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diff --git a/18213-8.txt b/18213-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ecbc7bf --- /dev/null +++ b/18213-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12047 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of +12), Edited by Francis J. Reynolds, Allen L. Churchill, and Francis +Trevelyan Miller + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of 12) + The War Begins, Invasion of Belgium, Battle of the Marne + + +Editor: Francis J. Reynolds, Allen L. Churchill, and Francis Trevelyan +Miller + +Release Date: April 19, 2006 [eBook #18213] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR, VOLUME +III (OF 12)*** + + +E-text prepared by Robert J. Hall + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 18213-h.htm or 18213-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/2/1/18213/18213-h/18213-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/2/1/18213/18213-h.zip) + + + + + +THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR + +The War Begins +Invasion of Belgium +Battle of the Marne + + +VOLUME III + + + + + + + +[Illustration: _King George V of Britain and King Albert of Belgium +inspecting Belgian troops. The youth is the Prince of Wales, and +beside him is Major General Pertab Singh of the Indian army_] + + + + + +CONTENTS + +PART I.--GREAT BATTLES OF THE WESTERN ARMIES + +CHAPTER + + I. ATTACK ON BELGIUM + II. SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF LIEGE + III. BELGIUM'S DEFIANCE + IV. CAPTURE OF LOUVAIN--SURRENDER OF BRUSSELS + V. COMING OF THE BRITISH + VI. CAMPAIGNS IN ALSACE AND LORRAINE + VII. SIEGE AND FALL OF NAMUR + VIII. BATTLE OF CHARLEROI + IX. BATTLE OF MONS + X. THE GREAT RETREAT BEGINS + XI. FIGHTING AT BAY + XII. THE MARNE--GENERAL PLAN OF BATTLE FIELD + XIII. ALLIED AND GERMAN BATTLE PLANS + XIV. FIRST MOVES IN THE BATTLE + XV. GERMAN RETREAT + XVI. CONTINUATION OF THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE + XVII. CONTINUATION OF THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE + XVIII. OTHER ASPECTS OF THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE + XIX. "CROSSING THE AISNE" + XX. FIRST DAY'S BATTLES + XXI. THE BRITISH AT THE AISNE + XXII. BOMBARDMENT OF RHEIMS AND SOISSONS + XXIII. SECOND PHASE OF BATTLE OF THE AISNE + XXIV. END OF THE BATTLE + XXV. "THE RACE TO THE SEA" + XXVI. SIEGE AND FALL OF ANTWERP + XXVII. YSER BATTLES--ATTACK ON YPRES + XXVIII. ATTACKS ON LA BASSEE AND ARRAS + XXIX. GENERAL MOVEMENTS ON THE FRENCH AND FLANDERS FRONTS + XXX. OPERATIONS AROUND LA BASSEE AND GIVENCHY + XXXI. END OF SIX MONTHS' FIGHTING IN THE WEST + +PART II.--NAVAL OPERATIONS + +CHAPTER + + XXXII. STRENGTH OF THE RIVAL NAVIES + XXXIII. FIRST BLOOD--BATTLE OF THE BIGHT + XXXIV. BATTLES ON THREE SEAS + XXXV. THE GERMAN SEA RAIDERS + XXXVI. BATTLE OFF THE FALKLANDS + XXXVII. SEA FIGHTS OF THE OCEAN PATROL + XXXVIII. WAR ON GERMAN TRADE AND POSSESSIONS + XXXIX. RAIDS ON THE ENGLISH COAST + XL. RESULTS OF SIX MONTHS' NAVAL OPERATIONS + +PART III.--THE WAR ON THE EASTERN FRONT + + XLI. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE THEATRE OF WAR + XLII. THE STRATEGIC VALUE OF RUSSIAN POLAND + XLIII. AUSTRIAN POLAND, GALICIA, AND BUKOWINA + XLIV. THE BALKANS--COUNTRIES AND PEOPLES + XLV. THE CAUCASUS--THE BARRED DOOR + +PART IV.--THE AUSTRO-SERBIAN CAMPAIGN + + XLVI. SERBIA'S SITUATION AND RESOURCES + XLVII. AUSTRIA'S STRENGTH AND STRATEGY + XLVIII. AUSTRIAN SUCCESSES + XLIX. THE GREAT BATTLES BEGIN + L. FIRST VICTORY OF THE SERBIANS + + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + KING GEORGE V REVIEWING THE ARMIES IN FRANCE + + GREAT SIEGE GUN IN ACTION BRIDGE + DESTROYED BY THE BELGIANS AT LIEGE + BELGIAN FIELD GUN IN ACTION + FORTRESS TOWN OF NAMUR + CITY OF MALINES, BELGIUM + MACHINE GUN CREW IN A WHEAT FIELD + HEAVY BELGIAN ARTILLERY IN ACTION + BELGIANS INTRENCHED ALONG A RAILWAY + + OBSERVER IN A RUINED CHATEAU + BAYONET CHARGE OF FRENCH INFANTRY + BRITISH NAVAL BRIGADE AT LIERRE + CITY OF LILLE UNDER FIRE + WALL FALLING UNDER SHELL FIRE + HOUSE-TO-HOUSE FIGHT AT YPRES + FIGHT IN AN ARGONNE VILLAGE + RALLY OF THE LONDON SCOTTISH + + GERMAN LOOKOUTS IN A TREETOP + GERMAN PRISONERS IN CHAMPAGNE + LOUVAIN LANCERS ON THE FRENCH COAST + COMRADES AIDING A WOUNDED CUIRASSIER + RED CROSS DOCTOR DRESSING AVIATOR'S WOUNDS + NAVE AND CHOIR OF NOTRE DAME, RHEIMS + RUINS OF NOTRE DAME + FRENCH MARINES DINING ASHORE + + SEARCHLIGHTS ON A BATTLESHIP + WALKÜRE, WRECKED AT PAPEETE + SYDNEY, AUSTRALIAN CRUISER + EMDEN AGROUND AFTER THE SYDNEY'S VICTORY + RESCUING SAILORS AFTER THE FIGHT NEAR THE FALKLAND ISLANDS + CANADIANS SHIPPING FIELD ARTILLERY + INTERIOR OF A SUBMARINE + WRECK OF THE BLÜCHER IN THE NORTH SEA BATTLE + + + + +LIST OF MAPS + + BELGIUM-FRANCO-GERMAN FRONTIER + FRANCE, PICTORIAL MAP OF + BELGIUM, BEGINNING OF GERMAN INVASION OF + ALSACE-LORRAINE, FRENCH INVASION OF + BATTLE OF MONS AND RETREAT OF ALLIED ARMIES + BATTLE OF THE MARNE--BEGINNING ON SEPTEMBER 5, 1914 + BATTLE OF THE MARNE--SITUATION ON SEPTEMBER 9, 1914 + BATTLE OF THE MARNE--END OF GERMAN RETREAT AND THE INTRENCHED LINE + ON THE AISNE RIVER + LIEGE FORT, GERMAN ATTACK OF + ANTWERP, SIEGE AND FALL OF + FLANDERS, BATTLE FRONT IN + GERMAN AND ENGLISH NAVAL POSITIONS + WAR IN THE EAST--RELATION OF THE EASTERN COUNTRIES TO GERMANY + THE BALKANS, PICTORIAL MAP OF + SERBIAN AND AUSTRIAN INVASIONS + + + + +PART I--GREAT BATTLES OF THE WESTERN ARMIES + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER I + +ATTACK ON BELGIUM + +The first great campaign on the western battle grounds in the European +War began on August 4, 1914. On this epoch-making day the German +army began its invasion of Belgium--with the conquest of France +as its ultimate goal. Six mighty armies stood ready for the great +invasion. Their estimated total was 1,200,000 men. Supreme over +all was the Emperor as War Lord, but Lieutenant General Helmuth +van Moltke, chief of the General Staff, was the practical director +of military operations. General van Moltke was a nephew of the great +strategist of 1870, and his name possibly appealed as of happy +augury for repeating the former capture of Paris. + +The First Army was assembled at Aix-la-Chapelle in the north of +Belgium, within a few miles of the Dutch frontier. It was under +the command of General van Kluck. He was a veteran of both the +Austrian and Franco-Prussian Wars, and was regarded as an able +infantry leader. His part was to enter Belgium at its northern +triangle, which projects between Holland and Germany, occupy Liege, +deploy on the great central plains of Belgium, then sweep toward +the French northwestern frontier in the German dash for Paris and +the English Channel. His army thus formed the right wing of the +whole German offensive. It was composed of picked corps, including +cavalry of the Prussian Guard. + +The Second Army had gathered in the neighborhood of Limbourg under +the command of General von Bülow. Its advance was planned down the +valleys of the Ourthe and Vesdre to a junction with Von Kluck at +Liege, then a march by the Meuse Valley upon Namur and Charleroi. +In crossing the Sambre it was to fall into place on the left of +Von Kluck's army. + +The German center was composed of the Third Army under Duke Albrecht +of Württemberg, the Fourth Army led by the crown prince, and the +Fifth Army commanded by the Crown Prince of Bavaria. It was assembled +on the line Neufchateau-Treves-Metz. Its first offensive was the +occupation of Luxemburg. This was performed, after a somewhat dramatic +protest by the youthful Grand Duchess, who placed her motor car +across the bridge by which the Germans entered her internationally +guaranteed independent state. The German pretext was that since +Luxemburg railways were German controlled, they were required for +the transport of troops. Preparations were then made for a rapid +advance through the Ardennes upon the Central Meuse, to form in +order upon the left of Von Bülow's army. A part of the Fifth Army +was to be detached for operations against the French fortress of +Verdun. + +The Sixth Army was concentrated at Strassburg in Alsace, under +General von Heeringen. As inspector of the Prussian Guards he bore +a very high military reputation. For the time being General von +Heeringen's part was to remain in Alsace, to deal with a possibly +looked for strong French offensive by way of the Vosges or Belfort. + +The main plan of the German General Staff, therefore was a wide +enveloping movement by the First and Second Armies to sweep the +shore of the English Channel in their march on Paris, a vigorous +advance of the center through the Ardennes for the same destination, +and readiness for battle by the Sixth Army for any French force +which might be tempted into Alsace. That this plan was not developed +in its entirety, was due to circumstances which fall into another +place. + +[Illustration: PICTORIAL MAP OF FRANCE] + +The long anticipated _Day_ dawned. Their vast military machine +moved with precision and unity. But there was a surprise awaiting +them. The Belgians were to offer a serious resistance to passage +through their territory--a firm refusal had been delivered at the +eleventh hour. The vanguard was thrown forward from Von Kluck's +army at Aix, to break through the defenses of Liege and seize the +western railways. This force of three divisions was commanded by +General von Emmich, one of them joining him at Verviers. + +On the evening of August 3, 1914, Von Emmich's force had crossed +into Belgium. Early on the morning of August 4, 1914, Von Kluck's +second advance line reached Visé, situated on the Meuse north of +Liege and close to the Dutch frontier. Here an engagement took place +with a Belgian guard, which terminated with the Germans bombarding +Visé. The Belgians had destroyed the river bridge, but the Germans +succeeded in seizing the crossing. + +This was the first actual hostility of the war on the western battle +grounds. With the capture of Visé, the way was clear for Von Kluck's +main army to concentrate on Belgian territory. By nightfall, Liege +was invested on three sides. Only the railway lines and roads running +westward remained open. + +[Illustration: BELGIUM AND THE FRANCO-GERMAN BORDER] + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER II + +SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF LIEGE + +A view of Liege will assist in revealing its three days' siege, +with the resulting effect upon the western theatre of war. Liege +is the capital of the Walloons, a sturdy race that in times past +has at many a crisis proved unyielding determination and courage. +At the outbreak of war it was the center of great coal mining and +industrial activity. In the commercial world it is known everywhere +for the manufacture of firearms. The smoke from hundreds of factories +spreads over the city, often hanging in dense clouds. It might +aptly be termed the Pittsburg of Belgium. The city lies in a deep, +broad cut of the River Meuse, at its junction with the combined +channels of the Ourthe and Vesdre. It stretches across both sides, +being connected by numerous bridges, while parallel lines of railway +follow the course of the main stream. The trunk line from Germany +into Belgium crosses the Meuse at Liege. For the most part the +old city of lofty houses clings to a cliffside on the left bank, +crowned by an ancient citadel of no modern defensive value. Whatever +picturesqueness Liege may have possessed is effaced by the squalid +and dilapidated condition of its poorer quarters. To the north +broad fertile plains extend into central Belgium, southward on the +opposite bank of the Meuse, the Ardennes present a hilly forest, +stream-watered region. In its downward course the Meuse flows out +of the Liege trench to expand through what is termed the Dutch +Flats. + +Liege, at the outbreak of the war, was a place of great wealth and +extreme poverty--a Liege artisan considered himself in prosperity +on $5 a week. It was of the first strategic importance to Belgium. +Its situation was that of a natural fortress, barring the advance +of a German army. + +The defenses of Liege were hardly worth an enemy's gunfire before +1890. They had consisted of a single fort on the Meuse right bank, +and the citadel crowning the heights of the old town. But subsequently +the Belgian Chamber voted the necessary sums for fortifying Liege +and Namur on the latest principles. From the plans submitted, the +one finally decided upon was that of the famous Belgian military +engineer Henri Alexis Brialmont. His design was a circle of detached +forts, already approved by German engineers as best securing a +city within from bombardment. With regard to Liege and Namur +particularly, Brialmont held that his plan would make passages of +the Meuse at those places impregnable to an enemy. + +When the German army stood before Liege on this fourth day of August, +in 1914, the circumference of the detached forts was thirty-one miles +with about two or three miles between them, and at an average of +five miles from the city. Each fort was constructed on a new model +to withstand the highest range and power of offensive artillery +forecast in the last decade of the nineteenth century. When completed +they presented the form of an armored mushroom, thrust upward from +a mound by subterranean machinery. The elevation of the cupola in +action disclosed no more of its surface than was necessary for the +firing of the guns. The mounds were turfed and so inconspicuous that +in times of peace sheep grazed over them. In Brialmont's original +plan each fort was to be connected by infantry trenches with sunken +emplacements for light artillery, but this important part of his +design was relegated to the dangerous hour of a threatening enemy. +This work was undertaken too late before the onsweep of the Germans. +Instead, Brialmont's single weak detail in surrounding each fort +with an infantry platform was tenaciously preserved long after +its uselessness must have been apparent. Thus Liege was made a +ring fortress to distinguish it from the former latest pattern of +earth ramparts and outworks. + +Six major and six minor of these forts encircled Liege. From north +to south, beginning with those facing the German frontier, their +names ran as follows: Barchon, Evegnée, Fleron, Chaud-fontaine, +Embourg, Boncelles, Flemalle, Hollogne, Loncin, Lantin, Liers, +and Pontisse. The armaments of the forts consisted of 6-inch and +4.7-inch guns, with 8-inch mortars and quick firers. They were +in the relative number of two, four, two and four for the major +forts, and two, two, one and three for the minor _fortins_, as +such were termed. The grand total was estimated at 400 pieces. +In their confined underground quarters the garrisons, even of the +major forts, did not exceed eighty men from the engineer, artillery +and infantry branches of the service. Between Fort Pontisse and +the Dutch frontier was less than six miles. + +It was through this otherwise undefended gap that Von Kluck purposed +to advance his German army after the presumed immediate fall of +Liege, to that end having seized the Meuse crossing at Visé. The +railway line to Aix-la-Chapelle was dominated by Fort Fleron, while +the minor Forts Chaudfontaine and Embourg, to the south, commanded +the trunk line by way of Liege into Belgium. On the plateau, above +Liege, Fort Loncin held the railway junction of Ans and the lines +running from Liege north and west. Finally, the forts were not +constructed on a geometric circle, but in such manner that the +fire of any two was calculated to hold an enemy at bay should a +third between them fall. This was probably an accurate theory before +German guns of an unimagined caliber and range were brought into +action. + +In command of the Belgian forts at Liege was General Leman. He had +served under Brialmont, and was pronounced a serious and efficient +officer. He was a zealous military student, physically extremely +active, and constantly on the watch for any relaxation of discipline. +These qualities enabled him to grasp at the outset the weakness +of his position. + +If the Germans believed the refusal to grant a free passage for +their armies through Belgium to be little more than a diplomatic +protest, it would seem the Belgian Government was equally mistaken +in doubting the Germans would force a way through an international +treaty of Belgian neutrality. Consequently, the German crossing +of the frontier discovered Belgium with her mobilization but half +complete, mainly on a line for the defense of Brussels and Antwerp. +It had been estimated by Brialmont that 75,000 men of all arms +were necessary for the defense of Liege on a war footing, probably +35,000 was the total force hastily gathered in the emergency to +withstand the German assault on the fortifications. It included +the Civic Guard. + +General Leman realized, therefore, that, without a supporting field +army, it would be impossible for him to hold the German hosts before +Liege for more than a few days--a week at most. + +But he hoped within such time the French or British would march +to his relief. Thus his chief concern was for the forts protecting +the railway leading from Namur down the Meuse Valley into Liege--the +line of a French or British advance. + +On the afternoon of August 4, 1914, German patrols appeared on +the left bank of the Meuse, approaching from Visé. They were also +observed by the sentries on Forts Barchon, Evegnée and Fleron. +German infantry and artillery presently came into view with the +unmistakable object of beginning the attack on those forts. The +forts fired a few shots by way of a challenge. As evening fell, +the woods began to echo with the roar of artillery. Later, Forts +Fleron, Chaudfontaine and Embourg were added to the German bombardment. +The Germans used long range field pieces with powerful explosive +shells. The fire proved to be remarkably accurate. As their shells +exploded on the cupolas and platforms of the forts, the garrisons +in their confined citadels began to experience that inferno of +vibrations which subsequently deprived them of the incentive to +eat or sleep. The Belgians replied vigorously, but owing to the +broken nature of the country, and the forethought with which the +Germans took advantage of every form of gun cover, apparently little +execution was dealt upon the enemy. However, the Belgians claimed +to have silenced two of the German pieces. + +In the darkness of this historic night of August 4, 1914, the flames +of the fortress guns pierced the immediate night with vivid streaks. +Their searchlights swept in broad streams the wooded slopes opposite. +The cannonade resounded over Liege, as if with constant peals of +thunder. In the city civilians sought the shelter of their cellars, +but few of the German shells escaped their range upon the forts +to disturb them. + +This exchange of artillery went on until near daybreak of August +5, 1914, when infantry fire from the woods to the right of Fort +Embourg apprised the defenders that the Germans were advancing to +the attack. The Germans came on in their customary massed formation. +The prevalent opinion that in German tactics such action was employed +to hearten the individual soldier, was denied by their General +Staff. In their opinion an advantage was thus gained by the +concentration of rifle fire. Belgian infantry withstood the assault, +and counter-attacked. When dawn broke, a general engagement was +in progress. About eight o'clock the Germans were compelled to +withdraw. + +[Illustration: BEGINNING OF GERMAN INVASION OF BELGIUM] + +The first engagement of the war was won by the Belgians. It was +reported that the Belgian fire had swept the Germans down in thousands, +but this was denied by German authorities. Up to this time the +German forces before Liege were chiefly Von Kluck's vanguard under +Von Emmich, his second line of advance, and detachments of Von +Bülow's army. On the Belgian side no attempt was made to follow +up the advantage. The reason given is that the Germans were seen +to be in strong cavalry force, an arm lost totally in the military +complement of Liege. The German losses were undoubtedly severe, +especially in front of Fort Barchon. This was one of the major +forts, triangular in shape, and surrounded by a ditch and barbed +wire entanglements. The armament of these major forts had recently +been reenforced by night, secretly, with guns of heavier caliber +from Antwerp. As they outmatched the German field pieces of the +first attack, presumably the German Intelligence Department had +failed in news of them. An armistice requested by the Germans to +gather in the wounded and bury the dead was refused. Thereupon +the artillery duel recommenced. + +A hot and oppressive day disclosed woods rent and scarred, standing +wheat fields shell-plowed and trampled, and farm houses set ablaze. +The bringing of the Belgian wounded into Liege apprised the citizens +that their side had also suffered considerably. Meanwhile, the +Germans were reenforced by the Tenth Hanoverian Army Corps, from +command of which General von Emmich had been detached to lead Von +Kluck's vanguard, also artillery with 8.4-inch howitzers. + +The bombardment on this 5th day of August, 1914, now stretched from +Visé around the Meuse right bank half circle of forts to embrace +Pontisse and Boncelles at its extremities. In a few hours infantry +attack began again. The Germans advanced in masses by short rushes, +dropping to fire rifle volleys, and then onward with unflinching +determination. The forts, wreathed in smoke, blazed shells among +them; their machine guns spraying streams of bullets. The Germans +were repulsed and compelled to retire, but only to re-form for a +fresh assault. Both Belgian and German aeroplanes flew overhead +to signal their respective gunners. A Zeppelin was observed, but +did not come within range of Belgian fire. The Belgians claim to +have shot down one German aeroplane, and another is said to have +been brought to earth by flying within range of its own artillery. + +During the morning of August 5, Fort Fleron was put out of action +by shell destruction of its cupola-hoisting machinery. This proved a +weak point in Brialmont's fortress plan. It was presently discovered +that the fire of the supporting forts Evegnée and Chaudfontaine +could not command the lines forming the apex of their triangle. +Further, since the Belgian infantry was not in sufficient force +to hold the lines between the forts, a railway into Liege fell +to the enemy. The fighting here was of such a desperate nature, +that General Leman hastened to reenforce with all his reserve. + +This battle went on during the afternoon and night of August 5, +into the morning of August 6, 1914. But the fall of Fort Fleron +began to tell in favor of the Germans. Belgian resistance perforce +weakened. The ceaseless pounding of the German 8.4-inch howitzers +smashed the inner concrete and stone protective armor of the forts, +as if of little more avail than cardboard. At intervals on August +6, Forts Chaudfontaine, Evegnée and Barchon fell under the terrific +hail of German shells. A way was now opened into the city, though, +for the most part, still contested by Belgian infantry. A party +of German hussars availed themselves of some unguarded path to +make a daring but ineffectual dash to capture General Leman and +his staff. + +General Leman was consulting with his officers at military headquarters, +on August 6, 1914, when they were startled by shouts outside. He +rushed forth into a crowd of citizens to encounter eight men in +German uniform. General Leman cried for a revolver to defend himself, +but another officer, fearing the Germans had entered the city in +force, lifted him up over a foundry wall. Both Leman and the officer +made their escape by way of an adjacent house. Belgian Civic Guards +hastening to the scene dispatched an officer and two men of the +German raiders. The rest of the party are said to have been made +prisoners. + +The end being merely a question of hours, General Leman ordered +the evacuation of the city by the infantry. He wisely decided it +could be of more service to the Belgian army at Dyle, than held in +a beleaguered and doomed city. Reports indicate that this retreat, +though successfully performed, was precipitate. The passage of it +was scattered with arms, equipment, and supplies of all kinds. +An ambulance train was abandoned, twenty locomotives left in the +railway station, and but one bridge destroyed in rear beyond immediate +repair. After its accomplishment, General Leman took command of the +northern forts, determined to hold them against Von Kluck until +the last Belgian gun was silenced. + +Early on August 7, 1914, Burgomaster Kleyer and the Bishop of Liege +negotiated terms for the surrender of the city. It had suffered +but slight damage from the bombardment. Few of the citizens were +reported among the killed or injured. On behalf of the Germans it +must be said their occupation of Liege was performed in good order, +with military discipline excellently maintained. They behaved with +consideration toward the inhabitants in establishing their rule +in the city, and paid for all supplies requisitioned. They were +quartered in various public buildings and institutions, probably to +the number of 10,000. The German troops at first seemed to present +an interesting spectacle. They were mostly young men, reported as +footsore from their long march in new, imperfectly fitting boots, +and hungry from the lack of accompanying commissariat. This is proof +that the German's military machine did not work to perfection at the +outset. Later, some hostile acts by Belgian individuals moved the +German military authorities to seize a group of the principal citizens, +and warn the inhabitants that the breaking of a peaceful attitude +would be at the risk of swiftly serious punishment. Precautions to +enforce order were such as is provided in martial law, and carried +out with as little hardship as possible to the citizens. The Germans +appeared anxious to restore confidence and win a feeling of good +will. + +For some days after the capitulation of the city the northern forts +continued a heroic resistance. So long as these remained uncaptured, +General Leman maintained that, strategically, Liege had not fallen. +He thus held in check the armies of Von Kluck and Von Bülow, when +every hour was of supreme urgency for their respective onsweep into +central Belgium and up the Meuse Valley. The Germans presently +brought into an overpowering bombardment their ll-inch siege guns. + +On August 13, 1914, Embourg was stricken into ruin. On the same +day the electric lighting apparatus of Fort Boncelles having been +destroyed, the few living men of its garrison fought through the +following night in darkness, and in momentary danger of suffocation +from gases emitted by the exploding German shells. + +Early in the morning of August 14, 1914, though its cupolas were +battered in and shells rained upon the interior, the commander +refused an offer of surrender. A little later the concrete inner +chamber walls fell in. The commander of Boncelles, having exhausted +his defensive, hoisted the white flag. He had held out for eleven +days in a veritable death-swept inferno. + +Fort Loncin disputed with Boncelles the honor of being the last to +succumb. The experience of its garrison differed only in terrible +details from Boncelles. Its final gun shot was fired by a man with +his left hand, since the other had been severed. Apparently a shell +exploded in its magazine, and blew up the whole fort. General Leman +was discovered amid its débris, pinned beneath a huge beam. He was +released by his own men. When taken to a trench, a German officer +found that he was merely unconscious from shock. + +When sufficiently recovered, General Leman was conducted to General +von Emmich to tender his personal surrender. The two had previously +been comrades at maneuvers. The report of their meeting is given +by a German officer. The guard presented the customary salute due +General Leman's rank. General von Emmich advanced a few steps to +meet General Leman. Both generals saluted. + +"General," said Von Emmich, "you have gallantly and nobly held your +forts." + +"I thank you," Leman replied. "Our troops have lived up to their +reputation. War is not like maneuvers, _mon Général_," he added +with a pointed smile. "I ask you to bear witness that you found +me unconscious." + +General Leman unbuckled his sword to offer it to the victor. Von +Emmich bowed. + +"No, keep it," he gestured. "To have crossed swords with you has +been an honor." + +Subsequently the President of the French Republic bestowed on Liege +the Cross of the Legion of Honor. To its motto in this instance +might have been added appropriately: Liege, the Savior of Paris. +The few days of its resistance to an overwhelming force enabled +the Belgium army to improve its mobilization, the British to throw +an expeditionary army into France, and the French to make a new +offensive alignment. It will forever remain a brilliant page in war +annals. In a military estimate it proved that forts constructed on +the lastest scientific principles, but unsupported by an intrenched +field army, crumple under the concentrated fire of long-range, +high-power enemy guns. + +The fall of the northern and eastern Liege forts released Von Kluck's +army for its march into central Belgium. Meanwhile the Belgian army +had been concentrated on a line of the River Dyle, with its left +touching Malines and its right resting on Louvain. Its commander, +General Selliers de Moranville, made his headquarters in the latter +city. The Belgian force totaled 110,000 men of all complements. +Whether this included the reinforcement by the Liege infantry is +uncertain. + +During August 10 and 11, 1914, General Moranville threw forward +detachments to screen his main body in front of the German advance. +On the 11th a rumor that the French had crossed the Sambre, moved +General Moranville to extend his right wing to Eghezee, with the +hope of getting in touch with the Allies. That the French and British +were hastening to his support could not be doubted. They were already +overdue, but assuredly would come soon. That was the Belgian reliance, +passing from mouth to mouth among the Court, Cabinet Ministers, +General Staff, down to the factory toilers, miners, and peasants +on their farms. The Sambre report, like many others in various +places, proved unfounded. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER III + +BELGIUM'S DEFIANCE + +A view of the general situation in Belgium will assist in clearing +the way for swiftly following events. Germany had invaded Belgium +against the diplomatic and active protests of its Government. But +the German Government still hoped that the heroic resistance of +Liege would satisfy Belgian national spirit, and a free passage +of German troops now be granted. The German Emperor made a direct +appeal to the King of the Belgians through the medium of the Queen +of Holland. From the German point of outlook their victory could +best be attained by the march through Belgium upon Paris. The German +Government asserted that the French and British contemplated a +similar breach of Belgian neutrality. To their mind, it was a case +of which should be on the ground first. On the other hand, the +Allies pronounced the German invasion of Belgium an unprovoked +assault, and produced countertestimony. The controversy has continued +to this day. But the war as it progressed has seen many breaches of +neutrality, and a certain resignation to the inevitable has succeeded +the moral indignation so easily aroused in its early stages. + +Let us now glance at the condition of Belgium when war was declared. +The Belgians were an industrial and not a militant people. They +had ample reason to yearn for a permanent peace. Their country had +been the cockpit of Europe from the time of Cæsar until Waterloo. +The names of their cities, for the most part, represented great +historic battle fields. Again and again had the ruin of conflict +swept over their unfortunately situated land. At all periods the +Belgians were brave fighters on one side or the other, for Belgium +had been denied a national unity. Doubtless, therefore, they welcomed +the establishment of their independent sovereignty and the era of +peace which followed. Historically, they had suffered enough, with +an abundance to spare, from perpetual warfare. Their minds turned +hopefully toward industrial and commercial activity, stimulated +by the natural mineral wealth of their soil. Thus the products +of their factories reached all countries, South America, China, +Manchuria, and Central Africa, especially of later years, where +a great territory had been acquired in the Congo. The iron and +steel work of Liege was famous, Antwerp had become one of the chief +ports of Europe and growing into a financial power. But owing to +the confined boundaries of Belgium, there grew to be a congestion +of population. This produced a strong democratic and socialistic +uplift which even threatened the existence of the monarchy. Also, +all that monarchy seemed to imply. + +The Belgians, doubtless with memories of the past, despised and hated +the display of military. Consequently it was only with difficulty, +and in the face of popular opposition, that the Belgium Government +had succeeded with military plans for defense, but imperfectly +carried out. Herein, perhaps, we have the keynote to Belgium's +desperate resistance to the German invaders. In the light of the +foregoing, it is easily conceivable that the Germans represented +to the Belgians the military yoke. They were determined to have +none of it, upon any overtures or terms. But they relied on France +and England for protection, when common prudence should have made +the mobilization of an up-to-date army of 500,000 men ready for +the call to repel an invader on either of the frontiers, instead +of the practically helpless force of 110,000. + +The German General Staff did not believe the Belgians intended +to raise a serious barrier in their path. But with the crisis, +democratic Belgium united in a rush to arms, which recalls similar +action by the American colonists at the Revolution. Every form of +weapon was grasped, from old muskets to pitchforks and shearing +knives. It was remarked by a foreign witness that in default of +properly equipped armories, the Belgians emptied the museums to +confront the Germans with the strangest assortment of antiquated +military tools. + +As testimony of Belgian feeling, the Labor party organ "Le Peuple" +issued the following trumpet blast: "Why do we, as irreconcilable +antimilitarists, cry 'Bravo!' from the bottom of our hearts to +all those who offer themselves for the defense of the country? +Because it is not only necessary to protect the hearths and homes, +the women and the children, but it is also necessary to protect at +the price of our blood the heritage of our ancient freedom. Go, +then, sons of the workers, and register your names as recruits. We +will rather die for the idea of progress and solidarity of humanity +than live under a régime whose brutal force and savage violence +have wiped outright." + +The Belgian General Staff, foreseeing dire consequences from such +inflaming press utterances, warned all those not regularly enlisted +to maintain a peaceful attitude. Disregard of this admonition later +met with heavy retribution. + +On Wednesday, August 12, 1914, a German cavalry screen, thrown in +advance of the main forces, came in touch with Belgian patrols. +A series of engagements took place. The Germans tried to seize +the bridges across the Dyle at Haelen, and at Cortenachen on the +Velpe, a tributary of the former river, mainly with the object of +outflanking the Belgian left wing. The Belgians are said to have +numbered some 10,000 of all arms, and were successful in repulsing +the Germans. + +On August 13, 1914, similar actions were continued. At Tirlemont +2,000 German cavalry swept upon the town, but were beaten off. +At Eghezee on the extreme Belgian right--close to Namur and the +historic field of Ramillies--another brush with the Germans took +place. Belgian cavalry caught a German cavalry detachment bivouacked +in the village. Sharp fighting through the streets ensued before the +Germans withdrew. In spite of the warning of the Belgian General +Staff, and similar advance German notices, the citizens of some +of these and other places began sniping German patrols. + +Meantime, moving over the roads toward Namur, toiled the huge German +42-centimeter guns. The German General Staff had taken to mind +the lesson of Liege. Each gun was transported in several parts, +hauled by traction engines and forty horses. Of this, with the +advance of Von Kluck and Von Bülow, the Belgian General Staff was +kept in total ignorance by the German screen of cavalry. So ably +was this screen work performed that the Belgians were led to believe +the Germans had succeeded in placing no more than two divisions of +cavalry, together with a few detachments of infantry and artillery, +on Belgian soil. They, in fact, regarded the German cavalry skirmishing +as a rather clumsy offensive. + +As we have seen, the resistance of Forts Boncelles and Loncin at +Liege held back the main German advance from seven to ten days. +Their fall released into German control the railway junction at +Ans. With that was included the line from Liege up the left bank +of the Meuse to Namur. Also, another line direct to Brussels. + +On August 15, 1914, the cavalry screen was withdrawn, and four +German army corps were revealed to the surprised Belgian line. +In this emergency, clearly their only hope lay with the French. +In Louvain, Brussels, and Antwerp, anxious questions lay on all +lips. "Why do not the French hasten to our aid? When will they +come? Will the British fail us at the twelfth hour?" + +Eager watchers at Ostend beheld no sign of the promised transports +to disembark a British army of support in the day of overwhelming +need. About this time some French cavalry crossed the Sambre to +join hands with the Belgian right wing near Waterloo. But it was +little more than a detachment. The French General Staff was occupied +with a realignment, and had decided not to advance into Belgium +until they could do so in force sufficient to cope with the Germans. +The Belgian General Staff saw there was no other course but to +fall back, fighting rear-guard actions until the longed-for French +army was heralded by the thunder of friendly guns. + +The Belgian army was thus withdrawn from the River Gethe to hold +Aerschot on its left stubbornly through August 14, 1914. Diest, +St. Trond, and Waremme fell before the German tidal wave without +resistance. Von Kluck's main army endeavored to sweep around the +Belgian right at Wavre, but was checked for a brief space. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER IV + +CAPTURE OF LOUVAIN--SURRENDER OF BRUSSELS + +During August 17, 1914, the German center was hurled forward in +irresistible strength. The citizens of the villages in its path +fled precipitously along the roads to Brussels. At intersections +all kinds of vehicles bearing household effects, together with live +stock, blocked the way to safety. The uhlan had become a terror, +but not without some provocation. Tirlemont was bombarded, reduced, +and evacuated by the Belgian troops. The latter made a vigorous +defensive immediately before Louvain, but their weakness in artillery +and numbers could not withstand the overwhelming superiority of +the Germans. They were thrust back from the valley of the Dyle to +begin their retreat on Antwerp, chiefly by way of Malines. This +was to elude a successful German envelopment on their Louvain right. +They retired in good order, but their losses had been considerable. + +This body was the Belgian right wing, which fell back to take up +a position before Louvain. Here it fought a well-sustained action +on August 19, 1914, the purpose of which was to cover the retreat +of the main army by way of Malines on Antwerp. The Belgian right +wing thus became a rear guard. + +It withstood the German attack until the early morning of August +20, 1914, when, separated from the main body, the overpowering +number of German guns and men drove it back to a final stand between +Louvain and Brussels. If its losses had been heavy, the carrying away +of the wounded proved that it still maintained a fighting front. +The retreat of the main army on Antwerp was part of Brialmont's +plan for the defense of Belgium, since the position of Brussels +was not capable of a strong defense. By this time the main army +was safely passing down the valley of the Dyle to the shelter of +the Antwerp forts, leaving the right wing to its fate. Louvain +thus fell to the Germans. + +Toward noon of August 20, 1914, the burgomaster and four sheriffs +awaited at one of the city gates, the first German appearance. +This proved to be a party of hussars bearing a white flag. They +conducted the burgomaster to the waiting generals at the head of the +advance column. In token of surrender the burgomaster was requested +to remove his scarf of office, displaying the Belgian national +colors. The German terms were then pronounced. A free passage of +troops through the city was to be granted, and 3,000 men garrisoned +in its barracks. In return, cash was to be paid for all supplies +requisitioned, and a guarantee given for the lives and property +of the inhabitants. The Germans further agreed to maintain the +established civil power, but warned that hostile acts by civilians +would be severely punished. These terms were in general in conformity +with the rules of war governing the military occupation of an enemy +city. In this respect emphasis should be laid on the fact that +under these rules the hostile act of any civilian places him in +the same position as a spy. His recognized sentence is death by +court-martial. + +The Germans entered Louvain with bands playing, and singing in +a great swelling chorus: "Die Wacht am Rhein" and "Hail to the +War Lord." They marched to quick time, but in passing through the +great square of the Gare du Nord broke into the parade goose step. +In the van were such famous regiments as the Death's Head and Zeiten +Hussars. The infantry wore heavy boots, which, falling in unison, +struck the earth with resounding blows, to echo back from the house +walls. Thus cavalry, infantry, and artillery poured through Louvain +in a gray-green surge of hitherto unimagined military might. This, +for the latter part of the 20th and the day following. + +At first the citizens looked on from the sidewalks in a spellbound +silence. Scarcely one seemed to possess the incentive to breathe +a whisper. Only the babies and very small children regarded the +awe-inspiring spectacle as something provided by way of entertainment. +For the rest of the citizens it was dumbfounding beyond human +comprehension. Cavalry, infantry, and artillery rolled on unceasingly +to the clatter of horses' hoofs, the tramp of feet, the rumble +of guns, and that triumphant mighty chorus. There was nothing of +aforetime plumed and gold-laced splendor of war about it, but the +modern Teutonic arms on grim business bent. Except for a curious +glance bestowed here and there, the German troops marched with +eyes front, and a precision as if being reviewed by the emperor. +A few shots were heard to stir instant terror among the citizen +onlookers, but these were between the German advance guard and +Belgian stragglers left behind in the city. Presently the side +streets became dangerous to pedestrians from onrushing automobiles +containing staff officers, and motor wagons of the military train. +General von Arnim, in command, ordered the hauling down of all +allied colors, but permitted the Belgian flag to remain flying above +the Hôtel de Ville. He promptly issued a proclamation warning all +citizens to preserve the peace. It was both placarded and announced +verbally. The latter was performed by a minor city official, ringing +a bell as he passed through the streets accompanied by policemen. + +Toward evening of August 20, 1914, the cafés and restaurants filled +up with hungry German officers and men; every hotel room was occupied, +and provision shops speedily sold out the stores on their shelves. +The Germans paid in cash for everything ordered, and preserved +a careful attitude of nonaggression toward the citizens. But +subconsciously there ran an undercurrent of dread insecurity. At the +outset a German officer was said to have been struck by a sniper's +bullet. Somewhat conspicuously the wounded officer was borne on +a litter through the streets, followed by the dead body of his +assailant. Very promptly a news curtain was drawn down around the +city, cutting it off from all information of the world without. +Artillery fire was heard. Presumably this came from the last stand +of the Belgian rear guard in a valley of the hilly country between +Louvain and Brussels. With sustained optimism to the end, rumor +had it that the artillery fire was that of French and British guns +coming to the relief of Louvain. Toward nightfall one or two groups +of snipers were brought in from the suburbs and marched to the +place of execution. + +The feeling of a threatened calamity deepened. Another warning +proclamation was issued ordering all citizens to give up their +arms. Further, everyone was ordered to bed at eight o'clock, all +windows were to be closed and all doors unlocked. A burning lamp +was to be placed in each window. On the claim that German soldiers +had been killed by citizens, the burgomaster and several of the +city officials were secured as hostages. A stern proclamation was +issued threatening with immediate execution every citizen found +with a weapon in his possession or house. Every house from which +a shot was fired would be burned. + +This was on August 22, 1914. By the evening of that day the German +army had passed through Louvain, estimated to the number of 50,000 +men. Only the 3,000 garrison remained in the city. Outwardly, the +citizens resumed their usual daily affairs as if with a sense of +relief, but whispers dropped now and then revealed an abiding terror +beneath. Some time during the next day or two the anticipated calamity +fell upon Louvain. The German officers insisted that sniping was +steadily going on, and the military authorities put into force their +threatened reprisal. The torch, or rather incendiary tablets were +thrown into convicted houses. Larger groups of citizens were led to +execution. Thereupon the "brute" passion dormant in soldiers broke +the bonds of discipline. Flames burst forth everywhere. Beneath the +lurid glow cast upon the sky above Louvain whole streets stood out +in blackened ruin, and those architectural treasures of the Halles +and the University, with its famous library, were destroyed beyond +hope of repair. Only the walls of St. Peter's Church, containing +many priceless paintings, remained. + +Meanwhile, on the morning of August 20, 1914, the German army had +swept away the comparatively small Belgian rearguard force before +Brussels, and advanced upon the capital. On the previous 17th the +King of the Belgians removed his Government to Antwerp. The diplomatic +corps followed. Mr. Brand Whitlock, the American Minister, however, +remained. In his capacity as a neutral he had assisted stranded +Germans in Brussels from hasty official and mob peril. He stayed to +perform a similar service for the Belgians and Allies. His success +in these efforts won for him German respect and the gratitude of +the whole Belgian nation. + +A lingering plan for defending Brussels by throwing up barricades +and constructing wire entanglements, to be manned by the Civic +Guard, was abandoned in the face of wiser counsel. It would merely +have resulted in a bombardment, with needless destruction of life +and property. Brussels was defenseless. + +In flight before the German host, refugees of all classes were +streaming into Brussels--young and old, rich and poor, priest and +layman. Nearly all bore some burden of household treasure, many +some pathetically absurd family heirloom. Every kind of vehicle +appeared to have been called into use, from smart carriages drawn +by heavy Flemish horses to little carts harnessed to dogs. Over all +reigned a stupefied silence, broken only by shuffling footfalls. +Among them the absence of automobiles and light horses would indicate +all such had been commandeered by the Belgian military authorities. +Their cavalry was badly in need of good light-weight mounts. At +crossroads passage to imagined safety was blocked by farm live +stock driven by bewildered peasants. + +On Thursday morning, August 20, 1914, the burgomaster motored forth +to meet the Germans. His reception and the terms dictated by General +von Arnim were almost identically the same as at Louvain. The +burgomaster was perforce compelled to accept. The scene of the +entry of the German troops into Louvain was repeated at Brussels. +There was the same stolidly silent-packed gathering of onlookers on +the sidewalks, the same thundering triumphant march of the German +host. Corps after corps, probably of those who had fought at Liege, +and subsequently passed around the city on the grand sweep toward +the French frontier. Moreover, huge bodies of German troops were +advancing up the valley of the Meuse and through the woods of the +Ardennes. As in Louvain, that night the hotels, restaurants, cafes, +and shops of Brussels were patronized by a rush of trade which +never before totaled such extent in a single day. Bills of purchase +were settled by the Germans in cash. The city was promptly assessed +a war indemnity of $40,000,000. + +With the fall of Brussels, the first objective of the Germans may +be said to have been gained. But the right wing of Von Kluck's +army was still operating northward upon Antwerp. The Belgian army +had escaped him within the circle of Antwerp's forts, so that he +detailed a force deemed to be sufficient to hold the enemy secure. +Then he struck eastward between Antwerp and Brussels at Alost, +Ghent, and Bruges. In his advance he swept several divisions of +cavalry, also motor cars bearing machine guns. Beyond Bruges his +patrol caught their first glimpse of the North Sea, drawing in +toward another much-hoped-for goal on the English Channel. + +But the Belgian army within security of Antwerp had not been routed. +It had retreated in good order, thanks to the resistance of its +right-wing rear guard. General de Moranville promptly reenforced it +with new volunteers to the extent of some 125,000 men. In addition, +he drew upon a fresh supply of ammunition, and new artillery well +horsed. His cavalry, however, were certainly no better and probably +worse than that with which his army had been complemented originally. + +On August 23, 1914, obtaining information that the Germans were +in considerably inferior force at Malines, the Belgians began a +vigorous counteroffensive. General de Moranville drove the Germans +out of Malines on the day following. That was in the nature of a +master stroke, for it gave the Belgians control of the shortest +railway from Germany into West Flanders. Further, since Von Kluck +had reached Bruges, and reenforcements under General von Boehn +had passed across the Belgian direct line on Brussels, the great +German right wing was in danger of being caught in a trap. Von +Boehn, therefore, was hurriedly detached rearward to deal with +the Belgian counteroffensive. But this deprived Von Kluck of his +needed reenforcements to overcome 2,000 British marines landed +at Ostend, that, together with the Civic Guard, had beaten back +German patrols from the place. Had the British now landed an army +at Ostend, Von Kluck, between the Belgian and British forces, would +have been in serious danger of annihilation. With the German right +wing thus crumpled, the whole of their offensive would have broken +down. But the British did not come, and so the Belgians were left +to fight it out single handed. This fighting went on for three +weeks, with accurate details lacking. Mainly it was upon the line +Aershot-Dyle Valley-Termonde, with Antwerp for the Belgian base. + +On August 24, 1914, a German Zeppelin sailed over Antwerp and dropped +a number of bombs. The Belgians thrust their right wing forward +and recaptured Alost. They advanced their center to a siege of +Cortenburg. Malines seemed secure. To the Belgians this was a historic +triumph. Famous for its manufacture of lace under the name of Mechlin, +almost every street contained some relic of architectural interest. +The Cathedral of St. Rombaut, the seat of a cardinal archbishop, +held upon its walls some of Van Dyck's masterpieces. Margaret of +Austria had held court in its Palais de Justice. + +In this emergency, Von Boehn was heavily reenforced with the Third +Army Corps, reserves from the south, and 15,000 sailors and marines. +His army was now between 250,000 and 300,000 men. This placed +overwhelming odds against the Belgians. But for four days they fought +a stubborn battle at Weerde. + +This was from September 13 to 16, 1914, and resulted in the capture +of the Louvain-Malines railway by the Germans. The Belgians had +now fought to the extremity of what could be expected without aid +from the Allies. The sole action left for them was to fall back for +a defense of Antwerp. Von Kluck's right wing of the whole German +offensive had completed its task on Belgian soil. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER V + +COMING OF THE BRITISH + +We now come to the arrival of the British on the Continent. In +using the term British, it, is expressly intended to comprise the +united forces of the British Isles. + +On August 3, 1914, the British Government practically gave up hope +that war with Germany could be avoided, though it would appear to +have lingered until the ultimatum to Germany to vacate Belgian +soil remained unanswered. On that day the army was mobilized at +Aldershot. + +On August 5, 1914, Lord Kitchener was recalled at the outset from +a journey to Egypt, and appointed Minister of War. No more fortunate +selection than this could have been made. Above all else, Lord +Kitchener's reputation had been won as an able transport officer. +In the emergency, as Minister of War, the responsibility for the +transport of a British army oversea rested in his hands. On August +5, 1914, the House of Commons voted a credit of $100,000,000, and +an increase of 500,000 men to the regular forces. Upon the same +day preparations went forward for the dispatch of an expeditionary +army to France. + +The decision to send the army to France, instead of direct to a +landing in Belgium, would seem to have been in response to an urgent +French entreaty that Great Britain mark visibly on French soil +her unity with that nation at the supreme crisis. For some days +previously British reluctance to enter the war while a gleam of hope +remained to confine, if not prevent, the European conflagration, +had created a feeling of disappointment in France. + +The British expeditionary army consisted at first--that is previous +to the Battle of the Marne--of two and a half army corps, or five +divisions, thus distributed: First Corps, Sir Douglas Haig; Second +Corps, General Smith-Dorien; Fourth Division of the Third Corps, +General Pulteney. The Sixth Division of the Third Corps and the +Fourth Corps under General Rawlinson were not sent to France till +after the end of September, 1914. It contained besides about one +division and a half of cavalry under General Allenby. A British +division varies from 12,000 to 15,000 men (three infantry brigades +of four regiments each; three groups of artillery, each having +three batteries of six pieces; two companies of sappers, and one +regiment of cavalry). The force totaled some 75,000 men, with 259 +guns. The whole was placed under the command of Field Marshal Sir +John French, with Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Murray, Chief +of Staff. + +Field Marshal French was sixty-two and was two years younger than +Lord Kitchener. His responsibilities were great, how great no one at +the beginning of the war realized his capabilities for the developing +scope of the task untried, but as a serious and courageous officer +he fully merited the honors he had already won. + +By August 7, 1914, Admiral Jellicoe was able to guarantee a safe +passage for the British army across the English Channel. A fortunate +mobilization of the British Grand Fleet in the North Sea for maneuvers +shut off the German Grand Fleet from raiding the Channel. There was +nothing to criticize in the manner in which the Expeditionary Army +was thrown into France. Its equipment was ready and in all details +fully worthy of German military organization. From arms to boots--the +latter not long since a scandal of shoddy workmanship--only the +best material and skill had been accepted. Its transport proved +the genius of Lord Kitchener in that brand of military service. +The railways leading to the ports of embarkation, together with +passenger steamships--some of them familiar in American ports--were +commandeered as early as the 4th of August. + +During the night of August 7, 1914, train after train filled with +troops steamed toward Southampton, and some other south-coast ports. +Complements were also embarked at Dublin, Avonmouth, and the Bristol +Channel. In the middle of the night citizens of small towns along +the route were awakened by the unceasing rumble of trains. They +had no conception of its import. They did not even realize that +war had actually burst upon the serenity of their peaceful lives. +Each transport vessel was placed in command of a naval officer, +and guarded in its passage across the channel by light cruisers and +torpedo destroyers. The transport of the whole Expeditionary Army +was completed within ten days, without the loss of a man and with +a precision worthy of all military commendation. But such secrecy +was maintained that the British public remained in ignorance of its +passage until successfully accomplished. American correspondents, +however, were not yet strictly censored, so that their papers published +news of it on August 9. + +On Sunday, August 9, 1914, two British transports were observed +making for the harbor of Boulogne. The weather was all that could +be wished, the crossing resembled a bank-holiday excursion. For +some days previously the French had taken a gloomy view of British +support. But French fishermen returning from Scotland and English +ports maintained confidence, for had not British fishermen told +them the French would never be abandoned to fall a prey to the +enemy. + +When the two advance British transports steamed into view, "Les +Anglais," at last everyone cried. At once a hugely joyful reversion +of feeling. The landing of the British soldiers was made a popular +ovation. Their appearance, soldierly bearing, their gentleness +toward women and children, their care of the horses were showered +with heartfelt French compliments. Especially the Scotch Highlanders, +after their cautious fashion, wondered at the exuberance of their +welcome. For the brave Irish, was not Marshal MacMahon of near-Irish +descent and the first president of the Third Republic? The Irish +alone would save that republic. Women begged for the regimental +badges to pin on their breasts. In turn they offered delicacies of +all kinds to the soldiers. For the first time in a hundred years +the British uniform was seen on French soil. Then it represented +an enemy, now a comrade in arms. The bond of union was sealed at +a midnight military mass, celebrated by English-speaking priests, +for British and French Catholic soldiers at Camp Malbrouch round +the Colonne de la Grande Armée. The two names recalled the greatest +of British and French victories--Blenheim, Ramillies, and Oudenarde, +Ulm, Austerlitz, and Jena. + +Meanwhile, officers of the French General Staff had journeyed to +London to confer with the British General Staff regarding the camping +and alignment of the British troops. Meanwhile, also, the British +reserves and territorials were called to the colors. The latter +comprised the militia, infantry and artillery, and the volunteer +yeomanry cavalry, infantry and artillery. The militia was the oldest +British military force, officered to a great extent by retired +regular army men, its permanent staffs of noncommissioned officers +were from the regular army, and it was under the direct control of +the Secretary of State for War. The volunteer infantry, artillery, +and yeomanry cavalry were on a somewhat different basis, more nearly +resembling the American militia, but the British militia were linked +with regular-line battalions. The reserves, militia and volunteers, +added approximately 350,000 well-trained men for immediate home +defense. + +On Sunday, August 17, 1914, it was officially announced that the +whole of the British Expeditionary Army had landed in France. +Conferences between the British and French General Staffs resulted +in the British army being concentrated first at Amiens. From that +point it was to advance into position as the left wing of the united +French and British armies, though controlled by their separate +commanders. + +The French Fifth Army had already moved to hold the line of the +River Sambre, with its right in touch with Namur. Cavalry patrols +had been thrown forward to Ligny and Gembloux, where they skirmished +with uhlans. Charleroi was made French headquarters. It was the +center of extensive coal-mining and steel industry. Pit shafts +and blast furnaces dominated the landscape. Historically it was +the ground over which Blücher's Fourth Army Corps marched to the +support of the British at Waterloo. Now the British were supporting +the French upon it against their former ally. + +On Thursday, August 20, 1914, the British took up their position on +the French left. Their line ran from Binche to Mons, then within the +French frontier stretched westward to Condé. From Mons to Condé it +followed the line of the canal, thus occupying an already constructed +barrier. Formerly Condé was regarded as a fortress of formidable +strength, but its position was not held to be of value in modern +strategy. Its forts, therefore, had been dismantled of guns, and its +works permitted to fall into disuse. But the fortress of Maubeuge +lay immediately in rear of the British line. In rear again General +Sordet held a French cavalry corps for flank actions. In front, +across the Belgian frontier, General d'Amade lay with a French +brigade at Tournai as an outpost. + +Before proceeding to British headquarters, General French held +a conference with General Joffre, Commander in Chief of all the +French armies. Until the outbreak of the war, General Joffre was +practically unknown to the French people. He was no popular military +idol, no boulevard dashing figure. But he had seen active service +with credit, and had climbed, step by step, with persevering study +of military science into the council of the French General Staff. +As a strategist his qualities came to be recognized as paramount +in that body. A few years previously he had been intrusted with +the reorganization of the French army, and his plans accepted. +Therefore, when war with Germany became a certainty, it was natural +the supreme command of the French army should fall to General Joffre. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER VI + +CAMPAIGNS IN ALSACE AND LORRAINE + +The French staff apparently had designed a campaign in Upper Alsace +and the Vosges, but the throwing of a brigade from Belfort across +the frontier on the extreme right of their line on August 6 would +seem to have been undertaken chiefly with a view of rousing patriotic +enthusiasm. French aeroplane scouts had brought in the intelligence +that only small bodies of German troops occupied the left bank +of the Rhine. Therefore the opportunity was presented to invade +the upper part of the lost province of Alsace--a dramatic blow +calculated to arouse the French patriotic spirit. Since the Germans +had expended hardly any effort in its defense, leaving, as it were +an open door, it may have been part of the strategic idea of their +General Staff to draw a French army into that region, with the +design of inflicting a crushing defeat. Thus French resistance +in the southern Vosges would have been weakened, the capture of +Belfort, unsupported by its field army, a probability, and a drive +beyond into France by the German forces concentrated at Neubreisach +made triumphant. Doubtless the French General Staff fully grasped +the German intention, but considered a nibble at the alluring German +bait of some value for its sentimental effect upon the French and +Alsatians. Otherwise the invasion of Upper Alsace with a brigade +was doomed at the outset to win no military advantage. + +On August 7, 1914, the French dispersed a German outpost intrenched +before Altkirch. Some cavalry skirmishing followed, which resulted +in the French gaining possession of the city. As was to be expected, +the citizens of Altkirch welcomed the French with enthusiasm. The +following morning the French were permitted an uncontested advance to +Mülhausen. That such an important manufacturing center as Mülhausen +should have remained unfortified within striking distance of the +French frontier, that the French entered it without being compelled +to fire a shot, was a surprise to everyone with the probable exception +of the German and French General Staffs. + +The citizens of Mülhausen repeated the joyous ovation bestowed on +the French troops in Altkirch. The French uniform was hailed as the +visible sign of deliverance from German dominion, and the restoration +of the lost province to their kindred of the neighboring republic. +The climax of this ebullition was reached in a proclamation issued +by direction of General Joffre. "People of Alsace," it ran, "after +forty years of weary waiting, French soldiers again tread the soil +of your native country. They are the pioneers in the great work of +redemption. What emotion and what pride for them! To complete the +work they are ready to sacrifice their lives. The French nation +with one heart spurs them forward, and on the folds of their flag +are inscribed the magical names Liberty and Right. Long live France! +Long live Alsace!" + +During August 8, 1914, some intermittent fighting went on in the +vicinity of Mülhausen, which seems to have given the French general +in command the impression that the Germans were not eager for a +counterattack. In turn the Germans may well have been puzzled that +a French brigade instead of an army was thrown into Upper Alsace +for the bait of Mülhausen. Possibly they waited a little for the +main body, which did not come. + +Sunday, August 8, 1914, revealed the Germans in such overpowering +strength, that the French were left no other choice than to beat a +hasty retreat. They accordingly fell back upon Altkirch, to intrench +a few miles beyond their own border. Thus ended the French initial +offensive. In military reckoning it achieved little of value. + +Meanwhile in the Ardennes on August 13, 1914, the German Crown +Prince, commanding the Fourth Army, advanced from Luxemburg into the +southern Ardennes and captured Neuf-château. His further objective +was to break through the French line somewhere near the historic +ground of Sedan. But at this point some change in the German plan +seems to have taken place. From the maze still enveloping the opening +events of the war, one can only conjecture a reason which would +move such an irrevocable body as the German General Staff to alter +a long-fixed plan. Probably, then, the unanticipated strength of +Belgian resistance foreshadowed the summoning of reenforcements +to Von Kluck's right wing of the whole German army. We have seen, +in fact, how he came to be near a desperate need at Bruges, and +only the heavy reenforcement of Von Boehn enabled that general +to deliver a final defeat to the Belgian field army at Weerde. +Whatever the cause of change of plan may have been, important forces +attached to or intended for the armies of the Duke of Württemberg +and the crown prince were withdrawn to support the armies of Von +Kluck and Von Bülow. These forces went to form a unit under General +von Hausen, a veteran of Sadowa. This change left the Saxon army +of the crown prince with hardly sufficient strength for a main +attack on the French line at Sedan, but still formidable enough +to feel its way cautiously through the Ardennes to test the French +concentration on the central Meuse's west bank. When the German +right had finally settled Liege, the Saxon army could then join +in the united great movement on Paris. + +Early on the morning of August 15, 1914, a French detachment of +half an infantry regiment, thrown into Dinant, was surprised by +a mobile Saxon advance force of cavalry, infantry and artillery. +Dinant lies across the Meuse eighteen miles south of Namur. It is +a picturesque ancient town, the haunt of artists and tourists. In +the vicinity are the estates of several wealthy Belgian families, +particularly the thirteenth-century château of Walzin, once the +stronghold of the Comtes d'Ardennes. A bridge crosses the Meuse +at Dinant, which sits mainly on the east bank within shadow of +precipitous limestone cliffs. A stone fort more imposing in appearance +than modern effectiveness crowns the highest cliff summit overlooking +Dinant. The Germans came by way of the east bank to occupy the +suburbs. They presently captured the fort and hoisted the German +flag. Meanwhile the French took possession of the bridge, being +at a considerable disadvantage from German rifle fire from the +cliffs. The solid stone abutments of the bridge, however, enabled +the French to hold that position until strong reenforcements arrived +early in the afternoon. While French infantry cleared the environs +of Germans, their artillery bombarded the fort from the west bank. +Their shells played havoc with the old fort defenses, soon compelling +its evacuation by the Germans. One of the first French artillery +shells blew into shreds the German flag flying triumphantly over +the fort, thus depriving the French of the satisfaction of hauling +it down. Toward evening the Germans retreated toward the Lesse, +followed by the French. In previous wars the forces engaged were +of sufficient strength to designate Dinant a battle, but with the +vast armies of the present conflict it sinks to the military grade +of a mere affair. However, it is called by the French the Battle +of Dinant. + +The troops which entered Alsace on August 7, 1914, to the number +of 18,000 to 20,000, belonged to the army of the frontier. + +This first army, which was under the orders of General Dubail, +was intrusted with the mission of making a vigorous attack and +of holding in front of it the greatest possible number of German +forces. The general in command of this army had under his orders, +if the detachment from Alsace be included, five army corps and a +division of cavalry. His orders were to seek battle along the line +Saarburg-Donon, in the Bruche Valley, at the same time possessing +himself of the crests of the Vosges as well as the mountain passes. +These operations were to have as their theaters: (1) the Vosges +Mountains, (2) the plateau of Lorraine to the northwest of Donon, +and (3) the left bank of the Meurthe. This left bank of the Meurthe +is separated from the valley of the Moselle by a bristling slope +of firs, which is traversed by a series of passages, the defiles +of Chipotte, of the Croix Idoux, of the Haut Jacques d'Anozel, of +Vanemont, of Plafond. In these passes, when the French returned +to the offensive in September, 1914, furious combats took place. +The German forces opposed to this first army consisted of five +active army corps and a reserve corps. + +The first French army, after a violent struggle, conquered the +passes of the Vosges, but the conquest was vigorously opposed and +took more time than the French had reckoned on. As soon as it had +become master of the Donon and the passes, the first French army +pushed forward into the defile of Saarburg. At St. Blaise it won +the first German colors, took Blamont and Cirey (August 15, 1914), +seized the defiles north of the canal of the Marne and the Rhine, +and reached Saarburg. Here a connection was established with the +army of Lorraine, which had commenced its operations on the 14th. +A violent battle ensued, known under the name of the Battle of +Saarburg. The left wing of the French army attacked August 19, 1914; +it hurled itself at the fortified positions, which were copiously +fringed with heavy artillery. In spite of the opposition it made +progress to the northwest of Saarburg. + +On the 20th the attack was renewed, but from the beginning it was +evident that it could not succeed and that the duty intrusted to +the Eighth Army Corps of opening up the way for the cavalry corps +could not be accomplished. This army corps had gone through a trying +ordeal as a result of the bombardment by the heavy German artillery +established in fortified positions, covering distances all measured +in advance, with every group and French battery presenting a sure +target and the action of the French cannon rendered useless. + +If the left wing of the First Army found itself checked, the center +and the right on the other hand were in an excellent position and +were able to advance. But at this point (August 21, 1914) the Second +French Army (the army of Lorraine) met a serious reverse in the +region of Morhange and was compelled to retreat. This retreat left +the flank of the First Army gravely unprotected, and as a consequence +this army was also obliged to fall back. This rear-guard movement +was accomplished over a very difficult piece of country down to +the Baccarat-Ban de Sapt-Provenchère line, south of the Col du +Bonhomme. It was found necessary to abandon the Donon and the Col +de Sapt. + +The task committed to the Second Army, that of Lorraine under De +Castlenau, was to protect Nancy, then to transfer itself to the +east, advancing later to the north and attacking in a line parallel +to that taken by the First Army on the Dieuze-Château Salins front +in the general direction of Saarbrücken. Its mission was therefore +at once both offensive and defensive: to cover Nancy and continue +toward the west the attack of the First Army. + +After having repulsed, August 10 and 11, 1914, the strong German +attacks in the region of Spincourt and of Château Salins the Second +Army took the offensive and went forward almost without stopping +during four days of uninterrupted fighting. Penetrating into Lorraine, +which had been annexed, it reached the right bank of the Selle, cut +off Marsal and Château Salins, and pushed forward in the direction +of Morhange. The enemy fell back; at Marsal he even left behind +enormous quantities of ammunition. + +As a matter of fact, he fell back on positions that had been carefully +fortified in advance and whence his artillery could bombard at an +almost perfectly accurate range. August 20, 1914, made a violent +counterattack on the canal of Salines and Morhange in the Lake +district. The immediate vicinity of Metz furnished the German army +with a vast quantity of heavy artillery, which played a decisive +role in the Battle of Morhange. The French retreated, and during +this rear-guard movement the frontier city of Lunéville was for +some days occupied by the Germans. + +Thus the First and Second Armies failed in their offensive and saw +themselves obliged to retreat, but their retreat was accomplished +under excellent circumstances, and the troops, after a couple of +days of rest, found themselves in a condition again to take the +offensive. The First Army gave energetic support to the Second +Army, which was violently attacked by the Germans in the second +week of August. The German attack, which was first arrayed against +Nancy, turned more and more to the east. + +The battle, at first waged in the Mortagne basin, was gradually +extended to the deep woods on the left bank of the Meurthe and on +to Chipotte, Nompatelize, etc. The battles that have been named +the Battle of Mortagne, the Battle of the Meurthe, the Battle of +the Vosges, all waged by the First Army, were extremely violent +in the last week of August and the first two weeks of September. +These combats partly coincided with the Battle of the Marne; they +resulted, at the end of that battle, in the German retreat. The +Second Army renewed the offensive August 25, 1914; it decisively +checked the march of the German army and commenced to force it +back. + +The instructions issued to General de Castelnau directed him everywhere +to march forward and make direct attacks. The day of August 25, +1914, was a successful day for the French; everywhere the Germans +were repulsed. From August 26 till September 2, 1914, the Second +Army continued its attacks. + +At this point the commander in chief having need of important forces +at his center and at his right relieved the Second Army of much of +its strength. This did not prevent it from engaging in the great +Battle of Nancy and winning it. It was September 4, 1914, that this +battle began and it continued till the 11th, the army sustaining +the incessant assaults of the Germans on its entire front advanced +from Grand Couronne. The German emperor was personally present at +this battle. There was at Dieuze a regiment of white cuirassiers +at whose head it was his intention to make a triumphal entry into +Nancy. Heavy German artillery of every caliber made an enormous +expenditure of ammunition; on the Grand Mont d'Amance alone, one +of the most important positions of the Grand Couronne of Nancy, +more than 30,000 howitzer shells were fired in two days. The fights +among the infantry were characterized on the entire front by an +alternation of failure and success, every point being taken, lost +and retaken at intervals. + +The struggle attained to especial violence in the Champenoux Forest. +On September 5, 1914, the enemy won Maixe and Remereville, which +they lost again in the evening, but they were unable to dislodge +the French from the ridge east of the forest of Champenoux. The +Mont d'Amance was violently bombarded; a German brigade marched +on Pont-à-Mousson. The French retook Crevic and the Crevic Wood. + +On the 7th the Germans directed on Ste. Geneviève, north of the Grand +Couronne, a very violent attack, which miscarried. Ste. Geneviève +was lost for a time, but it was retaken on the 8th; more than 2,000 +Germans lay dead on the ground. The same day the enemy threw themselves +furiously on the east front, the Mont d'Amance, and La Neuvelotte. +South of the Champenoux Forest the French were compelled to retire; +they were thrown back on the ridge west of the forest. On the 9th a +new bombardment of Mont d'Amance, a struggle of extreme violence, +took place on the ridge west of the forest of Champenoux, the French +gaining ground. General Castelnau decided to take the direct offensive, +the Germans giving signs of great fatigue. On the 12th they retired +very rapidly. They evacuated Lunéville, a frontier town, where they +left a great quantity of arms and ammunition. The French began +immediately to pursue them, the Germans withdrawing everywhere +over the frontier. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER VII + +SIEGE AND FALL OF NAMUR + +When the Germans occupied Brussels on August 20, 1914, we observed +that corps after corps did not enter the city, but swept to the +south. This was Von Kluck's left wing moving to attack the Allies +on the Sambre-Mons front. The forces which passed through Brussels +were Von Kluck's center, advancing south by east to fall in line +beside the right wing, which had mainly passed between Brussels +and Antwerp to the capture of Bruges and Ghent. The whole line +when re-formed on the French frontier would stretch from Mons to +the English Channel--the great right wing of the German armies. + +Meanwhile, Von Bülow's second army had advanced up the valley of +the Meuse, with its right sweeping the Hisbaye uplands. Some part +of this army may have been transported by rail from Montmedy. Its +general advance in columns was directed chiefly upon the Sambre +crossings. As Von Kluck's wide swing through Belgium covered a +greater distance, Von Bülow's army was expected to strike the Allies +some twenty-four hours earlier. Its march, therefore, was in the +nature of an onrush. + +But Von Bülow was now in the full tide of fighting strength--an +amazing spectacle to chance or enforced witnesses. Well may the +terrified peasants have stood hat in hand in the midst of their +ruined villages. Any door not left open was immediately broken +down and the interior searched. Here and there a soldier could be +seen carrying a souvenir from some wrecked château. But for the +most part everyone fled from before its path, leaving it silent +and abandoned. The field gray-green uniforms were almost invisible +in cover, in a half light, or when advancing through mist. No +conceivable detail seemed to have been overlooked. Each man carried +a complete equipment down to handy trifles, the whole weighed to +the fraction of an ounce, in carefully estimated proportions. + +But this was not enough. Waiting for each column to pass were men +with buckets of drinking water, into which the soldiers dipped +their aluminum cups. Temporary field post offices were established +in advance, so that messages could be gathered in as the columns +passed. Here and there were men to offer biscuits and handfuls of +prunes. In methodical, machine-like progress came the ammunition +wagons, commissariat carts, field kitchens, teams of heavy horses +attached to pontoons, traction engines hauling enormous siege guns, +motor plows for excavating trenches, aeroplanes, carriages containing +surgeons, automobiles for the commanders, and motor busses in which +staff officers could be seen studying their maps. On some of these +vehicles were chalked Berlin-Paris. No branch of the service was +absent, no serviceable part if it overlooked--not even a complement +of grave diggers. It moved forward always at an even pace, as if on +parade, with prearranged signals passed down the line when there +was any obstacle, a descent or bend in the road. + +The tramp of many thousands cast into the atmosphere clouds of +fine dust, but even those in rear marched through it as if their +lungs were made of steel. No permission was granted to open out +for the circulation of air, though it was the month of August. It +is safe to assert there was not a single straggler in Von Bülow's +army. At the first sign of it he was admonished with a vigor to +deter his comrades. Discipline was severely maintained. At every +halt the click of heels, and rattle of arms in salute went on down +the line with the sharp delivery of orders. + +On Wednesday, August 12, 1914, the town of Huy, situated midway +between Liege and Namur, was seized. It possessed an old citadel, +but it was disarmed, and used now only as a storehouse. Some Belgian +detachments offered a slight resistance at the bridge, but were +speedily driven off. The capture of Huy gave the Germans control +of the railway from Aix-la-Chapelle to France, though broken at +Liege by the still standing northern forts. But they secured a +branch line of more immediate service, running from Huy into Central +Belgium. + +On August 15, 1914, Von Bülow's vanguard came within sight of Namur. +Before evening German guns were hurling shells upon its forts. Began +then the siege of Namur. Namur, being the second fortress hope +of the Allies--the pivot upon which General Joffre had planned to +swing his army into Belgium in a sweeping attack upon the advancing +Germans--a brief survey of the city and fortifications will be +necessary. The situation of the city is not as imposing as that +of Liege. For the most part it sits on a hillside declivity, to +rest in the angle formed by the junction of the Sambre and Meuse. +It is a place of some historic and industrial importance, though +in the latter respect not so well known as Liege. To the west, +however, up the valley of the Sambre, the country presents the +usual features of a mining region--pit shafts, tall chimneys issuing +clouds of black smoke, and huge piles of unsightly débris. While +away to the north stretches the great plain of Central Belgium, +southward the Central Meuse offers a more picturesque prospect in +wooded slopes rising to view-commanding hilltops. Directly east, +the Meuse flows into the precipitous cut on its way to Liege. + +But in Belgian eyes the fame of Namur lay to a great extent in its +being the second of Brialmont's fortress masterpieces. Its plan +was that of Liege--a ring of outer detached forts, constructed on +the same armor-clad cupola principle. At Namur these were nine in +number, four major forts and five _fortins_. The distance between +each fort was on the average two and a half miles, with between +two and a half to five miles from the city as the center of the +circumference. + +Facing Von Bülow's advance, fort Cognlée protected the Brussels +railway, while the guns of Marchovelette swept the space between +it and the left bank of the Meuse. In the southwest angle formed +by the Meuse, forts Maizeret, Andoy and Dave continued the ring. +Again in the angle of the Sambre and Meuse forts St. Héribert and +Malonne protected the city. North of the Sambre, forts Suarlée +and Emines completed the circle. + +In the emergency Namur possessed one advantage over Liege. The +resistance of Liege gave Namur due warning of the German invasion, +and some days to prepare for attack. General Michel was in command +or the garrison of Namur, which comprised from 25,000 to 30,000 +men. Doubtless reports had come to him of the situation at Liege. +He immediately set to work to overcome the cause of the failure +of Brialmont's plan at Liege, by constructing trenches between +the forts, protected by barbed wire entanglements, and mines in +advance of the German approach. As his circumference of defense +was less than that of Liege, his force promised to be capable of +a more prolonged resistance. + +Besides the Allies were close at hand. Only eighteen miles separated +him from strong detachments of French infantry and artillery at +Dinant. As we have seen French cavalry had been thrown forward +as far as Gembloux on the road to Brussels, but ten miles to the +northeast of Namur. Somewhere between that place and Charleroi +French Chasseurs d'Afrique had advanced to occupy outpost positions. +His position appeared by no means hopeless--considerably better than +the unsupported field army at Liege. The armor of his forts was +calculated to withstand the 36-lb. shells of the heaviest German +fieldpieces, but comparatively slight damage was anticipated from the +known heavier howitzers. If the Germans purposed to assault Namur +in mass formation, as they had done at Liege, General Michel had +every reason to feel confident he could repulse them with tremendous +losses. + +But the Germans had learned a severely taught lesson at Liege. They +had no intention of repeating those tactics. Behind a remarkable +screen of secrecy, they managed to conceal from General Michel--as +they did from the Allies--the existence of their enormous siege +guns. Whether they brought into action at Namur their famous +42-centimeters, capable of throwing a shell of high explosive power +weighing 2,500 lbs., is uncertain. In fact, it is still doubtful +where they were first fired at the allied enemy. Two are said to +have assisted in the final destruction of the northern forts of +Liege, and two were seen rolling over the field of Waterloo. The +Germans remained silent upon the subject, and nothing definite +about their first discharge was disclosed. But unquestionably their +fire was capable of demolishing into ruin any fort on earth within +a short period. It is certain, however, the Germans brought against +Namur their 28-centimeter guns, and probably some of 21-centimeter +caliber. These artillery weapons were quite formidable enough to +reduce the Namur forts. The former threw a shell of 750 pounds +from a range of three miles--beyond the reach of the Namur guns. +The latter projected shells of 250 pounds. The Germans are said +to have employed thirty-two of the heavier caliber guns, and a +large number of 21-centimeter. + +Thus Namur was doomed before the bombardment commenced. Von Bülow's +left wing advanced up the Meuse north bank from Huy, some part of +it crossing to the south bank at Ardenne, where it came in touch +with the Saxon army. + +At sundown of August 20, 1914, Von Bülow was in position before +Namur, three miles from its defenses. Darkness fell upon a hot +and sultry August atmosphere. Presently the flashes and boom of +the German guns began a bombardment of the trenches between forts +Cognelée and Marchovelette. It continued through the night. But +the Belgian fortress guns were outranged. It would have been a mere +waste of ammunition to reply. Neither could the Belgian infantry +venture on a counterattack, for the Germans were clearly observed +in overwhelming strength. At the outset the Germans devoted their +efforts to clearing the trenches of the Belgian infantry, leaving the +forts for subsequent demolition. The unfortunate Belgian infantry, +therefore, could do nothing but fire intermittent rifle volleys, +without any effect upon the Germans. They bravely bore this storm +of shells for ten hours. Not a man who lifted his head above the +German machine gun-swept parapets but was not instantly killed or +wounded. Thus the majority of the officers were killed, and the +ranks within the trenches decimated. + +Toward morning on August 21, 1914, the Belgians could stand the +tornado of death no longer. The demoralized troops fled from the +trenches, leaving the gap between forts Cognelée and Marchovelette +open. The Germans then opened fire on the forts. In comparison +with the new German siege howitzers, the old-fashioned Belgian +guns proved to be weak weapons. The tremendous pounding of the +German shells not only smashed the fort cupolas, and crumpled into +ruin the interior stone and steel protective armor, but quickly put +the Belgian guns out of action. Thus while fort Maizeret received +some 1,200 German shells at the speed of twenty to the minute, it was +able to reply with only ten shots. Forts Marchovelette and Maizeret +were the first to fall. Seventy-five men of the Marchovelette garrison +were found dead amid its ruins--nearly its total complement. + +[Illustration: FRENCH INVASION OF ALSACE-LORRAINE] + +Early on Friday morning of August 21, 1914, forts Andoy, Dave, +St. Héribert and Malonne were subjected to a similar furious +bombardment. After three hours of the cannonade Andoy, Dave and +St. Héribert surrendered. During the morning the Germans thrust +a force into the southern angle of the Sambre and Meuse. Here the +Belgian infantry offered a vigorous resistance. It was hoped that +the French at Dinant would hasten to their relief. But Dinant was +for the second time within a few days the scene of conflict. Some +6,000 French Turcos and artillery did arrive, but too late to be +of use in helping to save Namur. Shells now began to drop in the +city while aeroplanes flung down bombs. A thunderstorm rumbled in +combination with the continuous roar of the German guns. A panic +took hold of the citizens. Distracted men, women and children huddled +together in spellbound terror, or sought the shelter of their cellars. +The more superstitious pronounced this to be the end of all things, +from the eclipse of the sun which darkened the sky. Fort Malonne +succumbed sometime during the afternoon of August 21, 1914. + +As at Liege, with General Leman, so in Namur General Michel foresaw +the city and forts' fate was imminent. Only the northwest forts +Suarlée, Emines and Cognelée held out. The Belgians and French +had been defeated by the Germans in the angle of the Sambre and +Meuse. The horizon revealed no sign of a French army advancing. +General Michel, therefore, decided upon the evacuation of the city +by the Belgian infantry. It was successfully accomplished, though +even more in the nature of a flight than at Liege. But General +Michel went with them, instead of remaining, like General Leman, +to fight the defense of his fortress to the last. + +The retreating Belgians on August 22, 1914, had some adventurous +wandering before them. They had first to cut their way through +a body of German troops, then to become involved with a French +force near Charleroi. It took them seven days to reach Rouen by way +of Amiens. There they were embarked for sea transport to Ostend. +At Ostend, they joined the main Belgian army after its retreat +from Antwerp. + +On Sunday morning, August 23, 1914, the Germans began the bombardment +of Fort Suarlée. This fort repeated the heroic resistance of Fort +Boncelles at Liege. It held out until the afternoon of August 25. It +was apparently then blown up by the explosion of its own magazine, +thus again repeating the end of Fort Loncin at Liege. Meantime the +Germans had succeeded in reducing Forts Cognelée and Emines. + +The Germans entered Namur on the afternoon of August 23, 1914. There +seems to have been some oversight in the plan, for the advance guard +found themselves under fire of their own guns directed upon the citadel +and the Grande Place. This, however, was speedily rectified. Their +behavior was much the same as at Louvain and Brussels. They marched +in with bands playing and singing patriotic songs. Proclamations +were at once issued warning the citizens not to commit any hostile +act. The inhabitants were far too cowed to contemplate anything +but submission. Good discipline was preserved, and though the city +took fire that night there is nothing to show it was from German +design. The citizens were induced to come forth from their cellars +and hiding places to reopen the cafés and shops. + +General von Bülow entered Namur on Monday morning August 24, 1914. +He was accompanied by Field Marshal Baron von der Goltz, recently +appointed Governor General of Belgium. Previous to the former Balkan +War he had been employed in reorganizing the Turkish army. An onlooker +in Namur thus describes the German Field Marshal:--"An elderly +gentleman covered with orders, buttoned in an overcoat up to his +nose, above which gleamed a pair of enormous spectacles." + +General Michel attributed his defeat to the German siege guns. The +fire was so continuous upon the trenches that it was impossible +to hold them, and the forts simply crumpled under the storm of +shells. But back of General Michel's plea the allied Intelligence +Departments lacked efficiency or energy, or both, in not gaining +more than a hint, at any rate, of the enormous German siege guns +until they were actually thundering at the gates. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER VIII + +BATTLE OF CHARLEROI + +Toward the end of the third week of August, 1914, the atmosphere +of every European capital became tense with the realization that a +momentous crisis was impending. It was known that the French-British +armies confronted German armies of equal, if not of superior strength. +In Paris and London the military critics wrote optimistically that +the Germans were marching into a trap. + +The British army had arrived at the front in splendid fighting +trim. It was difficult to restrain the impetuous valor of the French +soldiers. The skies were bright and there was confidence that the +Germans would unquestionably meet with a crushing defeat. Let us +glance at the line of the French and British armies stretched along +the Belgian frontier. It ran from within touch of Namur up the right +bank of the Sambre, through Charleroi to Binche and Mons, thence +by way of the coal barge canal just within the French frontier to +Condé. For the choice of a great battle ground there was nothing +particularly attractive about it in a military sense. + +There is evidence to show in an official communiqué from General +Joffre published on August 24, 1914, that it was intended to be +merely the left wing of a gigantic French battle offensive--on +the adopted German plan--from Condé to Belfort. "An army," runs +the communiqué, "advancing from the northern part of the Woevre +and moving on Neufchâteau is attacking the German forces which have +been going through the Duchy of Luxemburg and are on the right bank +of the Samoy. Another army from the region of Sedan is traversing the +Belgian Ardennes and attacking the German forces marching between +the Lesse and the Meuse. A third army from the region of Chimay +has attacked the German right between the Sambre and the Meuse. +It is supported by the English army from the region of Mons." + +These attacks comprised chiefly the battle of Dinant and cavalry +skirmishing, but the purpose of General Joffre was otherwise made +plain in throwing advance French troops across the Belgian frontier +into Ligny and Gembloux on the road to a recapture of Brussels. +This we have previously noted in another connection. The rout of +the French army in Lorraine, however, put an end to the grand +Condé-Belfort offensive. + +Thus the Namur-Condé line became a main defensive position instead +of an offensive left wing sweep through Belgium upon Germany. As +such it was well enough--if its pivot on the fortress of Namur +held secure. Liege had already proved its vulnerability, but it +would seem that the French General Staff joined with General Michel, +the Commander of Namur, in believing the Namur forts would give +a better account. The French General Staff were informed of the +approximate strength of the advancing armies of Von Kluck and Von +Bülow, and had nothing to fear from inferiority in numbers. The +staff never gave out the strength of their forces, but there is +reason for believing the great armies were nearly equally matched +after mobilization--about 1,200,000 men. + +Let us now see what was developing in the Ardennes away to the +French right. It has been established that woods, particularly +in summer, form the best cover from the observation or attacks +of airmen. The spreading, leafy boughs are difficult to penetrate +visually from a height of even a few hundred feet, at least to +obtain accurate information of what is transpiring beneath. + +French air scouts brought in correct information that they had +seen the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and crown prince massed +along the southern Luxemburg and Belgian forest region. But under +the foliage there was another army unseen--that of General von +Hausen. The French moved their Fifth Army up to position on the +line of the Sambre. They advanced their Third Army, commanded by +General Ruffey, upon Luxemburg, and their Fourth Army under General +de Langle de Cary across the River Semois to watch the Meuse left +bank and gain touch with General Lanzerac. General de Cary came +from Sedan, throwing out detachments upon the Meuse left bank. These +operations were to confront the armies of the Duke of Württemberg +and crown prince. + +But the French apparently knew nothing of the movements of the +army of General von Hausen. Their air scouts either could not +distinguish it from the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and the +crown prince, amid the forest of the Ardennes, or they did not +observe it at all. To the army of General von Hausen there clings +a good deal of mystery. When last noted by us, previous to the +minor battle of Dinant, it had been formed by forces drawn from +the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and crown prince. Ostensibly +at that time, it was destined to support, as a separate field force, +the armies of Von Kluck and von Bülow. + +Possibly the Germans had begun to doubt how long Liege could hold +out. Von Kluck was compelled to mark time in his impetuous march +on Central Belgium. His losses had been heavy. Support in strength +seemed urgent. But this need passed as the Liege forts fell one +after the other under the fire of the German siege guns. General +von Hausen was released for action elsewhere. Thus we may assume, +he was ordered to follow the armies of the Duke of Württemberg +and crown prince down through the Ardennes to strike the Meuse +south of Namur. By this time he had been substantially reenforced. +Now under his command were the complete Twelfth and Nineteenth +Corps, and the Eleventh Reserve Corps. Also a cavalry division of +the Prussian Guard, with some other detachments of cavalry. His +Eleventh Reserve Corps were Hessians, the Twelfth and Nineteenth +Corps were Saxons. The latter two corps were regarded as among the +best in the German army. In the Franco-Prussian War they fought +with conspicuous bravery through every battle in which they were +engaged. They won the battle for Prussia at Gravelotte by turning +the French right and capturing St. Privat. They marched to Sedan +under the crown prince--subsequently the Emperor Frederick--to +occupy the first line in the hard fighting of the Givonne Valley. +During the siege of Paris they occupied a part of the German northern +line, finally to march in triumph into Paris. This infantry and +cavalry of the Prussian Guard stiffened Von Hausen's force into +an army of battle strength. + +We have thus two factors to bear in mind with regard to the French +defensive position at Charleroi--the resisting power of the Namur +forts, and the unknown, to the French, proximity of Von Hausen's +army. + +However substantial was the measure of reliance that the French +General Staff and General Michel placed on the Namur forts, evidently +General von Bülow regarded them as little more than passing targets +for his siege guns. He seemed to have made a comparatively simple +mathematical calculation of almost the number of shells necessary +to fire, and the hours to be consumed in reducing the Namur forts +to masses of débris. + +We can picture General von Bülow as he sat in the motor car with +Marshal von der Goltz--the old gentleman with an overcoat buttoned +up to his nose in August, and huge spectacles. Doubtless discussion +ran mainly upon the impending attack of their Second Army on the +French right. Emphasis would have been laid on the positions of +the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and crown prince advancing +away to their left upon the forces of the French Generals Ruffey +and de Cary. But there was apparently a German gap here between +Von Bülow's army and the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and +crown prince, though we noticed previously Von Bülow's army came +in touch with Saxon troops half way between Huy and Namur, when a +detachment of Von Bülow's left wing was thrown across the Meuse at +Ardenne. This gap was faced by the French extreme right resting on +the southward Namur bend of the Meuse. It was possibly the "trap" +military critics of the moment foresaw for the Germans. Quite likely +the two German generals Von Bülow and Von der Goltz, chatting in +their motor car, referred to this gap, and it is hardly a stretch +of imagination to suggest a twinkle in the huge glasses of the +old gentleman in the August overcoat, when now and then the name +of Von Hausen was mentioned. + +The German attack on the French right began early in the morning +of Friday, August 21, 1914. A party of German hussars crossed the +Meuse, rode through Charleroi, and trotted on toward the Sambre. +At first they were mistaken for a British cavalry patrol. Probably +the populace in Charleroi were not sufficiently familiar at that +time with the British hussar uniform to distinguish it from the +German. In all armies hussar uniforms bear a close resemblance. A +French officer, however, presently detected the situation. After +a skirmish the German hussars were driven off with the loss of a +few killed and wounded. But the raid evidently came out of the gap +as a surprise to the French. The citizens were promptly ordered to +their homes. Barricades were raised in the streets, and mitrailleuses +were placed in sweeping positions. An artillery engagement began at +Jemappe, nine miles above Namur on the left bank of the Sambre, +between Von Bülow's vanguard and the main French right. Later in +the day Von Bülow's vanguard artillery had advanced to open fire +on Charleroi and Thuin, seven miles beyond. + +On Saturday, August 22, 1914, Von Bülow attacked Charleroi in full +strength. As we have seen, he had already practically settled with +Namur. Their main assault on Saturday was delivered on the Sambre +bridges at Chatelet and Thuin, below and above Charleroi, respectively. +Sometime on Saturday they succeeded in crossing to turn Charleroi +into one of the most frightful street battle grounds in history. +The conflict raged for the possession of iron foundries, glass +works, and other factories. The thoroughfares were swept by storms +of machine-gun fire. Tall chimneys toppled over and crashed to +the ground, burying defenders grouped near under piles of débris. +Desperate hand-to-hand encounters took place in workshops, +electric-power stations, and manufacturing plants. The normal whir +of machinery, now silent, was succeeded by the crack and spitting +of continuous rifle fire. + +The French-Turco and Zouave troops fought with savage ferocity, +with gleaming eyes, using bayonets and knives to contest alleys +and passageways. House doors were battered in to reach those firing +from upper windows. Roofs and yard walls were scaled in chase of +fleeing parties. The Germans were driven out of Charleroi several +times, only to return in stronger force. Similarly with the French. +With each change of victors, the losing side turned to bombard +with a torrent of artillery shells the war-engulfed city. + +At nightfall on August 22, 1914, Charleroi burst into flames. A +dread and significant glow fell upon the sky. Absent were the usual +intermittent flare of blast furnaces. The greater part of Charleroi +had become a heap of ruins. Those of its citizens still alive cowered +in holes or corners for shelter. + +The battle of Charleroi went on throughout the night. Early on the +morning of Sunday, August 23, 1914, Von Hausen swept down through +the gap between the armies of Von Bülow and the Duke of Württemberg. +He crossed the Meuse, drove from before him the French detachments +watching it, and advanced to attack the rear of the French right. + +Von Hausen took the French at Charleroi completely by surprise. +At the moment they could comprehend neither where he came from +nor the measure of his strength. But he was in army force. + +The French were compelled to withdraw their right from Charleroi. +Von Hausen seized the advantage to hurl his forces upon their rear, +while Von Bülow thundered in assault more vigorously than ever on +the French front. A powerful force was hurled upon them from an +unexpected direction. Presently the retreat of the French Fifth +Army was threatened by the two Saxon corps of Von Hausen's army, +pressing on the French right flank and rear. In this emergency the +retirement of the French Fifth Army appears to have been undertaken +with spontaneous realization of utmost danger. It gave way before +the attacks of Von Bülow and Von Hausen to move southward, leaving +their British left wing without information of defeat. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER IX + +BATTLE OF MONS + +On Friday, August 21, 1914, the British force began to take position +on the French left, forming the line Binche-Mons-Condé. When finally +concentrated it comprised the First and Second Army Corps, and +General Allenby's cavalry division. The regiments forming the cavalry +division were the Second Dragoon Guards, Ninth Lancers, Fourth +Hussars, Sixth Dragoon Guards, with a contingent of the Household +Guards. The First Army Corps was given the right of the line from +Binche to Mons. It was commanded by Sir Douglas Haig. He was a +cavalry officer like the commander in chief, and a comparatively +young man for such a responsibility, but had seen active service +with credit. His corps was comprised of six guards' battalions. +The First Black Watch, Second Munster Fusiliers, The Royal Sussex, +North Lancashire, Northamptons, Second King's Royal Rifles, Third +West Surreys, The South Wales Borderers, Gloucesters, First Welsh +Regiment, Highland Light Infantry, Connaught Rangers, Liverpools, +South Staffords, Berkshires, and First King's Royal Rifles. The First +Irish Guards went into action for the first time in its history. + +The second corps extended from Mons to Condé, commanded by Sir +Horace Smith-Dorrien. General Dorrien was a west of England man, +and turning fifty-six. He had seen active service in the Zulu War, +Egypt, Sudan, the Chitral Relief Force, and Tirah campaign. He had +occupied the positions of adjutant general in India, commander +of the Quetta division, and commander in chief at Aldershot. He +was recognized as a serious military student, and possessing the +approval and confidence of Lord Kitchener. The Second Corps was +composed of Royal Irish Rifles, Wiltshires, South Lancashires, +Worcesters, Gordons, Royal Scots, Royal Irish, Middlesex, Royal +Fusiliers, Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Scots Fusiliers, Lincolns, +Yorkshire Light Infantry, West Kent, West Riding, Scottish Borderers, +Manchesters, Cornwalls, East Surreys, and Suffolks. To the rear +Count Gleichen commanded the Norfolks, Bedfords, Cheshires, and +Dorsets. On the left of the Second Corps was stationed General +Allenby's cavalry. + +In passing we may note that the commander in chief of the British +forces was a cavalry officer, the commander of the First Army Corps +a cavalry officer, and that the cavalry was in comparatively ample +force. Von Mackensen of the German force came from that branch of +the service. Cavalry officers are excellent soldiers, but their +training as such is not promising for the command of modern armies, +mainly of infantry and artillery, with other complements. In war much +has changed since Waterloo, with the value of cavalry retreating +into the background as aeroplanes sweep to the front for scouting +and other purposes. + +From Binche to Condé the line assigned to the British was approximately +twenty-five miles. Their force totaled some 75,000 men with 259 guns. +General French, therefore, had 2,500 men to the mile of front. +This was an insufficient force, as the usual fighting front for a +battalion of a thousand men in defense or in attack is estimated in +all armies at about 425 yards. The British brigade of four battalions +(4,000 rifles) covers a half-mile front. General French's Third +Army Corps having been utilized elsewhere, he was compelled to +use his cavalry in four brigades as reserve. + +Previous to the German attack on Charleroi, General Joffre still held +to his plan of a left-wing attack, or rather a counter-attack after +the Germans were beaten. But battles were commencing on other fronts, +properly belonging to the general retreat, which made its execution +doubtful even in an hour of Victory. The capture of Charleroi, of +course, dissipated it as a dream. That General French realized +the superiority in numbers of Von Kluck's advancing army both in +infantry and artillery is nowhere suggested. His airmen had merely +brought in the information that the attack would be in "considerable +force." The French Intelligence Service were led to believe and +informed the British commander that Von Kluck was advancing upon him +with only one corps, or two at the most. Some of General French's +cavalry scouting as far toward Brussels as Soignes, during the 21st +and 22d, confirmed it. But the British proceeded to prepare for +attack immediately on taking position. They set to work digging +trenches. + +While continuing their defensive efforts through Saturday, August +22, 1914, there floated to them a distant rumble from the eastward. +Opinions differed as to whether it was the German guns bombarding +Namur, or a battle in progress on the Sambre. For the most part +British officers and men had but a vague idea of their position, or +the progress of the fighting in the vicinity. Even the headquarters +staff remained uninformed of the desperate situation developing on +the French right at Charleroi. + +The headquarters of the British army was at Mons. It lies within +what is known as "le Borinage," that is the boring district of +Belgium, the coal-mining region. In certain physical aspects it +much resembles the same territory of Pennsylvania. Containing one +or two larger towns such as Charleroi and Mons, it is sprinkled +over with villages gathered near the coal pits. Everywhere trolley +lines are to be seen running from the mines to supply the main +railways and barge canals. + +Formerly the people were of a rough, ignorant and poverty toiling +type, but of late years have greatly improved with the introduction +of organized labor and education. Previous bad conditions, however, +have left their mark in a stunted and physically degenerate type of +descendants from the mining population of those times. In contrast +to later comers they resemble a race of dwarfs. The men seldom +exceed four feet eight inches in height, the women and children +appear bloodless and emaciated. + +The output of the Borinage coal field exceeds twenty million tons +a year. Its ungainly features of shafts, chimneys, and mounds of +débris are relieved in places by woodlands, an appearance of a +hilly country is presented where the pit mounds have been planted +with fir trees. Apart from its mining aspect, Mons is a city of +historic importance. It contains a Gothic cathedral and town hall +of medieval architectural note. It also, cherishes a special yearly +fête of its own on Trinity Sunday, when in the parade of the Limaçon, +or snail, the spectacle of St. George and the Dragon is presented. +With great pride the citizens of Mons showed the British soldiers +of occupation an ancient cannon, claimed to have been used by their +forefathers as an ally of the English at Crecy. + +Especially east of Mons, toward Binche, the British line ran through +this district. Several of the greatest European battles have been +fought in its vicinity--Ramilles, Malplaquet, Jemappe, and Ligny. + +The night of Saturday, August 23, 1914, passed peacefully for the +British soldiers, still working on their trenches. But distant boom +of guns from the east continued to vibrate to them at intervals. +Of its portend they knew nothing. Doubtless as they plied the shovel +they again speculated over it, wondering and possibly regretting +a chance of their having been deprived of the anticipated battle. + +Sunday morning, August 24, 1914, dawned brightly with no sign of +the enemy. In Mons and the surrounding villages the workmen donned +their usual holiday attire, women stood about their doors chatting, +children played in the streets. Church bells rung as usual summoning +to public worship. General French gathered his generals for an +early conference. General Joffre's message on Saturday morning, +assured General French of victory, and positively informed him +that Von Kluck was advancing upon him with no more than one or +two army corps. In testimony of it, General French thus wrote a +subsequent official dispatch. + +"From information I received from French headquarters, I understood +that little more than one or at most two of the enemy's army corps, +with perhaps one cavalry division, were in front of my position, +and I was aware of no outflanking movement attempted by the enemy" +(Von Hausen's advance on the right). "I was confirmed in this opinion +by the fact that my patrols encountered no undue opposition in +their reconnoitering operations. The observations of my aeroplanes +seemed also to bear out this estimate." + +To General French, therefore, his position seemed well secured. +In the light of it he awaited Von Kluck's attack with confidence. +Toward mid-day some German aeroplanes swept up above the woods +in front, and circled over the British line. British marksmen at +once fired on the bodies and hawklike wings of the intruders. + +Some tense interest was roused among the men as British aeroplanes +rose to encounter the German aircraft. It was the first real battle +of the sky they had witnessed. General French's cavalry patrols now +brought information that the woods were thick with German troops, +some of them deploying eastward toward their right at Binche. + +At twenty minutes to one the first shots swept from the woods upon +the British line. Presently, Von Kluck's main attack developed +with great rapidity. The German artillery was brought to the front +edge of the woods to hurl a storm of shells on the British trenches. +It was returned with equal vigor. But very soon it became apparent +to British commanders along the line that the German artillery +fire was in far greater volume than what might be expected from +two army corps, whose normal complement would be some 340 guns. +Instead it was estimated 600 German guns were shortly brought into +action. + +The battle field was described by the Germans as "an emptiness." +The term is intended to emphasize that the old martial display and +pomp has completely gone. A grand advance upon each other, with +trumpets sounding, banners fluttering, brilliant uniforms, and +splendid cavalry charges, was impossible with long range weapons +hailing storms of bullets and shells of devastating explosive power. +Cover was the all important immediate aim of both attack and defense. +In this respect as we have seen, the German gray-green uniform +assisted by rendering them almost invisible within shelter of such +woods as those before Mons. On the other hand, the brown khaki +shade of the British field uniforms--originally designed for the +same purpose on the sandy wastes of Egypt and Northern India--became +conspicuous upon a green background. + +As the battle of Mons developed, the British line of the Condé +Canal was swept with German shrapnel. German shells, also, began +bursting in the suburbs of Mons and in the near-by villages. Sir +Douglas Haig's right thus came under strong fire. German aeroplanes +assisted by dropping smoke bombs over the British positions to give +the angle of range for their artillery. Thereupon fights above +took place between British and German airmen, while the armies +beneath thundered shot and shell upon each other. The Germans came +on in massed formation of attack. The British were accustomed to +attack in open extended line, and their shooting from any available +cover was generally excellent. They could not understand the German +attack in such close order that they were mowed down in groups of +hundreds. + +The German infantry rifle fire, breaking from the shelter of the +woods to encounter a stronger British fire than was anticipated, +was at first ineffective. As to the mass formation they depended +upon overwhelming reserves to take the places of those dead piled +in heaps before the British trenches. It was General Grant's "food +for powder" plan of attack repeated. + +Thus the battle raged upon the entire length of the British line, +with repeated advances and retreats on the part of the Germans. +Now and then the bodies almost reached the British trenches, and +a breach seemed in certain prospect. But the British sprang upon +the invaders, bayonet in hand, and drove them back to the shelter +of the woods. The Irish regiments, especially, were considered +invincible in this "cold steel" method of attack, their national +impulsive ardor carrying them in a fury through the ranks of an +enemy. But at Mons always the Germans returned in ever greater +numbers. The artillery increased the terrible rain of shells. Pen +pictures by British soldiers vividly describe the battle somewhat +conflictingly. + +"They were in solid square blocks, standing out sharply against the +skyline, and you couldn't help hitting them. It was like butting +your head against a stone wall.... They crept nearer and nearer, +and then our officers gave the word. A sheet of flame flickered +along the line of trenches and a stream of bullets tore through the +advancing mass of Germans. They seemed to stagger like a drunken +man hit between the eyes, after which they made a run for us.... +Halfway across the open another volley tore through their ranks, +and by this time our artillery began dropping shells around them. +Then an officer gave an order and they broke into open formation, +rushing like mad toward the trenches on our left. Some of our men +continued the volley firing, but a few of our crack shots were +told off for independent firing.... They fell back in confusion, +and then lay down wherever cover was available. We gave them no +rest, and soon they were on the move again in flight.... This sort +of thing went on through the whole day." + +From another view we gather that "We were in the trenches waiting +for them, but we didn't expect anything like the smashing blow +that struck us. All at once, so it seemed, the sky began to rain +down bullets and shells. At first they went wide... but after a +time... they got our range and then they fairly mopped us up.... +I saw many a good comrade go out." + +During the early part of the battle Von Kluck directed his main +attack upon the British right, with a furious artillery bombardment +of Binche and Bray. This was coincident with the crumpling of the +French right at Charleroi by the army of Von Bülow, and its threatened +retreat by that of Von Hausen. The retirement of the French Fifth +Army, therefore, left General Haig exposed to a strong flank attack +by Von Kluck. Confronted with this danger, General Haig was compelled +to withdraw his right to a rise of ground southward of Bray. This +movement left Mons the salient of an angle between the First and +Second British Army Corps. Shortly after this movement was performed, +General Hamilton, in command of Mons, found himself in peril of +converging German front and flank attacks. If the Germans succeeded +in breaking through the British line beyond Mons, he would be cut +off and surrounded. General Hamilton informed his superior, General +French, of this danger, and was advised in return "to be careful +not to keep the troops in the salient too long, but, if threatened +seriously to draw back the center behind Mons." + +[Illustration: GERMAN HOSTS INVADE AND CONQUER BELGIUM. + +SIEGE GUN. FORTRESSES OF LIEGE, NAMUR, MALINES. VALIANT RESISTANCE +BY THE BELGIANS + +One of the great siege guns that destroyed the fortresses in Belgium +and northern France and made possible the first great drive of +the German armies] + +[Illustration: This bridge over the Meuse at Liege was blown up by +the Belgians to delay the German advance. The German army crossed +on pontoon bridges] + +[Illustration: Belgian gunners and field gun in action on the firing +line between Termond and St. Giles, Belgium] + +[Illustration: The fortress town of Namur, Belgium, whose once +impregnable fortifications were shattered in a few days by the great +German siege guns] + +[Illustration: The city of Malines Belgium, from which the inhabitants +fled as the Germans advanced from Brussels] + +[Illustration: A Belgian machine-gun corps taking up their position +in a beet field at Lebbeke on learning of the approach of the German +invaders] + +[Illustration: Belgian artillery replying to the fire of the Germans. +Though hidden by trees, this battery could be detected by aeroplane +scouts] + +[Illustration: Belgian soldiers intrenched along a railway line. +The fine roads and railways of Belgium and France aided the rapid +advance of the invaders] + +A little after General French had sent General Hamilton this warning, +he received a telegram from General Joffre which he describes as +"a most unexpected message." General Joffre's telegram conveyed +the first news to General French not only that the French Fifth +Army had been defeated and was in retreat--the first intimation +even that the French right at Charleroi under General Lanrezac was +in peril--but that at least three German army corps were attacking +the British. Doubtless the German smashing of General Joffre's +planned grand counterattack, after the Germans were to be beaten, +was disheartening as well as a sore disappointment. + +General French possessed 75,000 men. It was now disclosed that +in front Von Kluck was hurling upon him 200,000 men, Von Bülow +was hammering on his right, Von Hausen in pursuit of the French +threatened his rear, while some 50,000 Germans were enveloping +his left. He had no option but to order a retreat. + +Dealing with the combined action of the French and British in this +critical period a French military writer says: + +"The French armies of the center--that is to say, the Third and +Fourth Armies--had as their mission the duty of attacking the German +army in Belgian Luxembourg, of attempting to put it to flight and +of crumpling it up against the left flank of the German main body +at the north. This offensive on the part of the French center began +on August 21, 1914. The Third Army (General Ruffey) followed from +the east to the west the course of the Semoy, a tributary on the +right of the Meuse. The Fourth Army operated between the Meuse +and the Lesse. The Germans occupied the plateau which extends from +Neufchâteau to Paliseul. It is uncertain territory, covered with +heaths and thick woods, and lends itself poorly to the reconnaissance +work of aviators or cavalry patrols. There are no targets for the +artillery. The Germans had strongly fortified the ground. The infantry +of the Fourth Army which hurled itself against these positions +was thrown hack; still fighting it fell back over the Meuse. The +pursuit by the Germans was punctuated by strong counterattacks, +which inflicted great losses on them. The Third Army was similarly +checked in its march on Neufchâteau by the superior forces of the +crown prince and was thrown back on the Semoy. Thus the offensive +actions undertaken by the armies of the French center miscarried. +Not only were they unable to lend their aid to the armies of the +left, but they saw themselves obliged to retreat. + +"The situation could only be reestablished by a victory on the +part of the Fifth French Army operating in conjunction with the +army of General French. This army, however, found itself in the +presence of German forces of great strength, consisting of the +crack corps of the German army. On the 22d the Germans at the cost +of considerable losses succeeded in passing the Sambre, and General +Lanrezac fell back on Beaumont-Givet, being apprehensive of the danger +which threatened his right. On the 24th the British army retreated, +in the face of a German attack, on to the Maubeuge-Valenciennes +line. It appeared at first that the British had in front of them +at most an army corps, with perhaps a corps of cavalry. They were +apprised, however, about five o'clock in the evening that three +army corps were advancing against them, while a fourth was marching +against their left along the road from Tournai in a turning movement. +General French effected his retreat during the night behind the +salient of Mons. Threatened on August 24 by the strength of the +whole German army, he fled backward in the direction of Maubeuge." + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER X + +THE GREAT RETREAT BEGINS + +The German hosts now stood at the gates of France. It was a mighty +spectacle. The soldiery of the Kaiser which had swept their way into +Belgium, there to meet the unexpected resistance of the defenders +of King Albert, had reached their goal--the French frontier. + +About the middle of August, 1914, General Joffre, assigned to the +British Expeditionary Force, commanded by Sir John French, the task +of holding Mons against the powerful German advance. The British +force formed the left wing of the line of front that stretched for +some two hundred miles close to the Belgian frontier. Extending +from Arras through the colliery towns of Mons and Charleroi, the +extreme western front of the armies was held by General D'Amade +at Arras, with about 40,000 reserve territorial troops; by General +French, with 80,000 British regulars, at Mons; by the Fifth French +Army of 200,000 first-line troops, under General Lanrezac, near +Charleroi; and by a force of 25,000 Belgian troops at Namur. The +total Allied troops in this field of battle were thus about 345,000 +men. + +Opposed to them, on the north, were about 700,000 German troops, +General von Kluck farthest to the west, Generals von Bülow and von +Hausen around the Belgian fortress of Namur, Grand Duke Albrecht +of Württemberg in the neighborhood of Maubeuge, and finally, on the +extreme left of the German line, the Army of the Moselle, under +Crown Prince Wilhelm. + +The position of the Allied armies was based on the resisting power +of Namur. It was expected that Namur would delay the German advance +as long as Liege had done. Then the French line of frontier +fortresses--Lille, with its half-finished defenses; Maubeuge, with +strong forts and a large garrison; and other strongholds--would +form a still more useful system of fortified points for the Allies. + +The German staff, however, had other plans. At Liege they had rashly +endeavored to storm a strong fortress by a massed infantry attack, +which had failed disastrously until their new Krupp siege guns +had been brought up. These quickly demolished the defenses. These +siege guns, therefore, which had thus fully demonstrated their +value against fortifications soon brought about the total defeat +of the French offensive, and compelled the Allies to retreat from +Belgium and northern France. The Germans lost no time in investing +Namur, and on Saturday, as noted above, August 22, 1914, the fortress +fell into the invaders' hands. + +On the same day, August 22, 1914, the Fifth French Army, under +the lead of General Lanrezac, was enduring the double stress of +Von Bülow's army thundering against its front, and Von Hausen's two +army corps pressing hard upon its right flank and rear, threatening +its line of retreat. Against such terrific odds the French line at +Dinant and Givet broke, exposing the flank and rear of the whole +army; and by the evening of that day, August 22, the passages of +the River Sambre, near Charleroi, had been forced, and the Fifth +Army was falling back, contesting every mile of the ground with +desperate rear-guard action. The British, meanwhile, defending the +Mons position, were in grave danger of being cut off, enveloped, +and destroyed. + +Sir John French had put his two army corps into battle array. He +had about thirty miles of front to defend, with Mons nearly in +the center. + +On Sunday afternoon, August 23, 1914, the full weight of the German +onset fell for the first time upon the British. + +All that night the British were under the fire of German artillery. + +Sir John French realized the danger of his Maubeuge-Jenlain position, +and on Monday evening, August 23, 1914, realizing the importance +of putting a substantial barrier, such as the Somme or the Oise, +between his force and the enemy, gave orders for the retirement +to be continued at five o'clock the next morning, August 24, 1914. +He had decided upon a new position about the town of Le Cateau, +east of Cambrai. Before dawn, August 25, 1914, the southward march +over rough, hilly country was resumed, and toward evening of August +25, 1914, after a long, hard day's fighting march over the highroads, +in midsummer heat and thundershowers, the Guards Brigade and other +regiments of the Second Corps, wet and weary, arrived at the little +market town of Landrecies. From Landrecies, after an encounter with +a German column, they marched south toward Wassigny on Guise. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF MONS AND RETREAT OF ALLIED ARMIES] + +While the night attack on Landrecies was raging, the Germans, taxing +their men to the uttermost, marched four other corps through the +tract of country between the west side of the forest and the road +from Valenciennes to Cambrai. These corps were in a position along +Smith-Dorrien's front before dawn of Wednesday, August, 26, 1914, +and in the earliest hours of the morning it became apparent that +the Germans were determined to throw the bulk of their strength +against the British battalions which had moved up to a position +south of the small town of Solesmes, extending to the south of +Cambrai. Thus placed, this force could shield the Second Corps, now +beginning its retreat under pressure of the German army advancing +from Tournai. These troops under General Snow were destined to +play an important part in the impending battle of Le Cateau. + +By sunrise the guns of the four German corps were firing from positions +facing the British left, and gray-green masses of infantry were +pressing forward in dense firing lines. In view of this attack, +General Smith-Dorrien judged it impossible to continue his retreat +at daybreak. The First Corps was at that moment scarcely out of +difficulty, and General Sordêt--whose troops had been fighting +hard on the flank of the Fifth French Army, with General Lanrezac, +against General von Bülow's hosts--was unable to help the British, +owing to the exhausted state of his cavalry. The situation was full +of peril; indeed, Wednesday bade fair to become the most critical +day of the retreat. + +As the day of August 26, 1914, wore on, General von Kluck, abandoning +frontal attacks, began to use his superior numbers in a great enveloping +move on both flanks, and some of his batteries secured positions +from which they could enfilade the British line. Smith-Dorrien, +having no available reserves, was thus virtually ringed by enemy +guns on one side and by hostile infantry on all sides. "It became +apparent," says Sir John French's dispatch, "that if complete +annihilation was to be avoided, a retirement must be attempted; +and the order was given to commence it about 3.30 p.m. The movement +was covered with the most devoted intrepidity and determination by +the artillery, which had suffered heavily, and the fine work done +by the cavalry in the farther retreat from the position assisted +materially in the completion of this difficult and dangerous operation. +The saving of the left wing could never have been accomplished +unless a commander" (Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien) "of rare coolness +had been present to personally conduct the operation." + +This retirement foreshadowed the end of the battle. Worn out by +repeated repulses, the Germans had suffered too heavily to continue +their attacks or to engage in an energetic pursuit. According to +General French's estimate, the British losses during the trying +period from August 23 to August 26, 1914, inclusive, were between +5,000 and 6,000 men, and the losses suffered by the Germans in +their pursuit and attacks across the open country, owing largely to +their dense formation, were much greater. The Battle of Le Cateau +gave the Germans pause. Further retreat of the British could now +be resumed in orderly array; for by now General Sordêt with his +cavalry was relieving the pressure on the British rear, and General +D'Amade with his two reserve divisions from the neighborhood of +Arras was attacking General von Kluck's right, driving it back on +Cambrai. Disaster to the British forces was averted, though the +peril of German interposition between the Allied army and Paris +would soon compel still further withdrawals. + +Covered by their gunners, but still under heavy fire of the German +artillery, the British began again to retire southward. Their retreat +was continued far into the night of August 26, 1914, and through +the 27th and 28th; on the last date--after vigorous cavalry +fighting--the exhausted troops halted on a line extending from the +French cathedral town of Noyon through Chauny to La Fère. There +they were joined by reenforcements amounting to double their loss. +Guns to replace those captured or shattered by the enemy were brought +up to the new line. There was a breathing space for a day, while +the British made ready to take part in the next great encounter. + +This fourth week in August marked a decisive period in the history +of the Great War. All the French armies, from the east to the west, +as well as the British army, were in retreat over their frontiers. +To what resolution had the French commander in chief come? That +was the question on every lip. What at that moment was the real +situation of the French army? Certainly the first engagements had +not turned out as well as the French could have hoped. The Germans +were reaping the reward of their magnificent preparation for the +war. Their heavy artillery, with which the French army was almost +entirely unprovided, was giving proof of its efficacy and its worth. +The moral effect of those great projectiles launched from great +distances by the immense German guns was considerable. At such +great distances the French cannons of 75, admirable as they were, +could make no effective reply to the German batteries. The French +soldiers were perfectly well aware that they were the targets of the +great German shells while their own cannon could make no parallel +impression on the enemy. + +The German army revealed itself as an extraordinary instrument +of war. Its mobility and accouterments were perfect. It had aver +a hundred thousand professional non-commissioned officers or +subofficers, admirably suited to their work, with their men marching +under the control of their eye and finger. In the German army the +active corps, as well as the reserve carps, showed themselves, +thanks to these noncommissioned officers, marvelously equipped. + +In the French army the number of noncommissioned officers by profession +totaled hardly half the German figures. The German army, moreover, +was much more abundantly supplied with machine guns than the French. +The Germans had almost twice as many, and they understood how to +use them in defense and attack better than the French. They had +moreover, to a degree far superior to that of the French, studied +the use of fortifications in the field, trenches, wire entanglements, +and so on. The Germans were also at first better trained than the +French reservists; they had spent langer periods in the German +army, and their reserve carps were almost equal to the active carps. + +In the French army, on the other hand, an apprenticeship and training +of several weeks were required to give to the divisions of reserve +their full worth. At the end of two weeks, nevertheless, thanks +to the marvelous elasticity of the French soldier and the warlike +qualities of the race, the training was completed. At the beginning +of the month of September the reserve divisions fought with the +same skill, the same keenness, and the same swing as the active +army carps. + +Moreover, certain incompetencies had revealed themselves in the +French high command. These General Jaffre attended to without the +loss of an instant. Every general that appeared to him incapable +of fulfilling the task allotted to him was weeded out on the spot, +without considering friendships or the bonds of comradeship, or +intimacy that might be between them. + +As things were seen in Paris, all may be summed up in this formula: +That the German army was better prepared for war than the French +army, for the simple reason that Germany had long prepared for the +war, because she had it in view, a thing which could not be said +of France. But the French army revealed right from the beginning the +most admirable and marvelous qualities. The soldiers fought with a +skill and heroism that have never been equaled. Sometimes, indeed, +their enthusiasm and courage carried them too far. It mattered +little. In spite of losses, in spite even of retreat, the morale +of the whole French army on the entire front from Alsace to the +Somme remained extraordinarily high. + +The violation of Belgian neutrality and the passage of the German +armies through Belgium had been foreseen by the French General +Staff, but opinions differed in regard to the breadth of the turning +movement likely to be made by the German right wing in crossing +Belgian territory. Among French experts some were of opinion that +the Germans would confine themselves to the right bank of the Meuse, +while others thought that they would cross the Meuse, and make a much +vaster turning movement, thus descending on France in a direction +due north and south. + +If the violation of Belgian neutrality was no surprise to the French +Staff, it was nevertheless hardly expected that the Germans would +be able to put in line with such rapidity at the outset all their +reserve formations. Each army corps was supported by its reserve +corps, which showed itself as quick in mobilization and preparation +as the active corps. + +Germany, while maintaining sufficient forces on the Russian front, +was still able to put in the field for its great offensive against +France a more numerous body of troops than would have been believed +in France. This permitted them to maintain in Alsace, in Lorraine, +and in Belgian Luxembourg armies as numerous as those which faced +them on the French side, and at the same time to mass the major +part of their troops on the right so as to pour into the valley +of the Oise their chief invading forces. + +This explains why the French left, which was exposed to the offensive +of the German right, was obliged to make a rapid retreat, permitting +the German armies of General von Kluck and General von Bülow to +advance with all speed in the direction of Paris. + +The French military staff, as soon as they perceived the danger +that threatened, proceeded to a new alignment of forces. As long +as this alignment of forces could not be effected the retreat had +to continue. As soon as it was accomplished, as soon as General +Joffre had his armies well in hand and the situation of his troops +well disposed, he checked the retreat, gave the signal for the +offensive, and so followed the great Battle of the Marne. + +The German plan consisted, therefore, in delivering the main blow +through the medium of the right wing of the German forces, consisting +of the army of Von Kluck, the army of Von Bülow, and the army of +Von Hausen, which were to march with all speed in the direction +of Paris. + +What plan had the French staff in mind to oppose to this plan of +the Germans? Its plan aimed at checking and holding the greatest +possible number of Germans by a vigorous offensive in Alsace and +Lorraine so as to prevent them from joining the three first German +armies which threatened Paris. In support of this offensive of the +armies of Alsace and Lorraine, the central French armies attacked +in the direction of the Ardennes and Belgian Luxembourg with the +object of checking the center of the German armies and then turning +toward the west so as to cooperate in the offensive of the French +forces which, aided by the British army and the Belgian army, were +fighting in Belgium. + +The French armies, which are numbered from the right to the left--that +is, from the east to the west--comprised: A detachment of the Army of +Alsace that was dissolved toward the end of the month of August; the +First Army (General Dubail); the Second Army (General de Castelnau); +the Third Army (General Ruffey, replaced at the end of August, +1914, by General Sarrail); the Fourth Army (General de Langle de +Cary); the Fifth Army (General Lanrezac, replaced in the last days +of August, 1914, by General Franche d'Espérey). At the right of this +army was stationed the British army under the command of General +French. + +To what resolution did General Joffre, come? On that memorable +evening of the 24th, and on that morning of the 25th, two alternatives +presented themselves before him. Should they, rather than permit +the enemy to invade the soil of France, make a supreme effort to +check the Germans on the frontier? + +This first apparent solution had the evident advantage of abandoning +to the enemy no part of the national soil, but it had some serious +inconveniences. The attack of the German armies operating on the +right (Generals von Kluck, von Bülow, von Hausen) were extremely +menacing. In order to parry this attack it was necessary considerably +to reenforce the French left, and for that purpose to transfer from +the right to the left a certain number of army corps. That is what +the military call, in the language of chess players, "to castle" the +army corps. But this movement could not be accomplished in a few +hours. It required, even with all the perfection of organization +shown by the French railways during this war, a certain number of +days. As long as this operation from the right to the left had +not been accomplished, as long as the left wing of the French army +and even the center remained without the reenforcement of elements +taken from the right, it would have been extremely imprudent, not +to say rash, for the French high command to attempt a decisive +battle. If General Joffre had risked a battle immediately he would +have been playing the game without all his trumps in hand and would +have been in danger of a defeat, and even of a decided disaster, +from which it might have been impossible to recover. + +The second alternative consisted in drawing back and in profiting +from a retreat by putting everything in shipshape order to bring +about a new grouping of forces. They would allow the Germans to +advance, and when the occasion showed itself favorable the French +armies, along with the British army, would take the offensive and +wage a decisive battle. + +It was to this second decision that General Joffre came. As soon as +on August 25, 1914, he had made up his mind as to what the French +retreat was going to lead he gave orders for a new marshaling of +forces and for preparations with a view to the offensive. + +General Joffre has made no objection to the publication of his +orders in detail from that date, August 25, 1914, down to the Battle +of the Marne. They constitute an eloquent and convincing document. +The series of orders were contained in the "Bulletin des Armées +de la République Française," June 6, 1915, Sunday. The first of +these orders, dated August 25, 1914, runs as follows: + +"The projected offensive movement not having been found possible +of execution, the consequent operations will be so conducted as +to put in line, on our left, by the junction of the Fourth and +Fifth Armies, the British army, and new forces recruited from the +eastern district, a body capable of taking the offensive while +other armies for the needed interval hold in check the efforts of +the enemy...." + +The retreating movement was regulated so as to bring about the following +disposition of forces preparatory to an offensive: + +"In the Amiens district a new grouping of forces, formed of elements +conveyed by rail (Seventh Corps, four divisions of reserve, and +perhaps another active army corps), brought together from August +27 to September 2, 1914. This body will remain ready to take the +offensive in the general direction of St. Pol-Arras or Arras-Bapaume." + +The same general instructions of August 25, 1914, marks out the +zones of march, and says: + +"The movement will be covered by the rear guards spread out at +favorable points of vantage so as to utilize every obstacle for +the purpose of checking, by brief and violent counterattacks in +which the artillery will play the chief part, the march of the +enemy or at least to retard it." + + (Signed) J. JOFFRE. + +The object of this maneuver is thus already on August 25, 1914, +clearly indicated; it looked not to a defensive, but to an offensive +movement, which was to be resumed as soon as circumstances appeared +favorable. Much is made clear in these orders of General Joffre, +which are characterized by perspicuity, foresight, and precision. + +The retreat was effected; but it was only a provisional retreat. +Whenever an occasion presented itself to counterattack the enemy +for the purpose of delaying his advance, that occasion was to be +taken advantage of. And that is, in fact, what took place. + +Two days later, on August 27, 1914, General Joffre brought together, +using army corps and divisions recruited elsewhere, a supplementary +army, the Ninth Army, which was detailed to take its place between +the Fourth and Fifth Armies. He intrusted its command to a general, +who, while commanding the Twentieth Corps, had distinguished himself +by his brilliant conduct in Lorraine, General Foch. + +The establishment of the army of Manoury on the left of the French +armies so as to fall on the right flank of the Germans when they +marched on Paris; the establishment of a strong army under one +of the best French generals at the center for the purpose of +encountering the main weight of the German army; such were the +two decisions of the French commander in chief, taken on August +25 and 27, 1914, which contained in germ the victory of the Marne, +waged and won two weeks later. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XI + +FIGHTING AT BAY + +The forces of France also had been fighting to protect their retreat +southward in these August days of 1914. After the passages of the +Sambre were forced, during the great Mons-Charleroi battle, the +Fifth French Army was placed in very perilous straits by the failure +of the Fourth Army, under General Langle, to hold the Belgian river +town of Givet. Hard pressed in the rear by General von Bülow's +army, and on their right by General von Hausen commanding the Saxon +Army and the Prussian Guard, the Fifth Army of France had to retire +with all possible speed, for their path of retreat was threatened +by a large body of Teutons advancing on Rocroi. + +On August 23, 1914, holding their indomitable pursuers in check +by desperate rear-guard action, with their two cavalry divisions +under General Sordêt galloping furiously along the lines of the +western flank to protect the retiring infantry and guns, the Fifth +Army unexpectedly turned at Guise. At that point considerable +reenforcements in troops and material arrived, making the Fifth +Army the strongest in France. It now defeated and drove over the +Oise the German Guard and Tenth Corps, and then continued its +retirement. But the left wing of the French army was unsuccessful, +and Amiens and the passages of the Somme had to be abandoned to +the invaders. + +On Sunday, August 23, 1914, the Fourth Army, operating from the +Meuse, was heavily outnumbered by the Saxon army around the river +town of Dinant. They fell back, after furious fighting for the +possession of the bridges, which the French engineers blew up as +the army withdrew southward to the frontier. Soon after, at Givet, +the Germans succeeded in wedging their way across the Meuse. Some +advanced on Rocroi and Rethel, and other corps marched along the +left bank of the Meuse, through wooded country, against a steadily +increasing resistance which culminated at Charleville, a town on +the western bank of the river. There a determined stand was made. + +On August 24, 1914, the town of Charleville was evacuated, the +civilians were sent away to join multitudes of other homeless refugees, +and then the French also retired, leaving behind them several machine +guns hidden in houses, placed so that they commanded the town and +the three bridges that connected it with Mézières. + +The German advance guards reached the two towns next day, August +25, 1914, which, as we know, witnessed the British retirement toward +Le Cateau. Unmolested, they rode across the three bridges into the +quiet, empty streets. Suddenly, when all had crossed, the bridges +were blown up behind them by contact mines, and the German cavalrymen +were raked by the deadly fire of the machine guns. Nevertheless, +finding their foes were not numerous, they made a courageous stand, +waiting for their main columns to draw nearer. Every French machine +gunner was silenced by the Guards with their Maxims; but when the +main invading army swept into view along the river valley, the +French artillery from the hills around Charleville mowed down the +heads of columns with shrapnel. Still the Teutons advanced with +reckless courage. While their artillery was engaged in a duel with +the French, German sappers threw pontoon bridges across the river, +and finally the French had to retire. Between Charleville and Rethel +there was another battle, resulting in the abandonment of Mézières +by the French. + +The retreating army crossed the Semois, a tributary of the Meuse, +which it enters below Mézières, and advanced toward Neufchâteau; +but they were repulsed by the Germans under the Duke of Württemberg. +At Nancy on August 25, 1914, there was another engagement between +the garrison of Toul and the army of the Crown Prince of Bavaria; +after fierce onslaughts the garrison was compelled to yield and +retire. Finally, on August 27, 1914, at Longwy, a fortified town near +Verdun, the army of the German crown prince succeeded in bursting +into France after a long siege, and marched toward the Argonne. +Thus from the western coast almost to Verdun there was a general +Franco-British retreat. + +On August 28, 1914, pressed by the German armies commanded by Von +Kluck on the west, by Von Hausen from Dinant and Givet, by Von +Bülow from Charleroi and Namur, the Allies were pushed back upon +a line stretching roughly from Amiens through Noyon-Le Fère to +Mézières; while their forces east of the Meuse between Mézières +and Verdun were retreating before Duke Albrecht of Württemberg, +and to the southeast of Verdun before the Bavarians. All northern +France was thus open to the invaders. + +After the battle of Le Cateau, however, the Germans slackened their +pursuit for a very brief interval; partly because the terrific strain +of marching and fighting was telling upon them no less than upon +the Allies, partly because the engineers had blown up the bridges +over every river, canal, and stream, behind the retreating armies, +and partly because, under directions from the French commander in +chief, General Manoury was organizing a new force on the British +left, a new Sixth Army, mainly reserve troops, one corps of line +troops, and General Sordêt's cavalry. On the right of the British +were General Lanrezac's troops; then, between Lanrezac's Fifth +Army and the Fourth Army, came a Ninth Army, under General Foch, +formed of three corps from the south. + +Counterattacks were ordered by the French general in chief, continued +during the entire retreat and had frequently brilliant results. + +On August 29, 1914, a corps of the Fifth Army and of the divisions +of reserve attacked with success in the direction of St. Quentin +with the object of withdrawing the pressure on the British army. +Two other corps and a division of reserves joined issue with the +Prussian Guard and the Tenth Corps of the German army which debouched +from Guise. This was a very violent battle, known under the name +of the Battle of Guise. At the end of the day, after various +fluctuations in the fight, the Germans were thrown completely over +the Oise and the entire British front was relieved. The Prussian +Guard on that occasion suffered great losses. + +August 27, 1914, the Fourth Army under General de Langle de Cary +succeeded likewise in throwing the enemy across the Meuse as he +endeavored to secure a footing on the left bank. The success continued +on the 28th; on that day a division of this army (First Division of +Morocco under the orders of General Humbert) inflicted a sanguinary +defeat on a Saxon army corps in the region of Signy l'Abbaye. + +Thanks to these brilliant successes, the retreat was accomplished in +good order and without the French armies being seriously demoralized; +as a matter of fact, they were actually put to flight at no point. +All the French armies were thus found intact and prepared for the +offensive. + +The right wing of the German army marched in the direction of Paris +at great speed, and the rapidity of the German onslaught obliged the +French General Staff to prolong the retreat until they were able +to establish a new alignment of forces. The new army established +on the left of the French armies, and intrusted to General Manoury, +was not able to complete its concentration in the localities first +intended. In place of concentrating in the region of Amiens it +was obliged to operate more to the south. + +The situation on the evening of September 2, 1914, as a result +of the vigorous onward march of the German right, was as follows: + +A corps of German cavalry had crossed the Oise and had reached Château +Thierry. The First German Army (General von Kluck), consisting of +four active army corps and a reserve corps, had passed Compiègne. +The Second Army (General von Bülow), with three active army corps +and two reserve corps, had attained to the region of Laon. The +Third German Army (General van Hausen), with two active army corps +and a reserve corps, had crossed the Aisne and reached Château +Porcin-Attigny. + +Farther to the east the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh German +Armies, making about twelve active army corps, four reserve corps, +and numerous Ersatz companies, were in contact with the French +troops (Fourth and Fifth Armies) between Vouziers and Verdun, the +others from Verdun to the Vosges. Such was the situation. + +It may be seen, if a map is consulted, that the Fifth French Army, +commanded from August 30 by General Franchet d'Espérey, would have +found itself in grave peril following on the backward bending of +the British and French forces operating on its left, if the French +had accepted the challenge of a decisive battle. The French commander +in chief resolutely chose the alternative that obviated such a +risk, that is, he decided on a postponement of the offensive and +the continuation of the retreat. + +Already on September 1, 1914, he prescribed as the extreme limits of +the retreat the line running through Bray-sur-Seine, Nogent-sur-Seine, +Arcis-sur-Aube, Vitry-le-François, and the region north of Bar-le-Due. +That line would have been reached had it been necessary. On the +other hand, it was his intention to attack before it was reached if +the forces could be offensively arrayed, allowing of the cooperation +of the British army and the army of Manoury on the left, and on +the right that of the divisions of reserve that had been held on +the heights of the Meuse. + +Meanwhile, late in the afternoon of August 29, 1914, the British +retirement began afresh, and 10,000 French troops also withdrew from +the Somme, blowing up the bridges as they went. Everywhere along +the roads were crowds of country folk and villagers with wagons and +carts piled high with household goods or carrying aged persons and +children, all in panic flight before the dreaded invaders, fleeing +for refuge in Paris. At various places these stricken multitudes +joined the army ambulances, taking the shortest routes. Rumors of +the coming of the uhlans ran along the straggling lines with tales +of the grievous havoc and ruin which these horsemen, vanguards +of the German columns, had wrought in the land. Hardly had the +retirement begun, when a body of uhlans entered Amiens and demanded +from the mayor the surrender of the town. This was formally given, +and the civilians were ordered, on pain of death, not to create the +slightest disturbance and not to take part in any action, overt +or covert, against the soldiery. Afterward, cavalry, infantry, +and artillery took possession of the town on August 30, 1914. On +the same day a German aeroplane dropped bombs on Paris. + +While retiring from the thickly wooded country south of Compiègne, +the British First Cavalry Brigade were surprised while dismounted +and at breakfast in the early morning of September 1, 1914. Moving +figures on the distant skyline first attracted the attention of +those who had field glasses, but in the dim light their identity +was not at first revealed. Suddenly all doubt was resolved by a +rain of shells on the camp. Many men and a large number of horses +were killed. At once the order "Action front!" rang out, and the +remaining horses, five to a man, were hurried to cover in the rear, +while on the left a battery of horse artillery went into instant +action. The German attack was pressed hard, and the battery was +momentarily lost until some detachments from the British Third +Corps, with the guns of the artillery brigade, galloped up to its +support. Then they not only recovered their own guns, but also +succeeded in capturing twelve of the enemy's. + +On the eventful day of September 3, 1914, the British forces reached +a position south of the Marne between Lagny and Signy-Signets. They +had defended the passage of the river against the German armies +as long as possible, and had destroyed bridges in the path of the +pursuers. Next, at General Joffre's request, they retired some +twelve miles farther southward with a view to taking a position +behind the Seine. In the meantime the Germans had built pontoon +bridges across the Marne, and were threatening the Allies all along +the line of the British forces and the Fifth and Ninth French Armies. +Consequently several outpost actions took place. + +By the 1st of September, 1914, the day of the Russian victories +at Lemberg, Von Kluck's army had reached Senlis, only twenty-five +miles from Paris. Despite this imminent danger, the capital was +remarkably quiet and calm; every day, as fateful event crowded +upon event, seemed to renew the resolution and coolness of the +population. It seemed advisable, however, to transfer the seat of +government for the time being from Paris to Bordeaux, after assuring +the defense of the city by every means that could be devised. + +The defenses of Paris consisted of three great intrenched camps, +on the north, east, and southwest, respectively. Of these the most +important is the last, which includes all the fortified area to +the south and west of the Seine. A railway over sixty miles in +length connects all the works, and, under the shelter of the forts, +it could not only keep them supplied with the necessary ammunition +and stores, but also it could be utilized to convey troops from +point to point as they might be needed. However, it was an open +secret that even the outer and newer defenses were not of any great +strength. If the Germans broke through the outlying circle of forts, +the inner line would be of small value, and the city itself would +be exposed to long-range bombardment. + +Paris was not ready for a siege, and if attacked it would speedily +fall. + +Early in the morning of September 3, 1914, President Poincaré, +accompanied by all the ministers, left Paris, and was followed +at noon by the members of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, and +the reserves of the Banque de France. The higher courts were also +transferred to Bordeaux. The municipal authority was constituted +by the president of the City Council, and the Council of the Seine +Department, who were empowered to direct civil affairs under the +authority of General Galliéni as military governor, the prefect +of Paris, and the prefect of police. + +On his appointment to the command, Galliéni did what he could to +strengthen the defenses. Trenches were dug, wire entanglements +were constructed; and hundreds of buildings that had been allowed +to spring up over the military zone of defense were demolished in +order to leave a clear field of fire. The gates of the city were +barred with heavy palisades backed by sandbags, and neighboring +streets also were barricaded for fighting. Certain strategic streets +were obstructed by networks of barbed wire, and in others pits +were dug to the depth of a man's shoulders. The public buildings +were barricaded with sandbags and guarded with machine guns. + +But while Paris was preparing for siege and assault the French +staff were concentrating their efforts on making a siege impossible +by a decisive stroke against the German advance. + +Hardly had the Government left the city when tidings arrived that +instead of marching on Paris, General von Kluck had swung southeastward +toward the crossing of the Marne. This news was obtained by the +allied flying corps, which had made daring flights over the enemy's +line. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XII + +THE MARNE--GENERAL PLAN OF BATTLE FIELD + +On September 4, 1914, the bugler of Destiny sounded the "Halt!" to +the retreat of the armies of the Allies from the Belgian frontier. +The marvelous fighting machine of the German armies, perhaps the +most superb organization of military potency that has been conceived +by the mind of man, seemed to reach its limit of range. Success +had perched upon the German eagles, and for two weeks there had +been a steady succession of victories. Nevertheless the British +and French armies were not crushed. They were overwhelmed, they +were overpowered, and, under stern military necessity, they were +forced to fall back. + +Day after day, under the swinging hammer-head blows of the German +drive, the flower of the forces of the Allies had been compelled +to break. A little less generalship on the part of the defenders, +or a little more recklessness behind that smashing offensive might +have turned this retirement into a rout. Even as it was, the official +dispatches reveal that, while occasional and local retirements had +been considered, such a sweeping retreat was far from contemplated by +Generals Joffre and French. German official dispatches bear testimony +to the intrepid character of the defenders sullenly falling back +and contesting every inch of the way, as much as they do to the +daring and the vivid bravery of the German attackers who hurled +themselves steadily, day after day, upon positions hastily taken +up in the retreat where the retirement could be partly repaid by +the heaviest toll of death. + +The great strategical plan of the Germans, which had displayed +itself throughout the entire operations on the western theatre +of war from the very first gun of the campaign, came to its apex +on this September 3, 1914. If the allied armies could develop a +strong enough defense to halt the German offensive at this point, +and especially if they could develop a sufficiently powerful +counteroffensive to strike doubt into the confident expectations +of the armies of the Central Powers, then the strategical plan +had reached a check, which might or might not be a checkmate, as +the fortunes of war might determine. If, on the other hand, the +stand made by the Allies at this point should prove ineffective, +and if the counteroffensive should reveal that the German hosts +had been able to establish impregnable defenses as they marched, +then the original strategic plan of the attackers must be considered +as intact and the peril of France would become greatly intensified. + +It is idle, in a war of such astounding magnitude, to speak about +any one single incident as being a "decisive" one. Such a term can +only rightly be applied to conditions where the opposing powers +each have but one organized army in the field, and these armies +meet in a pitched battle. None the less, the several actions which +are known as the Battles of the Marne may be considered as decisive, +to the extent that they decided the limit of the German offensive +at that point. The German General Staff, taking the ordinary and +obvious precautions in the case of a possible repulse, chose and +fortified in the German rear positions to which its forces might +fall back in the event of retreat. These prepared positions had +a secondary contingent value for the Germans in view of the grave +Russian menace that might call at any moment for a transfer of +German troops from the western to the eastern front. + +The Battle of the Marne stopped the advance of the main German army +on that line, forcing it back. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF THE MARNE--BEGINNING ON SEPTEMBER 5, 1914] + +The scene of the battle ground is one of the most famous in Europe, +not even the plains of Belgium possessing a richer historical +significance than that melancholy plain, the Champagne-Pouilleuse, +upon whose inhospitable flats rested for centuries the curse of a +prophecy, that there would the fate of France be decided, a prophecy +of rare connotation of accuracy, for it refrained from stating what +that fate should be. Yet the historic sense is amplified even more +by remembrance than by prophecy, for in the territory confronting +that huge arc on which 1,400,000 German and Austrian soldiers lay +encamped, awaiting what even the German generals declared to be +"the great decision," there lies, on the old Roman road running +from Chalons a vast oval mound, known to tradition as "the Camp of +Attila." In that country, a Roman general, Aetius, leading a host +of soldiers of whom many were Gauls, broke a vast flood wave of the +Huns as those savage Mongol hordes hurled themselves against Rome's +westernmost possession. On that occasion, however, the Visigoths, +under their King Theodoric, fought side by side with the Gauls. +Then, the dwellers on the banks of the Rhine and on the banks of +the Seine were brothers in arms, now, that same countryside shall +see them locked in deadly conflict. + +The morale of tradition is a curious thing, and often will nerve a +sword arm when the most impassioned utterance of a beloved leader +may fail. There were few among the soldiers of France who forgot +that in the south of this same plain of Champagne-Pouilleuse was +the home of Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, patriot and saint, +and more than one French soldier prayed that the same voices which +had whispered in the ear of the virgin of Domremy should guide +the generalissimo who was to lead the armies of France upon the +morrow. Here, tradition again found old alliances severed and new +ones formed, for the Maid of Orleans led the French against the +English, while in the serried ranks awaiting the awful test of +the shock of battle, English and French soldiers lived and slept +as brothers. + +The topography of the region of the battle field is of more than +common interest, for modern tactics deal with vaster stretches +of country than would have been considered in any previous war. +This is due, partly, to the large armies handled, partly to the +terrific range of modern artillery, and also to what may be called +the territorial perceptiveness which aeronautical surveys make +possible to a general of to-day. While war has not changed, it is +true that a commander of an army in modern campaign is compelled +to review and to take into account a far larger group of factors. A +modern general must be capable of grasping increased complexities, +and must possess a synthetic mind to be able to reduce all these +complicating factors into a single whole. The first factor of the +battles of the Marne was the topographical factor, the consideration +of the land over which the action was to take place. + +Let the River Marne be used as a base from which this topography can +be determined. The Marne rises near Langres, which is the northwest +angle of that pentagon of fortresses (Belfort, Epinal, Langres, Dijon, +and Besançon), which incloses an almost impregnable recuperative +ground for exhausted armies. From Langres the Marne flows almost north +by west for about fifty miles through a hilly and wooded country, +then, taking a more westerly course, it flows for approximately +seventy-five miles almost northwest, across the Plain of Champagne, +past Vitry-le-François and Châlons, thence almost due westward +through the Plateau of Sézanne, by Epernay, Château Thierry, La +Ferté-sous-Jouarre, and Meaux to join the Seine just south of Paris. +In the neighborhood of Meaux, three small tributaries flow into +the Marne--the Ourcq from the north, and the Grand Morin and Petit +Morin from the east. The Marshes of St. Gond, ten miles long from +east to west and a couple of miles across, lie toward the eastern +borders of the Plateau of Sézanne, and form the source of the Petit +Morin, which has been deepened in the reclamation of the marsh +country. + +Once more considering the source of the Marne, near Langres, it +will be noted that the River Meuse rises near by, flowing north +by east to Toul, and then north-northwest past Verdun to Sedan, +where it turns due north, flowing through the Ardennes country +to Namur, in Belgium. To the east of the Meuse lies the difficult +forest clad hill barrier, known as the Hills of the Meuse; to the +east extends (as far as Triaucourt) the craggy and broken wooded +country of the Argonne, a natural barrier which stretches southward +in a chain of lakes and forests. + +West of this impassible country of the Meuse and the Argonne lies +the plain of Champagne-Pouilleuse, which is almost a steppe, bare +and open, only slightly undulating, overgrown with heath, and studded +here and there by small copses of planted firs, naught but a small +portion of the whole being under cultivation. Between the Forest +of the Argonne and this great plain, which is over a hundred miles +long from north to south and forty miles in width, lies a short +stretch of miniature foothills, with upland meadows here and there, +but crossed in every direction by small ravines filled with shrubs +and low second-growth timber. Here lies the source of the Aisne, a +river destined to live in history; and on the farther side begins +the great plain. + +On the west of the plain of Champagne rises, 300 feet, with a curious +clifflike suddenness, the Plateau of Sézanne. The effect is as +though a geological fault had driven the original plateau from +north to south throughout its entire length, and then as though +there had been a general subsidence of the plain, giving rise to +the clifflike formations known as Les Falaises de Champagne, at +the foot of which runs the road from La Fère-Champenoise to Rheims. + +The disposition and arrangement of the German forces is next to +be considered. It can be assumed that their objective was Paris. +It is also worthy of remembrance that the German tactical method +has always favored the envelopment of the enemy's flanks rather +than a frontal attack aiming to pierce the enemy's center, which +latter was a favorite method of Napoleon I to reach decision. + +The tactical method of envelopment demands great numerical superiority, +and on account of the extreme extension of front necessitated is apt +to become dangerous as perforce the center is left weak. Attempts +to envelop, with which the observer is confronted again and again +when considering the military movements of the Central Powers on +the western battle front, were revealed on the morning of September +3, 1914, in the position occupied by the German forces, and, +correspondingly, in the arrangement of the allied armies. + +The German right, on September 3, 1914, and September 4, 1914, +at which time it was nearest to its desired goal of Paris, held +the banks of the Marne from Epernay to the banks of the little +tributary the Ourcq, which runs into the Marne from the north. This +extreme right comprised the Second Corps and the Fourth Reserve +Corps, encamped on the western bank of the little stream the Ourcq; +while the Fourth Corps was given the honor of the tip of the right, +being camped on the Marne at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, supported by +the Third Corps, the Seventh Corps and the Seventh Corps Reserve. +The Ninth Cavalry Division occupied an advanced position west of +Crécy and the Second Cavalry Division occupied an advanced position +near the British army, north of Coulommiers. These troops constituted +the First German Army, under the command of General von Kluck. + +The Allies' left, confronting this position, held strong reserves, +and by the nature of the ground itself, was well placed to prevent +any enveloping movement, dear to the German school of military +tactics. It rested securely on the fortress of Paris, believed +by its constructors to be the most fully fortified city in the +world, and should the German right endeavor to encircle the left +wing of the Allies, should it develop a farther westerly movement, +it would but come in contact with the outer line of those defenses +and thence be deflected in such an enormous arc as to thin the line +beyond the power of keeping it strong enough to resist a piercing +attack at all points. Clearly, then, as long as the extreme left +of the Allies remained in contact with the defenses of Paris, an +enveloping movement was not possible on the easterly flank. + +Facing the German extreme right, was the Sixth French Army, one +of the great reserves of General Joffre, which had been steadily +building up since August 29, 1914, with its right on the Marne +and its left at Betz, in the Ourcq Valley, encamped on the western +side of that stream, facing the Second and Fourth Corps of the +Germans. The strengthening of that army from the forces at Paris +was hourly, and while three or four days before it had been felt +that the Sixth French Army was too weak to be placed in so vital a +point--that it should have been supplemented with the Ninth Army--the +results justified the French generalissimo's plans and more than +justified his confidence in the British Army, or Expeditionary +Force, which faced the tip of the German right wing drive and was +encamped on a line from Villeneuve le Comte to Jouy le Chatel, the +center of the British army being at a point five miles southeast +of Coulommiers. This army was under the command of General Sir +John French. + +The right center of the German line was held by General von Bülow's +army, consisting of the Ninth Corps, the Tenth Corps, the Tenth +Reserve Corps, and the Guard Corps. This army also was encamped +upon the Marne, stretching from the eastern end of General Von +Kluck's army as far as Epernay. This army thus held the Forests +of Vassy but was confronted by the marshes of St. Gand. + +Confronting this right center was, first of all, General Conneau's +Cavalry Corps, which was in touch with the right wing of the British +army under Sir John French. Then, holding the line from Esternay +to Courtaçon lay the Fifth French Army under General d'Espérey. +Full in face of the strongest part of the German right center stood +one of the strongest or General Joffre's new reserves, the Ninth +Army under General Foch, with the marshes of St. Gond in front or +him, and holding a twenty-mile line from Esternay, past Sézanne +to Camp de Mailly, a remarkably well-equipped army, very eager +for the fray. + +The hastily replenished corps, largely of Saxons, which had been +General von Hausen's army, lay next to General von Bülow, a little +north of Vitry, and as it proved, a weak spot in the German line. +The left center of the attacking force was under the command of +the Duke of Württemberg and extended across the whole southern +end of the plain of Champagne to the upper streams of the Aisne +south of St. Menhould. The extreme left of this advanced line was +the army of the Imperial Crown Prince, holding the old line on the +Argonne to the south of Verdun. In close relation to this advanced +line, but not directly concerned with the battles of the Marne, were +the armies of the Bavarian Crown Prince, encamped in the plateau +of the Woevre, engaged largely in the task of holding open the +various lines of communication, while far to the south, in the +vicinity of the much battered little town of Mulhouse, lay the +remains of the decimated army or the Alsace campaigns under General +von Heeringen. + +Facing this left center came General Langle's Fourth French Army, +covering the southern side of the plain of Chalons, it lay south +of Vitry-le-François, and faced due north. On this army, it was +expected, the brunt of the drive would fall. At this point the French +battle line made a sharp angle, the Third French Army, commanded +by General Sarrail, occupying a base from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun. +It thus faced almost west, skirting the lower edge of the Forest +of Argonne. At the same time it was back to back with the Second +French Army, which covered the great barrier of forts from Verdun +to Toul and Epinal, while the First French Army held the line from +Epinal to Belfort. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XIII + +ALLIED AND GERMAN BATTLE PLANS + +So much for the actual disposition of the armies. The question +of preponderance of numbers, of advantages of position, and of +comparative fighting efficiency is the next factor with which to +be reckoned. The numbers were fairly evenly matched. About twelve +days before this fateful day of September 3, 1914, there were +approximately 100 German divisions as against seventy-five French, +British, and Belgian divisions. But, during those twelve days, +French and British mobilization advanced with hectic speed, while, +at the same time, Germany was compelled to transfer ten or perhaps +fifteen of her divisions to the eastern theater of war. It follows, +therefore, that there were about 4,000,000 soldiers in all the +armies that confronted each other in the week of September 3-10, +1914, of whom, probably, 3,000,000 were combatants. + +An early estimate placed the German strength at 1,300,000 combatants, +and the Allies at about 1,700,000. A later French estimate put +the Germans at 1,600,000, with the Allies between 1,400,000 and +1,500,000. The preponderance of efficiency of equipment lay with +the Germans. + +The plans of the German campaign at this time, so far as they can +be determined from the official orders and from the manner in which +the respective movements were carried out, were three-fold. The +first of these movements was the order given to General von Kluck +to swirl his forces to the southeast of Paris, swerving away from +the capital in an attempt to cut the communications between it and +the Fifth French Army under General d'Espérey. This plan evidently +involved a feint attack upon the Sixth French Army under General +Manoury (though General Pare took charge of the larger issues of +this western campaign), coupled with a swift southerly stroke and +an attack upon what was supposed to be the exposed western flank of +General d'Espérey's army. The cause of the failure of this attempt was +the presence of the British army, as has been shown in the alignment +of the armies given above, and as will be shown in detail later, in +the recital of the actual progress of the fighting. Important as +was this movement, however, it was the least of the three elements +in General von Moltke's plan for the shattering of the great defense +line of the Allies. + +The second element in this plan was, contrary to Germany's usual +tactics, the determination to attack the center of the French line +and break through. Almost three-quarters of a million men were +concentrated on this point. The armies of General von Bülow, General +Hausen and the Duke of Württemberg were massed in the center of the +line. There, however, General Foch's new Ninth Army was prepared +to meet the attack. It will be remembered that, in the disposition +of the troops, these respective armies were facing each other across +the great desolate plain, the ancient battle ground. If the German +center could break through the French center, and if at the same +time General von Kluck, commanding the German right, could execute +a swift movement to the southeast, the Fifth French Army would +be between two fires, together with such part of the Ninth Army +as lay to the westward of the point to be pierced. This strategic +plan held high promise, and it would have menaced the whole interior +of France southward from the plain of Champagne, but even this +second part of the plan, important as it was, does not appear to +have been the crucial point in the campaign. + +The glory of the victory, if indeed victory it should prove, as +the successes of the previous two weeks had led the Germans to +believe, was to be given to the crown prince. With a great deal +of trouble and with far more delay than had been anticipated, the +crown prince's army had at last managed to get within striking +distance of the forefront of the great battle line. His forces +occupied the territory north of Verdun to a southern point not +far from Bar-le-Duc. Here the German secret service seems to have +been as efficient, as it failed to be with regard to conditions +only fifty miles away. General Sarrail's army, which confronted +the army of the crown prince, was somewhat weak. It consisted of +about two army corps with reserve divisions. Nor could General Joffre +send any reenforcements. Every available source of reenforcements +had been drawn upon to aid the Sixth Army, encamped upon the banks +of the Ourcq, in order that Paris might be well guarded. No troops +could be spared from the Fifth and Ninth Armies, which had to bear +the brunt of the attack from the German center. General Sarrail, +therefore, had to depend on the natural difficulties of the country +and to avoid giving battle too readily against the superior forces +by which he was confronted. It was a part of the plan of the French +generalissimo, however, to feel the strength of the German center, +and if it proved that they could be held, to release several divisions +and send them to the aid of General Sarrail. + +Subordinate to this contemplated attack by the crown prince, yet +forming a part of it, and, in a measure, a fourth element in the +campaign, was the double effort from the garrisons of Metz and +Saarbrucken, combining with the armies of the Bavarian Crown Prince +and the forces of General von Heeringen. The Second French Army, +therefore, could not come to the aid of the Third, except in desperate +need, for it was in the very forefront of the attack on Nancy. If the +German left could pierce the French lines at Nancy and pour through +the Gap of Lorraine, it would be able to take General Sarrail's army +in the rear at Bar-le-Duc, and would thus completely hem it in, +at the same time isolating Verdun, which, thus invested in the +course of time must fall, forming an invaluable advanced fortress +to the German advance. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF THE MARNE--SITUATION ON SEPTEMBER 9, 1914] + +Before proceeding to the actual working out of this plan of campaign +it may be well to recapitulate it, in order that each development +may be clear. The German plan was to pierce the French line at +three places, at Meaux, at Bar-le-Duc and at Nancy. General von +Kluck, at Meaux, would cut off the Fifth and the Ninth Armies from +communication with their base at Paris, the Bavarian Crown Prince +would weaken General Sarrail's defense in the rear, and if possible +come up behind him, and thus the stage would be set for the great +onrush of the Imperial Crown Prince, who, with an almost fresh army, +and with a most complete and elaborate system of communications +and supplies, should be able to crush the weak point in France's +defense, the army under General Sarrail. Such a victory was designed +to shed an especial luster upon the crown prince and thus upon +the Hohenzollern dynasty, a prestige much needed, for the delays +in the advance of the crown prince's army had already given rise +to mutterings of discontent. From a strategical point of view the +plan was sound and brilliant, the disposition of the forces was +excellently contrived, and the very utmost of military skill had +been used in bringing matters to a focus. + +The French plan, is the next to be considered. From official orders +and dispatches and also from the developments of that week, it is +clear that General Joffre had perceived the possibility of such +a plan as the Germans had actually conceived. He had brought back +his armies--and there is nothing harder to handle than a retreating +army--step by step over northern France without losing them their +morale. The loss of life was fearful, but it never became appalling. +The French soldiers had faith in Joffre, even as their faith in +France, and, while the Germans had victories to cheer them on, +the soldiers of the Allies had to keep up their courage under the +perpetual strain of retreat. The administration had evacuated Paris. +Everywhere it seemed that the weakness of France was becoming apparent. +To the three armies in the field, those commanded severally by +General Manoury, Sir John French, and General Lanrezac, the +generalissimo steadily sent reenforcements. But he informed the +French Government that he was not able to save the capital from a +siege. Yet, as after events showed, while these various conditions +could not rightly be considered as ruses upon General Joffre's +part to lure on the Germans, there is no doubt that he understood +and took full advantage of the readiness of the attacking hosts +to esteem all these points as prophetic of future victory. The +first feature of the French plan, therefore, was to lend color to +the German belief that the armies of the Allies were disheartened +and thereby to induce the attacking forces to join the issue quickly. + +The second part of the French plan lay in General Joffre's decision +not to do the expected thing. With General Sarrail placed at the +extremest point of danger, it would have been a likely move to +transfer the entire British Expeditionary Force from the left wing +to the weak point at Bar-le-Duc. There is reason to believe that +General von Kluck believed that this had been done. + +The third part of the defensive prepared by General Joffre was that +of a determination to turn the steady retreat into a counterdrive. +Time after time had the other generals implored their leader to +give them leave to take the offensive, and on every occasion a +shake of the head had been the reply. Sir John French had wondered. +But when the French officers found themselves in the region of the +Marne, close to the marshes of St. Gond, where in 1814 Napoleon +had faced the Russians, they were more content. It was familiar +as well as historic ground. Even the youngest officer knew every +foot of that ground thoroughly. It was, at the same time, the best +point for the forward leap and one of the last points at which a +halt could be made. + +The fourth part of the plan was the holding fast to the point of +Verdun, for thereby the communication of the armies of the Central +Powers was seriously weakened. It is to be remembered that this actual +fighting army of more than a million men depended for food and for +ammunition supplies upon the routes from Belgium and Luxemburg by +way of Mézières and Montmédy, and the circuitous line to Brussels +via St. Quentin. Had Maubeuge fallen a little earlier the situation +of the Central Powers would have been less difficult, and both +commissariat and ammunition problems would have been easier of +solution. But Maubeuge held out until September 7, 1914, and by +that time the prime results of the battles of the Marne had been +achieved. To this problem Verdun was the key, for from Metz through +Verdun ran the main line, less than one-half the length of line +to the Belgian bases of supplies, and, owing to the nature of the +country, a line that could be held with a quarter the number of +men. But Verdun stood, and General Joffre held the two armies back +to back, converging on the point at Verdun. + +Such was the country over which the battles of the Marne were fought, +such were the numbers and dispositions of the several armies on +each side, and such, as far as can be judged, were the plans and +counterplans of the strategic leaders in the great conflict. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XIV + +FIRST MOVES IN THE BATTLE + +The first movement in this concerted plan was taken by the German +extreme right. This was the closing in of General von Kluck's army in +a southeasterly direction. It was a hazardous move, for it required +General von Kluck to execute a flank march diagonally across the +front of the Sixth French Army and the British Expeditionary Force. +At this time, according to the dispatches from Sir John French, the +British army lay south of the Marne between Lagny and Signy-Signets, +defending the passage of the river and blowing up the bridges before +General von Kluck. + +On September 4, 1914, air reconnaissances showed that General von +Kluck had stopped his southward advance upon Paris, and that his +columns were moving in a southeasterly direction east of a line +drawn through Nanteuil and Lizy on the Ourcq. Meanwhile the French +and British generals more effectually concealed their armies in +the forests, doing so with such skill that their movements were +unmarked by the German air scouts. All that day General von Kluck +moved his forces, leaving his heavy artillery with about 100,000 +men on the steep eastern bank of the Ourcq and taking 150,000 troops +south across the Marne toward La Ferté Gaucher. He crossed the +Petit Morin and the Grand Morin, all unconscious that scores of +field glasses were trained upon his troops. + +Probably believing that the British army had been hurried to the +aid of General Sarrail, General von Kluck advanced confidently. +Having concealment in view, the commanders of the French army and +the British army between them had left a wide gap between the two +armies. Through one of these apparently unguarded openings a strong +body of uhlan patrols advanced, riding southward until they reached +Nogent, south of Paris, and seemingly with the whole rich country +of central France laid wide open to a sharp and sudden attack. +Among the many strange features of this series of the battles of +the Marne this must certainly be reckoned as one. Though possessing +an unequaled military organization, though priding itself on its +cavalry scouts, though aided by aerial scouts, and though well +supplied with spies, yet the Allied armies, with the age-old device +of a forest, were able to cloak their movements from this perfectly +organized and powerful invading army. Much of the credit of this +may be assigned to the French and English aircraft, which kept +German scouting aircraft at a distance. But the Allied generals +were astounded at the result of their maneuver, which, as they +admitted afterward, was merely a military precautionary measure +against the discovery of artillery sites, and a device to keep +the enemy in general ignorance. + +On Saturday, September 5, 1914, at the extreme north of the line +of the two armies facing each other across the Ourcq, an artillery +duel began. The offensive was taken by the French, and though in +itself it was not more striking than any of the artillery clashes +that had marked the previous month's fighting, it was significant, +for it marked the beginning of the battles of the Marne. The plans +of General Joffre were complete, but the actual point at which +the furious contest should begin was not yet determined. In the +northern Ourcq section, however, the realization by the French +that they were actually on the offensive at last, that the long +period of retreat was over, could not be restrained. The troops +were eager to get to work with the bayonet, and greatly aided by +their field artillery, in which mobility had been sacrificed to +power, they quickly cleared the hills to the westward of the Ourcq. +By nightfall of September 5, 1914, the country west of the Ourcq +was in French hands. But to cross that river seemed impossible. +General von Kluck's heavy artillery had been left behind to hold +that position, and every possible crossing was covered with its +own blast of death. + +Here General von Kluck's generalship was successful. It might have +been regarded as risky to leave 100,000 men to guard a river confronted +by 250,000 picked and reenforced French troops. But General von Kluck's +faith in German guns and German gunnery was not ill-founded. This +was the first of the open-air siege conflicts, and the French army +had no guns which could be used against the German heavy artillery. +Hence it followed that the brilliant work of the Sixth French Army +on this first day of the battles of the Marne achieved no important +result, for the long-range hidden howitzers, manned by expert German +gunners and well supplied with ammunition, defied all attempts at +crossing the little stream of the Ourcq. + +This first day's fighting on the Marne revealed one of France's +chiefest needs--heavy artillery. The French light quick-firing gun +was a deadly weapon, but France had neglected the one department +of artillery in which the Germans had been most successful--the +use of powerful motor traction to move big guns without slackening +the march of an army. General von Kluck's artillery was impregnable +to the French. Indeed, the Germans could not be dislodged from the +Ourcq until the British Expeditionary Force sent up some heavy +field batteries. It was then too late for the withdrawal from the +Ourcq to be of any serious consequence in determining the result +along the battle front. + +The afternoon of that day, when the Zouaves were driving the Germans +across the Ourcq with the bayonet and were themselves effectually +stopped by the German wall of artillery fire, General Joffre and +Sir John French met. At last the British commander received the +welcome news from the generalissimo that retreat was over and advance +was about to be begun. + +"I met the French commander in chief at his request," runs the +official dispatch, "and he informed me of his intention to take +the offensive forthwith by wheeling up the left flank of the Sixth +Army, pivoting on the Marne, and directing it to move on the Ourcq; +cross and attack the flank of the First German Army, which was +then moving in a southeasterly direction east of that river. + +"He requested me to effect a change of front to my right--my left +resting on the Marne and my right on the Fifth Army--to fill the +gap between that army and the Sixth. I was then to advance against +the enemy on my front and join in the general offensive movement. +German troops, which were observed moving southeast up the left +bank of the Ourcq on the Fourth, were now reported to be halted and +facing that river. Heads of the enemy's columns were seen crossing +at Changis, La Ferté, Nogent, Château-Thierry, and Mezy. + +"Considerable German columns of all arms were seen to be converging +on Montmirail, while before sunset large bivouacs of the enemy +were located in the neighborhood of Coulommiers, south of Rebais, +La Ferté-Gaucher, and Dagny. + +"These combined movements practically commenced on Sunday, September +6, at sunrise; and on that day it may be said that a great battle +opened on a front extending from Ermenonville, which was just in +front of the left flank of the Sixth French Army, through Lizy on +the Marne, Maupertuis, which was about the British center, Courtaçon, +which was the left of the Fifth French Army, to Esternay and +Charleville, the left of the Ninth Army under General Foch, and +so along the front of the Ninth, Fourth, and Third French Armies +to a point north of the fortress of Verdun." + +Sunrise on Sunday morning, on a summer day in sunny France, was +the setting for the grim and red carnage which should show in the +next five consecutive days that the German advance was checked, +that the southernmost point had been reached, and that for a long +time to come it would tax the resources of the invaders to hold +the land that already had been won. General Joffre had so arranged +his forces that the most spectacular--and the easiest--part fell to +the British, and it was accomplished with perfection of detail. But +the honors of the battles of the Marne lay with General Sarrail's +army and with the "Iron Division of Toul." + +On the same morning, this special army order, issued by Sir John +French, was read to the British troops: + +"After a most trying series of operations, mostly in retirement, +which have been rendered necessary by the general strategic plan +of the allied armies, the British forces stand to-day formed in +line with their French comrades, ready to attack the enemy. Foiled +in their attempt to invest Paris, the Germans have been driven to +move in an easterly and southeasterly direction with the apparent +intention of falling in strength upon the Fifth French Army. In +this operation they are exposing their right flank and their line +of communications to an attack from the combined Sixth French Army +and the British forces. + +"I call upon the British army in France to now show the enemy its +power and to push on vigorously to the attack beside the Sixth +French Army. + +"I am sure I shall not call upon them in vain, but that, on the +contrary, by another manifestation of the magnificent spirit which +they have shown in the past fortnight, they will fall on the enemy's +flank with all their strength and, in unison with the Allies, drive +them back." + +As before, the day's fighting began with the efforts of the Sixth +French Army against the Ourcq. Before the Germans could be driven +from the east bank the few villages they occupied on the west bank +had to be taken, and as these were covered by heavy artillery from +the farther bank, the French loss of life was very severe. Yet +these several combats--of which there were as many as there were +villages--were stationary. In every case the Germans were compelled +to cross the river; in every case the artillery made it impossible +for the French to follow them. + +At dawn also everyone of the French armies advanced, and within +two or three hours of sunrise found themselves engaged with the +German front. The spirited order to the troops issued that morning +by General Joffre had left no doubt in the minds of Frenchmen on +the importance of the issue. It read: + +"At a moment when a battle on which the welfare of the country +depends is going to begin, I feel it incumbent upon me to remind +you all that this is no longer the time to look behind. All our +efforts must be directed toward attacking and driving back the +enemy. An army which can no longer advance must at all costs keep +the ground it has won, and allow itself to be killed on the spot +rather than give way. In the present circumstance no faltering +can be tolerated." + +Yet in spite of the powerful efforts of the French armies they +were all held in check, and General Sarrail was beginning to give +way. + +Though the fighting in the center had been stationary on this sixth +of September, 1914, it had been desperate. D'Espérey was facing +the 150,000 men of Von Kluck's army, and the effect of the British +attack on Von Kluck's flank had not yet been felt. He more than +held his own, but at great cost. General Foch, with the Ninth Army, +had a double problem, for he was wrestling with General von Bülow +to hold the southern edge of the Sézanne Plateau, while General von +Hausen's Saxon Army was trying to turn his right flank. A violent +attack, which, for the space of over two hours seemed likely to +succeed, was launched by the Duke of Württemberg against General +Langle and the Fourth Army. The attack was repelled, but the French +losses were proportionately great. There could be no denial that +many such attacks could break through the line. General Sarrail's +army, fighting a losing game, showed marvelous stubbornness and +gameness, but even so, it could not resist being pushed south of +Fort Troyon, itself unable to support the battering it might expect +to receive when the German siege guns should be brought into place. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF THE MARNE--END OF GERMAN RETREAT AND THE +INTRENCHED LINE ON THE AISNE RIVER] + +At every point but one the Germans had a right to deem the day +successful. The only reversal had been a minor one before the forest +of Crécy. Yet, of all the generals on that front Von Kluck alone +was in a position to see the gravity of the situation. The British +had caught him on the flank as he tried to pierce the left wing +of General d'Espérey's army, and if he should now retreat, that +army could envelop him and thus catch him between two fires. + +Next morning, Monday, September 7, 1914, another glorious summer +morning, saw a resumption of the battle along exactly the same +lines, with the same persistent attack and defense along the eastern +part of the front, and with the British making full use of the +blunder made by the German right. General von Kluck had realized +his plight, but, even so, he had not secured an understanding of +the size of the force that was threatening his flank, and he sent +as a reenforcement a single army corps which had been intrenched +near Coulommiers on the Grand Morin. The British had three full +army corps and were well supplied with cavalry and artillery. Yet +Coulommiers was Von Kluck's headquarters and actually, when the +Germans were driven back and the British troops entered the town, +Prince Eitel, the second son of the kaiser; General von Kluck and +his staff were compelled to run down to their motor cars and escape +at top speed along the road to Rebais, leaving their half-eaten +breakfast on the table, and their glasses of wine half emptied. +One of the most dramatic cavalry actions of this period of the +war took place shortly before noon, when one hundred and seventeen +squadrons of cavalry were engaged. In this action the British were +successful, but the German cavalry were tired and harassed, having +been severely handled the day before. + +In this engagement between the British and the German right, all +the odds had been in favor of the British, and success meant merely +the grasping at opportunities that presented themselves. Still, +by constantly striking at General van Kluck's exposed flank, his +frontal attack of General d'Espérey was so weakened, that, toward +evening at the close of two days of continuous and very severe +fighting, the Fifth French Army was able to advance and hold the +position from La Ferté-Gaucher to Esternay. The ground gained was +valuable but not essential, yet it made a profound impression. + +General d'Espérey's step forward was the Germans' step back. It +meant that the road to Paris was barred. How fully this was realized +may be seen from an order signed by Lieutenant General Tuelff von +Tschepe und Weidenbach and found in the house that had been occupied +by the staff of the Eighth German Army Corps when the victorious +French entered Vitry-le-François. The order was dated "September +7, 10:30 p. m." and it read as follows: + +"The object of our long and arduous marches has been achieved. +The principal French troops have been forced to accept battle, +after having been continually forced back. The great decision is +undoubtedly at hand. To-morrow, therefore, the whole strength of +the German army, as well as all that of our Army Corps, are bound +to be engaged all along the line from Paris to Verdun. To save +the welfare and the honor or Germany I expect every officer and +man, notwithstanding the hard and heroic fights of the last few +days, to do his duty unswervingly and to the last breath. Everything +depends on the result of to-morrow." + +Much did, indeed, depend on the result of the morrow, and for the +third day, again, it was General von Kluck's initial move that +brought disaster to the German side. + +Why was it that Von Kluck, instead of marching directly on Paris, +as would have been expected, made a detour, having as his object +not the capital but the French army? It may be said in favor of it +that the decision taken by the German General Staff was in conformity +with the military doctrine of Napoleon. According to this doctrine, +a capital, whatever its importance, is never more than an accessory +object, geographical or political. What is of importance is the +strategical object. The strategical object is the essential, the +geographical object is only accessory. Once the essential object +is attained, the accessory object is acquired of itself. Once the +French armies had been beaten, thrown back, and dispersed, Von +Kluck could return to the capital and take it easily. + +Conceive of him, on the other hand, attacking the capital with the +army of Manoury on his right, which constituted a serious menace +to his left, and in front or him the British army and the Fifth +French Army; he might have been caught as in a vise between these +forces while all his activity was being absorbed by his attack +on the intrenchments around Paris. + +It has been said that if Von Kluck had won the French capital, as +it seemed he might, the French could not have gained the Battle of +the Marne, and the result of the war might have been very different. +It was, however, no mistake on the part of Von Kluck, no false +maneuver on his part, that determined the victory of the Marne. +Von Kluck did exactly what he ought to have done; the decision +taken by the German General Staff was exactly what it ought to +have taken, and what was foreseen during the whole course of the +war. + +It was on September 4, 1914, in the morning, that the observations +made by the French cavalry, as well as by British aviators and +those of the army of Manoury and the military government of Paris, +made it clear that the German right (Von Kluck's army) was bending +its march toward the southeast in the direction of Meaux and +Coulommiers, leaving behind it the road to Paris. + +At this moment the Fifth French' Army of the left was ready to +meet the German forces in a frontal attack, and it was flanked +toward the northwest by the British army and by General Manoury's +army to the northeast of the capital. + +The disposition of forces aimed at in General Joffre's order of +August 25 was thus accomplished; the French escaped the turning +movement, and they were in a position to counter with an enveloping +movement themselves. The wings of the French forces found support +in their maneuvering in their contact with the strongholds of Paris +and Verdun. Immediately the commander in chief decided to attack, +and issued on the evening of September 4 the series of general +orders, given as an appendix to this volume, which announced the +big offensive and eventually turned the tide of battle. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XV + +GERMAN RETREAT + +That morning of the 8th, then, saw General von Kluck in full retreat. +His frontal attack on General d'Espérey had failed and the Fifth +French Army had advanced. The British were at his flank, and besides, +they had been able to spare some of their heavy artillery to send to +the Sixth Army under General Maunoury, to enable him to cross the +Ourcq. It is by no means certain that even with this assistance could +the Sixth Army have silenced the terrible fire of those howitzers, +but General von Kluck dared no longer leave his artillery there, it +must be taken with him on his retreat, or become valuable booty. +Leaving a few batteries to guard the crossings of the river, the +Ourcq division of the German right retreated in good order, to +rejoin their comrades who had been so unexpectedly mauled by the +British. The honor of this day was, curiously, not to the victorious, +but to the defeated army. Had General von Kluck done nothing other +than conduct his army in retreat as he did, he would have shown +himself an able commander. Sir John French and General d'Espérey +followed up their advantage. The artillery fire of the British +was good and in a running fight, such as this retreat, the light +field artillery of the French did terrible execution. The brunt of +the British fighting was at La Tretoire. General d'Espérey fought +steadily forward all day, driving the retreating army as closely +as he could, but proceeding warily because of General von Kluck's +powerful counterattacks. The fighting was continuous from the first +break of daylight until after dusk had fallen, and it was in the +twilight that the French Army at last carried Montmirail on the +Petit Morin, a feat of strategic value, since it exposed the right +flank of Von Bülow's army, exposed by the retreat of General von +Kluck. + +From this review of the forced retirement of General von Kluck, +it will be seen that the German right was compelled to sustain an +attack at three points, from the Sixth French Army on the banks of +the Ourcq, from the British army in the region of Coulommiers and +from the Fifth French Army near Courtaçon. Each of these attacks +was of a widely different character. The result of this attack +lias been shown in the summary of the three days (four days on +the Ourcq) which resulted in the British capture of Coulommiers +and in the French capture of Montmirail. This was General Joffre's +counteroffensive, and it developed in detail almost exactly along +the lines that he had laid down. + +The scene of the fighting across the west bank of the Ourcq was that +of a wide-open country, gently undulating, dotted with comfortable +farmhouses, and made up of a mosaic of green meadow lands and the +stubble of grain fields. The German heavy guns came into action +as soon as the French offensive developed. Tremendous detonations +that shook the earth, and which were followed by sluggish clouds +of an oily smoke showed where the high-explosive shells had struck. +Already, by the evening of the first day's fighting, there were +blazing haystacks and farmhouses to be seen, and the happy and +smiling plain showed scarred and rent with the mangling hand of +war. On the 6th, a sugar refinery, which had been held as an outpost +by a force of 1,800 Germans, was set on fire by a French battery. +The infantry had been successful in getting to within close range +and as the invaders sought to escape from the burning building, +they were picked off one by one by the French marksmen. The French +infantry, well intrenched, suffered scarcely any loss. It was in +brilliant sunshine that the fire broke out, and the conflagration +was so fierce that the empty building sent up little smoke. The +flames scarcely showed in the bright light, and to the onlooker, it +seemed as if some rapid leprous disease was eating up the building. +The situation was horrible for the Germans, either to be trapped and +to perish in the flames, or to face the withering French infantry +fire without any opportunity to fight back. Less than 300 of the +occupants of the refinery won clear. + +Wherever the forces met, the slaughter was great and terrible. +In the excitement and the eagerness of the first offensive, the +French seemed to have forgotten the lessons of prudence that the +long retreat should have ingrained into their memory, and they +sought to take every village that was occupied by the Germans with +a rush. The loss of life was greatest at a point four miles east +of Meaux. There, on a sharp, tree-covered ridge, the Germans had +intrenched, and gun platforms had been placed under the screen +of the trees. An almost incessant hail of shrapnel fell on these +lines, and the French infantry charges were repulsed again and +again, with but little loss on the German line. But, meantime, +village after village had been attacked by the French and carried +with the bayonet, and on Sunday, September 6th, 1914, that part +of the battles of the Marne which dealt with the driving back of +the Germans to the line of the Ourcq, was in some of its feature +like a hand-to-hand conflict of ages long gone by. Yet, overhead +aeroplanes circled, on every side shells were bursting, the heavy +smell of blood on a hot day mingled with the explosive fumes, but +the Zouaves and the Turcos fought without ceasing and with a force +and spirit that went far to win for the French the cheering news +that village after village had been freed of the invaders. + +When the night of that Sunday fell, however, on the line of the +Ourcq, the balm of darkness seemed to be almost as much a forgotten +thing as the blessedness of silence. There was no darkness that +night. As the Germans evacuated each village they set fire to it. +The invaders actually held their machine guns at work in the burning +village until the position was no longer tenable. The wind blew +gustily that night, and all the hours long, the Germans collected +their dead, built great pyres of wood and straw and cremated their +comrades who had fallen on the field of honor. + +The next day, at this point, developed fighting of the same general +character. One of the most heroic defenses of General von Kluck's +army was that of the Magdeburg Regiment, which held its advanced post +ten minutes too long and consequently was practically annihilated. +Although the French had everywhere shown themselves superior with the +bayonet and at close infighting, even as the Germans had displayed +an incredible courage in advance under gunfire, and rightly held +their heavy artillery to be the finest in the world, in the mêlée +around the colors of the Magdeburg Regiment, there was nothing to +choose for either side. The lieutenant color bearer was killed, in +the midst of a ring of dead, and not until almost the whole regiment +had been killed under the impact of far superior numbers, were the +tattered colors taken into the French lines. It was on this day, +Tuesday, September 8, 1914, that the British army realizing that +it had turned the flank of General von Kluck's southern divisions +sent its heavy batteries to the pressure on the banks of the Ourcq. + +A graphic picture of the artillery side of the fighting on the +Ourcq was given by one of the artillery officers detached from the +British force. + +"Meaux was still a town of blank shutters and empty streets when +we got there this morning," he wrote, "but the French sappers had +thrown a plank gangway across the gap in the ruined old bridge, +built in A. D. 800, that had survived all the wars of France, only +to perish at last in this one. + +"Smack, smack, smack, smack go the French guns; and then, a few +seconds later, four white mushrooms of smoke spring up over the far +woods and slowly the pop, pop, pop, pop, of the distant explosions +comes back to you. But now it is the German gunners' turn. Bang! +go his guns, two miles away; there is a moment of eerie and +uncomfortable silence--uncomfortable because there is just a chance +they might have altered their range--and then, quite close by, over +the wood where the battery is, come the crashes of the bursting +shells. They sound like a Titan's blows on a gigantic kettle filled +with tons of old iron. + +"At Trilport there is a yawning gap, where one arch of the railway +bridge used to be, with a solitary bent rail still lying across +it. And, among the wreckage of the bridge below, lying on its side +and more than half beneath the water, is the smashed and splintered +ruin of a closed motor car. + +"Beyond the town was a ridge on which the French batteries were +posted. We could see the ammunition wagons parked on the reverse +slope of the hill. More were moving up to join them. + +"The village beyond, Penchard, was thronged with troops and blocked +with ambulance wagons and ammunition carts. + +"Through the rank grass at the side came tramping a long file of +dusty, sweating, wearied men. They carried long spades and picks +as well as their rifles. They had come out of the firing line and +were going back to Penchard for food. + +"Topping the next ridge... the hill slopes steeply down to the +hamlet of Chamvery, just below us. The battery which I mentioned +just now is in the wood on this side of it to our right. The Zouaves' +firing line is lying flat on the hillside a little way beyond the +village, and behind them, farther down the hill, are thick lines of +supports in the cover of intrenchments. It is a spectacle entirely +typical of a modern battle, for there is scarcely anything to see +at all. If it were not for those shells being tossed to and fro +on the right there, and an occasional splutter of rifle fire, one +might easily suppose that the lines of blue-coated men lying about +on the stubble were all dozing in the hot afternoon sun. + +"Even when some of them move they seem to do it lazily, to saunter +rather than to walk.... It is only in the cinematograph or on the +comparatively rare occasions of close fighting at short range that +men rush about dramatically. For one thing, they are too tired to +hurry; and anyhow, what is the use of running when a shell may +burst any minute anywhere in the square mile you happen to be on? + +"I walked with the company officers who were planning a fresh advance, +map in hand. They had gained the village in which we were that +morning, but at tremendous loss. + +"'Out of my company of 220,' said one captain, 'there are only +100 left. It's the same story everywhere--the German machine guns. +Their fire simply clears the ground like a razor. You just can't +understand how anyone gets away alive. I've had men fall at my +right hand and my left. You can't look anywhere, as you advance, +without seeing men dropping. Of our four officers, two are wounded +and one dead. I am left alone in command.'" + +This hand-to-hand fighting for the possession of villages on the +west bank of the Marne, this heavy loss to the French troops by +the German artillery, and this sudden check at the Ourcq itself, +until British heavy batteries were sent, marks the character of +what may be called the battle of the Ourcq, the westernmost of +the battles of the Marne. As General von Kluck had divided his +forces, in order to carry out the attempt to pierce the left of +General d'Espérey's army, the German forces in the battle of the +Ourcq were outnumbered almost three to one. In spite of these odds +against them, the extreme German right held for four days the position +it had been given to hold. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XVI + +CONTINUATION OF THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE + +Remembering again the general outline of General von Kluck's plan, +that of executing a diagonal movement with 150,000 of his men to +attack the easternmost point of the Fifth Army, and possibly to +envelop it by a flank movement, the continuation of the Battle +of the Marne may be treated with more detail. This part is called +by some the Battle of Coulommiers. + +In this battle there was as great a change in morale as in the +battle of the Ourcq. There, the French had been stirred to high +endeavor by the realization that the word to advance had at last +been given. This also operated in part on the British in the battle +of Coulommiers, but, in addition, there was another very important +factor. + +The dawn of that Sunday summer morning, September 6, 1914, was +one of great exhilaration for the British forces. The offensive +was begun, the time for striking back had come, and every column +resounded with marching choruses. The countryside was lovely, as +had been all the countryside through which the retreating armies +had passed, gay with the little French homesteads, flower decked +and smiling, heavily laden orchards, and rich grain fields, some +as yet uncut, some newly stacked. Women and children, with here +and there an old man, ran along the line of march ministering to +the wants of their defenders. There was no need for language, as +courtesy and gratitude are universal, and the English were fighting +for "La Belle France." So the morning wore on. + +Through the forested region of Crécy the British passed, and it has +been told hereinbefore how they surprised the two cavalry commands +thrust out as scouts by General von Kluck. But, as they reached +the land that had been occupied by the German hosts, the bearing +of the men changed, even as the country changed. The simple homes +of the peasants were in ashes, every house that had showed traces +of comfort had been sacked or gutted with fire. Between noon and +three o'clock in the afternoon of that day three burned churches +were passed. The songs stopped. A black silence fell upon the ranks. +Bloody business was afoot. + +It was in the middle of the afternoon, a slumbrous harvest afternoon, +that a big gun boomed in the distance, and the shell shrieked dolefully +through the air, its vicious whine ceasing with a tremendous sudden +roar as it burst behind the advancing British lines. On the instant, +Sir John French's batteries almost wiped out the German cavalry, +and ten minutes had not elapsed before the full artillery on both +sides had begun a terrific fire that was stunning to the senses. +Under cover of their own fire, the British infantry advanced and +hurled themselves against the outer line of General von Kluck's +Second Army. The attack failed. The British were driven back, but +though the loss of life was sharp, it was not great, as the British +commander had but advanced his men to test out the invader's strength. +The British artillery was well placed, and under its cover the +British made a second advance, this time successful. The Germans +replied with a counterattack which was repulsed, but in that forty +minutes 10,000 men had fallen. + +A dispatch has been quoted from a French soldier, showing the terrible +havoc caused by the German machine guns, and a letter from a German +officer, published in the "Intelligenzblatt" of Berne pays a like +tribute to the artillery of the Allies. Speaking of this very section +or the battle front, he wrote: + +"We were obliged to retreat as the English were attempting a turning +movement, which was discovered by our airmen. [This refers to the +advance of the British First Army Corps under Sir Douglas Haig in +the direction of La Ferté-sous-Jouarra, which, if it could have +been successfully carried out, would have meant the entire loss +of General von Kluck's southern army.] During the last two hours +we were continually exposed to the fire of the enemy's artillery, +for our artillery had all either been put out of action or had +retreated and had ceased to fire. [This dispatch was evidently, +therefore, written toward the end of the second day, on Monday, +September 6, 1914, when General von Kluck realized that his forward +drive had failed and that he must fall back.] + +"The enemy's airmen flew above us, describing two circles, which +means, 'there is infantry here.' The enemy's artillery mowed the +ground with its fire. In one minute's time I counted forty shells. +The shrapnel exploded nearer and nearer; at last it reached our +ranks. I quickly hugged a knapsack to my stomach in order to protect +myself as best I could. The shrieks of the wounded rang out on all +sides. Tears came to my eyes when I heard the poor devils moaning +with pain. The dust, the smoke, and the stench of the powder were +suffocating. + +"An order rang out, and bending as low as possible, we started +up. We had to pass right in the line of fire. The men began to +fall like ninepins. God be thanked that I was able to run as I +did. I thought my heart would burst, and was about to throw myself +on the ground, unable to continue, when your image and that of +Bolli rose before my eyes, and I ran on. + +"At last we reached our batteries. Three guns were smashed to pieces, +and the gun carriages were burned. We halted for a few seconds to +take breath. And all the time that whistling and banging of the +shells continued. It is a wonder one is not driven mad." + +Admiration cannot be withheld from General von Kluck for his splendid +fight at the battle of Coulommiers. He was out-generaled, for one +thing, because of his plan--or his orders--to strike a southeasterly +blow; he was outmaneuvered by the presence of a vastly larger British +force than he had any reason to expect, and he was outnumbered +almost two to one. + +Through the apple and pear orchards of La Trétoire the battle was +sanguinary; the British (reenforced on September 7, 1914, by some +French divisions) swept through the terrain in widely extended +lines, for close formation was not to be thought of with artillery +and machine guns in front. It was bitter fighting, and the German +right contested every inch of ground stubbornly. Once, indeed, it +seemed that General von Kluck would turn the tables. He rapidly +collected his retreating troops, and with unparalleled suddenness +hurled them back upon the advancing First Corps under Sir Douglas +Haig. Aeroplane scouts decided the issue. Had the British been +compelled to await the onset, or had they been forced to depend +on cavalry patrols, there would have been no opportunity to resist +that revengeful onslaught. But no sooner had the Germans begun +to re-form than Sir Douglas Haig moved his machine guns to the +front and fell back a few hundred yards to a better position. This +happened on September 8, 1914, and may be regarded as the last +offensive move made by General von Kluck's army in the west. On +that same day Coulommiers was invested and Prince Eitel compelled +to flee, and the battle of Coulommiers was won. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XVII + +CONTINUATION OF THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE + +The third part of the battle of the Marne, called by some the Battle +of Montmirail, was not marked by special incident. General d'Espérey's +part was to hold firm, and this he did. Not only by reason of the +British assistance on the left, but also because the strong army +of General Foch to the right was a new army, of greater strength +than was known to General von Moltke and the German General Staff. +The battle of Montmirail was won by the steady resistance of the +Fifth Army to the hammer blows of the German right, and to the quick +advantage seized by General d'Espérey when the British weakened +the flank of the force opposing him. On September 8, 1914, General +d'Espérey had not only held his ground, but had driven General +von Kluck back across the Grand Morin River at La Ferté-Gaucher, +and also across the Petit Morin at Montmirail. Since the British +had butted the Germans back from the Petit Morin at La Trétoire, +these three days of fighting in the battles of Coulommiers and +Montmirail had won the Allies advanced positions across two rivers, +and had so weakened the German right that it was compelled to fall +back on the main army and forego its important strategic advantage +on the east bank of the Ourcq River. + +These three battles, Ourcq, Coulommiers, and Montmirail, constitute +the recoil from Paris, and at the same time they constitute the defeat +of what was hereinbefore shown to be one of the four fundamentals of +the great German campaign plan. With the situation thus cleared, +so to speak, one may now pass to the details of the second part +of the German plan, which was to engage the powerful Ninth and +Fourth Armies, under the command of Generals Foch and Langle, +respectively, to break through them, if possible, but at all hazards +to keep them sufficiently menaced to disable General Joffre from +sending reenforcements therefrom to the army of General Sarrail, +on which the whole force of the army of the crown prince was to +be hurled. + +The next section of the Allied armies, then, was General Foch's +Ninth Army, which encountered the German drive at Fère Champenoise, +and which resulted in the severe handling of General von Bülow's +forces. With characteristic perception of the difference between +a greater and a lesser encounter, General Foch called his share +of the battles of the Marne, the "Affair of the Marshes of St. +Gond." This did not culminate until Wednesday, September 9, 1914, +so that the German retreat there was one day later than the final +retreat of General von Kluck. + +The clash between the armies of General von Bülow and of General +Foch began, as did the battle wrath along the whole front, at dawn +of that fateful Sunday, September 5, 1914. General Foch, a well-known +writer on strategy, had devised his army for defense. He was well +supplied with the famous 75-millimeter guns, holding them massed in +the center of his line. His extreme right and left were mobile and +thrown partly forward to feel the attack of the invading army. But, +in spite of all preparations, General Foch found himself hard-set to +hold his own on September 5, 6, 7, and 8, 1914. The battle continued +incessantly, by night as well as by day, for the artillerists had +found each other's range. There was comparatively little hand-to-hand +fighting at this point, General Foch only once being successful +in luring the Germans to within close firing range. The results +were withering, and General von Bülow did not attempt it a second +time. There seems reason to believe that General von Bülow had +counted upon acting as a reserve force to General von Kluck during +the latter's advance, and that, consequently, he did not think it +prudent to risk heavy loss of life until he knew the situation to +westward of him. There was some sharp "bomb" work at Fère Champenoise +on September 8, and then came the night of the 8th. + +It will be remembered that at the close of the battle of Montmirail +on the evening of September 8, 1914, the western flank of Von Bülow's +army had been exposed by the advance of General d'Espérey and the +retreat of General von Kluck. Information of this reached Foch, +and despite the danger of the maneuver, he thrust out his mobile +left like a great tongue. That night the weather turned stormy, +facilitating this move. At one o'clock in the morning, the statement +has been made, word reached General Foch indirectly that air patrols +had observed a gap in the alignment of the German armies between +General von Bülow's left and General von Hausen's right. + +During the darkness and the rain, therefore, General Foch had worked +two complete surprises on General von Bülow. He had enveloped the +German commander's right flank, and was safely ensconced there +with General d'Espérey's army behind him, since the latter had +by now advanced to Montmirail. At the same time he had thrust a +wedge between Von Bülow and General von Hausen, threatening General +von Bülow's left flank as well. The first was a seizure of an +opportunity, executed with military promptness, the second was a +bold _coup_, and its risk might well have appalled a less experienced +general. + +Considering the westernmost of these movements first, it will be +seen at once how the enveloping action brought about the "Affair of +the Marshes of St. Gond." General von Bülow's army was stretched in +an arc around the marshes, which, it will be remembered, have been +described as a pocket of clay, low-lying lands mainly reclaimed, but +which become miry during heavy rains. It was General von Bülow's +misfortune, that, on the very night that his flank was exposed, +there should come a torrential downpour. These same marshes had +figured more than once before in France's military history, and +General Foch, as a master strategist, was determined that they +should serve again. When the rain came, he thanked his lucky stars +and acted on the instant. + +When the morning of September 9, 1914, dawned, the left wing of +General Foch's army was not only covering the exposed flank of +General von Bülow's forces, but parts of it were two miles to the +rear. Under the driving rain, morning broke slowly, and almost +before a sodden and rain-soaked world could awake to the fact that +day had come, General Foch had nipped the rear of the flank of +the opposing army, and was bending the arc in upon itself. Under +normal circumstances, such an action would tend but to strengthen +the army thus attacked, since it brings all parts of the army into +closer communication. But General Foch knew that the disadvantages +of the ground would more than compensate for this, since the two +horns of General von Bülow's army could not combine without crossing +those marshes, now boggy enough, and growing boggier every second. +The task was harder than General Foch anticipated, for the same +rainy conditions that provided a pitfall for the Germans were also +a manifest hindrance to the rapid execution of military maneuvers. +But, in spite of all difficulties, by evening of that day, the +flank broke and gave way, and two entire corps from General von +Bülow's right were precipitated into the marshes. Forty guns were +taken--to that time the largest capture of artillery made by the +Allies--and a number of prisoners. Hundreds perished miserably, +but General Foch held back his artillery from an indiscriminate +slaughter of men made helpless in the slimy mud. Thus ended the +"Affair of the Marshes of St. Gond," which broke still further +the German right wing. + +Thanks to General Foch's further activities, General von Bülow +had troubles upon his left wing. When dawn of this same day or +torrential rain, September 9, 1914, broke over the hill-road that +runs from Mareuil to Fère-Champenoise, at which point lay the left +of General von Bülow's army, it witnessed a number of 75-millimeter +guns on selected gun sites commanding the right flank of the German +right center. General Foch's daring, the success of the maneuver, +and the fact that the conduct of all the French armies on that +day and the day following seems to be with the full cognizance of +this venture, led inevitably to the conclusion that those brilliant +feats, conceived by General Foch, had been communicated to General +Joffre in time for the French General Staff to direct the French +armies to the right and left of General Foch to cooperate with +his action. Had General Foch been less ably supported, his wedge +might have proved a weak salient open to attack on both sides. +But General Foch's main army to the west kept General von Bülow +busy, and General Langle's army to the east fought too stubbornly +for the Duke of Württemberg to dare detach any forces for the relief +of General von Bülow. General von Hausen's Saxon Army was weak, +at best. + +What were the forces that operated to make this particular point +so weak are not generally known. As, however, the divisions from +Alsace were much in evidence three or four days later, it is more +than probable that these divisions were intended for service at this +point, and also to reenforce General von Kluck's army, but that, +by the quick offensive assumed by General Joffre on the Ourcq, and, +owing to the roundabout nature of the German means of communication, +these expected reenforcements had not arrived. The German official +dispatches point out that General von Bülow's retreat was necessitated +by the retreat of General von Kluck. Of this there is no doubt, but +even military necessity does not quite explain why General von +Bülow bolted so precipitately. His losses were fearful, and the +offensive of General Foch rendered it necessary for the Germans +to fall back on the Aisne. + +The armies of the Duke of Württemberg and of the crown prince may +be considered together, for they were combined in an effort to +pierce the French line near the angle at Bar-le-Duc. General Langle +held on desperately against the repeated attacks of the Duke of +Württemberg. Ground was lost and recovered, lost again and recovered, +and every trifling vantage point of ground was fought for with a +bitter intensity. Though active, with all the other armies, on +September 5 and 6, 1914, it was not until September 7 that General +Langle found himself strained to his utmost nerve. If he could +hold, he could do no more, and when night fell on September 7, no +person was more relieved than General Langle. Yet the next day was +even worse. Instead of slackening in the evil weather, the German +drive became more furious. The exhausted Fourth Army fought as though +in a hideous nightmare, defended their lines in a sullen obstinacy +that seemed almost stuporous, and countercharged in a blind frenzy +that approached to delirium. It was doubtful if General Langle's +army could hold out much longer. But, when General von Bülow was +compelled to retreat, when General Foch turned his attention to +General von Hausen's Saxon Army, and when General Joffre found +himself in a position to rush reenforcements and reserves to the +aid of General Langle, a new color was given to the affair. The +defense stiffened, and as rapidly as it stiffened, so much the +more did it become patent that the Duke of Württemberg could not +afford to be in an exposed position far in advance of all the other +attacking armies. Wednesday, September 9, 1914, revealed to the +German center the need of falling back on the crown prince's army, +which was the pivot on which the whole campaign swung. + +Meantime, the crown prince's army had been steadily victorious. +The weak French army under General Sarrail had been pushed back, +yielding only foot by foot, back, back, along the rugged hill country +of the Meuse. A determined stand was made to protect the little +fort of Troyon, ten miles south of Verdun, for had the Germans +succeeded in taking this, Verdun would have been surrounded. No +army and no generalship could have done more than the Third Army +and General Sarrail did, but they could not hold their ground before +Troyon. On September 7, 1914, the way to Troyon was open, and the +army of the crown prince prepared to demolish it. Then came September +9, 1914, when the allied successes in the western part of the Marne +valley allowed them to send reenforcements. Thus the Third Army +was perceptibly strengthened and hope for Troyon grew. One day +more, certainly two days more, and nothing could have saved Troyon, +but with the whole German line in retreat, the army of the crown +prince could not be left on the advance. + +Incredible though it may seem, when the army of the crown prince +besieging Troyon withdrew, that little fort was a mere heap of +ruins. There were exactly forty-four men left in the fort and four +serviceable guns. Even a small storming party could have carried +it without the least trouble, and its natural strength could have +been fortified in such wise as to make it a pivotal point from +which to harry Verdun. + +At the extreme east, on that ring of wooded heights known as the +Grande Couronne de Nancy, and drawn up across the Gap of Nancy, +the Second French Army, under General de Castelnau, successfully +resisted the drive of the Crown Prince of Bavaria. Great hopes had +been placed on this attack, and on September 7, 1914, the German +Emperor had viewed the fight at Nancy from one of the neighboring +heights. Surely a victory for the German arms might come either at +the point where stood the German Emperor or where led the crown +prince. But the fortunes of war decided otherwise. Far from losing +at Nancy, the French took the offensive. After an artillery duel of +terrific magnitude, they drove the Bavarian army from the forests +of Champenous and took Amance. The line of the Meurthe was then +found untenable by the Germans, and on September 12, 1914, General +de Castelnau reoccupied the town of Luneville, which had been in +the hands of the Germans since August 22, 1914. + +With General von Kluck in retreat on September 7, 1914, General +von Bülow hastening to the rear on September 8, 1914, with the +Duke of Württemberg falling back on September 9, 1914, and the +Imperial Crown Prince and the Bavarian Crown Prince retreating +to an inner ring of defense on September 10, 1914, the battles +of the Marne may, in a measure, be said to have concluded. As, +however, the new alignments were made mainly by reason of the +topographical relationships of the Marne and the Aisne Rivers and +the territory contiguous thereto, it is perhaps more in keeping +with the movement to carry forward the German retreat across the +Marne as a part of the same group of conflicts. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XVIII + +OTHER ASPECTS OF THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE + +In dealing with a battle as important as that of the Marne points +of view are valuable. We therefore follow with an account of its +general course and description of its main features by a French +military writer, whose knowledge is based on information that is +largely official. + +"Before the German armies," he says, "became engulfed in the vast +depression that stretches from Paris to Verdun, General Joffre with +admirable foresight had brought together a powerful army commanded +by General Manoury and having as its support the fortified camp of +Paris. As soon as General von Kluck, turning momentarily from the +road to the French capital and bending his march to the southeast, +laid bare his right wing, General Joffre vigorously launched against +his flank the entire army of General Manoury. The brilliant offensive +of this army achieved success from the beginning; it threw back the +German forces. Von Kluck perceived the danger that threatened him, +and the danger was serious, for it only required that Manoury should +advance a little further and he would have been almost totally +defeated. Resolutely, energetically, and with a sang-froid to which +homage must be rendered, Von Kluck proceeded to circumvent this +danger. He ordered back to the north two of his army corps, recrossed +the Marne, and threw himself with intrepidity on Manoury. + +"But the retreat of these two army corps allowed General French +and General Franchet d'Espérey both to drive forward vigorously. +Something resembling the phenomenon of a whirlwind then took place +in the German ranks. The British army made progress toward the north, +the Fifth French Army, commanded by General Franchet d'Espérey, +did the same. General Manoury, assisted by all the troops that +General Gallieni was able rapidly to put at his disposal, made +headway against the furious onslaught of Von Kluck. Thus the entire +German right found itself in a most critical situation. It could +not overcome Manoury, who was threatening its communications, and +on the other hand it found itself powerless to resist the victorious +advance of Generals French and de Franchet d'Espérey. + +"It was the critical moment of the battle. The German General Staff +decided that there was only one method of putting an end to it, +and that was to direct against the army of General Foch in the +center an offensive so violent that the center would be pierced +and the French armies cut in two. If this attack succeeded it would +free at once the German right and separate into two impotent parts +the entire French military force. During the 7th, 8th, and 9th of +September the Imperial Prussian Guard directed to the compassing +of that end all its energy and courage. All in vain. General Foch +not only checked the German onslaught, but drove it back. Thus the +French center was not pierced, Von Kluck was not relieved, and +he found himself in a position that grew more and more critical. +The general retreat of the German armies was the inevitable result. +To this decision the German General Staff came, and on the evening +of September 9 orders were given to all the armies of the right +and center to retire sixty kilometers to the rear. Thus the battle +of the Marne was won by the French." + +The writer then goes on to say: "It was on September 5, toward +the end of the morning, that the general order of General Joffre, +leading to the great battle, reached the French armies. Each separate +army immediately turned and vigorously engaged in battle. The army +of Manoury, the first to get ready, sprang forward to the attack. +It thrust back the German forces which were at first inferior in +number, and it attained on the evening of the 5th the Pinchard-St. +Soulplet-Ver front; but Von Kluck threw two army corps over the +Marne and hurled himself on Manoury. He summoned from Compiègne +all the reenforcements at his disposal, and he placed all his heavy +artillery between Vareddes and May-en-Multien. During the day of +September 6th Manoury made headway toward the Ourcq. On the following +day he advanced at a lesser pace on its left bank, taking and then +losing the villages of Marcilly and Chambry--murderous struggles +maintained amid terrible heat. General Gallieni, who followed the +battle with the utmost attention, hurriedly came to the assistance +of Manoury; he sent to him on the 7th and 8th the Seventh Division, +which had just arrived at Paris, half of the division being transferred +by rail, the other half by means of thousands of automobiles +requisitioned for the purpose. General Joffre likewise sent to +Manoury the Fourth Army Corps, recruited from the Third Army, though +an almost entire division of it was called for by the British to +safeguard the junction of forces. + +"The day of September 8 turned out the most arduous for Manoury; +the Germans, making attacks of extreme violence, won some success. +They occupied Betz, Thury-en-Vallois and Nanteuil-le-Haudouin. Yon +Kluck attacked all his force on the right, and it was at that time +he who threatened Manoury with an encircling movement. The Fourth +French Army Corps, sent forward at full speed by General Joffre and +arriving at the spot, had the order to allow itself to be killed +to the last man, but to maintain its ground. It maintained it. It +succeeded toward evening in checking the advance of the Germans. In +a brilliant action the army of Manoury took three standards. It +rallied the main body of its forces on the left and prepared for +a new attack. + +"During this time the British army, following on the retreat of +part of the forces of Von Kluck, was able to make headway toward +the north. It was the same with the Fifth French Army. The British, +leaving behind it on September 6 the Rosoy-Lagny line, reached in +the evening the south bank of the Great Morin. On the 7th and 8th +they continued their march; on the 9th they debouched to the north +of the Marne below Château Thierry, flanking the German forces which +on that day were opposing the army of Manoury. It was then that the +German forces began to retreat, while the British army, pursuing +the enemy, took seven cannon and many prisoners and reached the +Aisne between Soissons and Longueval. The British army continued +till before Coulommiers, and after a brilliant struggle forced the +passage of the Little Morin. The Fifth French Army under General +Franchet d'Espérey made the same advance. It drove back the three +active army corps of the Germans and the reserve corps that it +found facing it. On September 7 it pressed forward to the +Courtacon-Cerneux-Monceaux-les-Provins-Courgivaux-Esternay line. +During the days that followed it reached and crossed the Marne, +capturing in fierce combats some howitzers and machine guns. + +"General Foch showed admirable sang-froid and energy. At the most +critical moment, the decisive hour of the battle, he accomplished a +magnificent maneuver, which is known under the name of the _maneuver +of Fère Champenoise_. Foch noted a rift between the German army of +Von Bülow and that of Von Hausen. The German Guard was engaged +with the Tenth Division of the reserve in the region of the marshes +of St. Gond. + +"On September 9 Foch resolutely threw into this rift the Forty-Second +Division under General Grossetti, which was at his left, and his +army corps of the left. He thus made a flank attack on the German +forces, notably the Guard which had bent back his army corps on +the right. The effect produced by the flank attack of Manoury on +the right of General von Kluck's army was renewed here. The enemy, +taken aback by this audacious maneuver, did not resist and made a +precipitate retreat. On the evening of the 9th the game was thus +lost to the Germans. Their armies of the right and of the center +were beaten and the retreat followed. The Imperial Guard left in +the marshes of St. Gond more than 8,000 men and almost all its +artillery. Victory henceforth began to perch on the Allied banners +over all the vast battle field." + +Such was this battle of seven days in which almost 3,000,000 men +were engaged. If it is examined in its ensemble, it will be seen +that each French army advanced step by step, opening up the road +to the neighboring army, which immediately gave it support, and +then striking at the flank of the enemy which the other attacked +in front. The efforts of the one were closely coordinated with +the efforts of the other. A deep unity of ideas, of methods, and +of courage animated the whole Allied line. + +[Illustration: FRENCH AND BRITISH ALLIES RALLY TO SAVE PARIS. + +BRITISH INFANTRY AND LONDON SCOTTISH. DESTRUCTION AT YPRES, LILLE, +AND ANTWERP. FRENCH ARMIES + +A military observer stationed in one of the many ruined chateaux +in northern France. The crumbling walls have been strengthened +by sand bags] + +[Illustration: A remarkable photograph of an actual bayonet charge +by French soldiers typical of the gallantry and spirit they display +in action] + +[Illustration: A British naval brigade, sent to aid in the defense +of Antwerp, holding a road at Lierre. They are supported by a Maxim +gun] + +[Illustration: The city of Lille, France, under fire. During the +Great War this city has suffered bombardment by both Allies and +Germans] + +[Illustration: A remarkable photograph taken during the bombardment +of Antwerp, showing the falling wall of a house that has been struck +by a German shell] + +[Illustration: Drawn by R. Caton Woodville. Fighting from house to +house in Ypres, afterward but a ruin. Because of its strategic +position, Allies and Germans have battled repeatedly for its +possession. ] + +[Illustration: Drawn by H. W. Koekkoek. A village in the Argonne, +occupied alternately by French and German troops in the autumn of +1914. The French finally reported "a slight advance in the Argonne"] + +[Illustration: Drawn by R. Caton Woodville. The London Scottish +re-forming for a third charge, in which they succeeded in taking and +occupying Messines October 31, 1914] + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XIX + +"CROSSING THE AISNE" + +In order to gain a clear idea of what was involved in the feat of +"crossing the Aisne," which more than one expert has declared to +be the greatest military feat in river crossing in the history of +arms, it is well to look at the topography of that point, first in +its relation to the whole German line, and, second, in its relation +to possible attack in September, 1914. + +The prepared positions on the Aisne to which the Germans fell back +after the battle of the Marne, were along a line of exceptionally +strong natural barriers. The line extends from a point north of +Verdun, on the heights of the Meuse, across the wooded country of +the Argonne and the plain of Champagne to Rheims, thence northwest +to Brimont, crossing the Aisne near its confluence with the Suippe, +and from thence proceeding to Craonne, whence it takes a westerly +course along the heights of the Aisne to the Forest of the Eagle, +north of Compiègne. The eastern end of this line has already been +described in connection with the battles of the Marne, and it is +the western section of this line which now demands consideration. +Just as the River Marne was taken as a basis for the consideration +of the topography of the battles that centered round the crossing +of the Ourcq, Grand Morin, Petit Morin, and the Marne, so the Aisne +is naturally the most important determinant in the problems of +its crossing. + +The River Aisne rises in the Argonne, southwest of Verdun. Through +the Champagne region its banks are of gradual slope, but shortly +after it passes Rethel, on its westerly course, the configuration +changes sharply, and at Craonne the bluffs overlooking the river +are 450 feet high. It is easy to see what an inaccessible barrier +is made by such a line of cliffs. For forty miles this line of +bluffs continues, almost reaching to Compiègne, where the Aisne +enters the Oise. Not only are the banks of the Aisne thus guarded +by steep bluffs, but the character of those bluffs is peculiarly +fitted for military purposes. For long stretches along the north +side the cliffs stand sheer and have spurs that dip down sharply +to the valley. The ridge, or the top of the bluff, which looks +from below like the scarp of a great plateau, lies at an average +of a mile or more from the stream. Many of these spurs jut out in +such a way that if fortified they could enfilade up and downstream. +To add to the military value of such a barrier the edge of the scarp +is heavily wooded, while the lower slopes are steep and grassy, +with small woods at irregular intervals. Even from the high ground +on the south bank of the stream, the top of the plateau on the +north cannot be seen, and from below it is effectually cloaked. + +Two tributaries are to be considered in this river valley which thus +forms so natural a post of defense. Both flow in from the south, +the Suippe, which joins the main stream at Neufchâtel-sur-Aisne and +the Vesle, on which stands the ancient city of Rheims. This river +joins the Aisne a little over seven miles east of Soissons, which +is itself twenty miles east of Compiègne. + +The line taken by the German armies for their stand was not the +river itself, but the northern ridge. At no place more than a mile +and a half from the river, it was always within gunfire of any +crossing. Every place of crossing was commanded by a spur. Every +road on the north bank was in their hands, every road on the south +bank curved upward so as to be a fair mark for their artillery. +As the German drive advanced, a huge body of sappers and miners +had been left behind to fortify this Aisne line, and the system +developed was much the same along its entire distance. + +There were two lines of barbed-wire entanglements, one in the bed +of the stream which would prevent fording or swimming, and which, +being under water, could not easily be destroyed by gunfire from +the southern bank. Above this was a heavy chevaux-de-frise and +barbed-wire entanglement, partly sunk and concealed from view; in +many places pitted and covered with brushwood. Above this, following +approximately a thirty-foot contour, came a line of trenches for +infantry, and fifty yards behind a second line of trenches, commanding +a further elevation of fifty feet. Two-thirds of the way up the +hill came the trench-living quarters, the kitchens, the bakeries, +the dormitories, and so forth, and the crest of the hill bristled +along its entire length with field guns, effectually screened by +trees. On the further side of the ridge, in chalk pits, were the +great howitzers, tossing their huge shells over the ridge and its +defenses into the river itself, and even on the south bank beyond. +Truly, a position of power, and one that the boldest of troops +might hesitate to attack. + +It is quite possible that had the entire strength of the German +position been known, no attempt to cross would have been made, +but there was always a possibility that the counterchecks of the +German army were no more than the rear-guard actions of the three +or four days immediately preceding. Yet Sir John French seems to +have expected the true state of affairs, for he remarks in his +dispatches: + +"The battles of the Marne, which lasted from the morning of the +6th to the evening of the 10th, had hardly ended in the precipitate +flight of the enemy when we were brought face to face with a position +of extraordinary strength, carefully intrenched and prepared for +defense by an army and staff which are thorough adepts in such +work." + +Yet it was evident that if the armies of the Allies were to secure +any lasting benefit from the battles of the Marne, they must dislodge +the invading hosts from their new vantage ground. It was obvious +that the task was one of great peril and one necessarily likely +to be attended with heavy loss of life. Sir John French, knowing +the tactical value of driving a fleeing army hard, determined on +forcing the issue without delay. + +Before proceeding to recount in detail the events of that six days' +battle of the Aisne, which little by little solidified into an +impasse, it might be well to trace the new positions that had been +taken by the respective armies engaged in the struggle for the +supremacy of western Europe. General von Kluck, still in charge +of the First German Army, was in control of the western section +from the Forest of the Eagle to the plateau of Craonne. He had +forced his men to almost superhuman efforts, and by midnight of +September 11 he had succeeded in getting most of his artillery +across the Aisne, at Soissons, and had whipped his infantry into +place on the heights north of the stream. That, with his exhausted +troops, he succeeded remains still a tribute to his power as a +commander. But the men were done. Further attack meant rout. His +salvation lay in his heavy field guns and howitzers, an arm of +the service in which the French army, under General Maunoury (and +General Pau, who had taken a superior command during the turning of +the German drive at the Marne), was notoriously weak. Still there +was little comfort there, for the British army was well supplied +with heavy artillery, and the Fifth French Army of General d'Espérey, +also coming up to confront him, was not entirely lacking in this +branch of the service. + +General von Bülow's army was combined with that of General von +Hausen, who fell ill and was retired from his command. Against +this combined army was ranged the victorious and still fresh army +of General Foch, lacking two corps, which had been detached for +reserves elsewhere. One of these corps apparently went to the aid of +General Sarrail, whose stand was still a weak point in the Allies' +line. General Sarrail, however, was now better supported by the +movement of General Langle with the Fourth French Army, who advanced +toward Troyon and confronted the combined armies of the Imperial +Crown Prince and the Duke of Württemberg. This released General +Sarrail to his task of intrenching and enlarging the defenses about +Verdun, the importance of which had become more poignant than ever +before in the events of the past week. The far eastern end of the +line remained unchanged. + +The credit for the crossing of the Aisne lies with the British +troops. The battles of the Marne had thrust Sir John French into a +prominent position, wherein he was able to achieve a much-desired +result without any great loss of life. But the battle of the Aisne +was different. It was a magnificent effort boldly carried out, +and, as was afterward learned, it could not have been successful +had the onset been delayed even one day. + +General Maunoury's army, encamped in the forest of the Compiègne, +was again the first to give battle, as it had been in the battles +of the Marne. Using some heavy guns that had been sent on from +Paris, in addition to the batteries that had been lent him by the +British, he secured some well-planned artillery positions on the +south bank, and spent the morning in a long-range duel with the +German gunners near Soissons. The Germans had not all taken up +their positions on the north side of the Aisne on the morning of +September 12, 1914, and the heavy battery of the Fourth British +Division did good service early in the morning, dislodging some +of these before it wheeled in line beside the big French guns, +in an endeavor to shell the trenches and level the barbed-wire +entanglements, that an opportunity might be made to cross. But +the results were not encouraging of success, for the reply from +the further shore was terrific. General von Kluck's army might +be worn out, but the iron throats of his guns were untiring, and +he knew that huge reenforcements were on the way. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XX + +FIRST DAY'S BATTLES + +That first day of the battle of the Aisne, September 12, 1914, +which was indeed rather preparatory than actual, was also marked by +some unusually brilliant cavalry work in General Allenby's division. +The German line was on the farther side of the Aisne, but all the +hill country between the Marne and the Aisne had to be cleared of +the powerful rear guards of the retreating German army, or perhaps +it would be more correct to say the advance guards of the new German +line. Early in the morning the cavalry under General Allenby swept +out from the town of Braisne on the Vesle and harried in every +direction the strong detachments that had been sent forward, driving +them back to the Aisne. Over the high wooded ridge between the +Vesle and the Aisne the Germans were driven back, and the Third +Division, under General Hamilton, supported the cavalry in force, +so that, by the evening, General Hamilton's division was able to +camp below the hill of Brenelle, and even, before night fell, to +get their guns upon that height, from which they could reply to +the German batteries snugly ensconced upon the frowning ridge on +the northern bank of the Aisne. + +The Fifth British Division, under Sir Charles Fergusson, found +itself in a tight place at the confluence of the Vesle and Aisne +Rivers, for at that point lay a stretch of flat bottomland exposed +to the German fire. By a ruse, which returned upon their own heads, +the Germans had preserved one bridge across the Aisne, the bridge at +Condé. This was done as a lure to Sir Charles Fergusson's forces, +but even more so it was intended as a sallying point as soon as +the German army deemed itself in a position to attack again. The +bridge was destined to figure in the events of the great conflict +when the grapple should come. + +One of the most graphic of all the accounts of the fighting of that +day was from the pen of a major in the British field artillery, +and it presented in sharp and vivid colors how the field artillery +joined with the cavalry in clearing the German troops from the +hills between the Marne and the Aisne. He wrote: + +"We got the order to go off and join a battery under Colonel ----'s +orders. We came en route under heavy shrapnel fire on the road. I +gave the order to walk, as the horses had hardly had any food for +a couple of days, and also I wanted to steady the show. I can't +say I enjoyed walking along at the head with old ---- behind me, +especially when six shrapnel burst right in front of us. We got +there just in time, rushed into action, and opened fire on a German +counterattack at short range, destroying the lot so far as I could +see. + +"We then moved slightly to another position to take on a valley, +down which they were attacking, and were at it the whole day, firing +about 900 rounds into quantities of German attacks and counterattacks. +They cannot stand the shrapnel, and the moment I got one on them +they turned and bolted back to the wood. + +"I got on to their trenches; one shell dropped in. [It would appear +from this that some of the advance guards of the new defense line +were either intrenching or occupying trenches made during the battles +of the Marne, probably the latter, or else the writer is speaking of +the actions of his battery on the 10th as well as the 12th before +the invaders had retreated across the Marne.] I was enfilading +them, and they tore out of the trenches, and so on, each trench in +turn, and fell in hundreds. Also, through the range finder, ---- +saw I'd hit a machine gun, and they had abandoned it and another. So +it went all day, shells and bullets humming around, but only one of +my staff horses was hit. Our infantry advancing and retiring--others +advancing and coming back--Germans doing likewise, a hellish din +of shell fire, and me pouring in fire whenever I could see them. + +"At last I got six shrapnel into a wood and cleared a heap of them +out and got into them with shrapnel. It was awful! The sergeant major +put his hand up to his head and said: "Oh, sir, it's terrible!" That +seemed to settle them, and at last we saw the infantry advancing +to their positions without resistance. + +"Now was my chance. I determined to get those machine guns if I +could, as otherwise the infantry would. So I left ---- in command +and got the trumpeter, sergeant major, and six men with six rifles, +and went forward 'to reconnoiter,' as I reported to ---- after I +had gone. It was a weird ride, through thick black woods, holding +my revolver ready, going in front with the little trumpeter behind +and the others following some way in the rear. We passed some very +bad sights, and knew the woods were full of Germans who were afraid +to get away on account of the dreaded shell fire. We got in front +of our infantry, who were going to fire at us, but I shouted just +in time. + +"At last we came to the edge of a wood, and in front of us, about +200 yards away, was a little cup-shaped copse, and the enemy's +trenches with machine guns a little farther on. I felt sure this +wood was full of Germans, as I had seen them go in earlier. I started +to gallop for it, and the others followed. Suddenly about fifty +Germans bolted out, firing at us. I loosed off my revolver as fast +as I could, and ---- loosed off his rifle from the saddle. They +must have thought we were a regiment of cavalry, for, except for +a few, they suddenly yelled and bolted. I stopped and dismounted +my lot to fire at them, to make sure that they didn't change their +minds. + +"I waited for a lull, and mounted all my lot behind the bushes +and made them spring as I gave the word to gallop for cover to the +woods where the Welsh company was. There I got ----, who understands +them (the guns), and an infantryman who volunteered to help, and +---- and I ran up to the Maxims and took out the breech mechanism +of both and one of the belts, and carried away one whole Maxim. +We couldn't manage the other. + +"We got back very slowly on account of the gun, and the men went wild +with excitement that we had got one gun complete and the mechanism +and belt of the other." + +With such incidents the pursuit of the Germans across the Marne +and to the Aisne was replete, and so thoroughly did the advance +French and English troops scour that country that when the morning +of September 13, 1914, dawned there was scarcely a German soldier +left on the southern side of the Aisne, west of Rheims. + +The administration of the German armies meanwhile had been markedly +changed. In the turning movement on the Marne the plan was clearly +outlined, each commander had his instructions, and that was all. +But with the need for changes of plan there was need for a directing +head, and Field Marshal van Heeringen was sent in a hurry to take +charge of the Aisne. This placed both General von Kluck and General +von Bülow into subordinate positions. Field Marshal von Heeringen +held a deserved reputation as one of the most brilliant as well +as one of the most iron-willed of the German military leaders. +He had been the backbone of the crown prince's movement against +Troyon, a movement which, given a day or two longer, might have +meant the capture of Verdun. + +This was not the only factor that was framing up to give the German +armies a decided advantage. The essential factor of the Aisne was +the arrival of General von Zwehl and his guns. On September 13, +1914, at 6 a. m., Zwehl arrived in Laon, and in less than an hour +he was in action on the Aisne front. The story of General von Zwehl +and his guns is essential to an understanding of the causes that +rendered the British victory of the Aisne a barren and a fruitless +victory at best. + +The week of September 5-12, 1914, witnessed the entire series of +the battles of the Marne, which drove the Germans across the Marne +and across the Aisne, as well as a German victory which exerted +almost as powerful an influence in favor of the invaders as the +check at the Marne did for the defenders. This victory was the +fall of Maubeuge. It is going too far to say--as several military +writers have done--that General von Zwehl saved Germany, and that +unless he had arrived as opportunely as he did the "German retreat +to the Aisne valley would have been changed into a disastrous and +overwhelming rout." But it is not going too far to say that the +successful holding of the Aisne line was due to the victor of Maubeuge. + +General von Zwehl was one of the iron-jawed battle-scarred warriors +of 1870, a man with a will as metallic as his own siege guns, and +a man who could no more be deflected from his purpose than a shell +could be diverted in its flight. He had been set to reduce Maubeuge +and he had done so with speed and with thoroughness. Maubeuge was +not protected by open-air earthworks, but by a circle of armor-plate +concrete forts. To the mighty siege guns handled by General von +Zwehl, these were no trouble, for Von Zwehl had not only the heavy +batteries attached to the Seventh Army Reserve, but he also had a +number of Von Kluck's guns and the majority of General von Bülow's, +neither of whom was expected to need siege guns in the forward +drive where mobility was an essential. In addition to this, General +von Zwehl also had the great siege train that had been prepared +for the reduction of Paris. What chance had Maubeuge against such +a potency? + +On September 8, 1914, word reached General von Zwehl that the forward +drive had failed, that the main armies had been beaten back and +that he was to bring up his guns as rapidly as possible to cover +the retreat. As rapidly as he could, to General von Zwehl, meant +but one thing--to get there! He collected 9,000 reserve troops, +which was almost immediately swelled by another 9,000, and with +a total of 18,000 troops he started his siege trains for the town +of Laon, where Field Marshal von Heeringen had taken up his +headquarters. The weather turned bad, rendering the heavy guns +extremely difficult to handle, but there could be no delay, no +explanations, to General von Zwehl. If a gun was to be brought it +was to be brought and that was all about it! Four days and three +nights of almost continuous marching is killing. The German commander +cared nothing for that. The guns must be kept moving. Could he get +them there on time? In the last twenty-four hours of the march, +his 18,000 troops covered 41 miles and they arrived in Laon at six +o'clock in the morning of September 13, 1914, and were in action an +hour later. The problem, therefore, before the English and French at +the Aisne, was not the carrying of the river against a disheartened +and retreating army, but the carrying of the river against a +well-thought-out and forceful plan--a plan, moreover, backed up +by the most powerful artillery that the world has ever seen. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE BRITISH AT THE AISNE + +In the battles of the Marne, the brunt of the fighting had been +borne mainly by the French armies, but the major part of work of +the battle of the Aisne was borne by the British Expeditionary +Force. Sir John French wasted no time. Saturday night, September +12, 1914, was a night of labor for engineers and gunners. The bridge +trains belonging to the First and Second Army Corps were ordered +to the edge of the river at daybreak, and as soon as the first +gleam of dawn appeared in the sky, the heroic effort began. + +At the risk of seeming a little detailed, in order to understand +the somewhat involved maneuvers by which the British won the crossing +of the Aisne, instead of dealing with the advance of the British army +as a unit, in the manner that was done in discussing the battles of +the Marne, their activities will be shown as army corps: the Third +Army Corps to the westward, under General Pulteney; the Second Army +Corps, under Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, and the First Army Corps +to the eastward, under Sir Douglas Haig, all, of course, under +the general direction of Sir John French. + +The British had no means of knowing what was in front of them. +There was only one way to find out--a way, alas, often costly, +a way that in every campaign costs thousands of lives apparently +fruitlessly, and that is a frontal attack. Down over the slopes of +the southern bank, into the bright, smiling river valley, where the +little white villages in the distance were hiding their dilapidated +state, marched the British army. Not a sign of activity showed +itself upon the farther shore. A summer haze obscured objects at +a distance, but, shortly before nine o'clock, the German batteries +opened fire with a roar that was appalling. + +The Third Army Corps, after a brief artillery duel, advanced on +Soissons to cover the work of the engineers who were building a +pontoon bridge for the French troops. The German fire was deadly, +yet though more than half their men fell, the engineers put the +pontoon bridge across. German howitzer fire, from behind the ridge, +however, soon destroyed the bridge. The Turcos crossed the river in +rowboats and had a fierce but indecisive struggle in the streets +of the medieval city. Meanwhile, with the failure of the pontoon +bridge at Soissons, General Pulteney struck to the northeast along +the road to Venizel. The bridge at that point had been blown up, +but the British sappers repaired it sufficiently to set the Eleventh +Brigade across, and even, despite the lurid hail of shot and shell, +four regiments gathered at Bucy-de-Long by one o'clock on that +Sunday, September 13, 1914. Over the heads of these courageous +regiments towered the great hill of Vregny, a veritable Gibraltar +of heavy guns with numerous machine guns along the wooded edge. +There was no protection, and no shelter against the terrible German +Maxim fire, so that the moment came when to attempt further advance +meant instant annihilation. Still, under cover of the success of the +Eleventh Brigade the engineers built a pontoon bridge at Venizel +and the Twelth Brigade crossed to Bucy-de-Long, with a number of +the lighter artillery. As there was absolutely no shelter, to storm +the height at that point was impossible, and to remain where they +were was merely to court sudden death, so the Twelfth Brigade worked +over the slopes to the ravine at Chipres, where they intrenched. + +The task in front of the Second Army Corps was no less difficult. +The bridge at Condé was too strongly defended to be taken by assault, +as Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien speedily found out, so he divided his +forces into two parts, one of which was directed at the village +of Missy, two and one half miles west of Condé, while the other +concentrated its attack on a crossing at the town of Vailly, three +miles east of Condé. Both detachments made good their crossing, +but the regiments that found themselves near Missy also realized +that hasty, very hasty intrenchment was imperative, lest every +one of them should be blown into kingdom come before half an hour +had passed by. During the night some troops were rafted over, three +men at a time, and these encamped near Missy. It was a false move. +For sixteen days thereafter the British troops had to remain in +their dugouts, a large part of the time without food or water. +To show a head above the trench was sudden death. + +The regiments that crossed the river at Vailly found themselves in +even a worse plight. No sooner had they crossed than the bombardment +began, and the Germans knew every range in the place accurately. +More than that, the line of trenches was open to enfilade fire from +a hidden battery, which did not unmask until the trench was filled +with soldiers. This Eighth Brigade had to retire in disorder. + +The Fifth Brigade, attached to the First Army Corps under Sir Douglas +Haig, an Irish and Scotch group of regiments, were the most successful +of all. The bridge at Pont Arcy had been destroyed, but still one of +its girders spanned the stream. It would have been tricky walking, +even under ordinary circumstances, but nerve racking to attempt, +when from every hill and wood and point of land, Maxims, machine +guns and a steady rifle fire are concentrated on the man crossing +that one girder. By the afternoon, the engineers attached to the +First Army Corps had also established a pontoon bridge, and the +whole brigade crossed the river in the evening and dug itself in. + +Late on Sunday afternoon, however, a weak spot showed itself in +the German line and Sir John French threw the First Division of the +First Army Corps across the river near Bourg. Some of the infantry +crossed by a small pontoon bridge and a brigade of cavalry started +to follow them. When they were in mid-stream, however, a terrific +storm of fire smote them. The cavalry pushed on, but could not +ride up the hill in the teeth of the bombardment. The infantry +were eager to go, but nothing was to be gained by the move, so +the cavalry returned over the pontoon, by a most extraordinary +occurrence not having lost a single member in the three hours it +had been scouting on the hostile side of the Aisne. The infantry +intrenched themselves solidly to await the morning. + +The main forces of the First Division were especially lucky. Using +the canal aqueduct they made their way toward Bourg, and drove +the Germans back toward the main ridge. + +More than three-quarters of the summit of the ridge had been won, +the entire Second Infantry Brigade was across, the Twenty-fifth +Artillery Brigade was across, ready to support, and General Bulfin, +instead of tiring his men by making them intrench there, ordered +them to rest, throwing their outposts in front of the hamlet of +Moulins. + +This ended the first day's fighting on the battle of the Aisne. +Of the Third Army Corps, a small body of men had reached Chipres. +There they had been joined by a small force from the Second Army +Corps. In the First Army a strong detachment dug itself in not +far from Pont d'Arcy. The incomparably superior position of the +Germans, their huge numbers, their possession of innumerable guns, +made even this shaky tenure dangerous, though all held on. Sir +John French had tested and found out the German strength and the +result was not encouraging. + +Although this repulse of the British army at every point was a +decided victory for the German gunners, Field Marshal von Heeringen +had been impressed by two things: the courage of the British attacking +army, and the destructiveness of the French artillery on the south +bank of the river. The German commander withdrew all his men from +the advanced trenches on between the ridge and the river, keeping, +however, strongly intrenched detachments of riflemen at all commanding +points with powerful artillery as their support. + +Sunday night was a veritable pandemonium of destruction and tumult. +All night long, without cessation, the batteries of both sides, +knowing exactly their opponents' range, fired perpetually. All +night long searchlight bombs were thrown. All night long, golden +and red and yellow streams of flame or the sudden jagged flash +of an explosion lit up the black smoke of burning buildings and +fields in the valley, or showed the white puff-like low clouds of +the bursting shrapnel. Not for an instant did the roar diminish, +not for a second was the kindly veil of night left unrent by a +fissure of vengeful flame. Yet, all night long, as ceaselessly +as the great guns poured out their angry fury, so did men pour +out their indomitable will, and in that hell light of battle flame +engineers labored to construct bridges, small bodies of troops +moved forward to join their comrades in the trenches who had been +able to make a footing the day before, and all night long, those +ghastly yet merciful accompaniments of a battle field--the ambulance +corps--carried on their work of relief. The searchlights swept up +and down the valley, like great eyes that watched to give direction +to the venom of war. + +At three o'clock in the morning of Monday, September 14, 1914, +two regiments were sent to capture a sugar factory strongly held +by the enemy. That sugar factory became a maelstrom. Three more +regiments had to be brought up and finally the guards, and even +thus heavily overpowered, the Germans successfully defended it +until noon. They sold their lives dearly--those defenders. That +sugar factory stood on that Monday as did Hogoumont at Waterloo. It +delayed the advance of the entire First Corps, but at four o'clock +in the afternoon, Sir Douglas Haig ordered a general advance. The +last afternoon and evening scored a distinct success for the English +arms, and when at last it grew absolutely too dark to see, that +corps held a position stretching from Troton to La Cour de Soupir. +Its chief importance, however, was that it gave the Allies a strongly +intrenched position on the plateau itself. + +It was of this day's fighting that, almost a month later, Sir John +French was able to say in his official dispatches: + +"The action of the First Corps on this day under the direction and +command of Sir Douglas Haig was of so skillful, bold, and decisive +a character that he gained positions which alone have enabled me +to maintain my position for more than three weeks of very severe +fighting on the north bank of the river." + +The offensive of this entire movement was intrusted to the First +Corps. The artillery strength of the armies of General von Kluck +and Von Bülow was such that it was almost impossible for the Second +and Third British Army Corps to assail them by a charge up the +bluff. But, meantime, the French had not been idle. On September +13, 1914, General d'Espérey's Fifth Army crossed the Aisne east +of Bourg, and on the following day commenced the assault on the +Craonne plateau. + +The next day, Tuesday, September 15, 1914, was a day of several +small victories for the Germans. General von Zwehl was a hard hitter +and a quick hitter. Having disposed of his artillery where he thought +it could be of the most use, he aided Field Marshal von Heeringen +with counsels of counterattack, counsels that the Field Marshal +fully indorsed. The Sixth French Army under General Manoury, at +the extreme west of the line, was the chief point of attack. Though +well placed on a strong position at Nampcel, the Germans drove +the French before them like clouds before the wind, recaptured +the spurs, forced the French backward through the Morsain ravine +and back to their original crossing place of the Aisne between +Viv and Fontenoy. + +The Third Corps of the British suffered heavy loss of life without +any opportunity to retaliate, for it was too thoroughly and completely +dominated by the guns of Vregny. + +The lull of Wednesday, September 16, 1914, was a foretaste of the +deadlock which was gradually forming. The French Fifth Army had +been compelled to abandon all idea of a direct attack upon the +Craonne plateau, the natural position being far too strong. The +Second and Third Corps of the British army could do nothing. Sir +John French, though eager to push the advantage, secured by his +position on the heights, was well aware that such a move was not +possible unless the entire French line was ready to cooperate with +him, for, if he tried to drive down upon the ridge of the Aisne, +or, for that matter, tried to flank it, the line of the Duke of +Württemberg would bend back upon him and nip him in a way which +would render escape difficult. + +A sudden recrudescence of activity on the western front gave rise to +the hope that the deadlock might yet be avoided, that the two great +armies might come to handgrips again. Bolstered up by reenforcements, +General Manoury checked the German attack and regained all the +ground that had been lost. Concentrating on the need of driving +the invaders out of the quarries of Autreches, the French succeeded. +This eased the western end of the line, and the Second and Third +British Army Corps were left in peace. + +Friday, September 18, 1914, is again a date of moment, not because +anything of importance was transacted, but because nothing was +transacted. It was a day of realizations. It was a day that convinced +the Allies that the German positions could not be broken down by +frontal attack, just as the battles of the Marne had convinced +the Germans that the road to Paris was not yet open. The six days +from September 12 to 18 had revealed beyond preadventure that the +German line along the ridge of the Aisne was not merely a convenient +halting place for a rear-guard action, but that it was formed of +lines of strong fortifications, almost impregnable and absolutely +beyond the hope of storming. The forces were too evenly balanced +for any concerted action to produce a desired effect, the possession +of air scouts eliminated any question of a surprise. In other words, +the conclusion was borne in upon the Allies with full force that, +much as the German plan had failed at Marne, so had the Allies' +plan failed at Aisne. The crossing of the Aisne, the winning of +the heights by Sir Douglas Haig were victories--not only that, but +they were full of that glory which goes with successful daring--yet +they led nowhere. The plan of the Allies must be abandoned and a +new one formed. This decision of a change of strategical plan, +then, closed the Allies' frontal attack upon the position of the +Central Powers on the ridge of the Maise, and marks the end of +the first phase of the battle of the Aisne. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXII + +BOMBARDMENT OF RHEIMS AND SOISSONS + +To be considered almost as a part of the advance upon the Aisne +were the bombardments of Soissons and of Rheims, the former being a +part of the first phase of the Aisne battles, the second belonging +to the second phase. Soissons, it will be remembered, lies at the +western end of the high bluffs that form a bank to the River Aisne +for over fifty miles. It is on the high road between Rheims and +Compiègne, and on the south side of the Aisne, and consequently +returned into French hands on September 13, 1914. No sooner did +the French armies enter the little town, however, than Soissons, +dominated by the twin towers of its ancient cathedral, became a +target for the concentrated fire of the Germans, whose artillery, +it will be remembered, had been supplemented that morning by the +huge guns brought on from Maubeuge by the magnificent forced marches +of General von Zwehl. By noon the lower half of that once lovely +city was in flames. On every hand walls collapsed as though they +had been made of pasteboard. Women and children were buried beneath +the ruins or blown to pieces as they fled into the streets. One +of the towers of the cathedral was damaged, and there was not a +corner of the town that was safe from fire. The French batteries +tried to cover the city and silence the batteries opposing them +on the north front of the river, but the odds were too great. + +All day long, and throughout the greater part of every night, for +the first three days of the battle of the Aisne, September 13, +14, and 15, 1914, the bombardment of Soissons was continual, and, +in addition to being a wreck, the town became a shambles. + +Closely allied to the Soissons bombardment, and occurring simultaneously +with the battle of the Aisne, was the series of engagements occurring in +the quarries around Autreches and Coucy-le-Château, fought by advanced +bodies in front of the right wing of the German army encamped on the +ridge of the Aisne. These engagements developed the illuminating +fact that during times of peace German capital had been invested in +these quarries and that the foresight of the Germans had led them +to fortify these quarries, so that they were veritable fortresses, +and indeed, formed a continuation of that line of defense the crowning +point of which was the Aisne cliff near the plateau of the Craonne. +During the days when the British First Army Corps, under Sir Douglas +Haig, was performing the astounding feat of crossing the Aisne +and holding the land thus gained against a veritable tempest of +counterattack, these stone quarries were taken and lost again every +few hours. The French infantry of General Manoury's army, far less +exhausted than the harassed regiments of General von Kluck's forces, +found little difficulty in forcing the Germans back from Autreches, +but, no sooner were they well established, than the roar of the +combined guns of General von Kluck and General von Zwehl would +make the position untenable, and under cover of that appalling +rain of death, the German infantry would creep back to reoccupy +the positions from which they had been ousted by the bayonets only +a few hours before. It was the German tactics of machine vs. men, +a direful and cruel battle plan to the opposing forces. + +Upon the day that the advance of the British definitely stopped, +or, in other words, when General Joffre and Sir John French realized +that further effort against the defenses of the Germans on the +ridge beyond the Aisne would only mean loss of life to no gainful +purpose, the bombardment of Rheims began. The old city had suffered +severely during the German advance upon the Marne. Still, it had +not been pillaged, and when the Germans retreated across the Aisne +the old city held much of its glory unimpaired. Still the flawless +beauty of Rheims Cathedral stood guard over the ancient city. + +Then on September 18, 1914, the shelling of the city began and +a bombardment of the most terrific character continued for ten +days. Rheims Cathedral, which the French declared was outside the +zone of direct fire and was used as a hospital with the Red Cross +flag flying, and which the Germans asserted to have been used for +a signal station and to have been surrounded by gun stations, was +said to have been demolished by the German guns. This act created +a sensation throughout the world, for Rheims Cathedral was like +a gem from Paradise, regarded by most art lovers as one of the +most beautiful buildings in the world. Every civilized country was +shaken with grief when the news of the disaster to Rheims Cathedral +was published. + +It must be admitted that military necessity knows no law, and it +must also be admitted that human life has a valuation to be expressed +in terms far higher than any building however beautiful. In an +inspired article written by Major General von Ditfurth, in the +"Hamburger Nachrichten," this latter point is clearly brought out. +He wrote: + +"It is of no consequence if all the monuments ever created, all +the pictures ever painted, and all the buildings ever created by +the great architects of the world were destroyed, if by their +destruction we promote Germany's victory over her enemies.... The +commonest, ugliest stone placed to mark the burial place of a German +grenadier is a more glorious and perfect monument than all the +cathedrals in Europe put together. + +"Let neutral peoples and our enemies cease their empty chatter, +which is no better than the twittering of birds. Let them cease +their talk about the cathedral at Rheims and about all the churches +and castles of France which have shared its fate. These things do +not interest us." + +Opinions have naturally differed concerning Von Ditfurth's appraisal +of the comparative values of Rheims Cathedral and the tombstone of +a German grenadier, but even the champions of military necessity +were glad to learn later that the cathedral still stood, though much +damaged. If Rheims were far away from the line of march, and if the +Germans had deliberately gone thither for the purpose of destroying +it--as some prejudiced accounts seem to state--then there would not +be room for two opinions. Wanton vandalism is vandalism largely +in the ratio that it is wanton. But, to be perfectly impartial, +it must be admitted that the second phase of the battle of the +Aisne made the bombardment of Rheims a military necessity. To make +this clear requires a setting forth of the new strategical plan +developed by Field Marshal von Heeringen upon the collapse of the +plan for the drive on Paris, which was foiled by the battles of +the Marne. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXIII + +SECOND PHASE OF BATTLE OF THE AISNE + +The second phase of the battle of the Aisne contained two factors. +One, the simplest, was the maintenance of that line of defense +against any force that could be brought up against it by the Allies. +It meant the ability to hold strongly fortified positions against all +odds. The history of the trenches that winter, of which more will +be said later, reveals the extent to which the Germans succeeded, +aided by the iron craft of the old Prussian fighter General von +Zwehl. + +The other factor depended on the vexed question of means of +communication. There was no cross-country railway linking the eastern +German wing to the western German wing. As has been previously +remarked, all supplies and munitions had to come in a roundabout +way. Verdun was a desired goal, but Field Marshal von Heeringen +was wise enough to know that if the crown prince's effort against +General Sarrail had failed, if the Third French Army had secured +heavy reenforcement, and if it had been left unmolested for a week, +the outer ring of defenses around Verdun would, by that time, have +become so amazingly strengthened that direct or frontal attack +would be impossible, while the flanking attack had failed. It was +vain, therefore, at the present time, to hope that the establishment +of the direct communication between Metz and Verdun might pass +into the hands of the invaders. + +On the other hand, there was a direct line of railway running through +Rheims, Rethel, Mezières to the great war depot, Coblenz on the +Rhine. A branch line from Metz, through Luxemburg, thus gave +communication to the eastern wing. All the links of this were in +German hands, except Rheims, and if that railroad center could be +secured, the importance to the German advance would be enormous. +Under such circumstances, it can scarcely be held that Rheims was +not necessarily a point, the attack of which was due to military +necessity. + +The formation for this began on September 17, 1914. Crossing the +Aisne by the old ford of Berry-au-Bac, a powerful army under the +direct leadership of Field Marshal von Heeringen debouched upon +the open country between Berry-au-Bac and Suippes, east of Rheims. +It was at this point that the German commander in chief of this +section of the battle line intended to deliver a crushing blow +by which might be regained the prestige secured at Charleroi and +lost again at the Marne. + +Surprise may be felt that so important a railway center as Rheims +should not have been a strongly fortified place. It had been so +once, though the fortifications were old-fashioned. But, instead of +bringing these points of natural defense up to the highest degree +of modern efficiency, the French had dismantled them entirely, +so as to make Rheims with its glorious cathedral an open town, +safe from bombardment. It was, according to the rules of war, safe +from bombardment, but only in the event of its not being defended. +General Foch did not dare to take this stand. He knew, as well as +did General von Heeringen, the strategic value of Rheims as railroad +center, and accepted the issue of battle. + +In the falling back of the several German armies from the Marne +to the Aisne, the Germans had kept possession of the chief forts +of the district around Rheims. No strong effort had been made to +dislodge them, for the forward movement of the Allies had been +directed against the fortified heights of the Aisne, facing the +Soissons-Craonne defense. It will be remembered that the armies of +General Foch and Langle, especially the latter, had taken no part +in the first phase of the Battle of the Aisne, but had stubbornly +thrown back the armies of the Duke of Württemberg, which had combined +with those of the crown prince. The right wing of this large conjoined +army had held the fort sites around Rheims and especially they had +made full use of the chief fort on the wooded heights of Nogent +l'Abbesse, a trifle less than half a mile from the cathedral city +and therefore within easy destructive shelling range. The heavy +artillery was planted here, the infantry intrenched around it, and +strong defense trenches were established along the River Suippe +that runs into the Aisne near Berry-au-Bac. + +On Friday, September 18, 1914, the first movement of the second +phase was begun, when the Germans launched a sharp counterattack +on the French center. This was the first German offensive movement +since their retreat from the Marne, and it was powerful and well +handled. General Foch fell back into defensive positions, but had +much ado to hold his own. He evaded giving battle around Rheims +and took up a position at Souain, which he held with the jaunty +obstinacy he had displayed so often in the retreat through northern +France. It was obvious that he could not hold out long, but by +clever generalship, and especially by an extraordinarily brilliant +use of the cavalry arm, he held off the army for that day. That +night strong reenforcements came to his aid, and on September 19, +1914, the balance of the forces was more nearly equal. + +On September 19, 1914, therefore, the situation of the armies was +much as follows: The Germans, acting under the general command of +Field Marshal von Heeringen, controlled Rheims under the gunfire +of their heavy artillery from two points, the heights of Nogent +l'Abbesse to the southeast of Rheims, and the hill of Brimont a +little over half a mile to the northeast. Their right flank was +covered by the powerful defenses of the Aisne and the guns of the +Craonne plateau, their left flank was a series of intrenchments +along the river Suippe, which merged into the second line of defense +of the main army under the Duke of Württemberg. + +On the other side of Rheims, or to the west of the cathedral city, +the Allies also held two heights, one at Pouillon, between the +Aisle and the Vesle, and therefore to the northwest of the city, +and the other on a sharp steep, known as the Mountain of Rheims, +near Verzenay, on the south side of the river. This was therefore +west and a little south of Rheims. But, and herein lies the question +that has so often arisen in the discussion of the comparative strength +of the two armies--especially without the British batteries--the +French lacked heavy long-range artillery. They had no such howitzers +as those of the German forces. Thus the Germans could shell Rheims +to their hearts' content, and the Allies could not silence that +gunfire from their own fortified positions. Once more, then, it +became a battle between infantry and artillery, between men and +machines. + +This time, however, the advance was not favorable to the Germans. +Their heavy artillery commanded Rheims, but it did not command the +French line to the west of Rheims. The invaders performed prodigies +of valor. Again and again they hurled themselves against the French +line. But General Foch's troops were well supplied with that terrible +engine of destruction--the French 3-inch fieldpiece, known, as the +75-mm., an extremely powerful gun for its caliber. + +In four successive night attacks on September 19-20, 1914, the +heaviest onset was made. Supported by a terrific gunfire, directed +with the long pointing fingers of searchlights, the German infantry, +invigorated by a week's rest; rolled up in gray-clad tidal waves +against the French line. General Foch had known how to post his +defense, and within twenty-four hours he had made the line between +Pouillon and the Mountain of Rheims almost as strong as the German +line between Brimont and Nogent l'Abbesse. Poor Rheims lay between, +wide open to the eruption of destruction that belched from the +throats of the German howitzers. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXIV + +END OF THE BATTLE + +After September 22, 1914, there was a lull in the fighting at Rheims, +and as afterward appeared, this was due mainly to another change +of plan on the part of the German Staff. But it was no part of +General Foch's intentions to leave the bombardment of the cathedral +unrevenged. He had, indeed, caused an unparalleled slaughter on the +night of September 19, 1914, as has been stated, but his troops +were avid for reprisal and the French strategist knew well how +dangerous it is to allow an army, eager for action and revenge, +to eat its heart out vainly. He was too wise to run the risk of +a countercharge, but four days later his opportunity came, and +he took advantage of it to the full. + +At dawn on September 26, 1914, a detachment of 15,000 Germans, +including all that remained of the famous Prussian Guards Corps, +that same body that had fought so marvelously on many occasions, +and which had suffered the most cruelly in the affair of the marshes +of St. Gond, made a sortie from the base line at Nogent l'Abbesse to +destroy the railway line between Rheims and Verdun, this line was, +indeed, the principal link of communication to that all-important +fortress that protruded its bristling salient into the heart of +the German position. A French aviator, who had climbed into his +machine when it was yet dark, in order to do a little daybreak +scouting before the light should be sufficiently bright to make him +an easy target, saw this movement and reported it immediately to +General Foch. That commander, who knew how to use cavalry, ordered +a regiment at the gallop to occupy the village of Auberive, on +the Suippe, and there harry the advancing column sufficiently to +give him time to bring up the light artillery and to bring into +action a large body of infantry encamped at Jouchery, five miles +away. + +Before six o'clock, the cavalry were in Auberive. The men worked +like fiends. The streets were rapidly barricaded, machine guns +hoisted to roofs and other points where they might command a wide +sweep of fire. Then the cavalry rode forward to meet the advancing +column. Not knowing what might be in front of him, the German commander +halted, awaiting reports from his air scouts. The halt was but +three-quarters of an hour, but that was of vast importance. The +scouts reported only a regiment of cavalry ahead, but a powerful +detachment of French artillery on the road from Jouchery. The German +leader detached 2,000 of the Death's Head Hussars, his crack cavalry, +to cut off, or at all events to delay, the French guns. He was +aware that the artillery would have no anticipation of this and, +in the surprise, the guns might be captured. Meantime, he hurried +his advance to Auberive, captured the village, though after another +hour's delay, caused by the resistance of the cavalry, who retreated +to St. Hilaire. + +Meantime, at St. Hilaire, the surprise charge of the Death's Head +Hussars was launched. It was scarcely a question of minutes, it +was rather a matter of seconds. But the French artillery knew their +light fieldpieces as thoroughly as the Germans were masters of +the heavy guns. In less than two minutes the artillery teams were +unharnessed, the guns were in position and the gunners took their +places when the Hussars were so near the voices of their leaders +could be heard. Thirty seconds earlier, and the Hussars would have +been in among the guns and made a notable capture. There was just +time enough for a man to breathe twice, when the order came to +fire. The Hussars were at less than a hundred yards' range. As the +shrapnel burst, the front squadrons seemed to stumble and fall. +The ranks were so near that the change from living human beings +into mangled pieces of flesh and rags could clearly be seen. More +than one veteran gunner felt squeamish at the sight. But the rear +squadrons, though their horses' hoofs were squelching in the blood +of their comrades of a moment before, never blenched or faltered +but swept on at a thundering gallop. Again the guns spoke, and +again. That was all. Amid the vines, here and there a writhing +figure could be seen, or a wounded horse endeavoring to rise, and +here and there a straggler striving to escape. It was level open +country; twice again the guns roared, five rounds in all, and all +movement ceased. The engagement had lasted less than five minutes +and of those two thousand splendid horsemen not one escaped. The +French artillerists picked up the wounded and sent them back to +Rheims to receive nursing and care, and then hurried on to the +action whither they were bound when surprised by the Hussars. + +The infantry of the Germans and of the French were now coming to +hand grips. A battalion of Zouaves was creeping round to attack +the advancing column in the rear. The German commander at Nogent +l'Abbesse learned from his air scouts what was happening. He saw +the peril of the advancing column, that it was almost surrounded, +and, he threw further columns into the fray, to cover the retreat. +The sortie on the railway had now become impossible. General Foch +had moved too quickly. But, even so, the peril was great, for the +German force was almost cut off. It meant the loss of 15,000 men +and artillery, or it meant the sacrifice of some one corps to cover +the retreat. The latter course was chosen. + +Three thousand of the Guards Corps, the flower of the Prussian +Army, were sent like a catapult at the gap in the French line, +immediately in front of Rheims. Five times they charged, and with +such heroic daring and such penetrative energy that General Foch +did not dare break from his position. As they came up for the fifth +assault, a wild cheer of admiration broke out along the French line. +But the rifles spoke steadily, none the less for that. After the +fifth assault, barely a hundred men were left, nearly all wounded. +They reversed rifles, a sign of surrender, and in all honor they +were received by General Foch, who conducted them to the hospital +in the rear. They lived up to the full the most heroic traditions +of the old Prussian corps and they saved that whole German force +from destruction. Still, with the annihilation of the Death's Head +Hussars and the remainder of the Prussian Guards Corps on the same +day, the forces under General Foch felt that in part Rheims had +been avenged. + +The other section of this second phase of the Aisne consisted of +the trench warfare, which solidified from September 19 to October 6, +1914, under conditions of extreme difficulty and more than extreme +discomfort. It was practically the establishment of a trench campaign +that lasted all winter, and revived the centuries-old fortress +warfare, applying it under modern conditions to field fortifications. +The French during that winter on the Aisne never quite succeeded +in rivaling the mechanical precision of the German movements; the +Germans, on the other hand, never showed themselves to possess +the emotional fervor of the French with the bayonet. + +In many places German and Allies' trenches almost touched each +other. The first two weeks at the Aisne were one continual downpour, +and the foundation of that ground is chalk. On the sides of the +plateau of Craonne, after two weeks' rain, the chalky mud seemed +bottomless. "It filled the ears and eyes and throats of our men," +wrote John Buchan, "it plastered their clothing and mingled generously +with their diet. Their grandfathers, who had been at Sebastopol, +could have told them something about mud; but even after India and +South Africa, the mire of the Aisne seemed a grievous affliction." +The fighting was constant, the nervous strain exhausting, and the +cold and wet were even harder to bear. There had as yet been no +time to build trenches with all conveniences, such as the Germans +possessed on the crest of the ridge, and the trenches of the Allies +were a chilled inferno of woe. + +A stretch of waste ground lay between the trenches, and often for +days at a time the fire was too heavy to rescue the wounded or +bring in the dead. The men in the trenches, on either side, were +compelled to hear the groans of the wounded, lying in the open day +after day, until exhaustion, cold and pain brought them a merciful +release. In letters more than one soldier declared that the hardest +thing to bear was to hear a fellow comrade shrieking or groaning +in agony a few steps away for hours--even days at a time--and to +be able to do nothing to help. The stench from the unburied bodies +was so great that officially all the tobacco for the whole battle +front was commandeered and sent to the trenches under the plateau +of Craonne and on the hill to the westward, where the British First +Army Corps was placed. Such, for the two weeks between September +22, 1914, and October 6, 1914, was the trench warfare during the +second phase of the battle of the Aisne, a condition never after +repeated in the war, for such a feat as the crossing of the Aisne +could scarcely be duplicated. It was gallant, it was magnificent, +and it was costly--the British casualty list for September 12 to +October 6, 1914, being, killed, wounded and missing, 561 officers +and 12,980 men--but it was useless, and only served to give the +Allies a temporary base whereby General Foch was successful in +checking the German attempt to capture the Rheims-Verdun railway. +It was a victory of bravery, but not a victory of result. + +During all these operations the Belgian army, now at Antwerp, had +harassed the German troops by frequent sorties. The capture of the +city was at once undertaken by the German Staff, following the +stalemate created by the operations at the Aisne. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXV + +"THE RACE TO THE SEA" + +The Germans, having failed in their first enveloping movement, +attempted a second after the battle of the Marne. They tried to +repeat their maneuver of August, endeavoring to overwhelm the French +left; while the French, on their side, tried to overwhelm the German +right. Each of these armies, by a converging movement, gradually +drew its forces toward the west. No sooner did the Germans bring +up a new corps on their right than the French brought up another +on their left. Thus the front of the battle ascended more and more +to the west and north until arriving at the sea it could go no +farther. This is what has been called by French military critics +"The Race to the Sea." In this race to the sea the Germans had a +great advantage over the French. A glance at the map is enough +to make it understood. The concave form of the German front made +the lines of transportation shorter; they were within the interior +of the angle, while the French were at the exterior. On the German +side this movement drew into the line more than eighteen army corps, +or twelve active corps, six reserve corps, and four cavalry corps. + +On the French side it resulted in the posting of the army of Castelnau +on the left of Manoury's army, in the deployment of the army of +General de Maud'huy to the left of the army of Castelnau, in the +transference of the British army to the left of the army of Maud'huy, +in the relegation of the army of Urbal to the left of the British +army, the army of Urbal being later flanked by the Belgian army +which came out of Antwerp. In order to accomplish this new and +extended disposition of forces the French General Staff was compelled +to reduce to their extreme limits the effective strengths of the +armies of the east and of the Oise, and as a result to make the +maximum use of the means of transport. In this it succeeded. When +the great battle of Flanders was waged toward the end of October, +the Germans, trying to turn the French left and to pierce it, found +themselves facing considerable French forces, which, allied with the +British and Belgian armies, completely barred the passage against +them. + +From the 15th of September, 1914, it was clear that the Germans +were making a great effort to try and overwhelm the French left. +General Joffre parried the attack, reenforcing at first the army +of Manoury by an army corps, then transferring to the left of the +army of Manoury the entire army of Castelnau that was in Lorraine. +A corps of cavalry and four territorial divisions commanded by +General Brugère received the order to establish itself on both banks +of the Somme and protect the detraining of the army of Castelnau. + +From September 21 to September 26, 1914, all the French forces +that had newly arrived were engaged in the Lassigny-Roye-Péronne +region. They succeeded in withstanding, not without difficulty, the +German attack, but they could not advance. The Germans determinedly +and unweariedly continued to mass new forces on their right. On +the left of the army of Castelnau it was therefore necessary to +establish a new army. It was established on September 30, 1914, +under the command of General Maud'huy. From the first days of October +this army waged violent conflicts in the region of Arras and of +Lens. It found facing it two German cavalry corps, the Guard, four +active army corps, and two reserve corps. + +General Joffre continued without intermission to send new forces +to the left. On October 4, 1914, he called on General Foch in the +north and charged him with the duty of coordinating the action of +all the armies in that region: those of De Castelnau, Maud'huy, +and the territorial divisions. At the beginning of October the +British army, which was posted on the Aisne, was transferred to +the left of the French armies and replaced by the armies of Manoury +and d'Espérey. The Belgian army, issuing from Antwerp on October 9, +1914, effected its retreat, covered by the British naval forces and +6,000 French marines. It took its place on the Yser Canal between +Nieuport and Dixmude. + +The Germans continuing their efforts to turn the French left, it +was found necessary again to strengthen that left considerably; +and new French army corps were transferred to Flanders and Belgium. +It was a new French army that was established and the command of +it was intrusted to General d'Urbal. It consisted at first of two +divisions of territorials and four divisions of cavalry of the +corps of General de Mitry, along with a brigade of naval fusiliers. +But from October 27 to November 11, 1914, it received considerable +reenforcements. + +During the second week in November the German attack revealing +its purpose more clearly, General Joffre sent four more battalions +of chasseurs and four more brigades of infantry. The reenforcements +sent to the French army of the north totaled as a result five army +corps, a division of cavalry, a territorial division, sixteen cavalry +regiments, and more than sixty pieces of heavy artillery. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXVI + +SIEGE AND FALL OF ANTWERP + +The siege of Antwerp began on September 29, 1914, and in less than +two weeks, October 10, 1914, this historic city, one of the most +important trade centers of the world and one of the strongest fortresses +in Europe, was forced to capitulate, though it had always been +believed to be impregnable. + +During the latter part of September, 1914, the forces of the +belligerents were driving northward in that memorable race for the +Channel in which both sides had the same object; each was trying +to be the first to turn the other's front and crumble his line. + +At the same time the German forces, then in the vicinity of Brussels, +under the command of General van Beseler, pushed toward Antwerp, +on which the Belgian army had fallen back to make its last stand. +This move was necessary in order to cut off all danger of rear +attacks which would menace General von Kluck's drive to the coast, +a movement which had reached Douai on October 1, 1914. + +The German General Staff had decided to take Antwerp at all cost. +General von Beseler on the last day of September, 1914, reached +a point within range of Antwerp's farthest outer forts. + +In order to understand the record of the following successive steps +in the siege of Antwerp, a description of this city's position and +the location of its double circle of forts is necessary. Antwerp +was considered one of the most formidable strongholds in the world. +The elaborate defenses of Antwerp evolved from the original +fortifications of thirty years ago through continual additions. +The location of the city offers very many natural advantages for +its defense, and the engineering genius controlling the work made +full use of these opportunities. From the north Antwerp has access +to the sea by the river Scheldt, of which the arm nearest to the +city is narrow, with six strong forts on each bank, including the +citadel. + +Any armies approaching from the south must cross the rivers Rupel +and Nethe, which practically, in the shape of a semicircle, swing +around the city to the south at a distance varying from about six +to twelve miles. Within this circle of flowing water, and about two +miles from the city, is another circle, formed by twelve powerful +forts. At a point almost due east from the center of the city and +commanding the railroad to Holland, by way of Turnhout, is located +the first of eight forts, designated by numbers. From there they +swing to the south and west, with fort eight very close to the +Scheldt and directly south to the village of Hoboken. On the other +side of the river are Forts de Cruibeke and Zwyndrecht, the latter +commanding the railroad to Ghent. Further north and right on the +banks of the Scheldt are Forts St. Marie, la Perle, and St. Philip, +the first two on the left bank and the last on the right, all three +opposite the new harbor and docks. In the northeast Fort de Merkem +guards the railroad to Rotterdam. Outside of this circle and in the +south, outside of the Nethe-Rupel line, there is another complete +circle of nineteen even stronger forts, at a distance from the +city varying between five and ten miles. Starting again in the +east--due east from fort one--and swinging south, these forts are +named: Oeleghem, Broeckem, Kessel, Lierre, Koningshoyckt, Wavre +St. Catherine, Waelhem--the last two only a few miles north of +Malines--Breendonck, Liezel, Bornem, Rupelmonde, Haesdonck, Doel, +Blauwgaren--the last two guarding the Scheldt at the point of its +entrance into Holland, one on each bank--Stabroek, Ertbrand, Brasschaet, +Schooten, and Gravenwezel. Between these outer forts there were +redoubts of considerable strength, which were armed with 4-inch +guns. The forts of the inner ring are placed at regular intervals +of 2,200 yards and at a distance of about 3,500 yards from the +enceinte of the city, which itself had powerful defenses as well. + +[Illustration: LIEGE FORTS, SHOWING GERMAN ATTACK] + +[Illustration: SIEGE AND FALL OF ANTWERP] + +Add to these defenses the important fact that the entire district +surrounding Antwerp was subject to inundation to such a depth that +all approach to the city could be made impracticable to an enemy +force with heavy cannon and ammunition. Military authorities held +Antwerp to be of incomparable strength and as nearly impregnable +as engineering genius could make it. + +During the latter part of September, 1914, several of the outer +forts were subjected to bombardment, and many of these had become +useless as defenses. + +General von Beseler's advance was still barred by the river Nethe, +upon the opposite bank of which the defense was concentrated. During +the engagements which now ensued the German aircraft kept the commanders +advised as to conditions behind the enemy's lines, now and then +dropping bombs, apparently doing considerable damage. + +On October 2, 1914, General von Beseler scattered from "Taube" +aeroplanes a number of printed papers over the entire district. +These circulars contained a proclamation to the Belgian soldiers, +advising them to stop fighting for England and Russia and to return +home to their wives and children, as Germany was ready to help +and befriend them. + +The Belgian Government, which had established itself in Antwerp +after the occupation of Brussels, decided to leave the city as soon +as possible. Two small steamers were ordered to be held in readiness. +The foreign legations also decided to go with the Government. + +Throughout this day a steady fire was kept up on the nearest outer +forts, but the Belgian soldiers contested every inch of ground +against the German advance. This fighting continued throughout the +entire day following, during which two of the minor outer forts +were silenced. + +Rapid progress by the Germans was very difficult owing to the peculiar +conformation of the course of the river Scheldt at the point of +attack. This made especially difficult the laying of concrete +foundations for the heavy guns. + +The first detachment of British troops, numbering about 8,000 marines, +reached Antwerp on October 3, 1914. This buoyed up the spirits of +the Belgian soldiers and redoubled their efforts. Under cover of +the continuous fire of their guns, the Germans made determined +efforts to cross the river Nethe at Waelhem. Desperate fighting, +which lasted all night and until early in the morning of October +4, took place. This attempt, however, failed. Later in the day +the Germans succeeded in putting a pontoon bridge in place. Troops +in solid masses hurried across; but as they reached the other side +some well-directed shots from the Belgian guns blew the pontoon +bridge to pieces, killing many. + +Throughout the night of October 4, 1914, and the day and night +of October 5, the battle raged about Lierre with savage ferocity. +The British marines had by this time relieved the Belgians. The +German fire, however, compelled the defenders to draw back a +considerable distance. + +At four o'clock in the morning of October 6, 1914, the Germans +succeeded in crossing the river in force, and now the defenders +were obliged to give way, as the outer forts had ceased to afford +them any protection. Late in the afternoon the members of the Belgian +Cabinet and their official families went aboard one steamer, while +the French and British Legations boarded another, both sailing +early on October 7. + +The Belgian troops had begun to withdraw the evening before. All the +defending forces now hastened their retreat. The actual evacuation +had indeed begun. Time was taken, however, to put out of commission +some thirty steamships lying at their docks and to set afire all the +large oil tanks on the west side of the river Scheldt. The streets +in Antwerp presented scenes of almost indescribable confusion. +Even before the bombardment had been long in operation almost the +entire civil population became panic-stricken. Hither and thither, +wherever the crowd drifted, explosions obstructed their paths; +fronts of buildings bent over and fell into the streets, in many +cases crushing their occupants. Although the burgomaster had issued +a proclamation advising the people to remain calm--indoors, if +possible--nothing could stop the stampede. + +The defending troops withdrawing through the city from the firing +line destroyed everything that might possibly be of use to the +enemy. The suburbs of Antwerp seemed to be ablaze in every direction; +the village of Waerloos had been burning for some days; Contich, +Duffel, and Lierre also, and Have, Linth, and Vieux Dieu had been +destroyed by shell fire. Mortsel was practically obliterated by +the Belgians clearing the range for the guns of the inner forts. +In the preparation for defense the Belgians destroyed upward of +ten thousand buildings within a radius of twenty miles. + +The exodus of the civil population began in earnest on October +8, 1914. Some of the streets in the heart of the city were choked +with people, while other streets in the same vicinity were dead +and deserted. The withdrawal of the troops was well screened from +the German guns, but their retreat to the west had been cut off +to a great extent, and Holland was now the only refuge for many. +The Germans did not use their heaviest guns and high-explosive +shells in bombarding the city. + +During this terrible time, in utter darkness and confusion, crowds +amounting to many thousands--men, and women with babies, and children +of all ages--streamed through the streets that led to the quays or +to the turnpike to Holland. All sorts of vehicles, from dogcarts +to motor trucks, the former drawn by dogs, men, and horses, carried +the belongings of the fugitives that could not be carried away in +person. + +The bombardment continued with varying severity throughout October +8, 1914. As the Germans drew nearer to the city all the inner forts +on the south and east sides of the circle took part in replying +to the cannonade. Some of these forts--notably two, three, four, +and five--were badly battered. By afternoon the city seemed +deserted--nothing but débris of fallen buildings and wreckage met +the eyes, and a small remnant of the population was still struggling +for escape. + +Along all the wayside immense crowds of men, women, and children +gathered. The railway stations were choked with struggling humanity. +Their condition was pitiable. These scenes continued all day and +throughout the entire night. + +On the morning of October 9, 1914, the struggle to get away continued. +Long lines formed on the quay where it had been reported that two +boats would leave for Ostend by eleven o'clock, and all those that +could pay struggled to get their passage booked. There were between +35,000 and 40,000 people on the quays, every one buoyed up by the +hope that safety was in sight at last. But the boats failed to +sail and a murmur of disappointment rose from this vast multitude +of unfortunates. + +However, there were other means of escape available, such as tugboats, +plying between Flushing, Rotterdam, and other adjacent points in +Holland. These tugs had no great accommodations for passengers +and comparatively few people escaped by this means. No trains were +scheduled to run and in despair the crowds started to cross the +bridge and make for the road to the Dutch frontier. Altogether +from 150,000 to 200,000 of the population of the city escaped by +one means or another. + +During a continuous bombardment of twelve hours the cathedral stood +unharmed. The southern part of Antwerp was a desolate waste of ruins. +In some streets all the homes were ablaze, the flames leaping hither +and thither with the wind. The great oil tanks burning fiercely on +the opposite bank of the River Scheldt were fired upon by some +well-directed shots to check the blaze, a huge black volume of +thick smoke now rising from the flames. To add to the difficulties +and confusion the water supply had been cut off during the early +stages of the bombardment through the destruction of the city's +waterworks which were located in one of the suburbs to the south, +and the consequences threatened to become alarming. Everywhere +fires were burning. + +This was the tragic scene when the German army entered the conquered +city of Antwerp on October 10, 1914. It is probable that a large +part of the city would have been burned, if the Germans had not +entered in time to check the conflagration. Without loss of time, +forces were put to work fighting the fires and clearing the streets, +propping up unsafe buildings and making order out of chaos, with +the usual Teuton efficiency. As soon as the bombardment had ceased +proclamations were pasted on walls and houses throughout the city +urging everyone to surrender any arms in their possession and begging +for a calm demeanor when the German troops pass through the streets. + +About noon on October 10, 1914, a patrol of cyclist-mounted police +escorted the burgomaster to the gate of the city to receive the +German forces. When they entered order was restored without delay. +Soldiers were immediately detached from their special command and +formed into gangs under competent foremen and all put to work at +once each according to his trade, fitness or adaptability. The +forts that had been dismantled were hastily patched up and new guns +mounted for emergency use. + +On October 11, 1914, Field Marshal van der Goltz, the Governor +General of Belgium, came from Brussels and made a tour of inspection +of the double girdle of forts. Upon examination it was found that the +actual damage done to the city by the bombardment was comparatively +slight. + +During the last days of Antwerp's reign of terror fully 300,000 +fugitives sought shelter in Bergan-op-Zoom about twenty-five miles +northward across the Dutch frontier. Most of these were in a condition +almost indescribable, ragged, travel-worn, shoeless, and bespattered +and hungry. Few had money; valuables or other resources. All they +owned they carried on their backs or in bundles. The little Dutch +town of Bergen-op-Zoom with but 15,000 inhabitants was swamped; but +the Hollanders did their best to meet this terrible pressure and +its citizens went without bread themselves to feed the refugees. +Slowly some sort of order was organized out of the chaos and when +the Dutch Government was able to establish refugee camps under +military supervision the worst was over. A majority of this vast +army was by degrees distributed in the surrounding territory where +tent accommodations had been completed. The good Hollanders provided +for the children with especial care and sympathy. They supplied milk +for the babies and children generally. Devoted priests comforted many; +but military organization prevailed over all. Among the thousands +of these poor refugees that crossed the frontier at Maastricht and +besieged the doors of the Belgian consul there was no railing or +declaiming against the horror of their situation. The pathos of +lonely, staring, apathetic endurance was tragic beyond expression. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXVII + +YSER BATTLES--ATTACK ON YPRES + +A large part of the Belgian forces with some of the English marines +were forced across the Dutch border, where they were promptly disarmed +and interned, while the remnants of these forces retreated toward +the west by way of St. Nicolas and reached Ostend on October 11 +and 12, 1914, with greatly reduced numbers. Many were cut off and +captured by the German forces, which entered Ghent on October 12, +and pressed on to Ypres in one direction and to Lille in another. +Next day, the thirteenth, they approached Ostend, forcing these +Belgians who had managed to get through, to evacuate. + +Bruges was occupied by the German forces on October 14, 1914, and +other detachments appeared in Thielt, Daume, and Esschen on the +same day, thus getting under their control the entire Kingdom of +Belgium, with the exception of the northwestern corner, north of +Ypres, to the coast of the channel. For Ostend, too, had fallen into +their hands by October 15, after the English and Belgian troops had +been taken away by an English fleet; the Belgians were transported +to France where they were re-formed while the English marines were +sent back to England. + +In the meantime the Germans were drawing on reenforcements from +the Vosges and the Champagne districts and every day their numbers +increased. West Flanders was swarming with German cavalry, and +about this time they were as far west as Hazebrouck and Cassel, +and only twenty-five miles distant from Dunkirk. + +By October 20, 1914, the allied line was in position from Albert +to the sea, a little short of 100 miles, eighty as the crow flies. +From south to north the allied front was commanded by General Maud'huy +from Albert to Vermelles; General Smith-Dorrien from Vermelles +to Laventie, opposite Lille; General Poultney, from Laventie to +Messines; General Haig from Messines to Bixschoote; General de +Mitry had French and Belgian mixed troops defending the line from +Bixschoote to Nieuport and the sea, supported by an English and +French fleet. + +For days this fleet under the British Admiral Hood had shelled the +coast defenses under General von Beseler's command. As the naval +guns had a far better range than General von Beseler's artillery, +it was an easy matter to hold the coast at Nieuport Bains, and even +six miles inland without subjecting any of the ships to the fire +of the German guns. + +On the German side General von Bülow held the front against General +Maud'huy, the Bavarian Crown Prince against General Smith-Dorrien, +while the Duke of Württemberg commanded the forces on the balance +of the line to the sea. It is estimated that upward of thirty army +corps covered the German front. + +Throughout the balance of October, 1914, and well into November, +1914, a great many different actions and some of the heaviest fighting +of this period took place all along this line. On the 21st the new +German formations pressed forward in great force all along the +line. On the south of the Lys the Germans assaulted Violaines. +On the north of the Lys in the English center a fiercely contested +action took place near La Gheir, which village the Germans captured +in the morning. The German Twenty-sixth Reserve Corps pressed on +to Passchendale, where they met with stout resistance from the +English-Belgian forces. + +On October 22, 1914, the Germans attacked from the La Bassée region +and gained several small villages. Both Allies and Germans suffered +immense lasses. Much of the slaughter was due to the point-blank +magazine fire and the intermittent shrapnel explosions from bath +sides. + +The mast savage fighting was kept up all along the line, but no +advantage accrued ta either side until Friday, October 28, 1914, +when the Germans succeeded in crossing the Yser at St. George and +forcing their way two miles to Ramscapelle; retaken on the 30th by +General Grossetti. This was accomplished by General von Beseler's +troops, opposing the mixed troops of the Belgian and French. On +that night fourteen separate attacks were made by the Germans on +Dixmude and they were repulsed each time. + +On October 24, 1914, about 5,000 German troops crossed the canal +at Schoorbakke and next day there were more to come, so for the +moment it looked as though the allied line on the Yser had been +broken. The struggle at this point continued until October 28, +during which time the Allies contested every inch of ground. The +kaiser was with the Duke of Württemberg on this day, expecting +every moment that his great design to break through the lines and +drive his forces to Dunkirk and Calais would be accomplished. + +At the crisis the Belgians broke dawn the dykes and flooded the +country for miles around. Heavy rains during the last weeks had +swelled the Yser. The Belgians had dammed the lower reaches of +the canal; the Yser lipped over its brim and spread lagoons over +the flat meadows. Soon the German forces on the west bank were +floundering in a foot of water, while their guns were waterlogged +and deep in mud. The Germans did not abandon their efforts. The +kaiser called for volunteers to carry Ramscapelle--two Württemberg +brigades responded--and gained the place, but at terrible loss. + +On the 30th of October, 1914, again the Württembergers advanced to +the attack. They waded through sloppy fields from the bridgeheads +at St. George and Schoorbakke, and by means of table taps, boards, +planks and other devices crossed the deeper dykes. So furious was +the attack pressed home that they won the railway line and held +their ground. They were to do some severe fighting, however, for +next day French-Belgian and African mixed troops fought fiercely +to drive the Germans back but failed. + +Seeing their success in partially flooding the battle field, the +Belgians made more breaches in the dams, and, opening the sluices +in the canal, threw a flood of water greater still over the area +occupied by the Germans. In seething brown waves the water rose +up to the high ground at the railway near Ramscapelle. The Germans +were caught in this tide and scores of them were drowned. Many +escaped, some struggled to land on the Allies front and were made +prisoners. + +Sir John French summarized part of the fighting in Flanders, after +the capture of Antwerp, in the following official report: "The Second +Corps under General Smith-Dorrien was opposed by overpowering forces +of Germans, but nevertheless advanced until October 18, 1914, when +the German opposition compelled a reenforcement. Six days later +the Lahore Division of the Indian Army was sent to support the +Second Corps. On October 16, Sir Henry Rawlinson, who had covered +the retreat of the Belgian army from Antwerp, with two divisions of +English cavalry and two divisions of French infantry, was stationed +on the line east of Ypres under orders to operate over a wide front +and to keep possession of all the ground held by the Allies until +the First Army Corps could reach Ypres. + +"General Rawlinson was opposed by superior forces and was unable +to prevent the Germans from getting large reenforcements. With +four divisions holding a much wider front than their size justified +he faced a rather awkward situation, as the enemy was massed from +the Lys. + +"The shattered Belgian army and the weary French troops advanced +to check the Germans--but in vain. Sir Douglas Haig with the First +Army Corps was sent to recapture Bruges on October 19, 1914, while +the Belgian army intrenched along the Yser Canal. General Haig +failed--owing to bad roads. October 21 brought the most severe +attack made on the First Corps at Ypres, in the checking of which +the Worcestershire Regiment did good work. This day marked the +most critical period in the battle which resulted in the recapture +of the village of Gheluvelt." + +South of Dixmude is one of the most historic and quaintly attractive +cities of Belgium, Ypres. It is situated on a tributary of the Yser +called the Yperlee, and a railway runs through it from Roulers +to the main Lille-St. Ower line at Hazebrouck and a very important +canal runs from the Yser in the north to the Lys at Comines. + +The allied lines were held by the British First and Third Corps +and several cavalry divisions, at this point all under the chief +command of General Haig, while the Bavarian Crown Prince directed +the movements of the German forces. On October 20, 1914, the allied +line stretched--a few miles to the northeast of Ypres--from Bixschoote +to the crossroads a mile and a half northwest of Zonnebeke. The +cavalry only were kept busy during this day, while the other forces +were making elaborate preparations for the main drive. The great +attack was delivered October 21 against the point of the salient +between Zonnebeke and Besselaere. The allied line on the left was +so much exposed that the Twenty-second Brigade was enfiladed by the +Germans at the very beginning, and in the center the Germans pierced +the line held by the Royal Scots Fusiliers, with the Yorkshires on +the extreme right. The fierce assaults from both sides ended in +a draw for this day. + +On October 22, 1914, the fighting was most severe all day; but +later in the day the most violent assault of all was made by the +Germans upon the First Brigade on the left. There the trenches were +held by the Camerons, north of Pilkem on the Langemarck--Bixschoote +road. Here the Germans broke the line and succeeded in capturing +part of the Camerons--the famous Red Tartans. Further south, the +Royal Scots Fusiliers were obliged to give way. The Germans pressed +hard in the vicinity of Hollebeke which point opened a clear road +to Ypres; but here the allied forces stood their ground. Still +farther south the Essex Regiment and the Lancashire Fusiliers fought +savagely, but were driven back upon Armentierre when night fell. + +[Illustration: BATTLE FRONT IN FLANDERS] + +Early Friday morning, October 23, 1914, the Allies made a desperate +assault upon the trenches lost by the Camerons on the previous day. +The fighting culminated in a savage bayonet attack which resulted +in the recapture of these trenches by the British composed of the +King's Royal Rifles, the Royal West Surrey Regiment and the +Northamptons. + +On October 24, 1914, the Germans advanced upon the allied extreme +left; but were successfully repulsed between Zonnebeke and Poelcapelle. +Later in the day the Germans renewed their attack and compelled +the allied troops to retire some distance. + +The advance on the allied left was continued on Sunday, October +25, 1914. Repeatedly the Germans succeeded in piercing the allied +lines; but at one time, even though they had broken through, a +momentary lack of reserves compelled them to retreat to avoid capture. +A savage enveloping attack was made during the night, north of +Zandvoorde, where again the Germans broke through the allied lines, +but were unable to maintain their advantage through failure of +reenforcements to come up in time. The Leicester Brigade were shelled +out of their trenches and were obliged to fall back to the south +of the River Lys. + +During the following three days--October 26, 27, 28, 1914--artillery +fire was resorted to and desultory fighting and skirmishes along +the entire line resulted in no noteworthy advantage to either +belligerent. + +Thursday, October 29, 1914, opened with clear and bracing weather +which promised to continue throughout the day. The German attack +which had been preparing for the past three days now broke like +an irresistible wave upon the salient of the Gheluvelt crossroads, +where the British First Corps was stationed. The first division +was driven back from its trenches and after that the line swayed +forward and backward for hours, but by two o'clock in the afternoon +the position remained unchanged. + +With the coming of the dawn on October 30, 1914, the fighting was +resumed with even more savage determination on both sides. The +hottest engagement centered about the ridge of Zandvoorde. German +artillery fire cleared the allied trenches, burying many of the +British soldiers alive under mountains of earth and débris. This +forced the line to retreat a full mile to Klein Zillebeke to the +north. The kaiser witnessed this engagement and by his presence +cheered the German soldiers on to the most desperate fighting. + +On the following day October 31, 1914, the crisis came. The fighting +began along the Menin-Ypres road early in the morning and advanced +with great violence upon the village of Gheluvelt. The First and +Third Brigades or the First Division were swept back and the First +Coldstream Guards were wiped out as a unit. The whole division +was driven back from Gheluvelt to the woods between Veldhoek and +Hooge. The allied headquarters at Hooge were shelled. General Lomas +was wounded and six or the staff officers were killed. + +The Royal Fusiliers who desperately stuck to their trenches fighting +savagely were cut off and destroyed. Out of a thousand but seventy +soldiers remained. Between two and three o'clock there occurred +the most desperate fighting seen in the battle of Ypres. At 2:30 +o'clock in the afternoon the Allies recaptured Gheluvelt at the +point of the bayonet and by evening the Allies had regained their +position. Ypres had not been captured by the Germans by this time, +but they had secured their position in all the suburbs of Ypres +and had that city at their mercy, provided allied reenforcements +ordered up did not obstruct their path. + +The fighting still continued for part of November, 1914, but for +the month of October no definite result was to be recorded. + +At Ypres, on November 2, 1914, the Germans captured 2,300 English +troops and many machine guns. Dixmude was stormed by the Germans +on the 10th of November, and they crossed the Yser Canal, capturing +the Allies position west of Langemark, also driving them out of +St. Eloi. Snow and floods interfered with the fighting along the +battle front. Ypres was bombarded on several occasions and was +repeatedly set on fire. + +November 11, 1914, was another day of severe fighting. At daybreak +the Germans opened fire on the allied trenches to the north and +south of the road from Menin to Ypres. After a furious artillery +fire the Germans drove their men forward in full force. This attack +was carried out by the First and Fourth brigades of the Prussian +Guard Corps which had been especially selected to capture Ypres if +possible, since that task had proved too heavy for the infantry of +the line. As the Germans surged forward they were met by a frontal +fire from the allied lines, and as they were moving diagonally across +part of the allied front, they were also attacked on the flank by the +English artillery. Though the casualties of the Germans were enormous +before they reached the English lines, such was their resolution and +the momentum of the mass that, in spite of the splendid resistance +of the English troops, the Germans succeeded in breaking through +the allied lines in several places near the road. They penetrated +some distance into the woods behind the English trenches, where +some of the bloodiest fighting of the entire war took place. + +On November 12, 1914, comparative quiet reigned and with the exception +of artillery duels and some desultory fighting no results were +obtained on either side. The British report makes this comment on +this attempt upon Ypres: "Their (the Prussian Guard Corps') dogged +perseverance in pursuance of their objective claims wholehearted +admiration. + +"The failure of one great attack, heralded as it was by an impassioned +appeal to the troops made in the presence of the emperor himself, +but carried out by partially trained men, has been only the signal +for another desperate effort in which the place of honor was assigned +to the corps d'élite of the German army. + +"It must be admitted that the Guard Corps has retained that reputation +for courage and contempt of death which it earned in 1870, when +Emperor William I, after the battle of Gravelotte, wrote: 'My Guard +has formed its grave in front of St. Privat,' and the swarms of +men who came up bravely to the British rifles in the woods around +Ypres repeated the tactics of forty-four years ago, when their +dense columns, toiling up the slopes of St. Privat, melted away +under the fire of the French." + +Ypres was now but a name. Nothing but a mass of ruins reminded +the world of its previous quaint splendor. For Ypres had been rich +in historic buildings and monuments of past days. + +With the fall of Antwerp the Germans had made every effort to push +forward strong forces toward the west and had hastened to bring up +new army corps which had been hurriedly organized, their object +being to drive the Allies out of Belgium and break through to Dunkirk +and Calais. Altogether they collected 250,000 fresh men. Eventually +the Germans had north of La Bassée about fourteen corps and eight +cavalry divisions, a force of 750,000 men, with which to attempt +to drive the Allies into the sea. In addition there was immensely +powerful armament and heavy siege artillery, which also had been +brought up from around Antwerp. But in spite of these strong forces +it became clearly evident by the middle of November that the attempt +to break through to Calais had failed for the time being. The flooding +of the Yser marks the end of the main struggle for Calais. The battle +fronts had shifted. Between them there was a mile or two of mud and +water. The Belgians had lost a quarter of their effectives. The +Germans had evacuated the west bank of the Yser and were obliged +to return to the point from which they had started. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +ATTACKS ON LA BASSEE AND ARRAS + +While the engagement on the Yser was in progress in October, 1914, +fierce fighting was kept up in the second section of the battle +front, pivoting on Givenchy to the south and running east to the +north of the La Bassée-Lille road. In this section the forces of +the Crown Prince of Bavaria opposed the troops under the command +of General Smith-Dorrien. + +From October 1 to 3, 1914, considerable fighting went on in the +flats east of Arras between Lens and the River Scarpe. This resulted +in the retirement of the Allies on the 4th. The Germans began to +bombard Arras, keeping it up until the 6th, when their attempt to +take the city next day was successfully repulsed. On October 8, +the Germans, then holding Douai and Lens, were shelling Lille, then +held by the British territorials. For the next two weeks artillery +duels alternated with trench fighting and skirmishing. + +The main attack at La Bassée covered fully ten days, lasting from +October 22, 1914, to November 2, 1914. The first severe fighting +came as has already been mentioned, on October 22, 1914. The British +were driven out of the village of Violaines, which is situated on +the road between Lorgies and Givenchy, and General Smith-Dorrien +was compelled to retreat to the village of Faugissant, to the south +of Lavantie. + +On October 24, 1914, the Germans attacked heavily along the entire +line, and the First Gordon Highlanders were driven out of their +trenches. For three days the most savage fighting continued, resulting +in the capture of Neuve Chapelle by the Germans on October 27, which +was defended by East Indian troops. The fighting was desperate on +both sides and became much confused, as units here and there had +succeeded in breaking through their respective opponents' lines. +All of this day and the next, October 28, this struggle continued, +but the Germans maintained the ground they had won, forcing the +allied forces to retire in order to re-form their lines. + +On October 29, 1914, the Germans attacked at Festubert, and gained +several of the allied trenches after a severe struggle lasting +throughout the day. Again the Germans maintained their new position, +compelling the Indian troops to retire to the defense of the La +Bassée gate, where they were joined by several British brigades +and the Second Corps Artillery. + +October 30, 1914, was consumed in continuous artillery duels, which +held the lines while the troops enjoyed much needed rest. + +On October 31, 1914, the Indian forces were again savagely attacked +by the Germans whose machine guns enfiladed them in their trenches. +This attack has become noted for the great loss of British officers +commanding the Hindus. + +Concurrent with this fighting the Germans also made the most savage +onslaughts further south, with the object of capturing Arras. The +main attack against this important French city began on October +20, 1914, and lasted six days until the evening of October 26. +The Germans in having possession of Lens had a great advantage, +as they were thereby enabled to threaten the allied left center, +which was stationed to the west of Lens; for, just south from the +town, ran a railway which connected with the main line three miles +east of Arras, called the Arras-Douai-Lille line. This gave the +Germans a perfect system of lateral communications. + +The German general, Von Bülow, commanding the Prussian Guard Corps +led the attack on October 24, 1914, when he pushed his forces, +fighting for every inch of the ground, to within gun range of the +city of Arras. All day the most desperate fighting continued and +had not General Maud'huy received the reenforcements which hurriedly +came up just when needed the northern gates of Arras would have +been gained by the Germans, who were held back in a position near +enough, however, to subject Arras to another bombardment and the +shell fire from this position rained upon Arras to the end of the +month and some six days into November. + +From the date of the entry of the French into Alsace on August 7, +1914, the battle front in France extended from the Swiss frontier, +north through western Alsace, thence in a northwesterly direction to +a point where the line met the front of the German forces advancing +on Paris. + +On October 1, 1914, this battle front extended in an unbroken line +from Switzerland to the city of Douai in northeastern France. The +Crown Prince of Bavaria commanded in the first section from Alsace +to midway between Nancy and Verdun; the Crown Prince of Prussia +directed the Verdun section reaching from west of Thiaucourt to +Montfaucon; the Duke of Württemberg to Massiges; General von Hausen +thence to Bery-au-Bac; General von Bülow to a point directly north +of Soissons; General von Kluck in a northwesterly direction to +a point west of Noyon and onward to the north and northeast to +Douai, which is about fifteen miles northeast of Arras, from which +point north the campaign has been described. The French army opposing +this German front was under the supreme command of General Joffre. +The commanding officers in the various sectors of this front were +being continually changed, making it difficult to name the commanders +in each sector, except when some more or less noteworthy engagement +had taken place along the line. The battle front here described +did not materially change throughout the months of October, 1914, +to February 1, 1915. Continual engagements took place along this +entire front--a gain of a few yards here balanced by a loss of +a like distance elsewhere. + +Both belligerents had securely intrenched themselves. The pickax +and spade were far more in use than the rifle, so that now cold +weather coming on, the soldiers on both sides of the front were +able to make the trenches quite comfortable. In many instances +they laid down plank floors and lined the walls with boards, put up +stoves, constructed sleeping bunks and tables, stools and benches, +and even decorated the rooms thus evolved with anything suitable for +the purpose. Pictures and photographs from home were the favorite +decorations. All this was impossible for their brethren in the north +and in Flanders, where the activities of the conflict subjected +the soldiers to continual changes and removals. + +The main objective of the Germans was the French fortresses Belfort, +Epinal, Toul, and Verdun, for these obstructed the march to Paris. +The continual onslaughts and counterassaults made upon this line +left it practically unchanged during the month of October, 1914, +in which time no engagements worthy of the name "battle" occurred. +The fighting in the north had been so desperate that it completely +obscured the activities on the entire line to the south. + +The net gains during the months of October and November, 1914, +for either belligerent were practically nil. From Belfort in the +south to Arras in the north the advance or retreat in any given +section was but a matter of yards; a ridge, a farm, a hill, or +other choice gun position, the farther bank of a rivulet or stream +or canal occupied or captured--here by the French, there by the +Germans--generally proved to be but temporary possessions and wasted +efforts. + +It was incidents such as these that made up the record of events +along this line. During all this time the military aeroplanes were +busy dropping explosives upon the enemy's lines, and extending +their operations far to the rear, circling above the larger towns +and cities, doing considerable damage in many places. But this was +not the only purpose of these daring sky pilots; for the principal +object in flying over the adversary's country was to make observations +and report movements of troops. In this respect the aeroplane had +done immense service throughout the campaign. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXIX + +GENERAL MOVEMENTS ON THE FRENCH AND FLANDERS FRONTS + +We have seen that at the end of November, 1914, Ypres was still +in the Allies' hands, though the Germans were exerting a fierce +pressure in that region, and were gradually, even if very slowly, +getting closer and closer to it. + +At the beginning of December, 1914, the Germans drew their forces +close up to Ypres, so closely in fact that they could bring into +play their small-caliber howitzers, and before many hours Ypres +was in flames in many places. The allied forces fought fiercely +to compel the Germans to withdraw. Hand-to-hand fighting, bayonet +charges, and general confusion was the order of the day. Thousands +of men would creep out of their holes in the ground and crawl, +availing themselves of whatever covering presented itself, to some +vantage point and there stand up as one man and charge directly +into the adversary's ranks. + +All this was part of the general scheme worked out miles from the +spot where the conflict was going on. There in some quaint little +town occupying some out-of-the-way house was the General Staff. +The rooms were filled with officers; the walls were hung with large +and small field and detail maps, upon which were plainly marked the +name of every commanding officer and the forces under his command. +Every detail of the armies' strength--names of the commanders, and +any other detail was plainly in view. + +It was here decided to turn the entire command of the allied forces +along the Yser over to the British to avoid confusion. It was well +that this was done just at this time, for on December 3, 1914, the +Germans made a fierce onslaught along the entire front of thirteen +miles between Ypres and Dixmude, bringing into use a great number of +stanch rafts propelled by expert watermen, thus carrying thousands +of the German forces over and along the Ypres River. + +Again the belligerents came to a hand-to-hand conflict, and so +well directed was the allied counterattack that no advantage to the +Germans was obtained. For three days this severe fighting continued. +The struggle was most sharp between Dixmude and the coast at Westende, +where the Germans hoped to break through the allied lines, and thus +crumple up their entire front, making a free passage. + +On December 7, 1914, the French captured Vermelles, a minor village +a few miles southwest of La Bassée. This little village had been +the center of a continuous struggle for mastership for nearly two +months. At last the French occupied this rather commanding point, +important to the Allies, as it afforded an excellent view over +a wide stretch of country occupied by the Germans. + +The German Staff headquarters were removed from Roulers, which is +about twelve miles distant from Ypres, on December 8, 1914, from +the vicinity of Ypres, while their own forces had been concentrated +upon Dixmude, twelve miles to the north. This town had suffered +severely before, but the allied forces using what shelter they +could improvise, were doing considerable damage from this point. +Therefore the Germans began to bombard the place. + +On December 9, 1914, the Germans succeeded in gaining slightly +toward Ypres. Farther north they were by this time also in a position +to take Furnes under fire. This town lies on the frontier between +Belgium and France, in the path of some of the most savage onslaughts +on the part of the Germans to break through the allied lines in +order to reach the channel towns of Dunkirk and Calais. + +On December 10, 1914, the allied forces made an ineffectual attack +on Roulers, which the German General Staff had just left. South +of Ypres the allied forces made a severe attack upon the town of +Armentières, about eight miles from Ypres, but gained no permanent +advantage. + +During this time the Germans had also so far succeeded in consolidating +their positions in the neighborhood of Ostend, that they could +put their heavy guns in position near the shores of that famous +watering place. This was a very necessary precaution to meet the +attacks of English gunboats, and even larger cruisers that were +patrolling that coast. + +On December 12, 1914, the severest fighting was along the Yser Canal, +which was crossed and recrossed several times. + +On December 13, 1914, the Allies succeeded in repulsing the Germans +on the River Lys, where for three days the Germans had inaugurated +a hot offensive. These engagements were exact counterparts of the +fighting at other points in Flanders, where both opponents were +apparently well matched, and where advantages were won and lost +in rapid succession. + +There was severe fighting also on December 14, 1914, extending +along the entire front in Flanders from Nieuport to below Ypres. In +the north the Germans made severe onslaughts, all more or less held +up or repulsed by the Belgians, French, and English. The fighting was +hottest near Nieuport, where the Allies made some small temporary +gains. Besides the three armies participating in the conflict, +the British fleet also took part in bombarding the German coast +positions. Three British barges equipped with naval machine guns +entered the River Yser in order to cooperate in the fighting. These +boats took the two villages Lombaertzyde and St. Georges. + +In this action some of the heaviest fighting was done by the French +marines. Some slight advantages were also gained by the Allies in +the neighborhood of St. Eloi and Klein Zillebeke. + +Following these minor successes, attack was made upon the German +lines on the west side of Wytschaete, a village which the Germans +had succeeded in holding during the great battle of Ypres. To the +west of this village is a wood called the Petit Bois, and to the +southwest is the Maedelsteed spur, an eminence on hilly ground. +From both of these places the Germans covered the village, prepared +to hold it against all comers. + +Major Duncan, commanding the Scots, and Major Baird leading the +Royal Highlanders, attacked the Petit Bois, and in the flare of +terrible machine gun and rifle fire, carried a trench west of the +woods, while the Gordon Highlanders advanced upon the spur, taking +the first trench. They were, however, obliged to fall back to the +position from which they had started, with no advantage gained. This +engagement at Wytschaete gave a good illustration of the difficulty +of fighting in heavy, winter ground, devoid of cover, and so +water-logged that any speed in advance was next to impossible. +Just prior to the battle the ground had thawed, and the soldiers +sank deep into the mud at every step they took. + +On December 15, 1914, the Germans attacked a little to the south +of Ypres, but no definite result was obtained. On the following +day the Allies replied by an onslaught at Dixmude with a similar +result. The Germans attempted to turn and strike at Westende the +next day. + +Roulers was temporarily occupied by the Allies on December 18, +1914, and in another location, about twenty-five miles farther +southwest, in the neighborhood of Givenchy, the Allies' Indian +troops were put to the test. The attack was launched on the morning +of the 19th. + +The Lahore and the Meerut divisions both took part. The Meerut +division succeeded in capturing a trench; but a little later on a +counterattack, launched by the Germans, forced the Indians back. +The Lahore division, including the First Highland Light Infantry +and the Fourth Gurkhas, took two lines of the enemy's trenches +with hardly any casualties. These captured trenches were at once +occupied, and when they were full to capacity, the Germans exploded +the previously prepared mines, and blew up the entire Hindu force. + +At daylight on the morning of December 20, 1914, the Germans commenced +a heavy artillery fire along the entire front. This was followed +by an infantry charge along the entire line between Givenchy and +La Quinque Rue to the north. The defense of Givenchy was in the +hands of the India Sirhind Brigade, under General Brunker. At ten +o'clock the Sirhinds became confused and fled, enabling the Germans +to capture Givenchy. The Fifty-seventh Rifles and the Ninth Bhopals +were stationed north of La Bassée Canal and east of Givenchy, and +the Connaught Rangers were waiting at the south of the canal. The +Forty-seventh Sikhs were sent to support the Sirhind Brigade, with +the First Manchesters, the Fourth Suffolks, and two battalions +of French Provincials, the entire force being under command of +General Carnegy. All these mixed forces now essayed a combined +counterattack in order to recover the ground lost by the Sirhind +Brigade, but this failed. + +The Allies called up reserves and re-formed the ranks broken by +that day's reverses. With the Seventh Dragoon Guards under the +command of Lieutenant Colonel Lemprière, they began another attack. +This, too, failed. When the Sirhind Brigade fell back, the Seaforth +Highlanders were left entirely exposed. The Fifty-eighth Rifles +went to the support of their left. Throughout the entire afternoon +the Seaforths had made strenuous efforts to capture the German +trenches to the right and left of their position. Upon the arrival +of the Fifty-eighth the fighting redoubled in ferocity, but no +advance was made. Finally word was given to retreat. The Allies +lost heavily in killed, wounded, and prisoners. + +The First Brigade was detached, and by midnight it had reached +Bethune, about five miles west of Givenchy. Sir Douglas Haig was +ordered to move also, the entire First Division in support of the +exhausted Indian troops. + +Action was begun on December 20, 1914, early in the afternoon by +a simultaneous attack, and was continued until nightfall without +important results. The next morning General Haig in person took +the command, but little ground was gained. + +While this contest was in progress around Givenchy, the Germans +took possession of the city of Arras, ten miles to the south. + +Between December 23 and 30, 1914, the Belgian army, strongly reenforced +by French troops, began a series of violent attacks upon the German +lines; but the Germans replied by a ceaseless bombardment of Nieuport, +which is about a mile inland. No results of importance were obtained +on either side. + +The last week of December, 1914, bore a relieving holiday aspect, +for it seemed as though by general consent the carnival of mood was +to be considered not consonant with the solemnity of the season. +But for all that the French succeeded in blowing up some German +trenches with a new howitzer they were anxious to tryout, and the +Belgian-French forces retook St. Georges in northern Flanders. + +St. Georges had been held by the Germans for some time; the village +stands on the right hand of the Yser, and it was the only position +they retained on that side of the river. It seems from the very +ease with which the village was taken that the Germans felt their +position there untenable, and withdrew to their own side of the +river in order to enjoy a quiet Christmas with their comrades, +whose singing of Christmas songs was forever being wafted over +that river of blood. Although the general action continued on both +sides, no serious battles are to be recorded in Flanders for the +balance of the year 1914. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXX + +OPERATIONS AROUND LA BASSEE AND GIVENCHY + +On the whole, the results obtained during the first days of 1915 +on the Belgian battle front favored the Germans. Of this front the +Belgians held but three miles more or less, and the British were +defending a line of about twenty miles, while the French covered +the balance of about twelve miles, all of which included about the +entire front in Flanders from the dunes at Nieuport on the Channel +to Armentières in the south, a line--by no means straight--about +thirty-five miles in length. + +Activities along the extended front in the Champagne district having +proved successful for the German forces to a considerable extent, +the General Staff turned its attention now to the La Bassée region. + +There was good tactical reason for this move, because the British +were seriously threatening the position, straddling La Bassée Canal +where it flows between Cuinchy and Givenchy, and there was danger +that they might capture La Bassée, where the Germans held a salient +of considerable strategical importance, as it covered their line +of communication to the south. + +Previous successful operations by the British at Richebourg and +Festubert north of Givenchy, and at Vermelles, south of Cuinchy, +evidently prompted the Germans to attempt a counterattack. Besides +it was desirable for the Germans to test the strength of the Allies +at this point, and to do this with some measure of success the +Germans massed a considerable force for this purpose. + +Beginning about January 14, 1915, the British met with varying +and minor successes and defeats in this region, but no noteworthy +action had taken place for upward of ten days, until January 25, +under the eye of the German Kaiser, the principal attack, which +had been carefully planned, took place. + +On the morning of January 25, 1915, a demonstration along the front +from Festubert to Vermelles and as far north as Ypres and Pervyse +was inaugurated. + +The Germans began to shell Bethune, which was within the allied +lines about eight or nine miles west of La Bassée. An hour later, +in the neighborhood of nine o'clock, following up heavy artillery +fire, the Fifty-sixth Prussian Infantry and the Seventh Pioneers +advanced south of the canal, which runs eastward from Bethune, +where the British line formed a salient from the canal forward +to the railway near Cuinchy, and thence back to the Bethune and +La Bassée road where the British joined the French forces. + +This salient was occupied by the Scots and the Coldstream Guards. +The Germans were obliged to advance by the road, as the fields +were too soft for the passage of the troops; even the roads were +in a terrible condition, deep ruts and thick, sticky mud greatly +retarding the onward march of the German forces. But the Allies +fared little better in this respect. In fact the entire engagement +was fought out in a veritable sea of mud and slush. + +Well-directed artillery fire by the Germans blew up the British +trenches in this salient, and the Germans at once penetrated the +unsupported British line. The Germans also had the advantage of +an armored train, which they ran along the tracks from La Bassée +almost into Bethune, sufficiently close to throw considerable shell +fire into this town. + +The Germans advanced in close formation, throwing hand grenades. +They came on so rapidly and with such momentum that the Guards, +trying in vain to stem the tide with the bayonet, were overwhelmed, +and the British, in spite of desperate resistance, were forced +back step by step. + +At some points the distance between the trenches was so small that +it was utterly impossible to stop the onrush from one trench to +the other. The Germans swept and broke through the British lines, +treading their fallen opponents under foot as they advanced. At +this point the British turned and fled, as there was no hope of +successful resistance. + +As the great momentum forced the German advance through the allied +lines into the open field beyond and was joined by a heavy column, +which had debouched from the vicinity of Auchy, British guns opened +a murderous fire and inflicted terrible slaughter upon these ranks. + +The Coldstream and the Scots Guards retreated to their second line +of defense, where they joined others of their command held in reserve +there. Once again they turned to meet the oncoming Germans, and +again were forced to give way, leaving the Germans in possession +of all the ground previously gained. The remnants of the Guards +retreated until they were met by the London-Scottish regiment sent +to reenforce them. Here they halted while a counterattack was being +organized by the First Royal Highlanders, part of the Camerons, +and the Second King's Rifle Corps which also came up. + +At one o'clock on January 25, 1915, and with the cooperation of +the French on their right, this rapidly improvised force moved +forward, making unobstructed progress on their wings by the canal +and the road. For some reason their center was delayed and held +back. When they did finally arrive and pressed forward with a rush +to meet the German forces, who were ready to receive them, the +impact was fearful, and the casualties on both sides enormous; +but no gains were made by the Allies, and the Germans held the +ground they had won. At the height of the battle the Second Royal +Sussex rushed into the fray in support of their hard-pressed comrades, +but all to no purpose, for these as the others were forced back +to the rear of their starting point with but a fraction of their +forces remaining to report the events of the day. + +While this terrible slaughter was in progress, the French left +on the other side of La Bassée road, which separated the Allies +at this point, had been attacked by the right of the German line, +and driven back to a considerable distance, but not as far back as +the British, so that the French left was in advance of the British +right and badly exposed to flank attack from the northward. + +This obliged the entire allied forces to retreat some distance +farther to the rear, and as night came on and the severity or the +action had ceased, the Allies had an opportunity to realign their +positions and somewhat strengthen the same by the First Guard Brigade +which now came up, showing the terrible suffering to which they +had been subjected. Finally, however, it was found advisable to +withdraw the Guard altogether and replace them by the First Infantry +Brigade. + +Now the German tactical idea became clear. It was to force the +British to concentrate on the exposed line between Festubert and +Givenchy, north of the canal, and then to turn the British right +by the German forces in their new position just south of the canal, +thus calling for simultaneous action on both sides of the canal. + +The Germans delivered an equally severe attack upon the allied +position in the village of Givenchy, about a mile north of the +canal, which bounded the scene of the attack just described. As +in the other attack, the Germans opened action by severe artillery +fire, using high-explosive shells, and after due preparation, at +about 8.15 in the morning, the infantry advanced, as is customary +with the Germans, in close formation. The British met this advance +by somewhat weak artillery fire, which, it was afterward explained +was due to continued interruption of the telephonic communications +between the observers and the batteries in the fight. However, as +it was, this fire, added to the machine gun and rifle fire from +the trenches, served to turn the German advance from their original +direction, with the result that they crowded together in the northeast +corner of Givenchy after passing over the first-line trenches of +the Allies' front. Their momentum carried the Germans far into the +center of the village, with remarkably few casualties considering +the murderous fire to which they had been subjected throughout +their impetuous advances. + +In the village of Givenchy, however, the Second Welsh Regiment and +the First South Wales Borderers, which had been stationed there +and held in reserve, gave the Germans a warm reception, and when +the First Royal Highlanders came up they delivered a fierce +counterattack. In this they were supported by the fire of the French +artillery, which assistance, however, proved costly to the Allies, +as the French fire and bursting shells killed friend and foe alike. +Street fighting became savage, amid the explosions of shells sent +to enliven the occasion by the French. This concluded the action +for the day and when the smoke cleared away both sides found their +position comparatively little changed and nothing but the thinned +ranks of the combatants reminded the observer that the most severe +kind of fighting had taken place for the best part of a day. + +The following day, January 26, 1915, the action was resumed, and +the attack opened along the Bethune and La Bassée road. This soon +died out, as though by general consent, each side reoccupying their +position of the previous evening. + +But on Friday, January 29, 1915, early in the morning, the Germans +again opened with severe artillery fire which directed its attention +particularly to the British line, where the First Army Corps lay +between La Bassée Canal and the Bethune road near Cutchy. After an +hour's shelling the Germans sent one battalion of the Fourteenth +Corps toward the redoubt, and two battalions of the same corps +were sent to the north and south of this redoubt. Now upon this +point and to the north of it stood the Sussex Regiment and to the +south of it the Northamptonshire Regiment. The attack was severe, +but the defense was equal to it and the net results were summed up +in the casualty lists on both sides. An attack upon the French, +south of Bethune, on the same day met with like results. The great +German objective was to open another road to Dunkirk and Calais, +and had they been successful in the engagements of the past few +days it is probable that they would have succeeded. + +To the north in the coast district the Belgians had succeeded in +flooding a vast area, which served for the time to separate the +combatants for a considerable distance, obliging the Germans to +resort to rafts, boats and other floating apparatus to carry on a +somewhat haphazard offensive and resulting in nothing more than a +change from gunfire slaughter to drowning. The immense inconvenience +attendant to this mode of warfare decided the Germans to drain +this area and they succeeded in doing this by the end of January, +1915. + +On the other hand the Belgians captured two German trenches in +the north on January 17, 1915, and the British sent a force to +attack Lille on January 18. The Belgian trenches were reoccupied +by the Germans and the Lille attack was successfully repulsed. + +Then, for a week, there was nothing of importance until January +23, 1915, when the Germans made a strong attack upon Ypres which +was repulsed. On January 24 the Germans recaptured St. Georges and +bombarded a few of the towns and villages harboring allied troops. + +The Belgians continued in their endeavor to flood the German position +along the Yser, on January 25, 1915, and succeeded in obliging +their opponents to vacate for a time at least, and on the last +day of January allied forces consisting of Zouaves, Gurkhas and +other Indian companies made an attack upon the German trenches +upon the dunes at Lombaertzyde, gaining a temporary advantage at +an expense of considerable loss in casualties. + +In reviewing the activities during the month of January, 1915, the +disagreeable state of the weather must be taken into consideration; +this resulted in terrible suffering, to which the battling forces +were subjected during the actual fighting and even more so while +at rest, either on the open field or in the questionable comfort +of an inhospitable and leaky trench. + +While every effort was made by the respective General Staffs to +supply their fighting troops with such comforts as were absolutely +necessary to keep body and soul together and in trim for the next +day's work, little could be accomplished and it is a marvel how +these poor soldiers did withstand the rigorous weather which blighted +the prospect of victory, so dear to all who wear a uniform. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXI + +END OF SIX MONTHS' FIGHTING IN THE WEST + +There were few military movements on the French battle front during +December, 1914, along the Aisne, the Oise and in the northern Champagne. +The fighting was mostly artillery duels and skirmishes by separate +units. In the Argonne, however, the Crown Prince of Germany was +active and there, as well as along the Moselle and on the heights +of the Vosges, many engagements were fought out resulting in varying +advantages to either opponent. Both sides had been strongly intrenched +and the ground was covered by snow to great depths, making progress +impossible except upon skis and snowshoes. + +On December 3, 1914, the French captured Burnhaupt, a hill east of +Mülhausen in Upper Alsace, only to give up their advantage after +a German counterattack. On December 16 the Germans attacked in the +Woevre region and in Alsace; but were repulsed the following day. +On December 31, 1914, the French attacked Steinbach in Alsace, but +were driven out again. + +The New Year of 1915 opened gently along the battle front in France +below Arras. The first large movement in 1915 began on January 8, +at Soissons. This city lies on both banks of the river Aisne and +was in the possession of the French. The French forces attacked +during a drenching rain, pushing up the rising ground to the north +with their heavy guns, regardless of the soft ground which rapidly +turned to deep mud and slush. They succeeded in carrying the first +line of German trenches on a front a mile wide, thus gaining the +top of the hill, which gave them an excellent position for their +artillery. The next day the Germans counterattacked, but failed +to dislodge the French. + +Nothing occurred on Sunday, January 10, 1915, but on Monday, about +noon, January 11, the Germans came on with great force. The delay +on the part of the Germans was due to their awaiting reenforcements +then on the road to Soissons. For four days there had been a steady +downpour of rain which had not even stopped at this time. The River +Aisne was much swollen and some of the bridges had been carried +away, cutting off all supplies for the French, who were slowly +giving way but fighting desperately. + +On January 12, 1915, and on the 13th the French were driven down +the slopes in a great rush. This predicament was a terrible one--the +onrushing Germans 500 feet in front of them and the swollen river +making successful retreat impossible, with the ground between almost +impassable with mud and slush. French reserves had improvised a +pontoon bridge across the Aisne at Missy, in the rear of their +now precarious position. This bridge was just strong enough to +carry the men and ammunition; but not the heavy guns. The retreat +turned into a rout--a general stampede for the bridge and river. + +The slaughter was terrible, the river swollen as it was seemed +choked with floating soldiers. The few who safely got across the +bridge and those who were successful in reaching the farther bank +of the Aisne alive, reached Soissons eventually. The German gain in +prisoners and booty was enormous and their gain in ground advanced +their line a full mile, on a front extending five miles to Missy +and a little beyond. The Germans strongly intrenched their new +position without loss of time. + +Farther along this front, in the neighborhood of Perthes, a less +important engagement took place. The Germans, under General von +Einem, opposed General Langle de Cary and his French forces. The +results of this engagement were negligible. + +On January 18, 1915, a savage attack by the Germans was successfully +repulsed at Tracy-le-Val and on the 19th the French made an assault +upon the German position at St. Mihiél, in the Verdun section without +gaining any ground. Farther north on this section the French pressed +on and gained a little ground near the German fortress Metz; but +the very vicinity of this fortress counterbalanced this gain. + +[Illustration: NÔTRE DAME OF RHEIMS RUINED BY GERMAN SHELLS. + +SOLDIERS AND PRISONERS OF GERMANY. BELGIUM AND FRANCE. FIRST AID +TO THE WOUNDED + +German lookouts, wearing the distinctive spiked German helmet, are +stationed in a treetop overlooking the battle front. The branches +aid in screening them] + +[Illustration: A body of German prisoners on their way to Paris +under escort of French cuirassiers. The country people line the +roadway to see them pass] + +[Illustration: Belgian soldiers--the famous Louvain Lancers, accompanied +by an aviation corps--coming up to take positions near the coast +in northern France] + +[Illustration: Two cuirassiers--French cavalrymen who wear a cuirass +or breastplate--have dismounted to give aid to a wounded comrade] + +[Illustration: An injured British aviator cared for by a Red Cross +doctor. Airmen who have been wounded often bring their machines +to a safe landing] + +[Illustration: The choir and nave of Nôtre Dame, Rheims, before the +bombardment which destroyed its matchless carvings and stained-glass +windows] + +[Illustration: The ruins of Nôtre Dame, the wonderful cathedral at +Rheims, which was shelled by the Germans. The statuary and carvings +remaining about the entrances are protected by timbers] + +[Illustration: French sailors who have landed on the southwestern +coast of Belgium making a jovial feast of their dinner ashore] + +On January 21, 1915, the Germans recaptured the Le Prêtre woods +near St. Mihiél, and next day the belligerents fought a fierce +engagement in the Vosges without advantage to either side. Prince +Eitel, the second son of the Kaiser, commanded an attack upon Thann in +Alsace on January 25, 1915, but was repulsed by the French defenders. + +On January 28, 1915, the Germans made some gains in the Vosges +and in Upper Alsace, but in their attempt to cross the River Aisne +on the 29th they were unsuccessful. + +January 30, 1915, brought some successes to the Germans in the +Argonne forest, where throughout the month the most savage fighting +was going on in thick underbrush and from tree tops. + + + + +PART II--NAVAL OPERATIONS + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXII + +STRENGTH OF THE RIVAL NAVIES + +Sea fights, sea raids, and the hourly expectation of a great naval +battle--a struggle for the control of the seas between modern +armadas--held the attention of the world during the first six months +of the Great War. These, with the adventures of the _Emden_ in the +waters of the Far East, the first naval fight off Helgoland, the +fight off the western coast of South America, the sinking of the +_Lusitania_, and the exploits of the submarines--held the world +in constant expectancy and threatened to involve neutral nations, +thus causing a collapse of world trade and dragging all the peoples +of the earth into the maelstrom of war. + +This chapter will review the navies as they gather for action. It +will follow them through the tense moments on shipboard--the days +of watching and waiting like huge sea dogs tugging at the leash. +Interspersed are heroic adventures which have added new tales of +valor to the epics of the sea. + +The naval history of the great European conflict begins, not with the +first of the series of declarations of war, but with the preliminary +preparations. The appointment of Admiral von Tirpitz as Secretary +of State in Germany in 1898 is the first decisive movement. It +was in that year that the first rival to England as mistress of +the world's seas, since the days of the Spanish Armada, peeped +over the horizon. Two years before the beginning of the present +century, Von Tirpitz organized a campaign, the object of which +was to make Germany's navy as strong as her military arm. A law +passed at that time created the present German fleet; supplementary +laws passed in 1900 and 1906 through the Reichstag by this former +plowboy caused the German navy to be taken seriously, not only +by Germans but by the rest of the world. England, jealous of her +sea power, then began her maintenance of two ships for each one +or her rival's. Germany answered by laying more keels, till the +ratio stood three to two, instead of two to one. + +Two years before the firing of the pistol shot at Sarajevo, which +precipitated the Great War, the British admiralty announced that +henceforth the British naval base in the Mediterranean would be +Gibraltar instead of Malta. Conjectures were made as to the significance +of this move; it might have meant that England had found the pace +too great and had deliberately decided to abandon her dominance +of the eastern Mediterranean; or that Gibraltar had been secretly +reequipped as a naval base. What it did mean was learned when the +French Minister of Marine announced in the following September that +the entire naval strength of France would thereafter be concentrated +in the Mediterranean. This was the first concrete action of the +_entente cordiale_--the British navy, in the event of war, was +to guard the British home waters and the northern ports of France; +the French navy was to guard the Mediterranean, protecting French +ports as well as French and British shipping from "the Gib" to +the Suez. + +What was the comparative strength of these naval combinations when +the war started? + +From her latest superdreadnoughts down to her auxiliary ships, such +as those used for hospital purposes, oil carrying and repairing, +England had a total of 674 vessels. Without consideration of ages +and types this total means nothing, and it is therefore necessary +to examine her naval strength in detail. She had nine battleships +of 14,000 tons displacement each, built between 1895 and 1898--the +_Magnificent, Majestic, Prince George, Jupiter, Cæsar, Mars, +Illustrious, Hannibal_, and _Victorious_--with engines developing +12,000 horsepower that sent them through the water at 17.5 knots, +protected with from nine to fourteen inches of armor, and prepared +to inflict damage on an enemy with torpedoes shot from under and +above the water, and with four 12-inch guns, twelve 6-inch guns, +sixteen 3-inch guns, and twenty guns of smaller caliber but of +quicker firing possibilities. + +Her next class was that of the _Canopus_--the _Goliath, Vengeance, +Ocean, Albion_, and _Glory_--2,000 tons lighter than the first +class named above, but more modern in equipment and construction, +having been built between the years 1900 and 1902. Their motive +power was heavier, being 13,500 horsepower, and their speed was +almost a knot faster. Increase in the power of naval guns had made +unnecessary any increase in the thickness of their armor, and +consequently ranged from 6 to 12 inches in thickness. Their armament +was about the same as that of the older class, but each carried +two more torpedo tubes. + +[Illustration: GERMAN AND ENGLISH NAVAL POSITIONS] + +Discussion in naval circles throughout the world turned then to +the question of whether it were better to build heavier ships with +heavier armament, or to build lighter and faster ships designed +to "hit and get away." The British authorities inclined toward +the former view, and between 1901 and 1904 the British navy was +augmented with the _Implacable, London, Bulwark, Formidable, Venerable, +Queen, Irresistible_, and _Prince of Wales_--each of the heretofore +unheard-of displacement of 15,000 tons. In spite of their size +they were comparatively fast, having an average speed of 18 knots; +they did not need, and were not equipped with heavier armor, having +plates as thin as 3 inches and as thick as 12. They were built to +"take punishment," and therefore they had no greater armament than +the vessels previously named. The naval program of 1903 and 1904 +also included the _Duncan, Albemarle, Russell, Cornwallis_, and +_Exmouth_, each 1,000 tons lighter than the ships of the _Implacable_ +type, but with the same equipment, defensive and offensive, and +of the same speed. And in the same program, as if to offset the +argument for heavier and stronger ships, there were included the +lighter and faster ships, _Swiftsure_ and _Triumph_, displacing +only 11,500 tons, but making 19 knots. Their speed permitted and +necessitated lighter armor--10 inches through at the thickest +points--and their armament was also of a lighter type, for their +four largest guns were capable of firing 10-inch shells. + +Germany was becoming a naval rival worthy of notice, and the insular +position of England came to be a matter of serious concern by 1906. +Britain has never considered the building of land forts for her +protection--her strength has always been concentrated in floating +war machines. She now began to build veritable floating forts, ships +of 16,350 tons displacement. By the end of 1906 she had ready to give +battle eight ships of this class, the _King Edward VII, Commonwealth, +Dominion, Hindustan, Africa, Hibernia, Zealandia_, and _Britannia_. +Speed was not sacrificed to weight, for they were given a speed +of 18.5 knots, developed by engines of 18,000 horsepower. Their +thinnest armor measured 6 inches, and their heavy guns were protected +with plates 12 inches thick. The 12-inch gun was still the heaviest +piece of armament in the British navy, and these eight ships each +carried four of that measurement, as well as four 9.2-inch guns, +ten 6-inch guns, fourteen rapid-fire guns of 3 inches, two machine +guns, and four torpedo tubes. + +Now that it was seen that ships of enormous displacement could also +be swift, England committed herself to the building of ships of even +greater size. In 1907 came the first of the modern dreadnoughts, +so-called from the name which was given to the original ship of +17,900 tons displacement. The _Dreadnought_ made the marvelous +speed (for a ship of that size) of 21 knots, which she was enabled +to do with turbine engines of 23,000 horsepower. Her armor measured +from 8 to 11 inches in thickness, and her great size enabled her +to carry as high as ten 12-inch guns. Her minor batteries were +strong in proportion. + +Then, as if taking her breath after a stupendous effort, England in +the following year built two ships of 16,000 tons displacement, the +_Lord Nelson_ and the _Agamemnon_, with speed, armor, and armament +much lower than those of the _Dreadnought_. But having taken a +rest, Britain was again to make a great effort, launching in 1909 +the _Temeraire, Superb_, and _Bellerophon_, monsters displacing +18,600 tons. With engines of 23,000 horsepower that could drive +them through the seas at 21 knots, ready to ward off blows with +armor from 8 to 11 inches thick, firing at the same time volleys +from ten 12-inch guns down to sixteen 4-inch rapid firers. + +Naval architecture had now taken a definite turn, the principal +feature of which was the tremendous size of the destructive floating +machines. England, a leader in this sort of building, in 1910 built +the _Vanguard, Collingwood_, and _St. Vincent_, each displacing +19,250 tons. Nor were they lacking in speed, for they made, on an +average, 21 knots. The 20,000-ton battleship was then a matter of +months only, and it came in the following year, when the _Colossus, +Hercules_, and _Neptune_ were launched. It was only in the matter +of displacement that these three ships showed any difference from +those of the _Vanguard_ class; there were no great innovations +either in armament or armor. But in the same year, 1911, there +were launched the _Thunderer, Monarch, Orion_, and _Conqueror_, +each of 22,500 tons, and equipped with armor from 8 to 12 inches +thick, for the days of 3-inch armor on first-class warships had gone +forever. These had a speed of 21 knots, and were the first British +ships to have anything greater than a 12-inch gun. They carried as +a primary battery ten 13.5-inch guns, and sixteen 4-inch guns, +along with six more of small caliber as their secondary battery. + +In 1912 and 1913 there was only one type of warship launched having +23,000 tons displacement with 31,000 horsepower, a half a knot +faster than previous dreadnoughts, and carrying, like the previous +class, ten 13.5-inch guns, along with some of smaller caliber. The +ships of this class were the _King George V, Ajax, Audacious_, +and _Centurion_. + +The year 1914 saw even more terrible machines of death launched. +Two types were put into the water, the first that of the _Iron +Duke_ class, of which the other members were the _Benbow, Emperor +of India_, and _Marlborough_. They showed great improvement in every +point; their speed was 22.5 knots, their displacement 25,000 tons, +and their torpedo tubes five. Like their immediate predecessors, +they carried a primary battery of ten 13.5-inch guns, along with +the smaller ones, and their armor measured from 8 to 12 inches +in thickness. The second type of the year was that of the _Queen +Elizabeth_ and _Warspite_ class. They surpassed all the warships +when they were built. Their speed for their size was the greatest--25 +knots. They had the largest displacement among warships--27,500 +tons; they had the thickest armor, ranging from 8 to 13.5 inches; +they had the most improved form of engines--oil burners, developing +58,000 horsepower; and most marvelous of all was their primary +battery, which consisted of eight 15-inch guns. The largest gun +yet made had been the 16-inch gun, for use in permanent position +in land forts, and, with the German army, for a mobile force. It +now was shown that the modern warship could carry a gun as heavy +as any on land. There were in the course of construction when the +war broke out eight more such monsters, the _Malaya, Valiant_, and +_Barham_, sister ships of the _Queen Elizabeth_, and the _Royal +Oak, Resolution, Royal Monarch, Ramillies_, and _Renown_, each +of 29,000 tons displacement, but having the same armament as the +_Queen Elizabeth_. All of these were hastened to completion as +soon as war was declared. + +At the time of the declaration of war England had, in addition +to these greatest ships, a number of supporting ships such as the +ten battle cruisers, _Indomitable, Invincible, Indefatigable, +Inflexible, Australia, New Zealand, Queen Mary, Princess Royal, +Lion_, and the _Tiger_. Their displacements ranged from 17,250 +to 28,000 tons, and their speeds from 25 to 30 knots, the last +being that of the _Tiger_. Their speed is their greatest feature, +for their armament and batteries are much lighter than those of +the first-line ships. + +Next, there were ready thirty-four high-speed cruisers of quite +light armament and armor. There were six of the _Cressy_ type, +four of the _Drake_ type, nine of the same type as the _Kent_, six +of the same class as the _Antrim_, six like the _Black Prince_, +three of the same class as the _Shannon_, together with seventeen +heavily protected cruisers, of which the _Edgar_ was the prototype. +The rest of the British navy needs no detailed consideration. It +consisted at the outbreak of the war of 70 protected light cruisers, +134 destroyers, and a number of merchant ships convertible into +war vessels, together with submarines and other small ships. + +The navy of France stood fourth in the list of those of the world +powers at the time the war started. There were eighteen old vessels, +built between 1894 and 1909, including the _Carnot_ class (corresponding +to the British ship _Magnificent_), the _Charlemagne, Bouvet, Suffren, +République_, and _Democratie_ classes. The most modern of these +types displaced no more than 14,000 tons, made no more than 18 +knots, and carried primary batteries of 12-inch guns. + +Some improvement was made in the six ships of the _Danton_ class +which were built in 1911 and 1912. They displaced 18,000 tons, +had armor from 9 to 12 inches thick and carried guns of 12-inch +caliber. They correspond to the British ship _Temeraire_. In 1913 +and 1914 were launched the _Jean Bart, Courbet, Paris_, and _France_ +of the dreadnought type, but much slower and not so heavily armed +as the British ships of the same class. In eight ships which were +incomplete when war was declared the matter of speed received greater +attention, and they are consequently faster than the older vessels of +the same type. It is in the nineteen French armored cruisers--France +has no battle cruisers--that the French showed better efforts as +builders of speedy ships, for they made 23 knots or more. In the +list of French fighting ships there are in addition two protected +cruisers, the _D'Entrecasteaux_ and the _Guichen_, together with +ten light cruisers. But the French "mosquito fleet," consisting of +destroyers, torpedo boats and submarines, is comparatively large. +Of these she had 84, 135, and 78, respectively. + +After the Russo-Japanese War the battle fleets of Russia were entirely +dissipated, so that when the present conflict came she had no ships +which might have been accounted worthy aids to the navies of England +and France. In so far as is known, her heaviest ships were the +_Andrei Pervozvannyi_ and the _Imperator Pavel I_, each displacing +only 17,200 tons, and of the design of 1911. + +Against these fighting naval forces of the allied powers were ranged +the navies of Germany and Austria-Hungary. The former had, at the +outbreak of hostilities, 36 battleships, 5 battle cruisers, 9 armored +cruisers, and 43 cruisers. Instead of giving attention to torpedo boats +she gave it to destroyers, of which she had 130. And of submarines +she had 27. + +In detail her naval forces consisted, first, of the _Kaiser Friedrich +III, Kaiser Karl der Grosse, Kaiser Barbarossa, Kaiser Wilhelm +II_, and _Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse_, all built as a result of +the first agitation of Von Tirpitz, between the years 1898 and +1901. They each displaced 10,614 tons, had a speed of 18 knots, +required 13,000 horsepower, were protected with from 10 to 12 inches +of armor, and carried four 9.4-inch guns, fourteen of 5.9 inches, +twelve of 3.4-inches, and twenty of smaller measurement. Roughly +they corresponded to the British ships of the _Canopus_ class, +both in design and time of launching. + +Following this class came that of the _Wittelsbach_, including +also the _Wettin, Zähringen, Mecklenburg_, and _Schwaben_, built +between 1901 and 1903, displacing 11,643 tons, making 18 knots, +protected with from 9 to 10 inches of armor and carrying a primary +battery of four 9.4-inch guns, eighteen 5.9-inch guns, and a large +secondary battery. The similar type in the British navy was the +_Canopus_--for England was far ahead of Germany, both in the matter +of displacement and primary battery. During the same years England +had launched ships of the type of the _Implacable_. + +In 1904 came the German ships _Hessen, Elsass_, and _Braunschweig_, +and in 1905 and 1906 the _Preussen_ and _Lothringen_. They were +well behind the English ships of the same years, for they displaced +only 12,097 tons, made 18 knots, carried armor of from 9 to 10 +inches in thickness, and a primary battery of four 11-inch guns, +fourteen 6.7-inch guns, and twelve 3.4-inch guns, together with +rapid firers and other guns in a secondary battery. England at +this time was putting 12-inch guns in the primary battery of such +ships as the _King Edward VII_. + +Still Germany kept up the race, and in 1906, 1907, and 1908 launched +the _Hannover, Deutschland, Schlesien, Schleswig-Holstein_, and +_Pommern_, with 12,997 tons displacement, 16,000 horsepower, a speed +of 18 knots, and only ll-inch guns in the primary batteries. Whereas +England, at the same time, was building ships of the dreadnought +type. + +Next came four ships of the _Vanguard_ class--the _Westfälen, Nassau, +Rheinland_, and _Posen_, built in 1909 and 1910. Their heaviest +guns measured 11 inches, while those of the English ships of the +same class measured 12 inches. The displacement of these German +fighting ships was 18,600 tons. In point of speed they showed some +improvement over the older German ships, making 19.5 knots. Germany, +like England, was now committed to the building of larger and larger +ships of the line. The _Helgoland, Thüringen, Oldenburg_, and +_Ostfriesland_, which were put into the water in 1911 and 1912, +were consequently of 22,400 tons displacement, with a speed of +20.5 knots and carrying twelve 12-inch guns, fourteen 5.9-inch +rapid-fire guns, fourteen 3.9-inch rapid-fire guns, a few smaller +guns, and as many as six torpedo tubes. + +While England was maintaining her "two to three" policy, and while +the United States stood committed to the building of two first-class +battleships a year, Germany, in 1913, put five of them into the +water. These were the _König Albert, Prinz Regent Luitpold, Kaiserin, +Kaiser_, and _Friedrich der Grosse_, each capable of speeding through +the water at a rate of 21 knots, displacing 23,310 tons and carrying +an armament of ten 12-inch guns, fourteen 5.9-inch guns, and a +large number of rapid-fire guns of smaller measurement. Their armor +was quite heavy, being 13 inches thick on the side and 11 inches +thick where protection for the big guns was needed. + +The largest ships in the German navy which were launched, fitted, +and manned at the time that the war began, were those which were +built in 1914 and which had a displacement of 26,575 tons. These +ships were the _König, Grosser Kurfürst_, and the _Markgraf_. The +corresponding type in the British navy was that of the _Iron Duke_, +built in the same year. The British ships of this class were 1,000 +tons lighter in displacement, a bit faster--making 22.5 knots to +the 22 knots made by the German ships--and their armament was not +so strong as that of the German type, for the German ships carried +ten 14-inch guns, whereas the English carried ten 13.5-inch guns. + +In addition to these first-class battleships, Germany had certain +others, individual in type, such as the _Von der Tann, Moltke, +Goeben, Seydlitz, Derfflinger, Fürst Bismarck, Prinz Heinrich, +Prinz Adalbert, Roon_ and _Yorck, Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau, +Blücher, Magdeburg, Strassburg, Breslau, Stralsund, Rostock_, and +_Karlsruhe_. These may be reckoned as scout cruisers, for they +showed much speed, the fastest making 30 knots and the slowest +19 knots. The oldest dates from 1900, and the newest from 1914. +Germany had, also, thirty-nine more fast protected cruisers which +were designed for scout duty. + +In destroyers she was well equipped, having 143 ready for service +when war was declared. Her twenty-seven submarines were of the most +improved type, and much about their construction and armament she +was able to keep secret from the rest of the world. It is probable +that even their number was greater than the intelligence departments +of foreign navies suspected. The best type had a speed on the surface +of 18 knots and could travel at 12 knots when submerged. The type +known as _E-21_, of the design of 1914, measured 213 feet 8 inches +in length and had a beam of 20 feet. + +Austria, though not renowned for her naval strength, had certain +units which brought up the power of the Teutonic powers considerably. +She had nine first-class battleships, the _Erzherzog Karl, Erzherzog +Ferdinand Max, Erzherzog Friedrich, Zrinyi, Radetzky, Erzherzog +Franz Ferdinand, Teggethoff, Prinz Eugen_, and _Viribus Unitis_. +These, at the time Austria went to war, ranged in age from nine +years to one year, and varied in displacement from 10,000 tons +to 20,000 tons. The largest guns carried by any of them measured +12 inches, and the fastest, the _Prinz Eugen_, made 20 knots. Of +secondary importance were the battleships _Kaiserin Maria Theresia, +Kaiser Karl VI_, and _St. Georg_. The register of battleships was +supplemented with ten light cruisers of exceptionally light +displacement, the highest being only 3,966 tons. Scouting was their +chief function. Austria had, also, 18 destroyers, 63 torpedo boats, +and 6 submarines. + +Such were the respective strengths of the opponents on that day +in July, 1914, when the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary lost his +life. For ten years the officers of the navy created by the German +Admiral von Tirpitz had at all dinners come to their feet, waved +their wine glasses and had given the famous toast "Der Tag"--to +the day on which the English and German naval hosts would sally +forth to do battle with each other. "Der Tag" found both forces +quite ready, though the British naval authorities stole a march +on their German rivals in the matter of mobilization. + +It had been the custom for years in the British navy to assemble +the greater part of the British ships during the summer at the +port of Spithead, where, decorated with bunting, with flags flying, +with visitors in holiday spirit, and with officers and men in smart +dress, the vessels were reviewed by the king on the royal yacht. + +But in the eventful year of 1914, perhaps by accident, perhaps by +design, for the truth may never be known, the review had a different +aspect. There was no gaiety. The number of ships assembled this time +was greater than ever before--216 actual fighting ships passed +slowly before the royal yacht--there were no flags, no bunting, +no holiday crowds, no smart dress for officers and men. Instead, +the fleet was drawn up ready for battle, with decks cleared, guns +uncovered, steam up, and magazines replenished. During the tense +weeks in which the war clouds gathered over southern Europe this +great fighting force remained in the British home waters, and when, +at fifteen minutes after midnight on August 4, "Der Tag" had come, +this fleet sailed under sealed orders. And throughout the seven seas +there were sundry ships flying the Union Jack which immediately +received orders by cable and by wireless. + +Of the disposition of the naval forces of Germany less was known. +Her greatest strength was concentrated in the North Sea, where the +island of Helgoland, the Gibraltar of the north, and the Kiel Canal +with its exits to the Baltic and North Seas, furnished excellently +both as naval bases and impenetrable protection. Throughout the rest +of the watery surface of the globe were eleven German warships, +to which automatically fell the task of protecting the thousands of +ships which, flying the German red, white, and black, were carrying +freight and passengers from port to port. + +The first naval movements in the Great War occurred on the morning +of August 5, 1914. The British ship _Drake_ cut two cables off the +Azores which connected Germany with North and South America, thus +leaving these eleven German fighting ships without communication +with the German admiralty direct. And the war was not a day old +between England and Germany before the German ship _Königin Luise_ +was caught sowing mines off the eastern English ports by the British +destroyer _Lance_. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +FIRST BLOOD--BATTLE OF THE BIGHT + +The Germans had taken heed of the value of mines from lessons learned +at the cost of Russia in the war with Japan, and set about distributing +these engines of destruction throughout the North Sea. The British +admiralty knowing this, sent out it fleet of destroyers to scour +home waters in search of German mine layers. + +About ten o'clock on the morning of August 5, 1914, Captain Fox, +on board the _Amphion_, came up with a fishing boat which reported +that it had seen a boat "throwing things overboard" along the east +coast. A flotilla, consisting of the _Lance, Laurel, Lark_ and +_Linnet_, set out in search of the stranger and soon found her. She +was the _Königin Luise_, and the things she was casting overboard +were mines. The _Lance_ fired a shot across her bow to stop her, +but she put on extra speed and made an attempt to escape. A chase +followed; the gunners on the British ship now fired to hit. The +first of these shots carried away the bridge of the German ship, +a second shot missed, and a third and fourth hit her hull. Six +minutes after the firing of the first shot her stern was shot away, +and she went to the bottom, bow up. Fifty of her 130 men were picked +up and brought to the English shore. + +The first naval blood of the Great War had been drawn by Britain +on August 5, 1914. The _Königin Luise's_ efforts had not been in +vain. She had posthumous revenge on the morning of August 6, when +the _Amphion_, flagship of the third flotilla of destroyers, hit +one of the mines which the German ship had sowed. It was seen +immediately by her officers that she must sink; three minutes after +her crew had left her there came a second explosion, which, throwing +débris aloft, brought about the death of many of the British sailors +in the small boats, as well as that of a German prisoner from the +_Königin Luise_. + +All the world, with possibly the exception of the men in the German +admiralty, now looked for a great decisive battle "between the +giants" in the North Sea. The British spoke of it as a coming second +Trafalgar, but it was not to take place. For reasons of their own the +Germans kept their larger and heavier ships within the protection +of Helgoland and the Kiel Canal, but their ships of smaller type +immediately became active and left German shores to do what damage +they might to the British navy. It was hoped, perhaps, that the +naval forces of the two powers could be equalized and a battle +fought on even terms after the Germans had cut down British advantage +by a policy of attrition. + +A flotilla of German submarines on August 9 attacked a cruiser +belonging to the main British fleet, but was unable to inflict +any damage. The lord mayor of the city of Birmingham received the +following telegram the next morning: "Birmingham will be proud to +learn that the first German submarine destroyed in the war was +sunk by H. M. S. _Birmingham_." Two shots from the British ship +had struck the German _U-15_, and she sank immediately. + +The German admiralty, even before England had declared war, suspected +that the greatest use for the German navy in the months to come +would be to fight the British navy, but they ventured to show their +naval strength against Russia beforehand. Early in August they +sent the _Augsburg_ into the Baltic Sea to bombard the Russian +port of Libau, but after doing a good bit of damage the German +ship retired. It is probable that this raid was nothing more than +a feint to remind Russia that she continually faced the danger +of invasion from German troops landed on the Baltic shores under +the cover of German ships, and that she must consequently keep +a large force on her northern shores instead of sending it west +to meet the German army on the border. + +Among the German ships which were separated from the main fleet +in the North Sea, and which were left without direct communication +with the German admiralty after the cutting of the cables off the +Azores by the _Drake_, were the cruisers _Goeben_ and _Breslau_. +When England declared war these two German ships were off the coast +of Algeria. Both were very fast vessels, having a speed of 28 knots, +and they were designed to go 6,000 knots without needing replenishment +of their coal bunkers. + +On the morning of August 5, after having bombarded some of the +coast cities of Algeria they found themselves cut off on the east +by a French fleet and on the west by an English fleet, but by a +very clever bit of stratagem they escaped. The band of the Goeben +was placed on a raft and ordered on a given moment to play the +German national airs after an appreciable period. Meanwhile, under +the cover of the night's darkness the two German ships steamed +away. After they had a good start the band on the raft began to +play. The British patrols heard the airs and immediately all British +ships were searching for the source of the music. To find a small +raft in mid-sea was an impossible task, and while the enemy was +engaged in it the two Germans headed for Messina, then a neutral +port, which they reached successfully. The Italian authorities +permitted them to remain there only twenty-four hours. + +Before leaving they took a dramatic farewell, which received publicity +in the press of the whole world, and which was designed to lead the +British fleet commanders to believe that the Germans were coming +out to do battle. Instead, they headed for Constantinople. They +escaped all the ships of the British Mediterranean fleet with the +exception of the cruiser _Gloucester_. With this ship they exchanged +shots and were in turn slightly damaged, but they reached the Porte +in seaworthy condition, and were immediately sold to the Turkish +Government, which was then still neutral. The crews were sent to +Germany and were warmly welcomed at Berlin. The officers responsible +for their escape were disciplined by the British authorities. + +Both Germany and England, the former by means of the eleven ships at +large, and the latter by means of her preponderance in the number of +ships, now made great efforts to capture trading ships of the enemy. +When England declared war there was issued a royal proclamation which +stated that up to midnight of August 14 England would permit German +merchantmen in British harbors to sail for home ports, provided +Germany gave British merchantmen the same privilege, but it was +specified that ships of over 5,000 tons would not receive the privilege +because they could be converted into fighting ships afterward. But +on the high seas enemy ships come upon were captured. + +The German admiralty on August 1 had issued orders to German merchantmen +to keep within neutral ports, and by this means such important +ships as the _Friedrich der Grosse_ and the _Grosser Kurfürst_ +eluded capture. In the harbor of New York was the _Kronprinzessin +Cecilie_, a fast steamer of 23.5 knots. She left New York on July +28 carrying a cargo of $10,000,000 in gold, and was on the high +seas when England declared war. Naturally she was regarded by the +British as a great prize, and the whole world awaited from day +to day the news of her capture, but her captain, showing great +resourcefulness, after nearly reaching the British Isles, turned +her prow westward, darkened all exterior lights, put canvas over +the port holes and succeeded in reaching Bar Harbor, Me., on the +morning of August 5. + +Similarly the _Lusitania_ and the French liner _Lorraine_, leaving +New York on August 5, were able to elude the German cruiser _Dresden_, +which was performing the difficult task of trying to intercept +merchantmen belonging to the Allies as they sailed from America, +while she was keeping watch against warships flying the enemies' +flags. Still more important was the sailing from New York of the +German liner _Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse_. This ship had a speed of +22.5 knots and a displacement of 14,349 tons. During the first week +of the war she cleared the port of New York with what was believed to +be a trade cargo, but she so soon afterward began harassing British +trading ships that it was believed that she left port equipped as +a vessel of war or fitted out as one in some other neutral port. +The continued story of the German raids on allied trading ships +must form a separate part of this narrative. It was only a month +after the outbreak of hostilities that the fleets of the allied +powers had swept clean the seven seas of all ships flying German +and Austrian flags which were engaged in trade and not in warlike +pursuits. + +The first naval battle of the Great War was fought on August 28, +1914. "A certain liveliness in the North Sea" was reported through +the press by the British admiralty on the 19th of August. Many +of the smaller vessels of the fleet of Admiral von Ingenohl, the +German commander, such as destroyers, light cruisers, and scouting +cruisers, were sighted. Shots between these and English vessels of +the same types were exchanged at long range, but a pitched battle +did not come for still a week. Meanwhile the British navy had been +doing its best to destroy the mine fields established by the Germans. +Trawlers were sent out in pairs, dragging between them large cables +which cut the mines from the sea-bottom moorings. On being loosened +they came to the surface and were destroyed by shots from the trawlers' +decks. + +On the 28th of August came the battle off the Bight of Helgoland. +The island of Helgoland had been a British possession from 1807 +till 1890, when it was transferred to Germany by treaty. It was +seen immediately by the Germans that it formed an excellent natural +naval base, lying as it does, thirty-five miles northwest of Cuxhaven +and forty-three miles north of Wilhelmshaven. They at once began to +augment the natural protection it afforded with their own devices. +Two Zeppelin sheds were erected, concrete forts were built and 12-inch +guns were installed. The scene of the battle which took place here +was the Bight of Helgoland, which formed a channel eighteen miles +wide some seven miles north of the island and near which lay the +line of travel for ships leaving the ports of the Elbe. + +British submarines which had been doing reconnaissance work on the +German coast since August 24 reported to the British commander, +Admiral Jellicoe, that a large force of German light cruisers and +smaller craft were lying under the protection of the Helgoland +guns, and he immediately arranged plans for leading this force +away from that protection in order to give it battle. Briefly the +plans made provided that three submarines were to proceed on the +surface of the water to within sight of the German ships and when +chased by the latter were to head westward. The light cruisers +_Arethusa_ and _Fearless_ were detailed to run in behind any light +German craft which were to follow the British submarines, endeavoring +to cut them off from the German coast, and these two vessels were +backed by a squadron of light cruisers held in readiness should +the first two need assistance. Squadrons of cruisers and battle +cruisers were detailed to stay in the rear, still further to the +northwest, to engage any German ships of their own class which +might get that far. + +It was at midnight on August 26 that Commodore Keyes moved toward +Helgoland with eight submarines accompanied by two destroyers. +During the next day--August 27--this force did nothing more than +keep watch for German submarines and scouting craft, and then took +up its allotted position for the main action. The morning of the +28th broke misty and calm. Under half steam three of the British +submarines, the _E-6, E-7_, and _E-8_ steamed toward the island +fortress, showing their hulls above water and followed by the two +detailed destroyers. + +The mist thickened. Still more slowly and cautiously went the British +submersibles, and while they went above water, five of their sister +craft traveled under the surface. Here was the bait for the German +ships under Helgoland's guns. Would they bite? + +The Germans soon gave the answer. First there crept out a German +destroyer which took a good look at the situation and then gave +wireless signals to some twenty more of her type, which soon came +out to join her. The twenty-one little and speedy German boats +bravely came out and chased the two British destroyers and three +submarines, while a German seaplane slowly circled upward to see +if the surrounding regions harbored enemies. Presumably the airman +found what he sought for he soon flew back to report to Helgoland. The +peaceful aspect of the waters to the east of the island immediately +changed, as a squadron of light cruisers weighed anchor and put +out after the retiring Britishers. + +Before a description of the fighting can be given it is necessary +to understand the plan of the fight as a whole. Assuming that the +page on which these words are printed represents a map of the North +Sea and that the points of the compass are as they would be on an +ordinary chart, we have the island of Helgoland, half an inch long +and a quarter of an inch wide, situated in the lower right-hand +corner of this page, with about half an inch separating its eastern +side from the right edge of the page and the same distance separating +it from the bottom. The lower edge of the page may represent the +adjoining coasts of Germany and Holland, and the right-hand edge +may represent the coast of the German province of Schleswig and +the coast of Denmark. + +At seven o'clock on the morning of August 28 the positions of the +fighting forces were as follows: The decoy British submarines were +making a track from Helgoland to the northwest, pursued by a flotilla +of German submarines, destroyers, and torpedo boats, and a fleet +of light cruisers. On the west--the left edge of the page, halfway +up--there were the British cruisers _Arethusa_ and _Fearless_ +accompanied by flotillas, and steaming eastward at a rate that +brought them to the rear of the German squadron of light cruisers, +thus cutting off the latter from the fortress. In the southwest--the +lower left-hand corner of the page--there was stationed a squadron of +British, cruisers, ready to close in when needed; in the northwest--the +upper left-hand corner of the page--there were stationed a squadron +of British light cruisers and another of battle cruisers, and it +was toward these last two units that the decoys were leading the +German fleets. + +The _Arethusa_ and _Fearless_ felt the first shock of battle, on +the side of the British. The German cruiser _Ariadne_ closed with +the former, while the latter soon found itself very busy with the +German cruiser _Strassburg_. For thirty-five minutes--before the +_Fearless_ drew the fire of the _Strassburg_--the two German vessels +poured a telling fire into the _Arethusa_, and the latter was soon +in bad condition, but she managed to hold out till succored by the +_Fearless_, and then planted a shell against the _Ariadne_ which +carried away her forebridge and killed her captain. The scouting which +had been done by the smaller craft of the German fleets showed their +commanders that there were other British ships in the neighborhood +besides the two they had first engaged, and it was thought wiser +to withdraw in face of possible reenforcement of the British, +consequently the _Strassburg_ and _Ariadne_ turned eastward to seek +the protection of the fortress. The _Arethusa_, a boat that had +been in commission but a week when the battle was fought, was in a +bad way; all but one of her guns were out of action, her water tank +had been punctured and fire was raging on her main deck amidships. +The _Fearless_ passed her a cable at nine o'clock and towed her +westward, away from the scene of action, while her crew made what +repairs they could. + +The flotillas of both sides had meanwhile been busy. At the head +of the squadron of German destroyers that came out of the waters +behind Helgoland was the _V-187_. Without slacking speed she steamed +straight for the British destroyers, her small guns spitting rapidly, +but she was outnumbered by British destroyers, which poured such an +amount of steel into her thin sides that she went under, her guns +firing till their muzzles touched the water and her crew cheering as +they went to their deaths. A few managed to keep afloat on wreckage, +and during a lull in the fighting, which lasted from nine o'clock +till ten, boats were lowered from the British destroyers _Goshawk_ +and _Defender_ to pick up these stranded German sailors. + +The commanders of the German fleet, perceiving these small boats from +afar, thought that the British were resorting to the old principle +of boarding, and the German light cruiser _Mainz_ came out to fire +upon them. Two of the British small boats had to be abandoned as +their mother ships made off before the oncoming German. They were +in a perilous position, right beneath the guns of the fortress. +But now a daring and unique rescue took place. The commander of +the British submarine _E-4_ had been watching the fighting through +the periscope of his craft, and seeing the helpless position of +the two small boats, he submerged, made toward them, and then, +to the great surprise of the men in them, came up right between +them and took their occupants aboard his boat. + +Repairs had been made on the _Arethusa_ which enabled her to go into +action again by ten o'clock. Accompanied again by two light cruisers +of ten four-inch guns and the _Fearless_, she turned westward in +answer to calls for assistance from the destroyers _Lurcher_ and +_Firedrake_, which accompanied the submarines and which reported +that they were being chased by fast German cruisers. Suddenly the +light cruiser _Strassburg_ again came out of the mist and bore +down on the British cruisers. Her larger guns were too heavy and +had too long a range for those of the British craft, and the latter +immediately sent out calls which brought into action for the first +time certain ships belonging to the squadron of British light cruisers, +which had been stationed to the northwest--the upper left-hand +corner of the page. + +The vessels which answered the calls were the light cruisers _Falmouth_ +and _Nottingham_ with eight eight-inch and nine six-inch guns +respectively, but before arriving the _Strassburg_ still had time +to inflict more damage on the _Arethusa_. The cruisers _Köln_ and +_Mainz_ joined the _Strassburg_, and the British vessels were having +a bad time of it when their commander ordered the _Fearless_ to +concentrate all fire on the _Strassburg_. This, and a concentrated +fire from the destroyers, proved too strong for her and she turned +eastward, disappearing in the mist off Helgoland. The _Mainz_ then +received the attention of all available British guns, including the +battle cruiser _Lion_, and soon fire broke out within her hold. +Next her foremast, slowly tottering and then inclining more and +more, crashed down upon her deck, a distorted mass. Following that +came down one of her funnels. The fire which was raging aboard her +was hampering her machinery, and her speed slackened; the moment to +strike with a torpedo had come, and one of these "steel fishes" was +sent against her hull below water. In the explosion which followed +one of her boilers came out through her deck, ascended some fifty +feet and dropped down near her bow; her engines stopped, and she +began to settle slowly, her bow going down first. + +It was now noon. From behind the veil of the surrounding mist came +the _Falmouth_ and _Nottingham_, which with the guns in their turrets +completely finished the hapless _Mainz_, and their sailors openly +admired the bravery of her crew, which, while she sank, maintained +perfect order and sang the German national air. + +There was yet the _Köln_ with which the _Arethusa_ had to do battle. +But by now the heavy British battle cruisers _Lion_ and _Queen +Mary_ had also come down from the northwest to take part in the +fighting, and letting the _Arethusa_ escape from the range of the +light cruiser _Köln_, they went for the German, which, overpowered, +fled toward Helgoland. While the chase was on the _Ariadne_ again +made her appearance and came to the aid of the _Köln_, but the +light cruiser _Ariadne_ carried no gun as effective in destructive +power as the 13.5-inch guns of the _Lion_, and she, too, had to +seek safety in flight. The British ships then finished the _Köln_; +so badly was she hit that when the British small boats sought the +spot where she quickly sank they found not a man of her crew afloat. +Every man of the 370 of her crew perished. + +The afternoon came, and with its advent the mist, which had kept +the guns of Helgoland's forts out of action, had cleared off the +calm waters of the North Sea. By the time the sun had set only +floating wreckage gave evidence that here brave men had fought and +died. By evening the respective forces were in their home ports, +being treated for their hurts. The Germans had lost the _Mainz, +Köln_, and _Ariadne_, and the _Strassburg_ had limped home. The +loss in destroyers and other small craft in addition to that of +the _V-187_ was not known. The loss on the British side had not +entailed that of a large ship, but the _Arethusa_ when she returned +to her home port was far from being in good condition, and some +of the smaller boats were in the same circumstances. + +Admiral von Ingenohl was committed more strongly than ever, as a +result of this engagement, to the belief that the best policy for +his command would be to keep his squadrons within the protection +afforded by Helgoland and that the most damage could be done to +the enemy by picking off her larger ships one by one. In other +words, he again turned to the policy of attrition. He immediately +put it into force. + +On the 3d of September the British gunboat _Speedy_ struck a mine +in the North Sea and went down. It was only two days later that the +light cruiser _Pathfinder_ was made the true target of a torpedo +fired by a German submarine off the British eastern coast, and she, +too, went to the bottom. But the British immediately retaliated, +for the submarine _E-9_ sighted the German light cruiser _Hela_ +weathering a bad storm on September 13 between Helgoland and the +Frisian coast. A torpedo was launched and found its mark, and the +_Hela_ joined the _Köln_ and _Mainz_. Up to this point the results +of attrition were even, but the Germans scored heavily during the +following week. + +On September 22 the three slow British cruisers _Cressy, Hogue_, +and _Aboukir_ were patrolling the waters off the Dutch coast, +unaccompanied by small craft of any kind, when suddenly, at half +past six in the morning, the _Aboukir_ crumpled and sank, the victim +of another submarine attack. But the commander of the _Hogue_ thought +she had been sunk by hitting a mine, and innocently approached the +spot of the disaster to rescue such of the crew of the _Aboukir_ as +were afloat. The work of mercy was never completed, for the _Hogue_ +itself was hit by two torpedoes in the next few moments, and she +joined her sister ship. The commander of the _Cressy_, failing to +take a lesson from what he had witnessed, now approached, and his +ship was also hit by two torpedoes, making the third victim of the +German policy of attrition within an hour, and Captain Lieutenant +von Weddigen, commander of the _U-9_, which had done this work, +immediately became a German hero. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +BATTLES ON THREE SEAS + +So stood the score in the naval warfare in the North Sea at the +end of the second month of the Great War. But while these events +were taking place in the waters of Europe, others of equal import +had been taking place in the waters of Asia. On August 23, 1914, +Japan declared war on Germany and immediately set about scouring +the East for German craft of all kinds. + +Japan brought to the naval strength of the Allied powers no mean unit. +Hers was the only navy in the world which had seen the ultramodern +battleships in action; the Russian navy which had had the same +experience was no more. Eight of her first-class battleships were, +at the time of her entrance into the Great War, veterans of the +war with Russia. The _Fugi, Asahi, Kikasa_, and _Shikishima_ had +gone into the former war as Japanese ships, and the remaining four +had gone into it as Russian ships, but had been captured by the +Japanese. These were the _Hizen, Sagami, Suwo_, and _Iwami_. Their +value was not great, for the _Fugi_ had been launched as far back +as 1896. Nevertheless she carried 12-inch guns and displaced 12,300 +tons. But her speed was only 17 knots at the most. She had been +built in England as had the _Asahi_ and _Shikishima_, which were +launched in 1900 and 1901. They also carried 12-inch guns and had +a speed of 18.5 knots. Their tonnage was 15,000. Admiral Togo's +former flagship, the _Mikasa_, was also of the predreadnought type, +having been built in 1900, and carrying a main battery of 12-inch +guns. Her speed was 18.5 knots. + +Of the former Russian ships the rechristened _Iwami_ was of French +build, protected with Krupp steel armor to the thickness of 7.5 +inches. Her displacement was 13,600 tons, and her speed 18 knots. +Like the other ships of this class in the Japanese navy, she carried +a main battery of 12-inch guns. The _Hizen_ was an American product, +having been built by Cramps in 1902. Her displacement was 12,700 +tons, made a speed of 18.5 knots, was also protected with Krupp +steel and carried four 10-inch guns. She was a real veteran, for +she had undergone repairs necessitated by having been torpedoed +off Port Arthur and had been refloated after being sunk in later +action there. The _Sagami_ and the _Suwo_ had been built in 1901 +and 1902. They displaced 13,500 tons, had a speed of 18.5 knots, +and carried as their heaviest armament 10-inch guns. + +In addition to these eight ships Japan had also nine protected +cruisers, all of the same type and all veterans of the war with +Russia. They were of such strength and endurance that the Japanese +admiralty rated them capable of taking places in the first line +of battle. These were the _Nisshin_ and _Kasuga_, purchased from +Italy and built in 1904, displacing 7,700 tons, and making a speed +of 22 knots; the _Aso_, French built and captured from the Russians, +and of the same design and measurements as the other two; and the +protected cruisers _Yakumo, Asama, Idzumo, Tokiwa, Aguma_, and +_Iwate_, built before the war with Russia, slightly heavier than +their sister ships but not as fast. None of this type has been +added to the Japanese navy since 1907. Japan has, instead, given +attention to scouting cruisers, with the result that she possessed +three excellent vessels of this class, the _Yahagi, Chikuma_, and +_Hirato_, with the good speed of 26 knots and displacing 5,000 +tons. They were built in 1912. And not so efficient were the other +ships of similar design, the _Soya_, built in America, _Tone_ and +_Tsugaru_. + +The veteran Japanese navy was supplemented with 52 destroyers and +15 submarines, all built since the war with Russia, and a number of +heavier vessels. Among the latter were the first-class battleships +_Kashima_ and _Katori_, completed in 1906, and displacing 16,400 +tons. Their heavy guns measured 12 inches, and they made a speed +of 19.5 knots. There were also the vessels _Ikoma_ and _Tsukuba_, +individual in type, with corresponding kinds in no other navy, +and which might be called a cross between an armored cruiser and +battle cruiser. Though displacing no more than 13,766 tons, they +carried four 12-inch guns, and made the comparatively low speed +of 20.5 knots. In 1909 and 1910 the Japanese added two more ships +of this kind to their navy, the _Ibuki_ and _Kurama_, slightly +heavier and faster and with the same armament. + +The dreadnought _Satsuma_ also came in 1910--a vessel displacing +19,400 tons, but making a speed of only 18.2 knots, and with an +extraordinarily heavy main battery consisting of four 12-inch guns +and twelve 10-inch guns. The _Aki_, launched in 1911, was 400 tons +heavier than the _Satsuma_, and was more than 2 knots faster, and +her main battery was equally strong. The dreadnoughts _Settsu_ +and _Kawachi_, completed in 1913 and 1912 respectively, displaced +21,420 tons, but were able to make not more than 20 knots. At this +time the Japanese admiralty, perhaps on account of lessons learned +in the war with Russia, was building dreadnoughts with less speed +than those in the other navies, but with much heavier main batteries. +These two vessels carried a unique main battery of twelve 12-inch +guns, along with others of smaller measurement. What the dreadnoughts +lacked in speed was made up in that of four battle cruisers launched +after 1912. These were the _Kirishima, Kongo, Hi-Yei_, and _Haruna_, +with the good speed of 28 knots. Their displacement was 27,500 +tons, and they carried in their primary batteries eight 14-inch +guns and sixteen 6-inch guns. + +At the time Japan entered the war she had in building four +superdreadnoughts with the tremendous displacement of 30,600 tons. +These vessels, the _Mitsubishi, Yukosaka, Kure_, and _Kawasaki_, +had been designed to carry a main battery of the strength of the +U. S. S. _Pennsylvania_, and to have a speed of 22.5 knots. + +The first move of the Japanese navy in the Great War was to cooperate +with the army in besieging the German town of Kiaochaw on the Shantung +Peninsula in China, but the operation was soon more military than +naval. Japanese warships captured Bonham Island in the group known +as the Marshall Islands, and, having cleared eastern waters of +German warships, scoured the Pacific in such a manner as to chase +those which escaped into the regions patrolled by the British navy. + +The German vessels which made their escape were among the eleven +which were separated from the rest of Germany's navy in the North +Sea at the outbreak of hostilities. They were, with the exception of +the _Dresden_, the _Leipzig, Nürnberg, Scharnhorst_, and _Gneisenau_. +It was weeks before they were first reported--on September 22 at +the harbor of Papeete, where they destroyed the French gunboat +_Zelie_, and after putting again to sea their location was once +more a mystery. + +On the evening of November 1 a British squadron consisting of the +vessels _Good Hope, Otranto, Glasgow_, and _Monmouth_, all except +the _Good Hope_ coming through the straits, sighted the enemy. The +British ships lined up abreast and proceeded in a northeasterly +direction. The Germans took up the same alignment eight miles to the +westward of the British ships and proceeded southward at full speed. +Both forces opened fire at a distance of 12,000 yards shortly after +six o'clock off Coronel near the coast of Chile. The _Gneisenau_ was +struck by a 9.2-inch shot from the _Good Hope_. The _Scharnhorst_ +and _Gneisenau_ picked the _Good Hope_ as their first target, but +finding that they could do no damage at that range and that they +were safe from the fire of the British ship, they came to within +6,000 yards of her. Her fire in reply was augmented by that of +the _Monmouth_. Excellent aim on the part of the Germans soon had +the _Good Hope_ out of action, and fire broke out aboard her. Soon +after general action her magazine exploded. + +The _Monmouth_ then received the brunt of the fire from the German +ships, and came in for more than her share of the destructive fire, +being put virtually out of action, and at the same time there occurred +an explosion on board the _Good Hope_ and she sank immediately, +carrying Admiral Cradock to his death. + +There remained of the British force only the _Otranto_--a converted +liner and not really a battleship of the line--the _Glasgow_ and +the hopelessly disabled _Monmouth_ to continue the fight with an +efficient German force. The British commander ordered the former +two to get away by making speed, but the officer in charge of the +_Glasgow_, paying no heed to the order, kept in the fight. + +Dusk was then coming on and the _Glasgow_ sought to take advantage +of it by getting between the German ships and the limping _Monmouth_, +concealing the latter from them with her smoke. But the Germans +had now come to within 4,500 yards. To escape possible attack from +torpedoes the German ships spread out their line, but perceiving +that such a danger was not present, they again closed in to finish +the crippled British ships. All of the German ships now went for +the _Glasgow_, and she had to desert the _Monmouth_, which first +sailed northward, in bad condition, and later made an attempt to +run ashore at Santa Maria, but was unable to do so. + +The inevitable "if" played its part in the battle. When the British +fleet first went after the Germans it had as one of its units the +battleship _Canopus_. But her speed was not up to that of the other +ships, and she fell far to their stern. By the time the action was +on she was too distant to take part in it. No attempt was made to +go together owing to the slowness of the battleship. The _Canopus_ +was never in the action at all, being 150 miles astern. Had Cradock +not desired to he need not have taken on the action but retired +in the _Canopus_. The setting of the sun also played its part; +if daylight had continued some hours more the British squadron +might have held out till the _Canopus_ brought up, for the almost +horizontal rays of the sun were in the eyes of the German gunners. +But as it dropped below the watery horizon it left the British +ships silhouetted against a clear outline. The _Canopus_ did not +get into the fight, and the greatest concern of the _Glasgow_ as +she steamed off was to warn the British battleship to keep off, +for of less speed than the German ships, and outnumbered by them, +her appearance meant her destruction. The _Glasgow_, later joined +by the _Canopus_, arrived in battered condition at the Falkland +Islands. The _Monmouth_, after the main action was over, was found +and finished by the German squadron and went down. Seventy shots +were fired at her when she lay sinking, on fire and helpless, and +unable to fire her guns. Germany had evened the score in the second +battle between fleets. + +The _Dresden_ after the Falkland action took refuge in Fiordes +of Terra del Fuego and after being there for a couple of months +proceeded to the head of the Island of Juan Fernandez where she +was found by the _Glasgow, Kent_ and auxiliary cruiser _Orama_ +and was destroyed. + +Most remarkable had been the career of the German third-class cruiser +_Nürnberg_, which had joined the other German ships that went to +make up the German squadron which fought in this battle off Coronel. +This vessel, on the day after Germany and England went to war, was +lying near Yap, an island in the Pacific, that had been, until +captured by the Japanese, the wireless station of most importance +to the Germans in the Pacific Ocean. She immediately, after being +apprised that she was part of a navy engaged in a war, set sail +and was not reported again until the 7th of September, when she +appeared at Fanning Island, a cable station maintained by Britain, +and from which cables run to Vancouver to the east and Australia +to the west. Here she performed a clever bit of work by entering +the harbor flying the tricolor of France and appearing as though +she was making a friendly visit. Officials on the island, happy +to think they would have such a visitor, saw two cutters leave +the warship. + +Great was the surprise of those watching events from the shore +when they saw the French flag lowered from the masthead of the +visitor and in its place the German naval ensign run up. The cutters +were just about reaching knee-deep water at the shore when this +surprise came, and it was augmented when, with the protection of +the guns of the vessel, the men in these cutters showed themselves +to be a hostile landing party. + +Her presence was not reported to the rest of the world for the +good reason that she cut all cables leading from the island. All +the British men there were put under guard, and after damaging +all cable instruments she could find, the _Nürnberg_, accompanied +by a collier that had come with her, again took to the high seas. + +She next turned up at the island of St. Felix, 300 miles west of +the Chilean coast, but did not come to the harbor. During the night +of October 14 the inhabitants of that island saw the flash and heard +the roar of an explosion miles out to sea, and for a number of +days later they picked up on their beach the wreckage of what must +have been a collier. As has been related in preceding paragraphs, +the _Nürnberg_ took part in that fight. The end of her career came +in the battle off the Falkland Islands, which will be dealt with +later. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXV + +THE GERMAN SEA RAIDERS + +While British men-o'-war were capturing German merchant-men and +taking them to British ports, the German raiders which were abroad +were earning terrifying reputations for themselves because the +enemy merchantmen with which they came upon had to be destroyed +on the high seas, for there were no ports to which they could be +taken. Prominent among these was the _Königsberg_, a third-class +cruiser. When the war came she was in Asiatic waters and immediately +made the east coast of Africa her "beat." While patrolling it she +came upon two British merchant ships, and after taking from their +stores such supplies as were needed she sent them to the bottom. +On September 20, 1914, she made a dash into the harbor of Zanzibar +and found there the British cruiser _Pegasus_, which on account of +her age was undergoing a complete overhauling. She was easy prey +for the German ship, for besides the fact that she was stationary her +guns were of shorter range than those of her adversary. Shell after +shell tore into her till she was battered beyond all resemblance to +a fighting craft. But her flag flew till the end, for though it +was shot down from the masthead, two marines held it aloft, one +of them losing his life. And when the _Königsberg_, her task of +destruction complete, sailed off, the lone marine still held up +the Union Jack. The British ships in those waters made a systematic +hunt for her and located her at last, on the 30th of October. She was +hiding in her favorite rendezvous, some miles up the Rufigi River +in German East Africa. The ship which found her was the _Chatham_, a +second-class cruiser, with a draft much heavier than that of the +_Königsberg_, and the difference gave the latter a good advantage, +for she ran up the river and her enemy could not follow. Nor could +the English ship use her guns with much effect, for the gunners +could not make out the hull of the German ship through the tropical +vegetation along the river banks. All that the British ship could +do was to fire shells in her general direction and then guess what +effect they had. But to prevent her escape, colliers were sunk +at the mouth of the river. She had come to as inglorious an end +as her victim, the _Pegasus_. + +The account of another raider, the _Kronprinz Wilhelm_, which left +New York on the evening that England declared war, with her bunkers +loaded with coal and other supplies for warships, has already been +related. The mystery concerning this sailing was cleared up when +she was caught coaling the _Karlsruhe_ in the Atlantic. Both ships +made off in safety that time, and soon after a British cruiser +reported that she had been heard in wireless communication with +the _Dresden_. Thereafter the fate of this ship remained a mystery +till she put in at Hampton Roads on April 11, 1915. + +Most spectacular was the career of the _Emden_, a third-class cruiser, +which sailed from Japanese waters at the same time as the _Königsberg_. +Through the ability of her commander, Captain Karl von Müller, she +earned the soubriquet "Terror of the East," for by using a clever +system of supply ships she was able to raid eastern waters for +ten weeks without making a port or otherwise running the risk of +leaving a clue by which British ships might find her. Her favorite +occupation was that of stopping enemy merchantmen which she sank. +But her captain always allowed one--the last one--of her prizes to +remain afloat, and in this he sent to the nearest port the officers, +passengers, and crews of those that were destroyed. At times he +used prizes as colliers, putting them under command of his petty +officers. + +By way of diversion, Captain von Müller steamed into the harbor +of Madras in the Bay of Bengal and opened with his guns on the +suburbs of the town, setting on fire two huge oil tanks there. +The fort there returned the fire, but the _Emden_ after half an +hour sailed away unharmed. She had been enabled to come near the +British guns on shore by flying the French flag, which she continued +to display until her guns began to boom. She then left the waters of +Bengal Bay, but not before she had ended the journey of $30,000,000 +worth of exports to India, and had sent to the bottom of the sea +some $15,000,000 worth of imports. Twenty-one steamers had been +her victims, their total value having been about $3,250,000, and +their cargoes were worth at least $15,000,000. Very expensive the +British found her, and they were willing to go to any length to +end her career. They curtailed her activities somewhat when the +_Yarmouth_ captured the converted liner _Markomannia_, which was one +of her colliers, and recaptured the Greek freighter _Pontoporos_, +which had been doing the same duty. This took place off the coast +of Sumatra. + +But Von Müller was undaunted, even though his coal problem was +becoming serious. He knew that the _Yarmouth_ had sailed from Penang +near Malacca and that she was not at that base, since she was searching +for his own vessel. He therefore conceived the daring exploit of +making a visit to Penang while the _Yarmouth_ was still away. He +came within ten miles of the harbor on the 28th of October, and +disguised his ship by erecting a false funnel made of canvas upheld +by a wooden frame, much like theatrical scenery. This gave the +_Emden_ four funnels, such as the _Yarmouth_ carried. Coming into +the harbor in the twilight of the dawn, she was taken by those on +shore to be the British ship, not a hostile gun ready for her. + +Lying in the harbor was the Russian cruiser _Jemchug_ and three +French destroyers and a gunboat. The watch on the Russian ship +questioned her, and was told by the wireless operator on the _Emden_ +that she was the _Yarmouth_ returning to anchor. By this ruse the +German ship was enabled to come within 600 yards of the Russian ship +before the false funnel was discovered. Fire immediately spurted +from the Russian guns, but a torpedo from the _Emden_ struck the +_Jemchug's_ engine room and made it impossible for her crew to get +ammunition to her guns. Von Müller poured steel into her from a +distance of 250 yards with terrible effect. The Russian ship's list +put many of her guns out of action, and she was unable to deliver +an effective reply. Another torpedo from the _Emden_ exploded her +magazine. Fifteen minutes after the firing of the first shot the +Russian had gone to the bottom. + +Von Müller now put the prow of the _Emden_ to sea again, for he +feared that both the _Yarmouth_ and the French cruiser _Dupleix_ +had by then been summoned by wireless. Luck was with him. Half an +hour after leaving the harbor he sighted a ship flying a red flag, +which showed him at once that she was carrying a cargo of powder. He +badly needed the ammunition, and he prepared to capture her. But +this operation was interrupted by a mirage, which caused the small +French destroyer _Mosquet_ to appear like a huge battleship. When +he discovered the truth, Von Müller closed with the Frenchman, who +came to the rescue of the _Glenturret_, the powder ship. Destroyer +and cruiser closed for a fight, the former trying to get close +enough to make work with torpedoes possible, but the long range +of the _Emden's_ guns prevented this, and the _Mosquet_ was badly +damaged by having her engine room hit. Soon she was in a bad way, +and Von Müller ordered his guns silenced, thinking the destroyer +would now give up the fight. But the Frenchman was valiant and +refused to do so; he let go with two torpedoes which did not find +their mark, and was immediately subjected to a withering fire, +which caused his ship to sink, bow first. + +One of the destroyers which had been in the harbor now came out +to take issue with the _Emden_, but it was the business of the +latter to continue destroying merchant ships and not to run the +risk of having her career ended by a warship, so she immediately +put off for the Indian Ocean. A storm which then came up permitted +her to make a better escape. + +It was not until the 9th of November that the world at large heard +more of her, and it proved to be the last day of her reign of terror. +There was a British wireless and cable station on the Cocos (Keeling) +Isles, southwest of Java, and Von Müller had determined to interrupt +the communication maintained there connecting India, Australia, +and South Africa. Forty men and three officers, with three machine +guns, were detailed by him as a landing party to destroy instruments +and cut the cables. But such a thing had been partially forestalled +by the British authorities, who had set up false cable ends. These +were destroyed by the deceived Germans. When the _Emden_ had first +made her appearance the news had been sent out by the wireless +operator on shore, not knowing what ships would pick up his calls. + +This time luck was against Von Müller, for it so happened that a +convoy of troop ships from Australia was passing within one hundred +miles. They were accompanied by the Australian cruisers _Melbourne_ +and _Sydney_. The latter was dispatched to go to the Cocos Islands, +and by getting up a speed of 26 knots she reached them in less than +three hours. Von Müller knew that escape by flight was impossible, +for his ship had been weeks at sea; her boilers were crusted, her +machinery badly in need of repair, and she had not too much coal. +He therefore decided to give battle, and went straight for the +_Sydney_ at full speed. His object was to meet her on even terms, +for her advantage was that her guns had much greater range than +those of the _Emden_. If he could get close enough he might be +able to use his torpedo tubes. But Captain Glossop of the _Sydney_ +saw through this maneuver and maintained good distance between the +two ships. About the first shot from the _Emden_ killed the man +at the range finder on the fore bridge of the _Sydney_. Captain +Glossop was standing within a few feet of him at the time. + +The replies from the Australian ship were fatal. The foremost funnel +of the _Emden_ crumpled and fell; her fire almost ceased, and then +she began to burn; the second funnel and the third fell also; there +was nothing left but to beach her, which Von Müller did, just before +noon. While she lay there helpless the _Sydney_ shot more steel +into her, leaving her quite helpless, and then went off to chase +a merchant ship which had been sighted during the fighting and +which, when caught, proved to be the British ship _Buresk_, now +manned by Germans and doing duty as collier to the _Emden_. Returning +to the latter, Captain Glossop saw that she still flew the German +flag at her masthead. He signaled her, asking whether she would +surrender, but receiving no reply after waiting five minutes he +let her have a few more salvos. The German flag came down and the +white flag went up in its place. The _Jemchug_ had been avenged, +and the terribly costly career of the _Emden_ brought to an end. +Von Müller was taken prisoner, and on account of his valor was +permitted to keep his sword. But the landing party, which had cut +the false cables, was still at large. The adventures of these three +officers and forty men form a separate story, which will be narrated +later. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +BATTLE OFF THE FALKLANDS + +The defeat of the British squadron back in the first week of November +had sorely tried the patience of the British public, and the admiralty +felt the necessity of retrieving faith in the navy. Von Spee was +still master of the waters near the Horn, and till his ships had +again been met the British could not boast of being rulers of the +waves. Consequently Admiral Fisher detailed the two battle cruisers +_Invincible_ and _Inflexible_ to go to the Falkland Islands. They +left England November 11, 1914, and on the outward journey met +with and took along the light cruisers _Carnarvon, Kent_, and +_Cornwall_, the second-class cruiser _Bristol_, and the converted +liner _Macedonia_. The _Canopus_ and the _Glasgow_, now repaired, +all joined the squadron, which was commanded by Admiral Sturdee. The +vessels coaled at Stanley, Falkland Islands, and while so engaged +on December 8 were warned by a civilian volunteer watcher on a +near-by hill that two strange vessels had made their appearance +in the distance. British naval officers identified them and other +vessels which were coming into view as the ships of Von Spee's +squadron, the one which had been victorious off Coronel. + +During the interval that had elapsed since that engagement these +German ships had not been idle. Von Spee knew that the _Glasgow_ +had gone to the Falklands and that there were important wireless +stations there, but he put off going after those prizes and picked +up others. The _Nürnberg_ had cut communication between Banfield +and Fanning Islands. Two British trading ships had fallen victims +to the _Dresden_, and four more had met the same end at the hands +of the _Leipzig_. For coal and other supplies Von Spee had been +relying on the Chilean ports, but now came trouble between him and +the port authorities, for England was accusing the South American +nation of acting without regard to neutrality. It was for this +reason that Von Spee turned southward to take the Falkland Islands. +The world at large, and of course Von Spee, had no knowledge of +the ships which had set out from Plymouth for the Falklands on +the eleventh of the month, so he approached in full expectation of +making not only a raid but for occupation. He knew that he would +have to exchange shots with the _Glasgow_ and perhaps some small +ships, and he believed the islands weakly defended by forts, but +there was nothing in that to defer his attack. The result--the +lookout near Stanley had reported the oncoming warships _Gneisenau_ +and _Scharnhorst_, followed by the rest of the German squadron. +German guns were trained on the wireless station, and great was +the surprise of the unfortunate Von Spee and his officers when +there was heard the booming of guns which they knew immediately +must be mounted on warships larger than their own. Their scouting +had been defective, and the presence of the _Inflexible_ and +_Invincible_ had till then not been discovered. They then reasoned +that these were the guns of the _Canopus_--a critical and fatal +error. + +The _Canopus_ from behind the hills fired on the German ships in +an endeavor to protect the wireless station. Beyond the range of +her guns hovered the lighter German cruisers _Dresden, Leipzig_, +and _Nürnberg_ to await the outcoming of the _Glasgow_. Both the +_Gneisenau_ and _Scharnhorst_ concentrated their fire on the _Canopus_, +and when the _Glasgow_, accompanied by the _Carnarvon, Cornwall_, and +_Kent_, made her appearance it did not change the battle formation +of the Germans, for the _Canopus_ was still the only large vessel +they were aware of. Now the _Leipzig_ came nearer in order to take +up the fight with the lighter British ships. By nine in the morning +the German ships were drawn out in single file, running parallel +with the shore in a northeasterly direction. At the head of the +line was the _Gneisenau_, followed by the _Dresden, Scharnhorst, +Nürnberg_, and _Leipzig_, in that order. They thought that this +would entice what they believed to be the whole of the British +force present into coming out for a running fight, and in which +the old _Canopus_ would be left behind to be finished after the +lighter vessels were done for. But all this time the _Invincible_ +and _Inflexible_ were silent with their guns, though there was +bustle enough aboard them while their coaling was being hurried. + +By ten o'clock these two larger ships were ready with steam up +and decks cleared, and they came out from behind the hills. Von +Spee saw that discretion was the better part of valor and gave +orders for his ships to make off at full speed. For a time the +two squadrons kept parallel to each other at a distance of twelve +miles, with the British squadron--the _Invincible_ and _Inflexible_ +leading--north of the German ships. The _Baden_ and _Santa Isabel_, +two transports that had been part of the German squadron, were +unable to keep up with the others and headed south, pursued by +the _Bristol_ and _Macedonia_. The two British battle cruisers +were faster than any other ships in either squadron, and while +pulling up on the German ships were in danger of pulling away from +their own ships. To avoid the latter, Admiral Sturdee kept down +their speed and was content with taking a little longer to get +within gun range of Von Spee's ships. By two o'clock the distance +between them was about 16,000 yards; the _Invincible_ and _Inflexible_ +had now left the rest of the British squadron far behind and took +issue with the _Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_ respectively. The +remaining British ships, with the exception of the _Carnarvon_, +gave attention to the three lighter German cruisers and the _Eitel +Friedrich_, which had broken from the first formation and were +now pointing southeast. + +Von Spee ordered the _Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_ to turn broadside +to the enemy. Shells were falling upon the German ships with fair +accuracy, but their return fire could do little damage to the British +ships, because the range was a little too great for the German +8.2-inch guns. Those of the _Inflexible_ and _Invincible_ were of +the 12-inch type. + +All four ships were belching forth heavy black smoke that hung +low over the water after it left the funnels. A moderate breeze +carried it northward, and Von Spee moved his ships this way and +that till his smoke blew straight against the guns of the British +ships, making it almost impossible for the British gunners to take +aim and note effect. But the superior speed of the two British +battle cruisers stood them in good stead, and their commanders +brought them up south of the enemy--on their other side. It was +now the German gunners who found the smoke in their faces, and +the advantage was with the British. + +By three o'clock in the afternoon fire had broken out on the +_Scharnhorst_ and Von Spee replied to Sturdee's inquiry that he +would not quit fighting, though some of his guns were out of action +and those which still replied to the Britisher did now only at +intervals. There was evidently something wrong with the machinery +that brought shells and ammunition to her guns from out of her +hold, the fire probably interfering with it. A 12-inch shell cut +right through her third funnel and carried it completely off the +ship. She turned so that she could bring her starboard guns into +action, and they did so feebly. The fire on board her grew worse +and worse, and it could be seen blood-red through holes made by +the shells from the _Invincible_ whenever her hull showed through +the dense clouds of escaping steam that enveloped her. Just at +four o'clock she began to list to port, thus having her starboard +guns put out of action, for they pointed toward the sky, and the +shells which came from them described parabolas, dropping into +the water at safe distance from the English ship. More and more +she listed, till her port beam ends were in the cold waters of the +South Atlantic, and while in that position she sank some fifteen +minutes later. + +Meanwhile the duel between the _Gneisenau_ and _Inflexible_ had +been going on. A 12-inch shell from one of the British cruisers +struck one of the after gun turrets of the _Gneisenau_ and swept +it overboard. The German ship used the sinking _Scharnhorst_ as a +screen and tried to take on both British ships. Still she was able +to plant some effective shells against the _Invincible_ as a final +reply. By half-past five she was listing heavily to starboard and +her engines had stopped. The British ship, thinking she was surely +done for, ceased firing at her and watched her for ten minutes, +while a single gun on board of her fired at intervals. The three +ships _Carnarvon, Inflexible_, and _Invincible_ now closed in on +her and punished her till the flag at her stern was hauled down. +But the ensign at her peak continued to fly. Just at six o'clock, +with this color still in position, she suddenly heeled to starboard, +while the men of her crew made hastily up her slanting decks and +then climbed over on to the exposed part of her upturned port side. +Many of these unfortunate men had time to jump into the sea, but +others were caught when she suddenly disappeared beneath the surface. + +There remained the task of picking up her survivors, but they were +not numerous, for the shock of the cold water killed a large number. +Having picked up those whom they could, the three British ships +signaled the news of their victories to the distant cruisers which +were fighting it out with the _Dresden, Leipzig, Nürnberg_, and +_Eitel Friedrich_. + +These lighter German cruisers had left the line of battle and had +turned southward at just about the time that the action between +the _Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_ and _Inflexible_ and _Invincible_ +began. They started off with the _Dresden_ at the foremost point +of a triangle and with the other two at the two remaining points. +The _Glasgow, Cornwall_, and _Kent_ went after them, while the +_Carnarvon_, because her speed was not high enough to accompany +them, remained with the battle cruisers. The _Glasgow_ drew up +with the German ships first, and at three o'clock began to fire +on the _Leipzig_ at a distance of 12,000 yards. As in the other +action of that afternoon, the British ship took advantage of the +fact that her guns had longer range, and she drew back from the +German ships so that their guns could not reach her, though her +own shells began to fall upon their decks. It was her object to +keep them busy until she could be joined by her accompanying ships. + +[Illustration: VICE ADMIRAL SIR DOVETON STURDEE'S ACTION OFF THE +FALKLAND ISLANDS. DEC 8, 1914. + +This plan shows the track followed by H.M.S. INVINCIBLE (Flagship, +Capt. P.T.H. Beamish) and H.M.S. INFLEXIBLE (Capt. R.F. Phillimore) +during an action which started at 1.0 pm and finished at 6.0 pm +resulting in the sinking of the German armoured cruisers SCHARNHORST +(Flagship of Vice Admiral Count Von Spee) and GNIESNAU. The LEIPSIG +was engaged and sunk by H.M.S. CORNWALL (Capt. W.M. Ellerton) and +H.M.S. GLASGOW (Capt. John Luce) in the near vicinity, also the +Nurnberg by H.M.S. KENT (Capt. J.D. Allen). H.M.S. CARNARVON (Flagship +of Rear Admiral R.P. Stoddart. Capt. H.L. D'E. Skipwith) was also +engaged with SCHARNHORST and GNIESNAU.] + +The _Cornwall_ by four o'clock was also near enough to the _Leipzig_ +to open fire on her, and three hours later the German cruiser was +having a time of it with a large fire in her hold. British faith +in heavy armament with long range had again been vindicated. There +was something of human interest in this duel between the _Glasgow_ +and the _Leipzig_. In their previous meeting, off Coronel, the German +ship had had all the better of it and now the men of the British +ship were out for revenge. Consequently the _Glasgow_ signaled to +the other British ships: "Stand off--I can manage this myself!" By +eight o'clock in the evening the _Glasgow_ had her in bad condition, +and the _Carnarvon_ came up to assist in raking her till there was +nothing left but a mass of wreckage on her decks. But her flag +was still flying and the British ships kept circling around her, +thinking she still wished to fight, but not coming near enough +to permit the use of her torpedo tubes. Miserable was the plight +of the _Leipzig_'s crew, for the two hundred men who were still +alive were unable to get to her flag on account of the fire aboard +her, and they had to remain inactive while the _Carnarvon_ and +_Glasgow_ poured round after round into their ship. Only twelve +remained alive at nine o'clock, when she began to list to port. +Slowly more and more of the under-water part of her hull showed +above the sea, and she continued to heel until her keel was right +side up. In this position she sank, a large bubble marking the +spot. + +When the _Nürnberg_ left the line of German ships at one o'clock, +it was the British cruiser _Kent_ that went after her, a vessel +more heavily armed than the German ship, yet about a knot slower. +But by hard work on the part of the engineers and stokers of the +_Kent_ she was able, by five o'clock, to get within firing distance +of the _Nürnberg_. By a strange trick of fate the _Kent_ was sister +ship to the _Monmouth_ which had fallen victim to one of the +_Nürnberg's_ torpedoes in the battle off Coronel. Here, too, was +a duel with human interest in it. In their desire for revenge, +the men of the _Kent_ made fuel of even her furniture in order +to speed up her engines. Her 6-inch guns now began to strike the +German ship, and soon a fire broke out aboard her. She could have +ended the German vessel by keeping a fire upon her while remaining +too distant to be within range of the _Nürnberg's_ 4-inch guns, +but dusk was gathering and an evening mist was settling down upon +the water. Consequently the _Kent_ drew nearer to her adversary. +The firing of the _Nürnberg_ was then effective and more than twenty +of her shells took good effect on the British ship. It was only +through prompt action on the part of her crew that her magazine was +kept from exploding, for a shell set fire to the passage leading +to it. + +By seven o'clock in the evening the _Nürnberg_ was practically +"blind," for the flames from the fire that was raging on her had +reached her conning tower. A member of her crew hauled down her +flag, and the _Kent_, thinking that the fight was over, came close +to her. While within a few hundred yards of her, however, she was +greeted with new firing from the German cruiser. But this ceased +under a raking from the _Kent's_ starboard guns, and once again +the flag of the _Nürnberg_, which had been run up on resumption +of shooting, was hauled down. Members of her crew then had to jump +into the sea to escape death from burning--the fire was quenched +only when she went down at half past seven. The overworked engineers +and stokers of the _Kent_ were rewarded for their hard work by being +permitted to come on deck to watch the _Nürnberg_ go down, and +all were soon engaged in helping to save the lives of the German +sailors in the water. Just as the red glow of the sinking _Nürnberg_ +was dying down a large four-masted sailing ship, with all sails +set, came out of the mist, her canvas tinged red by the flames' +rays. Silently she went by, disappearing again into the mist, a +weird addition to an uncanny scene. + +Chasing the various units of the broken line of German ships had +taken the British ships miles from each other, but after ten o'clock +they began to reach each other by wireless signals and all made +again for Stanley. It was not until the afternoon of the next day, +however, that word came from the _Kent_, for her pursuit had taken +her farther than any of the other British ships. + +The _Bristol_ and _Macedonia_ had made good in their pursuit of +the _Santa Isabel_ and _Baden_, but in going after the _Dresden_ +the _Bristol_ was not successful; the German ship got away in the +rainstorm which came up during the evening, and the _Bristol_, which +had hurried out of the harbor at Stanley not quite ready for battle, +was unable to keep on her trail. The fast _Eitel Friedrich_, which +as a merchant ship converted into a man-o'-warsman had greater +speed than any of the ships on either side, was able to get away +also. These two German ships now took up their parts as raiders +of allied commerce, and were not accounted for till months later. +There was now on the high seas no German squadron. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +SEA FIGHTS OF THE OCEAN PATROL + +There were some minor naval operations in the waters of Europe which +have been neglected while larger actions elsewhere were recorded. +During the month of September, 1914, the British admiralty established +a blockade of the mouth of the River Elbe with submarines, and the +German boats of the same type were showing their worth also. On +August 28, 1914, the day after the raid on Libau by the German +cruiser _Augsburg_, the date of the battle of the Bight of Helgoland, +the two Russian protected cruisers _Pallada_ and _Bayan_, while +patrolling the Russian coast in the Baltic Sea, were attacked by +German submarines. Surrounded by these small craft, which made +poor targets, the two Russian ships sought to escape by putting +on full speed, but the former was hit by a torpedo and sank. The +other got away. + +All of the Allies, with the exception of France, had by the beginning +of September, 1914, suffered losses in their navies. The navy of the +republic was engaged in assisting a British fleet in maintaining +supremacy in the Mediterranean, and kept the Austrian fleet bottled +up in the Adriatic Sea. French warships bombarded Cattaro on September +10, 1914, to assist the military operations of the Montenegrin +Government. These ships then proceeded to the island of Lissa and +there destroyed the wireless station maintained by Austria. The +Austrian navy made no appearance while the allied fleets scoured +the lower coast of Dalmatia, bringing down lighthouses, destroying +wireless stations, and bombarding the islands of Pelagosa and Lesina. +On the 19th of September, 1914, they returned to Lissa and landed +a force which took possession of it, thus establishing a new naval +base against the Central Powers' navies. + +Duels between pairs of ships took place in various seas. The career +of the raider _Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse_, a fast converted liner, +was ended by the British ship _Highflyer_, a cruiser, near the Cape +Verde Islands, on August 27, 1914, after the former had sunk the +merchantman _Hyades_ and had stopped the mail steamer _Galician_. +The greater speed of the German vessel was of no advantage to her, +for she had been caught in the act of coaling. What then transpired +was not a fight, for in armament the two were quite unequal. She +soon sank under the _Highflyer's_ fire, her crew having been rescued +by her colliers. + +The next duel took place between the _Carmania_ and _Cap Trafalgar_, +British and German converted liners, respectively. They met on +September 14, 1914, in the Atlantic off South America. In view of +the fact that at the beginning of the war these two ships had been +merchantmen and had been armed and commissioned after the outbreak +of hostilities, this engagement was something of the nature of those +between privateersmen in the old days. In speed, size, and armament +they were about equal. For nearly two hours they exchanged shots +between 3,000 and 9,000 yards, and markmanship was to determine +the victory. The shots from the _Carmania_ struck the hull of the +other ship near the water line repeatedly, and the British commander +was wise enough to present his stern and bow ends more often than +the length of the _Carmania's_ sides. At the end of the fight the +German ship was afire and sank. Her crew got off safely in her +colliers, and the British ship made off because her wireless operator +heard a German cruiser, with which the _Cap Trafalgar_ had been in +communication, signaling that she was hastening to the liner's +aid. + +Only two days before this the British cruiser _Berwick_ captured +the converted liner _Spreewald_ in the North Atlantic, where she +had been trying to interrupt allied commercial vessels. + +Germany kept up her policy of attrition by clever use of submarines +and mines. The British battleship _Audacious_, while on patrol +duty off the coast of Ireland in the early days of the war, met +with a disaster of some sort and was brought to her home port in +a sinking condition. The rigors of the British censorship almost +kept the news of this out of the British papers and from the +correspondents of foreign papers. It was reported that she had +struck a mine, that she had been torpedoed, and that she had been +made the victim of either a spy or a traitor who caused an internal +explosion. The truth was never made clear. Rumors that she had +gone down were denied by the British admiralty some months later, +when they reported her repaired and again doing duty, but this was +counteracted by a report that one of the ships that was completed +after the start of hostilities had been given the same name. + +About the sinking of the _Hawke_ there was less conjecture. This +vessel had gained notoriety in times of peace by having collided +with the _Olympic_ as the latter left port on her maiden voyage +to New York. On the 15th of October, 1914, while patrolling the +northern British home waters she was made the target of the torpedo +of a German submarine and went down, but the _Theseus_, which had +been attacked at the same time, escaped. + +Four German destroyers were to be the next victims of the war in +European waters. On October 17, 1914, the _S-115, S-117, S-118_, and +_S-119_ while doing patrol duty off the coast of the Netherlands, +came up with a British squadron consisting of the cruiser _Undaunted_ +and the destroyers _Legion, Lance_, and _Loyal_. An engagement +followed, in which damage was done to the British small boats and +the four German destroyers were sunk. Captain Fox, senior British +officer, had been on the _Amphion_ when she sank the _Königin Luise_ +and had been rescued after being knocked insensible by the explosion +of the mine that sent the _Amphion_ to the bottom. + +The exploit of Lieutenant Commander Horton in the British submarine +_E-9_ when he sank the _Hela_ has already been narrated. The same +commander, with the same craft, during the first week of October, +1914, proceeded to the harbor of the German port of Emden, whence +had sailed many dangerous German submarines and destroyers that +preyed on British ships. He lay submerged there for a long period, +keeping his men amused with a phonograph, and then carefully came +to the surface. Through the periscope he saw very near him a German +destroyer, but he feared that the explosion of a torpedo sent against +her would damage his own craft, so he allowed her to steam off, +and when she was 600 yards away he let go with two torpedoes. The +second found its mark, and the _S-126_ was no more. He immediately +went beneath the surface and escaped the cordon of destroyers which +immediately searched for him. By October 7 the _E-9_ was back in +Harwich, its home port. + +On the 31st of October, 1914, the cross-channel steamer _Invicta_ +received the S. O. S. signal and went to rescue the crew of the old +British cruiser _Hermes_, which had been struck by two torpedoes +from a German submarine near Dunkirk. All but forty-four of her +men were saved. + +The next victim of a German submarine was the gunboat _Niger_, +which, in the presence of thousands of persons on the shore at +Deal, foundered without loss of life on November 11, 1914. But one +of the German submarines was to go to the bottom in retaliation. +On the 23d of November the _U-18_ was seen and rammed off the Scotch +coast, and some hours later was again seen near by. This time she +was floating on the surface and carrying a white flag. The British +destroyer _Garry_ brought up alongside of lier and took off her +crew, just as she foundered. + +Three days later the _Bulwark_, a British battleship of 15,000 tons +and carrying a crew of 750 officers and men, was blown up in the +Thames while at anchor at Sheerness. It was never discovered whether +she was a victim of a torpedo, a mine, or an internal explosion. It +is possible that a spy had placed a heavy charge of explosives +within her hull. Only fourteen men of her entire complement survived +the disaster. + +It was in November, 1914, also, that the sometime German cruisers +_Goeben_ and _Breslau_, now flying the Turkish flag, became active +again. As units in a Turkish fleet they bombarded unfortified ports +on the Black Sea on the first day of the month. Retaliation for +this was made by the Allies two days later when a combined fleet +of French and English battleships bombarded the Dardanelles forts, +inflicting a certain amount of damage. + +On the 18th of November, 1914, the _Goeben_ and _Breslau_ engaged +a Russian fleet off Sebastopol. The composition of this Russian +fleet was never made public by the Russian admiralty, but it is +known that the Russian battleship _Evstafi_ was the flagship. She +came up on the starboard side of the two German ships and opened +fire on the nearer, the _Goeben_, at a distance of 8,000 yards. +The latter, hit by the Russian 12-inch guns was at first unable +to reply because the first shots set her afire in several places, +but she finally let go with her own guns and after a fourteen-minute +engagement she sailed off into a fog. Her sister ship the _Breslau_ +took no part in the exchange of shots, and also made off. The damage +done to the _Goeben_ was not enough to put her out of commission; +the _Evstafi_ suffered slight damage and had twenty-four of her +crew killed. + +While the daring exploits of German submarines were winning the +admiration of the entire world for their operations in the northern +naval theatre of war, the British submarine commander, Holbrook, +with the _B-ll_ upheld the prestige of this sort of craft in the +British navy. He entered the waters of the Dardanelles on the 13th +of December, 1914, and submerging, traveled safely through five +lines of Turkish mines and sent a torpedo against the hull of the +Turkish battleship _Messudiyeh_. The _B-ll_ slowly came to the +surface to see what had been the result of her exploit, and her +commander, through the periscope saw her going down by the stern. +It was claimed later by the British that she had sunk, a claim +which was officially denied by the Turks. Her loss to Turkey, if +it did occur, was not serious, for she was too old to move about, +and her only service was to guard the mine fields. The _B-ll_ after +being pursued by destroyers again submerged for nine hours and +came successfully from the scene of the exploit. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +WAR ON GERMAN TRADE AND POSSESSIONS + +With the exceptions of the deeds done by the German sea raiders +the remaining naval history of the first six months of the war had +to do for the most part with British victories. When Von Spee's +squadron, with the exception of the light cruiser _Dresden_, which +was afterward sunk at the Island of Juan Fernandez, was dispersed +off the Falkland Islands there was no more possibility of there +being a pitched fight between German and British fleets other than +in the North Sea. + +England began then to hit at the outlying parts of the German Empire +with her navy. The cruiser _Pegasus_, before being destroyed by +the _Königsberg_ at Zanzibar on September 20, 1914, had destroyed +a floating dock and the wireless station at Dar-es-Salaam, and +the _Yarmouth_, before she went on her unsuccessful hunt for the +_Emden_, captured three German merchantmen. + +As far back as the middle of August, 1914, the capture of German +Samoa had been planned and directed from New Zealand. On the 15th +of that month an expedition sailed from Wellington, and in order +to escape the _Gneisenau_ and _Scharnhorst_, went first to French +New Caledonia, where the British cruisers _Psyche, Philomel_, and +_Pyramus_ were met with. On the 23d of the month, this force, which +was augmented by the French cruiser _Montcalm_ and the Australian +battleships _Australia_ and _Melbourne_, sailed first for the Fiji +Islands and then to Apia on Upolu Island off Samoa. They reached +there on the 30th. There was, of course, no force on the island +to withstand that of the enemy, and arrangements for surrender +of the place were made by signal. Marines were sent ashore; the +public buildings were occupied, the telegraph and telephone wires +cut, the wireless station destroyed and the German flag hauled +down, to be replaced by the Union Jack. The Germans taken prisoners +were rewarded for the kind treatment they had accorded British +residents before the appearance of this British force, and were +sent to New Zealand. + +The next German possession to be taken was that in the Bismarck +Archipelago. It was known that there was a powerful wireless station +at Herbertshöhen, the island known as New Pomerania. A small landing +party was put ashore on the island in the early morning of September +11, 1914, and made its way, without being discovered, to the town. +The surprised inhabitants were too frightened to do anything until +this party left to go further on to the wireless station. By that +time it met with some resistance, but overcame it. A few days later +another landing party had captured the members of the staff of the +governor of New Pomerania, together with the governor himself, at +Bougainville, Solomon Islands, whence they had fled. The wireless +stations on the island of Yap, in the Carolines, and on Pleasant +Island were destroyed during the following month. + +Perhaps the strangest operations of naval character ever performed +were the inland "sea" fights in Africa. The great Nyassa Lake in +Africa was the scene of this fighting. With its entire western +shore in British possession and with a goodly part of its waters +within the territory of German East Africa, it was not unnatural +that fighting should take place there. Both countries maintained +small armed vessels on the lake. The British ship _Gwendolen_, +a 350-ton craft, had been built on the Clyde and had been sent +to Nyassa Lake in sections and there assembled and launched in +1898. During August she fought with a German ship and captured +it. The fighting on the lake could not, however, determine the +success of the military operations taking place in those regions. + +The preponderance of British naval strength was beginning to tell +severely upon German trade by the end of 1914, and her boast that +through her navy she would starve out Germany aroused the German +Government greatly. In answer to these British threats, Grand Admiral +von Tirpitz, German Secretary of Marine, in an interview given +to an American newspaper correspondent, hinted that Germany's +retaliation would be a war on British merchant ships by German +submarines. + +The interview at the time aroused but mild comment; the idea was +a new one, and the question immediately arose as to whether such +action would be within the limits of international law. For the +time being, however, Von Tirpitz's words remained nothing more +than a threat. It was not until months later that the threat was +made good, and the consequences must form a separate part of this +narrative, to be given in Volume III. + +The seaplane, the newest naval machine at the time, and as yet an +untried factor, was to see maiden service first at the hands of +the British, when on the 25th of December a raid on Cuxhaven was +made. Seven naval seaplanes attacked a fleet of German cruisers and +destroyers lying off Schilling Roads near the German port. The men +who thus made history in aviation were Francis E. T. Hewlett, son +of the famous novelist, accompanied by seven pilots. A naval force +consisting of a light cruiser, a flotilla of destroyers and another +of submarines brought up near Helgoland during the morning. When +this naval force was first discovered by the lookouts on Helgoland, +there immediately appeared approaching from the German base two +Zeppelins and a number of German seaplanes, together with some +submarines. Meanwhile, from the decks of the British craft there +went up the seven British seaplanes. + +In order to give them a place for landing after they returned from +their raid, it was necessary for the British ships to remain in +the vicinity for three hours. The _Undaunted_ and _Arethusa_, with +the rest of the British force, had to "dance" about, dodging the +submarines which were attacking them from beneath the surface of +the water and the aircraft hovering over them. Bombs dropped from +the latter failed to find their targets, and by swift maneuvering +the torpedoes shot at them were also caused to go far wide of the +mark. + +The British airmen dropped their bombs on points of military importance +at Cuxhaven, but their effect was kept secret by the German authorities. +Six of the seven returned to the squadron and were picked up by +submarines. Three of the seaplanes were wrecked and had to be abandoned. +Fog not only prevented the British airmen from doing their best +work, but it kept the marksmen on the German aircraft also from +hitting the ships on the waters beneath them. This raid had been +made in answer to a great outcry that had gone up from the British +public after German warships had raided the eastern coast of England. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XXXIX + +RAIDS ON THE ENGLISH COAST + +During the first days of November, 1914, the Germans planned and +carried out a general surprise for the British navy. After the battle +in the Bight of Helgoland, back in August, the British thought that +Germany would continue to keep her navy within the protection of +her coast defenses, perhaps forever. But such was not her intention. + +On the afternoon of November 2,1914, there gathered off some part +of Germany's northern shore a squadron consisting of the battle +cruisers _Von der Tann, Seydlitz_, and _Moltke_, the protected +cruisers _Kolberg, Strassburg_, and _Graudenz_, the armored cruisers +_Yorck_ and _Blücher_, together with some destroyers. The slowest +of these vessels could make a speed of 25 knots, and the fastest, +the _Graudenz_ and _Moltke_, could make 28 knots. The guns of the +_Blücher_ were the heaviest in the squadron, those of her primary +battery being 12-inch cannon. Ten-inch guns were on the decks of +the other ships. + +The first that the rest of the world knew of the gathered force +was at evening, November 2, 1914, when a fleet of British fishermen +hailed them with friendly signs, thinking them British ships, not +far from Lowestoft some time after six o'clock. The fishermen started +at once for their home ports in order to apprise the British +authorities, but they had not gone far when the news was flashed to +the British admiralty office from the wireless room of the British +gunboat _Halcyon_. But only the first few words of the warning +were able to get through, for the wireless operators on the German +ships "jammed" their keys, and a few shots from the German guns +were sufficient to bring down the wireless apparatus of the gunboat +as well as one of her funnels. She turned off and made for her +home port to report the news some hours later. + +It was only ten miles from the British shores that the _Halcyon_ +had sighted the German ships, but they were able, nevertheless, +to elude all British warships in those regions and proceeded to +Yarmouth, firing at the wireless station, the naval yards, and the +town itself. Fearing mines near the coast, the German commander +did not attempt to come in too close, with the result that many +of the German shots fell short, and, in spite of the fact that +the bombardment lasted for nearly half an hour, the damage done +by them was not great. + +The inhabitants of the towns of Lowestoft and Yarmouth were asleep +in the early hours of the morning when they first heard the booming +of the German guns. In the darkness of the British winter they +hurriedly went down to the water front, where, far out at sea, +they could make out faintly the hull of but one vessel, but the +red flashes from the booming guns showed that other ships were +present. The crowds on the shore watched two British destroyers +and two submarines, which had been lying in the harbor, put out +after the German force. The latter by that time had started off, +dropping in its wake a number of floating mines. This strategy +resulted in the loss of the submarine _D-5_, which hit one of the +mines and sank immediately. The German cruiser _Yorck_ was claimed +by the British to have hit a mine also, with the result that she +sank and carried down with her some 300 of her crew. This was denied +later by the German admiralty, and like all such controversies +must remain a secret with the officials of both Governments. + +Judged by material effects, this raid was a failure. But in view of +the fact that the Germans had shown that a squadron could actually +elude the large number of British warships patrolling the North +Sea, and was actually able to strike at the British coast, it was +a moral victory for Germany. + +"We must see clearly that in order to fight with success we must +fight ruthlessly, in the proper meaning of the word." These were the +words of Count Reventlow, when he heard the news of the defeat of +the German squadron commanded by Von Spee off the Falkland Islands. +As a result, and in revenge for this defeat, the German admiralty +planned a second raid on the coast towns of England. The towns chosen +for attack this time were Hartlepool, Scarborough, and Whitby. The +first of these was a city of 100,000 persons, and its principal +business was shipbuilding. Scarborough was nothing more than a +seaside resort, to which each summer and at Christmas were attracted +thousands of Englishmen who sought to spend their vacations near the +water. Whitby, though it had some attractions for holiday crowds, +such as a quaint cathedral, was at most nothing more than a home +port for a number of fishing boats. + +It was claimed later by the Germans that these three towns, according +to the accepted definitions in international law, were fortified +ports, and consequently open to attack by hostile forces. In reply +the British claimed that there was nothing in any of the three +which could bring them into that category. This controversy is +still another which must remain undecided. There is, however, the +fact that the information which the German Government had obtained +about them, and which it made public, must necessarily have been +less comprehensive than that supplied to the world at large by +the British authorities. Guidebooks, as well as tourists who have +visited the place, reported that an old castle stood in Scarborough +which in past centuries had been a fort, but which at the outbreak +of the war was nothing more than a show place. The only gun in +place at the castle was an obsolete piece that had seen service +in the Crimean War. Whitby, in times of peace, at least, had not +even such "armament." + +It was on the 16th of December, 1914, that this second raid took +place. Over the North Sea there hung a light mist. The German admiralty +did not afterward make public the names of the cruisers which +participated in this expedition, but they are believed to have been +the _Derfflinger, Blücher, Von der Tann, Seydlitz_, and _Graudenz_. +It was at eight o'clock in the morning that the residents of the +three English towns first heard the booming of the German guns, +and coast guards near by were able, with the aid of very strong +glasses, to make out the hulls of the attacking cruisers some miles +out to sea. It was not thought possible that the Germans could +again elude the British ships on patrol in these waters, and the +guards therefore thought that the firing came from ships flying the +Union Jack and tried to signal to them. But they came to realize +the truth when they received no answering signals. + +As it was not known but that the Germans would make an attempt +to land, the guards in the obsolete fort at Hartlepool took their +positions and two small patrol boats in the harbor made ready to +give what resistance they could. These, the _Doon_ and the _Hardy_, +drew the fire of the German guns, and, seeing it was impossible to +withstand the German fire, they made off and escaped. This time +the Germans were better informed about the conditions they dealt +with, and evidently had no fear of mines, for they came to within +two miles of the shore. The forts on shore were bombarded and private +houses near by were hit by German shells, killing two women who +lived in one of them. The forts tried to reply to the German guns, +but those of the English battery were by no means modern, and firing +them only served to further convince the Germans that the place +was fortified; they inflicted no damage on the German ships. + +The lighthouse was the next target chosen by the Germans, one of +their shells going right through it, but leaving it standing. Within +fifty minutes 1,500 German shells were fired into the town and harbor. +While two of the three cruisers which were engaged in bombarding +drew off further to sea and fired at Hartlepool, the third remained +to finish the battery on shore, but in spite of the fact that it +was subjected to long and heavy firing, it was not so terribly +damaged. Many of the shells from the other two ships went over +the towns entirely and buried themselves in the countryside that +heretofore had been turned up only by the peaceful plow. Other shells +did havoc in the business and residential sections of Hartlepool +and West Hartlepool, bringing down buildings and killing civilians +in them as well as on the streets. + +At about the same hour the coast guards near Scarborough reported +the approach of foreign ships off the coast, and then telephoned +that the strangers were German cruisers and that they had begun +to bombard the town. A German shell destroyed the shed from which +the telephone message had come and the warnings from it ceased. +It was seen by those on shore that the attack here was being made +by four ships, two of them cruisers and two of them mine layers, +only 800 yards out in the water. This time they were not handicapped +by the fact that they had to stand out so far from shore, and it +was a surprise to the natives to see ships of such draft come so +close to land--a fact which convinced the British authorities that +spies had been at work since the first raid, sending to the German +admiralty either charts or detailed descriptions of the region. + +The castle was badly damaged by their fire; the town itself came +next, the Grand Hotel coming in for its share of destruction. They +did little injury to a wireless station in the suburbs, but hit +quite a number of residences, the gas and water works. + +Half an hour afterward the two cruisers which had fired upon Scarborough +appeared off Whitby and began to fire at the signal station there. +In the ten minutes that the bombardment of Whitby lasted some 200 +shells fell into the place. This time the fact that the German +ships came close to the shore worked against them, for there are +high cliffs close to the water at the spot and it was necessary +for the German gunners to use a high angle, which did not give them +much chance to be accurate. The German ships next turned seaward +and made for their home ports. + +The scenes enacted in the three towns during the bombardment and +afterwards were tragic. Considering the fact, however, that the +persons under fire were civilians, many of them women and children, +their coolness was remarkable. They did not know what should be +done, for the thought of bombardment was the last thing that had +come into the minds of the authorities when England went to war, +and as a result no instructions for such an emergency had been +issued by the authorities. Some thought it best to stay within +doors, some thought it best to go into the streets. In Hartlepool +a large crowd gathered in the railway station, some fully dressed, +some only in night clothes. + +Many of the women carried babies in their arms and were followed +by older children who clung to their skirts. Policemen led this +crowd out of the station and started them along a street which +would bring them out into the country, but while they were passing +the library they were showered by the stone work as it fell when hit +by the German shells. One shell, striking the street itself, killed +three of the six children who were fleeing along it in company with +their mother. Many other persons met deaths as tragic either within +their own homes or on the streets. St. Mary's Catholic Church as well +as the Church of St. Hilda were damaged, as were the shipyards and +the office of the local newspaper. The destruction of the gas works +left the town in almost complete darkness for many nights afterward. +The authorities issued a proclamation ordering all citizens to +remain indoors for a time, and then began to count the number of +dead and injured. The first estimate gave the former as 22 and the +latter as 50, but subsequent reckoning showed that both figures +were too low. + +In Scarborough most of the inhabitants were still in bed when the +bombardment started and for a few minutes did not become excited, +thinking the booming of the guns was the sound of thunder. But when +the shells began to drop on their houses they knew better. Many were +killed or wounded while they hastily got into their clothes. One +shell hit St. Martin's Church while communion was being held. Here, +too, the railway station was made the objective of many refugees, +and the police did what they could to send the women and children +out of range of fire by putting them on trains of extra length. +As in all such scenes there were humorous sides to it. One old +workman, while hurrying along a street was heard to say: "This is +what comes of having a Liberal Government." In all, about 6,000 +people left the town immediately and did not return for some days. + +Similar were the scenes enacted in Whitby when the turn of that +town came. Only two persons were killed in that town, while thirteen +casualties were reported from Scarborough. + +The raid immediately became the subject for discussion in the newspapers +of every country on the globe. In England it was bitterly denounced, +and the term "baby killers" was applied to the men of the German +navy. In Germany it was justified on the ground that the German +admiralty had information and proof that the bombarded cities were +fortified, and therefore, under international law, subject to +bombardment. Nor did the German journalists lose the opportunity +to declare that Great Britain no longer ruled the waves nor to +show pride over the fact that their fleet had successfully left +the German coast and had successfully returned to its home port. +The war, they said--and truthfully--had been brought to England's +door. + +The year 1914 ended gloomily for the British public; nothing could +have disappointed them more than the failure to catch the Germans. +Nor did the new year open brightly for Britain, for on the first +day of January, 1915, there came the news of disaster to the +_Formidable_, sister ship to the _Bulwark_. The lesson of the _Hogue, +Cressy_, and _Aboukir_ had not been learned, for this ship went +down under the same circumstances. While patrolling near Torbay +during a night on which there was a bright moon and a calm sea, +this ship, in company with seven other large ships unaccompanied by +a "screen" of destroyers, was hit by a torpedo fired from a German +submarine. Most of her crew were asleep when the torpedo struck and +damaged the engine room so much that no lights could be turned +on. In the darkness they hurried to the deck, which was slanting +from her list. In obedience to orders issued by the admiralty after +the sinking of the _Cressy_ and the ships with her, the rest of +the fleet immediately sailed away from the scene, so that no more +of them would be hit. Only a light cruiser stood by the sinking +_Formidable_. A second torpedo struck her and this had the effect +of letting water into her hold on the side which was slowly coming +out of the water. She took a position with even keel after that, +and this fact enabled most of her crew to get off safely before +she sank. + +Once more the Germans were to attempt a raid on the coast cities +of England. The date of this third attempt was January 24, 1915. +This time the British were a bit better prepared, for a squadron +of battle cruisers, consisting of the _Lion, Tiger, Princess Royal, +New Zealand_, and _Indomitable_, put out from a port in the north +of England at about the same time that the Germans left their base. +All of these ships, with the exception of the last named, were +quite fast, having speeds of from 25 to 28.5 knots; they were at +the same time carrying heavy armament--13.5-inch guns in the main +batteries. In company with them went four cruisers of what is known in +England as the "town class"; these were the _Nottingham, Birmingham, +Lowestoft_, and _Southampton_, together with the three light cruisers +_Arethusa, Aurora_, and _Undaunted_, and a squadron of destroyers. +The German fleet which was engaged in this raid consisted of the +_Seydlitz, Moltke, Derfflinger_, and _Blücher_, in company with +a fleet of destroyers. The German ships were not quite as fast +as the English ships, nor did they carry guns of such range or +destructive power as their British opponents. + +Early in the first hours of January 24, these two forces, unknown +to each other were steaming head on, the Germans taking a course +leading northwest and the English a course leading southeast. At +twenty minutes past seven in the morning the _Aurora_ first sighted +the enemy and engaged him immediately with her two 6-inch guns, +sending at the same time word of her discovery to Admiral Beatty. +Admiral Hipper, the German commander, as soon as he knew the enemy +had sighted him, turned about and started to steam in a southeasterly +direction. + +In view of the results of this battle, it is best to go into the matter +of the tactics involved. Tactics may be of two kinds--spontaneous or +premeditated. When two hostile fleets meet on the high sea far from +the base of either, the object of each is the complete destruction of +the other, and the tactics employed are spontaneous. Such an action +was that off Coronel. But on a closed sea such as the North Sea +spontaneous tactics can rarely be used, for the reason that naval +bases are too near, and from these there may slyly come reenforcements +to one or the other or to both of the fighting fleets, making the +arrangement of traps an easy matter. This is particularly true +of the North Sea, on which it is possible for a fleet to leave +Cuxhaven early in the evening and to be at Scarborough early the +following morning. In addition, sailing is restricted because an +unusually large portion of its waters is too shallow to permit +of the passage of large ships. + +The Germans on this occasion had arranged a trap. They knew that +after making two successful raids on the English coast the British +would keep even a closer watch for them. When they sailed from +their base, it was with the expectation of meeting a hostile force, +as was undoubtedly their expectation on the first two raids. But +they did not intend to fight matters out on high waters. What they +wanted to do was to get the British involved in a good running +engagement, steering a southeasterly course the while and luring +the British ships within striking force of a waiting fleet of +superdreadnoughts and perhaps land guns and mines. This explains +why Admiral Hipper turned stern as soon as he got into touch with +the enemy. + +There was a distance of fourteen miles between the two fleets when +the _Lion_ got her heavy guns into action. The German line was off +her port (left) bow. At the head of that line was the _Moltke_, +and following her came the _Seydlitz, Derfflinger, Blücher_, and the +destroyers in the order given. At the head of the British line was +the _Lion_, followed by the _Tiger, Princess Royal, New Zealand_, +and _Indomitable_ in the order named. The other cruisers and the +destroyers of the British fleet brought up the rear. In the chase +which followed the Germans were handicapped by the fact that the +_Blücher_ was far too slow to be brought into action, which meant that +either the other ships must leave her behind to certain destruction +or that they must slow down to keep with her. They chose the latter +course, while her stokers did their best to increase her speed. In +the English fleet there was the same trouble with the _Indomitable_, +but inasmuch as the British were the pursuers and had a preponderance +in ships and in the range of their guns, this did not matter so +much to them. But the stokers of the _Indomitable_ worked as hard, +if not harder, than those of the _Blücher_. + +By half past nine the two forces were seven miles apart and the +battle was on. It is necessary here to give certain facts about +gunnery on a large modern battleship. Firing at a range of seven +miles means a test of mathematics rather than of the mere matter of +pointing guns. At that distance the target--the ship to be hit--is +barely visible on the sky line on the clearest and calmest sea. If a +hole the size of the head of a pin be made in a piece of cardboard +and the latter he held about a foot and a half from the eye, the +distant ship will just about fill the hole. + +The guns on the modern battleships are not "laid"; that is, they +are not aimed as were the cannon of past days or the rifle of today. +It is set toward its target by two factors. The first is known as +"traverse," which means how far to the left or right it must be +pointed in a horizontal plane. The second factor is "elevation"--how +far up or down it must be pointed in a vertical plane. The latter +factor determines how far it will throw its projectile, and up to +a certain point the higher the gun is pointed the further will +go the shell. A certain paradox seems to enter here. It is a fact +that a distant ship presents a target more easily hit if its bow +or stern is toward the gunner. If it presents a broadside there +is the danger that the shells will go either beyond the ship or +will fall short of it, for the greatest beam on a warship is not +much more than 90 feet. If the bow or stern is toward the gunner +he has a chance of landing a shell on any part of the 600 or more +feet of the ship's length. The first firing in a battle at a distance +is known as "straddling," by which is meant that a number of shots +are sent simultaneously, some falling short, some falling beyond +the target, and some hitting it. + +The man who really "aims" the gun never sees what he is shooting at. +At some point of vantage on his ship one of the officers observes the +enemy and reports to the chief gunner the distance, the direction, +and the effect of the first shots. The gunnery officer then makes +certain calculations, taking into consideration the speed of his +own ship and the speed of the enemy ship. He knows that at a given +moment his target will be at a given point. He knows also just how +fast his shells will travel and makes calculations that enable him +to place a shell at that point at just the right second. In this +battle the shells of the British ship took about twenty seconds +to go from the mouths of the guns to the German hulls. And they +made a curve at the highest point of which they reached a distance +of more than two miles; and most wonderful of all was the fact +that at the beginning of the firing a man standing on the deck +of one of the German ships could not even see the ship which was +firing the shells at her, though the weather was very clear. + +By a quarter to ten o'clock the _Lion_ had come up with and had +passed the slow _Blücher_, firing broadsides into her as she went +by. The _Tiger_ then passed the unfortunate German ship, also letting +her have a heavy fire, and then the _Princess Royal_ did likewise. +Finally the _New Zealand_ was able to engage her and later even +the slow _Indomitable_ got near enough to do so. By that time the +_Blücher_ was afire and one of her gun turrets, with its crew and +gun, had been swept off bodily by a British shell. + +Meanwhile the _Lion, Tiger_, and _Princess Royal_ kept straight +ahead till they were able to "straddle" even the leading ship of +the enemy's line. The _Tiger_ and _Lion_ poured shells into the +_Seydlitz_, but were unable to do much damage to the _Moltke_. +While they were thus engaged the _Princess Royal_ singled out the +_Derfftinger_ for her target. The light British cruiser _Aurora, +Arethusa_, and _Undaunted_ were far ahead of the rest of the British +fleet and were firing at the _Moltke_, but thick black smoke which +poured from their funnels as their engines were speeded up got +between the gunners of the _Lion_ and their target, the _Moltke_, +completely obscuring the latter. As a result the three light British +cruisers were ordered to slow down and to take positions to the +rear. + +By eleven o'clock there were fires raging on both the _Seydlitz_ +and the _Derfftinger_, and Admiral Hipper decided to try to save +his larger ships by sacrificing the destroyers that accompanied +them. Consequently the German destroyers put their bows right toward +the large British ships and charged, but the fire which they drew +was too much for them and they gave up this maneuver. + +The British destroyer _Meteor_, which had been maintaining a perilous +position between the battleships, then attempted to torpedo the +_Blücher_, which had fallen far to the rearward to be abandoned by +the rest of the German fleet. Badly damaged as the _Blücher_ was, +the crew of one of her guns managed to get in some final shots, +one of them nearly ending the career of the British destroyer. The +_Arethusa_ had also come up and prepared to launch a torpedo. Cruiser +and destroyer torpedoed her at about the same moment, and later, +while within 200 yards of the sinking German ship the _Arethusa_ +sent another torpedo at her. She now began to list, although not +greatly damaged, on her port side till her keel showed. Her crew +showed remarkable bravery. + +The men lined up as though at a review and began to sing the German +national airs, intending to go to their deaths in that formation. But +an officer on the _Arethusa_ shouted to them through a megaphone to +jump while they could to save their lives. This had a psychological +effect, and as the starboard side of her hull slowly came up her men +were seen scrambling on it from behind her taff rail and creeping +down toward her keel. Some of them almost walked into the water +while she was in that position. Her guns were pointing toward the +sky, one of them slowly revolving. Finally, when she was completely +upside down she went under. Many of her crew were picked up by +British small boats, and her captain, who was one of them, was taken +to England, where he died later from the results of this experience +and was buried with full naval honors. + +The German destroyers had meanwhile come between their own cruisers +and those of the enemy and emitted volumes of heavy smoke, which +they hoped would form an effective screen between the former and +the gunners on the latter. Admiral Hipper then ordered all of his +ships to turn northward, in the hope of getting away behind this +screen, but the British admiral anticipated this maneuver and changed +the course of his ships so that he again had the German ships in +view after both fleets had driven through the smoke. + +The _Lion_ of the British fleet was chosen as the target for the +German ships, and by keeping a concentrated fire upon her were +able to do considerable damage. One shell penetrated the bow of +the _Lion_ as it was partly lifted out of the water on account +of the great speed she was making; this shot hit her water tank +and made it impossible for her to use her port engine from that +time on. She slowed down. When she fell out of the line it was +necessary for Admiral Beatty to leave her, and he transferred his +flag to the destroyer _Attack_. But all of this took time and it +was quite long before he was able to rejoin his leading ships. By +twenty minutes past twelve he had got aboard the _Princess Royal_. + +Rear Admiral Moore automatically took up command of the British +fleet while his senior officer was making these changes. It is +not known what Admiral Moore's orders had been, but it is known +that he suddenly ordered all ships to cease firing and allowed +the German warships to proceed without further engaging them. By +the time that Admiral Beatty was again on a battle cruiser the +action was virtually over. The _Indomitable_ passed a cable to the +crippled _Lion_ and towed the latter home, the rest of the British +fleet keeping to the rearward to be ready for possible resumption +of fighting. + +Much criticism was made by the British press and by laymen on account +of the sudden termination of the fight, and there was great complaint +in England because the career of all the raiding German ships had not +been brought to an end. But when the engagement ended the opposing +fleets were within seventy miles of Helgoland, and the German admiralty +had ready a fleet of dreadnoughts and another of battle cruisers to +engage the British ships when they got within striking distance. +By ending the fight when he did the British commander chose not to +be led into this trap. Nor was there dissatisfaction in England +alone. In Germany the complaint was that the ruse had not worked, +and not long afterward Admiral von Ingenohl was replaced as commander +of the High Sea Fleet by Admiral von Pohl. None of the blame for +the failure was laid at the door of the officer who had actually +been engaged in the fighting--Admiral Hipper--which showed that +his senior officers had considered the engagement as part of a +larger action. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XL + +RESULTS OF SIX MONTHS' NAVAL OPERATIONS + +The first six months of naval operations in the Great War came to +a close without battle between the main fleets of the navies of +the warring nations. The British navy had kept open communication +with the Continent, allowing the Expeditionary Force, as well as +later military contingents, to get to the trenches in Flanders +and France. It had, in addition, made possible the transportation +of troops from Canada and Australia. The ports of France were open +for commerce with America, which permitted the importation of arms +and munitions, and the same privilege had been won for the ports +in the British Isles. + +The northern ports of the Central Powers were closed to commerce +with all but the Scandinavian countries, and the oversea German +possessions, where they were accessible to naval attack, had been +taken from her. The German and Austrian flags had been swept from +the seven seas, with the exception of those on three or four German +cruisers that now and then showed themselves capable of sinking +a merchantman. + +In the four engagements of importance which had been fought by the +end of January, 1915, the British had been the victors in three--the +battles of the Bight of Helgoland, the Falkland Islands, and the +third German raid of January 24, 1915--the Germans had been victors +in one--the fight off Coronel. + +British and other allied ships were unable to inflict damage on +the coast defenses of Germany, but the latter in two successful +raids had been able to bombard British coast towns, offsetting +in a way the loss of over-sea dominions. + +[Illustration: SEA FIGHTS AND THE CRUISES OF GERMAN RAIDERS + +THE EMDEN AND THE SYDNEY. FALKLAND AND NORTH SEA BATTLES. SEARCHLIGHTS. +SUBMARINES. WRECKS. SHIPPING ARTILLERY + +Among the modern inventions which insure a battleship's efficiency +is the searchlight, which must sweep not only the sea but the sky +to find the enemy] + +[Illustration: The German steamer "Walküre" sunk in the harbor of +Papeete, Tahiti, when the German cruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" +shelled the town] + +[Illustration: The Australian cruiser "Sydney" which caught and +destroyed the raider "Emden" near the Cocos Islands] + +[Illustration: The famous German raider "Emden" beached on one of +the Cocos Islands after being wrecked by the "Sydney's" shells] + +[Illustration: Rescuing drowning sailors after the naval battle +near the Falkland islands, in which the "Scharnhorst," "Gneisenau," +"Nurnberg" and "Leipzig" were sunk] + +[Illustration: Canadian soldiers shipping a rapid-fire gun, on +embarking at Montreal for England, to take their part in the Great +War] + +[Illustration: The interior of a submarine, showing torpedo tubes +and batteries. The flooring which covers the batteries has been +removed] + +[Illustration: The German cruiser "Blücher" turning on her side +as she sank in the North Sea battle of January 24, 1915. The other +vessels of the German squadron escaped] + +Great Britain, after six months of naval warfare had lost three +battleships, the _Bulwark, Formidable_, and _Audacious_;[*] the +five armored cruisers _Aboukir, Cressy, Hogue, Monmouth_, and _Good +Hope_; the second-class cruisers _Hawke_ and _Hermes_; the two +third-class cruisers _Amphion_ and _Pegasus_; the protected scout +_Pathfinder_ and the converted liner _Oceanic_; losses in destroyers +and other small vessels were negligible. + +[Footnote *: The British admiralty did not clear up the mystery +of her disaster.] + +Germany had lost no first-class battleships, but in third-class +cruisers her loss was great, those that went down being the eleven +ships _Ariadne, Augsburg, Emden, Graudenz, Hela, Köln, Königsberg, +Leipzig, Nürnberg, Magdeburg, Mainz_, and the _Dresden_; she lost, +also, the four armored cruisers _Blücher, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau_, +and _Yorck_; the old cruiser _Geier_ (interned); the three converted +liners _Spreewald, Cap Trafalgar_, and _Kaiser Wilhelm_; and the +mine layer _Königin Luise_. + +The German policy of attrition had not taken off as many ships +as had been lost by Germany herself, and, as England's ships so +far outnumbered her own, it may well be said that the "whittling" +policy was not successful. She made up for this by having still +at large the cruiser _Karlsruhe_ which damaged a great amount of +commerce, and by the exploits of her submarines, far outshining +those of the Allies. + +Russia had lost the armored cruiser _Pallada_, and the _Jemchug_, +a third-class cruiser, and the losses of the French and Austrian +navies were not worth accounting. With regard to interned vessels +both sides had losses. While the Germans were unable to use the +great modern merchantmen which lay in American and other ports, and +had to do without them either as converted cruisers or transports, +the Allies were forced to detail warships to keep guard at the +entrance of the various ports where these interned German liners +might at any moment take to the high seas. + +In naval warfare the number of ships lost is no determining factor in +figuring the actual victory--the important thing being the existence +or nonexistence of the grand fleets of the combatants after the +fighting is finished. Viewed from such an angle, the fact that +the Allies had left no German ships at large other than those in +the North Sea, cannot entitle them to victory at the end of the +first six months of war. So long as a German fleet remained intact +and interned in neutral ports, naval victory for the Allies had +not come, though naval supremacy was indicated. + +The fact was apparent, moreover, that while the Central Powers +were being deprived of all their trade on the seas, the world's +commerce endangered only by submarines was remaining wide open +to the Allies. + + + + +PART III--THE WAR ON THE EASTERN FRONT + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XLI + +GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE THEATRE OF WARFARE + +World war--the prophecy of the ages--now threatened the foundations +of civilization. Whether or not the modern era was to fall under +the sword, as did the democracy of Greece and the mighty Roman +Empire, was again to be decided on battle grounds that for seventy +centuries have devoured the generations. The mountain passes were +once more to reverberate with the battle cry--the roar of guns, +the clank of artillery, the tramp of soldiery. The rivers were +to run crimson with the blood of men; cities were to fall before +the invaders; ruin and death were to consume nations. It was as +though Xerxes, and Darius, and Alexander the Great, and Hannibal, +and all the warriors of old were to return to earth to lead again +gigantic armies over the ancient battle fields. + +While the war was gaining momentum on the western battle grounds +of Europe, gigantic armies were gathering in the East--there to +wage mighty campaigns that were to hold in the balance the destiny +of the great Russian Empire; the empire of Austria, the Balkan +kingdoms-Serbia, Montenegro, Rumania, Bulgaria. The Turks were +again to enter upon a war of invasion. Greece once more was to +tremble under the sword. Even Egypt and Persia and Jerusalem itself, +the battle grounds of the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Trojans, +the bloody fields of paganism and early Christianity, were all to +be awakened by the modern trumpets of war. + +Before we enter upon these campaigns in the East it is well to +survey the countries to be invaded, to review the battle lines and +travel in these pages over the fighting ground. + +The eastern theatre in the first six months of the war, from August +4, 1914, to February 1, 1915, includes the scenes of the fighting +in the historic Balkans and in the Caucasus. But the eastern front +proper is really that region where the Teutonic allies and the +Russians opposed each other, forming a fighting line almost a thousand +miles long. It stretches from rugged old Riga on the shores of the +Baltic Sea in the far north, down through Poland to the Carpathian +Mountains, touching the warm, sunlit hills on the Rumanian frontier. +When the total losses of the Great War are finally counted it will +probably be found that here the heaviest fighting has occurred. + +This is the longest battle line in the world's history. Partly on +account of its great length, and partly because of the nature of +the country, we see the two gigantic forces in this region locked +together in their deadly struggle, swaying back and forth, first +one giving way, then the other. This was especially the case in +the northern section, along the German-Russian frontier. + +[Illustration: THE WAR IN THE EAST--THE RELATION OF THE EASTERN +COUNTRIES TO GERMANY] + +As we view the armies marshaling along this upper section, along +the Baltic shore, southward, including part of East Prussia as well +as Baltic Russia, we look upon the ancient abode of the Lithuanians, +supposed to be the first of the Slavic tribes to appear in Europe. +Hardly any part of Europe has a more forbidding aspect than this +region. There the armies must pass over a flat, undulating country, +almost as low in level as the Baltic, and therefore occupied in large +part by marshes and lagoons through which they must struggle. In +all parts the soil is unproductive. At one time it was a universal +forest: thick, dark, and dank. A century ago, however, Catherine the +Great distributed large areas of this comparatively worthless land +among her favorites and courtiers. In this way a certain percentage +was reclaimed, and with the incoming of the sunlight more favorable +conditions for human life were established. Yet even now it is +very thinly settled. + +Through this region the armies must cross big rivers: the Oder, Dvina, +Warthe, Vistula, Pregel, and Niemen, northward and northeastward. +Just above or eastward of that point, where the German-Russian +frontier touches the shore, the Baltic curls into a dent, 100 miles +deep, forming the Gulf of Riga. Near the southern extremity of +this gulf, eight miles from the mouth of the Dvina, is the city +of Riga, ranking second only to Petrograd in commercial importance +as a seaport, and with a population of about 300,000. + +As the armies move across the frontier they come to a vast domain +projecting into this marsh country, like a great, broad tongue +licking the shore of the Baltic; this wide strip of German territory +is East Prussia--a country to be beleaguered. Not far below the +tip of this tongue, about five miles from the mouth of the Pregel +River in the Frische Haff, and about twenty-five miles from the +seacoast, is situated another embattled stronghold--the city of +Königsberg which, since 1843, has been a fortress of the first +rank. These two cities in the following pages will be the immediate +objectives of the enemy forces operating on this section of the +eastern front. + +It will be obvious why the lines of battle were less permanently +fixed here than in the more solid and mountainous sections of northern +France. Railroads and fairly well-laid highways do indeed traverse +these swamps in various parts, especially in German territory, +but trenches could not be dug in yielding mire. In yet another +feature were the military operations hampered by the nature of the +terrain here; the use of heavy artillery. + +We have seen that one of the chief causes of success attending +German attacks in the other theatres of the war has been their +use of heavy guns. But in the fighting before Riga, we shall see +when the Germans seemed on the point of taking that city their +heavy artillery was so handicapped that it was rendered practically +useless. Being restricted by the marshes to an attack over a +comparatively narrow front, they were compelled to leave their +heavy guns behind on firmer soil. The guns which they could take +with them were matched by the Russians; the fighting was, therefore, +almost entirely limited to infantry engagements, in which the Russians +were not inferior to the Germans. Thus, we shall find the German +advance on Riga was stopped before it could attain its object. + +In studying the fighting in this part of the eastern front, it +will be seen why the Germans were more successful below Riga, and +why the Russians were compelled to evacuate Vilna. Here is a broad +rise, something like the back of a half-submerged submarine, which +seems to cross the country, where the land becomes more solid. The +armies must move, instead of through marshes, along innumerable +small lakes, most of the lakes being long and narrow and running +north and south, with a fairly thick growth of timber among them, +mostly pine and spruce and fir. In character this section is rather +similar to parts of Minnesota. There are two cities to be conquered +in this drier region, Dvinsk, and, further south, Vilna, once the +chief city or capital of the Lithuanians. We shall see the Russians +thrust back from Königsberg, and the heavy fighting shifted over +to this section; yet even here, where the huge guns of the Germans +could find footing, the terrain was not suited to trench warfare, +and every arrival of reenforcements on either side would swing +the lines back or forth. + +In studying the military movements in a country of this character, +special attention must be paid to the railway lines. Railways, and +more especially those running parallel to the fronts, are absolutely +necessary to success. In looking, therefore, for a key to the object +of any particular movement, the first step must be a close study +of this railroad situation. + +We find from Riga to the fortress of Rovno there is a continuous +line of railroad, running generally north and south and passing +through Dvinsk, Vilna, Lida, Rovno, and thence down through Poland +to Lemberg. Every effort of the Russian armies in the succeeding +chapters will be made to keep to the westward of and parallel to +this line, and for a very good reason. + +Feeding into this great north and south artery are the branch lines +from Petrograd to Dvinsk; from Moscow to the junction at Baranovitschi; +from Kiev to Sarny. Aside from these three important branch lines, +there are a few other single-track offshoots, but from a military +point of view they are of no importance. + +This line was the main objective (short of capturing Riga itself) +of the German operations. This line proves especially vital to +the Russians, for nowhere east of it is there another such line +which could be used for the same purpose. + +If, in the campaigns to be described, this railroad falls into Russian +hands, it gives every facility for strengthening or reenforcing any +part of the Russian front where German pressure becomes excessive. It +is, in addition, a solution to the difficult problem of transportation +of supplies. To use a military term, it gives the Russian army a +mobility not possessed by the enemy because of a lack of similar +facilities. + +But should this railroad be taken by the Germans, the advantage +would immediately be reversed. And if once the Russian lines were +driven back beyond the railroad, a division of their forces would be +forced upon them; their armies would be obliged to group themselves +beside the three east and west branches already mentioned, for only +by these three systems could their forces be supplied, lateral +communications being absolutely lacking. And this is the key to +the fighting, not only in the northern section of the front, but +all along the line, down to Galicia. Naturally, only the Russian +railroads need be considered, for in the first months of the war +the Germans are the invaders in the northern half of the eastern +front, except for a few short periods in the beginning. Compared +to the German railway lines near the frontier, the Russian lines +are very few. + +There are two distinct railway lines running from Germany into +East Prussia, with innumerable branches leading to all points of +the Russian frontier, laid especially for military purposes. It +was along these that we shall witness the German forces rushed from +Belgium to drive back the first Russian advance. But, of course, the +moment the Germans enter Russian territory they have no advantage +over the Russians, since even their wonderful efficiency does not +enable them to build railroads as fast as an army can advance. +Hence, we observe their efforts to gain possession of the Russian +railroads. + +We come now to the central part of the eastern front. Here, just +below East Prussia, Russian Poland projects into German territory +in a great salient, about 200 miles wide and 250 long, resembling +a huge bite in shape. + +This land is a monotonous, wind-swept plain, slightly undulating, +its higher parts not even 500 feet above sea level. To the northward +and eastward it descends gradually into the still lower lands of +East Prussia and White Russia, but in the south it lifts into the +foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. + +Gigantic armies are to move over this plateau, timbered in parts +with oak, beech, and lime, and in some sections deeply cut by small +rivers and streams forming fissures, some narrow and craggy, others +broad and sloping with marshy bottoms. Toward the south the soldiers +must cross narrow ravines in all directions, often covered with wild, +thick undergrowth. The chief river is the Vistula, which enters +by the southern boundary and flows first north, then northwest, +skirting the plateau region at a height of 700 feet, finally making +its exit near Thorn, thence on to the Baltic through East Prussia. +Its valley divides the hilly tracts into two parts: Lublin heights +in the east and the Sedomierz heights to the westward. Picture +in your mind the great armies approaching these ridges, the most +notable of which is the Holy Cross Mountains, rising peaks almost +2,000 feet above sea level. + +The fighting forces in the northeast, where the plain slopes gradually +into the Suwalki Province, must pass over a country dotted with lakes +and lagoons, which farther on take on the character of marshes, +stagnant ponds, peat bogs, with small streams flowing lazily from one +to the other. Here and there are patches of stunted pine forests, +with occasional stretches of fertile, cultivated soil. Throughout +this section many rivers flow along broad, level valleys, separating +into various branches which form many islands and, during the rainy +seasons, flood the surrounding country. + +Farther west the armies pass through broad valleys or basins, once +the beds of great lakes, whose rich, alluvial soil give forth abundant +crops of cereals. Here, too, flows the Niemen, 500 miles in length, +watering a basin 40,000 square miles in area and separating Poland +from Lithuania. It advances northward in a great, winding pathway, +between limestone hills covered with loam or amid forests, its +banks rising to high eminences in places, past ruined castles built +in the Middle Ages. In the yellowish soil along its banks grow +rich crops of oats, buckwheat, corn, and some rye. Naturally such +a section would be thickly populated, not only on account of the +fertile soil, but because the Niemen, like the Vistula, is one of +the country's means of communication and transportation. As many +as 90,000 men earn their livelihoods in navigating the steamers +and freight barges passing up and down this great waterway. At +Yurburg the Niemen enters East Prussia on its way to the Baltic. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XLII + +THE STRATEGIC VALUE OF RUSSIAN POLAND + +It is in the southern part of Russian Poland, among the foothills +of the Carpathians, that the armies come into possession of its +mineral resources, a fact which will have some influence on the +German military movements in this region. Up in the Kielce hills +copper has been mined for 400 years, though the value of these +mines has decreased on account of the much greater quantity found +in America. A hundred years ago the Kielce mines produced nearly +4,000 tons of copper a year. Brown iron ore is also found here +in deposits 40 per cent pure, while there are also veins of zinc +sometimes 50 feet thick, yielding ore of 25 per cent purity. Sulphur, +one of the ingredients for the manufacture of explosives, is found +at Czarkowa in the district of Pinczow. In the southwest, in Bedzin +and Olkuz, there are coal deposits about 200 square miles in area. +In the southern districts wheat is also grown in some abundance. + +The military value of this country is further enhanced by political +conditions. Like the greater part of Galicia to the southward, it +is peopled by the Poles, who form one of the important branches +of the great Slavic family. At one time Poland was a kingdom whose +territory and possessions spread from the Carpathians up to the +Baltic and far into the center of Russia, ruling its subject peoples +with quite as much rigor as the Poles have themselves been ruled +by Russia and Germany. + +Poland is a seat of conquest in the Great War. For not much over +a hundred years ago what remained of this old kingdom was divided +among the three great powers: Prussia, Austria, and Russia. Austria, +on the whole, has been much the best master. Germany tried in various +ways to Germanize her subjects in German Poland, thereby rousing +their bitter hatred. Russia was no less autocratic in attempting +to extinguish the spirit of nationality among the Poles under her +rule. But, naturally, the fact remains that between the Poles and +the Russians there are still ties of blood. In moving westward, +by this route Russia would be moving among a race who, in spite +of all they had suffered at the hands of the Czar, still would +naturally prefer Slav to Teuton. + +We shall soon stand with the invading armies in the center of Russian +Poland, and enter the great city of Warsaw. This conquered citadel +with more than 400,000 inhabitants, is situated on the Vistula. +It was, next to Paris, the most brilliant city of Europe in the +early part of last century. But under Russian influence it became a +provincial town in spirit, if not in size. It once had the character +of prodigal splendor; within late years it became a forlorn, neglected +city, not the least effort being made by the Russian authorities to +modernize its appearance and improvement. From a sanitary point +of view it became one of the least progressive cities of Europe. +And yet, as the armies march into the capital, there are still +signs of the city's past glory: over thirty palaces rear their +lofty turrets above the tile roofs of the houses, among them the +palace of the long-dead Polish kings. + +However, from a military point of view, Warsaw maintained great +importance in the Great War. It is at this time one of the strongest +citadels of Europe, and around it lies the group of fortresses +called the Polish Triangle. The southern apex is Ivangorod on the +Vistula; the eastern, Brest-Litovsk; the northern being Warsaw +itself. To the northwest lies the advanced fort of Novo Georgievsk. +This triangle is a fortified region with three fronts: two toward +Germany and one toward Austria, and the various forts are fully +connected by means of railroads. + +It would appear, therefore, that Russian Poland would offer excellent +conditions for an army on the defensive. And this is quite true, the +Vistula, especially, serving as a screen against the attacking armies +from the west. As a matter of fact, it would have been extremely +difficult to take Warsaw by a frontal attack. Warsaw's weakness +lay in the north in the swamp regions. + +One of the greatest dangers in all wars, against which a military +commander has to guard his army, is that of being flanked. The road +or roads leading from the rear to the base of supplies, along which +not only food supplies for the soldiers, but, quite as important, +ammunition, is brought up, either in wagons, automobiles, or in +railroad trains, are the most sensitive part of an army's situation. +Unless they are very short--that is, unless an army is very close +to its base of supplies--it is impossible to guard these lines +of communication adequately. Therefore, if the enemy is able to +break through on either side of the front, there is great danger +that he may swing his forces around and cut these lines of +communication. The army that is thus deprived of its sources of +supply has nothing left then but to surrender, sometimes even to +inferior forces. Sometimes, of course, if the army is within the walls +of a fortified city and is well supplied with food and ammunition, +it may hold out and allow itself to be besieged. This may even +be worth while, for the sake of diminishing the enemy's strength +to the extent of the forces required for besieging, usually many +times larger than the besieged force. But in the case of Warsaw +we shall see that that would not have been a wise plan; hardly +any food supply that could have been laid by would have maintained +the large civil population, and the big guns of the Germans would +soon have battered down the city's defenses. + +This the Russians realized from the very beginning. As is well +known now, Russia had never intended to hold Poland against the +Teutons. Her real line of defense was laid much farther back. It was +only on account of the protest of France, when the two Governments +entered into their alliance, that any fortifications at all were +thrown up in Poland. A real line of defense must be more or less +a straight line, with no break. And the marshes in the north, as +well as the tongue of East Prussia projecting in along the shores +of the Baltic toward Riga made that impossible. Russia's real line +of defense was farther east, along the borders of Russia proper +and along the line of railroad already referred to. By studying +this territory east of Poland it will become obvious why Russia +should prefer this as her main line of defense against a German +invasion. + +As we witness the armies moving along what was once the frontier +between Poland and Russia proper we shall find the plain of Poland +dips into a region which apparently was once a vast lake which +drained into the Dnieper, but the outlet becoming choked, this +stagnant water formed into those immense morasses known as the +Pripet Marshes, forming over two-fifths of the whole province of +Minsk and covering an area of over 600 square miles. Even when +more than 6,000,000 acres have been reclaimed by drainage, the +armies found some of these marshes extending continuously for over +200 miles. In the upper Pripet basin the woods were everywhere full +of countless little channels which creep through a wilderness of +sedge. Along the right bank of the Pripet River the land rises above +the level of the water and is fairly thickly populated. Elsewhere +extends a great intricate network of streams with endless fields +of bulrushes and stunted woods. Over these bogs hang unhealthy +vapors, and among the rank reeds there is no fly, nor mosquito, +nor living soul or sound in the autumn. + +Not even infantry could pass over this region--not to consider +cavalry or artillery, save in the depth of a cold winter when the +water and mire is frozen. Even then it would be impossible to venture +over the ice with heavy guns. An invading army must, therefore, +split in two parts and pass around the sides, and nothing is more +dangerous than splitting an army in the face of the enemy. It is +behind these vast marshes that we shall find the Russians planned +to make their first determined stand. + +Here, too, the Russians expected to have the advantage of being +surrounded by their own people, for this is the country of the +White Russians, so called on account of their costumes. Here the +purest Slavic type is preserved; they have not blended with other +stocks, as the Great Russians with the Finns and the Little Russians, +farther south, with the Mongols. For a while this territory was +subject to the kings of Poland, who oppressed its inhabitants most +barbarously, from the effects of which they have not even fully +recovered. To-day White Russia is one of the poorest and most backward +parts of the empire. And even yet the great bulk of the landlords +are Poles. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XLIII + +AUSTRIAN POLAND, GALICIA AND BUKOWINA + +Let us now pass ahead of the armies into the southern section of +the eastern front. Here we have to consider only Austrian Poland, +Galicia and Bukowina, for here there is much less swaying back and +forth, the Russians maintaining their lines much more steadily than +farther north. This section is an undulating terrace which slopes +down to the Vistula and the Dniester; behind rise the Carpathian +ranges, forming the natural frontier between the broad, fertile +plains of Hungary and Russia. Here the population is quite dense, +there being 240 inhabitants to the square mile. Nearly half of +the total area is in farm lands, about one-fourth woodland, and +the rest mostly meadow and pasture, less than a quarter of one +per cent being lake or swamp. Rich crops of barley, oats, rye, +wheat, and corn are grown here, while the mineral resources include +coal, salt, and petroleum, the latter especially being important in +modern warfare on account of the great quantities of fuel necessary +for motor carriages. + +Here, in Galicia, we shall witness the conquests of the important +city of Lemberg--with its 160,000 population--fourth in size of +all Austrian cities, only Vienna, Prague, and Triest being larger. +Further in toward the mountains we shall see the storming of the +strongly fortified city of Przemysl (pronounced Prshemisel), also +important as the junction of the network of railroads that the +Austrians had built throughout the country, including several lines +passing over the Carpathians into Hungary. And farther west still we +shall look upon the invasion of the old Polish city of Cracow, also +strongly fortified. This section is especially rich in industries, +mines, and agriculture. + +Here, too, are staged many of the battles of the rivers--parallel +with the mountain ranges flows the Dniester in a southeasterly +direction, into which, flowing down from the north and running +parallel with each other, empty the Gnila Lipa, the Zlota Lipa, and +the Stripa, all of which figure prominently in the war movements, +for each of these is crossed several times by both armies engaged +at bloody costs. + +As will be noted by reading the chapters on the fighting on the +eastern front, here, as in East Prussia, the Russians make a determined +advance and actually succeed in conquering this territory from +the Austrians. At one time we find them even in possession of all +except one of the chief passes in the Carpathians and threatening +to overrun the plains of Hungary. To hold Russian Poland it was +necessary that they should have a firm grip of East Prussia and +Austrian Poland, thus protecting the flanks of their center. Had +they been able to hold their grip, then they could have straightened +out their entire line from north to south, and Warsaw would have +been safe. But we shall see both their extremities driven back; +therefore Warsaw was in danger, in spite of its fortifications. + +That the Austrians should have allowed themselves to be thrust +back over the Carpathians is one of the surprises of the early +stages of the war. For these mountains are only second in size +in all Europe to the Alps themselves, forming the eastern wing +of the great European mountain system. They are about 800 miles +long and nearly 250 miles wide in parts. Some of the higher peaks +reach 8,000 feet above sea level. + +Imagine the vision of an army marching along the roads from the +foothills to the mountains leading through mysterious, shadowy +spruce forests, where the soil is covered with rich carpets of +moss. Foaming streams ripple in among the moss-covered bowlders. +Then the paths emerge on the cheerful, emerald-green pastures of the +slopes, alive with the flocks of goats, sheep and cattle, attended +by their shepherds. A little farther and the whole scenery changes, +and the armies approach tremendous mountains of solid granite, +ominously dark, shining like hammered iron, rising abruptly from +the stone débris and black patches of mountain fir, and towering +bluffs and crags seem to pierce the sky with their sharp peaks, +bastions and jagged ridges, like gigantic fortresses. Clouds of white +mist, driven and torn by gusts of wind, cling to the precipitous +walls, and masses of eternal snow lie in the many fissures and +depressions, forming large, sharply outlined streaks and patches. + +The Magyars inhabit the great central plains of Hungary which +constitutes ethnologically a vast island of Magyars in a sea of +Slavs. The Carpathian slopes on the Hungarian side of the ranges, +including the mounts of the Tatra--with the exception of the Zips +district, which is peopled with German-Saxon colonists--are inhabited, +in their western parts, by two million Slovaks, in the eastern +parts by half a million Ruthenians or Little Russians, and on the +Transylvanian side by nearly three million Rumanians. The border +lines between these Rumanians and the Magyars and between the +Hungaro-Slav groups (Slovaks and Ruthenians) and the Magyars lie +far down within the borders of the great central Hungarian plains. +This line at one point extends to within a few miles of the Hungarian +capital of Bupapest. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XLIV + +THE BALKANS-COUNTRIES AND PEOPLES + +This survey of the fighting ground in eastern Europe brings us +now to the "cockpit of the war." From a military point of view, as +well as from the political, the Balkan theatre is of equal importance +with other big fronts in Europe. It is the gateway to the Orient +for central Europe. Here the armies engaged are numbered only by +the hundred thousands, none reach a million. But from the point of +view of human interest and political intrigue it is by far the most +picturesque. Here the hatred between the combatants is most bitter; +indeed so bitter that when it burst into flame a mad whirlwind of +passion swept over half the world. For here the great conflagration +began. + +A map of the Balkan Peninsula is almost, on the face of it, a full +explanation of the causes of the war. The military campaigns, studied +in connection with their physical environment, explain all the +diplomatic intrigues of the past fifty years, for they are the intrigues +themselves translated into action. + +Geographically speaking, the Balkan nations are those situated in +the big peninsula of southern Europe which lies below the Danube +River and the northern border of Montenegro. Some authorities, +however, include Rumania, and others even bring in Austria's Slavic +provinces, Bosnia and Herzegovina. + +The most noticeable feature of this vast war-ridden region is its +mountains. Those same Carpathian Mountains, which form the natural +boundary between the land of the Magyars and the Russian plains, +take a sudden turn westward at the Rumanian frontier, then sweep +around in a great semicircle, forming a shape resembling a scythe, +the handle of which reaches up into Poland, the blade curling around +within the Balkan Peninsula. Behind the handle, and above the upper +part of the blade, stretch the broad plains of Hungary, through +which flows the great Danube, the largest river in Europe next +to the Russian Volga--a river which flowed with blood during the +Great War. Just in the middle of the back of the blade this great +river bursts through the mountain chain, swirling through the famous +Iron Gate into the great basin within the curved blade. On the south +of its farther course to the Black Sea lie the plains of northern +Bulgaria. + +The curving chain of mountains below the Iron Gate is the Balkan +Range. But excepting for the plains of Thrace, lying south of the +Balkans, over toward the Black Sea and above Constantinople, the rest +of the peninsula is almost entirely one confused tangle of craggy +mountains, interspersed throughout with small, fertile valleys and +plateaus. This roughness of surface becomes especially aggravated +as one passes westward, and over toward the Adriatic coast, from +Greece up into the Austrian province of Dalmatia, the country is +almost inaccessible to ordinary travelers. + +What is the political value of this beleaguered domain? The broad, +significant fact is that any road from western Europe to the Orient +must pass through the Balkan Peninsula, and that these mountains +almost block that road. From north to south there is just one highway, +so narrow that it is really a defile. + +This road stretches from the seat of the war at Belgrade on the +Danube down a narrow valley, the Morava, thence through the highlands +of Macedonia into the Vardar Valley to Saloniki, on the Ægean Sea. +At Nish, above Macedonia, another road branches off into Bulgaria +across the plains of Thrace and into Constantinople. This was the +road by which the Crusaders swarmed down to conquer the Holy Land. +This was the road by which, hundreds of years later, the Moslems +swarmed up into the plains of Hungary and overran the south of +Europe, until they were finally checked outside the gates of Vienna. +Nothing is more significant of the terror that these marching hosts +inspired than the fact that, with the exception of a few larger +towns, the villages hid themselves away from this highway in the +hills. + +Bear clearly in mind that in the existence of this narrow way to +the Orient lies the key not only to the causes of the war, but to +the military campaigns that we shall follow in this region. For +it is the Teutons who would in the Great War, like the Crusaders +of old, pass down this highway and again conquer the East, though +in this case their object is trade, and not the Holy Sepulcher. + +To secure the pathway through this strategic country it also is +necessary to have control of the territory on all sides, and this +is quite as true in a political as in a military sense. To secure +their pathway up into Europe the Turks once conquered all the peoples +in the Balkans, except those inhabiting the mountains over on the +Adriatic: the Montenegrins and a small city called Ragusa, just +above Montenegro in Dalmatia. It is not at all peculiar that just +here, in almost the same locality, the Teutons should meet with +the first and strongest resistance. + +A study of the territory in which the first fighting of the war +occurred will explain the foregoing calculations. It will be observed +that Austrian territory runs down past the eastward turn in the +Danube, along the frontier of Montenegro, until it narrows gradually +into a tip at Cattaro, just below Cettinje, the Montenegrin capital. +This land is composed of the three provinces of Bosnia, Herzegovina +and Dalmatia. All this territory is inhabited by the same race +that peoples Serbia and Montenegro--the Serbs. In fact, the Slavic +population reaches up all along the coast to Trieste, and even a +little beyond. For this reason it is in this direction that we shall +see the Serbians and the Montenegrins invade Austrian territory, +after their initial success in repulsing the Austrian invasion. + +The objectives of the brief campaign soon to be considered were +Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, and Ragusa, the famous little +seaport on the Adriatic. Ragusa is of especial interest on account of +its remarkable history. In the Middle Ages it was the most important +seaport in that part of the world. Its ships sailed over all the +Mediterranean and from them is derived the word "argosy," signifying +a ship laden with wealth. Again and again the Turks attempted to +conquer this little state, which was at that time a republic, but +always the Ragusans beat off the enemy. For the country about is +so rocky, so rough, that the city was easily defended, especially +in that time when nearly all fighting was hand to hand. + +The first and foremost word in the Great War--the key word--is +Sarajevo. Here is the scene of the assassination of the Crown Prince +of Austria, which was at least the final cause of the war. As we +enter it we find a population of about forty thousand, half of +which are Mohammedans. It is a large, straggling town, situated +in a narrowing valley overtopped by steep hills on either side, +which close in a narrow gorge in the east and broaden into a plain +on the west. It was to the eastward, however, that we shall find +the heavy fighting along the Austro-Serbian frontier. + +The armies along the Danube will soon command our attention. As +they follow the river toward Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, it +is no longer the "Blue Danube" of the famous German song. Here, +in fact, it is a broad, mud-colored river, dotted with a number +of low islands along its center. Belgrade, where the first shots +of the war were fired, is located on rather high ground, backed +by a semicircle of low hills in its rear. But opposite all is flat +and, in places, marshy. Modern guns could, of course, keep up an +effective fire across the river at this point, as in fact they +did before the actual invasion of Serbia began, but the conditions +for a crossing are not favorable. It was from the west, from the +Bosnian side, that the actual attack was made. + +Just below Belgrade the river Save, shallower and narrower, empties +into the Danube, forming the frontier westward, past Shabatz, to +Ratcha, where the Drina, flowing down from the Macedonian highlands +northward, joins it, forming the western frontier between Bosnia +and Serbia. + +The Drina, where much fighting occurs, is no ordinary waterway, +no mere mountain stream, though it lies in a mountainous country. +Before reaching its junction with the Save it is fed by many important +tributaries. Ever swift, often torrential, it has washed out a bed +of imposing width, and by a constant cutting out of new courses +has created a series of deltas. It was one of the largest of these +islands, that of Kuriachista, between Losnitza and Leschnitza, +that the Austrians chose as a base for their first invasion. From +this point up and around to Shabatz lies the bloody field of the +Austro-Serbian battles. + +A description of this section, in brief at least, is necessary to +an understanding of the three Austrian invasions made here, and +all three of which failed disastrously. North and west of Shabatz +lies the great plain of Matchva, bounded on its east and north +by the Save and by the Drina on the west. It is a rich, fertile +land, but much broken up by woodland. To the southeast a rolling +valley is divided by the River Dobrava, while due south the Tzer +Mountains rise like a camel's back out of the plain and stretch +right across from the Drina to the Dobrava. The southern slopes of +Tzer are less abrupt than those on the north and descend gradually +into the Leschnitza Valley, out of which rise the lesser heights +of the Iverak Mountains. Both these ranges are largely covered +by prune orchards, intersected with some sparse timber. + +This is a region of natural fortifications. Descending southward +again, the foothills of Iverak are lost in a chain of summits, +which flank the right bank of the Jadar River, that tributary of +the Drina River from which the first big battle takes its name. + +From the left bank of the Jadar, from its junction with the Drina +to Jarebitze, a great rolling level stretches south until the high +Guchevo Mountains, stretching in southeasterly direction, rise +abruptly and hide the Bosnian hills from view. From there, southward, +the country is extremely mountainous, even the highways being blasted +out of the sides of the precipitous mountains along the innumerable +ravines through which run watercourses which, though almost dry +in summer, burst into torrential streams after the snows begin +to melt in the higher altitudes. + +Naturally in such a country roads are of prime importance in military +operations. A few built and maintained by the state are in excellent +condition and practicable in all sorts of weather. But for the +rest communications consist of bridle paths and trails over the +mountains. + +As has been stated, the great highway from Belgrade to Saloniki +is the key to all military operations in the Balkans; nor is this +case any exception. A study of the map will show how this big, +underlying fact entered into the plans of the first three attempts +at invading Serbia. Naturally, had facilities been convenient at +Belgrade, that would have been the point from which to advance. +The next possible point was over the Drina, because it was not +so wide or so deep. + +Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of the war were sparsely +served by railroads. But for the purpose of an invasion of Serbia +the lines running to Tuzla in the north and to Vishegrade and Uvatz +in the south were of much strategic importance. Moreover, unlike the +Hungarian plain opposite Belgrade, the country is so mountainous +and well wooded that great bodies of troops could be moved about +without being observed. We now come to the main reason why this +point was chosen, next to Belgrade. Though we shall see that they +did not reach it at their first attempt, there is no doubt that +the main objective of the Austrians was the little town of Valievo, +lying some distance back from the Jadar and the field of battle. +For at Valievo is the terminus of a light railway which joins with +the main line running from Belgrade down to Saloniki. The Teutons +were in a hurry to open this highway, for it meant opening a means +of communication with the Turks, who were to become, and later +did become, their active allies. These are political matters of +significance here insomuch as they explain the special importance +of the railway from Belgrade south along the ancient highway of +the Crusaders. + +Before following this route farther south, a few words should be +devoted to Montenegro. Between Serbia and Montenegro lies the Sanjak +of Novibazar. This small territory nominally belonged to Turkey +before the Balkan War, but it was in fact garrisoned by Austrian +troops, the civil administration being left to the Turks. Austria +had gone to special trouble to establish this arrangement, so that +it might have a wedge between the territories of the two little +Serb nations. Anticipating this war long ago, Austria had counted +on having a large enough force in Novibazar to prevent a union of +the two armies. But, when it actually came, she was in no position +to prevent it, so much of her strength being required to meet the +Russians. + +Montenegro is the natural refuge of the Serbs. Whenever in the +past they were especially hard pressed by the Turks, they would +flee to the mountain fastnesses of Tzherna Gora, the Black Mountain, +for here military operations, even in this day of modern artillery, +are absolutely impossible, and when it came to mountain guerrilla +fighting, the Turks were no match for the Serbs. Thus it was that +the Serbs were able to preserve their old traditions, their language +and the best blood of their race. And it may be said that to a +slightly lesser extent Ragusa served the same purpose. + +The Montenegrins are born fighters and die fighters. From one end +to the other Montenegro is one wilderness of mountain crags and +towering precipices, traversed only by foot trails. Here and there +a shelf of level soil may be found, just enough to enable people +to grow their own necessities. The capital of this rocky domain, +high up among the crags and overlooking the Adriatic, is Cettinje, +which was to be stormed and conquered by the Teutons. The main +street, about 150 yards long, comprising two-thirds of the town, +is so broad that three or four carriages may be driven abreast +down the length of it. It is composed entirely of one and two story +cottages. A few short streets branch off at right angles, and in +these is all of Cettinje that is not comprised in the main street. +The king inhabited a modest-looking, brown edifice with a small +garden attached. Overlooking the capital is Mt. Lovcen, on top +of which the Montenegrins planted guns to defend any attack that +might be made against them. + +South of Montenegro and north of Greece lies another country of +instinctive fighters. It is similar in physical aspect, but very +different in its population. This is the land of the Albanians, +whom the Turks conquered by force of arms, like all the rest of +the Balkan peninsula. They are a distinct race by themselves; it +is supposed that they are the descendants of the ancient Illyrians, +those wild tribes of whom the ancient Greeks wrote. Nor is this +unlikely, for in such a country as theirs the inhabitants are most +likely to remain pure from generation to generation. + +Returning for a few moments to Belgrade, we now may resume our +course down the ancient highway toward Saloniki. Down the Morava +Valley passes the railroad, after which it passes within a few +miles of the Bulgarian frontier, near Kustendil; dangerously near +the frontier of a possible enemy, but especially perilous in this +war in which the Serbians would naturally endeavor to retreat toward +her ally, Greece. + +Just below Vranya the railroad enters what was, before the two +Balkan Wars, the Turkish territory of Macedonia. This region down +to within sixty miles of Saloniki was reconquered from the Turks by +the Serbs, having been Serb inhabited since early in the Christian +era as shown by historical record. As early as 950 Constantin +Porphyrogenitus writes of its inhabitants as Serbs, from whom, +he says, the town of Serbia on the Bistritza River near Saloniki +took its name. Throughout this region there are so many mountain +ranges that it would be impossible to name them all. Nowhere has +blood been more continuously shed than here, and nowhere in Europe +is the scenery more beautiful. + +Especially impressive is that section around Monastir, toward the +frontier of Albania and away from the main line of the railroad. +Here, not more than a day's walk from the city of Monastir, or +Bitolia, as its Slavic inhabitants call it, is Lake Prespa, a small +sheet of crystal-clear water in which are reflected the peaks and +the rugged crags of the surrounding mountains. Through a subterranean +passage the waters of this mountain lake pass under the range that +separates it from the much larger lake, Ochrida, the source of +the bloody Drina. + +The people of these mountains are Serbs, almost to Saloniki. Uskub, +whose ancient Serb name is Skoplya, was the old Serb capital, and +there the Serb ruler Doushan was crowned emperor in 1346. + +For the past five hundred years these Macedonians have been used to +all the ways of guerrilla fighting. Roaming through their mountains +in small bands they have harassed the Turkish soldiers continuously. + +The Bulgarian ruler Ferdinand had through many years by means of +committees and church jugglery striven to Bulgarize this population, +preparatory to the contemplated seizure of the territory which he has +now been able with the help of the Germanic powers to accomplish. +But in reality the Bulgar population in what was European Turkey was +found only eastward of the Struma in Thracia including Adrianople. +Those regions formed the ample and legitimate field of ambition +for the unification of the Bulgars. + +When hostilities broke out in 1914, when Serbia was defending herself +against the Austrians, King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, the secret ally +by treaty of Austria, did everything possible to forward his designs +against the Serbs and sent armed Bulgar bands into Serb Macedonia. + +Shortly below the city of Monastir in the west begins the Greek +frontier, running over eastward to Doiran, where it touches the +Bulgarian frontier. Here the railroad, coming down along the Vardar +River, emerges into the swamp lands and over them passes into the +city of Saloniki. + +Here is the old territory of Philip of Macedon, the father of the +conqueror. For some forty or fifty miles these swamps stretch out +from Saloniki, overshadowed by Mt. Olympus on their southern edge. +While not quite so extensive as the Pinsk Swamps, they are quite +as impassable, from a military point of view. In the center of +this region of bulrushes and stunted forests is an open sheet of +shallow water, Lake Enedjee. + +Nearly all this swamp land is submerged, but here and there are +small islands. For some years the Turkish soldiers garrisoned these +islands during the mild winter months, living on them in rush huts. +In the summer they would withdraw into the near-by foothills. But +one summer several hundred Comitajis descended into the swamps +and took possession. + +The stunted forests and the bulrushes here are traversed by a maze +of narrow waterways, just wide enough for a punt to pass along. +When the soldiers returned in the fall, they started out for their +islands in strings of punts. Presently they were met by volleys of +bullets that seemed to come from all directions out of the bulrushes. +Some, in their panic, leaped out into the shallow water and sunk +in the mire. The rest retired. + +For years the Turkish soldiers attempted to drive the Comitajis +out of the swamp. First they surrounded it, watching all possible +landing places, but the outlaws had supplies smuggled in to them +by the peasants. Then the Turks began bombarding with heavy cannon, +which, of course, was futile, since they could not distinguish +the points at which they were firing. And finally they gave up +molesting the Comitajis, who continued making the swamps their +headquarters until the Young Turks came into power. Then, believing +that a constitutional Macedonia was finally to be granted them, +all the Comitajis laid down their arms. + +It is a peculiar fact that Saloniki, one of the largest cities +on the peninsula, with a population considerably over a hundred +thousand, should represent none of the national elements of the +country. For though Bulgars, Turks, Greeks, and Serbs may be found +there, an overwhelming majority, nearly 90,000 of the people, are +Spanish Jews. + +Walking along the streets, it would be easy to imagine oneself in +Spain or in Mexico; on all sides the shouts of peddlers, the cries +of cabmen, the conversation of pedestrians, are in Spanish. With +a knowledge of that language the stranger may make his way about +as easily as in his own native country. These are the descendants +of the Jews who were driven out of Spain by Torquemada and his +Spanish Inquisition and were so hospitably received by the Sultan +of Turkey. + +Saloniki, where we shall witness severe battles, is situated at the +head of the gulf by the same name, an inlet of the Ægean Sea. It +is a well-fortified city, built on the water's edge, but surrounding +it is high land commanding the surrounding country. Added to that, +the swamp region is another protection from an enemy coming from +inland. Its seaward forts, however, are, or were, obsolete and +would probably crumble before the fire of modern naval guns. + +Stretching down the eastern shore of the Gulf is a peninsula on +which is the famous Mt. Athos, that very peculiar community of +celibate monks. Here, in the Holy Mountain, as the Slavs call it, +there are monasteries representing all the various denominations of +the Greek Orthodox Church: Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Russian, +each swarming with hundreds of monks, who pass their time in idleness. +Not only are women forbidden to enter this domain, but even female +dogs or cats are kept out. + +Across this upper end of the Ægean, from Mt. Athos, is the Bulgarian +port, Dedeagatch, to which runs a branch of the main railway from +Sofia to Constantinople. The country here is low and swampy, the +port itself being little more than a boat landing. + +Just below this point, across the Gulf of Saros, is the peninsula +of Gallipoli, where a critical phase of the war was fought. It is +somewhat like the blade of a scimitar, covering the entrance to +the Sea of Marmora. Between this strip of land and the coast of +Asia Minor is a narrow strait, the outer mouth of which is called +the Dardanelles, the inner gateway being the famous Hellespont. +Here it was that Xerxes crossed over on a bridge of boats at the +head of his Persian army to invade Greece, only to meet disaster +at Thermopylæ, and here Alexander of Macedonia crossed over to +begin his march of conquest which was to extend his power as far +as India. And about this narrow strait is centered the ancient +Greek myth about Hero and Leander, which inspired Byron to swim +across from Asia to Europe. + +How well the Turks have fortified this approach to their capital +is well enough indicated in the story of the operations of the +allied fleets in their attempt to force the passage. + +From the Hellespont to Constantinople is a sail of forty miles, +along a coast steep and rugged, destitute of any harbor or even a +beach where a boat might land. Nor is there a more beautiful sight +than that which is presented on approaching the Turkish capital +from this direction, especially of an early morning. Against the +dawn in the East are silhouetted the minarets and domes and the +palace roofs of the city; then, as the light increases, the white +buildings are distinguished more clearly through a purple mist +that rises from the waters, until the ship enters the Bosphorus, +gliding past the shipping and the boat traffic along the shore of +the harbor. The beauties of the Bosphorus have been described in +every book of travel that has ever included this section of the +world in its descriptions: it is undoubtedly the most beautiful +waterway that may be found in any country. + +Emerging into the Black Sea from the Bosphorus, one strikes the +Bulgarian coast not far above that neck of land on which Constantinople +is built. Along this stretch of coast up to the mouth of the Danube +there are two harbors, Varna and Burgas. Each is terminus of a +branch railroad leading off from the Nish-Sofia-Constantinople +line. Behind Burgas lie the level tracts of Eastern Rumelia, or +Thrace, as that part of the country is still called. But Varna +is above the point where the Balkan Range strikes the coast, all +of which is steep and rocky. + +Above Varna begins the Delta of the Danube, up which steamers and +heavily laden barges sail continuously, but here also begins the +neutral territory of Rumania, the Dobruja, the richest section of +the Danube basin, which was ceded to Rumania by Bulgaria after +the Second Balkan War. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XLV + +THE CAUCASUS--THE BARRED DOOR + +We now come to that section of the eastern theatre of the war which +received the least extended notice in printed reports--the barred +doorway between Europe and Asia--the Caucasus. Not because the +fighting there was less furious, but because the region was less +accessible to war correspondents. The struggle was in fact quite +as bloody and even more savage and barbarous here than elsewhere, +for on this front Russ meets Turk, Christian meets Moslem, and +where they grapple the veneer of chivalry blisters off. + +Here again, as in Galicia, we come to a natural frontier, not only +between two races, but between two continents. For here, crossing +the isthmus between the Black Sea and the Caspian, stretches a +mountain range over seven hundred miles in length, rising abruptly +out of the plains on either side. These are the Caucasus Mountains, +forming the boundary between Europe and Asia. + +The higher and central part of the range (which averages only from +sixty to seventy miles in width) is formed of parallel ridges, +not separated by deep and wide valleys, but remarkably connected +by elevated plateaus, which are traversed by narrow fissures of +extreme depth. The highest peaks are in the most central chain; +Mt. Elburz, attaining an elevation of 18,000 feet above the sea, +while Mt. Kasbeck reaches a height of more than 16,000 feet, and +several other peaks rise above the line of perpetual snow. The +outlying spurs and foothills of this chain of lofty mountains are +of less extent and importance than those of almost any other mountain +range of similar magnitude, subsiding, as they do, until they are +only 200 feet high along the shores of the Black Sea. Some parts +are almost entirely bare, but other parts are densely wooded and +the secondary ranges near the Black Sea are covered by magnificent +forests of oak, beech, ash, maple, and walnut. + +This range is an almost impassable wall across the narrow isthmus +which joins Europe and Asia, and the Gorge of Dariel is the gateway +in this wall through which have come almost all the migrating races +that have peopled the continent of Europe. As is well known, the +white peoples of Europe have been classified as the Caucasian race, +because they were all supposed to have passed through this gateway +originally. Apparently each of these oncoming waves of barbaric +humanity, bursting through the great gateway, must have left behind +some few remnants of their volume, for nowhere in the world, in so +limited an area, is there such a diversity and mixture of peoples. +In the words of one writer, who speaks with authority on this region, +the Caucasus is "an ethnological museum where the invaders of Europe, +as they traveled westward to be manufactured into nations, left +behind samples of themselves in their raw condition." + +Here may be found the Georgians, who so long championed the Cross +against the Crescent, the wild Lesghians from the highlands of +Daghestan; the Circassians, famed for the beauty of their women; +Suanetians, Ossets, Abkhasians, Mingrelians, not to enumerate dozens +of other tribes and races, each speaking its own tongue. It is said +that over a hundred languages are spoken throughout this region; +seventy in the city of Tiflis alone. + +The scenery of the mountains themselves is unparalleled in grandeur +except by the Himalayas and offers many a virgin peak to the ambitious +mountain climber. Here may be found the ibex, the stag, the wild +boar, the wild bull and an infinite variety of feathered game. The +animal life of the mountains has, in fact, become more abundant +of late years on account of the high charges for hunting licenses +fixed by the Russian Government. Wolves are so plentiful that in +severe winters they descend to the lowlands in great packs and +rob the flocks before the very eyes of the shepherds. + +The most important mineral resources of the region are the oil +wells; here, in fact, around Batum, are situated some of the most +important oil fields in the world. Of manganese ore, an essential +of the steel industry, the Caucasus furnishes half of the world's +supply, which is exported from the two ports of Poti and Batum. Its +mineral wealth seems to be practically unlimited, copper, zinc, iron, +tin, and many other metals being found throughout the region, in +most cases in exceedingly rich deposits. The agricultural resources +are not so important, especially from a military point of view, +though vast quantities of sheep are raised in the highlands in the +spring and summer, the flocks being driven down into the plains +to the south in winter. + +One of the outstanding features of Russian occupation is the great +Georgian military road which has been built across the mountains of +recent years and maintained by the Government. Its engineering is +masterly; here and there it passes close to or under vast overhanging +lumps of mountainside. Everywhere the greatest care has been taken +of this most important military highway, Russia's avenue into that +country she coveted and fought for so long. Beginning at Vladikavkaz, +it runs through Balta, Lars, thence through the famous Gorge of +Dariel, the "Circassian Gates," the dark and awful defile between +Europe and Asia. The gorge is what the geologists call a "fault," +for it is not really a pass over the mountain chain, but a rent +clear across it. Seventy years ago it was almost impassable for +avalanches or the sudden outbursts of pent-up glacial streams swept +it from end to end, but the Russians have spent over $20,000,000 +on it and made it safe. In 1877, during the Russo-Turkish War, +nearly all the troops and stores for carrying the war into Turkey +and Asia came by this road. + +Its importance has since been lessened to a certain degree, for +there is now direct railway communication from Moscow to Baku, +at one end of the Trans-Caucasian Railway, and therefore to Kars +itself, via Tiflis; and equally from Batum to Kars at the other +end to which military steamers can bring troops and supplies from +Odessa and Novorossik in the Black Sea. + +The most important city in this region is Tiflis, the "city of +seventy languages." It may, indeed, be called the modern Babel. As +seen from the mountains, it lies at the bottom of a brown, treeless +valley, between steep hills, on either side of the River Kura. + +It is a point of great importance to modern Russia. It forms, to +begin with, the end of the great military road across the mountains +which, in spite of the railways, is still the quickest way to Europe +for an army as well as for travelers, and all the mails come over +it by express coaches. From Tiflis a railway runs to Kars, a strong +frontier on the Persian frontier. + +Tiflis has been much developed under the Russian Government. In +the modern section of the city the streets are wide and paved and +lighted by electricity and the stores are large and handsome while +electric railways run in all directions. In the older parts of the +city, however, the houses remain as they were built centuries ago, +divided out into the many quarters devoted to the residences of the +many races and nationalities that compose the population of Tiflis. +Between most of them is bitter enmity and prejudice, even among those +of the two great religious faiths, Christians and Mohammedans. It +is this diversity of interests, which extends throughout all the +section down into Persia, which has so complicated the situation +on this front. For not only are the two military forces fighting +here, but wherever governmental authority is momentarily relaxed, +there these mutual animosities flare up into active expression and +the most barbarous features of warfare take place, such as the +massacres of the Armenians by the Mohammedans. Neither Turkey nor +Russia has been especially eager to suppress these bitter feuds, +even in time of peace. In time of war there is nothing to restrain +them, and the whole region is swept by carnage infinitely more +hideous than legitimate warfare. + +We have now passed over the entire theatre of the battles on the +Eastern frontiers of the war in Europe. The battle grounds are +familiar to us. In the succeeding chapters we will follow the armies +over this war-ridden dominion and watch the battle lines as they +move through the war to its decisive conclusion. + + + + +PART IV--THE AUSTRO-SERBIAN CAMPAIGN + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XLVI + +SERBIA'S SITUATION AND RESOURCES + +The first great campaign on the southeastern battle grounds of +the Great War began on July 27, 1914, when the Austrian troops +undertook their first invasion of Serbia. They crossed the Serbian +border at Mitrovitza, about fifty miles northwest of Belgrade, +driving the Serbians before them. The first real hostilities of +the war opened with the bombardment of Belgrade by the Austrians +on July 29, 1914--six days before the beginning of the campaigns +on the western battle fields. + +We are now familiar with the theatre of war as described in the +preceding chapters, and will now follow the first Austrian armies +into Serbia. + +A stubborn fight excites the admiration of all observers, regardless +of the moral qualities of the combatants. So, wherever our sympathies +may lie, considering the war as a whole, there can be no doubt +that the defense which the Serbians made against the first efforts +of the Austrians to invade their country will stand out in the +early history of the war as one of the most brilliant episodes +of that period of the general struggle. Like a mighty tidal wave +from the ocean the Austrian hosts swept over the Serbian frontier +in three furious successive onslaughts, only to be beaten back +each time. Naturally, there were material and moral causes, aside +from the mere valor of the Serbians, which combined to create this +disaster for the Austrian forces, but enough of the human element +enters into the military activities of these campaigns to make +them easily the most picturesque of the early period of the war. + +Before entering into a description of the actual events in 1914, +it is well to consider the forces engaged. From a material point of +view the Serbians entered into these campaigns greatly handicapped. +They had lately been through two wars. In the First Balkan War they +had not, it is true, been severely tested; the weight of the fighting +had been borne by the Bulgarians in Thrace. The real test, and the +great losses, came only with the second war, when the Serbian army +threw every fiber of its strength against the Bulgarians in the +Battle of the Bregalnitza, one of the most stubborn struggles in +military history. The result was a Serbian victory, but it was very +far from being a decisive and conclusive victory. The Bulgarians +were forced back some fifteen miles into their own territory, but +had it not been for the intervention of Rumania there can be no +doubt that the Serbs would have entered Sofia. Here it was that +the Serbians lost 7,000 killed and 30,000 wounded of their best +men, as against 5,000 killed and 18,000 wounded in the whole war +with Turkey; a total loss that was bound to be felt a few months +later when the struggle was to be against so powerful an adversary +as Austria-Hungary. The two previous wars had, without exaggeration, +deprived the Serbian fighting forces of one-tenth their number--a +tenth that was of the very best of first-line troops. + +[Illustration: PICTORIAL MAP OF THE BALKANS] + +Added to this was another serious handicap, possibly even more +serious. Serbia had, indeed, emerged victorious from the two wars, +with a large stretch of conquered territory at her backdoor. But +this acquired territory, practically all of Macedonia that had +not gone to Greece, was peopled by Serbs. For twenty-five years +these Macedonians had been organized into revolutionary fighting +bands, the "Macedonian Committee" for the liberation of Macedonia +and Albania from the Turks, and had struggled, not only against the +Turks, but against foreign armed bands of propagandists. Some eight +years subsequently to the foundation of the Macedonian Committee of +native origin, the Bulgars founded in 1893 their committee which +was called the Macedo-Adrianople Committee. During the First Balkan +War these experienced guerrilla fighters were valuable allies to +the Serbian forces operating against the Turks. + +But even before the First Balkan War the Serbians had very distinctly +given the Macedonians to understand that they were to remain Serbian +subjects. This action on their part had had not a little to do +with rousing the Bulgarians to precipitate the Second Balkan War. +And when finally Serbia conquered all this territory, confirmed +to her down to Doiran by the treaty of Bucharest, King Ferdinand +of Bulgaria began at once a fiery anti-Serb propaganda throughout +the world, and took measures through provocatory agents and Bulgar +bands crossing from Bulgaria into Macedonia to create disturbances. + +When the Great War broke out in July, 1914, this Bulgarian activity +in Serb Macedonia grew more intense. Thus it was that when the +Austrians attacked the Serbians on their front the Serbians had +still to detach enough of their forces to guard the Serbo-Bulgar +border to prevent the crossing into Serb Macedonia of Bulgar bands. +And added to this was the danger from Bulgaria herself. The Serbians +knew that the opportune moment had only to come and Bulgaria, too, +would hurl herself on the Serbian eastern flank. Thus another large +percentage of the Serbian fighting forces had also to be stationed +along the Bulgarian frontier to guard against possible attack from +that quarter. + +Offsetting these handicaps, however, and more than equalizing them, +was the moral strength of the Serbian fighting units. They had +just emerged through two victorious wars; they had triumphed so +completely that there was small wonder if the Serbian farmers had +come to believe themselves invincible and their leaders infallible. +Practically every man in the Serbian army was a seasoned veteran; +he had had not only his baptism of fire, but he had been through +some of the bloodiest battles of modern times. He had got over +his first fright; he was in that state of mind where danger and +bloodshed no longer inspired either fear or horror. And even the +warlike savage trembles on entering his first battle. Finally, he +was now defending his country, his home, his very fireside and +his family against foreign invasion. And it is generally admitted +that a man fighting in that situation is equal to two invaders, +all other things being equal. + +The Serb army opposing the Austrian invasions was composed of ten +divisions of the First Ban and five divisions of the Second Ban. +Five of the divisions of the First Ban and the five of the Second +came from the kingdom as it was prior to the two Balkan wars, but the +second five divisions of the First Ban were new creations recruited +from Serb Macedonia. + +The principles on which the organization of the Serbian army was +based were very simple. The former kingdom was divided into five +territorial divisional districts--Nish, Valievo, Belgrade, Kragujevatz, +and Zaitchar. Each of these territorial divisional districts was +subdivided into four regimental recruiting districts, each of which +provided one infantry regiment of four battalions and one depot +battalion. The battalion numbered about a thousand men, so that the +war strength of the divisional infantry amounted to about 16,000 men. +Attached to each division was a regiment of artillery, consisting of +three groups of three 6-gun batteries; in all, 54 guns. The divisional +cavalry, existing only in war time, consisted of a regiment of +four squadrons, from men and horses previously registered. To each +division was also attached its own technical and administrative +units, engineers, and supply column, and its total strength amounted +to 23,000 officers and men of first-line troops. + +In addition to these five divisions of the First Ban, there was +also a regiment of mountain artillery, made up of six batteries, six +howitzer batteries and two battalions of fortress artillery. Then +there was a separate cavalry division composed of two brigades, each +of two regiments. Its war strength was 80 officers and 3,200 men. +Attached to the cavalry division were two horse artillery batteries, +of eight guns each. All told, this first-line army numbered about +200,000, with about 5,200 sabers and 330 guns. + +[Illustration: SERBIAN AND AUSTRIAN INVASIONS] + +The Second Ban, or reserve, much inferior in armament to the first +line, brought the strength up to about 280,000 men. But this figure +is probably an underestimate. Volunteers were enrolled in immense +numbers. Some of them were men who had been exempted in the first +conscription; others were Serbs from Austrian territory. The United +States sent back thousands of Austrian and Macedonian Serbs who +had emigrated there. It is probable, therefore, that the total +strength of the Serbian forces shortly after the war broke out +was at least 280,000, if not a trifle more. To this must be added +the Montenegrin army which, though operating in a separate field, +contributed its share in driving the Austrians back; another 40,000 +men of first-class fighting ability and experience. + +Finally, there was the third reserve, another 50,000 men, but they +could be used for fighting only in the gravest emergency. + +The infantry of the First Ban was armed with excellent Mauser rifles, +caliber 7 mm., model 1899. The Second Ban carried a Mauser, the +old single loader, to which a magazine was fitted in the Serbian +arsenals; while the Third Ban had the old single-loader Berdan +rifle. The machine gun carried was the Maxim, of the same caliber +as the new Mauser. + +In artillery the Serbians were perhaps not so well off. Their cannons +had seen a great deal of service in the Balkan wars, and the larger +a piece of artillery the more limited is the number of rounds it +can fire. It is extremely doubtful that there had been time to +replace many of these worn-out pieces. + +The field gun was of French make; it was a 3-inch quick firer with +a maximum range for shrapnel of 6,000 yards, a little over 3-1/2 +miles. The Second Ban was armed with old De Bange guns of 8 cm. +caliber. The heavy guns, which had done much service outside Adrianople, +were of Creuzot make, and included 24 howitzers of 15 cm. and some +mortars of 24 cm. As for the aviation wing, there was none. + +The Serbian army was under the superior command of the Chief of the +General Staff, Voivode (Field Marshal) Putnik. Unlike his younger +colleagues, his military education was entirely a home product; +he had never studied abroad. His father was one of those Serbs +born on Austrian soil; he had emigrated from Hungary to Serbia +in the early forties where he had followed the vocation of +school-teacher. In 1847 the future general was born. After passing +through the elementary schools, young Putnik entered the military +academy at Belgrade. He had already attained a commission when +the war of 1876 with Turkey broke out, through which he served as +a captain of infantry. His next experience was in the unfortunate +war with Bulgaria, in 1885, in which the Serbians were beaten after +a three days' battle. At the outbreak of the war with Turkey, in +1912, General Putnik was made head of the army and received the +grade of voivode (field marshal), being the first Serbian to enjoy +that distinction. The grade of field marshal was created in the +Serbian army during the First Balkan War. + +With him worked Colonel Pavlovitch, the son of a farmer, who had +won a series of scholarships, enabling him to study in Berlin. He +had directed the military operations in the field against Turkey +and Bulgaria, and he was to do the same thing under his old chief +against the Austrians. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XLVII + +AUSTRIA'S STRENGTH AND STRATEGY + +Let us now review the Austrian forces that participated in the +invasions of Serbia. In number they were practically unlimited; at +least they far outnumbered the Serbian forces that met them in the +field. Their armament was of the best and their equipment as complete +as boundless resources could make it. They were, however, partly made +up of the peoples of the Slavic provinces of Austria--Bohemians, +Croatians, Dalmatians, and Bosnians. Naturally there could be but +little enthusiasm in their attacks on their brother Slavs, and while +there are many mutual animosities between these various branches +of the Slavic race, such feelings are, at any rate, secondary to +the general dislike of the "Schwabs," as the German-Austrians are +called, and the Magyars. Possibly this had much to do with the +Austrian defeats. The Hungarian, or Magyar, regiments were probably +in the majority. But the Magyars from the interior of Hungary have +no special reason to hate the Serbians, and, aside from that, they +were attacking on foreign soil. + +At the head of the Austrian campaigns against Serbia was General +Potiorek, generally described as a textbook strategist. But just +how much his failures were due to his own inefficiency and how +much to the inefficiency of those under him will probably never +be determined; he had in the end to suffer for both. + +These were the two great contending forces that were set in motion +by the departure of Baron Giesl, the Austro-Hungarian Minister, +from Belgrade, on July 25, 1914. On the same day the Prince Regent +Alexander signed a decree ordering the general mobilization of the +Serbian army. Three days later, on July 28, 1914, Austria declared +war. By that time Serbia was in the midst of her mobilization. + +That the Austrians, who had the advantage of having taken the +initiative, and who had presumably chosen their own time for the +opening of hostilities, did not immediately take full advantage of +their favorable situation has caused much surprise among impartial +military critics. On the same day that they declared war they had +the opportunity to hurl their troops across the Danube and take +Belgrade with practically no opposition. Apparently they were not +ready; from that moment the difficulties that would have attended +such a movement increased hourly. + +A force of 20,000 men was raised almost immediately for the defense +of Belgrade. To meet this opposition the Austrians had, on the +evening of the day war was declared, July 18, 1914, only one division +concentrated between Semlin and Pancsova, opposite Belgrade--a force +that was hardly sufficient to take the Serbian capital. Two days +later an army corps would have been needed for the enterprise, for +by this time the Serbian army had begun concentrating considerable +numbers within striking distance of the capital. Thus the first +opportunity was lost by the tardiness of the Austrians to act. + +It is presumed that the reader has already studied the description +of this theatre of the war presented elsewhere in this work. Aside +from that, the movements that follow should only be traced with +the aid of a map. Written words are inadequate to give a concrete +picture of the field of operations. + +The Austrian General Staff realized the difficulties of crossing +the Danube. Its general plan, probably prepared long before, +contemplated a main attack that should begin from another quarter. + +The Austro-Serbian frontier, almost 340 miles in extent, is formed +on the north by the Save as well as by the Danube, and on the east +and southeast by the Drina River. These two smaller streams abound +in convenient fords, especially in summer. To many of these points on +the northeastern frontier Austria had already constructed strategic +railways. Moreover, the Austrian territory throughout this section is +so mountainous and well timbered that large forces of troops could +be well screened from observation, whereas the country opposite +Belgrade is fiat and bane. + +It was from this direction that the Serbian General Staff expected +the first advance of the enemy. And yet there were dozens of other +points where an attack in force was possible. Each must be covered +with a force at least strong enough to hold the enemy back long +enough to enable the forces stationed at the other points to come +up to support. Here was the great advantage that the Austrians +had to begin with; an advantage which the attacking army always +enjoys. The attacking general alone knows where the first battle +shall be fought. + +The Serbians, therefore, could not count on meeting the Austrians in +full force before they could enter Serbian territory. They realized +that they must give way at the first contact; that the Austrians would +undoubtedly advance quite some distance within Serbian territory +before enough Serbian forces could be brought up against them to +make the opposition effective. + +Realizing this, it was decided to place fairly strong advance guards +at all probable points of invasion with orders to resist as long +as possible; until, in fact, defensive tactics could be adapted +to the situation and the main Serbian army could be brought up +to offer battle. + +However, two points stood out as the most probable. These were the two +already mentioned; the north, along the line from Obrenovatz to Belgrade +and to Semendria; or, the front Obrenovatz-Ratza-Losnitza-Liubovia. +The first possibility had the advantage to the Austrians of offering +the shortest route to the center of the country--the Morava Valley, +their natural objective. But it also necessitated a difficult crossing +of the Danube, which would have had to be preceded by the building +of pontoon bridges. This would have given the Serbians time to move +up their main forces. The second alternative, an invasion from +the east, would have entailed a longer journey, but the advantage +of natural covering and easy crossing made it a sounder plan. + +On July 28, 1914, the Serbians concentrated their forces in anticipation +of either event. The outpost forces were stationed at or near Losnitza, +Shabatz, Obrenovatz, Belgrade, Semendria, Pozarevatz and Gradishte. +But their principal armies were centrally grouped along the line +Palanka-Arangelovatz-Lazarevatz, while weaker, though important, +detachments were stationed in the vicinity of Valievo, a branch +railroad terminus, and Uzitze. This narrowed the field down to +such limits that it was possible to march the troops from point +to point, while the few railway facilities available were utilized +for food and ammunition supplies. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XLVIII + +AUSTRIAN SUCCESSES + +On the morning of July 29, 1914, the day after war had been declared, +the residents of Belgrade were startled by a deep roar, followed +by the whistling shriek of a huge body hurtling through the air, +and a shell burst over the battlements of the old Turkish citadel, +doing no damage. Immediately there came another deep shock; the +Serbian guns were responding. Thence on the cannonading along the +Danube front continued for week after week, with only now and then +a lull. + +The Austrian batteries bombarded not only Belgrade, but Semendria, +Gradishte and a number of other points along the river bank. Next +they were seen building a pontoon bridge out to one of the little +islands in the river, opposite the city and barges were towed alongside +the landings on the opposite shore, presently to be crowded with +black masses of Austrian troops. Naturally, the Serbian gunners +made these objects the targets of their fire. But these were mere +bluffs, such feints as the skilled boxer makes when he wants to get +behind the guard of his opponent. If anything, these demonstrations +only served to deepen the conviction of General Putnik that the +real danger was not from this quarter. + +But where was the first great blow to strike? Naturally, not only +the General Staff, but the whole army and population waited in +deep anxiety. This tension lasted over the last days of July, into +the first week of August, 1914. + +Then, on August 6, 1914, some Bosnian peasants, Serbs, appeared +and reported that they had seen great bodies of soldiers moving +along the mountain roads toward Syrmia, in northeastern Bosnia. Two +days later, early in the morning, two Austrian aeroplanes whirred +over the River Save and circled over Krupani, Shaoatz and Valievo. +The last doubts were then dispelled; the attack was coming from +the east. + +And finally, on August 12, 1914, the message flashed over the wires +that the outposts had seen boats in movement, full of soldiers, +behind an island on the Drina, opposite Loznitza. Near that town, +and in fact along the whole lower course of the Drina, the river +has frequently changed its channel, thus cutting out numerous small +islands, which would serve as a screen to the movements of troops +contemplating a crossing. Pontoon bridges could be built on the +farther side of almost any of these islands without being observed +from the other shore. This was exactly what the Austrians were +doing. + +Suddenly, on August 12, 1914, there came a burst of rifle fire +and the boom of heavy field guns, and a fleet of barges, under +cover of this fire, emerged from around both ends of one of these +islands and made for the Serbian shore. The two battalions of Third +Reserve Serbians, stationed there as an outpost, trained their +old De Bange field guns, of which they had two batteries, on the +oncoming swarms and began firing. But the Austrian fire became +heavier and heavier; a blast of steel pellets and shells swept +through the cornfields and the plum orchards, tearing through the +streets of the village and crumpling up the houses. The breastworks +of the small Serbian detachment were literally the center of a +continuous explosion of shells. + +When a full tenth of their number lay dead or disabled, the Serbians +began retiring across the cornfields and up the slopes leading +to the heights behind Losnitza. There, on higher ground, which +offered more effective shelter, they made a determined stand and +continued their fire on the Austrian masses. + +Having crossed the river, the Austrians threw up defensive breastworks +and dug elaborate trenches, thus fortifying their crossing. Next +they built a pontoon bridge, and then the main Austrian army poured +across; a whole army corps and two divisions of a second. + +Meanwhile, on the same day, August 12, 1914, a similar event was +happening at Shabatz, on the Save, where that river takes a sharp +southward turn and then swings up again before joining the Danube +at Belgrade. Here the country is a level plain, really the southern +limit of the great plain which stretches up to the Danube, past +Belgrade and so into Hungary. Here, too, the Austrians screened +themselves behind an island in the river, then hurled their forces +across, driving the feeble detachment of Third Reserve Serbian troops +back across the plain up into the hills lying to the southeast +of Shabatz. Then the advance guard of the Austrian Fourth Army +occupied the town, strongly fortified it and built a pontoon bridge +across the river from their railroad terminus at Klenak. + +Further passages of a similar nature were forced that day, August +12, 1914, at other points by smaller forces; one at Zvornik and +another at Liubovia. In addition the Austrians also threw bridges +across the river at Amajlia and Branjevo. Thus it will be seen +that the invasion covered a front of considerably over a hundred +miles and that six strong columns of the enemy had crossed, all of +which naturally converged on Valievo. For Valievo was the terminus +of a small, single track railroad which joined the main line at +Mladenovatz. Thus the Austrians would have a convenient side door +open into the heart of Serbia which was, of course, their main +objective. To this Belgrade was merely incidental. With this line +of transport and communication in Austrian hands, Belgrade would +fall of itself. + +From Losnitza, where the main column of Austrians crossed the Drina +to Valievo, runs the River Jadar, along a level valley, which narrows +as it nears Valievo. On the left-hand side of the Jadar Valley rise +the southern slopes of the Tzer Mountains, covered with cornfields, +prune orchards, with here and there a stretch of thick timber. +Continuing southward, slightly to the eastward, up the Jadar Valley +another range rises, slightly smaller than the Tzer Mountains, +forming a smaller valley which branches off eastward. Along this +runs the River Leshnitza, parallel with the Jadar until it makes +an independent junction with the Drina. Still farther up the valley +the foothills of the Iverak ridges are lost in a series of fairly +important summits which closely flank the Jadar River. + +To the south of the Jadar River the valley stretches into a rolling +plain, which rises abruptly into the giant Guchevo Mountains. It is +this range, converging with the Tzer and Iverak Mountains toward +Valievo, and forming the plain of the Jadar Valley, which was presently +to become the center of the first great battle between the Serbians +and Austrians. + +A military movement against Valievo, therefore, demanded complete +possession of these two ridges, which overlooked the line of march. +This the Austrians knew well enough, even before the first of their +troops had crossed the Drina. As is well known, the best maps, not +only of Serbia but of all the Balkan countries, have been made by +Austrian engineers. There was probably not a spur, not a fissure, +certainly not a trail, of these mountains that had not been carefully +surveyed and measured by engineers of the Austrian staff. + +The Austrians knew the country they were invading quite as well +as did the native Serbians. All through it may be said that it was +not through want of accurate knowledge that the Austrians finally +met disaster. Rather was it because they misjudged the relative +values of their facts. And one of their first mistakes was in +overestimating the effects of the two Balkan Wars on the efficiency of +the Serbian army. First of all, as was obvious from the leisureliness +with which they proceeded to occupy the two mountain chains in +question, that they vastly misjudged the capacity of the Serbian +troops to make rapid movements. Even as the first shots were being +fired across the Drina at Losnitza, the Serbian forces were on +the move, westward. Two army corps were at once rushed toward the +Valley of the Jadar; part of a third was sent to block the advance +of the Austrians from Shabatz. Meanwhile the Austrians took their +time. For two days they busied themselves fortifying the bridge +at Losnitza. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER XLIX + +THE GREAT BATTLES BEGIN + +On August 14, 1914, began the first battle of the Serbian campaign. +The Austrians proceeded to storm the heights from which the small +outpost detachments had all the time been bombarding them with +its old-fashioned guns. The Serbians, though few in number, made +a desperate resistance. It was their business to hold back the +enemy as long as possible, even until the reenforcements should +arrive. + +Early in the morning of August 14, 1914, the Austrians advanced +in a great mass, then charged up the hillsides toward the Serbian +position. The Serbians waited until they were well up the steep +slopes and the rush of the enemy had subsided to a more toilsome +climb. Then they sent down volley after volley from every available +weapon. + +The Austrian soldiers, who had until then never experienced anything +more warlike than field maneuvers, lost their nerves; the first +line broke and ran at the first fire. However, that was likely +to happen to any troops under fire for the first time. Down in +the plain they formed again, and again they swept up the slopes. +This time they did not turn at the first volley. On they came, +with fixed bayonets. And presently the first line reached the top +of the heights, and the fighting was hand-to-hand. For a moment the +Serbians, overwhelmed by numbers, were on the point of fleeing. But +these same men had been through many a hand-to-hand encounter with +both Turks and Bulgars; that experience stood them in good stead. +And again they swept back the attacking masses of Austria-Hungary. + +By evening, August 14, 1914, the Austrians had not yet taken the +heights. But the Serbians, most of them middle-aged and old men, +had spent their vitality. As the dark night lowered over the scene, +they fell back, until, at Jarebitze, they met the first advance +guards of the oncoming Serbian main army. And here they halted, and +the united forces proceeded to dig a trench on a ten-mile front, +extending from north to south, through the town and clear across +the Jadar Valley. Nor did the Austrians then attempt to follow up +this first success. Thus the Serbians were allowed to intrench +themselves unmolested until, next day, August 15, 1914, they were +joined by the balance of their forces. + +Now, by studying the map, it will be seen at a glance that it was +only the Tzer Mountains which separated the Austrian column crossing +the Drina at Losnitza and the column which had crossed the Save and +had occupied Shabatz. Should the Austrians from over the Drina get +possession of the Tzer ridges, they would thus effect a junction +with the forces in Shabatz, and so form a line that would cut off a +large portion of northwestern Serbia. Aside from that, they would +have a solid front. But should the Serbians possess themselves +of the Tzer ridges first, then they would have driven a wedge in +between their two main forces. This would make it difficult for +either to advance, for then they would be exposing a flank to the +enemy, who would also have a great advantage in position. Moreover, +the Serbians would be in a position to turn immediately toward either +of the Austrians' columns, whichever might need most attention. + +Meanwhile, the Serbian cavalry had made a reconnaissance toward +Shabatz. They immediately sent back reports of overwhelming forces +occupying the town. It was out of the question to make any attack +there for the present. + +It was now learned, for the first time, that another of the enemy's +columns had crossed the Drina far down in the south, and was marching +on Krupanie, just below the Guchevo Mountains and on the way to +the upper part of the Jadar Valley. However, as the first report +seemed to indicate that this was only a minor force, a small force +of third reserve men was detached to hold this force back and prevent +its entrance into the main field of operations. + +During the day and night of August 15,1914, the two opposing forces +were moving into position for battle: setting the pawns for the +game of strategy that was to be played. The Austrians at Losnitza +were advancing up the mountain slopes and took possession of the +Tzer and Iverak ridges, straddling the Leshnitza Valley. + +Up in Shabatz, Austrian troops were pouring across the pontoon +bridges. A flanking column, coming from the Drina, had arrived +at Slepehevitch. Another force was stationed with its left and +center on Krupani, its right spread out into the mountains north +of Liubovia. + +On the Serbian side the right wing of the Second Army, screened +by the cavalry division, were preparing to cut off the Austrian +forces in the north from their juncture with those advancing along +the Tzer ridges; the center and left was marching on the enemy on +the Iverak ridges, in conjunction with the right of the Third Army, +then north of Jarebitze. The center of the Third held the positions +south of Jarebitze, while its left, split into small detachments, +had been directed to oppose the invasion toward Krupanie and the +advance from Liubovia. + +Such were the positions of the various forces as dawn broke brightly +on the morning of August 16, 1914. As the growing light made objects +visible, the extreme right division of the Serbian front, which +was creeping northward to cut off Shabatz, discovered a strong +Austrian column moving along the lower spurs of the Tzer Mountains. +Obviously this body was clearing the ground for a general descent of +the forces up along the ridges; a whole army corps. This movement +threatened to become a serious obstacle to the Serbian plan of +separating the Austrians in Shabatz from those farther south. But +the situation was saved by one of those incidents which sometimes +stand out above the savagery of warfare and give to it a touch +of grandeur. + +A young artillery officer, Major Djukitch, of the Fourth Artillery +Regiment, asked permission to go out and meet this body of advancing +Austrians with but a single cannon. He would create a diversion which +would give the Serbians time to adapt themselves to the changed +conditions, though the chances were very largely in favor of his +losing his life on this mission. Permission was granted. Calling +on volunteers from his command, he advanced with his single cannon +and took up a position in the path of the approaching enemy. The +moment he opened fire the Austrians, naturally not realizing that +only one cannon was opposing them, and believing that a large Serbian +force had surprised them, broke into a panic. Half an hour after he +had opened fire, the Serbian field commander sent a messenger to +Major Djukitch, ordering him to retire. In reply he sent a message +to the commander, describing the confusion he had created in the +Austrian ranks, and instead of retiring, he asked for reenforcements. +The balance of his own battery, a detachment of infantry, and a +cavalry division was sent him. The result was that the Austrian +column was temporarily driven back into the mountains. Hastily +re-forming, the Austrians now massed along a line extending from +Belikamen to Radlovatz, while the Serbians deployed along a front +running from Slatina through Metkovitch to Gusingrob. + +At 11 a. m., August 16, 1914, the two opposing forces opened fire +in earnest, up and down the line. All day the cannon roared and +the rifles and machine guns crackled; now and again the Austrians +would shoot forth from their line a sharp infantry attack, but these +were repulsed, with more and more difficulty as the day advanced, +for the Serbians were much inferior in numbers. Toward evening their +situation became very critical. Yet every part of the line held +out desperately, knowing that reenforcements were being hurried +forward from the rear as fast as men could move. + +And just before dark, along the roads from the eastward, came the +distant cheers from the advancing columns. An officer dashed up +on horseback shouting encouragement to the battered men in the +trenches. A cheer arose, which rolled up and down the line. Again +it rose, then, even before it had died out, with wild yells the +Serbians sprang over their breastworks and swept madly across the +intervening space to the Austrian lines; smashing through cornfields, +over rocks, through the tall grass of orchards. At their heels +followed the reenforcing soldiers, though they had that day marched +nearly sixty miles. Over the Austrian breastworks they surged, +like an angry wave from the sea, their bayonets gleaming in the +sunset glow. It was the kind of fighting they knew best; the kind +that both Serbians and Bulgars know best, the kind they had practiced +most. + +Small wonder if the inexperienced peasants from the plains of Hungary, +unused till then to any sight more bloody than a brawl in the village +inn, trembled before this onslaught. Their officers shouted +encouragement and oaths, barely audible above the mad yells of +the Serbians. Nevertheless, they gave way before the gleaming line +of bayonet blades before them. Some few rose to fight, stirred by +some long-submerged instinct generated in the days of Genghis Khan. +But the majority turned and fled, helter-skelter, down the sides of +the mountains toward the valleys, leaving behind guns, ammunition, +and cannon. One regiment, the Hundred and Second, stood its ground +and fought. As a result it was almost completely annihilated. The +same fate befell the Ninety-fourth Regiment. But the majority sought +and found safety in flight. By dark the whole Austrian center was +beaten back, leaving behind great quantities of war material. + + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER L + +FIRST VICTORY OF THE SERBIANS + +The Serbians had made their first move successfully on that day of +August 16, 1914. More important than this mere preliminary defeat +of the enemy was the fact that the Austrians in Shabatz were now +definitely cut off from any possible juncture with the Austrians +in the south. For the present they were debarred from entering +the main field of operations. This freed the Serbian cavalry for +action elsewhere. Meanwhile a portion of the right wing of the +Serbian line was detached to keep the Austrians inside Shabatz. + +Farther to the south the Serbians were not so decidedly successful. +The center of the Serbian Second Army, that directed against the +southern slopes of the Tzer Mountains and the Iverak ridges, had +arrived at Tekerish at midnight. + +As dawn broke on August 16, 1914, they perceived a strong Austrian +column descending from above, coming in the same direction. +Unfortunately the Serbians were in the midst of bald, rolling foothills, +while the Austrians were up among the tall timber which clothes the +mountain slopes at this point. The Serbians deployed, extending +their line from Bornololye through Parlok to Lisena, centering their +artillery at Kik. The Austrians made the best of their superior +position. + +For some hours there was furious firing, then, at about eight o'clock +the Austrian gunners got the range of the Serbian left flank with +their field pieces, which was compelled to fall back. But just +then timely reenforcements arrived from the rear, and the Serbians +dug themselves in. By evening the Serbians had lost over a thousand +men, though they had succeeded in taking 300 prisoners and several +machine guns from the Austrians. + +The left wing of the Second Army had, in the meantime, arrived +against Iverak. That this division was able to arrive at such a +timely juncture was due to its having made a forced march of fifty-two +miles over the mountain roads during the previous day. Yet before +dawn on the morning of August 16,1914, it was ready to continue +its march to Poporparlok. But then came the news that the Austrians +had driven back the left wing of the Third Army from that position +and had occupied it. + +The situation in which this division found itself was by no means +clear. Nothing had been heard from Shabatz. The division operating +along the Tzer ridges had been badly hammered. The Third Army had +lost Poporparlok. The commander decided to stay where he was and +simply hold the ground against any advance of the enemy from Iverak. +This division was, therefore, intrenched along a line from Begluk +to Kik, and a strong advance was thrown out toward Kugovitchi. +During the morning this advance guard made a strong attack against +Kugovitchi, drove the Austrians out, and established themselves +there. + +At dawn, August 16, 1914, the left flank of this division, at Begluk, +was shelled by the Austrian artillery, which was followed by infantry +attacks. These were easily repulsed during the day. But then the +enemy was reenforced, and late that night they came on again in great +masses. The Serbians allowed them to almost reach their trenches: +then, emptying the magazines of their rifles at them, they piled +themselves over their breastworks and into them with bayonets and +hand bombs. This was too much for the Austrians; they fled in wild +disorder. + +Least encouraging was the experience of the Serbian Third Army, +which was defending the territory south of the Iverak Mountains. +Here the Austrians developed a vigorous and persistent offensive, +hoping to turn the Serbian left and thus capture the road to Valievo. + +The attack on the positions at Jarebitze commenced at daybreak on +August 16, 1914. Here the Serbians held good ground: rocky summits, +but so limited in extent that there was room only for a few companies +at a time. On the other hand the ground before them was broken up +into hollows screened by growing corn. This enabled the Austrians +to deploy their lines beyond the Serbian flanks unseen. They did +execute just such a movement, and attempted to circle around toward +the Serbian rear. + +At the same time the Serbians here were attacked from in front +by another hostile column which had come from across the plain on +the south side of the Jadar valley, where hollows, sunken roads, +and fields of corn again formed ample screening. However, in spite +of all these movements, the Serbians were able to hold their own. +The Austrian attacks were all beaten back. Their position might +have been held indefinitely, but developments to the south were +taking on a threatening form. + +It will be remembered that an Austrian force had been reported +approaching from the south, moving on Krupanie, and that it had +seemed so insignificant that a small detachment of third reserve +troops had been sent to hold it back. But this enemy force now +developed into three mountain brigades. + +Reenforcements of infantry and mountain artillery were hurried +down to support the retaining force, but the Austrians were able to +force their way on toward Zavlaka. Seeing Valievo thus threatened, +the Serbians retired from their position at Jarebitze and took up +a new position along a line from Marianovitche to Schumer, thus +enabling them to face both the enemy columns. This retreat was +fortunately not interfered with by the Austrians, though in executing +it the Serbian artillery, which had been in position on the right +bank of the Jadar, was obliged to pass along the Austrian front +in single file, in order to gain the main road. + +Early the next morning, August 17, 1914, the Serbians were in position +and had extended their line to Soldatovitcha, whence the detachment +from Krupanie had retired. Summing up the day's fighting, and +considering it as a whole, it will be seen that the Austrians had +pretty well held their own, except on their extreme left, where +they had failed to get in touch with their forces in Shabatz. + +After the defeat of the Austrians at Belikamen on August 16, 1914, +the cavalry division was reenforced by some infantry and artillery, +then sent on the delicate mission of driving a wedge in between +the Austrians in Shabatz and those along the Drina. Spreading out +across the Matchva plain, its left wing up against the slopes of +the Tzer Mountains, and its right wing within reach of Shabatz, +it advanced as far as Dublje in the north. At the same time it +was able to assist the column advancing along the Tzer ridges by +playing its artillery on the Austrian position in the mountains at +Troyan. Throughout all the fighting this cavalry division rendered +notable service by its dismounted action. + +On the morning of August 17, 1914, the extreme right of the Serbian +front now turned toward Shabatz. Though only half the number of the +forces they were proceeding to engage, they continued onward. But +on closer approach it became apparent that they could do nothing more +than hold the Austrians inside the town. So well and so thoroughly +had the Austrians fortified themselves that it was hopeless for +so small a force to attempt an attack. Thus this section of the +Serbian front settled down to wait for reenforcements. + +The center and left of the Second Army now prepared to advance +along the Tzer and Iverak ridges. The Austrians in this section, +who had suffered so severely the day before at Belikamen, were +now concentrated around Troyan, the most easterly and the second +highest peak of the chain. + +At dawn on August 17, 1914, the Serbians located the Austrians. +Immediately they began a heavy artillery fire on this position, +then proceeded to infantry attack. Two regiments hurled themselves +up the slopes, and with bayonets and hand bombs drove the Austrians +back. After that no further progress was possible that day, the +Serbians having to wait for their artillery to come up. The Austrians +now began intrenching themselves on the heights of Kosaningrad, +the loftiest portion of the Tzer range. + +Along the Iverak ridges the Austrians made a determined advance. +The situation of the Serbian troops in this section, the left wing +of the Second Army, was extremely dangerous, for their left flank +was becoming exposed by the continued retreat of the Third Army. +The only hopeful aspect of their situation was that the Austrians +were also having their left flank exposed by the retreat of the +Austrians along the Tzer ridges. Evidently the opposing forces +realized this fact, for they made a fierce attempt to drive back +the Serbians opposing them, so that their danger from the north +might be lessened. Half an hour later they were severely repulsed. +But heavy reenforcements came up to the Austrians just then, and +again they attacked, this time more successfully. + +By noon, August 17, 1914, the Austrians had extended their line +over to the Serbian right wing. + +Unfortunately, at about that time the Third Army again called for +assistance, and this hard-pressed division was compelled to send +it. The result was that it was compelled to withdraw gradually to +the heights of Kalem. The retirement was executed in good order, +and the Austrians satisfied themselves with occupying Kugovitchi. +Intrenching themselves in their new position, the Serbians awaited +further attacks. Only an ineffectual artillery fire was maintained +by the enemy. Meanwhile came the good news of the success of the +Serbians along the Tzer ridges, so preparations were made for another +advance on the following day, August 18, 1914. + +As has already been stated, the extreme south wing of the Serbian +front, the Third Army, had retreated the day before so that it +could present a solid front against not only the forces opposing +it, but also another column coming up from the south, whose advance +had been inadequately covered by third reserve men. Here the Austrians +attempted to pierce the Serbian line in the extreme south and come +out at Oseshina. But though vastly outnumbered, the Serbians held +their ground stoutly until late afternoon, when, as already shown, +they were compelled to ask the division operating along Iverak for +assistance. When this help came they were able to resume their +defense. + +Thus ended the second day of the general battle. On the whole the +Austrians had suffered most, but the general situation was still +somewhat in their favor. The Austrian center, along the Tzer ridges, +had been pushed back. To retrieve this setback the logical course +for the Austrian commander in chief was to curl his wings in around +the Serbian flanks. That he appreciated this necessity was obvious, +to judge from the furious onslaughts against the Serbian Third Army +in the extreme south. But to weaken the Serbian center by these +tactics it was also necessary to free the Austrians in Shabatz, or, +at least, it was necessary that they should assume a strong offensive +against the extreme right of the Serbians, and, if possible, flank +them. + +But the Serbians anticipated the plans of the Austrians. Additional +reenforcements were sent to the extreme right with orders to spare +no sacrifice that would keep the Austrians inclosed within their +fortifications around Shabatz. + +And true enough, next morning, August 18, 1914, shortly after the hot +summer sun had risen over the eastern ridges, the Austrians emerged +from Shabatz and attacked the Serbians. The Austrian onslaught was +furious, so furious that, step by step, the Serbians, in spite of +their reenforcements, were driven back. Fortunately toward evening +the Austrian offensive began losing its strength, and that night +the Serbians were able to intrench along a line from Leskovitz +to Mihana. + +This obliged the cavalry division, which had been cooperating with +the Serbian center and was driving the Austrians toward Leshnitza, +to retire along a line from Metkovitch to Brestovatz. Naturally the +advance of the Austrians from Shabatz was endangering its right +flank. Moreover, a reenforced column of Austrians also appeared +before it. But this opposing force did not press its advance. + +Meanwhile, on the same day, August 18, 1914, the Austrians were +reenforcing their position on the Tzer ridges. They had also strongly +fortified the height of Rashulatcha, which lay between the heights +of Tzer and Iverak, whence they could direct an artillery fire +to either field of activities. + +But the difficulties which the Serbians operating along the Iverak +ridges were meeting also hampered the Serbians who were attempting +to sweep the Austrians back along the Tzer ridges. If they advanced +too far they would expose their flank to the Austrians over on +Iverak. As a general rule, it is always dangerous for any body of +troops to advance any distance beyond the general line of the whole +front, and this case was no exception. However, though delayed, +this division did advance. Oxen were employed in dragging the heavy +field pieces along the trails over the rocky ridges. + +With savage yells the Serbian soldiers leaped over the rocks, up +the jagged slopes of Kosaningrad. Again they had fallen back on +their favorite weapons, bayonets and hand bombs. The Austrians +put up a stout resistance, but finally their gray lines broke, +then scattered down the slopes, followed by the pursuing Serbians. +Having gained possession of Kosaningrad Peak, the Serbian commander +next turned his attention to Rashulatcha, which, in conjunction +with the Serbians over on Iverak, could now be raked by a cross +artillery fire. He had previously left a reserve force behind at +Troyan. This he now ordered to reenforce his left, which had been +advancing along the southern slopes of the Tzer range. This force he +now directed against the heights, but the movement was not vigorously +followed up. + +Over on Iverak the Serbians had succeeded in making some headway. +Forming into two columns, this wing marched out and attacked the +Austrians at Yugovitchi and succeeded in driving them from their +trenches. But immediately the Austrian artillery on Reingrob opened +fire on them, and they were compelled to dig themselves in. And +late that night, August 18, 1914, the Austrians delivered a fierce +counterattack. But night fighting is especially a matter of experience, +and here the Serbians with their two Balkan campaigns behind them, +proved immensely superior. They drove the Austrians back with their +bayonets. + +During that same day, August 18, 1914, the Austrians had renewed +their pressure on the Third Army and the Third Ban men. Soldatovitcha +was their first objective. During the day reenforcements arrived +and the commanding general was able to hold his own, retaking +Soldatovitcha after it had once been lost. Thus ended the day of +August 18, 1914, the third day of the battle. + +Early next morning, on August 19, 1914, the Austrians in Shabatz +renewed their efforts to penetrate the Serbian lines to the southward. +So determined was their effort that finally the Serbians in this +sector were driven back over on to the right bank of the River +Dobrava. All day the fighting continued, the Serbians barely holding +their position, strong as it was. + +This success of the Austrians hampered the cavalry division, which +had not only to secure its flank, but had also to keep between the +Shabatz Austrians and the Serbians operating on Tzer, whom they +might have attacked from the rear. + +Along the Tzer ridges, however, things were going well for the +Serbians. At noon they had taken Rashulatcha, which left the column +free to continue its pursuit of the fleeing Austrians along the +ridges. From the heights above the Serbian guns fired into the +retreating Austrians down along the Leshnitza River, turning the +retreat into a mad panic. By evening the advance guard of this +division had arrived at Jadranska Leshnitza. + +In the early morning, August 19, 1914, the Serbians over on the +Iverak ridges had attacked in deadly earnest. Naturally the huge +success and rapid advance of the Serbians over on the Tzer ridges +were of great importance to them. Here the Austrians were put to +rout too. At 11 a. m. the Serbians stormed Velika Glava and took +it, but here their progress was checked by a strong artillery fire +from the west of Rashulatcha. Then rifle firing broke out along +the whole line from Velika Glava to Kik. Near Kik the Austrians +were massing in strong force, and the Third Army was reported to +be again in danger, this time from a hostile turning movement. +Fortunately general headquarters was able to come to the rescue with +reenforcements. This lessened the danger from Kik. Whereupon the +advance along Iverak was continued. By the middle of the afternoon, +when the Austrians were driven out of Reingrob, the Serbians controlled +the situation. The defeat of the Austrians was complete. + +The Third Army was again in trouble during this day, August 19, +1914. Its left flank continued its advance from Soldatovitcha, but +the Austrians attempted to pierce their center. But finally this +sorely tried section of the Serbian front emerged triumphant. Before +evening the Austrians were driven back in scattered disorder, leaving +behind them three hospitals filled with wounded, much material, +and 500 prisoners. + +Here ended the fourth day of the bloody struggle--August 19, 1914. +In the north around Shabatz the Austrians had made some advance, but +all along the rest of the line they had suffered complete disaster. +The two important mountain ridges, Tzer and Iverak, which dominated +the whole theatre of operations, were definitely in the hands of +the Serbians. And finally, the Third Army had at last broken down +the opposition against it. + +Next morning, August 20, 1914, dawned on a situation that was thoroughly +hopeless for the Austrians. Even up around Shabatz, where they +had been successful the day before, the Austrians, realizing that +all was lost to the southward, made only a feeble attack on the +Serbians, who were consequently able to recross the Dobrava River +and establish themselves on the right bank. + +The cavalry division, whose left flank was not freed by the clearing +of the Tzer ridges, hurled itself against the Austrians in the +plains before it and threw them into wild disorder. First they +shelled them, then charged. The panic-stricken Magyars fled through +the villages, across the corn fields, through the orchards. + +"Where is the Drina? Where is the Drina?" they shouted, whenever +they saw a peasant. A burning, tropical sun sweltered over the +plain. Many of the fleeing soldiers dropped from exhaustion and +were afterward taken prisoners. Others lost themselves in the marshy +hollows and only emerged days later, while still others, wounded, +laid down and died where they fell. + +In the Leshnitza similar scenes were taking place. From the ridges +above the Serbian guns roared and poured hurtling steel messages +of death down into the throngs of retreating Austrians. Some few +regiments, not so demoralized as the others, did indeed make several +attempts to fight rear-guard actions, to protect their fleeing +comrades, but they again were overwhelmed by the disorganized masses +in the rear pouring over them. + +In the Jadar valley another disorganized mob of Austrians was fleeing +before the Serbians up on the Iverak ridges, who also were pouring +a hot artillery fire into their midst. Presently the Third Army +joined in the mad chase. And now the whole Austrian army was wildly +fleeing for the Drina River. + +There remained only one exception during the early part of the +day, August 20, 1914. This was the Austrian forces on Kik, to the +northwest of Zavlaka. The Serbian reenforcements which, it will +be remembered, had originally been directed toward Marianovitche, +had been afterward sent westward, and at dawn on August 20 they +approached Kik in two columns. The left column occupied Osoye without +resistance, but in descending from that position, the Austrian +artillery opened fire on it. + +An hour later the right column came up and opened an artillery +fire, and under cover of this bombardment a Serbian regiment reached +the foot of the mountain. As was afterward learned, the Austrians +at this point had had their machine guns destroyed by the Serbian +artillery fire, and by this time their own artillery had been sent +back, in preparation for the retreat. Consequently they were only +able to receive the Serbian attack with rifle fire. + +At the height of this skirmish the extreme left of the Serbians +on Iverak, which had remained to guard against attack from this +quarter, moved over against the Austrians. The cross-fire was too +much for them; they turned and fled, leaving behind over six hundred +dead, the Serbians in this affair losing only seven killed. Jarebitze +was now occupied; the rest of the Serbians joined in the general +pursuit. + +That night, August 20, 1914, the Austrians swarmed across the Drina, +fleeing for their lives. By the next day the whole river bank was +cleared of them. Serbian soldiers lined the whole length of the +frontier in this section. There remained now only the Austrians +in Shabatz to deal with. The whole Serbian army was now able to +concentrate on this remaining force of the enemy left in Serbian +territory. + +Early on August 21, 1914, the attack began, and the Austrians here +fought stoutly. Indeed, all that day they held the Serbians off +from behind their intrenchments. On August 22, 1914, the Serbians +made a general assault. Fortunately they found a weakness in the +fortifications on the western side of the town. To create a diversion, +the Austrians delivered a counterattack along the road toward Varna. + +By the morning of August 24, 1914, the Serbians had brought up a +number of heavy siege guns. But when the general bombardment had +already commenced, it was found that the Austrians had evacuated +the town during the night, and retreated across the river. And +so the first Austrian invasion of Serbia came to its disastrous +end. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR, VOLUME +III (OF 12)*** + + +******* This file should be named 18213-8.txt or 18213-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/2/1/18213 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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