they may help our army, and that we may
defend together that common cause which is now so gravely
menaced."
The common cause was indeed gravely menaced. The
crushing of Serbia proceeded apace, and shortly after the
middle of November the enemy obtained complete posses-
sion of the Belgrade-Nish railway, his engineers were hard
at work repairing the line, and easy communication with the
Bosporus and Asia Minor was only a question of a few
weeks' time. The gate of the East had been thrown wide
open by the Germans, some part of their dreams had come
true, and all the brave blood that had been shed in the Dar-
danelles to gain Constantinople appeared to have flowed in
vain. The threat to Egypt was evident ; indeed, Macken-
sen's forces now were styled "The Army of Egypt," and all
Germany exulted.
In the other areas the Serbian armies, always resisting
stubbornly and snatching a success now and again, continued
to be pressed back steadily, if slowly, upon Montenegro, who
all the while on her own territory had been bravely fighting
the Austrians, and upon Albania, whose tribes as a rule are
none too friendly to the Serbians. On the 30th of November
the Serbian Government, which had been compelled to move
westward from place to place as events dictated, reached
Scutari, then held by the Montenegrins, and established itself
there. By that date the Austro-Germans had occupied Novi
Bazar and Mitrovitza, and the Germans and Bulgarians had
taken Prishtina, according to an official communique, after
"ten days' bitter fighting."
German Headquarters announced later that "with the
flight of the scanty remains of the Serbian army into the
Albanian mountains, our great operations against the same
are brought to a close. Our object of effecting communi-
cation with Bulgaria and the Turkish Empire has been ac-
complished."
EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL
TEUTONIC OBSTINACY IN ITS UGLIEST MOOD
OCTOBER I2TH
G. DeLEVAL BRAND WHITLOCK HUGH GIBSON
H. STIRLING GAHAN DR. ALFRED ZIMMERMANN
Not since Napoleon had the Duke D'Enghien shot has any military
execution aroused such widespread comment as that of Miss Cavell.
She was an English head-nurse in Brussels who aided in managing
a system by which British and Belgian soldiers were enabled to escape
secretly from Belgium. Such a course was in obvious disobedience
to German law; but the sheer impossibility that any person, not utterly
a brute, should obey German law, is conveyed as in a lightning flash
by one of the few phrases that have been disclosed from Miss Cavell's
defense. "I helped them for fear they would be shot if I didn't."
German lawlessness of the "super"-beast ! While shooting his vic-
tims at will without even the pretense of law, he insists it is unlaw-
ful for their own countrymen to save them from his blind wrath.
So Edith Cavell died a martyr. Whether in shooting her the Germans
exceeded their own brutal law is wholly unimportant. Most lawyers
have declared that they did not. But the foul things the Germans did
in Belgium lose no jot of their foulness because the Germans made
laws to cover some of them.
The height of execration roused by the Cavell case depended, how-
ever, on something far other than its legal status. It arose from
her sex and her high character. No truly cultured race could ever
slay a woman for a deed of kindliness, for following the mother in-
stinct to save and to protect. If a man-made law condemns her, real
men ignore that law. Nothing showed more sharply the gulf between
Germany and the rest of the world than the fact that German officials
with one voice insisted on enforcing their law against Miss Cavell
Worse yet, they tried to escape the protests which they knew would
come from disinterested neutrals, and to which they were determined
not to yield. To escape those protests, they dissembled, and they
lied; they rushed the execution through suddenly at night, giving
the condemned woman no chance to communicate with friends. They
knew well how public sentiment would execrate their deed ; but being
Prussians they thought the "frightfulness" of this example would
aid them more than its shamefulness would harm them. Thank God,
they underestimated the courage of the human race!
C. F. H.
359
360 EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL
BY MAITRE G. DE LEVAL
Report to Mr. Whitlock, from the Belgian Councilor to the U. S.
Legation
October 12, 10,15.
Sir,
AS soon as the Legation received an intimation that Miss
Cavell was arrested, your letter of August 31st was
sent to Baron von der Lancken. The German authorities
were by that letter requested, inter alia, to allow me to see
Miss Cavell, so as to have all necessary steps taken for her
defense. No reply being received, the Legation, on Septem-
ber 10th, reminded the German authorities of your letter.
The German reply, sent on September 12th, was that I
would not be allowed to see Miss Cavell, but that Mr. Braun,
lawyer at the Brussels Court, was defending her and was
already seeing the German authorities about the case.
I immediately asked Mr. Braun to come to see me at the
Legation, which he did a few days later. He informed me
that personal friends of Miss Cavell had asked him to
defend her before the German Court, that he agreed to do so,
but that owing to some unforeseen circumstances he was
prevented from pleading before that Court, adding that he
had asked Mr. Kirschen, a member of the Brussels Bar and
his friend, to take up the case and plead for Miss Cavell,
and that Mr. Kirschen had agreed to do so.
I, therefore, at once put myself in communication with
Mr. Kirschen, who told me that Miss Cavell was prosecuted
for having helped soldiers to cross the frontier. I asked
him whether he had seen Miss Cavell and whether she had
made any statement to him, and to my surprise found that
the lawyers defending prisoners before the German Military
Court were not allowed to see their clients before the trial,
and were not shown any document of the prosecution. This,
Mr. Kirschen said, was in accordance with the German mili-
tary rules. He added that the hearing of the trial of such
cases was carried out very carefully, and that in his opinion,
although it was not possible to see the client before the trial,
in fact the trial itself developed so carefully and so slowly,
that it was generally possible to have a fair knowledge of
EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL 361
all the facts and to present a good defense for the pris-
oner. This would specially be the case for Miss Cavell, be-
cause the trial would be rather long as she was prosecuted
with thirty-four other prisoners.
I informed Mr. Kirschen of my intention to be present
at the trial so as to watch the case. He immediately dis-
suaded me from taking such attitude, which he said would
cause a great prejudice to the prisoner, because the German
judges would resent it and feel it almost as an affront if I
was appearing to exercise a kind of supervision on the trial.
He thought that if the Germans would admit my presence,
which was very doubtful, it would in any case cause preju-
dice to Miss Cavell.
Mr. Kirschen assured me over and over again that the
Military Court of Brussels was always perfectly fair and
that there was not the slightest danger of any miscarriage
of justice. He promised that he would keep me posted on
all the developments which the case would take and would
report to me the exact charges that were brought against
Miss Cavell and the facts concerning her that would be dis-
closed at the trial, so as to allow me to judge by myself about
the merits of the case. He insisted that, of course, he would
do all that was humanly possible to defend Miss Cavell to
the best of his ability.
Three days before the trial took place, Mr. Kirschen
wrote me a few lines saying that the trial would be on the
next Thursday, October 7th. The Legation at once sent him,
on October 5th, a letter confirming in writing in the name
of the Legation the arrangement that had been made be-
tween him and me. This letter was delivered to Mr. Kirschen
by a messenger of the Legation.
The trial took two days, ending Friday, the 8th.
On Saturday I was informed by an outsider that the trial
had taken place, but that no judgment would be reached till
a few days later.
Receiving no report from Mr. Kirschen, I tried to find
him, but failed. I then sent him a note on Sunday, asking
him to send his report to the Legation or call there on Mon-
day morning at 8.30. At the same time I obtained from
362 EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL
some other person present at the trial some information
about what had occurred, and the following facts were dis-
closed to me :
Miss Cavell was prosecuted for having helped English
and French soldiers, as well as Belgian young men, to cross
the frontier and to go over to England. She had admitted
by signing a statement before the day of the trial, and by
public acknowledgment in Court, in the presence of all the
other prisoners and the lawyers, that she was guilty of the
charges brought against her, and she had acknowledged not
only that she had helped these soldiers to cross the fron-
tier, but also that some of them had thanked her in writing
when arriving in England. This last admission made her
case so much the more serious, because if it only had been
proved against her that she had helped the soldiers to tra-
verse the Dutch frontier, and no proof was produced that
these soldiers had reached a country at war with Germany,
she could only have been sentenced for an attempt to com-
mit the "crime" and not for the "crime" being duly accom-
plished. As the case stood, the sentence fixed by the Ger-
man military law was a sentence of death.
Paragraph 58 of the German Military Code says :
"Will be sentenced to death for treason any person who,
with the intention of helping the hostile Power, or of causing
harm to the German or allied troops, is guilty of one of the
crimes of paragraph 90 of the German Penal Code."
The case referred to in above said paragraph 90 consists
in : "Conducting soldiers to the enemy."
The penalties above set forth apply, according to para-
graph 160 of the German Code, in case of war, to foreigners
as well as to Germans.
In her oral statement before the Court Miss Cavell dis-
closed almost all the facts of the whole prosecution. She
was questioned in German, an interpreter translating all
the questions in French, with which language Miss Cavell
was well acquainted. She spoke without trembling and
showed a clear mind. Often she added some greater pre-
cision to her previous depositions.
When she was asked why she helped these soldiers to go
EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL 363
to England, she replied that she thought that if she had not
done so they would have been shot by the Germans, and
that therefore she thought she only did her duty to her coun-
try in saving their lives.
The Military Public Prosecutor said that argument might
be good for English soldiers, but did not apply to Belgian
young men whom she induced to cross the frontier and who
would have been perfectly free to remain in the country
without danger to their lives.
Mr. Kirschen made a very good plea for Miss Cavell,
using all arguments that could be brought in her favor be-
fore the Court.
The Military Public Prosecutor, however, asked the
Court to pass a death sentence on Miss Cavell and eight
other prisoners amongst the thirty-five. The Court did not
seem to agree, and the judgment was postponed. The per-
son informing me said he thought that the Court would not
go to the extreme limit.
Anyhow, after I had found out these facts (viz., Sun-
day evening), I called at the Political Division of the Ger-
man Government in Belgium and asked whether, now that
the trial had taken place, permission would be granted to me
to see Miss Cavell in jail, as surely there was no longer any
object in refusing that permission. The German official,
Mr. Conrad, said he would make the necessary inquiry at the
Court and let me know later on.
I also asked him that permission be granted to Mr. Ga-
han, the English clergyman, to see Miss Cavell.
At the same time we prepared at the Legation, to be ready
for every eventuality, a petition for pardon, addressed to
the Governor-General in Belgium and a transmitting note
addressed to Baron von der Lancken.
Monday morning at 11 I called up Mr. Conrad on the
telephone from the Legation (as I already had done previ-
ously on several occasions when making inquiries about the
case), asking what the Military Court had decided about
Mr. Gahan and myself seeing Miss Cavell. He replied that
Mr. Gahan could not see her, but that she could see any of
the three Protestant clergymen attached to the prison; and
364 EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL
that I could not see her till the judgment was pronounced
and signed, but that this would probably only take place in
a day or two. I asked the German official to inform the
Legation immediately after the passing of said judgment,
so that I might see Miss Cavell at once, thinking, of course,
that the Legation might, according to your intentions, take
immediate steps for Miss Cavell's pardon if the judgment
really was a sentence of death.
Very surprised to receive still no news from Mr.
Kirschen, I then called at his house at 12.30 and was in-
formed that he would not be there till about the end of the
afternoon. I then called, at 12.40, at the house of another
lawyer interested in the case of a fellow-prisoner, and found
that he also was out. In the afternoon, however, the latter
lawyer called at my house, saying that in the morning he
had heard from the German Kommandantur that judgment
would be passed only the next morning, viz., Tuesday morn-
ing. He said that he feared that the Court would be very
severe for all the prisoners.
Shortly after, this lawyer left me, and while I was pre-
paring a note about the case, at 8 p. m. I was privately and
reliably informed that the judgment had been delivered at
5 o'clock in the afternoon, that Miss Cavell had been sen-
tenced to death, and that she would be shot at 2 o'clock the
next morning. I told my informer that I was extremely
surprised at this, because the Legation had received no in-
formation yet, neither from the German authorities nor
from Mr. Kirschen, but that the matter was too serious to
run the smallest chance, and that therefore I would proceed
immediately to the Legation to confer with your Excellency
and take all possible steps to save Miss Cavell's life.
According to your Excellency's decision, Mr. Gibson
and myself went, with the Spanish Minister, to see Baron von
der Lancken, and the report of our interview and of our
efforts to save Miss Cavell is given to you by Mr. Gibson.
This morning, Mr. Gahan, the English clergyman, called
to see me and told me that he had seen Miss Cavell in her
cell yesterday night at 10 o'clock, that he had given her the
Holy Communion and had found her admirably strong and
EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL 365
calm. I asked Mr. Gahan whether she had made any re-
marks about anything concerning the legal side of her case,
and whether the confession which she made before the trial
and in Court was, in his opinion, perfectly free and sincere.
Mr. Gahan says that she told him she perfectly well knew
what she had done; that according to the law, of course, she
was guilty and had admitted her guilt, but that she was
happy to die for her country.
BY BRAND WHITLOCK
Official Letter sent Baron von der Lancken, also to Governor von Bissing
Your Excellency, October 11, 191 5.
I have just heard that Miss Cavell, a British subject, and
consequently under the protection of my Legation, was this
morning condemned to death by court-martial.
If my information is correct, the sentence in the present
case is more severe than all the others that have been passed
in similar cases which have been tried by the same court,
and, without going into the reasons for such a drastic sen-
tence, I feel that I have the right to appeal to his Excellency
the Governor-General's feelings of humanity and generosity
in Miss Cavell's favor, and to ask that the death penalty
passed on Miss Cavell may be commuted, and that this un-
fortunate woman shall not be executed.
Miss Cavell is the head of the Brussels Surgical Institute.
She has spent her life in alleviating the sufferings of others,
and her school has turned out many nurses who have watched
at the bedside of the sick all the world over, in Germany
as in Belgium. At the beginning of the war Miss Cavell be-
stowed her care as freely on the German soldiers as on
others. Even in default of all other reasons, her career as a
servant of humanity is such as to inspire the greatest sym-
pathy and to call for pardon. If the information in my
possession is correct, Miss Cavell, far from shielding her-
self, has, with commendable straightforwardness, admitted
the truth of all the charges against her, and it is the very in-
formation which she herself has furnished, and which she
alone was in a position to furnish, that has aggravated the
severity of the sentence passed on her.
366 EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL
It is then with confidence, and in the hope of its favor-
able reception, that I beg your Excellency to submit to the
Governor-General my request for pardon on Miss Cavell's
behalf.
BY HUGH GIBSON
Report to Mr. Whitlock by the Secretary of the U. S. Legation
— American Legation, Brussels, October 12, 1915.
Upon learning early yesterday morning through unoffi-
cial sources that the trial of Miss Edith Cavell had been fin-
ished on Saturday afternoon, and that the prosecuting at-
torney {"Kriegsgerichtsrat") had asked for a sentence of
death against her, telephonic inquiry was immediately made
at the Politische Abteilung as to the facts. It was stated that
no sentence had as yet been pronounced and that there would
probably be delay of a day or two before a decision was
reached. Mr. Conrad gave positive assurances that the Le-
gation would be fully informed as to developments in this
case. Despite these assurances, we made repeated inquiries
in the course of the day, the last one being at 6.20 p. m.
Belgian time. Mr. Conrad then stated that sentence had not
yet been pronounced, and specifically renewed his previous
assurances that he would not fail to inform us as soon as
there was any news.
At 8.30 it was learned from an outside source that sen-
tence had been passed in the course of the afternoon (before
the last conversation with Mr. Conrad), and that the exe-
cution would take place during the night. In conformity
with your instructions, I went (accompanied by Mr. de
Leval) to look for the Spanish Minister and found him
dining at the home of Baron Lambert. I explained the cir-
cumstances to his Excellency and asked that (as you were
ill and unable to go yourself) he go with us to see Baron
von der Lancken and support as strongly as possible the pier,
which I was to make in your name, that execution of the
death penalty should be deferred until the Governor could
consider your appeal for clemency.
We took with us a note addressed to Baron von der
Lancken, and a plea for clemency ("rcquete en grace") ad-
EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL 367
dressed to the Governor-General. The Spanish Minister
willingly agreed to accompany us, and we went together to
the Politische Abteilung.
Baron von der Lancken and all the members of his staff
were absent for the evening. We sent a messenger to ask
that he return at once to see us in regard to a matter of ut-
most urgency. A little after 10 o'clock he arrived, fol-
lowed shortly after by Count Harrach and Herr von Falken-
hausen, members of his staff. The circumstances of the
case were explained to him and your note presented, and he
read it aloud in our presence. He expressed disbelief in
the report that sentence had actually been passed, and mani-
fested some surprise that we should give credence to any
report not emanating from official sources. He was quite
insistent on knowing the exact source of our information, but
this I did not feel at liberty to communicate to him. Baron
von der Lancken stated that it was quite improbable that
sentence had been pronounced, that even if so, it would not
be executed within so short a time, and that in any event it
would be quite impossible to take any action before morning.
It was, of course, pointed out to him that if the facts were
as we believed them to be, action would be useless unless
taken at once. We urged him to ascertain the facts imme-
diately, and this, after some hesitancy, he agreed to do. He
telephoned to the presiding judge of the court-martial and
returned in a short time to say that the facts were as we
had represented them, and that it was intended to carry out
the sentence before morning. We then presented, as earnestly
as possible, your plea for delay. So far as I am able to
judge, we neglected to present no phase of the matter which
might have had any effect, emphasizing the horror of exe-
cuting a woman, no matter what her offense, pointing out
that the death sentence had heretofore been imposed only
for actual cases of espionage, and that Miss Cavell was not
even accused by the German authorities of anything so seri-
ous. I further called attention to the failure to comply with
Mr. Conrad's promise to inform the Legation of the sen-
tence. I urged that inasmuch as the offenses charged against
Miss Cavell were long since accomplished, and that as she
368 EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL
had been for some weeks in prison, a delay in carrying out the
sentence could entail no danger to the German cause. I
even went so far as to point out the fearful effect of a sum-
mary execution of this sort upon public opinion, both here
and abroad, and, although I had no authority for doing so,
called attention to the possibility that it might bring about
reprisals.
The Spanish Minister forcibly supported all our repre-
sentations and made an earnest plea for clemency.
Baron von der Lancken stated that the Military Gov-
ernor was the supreme authority ("Gerichtsherr") in mat-
ters of this sort ; that appeal from his decision could be car-
ried only to the Emperor, the Governor-General having no
authority to intervene in such cases. He added that under
the provisions of German martial law the Military Governor
had discretionary power to accept or to refuse acceptance
of an appeal for clemency. After some discussion he agreed
to call the Military Governor on to the telephone and learn
whether he had already ratified the sentence, and whether
there was any chance for clemency. He returned in about
half an hour, and stated that he had been to confer personally
with the Military Governor, who said that he had acted in
the case of Miss Cavell only after mature deliberation ; that
the circumstances in her case were of such a character that
he considered the infliction of the death penalty imperative;
and that in view of the* circumstances of this case he must
decline to accept your plea for clemency, or any representa-
tion in regard to the matter.
BY H. STIRLING GAHAN
Statement by Rev. Mr. Gahan, a British Chaplain in Brussels
On Monday evening, October nth, I was admitted by
special passport from the German authorities to the prison
of St. Gilles, where Miss Edith Cavell had been confined
for ten weeks. The final sentence had been given early that
afternoon.
To my astonishment and relief I found my friend per-
fectly calm and resigned. But this could not lessen the ten-
EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL 369
derness and intensity of feeling on either part during that
last interview of almost an hour.
Her first words to me were upon a matter concerning
herself personally, but the solemn asseveration which ac-
companied them was made expressedly in the light of God
and eternity. She then added that she wished all her friends
to know that she willingly gave her life for her country,
and said: "I have no fear nor shrinking; I have seen death
so often that it is not strange or fearful to me." She further
said : "I thank God for this ten weeks' quiet before the end."
"Life has always been hurried and full of difficulty." "This
time of rest has been a great mercy." "They have all
been very kind to me here. But this I would say, standing
as I do in view of God and eternity, I realize that patriotism
is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards
any one."
We partook of the Holy Communion together, and she
received the Gospel message of consolation with all her heart.
At the close of the little service I began to repeat the words,
"Abide with me," and she joined softly in the end.
We sat quietly talking until it was time for me to go.
She gave me parting messages for relations and friends.
She spoke of her soul's needs at the moment and she re-
ceived the assurance of God's Word as only the Christian
can do.
Then I said "Good-by," and she smiled and said, "We
shall meet again."
The German military chaplain was with her at the end
and afterwards gave her Christian burial.
He told me : "She was brave and bright to the last. She
professed her Christian faith and that she was glad to die
for her country." "She died like a heroine."
BY DR. ALFRED ZIMMERMANN
An Open Interview Given to the Foreign Press by the German Under-
Secretary for Foreign Affairs
It was a pity that Miss Cavell had to be executed, but
it was necessary. She was judged justly. We hope it will
not be necessary to have any more executions.
W., VOL. III.— 24.
3/0
EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL
I see from the English and American press that the shoot-
ins: of an Englishwoman and the condemnation of several
other women in Brussels for treason has caused a sensation,
and capital against us is being made out of the fact. It is
undoubtedly a terrible thing that the woman has been ex-
ecuted ; but consider what would happen to a State, particu-
larly in war, if it left crimes aimed at the safety of its armies
to go unpunished because committed by women. No criminal
code in the world — least of all the laws of war — makes such
a distinction; and the feminine sex has but one preference,
according to legal usages, namely, that women in a delicate
condition may not be executed. Otherwise man and woman
are equal before the law, and only the degree of guilt makes
a difference in the sentence for the crime and its conse-
quences.
I have before me the court's verdict in the Cavell case,
and can assure you that it was gone into with the utmost
thoroughness, and was investigated and cleared up to the
smallest details. The result was so convincing, and the cir-
cumstances were so clear, that no war court in the world
could have given any other verdict, for it was not concerned
with a single emotional deed of one person, but a well-
thought-out plot, with many far-reaching ramifications,
which for nine months succeeded in doing valuable service to
our enemies to the great detriment of our armies. Countless
Belgian, French, and English soldiers are again fighting
in the ranks of the Allies who owe their escape to the activi-
ties of the band now found guilty, whose head was the Cavell
woman. Only the utmost sternness could ck away with
such activities under the very nose of our authorities, and
a Government which in such case does not resort to the stern-
est measures sins against its most elementary duties toward
the safety of its own army.
All those convicted were thoroughly aware of the nature
of their acts. The court particularly weighed this point
with care, letting off several of the accused because they
were in doubt as to whether they knew that their actions
were punishable. Those condemned knew what they were
doing, for numerous public proclamations had pointed out
EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL 371
the fact that aiding enemies' armies was punishable with
death.
I know that the motives of the condemned were not
base; that they acted from patriotism; but in war one must
be prepared to seal one's patriotism with blood whether one
faces the enemy in battle or otherwise in the interest of one's
cause does deeds which justly bring after them the death
penalty. Among our Russian prisoners are several young
girls who fought against us in soldiers' uniforms. Had one
of these girls fallen no one would have accused us of bar-
barity against women. Why, now, when another woman
has met the death to which she knowingly exposed herself,
as did her comrades in battle?
There are moments in the life of nations where con-
sideration for the existence of the individual is a crime
against all. Such a moment was here. It was necessary
once for all to put an end to the activity of our enemies, re-
gardless of their motives; therefore the death penalty was
executed so as to frighten off all those who, counting on
preferential treatment for their sex, take part in undertak-
ings punishable by death. Were special consideration shown
to women we should open the door wide to such activities
on the part of women, who are often more clever in such
matters than the cleverest male spy. The man who is in a
position of responsibility must do that, but, unconcerned
about the world's judgment, he must often follow the diffi-
cult path of duty.
If, despite these considerations, it is now being discussed
whether mercy shall be shown the rest of those convicted,
and if the life which they have forfeited under recognized
law is given back to them, you can deduce from that how
earnestly we are striving to bring our feelings of humanity
in accord with the commandments of stern duty. If the
others are pardoned it will be at the expense of the security
of our armies, for it is to be feared that new attempts will
be made to harm us when it is believed that offenders will
go unpunished or suffer only a mild penalty. Only pity for
the guilty can lead to such pardons; they will not be an ad-
mission that the suspended sentence was too stern.
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE ESTABLISHED
A GERMAN RAILROAD RUNS FROM BERLIN TO CONSTAN-
TINOPLE
NOVEMBER 5TH
HARRY PRATT JUDSON R. W. SETON-WATSON
MANIFESTO OF THE GERMAN "INTELLECTUALS"
DR. LUDWIG STEIN
Even the most extravagant of Germany's dreams seemed for the
moment to have come true with the Bulgarian alliance and the con-
sequent crushing of Serbia. Austro-Hungary had been humbled into
complete obedience. Turkey, under Enver Pasha, was a German tool.
The Bulgarian rulers, despised and hated by the rest of the world
for their sudden, treacherous, and utterly unprovoked attack on
Serbia, had no chance of continued power except under German pro-
tection. Thus the long dreamed-of Empire of Middle Europe became
suddenly, triumphantly, blindingly, an accomplished fact.
Dr. Judson, President of the University of Chicago, here points out
the American realization of this fact. Dr. Seton- Watson of the Uni-
versity of London discusses its meaning for Europe. And then we
present the remarkable "Manifesto" which is the highest authority
for establishing the German outlook of 1915. This "Manifesto of the
Intellectuals" was a statement so widely signed by German leaders
of thought and action as to represent the practically universal public
opinion of the Empire at the time. It is an astonishing revelation
of what Germans meant to make the Allies pay for peace, of how
completely the Germany of 1915 believe^ that she had won the War,
and that she "held the world in thrall." Among other points, it is
worth noting that the Intellectuals had no slightest intention of keep-
ing their country's pledge to restore Belgium's freedom.
Of the coming of this new empire, Germans had a metaphor and
a symbol. They wanted and spoke of a wholly German railroad to
run without frontier barriers or change of cars "From Berlin to Bag-
dad." The first great step of this was now, immediately that the Ser-
bian victories permitted, on November 5th, put into practice. A
through German train was run from Berlin to Constantinople. Dr.
Stein, a passenger on that historic train, describes for us its triumphant
progress.
The full realization of the German dream, the further passage of
that German train across Asiatic Turkey from Constantinople to
Bagdad was never realized. In theory it might have been accom-
plished ; official Turkey had no chance of opposition ; but practically
the chaotic condition of western Asia, the utter breakdown of all or-
ganization throughout the Turkish Empire made the journey impos-
372
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE 373
sible. The Prussianized empire of Middle Europe could not yet spare
officials to Prussianize middle Asia.
In Europe, however, the German enthusiasts extended their dreams.
One writer immediately proposed that the through train should run
from Antwerp to Constantinople, that is, that Belgium should be
treated as a permanent part of the empire. Another writer at once
outmatched this with a further cry, which was widely taken up,
"From Lille to Constantinople." Lille was the chief French city held
by the Germans, so that the new demand was for northern France as
well as Belgium.
C. F. H.
BY HARRY PRATT JUDSON *
THE aims of the Pan-German policy are based on the
control of a great Central-European dominion by Ger-
many itself. This Central-European dominion comprises in
the first place the Germanization of Austria-Hungary, first
by a customs union and then by such close bonds as in the
case of the North-German Zollverein, forming an interme-
diate step to actual Prussian political domination.
The Austro-Hungarian monarchy is a curious aggre-
gation of territories and races united under the Hapsburg
emperor. The history of this empire in the main consists
of the gradual accession of the House of Hapsburg to the
sovereignty over one after the other of the various elements,
as duke, count, king, or what not. The union, therefore, is
essentially personal in the emperor. The title of the em-
peror of Austria as such dates only from 1806, when the
medieval Roman Empire was dissolved, and the head of
the House of Hapsburg assumed the new title of "Em-
peror of Austria." Since 1867 the monarchy has been dual
in character, and the head of the House of Hapsburg reigns
as emperor of Austria and king of Hungary. Each of these
two portions of the joint monarchy has its own parlia-
ment and its own ministry, and there is a common ministry
for war, finance, and foreign affairs. The democratic basis
of the two parliaments is not substantial, and the emperor
and king is able to rule without parliament or in spite of
parliament whenever it seems best.
The race elements in the Dual Monarchy are numerous.
1 Published in 1917, and reprinted by permission from the University
of Chicago Press.
374 THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE
In Austria there is a total population of approximately
28 millions; 10 millions of these are Germans, the remain-
ing 18 millions being Slavs and Italians. In Hungary the
population is approximately 20 millions. Perhaps 10 mil-
lions are Magyars, 2 millions Germans, and 8 millions Slavs
and Latins. And further, in the Dual Monarchy the im-
perial provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina have a popu-
lation of almost 2 millions, nearly all Serbian-Slavs.
Thus it will be seen that both in Austria and in Hungary
the ruling class is a minority which imposes its will on the
majority by force and by legal subtleties. 2 Of the total popu-
lation in the Dual Monarchy of about 50 millions there
are approximately 12 millions of Germans and 10 millions
of Magyars, or 22 millions of the ruling classes. The re-
maining 28 millions include Slavs and Latins. The Slavs
comprise the Czecho-Slovaks in Bohemia, Moravia, and
eastern Silesia, the Poles in central and western Galicia, and
the South-Slavs, including Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes.
The Latins include Italians in the South Tyrol and in Trieste
and vicinity and Rumanians in Transylvania and Bukowina.
The Czechs, or Bohemians, are a highly cultivated peo-
ple, with a history rich in literature, the arts, and free gov-
ernment. The freedom of the Bohemian kingdom histori-
cally is as old as that of Hungary, and the desire of the
Czechs has long been that the emperor of Austria should
be crowned as "King of Bohemia," the ancient kingdom
thus forming a third element in the monarchy, on a par with
f\ustria and Hungary The Galician Poles are a fragment
of the ancient Polish kingdom, and represent a part of the
plunder of that kingdom taken by the House of Hapsburg
late in the eighteenth century. The Rumanians and the
South-Slavs are a remnant forced across the Austrian line
from the old independent Serbian and Rumanian kingdoms,
'The Austrian parliament is cunningly juggled in the membership of
its lower house. At the sitting in May, 1917 — the first meeting since
the war broke out — a rabid Pan-German was elected to the presidency
by a vote of 215 to 195 — 215 Germans to 195 non-Germans in a nation
in which Germans are in a minority by a ratio of 10 to 18. The
election law puts about an average of 42,889 Germans in a parlia-
mentary district, while it takes about 65,479 Slavs to elect one deputy.
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE 375
which were destroyed by the Turks in the late Middle Ages.
The next element in this Central-European dominion to
be controlled by Germany lies in the Balkan Peninsula. It
is quite essential that through Austria-Hungary Germany
should be dominant from Austria to the ^Egean Sea. This
involves control of Serbia and such alliances with the other
Balkan states as might easily be effected through the Ger-
man princelings on their thrones, or by German intermar-
riage, as in the case of Greece.
The next step involves the Germanization of Turkey. In
the guise of an alliance there would be a real political and
economic control of that empire, which might then be ex-
ploited by German capital. Thus Germany, if this plan
for a Central-European state should be carried out, would
be dominant from the Baltic Sea to the Persian Gulf.
Central Europe as thus organized is the essential basis of
the Pan-German plan for the domination of the rest of
Europe. It was believed by the Pan-Germanists that it
would be easy for Germany to crush Russia, annex Poland
and the Baltic provinces, and very likely the large wheat
section of the southeast, thus greatly extending German
economic influence and putting an end for all time to the
power of Russia in Europe. Again, in the west, if there
should be objection to the German domination in Central
Europe, Germany could easily crush France, annex the valu-
able mining and industrial region of the north, annex the
Channel ports, seize Belgium, and ultimately intimidate
Holland into absorption in the German Empire. This would
secure for Germany the valuable ports of the North Sea,
which could be made the base of her future naval supremacy,
and at the same time would annex to the German Empire
the large colonies of Holland and of Belgium, great areas
in Africa and Asia and the Asiatic islands which Germany
has long coveted. It is obvious that if this plan is carried
out the next step will be the destruction of the British Em-
pire. A base of operations in the Channel ports would
make it not very difficult a few years later to throw a great
army into the Island, and either seize it outright or reduce
it to impotence by the exaction of an enormous indemnity.
376 THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE
Meanwhile, subsequent plans for the overthrow of the
British Empire in India and for dominance on the China
coast are all carefully worked out and on record. The seiz-
ure of Egypt would readily follow the control of Turkey,
and thus in the long run Africa would become German al-
most as a whole. The maps found by the Boer conquerors of
German Southwest Africa indicated Africa as German from
the northern boundaries of the Belgian Congo colonies clear
to the Cape, leaving only the little Boer republic as a Ger-
man suzerainty.
The plans for Pan-German domination in the Americas
are just as well known and just as obvious in their intent.
The German colony in southern Brazil was expected to be
a base, if need be, of military operations, and through naval
and military force and through alliances it was believed that
by the middle of the twentieth century at the latest Germany
would control practically all the valuable parts of South
America. The result as to the Panama Canal and Central
America needs no comment, and the Zimmermann note
makes very plain the intent of Germany, hoping to combine
with Mexico and Japan to dismember the United States, and
to extort from it so enormous an indemnity as to make it
simply a vassal state of the world-wide German Empire.
These are not the dreams of visionaries. They are actual
plans, worked out in great detail, on record, and proved be-
yond the possibility of doubt as the ultimate aims of the
controlling forces in Germany.
BY R. W. SETON WATSON
The victorious Balkan campaign conducted by the Cen-
tral Powers, aided by treacherous Bulgaria, revealed, as
by a flash of lightning, the vast designs which underlie
Germany's military operations. Serbia is the gate of the
East, and its warders had to be dispossessed, if Germany
was to assure her command of Constantinople and the de-
caying Turkish heritage. There are three stages in the Pan-
German plan — first, the creation of "Mitteleuropa," a great
central European state-organism of 130-150,000,000 inhabi-
tants, as an economic and military unit; second, the realiza-
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE 377
tion of the dream of "Berlin-Bagdad," by the inclusion
within the political and economic sphere of influence of the
new Zollverein of all the territory lying between the Hun-
garian frontier and the Persian Gulf; and third, the achieve-
ment of naval supremacy and world-power. There can be
no half measures in such a struggle : the answer must be
"Yes" or "No." It ought to be obvious that there is an es-
sential unity of outlook among our four chief adversaries.
Prussia, Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria — each stands for
racial domination in varying degrees of crudeness. The pol-
icy of Germanization in Posen, and Magyarization among
the unhappy Slovaks and Rumanians, the Young Turkish
policy of repression and extermination in Armenia, and the
dream of Bulgarian hegemony in the Balkans on the most
approved Prussian lines — all are based upon the same prin-
ciple of brute force as the determining factor in human
progress, and all stand or fall together. Even in defeat Ger-
many will remain a great nation, and will, it is to be hoped,
once more devote herself to the pursuit of that true "cul-
ture" which her rulers have so hideously parodied in this
war. But for Hungary and Turkey defeat means the end
of evil ambitions which have too long plagued the civilized
world. Magyars and Turks may continue to exist side by
side with the races whom they have so long held in thrall, but
the liberation of the latter will render Magyar and Ottoman
Imperialism impossible, set free the pent-up energies of the
Slavonic world and give a new direction to European prog-
ress. Such an event can only be welcome to the Western
Powers, whose vital interests demand the erection of a bar-
rier to the Drang nach Osten, and who can only hope to build
with the material which is already to hand. This material
consists of the Slav and Latin peoples of Austria-Hungary
and Southeastern Europe generally, who are eager to lead
their own national lives, and to free themselves from the ex-
ploitation, military, political, and economic, of their alien
rulers. In one of its main aspects this war is the decisive
struggle of Slav and German, and upon it depends the final
settlement of the Balkan and Austrian problems. On the
manner of this settlement and on its completeness depends in
3/8
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE
turn the question whether this war is to be followed by stable
peace in Europe, or by the creation of an armed camp. The
essential preliminaries, then, are the expulsion of the Turks
from Europe, and the disruption of the Hapsburg Monarchy
into its component parts. On its ruins new and vigorous na-
tional states will rise. The great historic memories of the
past will be adapted to modern economic necessities. Po-
land, Bohemia, and Serbia will be restored to the common-
wealth of nations, and in their new form will constitute a
chain of firm obstacles on the path of German aggression.
Poland, freed from her long bondage, and reunited as a State
of over twenty million inhabitants, on terms of close inti-
macy with Russia, will be able to develop still further her
great natural riches, and to reconstruct her social system
on the lines of Western democracy. Of Bohemia it can fairly
be said that no Slav race is so thoroughly modern, so keenly
national in feeling, so well educated and well organized,
so ready for endurance and sacrifice. Bohemia has been in
the forefront of the battle against Germanism, from the days
when John Huss ejected the Germans from Prague Uni-
versity and the Hussites held all Europe at bay, till the mod-
ern epoch when the great Czech scientists and poets laid the
foundations of intellectual Pan-Slavism, and when the lower
and middle classes contested inch by inch every village,
every house, every school, every child, against the Germans
with their infinitely superior resources and backing. Bo-
hemia is one of the most valuable assets in the struggle
against Pan-Germanism, and cannot be ignored by any one
who has the cause of the Allies at heart. Finally, the small
and land-locked Serbia of the past will be transformed into
a strong and united Southern Slav State upon the eastern
shore of the Adriatic. The depth of the movement for na-
tional unity among all the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes of the
Dual Monarchy, and the intensity of their opposition to
Magyar misrule in Croatia, had even before the war made
it abundantly clear that a radical solution of the Southern
Slav problem is a sine qua non for the peace of Southeastern
Europe. The geographical situation of the new state assigns
to it a role of peculiar importance in the struggle against
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE 379
the Pan-German program, the more so as it supplies the
possibility of establishing a new and much shorter non-Ger-
man land route to the East, via North Italy, Laibach, Agram,
Belgrade.
As a second line behind these three Slavonic States we
should aim at creating Independent Hungary, stripped of its
oppressed nationalities, and reduced to its true Magyar ker-
nel, but for that very reason emancipated from the corrupt
oligarchy which has hitherto controlled its destinies, and thus
at last enabled to develop as a prosperous and progressive
peasant state; and Greater Rumania, consisting of the pres-
ent kingdom, augmented by the Rumanian districts of Hun-
gary, Bukowina, and Bessarabia. Behind these again would
stand Greece and Bulgaria as national States, the latter
purged of her evil desire to exercise hegemony over the
Peninsula.
The events of the war have amply demonstrated the
Dual Monarchy's dependence upon German discipline and
organizing talent; and if for no other reason, this dependence
will tend to increase more and more rapidly, as the result
of economic exhaustion and imminent bankruptcy. Possible
failure in other directions will only strengthen Germany's
hold upon the Monarchy, which, according to the Pan-Ger-
man plan, is regarded as a fertile field for German coloniza-
tion. In other words, we are faced by the alternatives of
breaking up Austria-Hungary — in which case Germany ob-
tains an addition of eight or nine million inhabitants, but
is restricted to her natural limits, and is surrounded by new
and virile national states — or of permitting its survival and
thus securing to Germany the final assertion of political
control over its fifty-one million inhabitants, and thus indi-
rectly the mastery of Central Europe and the control of the
Adriatic, the Balkans, and Constantinople.
It cannot be too often repeated that there is no prospect
of detaching from Germany any of her three allies by any-
thing short of overwhelming military success. The idea that
the Dual Monarchy, which was rescued from disintegration
by its German ally's energy and powers of reorganization,
and held as in a vise by the iron hand of Prussian military
380 THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE
discipline and financial pressure, could ever be detached as
a whole from the German side, is altogether too fantastic to
be discussed seriously.
Scarcely more plausible is the idea, still entertained in a
dwindling circle of sentimentalists, that Hungary could be
won to the side of the Allies. Those who argue thus forget
that the Anglomania of the Magyar aristocracy upon which
they reckon, is confined to country-house life, racing, and
tailors' fashions, and that the glib phrases about liberty and
constitution in which they so freely indulge are mere orna-
ments to conceal the grossest racial tyranny which mod-
ern Europe has witnessed. Budapest and Berlin are equally
responsible for this war; and on its successful issue for the
Central Powers depend the last hopes of the hateful policy
of Magyarization which Hungarian statesmen have pursued
so fiercely since 1867.
The twentieth century is the century of the Slav, and it
is one of the main tasks of the war to emancipate the hitherto
despised, unknown, or forgotten Slavonic democracies of
central and southern Europe If the Poles, the Czecho-Slo-
vaks, and the Jugo-Slavs succeed in reasserting their right
to independent national development, and to that close and
cordial intercourse with the West to which they have always
aspired, they will become so many links between the West
and their Russian kinsmen, and will restore to Europe that
idealism which Prussian materialist doctrine was rapidly
crushing out. Establish one nation supreme over the Con-
tinent, controlling the destinies of a whole group of its neigh-
bors, and you must surely inaugurate a new era of arma-
ments and racial strife, accentuated tenfold by revolution,
bankruptcy, and social upheaval. The theory of racial domi-
nation, whether it be Prussian, Magyar, Turk, or Bulgarian,
must be replaced by a program of free and untrammeled de-
velopment for every race. The supernation must follow the
superman into the limbo of history.
THE MANIFESTO OF THE "INTELLECTUALS"
[The following is the full text of the Petition agreed on
by 352 leading German professors, 330 diplomatists, and 185
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE 381
superior Government officials, at a meeting held on June
20, 1915, in the Kiinstlerhaus , Berlin, for the purpose of its
presentation to the German Imperial Chancellor.]
The German people and their Emperor have preserved
peace for forty-four years, preserved it until its further
maintenance was incompatible with national honor and se-
curity. Despite her increase in strength and population,
Germany never thought of transgressing the narrow bounds
of her possessions on the European Continent with a view
to conquest. Upon the world's markets alone was she forced
to make an entry, so as to insure her economic existence
by peacefully competing with other nations.
To our enemies, however, even these narrow limits and
a share of the world's trade necessary to our existence seemed
too much, and they formed plans which aimed at the very
annihilation of the German Empire. Then we Germans rose
as one man, from the highest to the meanest, realizing that
we must defend not only our physical existence but also
our inner, spiritual, and moral life — in short, defend Ger-
man and European civilization (Kultur) against barbarian
hordes from the east, and lust for vengeance and domination
from the west. With God's help, hand in hand with our
trusty allies, we have been able to maintain ourselves victori-
ously against half a world of enemies.
Now, however, although another foe has arisen, in Italy,
it is no longer sufficient for us merely to defend ourselves.
Our foes have forced the sword into our hands and have
compelled us to make enormous sacrifices of blood and
treasure. Henceforth our aim is to protect ourselves with
all our might against a repetition of such an attack from
every side — against a whole succession of wars which we
might have to wage against enemies who had again become
strong. Moreover, we are determined to extend our ter-
ritory and to establish ourselves so firmly and so securely
upon it that our independent existence shall be guaranteed
for generations to come.
As to these main objects, the nation is unanimous in its
determination. The plain truth, which is supported by evi-
dence from all sides, is this : — In all classes of the people
2,82
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE
there is only one single fear, which is most prevalent and
deep-seated in the most simple-minded sections, viz., the
fear that illusory ideas of reconciliation, or even perhaps a
nervous impatience, might lead to the conclusion of a prema-
ture and consequently patched-up peace which could never
be lasting; and that, as happened a hundred years ago, the
pen of the diplomats might ruin what the sword has victori-
ously won, and this perhaps in the most fateful hour of
German history, when popular feeling has attained an in-
tensity and unanimity, which were never known in the past
and will not so easily recur in the future.
Let there be no mistake. We do not wish to dominate the
world, but to have a standing in it fully corresponding to our
great position as a civilized Power and to our economic and
military strength. It may be that, owing to the numerical
superiority of our enemies, we cannot obtain at a single
stroke all that is required in order thus to insure our na-
tional position; but the military results of this war, obtained
by such great sacrifices, must be utilized to the very utmost
possible extent. This, we repeat, is the firm determination
of the German people.
To give clear expression to this resolute popular determi-
nation, so that it may be at the service of the Government
and may afford it strong support in its difficult task of en-
forcing Germany's necessary claims against a few faint-
hearted individuals at home as well as against stubborn ene-
mies abroad, is the duty and right of those whose education
and position raise them to the level of intellectual leaders
and protagonists of public opinion. We appeal to them to
fulfill this duty.
Being well aware that a distinction must be drawn be-
tween the objects of the war and the final conditions of peace,
that everything of necessity depends on the final success of
our arms, and that it cannot be our business to discuss Aus-
tria-Hungary's and Turkey's military objects, we have
drawn up the following brief statement of what, according
to our conviction, constitutes for Germany the guarantee of
a lasting peace and the goal to which the blood-stained roads
of this war must lead :
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE 383
1. France. — After being threatened by France for cen-
turies, and after hearing the cry of revanche from 18 15 till
1870, and from 1871 till 191 5, we wish to have done with
the French menace once for all. All classes of our people
are imbued with this desire. There must be no misplaced at-
tempts at reconciliation, which have always been opposed by
France with the utmost fanaticism; and as regards this,
we would utter a most urgent warning to Germans not to
deceive themselves. Even after the terrible lesson of this
unsuccessful war of vengeance, France will still thirst for
revanche, in so far as her strength permits. For the sake
of our own existence we must ruthlessly weaken her both
politically and economically, and must improve our military
and strategic position with regard to her. For this purpose,
in our opinion, it is necessary to effect a thorough rectifica-
tion of our whole Western frontier from Bel fort to the coast.
Part of the North French Channel-coast we must acquire,
if possible, in order to be strategically safer as regards Eng-
land and to secure better access to the ocean.
Special measures must be taken, in order that the German
Empire may not suffer any internal injury owing to this
enlargement of its frontiers and addition to its territory. In
order not to have conditions such as those in Alsace-Lor-
raine, the most important business undertakings and estates
must be transferred from anti-German ownership to Ger-
man hands, France taking over and compensating the former
owners. Such portion of the population as is taken over
by us must be allowed absolutely no influence in the Empire.
Furthermore, we must have no mercy upon France, how-
ever terrible the financial losses her own folly and British
self-seeking have already brought upon her. We must im-
pose upon her a heavy war indemnity (of which more here-
after), and indeed upon France before our other enemies.
We must also not forget that she has disproportionately
large colonial possessions, and that, should circumstances
arise, England could indemnify herself out of these, if we
do not help ourselves to them.
2. Belgium. — On Belgium, in the acquisition of which
so much of the best German blood has been shed, we must
384 THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE
keep a firm hold, political, military, and economic, despite
any arguments which may be urged to the contrary. On no
point is public opinion so unanimous. The German people
consider it an absolutely unquestionable matter of honor to
keep a firm hold of Belgium.
From the political and military standpoints it is obvious
that, were this not done, Belgium would be neither more
nor less than a basis from which England could attack and
most dangerously menace Germany — in short, a shield be-
hind which our foes would again assemble against us. Eco-
nomically Belgium means a prodigious increase of power
to us.
Belgium may also bring us a considerable addition to our
population, if in course of time the Flemish element, which
is so closely allied to us, becomes emancipated from the arti-
ficial grip of French culture and remembers its Teutonic
affinities.
As to the problems which we shall have to solve, once
we possess Belgium, we would here confine ourselves to
emphasizing the following principles: — (1) The inhabitants
must be precluded from exercising any political influence
whatever in the Empire; and (2) the most important busi-
ness undertakings and estates (as in the districts to be ceded
by France) must be transferred from anti-German owner-
ship to German hands.
3. Russia. — On our Eastern frontier the population of
the Russian Empire is increasing on an enormous scale —
about 2 l / 2 to 3 millions yearly. Within a generation a popu-
lation of 250 millions will be attained. Against this over-
whelming pressure of numbers on our eastern flank, un-
doubtedly the greatest danger to the German and European
future, Germany can hold her ground only — (a) if a strong
boundary-wall be erected both against the advancing tide of
Russification, which encroaches imperceptibly in times of
peace, and also against the menace of an aggressive war;
and (b) if we adopt all possible measures to maintain the
past healthy increase of our population. But the realization
of both these conditions demands land, which Russia must
cede to us. It must be agricultural land for colonization —
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE 385
land which will yield us healthy peasants, the rejuvenating
source of all national and political energy; land which can
take up part of the increase of our population, and offer to
the returning German emigrants, who wish to turn their
backs on hostile foreign countries, a new home in their own
country; land which will increase Germany's economic in-
dependence of foreign countries, by developing her own pos-
sibilities of food-production, which will constitute the neces-
sary counterpoise to the advancing industrialization of our
people and the increase of town-dwellers, thus conserving
that equilibrium of our economic resources whose inestima-
ble value has been proved during the war, and saving us from
the dangerous one-sidedness of the English economic sys-
tem; land which will arrest the decline of the birth-rate,
check emigration, and alleviate the dearth of dwelling-
houses; land whose re-settlement and Germanization will
provide new possibilities of livelihood for the professional
classes also. Such land for our physical, moral, and intel-
lectual health is to be found above all in the East.
The measure in which our Eastern frontier is to be ad-
vanced will depend on the military situation, and in par-
ticular also it should be determined by strategic considera-
tions. As far as the rectification of the eastern frontier of
Posen and Silesia and the southern frontier of East Prussia
is concerned, a frontier zone, accessible to German coloniza-
tion and as far as possible free of private ownership, must
be created. This German frontier zone will protect the
Prussian Poles against the direct and excessive influence of
Russian Poland, which will perhaps attain its independence.
Moreover, in this connection, we have no hesitation what-
ever in drawing special attention to that ancient territory in
the Russian Baltic Provinces which has been cultivated by
Germans for the last 700 years. It is sparsely populated,
its soil is fruitful, and it therefore promises to have a great
future as a field for colonization, whilst its Lithuanian, Let-
tish, and Esthonian population is derived from a stock alien
to the Russians, which may prove a reliable source of that
supply of journeyman-labor which we so urgently need.
We based our demand for land for colonization from
W., VOL. III.— 25.
3 86
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE
Russia on two grounds — the need for erecting a "boundary-
wall" and the need for maintaining the increase of our popu-
lation. But, in the third place, land is the form in which
Russia's war-indemnity ought to be paid to us. To obtain
an indemnity from Russia in cash or in securities will prob-
ably be just as impossible after this war as it proved after
the Russo-Japanese war. On the other hand, Russia can
easily pay an indemnity in kind. Russia is excessively rich
in territory, and we demand that the territory which Russia
is to surrender to us in lieu of a war-indemnity shall be de-
livered to us for the most part free of private ownership.
This is by no means an outrageous demand, if we bear in
mind Russian administrative methods. The Russian popu-
lation is not so firmly rooted in the soil as that of Western
and Central Europe. Again and again, right up to the early
days of the present war, Russia has transplanted parts of
her population on an enormous scale and settled them in
far distant provinces. The possibilities of the scheme here
proposed must not be judged in accordance with the modest
standards of German civilization (Kultitr). If the ac-
quisition of political control over territory is to bring with
it that increase of power which we so urgently need for our
future, we must also obtain economic control and have in the
main free disposition over it. To conclude peace with Rus-
sia without insuring the diminution of Russian preponder-
ance, and without acquiring those territorial acquisitions
which Germany needs, would be to lose a great opportunity
for promoting Germany's political, economic, and social re-
generation, and to impose upon future generations the burden
of the final settlement with Russia — in other words, Ger-
many and European civilization would be confronted with
the certainty of a renewal of their life-and-death struggle.
4. England, the East, Colonies, and Oversea
Trade. — The war between us and Russia has been waged
with extraordinary violence, and has led to a glorious suc-
cess for our arms ; and we must never forget the menace to
our future presented by the enormous Russian mass en-
camped on our Eastern frontier, if we should fail to disinte-
grate it. Nevertheless, we must never for one moment lose
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE 387
sight of the fact that this war is, in its ultimate origin, Eng-
land's war upon the foreign trade, the naval power, and
the world-prestige of Germany.
Since this is the motive of England's hostility and war
against us, our war-aims against England are clear. We
must wrest a free field for our foreign trade, we must en-
force the recognition of our naval power and our world-
prestige in spite of England.
We admit that England has taught us one lesson by her
blockade, which has compelled Germany to reorganize her-
self for the duration of this war as a self-contained indus-
trial state; for we have learned that, before and above all,
we must win and secure a wider territorial basis in Europe
(as is explained in detail above), in order that we may stand
before the world in the utmost possible political, military
and economic independence. And we must also create on
the Continent the widest possible sphere of economic in-
terest, directly contiguous with our country's frontiers (i.e.,
avoiding sea-routes), so as to free ourselves as far as possible
from dependence upon the good pleasure of England and of
the other world-empires, whose self-sufficiency and exclusive-
ness are constantly increasing. In this respect our political
friendship with Austria-Hungary and Turkey, which is
bound to throw open the Balkans and Western Asia to us, is
of the first importance. It is therefore necessary that Aus-
tria-Hungary, the Balkans, Turkey, and Western Asia, down
to the Persian Gulf, should be permanently secured against
the covetousness of Russia and England. Commercial rela-
tions with our political friends must be furthered by all avail-
able means.
But, in the second place, it must be our aim to reenter the
world's oversea markets, in spite of England, and even
though we have already safeguarded our foundations on the
Continent. Undoubtedly it will be necessary to change the
direction of a considerable part of our oversea trade; but
we shall also have to conquer anew our old trade and ship-
ping connections. Herein we shall in future stand upon our
own feet, and shall, e.g., eliminate the hitherto customary
mediation of English bankers and brokers, English arbitrage
388 THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE
and exchange business, and the preponderance of English
marine insurance companies. England has wantonly de-
stroyed in us the trust and confidence which all such transac-
tions require, and must pay the penalty by losing the profits
which she has hitherto derived from them at the expense of
German trade. In Africa our aim must be to rebuild our
Colonial Empire, making it more self-contained and stronger
than before. Central Africa alone would, it is true, give us
a great extent of territory, but the value of the colonial prod-
ucts which it contains does not correspond to its size. We
must therefore look to other quarters of the globe also, if
we are to secure adequate acquisitions. From this point of
view the importance of a permanent connection with the
world of Islam and the vital necessity of a safe ocean high-
way are once more plainly evident. Those, therefore, who
insist upon colonies at the sacrifice of our security against
England's naval tyranny over the Channel — those who insist
upon colonies in return for, and subject to, our surrender
of Belgium — not only fail to realize that the acquisition of
an extended European basis for our Fatherland is far more
important than all colonial possessions ; they are also guilty
of the grave political blunder of aspiring to colonial posses-
sions without securing their maritime communications, i.e.,
colonial possessions which will once more be dependent on
England's arbitrary will.
We must have the freedom of the seas. For this — which
is to benefit all peoples alike— we are wrestling with Eng-
land. And if we are to enforce it, the first requisite is to
establish ourselves firmly upon the Channel, facing England.
As we have already explained above, we must retain a firm
hold upon Belgium, and we must, if possible, conquer part
of the Channel-coast of Northern France in addition. Fur-
ther, we must break the chain of England's naval bases,
which encircles the globe, or weaken it by a corresponding
acquisition of German bases. But Egypt, which connects
English possessions in Africa with those in Asia and con-
verts the Indian Ocean into an English sea with Australia
for its distant opposite shore ; Egypt, which forms the con-
necting link between the mother country and all her Eastern
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE 389
colonies : — Egypt is, as Bismarck said, the neck of the Brit-
ish Empire, the vise in which England holds East and West
in subjection. There a blow may be dealt at England's vital
nerve. If it is successful, the international trade route of
the Suez Canal must be freed from the domination of a single
Power, and the ancient rights of Turkey be protected as
far as possible.
But England's power is also essentially based upon the
overwhelming influence which she exercises on the Govern-
ments and the Press of the whole world. In order to rem-
edy this state of affairs and to secure counter-influence for
Germany, it is vitally necessary to destroy England's monop-
oly of the cable-service and press-agencies. Our best ally
in our fight against England's influence over the world's
public opinion is freedom — freedom which we shall bring
to all nations by fighting for our own liberation from the
yoke imposed by England upon the world. We must not
strive to dominate and exploit the world, like the English :
our aim should be to safeguard our own special needs, and
then to act as pathmakers and leaders of Europe, respecting
and securing the free self-development of the peoples.
5. Indemnity for the War. — Finally, as regards in-
demnity for the war, we naturally desire such an indemnity
as will, so far as possible, cover the public cost of the war,
make restoration possible in East Prussia and Alsace, guar-
antee the establishment of a pension fund for cripples,
widows, and orphans, indemnify private individuals for
losses inflicted on them contrary to international law, and
provide for the renewal and further development of our arm-
aments.
But we are aware that these matters depend not only upon
the extent of our military successes but also upon the finan-
cial capacity of our enemies. If we found ourselves in a
position to impose a war-indemnity upon England — Eng-
land, which has always been so niggardly in sacrificing the
lives of its own citizens — no sum in money could be great
enough. England has set the whole world against us, and
chiefly by her money. The purse is the sensitive spot in this
nation of shopkeepers. If we have the power, we must
390 THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE
strike at her purse above all else and without any considera-
tion whatever. In all probability, however, we shall have
to look to France (primarily, if not exclusively) for our
financial indemnification. And we ought not, from a mis-
taken idea of generosity, to hesitate to impose upon France
the heaviest indemnity. Let France turn to her ally across
the Channel for the alleviation of this enforced burden. If
England refuses to fulfill her financial obligations towards
her ally, we shall have secured an incidental political ad-
vantage with which we may be well contented.
But we are primarily concerned to insist that, important
as it is to adopt retrospective measures for the mitigation
of the injuries we have already suffered, it is still more vi-
tally important to secure such terms of peace as will throw
open to our people new paths for a vigorous future develop-
ment; and in proportion as a financial indemnity is unob-
tainable, increased political and moral justification attaches
to all the demands set forth above for the acquisition of
territory, for an additional supply of productive labor for
our manufactures, and for colonies. If we win in this titanic
struggle, we must not emerge from it with losses. Other-
wise, despite all our victories, posterity will view us as the
conquered party.
We refrain from expressing any decided opinion on the
weighty question of the mode of payment, but we would draw
attention to the following point. It would be greatly to our
interest if a considerable part of the indemnity were paid
in the form of foreign securities of such a kind that their
possession would strengthen our economic position in the
countries of our political friends, whilst freeing the latter
from the preponderant influence of England and France.
6. A Policy of Civilization (Kulturpolitik) can
only be based on a Policy of Power. — If the signatories
of this Petition — particularly the men of science, the artists,
and ecclesiastics — are reproached, on the ground that the de-
mands which they put forward are solely to promote Ger-
many's political and economic power, and perhaps also to
satisfy some of her social requirements, whilst the purely
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE 391
spiritual tasks of Germany's future have been forgotten, our
answer is as follows :
Care for the development of the German Mind and
Genius (die Sorge urn den dentschen Geist) cannot be made
a war-aim or a condition of peace.
If, nevertheless, we are to say a few words on this sub-
ject, our position is briefly this. The German Mind is, in
our opinion, beyond all doubt our one supremely valuable
asset. It is the one priceless possession amongst all our
possessions. It alone justifies our people's existence and
their impulse to maintain and assert themselves in the world ;
and to it they owe their superiority over all other peoples.
But, in the first place, we must emphatically insist that, if
Germany is to be free to pursue her spiritual vocation, she
must first of all secure her political and economic inde-
pendence. And, secondly, to those who advocate the so-called
Policy of Civilization (Kulturpolitik) alone, to those whose
watchword is "The German Mind without the Policy of
Power," we reply: "We have no use for a 'German Mind'
which is in danger of becoming, as it were, an uprooted na-
tional spirit, in danger of being itself disintegrated and
the cause of disintegration in others. We have no use for
a Mind which, having no healthy national body of its own,
is driven to seek vainly in every country for a home and to
become 'all things to all men' — a Mind which is forced to be
untrue to its own character and a spurious imitation of the
character of the nation that is its host. If the demands which
we have formulated are satisfied, we shall create the neces-
sary healthy body for the German Mind. The expansion of
the national body which we have demanded will do the Ger-
man Mind no injury, provided the precautions upon which
we have also insisted are observed. On the contrary, sub-
ject to those precautions, such an expansion will strengthen
the German Mind by providing it with wider opportunities."
We are well aware that the aims which we have proposed
are great, and that their attainment is impossible without a
spirit of resolute self-sacrifice and the most energetic skill
in negotiation. But we appeal to a sentence of Bismarck's :
"It is palpably true in Politics, if it is true anywhere, that
392 THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE
'faith removes mountains,' that Courage and Victory are
not cause and effect, but identical with one another.''
BY DR. LUDWIG STEIN
The First Trip of the All-German Express from Berlin to
Constantinople
Between Budapest and Semlin we easily made up the little
time we had lost, so the train was able to draw up at the
platform in Belgrade with true Prussian punctuality. This
was at 6.45 in the morning, and with the brilliant sun and
the clear sky we could see the former capital of Serbia from
the station at Semlin. The ruins of the great railway bridge
lay on both banks of the Save — it had been blown up the
day after the declaration of war. The famous pontoon
bridge which the German engineers had erected in its place
is a wonderful monument of the rapid strategic technic of
our army. Belgrade was just waking up as we approached,
and when we arrived at the station I could hardly believe
my eyes. I had expected to see every sign of ravage and
ruin, but I found instead a completely new station which had
never felt the effects of a shell. Here again our military
sense of order had rebuilt in a few weeks the buildings which
the guns had destroyed, so that one was forced to say that
the inevitable victory must surely fall to those who have
proved their abilities both in destruction and in restoration.
In Semlin and in Belgrade, as well, we saw large num-
bers of Russian prisoners who looked at the new train as if
it had been some fabulous animal — doubtless not knowing
that this latest journey meant a stab at the heart of territory
which Russia had been longing for ever since the time of
Peter the Great. Thanks to the bravery of our gallant sol-
diers, we could now travel through a single geographical
stretch of territory from Hamburg to Constantinople. A
cruel awakening, symbolized by this very "Balkan train" we
are traveling in, follows Russia's century-old dream. The
dream has been fulfilled, but negatively. The dream has be-
come a reality, not for the Russians, but for us.
The ravages of war are more in evidence when we leave
the station at Belgrade. Of the dwelling houses in the
THE EMPIRE OF MID-EUROPE 393
neighborhood, only heaps of stones remain. The suburbs,
too, have suffered, and I noticed whole streets in which every
house had suffered from shell-fire. But in comparison with
the suburbs, one of the railway officials at the station assured
me the town of Belgrade itself was not much injured. The
people had returned to their occupations for the most part,
and more or less normal life was now in evidence.
Outside Belgrade the country presented a desolate ap-
pearance, much of it being under water. Soon after we had
passed the Avala Hill, which cost us hecatombs of men, we
came to the plains, and here there was a distinct improve-
ment. The fields were cultivated, and the villages seemed
to be as peaceful as if nothing whatever had happened to
the Serbian dynasty. The houses had not suffered much ;
but there were few men to be seen — mostly women and
children and Russian prisoners working under supervision.
Our troops leave the local inhabitants to themselves, and
order has been restored.
The Morava Valley was not gained without hard- fought
battles, but there are no signs of strife now. All traces of
the war have been removed, and normal life has been re-
sumed. Here again, however, men are scarce, and the work
is being done by the women. We are now at Jagodina,
where the wild strawberries ripen early in May ; the mild cli-
mate of the place made it a favorite resort of wealthy Bel-
grade merchants. So mild, indeed, was the climate in the
middle of December last, as a German General told me, that
the troops were able to bathe in the Morava River.
The restaurant car was put on at Nish, and thence the
journey to Sofia was rapid. The nearer we approached the
Bulgarian capital the fewer sights of war did we see. The •
roads were better, the villages more active, the aspect of the
inhabitants more contented. A warm welcome awaited us
at Sofia, and now we are off to Constantinople.
THE SERBIAN EXODUS
THE AWFUL WINTER FLIGHT ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS
AND THE AGONIES OF THOSE LEFT BEHIND
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER
HENRI BARBY
DR. NIERMEIJER
FORTIER JONES
ANTHANASIADOS
DR.
KOSTA NOVAKOVITCH
"The Exodus of a Nation," that is what the awful march of the
Serbs across the Albanian mountains has well been called. Crushed
by the overwhelming masses of their foes, the Serbians on November
16th abandoned their temporary capital of Mitrovitza. The whole
nation knew then that their cause was hopeless. They had some
forewarning, too, of the hideous treatment the survivors would re-
ceive at Teuton, Hungarian, and especially at Bulgarian hands.
So, boys as well as men, and frequently women and children also,
fled southward and westward with the retreating armies. By the end
of November the fugitives were all crowded up against the Albanian
mountains in the region around Ipek. They must either surrender
or scale the huge, winter-locked mountain wall. All of the soldiers
and many of the civilians chose the desperate and deadly journey.
On foot and with but the scantiest remnants of food they attempted
a feat few of our western folk could have accomplished with the
best of appliances and provisions. The women and boys perished ;
only the hardiest men survived.
Pictures from that exodus are here sketched by foreigners who
saw some part of it. Barby, a French war-correspondent, witnessed
its earlier stages at Mitrovitza. Jones, the daring American cor-
respondent, saw the departure from Ipek and some of the most awful
horrors of the flight. Savic, the Serbian historian, claims that even
in its flight, the army by refusing to surrender, saved the Allied
cause from further disaster. He says : "The enemy was able to
conquer Serbia thanks only to its all-powerful artillery. In Albania
it was of no use, therefore he slackened his pursuit and dared not
attack. That gave the Allies time to reenforce the Salonika front, and
by fortifying it to make their position impregnable. This fact surely
played a decisive part in creating a new situation in the Balkans fa-
vorable to the Allies. Had the Serbs, instead of retreating over Al-
bania, taken the direction of Salonika, the situation for the Allies
would have been far worse. The Austro-Germans, reenforced by the
Bulgars, would have quickly followed them with a force half a mil-
lion strong, would have swept them from Greek territory. Salonika
most probably would have passed into the Austro-German-Bulgarians'
hands, and the Balkan situation would have been irretrievably lost
for the Allies.
394
THE SERBIAN EXODUS 395
"The royal family, also in this wholesale suffering, shared unre-
servedly the lot of the Serbian army and nation. Old King Peter,
broken down by age and sickness, delayed his retreat to the last mo-
ment, and shared his bread and shelter with the common soldiers.
The Prince Regent Alexander, exhausted by fatigue and mental ef-
fort, never parted from his troops. His noble courage and devotion
to the nation did much for the rebirth of the Serbian army, whose
deeds on the Monastir front speak better than any words of mine for
its valor and devotion to the common cause."
There remains an even grimmer story to be told — the treatment
of those who were unable to flee across the mountains, their torture
by the mad devotees of world-lordship, determined to exterminate
this nation which had blocked their road. The worshipers of devil-
ideas soon become devils in deed. So unbelievable are the true de-
tails of this long continued atrocity that they are first presented here
in the official statement of a neutral committee from Holland, men
whose sympathies and whose training would prevent exaggeration.
Dr. Niermeijer was president of this committee. Then we let some
Serbians speak for their martyred countrymen. Dr. Anthanasiados
was a Serbian government physician. M. Novakovitch was a Serbian
editor in Belgrade who escaped to France, and was there made Sec-
retary of the Serbian Trade Unions. He represents the masses of
his people.
C. F. H.
BY HENRI BARBY
THE destitution of the Serb soldiers and people was com-
plete. Most of them were in rags and went barefoot,
and they lived on raw cabbage and maize.
But all the miseries, all the sufferings which I had till
then witnessed were as nothing beside the frightful things I
saw on quitting Mitrovitza. We had hardly proceeded three
miles when we found the road blocked by some thirty motor
cars and lorries imbedded in the mud. Soldiers and gangs
of prisoners were endeavoring to extricate them from the
quagmire. Only people on foot or on horseback could get
by — and Lipliane was still thirty miles off. Finally, after
waiting four hours I set off on foot in the night, and after
two hours' march through a pelting rain I reached Vuchitru.
On the next day, November 17th, the rain, which had not
ceased, fell in torrents, the cold became sharper, and soon a
driving snowstorm covered the town, the immense plain of
Kossovo, and the surrounding mountains. The road alone
was darkened by the crowd of fugitives who spent the night
amid the storm, stumbling on with drooping heads, dazed
396
THE SERBIAN EXODUS
with fatigue, suffering, and despair. To my last day I shall
remember that fearful march across the plain of Kossovo
from Vuchitru to Prishtina. Around me all the unhappy
fugitives were exhausted. Overcome by the cold, by the
sudden snowstorm, numbers of them fell on the road among
sunken lorries, overturned and broken vehicles, dead oxen
and horses.
None of the pictures recalling the retreat from Moscow
gives any idea of the terrifying spectacle spread out as far
as the eye could reach in all its tragic reality. I saw a woman
stretched out on the step of a lorry which had sunk in the
mud. She was straining to her breast a baby already stark
and stiff. She, too, was dying of cold and hunger. A little
girl — eight years at most — shivering under a tattered shawl,
was vainly trying to raise her; then, scared all at once by her
mother's frightful silence, she burst into sobs and fell on her
knees.
Further on, again, a little boy was cowering by the ditch.
Tears were streaming down his wan cheeks and his teeth
were chattering. I questioned him. He had lost his parents
and had eaten nothing for two days. He could go no further.
What could I do? I gave him what was left of my maize
bread and went on with sinking heart unable to restrain my
own tears. . . .
The first time I witnessed the frightful death agony it
seemed to me that the poor wretch who was dying before my
eyes was intoxicated. After a supreme effort to rise, he
rolled his head from this side to that and moved his legs.
Then his movements grew feebler till they ceased entirely and
all was over.
Right through that awful day I witnessed the agony of
the Serb people in that same valley of Kossovo where five
centuries earlier the first great Serb Empire had gone under.
And the snow kept on falling, covering the dead and the
dying and lashing the faces of those who still held out.
BY FORTIER JONES
It seems impossible for one who saw it to speak or write
coldly about this period of the retreat. It was the death mo-
THE SERBIAN EXODUS 397
ment. After it the flight over the mountains seemed merely
the instinctive departure of men who for the most part did
not care whether they lived or died. All three armies were
crowding toward Tpek, except several thousand who already
had gone into Albania from Prizrend. The road having
been cut, part of the second army was coming across coun-
try, without any roads at all, over frozen plains and snow-
covered hills, fording icy streams every few miles, dragging
their cannon and ammunition with them. The three field
commanders would soon hold their council in Ipek. King
Peter, the Crown Prince, General Putnik, and the General
Staff were already on their way to Scutari. The Allies had
failed her; Serbia was lost.
Throughout the long night carts struggled up to the mon-
astery, and men bearing stretchers filed in. They carried
Serbian officers, many wounded, some dead from cold and
the cruel exhaustion of the carts. I do not love Ipek, but I
shall be dust and ashes before I forget it.
Of course we did not have so many refugees to make life
terrible, but here it was the army that took the star role in
our masque of horror. There were just enough civilians
to make the town really congested. Around it on the ice
and snow the army camped, or, rather, lay down in the frosty
open, nursed its wounded, and took stock of its dead. When
I saw the Serbian soldiers at Ipek I said to myself that I had
seen the hardiest men on earth reduced to the furthest limit
of their endurance. Again, like the quick-trip journalists, I
was very ignorant and foolish. Had a pressing contract to
write up the court etiquette of Timbuctoo in 1776 called me
hurriedly away at the moment, in all good faith I would have
cabled any newspaper that had been unfortunate enough to
retain me that the Serbian army had reached the end of its
rope, was merely scratching around in the snows of Ipek for
a place in which to die, and would never get ten miles over
the mountains toward Scutari. I might have padded this
information with more or less veracious details of hungry
soldiers eating live oxen on the half-shell, and fastidious
officers living on consomme made from expensive Russian
398 THE SERBIAN EXODUS
boots, and in all probability I would have established myself
as an authority on Serbia.
As a matter of fact, two war correspondents, one Eng-
lish and one American, did find time and inspiration to make
part of the retreat. They took the route through Albania
to Scutari and thence to Rome. They were the first two ; I
happened to be the third curiosity to arrive in the Eternal
City from the great retreat. As such, Ambassador Page
questioned me extensively, with his habitual Southern cour-
tesy. Among other things, he asked how many Serbian sol-
diers came through. When I replied, not less than one hun-
dred thousand, he laughed politely, but very heartily. It
was impossible ; it could not be ; besides, the two eminent cor-
respondents differed radically from me. One said about
thirty, and the other about forty thousand, had escaped. Mr.
Page was inclined to split the difference at thirty-five thou-
sand. Later His Highness Alexander, Prince Regent, an-
nounced that one hundred and fifty thousand Serbs were now
completely reorganized, reequipped, and sufficiently rested
to fight again on any battlefield. Sixteen thousand of these
came out by way of Salonika, the rest through Albania and
Montenegro.
The army that huddled around the cheerless town of Ipek
really did not seem to have enough reserve strength to make
any further exertion. I knew, as I looked at the drab,
bedraggled groups clustering about fires that their transport-
wagons fed, that these men were doomed to death or cap-
ture at Ipek. Three weeks later, watching the same men
crawl into Scutari, I knew that I had been mistaken previ-
ously, but that, unless Scutari was safe for months and
ample food and clothing came, they would die or surrender
there. Further mountain retreating for that mechanical
mass, scarcely instinct with life, was impossible. Again
I would have cabled lies to my paper. I was ignorant again.
They did not get rest at Scutari nor at San Giovanni di
Medua, but they made the indescribable march to Durazzo
on rations that were criminally short, hundreds and hun-
dreds perishing by the roadside, and then they fell into boats,
and only on the islands of the Adriatic and in southern Italy
THE SERBIAN EXODUS 399
did they find food and rest. Now, after scarcely two months,
comes the amazing announcement that they are ready and
eager for the battle again ! Such were the men I saw evacu-
ating the hospitals, such were the men I saw crowding the
long refugee trains in the indescribable discomfort; such
were the men I saw, wounded and bleeding, tramping the
muddy roads through the wilderness ; such were they whom
I saw freezing and starving around Ipek, who died by the
hundreds there and by the thousands in the mountains ; such
were they who, when they could have surrendered with bet-
terment to themselves, and dishonor for their country, did
not, but made a retreat as brave and as glorious as any vic-
tory of this or any other war — a retreat that dims the flight
from Moscow in suffering. Such is the Serbian army, the
army that cannot die.
The economic life of Ipek was interesting. Splendid
oxen could be bought here for ten or fifteen dollars a pair,
their former price being about one hundred and twenty-five
dollars. The food situation was acute, but not so bad as
at Prizrend. However, the supply, such as it was, was
purely temporary, and before I left had been completely
exhausted. The price of boots was a phenomenon. Since
the first day of the retreat footgear had sold at constantly
increasing prices, until the amount paid for a pair of boots
was fabulous, amounting to sixty or seventy dollars. In
the streets of Ipek there were quantities of excellent Russian
boots for sale at four or five dollars, the normal price of
these in Serbia being about twenty dollars. Government
magazines had been thrown open to the soldiers, and many
of those who happened to be more or less decently shod pre-
ferred to sell. So the bottom dropped out of the boot market.
Bread, however, was at the same famine prices that had
prevailed before. I saw a pound loaf sell for eight dollars.
The council between the three generals was on. All com-
munication with the General Staff was cut off. It devolved
upon the field-commanders to decide upon the final abandon-
ment of Serbia. Their conference lasted two days, and, ac-
cording to all reports, was stormy. General Mishich was
for an offensive even at that date. With those emaciated
400 THE SERBIAN EXODUS
regiments out there in the frozen fields, killing their trans-
port-beasts for food, burning their transport-wagons for
fuel, and having enough of neither, with most of his ammu-
nition gone, together with a great part of the very insuf-
ficient artillery which the army had possessed, he still felt
that there was a chance, and that is all that is necessary for
the Serbian soldier. They are not fools, they do not die
needlessly, as the Montenegrins are popularly reported to do,
but if there is a chance life counts nothing to them. During
the months that I lived with them, slept with them on the
ground, ate their bread, saw their battle-lines, I learned this
beyond all else. Soldier for soldier, I believe them to be the
best fighters in the world. Most soldiers are brave men ; the
Serb is also a marvelous stoic, a rare optimist, and built of
steel. But the odds there were too great. The other two
generals favored the course which was carried out with a
very remarkable degree of success — a general retreat through
the mountains with as many of the smaller guns and as much
ammunition as possible. So the evacuation of Ipek was an-
nounced.
[The writer secured horses, crossed the mountains by a
circuitous route and joined the survivors on the Albanian
coast.]
On leaving Androvitze we had come each day more in
contact with the army, for the route they had taken joined
ours there. Many thousands were about Podgoritze when
we arrived, and many more thousands had already reached
Scutari. Looking at these filthy, ragged, starved, ill men,
one wondered if it were still permissible to call them an
army. How could any feeling of nationality or cohesion
now be alive in this dull, horror-stricken horde? Could
this frayed remnant, these hollow-eyed, harassed officers,
these soldiers, as mechanical and listless as automata, be
really considered a military force? Had not that rugged,
surpassingly brave thing, the almost mystical esprit de corps
which had endured a continuous and hopeless retreat for
ten weeks, died when the peaks above Ipek shut off the dis-
tant Serbian plains ? Had not the story of Serbia ended in
death and destruction at the evacuation of Ipek?
THE SERBIAN EXODUS 401
It is true that the retreat through Albania and Monte-
negro was only a tour de force in the business of getting
away. At the moment the need for armies had ceased ; there
was no country to defend. It was a flight without military
maneuvering, merely sauvc qui pent. A few thousand were
able to find food and equipment sufficient to aid the Monte-
negrins, and in Albania about twenty thousand were actively
engaged. The sole object of all the others was to reach
Scutari, where it would be "up to" the Allies to reclothe, re-
arm, and provision them. From one thousand to fifteen hun-
dred were lost in Albania by savage native attacks. Many
hundreds at least must have died on both lines of march from
cold, exposure, and starvation. A good part of the smaller
artillery was saved. The soldiers, weakened as they were,
went through incredible hardships to effect this. In many
places on the Montenegrin route it had been necessary to take
the guns to pieces, and the men had had to carry the heavy
barrels on their shoulders. The paths were slippery with
ice, the ascents long and very steep, the precipices at times
dizzying, the cold severe, and there was little or no shelter.
But we did not see a disorganized, soulless mass about
Podgoritze. We saw the cream of Serbia's fighting men,
the nearly superhuman residue which remained after shot
and shell, disease, exhaustion, cold, and starvation had done
their cruel censoring; after the savage teeth of frozen peaks
had combed out all but the strongest. And the near-annihi-
lation of their bodies only allowed to be seen more clearly
the unfaltering flame of their determination and their devo-
tion to the glorious quest, the temporary loss of which hurt
them more deeply than all they had to bear. Dauntless and
alone, they had fought the unequal battle, and defeat was
more bitter than death.
To realize at all what the loss of Serbia means to the
Serb, one must consider not only the separation from home
and family; one must understand a little the strength and
depth of the Southern Slav's desire for a free Slav nation.
One must know the extent to which this idea has permeated
all his thoughts, all his literature, all his folk-songs for five
W., VOL. III.— 26.
402 THE SERBIAN EXODUS
hundred years. One must have learned that it is his re-
ligion.
It is a patriotism that is astounding in its capacity for
sacrifice. It is firmly and irrevocably resolved on the libera-
tion or the extermination of its people. Whether one agrees
with its desires or not, its presence is undeniably there,
fiercely blazing in the desolate, disease-swept camps of that
exiled army. Its sorrow is not of physical discomfort or
even of personal loss. Centuries of dogged fighting have
taught the Serbs to accept such things as part of the day's
work. Their grief is deeper than that. It is the crushing
sense of a supreme idol broken.
BY DR. NIERMEIJER
Report from the Holland Section of the "League of Neutral
Countries," 1917
Deportations from Serbia began with the driving forth
of 5,000 men, women, and children by the Austrians at the
time of the occupation of Belgrade. Because of bad housing
and insufficient food one-half of these unfortunates suc-
cumbed to typhoid fever in less than a year.
The Bulgarians made their first use of deportations in
the countries that had been given to Serbia by the peace of
Bucharest in 191 3, notably in Southern Serbia and a part of
Macedonia. Thus they deported into Bulgaria almost all
the Serbian families of Prizren and Prishtina; from Prilep,
170; from Krushevo, 70. At the end of 191 5 an order
was given to assemble and conduct away all the male popu-
lation between the ages of 15 and 70 years from the districts
of Veles, Poretch, and Prilep, where already torrents of
blood had been shed.
The Bulgarian Bishop of Kitchevo, who had just been
appointed, protested. He wrote to King Ferdinand that
such a measure would demonstrate to the whole world that
Macedonia sympathized with Serbia and not with the Bul-
garians. This argument may have had some effect; at any
rate, the King ordered that the deportations should cease,
although the men might already be on the road. However,
500 notables and their families were selected and interned in
THE SERBIAN EXODUS 403
the environs of Sofia. Their property was immediately
confiscated by the Bulgarian Government and most of their
houses were rented to Mohammedans.
When the Rumanians declared war the deportations were
continued in still greater numbers, both by the Austrians and
by the Bulgars, reaching their maximum after the cap-
ture of Monastir. The victims always included men,
women, and children, but especially men of 17 to 70 years.
A special method was applied to boys. In May, 191 6, the
reopening of the schools was announced, and the enrollment
lists were accessible. The Austro-Hungarian authorities
had the lists copied, and the deportations were based on
these.
Not less than nine internment camps for Serbs were es-
tablished in Austria-Hungary, three of the principal ones
being situated in the Danube marshes, where the health con-
ditions are extremely bad; the most distant are the camps
of Heinrichsgriis in Bohemia and Braunau in Upper Aus-
tria, near the German frontier. In that at Braunau there are
not less than 35,000 Serbians; it is quite correct, therefore,
to speak of deportations en masse. Among these interned
prisoners one finds high officials of the Serbian Govern-
ment, members of the Council of State, Deputies, besides
physicians, lawyers, merchants, etc. The sanitary conditions
are very bad in these places, where the Serbs are obliged to
live in great wooden barracks that are penetrated by wind
and rain; they are ill- fed, and are compelled to sleep upon
straw on the ground, where the children especially are dying
in great numbers. At Braunau there was an epidemic of
typhus.
Like the Austrians and Hungarians, the Bulgars have
been making deportations since July, 191 6, from all the
Serbian territory they occupy. The northern part of the
country is subject to Bulgarian rule. The families deported
by the Bulgarians alone in the last six months of 1916 are
estimated at 10,000.
The Bulgarians are inhumane in their treatment of pris-
oners. They do not permit these unfortunates to prepare
themselves, or to take away from their homes even the most
404 THE SERBIAN EXODUS
indispensable articles, as the Germans do in Belgium. At
Nish prominent persons were made prisoner in the streets
without permitting them to say good-by to their families.
The largest Serbian internment camp in Bulgaria is situ-
ated in a swampy plain near Sofia, where the families are
housed in miserable sheds, and where they are dying of cold,
hunger, and wretched sanitary conditions. Thus without
any military necessity a part of the Serbian population has
been systematically killed. What is the object of such ac-
tions? The answer will be found in what follows.
It has long been known that the Museum of Belgrade
was pillaged immediately after the Austrian occupation.
The same thing has happened to the Ethnographical Mu-
seum, which contained objects of high value. Not a single
souvenir of the history or the life of the nation has been
left there. The Bulgars have gone still further; they have
deported into Bulgaria all the priests of the Serbian Church.
The Bulgarian Synod has sent priests from Bulgaria and
subjected all the occupied country to the Bulgarian Ex-
archate, which was obtained by force from the Sultan in
1 87 1, but which the other Orthodox Greek Churches regard
as schismatic. All the Serbian churches and convents have
been pillaged. All the inscriptions recording the founda-
tion of these institutions by Serbian Princes have been broken
with axes. The famous convents of Ravanitza and Manas-
sia have suffered most, though they date from the thirteenth
century and had been respected even by the Turks.
Furthermore, whatever the Bulgars have found written
in the Serbian language they have destroyed absolutely.
With this object they have made house-to-house search, and
have confiscated all the books and manuscripts, even those of
the churches, courts, and archives. All these were burned
— until the Minister of Commerce at Sofia ordered all papers
to be sent to the national printing office, stating that they
would make good material for manufacturing paper.
Immediately after occupation the Bulgarian authorities
compelled the Serbs, whose family names usually end in
"itch," to change that termination to "off," like those of Bul-
garian families.
THE SERBIAN EXODUS 405
Naturally, it was also at Belgrade that the Serbian teach-
ers were interned; they were replaced by Bulgarians and
the Bulgarian language was made compulsory. The children
were compelled to learn the popular Bulgarian songs and
heard the war explained from the Bulgar viewpoint; they
were given to understand that henceforth they were Bul-
garians. A great number of reading rooms were opened,
whose names recall Bulgarian patriots, and through these
centers the authorities are spreading every sort of writing
in favor of Bulgarian chauvinism. Thus they are trying to
kill the spirit of the Serbian people.
As long ago as October, 191 6, Prime Minister Pashitch
formulated a protest in the name of the Serbian Government
against the recruiting of Serbs by the Bulgars. Since then
the Serbian Government has received many Bulgarian news-
papers that speak openly of such recruiting. These publi-
cations refer to Macedonia, but from other sources it is
learned that compulsory recruiting has also been introduced
into Old Serbia, so that thousands of Serbs have been forced
to fight in the Bulgarian army against their own country.
We do not know whether Bulgaria has denied this accusa-
tion, which is extremely grave.
In Macedonia the Bulgars began immediately after their
arrival to put to death the authorities of cities and towns.
These murders reached extreme proportions in the three
districts of Macedonia which we have mentioned in connec-
tion with deportations. The deported victims were gen-
erally the objects of the greatest cruelty. Some were obliged
to make the journey on foot, poorly clad, without shoes, in
the terrible cold; they were given only half a loaf of bread
a week. The Bulgarian soldiers drove them onward with
blows from rifle stocks, like cattle; many died on the way.
The Austrian soldiers acted with the same brutality,
driving children with the bayonet, so that many had to be
taken to the hospital at Szegedin; women about to become
mothers were forced to march with the rest. Many priests
were killed by the Bulgarian troops. By a refinement of
cruelty the Serbs who fled are prevented from correspond-
ing with their families who remained behind.
406 THE SERBIAN EXODUS
We have believed in these circumstances that it was our
duty to cite the facts more in detail than ordinarily. Before
the Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian Governments can clear
themselves of the odium imposed by this simple enumeration
of facts, they will have to try to draw up a denial of its truth.
We believe that such a denial will be very difficult to formu-
late.
The mass of documents placed at our disposal has left
a profound impression of an attempt to achieve the complete
ruin of a free nation by means the most brutal and cruel.
Among all the horrors of war practiced en masse against
an entire nation, the worst certainly is the wholesale murder
of the Armenians by the Turks under the indifferent or
approving eye of the Germans. The systematic destruction
of the Serbian Nation is a pendant to the enslavement of
Belgium. The latter, perhaps, has suffered more in certain
regards, because it is nearer to one of the fronts, but in other
respects there is something still more grave in the treatment
inflicted upon the Serbians; and the civilized world has
known less about it.
Le Temps of Paris has expressed a desire to see the neu-
tral Governments realize that they also have signed the in-
ternational conventions which have been violated, adding that
now is the moment to protest, since they have neglected thus
far to do so. We also have formerly expressed the same
hope, but our disillusionment has been too great ; we will not
return to that prayer again. Happily the neutrals that have
the power to do so are going to oppose themselves to these
crimes, abandoning their neutrality. The only thing we can
do is to take care that, later, no one can say that from
Holland no voice was raised against such barbarities.
Permanent Committee of the League of Neutral Coun-
tries: Niermeijer, President.
De la Faille, Home Secretary.
Diepenbrock, Foreign Secretary.
BY DR. ANTONY ANTHANASIADOS
When the Serbian army retreated in the autumn of
1 91 5 I was at my headquarters at Prishmina and decided to
THE SERBIAN EXODUS 407
stay there. Bulgarian cavalry entered the town November
nth, followed by German and Austrian infantry. The first
day the troops behaved well. On the morrow, seeing that
the shops remained closed, the troops plundered them bare.
The Germans led in the pillage.
The violence was not confined to the shops, but private
dwellings, too, were looted. The houses then were torn
down and the wood was used for fuel. Several forcible con-
tributions were levied upon the town, provisions being
seized whenever they were not forthcoming on demand. The
Germans took all the beds from the Serbian hospitals, turn-
ing adrift the occupants, even those suffering from severe
wounds. These beds they sent to Austria.
Soon the invaders began to intern townsfolk, principally
school teachers and priests, of whom not one was left at
liberty. The Turkish residents had been rejoicing before
the arrival of the allies of Turkey, but they soon had cause
to regret their attitude. One Turkish notable told me his
people were exasperated beyond endurance by the dishon-
oring of their women at the hands of the Bulgars and Aus-
tro-Germans. German officers were among the criminals.
Often the Turkish citizens were compelled to be the specta-
tors of such scenes.
Finally I was able to leave and arrived at Belgrade,
where I found conditions similar. The houses had been pil-
laged and many trainloads of loot sent to Austria. I was
forced to proceed to Nish, where I became acquainted with
several Bulgarians whom I attended in my professional ca-
pacity. One of them, Dr. Tendas, related that he caused
twenty-four Serbian professors to be brought to a certain
orchard, where, with his own hands, he brained them all. I
overheard another Bulgarian telling quite calmly how he
had killed two priests and two school teachers. All this was
done with the object of eradicating the Serbian population.
ANONYMOUS SERBIAN LETTER WRITTEN IN I9I7
I escaped April 25th from the Bulgarian prison where I
was incarcerated with twenty comrades after having been
surrounded and captured in the revolt. I was taken, put in
408 THE SERBIAN EXODUS
prison and condemned to be hanged, but during the night my
friend arrived with a band in Prokouplie, killed the sen-
tinels and rescued me. In consequence I was able to reach
the mountains. There are more than 5,000 of us insurgents.
Nearly all of the other mountains are filled with insurgents.
The Bulgarians had summoned all the male population
between the ages of 16 and 65 in order to incorporate them
in the army and send them immediately to the front. At
the same time they had gathered together all the young peo-
ple between 13 and 16 and had sent them to Constantinople.
It was this vandal process of these monstrous Mongols that
provoked the revolt.
The unfortunate mothers, exasperated by the cries of
their children as they were carried off by force, attacked the
Bulgarians with stones. This was a genuine revolt, to which
the Bulgarians replied with gibbets to which they hanged
women and children. Finally the people, exhausted and re-
volting, threw themselves upon the Bulgarian despots. Men
and women carried off arms and ammunition, first to Pro-
kouplie, then to Leskovatz, Lebane, Vrania, Viassotintze,
Zayetchar, Kniajevatz, Pojarevatz, and the villages.
Meanwhile two Bulgarian divisions arrived, and a bloody
battle developed ; we should have been able to defeat the Bul-
garians as we had defeated the Germans if they had not
used a cowardly strategy to prevent us from attacking them ;
they forced the women and children to march in front of
their ranks. Unable to fire upon our own people, we with-
drew as far as Korvingrad, where a new battle began and
where the Hungarians attacked us from behind. We made
an opening and took refuge in the mountains. Since I was
dead from fatigue I was taken prisoner, and with a dozen
other insurgents was condemned to be hanged. Waiting
while the gibbet was prepared, we were incarcerated in the
prison of Prokouplie, but one of our bands killed the garri-
son and rescued us.
So here I am in the mountains. It may be that when
you read these lines I shall no longer be among the living,
but the insurrection cannot be snuffed out so easily, for the
Bulgarians are proceeding systematically to exterminate our
THE SERBIAN EXODUS 409
nation. On the 25th of April they placed aboard trains at
Belotintze 8,000 children between the ages of 12 and 15,
bound for Constantinople. Many of the children jumped
from the cars along the way, and found death in that
manner.
BY KOSTA NOVAKOVITCH
As to Serbia itself, the state of things is more hopeless
than ever. The official statistics are published in several
Austro-Hungarian journals and fully in the Official Jour-
nal at Belgrade, the Belgradske Novine. There it was
stated that the Serbian population in the territories occupied
by Austria-Hungary a year ago was only 2,218,027. The
population normally would have been 3,170,000. There is,
therefore, a reduction of 951,973, or 28.2 per cent. The
male population has been reduced by 38.3 per cent. In some
towns this percentage is much greater. At Belgrade it is
65.6 per cent. ; at Shabatz 47.6 per cent. There are now
in Serbia 144 women to 100 men. At Belgrade even the
female population has gone down by 21.6 per cent.
In the Segedi Naplo of August 2, 1917, the Secretary of
the Chamber of Commerce at Segedine states that the dif-
ference between the official Serbian statistics of 1910 and the
returns now made by the Bulgarians in the territories they
occupy is 300,000. The same authority states that all the
males from 18 to 60 are away from their homes. In 1910
the population of Serbia was 4,300,000. It is now reduced
by 1,352,000. Then there are the massacres committed by
the Bulgarian military authorities after a revolt of the Ser-
bian people against enforced recruiting. The revolt was
crushed in blood. Those left were deported. This fact is
admitted by the Bulgarian War Minister in the document
sent to the Bulgarian Headquarters.
Dr. Otokar Ribar, the Austrian Reichsrat Deputy, de-
clared in the Vienna Parliament on June 26th last : "Ser-
bia will be saved, but there will no longer be Serbs." He said
these words when protesting against the greatest crime com-
mitted in this war, the deportation of 30,000 Serbian women,
children, and men from the departments of Vranje, Nish, and
410 THE SERBIAN EXODUS
Pirot, and their internment in Asia Minor. Fugitives relate
that, among those 30,000, there were 8,000 women and
young girls delivered over to the Turks. Of these a great
number courted death by throwing themselves out of the
trains conveying them to Asia Minor. War prisoners and
those interned are suffering actual martyrdom. They are
ravaged by hunger and disease. Their number decreases
daily.
Imagine, then, the state of mind of those surviving in
France and near Salonika who receive every day letters from
their families remaining in Serbia appealing for bread, and
money to buy bread ; requests, too, from prisoners and those
interned, who cry: "Send us bread, or you will not see us
again alive."-
THE AGONY OF POLAND
SLAVERY AND DISEASE SLAY HALF A MILLION
F. C WALCOTT M. TROMPCZYNSKI
STATEMENT OF GENERAL VON KRIES
Words can not picture the mortal "Agony of Poland." Harrowed
and plundered in both the German attacks of 1914, her lands were
again fought over in 1915 until, with the fall of Warsaw in August,
control of her destinies passed for over three years into German
hands. There can be no question that the German war lords delib-
erately planned the extirpation of the Polish race, even as the Bul-
garians sought the extinction of the Serbs.
Germany intended that Poland should become a permanent part
of her Mid-Europe Empire, and a loyal part inhabited by Germans
not by obstinate Poles who somehow persisted in refusing to accept
their manifest^ destiny and become slaves of the Germans. Read the
officially published statement of Mr. Walcott, an American member,
first of the Belgian Relief Commission, and then of the commission
to Poland. Read the statement which he quotes from General von
Kries, the German commander in Poland. Read the speech of the
Polish legislator, M. Trompczynski, going as far as he might venture
before a Prussian legislature. And then read the terrible picture drawn
by the Poles themselves, and you will know that it is not exaggerated.
Germany undertook the task of extirpating the Poles from Poland
with a scientific thoroughness that put to shame the crude method
of individual murder employed against Serbia by the Bulgarians. In
Belgium the German rulers were restrained by the constant pres-
ence and protest of many neutrals. In Poland there were no lookers
on, and the super-beast could work his will.
BY FREDERICK C. WALCOTT
Officially Published by the United States in September, 1917
THIS I have seen. I could not believe it unless I had seen
it through and through. For several weeks I lived with
it; I went all about it and back of it; inside and out of it was
shown to me — until finally I came to realize that the in-
credible was true. It is monstrous, it is unthinkable, but it
exists. It is the Prussian system.
A year ago I went to Poland to learn its facts concerning
the remnant of a people that had been decimated by war.
411
412 THE AGONY OF POLAND
The country had been twice devastated. First the Russian
army swept through it and then the Germans. Along the
roadside from Warsaw to Pinsk, the present firing line,
230 miles, near half a million people had died of hunger and
cold. The way was strewn with their bones picked clean by
the crows. With their usual thrift, the Germans were col-
lecting the larger bones to be milled into fertilizer, but finger
and toe bones lay on the ground with the mud-covered and
rain-soaked clothing.
Wicker baskets were scattered along the way — the basket
in which the baby swings from the rafter in every peasant
home. Every mile there were scores of them, each one telling
a death. I started to count, but after a little I had to give
it up, there were so many.
That is the desolation one saw along the great road from
Warsaw to Pinsk, mile after mile, more than two hundred
miles. They told me a million people were made homeless
in six weeks of the German drive in August and September,
191 5. They told me four hundred thousand died on the way.
The rest, scarcely half alive, got through with the Russian
army. Many of these have been sent to Siberia; it is these
people whom the Paderewski committee is trying to relieve.
In the refugee camps, 300,000 survivors of the flight
were gathered by the Germans, members of broken families.
They were lodged in jerry-built barracks, scarcely water-
proof, unlighted, unwarmed in the dead of winter. Their
clothes, where the buttons were lost, were sewed on. There
were no conveniences, they had not even been able to wash
for weeks. Filth and infection from vermin were spreading.
They were famished, their daily ration a cup of soup and a
piece of bread as big as my fist.
In Warsaw, which had not been destroyed, a city of one
million inhabitants, one of the most prosperous cities of Eu-
rope before the war, the streets were lined with people in
the pangs of starvation. Famished and rain-soaked, they
squatted there, with their elbows on their knees or leaning
against the buildings, too feeble to lift a hand for a bit of
money or a morsel of bread if one offered it, perishing of
hunger and cold. Charity did what it could. The rich gave
THE AGONY OF POLAND 413
all that they had, the poor shared their last crust. Hundreds
of thousands were perishing. Day and night the picture is
before my eyes — a people starving, a nation dying.
In that situation, the German commander issued a procla-
mation. Every able-bodied Pole was bidden to Germany to
work. If any refused, let no other Pole give him to eat, not
so much as a mouthful, under penalty of German military
law.
This is the choice the German Government gives to the
conquered Pole, to the husband and father of a starving fam-
ily : Leave your family to die or survive as the case may
be. Leave your country which is destroyed, to work in
Germany for its further destruction. If you are obstinate,
we shall see that you surely starve.
Staying with his folk, he is doomed and they are not
saved; the father and husband can do nothing for them, he
only adds to their risk and suffering. Leaving them, he will
be cut off from his family, they may never hear from him
again nor he from them. Germany will set him to work
that a German workman may be released to fight against his
own land and people. He shall be lodged in barracks, be-
hind barbed wire entanglements, under armed guard. He
shall sleep on the bare ground with a single thin blanket.
He shall be scantily fed and his earnings shall be taken
from him to pay for his food.
That is the choice which the German Government offers
to a proud, sensitive, high strung people. Death or slavery.
When a Pole gave me that proclamation, I was boiling.
But I had to restrain myself. I was practically the only
foreign civilian in the country and I wanted to get food to
the people. That was what I was there for and I must not
for any cause jeopardize the undertaking. I asked Gov-
ernor General von Beseler "Can this be true?"
"Really, I cannot say," he replied, "I have signed so many
proclamations; ask General von Kries."
So I asked General von Kries. "General, this is a civil-
ized people. Can this be true?"
"Yes," he said, "it is true" — with an air of adding, Why
not?
414 THE AGONY OF POLAND
I dared not trust myself to speak ; I turned to go. "Wait,"
he said. And he explained to me how Germany, official
Germany, regards the state of subject peoples.
Even now I find it hard to describe in comprehensible
terms the mind of official Germany, which dominates and
shapes all German thought and action. Yet it is as hard, as
clear-cut, as real as any material thing. I saw it in Poland,
I saw the same thing in Belgium, I hear of it in Serbia and
Rumania. For weeks it was always before me, always the
same. Officers talked freely, frankly, directly. All the staff
officers have the same view.
Let me try to tell it, as General von Kries told me, in
Poland, in the midst of a dying nation. Germany is des-
tined to rule the world, or at least a great part of it. The
German people are so much human material for building the
German state, other people do not count. All is for the
glory and might of the German state. The lives of human
beings are to be conserved only if it makes for the state's
advancement, their lives are to be sacrificed if it is to the
state's advantage. The state is all, the people are nothing.
Conquered people signify little in the German account.
Life, liberty, happiness, human sentiment, family ties, grace
and generous impulse, these have no place beside the one
concern, the greatness of the German state.
Starvation must excite no pity; sympathy must not be
allowed, if it hampers the main design of promoting Ger-
many's ends.
"Starvation is here," said General von Kries. "Candidly,
we would like to see it relieved; we fear our soldiers may
be unfavorably affected by the things that they see. But
since it is here, starvation must serve our purpose. So we
set it to work for Germany. By starvation we can accom-
plish in two or three years in East Poland more than we
have in West Poland, which is East Prussia, in the last
hundred years. With that in view, we propose to turn this
force to our advantage."
"This country is meant for Germany," continued the
keeper of starving Poland. "It is a rich alluvial country
which Germany has needed for some generations. We pro-
THE AGONY OF POLAND 415
pose to remove the able-bodied working Poles from this
country. It leaves it open for the inflow of German working
people as fast as we can spare them. They will occupy it
and work it."
Then with a cunning smile, "Can't you see how it works
out? By and by we shall give back freedom to Poland.
When that happens Poland will appear automatically as a
German province."
In Belgium, General von Bissing told me exactly the
same thing. "If the relief of Belgium breaks down we can
force the industrial population into Germany through starva-
tion and colonize other Belgians in Mesopotamia, where we
have planned large irrigation works; Germans will then
overrun Belgium. Then when the war is over and freedom
is given back to Belgium, it will be a German Belgium that
is restored. Belgium will be a German province and we
have Antwerp — which is what we are after."
In Poland, the able-bodied men are being removed to re-
lieve the German workman and make the land vacant for
Germany. In Belgium, the men are deported that the coun-
try may be a German colony. In Serbia, where three-
fourths of a million people out of three millions have per-
ished miserably in the last three years, Germany hardens
its heart, shuts its eyes to the suffering, thinks only of Ger-
many's gain. In Armenia, six hundred thousand people
were slain in cold blood by Kurds and Turks under the domi-
nation and leadership of German officers — Germany looking
on, indifferent to the horror and woe, intent only on seizing
the opportunity thus given. War, famine, pestilence — these
bring to the German mind no appeal for humane effort, only
the resolution to profit from them to the utmost that the
German state may be powerful and great.
That is not all. Removing the men, that the land may be
vacant for German occupation, that German stock may re-
place Belgians, Poles, Serbians, Armenians, and now Ru-
manians, Germany does more. Women left captive are en-
slaved. Germany makes all manner of lust its instrumen-
tality.
The other day a friend of mine told me of a man just
4i6
THE AGONY OF POLAND
returned from Northern France. "I cannot tell you the
details," he said, "man to man, I don't want to repeat what
I heard." Some of the things he did tell — shocking mutila-
tion and moral murder. He told of women, by the score,
in occupied territory of Northern France, prisoned in un-
derground dungeons, tethered for the use of their bodies by
officers and men.
If this is not a piece of the Prussian system, it is the
logical product of disregard of the rights of others.
Such is the German mind as it was disclosed to me in
several weeks' contact with officers of the staff. Treaties are
scraps of paper, if they hinder German aims. Treachery is
condoned and praised, if it falls in with German interest.
Men, lands, countries are German prizes. Populations are
to be destroyed or enslaved so Germany may gain. Women
are Germany's prey, children are spoils of war. God gave
Germany the Hohenzollern and together they are destined
to rule Europe and, eventually, the world — thus reasons the
Kaiser.
Coolly, deliberately, officers of the German staff, per-
meated by this monstrous philosophy, discuss the denationali-
zation of peoples, the destruction of nations, the undoing of
other civilizations, for Germany's account.
In all the world such a thing has never been. The human
mind has never conceived the like. Even among barbarians,
the thing would be incredible. The mind can scarcely grasp
the fact that these things are proposed and done by a modern
government professedly a Christian government in the fam-
ily of civilized nations.
This system has got to be rooted out. If it takes every-
thing in the world, if it takes every one of us, this abomina-
tion must be overthrown. It must be ended or the world is
not worth living in. No matter how long it takes, no matter
how much it costs, we must endure to the end with agonized
France, with imperiled Britain, with shattered Belgium, with
shaken Russia.
We must hope that Germany will have a new birth as
Russia is being reborn. We must pray, as we fight against
the evil that is in Germany, that the good which is in Ger-
THE AGONY OF POLAND 417
many may somehow prevail. We must trust that in the end
a Germany really great with the strength of a wonderful
race may find its place as one of the brotherhood of nations
in the new world that is to be.
BY M. TROMPCZYNSKI
Speech by a Polish Member of the Prussian Legislature in 1017
In the first place, I wish to call attention to the sad fate
of the Polish workmen from the Kingdom of Poland (Rus-
sian Poland). I know very well that different abuses, of
which these workmen are victims, are not the fault of the
Minister, or of his Department, because he has to share his
power with the military authorities. If, however, the Min-
ister cannot help I appeal to public opinion to force a change
in the conditions.
At the outbreak of the war, 250,000 Polish workmen
happened to be in Germany. In accordance with military
orders, they were forbidden to leave the territory of the Ger-
man Empire. This order was completely illegal and con-
trary to the principles of international law, which admit
only such aliens to be interned who might be summoned to
the enemy army. You can easily imagine the condition of
these people who now for two and a half years have been
separated from their families. They have simply become
victims of exploitation on the part of their employers, who
now that the workman cannot leave his place of employment
pay only as much as they choose. For instance, in a certain
village of West Prussia a certain farmer pays the season-
workman literally 30 pfennigs (33/2 d.) daily, and has kept
him for the last two years !
As the need for workmen was greater than the number
of those interned, attempts have been made to get a bigger
number of workmen from the Kingdom of Poland. Gradu-
ally the number of workmen from the Kingdom has reached
the figure of half a million. The present Minister of the
Interior has handed over the monopoly of finding new work-
men to the Central German Labor Office. I am compelled
to accuse that institution of choosing for its agents — and
there are some 600 of them — people who grossly mislead the
w., VOL. III.— 27.
418 THE AGONY OF POLAND
workmen concerning their future pay and mode of employ-
ment. One of their special ways of attracting people is to
promise in a written agreement very considerable supplies
in kind, for instance, 30 pounds of potatoes a week, a liter
of milk a day, etc., and they do not call attention to the
postscriptum which states that instead of the supplies in
kind, money will be given. The German newspapers have
raised an outcry that those workmen get so much food,
whereas in reality they get very little food, and instead of
a pound of potatoes they get 3^2 pfennigs, and for a liter
of milk 4 or 5 pfennigs. It is clear that for that money
they cannot buy even sufficient food.
The next way in which the workman is being exploited
is the time of service to which he agrees. In the printed agree-
ments it is usually stated that the agreement is for six
months or the duration of the war. The agents rely on it that
no one reads the printed contract and persuade the workman
that he is agreeing only to six months' work. I know it from
hundreds of workmen that they have been cheated in that
manner. But the military authorities have twisted the mat-
ter still more to the detriment of the workmen by declaring
that all workmen from the Kingdom of Poland without
regard to the nature of their agreement are considered un-
free, i.e., prisoners who are not allowed to go home. I ap-
peal to public opinion to consider in what an unworthy way
these people have been attracted by lies to Germany. And
thus there are many thousands of them who imagined that
they agreed to a contract for six months and who have
by now been kept here for more than a year and a half.
Also in this respect the employers obviously exploit the
situation by dictating arbitrary conditions for the extension
of the contract, because they know that the workman is
unable to defend himself. It has, moreover, to be considered
that even a contract extending the original conditions is
now detrimental to the workmen, because it is impossible
to live at the present day on the pay which was sufficient a
year and a half ago.
I pillory before public opinion the orders of the Com-
manding General of Miinster of October 16, 191 5, and Feb-
THE AGONY OF POLAND 419
ruary 16, 191 6, in which he recommends to the employers
to compel unwilling workmen to accept an extension of the
contract by depriving them of their bedding, of light and
food. I hope that the Minister will use his influence in
order to prevent the new military authorities from continuing
such a policy.
Nor can I remain silent on the point that recently the
Central Labor Office has instituted with the help of the local
authorities in the Kingdom of Poland a regular hunt for
people. Thus, for instance, towards the end of November,
1916, i.e., after the Manifesto of November 5th (the Procla-
mation of Polish "Independence"), a free entertainment was
announced in the theater. The lights were put up in the thea-
ter, but when the public had assembled the theater was sur-
rounded by soldiers, men fit for work were caught and
handed over to the Central Labor Office.
Further, the Minister of the Interior has issued an order
that subjects of the Kingdom of Poland can be employed
only in big or middling undertakings and not in small ones.
The result of this order is that the police remove hairdressers,
bakers, tailors, etc., from their workshops and send them to
the farmers. These orders are supposed to help the farmers
who suffer from a lack of labor, whilst in reality they
burden the farms with workmen, some of whom are weak
and others incapable of doing the work, and who, anyhow,
are unwilling to do it.
We have no objection to our countrymen from the King-
dom of Poland seeking work in this country, but we con-
sider it a most scandalous injustice that an order has been
issued which, without any reason or sensible purpose, has
changed these workmen into slaves.
From Various Polish Newspapers
The German authorities are doing everything in their
power to induce workmen to leave for Germany. They al-
most force them to go. The workmen, however, are not
willing to leave the country, and the majority of them go
to work on the land. People who go to Prussia for work
must have a certificate. A man may only leave his (Prus-
420 THE AGONY OF POLAND
sian) employer when he has obtained another post. If he
tries to return home, the Prussian authorities throw all sorts
of difficulties in his way.
"Warsaw," writes the Nowa Reforma on November 7,
1915, "is getting depopulated on account of the incredibly
high prices and the economic stagnation." Yet the migra-
tion to the countryside must have accounted for most of this
depopulation, for the migration from Warsaw to Germany
has been extraordinarily small. At the end of November,
191 5, no more than 2,639 Warsaw workmen had answered
the German call ; 8,000 more had been beaten up from Piotr-
kov, Pabianitse and Lask; 21,000 working men and 1,702
working women have gone to Germany from Lodz, and
2,427 persons of the educated class — less than 25,000 peo-
ple in all from a district where the cessation of industry
has cut off the subsistence of 500,000 souls. If we add 20,-
000 emigrants from the coal district, we have enumerated
them all; and it will be obvious at once that the German
bid for Polish labor has been a miserable fiasco.
The Germans hoped high things from their "organiza-
tion" of Poland. They hoped to organize Polish food into
German warehouses and to organize Polish industry out of
existence, and that much they have achieved. But their
greatest dream was this exploitation of Polish man-power,
this drafting of skilled and docile helots into German work-
shops and mines, so that every able-bodied German might
be free to take his rifle and enter the fighting ranks, with
a vast impetus to German military power. It was an auda-
cious conception, but it has failed — failed, as so often hap-
pens with German schemes, through a radical mistake in
psychology. It might have been possible in an ant-hill —
ants exploit in such fashion more tame and sluggish insects —
but it is not possible in this "barbaric" or "decadent" Eu-
rope, which Germany aspires to organize on to a higher
plane.
The spirit of the Polish people has not been broken, and
Germany has been foiled of her expectation. But Poland
is still in her power, and there is nothing to restrain Ger-
THE AGONY OF POLAND 421
many from her revenge. The suffering of Poland grows
more terrible month by month.
From the Journal de Geneve, December 1, 191 5
According to the Special correspondent of the Journal
de Geneve, the condition of Lodz goes from bad to worse.
The two chief evils, as was to be expected, are lack of em-
ployment and exorbitantly high prices. As for the former,
the factories are now working only three days in the week,
the raw material having been mostly requisitioned by Ger-
many. At first the invaders did everything they could to
persuade the artisans to emigrate to Germany, which is at
present short of labor. But, when it was found that only a
few thousand yielded to persuasion, the President of Po-
lice issued a proclamation (end of September) in which,
after announcing that the factories would soon be altogether
closed and that no relief would be distributed during the
winter from any source, he offered navvy work on the repair
of the roads and bridges, work which it was known would
employ only a limited number, and that only for a short
time, as the sole alternative to emigration. That is the di-
lemma which the artisans have now to face.
This leads to the question of prices. The German au-
thorities have commandeered all provisions. Wheat may
now be sold only by the Goods Importation Company, which
buys it up cheap from the peasants and sells the resultant
flour (war-flour) at exorbitant prices to the townspeople,
who find their bread "simply uneatable," as well as 10 per
cent, above the price to which they were accustomed. The
same company has the monopoly of sugar and alcohol.
"Huge quantities" of pulse and oatmeal have been exported
to Germany, and their price at Lodz has gone up fourfold.
The present scheme for exporting to Germany 12-15 million
quintals of potatoes will cause a similar rise in what is now
"almost the only resource left to the poor." Almost all
the cattle have already been exported, and the price of meat,
which for some months has been quite beyond the reach of
the artisans, has gone up 400-500 per cent. Even the hand-
fuls of bread, meat, and flour, which the artisans who have
422 THE AGONY OF POLAND
taken work in the fields bring back with them, are confiscated
at the city gates, on the plea of contraband.
It was oppressive measures of the same kind which
brought about the "riots of Lodz." In the course of Sep-
tember, the municipality cut off the relief which had hitherto
been paid to the wives of Russian reservists. The women, to
the number of nearly 15,000, rioted, and the authorities
were compelled to renew the grants, setting aside 3 million
marks for the purpose.
As for landed property, the German authorities have
piled such heavy taxes upon it that even the German land-
lords, of whom there are a good many, have risen in revolt
and are joining the Poles in deputations to Warsaw and
Berlin.
Under these circumstances, can it be wondered that "in-
dignation against the proceedings of the German authorities
is growing from day to day and that, especially among the
working classes, it is now passing into open hostility."
From the Nowa Reforma of November 20, 191 5
A communication from Lodz, dated November 18th, de-
scribes the unfathomable distress of the city. Prices are
higher than the highest known anywhere else. According to
the Nowy Kuryer Lodzki: "At a sitting of the Town Coun-
cil of Lodz Mr. Winnicki, a town councilor of Polish na-
tionality, raised the question why the German 'Import
Company,' which has been invested by the German Gov-
ernment with the monopoly of buying grain for Russian Po-
land, pays 7^2 roubles for 1 cwt. of rye when it buys it in
the districts of Russian Poland under German occupation,
but charges at Lodz 23 roubles for a bag of 'war flour'
which contains hardly 40 per cent, of the 1 cwt. of rye. In
answer to Mr. Winnicki's question, the senior burgomaster,
Herr Schoppen, 1 answered that an injustice is certainly done
to the inhabitants of Lodz, but that he could do nothing to
lower prices, since the prices at which the 'Import Company,
Limited,' bought grain in Russian Poland, as well as the
prices it charged for grain at Lodz and elsewhere, had been
1 A German official appointed by the German Government.
THE AGONY OF POLAND 423
fixed by Field-Marshal von Hindenburg, Supreme Com-
mander in the East, and could not, therefore, be modified
by the town administration. In order, however, to ease
the situation to some degree, Herr Schoppen promised in
his own name, and in that of the German police, to lower the
octroi for the importation of food into Lodz, considerable
supplies being available at some distance from the city.
"The delegation from Lodz which went recently to Ber-
lin to raise a loan for the town, complained about the ex-
cessive price of bread. It asked that the town might be al-
lowed to provision itself without the intervention of the
'Import Company, Ltd.,' as is done in neighboring towns,
where bread is consequently cheaper by about 30 per cent.
"The scarcity of fuel in Lodz is equally the fault of the
'Import Company.' The town requires about 150 railway
trucks of coal a day, and it has to import it by way of Ger-
many instead of getting it straight from Polish coal-fields.
This city of half a million inhabitants has no stores of fuel,
and if the railway communication is interrupted it may be
left destitute of fuel altogether, especially as the forests
round Lodz have been cut down during the war."
That is a faithful picture of Lodz as it was three months
ago. The nightmare of starvation had haunted the folk the
whole summer through, and now it was accompanied by a
more frightful prospect still. Winter was at hand — the mer-
ciless winter of Northeastern Europe — and they were to be
abandoned without fuel to the intolerable cold. Here is the
plight that stared them in the face, as it is outlined in the
Lodzianin, the Social Democratic newspaper in the town:
"There are about 60,000 householders in Lodz. Every
one of them is entitled to a coal card, and as only 150 of these
are issued a day (which makes 4,500 a month), the rest are
likely to remain without fuel for the winter. The cold
favors the development of tuberculosis. Last year we had
40 per cent, mortality from tuberculosis, although condi-
tions then were much better than can be hoped for this
winter.
"The manufacturers have been told to give support only
to those workmen who have been employed by them for no
424 THE AGONY OF POLAND
less than 15 years; that practically means the old people who
are not fit to go to work in Prussia. The German admin-
istration is assisted in promoting emigration by the munici-
pal authorities, though it is said that there are Poles, too, on
the town council. The town committee for poor relief helps
only those who bring certificates from the German Labor
Exchange to the effect that they are not fit for work in Ger-
many.
"We raise a solemn protest, in the name of the Polish
laboring classes, to all the more enlightened elements of
the German nation and to German Socialists in particular.
The present condition of things is reducing the Polish prole-
tariat to mental and physical exhaustion."
That was the last cry of despair, before the winter de-
scended upon Lodz like a shroud.
Here are a few sentences from a statement drawn up,
in authoritative Polish quarters, in January, 1916:
"On May 22, 191 5, all textile mills in Lodz were shut
and all stocks of raw materials, as well as part of the ma-
chinery, were confiscated. The same thing happened a little
later in Warsaw and Sosnovitse.
"The working people are starving. Hundreds of peo-
ple are dying from a new illness caused by lack of food. The
majority of infants have died, and the death-rate is now
much higher than the birth-rate."
That is a bare summary of what has occurred; but the
agony of Lodz is revealed in detail in the narrative of a
visitor to the city, which was published in the Nowa Re-
forma:
"Wishing to acquaint myself with the misery in the fac-
tory towns and to consider means of relief, I went to Lodz.
What I found surpassed my most awful fears. The popu-
lation is slowly dying, after exhausting its forces in a hope-
less struggle. I went under the guidance of the relief care-
taker of the district and I visited only one street, Ciemna,
in the suburb of Bluty. We went to the house of a boy who
is now in our Home for Children at Kutno. We were to
take his love to his parents. 'Our parents are gone,' an-
swered hie eldest sister of about 15. 'Father died a week ago
THE AGONY OF POLAND 425
of exhaustion, and the day after father's funeral mother
died of typhus. It is the same next door. Both the father
and the mother have died during the war, leaving four small
children in the care of a brother of 18. '
"When we entered this other tenement we found the
youngest child of two dead and the girl of four dying. There
were others who had no strength left to fetch wood from
the forests round the town, and were burning everything they
had — tables, beds, and even picture-frames.
"In one of these tenements we found only a group of
crying children. The mother had died and the father had
gone out into the country to beg for potatoes. They had
sold everything, even the bedding, the most precious pos-
session of the poor.
"All the factories at Lodz are closed, but some of the
rich manufacturers are nobly supporting their employees.
They give them a rouble (50 cents) a week. The poor crea-
tures, who have been subsisting many months now on that
pittance alone, are growing anemic and consumptive; but
they are rich in comparison with the families to which the
Town Committee allows 40 kopecks (20 cents) for each
adult and 12 cents for every child. There are about 60,000
of these families in the care of the Committee, for every
one is economizing on account of the general high prices,
and many artisans, tailors and servants have lost employ-
ment. Those who own any property do not receive any sup-
port from the Committee, and consequently the owners of
the houses in the suburbs where nobody pays any rent, are
sometimes worse off than the workmen. I shall never forget
a mother with five small children. As she held in her arms
the youngest, who was only two years old and who already
resembled a corpse, she said to me with desperate resigna-
tion: 'I do not ask for any medicine for him at the hos-
pital, for the doctor told me to give him nourishing food,
and I can give him nothing but water.'
"In a radius of a few miles round the town there is a
regular procession of starving paupers fetching wood or
potatoes. I have met a number of people who are devoting
their services to the relief of this misery. They have in-
426 THE AGONY OF POLAND
stituted cheap kitchens, homes for children and orphans, free
dinners for school children, tailoring establishments for poor
girls; but all those institutions have to contend continually
against lack of funds. Some of them have even had to be
closed because local philanthropy is unequal to their main-
tenance. The cheap kitchens provide for 3 kopecks a portion
of soup so poor that the people who try to live on it die of
exhaustion; but even such soup cannot be provided for all,
as 3 kopecks is far below cost price on account of the in-
credibly high prices of food."
That is what Germany has done to Lodz, and the fate
of Lodz is being shared by every town and village in the ter-
ritory subject to German "organization." Nothing could be
more terrible than the situation at Warsaw itself. The fol-
lowing paragraph from the Kuryer Warszawski gives a suf-
ficient glimpse of the ghastly life-in-death there:
"Nowadays there is a dearth of everything in Warsaw,
even of wood shavings to light and warm the room. In the
Dzika Street opposite Stawki, near the cemeteries, there is
a big timber yard. On the pavement in front of it a group
of women and children, poorly clad, watch eagerly for the
removal of timber from the yard, because then some shav-
ings sometimes drop from the basket or cart on to the muddy
pavement ; that is the signal for a struggle, the prize of which
is that little scrap of wood. Outside the yard stands a watch-
man with a whip. On Sunday, at noon, we had been watch-
ing how a boy, a scholar of one of the private secondary
schools of Warsaw, had collected a basketful of shavings
which had been lying about in the yard. With joy radiant
in his face and eyes, he was carrying the basket out of the
yard gate, when he was spied by the watchman. There was
a short, brutal struggle, and the watchman had snatched
away the pitiful booty, while a group of ragged women and
children were fighting to secure the shavings which fell oui
of the basket into the mud."
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