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diff --git a/25962.txt b/25962.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a7d658a --- /dev/null +++ b/25962.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13362 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of World's War Events, Vol. I, by Various + +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: World's War Events, Vol. I + +Author: Various + +Editor: Francis J. Reynolds + Allen L. Churchill + +Release Date: July 4, 2008 [EBook #25962] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORLD'S WAR EVENTS, VOL. I *** + + + + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +For the reader: The notation [oe] is used in this text to indicate the +presence of the oe-ligature in the original text. Further transcriber's +notes to be found at the end of the text. + +[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME AT RHEIMS] + + + + +WORLD'S WAR EVENTS + + RECORDED BY STATESMEN . COMMANDERS + HISTORIANS AND BY MEN WHO FOUGHT OR SAW + THE GREAT CAMPAIGNS + + +COMPILED AND EDITED BY + +FRANCIS J. REYNOLDS + +FORMER REFERENCE LIBRARIAN . LIBRARY OF CONGRESS + +AND + +ALLEN L. CHURCHILL + + ASSOCIATE EDITOR "THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR" + ASSOCIATE EDITOR "THE NEW INTERNATIONAL + ENCYCLOPEDIA" + + + +VOLUME I + + +[Illustration] + + + P. F. COLLIER & SON COMPANY + NEW YORK + +Copyright 1919 + +BY P. F. COLLIER & SON COMPANY + + + + +WORLD'S WAR EVENTS + +VOLUME I + + BEGINNING WITH THE CAUSES OF THE WAR + AND THE INVASION OF BELGIUM IN + 1914 AND CARRYING THE HISTORY + OF THE WAR TO + THE CLOSE OF + 1915 + + + + +CONTENTS + + + ARTICLE PAGE + + I. WHAT CAUSED THE WAR 7 + _Baron Beyens_ + + II. THE DEFENSE OF LIEGE 41 + _Charles Bronne_ + + III. THE GREAT RETREAT 62 + _Sir John French_ + + IV. THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE 73 + _Sir John French_ + + V. HOW THE FRENCH FOUGHT 83 + _French Official Account_ + + VI. THE RACE FOR THE CHANNEL 96 + _French Official Account_ + + VII. THE LAST DITCH IN BELGIUM 108 + _Arno Dosch_ + + VIII. WHY TURKEY ENTERED THE WAR 125 + _Roland G. Usher_ + + IX. THE FALKLAND SEA FIGHT 142 + _A. N. Hilditch_ + + X. CRUISE OF THE EMDEN 176 + _Captain Muecke_ + + XI. CAPTURE OF TSING-TAO 198 + _A. N. Hilditch_ + + XII. GALLIPOLI 221 + _A. John Gallishaw_ + + XIII. GAS: SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES 240 + _Colonel E. D. Swinton_ + + XIV. THE CANADIANS AT YPRES 248 + _By the Canadian Record Officer_ + + XV. SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA 277 + _Judicial Decision by Judge J. M. Mayer_ + + XVI. MOUNTAIN WARFARE 313 + _Howard C. Felton_ + + XVII. THE GREAT CHAMPAGNE OFFENSIVE OF 1915 322 + _Official Account of the French Headquarters Staff_ + + XVIII. THE TRAGEDY OF EDITH CAVELL 348 + _Brand Whitlock_ + + XIX. GALLIPOLI ABANDONED 366 + _General Sir Charles C. Monro_ + + XX. THE DEATH-SHIP IN THE SKY 375 + _Perriton Maxwell_ + + + + +WHAT CAUSED THE WAR + +BARON BEYENS + +The National Review, June, 1916. + + +I + +[Sidenote: Political designs of Francis Ferdinand.] + +The Archduke Francis Ferdinand will go down to posterity without having +yielded up his secret. Great political designs have been ascribed to +him, mainly on the strength of his friendship with William II. What do +we really know about him? He was strong-willed and obstinate, very +Clerical, very Austrian, disliking the Hungarians to such an extent that +he kept their statesmen at arm's-length, and having no love for Italy. +He has been credited with sympathies towards the Slav elements of the +Empire; it has been asserted that he dreamt of setting up, in place of +the dual monarchy, a "triune State," in which the third factor would +have been made up for the most part of Slav provinces carved out of the +Kingdom of St. Stephen. Immediately after he had been murdered, the +_Vossische Zeitung_ refuted this theory with arguments which seemed to +me thoroughly sound. + +The Archduke, said the Berlin newspaper, was too keen-witted not to see +that he would thus be creating two rivals for Austria instead of one, +and that the Serb populations would come within the orbit of Belgrade +rather than of Vienna. Serbia would become the Piedmont of the Balkans; +she would draw to herself the Slavs of the Danube valley by a process of +crystallization similar to that which brought about Italian unity. + +[Sidenote: Army and Navy reorganized.] + +From year to year the Archduke had acquired more and more weight in the +governance of the Empire, in proportion as his uncle's will grew weaker +beneath the burden of advancing age. Thus he had succeeded in his +efforts to provide Austria-Hungary with a new navy, the counterpart, on +a more modest scale, of the German fleet, and to reorganize the +effective army, here again taking Germany for his model. Among certain +cliques, he was accused of not keeping enough in the background, of +showing little tact or consideration in the manner of thrusting aside +the phantom Emperor, who was gently gliding into the winter of the years +at Schoenbrunn amid the veneration of his subjects of every race. + +Another charge was that he appointed too many of his creatures to +important civil and military posts. + +[Sidenote: Antagonism of Russia and Austria.] + +We may well believe that this prince, observing the gradual decay of the +monarchy, tried to restore its vigour, and that his first thought was to +hold with a firm grasp, even before assuming the Imperial crown, the +cluster of nationalities, mutually hostile and always discontented, that +go to make up the Dual Empire. So far as foreign relations are +concerned, we may assume that he was bent on winning her a place in the +first rank of Powers; that he wished, above all, to see her predominant +all along the Danube and in the Balkans; that he even aimed at giving +her the road to Salonika and the Levant, though it were at the price of +a collision with Russia. This antagonism between the two neighbour +Empires must have often been among the topics of his conversations with +William II. + +The Archduke needed military glory, prestige won on the battle-field, in +order to seat his consort firmly on the throne and make his children +heirs to the Caesars. He had been suspected, both in Austria and abroad, +of not wishing to observe the family compact which he had signed at the +time of his marriage with Countess Sophie Chotek. It was thought that he +perhaps reserved the right to declare it null and void, in view of the +constraint that had been put upon him. The successive honours that had +drawn the Duchess of Hohenberg from the obscurity in which the +morganatic wife of a German prince is usually wrapped, and had brought +her near to the steps of the throne, showed clearly that her rise would +not stop half-way. + +[Sidenote: Domestic life of the Archduke.] + +The Archduke, like William II himself, was reputed to be an exemplary +father and husband. He was one of those princes who adore their own +children, but, under the spur of political ambition, are very prone to +send the children of others to the shambles. A fine theme for Socialist +and Republican preachers to enlarge upon! + +I often met the heir to the Imperial crown, especially at Vienna in +1910, where I had the honour of accompanying my Sovereign, and two years +later at Munich, the Prince Regent's funeral. + +On each occasion this Hapsburg, with his heavy features, his scowling +expression, and his rather corpulent figure (quite different from the +slim build characteristic of his line), struck me as a singular type. +His face was certainly not sympathetic, nor was his manner engaging. The +Duchess of Hohenberg, whom, after having known her as a little girl when +her father was Austrian Minister at Brussels, I found gracefully doing +the honours in the Belvedere Palace, had retained in her high station +the genial simplicity of the Chotek family. This probably did not +prevent her from cherishing the loftiest ambitions for herself, and +above all for her eldest son, and from coveting the glory of the double +crown. + + +II + +[Sidenote: Assassination of Francis Ferdinand.] + +The news that an assassin's hand had struck down the Archduke and his +wife, inseparable even in death, burst upon Berlin on the afternoon of +Sunday, June 28, like an unexpected thunderclap in the midst of a calm +summer's day. I went over at once to the Austro-Hungarian Embassy, in +order to express all the horror that I felt at this savage drama. Count +Szoegyen, the senior member of the diplomatic corps, was on the eve of +resigning the post that he had held for twenty years, honoured by all +his colleagues. It was whispered that his removal had been asked for by +the Archduke, who was anxious to introduce young blood into the +diplomatic service. I found the Ambassador quite overcome by the +terrible news. He seemed stricken with grief at the thought of his aged +Sovereign, who had already lost so many of his nearest and dearest, and +of the Dual Empire, robbed of its most skillful pilot, and with no one +to steer it now but an octogenarian leaning on a youth of twenty-six. M. +Cambon had come to the Embassy at the same time, and we left together +discussing the results, still impossible to foresee clearly, that this +fatality might have for European affairs. + +[Sidenote: Serajevo tragedy a menace.] + +From the very next day the tone of the Berlin Press, in commenting on +the Serajevo tragedy, was full of menace. It expected the Vienna Cabinet +to send to Belgrade an immediate request for satisfaction, if Serbian +subjects, as it was believed, were among those who had devised and +carried out the plot. But how far would this satisfaction go, and in +what form would it be demanded? There was the rub. The report, issued by +the semi-official _Lokalanzeiger_, of a pressure exerted by the +Austro-Hungarian Minister, with a view to making the Serbian Government +institute proceedings against the anarchist societies of which the +Archduke and his wife had been the victims, surprised no one, but was +not confirmed. On the other hand, a softer breeze soon blew from Vienna +and Budapest, and under its influence the excitement of the Berlin +newspapers suddenly abated. An order seemed to have been issued: the +rage and fluster of the public were to be allowed to cool down. The +Austro-Hungarian Government, so we were informed by the news agencies, +were quietly taking steps to prosecute the murderers. Count Berchtold, +in speaking to the diplomatic corps at Vienna, and Count Tisza, in +addressing Parliament at Budapest, used reassuring language, which +raised hopes of a peaceful solution. + +[Sidenote: Opinion is moderate in Berlin.] + +The Wilhelmstrasse also expressed itself in very measured terms on the +guarantees that would be demanded from Serbia. Herr Zimmermann, without +knowing (so he said to me) what decision had been arrived at in Vienna, +thought that no action would be taken in Belgrade until the +Austro-Hungarian Government had collected the proofs of the complicity +of Serbian subjects or societies in the planning of the Serajevo crime. +He had made a similar statement to the Russian Ambassador, who had +hastened to impart to him his fears for the peace of Europe, in the +event of any attempt to coerce Serbia into proceeding against the secret +societies, if they were accused of intrigues against the Austrian +Government in Bosnia and Croatia. Herr Zimmermann declared to M. +Sverbeeff that, in his opinion, no better advice could be given to the +Serbian Government than this: that it should put a stop to the nefarious +work of these societies and punish the accomplices of the Archduke's +assassins. The moderation of this remark fairly reflected the general +state of public opinion in Berlin. + +[Sidenote: Kaiser William's opinion.] + +But what of the Emperor, the Archduke's personal friend? Would not his +grief and anger find voice in ringing tones? All eyes were turned +towards Kiel, where the fatal news reached William II while he was +taking part in a yacht race on board his own clipper. He turned pale, +and was heard to murmur: "So my work of the past twenty-five years will +have to be started all over again!" Enigmatic words which may be +interpreted in various ways! To the British Ambassador, who was also at +Kiel, with the British squadron returning from the Baltic, he unburdened +himself in more explicit fashion: "Es ist ein Verbrechen gegen das +Deutschtum" ("It is a crime against Germanity"). By this he probably +meant that Germany, feeling her own interests assailed by the Serajevo +crime, would make common cause with Austria to exact a full retribution. +With more self-control than usual, however, he abstained from all +further public utterances on the subject. + +It had been announced that he would go to Vienna to attend the +Archduke's funeral. What were the motives that prevented him from +offering to the dead man this last token of a friendship which, at first +merely political, had become genuine and even tender, with a touch of +patronage characteristic of the Emperor? + +[Sidenote: William II not at the funeral.] + +He excused himself on the ground of some slight ailment. The truth is, +no doubt, that he was disgusted with the wretched stickling for +etiquette shown by the Grand Chamberlain of the Viennese Court, the +Prince di Montenuovo, who refused to celebrate with fitting splendour +the obsequies of the late heir apparent and his morganatic wife. Under +these circumstances, Vienna could have no desire either for the presence +of William II or for his criticisms. + +[Sidenote: The Kaiser goes to Norway.] + +At the beginning of July, the Emperor left for his accustomed cruise +along the Norwegian coast, and in Berlin we breathed more freely. If he +could withdraw so easily from the centre of things, it was a sign that +the storm-clouds that had nearly burst over Serbia were also passing off +from the Danube valley. Such, I fancy, was the view taken by the British +Government, for its Ambassador, who was already away on leave, was not +sent back to Berlin. Other diplomats, among them the Russian Ambassador, +took their annual holiday as usual. But the Emperor, in the remote +fiords of Norway, was all the time posted up in the secret designs of +the Vienna Cabinet. The approaching ultimatum to Serbia was telegraphed +to him direct by his Ambassador in Vienna, Herr von Tschirsky, a very +active worker, who strenuously advocated a policy of hostility towards +Russia, and from the first moment had wanted war. + +[Sidenote: The Kaiser decides.] + +We may assume that the Emperor, if his mind was not already made up at +Kiel, came to a decision during his Norwegian cruise. His departure for +the north had been merely a snare, a device for throwing Europe and the +Triple Entente off the scent, and for lulling them into a false +security. While the world imagined that he was merely seeking to soothe +his nerves and recruit his strength with the salt sea breezes, he was +biding his time for a dramatic reappearance on the stage of events, +allowing the introductory scenes to be played in his absence. + + +III + +During the first half of July, my colleagues and I at Berlin did not +live in a fool's paradise. As the deceptive calm caused by Vienna's +silence was prolonged, a latent, ill-defined uneasiness took hold of us +more and more. Yet we were far from anticipating that in the space of a +few days we should be driven into the midst of a diplomatic maelstrom, +in which, after a week of intense anguish, we should look on, mute and +helpless, at the shipwreck of European peace and of all our hopes. + +[Sidenote: Austria's ultimatum to Serbia.] + +The ultimatum, sent in the form of a Note by Baron von Giesl to the +Serbian Cabinet on July 23, was not disclosed by the Berlin newspapers +until the following day, in their morning editions. This bolt from the +blue proved more alarming than anything we had dared to imagine. The +shock was so unexpected that certain journals, losing their composure, +seemed to regard the Vienna Cabinet's arraignment as having overshot the +mark. "Austria-Hungary," said the _Vossische Zeitung_, "will have to +justify the grave charges that she makes against the Serbian Government +and people by publishing the results of the preliminary investigations +at Serajevo." + +[Sidenote: Russia would defend Serbia.] + +My own conviction, shared by several of my colleagues, was that the +Austrian and Hungarian statesmen could not have brought themselves to +risk such a blow at the Balkan kingdom, without having consulted their +colleagues at Berlin and ascertained that the Emperor William would +sanction the step. His horror of regicides and his keen sense of +dynastic brotherhood might explain why he left his ally a free hand, in +spite of the danger of provoking a European conflict. That danger was +only too real. Not for one moment did I suppose that Russia would prove +so careless of Serbia's fate as to put up with this daring assault on +the latter's sovereignty and independence; that the St. Petersburg +Cabinet would renounce the principle of "The Balkans for the Balkan +nations," proclaimed to the Duma two months before by M. Sazonoff, in +short, that the Russian people would disown the ancient ties of blood +that united it with the Slav communities of the Balkan peninsula. + +The pessimistic feeling of the diplomatic corps was increased on the +following day, the 25th, by the language addressed to it at the +Wilhelmstrasse. Herren von Jagow and Zimmermann said that they had not +known beforehand the contents of the Austrian Note. This was a mere +quibble: they had not known its actual wording, I grant, but they had +certainly been apprised of its tenor. They hastened to add, by the way, +that the Imperial Government approved of its ally's conduct, and did not +consider the tone of its communication unduly harsh. The Berlin Press, +still with the exception of the Socialist organs, had recovered from its +astonishment of the day before; it joined in the chorus of the Vienna +and Budapest newspapers, from which it gave extracts, and faced the +prospect of a war with perfect calm, while expressing the hope that it +would remain localized. + +[Sidenote: No signs of peaceful settlement.] + +In comparison with the attitude of the German Government and Press, the +signs pointing to a peaceful settlement seemed faint indeed. They all +came from outside Germany, from the impressions recorded in foreign +telegrams. Public opinion in Europe could not grasp the need for such +hectoring methods of obtaining satisfaction, when there was no case for +refusing discussion on the normal diplomatic lines. It seemed impossible +that Count Berchtold should ignore the general movement of reproof which +appeared spontaneously everywhere but in Berlin against his ultimatum. A +moderate claim would have seemed just; but Serbia could not be asked to +accept a demand for so heavy an atonement, couched in a form of such +unexampled brutality. + +[Sidenote: Key to the situation in Berlin.] + +The more I reflected on the ghastly situation created by the collusion +of German and Austro-Hungarian diplomacy, the more certain did I feel +that the key to that situation (as M. Sazonoff said later) lay in +Berlin, and that there was no need to look further for the solution of +the problem. If, however, the choice between peace and war was left to +the discretion of the Emperor William, whose influence over his ally in +Vienna had always overruled that of others, then, considering what I +knew as to His Majesty's personal inclinations and the plans of the +General Staff, the upshot of it all was no longer in doubt, and no hope +of a peaceful arrangement could any longer be entertained. I +communicated this dismal forecast to the French Ambassador, whom I went +to see on the evening of the 25th. Like myself, M. Cambon laboured under +no illusions. That very night I wrote to my Government, in order to +acquaint it with my fears and urge it to be on its guard. This report, +dated the 26th, I entrusted, as a measure of precaution, to one of my +secretaries, who at once left for Brussels. Early next morning, my +dispatch was in the hands of the Belgian Foreign Minister. + +[Sidenote: War aimed at Russia and France.] + +The ultimatum to Serbia [it ran] is a blow contrived by Vienna and +Berlin, or rather, contrived here and carried out at Vienna. Requital +for the assassination of the Austrian heir apparent and the Pan-Serb +propaganda serves as a stalking-horse. The real aim, apart from the +crushing of Serbia and the stifling of Jugo-Slav aspirations, is to deal +a deadly thrust at Russia and France, with the hope that England will +stand aside from the struggle. In order to vindicate this theory, I beg +to remind you of the view prevailing in the German General Staff, +namely, that a war with France and Russia is unavoidable and close at +hand--a view which the Emperor has been induced to share. This war, +eagerly desired by the military and Pan-German party, might be +undertaken to-day under conditions extremely favourable for Germany, +conditions that are not likely to arise again for some time to come. + +After a summary of the situation and of the problems that it raised, my +report concluded as follows: + + We, too, have to ask ourselves these harassing + questions, and keep ourselves ready for the + worst; for the European conflict that has + always been talked about, with the hope that it + would never break out, is to-day becoming a + grim reality. + +[Sidenote: Dangers for Belgium.] + + The worst contingencies that occurred to me, as + a Belgian, were the violation of a part of our + territory and the duty that might fall upon our + soldiers of barring the way to the + belligerents. In view of the vast area over + which a war between France and Germany would be + fought, dared we hope that Belgium would be + safe from any attack by the German army, from + any attempt to use her strategic routes for + offensive purposes? I could not bring myself to + believe that she would be so fortunate. But + between such tentatives and a thoroughgoing + invasion of my country, plotted a long time in + advance and carried out before the real + operations of the war had begun, there was a + wide gulf, a gulf that I never thought the + Imperial Government capable of leaping over + with a light heart, because of the European + complications which so reckless a disdain for + treaties would not fail to involve. + + +IV + +Until the end of the crisis, the idea of a preventive war continually +recurred to my mind. Other heads of legations, however, while sharing +my anxieties on this point, did not agree with me as to the +premeditation of which I accused the Emperor and the military chiefs. I +was not content with putting my questions to the French Ambassador, +whose unerring judgment always carried great weight with me. I also +visited his Italian colleague, an astute diplomat, thoroughly versed in +German statecraft. He had always put me in mind of those dexterous +agents employed by the sixteenth-century Italian republics. + +[Sidenote: Signor Bollati's views.] + +[Sidenote: Germany and Austria confident.] + +According to Signor Bollati, the German Government, agreeing in +principle with the Vienna Cabinet as to the necessity for chastising +Serbia, had not known beforehand the terms of the Austrian Note, the +violence of which was unprecedented in the language of Chancelleries. +Vienna, as well as Berlin, was convinced that Russia, in spite of the +official assurances that had recently passed between the Tsar and M. +Poincare regarding the complete readiness of the French and Russian +armies, was not in a position to enter on a European war, and that she +would not dare to embark upon so hazardous an adventure. Internal +troubles, revolutionary intrigues, incomplete armaments, inadequate +means of communication--all these reasons would compel the Russian +Government to be an impotent spectator of Serbia's undoing. The same +confidence reigned in the German and Austrian capitals as regards, not +the French army, but the spirit prevailing among Government circles in +Paris. + +At present [added the Ambassador] feeling runs so high in Vienna that +all calm reflection goes by the board. Moreover, in seeking to +annihilate Serbia's military power, the Austro-Hungarian Cabinet is +pursuing a policy of personal revenge. It cannot realize the mistakes +that it made during the Balkan War, or remain satisfied with the +partial successes then gained with our aid--successes that, whatever +judgment may be passed upon them, were certainly diplomatic victories. +All that Count Berchtold sees to-day is Serbia's insolence and the +criticism he has had to endure even in Austria. By this bold stroke, +very unexpected from a man of his stamp, he hopes to turn the criticism +into applause. + +The Ambassador held that Berlin had false ideas as to the course that +the Tsar's Government would adopt. The latter would find itself forced +into drawing the sword, in order to maintain its prestige in the Slav +world. Its inaction, in face of Austria's entry into the field, would be +equivalent to suicide. Signor Bollati also gave me to understand that a +widespread conflict would not be popular in Italy. The Italian people +had no concern with the overthrow of the Russian power, which was +Austria's enemy; it wished to devote all its attention to other +problems, more absorbing from its own point of view. + +[Sidenote: Vienna welcomes war on Serbia.] + +The blindness of the Austrian Cabinet with regard to Russian +intervention has been proved by the correspondence, since published, of +the French and British representatives at Vienna. The Viennese populace +was beside itself with joy at the announcement of an expedition against +Serbia, which, it felt sure, would be a mere military parade. Not for a +single night were Count Berchtold's slumbers disturbed by the vision of +the Russian peril. He is, indeed, at all times a buoyant soul, who can +happily mingle the distractions of a life of pleasure with the heavy +responsibilities of power. His unvarying confidence was shared by the +German Ambassador, his most trusted mentor. We can hardly suppose that +the Austrian Minister shut his eyes altogether to the possibility of a +struggle with the Slav world. Having Germany as his partner, however, +he determined, with the self-possession of a fearless gambler, to +proceed with the game. + +At Berlin, the theory that Russia was incapable of facing a conflict +reigned supreme, not only in the official world and in society, but +among all the manufacturers who made a specialty of war material. + +[Sidenote: Berlin believes Russia weak.] + +Herr Krupp von Bohlen, who was more entitled to give an opinion than any +other of this class, declared on July 28 that the Russian artillery was +neither efficient nor complete, while that of the German army had never +before been so superior to all its rivals. It would be madness on +Russia's part, he inferred, to take the field against Germany under +these conditions. + + +V + +The foreign diplomatic corps was kept in more or less profound ignorance +as to the _pourparlers_ carried on since the 24th by the Imperial +Foreign Office with the Triple Entente Cabinets. Nevertheless, to the +diplomats who were continually going over to the Wilhelmstrasse for +news, the crisis was set forth in a light very favourable to Austria and +Germany, in order to influence the views of the Governments which they +represented. Herr von Stumm, the departmental head of the political +branch, in a brief interview that I had with him on the 26th, summed up +his exposition in these words: "Everything depends on Russia." I should +rather have thought that everything depended on Austria, and on the way +in which she would carry out her threats against Serbia. + +On the following day I was received by Herr Zimmermann, who adopted the +same line of argument, following it in all its bearings from the origin +of the dispute. + +It was not at our prompting [he said], or in accordance with our advice, +that Austria took the action that you know of towards the Belgrade +Cabinet. The answer was unsatisfactory, and to-day Austria is +mobilizing. She can no longer draw back without risking a collapse at +home as well as a loss of influence abroad. It is now a question of life +and death to her. She must put a stop to the unscrupulous propaganda +which, by raising revolt among the Slav provinces of the Danube valley, +is leading towards her internal disintegration. Finally, she must exact +a signal revenge for the assassination of the Archduke. For all these +reasons Serbia is to receive, by means of a military expedition, a stern +and salutary lesson. An Austro-Serbian War is, therefore, impossible to +avoid. + +[Sidenote: Attempts to limit conflict.] + +England has asked us to join with her, France, and Italy, in order to +prevent the conflict from spreading and a war from breaking out between +Austria and Russia. Our answer was that we should be only too glad to +help in limiting the area of the conflagration, by speaking in a pacific +sense to Vienna and St. Petersburg; but that we could not use our +influence with Austria to restrain her from inflicting an exemplary +punishment on Serbia. We have promised to help and support our Austrian +allies, if any other nation should try to hamper them in this task. We +shall keep that promise. + +If Russia mobilizes her army, we shall at once mobilize ours, and then +there will be a general war, a war that will set ablaze all Central +Europe and even the Balkan peninsula, for the Rumanians, Greeks, +Bulgarians, and Turks will not be able to resist the temptation to come +in. + +As I remarked yesterday to M. Boghitchevitch [the former Serbian Charge +d'Affaires, who was on a flying visit to Berlin, where he had been +greatly appreciated during the Balkan War], the best advice I can give +Serbia is that she should make no more than a show of resistance to +Austria, and should come to terms as soon as possible, by accepting all +the conditions of the Vienna Cabinet. I added, in speaking to him, that +if a universal war broke out and went in favor of the Triplice, Serbia +would probably cease to exist as a nation; she would be wiped off the +map of Europe. I still hope, though, that such a widespread conflict may +be avoided, and that we shall succeed in inducing Russia not to +intervene on Serbia's behalf. Remember that Austria is determined to +respect Serbia's integrity, once she has obtained satisfaction. + +I pointed out to the Under-Secretary that the Belgrade Cabinet's reply, +according to some of my colleagues who had read it, was, apart from a +few unimportant restrictions, an unqualified surrender to Austria's +demands. Herr Zimmermann said that he had no knowledge of this reply (it +had been handed in two days before to the Austrian Minister at +Belgrade!) and that, in any case, there was no longer any possibility of +preventing an Austro-Hungarian military demonstration. + +[Sidenote: Serbian reply.] + +The Serbian document was not published by the Berlin newspapers until +the 29th. On the previous day they all reproduced a telegram from +Vienna, stating that this apparent submission was altogether inadequate. +The prompt concessions made by the Pasitch Cabinet, concessions that had +not been anticipated abroad, failed to impress Germany. She persisted in +seeing only with Austria's eyes. + +[Sidenote: Zimmermann's arguments.] + +Herr Zimmermann's arguments held solely on the hypothesis that, in the +action brought by Austria against Serbia, no Power had the right to +come forward as counsel for the defendant, or to interfere in the trial +at all. This claim amounted to depriving Russia of her historic role in +the Balkans. Carried to its logical conclusion, the theory meant +condemning unheard every small State that should be unfortunate enough +to have a dispute with a great Power. According to the principles of the +Berlin Cabinet, the great Power should be allowed, without let or +hindrance, to proceed to the execution of its weak opponent. England, +therefore, would have had no right to succor Belgium when the latter was +invaded by Germany, any more than Russia had a right to protect Serbia +from the Austrian menace. + +Russia, it was asserted at the Wilhelmstrasse, ought to be satisfied +with the assurance that Austria would not impair the territorial +integrity of Serbia or mar her future existence as an independent State. +What a hollow mockery such a promise would seem, when the whole country +had been ravaged by fire and sword! Surely it was decreed that, after +this "exemplary punishment," Serbia should become the lowly vassal of +her redoubtable neighbour, living a life that was no life, cowed by the +jealous eye of the Austrian Minister--really the Austrian Viceroy--at +Belgrade. Had not Count Mensdorff declared to Sir Edward Grey that +before the Balkan War Serbia was regarded as gravitating towards the +Dual Monarchy's sphere of influence? A return to the past, to the tame +deference of King Milan, was the least that Austria would exact. + +[Sidenote: German opinion is misled.] + +The version given out by the Imperial Chancellery, besides being +intended to enlighten foreign Governments, had a further end in view. +Repeated _ad nauseam_ by the Press, it aimed at misleading German +public opinion. From the very opening of the crisis, Herr von +Bethmann-Hollweg and his colleagues strove, with all the ingenuity at +their command, to hoodwink their countrymen, to shuffle the cards, to +throw beforehand on Russia, in case the situation should grow worse, the +odium of provocation and the blame for the disaster, to represent that +Power as meddling with a police inquiry that did not concern her in the +least. This cunning man[oe]uvre resulted in making all Germany, without +distinction of class or party, respond to her Emperor's call at the +desired moment, since she was persuaded (as I have explained in a +previous chapter) that she was the object of a premeditated attack by +Tsarism. + + +VI + +[Sidenote: German diplomacy.] + +The game of German diplomacy during these first days of the crisis, July +24 to 28, has already been revealed. At first inclined to bludgeon, it +soon came to take things easily, even affecting a certain optimism, and +by its passive resistance bringing to naught all the efforts and all the +proposals of the London, Paris, and St. Petersburg Cabinets. To gain +time, to lengthen out negotiations, seems to have been the task imposed +upon Austria-Hungary's accomplice in order to promote rapid action by +the Dual Monarchy, and to face the Triple Entente with irrevocable +deeds, namely the occupation of Belgrade and the surrender of the +Serbians. But things did not go as Berlin and Vienna had hoped, and the +determined front shown by Russia, who in answer to the partial +mobilization of Austria mobilized her army in four southern districts, +gave food for reflection to the tacticians of the Wilhelmstrasse. Their +language and their frame of mind grew gentler to a singular degree on +the fifth day, July 28. It may be recalled, in passing, that in 1913, +during the Balkan hostilities, Austria and Russia had likewise proceeded +to partial mobilizations; yet these steps had not made them come to +blows or even brought them to the verge of hostilities. + +[Sidenote: The Kaiser returns to Berlin.] + +On the evening of the 26th the Emperor's return was announced in Berlin. +Why did he come back so suddenly? I think I am justified in saying that, +at this news, the general feeling among the actors and spectators of the +drama was one of grave anxiety. Our hearts were heavy within us; we had +a foreboding that the decisive moment was drawing near. It was the same +at the Wilhelmstrasse. To the British Charge d'Affaires Herr von +Zimmermann frankly confessed his regret at this move, on which William +II had decided without consulting any one. + +Nevertheless, our fears at first seemed to be unwarranted. The 28th was +marked by a notable loosening of Germany's stiff-necked attitude. The +British Ambassador, who had returned to Berlin on the previous day, was +summoned in the evening by the Chancellor. Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg, +while rejecting the conference proposed by Sir Edward Grey, promised to +use his good offices to induce Russia and Austria to discuss the +position in an amicable fashion. "A war between the Great Powers must be +averted," were his closing words. + +It is highly probable that the Chancellor at that time sincerely wanted +to keep the peace, and his first efforts, when he saw the danger coming +nearer and nearer, succeeded in curbing the Emperor's impatience for +forty-eight hours. The telegram sent by William II to the Tsar on the +evening of the 28th is friendly, almost reassuring: "Bearing in mind +the cordial friendship that has united us two closely for a long time +past, I am using all my influence to make Austria arrive at a genuine +and satisfactory understanding with Russia." + +How are we to explain, then, the abrupt change of tack that occurred the +following day at Berlin, or rather, at Potsdam, and the peculiar +language addressed by the Chancellor to Sir Edward Goschen on the +evening of the 29th? In that nocturnal scene there was no longer any +question of Austria's demands on Serbia, or even of the possibility of +an Austro-Russian war. The centre of gravity was suddenly shifted, and +at a single stride the danger passed from the southeast of Europe to the +northwest. + +[Sidenote: Will England be neutral?] + +What is it that Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg wants to know at once, as he +comes straight from the council held at Potsdam under the presidency of +the Emperor? Whether Great Britain would consent to remain neutral in a +European war, provided that Germany agreed to respect the territorial +integrity of France. "And what of the French colonies?" asks the +Ambassador with great presence of mind. The Chancellor can make no +promise on this point, but he unhesitatingly declares that Germany will +respect the integrity and neutrality of Holland. As for Belgium, +France's action will determine what operations Germany may be forced to +enter upon in that country; but when the war is over, Belgium will lose +no territory, unless she ranges herself on the side of Germany's foes. + +[Sidenote: A bargain proposed.] + +Such was the shameful bargain proposed to England, at a time when none +of the negotiators had dared to speak in plain terms of a European war +or even to offer a glimpse of that terrifying vision. This interview was +the immediate result of the decisive step taken by German diplomacy on +the same day at St. Petersburg. The step in question has been made known +to us through the diplomatic documents which have been printed by the +orders of the belligerent Governments, and all of which concur in their +account of this painful episode. Twice on that day did M. Sazonoff +receive a visit from the German Ambassador, who came to make a demand +wrapped up in threats. + +[Sidenote: Germany's demands on Russia.] + +Count de Pourtales insisted on Russia contenting herself with the +promise, guaranteed by Germany, that Austria-Hungary would not impair +the integrity of Serbia. M. Sazonoff refused to countenance the war on +this condition. Serbia, he felt, would become a vassal of Austria, and a +revolution would break out in Russia. Count de Pourtales then backed his +request with the warning that, unless Russia desisted from her military +preparations, Germany would mobilize. A German mobilization, he said, +would mean war. The results of the second interview, which took place at +two o'clock in the morning, were as negative as those of the first, +notwithstanding a last effort, a final suggestion by M. Sazonoff to +stave off the crisis. His giving in to Germany's brutal dictation would +have been an avowal that Russia was impotent. + +To the Emperor William, who had resumed the conduct of affairs since the +morning of the 27th--the Emperor William, itching to cut the knot, +driven on by his Staff and his generals--to him and no other must we +trace the responsibility for this insolent move which made war +inevitable. "The heads of the army insisted," was all that Herr von +Jagow would vouchsafe a little later to M. Cambon by way of explanation. +The Chancellor, and with him the Foreign Secretary and Under-Secretary, +associated themselves with these hazardous tactics, from sheer inability +to secure the adoption of less hasty and violent methods. If they +believed that this summary breaking off of negotiations would meet with +success, they were as grievously mistaken as Count de Pourtales, whose +reports utterly misled them as to the sacrifices that Russia was +prepared to make for Serbia. + +At all events this upright man, when he realized the appalling effects +of his blunder, gave free play to his emotion. Such sensitiveness is +rare indeed in a German, and redounds entirely to his credit. + +[Sidenote: Russian military development.] + +[Sidenote: French military situation.] + +But the Emperor and his council of generals--what was their state of +soul at this critical moment? Perhaps this riddle will never be wholly +solved. From the military point of view, which in their eyes claimed +first attention, they must have rejoiced at M. Sazonoff's answer, for +never again would they find such a golden opportunity for vanquishing +Russia and making an end of her rivalry. In 1917 the reorganization of +her army would have been complete, her artillery would have been at full +strength, and a new network of strategic railways would have enabled her +to let loose upon the two Germanic empires a vast flood of fighting men +drawn from the inexhaustible reservoir of her population. The struggle +with the colossus of the North, despite the vaunted technical +superiority of the German army, would in all likelihood have ended in +the triumph of overwhelming might. In the France of 1917, again, the +three years' term of service would have begun to produce its full +results, and her first-line troops would have been both more numerous +and better trained than at present. + +On the other hand, William II could cherish no false hopes as to the +consequences of this second pressure that he was bringing to bear on +St. Petersburg. Had it succeeded in 1914 as in 1909, the encounter +between Germany and the great Slav Empire would only have been put off +to a later day, instead of being finally shelved. How could the Tsar or +the Russian people have forgiven the Kaiser for humbling them once more? +If they had pocketed the affront in silence, it would only have been in +order to bide their time for revenge, and they would have chosen the +moment when Russia, in possession of all her resources, could have +entered upon the struggle with every chance of winning. + +[Sidenote: William II and Russia.] + +Here an objection may be raised. The German Emperor, some may hold, +fancying that the weight of his sword in the scale would induce the Tsar +to shrink from action, had foreseen the anger of the Slav nation at its +sovereign's timorous scruples, and looked forward to revolutionary +outbreaks which would cripple the Government for years to come and make +it unable to think of war, if indeed they did not sweep the Romanoffs +from the throne. I would answer that this Machiavellian scheme could +never have entered the head of such a ruler as William II, with his deep +sense of monarchial solidarity, and his instinctive horror of anarchist +outrages and of revolution. + +[Sidenote: The Kaiser eager to act.] + +No: the Emperor, together with the military authorities whose advice he +took, wished to profit by a juncture which he had awaited with longing, +and which fickle Fortune might never again offer to his ambition. +Everything proves it, down to his feverish haste, as soon as M. +Sazonoff's reply was conveyed to him, to learn the intentions of +England, and to suggest, on that very day, a bargain that might purchase +her neutrality. This is why Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg received orders to +summon the British Ambassador on the night of the 29th. The Emperor +could not wait until the following morning, so eager was he to act. Is +this impatience the mark of one who was the victim of a concerted +surprise? If he had not wanted war, would he not have tried to resume +negotiations with Russia on a basis more in keeping with her dignity as +a Great Power, however heavy a blow it was to his own pride that he had +failed to intimidate her? + + +VII + +The abortive efforts to overawe St. Petersburg and the offers made to +the British Ambassador, as if Great Britain's inaction could be sold to +the highest bidder, brought results that were not hard to foresee. + +[Sidenote: Sir Edward Grey's telegram.] + +In London, Sir Edward Grey's indignation found immediate vent in the +following passage of his telegram of July 30 to Sir Edward Goschen: "It +would be a disgrace for us to make this bargain with Germany at the +expense of France--a disgrace from which the good name of this country +would never recover. The Chancellor also in effect asks us to bargain +away whatever obligation or interest we have as regards the neutrality +of Belgium. We could not entertain that bargain either." + +Through the brazen overtures of Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg, however, the +British Cabinet henceforth came to occupy itself, before all things, +with the fate allotted to our country by the Imperial Government in the +war that it was preparing. In order to tear off the mask from German +statesmanship, the surest method was to ask it a straightforward +question. On July 31, Sir Edward Grey, following the example of the +Gladstone Ministry of 1870, inquired both of Germany and France whether +they would respect the neutrality of Belgium. At the same time he gave +Belgium to understand that Britain counted on her doing her utmost to +maintain her neutrality. + +[Sidenote: Neutrality of Belgium.] + +The answer of the Republican Government was frank and unhesitating. It +was resolved to respect Belgian neutrality, and would only act otherwise +if the violation of that neutrality by some other Power forced it to do +so in self-defence. + +The Belgian Government, for its part, hastened to assure the British +Minister at Brussels of its determination to resist with might and main +should its territory be invaded. + +At Berlin, however, the Foreign Secretary eluded Sir Edward Goschen's +questions. He said that he must consult the Emperor and the Chancellor. +In his opinion, any answer would entail the risk, in the event of war, +of partly divulging the plan of campaign. It seemed doubtful to him, +therefore, whether he would be able to give a reply. This way of +speaking was perfectly clear in its ambiguity. It did not puzzle Sir +Edward Grey for a moment. On the following day he declared to the German +Ambassador that the reply of the German Government was a matter of very +great regret. Belgian neutrality, he pointed out, was highly important +in British eyes, and if Belgium was attacked, it would be difficult to +restrain public feeling in his country. + +On the same day, August 1, in accordance with instructions from my +Government, I read to the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs (at the +same time giving him a copy) a dispatch drafted beforehand and addressed +to the Belgian Ministers attached to the Powers that had guaranteed our +neutrality. This dispatch affirmed that Belgium, having observed, with +scrupulous fidelity, the duties imposed on her as a neutral State by the +treaties of April 19, 1839, would manifest an unshaken purpose in +fulfilling them; and that she had every hope, since the friendly +intentions of the Powers towards her had been so often professed, of +seeing her territory secure from all assault, if hostilities should +arise near her frontiers. The Belgian Government added that it had +nevertheless taken all the necessary steps for maintaining its +neutrality, but that, in so doing, it had not been actuated by a desire +to take part in an armed struggle among the Powers, or by a feeling of +distrust towards any one of them. + +Herr Zimmermann listened without a word of comment to my reading of this +dispatch, which expressed the loyal confidence of my Government in +Germany's goodwill. He merely took note of my communication. His silence +did not surprise me, for I had just learnt of Herr von Jagow's evasive +reply to the British Government concerning Belgium; but it bore out all +my misgivings. His constrained smile, by the way, told me quite as much +as his refusal to speak. + +[Sidenote: Russia and Germany hasten preparations.] + +[Sidenote: Austria mobilizes.] + +From the 30th, Russia and Germany--as an inevitable sequel to the +conversations of the 29th--went forward actively with their military +preparations. What was the exact nature of these preludes to the German +mobilization? It was impossible to gain any precise notion at Berlin. +The capital was rife with various rumors that augured ill for the +future. We heard tell of regiments moving from the northern provinces +towards the Rhine. We learnt that reservists had been instructed to keep +themselves in readiness for marching orders. At the same time, postal +communication with Belgium and France had been cut off. At the +Wilhelmstrasse, the position was described to me as follows: "Austria +will reply to Russia's partial mobilization with a general mobilization +of her army. It is to be feared that Russia will then mobilize her +entire forces, which will compel Germany to do the same." As it turned +out, a general mobilization was indeed proclaimed in Austria on the +night of the 30th. + +Nevertheless, the peace _pourparlers_ went on between Vienna and St. +Petersburg on the 30th and 31st, although on the latter date Russia, as +Berlin expected, in answer both to the Austrian and the German +preparations, had mobilized her entire forces. Even on the 31st these +discussions seemed to have some chance of attaining their object. +Austria was now more accurately gauging the peril into which her own +blind self-confidence and the counsels of her ally were leading her, and +was pausing on the brink of the abyss. The Vienna Cabinet even consented +to talk over the gist of its Note to Serbia, and M. Sazonoff at once +sent an encouraging reply. + +It was desirable, he stated, that representatives of all the Great +Powers should confer in London under the direction of the British +Government. + +Was a faint glimmer of peace, after all, dawning above the horizon? +Would an understanding be reached, at the eleventh hour, among the only +States really concerned with the Serbian question? We had reckoned +without our host. The German Emperor willed otherwise. Suddenly, at the +instance of the General Staff, and after a meeting of the Federal +Council, as prescribed by the constitution, he issued the decree of +_Kriegsgefahrzustand_ (Imminence-of-War). This is the first phase of a +general mobilization--a sort of martial law, substituting the military +for the civil authorities as regards the public services (means of +communication, post, telegraphs, and telephones). + +This momentous decision was revealed to us on the 31st by a special +edition of the _Berliner Lokalanzeiger_, distributed at every street +corner. The announcement ran as follows: + + RUSSIA WANTS WAR! + + "From official sources we have just received + (at 2 P.M.) the following report, pregnant with + consequences: + + "'The German Ambassador at St. Petersburg sends + us word to-day that a general mobilization of + the Russian Army and Navy had previously been + ordered. That is why His Majesty the Emperor + William has decreed an Imminence-of-War. His + Majesty will take up his residence in Berlin + to-day.' + + "Imminence-of-War is the immediate prelude to a + general mobilization, in answer to the menace + that already hangs over Germany to-day, owing + to the step taken by the Tsar." + +[Sidenote: The Kaiser's ultimatum to Russia.] + +As a drowning man catches at a straw, those who in Berlin saw +themselves, with horror, faced by an impending catastrophe, clutched at +a final hope. The German general mobilization had not yet been ordered. +Who knew whether, at the last moment, some happy inspiration from the +British Cabinet, that most stalwart champion of peace, might cause the +weapons to drop from the hands that were about to wield them? Once more, +however, the Emperor, by his swift moves, shattered this fond illusion. +On the 31st, at seven o'clock in the evening, he dispatched to the +Russian Government a summons to demobilize both on its Austrian and on +its German frontiers. An interval of twelve hours was given for a reply. + +It was obvious that Russia, who had refused two days before to cease +from her military preparations, would not accept the German ultimatum, +worded as it was in so dictatorial a form and rendered still more +insulting by the briefness of the interval granted. As, however, no +answer had come from St. Petersburg by the afternoon of August 1st, +Herren von Jagow and Zimmermann (so the latter informed me) rushed to +the Chancellor and the Emperor, in order to request that the decree for +a general mobilization might at least be held over until the following +day. They supported their plea by urging that the telegraphic +communication with St. Petersburg had presumably been cut, and that this +would explain the silence of the Tsar. Perhaps they still hoped against +hope for a conciliatory proposal from Russia. This was the last flicker +of their dying pacifism, or the last awakening of their conscience. +Their efforts could make no headway against the stubborn opposition of +the War Minister and the army chiefs, who represented to the Emperor the +dangers of a twenty-four hours' delay. + +[Sidenote: Germany mobilizes.] + +The order for a mobilization of the army and navy was signed at five +o'clock in the afternoon and was at once given out to the public by a +special edition of the _Lokalanzeiger_. The mobilization was to begin on +August 2nd. On the 1st, at ten minutes past seven in the evening, +Germany's declaration of war was forwarded to Russia. + +[Sidenote: Pretexts given in Germany.] + +[Sidenote: Heroism of France.] + +As all the world knows, the Berlin Cabinet had to resort to wild +pretexts, such as the committing of acts of hostility (so the military +authorities alleged) by French aviators on Imperial soil, in order to +find motives, two days later, for its declaration of war on France. +Although Germany tried to lay the blame for the catastrophe at Russia's +door, it was in reality her western neighbour that she wished to attack +and annihilate first. On this point there can be no possible doubt +to-day. "Poor France!" said the Berlin newspapers, with feigned +compassion. They acknowledged that the conduct of the French Government +throughout the crisis had been irreproachable, and that it had worked +without respite for the maintenance of peace. While her leaders +fulfilled this noble duty to mankind, France was offering the world an +impressive sight--the sight of a nation looking calmly and without fear +at a growing peril that she had done nothing to conjure up, and, +regarding her word as her bond, determined in cold blood to follow the +destiny of her ally on the field of battle. At the same time she offered +to Germany, who had foolishly counted on her being torn by internal +troubles and political feuds, the vision of her children closely linked +together in an unconquerable resolve--the resolve to beat back an +iniquitous assault upon their country. Nor was this the only surprise +that she held in store. With the stone wall of her resistance, she was +soon to change the whole character of the struggle, and to wreck the +calculations of German strategy. + +No one had laboured with more energy and skill to quench the flames lit +by Austria and her ally than the representative of the Republic at +Berlin. + +"Don't you think M. Cambon's attitude has been admirable?" remarked the +British Ambassador to me, in the train that was whirling us far away +from the German capital on August 6th. "Throughout these terrible days +nothing has been able to affect his coolness, his presence of mind, and +his insight." I cannot express my own admiration better than by +repeating this verdict of so capable a diplomat as Sir Edward Goschen, +who himself took a most active part in the vain attempt of the Triple +Entente to save Europe from calamity. + + +VIII + +[Sidenote: Berlin enthusiastic.] + +The Berlin population had followed the various phases of the crisis with +tremendous interest, but with no outward show of patriotic fervour. +Those fine summer days passed as tranquilly as usual. Only in the +evenings did some hundreds of youths march along the highways of the +central districts, soberly singing national anthems, and dispersing +after a few cries of "Hoch!" outside the Austro-Hungarian and Italian +Embassies and the Chancellor's mansion. + +On August 2nd I watched the animation of the Sunday crowd that thronged +the broad avenue of the Kurfuerstendamm. It read attentively the special +editions of the newspapers, and then each went off to enjoy his or her +favourite pastime--games of tennis for the young men and maidens, long +bouts of drinking in the beer-gardens, for the more sedate citizens with +their families. When the Imperial motor-car flashed like a streak of +lightning down Unter den Linden, it was hailed with loud, but by no +means frantic, cheers. It needed the outcries of the Press against +Russia as the instigator of the war, the misleading speeches of the +Emperor and the Chancellor, and the wily publications of the Government, +to kindle a patriotism rather slow to take fire. Towards the close of my +stay, feeling displayed itself chiefly by jeers at the unfortunate +Russians who were returning post-haste to their native country, and +blackguardly behaviour towards the staff of the Tsar's Ambassador as he +was leaving Berlin. + +[Sidenote: German people deluded.] + +That the mass of the German people, unaware of Russia's peaceful +intentions, should have been easily deluded, is no matter for +astonishment. The upper classes, however, those of more enlightened +intellect, cannot have been duped by the official falsehoods. They knew +as well as we do that it was greatly to the advantage of the Tsar's +Government not to provoke a conflict. In fact, this question is hardly +worth discussing. Once more we must repeat that, in the plans of William +II and his generals, the Serbian affair was a snare spread for the +Northern Empire before the growth of its military power should have made +it an invincible foe. + +[Sidenote: Uncertainty regarding Britain.] + +[Sidenote: England's attitude.] + +There is no gainsaying that uncertainty as to Britain's intervention was +one of the factors that encouraged Germany. We often asked ourselves +anxiously at Berlin whether Germany's hand would not have been stayed +altogether if the British Government had formally declared that it would +not hold aloof from the war. We even hoped, for a brief moment, that Sir +Edward Grey would destroy the illusions on which the German people loved +to batten. The British Foreign Secretary did indeed observe to Prince +Lichnowsky on July 29th that the Austro-Serbian issue might become so +great as to involve all European interests, and that he did not wish the +Ambassador to be misled by the friendly tone of their conversations into +thinking that Britain would stand aside. If at the beginning she had +openly taken her stand by the side of her Allies, she might, to be sure, +have checked the fatal march of events. This, at any rate, is the most +widespread view, for a maritime war certainly did not enter into the +calculations of the Emperor and Admiral von Tirpitz, while it was the +nightmare of the German commercial world. In my opinion, however, an +outspoken threat from England on the 29th, a sudden roar of the British +lion, would not have made William II draw back. The memory of Agadir +still rankled in the proud Germanic soul. The Emperor would have risked +losing all prestige in the eyes of a certain element among his subjects +if at the bidding of the Anglo-Saxon he had refused to go further, and +had thus played into the hands of those who charged him with conducting +a policy of mere bluff and intimidation. "Germany barks but does not +bite" was a current saying abroad, and this naturally tended to +exasperate her. An ominous warning from the lips of Sir Edward Grey +would only have served to precipitate the onslaught of the Kaiser's +armies, in order that the intervention of the British fleet might have +no influence on the result of the campaign, the rapid and decisive +campaign planned at Berlin. + +[Sidenote: British opinion.] + +We know, moreover, from the telegrams and speeches of the British +Foreign Minister, how carefully he had to reckon with public feeling +among his countrymen in general and among the majority in Parliament. A +war in the Balkans did not concern the British nation, and the strife +between Teuton and Slav left it cold. It did not begin to be properly +roused until it grasped the reality of the danger to France's very +existence, and it did not respond warmly to the eloquent appeals of Mr. +Asquith and Sir Edward Grey until the day when it knew that the Germans +were at the gates of Liege, where they threatened both Paris and +Antwerp--Antwerp, "that pistol pointed at the heart of England." + + * * * * * + +With the failure of diplomatic efforts to prevent war as a result of the +deliberate intention of Germany to bring about the conflict, the great +German war machine was put in motion. It was anticipated by the General +Staff that the passage across Belgium would be effected without +difficulty and with the acquiescence of King and people. + +How wrong was this judgment is one of the curious facts of history. The +Germans discovered this error when their armies presented themselves +before the strong fortress of Liege, the first fortified place in their +path. Its capture was necessary for the successful passage of the German +troops. + +[Sidenote: Importance of the delay.] + +It was captured, but at a cost in time and in their arrangement of plans +which were a great element in the great thrust--back at the Marne. + + + + +THE DEFENCE OF LIEGE + +CHARLES BRONNE + +English Review, April, 1915. + + +[Sidenote: Germany invades Belgium.] + +On Sunday, August 2nd, while the news was going round that a train had +entered Luxembourg with German forces, the German Minister at Brussels +delivered an ultimatum to Belgium demanding the free passage through our +territory of the German armies. The following day, Monday, the Belgian +Government replied that the nation was determined to defend its +neutrality. The same night the German advanced posts entered our +territory. Tuesday morning they were before Vise, at Warsage, at +Dolhain, and at Stavelot. The bridges of Vise and Argenteau and the +tunnels of Troisponts and Nas-Proue were blown up. + +[Sidenote: Atrocities begin.] + +From this day the atrocities committed by the pioneers of German +"Kultur" began at Vise with fire and the massacre of inhabitants. On +Thursday, they were to continue at Warsage and Berneau. On Wednesday, +August 5th, the investment of Liege began, the bombardment being +specially directed to the north-west sector which comprises the forts of +Evegnee, Barchon, and Fleron. In the afternoon the attack extended as +far as the fort of Chaudfontaine. The region attacked by the foe was +thus that between the Meuse and the Vesdre, the beautiful country of +Herve, where cornfields are followed by vineyards, where meadowland +encroaches on the sides of narrow but picturesque valleys, where small +but thick woods conceal the number of the assailants. It was found +necessary to destroy some prosperous little farms, several country +houses, and pretty villas. This was but a prelude to the devastation +brought by the soldiers of the Kaiser. + +The enemy was in force. Later it was known that around Liege were the +10th Prussian Army Corps from Aix-la-Chapelle on the way to Vise, the +7th Corps, which had passed through the Herve country, the 8th, which +had entered through Stavelot, and also a brigade of the 11th Corps, +making up a total of about 130,000 men. + +[Sidenote: Forts of Liege.] + +To resist these forces, General Leman had forts more than twenty-four +years old and 30,000 men: the 3rd division of the army increased by the +15th mixed brigade, _i.e._, the 9th, 11th, 12th, and 14th of the line, a +part of the 2nd Lancers, a battalion of the 1st Carabineers, and the +Divisional Artillery. + + * * * * * + +Thursday, August 6th, was rich in moving incidents. + +While the enemy were in force before Barchon, in a night attack, an +attempt was made on General Leman. The story has been variously told. +Here is the true version. + +[Sidenote: German spies.] + +The enemy's spies, so numerous in Liege, had been able to give the most +exact information regarding the installation of the General Staff in the +Rue Sainte Foy. They were quite aware that for a week the defender of +Liege had only been taking two or three hours' rest in his office, so as +to be more easily in telephonic communication with the forts and +garrison. These offices in the Rue Sainte Foy were very badly situated, +at the extreme end of the northern quarter, and were defended only by a +few gendarmes. General Leman had been warned, however, and the King +himself had at last persuaded him to take some precautions against a +possible attempt. He had finally given way to this advice, and a +rudimentary structure, but a sure one, fitted with electric light and +telephone, was being set up under the railway tunnel near the Palais +station. + +This was, then, the last night the General would pass at Rue Sainte Foy. + +[Sidenote: General Leman in danger.] + +Towards half-past four in the morning a body of a hundred men descended +from the heights of Tawes. Whence did they come? How had they been able +to penetrate into the town? Some have said that they dressed in Liege +itself. In reality, they represented themselves to the advanced posts of +the fort of Pontisse as being Englishmen come to the aid of Liege, and +asked to be conducted to the General Staff. They were soldiers of a +Hanoverian regiment, and bore upon their sleeves a blue band with the +word "Gibraltar." This contributed in no small degree to cause them to +be taken for British sharpshooters. They were preceded by a spy who had +put on the Belgian uniform of the 11th of the line and who seemed to +know the town very well. At Thier-a-Liege, they stopped a moment to +drink at a wine-shop and then went on. They were more than a hundred in +number and were preceded by two officers. A detachment of Garde Civique, +posted at the gas factory of the Rue des Bayards, did not consider it +their duty to interfere. A few individuals accompanied the troop, crying +"Vive les Anglais." A few passers-by, better-aware of the situation, +protested. The troop continued its imperturbable march. The officers +smiled. Thus they arrived at Rue Sainte Foy where, as we have said, the +offices of the General Staff of General Leman were installed. + +A German officer asked of the sentinel on the door an interview with +General Leman. The officers of the latter, who now appeared, understood +the ruse at once, and drew their revolvers. Shots were exchanged. One of +the officers, Major Charles Marchand, a non-commissioned officer of +gendarmes, and several gendarmes were killed. The Germans attempted to +enter the offices, of which the door had been closed. They fired through +the windows, and even attempted to attack the house by scaling the +neighbouring walls. General Leman, who was working, ran out on hearing +the first shots. He was unarmed. He demanded a revolver. Captain Lebbe, +his aide-de-camp, refused to allow him to expose himself uselessly, and +begged him to keep himself for the defence of Liege. He even used some +violence to his chief, and pushed him towards the low door which +separated the house from the courtyard of a neighbouring cannon foundry. +With the help of another officer, the captain placed his General in +safety. While this was happening, the alarm had been given, and the +Germans, seeing that their attempt to possess themselves of the person +of General Leman had failed, retired. The guard, which comprised some +fifty men, fired repeatedly on the retreating party. Some fifty Germans, +including a standard-bearer and a drummer, were killed. Others were made +prisoners. + +[Sidenote: General Leman in Fort Loncin.] + +The General retired to the citadel of Sainte Walburge, and later to the +fort of Loncin. From there he followed the efforts of the enemy +attacking anew the north-east and south-east sectors. The environs of +Fort Boncelles are as difficult to defend as those of the +Barchon-Evegnee-Fleron front. There is first the discovered part which +surrounds what remains of the unfortunate village of Boncelles, which +the Belgians themselves were forced to destroy to free their field of +fire, but for the rest, there are only woods, that of Plainevaux, which +reaches to the Ourthe, Neuville, and Vecquee woods, that of Begnac, +which continues Saint Lambert wood as far as Trooz and the Meuse. + +[Sidenote: Belgian troops fight heroically.] + +Every place here swarmed with Germans, 40,000 at least, an army corps +which had spent a day and a night in fortifying themselves, and had been +able to direct their artillery towards Plainevaux, to the north of +Neuville, and upon the heights of Ramet. Thirty thousand men at least +would have been needed to defend this gap and less than 15,000 were +available. A similar attack was delivered at the same time between the +Meuse and the Vesdre. On both sides miracles of heroism were performed, +but the enemy poured on irresistibly. They were able to pass, on the one +side, Val Saint Lambert, on the other, between Barchon and the Meuse, +between Evegnee and Fleron. Fighting took place well into the night, the +enemy being repulsed at Boncelles twice. The following morning I saw +pieces of German corpses. The Belgian artillery had made a real carnage, +and no smaller number of victims fell in the bayonet charges. The 9th +and the Carabineers, who had fought the day before at Barchon, were +present here. + +[Sidenote: Retreat ordered.] + +In the other sector, the soldiers of the 12th of the line particularly +behaved like heroes. The battle began towards two o'clock in the morning +at Retinne where, after prodigies of valour and a great slaughter of the +enemy, the Belgian troops were forced to retire. The struggle continued +at Saine and at Queue du Bois. Here Lieutenant F. Bronne and forty of +his men fell while covering the retreat. In spite of such devotion and +of a bravery that will not be denied, the enemy passed through. Why? +Some troops surrendered with their officers, who were afterwards set +free upon parole at Liege. But this was only a very small exception, and +it was under the pressure of an enemy four times as numerous that the +3rd division succumbed after three days of repeated fighting, during +which the soldiers were compelled to make forced marches from one +sector to another, and stop the rest of the time in the trenches +fighting. The enemy's losses were 5,000 killed and 30,000 wounded. + +General Leman considered that he had obtained from his troops the +maximum effort of which they were capable and ordered a retreat. It was +executed in good order, and the enemy had suffered so severely that they +did not dream of pursuit. They contented themselves with pushing forward +as far as the plateau of Saint-Tilman (close to Boncelles) and that of +Robermont (behind Fleron) some cannons of 15, which had bombarded the +town the first time on Thursday, August 6th, at four o'clock in the +morning. No German troops, except some 200 men who entered as prisoners, +penetrated into the town on this day. + +Although this retreat left behind a few men with several guns, it may be +said to have been effected in good order. I was able to see that for +myself in passing through with the troops, from the fifth limit of the +Saint Trond route, near Fort Loncin, up to the centre of the town. The +auto in which I was seated was able to pass easily. + +[Sidenote: Refugees.] + +The terrified population from Bressoux began to arrive. There were +people half-dressed, but who carried some object which to them seemed +the most precious, sometimes a simple portrait of a loved one. Others +drove cattle before them. The men carried children, while women followed +painfully loaded with household goods. Mixed up with them were the Garde +Civique. It had just been assembled and informed that it was disbanded, +and a certain number of them had told the inhabitants that the Prussians +were coming, and that there was nothing better to do than for everyone +to bolt himself in. The cannon had thundered all night. The citizens of +Liege had found in their letter-boxes a warning from the burgomaster +concerning the behaviour of the inhabitants in case of the town being +occupied by the enemy. This urgent notice, distributed the night before +between 9 and 11 p.m., foreshadowed an imminent occupation. The hasty +flight of the people of Bressoux stopped when they had crossed the +Meuse; but as the bombardment recommenced towards noon, fright again +seized on the population. The bombardment lasted till two. Some thirty +shells fell on different parts of the town. + +[Sidenote: Bridge of Arches destroyed.] + +At half-past twelve a dull noise was heard as far as the furthest fort; +it was the old Bridge of Arches which gave way, towards the left bank. +The engineers had just blown it up. It seemed wiser to destroy the +bridge at Val Benoit, which left the Germans railway communication. But +no one thought of this; or rather, orders to that effect were not given +by the higher authorities. This was afterwards to cause the degradation +to the ranks of the chief officer of engineers who was responsible for +this unpardonable lapse. + +The second bombardment lasted till two o'clock. Several projectiles now +fell upon the citadel, where everything was in readiness to set fire to +the provisions and munitions which remained there along with some +unserviceable cannon, generally used in the training of the Garde +Civique. By 10 a.m. the citadel had been evacuated, only very few +persons remaining, among them a major, who hastily hoisted the white +flag. + +[Sidenote: German envoys in Liege.] + +Burgomaster Kleyer awaited developments at the Town Hall. At half-past +three, he received envoys, who demanded the surrender of the town and +forts. Put into communication with General Leman, who was all the time +at Loncin with his Staff, he informed him that if the forts persisted in +their resistance, the town would be bombarded a third time. General +Leman replied that the threat was an idle one, that it would be a cruel +massacre, but that the higher interests of Belgium compelled him to +impose this sacrifice on the town of Liege. + +[Sidenote: Bombardment of Liege.] + +[Sidenote: Gloomy aspect of the town.] + +At 9 p.m. fresh shells fell on different parts of the city and caused +more damage if not more victims. This bombardment lasted till 2 a.m. It +recommenced at intervals of half-an-hour, and caused two fires, one in +Rue de Hanque, and the other in Rue de la Commune. After midday, the +streets were deserted and all dwelling houses closed. In the afternoon a +convoy of Germans taken prisoners were seen to pass along the +boulevards, and were then shut up in the Royal Athenaeum. Then there was +an interminable defile of autos and carts conveying both German and +Belgian wounded, especially the former, those who came from Boncelles +more particularly. Bodies of stragglers re-entered Liege slowly, +ignorant of what had happened, as they were either untouched by the +order to retire, or had been forgotten in the advanced posts or in the +trenches. They were very tired and hardly had the courage to accelerate +their pace, except when the few passers-by explained the position in a +couple of words. The aspect of the town was very gloomy, and the only +places where any animation was to be seen were around Guillemins +station, where trains full of fugitives were leaving for Brussels, the +West quarter, towards which the last of the retiring companies were +marching, and the North, where many were still ignorant of this +movement. + +[Sidenote: Germans enter Liege.] + +On Friday, August 7th, at 3 a.m., the bombardment of Liege began again, +chiefly directed against the citadel, where only a few soldiers now +remained. These evacuated the place after setting fire to some +provisions they were unable to carry off. The population passed through +hours of anguish, which were destined not to be the last. Everybody +took refuge in the cellars. Some people lived there for several days in +fear that a shell might fall upon their house. On this Friday the +Germans penetrated into the town at five o'clock in the morning by the +different bridges which had remained intact. They came in through +Jupille and Bois de Breux chiefly. They seemed tired and, above all, +hungry. Leaving detachments in the Place de Baviere and near the +bridges, they successively occupied the Provincial Palace and the +citadel. + +Count Lammsdorf, Chief of the Staff of the 10th Corps, Commander of the +Army of the Meuse, arrested Burgomaster Kleyer at the Town Hall, and +conducted him to the citadel, where he at first made him a rather +reassuring communication as to the fate of the town. . . . He then spoke +anew and said that he understood all the forts would surrender, in +default of which the bombardment would recommence. M. Kleyer vainly +protested against a measure so contrary to the laws both of war and of +humanity. He was simply authorized to pass through the German lines with +a safe conduct, to discuss the matter with General Leman, or even with +the King himself. + +[Sidenote: The Burgomaster's task.] + +This task of the burgomaster of Liege was a heavy one, and terrible was +the expectant attitude of the German authorities. Later, some people +have discussed the attitude he should have taken up and conceived the +nature of what should have been his reply; they would have desired words +of defiance on his lips and an immediate answer. + +He lacked courage for this, and who will dare to-day to blame him for +the immense anxiety he felt on hearing of the horrible fate with which +his beloved town and his unhappy fellow-citizens were threatened? + +He gathered together at the Town Hall several communal and provincial +deputies, some deputies and senators. The general opinion at the +beginning of the discussion was that it was necessary to obtain the +surrender of the forts. Someone pointed out that there was not much +likelihood of getting this decision from General Leman, who had already +pronounced himself upon that question, and thought it would be necessary +to continue the work heroically begun of arresting the progress of the +invader, and that the forts, all intact, would powerfully contribute to +that end. + +It was finally decided to approach General Leman again with a message +which was entrusted to the burgomaster, the Bishop of Liege, and M. +Gaston Gregoire, permanent deputy. These gentlemen repaired to the +citadel in search of the promised safe conduct. They were met there, +according to the demand of Count Lammsdorf, by some prominent Liege +citizens, to whom he had expressed his desire to explain the situation. + +[Sidenote: Hostages to the Germans.] + +At the moment the three delegates were about to depart on their mission, +with a good faith upon which it would be foolish to insist, the German +commander declared that all the persons present were detained as +hostages. He gave as a specious pretext for this violation of right that +some German soldiers had been killed by civilians in some neighbouring +villages, and that the hostages would enable the Germans to guard +against the repetition of such acts, the more so as they were prepared +to make a striking example at the beginning of the campaign. + +All the Liege citizens who had entered the citadel on this day were kept +there till the next day, Saturday. Moreover, the following persons were +retained as responsible hostages for three days: 1. Mgr. Rutien, Bishop +of Liege; 2. M. Kleyer, Burgomaster of Liege; 3. M. Gregoire, Permanent +Deputy; 4. M. Armand Flechet, Senator; 5. Senator Van Zuylen; 6. Senator +Edouard Peltzer; 7. Senator Colleaux; 8. Deputy De Ponthiere; 9. Deputy +Van Hoegaerden; 10. M. Falloise, Alderman. + +The hostages were shut up in damp case-mates, palliasses were given them +for the night and, as food, the first day each one had half a loaf and +some water. The burgomaster and the bishop were, however, allowed to go +about their duties after they had given their parole to remain at the +disposal of the German military authorities. + +[Sidenote: Last train for Brussels.] + +The same day at 9 a.m. the last train left Liege for Brussels with +numbers of fugitives. The number of persons who abandoned Liege and its +suburbs may be calculated at some five thousand. From this moment and +for several days Liege was absolutely cut off from the rest of the +world, all communications having been cut. + +On Saturday, August 8th, while the Germans were methodically organising +the occupation of Liege, Burgomaster Kleyer was authorised to wait upon +the King, in order to discuss the surrender of the forts. Furnished with +a safe conduct and accompanied by a German officer, he reached Waremme +early in the afternoon, and placed himself in communication with the +General Staff. The King was consulted, and the reply brought back to +Liege was the one the mayor had foreseen. + +The same day saw the appearance of the following order of the day +addressed to the soldiers of the army of Liege:-- + + "Our comrades of the 3rd Army Division and of + the 15th mixed brigade are about to re-enter + our lines, after having defended, like heroes, + the fortified position of Liege. + +[Sidenote: The King encourages the army.] + + "Attacked by forces four times as numerous, + they have repulsed all assaults. None of the + forts have been taken; the town of Liege is + always in our power. Standards and a number of + prisoners are the trophies of these combats. In + the name of the Nation I salute you, officers + and soldiers of the 3rd Army Division and the + 15th mixed brigade. + + "You have done your duty, done honour to our + arms, shown the enemy what it costs to attack + unjustly a peaceable people, but one who wields + in its just cause an invincible weapon. The + Fatherland has the right to be proud of you. + + "Soldiers of the Belgian Army, do not forget + that you are in the van of immense armies in + this gigantic struggle, and that you await but + the arrival of our brothers-in-arms in order to + march to victory. The whole world has its eyes + fixed upon you. Show it by the vigour of your + blows that you mean to live free and + independent. + + "France, that noble country which has + throughout history been associated with just + and generous causes, is hurrying to our aid and + her armies will enter our territory. + + "In your name I address them a fraternal + salute. ALBERT." + +[Sidenote: German precautions.] + +[Sidenote: Barricades constructed.] + +On this day the Germans, who were not yet sure as to the intentions of +the Belgian field army, and who feared a possible offensive on the part +of the French advanced guards, put Liege in a state of defence. +Moreover, they distrusted the civilian population, and fortified +themselves in the town itself. They placed machine guns at the head of +the bridges, and upon one of them, Boverie, which they feared might be +blown up, or might be bombarded by the forts, they placed a curtained +recess in which they shut up several citizens. They caused the soldiers +to occupy Quai des Pecheurs, Quai l'Industrie, and the houses in +proximity to the bridge, after clearing out the occupants. They placed +bags of earth in the windows, behind which were installed machine guns. +In the arteries leading to La Hesbaye and La Campine, and in the streets +of the latter, they erected barricades, and installed themselves in the +riverside houses. These labours continued during several days on the +heights of Saint Nicholas and Hollogne, while the soldiers of the 10th +Corps installed themselves on the plateau of Cointe, the General Staff +having taken possession there of a convent, although this had been +transformed into a hospital. In the town, the German troops, delayed for +a short time by the necessity of carrying off their dead, shifting their +wounded, and of taking a much-needed rest, entered in large numbers. +They occupied the different stations, that of Ans on the Herbignon +plateau being the last one where they established themselves. + +On Sunday, September 6th, there were at Liege more than 100,000 Germans. +On this day, at one o'clock in the afternoon, the hostages were given +their unconditional liberty. On the same date, in the neighbourhood of +Landen, the King, accompanied by the General Staff, reviewed the valiant +and now reconstituted 3rd Division, reconstituted in spite of the heavy +losses in officers suffered by certain regiments. General Leman received +from M. Schollaert, President of the Belgian Chamber, the following +telegram: "With a heart overflowing with enthusiasm and patriotic pride, +I acclaim the glorious defender of Liege." + +[Sidenote: Praise for defense of the city.] + +[Sidenote: President Poincare honors General Leman.] + +With reference to the defence of Liege, letters, despatches, and +addresses of felicitation were received at Brussels from the Presidents +of the French Chamber and the French Senate, from the Paris Municipal +Council, and other French municipalities, words of friendship and +encouragement were pronounced later in the British Parliament, while the +King of the Belgians received the congratulations of King George, the +Tsar, and the President of the French Republic. Finally, M. Poincare +sent him the most envied of distinctions, the military medal. The +resistance of Liege had everywhere aroused grateful enthusiasm, for the +days, and even the hours gained from the invader were now of inestimable +value. But while the twelve forts were not yet to harass, as they could, +the progress of the enemy, Liege, whose hatred of the Prussian is +ingrained, was to pay dearly for the resistance it had made, and its +heart was to suffer cruelly over the vexations of which it was to be the +object, while awaiting pillage and burning. + +Here we enter upon a new period, which cannot, however, be separated +from the siege of Liege, for at this time the forts still held out. + +[Sidenote: The twelve forts.] + +[Sidenote: Forts on the banks of the Meuse.] + +The forts still held out, but the resistance of their garrisons had to +be heroic. The defences crumbled quite rapidly. We should not be +surprised at this, but should rather remember that these forts were more +than twenty years old. Their construction began in 1889, and their +armament, though modified later in certain details, was not capable of +resisting the heavy artillery of the Germans. Liege was defended by +twelve forts, large and small. The most important works were Barchon, +Fleron, Boncelles, Flemalle, Loncin, and Pontisse. These forts possessed +five large cupolas and three or four small ones. They were armed with +two guns of 15 centimetres, four of 12, two howitzers of 21, and three +or four guns of 5'7, ten more of 5'7 flanking the ditches. The little +forts counted upon four large and three or four small cupolas. They were +armed with two pieces of 15, two of 12, a howitzer of 21, three or four +guns, without cupola, of 5'7, and of seven or eight commanding the +ditches. The forts are arranged around Liege in the following order:--On +the left bank of the Meuse: Flemalle, Hollogne, Loncin, Lantin, and +Pontisse. On the right bank, between the Meuse and the Vesdre: Barchon, +Evegnee, and Fleron. Between the Vesdre and the Ourthe: Chaudfontaine +and Embourg. Between the Ourthe and the Meuse: Boncelles. The forts are +four kilometres apart, except Flemalle-Boncelles and Embourg-Pontisse, +which are six kilometres apart, while Chaudfontaine and Embourg are only +two kilometres from one another. The forts are eight kilometres from the +limits of the town. The forts of Hollogne, Loncin, Lantin, and Liers are +in grassy country. Boncelles is nearly completely surrounded by woods; +Embourg and Chaudfontaine dominate the deep and winding valleys of the +Ourthe and the Vesdre. Pontisse, Flemalle, and Barchon, commanding the +Meuse, are on broken ground. This last-named fort, with Evegnee and +Fleron, holds the most important strategic position in the Herve +country, facing the German frontier, in a land cut up by meadows planted +with trees and by little woods, traversed by many vales, not very deep, +but winding. + +[Sidenote: War conditions changed.] + +It is known that in the Brialmont project the intervening spaces were to +be defended and fortified with siege artillery. To tell the truth, the +eminent military engineer, in the pamphlets where he set out the +project, only allowed for a small mobile garrison, but he confessed +later that the difficulties which he knew he would meet with in the +Belgian Parliament over the credits for the fortifications made him +underestimate the number of men required. Besides which, the conditions +of war have been greatly modified during the twenty-five years which +have passed, owing to the increased power of siege guns. So that it may +be laid down that 80,000, if not 100,000, men were needed to properly +defend the entrenched camp of Liege. + +[Sidenote: Troops in the forts.] + +As for the forts, they were each occupied by a battery of artillery (250 +men) and three companies (120 men), a total of 370 men. About 4,500 +artillerymen for the twelve forts. + +General Leman was shut up in Loncin, one of the chief forts, which +commanded the road towards Waremme and Brussels. He had sent away all +his General Staff with the division, in spite of the supplications of +his officers, who begged to be allowed to share his fate. He continued +to direct the longest resistance possible. The enemy was anxious to cut +all the communications between the forts, but soldiers volunteered for +carrying messages to the different commanders. Several succeeded, but +many were killed, for the investment became steadily tightened. Indeed, +certain gaps, where the ground was most broken, could not be swept by +the guns from the forts, and, under cover of the night, troops ensconced +themselves there comfortably. Moreover, the Germans, having received +reinforcements and heavy artillery, undertook the siege systematically, +first of Barchon, which it was unable to take by storm any more than +Boncelles, but which it subjected to a formidable deluge of shells. +Barchon could only reply haphazard to heavy guns the position of which +it could not tell. It was, indeed, deprived of its observation posts, +and was in the position of a blind man desperately parrying the blows of +an adversary who could see where to strike. + +[Sidenote: Fort Barchon taken.] + +The struggle was not for long, and the fort, reduced to impotence, left +a wide breach through which the invader scrambled. Through there he +could also introduce his heavy siege guns, howitzers of 28, and even +pieces of 42 cms. + +[Sidenote: Forty-two centimetre guns.] + +The enemy then followed a tactic which was to succeed rapidly. He +attacked the different fortifications in a reverse way. Thus Loncin, +Lantin, Liers, and Pontisse were bombarded by batteries placed in the +citadel itself and to which the Belgians could not reply without +shelling the town and doing frightful damage. A battery was also placed +in a bend of ground up Rue Naniot, under the "Tomb," where some of those +who fell in 1830 are buried, but it was discovered and had to be +withdrawn. Forts Boncelles and Embourg were attacked by guns placed on +the hill at Tilff, a pretty village, which would have been completely +destroyed had the firing been responded to. Finally, along the line of +the plateau of Herve, no longer dominated by Barchon and Fleron, now +destroyed, the enemy was able to bring into the very centre of the town +four of those howitzers of 42 cms. which were later to bombard Namur, +Maubeuge, and Antwerp. + +The following are the dates on which the different forts succumbed: +Barchon and Evegnee fell on August 9th. Right from the 5th they had not +ceased to be the object of continual attacks. They had valiantly +resisted repeated assaults and field artillery. The heavy pieces poured +in a hurricane of fire. + +Pontisse, which had so usefully barred the passage of the enemy below +Vise, did not give way till the 12th. On the 13th Embourg surrendered +after a twenty-six hours' bombardment. + +[Sidenote: Forts yield one by one.] + +The same day saw the fall of Chaudfontaine and Nameche, where two +accidents happened worthy of being related. A shell burst on a cupola +gun as it was finishing its movement after being loaded. The whole gun +was shattered and ten men were wounded. A little while after, a shell +entered the fort through the embrasure and set fire to the powder +magazine. One hundred and ten artillerymen were terribly burned, fifty +dying upon the spot. The 14th saw the fall of Boncelles, Liers, and +Fleron. Boncelles from the 5th had offered an admirable resistance. +Commandant Lefert had been wounded on the 8th, when 200 Germans, +presenting themselves to surrender, treacherously fired upon him. +Suffering greatly, he none the less went on directing the defence until +his officers met together in a kind of council of war, and had him taken +away in an ambulance. The unfortunate man was seized by a fever and +became delirious. Boncelles was bombarded unceasingly for a whole day +and the following morning. It was nearly destroyed, and may be +considered as the fort which was the centre of the worst carnage of +German soldiers. The enormous heaps of dead buried around it bear +witness to the fact. Liers was put out of action by guns installed at +Sainte Walburge. + +[Sidenote: Loncin and Lantin fall.] + +To get the better of the obstinate resistance of Fleron (Commandant +Mozin), the Germans united twenty guns by an electric battery and fired +them all off at the same time upon the fort, which trembled in its +massive foundations. No one can have an idea of how demoralising this +rain of projectiles was. On the 15th, Loncin and Lantin fell, the +defenders firing until they were overcome by asphyxia. On the 16th, it +was the turn of Flemalle, and on the 18th, of Hollogne. + +We know that it was at Loncin, which dominated the roads of La Hesbaye, +where General Leman was shut up. Commandant Naessens and Lieutenant +Monard had the honour of defending the fort under the General's eyes. +Electrified by the presence of the governor of the fortress, the +soldiers of Loncin wrote with their blood the most heroic page of the +heroic defence of Liege. Commandant Naessens modestly narrated the +story when he had been wounded and transported to the military hospital +of Saint Laurent. General Leman has also _resumed_ the different phases +of the attack, while a prisoner at Magdeburg. We will listen to his +clear and crisp recital. + +[Sidenote: General Leman's story.] + +He distinguishes four periods during the bombardment. The first +commenced on August 14th at 4.15 p.m. The shell fire, directed with +great exactitude, lasted two hours without interruption. After a break +of half-an-hour, some 21-centimetre guns opened fire. All night, at +intervals of ten minutes, they rained shells upon the fort, causing it +considerable damage. The escarpment was damaged, the protecting walls of +the left flank battery destroyed, and the shutters of the windows +pierced. Another unfavourable circumstance was that all the places of +the escarpment where shelter could be obtained were full of smoke from +the shells which had burst either in the protecting wall or in the +ditches. The deleterious gases rendered it impossible to stand in the +covered places, and forced the General to assemble the garrison in the +interior and in the gallery. Even in these refuges the stupefying +effects of the gases allowed themselves to be felt, and weakened the +fighting value of the garrison. + +[Sidenote: Horrors of the bombardments.] + +The third period of bombardment began on the 15th at 5.30 a.m. and +continued until two o'clock in the afternoon. The projectiles caused +fearful havoc. The vault of the commanding post, where General Leman was +present with his two adjutants, was subjected to furious shocks, and the +fort trembled to its foundations. Towards two o'clock, a lull occurred +in the firing, and the general took advantage of it to inspect the fort. +He found part of it completely in ruins. + +[Sidenote: Currents of poisonous gas.] + +The fourth period is described as follows: "It was two o'clock when the +bombardment recommenced with a violence of which no idea can be given. +It seemed to us as if the German batteries were firing salvoes. When the +large shells fell we heard the hissing of the air, which gradually +increased into a roar like a furious hurricane, and which finished by a +sudden noise of thunder. At a certain moment of this formidable +bombardment, I wished to reach the commanding post in order to see what +was happening, but at the end of a few paces in the gallery I was +knocked down by a shock of violent air and fell face forward. I got up +and wished to continue my way, but I was held back by a current of +poisonous air which invaded the whole space. It was a mixture of the gas +from the exploded powder and of the smoke of a fire which had started in +the rooms of the troops where furniture and bedding were kept. + +[Sidenote: The fort blown up.] + +[Sidenote: General Leman a prisoner.] + +"We were thus driven back to the place whence we had come, but the air +had become unbreathable. We were near to being asphyxiated when my +adjutant, Major Collard, had the idea of taking off the top of the +shutter, which gave us a little air. I was, however, obsessed by the +idea of placing part of the garrison in safety, and I told my comrade I +desired to reach the counter-escarpment. I managed to pass the gap and +reach the ditch, which I crossed. What was my amazement when I perceived +that the fort was blown up, and that the front was strewn with ruins, +forming a quay reaching from the escarpment to the counter-escarpment. +Some soldiers were running to and fro upon it. I took them for Belgian +gendarmes and called to them. But I was being suffocated, giddiness +seized upon me, and I fell to the ground. When I came to, I found myself +in the midst of my comrades, who tried to come to my aid. Among them was +a German major, who gave me a glass of water to drink. As I learnt +afterwards, it was then about 6.30 p.m. I was placed in an ambulance +carriage and transported to Liege. + +"I was taken, but I had not yet surrendered." + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Surrender of Namur.] + +Following the capture of Liege the German armies made rapid progress +through Belgium. After several sharp engagements with Belgian troops, +which resisted with heroic tenacity, the Germans on August 19 took +Louvain, and then began the deliberate system of atrocities which +horrified the civilized world. The most valuable parts of the city, +including many beautiful and important edifices, were burned, citizens +were killed and tortured, and the utmost brutality was practiced, under +the excuse that German troops had been fired upon by citizens of the +town. On August 17 Brussels had been abandoned by the Belgian Government +which withdrew to Antwerp. The former city was surrendered without +resistance. In the meantime the French had hurried their armies to +assist the Belgian forces and, joined by the available troops of the +English Expeditionary Force, they encountered the Germans at Charleroi. +On August 23 the great fortress of Namur was surrendered under the fire +of the heavy German artillery, and on the following day, the Allied +armies were defeated at Charleroi, and began the Great Retreat toward +Paris which was to continue to the banks of the Marne. The French armies +were under the command of General Joffre, while Sir John French +commanded the British Expeditionary Force. In the following narrative +General French describes the heroic performances of his gallant troops +during the terrible ordeal. + + + + +THE GREAT RETREAT + +SIR JOHN FRENCH + + +The transport of the troops from England both by sea and by rail was +effected in the best order and without a check. Each unit arrived at its +destination in this country well within the scheduled time. + +[Sidenote: Disposition of British forces.] + +The concentration was practically complete on the evening of Friday, +September 21st, and I was able to make dispositions to move the force +during Saturday, the 22d, to positions I considered most favorable from +which to commence operations which the French Commander in Chief, +General Joffre, requested me to undertake in pursuance of his plans in +prosecution of the campaign. + +The line taken up extended along the line of the canal from Conde on the +west, through Mons and Binche on the east. This line was taken up as +follows: + +From Conde to Mons inclusive was assigned to the Second Corps, and to +the right of the Second Corps from Mons the First Corps was posted. The +Fifth Cavalry Brigade was placed at Binche. + +In the absence of my Third Army Corps I desired to keep the cavalry +division as much as possible as a reserve to act on my outer flank, or +move in support of any threatened part of the line. The forward +reconnoissance was intrusted to Brigadier General Sir Philip Chetwode +with the Fifth Cavalry Brigade, but I directed General Allenby to send +forward a few squadrons to assist in this work. + +[Sidenote: Advance on Soignies.] + +During the 22d and 23d these advanced squadrons did some excellent work, +some of them penetrating as far as Soignies, and several encounters took +place in which our troops showed to great advantage. + +2. At 6 A. M. on August 23, I assembled the commanders of the First and +Second Corps and cavalry division at a point close to the position and +explained the general situation of the Allies, and what I understood to +be General Joffre's plan. I discussed with them at some length the +immediate situation in front of us. + +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 attempted outflanking movement by the enemy. I was confirmed +in this opinion by the fact that my patrols encountered no undue +opposition in their reconnoitring operations. The observations of my +aeroplanes seemed also to bear out this estimate. + +[Sidenote: Attack on Mons line.] + +About 3 P. M. on Sunday, the 23d, reports began coming in to the effect +that the enemy was commencing an attack on the Mons line, apparently in +some strength, but that the right of the position from Mons and Bray was +being particularly threatened. + +The commander of the First Corps had pushed his flank back to some high +ground south of Bray, and the Fifth Cavalry Brigade evacuated Binche, +moving slightly south; the enemy thereupon occupied Binche. + +[Sidenote: Germans gain passages of the Sambre.] + +The right of the Third Division, under General Hamilton, was at Mons, +which formed a somewhat dangerous salient; and I directed the commander +of the Second Corps to be careful not to keep the troops on this salient +too long, but, if threatened seriously, to draw back the centre behind +Mons. This was done before dark. In the meantime, about 5 P. M., I +received a most unexpected message from General Joffre by telegraph, +telling me that at least three German corps, viz., a reserve corps, the +Fourth Corps and the Ninth Corps, were moving on my position in front, +and that the Second Corps was engaged in a turning movement from the +direction of Tournay. He also informed me that the two reserve French +divisions and the Fifth French Army on my right were retiring, the +Germans having on the previous day gained possession of the passages of +the Sambre between Charleroi and Namur. + +3. In view of the possibility of my being driven from the Mons position, +I had previously ordered a position in rear to be reconnoitred. This +position rested on the fortress of Maubeuge on the right and extended +west to Jenlain, southeast of Valenciennes, on the left. The position +was reported difficult to hold, because standing crops and buildings +made the siting of trenches very difficult and limited the field of fire +in many important localities. It nevertheless afforded a few good +artillery positions. + +[Sidenote: British retire to Maubeuge position.] + +When the news of the retirement of the French and the heavy German +threatening on my front reached me, I endeavored to confirm it by +aeroplane reconnoissance; and as a result of this I determined to effect +a retirement to the Maubeuge position at daybreak on the 24th. + +A certain amount of fighting continued along the whole line throughout +the night and at daybreak on the 24th the Second Division from the +neighborhood of Harmignies made a powerful demonstration as if to retake +Binche. This was supported by the artillery of both the First and Second +Divisions, while the First Division took up a supporting position in the +neighborhood of Peissant. Under cover of this demonstration the Second +Corps retired on the line Dour-Quarouble-Frameries. The Third Division +on the right of the corps suffered considerable loss in this operation +from the enemy, who had retaken Mons. + +The Second Corps halted on this line, where they partially intrenched +themselves, enabling Sir Douglas Haig with the First Corps gradually to +withdraw to the new position; and he effected this without much further +loss, reaching the line Bavai-Maubeuge about 7 P. M. Toward midday the +enemy appeared to be directing his principal effort against our left. + +I had previously ordered General Allenby with the cavalry to act +vigorously in advance of my left front and endeavor to take the pressure +off. + +[Sidenote: General Allenby supports Fifth Division.] + +About 7:30 A. M. General Allenby received a message from Sir Charles +Fergusson, commanding the Fifth Division, saying that he was very hard +pressed and in urgent need of support. On receipt of this message +General Allenby drew in the cavalry and endeavored to bring direct +support to the Fifth Division. + +During the course of this operation General De Lisle, of the Second +Cavalry Brigade, thought he saw a good opportunity to paralyze the +further advance of the enemy's infantry by making a mounted attack on +his flank. He formed up and advanced for this purpose, but was held up +by wire about 500 yards from his objective, and the Ninth Lancers and +the Eighteenth Hussars suffered severely in the retirement of the +brigade. + +The Nineteenth Infantry Brigade, which had been guarding the line of +communications, was brought up by rail to Valenciennes on the 22d and +23d. On the morning of the 24th they were moved out to a position south +of Quarouble to support the left flank of the Second Corps. + +[Sidenote: Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien suffers great losses.] + +With the assistance of the cavalry Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien was enabled +to effect his retreat to a new position; although, having two corps of +the enemy on his front and one threatening his flank, he suffered great +losses in doing so. + +At nightfall the position was occupied by the Second Corps to the west +of Bavai, the First Corps to the right. The right was protected by the +fortress of Maubeuge, the left by the Nineteenth Brigade in position +between Jenlain and Bry, and the cavalry on the outer flank. + +4. The French were still retiring, and I had no support except such as +was afforded by the Fortress of Maubeuge; and the determined attempts of +the enemy to get round my left flank assured me that it was his +intention to hem me against that place and surround me. I felt that not +a moment must be lost in retiring to another position. + +I had every reason to believe that the enemy's forces were somewhat +exhausted and I knew that they had suffered heavy losses. I hoped, +therefore, that his pursuit would not be too vigorous to prevent me +effecting my object. + +The operation, however, was full of danger and difficulty, not only +owing to the very superior force in my front, but also to the exhaustion +of the troops. + +The retirement was recommenced in the early morning of the 25th to a +position in the neighborhood of Le Cateau, and rearguards were ordered +to be clear of the Maubeuge-Bavai-Eth Road by 5:30 A. M. + +[Sidenote: General Allenby covers west flank.] + +Two cavalry brigades, with the divisional cavalry of the Second Corps, +covered the movement of the Second Corps. The remainder of the cavalry +division, with the Nineteenth Brigade, the whole under the command of +General Allenby, covered the west flank. + +The Fourth Division commenced its detrainment at Le Cateau on Sunday, +the 23d, and by the morning of the 25th eleven battalions and a brigade +of artillery with divisional staff were available for service. + +I ordered General Snow to move out to take up a position with his right +south of Solesmes, his left resting on the Cambrai-Le Cateau Road south +of La Chaprie. In this position the division rendered great help to the +effective retirement of the Second and First Corps to the new position. + +Although the troops had been ordered to occupy the Cambrai-Le +Cateau-Landrecies position, and the ground had, during the 25th, been +partially prepared and intrenched, I had grave doubts--owing to the +information I had received as to the accumulating strength of the enemy +against me--as to the wisdom of standing there to fight. + +[Sidenote: Retirement of French troops on right.] + +Having regard to the continued retirement of the French on my right, my +exposed left flank, the tendency of the enemy's western corps (II.) to +envelop me, and, more than all, the exhausted condition of the troops, I +determined to make a great effort to continue the retreat till I could +put some substantial obstacle, such as the Somme or the Oise, between my +troops and the enemy, and afford the former some opportunity of rest and +reorganization. Orders were, therefore, sent to the corps commanders to +continue their retreat as soon as they possibly could toward the general +line Vermand-St. Quentin-Ribemont. + +The cavalry, under General Allenby, were ordered to cover the +retirement. + +Throughout the 25th and far into the evening, the First Corps continued +its march on Landrecies, following the road along the eastern border of +the Foret de Mormal, and arrived at Landrecies about 10 o'clock. I had +intended that the corps should come further west so as to fill up the +gap between Le Cateau and Landrecies, but the men were exhausted and +could not get further in without rest. + +[Sidenote: British brigade in Landrecies.] + +[Sidenote: French reserve divisions support First Corps.] + +The enemy, however, would not allow them this rest, and about 9:30 P. M. +a report was received that the Fourth Guards Brigade in Landrecies was +heavily attacked by troops of the Ninth German Army Corps, who were +coming through the forest on the north of the town. This brigade fought +most gallantly, and caused the enemy to suffer tremendous loss in +issuing from the forest into the narrow streets of the town. This loss +has been estimated from reliable sources at from 700 to 1,000. At the +same time information reached me from Sir Douglas Haig that his First +Division was also heavily engaged south and east of Maroilles. I sent +urgent messages to the commander of the two French reserve divisions on +my right to come up to the assistance of the First Corps, which they +eventually did. Partly owing to this assistance, but mainly to the +skillful manner in which Sir Douglas Haig extricated his corps from an +exceptionally difficult position in the darkness of the night, they were +able at dawn to resume their march south toward Wassigny on Guise. + +By about 6 P. M. the Second Corps had got into position with their right +on Le Cateau, their left in the neighborhood of Caudry, and the line of +defense was continued thence by the Fourth Division toward Seranvillers, +the left being thrown back. + +During the fighting on the 24th and 25th the cavalry became a good deal +scattered, but by the early morning of the 26th General Allenby had +succeeded in concentrating two brigades to the south of Cambrai. + +The Fourth Division was placed under the orders of the general officer +commanding the Second Army Corps. + +On the 24th the French cavalry corps, consisting of three divisions +under General Sordet, had been in billets north of Avesnes. On my way +back from Bavai, which was my "Poste de Commandement" during the +fighting of the 23d and 24th, I visited General Sordet, and earnestly +requested his co-operation and support. He promised to obtain sanction +from his army commander to act on my left flank, but said that his +horses were too tired to move before the next day. Although he rendered +me valuable assistance later on in the course of the retirement, he was +unable for the reasons given to afford me any support on the most +critical day of all, viz., the 26th. + +[Sidenote: British Second Corps and Fourth Division heavily attacked.] + +At daybreak it became apparent that the enemy was throwing the bulk of +his strength against the left of the position occupied by the Second +Corps and the Fourth Division. + +At this time the guns of four German army corps were in position against +them, and Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien reported to me that he judged it +impossible to continue his retirement at daybreak (as ordered) in face +of such an attack. + +I sent him orders to use his utmost endeavors to break off the action +and retire at the earliest possible moment, as it was impossible for me +to send him any support, the First Corps being at the moment incapable +of movement. + +The French cavalry corps, under General Sordet, was coming up on our +left rear early in the morning, and I sent an urgent message to him to +do his utmost to come up and support the retirement of my left flank; +but owing to the fatigue of his horses he found himself unable to +intervene in any way. + +There had been no time to intrench the position properly, but the troops +showed a magnificent front to the terrible fire which confronted them. + +[Sidenote: British artillery outmatched by four to one.] + +The artillery, although outmatched by at least four to one, made a +splendid fight, and inflicted heavy losses on their opponents. + +At length it became apparent 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 itself +suffered heavily, and the fine work done by the cavalry in the further +retreat from the position assisted materially in the final completion of +this most difficult and dangerous operation. + +Fortunately the enemy had himself suffered too heavily to engage in an +energetic pursuit. + +[Sidenote: General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien cited for conspicuous +service.] + +I cannot close the brief account of this glorious stand of the British +troops without putting on record my deep appreciation of the valuable +services rendered by General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien. + +I say without hesitation that the saving of the left wing of the army +under my command on the morning of the 26th August could never have been +accomplished unless a commander of rare and unusual coolness, +intrepidity, and determination had been present to personally conduct +the operation. + +[Sidenote: British retreat holding on line Noyon-Chauny-La Fere.] + +The retreat was continued far into the night of the 26th and through the +27th and 28th, on which date the troops halted on the line +Noyon-Chauny-La Fere, having then thrown off the weight of the enemy's +pursuit. + +On the 27th and 28th August I was much indebted to General Sordet and +the French cavalry division which he commands for materially assisting +my retirement and successfully driving back some of the enemy on +Cambrai. + +General D'Amade also, with the Sixty-first and Sixty-second French +Reserve Divisions, moved down from the neighborhood of Arras on the +enemy's right flank and took much pressure off the rear of the British +forces located there. + +[Sidenote: End of four days' battle at Mons.] + +This closes the period covering the heavy fighting which commenced at +Mons on Sunday afternoon, 23d August, and which really constituted a +four days' battle. + +At this point, therefore, I propose to close the present dispatch. + +[Sidenote: Serious losses in British forces.] + +I deeply deplore the very serious losses which the British forces have +suffered in this great battle; but they were inevitable in view of the +fact that the British Army--only two days after a concentration by +rail--was called upon to withstand a vigorous attack of five German army +corps. + +It is impossible for me to speak too highly of the skill evinced by the +two general officers commanding army corps; the self-sacrificing and +devoted exertions of their staffs; the direction of the troops by +divisional, brigade, and regimental leaders; the command of the smaller +units by their officers; and the magnificent fighting spirit displayed +by non-commissioned officers and men. + +[Sidenote: Royal Flying Corps cited for admirable work.] + +I wish particularly to bring to your Lordship's notice the admirable +work done by the Royal Flying Corps under Sir David Henderson. Their +skill, energy, and perseverance have been beyond all praise. They have +furnished me with the most complete and accurate information, which has +been of incalculable value in the conduct of the operations. Fired at +constantly both by friend and foe, and not hesitating to fly in every +kind of weather, they have remained undaunted throughout. + +Further, by actually fighting in the air, they have succeeded in +destroying five of the enemy's machines. + +I wish to acknowledge with deep gratitude the incalculable assistance I +received from the General and Personal Staffs at Headquarters during +this trying period. + +[Sidenote: Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Murray, Major General +Wilson, Brigade General Hon. Lambton cited for admirable work.] + +Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Murray, Chief of the General Staff; +Major General Wilson, Sub-Chief of the General Staff; and all under them +have worked day and night unceasingly with the utmost skill, +self-sacrifice, and devotion; and the same acknowledgment is due by me +to Brigadier General Hon. W. Lambton, my Military Secretary, and the +personal Staff. + +[Sidenote: Major General Sir William Robertson cited for admirable +work.] + +In such operations as I have described the work of the Quartermaster +General is of an extremely onerous nature. Major General Sir William +Robertson has met what appeared to be almost insuperable difficulties +with his characteristic energy, skill, and determination; and it is +largely owing to his exertions that the hardships and sufferings of the +troops--inseparable from such operations--were not much greater. + +[Sidenote: Major General Sir Nevil Macready.] + +Major General Sir Nevil Macready, the Adjutant General, has also been +confronted with most onerous and difficult tasks in connection with +disciplinary arrangements and the preparation of casualty lists. He has +been indefatigable in his exertions to meet the difficult situations +which arose. + + + + +THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE + +SIR JOHN FRENCH + + + 17th September, 1914. + +My Lord: In continuation of my dispatch of September 7, I have the honor +to report the further progress of the operations of the forces under my +command from August 28. + +On that evening the retirement of the force was followed closely by two +of the enemy's cavalry columns, moving southeast from St. Quentin. + +The retreat in this part of the field was being covered by the Third and +Fifth Cavalry Brigades. South of the Somme General Gough, with the Third +Cavalry Brigade, threw back the Uhlans of the Guard with considerable +loss. + +[Sidenote: General Chetwode routs German attack.] + +General Chetwode, with the Fifth Cavalry Brigade, encountered the +eastern column near Cerizy, moving south. The brigade attacked and +routed the column, the leading German regiment suffering very severe +casualties and being almost broken up. + +The Seventh French Army Corps was now in course of being railed up from +the south to the east of Amiens. On the 29th it nearly completed its +detrainment, and the French Sixth Army got into position on my left, its +right resting on Roye. + +The Fifth French Army was behind the line of the Oise, between La Fere +and Guise. + +[Sidenote: Vigorous pursuit of retreating German forces.] + +The pursuit of the enemy was very vigorous; some five or six German +corps were on the Somme, facing the Fifth Army on the Oise. At least two +corps were advancing toward my front, and were crossing the Somme east +and west of Ham. Three or four more German corps were opposing the Sixth +French Army on my left. + +This was the situation at 1 o'clock on the 29th, when I received a visit +from General Joffre at my headquarters. + +I strongly represented my position to the French Commander in Chief, who +was most kind, cordial, and sympathetic, as he has always been. He told +me that he had directed the Fifth French Army on the Oise to move +forward and attack the Germans on the Somme, with a view to checking +pursuit. He also told me of the formation of the Sixth French Army on my +left flank, composed of the Seventh Army Corps, four reserve divisions, +and Sordet's corps of cavalry. + +[Sidenote: Short retirement towards Compiegne-Soissons.] + +I finally arranged with General Joffre to effect a further short +retirement toward the line Compiegne-Soissons, promising him, however, +to do my utmost to keep always within a day's march of him. + +In pursuance of this arrangement the British forces retired to a +position a few miles north of the line Compiegne-Soissons on the 29th. + +[Sidenote: Right flank of German army in dangerous line of connection.] + +The right flank of the Germany Army was now reaching a point which +appeared seriously to endanger my line of communications with Havre. I +had already evacuated Amiens, into which place a German reserve division +was reported to have moved. + +Orders were given to change the base to St. Nazaire, and establish an +advance base at Le Mans. This operation was well carried out by the +Inspector General of Communications. + +[Sidenote: Retirement to the Marne ordered.] + +In spite of a severe defeat inflicted upon the Guard Tenth and Guard +Reserve Corps of the German Army by the First and Third French Corps on +the right of the Fifth Army, it was not part of General Joffre's plan to +pursue this advantage; and a general retirement to the line of the +Marne was ordered, to which the French forces in the more eastern +theatre were directed to conform. + +A new Army (the Ninth) had been formed from three corps in the south by +General Joffre, and moved into the space between the right of the Fifth +and left of the Fourth Armies. + +While closely adhering to his strategic conception to draw the enemy on +at all points until a favorable situation was created from which to +assume the offensive, General Joffre found it necessary to modify from +day to day the methods by which he sought to attain this object, owing +to the development of the enemy's plans and changes in the general +situation. + +In conformity with the movements of the French forces, my retirement +continued practically from day to day. Although we were not severely +pressed by the enemy, rearguard actions took place continually. + +[Sidenote: Attack on British First Cavalry Brigade.] + +On the 1st September, when retiring from the thickly wooded country to +the south of Compiegne, the First Cavalry Brigade was overtaken by some +German cavalry. They momentarily lost a horse artillery battery, and +several officers and men were killed and wounded. With the help, +however, of some detachments from the Third Corps operating on their +left, they not only recovered their own guns, but succeeded in capturing +twelve of the enemy's. + +Similarly, to the eastward, the First Corps, retiring south, also got +into some very difficult forest country, and a somewhat severe rearguard +action ensued at Villers-Cotterets, in which the Fourth Guards Brigade +suffered considerably. + +[Sidenote: British forces in position south of the Marne.] + +On September 3 the British forces were in position south of the Marne +between Lagny and Signy-Signets. Up to this time I had been requested +by General Joffre to defend the passages of the river as long as +possible, and to blow up the bridges in my front. After I had made the +necessary dispositions, and the destruction of the bridges had been +effected, I was asked by the French Commander in Chief to continue my +retirement to a point some twelve miles in rear of the position I then +occupied, with a view to taking up a second position behind the Seine. +This retirement was duly carried out. In the meantime the enemy had +thrown bridges and crossed the Marne in considerable force, and was +threatening the Allies all along the line of the British forces and the +Fifth and Ninth French Armies. Consequently several small outpost +actions took place. + +On Saturday, September 5, I met the French Commander in Chief at his +request, and he informed me of his intention to take the offensive +forthwith, as he considered conditions very favorable to success. + +[Sidenote: General Joffre announces intention to take offensive.] + +General Joffre announced to me his intention of 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 in my +front and join in the general offensive movement. + +[Sidenote: Battle begins Sunday, September 6.] + +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, Mauperthuis, +which was about the British centre, Courtecon, which was on 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. + +[Sidenote: Battle concluded September 10. Germans driven to the line +Soissons-Rheims.] + +This battle, in so far as the Sixth French Army, the British Army, the +Fifth French Army, and the Ninth French Army were concerned, may be said +to have concluded on the evening of September 10, by which time the +Germans had been driven back to the line Soissons-Rheims, with a loss of +thousands of prisoners, many guns, and enormous masses of transport. + +About September 3 the enemy appears to have changed his plans and to +have determined to stop his advance south direct upon Paris, for on +September 4 air reconnoissances showed that his main columns were moving +in a southeasterly direction generally east of a line drawn through +Nanteuil and Lizy on the Ourcq. + +On September 5 several of these columns were observed to have crossed +the Marne, while German troops, which were observed moving southeast up +the left flank of the Ourcq on the 4th, were now reported to be halted +and facing that river. Heads of the enemy's columns were seen crossing +at Changis, La Ferte, Nogent, Chateau Thierry, and Mezy. + +[Sidenote: German columns converging on Montmirail.] + +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 Ferte-Gaucher, +and Dagny. + +I should conceive it to have been about noon on September 6, after the +British forces had changed their front to the right and occupied the +line Jouy-Le Chatel-Faremoutiers-Villeneuve Le Comte, and the advance +of the Sixth French Army north of the Marne toward the Ourcq became +apparent, that the enemy realized the powerful threat that was being +made against the flank of his columns moving southeast, and began the +great retreat which opened the battle above referred to. + +[Sidenote: Position of allies and Germans on September 6.] + +On the evening of September 6, therefore, the fronts and positions of +the Allied Army were roughly as follows: + +_Sixth French Army._--Right on the Marne at Meux, left toward Betz. + +_British Forces._--On the line Dagny-Coulommiers-Maison. + +_Fifth French Army._--At Courtagon, right on Esternay. + +_Conneau's Cavalry Corps._--Between the right of the British and the +left of the French Fifth Army. + +The position of the German Army was as follows: + +_Fourth Reserve and Second Corps._--East of the Ourcq and facing that +river. + +_Ninth Cavalry Division._--West of Crecy. + +_Second Cavalry Division._--North of Coulommiers. + +_Fourth Corps._--Rebais. + +_Third and Seventh Corps._--Southwest of Montmirail. + +[Sidenote: First and Second German army.] + +All these troops constituted the First German Army, which was directed +against the French Sixth Army on the Ourcq, and the British forces, and +the left of the Fifth French Army south of the Marne. + +The Second German Army (IX., X., X.R., and Guard) was moving against the +centre and right of the Fifth French Army and the Ninth French Army. + +On September 7 both the Fifth and Sixth French Armies were heavily +engaged on our flank. The Second and Fourth Reserve German Corps on the +Ourcq vigorously opposed the advance of the French toward that river, +but did not prevent the Sixth Army from gaining some headway, the +Germans themselves suffering serious losses. The French Fifth Army threw +the enemy back to the line of the Petit Morin River after inflicting +severe losses upon them, especially about Montceaux, which was carried +at the point of the bayonet. + +The enemy retreated before our advance, covered by his Second and Ninth +and Guard Cavalry Divisions, which suffered severely. + +Our cavalry acted with great vigor, especially General De Lisle's +brigade, with the Ninth Lancers and Eighteenth Hussars. + +[Sidenote: Germans retreat September 8.] + +On September 8 the enemy continued his retreat northward, and our army +was successfully engaged during the day with strong rearguards of all +arms on the Petit Morin River, thereby materially assisting the progress +of the French armies on our right and left, against whom the enemy was +making his greatest efforts. On both sides the enemy was thrown back +with very heavy loss. The First Army Corps encountered stubborn +resistance at La Tretoire, (north of Rebais.) The enemy occupied a +strong position with infantry and guns on the northern bank of the Petit +Morin River; they were dislodged with considerable loss. Several machine +guns and many prisoners were captured, and upward of 200 German dead +were left on the ground. + +[Sidenote: Forcing of Petit Morin September 9.] + +The forcing of the Petit Morin at this point was much assisted by the +cavalry and the First Division, which crossed higher up the stream. + +Later in the day a counter-attack by the enemy was well repulsed by the +First Army Corps, a great many prisoners and some guns again falling +into our hands. + +On this day (September 8) the Second Army Corps encountered considerable +opposition, but drove back the enemy at all points with great loss, +making considerable captures. + +The Third Army Corps also drove back considerable bodies of the enemy's +infantry and made some captures. + +[Sidenote: British First and Second Army Corps forced passage of Marne.] + +On September 9 the First and Second Army Corps forced the passage of the +Marne and advanced some miles to the north of it. The Third Corps +encountered considerable opposition, as the bridge at La Ferte was +destroyed and the enemy held the town on the opposite bank in some +strength, and thence persistently obstructed the construction of a +bridge; so the passage was not effected until after nightfall. + +During the day's pursuit the enemy suffered heavy loss in killed and +wounded, some hundreds of prisoners fell into our hands and a battery of +eight machine guns was captured by the Second Division. + +[Sidenote: Sixth French Army heavily engaged west of River Ourcq.] + +On this day the Sixth French Army was heavily engaged west of the River +Ourcq. The enemy had largely increased his force opposing them; and very +heavy fighting ensued, in which the French were successful throughout. + +The left of the Fifth French Army reached the neighborhood of Chateau +Thierry after the most severe fighting, having driven the enemy +completely north of the river with great loss. + +The fighting of this army in the neighborhood of Montmirail was very +severe. + +[Sidenote: British and French advance on the line of the Ourcq, +September 10.] + +The advance was resumed at daybreak on the 10th up to the line of the +Ourcq, opposed by strong rearguards of all arms. The First and Second +Corps, assisted by the cavalry divisions on the right, the Third and +Fifth Cavalry Brigades on the left, drove the enemy northward. Thirteen +guns, seven machine guns, about 2,000 prisoners, and quantities of +transport fell into our hands. The enemy left many dead on the field. +On this day the French Fifth and Sixth Armies had little opposition. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF THE MARNE--END OF GERMAN RETREAT AND THE +INTRENCHED LINE ON THE AISNE RIVER] + +[Sidenote: First and Second German armies in full retreat.] + +As the First and Second German Armies were now in full retreat, this +evening marks the end of the battle which practically commenced on the +morning of the 6th inst.; and it is at this point in the operations that +I am concluding the present dispatch. + +In concluding this dispatch I must call your Lordship's special +attention to the fact that from Sunday, August 23, up to the present +date, (September 17,) from Mons back almost to the Seine, and from the +Seine to the Aisne, the army under my command has been ceaselessly +engaged without one single day's halt or rest of any kind. + +[Sidenote: Continuous fighting of British from Sunday, August 23, to +September 17, from Mons to Seine and from Seine to the Aisne.] + +[Sidenote: Amiens and Rheims captured.] + +In the narratives preceding we have seen how the English forces +conducted themselves during the Great Retreat and at the Marne. It must +be remembered, however, that they comprised but a small proportion of +the armies opposing the Germans. The French bore the brunt of the +attack, and a French army turned the tide of battle. Beginning with the +first days of September all other military events were overshadowed by +the Great Retreat. On September 1 the Germans, in spite of French and +British resistance, had reached Senlis. On September 4th Amiens was +captured, and two days later the German army entered Rheims. In the +following narrative is shown, through the official records, how the +French armies bore themselves during the Great Retreat, the First Battle +of the Marne, and in the fighting which marked the hurried return of the +German armies to the banks of the Aisne which they had, with true +foresight, fortified with such a possible situation in mind. + + + + +HOW THE FRENCH FOUGHT + +THE FRENCH OFFICIAL ACCOUNT + + +The first month of the campaign began with successes and finished with +defeats for the French troops. Under what circumstances did these come +about? + +[Sidenote: Two principal actions.] + +Our plan of concentration had foreseen the possibility of two principal +actions, one on the right between the Vosges and the Moselle, the other +on the left to the north of Verdun-Toul line, this double possibility +involving the eventual variation of our transport. On August 2, owing to +the Germans passing through Belgium, our concentration was substantially +modified by General Joffre in order that our principal effort might be +directed to the north. + +From the first week in August it was apparent that the length of time +required for the British Army to begin to move would delay our action in +connection with it. This delay is one of the reasons which explain our +failures at the end of August. + +[Sidenote: Mulhouse occupied.] + +Awaiting the moment when the operations in the north could begin, and to +prepare for it by retaining in Alsace the greatest possible number of +German forces, the General in Chief ordered our troops to occupy +Mulhouse, (Muelhousen,) to cut the bridges of the Rhine at Huningue and +below, and then to flank the attack of our troops, operating in +Lorraine. + +This operation was badly carried out by a leader who was at once +relieved of his command. Our troops, after having carried Mulhouse, lost +it and were thrown back on Belfort. The work had, therefore, to be +recommenced afresh, and this was done from August 14 under a new +command. + +[Sidenote: Enemy losses.] + +Mulhouse was taken on the 19th, after a brilliant fight at Dornach. +Twenty-four guns were captured from the enemy. On the 20th we held the +approaches to Colmar, both by the plain and by the Vosges. The enemy had +undergone enormous losses and abandoned great stores of shells and +forage, but from this moment what was happening in Lorraine and on our +left prevented us from carrying our successes further, for our troops in +Alsace were needed elsewhere. + +On August 28 the Alsace army was broken up, only a small part remaining +to hold the region of Thann and the Vosges. + +The purpose of the operations in Alsace was, namely, to retain a large +part of the enemy's forces far from the northern theatre of operations. +It was for our offensive in Lorraine to pursue still more directly by +holding before it the German army corps operating to the south of Metz. + +This offensive began brilliantly on August 14. On the 19th we had +reached the region of Saarburg and that of the Etangs, (lakes,) and we +held Dieuze, Morhange, Delme, and Chateau Salins. + +[Sidenote: French offensive stopped.] + +On the 20th our success was stopped. The cause is to be found in the +strong organization of the region, in the power of the enemy's +artillery, operating over ground which had been minutely surveyed, and, +finally, in the default of certain units. + +[Sidenote: German reinforcements.] + +On the 22d, in spite of the splendid behavior of several of our army +corps, notably that of Nancy, our troops were brought back on to the +Grand Couronne, while on the 23d and 24th the Germans concentrated +reinforcements--three army corps, at least--in the region of Luneville +and forced us to retire to the south. + +This retreat, however, was only momentary. On the 25th, after two +vigorous counter-attacks, one from south to north and the other from +west to east, the enemy had to fall back. From that time a sort of +balance was established on this terrain between the Germans and +ourselves. Maintained for fifteen days, it was afterward, as will be +seen, modified to our advantage. + +[Sidenote: Battle of the north.] + +There remained the principal business, the battle of the +north--postponed owing to the necessity of waiting for the British Army. +On August 20 the concentration of our lines was finished and the General +in Chief gave orders for our centre and our left to take the offensive. +Our centre comprised two armies. Our left consisted of a third army, +reinforced to the extent of two army corps, a corps of cavalry, the +reserve divisions, the British Army, and the Belgian Army, which had +already been engaged for the previous three weeks at Liege, Namur, and +Louvain. + +The German plan on that date was as follows: From seven to eight army +corps and four cavalry divisions were endeavoring to pass between Givet +and Brussels, and even to prolong their movements more to the west. Our +object was, therefore, in the first place, to hold and dispose of the +enemy's centre and afterward to throw ourselves with all available +forces on the left flank of the German grouping of troops in the north. + +[Sidenote: The offensive fails.] + +On August 21 our offensive in the centre began with ten army corps. On +August 22 it failed, and this reverse appeared serious. + +The reasons for it are complex. There were in this affair individual and +collective failures, imprudences committed under the fire of the enemy, +divisions ill-engaged, rash deployments, precipitate retreats, a +premature waste of men, and, finally, the inadequacy of certain of our +troops and their leaders, both as regards the use of infantry and +artillery. + +In consequence of these lapses the enemy, turning to account the +difficult terrain, was able to secure the maximum of profit from the +advantages which the superiority of his subaltern complements gave him. + +[Sidenote: Enemy crosses the Sambre.] + +In spite of this defeat our manoeuvre had still a chance of success, if +our left and the British Army obtained a decisive result. This was +unfortunately not the case. On August 22, at the cost of great losses, +the enemy succeeded in crossing the Sambre and our left army fell back +on the 24th upon Beaumont-Givet, being perturbed by the belief that the +enemy was threatening its right. + +On the same day, (the 24th,) the British Army fell back after a German +attack upon the Maubeuge-Valenciennes line. On the 25th and 26th its +retreat became more hurried. After Landrecies and Le Cateau it fell back +southward by forced marches. It could not from this time keep its hold +until after crossing the Marne. + +[Sidenote: The British retreat.] + +The rapid retreat of the English, coinciding with the defeat sustained +in Belgian Luxembourg, allowed the enemy to cross the Meuse and to +accelerate, by fortifying it, the action of his right. + +The situation at this moment may be thus summed up: Either our frontier +had to be defended on the spot under conditions which the British +retreat rendered extremely perilous, or we had to execute a strategic +retirement which, while delivering up to the enemy a part of the +national soil, would permit us, on the other hand, to resume the +offensive at our own time with a favorable disposition of troops, still +intact, which we had at our command. The General in Chief determined on +the second alternative. + +[Sidenote: New offensive planned.] + +Henceforward the French command devoted its efforts to preparing the +offensive. To this end three conditions had to be fulfilled: + +1. The retreat had to be carried out in order under a succession of +counter-attacks which would keep the enemy busy. + +2. The extreme point of this retreat must be fixed in such a way that +the different armies should reach it simultaneously, ready at the moment +of occupying it to resume the offensive all together. + +3. Every circumstance permitting of a resumption of the offensive before +this point should be reached must be utilized by the whole of our forces +and the British forces. + +[Sidenote: Counter-attacks.] + +The counter-attacks, executed during the retreat, were brilliant and +often fruitful. On August 20 we successfully attacked St. Quentin to +disengage the British Army. Two other corps and a reserve division +engaged the Prussian Guard and the Tenth German Army Corps, which was +debouching from Guise. By the end of the day, after various +fluctuations, the enemy was thrown back on the Oise and the British +front was freed. + +On August 27 we had also succeeded in throwing back upon the Meuse the +enemy, who was endeavoring to gain a foothold on the left bank. Our +successes continued on the 28th in the woods of Marfee and of Jaulnay. +Thanks to them we were able, in accordance with the orders of the +General in Chief, to fall back on the Buzancy-Le Chesne-Bouvellemont +line. + +Further to the right another army took part in the same movement and +carried out successful attacks on August 25 on the Othain and in the +region of Spincourt. + +[Sidenote: Recrossing the Meuse.] + +On the 26th these different units recrossed the Meuse without being +disturbed and were able to join in the action of our centre. Our armies +were, therefore, again intact and available for the offensive. + +On August 26 a new army composed of two army corps, five reserve +divisions, and a Moorish brigade was constituted. This army was to +assemble in the region of Amiens between August 27 and September 1 and +take the offensive against the German right, uniting its action with +that of the British Army, operating on the line of Ham-Bray-sur-Somme. + +[Sidenote: The retreat continues.] + +The hope of resuming the offensive was from this moment rendered vain by +the rapidity of the march of the German right wing. This rapidity had +two consequences, which we had to parry before thinking of advancing. On +the one hand, our new army had not time to complete its detraining, and, +on the other hand, the British Army, forced back further by the enemy, +uncovered on August 31 our left flank. Our line, thus modified, +contained waves which had to be redressed before we could pass to the +offensive. + +To understand this it is sufficient to consider the situation created by +the quick advance of the enemy on the evening of September 2. + +A corps of cavalry had crossed the Oise and advanced as far as +Chateau-Thierry. The First Army, (General von Kluck,) comprising four +active army corps and a reserve corps, had passed Compiegne. + +The Second Army, (General von Buelow,) with three active army corps and +two reserve corps, was reaching the Laon region. + +The Third Army, (General von Hausen,) with two active army corps and a +reserve corps, had crossed the Aisne between the Chateau Porcien and +Attigny. + +[Sidenote: The German armies.] + +More to the east the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Armies, namely, +twelve army corps, four reserve corps, and numerous Ersatz formations, +were in contact with our troops, the Fourth and Fifth Armies between +Vouziers and Verdun and the others in the positions which have been +indicated above, from Verdun to the Vosges. + +[Sidenote: The left in peril.] + +It will, therefore, be seen that our left, if we accepted battle, might +be in great peril through the British forces and the new French Army, +operating more to the westward, having given way. + +A defeat in these conditions would have cut off our armies from Paris +and from the British forces and at the same time from the new army which +had been constituted to the left of the English. We should thus be +running the risk of losing by a single stroke the advantage of the +assistance which Russia later on was to furnish. + +General Joffre chose resolutely for the solution which disposed of these +risks, that is to say, for postponing the offensive and the continuance +of the retreat. In this way he remained on ground which he had chosen. +He waited only until he could engage in better conditions. + +[Sidenote: The limit of the retreat.] + +In consequence, on September 1, he fixed as an extreme limit for the +movement of retreat, which was still going on, the line of +Bray-sur-Seine, Nogent-sur-Seine, Arcis-sur-Aube, Vitry-le-Francois, and +the region to the north of Bar-le-Duc. This line might be reached if the +troops were compelled to go back so far. They would attack before +reaching it, as soon as there was a possibility of bringing about an +offensive disposition, permitting the co-operation of the whole of our +forces. + +On September 5 it appeared that this desired situation existed. + +The First German Army, carrying audacity to temerity, had continued its +endeavor to envelop our left, had crossed the Grand Morin, and reached +the region of Chauffry, to the north of Rebaix and of Esternay. It aimed +then at cutting our armies off from Paris, in order to begin the +investment of the capital. + +[Sidenote: The German lines.] + +The Second Army had its head on the line Champaubert, Etoges, Bergeres, +and Vertus. + +The Third and Fourth Armies reached to Chalons-sur-Marne and +Bussy-le-Repos. The Fifth Army was advancing on one side and the other +from the Argonne as far as Triacourt-les-Islettes and Juivecourt. The +Sixth and Seventh Armies were attacking more to the east. + +But--and here is a capital difference between the situation of September +5 and that of September 2--the envelopment of our left was no longer +possible. + +In the first place, our left army had been able to occupy the line of +Sezanne, Villers-St. Georges and Courchamps. Furthermore, the British +forces, gathered between the Seine and the Marne, flanked on their left +by the newly created army, were closely connected with the rest of our +forces. + +[Sidenote: Allies' armies ready.] + +This was precisely the disposition which the General in Chief had wished +to see achieved. On the 4th he decided to take advantage of it, and +ordered all the armies to hold themselves ready. He had taken from his +right two new army corps, two divisions of infantry, and two divisions +of cavalry, which were distributed between his left and his centre. + +On the evening of the 5th he addressed to all the commanders of armies a +message ordering them to attack. + +[Sidenote: Joffre orders the advance.] + +"The hour has come," he wrote, "to advance at all costs, and to die +where you stand rather than give way." + +If one examines on the map the respective positions of the German and +French armies on September 6 as previously described, it will be seen +that by his inflection toward Meaux and Coulommiers General von Kluck +was exposing his right to the offensive action of our left. This is the +starting point of the victory of the Marne. + +[Sidenote: The Battle of the Marne.] + +On the evening of September 5 our left army had reached the front +Penchard-Saint-Soutlet-Ver. On the 6th and 7th it continued its +attacks vigorously with the Ourcq as objective. On the evening of +the 7th it was some kilometers from the Ourcq, on the front +Chambry-Marcilly-Lisieux-Acy-en-Multien. On the 8th, the Germans, who +had in great haste reinforced their right by bringing their Second and +Fourth Army Corps back to the north, obtained some successes by attacks +of extreme violence. They occupied Betz, Thury-en-Valois, and +Nanteuil-le-Haudouin. But in spite of this pressure our troops held +their ground well. In a brilliant action they took three standards, and, +being reinforced, prepared a new attack for the 10th. At the moment that +this attack was about to begin the enemy was already in retreat toward +the north. The attack became a pursuit, and on the 12th we established +ourselves on the Aisne. + +[Sidenote: Enemy left exposed.] + +Why did the German forces which were confronting us and on the evening +before attacking so furiously retreat on the morning of the 10th? +Because in bringing back on the 6th several army corps from the south to +the north to face our left the enemy had exposed his left to the attacks +of the British Army, which had immediately faced around toward the +north, and to those of our armies which were prolonging the English +lines to the right. This is what the French command had sought to bring +about. This is what happened on September 8 and allowed the development +and rehabilitation which it was to effect. + +[Sidenote: The part of the British.] + +On the 6th the British Army had set out from the line Rozcy-Lagny and +had that evening reached the southward bank of the Grand Morin. On the +7th and 8th it continued its march, and on the 9th had debouched to the +north of the Marne below Chateau-Thierry, taking in flank the German +forces which on that day were opposing, on the Ourcq, our left army. +Then it was that these forces began to retreat, while the British Army, +going in pursuit and capturing seven guns and many prisoners, reached +the Aisne between Soissons and Longueval. + +[Sidenote: The role of the French army.] + +The role of the French Army, which was operating to the right of the +British Army, was threefold. It had to support the British attacking on +its left. It had on its right to support our centre, which from +September 7 had been subjected to a German attack of great violence. +Finally, its mission was to throw back the three active army corps and +the reserve corps which faced it. + +On the 7th it made a leap forward, and on the following days reached and +crossed the Marne, seizing, after desperate fighting, guns, howitzers, +mitrailleuses, and 1,300,000 cartridges. On the 12th it established +itself on the north edge of the Montagne-de-Reime in contact with our +centre, which for its part had just forced the enemy to retreat in +haste. + +[Sidenote: Attack on the French centre.] + +Our centre consisted of a new army created on August 29 and of one of +those which at the beginning of the campaign had been engaged in Belgian +Luxembourg. The first had retreated on August 29 to September 5 from the +Aisne to the north of the Marne and occupied the general front +Sezanne-Mailly. + +The second, more to the east, had drawn back to the south of the line +Humbauville-Chateau-Beauchamp-Bignicourt-Blesmes-Maurupt-le-Montoy. + +[Sidenote: A further retreat.] + +The enemy, in view of his right being arrested and the defeat of his +enveloping movement, made a desperate effort from the 7th to the 10th to +pierce our centre to the west and to the east of Fere-Champenoise. On +the 8th he succeeded in forcing back the right of our new army, which +retired as far as Gouragancon. On the 9th, at 6 o'clock in the morning, +there was a further retreat to the south of that village, while on the +left the other army corps also had to go back to the line +Allemant-Connantre. + +[Sidenote: Foch out-man[oe]uvres Germans.] + +Despite this retreat the General commanding the army ordered a general +offensive for the same day. With the Morocco Division, whose behavior +was heroic, he met a furious assault of the Germans on his left toward +the marshes of Saint Gond. Then with the division which had just +victoriously overcome the attacks of the enemy to the north of Sezanne, +and with the whole of his left army corps, he made a flanking attack in +the evening of the 9th upon the German forces, and notably the guard, +which had thrown back his right army corps. The enemy, taken by surprise +by this bold man[oe]uvre, did not resist, and beat a hasty retreat. + +[Sidenote: Centre armies established.] + +On the 11th we crossed the Marne between Tours-sur-Marne and Sarry, +driving the Germans in front of us in disorder. On the 12th we were in +contact with the enemy to the north of the Camp de Chalons. Our other +army of the centre, acting on the right of the one just referred to, had +been intrusted with the mission during the 7th, 8th, and 9th of +disengaging its neighbor, and it was only on the 10th that, being +reinforced by an army corps from the east, it was able to make its +action effectively felt. On the 11th the Germans retired. But, +perceiving their danger, they fought desperately, with enormous +expenditure of projectiles, behind strong intrenchments. On the 12th the +result had none the less been attained, and our two centre armies were +solidly established on the ground gained. + +To the right of these two armies were three others. They had orders to +cover themselves to the north and to debouch toward the west on the +flank of the enemy, which was operating to the west of the Argonne. But +a wide interval in which the Germans were in force separated them from +our centre. The attack took place, nevertheless, with very brilliant +success for our artillery, which destroyed eleven batteries of the +Sixteenth German Army Corps. + +[Sidenote: Germans retreat on the right.] + +On the 10th inst. the Eighth and Fifteenth German Army Corps +counter-attacked, but were repulsed. On the 11th our progress continued +with new successes, and on the 12th we were able to face round toward +the north in expectation of the near and inevitable retreat of the +enemy, which, in fact, took place from the 13th. + +The withdrawal of the mass of the German force involved also that of the +left. From the 12th onward the forces of the enemy operating between +Nancy and the Vosges retreated in a hurry before our two armies of the +East, which immediately occupied the positions that the enemy had +evacuated. The offensive of our right had thus prepared and consolidated +in the most useful way the result secured by our left and our centre. + +Such was this seven days' battle, in which more than two millions of men +were engaged. Each army gained ground step by step, opening the road to +its neighbor, supported at once by it, taking in flank the adversary +which the day before it had attacked in front, the efforts of one +articulating closely with those of the other, a perfect unity of +intention and method animating the supreme command. + +[Sidenote: Meaning of the victory.] + +To give this victory all its meaning it is necessary to add that it was +gained by troops which for two weeks had been retreating, and which, +when the order for the offensive was given, were found to be as ardent +as on the first day. It has also to be said that these troops had to +meet the whole German army, and that from the time they marched forward +they never again fell back. Under their pressure the German retreat at +certain times had the appearance of a rout. + +[Sidenote: Numbers of German prisoners.] + +In spite of the fatigue of our men, in spite of the power of the German +heavy artillery, we took colors, guns, mitrailleuses, shells, more than +a million cartridges, and thousands of prisoners. A German corps lost +almost the whole of its artillery, which, from information brought by +our airmen, was destroyed by our guns. + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: The next objective is the Channel ports.] + +After the failure of the German drive against Paris, whose capture was +the first objective in the plan of campaign of the German General Staff, +preparations were made to carry out the plans for the second objective, +the capture of the Channel seaports, and the control of the coasts. The +Allied commanders were quite aware of this purpose, and made plans to +circumvent it. Then followed the famous Race for the Channel, which is +described by official French observers in the pages that follow. + + + + +THE RACE FOR THE CHANNEL + +FRENCH OFFICIAL ACCOUNT + + +As early as September 11 the Commander in Chief had directed our left +army to have as important forces as possible on the right bank of the +Oise. On September 17 he made that instruction more precise by ordering +"a mass to be constituted on the left wing of our disposition, capable +of coping with the outflanking movement of the enemy." Everything led us +to expect that flanking movement, for the Germans are lacking in +invention. Indeed, their effort at that time tended to a renewal of +their manoeuvre of August. In the parallel race the opponents were bound +in the end to be stopped only by the sea; that is what happened about +October 20. + +[Sidenote: Allies in the race to the sea.] + +The Germans had an advantage over us, which is obvious from a glance at +the map--the concentric form of their front, which shortened the length +of their transports. In spite of this initial inferiority we arrived in +time. + +From the middle of September to the last week in October fighting went +on continually to the north of the Oise, but all the time we were +fighting we were slipping northward. On the German side this movement +brought into line more than eighteen new army corps (twelve active army +corps, six reserve corps, four cavalry corps). On our side it ended in +the constitution of three fresh armies on our left and in the transport +into the same district of the British Army and the Belgian Army from +Antwerp. + +[Sidenote: Resistance in Battle of Flanders.] + +For the conception and realization of this fresh and extended +disposition the French command, in the first place, had to reduce to a +minimum the needs for effectives of our armies to the east of the Oise, +and afterwards to utilize to the utmost our means of transport. It +succeeded in this, and when, at the end of October, the battle of +Flanders opened, when the Germans, having completed the concentration of +their forces, attempted with fierce energy to turn or to pierce our +left, they flung themselves upon a resistance which inflicted upon them +a complete defeat. + +The movement began on our side only with the resources of the army which +had held the left of our front during the battle of the Marne, +reinforced on September 15 by one army corps. + +This reinforcement, not being sufficient to hold the enemy's offensive +(district of Vaudelincourt-Mouchy-Uaugy), a fresh army was transported +more to the left, with the task "of acting against the German right wing +in order to disengage its neighbor, * * * while preserving a flanking +direction in its march in relation to the fresh units that the enemy +might be able to put into line." + +[Sidenote: Reinforcements for the First Army.] + +To cover the detrainments of this fresh army in the district +Clermont-Beauvais-Boix a cavalry corps and four territorial divisions +were ordered to establish themselves on both banks of the Somme. In the +wooded hills, however, which extend between the Oise and Lassigny the +enemy displayed increasing activity. Nevertheless, the order still +further to broaden the movement toward the left was maintained, while +the territorial divisions were to move toward Bethune and Aubigny. The +march to the sea went on. + +[Sidenote: Alternate reverse and success.] + +From the 21st to the 26th all our forces were engaged in the district +Lassigny-Roye-Peronne, with alternations of reverse and success. + +It was the first act of the great struggle which was to spread as it +went on. On the 26th the whole of the Sixth German Army was deployed +against us. We retained all our positions, but we could do no more; +consequently there was still the risk that the enemy, by means of a +fresh afflux of forces, might succeed in turning us. + +Once more reinforcements, two army corps, were directed no longer on +Beauvais, but toward Amiens. The front was then again to extend. A fresh +army was constituted more to the north. + +From September 30 onward we could not but observe that the enemy, +already strongly posted on the plateau of Thiepval, was continually +slipping his forces from south to north, and everywhere confronting us +with remarkable energy. + +[Sidenote: Cavalry operations.] + +Accordingly, on October 1 two cavalry corps were directed to make a leap +forward and, operating on both flanks of the Scarpe, to put themselves +in touch with the garrison of Dunkirk, which, on its side, had pushed +forward as far as Douai. + +But on October 2 and 3 the bulk of our fresh army was very strongly +attacked in the district of Arras and Lens. Confronting it were two +corps of cavalry, the guards, four active army corps, and two reserve +corps. A fresh army corps was immediately transported and detrained in +the Lille district. + +But once more the attacks became more pressing, and on October 4 it was +a question whether, in view of the enemy's activity both west of the +Oise and south of the Somme, and also further to the north, a retreat +would not have to be made. General Joffre resolutely put this +hypothesis aside and ordered the offensive to be resumed with the +reinforcements that had arrived. It was, however, clear that, despite +the efforts of all, our front, extended to the sea as it was by a mere +ribbon of troops, did not possess the solidity to enable it to resist +with complete safety a German attack, the violence of which could well +be foreseen. + +[Sidenote: Transport of the British Army.] + +In the Arras district the position was fairly good. But between the Oise +and Arras we were holding our own only with difficulty. Finally, to the +north, on the Lille-Estaires-Merville-Hazebrouck-Cassel front, our +cavalry and our territorials had their work cut out against eight +divisions of German cavalry, with very strong infantry supports. It was +at this moment that the transport of the British Army to the northern +theatre of operations began. + +[Sidenote: British Army taken from the Aisne.] + +Field Marshal French had, as early as the end of September, expressed +the wish to see his army resume its initial place on the left of the +allied armies. He explained this wish on the ground of the greater +facility of which his communications would have the advantage in this +new position, and also of the impending arrival of two divisions of +infantry from home and of two infantry divisions and a cavalry division +from India, which would be able to deploy more easily on that terrain. +In spite of the difficulties which such a removal involved, owing to the +intensive use of the railways by our own units, General Joffre decided +at the beginning of October to meet the Field Marshal's wishes and to +have the British Army removed from the Aisne. + +It was clearly specified that on the northern terrain the British Army +should co-operate to the same end as ourselves, the stopping of the +German right. In other terms, the British Army was to prolong the front +of the general disposition without a break, attacking as soon as +possible, and at the same time seeking touch with the Belgian Army. + +But the detraining took longer than had been expected, and it was not +possible to attack the Germans during the time when they had only +cavalry in the Lille district and further to the north. + +[Sidenote: Wearied Belgian troops.] + +There remained the Belgian Army. On leaving Antwerp on October 9 the +Belgian Army, which was covered by 8,000 British bluejackets and 6,000 +French bluejackets, at first intended to retire as far as to the north +of Calais, but afterwards determined to make a stand in Belgian +territory. Unfortunately, the condition of the Belgian troops, exhausted +by a struggle of more than three months, did not allow any immediate +hopes to be based upon them. This situation weighed on our plans and +delayed their execution. + +On the 16th we made progress to the east of Ypres. On the 18th our +cavalry even reached Roulers and Cortemark. But it was now evident that, +in view of the continual reinforcing of the German right, our left was +not capable of maintaining the advantages obtained during the previous +few days. To attain our end and make our front inviolable a fresh effort +was necessary. That effort was immediately made by the dispatch to the +north of the Lys of considerable French forces, which formed the French +Army of Belgium. + +The French Army of Belgium consisted, to begin with, of two territorial +divisions, four divisions of cavalry, and a naval brigade. Directly +after its constitution it was strengthened by elements from other points +on the front whose arrival extended from October 27 to November 11. +These reinforcements were equivalent altogether in value to five army +corps, a division of cavalry, a territorial division, and sixteen +regiments of cavalry, plus sixty pieces of heavy artillery. + +Thus was completed the strategic manoeuvre defined by the instructions +of the General in Chief on September 11 and developed during the five +following weeks with the ampleness we have just seen. The movements of +troops carried out during this period were methodically combined with +the pursuit of operations, both defensive and offensive, from the Oise +to the North Sea. + +[Sidenote: Five armies co-ordinated.] + +On October 22 our left, bounded six weeks earlier by the Noyon district, +rested on Nieuport, thanks to the successive deployment of five fresh +armies--three French armies, the British Army, and the Belgian Army. + +Thus the co-ordination decided upon by the General in Chief attained its +end. The barrier was established. It remained to maintain it against the +enemy's offensive. That was the object and the result of the battle of +Flanders, October 22 to November 15. + +The German attack in Flanders was conducted strategically and tactically +with remarkable energy. The complete and indisputable defeat in which it +resulted is therefore significant. + +The forces of which the enemy disposed for this operation between the +sea and the Lys comprised: + +[Sidenote: German forces between the sea and the Lys.] + +(1) The entire Fourth Army commanded by the Duke of Wuerttemberg, +consisting of one naval division, one division of Ersatz Reserve, (men +who had received no training before the war,) which was liberated by the +fall of Antwerp; the Twenty-second, Twenty-third, Twenty-sixth and +Twenty-seventh Reserve Corps, and the Forty-eighth Division belonging to +the Twenty-fourth Reserve Corps. + +(2) A portion of another army under General von Fabeck, consisting of +the Fifteenth Corps, two Bavarian corps and three (unspecified) +divisions. + +(3) Part of the Sixth Army under the command of the Crown Prince of +Bavaria. This army, more than a third of which took part in the battle +of Flanders, comprised the Nineteenth Army Corps, portions of the +Thirteenth Corps and the Eighteenth Reserve Corps, the Seventh and +Fourteenth Corps, the First Bavarian Reserve Corps, the Guards, and the +Fourth Army Corps. + +(4) Four highly mobile cavalry corps prepared and supported the action +of the troops enumerated above. Everything possible had been done to +fortify the "morale" of the troops. At the beginning of October the +Crown Prince of Bavaria in a proclamation had exhorted his soldiers "to +make the decisive effort against the French left wing," and "to settle +thus the fate of the great battle which has lasted for weeks." + +[Sidenote: Importance of thrusts in Flanders.] + +[Sidenote: German plan in Flanders.] + +On October 28, Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria declared in an army order +that his troops "had just been fighting under very difficult +conditions," and he added: "It is our business now not to let the +struggle with our most detested enemy drag on longer * * * The decisive +blow is still to be struck." On October 30, General von Deimling, +commanding the Fifteenth Army Corps (belonging to General von Fabeck's +command), issued an order declaring that "the thrust against Ypres will +be of decisive importance." It should be noted also that the Emperor +proceeded in person to Thielt and Courtrai to exalt by his presence the +ardor of his troops. Finally, at the close of October, the entire German +press incessantly proclaimed the importance of the "Battle of Calais." +It is superfluous to add that events in Poland explain in a large +measure the passionate resolve of the German General Staff to obtain a +decision in the Western theatre of operations at all costs. This +decision would be obtained if our left were pierced or driven in. To +reach Calais, that is, to break our left; to carry Ypres, that is, to +cut it in half; through both points to menace the communications and +supplies of the British expeditionary corps, perhaps even to threaten +Britain in her island--such was the German plan in the Battle of +Flanders. It was a plan that could not be executed. + +[Sidenote: Dunkirk the first objective.] + +The enemy, who had at his disposal a considerable quantity of heavy +artillery, directed his efforts at first upon the coast and the country +to the north of Dixmude. His objective was manifestly the capture of +Dunkirk, then of Calais and Boulogne, and this objective he pursued +until November 1. + +[Sidenote: Ramscapelle retaken.] + +[Sidenote: Allies win the Battle of Calais.] + +On October 23 the Belgians along the railway line from Nieuport to +Dixmude were strengthened by a French division. Dixmude was occupied by +our marines (fusiliers marins). During the subsequent day our forces +along the railway developed a significant resistance against an enemy +superior in number and backed by heavy artillery. On the 29th the +inundations effected between the canal and the railway line spread along +our front. On the 30th we recaptured Ramscapelle, the only point on the +railway which Belgians had lost. On the 1st and 2d of November the enemy +bombarded Furnes, but began to show signs of weariness. On the 2d he +evacuated the ground between the Yser and the railway, abandoning +cannon, dead and wounded. On the 3d our troops were able to re-enter the +Dixmude district. The success achieved by the enemy at Dixmude at this +juncture was without fruit. They succeeded in taking the town. They +could not debouch from it. The coastal attack had thus proved a total +failure. Since then it has never been renewed. The Battle of Calais, so +noisily announced by the German press, amounted to a decided reverse for +the Germans. + +The enemy had now begun an attack more important than its predecessor, +in view of the numbers engaged in it. This attack was intended as a +renewal to the south of the effort which had just been shattered in the +north. Instead of turning our flank on the coast, it was now sought to +drive in the right of our northern army under the shock of powerful +masses. This was the Battle of Ypres. + +[Sidenote: Importance of the Ypres position.] + +[Sidenote: British cavalry a connecting link.] + +In order to understand this long, desperate, and furious battle we must +hark back a few days in point of time. At the moment when our cavalry +reached Roulers and Cortemark (October 28) our territorial divisions +from Dunkirk, under General Biden, had occupied and organized a +defensive position at Ypres. It was a point d'appui, enabling us to +prepare and maintain our connections with the Belgian Army. From October +23 two British and French army corps were in occupation of this +position, which was to be the base of their forward march in the +direction of Roulers-Menin. The delays already explained and the +strength of the forces brought up by the enemy soon brought to a +standstill our progress along the line Poelcapelle, Paschendaele, +Zandvorde, and Gheluvelt. But in spite of the stoppage here, Ypres was +solidly covered, and the connections of all the allied forces were +established. Against the line thus formed the German attack was hurled +from October 25 to November 13, to the north, the east, and the south of +Ypres. From October 26 on the attacks were renewed daily with +extraordinary violence, obliging us to employ our reinforcements at the +most threatened points as soon as they came up. Thus, on October 31, we +were obliged to send supports to the British cavalry, then to the two +British corps between which the cavalry formed the connecting link, and +finally to intercalate between these two corps a force equivalent to two +army corps. Between October 30 and November 6 Ypres was several times in +danger. The British lost Zandvorde, Gheluvelt, Messines, and Wytschaete. +The front of the Allies, thus contracted, was all the more difficult to +defend; but defended it was without a recoil. + +[Sidenote: French reinforcements.] + +The arrival of three French divisions in our line enabled us to resume +from the 4th to the 8th a vigorous offensive. On the 10th and 11th this +offensive, brought up against fresh and sharper German attacks, was +checked. Before it could be renewed the arrival of fresh reinforcements +had to be awaited, which were dispatched to the north on November 12. By +the 14th our troops had again begun to progress, barring the road to +Ypres against the German attacks, and inflicting on the enemy, who +advanced in massed formation, losses which were especially terrible in +consequence of the fact that the French artillery had crowded nearly 300 +guns on to these few kilometers of front. + +Thus the main mass of the Germans sustained the same defeat as the +detachments operating further to the north along the coast. The support +which, according to the idea of the German General Staff, the attack on +Ypres was to render to the coastal attack, was as futile as that attack +itself had been. + +[Sidenote: Losses of the enemy.] + +During the second half of November the enemy, exhausted and having lost +in the Battle of Ypres alone more than 150,000 men, did not attempt to +renew his effort, but confined himself to an intermittent cannonade. We, +on the contrary, achieved appreciable progress to the north and south +of Ypres, and insured definitely by a powerful defensive organization of +the position the inviolability of our front. + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: The war in Belgium.] + +[Sidenote: Siege of Antwerp.] + +[Sidenote: Belgian troops retreat to Ostend.] + +[Sidenote: The territory left to the Belgians.] + +We have seen that, with the fall of Liege the German armies swept +through Belgium on their way to Paris. Brussels was abandoned as the +capital, and the Government moved hastily to Antwerp, where a portion of +the Belgian army also gathered to defend the city. The remainder of the +Belgian forces, under the leadership of their gallant King, opposed as +stoutly as their numbers would permit the advance of the Germans. +Battles were fought at Alost and Termonde in which the Germans were, for +the time, repulsed, but their ever-increasing reinforcements enabled +them to advance despite the efforts of the Belgians to check them. Ghent +was captured on September 5 and the Belgians, in an effort to stay the +German advance on Antwerp, opened the dikes and let in the waters of the +North Sea. Termonde fell on September 13, and seven days later the +German armies began the siege of Antwerp. The military authorities in +command of the city had taken whatever measures were possible for +defense. A body of British marines was hurried to the beleaguered city +and preparations were made for a long siege. The Germans brought up guns +of heavy caliber, with which they bombarded the city at long range. +After a brave defense of two weeks, during which the inhabitants endured +many hardships, it was plain that further resistance was useless, and +the city was surrendered on October 10. The Belgian troops in the city, +and many of the noncombatants escaped. The Belgian troops retreated to +Ostend, which they reached on October 11 and 12, after having been +greatly harassed by the pursuing Germans. On the 13th, Ostend was +evacuated, and was occupied by the Germans, and Bruges on the following +day. The German forces now controlled the whole of Belgium, with the +exception of the northwest corner, north of Ypres, to the coast of the +Channel. This little slip of territory they held throughout the entire +war, and at what a cost! But the heroic defense of this territory by the +Belgians saved the French coast cities and prevented the Germans from +breaking through the line which extended now from the North Sea to +Belgium. + + + + +THE LAST DITCH IN BELGIUM + +ARNO DOSCH + +Copyright, World's Work, January, 1915. + + +[Sidenote: The Yser the Belgian's last ditch.] + +A little piece of the Low Countries, so small I walked across it in two +hours, was all that remained of Belgium in the last days of October. A +tide-water stream, the Yser, ebbed and flowed through the sunken fields, +and there King Albert with his remnant of an army stopped the German +military machine in its advance on Calais. If he and his forty thousand +men had been crushed back ten miles farther they would have been +fighting on French soil. The Yser was the last ditch in Belgium. + +The Belgians were able to hold that mere strip of land against more men +and better artillery because they had determined to die there. Some of +those who had not yet paid the price of death told me. They were not +tragic about it. There was no display of heroics. They said it +seriously, but they smiled a little, too, over their wine glasses, and +the next morning they were back in the firing-line. + +I counted on my American passport and my _permit de sejour_ in Paris +seeing me through the zone of the fighting, and they did. At the station +at Dunkirk, when I admitted I had no _laisser passer_, an obliging +gendarme led me to his commander, and he placed his visee on my passport +without question. He asked me whether I was a correspondent, and I +confessed to it, but it seemed only to facilitate the affair. Earlier +experiences had made me feel that the French gendarmes were my natural +enemies, but I have had a kindlier regard for them since. + +[Sidenote: Troop trains.] + +The train I was on had ten cars full of French and Belgian soldiers. The +Belgians had all been recently re-equipped. On other troop trains which +passed us going forward there were many more Belgian soldiers, some of +whom I had seen only a few hours earlier in the streets of Calais +without rifles. As their trains passed now I could see them studying the +mechanism and fondling their new firearms. + +Coming in through the suburbs of Dunkirk we passed hundreds of children +perched on the fences singing the Marseillaise. Nor were their voices +flat and colorless like most school children's. They felt every word +they sang, and they put their little hearts into it. Looking back along +the side of the cars at the faces of soldiers leaning out, I could see +they were touched by the faith of the children. + +[Sidenote: In Dunkirk.] + +As I rattled along on the cobbles of Dunkirk half an hour later I heard +an explosion with a note unfamiliar to me. It sounded close, too, but it +did not seem to bother the people of the street. A few children ran +behind their mothers' skirts and a young girl hurried from the middle of +the street to the protection of an archway, but that was all. + +Standing up in the fiacre I could see a thin smoke about three hundred +feet away in a garden in the direction from which the explosion came, +and high in the evening sky I could barely make out an aeroplane. "A +German bomb?" I asked the driver in some excitement. + +"Oh, yes," he replied, cracking his whip, "we usually get three or four +every afternoon about this time, but they have not hurt any one." + +Dunkirk that night answered the description of what a threatened town +which was not afraid should look like. It had none of the depressing +atmosphere of Calais. All the refugees and the wounded were passed on +to a safer place. It was full of French, English, and Belgian soldiers, +with a scattering of sailors and breezy officers from both the French +and English navies. They kept the waiters in the cafes on the run, and +there was only an occasional bandage showing from under a cap or around +a hand to indicate these men were engaged in any more serious business +than a man[oe]uvre. + +[Sidenote: Armored motor-car.] + +In the street, however, in front of the statue of Jean Bart, an armored +Belgian motor-car was standing. It was built with a turret where the +tonneau usually is and it was covered with thick sheet steel right down +to the ground. Just in front of the driver was a slit with a lip +extending over it, giving it somewhat the effect of the casque belonging +to an ancient suit of armor. That was the only opening except the one +for the barrel of the rapid-fire gun in the turret. The armor was dented +in a dozen places where bullets had glanced off, but it had only been +penetrated at one spot, about six inches from the muzzle of the gun. +From the soldier at the steering gear I learned that that bullet had +passed over the shoulder of the man in the turret. + +[Sidenote: Bombardment of Nieuport.] + +Twenty-four hours later, at Nieuport, when the German shells seemed to +be falling in every street and on every house, I saw this car again, +going forward at not less than forty miles an hour. The turret was being +swung to bring the gun-muzzle forward, as if the gunner were expecting +to go into action almost immediately. As the last of the Belgian +trenches were just the other side of the town, I have no doubt that he +did. + +[Sidenote: A walk to the firing line.] + +Getting out of Dunkirk was rather more of a problem than going in. To +obtain permission to ride toward the Belgian line in any kind of +conveyance was an elaborate performance, and quite properly so, as I +soon learned. There were preparations for defence going on there which +should not have been publicly known. The country was full of spies. Four +suspects had been picked up on the boat coming from Folkestone. If I had +realized what I was to see in the next few miles I would not have +attempted what I did. But, as I was anxious to get on and the +firing-line was only twenty miles away, I decided to walk. + +A French hat and a French suit of clothes, I think, were alone +responsible for my success in passing through the city gate. Two +military automobiles were stopped and forced to show their credentials, +but I strolled through unmolested. Once outside, the reservists guarding +the various barricades let me pass as soon as I showed them my passport +vised in Dunkirk. I was stopped many times, too, trying each time not to +give an appearance of too great interest in the works of defence being +built all around me. + +[Sidenote: Sand-dune barricades.] + +Even though this cannot be published for some time I do not feel free to +tell what these defences were. I have no doubt there are complete +descriptions of these works in the hands of the German army, their spy +system is so thorough, but I would not care to have any military secrets +escape through anything I write. I think I can go so far as to say, +though, that I received a liberal education in how to barricade +sand-dunes and low-lying fields. + +Ten miles out of Dunkirk I was surprised to see a civilian on a bicycle, +as civilians were no longer permitted to go near the theatre of war on +bicycles, a precaution taken against spies. As he approached I +recognized Mr. J. Obels, the Belgian correspondent of the Chicago _Daily +News_, whom I had last seen under arrest near Brussels when the German +army first passed through Belgium. He told me he had been kept in prison +seventeen days by the German military governor of Brussels, but, once +released, was given every possible kind of pass. I was relieved to see +him alive and free. + +As Obels left me to continue his journey to Dunkirk and on to London to +deliver his own "copy," he advised me to go directly to Furnes, the most +considerable town in what was left of Belgium, and have my passport +vised again. So I continued down the long, flat highway, bordered on +both sides by sunken fields, toward the cannonading I could now hear +ahead. The road had been fairly full of automobiles, motor-trucks, +motorcycles, and bicycles over its whole length, but it became crowded +now with the addition of a long string of Parisian motor-buses taking +several infantry regiments forward. A whole artillery division of yellow +French "Schneiders" also took up its share of the wide road, and at the +barricades there were traffic blockades lasting at times for ten +minutes. + +[Sidenote: The road to Furnes.] + +All the way from Dunkirk I had been struck by the character of the land. +As I approached Furnes, the dykes were being opened and half the fields +were already inundated. It seemed a poor country for military +operations. There were at most three highways, all defended. They could +only be taken at a price no army could afford, and any departure from +them meant being mired in the heavy fields, now being hastily harvested +of a bumper crop of sugar-beets: at one place a whole French regiment in +uniform was gathering the beets preparatory to inundation. With the +dykes open these fields would be covered with four feet of water half +the time. The only possible course for an army was over the sand-dunes, +which lay a mile to the north, looking like the imitation mountains you +see in the scenic-railways at every amusement resort in the United +States. + +[Sidenote: Tommies' battles on the sand-dunes.] + +A reservist with whom I walked a mile or so told me Dunkirk had never +been successfully attacked except over those sand-dunes, and the English +and French had fought some of the bloodiest battles of history there +against the Spanish, when they held Dunkirk. I doubt, though, that they +were as bloody as the battle I was to see within a few hours. + +[Sidenote: Belgian soldiers.] + +The old Flemish town of Furnes had much less military precision about it +than Dunkirk. It was on the very edge of the battle, and an occasional +shell was dropping in the town. One exploded as I crossed the bridge and +entered a narrow street, but it was on the far side of town, too far +away for the soldiers halted in the street to notice. These were tired +and dirty men, but not too tired to be courteous. They were also passing +jokes among themselves, and laughing. By that, even if I had not known +their uniforms, I could have told they were Belgians. + +[Sidenote: The enemy held at the Yser.] + +Every street and every courtyard in Furnes was full of Belgian soldiers. +They were resting for the day, waiting to go forward at night-fall to +relieve the men on the firing line only five miles away. Even above the +noises of the street I could hear the answer of their small field +artillery to the heavy assault of the German guns. Nothing I heard the +soldiers say, however, would have given the idea that the Belgians +considered themselves outclassed by their enemy. They seemed superbly +unconscious of the absurdity of their position. This was the tenth day +they had held the Germans at the Yser, and they had done it with rifles +and machine guns, taking punishment every minute from the big +fieldpieces the Germans had brought against them. So far they had lost +twelve thousand men at that ditch, but the thought of giving it up had +evidently not even occurred to them. They could not give it up, one of +them explained to me later, it was all they had left. There was a little +irritation in his tone, too, as he said it, such as one might feel +toward a child who was slow at grasping a simple fact. + +[Sidenote: Military automobiles and wagons.] + +The town square was full of military automobiles and a few provision +wagons. I did not see any fieldpieces or machine guns. Every last one +was right up on the firing-line. My feet were tired from walking over +the Belgian blocks, and I held tenaciously to the sidewalk passing +around the square, though it was mostly taken up with cafe tables and +bay trees in boxes. At one point the tables were empty and a single +sentry was sauntering up and down. I stopped to ask him the way to the +_gendarmerie_, and, in the middle of giving me the directions, he came +to attention, as a door opened behind me, and saluted. + +[Sidenote: Two Belgian generals.] + +Two men came out of the door, one rather tall, with an easy manner, and +smartly dressed as a general in the Belgian army. The other was older, +also a general, wearing, if anything, the more gold braid of the two. +They entered a waiting automobile and drove off as casually as two men +at home might leave their office for their club. + +Something about the first of the two men impressed me as familiar. I had +only seen his back, but that had arrested my attention. I thought +possibly I had seen him at the beginning of the war in Brussels, so I +asked the sentry his name. + +[Sidenote: King Albert.] + +"That is our king, Albert," he said quite simply. + +During the next couple of days I saw the King of Belgium a number of +times. He spent his nights at a small villa on the seashore at La Panne, +a hundred yards possibly beyond the hotel where I spent mine. He passed +through the streets as unnoticed as any one of the other Belgians who +had retreated from Antwerp and Ghent ahead of the army, but preferred +the chilly nights in an unheated seaside hotel in Belgium to comfort +somewhere beyond. It seemed to be a point of courtesy on the part of the +Belgians not to bother their king with ceremony at this trying time. I +doubt if he cares much for ceremony, anyhow. Searching around for a +single adjective to describe him, I should call him off-handed. His +manner, even then, while alert, was casual. It is easy to see why the +Belgians love him. If kings had always been as simple and direct as +Albert, I am inclined to think democracy would have languished. + +[Sidenote: Luncheon at La Panne.] + +At La Panne, which I reached at noon on a little steam railway running +from Furnes, I had luncheon with several Belgian soldiers and a Belgian +in civilian clothes, who told me I would see all the fighting I was +looking for at Nieuport, just beyond. The civilian, a tall youth with a +blond beard, volunteered to show me the way to the beach, the shortest +route, and ended by going all the way. He told me he was recovering from +an "attack of Congo," which I take to be an intermittent fever. He had +just been mustered out of the civic guard and was waiting for a uniform +to join the army. He had the afternoon free and his Belgian sense of +hospitality impelled him to see that the stranger was properly looked +after. + +For several miles along the wide, flat beach, which stretches +unobstructed as far as Ostend, except for the piers at Nieuport-les-Bains +and Westende, there were Belgian soldiers bathing in the shallow water. +Some of them, cavalrymen, were riding naked into the deeper water, and +this, mind you, was late October. They were even playing jokes on one +another, and did not seem to be paying any attention to the fifteen +English and French cruisers and gunboats which were standing off the +shore almost opposite them, keeping up a steady stream of fire obliquely +along the beach at the sand dunes just beyond the pier at +Nieuport-les-Bains. In these dunes, _five_ miles away, big German guns +were hidden. + +[Sidenote: Fishermen unconcerned.] + +Farther on, and even right up to the pier at Nieuport, we passed, along +the beach behind the shrimp fishermen, who seemed even less interested +in the novel fight on land and sea. The barelegged men and women were as +industriously taking advantage of the low-tide as if nothing at all were +happening. The French and English warships were directly opposite them, +and, by this time, they were drawing the German fire. German shells, +probably from siege guns, were plumping down into the water all around +them only a couple of miles off-shore, but, though the shrimpers looked +up occasionally when the explosion of a shell fairly shook the face of +the ocean, their attention would be directed again to their work before +the column of water raised by the shell had had time to fall again. The +shelling kept up about an hour, but none of the warships was struck. +They kept moving at full-speed in an uneven line, making it impossible +to get their range. + +[Sidenote: A panorama of battle.] + +[Sidenote: Germans try to cross the Yser.] + +Just before we reached the pier heavy cannonading began inland. We +climbed the sand dunes and there we came suddenly upon a perfect +panoramic view of the battle all the way from the dunes across the +inundated fields to Dixmude in the distance. The whole line of battle +for ten miles was in the midst of a German attack, covered by a terrific +artillery fire. Over the white, red-tiled cottages of the fishermen, +almost lost among the lesser sand dunes, we could make out the Belgian +line by the fire of their rifle and machine guns. At two points we could +see the Yser Canal and at one of these the Germans were trying to throw +across a pontoon bridge. + +We could see it only through the smoke of breaking shells, but it was +the most exciting event I have ever witnessed. At three miles or more, +though, the figures of the men were so small, it was hard to keep the +fact in mind that those who dropped were not merely stooping, but had +been shot. Eager to get closer, we ran over the sand dunes, but never +got another view of it. + +[Sidenote: Running to see a battle.] + +My Belgian friend knew his way and we trotted along a raised path among +the fields toward Nieuport. It was under fire, but it seemed worth the +risk to get close enough so we could see the pontoons being rushed into +the water. As we neared Nieuport, however, the firing became much more +active and we stopped for second thought. After catching our breath, we +decided to pass through the edge of Nieuport and to go on to the village +of Ramscapelle to the south of it. Few shells seemed to be breaking +there. + +[Sidenote: Almost under fire.] + +Along the cross road we took, alternately running and walking. The +Belgian trenches were perhaps a half mile beyond us, and we could make +out the tap-tap of the rifle fire which had been only a continuous +cracking a mile in the rear. Into this the machine guns cut with a whir. +Spent bullets dropped here and there in the inundated field to the west +of us, but the German shell fire must have been right in the trenches. + +Somewhere before we reached Ramscapelle we crossed a road with military +automobiles going both ways, but my desire to get behind the sheltering +buildings of Ramscapelle was too strong at the moment to take it in. + +[Sidenote: Fires and explosions in Ramscapelle.] + +About a hundred yards from the village there was a house on the edge of +a canal, and we stopped behind it, safe from bullet-fire, to catch our +breath again. It was as far as we were destined to get. All at once +shells began dropping on the village, and I have not seen shells drop so +fast in so small an area. In the first minute there must have been +twenty. Three fires broke out almost at once. Between the explosions we +could hear the falling tiles. + +The short October day grew unexpectedly dusk and the fires in the +village reflected in the water on the fields. After the bombarding had +been going on without the least let-up for fully fifteen minutes, a bent +old woman, a man perhaps older but less bent, and a younger woman +appeared on the road to Furnes just beyond us, hurrying along without +once looking back. They were the only people we saw and the destruction +of the town looked like the most ruthless piece of vandalism. It had a +military purpose, however. The Germans were concentrating an attack on +it with the hope of reaching Furnes. They occupied it that night, but +were later driven out again. I have learned since some of the villagers +remained through that bombardment, and were killed in their houses. + +[Sidenote: Destruction of Ramscapelle.] + +While we stood sheltered by the house on the canal, speculating as to +which one of the houses still standing in Ramscapelle would be hit next, +the light from those on fire reflected on the dark, brackish water of +the canal, which was running in with the tide. Presently we noticed +something in the water, and, stooping down in the twilight, we made out +the body of a man face downward. The color of the coat and the little +short skirt to it showed it was the body of a German soldier. It passed +on and was followed by three more before we left. They had been in the +water several days. + +The fire from the trenches died down at dusk and we made our way back +along the empty crossroad. Half way back to the dunes we passed a Red +Cross motor ambulance, headed toward Ramscapelle. On the seat beside the +driver was a young English woman. She was wearing the gray-brown coat +and gray-brown puttees of the English soldier. We called out to her we +thought the town was empty, but the only answer we got from the speeding +ambulance was an assuring wave of the young woman's hand, which was +evidently meant to inform us she knew where she was going. + +[Sidenote: Ambulances and infantry pass.] + +On the main road from Nieuport to Furnes, which we followed a short +distance, there were dozens of ambulances going to the rear and a long +column of infantry going forward. Headed toward the rear there were also +many wounded men on foot. They had been dressed at Nieuport, but there +were not enough ambulances to take them all away. One who was walking +slowly and painfully told me he had a bullet in his back. + +During the afternoon the Schneiders I had seen had evidently been placed +among the sand dunes, and they were now bombarding the German lines over +our heads. Crossing over the sand dunes to the beach, we passed under +two batteries, though we did not see them. We could tell they were +French, though, by the rapidity of the fire. The French seem to be able +to fire their guns several times as fast as the Germans or the English. + +A cluster of houses belonging to shrimp fishermen was right under these +batteries, where they were sure to get some of the return fire. But we +noticed there were lights in every one of the cottages. Inside were the +same fishermen who were so apathetic about the fight off-shore. + +[Sidenote: Battle of the sand dunes.] + +[Sidenote: Red flashing of the contact shells.] + +The view from the sand dunes was what the war artists on English +illustrated weeklies try so hard to show. The French batteries were +using shrapnel on the German trenches, the shrapnel leaving puffs of +white smoke in long, uneven lines; and the Germans were keeping up their +steady pounding of contact shells, with a short red flash after each +explosion. The firing of the guns on both sides gave the effect of +continuous summer lightning. + +Into the panorama the fleet off-shore kept up a new attack on the German +batteries in the sand dunes just beyond Nieuport-les-Bains. As it was +dark now we could see where they were only by the streaks of fire from +their guns. These flashes came and went like the strokes of a dagger, as +if they were stabbing the dark. + +[Sidenote: French soldiers.] + +We went back along the beach to avoid being questioned, turning around +constantly to watch the fleet. At Coxyde a whole company of French +soldiers was standing along the edge of the water, jumping back in +surprise when the little waves advanced on them. They told us they were +from the centre of France and had never seen salt water before. + +The shore there is lined with new villas made of light colored bricks. +One of these had been dynamited, because it belonged to a German and was +suspected of having a concrete floor for siege guns. I had heard of +cases of this kind before, but I had never had an opportunity to examine +one. + +[Sidenote: Concrete foundations.] + +My private thought was that the villa had probably been built by a +German with a passion for solidity, but, examining it under a half-full +moon, I could see the foundations were brick walls two feet thick +covered with mosaic backed by reinforced concrete about a foot thick. It +seemed like something more than Teutonic thoroughness. + +A little later in La Panne I was shown a concrete tennis court belonging +to a German which had been punched full of holes. It was in no place +thick enough, however, to give cause for suspicion that its real +purpose was in any way sinister. + +By the time we regained La Panne I was hardly able to walk as I had been +going hard all day, a good deal of the way through soft sand. But even +if I had been much more tired I would have sensed the atmosphere of that +town. To me the little seaside village, built for summer gayety, had +more of the romance of war in it than any place I have seen. + +The half dozen summer hotels and all the villas were filled with the +mothers, wives, and children of the Belgian soldiers whose firing line I +had just left. Their homes had been in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent. Now +they were in the last little town in Belgium. To some their soldiers had +already returned, and they were dining as merrily as if to-morrow did +not hold out a reasonable likelihood of being killed. At the doors of +the hotels and on the street were many others waiting, and, as the +street had filled up with another French artillery division bivouacked +for a few hours, they could not see their men folk until they were close +at hand. + +[Sidenote: Refugees at La Panne.] + +Now and then as we passed we could hear little gasps of happiness. For +some, of course, there were disappointment and bad news. But they must +have carried their sorrow to their chambers, as La Panne was all gayety. + +A comment on the Belgian soldiers made at the beginning of the war +occurred to me: "They shoot the enemy all day; at night they come home +and kiss mother. In the morning they kiss mother again and go back to +shoot some more." + +They certainly showed themselves capable of shaking off the horrors of +war before their women folk. To see them there in La Panne that night +you might have thought it was all a sham battle if it had not been for +a conviction of reality that would not shake off. + +It was nearly ten o'clock, now but Belgian soldiers relieved from the +firing line and off duty for the night were still coming into La Panne. +In the Hotel Des Arcades, which incidentally, has no arcades, the bar +and the dining room were full of soldiers. Officers and their men were +eating and drinking together in the pleasant democratic way they have in +the Belgian army. Room was made for us at the long central table in the +dining room, and all at the table were solicitous to see that we were at +once given plenty to eat and drink. Several of the fifteen men at the +table had hands or heads bandaged, but that did not seem to detract from +their gayety. + +[Sidenote: Spirit of the Belgian soldiers.] + +A joke was being told as we sat down, and every one was taking a lively +interest in it, the narrator was a bearded man of fifty, and he was +telling to the delight of the others how his son had once got the better +of him in Brussels before the war. There were other stories of matters +equally foreign to war. The private on one side of me told me he was the +manager for Belgium of an American typewriter. The lieutenant on the +other side was in ordinary times an insurance agent. All the men there +were in business and talked and acted like a company of young American +business men. + +My first hint that these men had been through any trying experience was +the apology offered by a new-comer for being late. He entered rather +gravely and said something about having to take the word to his sister +of his brother-in-law's death. The whole company turned grave then and +conversation from being general was carried on for a few minutes between +those near together. I asked the typewriter agent, to fill an awkward +pause, whether they had seen much action, and he told me their story. + +[Sidenote: The fight on the road to Nieuport.] + +This was a crack mitrailleuse company of Brussels. It had been in the +fight from Liege back to Malines and from Antwerp back to Dixmude and +Nieuport. Three days before it was told to hold a road into Nieuport. It +was a road the Germans must take, if they were to advance, but the +Belgians would not give way. They were too clever with their rapid-fire +guns to be rushed, and the German bayonet charges only blocked the road +with their dead. Again and again the gray line came on, but each time it +crumpled before their fire. They were attacked every hour of the day or +night, but they were always ready. Finally the Germans got their range +and dropped shell after shell right among them. + +"They blew us all to pieces," the story went on in a low tone at my +elbow. "Those shells don't leave many wounded, but they littered the +place with arms and legs. They got a good many of us, but they did not +seem to be able to get our guns." + +I asked what their loss had been, and he looked around the table, +counting, before he answered. + +"Let's see, now," he said. "We lost some at Dixmude first. I think there +were just seventy last Monday." This was Thursday. "We had a pretty bad +time," he ended; looking down. + +"How many are there now?" I asked, and he answered with a sweep of his +hand around the table. "Five or six more," he said. There were eighteen +of them at table now. That meant twenty-three or twenty-four--out of +seventy. + +"The dogs suffered, too," he added. "We've only got eight out of twenty, +and I just heard the dogs around here have already been pressed into +service." + +[Sidenote: Courtesy of the machine gunners.] + +When I went to bed four of the members of that shattered mitrailleuse +company climbed three flights of stairs to see that I had a comfortable +room. And these men had just come out of a trench where they had lost +more than two thirds their number in three days stopping one of the main +lines of the German advance. + +[Sidenote: Back to the lines.] + +In the twilight of early morning, when the cannonading had at last died +down, I heard the movement of troops in the street and saw my friends of +the night before falling into line and getting their equipment straight. +By the time I reach the sidewalk they were moving off, some of the men +helping the dogs with the mitrailleuse. + +"Big fight last night," said the typewriter agent smiling. "Company that +relieved us got it hard. We must hurry back." + +They were all very alert and soldierlike in the chill of the morning, +but they were a pitifully small company as they passed up the road and +were lost in the sand dunes. + + * * * * * + +In August and September, while on the western front were being fought +the great initial struggles of the Great War, Turkey, long under German +political influence, was making ready to cast her lot with the Teutonic +Powers. Germany had already made diplomatic and military moves which +indicated that she was certain of a Turkish alliance. The strongest +figures of the Ottoman Empire, Enver Pasha and Talaat Bey were strongly +pro-German, although the latter endeavored for a time to conceal his +real sentiments and intentions under a cloak of pretended neutrality. +The causes which induced Turkey to side with the Central Powers rather +than with the Allies are explained in the narrative which follows. + + + + +WHY TURKEY ENTERED THE WAR + +ROLAND G. USHER + +Copyright, World's Work, January, 1915. + + +[Sidenote: Extreme danger of Turkey.] + +Many people entirely misunderstand the significance of the declaration +of war by Turkey against Russia, France, and England. Why these +despairing gasps of the dying? they ask. What possible chance has this +weak, moribund state to survive a clash of arms with the Triple Entente? +Has not the Turk, in fact, dug his own grave and committed suicide? In +all probability the Turk is in considerable danger, but the danger does +not arise from his joining Germany. In fact, the war and the present +international situation provide the Turk with the best opportunity in a +century to achieve the aims cherished by Turkish statesmen who have the +best interests of Turkey itself at heart. For several years Turkey has +been in extreme peril. It was condemned to death by the Triple Entente +some time ago, and the prediction of the British Prime Minister in a +recent public speech that this war would end the existence of Turkey as +an independent power was only the publication of the sentence of death +long since decided upon. The Sick Man was kept alive by his friends, the +doctors, largely because they deemed his malady incurable. The moment he +showed signs of convalescence they agreed to poison him. But for the +protection of Germany the political existence of Turkey would be already +a thing of the past. The Turk, therefore, will stand or fall according +to the decision in this war for or against Germany. He will be +excessively foolish not to do everything he can to insure a German +victory. + +[Sidenote: Entrance of Turkey into War.] + +[Sidenote: Constantinople core of the War.] + +The entrance of Turkey into the war has long been foreseen, and its vast +significance has long been clear to students. Some trained observers go +much further: Sir Harry Johnston, a traveler, statesman, and diplomat of +repute, has declared: "Constantinople is really the core of the war." In +diplomatic circles in Vienna this summer there was a general agreement +that the loss of Salonika, which the Turk was forced to hand over to +Greece at the end of the Balkan wars, was a vital blow to the Triple +Alliance, and its recovery would be of sufficient importance to justify +the risk of a European war to accomplish it. The situation in the Near +East and in the Balkans is an integral part of the European war. In +fact, the war is not a European war at all; it is a world war in the +most literal sense of the words. + +[Sidenote: Control of exit from the Black Sea imperative to Russia.] + +At the beginning of the twentieth century keen observers saw clearly +that the old order of things, which had preserved the Turk so long in +the face of many enemies, had passed away beyond a peradventure and had +left the Turk in great peril. Ever since the decay of the strength of +the Ottoman Empire the Turk had been hardly pressed in Europe by Russia +and by Austria, both of whom coveted sections of his dominions, and both +of whom would have been glad to obtain Constantinople, the gateway +between Europe and Asia. Of the two, Russia was more insistent because +her interests made the control of the exit from the Black Sea imperative +for her. The Turk, however, until very recently, was himself strong +enough to throw considerable obstacles in the face of the invader; he +was probably, in 1900, more efficient than in 1850; but his enemies had +grown by leaps and bounds. He was confronted by a new Austria and a new +Russia. + +What was worse, the Balkan nations, who had long been subject peoples, +ill-organized, poverty stricken, had grown with the help of the Turk's +enemies into sturdy, self-reliant, independent communities with +good-sized armies and something approaching national wealth. The long +years of subjection had left behind a consuming hatred of the Turk in +their breasts; as Christians, they hated the Turk as the Infidel; and +they promised themselves some day the control of Constantinople in the +interest of Christianity. The neighbors of the Turk had grown formidable +and would be able to make short work of him unless help arrived. + +[Sidenote: Industrial growth of Germany.] + +[Sidenote: Old order changes.] + +There was none to be had from his past friends; so much was only too +clear. The shift in the international situation caused by the astounding +industrial growth of Germany, the rapid development of the German, +Austrian, and Italian fleets, the increased efficiency of the armies of +the Triple Alliance had all made the control of the Mediterranean far +more difficult for England and France. They could no longer spare ships +and troops in sufficient numbers to rescue the Turk from Russia without +exposing themselves more than was wise in northern Europe. Besides, the +designs of the Triple Alliance made it seem only too probable that the +possession of Constantinople by Russia and the creation of a fleet in +the Black Sea might be the only means of preserving for the French and +English control of the western Mediterranean. The old order had changed: +the Turk's friends were now his enemies bent on his destruction. + +[Sidenote: Ambition of new Turkish party.] + +[Sidenote: Democratic and nationalist revival.] + +Yet there had never been a time when the Sick Man was more desperately +determined to get well, when life had seemed to him so entirely +desirable. The passing of the old order caused no grief among the +Turks--outside of those few henchmen who had long drawn a fat revenue +from foreign nations. The Turks had become fired with ambition, with +democratic conceptions, highly inconsistent with the state of things +which the old order had so long sanctioned. The new democrats declared +indignantly that Turkey had been for years conducted for the benefit of +foreign nations; it should be conducted in the future solely in the +interests of Turkey. They were roused to enthusiasm by the past history +of the Ottoman empire and burned to reconquer its old provinces, to +establish a closer relationship between the provinces which remained. An +imperialistic movement, a nationalistic revival, if you will, was +preached in Turkey by ardent enthusiasts whose words fell on willing +ears. To the democratic and nationalist revival was joined religious +discontent. The Sultan was the religious head of the Mohammedan world. +Everywhere the true Believers were in chains. Everywhere the infidel +reigned supreme. From Constantinople to Mecca, from the confines of +Morocco to the plains of India, the Mohammedan world was ground under +the heel of the conqueror and the conqueror was the Arch Enemy of Truth. +There must be, they preached, a great crusade, a united rising to cast +out the Christian dogs and restore the sceptre of empire to the hand of +a devout believer in Allah. Turkey, Assyria, Asia Minor, Persia, Arabia, +India, Egypt, the whole of Africa, should be freed from the yoke of the +oppressor. + +[Sidenote: Great Confederation of States.] + +[Sidenote: From Berlin to Bagdad railroad.] + +And now appeared an ally, unfortunately a Christian, in fact a +peculiarly devout Christian, but one able to save the Turk from his +foes, glad to foster his ambitions. The plans of Germany for her future +involved the creation of a great confederation of states stretching from +the North Sea to the Persian Gulf and including Holland, Belgium, +Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Balkans, Turkey, and Persia. +These states controlled the great overland roads from central Europe to +the Persian Gulf and would make possible overland trade with the East. A +railroad already existed as far as Constantinople, and a railroad from +Constantinople to Bagdad and the Gulf would not only throw open Asia +Minor and the great plains of Mesopotamia to European capital, but would +furnish a perfectly practicable commercial road to the East through +which in time would flow a trade which would make the great +Confederation rich. Of this Confederation, Turkey would be an integral +and essential part. Adrianople, the key to the Balkans; Salonika, key to +the AEgean; Constantinople, controlling the outlet to the Black Sea and +the crossing to Asia Minor; the land approaches of the Tigris and +Euphrates valleys--all these the Turk had, all these an alliance with +him would give Germany. The stronger the Turkish State, the better +organized, the larger its army and fleet, the greater its resources, the +more useful it would be to Germany and the more thoroughly it would +insure the success of Pan-Germanism. + +[Sidenote: England and France sustain courteous hold on Constantinople.] + +It had been for the interests of England and France to keep Turkey weak. +The Turk must hold Constantinople, but must not be strong enough to use +it; as a tenant, as a nominal owner, he was extremely useful; some one +had to own it; England and France could not hold it themselves; they +were determined Russia should not have it; and the Turk was a useful +_locum tenens_. They, therefore, frowned upon Turkish ambitions for +democratic government and would, undoubtedly, have sacrificed the Turk +rather than see an independent Mohammedan State take real control of +Asia Minor and Northern Africa. + +[Sidenote: Pan-Germanic Confederation.] + +Germany, on the contrary, wished an active agent to pursue an +aggressive policy in her favor. If the Sick Man could get out of bed +only with assistance, Germany was anxious to help him; and the Turk +vastly preferred an alliance with a Power which was eager to make him +well to one with Powers almost afraid to keep him alive. The Turks +wished a capable government, a good army, a State deserving of +independence, and were overjoyed to find Germany ready and desirous to +foster this ambition. Indeed, as a member of the Pan-Germanic +Confederation, the Turk must be strong enough to hold Constantinople and +the Bagdad Railway in the event of a general European war, without +depending upon Germany for more than assistance, supplies, and advice. +Germany and Austria, menaced on both sides at home, would not be able to +take the risks of sending troops to the Near East, and the Turk would +have to be strong enough to keep at bay such forces as it seemed likely +Russia would be able to spare from the battlefields of northern Europe. + +[Sidenote: Pan-Islam.] + +Germany was equally ready to have the Turk gratify his imperialist and +religious ambitions. Pan-Islam would destroy the political control of +England and France in northern Africa and in Egypt. It might even +overturn the British Empire in India. This would be the greatest +possible service any one could render Germany, and it might be one which +Germany could accomplish in no other way. If the Triple Entente was the +greatest foe of Pan-Islamism, Pan-Germanism should be its greatest +friend. Where ambition and interest coincide, co-operation is simple. + +[Sidenote: Reorganization of Turkey.] + +In complete accord, therefore, the Germans and the Turks undertook the +reorganization of Turkey above five years or more ago. They saw with +clear vision the real truth about Turkey. With engaging candor they laid +the blame for the deficiencies of Turkish government upon England and +France and declared them the work of intention. Turkey, they saw, was +not a nation in the European sense of the word; it was not even a single +race. It was not a geographical unit by any means, but a series of +districts on the whole geographically disconnected. Far from being an +economic unit with a single interest vital to all its inhabitants, it +produced nothing essential to the outside world which its inhabitants +could depend upon exchanging for European manufactured goods. + +[Sidenote: Turkey's economic interests.] + +Its economic interests were potential rather than real; its trade, the +result of its strategic position rather than of the interests and the +capacity of its population. Normally and naturally the Turk should be a +middleman, a distributor rather than a producer. He was placed in +control of the continental roads between Asia and Central Europe, and +was able to control the overland trade as soon as it emerged from the +Caucasus or the Persian Gulf, and maintain that control until the +continental highway passed into the defiles of the Balkans beyond +Adrianople. Constantinople itself, controlling the narrow passage which +formed the exit of the Black Sea, was in a position to foster or hinder +the entire trade of southern Russia with the rest of the world. In fact, +it was impossible to deny, and the Germans thoroughly well understood +it, that the trade of the East with Europe and the trade of Russia with +the rest of the world might pass through Turkey, but was not likely to +stay there. + +[Sidenote: Turkey's important strategic position.] + +In this important strategic position, economically valuable to others +but not to its inhabitants, had been collected a peculiar and +extraordinary conglomeration of races, creeds, and interests; few of +which had much in common, and all of which cherished for each other +antipathies and jealousies almost as old as history. The racial problem +of Turkey would be less difficult if the races were only located side by +side in solid masses. With few exceptions the races interpenetrate one +another to a remarkable extent and the Turk himself is numerically in +the majority in comparatively few districts of Asia Minor, where the +bulk of the Turkish population lives, and in scarcely any part of +European Turkey. The Turks are literally overlords, a ruling class. + +[Sidenote: Turkey's weak political fabric.] + +The Turk has governed this vast territory and this conglomeration of +races and religions by a peculiarly weak political fabric which seemed +in the nineteenth century to combine in one structure all the +disadvantages of centralization, and all those of decentralization. +Subject peoples have been ruled by a combination of military, civil, and +religious authority which has been dependent in the long run for its +support on the army. However, had the subject peoples hated each other +less cordially, had they been more capable of organization and willing +to compromise, they might have ended the Turkish rule decades ago, army +or no army. Some observers, indeed, have thought the Turkish Government +an artificial sham kept alive by France and England for their own +purposes. Whatever reasons were to be given, the Germans and the Turks +saw that Turkey as a nation and Turkey as a state had been, both of +them, practically non-existent. Both had been names, not realities. +Turkey had appeared on the European maps. A series of so-called +statesmen had taken European bribes in Constantinople; numerous +incompetent and venal officials had robbed the populace with the help of +the soldiers in the provinces, and this Government plus the army was +Turkey. Turkey had, indeed, been sick, but that particular kind of +illness, the Turks thought, could be cured; and the Germans agreed with +them. + +[Sidenote: Germany's willingness to assist Turkey.] + +[Sidenote: Germany's influence in Turkey.] + +[Sidenote: Reasons for Turkey's joining Germany.] + +We must not forget as observers the exceeding importance of German +willingness to assist the ambitions of the educated Turks for +self-government and for independence from European influence. The +English and French control of Turkey was fortuitous and artificial and +depended solely upon the control of a little group of men in +Constantinople. German influence in Turkey has deep and fundamental +roots in a large and significant part of the Turkish population and +appeals to their best and highest impulses. We have here in the last +analysis the reasons why Turkey has joined Germany in the war. The +enlightened Turks see in Pan-Germanism a democratic Turkey with +constitutional self-government, a Turkey developing its own resources, a +Turkey gradually freeing itself from the fetters of European alliances +and becoming gradually but certainly strong enough to take its place in +the Pan-Germanic chain as a state of worth, integrity, and importance. +They see in the victory of Pan-Germanism the effective promise of the +realization of such ideals. They see in the defeat of Pan-Germanism +political and national death, the annexation of Turkey by its enemies, +and the subjection of the Turks to the rule of the Infidel. For these +reasons they joined Germany in the first place. For these deep, +fundamental reasons they hold staunchly to their friend. We shall be +guilty of quibbling and of shortsightedness if we look for an +explanation of Turkish policy in the seizure of warships and the breach +of treaties. + +[Sidenote: Reorganization of Turkey.] + +The reorganization of Turkey was duly observed by the Triple Entente and +its purpose thoroughly well understood. Their opposition to it was +prompt, and Italy attempted by the Tripolitan War to rob the Turk of one +of his distant provinces. Having seized Tripoli with the consent of the +Triple Entente, Italy then changed sides, returned to the Triple +Alliance and took Tripoli with her. The result was a prompt reversal of +the strategic situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and placed England +and France in such danger that they saw the moment had probably come +when it would be positively to their advantage to gratify Russia's +ambition and allow her to seize Constantinople. The Tripolitan War +suspended the sword of Damocles over the Turk's head. + +[Sidenote: The Balkan War.] + +[Sidenote: The loss of Macedonia.] + +The Balkan War threatened for a time to annihilate him. The prompt aid +of Austria and Germany as stout representatives in the international +conclave, the mobilization of the Austrian army, the knowledge that +Germany was ready to mobilize, saved the Turk. The ambitions of Bulgaria +brought her over to the side of the Triple Alliance, which was more than +ready to assist her in dominating the Balkans. The second war cost +Bulgaria dear but gave back to the Turk Adrianople. Macedonia, however, +was lost entirely, and much of Thrace, with Salonika, the key of the +AEgean, was also lost and fell into the hands of the Turk's enemy, +Greece. + +[Sidenote: Little likelihood of attack on Constantinople.] + +The reorganized state was now undeniably in great peril; and the +probability of an outbreak of a European war in the near future, the +knowledge that the Turk must himself defend Constantinople and the +Bagdad Railway, urged the Germans and the Turks to great efforts in +reorganizing the army and providing equipment. The fleet also received +attention; two battleships were building in England and another was +purchased from one of the South American states. There would this time +be no escape. The death sentence had been passed upon the Turk, and if +he waited for his enemies to gather and descend upon him defense would +be problematical. It was, of course, realized that in the long run +Germany would save Turkey by battles won in France or in Poland, and +also that German defeats in Europe would in the long run spell the +downfall of Turkey whatever the Turk did. It was, therefore, advisable +to postpone action as long as possible. While Russia was exerting +herself to the utmost to mobilize an army in Poland, there was small +likelihood of an attack on Constantinople, and the Turk might well +remain neutral, equip and organize the army, acquire supplies, and +choose the moment to take the offensive. + +[Sidenote: German cruisers at Constantinople.] + +England, on the outbreak of the war, seized the two battleships building +in England, and, therefore, weakened the Turkish strength in the Black +Sea. The deficiency was supplied by sending two German cruisers to +Constantinople and selling them to the Turkish Government. Some weeks +ago the Germans judged that the time had come when the Turk must openly +join in the war, send his troops to the frontier in order to hold the +invader as far as possible from Constantinople. Indeed, action at this +time might allow the Turk to accomplish results of the utmost +importance. Those who see simply the fact that Russia could easily +overwhelm the Turk standing alone, that the Balkan States united might +also dispose of him, entirely fail to grasp the possibilities before the +Turk at the present moment when Russia is extremely busy in the North, +when the Balkan States seem hopelessly divided, and when Italy is +maintaining with determination her neutrality. + +[Sidenote: Closing of the Black Sea by Turkey.] + +[Sidenote: Enormous value of oil supplies in the Black Sea District.] + +The most important thing the Turk has done for Germany has been the +closing of the Black Sea. The sowing of a few mines in the Straits +promptly put an end to Russian trade from the Black Sea and dealt +southern Russia a great blow commercially. Germany thus struck at +England, because a large part of the English food supply has normally +come from the Black Sea district, and the desire to protect the grain +ships through the Mediterranean has been one of England's chief reasons +for maintaining control of that sea. So large were these supplies +normally that England has had considerable difficulty in replacing them +and is destined soon to experience greater difficulty in furnishing a +supply equivalent in volume and accessibility. The Black Sea district +also has large oil supplies which would be of enormous value to England +and France, now that the extensive use of the automobile in warfare has +made gasolene a supply second in importance only to powder and food. If +the Turkish navy, augmented by the German cruisers, can dispose of the +Russian ships in the Black Sea, and this seems not improbable, the Turk +might annex for Germany this supply of oil. That would be a stroke of +the utmost consequence. + +[Sidenote: Isolation of Russia.] + +[Sidenote: Importance of Turkey to Germany.] + +Closing the Black Sea by the Turk, plus the closing of the Baltic by the +German fleet in the North Sea, would also accomplish another extremely +important result, the absolute and complete isolation of Russia from +contact with all parts of the world except Germany, Austria, and Turkey. +The question has often arisen as to the ability of Germany to prolong +the war in the face of her inability to export goods to her usual +customers. The complete cessation of manufacture in Germany would sooner +or later bankrupt the country and bring her to her knees. The Germans +point out that the isolation of Russia will have precisely the same +effect on that country unless Russia can find some place where her raw +products can be exchanged for the manufactured goods which are much more +necessary in warfare than the crude products which she always has to +sell. The experience of the past has proved again and again that +belligerent countries persistently trade with one another when it is +profitable. The Germans expect to sell their manufactured goods in +Russia in exchange for the raw materials which Russia produces, just as +long as their fleet holds the mouth of the Baltic and the Turk controls +Constantinople. A brisk trade between Germany, Austria, and Russia is +already reported and if it attains the proportions the Germans expect, +their commercial problem will have been largely solved. But its +continued solution will depend upon the maintaining of Turkey in +Constantinople. If these considerations are as important as the +Pan-Germanists have usually claimed, it will be obvious that the +adhesion of the Turk has exceeding importance for Germany and had long +been arranged in advance. + +[Sidenote: Control of the Suez Canal vital to Great Britain.] + +The possibilities before the Turkish army, well equipped with modern +munitions of war and capably officered by Germans, have been by no means +forgotten. The great objective of Pan-Germanism is not in Europe but in +Asia and Africa. The defense of the English and French dominions in both +will have to be made in Europe. The strength of the German army, the +size of the German fleet, would prevent the English and French from +dissipating their forces over the vast territory which they claim to +control. The experienced troops in India, in Egypt, and in Morocco were +shipped to France upon the outbreak of the war exactly as the Germans +expected and hoped. Their places were filled by less experienced +regiments from France, England, and the English colonies. Egypt and the +Suez Canal, India, and the great defenses would not be so strongly held. +The Turk occupied a position flanking Persia and a position flanking +Egypt. A strong, well-trained Turkish army might conceivably capture +either or both. Assistance from within might well be expected in both, +and victory in either would exert a moral effect upon the war in Europe +which would be of the utmost importance. A few hours' possession of the +Suez Canal, furthermore, would allow the Germans to obstruct it and +effectually block the approach of England to Australia and India except +by the long road around Africa. Conceivably this might interfere +seriously with the English food supplies from Australia and New Zealand, +particularly with the supplies of meat from the latter. This would be +more than usually important in view of the deficiency of meat supplies +in the United States and Canada, and the length of time necessary to +procure them from the Argentine Republic. It is by these blows at the +food supply that the Germans expect to make the greatest impression upon +England. Short of actual invasion, the stoppage of supplies is the only +method by which the Germans can inflict suffering upon England. + +[Sidenote: Bulgaria ally of Germany.] + +[Sidenote: All Balkan states weakened by Balkan War.] + +No one in Berlin or Constantinople has forgotten the existence of the +Balkans. Servian enmity, Greek hatred for the Turk, are only too +obvious; Bulgaria is believed to be entirely faithful to the German +interests; Roumania has never been very trustworthy, and has at times +been an ally of both the coalitions in Europe. The ability of the Turk, +of course, to hold Constantinople and above all to take the offensive +would depend upon the continued neutrality or alliance of the Balkan +States. Combined, they are amply strong enough to overrun Turkey in +Europe and probably to invade Asia Minor in force. All the Balkan States +except Roumania--which is hardly a Balkan State--were very much weakened +in men and in resources by the late Balkan wars, and will probably have +considerable difficulty in obtaining any quantity of supplies from +foreign countries, though we are told of large purchases by the Greeks +in the United States. The fact, however, that the Turk has taken the +offensive against Egypt and Persia makes it extremely probable that the +Balkan hatreds have offset each other. Bulgaria's existence probably +depends upon Austrian protection. Roumania is probably afraid to take +the field with Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, and Austria against her, while +the Greeks and Servians have still to recover from the recent wars. It +is probable, therefore, that, Bulgaria and Roumania being neutral, +Servia at war with Austria, Turkey can take from Greece Salonika and +possibly Macedonia. Should the war in Europe progress favorably for +Germany, the attitude of the Balkan States toward Germany would be +influenced and a scramble would ensue to join the victor, which would +probably result in the extinction of Servia and Greece and the +strengthening of Bulgaria and Turkey. Naturally, the Turk would retake +the islands in the AEgean Sea which are now in Italy's hands. + +[Sidenote: Turkey's position if Germany wins in Europe.] + +Let us suppose that all goes as they hope: that the Germans win in +Europe; that the Turks and Bulgarians take control of the Balkans; that +the Russians are excluded from Persia, and the English from Egypt. The +victorious Turkish army is then in a position to advance along the +Persian Gulf road upon India, and would assail India at her weakest +point, outflanking the great defenses at Quetta which have been +developed primarily against Russia. + +[Sidenote: Possibilities of Pan-Islam.] + +We must not forget to enumerate, among the possibilities, Pan-Islam. +Success by the Turks in Egypt or Persia would undoubtedly give an +impulse to Pan-Islam which might put all the fanatical enthusiasm of the +Mohammedans into a vast uprising which might sweep the French and +English out of northern Africa and India. The Sultan of Turkey is the +official head of the Mohammedan religion. His orders Moslems are all +bound to obey. At present the Mohammedans in the English and French +possessions, who are, of course, under English and French influence, are +claiming that the acts of the Sultan are not really his, but those of +German officers; and the reports at the time of writing indicate that at +the present moment the order from Constantinople for a holy war will +probably not be regarded or obeyed. But a victory by Turkish arms would +probably instantly change the situation and might loose the pent-up +fanaticism of the most intensely emotional of the Oriental races. Here +is another weapon in the German arsenal whose use will depend upon the +cooperation of the Turk. + +[Sidenote: Key of situation is Constantinople.] + +It should now be evident that there is much to be said for the view that +the key to the present situation is Constantinople. We are dealing with +world politics, with a world war which is being fought on the +battlefields of Europe; but we are dealing with a world war whose +results are not expected to develop in Europe proper. The key to this +situation lies in Constantinople, and the Turk holds it. + + * * * * * + +The outbreak of the Great War found the British navy in a high state of +preparedness, and so preponderant in number of vessels and in weight of +guns that the German Grand Fleet as a whole was content to remain behind +the walls of Helgoland. Squadrons were sent out, however, to attack +isolated British ships, and on August 28 the first naval battle of the +war occurred in the Bight of Helgoland. Here British and German cruisers +engaged in a struggle in which the honors were for a time even. The +arrival of British dreadnoughts quickly turned the scale, and the German +ships fled to the safety of their harbor. The Germans lost four large +ships, while the British fleet lost none. + +The German navy was revenged in November 3, when a fleet of warships met +and sunk three British cruisers off the Coronel. On December 9, however, +a British fleet, after a search of many days, came up with and sank +three German cruisers, and severely damaged two others in the Battle of +Falkland Islands. + + + + +THE FALKLAND SEA FIGHT + +A. N. HILDITCH + +Battle Sketches by A. N. Hilditch, Oxford University Press. + + +[Sidenote: The Falkland Islands.] + +In 1592, John Davis, the arctic explorer, after whom the strait between +Greenland and the North American mainland is named, made an attempt, in +company with Thomas Cavendish, to find a new route to Asia by the +Straits of Magellan. Differences arose between the two leaders. One was +an explorer: the other had a tendency towards freebooting. They parted +off the coast of Patagonia. Davis, driven out of his course by stormy +weather, found himself among a cluster of unknown and uninhabited +islands, some three hundred miles east of the Straits of Magellan. This +group, after many changes and vicissitudes, passed finally into the +hands of Great Britain, and became known as the Falkland Islands. + +[Sidenote: Climate surface, and vegetation.] + +They consist of two large islands and of about one hundred islets, +rocks, and sandbanks. The fragments of many wrecks testify to the +dangers of navigation, though masses of giant seaweed act as buoys for +many of the rocks. So numerous are the penguins, thronging in battalions +the smaller islands and the inland lagoons, that the governor of the +colony is nicknamed King of the Penguins. As New Zealand is said to be +the most English of British possessions, the Falklands may perhaps be +appropriately termed the most Scottish. Their general appearance +resembles that of the Outer Hebrides. Of the population, a large +proportion are of Scottish extraction. The climate is not unlike that of +Scotland. The winters are misty and rainy, but not excessively cold. So +violent are the winds that it is said to be impossible to play tennis or +croquet, unless walls are erected as shelter, while cabbages grown in +the kitchen-gardens of the shepherds, the only cultivated ground, are at +times uprooted and scattered like straw. The surface, much of which is +bogland, is in some parts mountainous, and is generally wild and rugged. +Small streams and shallow freshwater tarns abound. A natural curiosity, +regarded with great wonder, exists in 'stone-rivers'; long, glistening +lines of quartzite rock debris, which, without the aid of water, slide +gradually to lower levels. There are no roads. Innumerable sheep, the +familiar Cheviots and Southdowns, graze upon the wild scurvy-grass and +sorrel. The colony is destitute of trees, and possesses but few shrubs. +The one tree that the Islands can boast, an object of much care and +curiosity, stands in the Governor's garden. The seat of government, and +the only town, is Port Stanley, with a population of about 950. Its +general aspect recalls a small town of the western highlands of +Scotland. Many of the houses, square, white-washed, and grey-slated, +possess small greenhouse-porches, gay with fuchsias and pelargoniums, in +pleasing contrast to the prevailing barrenness. A small cathedral, +Christ Church, and an imposing barracks, generally occupied by a company +of marines, stand in the midst of the town. The Government House might +be taken for an Orkney or Shetland manse. + +[Sidenote: Government.] + +[Sidenote: Prosperity of the colony.] + +The administration of the colony and of its dependencies is vested in a +Governor, aided by a Colonial Secretary, and by an executive and a +legislative council. The Governor acts as Chief Justice, and the +Colonial Secretary as Police Magistrate. There is a local jail, capable +of accommodating six offenders at a time. Its resources are not stated, +however, to be habitually strained. Education is compulsory: the +Government maintains schools and travelling teachers. The inhabitants +are principally engaged in sheep-farming and seafaring industries. The +colony is prosperous, with a trade that of late years has grown with +extraordinary rapidity. The dividends paid by the Falkland Islands +Company might excite the envy of many a London director. Stanley's +importance has been increased by the erection of wireless installation; +and as a coaling and refitting station for vessels rounding the Horn, +the harbour, large, safe, and accessible, is of immense value. + +[Sidenote: A raid expected.] + +To this remote outpost of empire came tidings of war in August, 1914. +Great excitement and enthusiasm prevailed. News was very slow in getting +through: the mails, usually a month in transit, became very erratic. But +the colony eagerly undertook a share in the burden of the Empire; L2,250 +was voted towards the war-chest; L750 was collected on behalf of the +Prince of Wales's Fund. Detached, though keen, interest changed, +however, as the weeks passed, to intimate alarm. The Governor, Mr. +Allardyce, received a wireless message from the Admiralty that he must +expect a raid. German cruisers were suspected to be in the +neighbourhood. Never before had the colony known such bustle and such +excitement. They, the inhabitants of the remote Falklands, were to play +a part in the struggle that was tugging at the roots of the world's +civilization. The exhilaration of expectancy and of danger broke +suddenly into their uneventful, though not easy, lives. But there was +cause for keen anxiety. The colonists were, however, reassured for a +time by a visit from three British warships, the cruisers _Good Hope_, +_Monmouth_, and _Glasgow_, with the armed liner _Otranto_. + +[Sidenote: British warships arrive.] + +[Sidenote: Search for German cruisers.] + +The _Good Hope_ had, at the declaration of war, been patrolling the +Irish coast. She was ordered to sweep the Atlantic trade routes for +hostile cruisers. She reached the coast of North America, after many +false alarms, stopping English merchantmen on the way, and informing the +astonished skippers of the war and of their course in consequence. When +forty miles east of New York, Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock came +aboard with his staff, and hoisted his flag. The Admiral turned +southwards, sweeping constantly for the enemy. Passing through the West +Indies, he proceeded to the coast of Brazil. Here he was joined by the +_Glasgow_. The _Good Hope_ had picked up the _Monmouth_ previously. The +three ships, accompanied by the auxiliary cruiser _Otranto_, kept a +southerly course. The discovery at Pernambuco of twenty-three German +merchantmen snugly ensconced behind the breakwater, in neutral harbour, +proved very galling. The Straits of Magellan and the cold Tierra del +Fuego were at length reached. The squadron was on the scent of three +German cruisers, the _Leipzig_, _Dresden_, and _Nuernberg_. It was +suspected that they had gone to coal in this remote corner of the +oceans. Their secret and friendly wireless stations were heard talking +in code. The British made swoops upon wild and unsurveyed bays and +inlets. The land around was covered with ice and snow, and the many huge +glaciers formed a sight wonderful to behold. But the search had proved +fruitless. After rounding the Horn several times, the squadron had +turned towards the Falklands. + +[Sidenote: Rumors of disaster.] + +The inhabitants could not long rely, however, upon these powerful +guardians. The squadron, after coaling, departed, again bound for the +Straits of Magellan and the Pacific. Its strength was certainly adequate +to tackle with success the three German ships believed to be in the +vicinity. The colony could depend upon Admiral Cradock to protect it to +the best of his ability. But it was not improbable that the enemy might +evade the patrolling cruisers, and descend upon the hapless Falklands +without warning. The Governor saw the advisability of instant +preparation. On October 19, he issued a notice that all women and +children were to leave Stanley. Provisions, stores, and clothes were +hastily removed into the interior, which was locally termed the 'camp'. +The colony possessed a Volunteer Rifle Company, some 120 strong, and two +nine-pounder field-guns. Further volunteers were enrolled and armed. +Suddenly, on November 3, an alarming wireless message was received. The +_Good Hope_ and the _Monmouth_ were reported to have been sunk off the +coast of Chili. It was unsigned. There was no proof of its authenticity. +But the next day another message followed from the captain of the +_Glasgow_. The disaster was confirmed. The _Glasgow_, in company with H. +M. S. _Canopus_, was running with all speed for the Falklands. They were +probably being followed by the victorious Germans. Four days of acute +suspense followed. The situation seemed critical. The Governor passed +several nights without taking off his clothes, in expectancy of wireless +messages that needed instant decoding. People slept beside their +telephones. Early in the morning of Sunday, November 8, the two warships +arrived. + +[Sidenote: The _Glasgow_ arrives.] + +The _Glasgow_ was badly damaged. An enormous hole, three feet by nine +feet, gaped in her side. A shell had wrecked Captain Luce's cabin, +giving off fumes such as rendered unconscious several men who rushed in +to put out the fire. The vessel had escaped any serious outbreak, +however, and had suffered only four slight casualties. Warm tributes +were paid by the captain to the cool and disciplined conduct of both +officers and men. The _Canopus_ had not been engaged. But a narrative of +the preceding events may now be appropriate. + +[Sidenote: German cruisers in Pacific.] + +Vice-Admiral the Graf Maximilian von Spee was in command, at the +outbreak of hostilities, of the German China fleet stationed at +Tsing-tao. A successor, indeed, had been appointed, and was on the way +to relieve him. But just before war was declared von Spee and his +squadron steamed off into the open seas. To remain at Tsing-tao while +vastly superior forces were closing in upon him would be to little +purpose. Commerce raiding offered a field for rendering valuable service +to the Fatherland. The _Emden_ was dispatched to the southern seas. The +_Leipzig_ and the _Nuernberg_ proceeded across the Pacific, and began to +prey upon the western coast of South America. Half the maritime trade of +Chili was carried in English ships. Many of them might be seized and +destroyed at little risk. The Admiral, with his two remaining vessels, +the _Scharnhorst_ and the _Gneisenau_, successfully evaded the hostile +fleets for some time. On September 14 he touched at Apia, in German +Samoa, familiar to readers of Robert Louis Stevenson. It could be +remembered how, fifteen years before, this colony, shortly to fall +before a New Zealand expeditionary force, had been a bone of contention +between Great Britain and Germany. Captain Sturdee, whom von Spee was +soon to meet in more arduous operations, had on that occasion commanded +the British force in the tribal warfare. Eight days later, on September +22, the two German cruisers arrived off Papeete, in Tahiti, one of the +loveliest of Pacific islands. A small disarmed French gunboat lying +there was sunk, and the town was bombarded. The Admiral, planning a +concentration of German ships, then steamed east across the Pacific. He +got into touch with friendly vessels. By skilful man[oe]uvring he +finally brought five warships, with colliers, together near Valparaiso. + +[Sidenote: Armament of cruisers.] + +[Sidenote: Coal needed.] + +[Sidenote: Drake's exploits.] + +[Sidenote: Search for cruisers.] + +The German ships were all of recent construction. The _Scharnhorst_ and +the _Gneisenau_ were armoured cruisers of 11,600 tons. The _Leipzig_, +the _Nuernberg_, and the _Dresden_ were light cruisers of about 3,500 +tons. The armament of the larger vessels included eight 8.2-inch and six +6-inch guns. The smaller relied upon either ten or twelve 4-inch pieces. +Each ship carried torpedo tubes, and the speed of each was about +twenty-two or twenty-three knots an hour. The _Dresden_, however, could +go to twenty-seven knots. The squadron possessed all-important allies. +Several German merchant-marine companies, notably the Kosmos, plied +along the Chilian coast. The tonnage of their vessels, indeed, amounted +to no less than half that of the English companies. The advance of +German enterprise in Chili in recent years had been very marked. Von +Spee's great stumbling-block was coal. The laws of war prevented him +from sending more than three of his warships into a neutral port at the +same time, from staying there more than twenty-four hours, from taking +more coal than was necessary to reach the nearest German harbour, from +coaling again for three months at a port of the same nationality. But if +German merchantmen, hampered by no such restrictions, could constantly +renew his supplies, the difficulty of fuel could be to some extent met. +Provisions and secret information as to British movements could also be +obtained through the same source. Such employment of merchantmen, +however, being contrary to international law, would have to be +clandestine. The great Pacific coast offered numerous harbours and +abundant facilities for being utilized as a base under such conditions. +It showed many historic precedents for bold and adventurous exploits +which could not fail to appeal to an admiral whose family, ennobled by +the Emperor Charles VI, took pride in its ancient and aristocratic +lineage. The occasion seemed opportune, moreover, for the +accomplishment, by himself, his officers, and men, of deeds which should +inspire their posterity as British naval traditions, for lack of other, +at present inspired them. They could recall how, on this very coast, in +1578-9, Drake, the master raider, had seized a Spanish treasure-ship off +Valdivia, had descended like a hawk upon Callao, had pounced upon +another great galleon, taking nearly a million pounds in gold and +silver; and how the intrepid mariner, sailing off into the unknown +ocean, had circumnavigated the globe, while the furious de Toledo +waited, with eleven warships, in the Straits of Magellan. Why, indeed, +should not the Germans imitate, in the twentieth century, the deeds of +Drake in the sixteenth? If they preyed ruthlessly upon English +merchantmen, laden with the wealth of the West, if they made a descent +upon the Falkland Islands, if then they were to disappear into the wide +Pacific, a career of splendid adventure and of unbounded usefulness +would earn for them both the respect and the plaudits of the world. +Australian and Japanese warships were sweeping the eastern Pacific for +them. Many British vessels, called from useful employment elsewhere, +would have to join in the search for them. But so vast was the area that +they might elude their enemies for months. + +British ships were already cruising near the Horn, possibly unaware that +a concentration of the Germans had been effected. It was not unlikely +that von Spee might be able to cut off and to destroy stray units of the +patrolling squadrons. The Graf could see many opportunities of serving +effectively the cause of the Fatherland. He must utilize them to the +full. + +[Sidenote: Cradock near coast of Chili.] + +[Sidenote: German cruisers sighted.] + +Sir Christopher Cradock, meanwhile, had rounded the Horn once more, and +was cruising northwards up the coast of Chili. That coast, indeed, once +the haunt of corsairs and filibusters, was rich in historic associations +and in natural beauties. An element of grandeur and of mystery seemed to +hover around the countless ridges and peaks of the Andes, stretching, +with the gleam of their eternal snows, for four thousand miles, and +gazing down across the illimitable waters of the occident. Upon the +plateaux, miles above sea level, stood old stone temples and pyramids +which rivalled in massiveness and ingenuity those of Egypt and of +Babylon. The student of ancient civilizations could trace, in the mystic +deities of the Incas and Araucanians, a strange similarity to the +deities of the Chaldeans and Babylonians. Speculation upon this analogy +formed a fascinating theme. This coast, too, was sacred to memories that +could not but be dear to sailors as gallant and daring as Cradock, since +his services in China, in 1900, was known to be. Among other familiar +British names, Cochrane, Lord Dundonald, had won enduring glory in the +struggle for Chilian independence, nearly a hundred years before. The +conditions of naval warfare had, indeed, through the introduction of +armour and the perfection of weapons, radically changed since Cochrane, +in a series of singularly audacious exploits, had overcome the fleets of +Spain. Sea-fighting had become purely a matter of science. The object of +strategy was to concentrate faster ships and more powerful guns against +weaker force. The odds with which Cradock was to contend against the +Germans were greater in proportion, if less in bulk, than the odds with +which Cochrane had contended, with his peasant crews and his hulks, +against the Spanish "wooden-walls". Admiral Cradock now knew that there +were two more cruisers in the neighbourhood than had at first been +supposed. The _Canopus_ had accordingly been sent to join his squadron. +But she was a battleship, and much slower than the cruisers. She could +travel no faster than at eighteen knots. Cradock proceeded northwards, +ahead of the _Canopus_, made a rendezvous off Concepcion Bay for his +colliers, and went into Coronel and on to Valparaiso to pick up news and +receive letters. The squadron then returned to the rendezvous and +coaled. This completed, the Admiral directed the _Glasgow_ to proceed +again to Coronel to dispatch certain cables. Captain Luce duly carried +out his mission, and left Coronel at nine o'clock on Sunday morning, +November 1, steaming northwards to rejoin the other ships. A gale was +rising. The wind was blowing strongly from the south. Heavy seas +continually buffeted the vessel. At two o'clock a wireless signal was +received from the _Good Hope_. Apparently from wireless calls there was +an enemy ship to northward. The squadron must spread out in line, +proceeding in a direction north-east-by-east, the flagship forming one +extremity, the _Glasgow_ the other. It was to move at fifteen knots. At +twenty minutes past four in the afternoon, smoke was observed upon the +horizon. The _Glasgow_ put on speed and approached. Officers soon made +out the funnels of four cruisers. It was the enemy. The Germans, their +big armoured cruisers leading, and the smaller behind, gave chase. + +[Sidenote: The squadrons approach.] + +The _Glasgow_ swept round to northward, calling to the flagship with her +wireless. Von Spee, anticipating this move, at once set his wireless in +operation, in order to jamb the British signals. Captain Luce soon +picked up the _Monmouth_ and the _Otranto_, and the three ships raced +northwards towards the flagship, the _Glasgow_ leading. At about five +o'clock the _Good Hope_ was seen approaching. The three ships wheeled +into line behind her, and the whole squadron now proceeded south. Von +Spee, coming up from that direction in line ahead, about twelve miles +off, changed his course and also proceeded south, keeping nearer to the +coast. The wind was now blowing almost with the force of a hurricane. So +heavy was the sea that small boats would have been unable to keep +afloat. But the sky was not completely overcast, and the sun was +shining. Firing had not opened. The washing of the seas and the roaring +of the wind deafened the ear to other sounds. The warship of to-day, +when her great turbines are whirling round at their highest speed, moves +without throb and almost without vibration through the waves. The two +squadrons, drawing level, the Germans nearer to the coast, raced in the +teeth of the gale, in two parallel lines, to the south. + +[Sidenote: British vessels.] + +[Sidenote: Cradock orders attack.] + +Sir Christopher Cradock could not but realize that the situation was +hazardous. He had three vessels capable of fighting men-of-war. The +_Otranto_ was only an armed liner, and must withdraw when the battle +developed. The _Good Hope_ displaced some 14,000 tons, and was armed +with two 9'2-inch and sixteen 6-inch guns. The _Monmouth_, with a +tonnage of 9,800, carried fourteen 6-inch pieces, but the _Glasgow_, a +ship of 4,800 tons, had only two of the 6-inch weapons. It was certain +that the German 8.2-inch guns, if the shooting was at all good, would be +found to outrange and outclass the British. Cradock was certainly at a +disadvantage in gun-power. His protective armour was weaker than that of +the enemy. Nor did his speed give him any superiority. Though the +_Glasgow_ was capable of twenty-six knots, the flagship and the +_Monmouth_ could only go to twenty-three. But there was another +consideration which the Admiral might weigh. Coming slowly up from the +south, but probably still a considerable distance off, was the +battleship _Canopus_. Her presence would give the British a decided +preponderance. She was a vessel of some 13,000 tons, and her armament +included four 12-inch and twelve 6-inch pieces. How far was she away? +How soon could she arrive upon the scene? Evening was closing in. +Cradock was steering hard in her direction. If the British, engaging the +enemy immediately, could keep them in play throughout the night, when +firing must necessarily be desultory, perhaps morning would bring the +_Canopus_ hastening into the action. It was possible that the Germans +did not know of her proximity. They might, accepting the contest, and +expecting to cripple the British next morning at their leisure, find +themselves trapped. But in any case they should not be allowed to +proceed without some such attempt being made to destroy them. It must +not be said that, because the enemy was in greater force, a British +squadron had taken to flight. Perhaps it would be better, since darkness +would afford little opportunity of man[oe]uvring for action, to draw +nearer and to engage fairly soon. It was about a quarter past six. The +Germans were about 15,000 yards distant. Cradock ordered the speed of +his squadron to seventeen knots. He then signalled by wireless to the +_Canopus_, 'I am going to attack enemy now'. + +[Sidenote: At closer range.] + +[Sidenote: Only gun flashes to direct fire.] + +[Sidenote: The _Good Hope_ blown up.] + +The sun was setting. The western horizon was mantled by a canopy of +gold. Von Spee's man[oe]uvre in closing in nearer to the shore had +placed him in an advantageous position as regards the light. The British +ships, when the sun had set, were sharply outlined against the glowing +sky. The Germans were partly hidden in the failing light and by the +mountainous coast. The island of Santa Maria, off Coronel, lay in the +distance. Von Spee had been gradually closing to within 12,000 yards. +The appropriate moment for engaging seemed to be approaching. A few +minutes after sunset, about seven o'clock, the leading German cruiser +opened fire with her largest guns. Shells shrieked over and short of the +_Good Hope_, some falling within five hundred yards. As battle was now +imminent, the _Otranto_ began to haul out of line, and to edge away to +the south-west. The squadrons were converging rapidly, but the smaller +cruisers were as yet out of range. The British replied in quick +succession to the German fire. As the distance lessened, each ship +engaged that opposite in the line. The _Good Hope_ and the _Monmouth_ +had to bear the brunt of the broadsides of the _Scharnhorst_ and the +_Gneisenau_. The _Glasgow_, in the rear, exchanged shots with the light +cruisers, the _Leipzig_ and the _Dresden_. The shooting was deadly. The +third of the rapid salvos of the enemy armoured cruisers set the _Good +Hope_ and the _Monmouth_ afire. Shells began to find their mark, some +exploding overhead and bursting in all directions. In about ten minutes +the _Monmouth_ sheered off the line to westward about one hundred yards. +She was being hit heavily. Her foremost turret, shielding one of her +6-inch guns, was in flames. She seemed to be reeling and shaking. She +fell back into line, however, and then out again to eastward, her 6-inch +guns roaring intermittently. Darkness was now gathering fast. The range +had narrowed to about 5,000 yards. The seven ships were all in action. +Many shells striking the sea sent up columns of white spray, showing +weirdly in the twilight. It was an impressive scene. The dim light, the +heavy seas, the rolling of the vessels, distracted the aim. Some of the +guns upon the main decks, being near the water-line, became with each +roll almost awash. The British could fire only at the flashes of the +enemy's guns. Often the heavy head seas hid even the flashes from the +gun-layers. It was impossible to gauge the effect of their shells. The +fore-turret of the _Good Hope_ burst into flames, and she began to fall +away out of line towards the enemy. The _Glasgow_ kept up a continual +fire upon the German light cruisers with one of her 6-inch guns and her +port batteries. A shell struck her below deck, and men waited for the +planks to rise. No explosion nor fire, however, occurred. But the +British flagship was now burning brightly forward, and was falling more +and more out of line to eastward. It was about a quarter to eight. +Suddenly there was the roar of an explosion. The part about the _Good +Hope's_ after-funnel split asunder, and a column of flame, sparks, and +debris was blown up to a height of about two hundred feet. She never +fired her guns again. Total destruction must have followed. Sir +Christopher Cradock and nine hundred brave sailors went down in the +stormy deep. The other ships raced past her in the darkness. The +_Monmouth_ was in great distress. She left the line after a while, and +turned back, steaming with difficulty to northwest. She had ceased +firing. The vessels had been travelling at a rate which varied from +seven to seventeen knots. The _Glasgow_, now left alone, eased her speed +in order to avoid shells intended for the _Monmouth_. The Germans +dropped slowly back. The _Scharnhorst_ and the _Gneisenau_ now +concentrated their salvos upon the _Glasgow_. The range was about 4,500 +yards. A shell struck the second funnel: five others hit her side at the +waterline, but fortunately not in dangerous places. Luce, her captain, +since the flagship was no more, was senior officer. He brought his +vessel round and moved rapidly back. + +[Sidenote: _Monmouth_ in distress.] + +[Sidenote: Enemy is signalling in Morse.] + +[Sidenote: _Glasgow_ draws away.] + +[Sidenote: The _Monmouth_ finally capsizes.] + +The _Monmouth_ had now fallen away to a north-easterly course. Luce +stood by signalling. Could she steer north-west? She was making water +badly forward, Captain Brandt answered, and he wanted to get stern to +sea. The enemy were following, Luce signalled again. There was no reply. +The _Glasgow_ steamed nearer. The _Monmouth_ was in a sinking condition. +Her bows were under water, and the men were assembled at the stern. The +sea was running very high. Rain and mist had come on, though a moon was +now rising. The enemy had altered course, and were approaching in line +abreast about 6,000 yards away. A light kept twinkling at regular +intervals from one of the ships. They were signalling in Morse, and +evidently were forming plans of action. Firing was still proceeding +intermittently. It was about half-past eight. Captain Luce could see +nothing for it but to abandon the _Monmouth_ to her fate. To rescue her +crew, under such conditions, was impossible, while to stand by and +endeavour to defend her would be folly. The _Glasgow_ was not armoured, +and could not contend with armoured vessels. Of the two guns she +possessed capable of piercing the enemy's armour, one had been put out +of action ten minutes after the start. If she stayed and fought to the +end, 370 good lives, in addition to the sufficiently heavy toll of 1,600 +in the _Good Hope_ and the _Monmouth_, would be needlessly sacrificed. +The _Canopus_, moreover, must be warned. She was coming up from the +south to sure destruction. She could hardly be expected successfully to +combat the whole German squadron. Nevertheless, it must have been with +heavy hearts that the men of the _Glasgow_ turned away to seek safety in +flight. It is recorded that, as they moved off into the darkness, a +cheer broke forth from the _Monmouth's_ decks. Before the sinking vessel +became lost to sight another and a third went up. At about a quarter +past nine the _Nuernberg_, which had not been engaged in the main action, +came across the _Monmouth_. It is said that, though in a sinking +condition, the British ship attempted to ram her enemy. But the +_Nuernberg_ began to bombard her, and she capsized. + +[Sidenote: _Glasgow_ and _Canopus_ start for Rio de Janeiro.] + +The _Glasgow_ steamed off in a north-westerly direction. A few minutes +before nine the enemy became lost to sight. Half an hour later many +distant flashes of gunfire, the death-struggle of the _Monmouth_, were +seen. The play of a searchlight, which lasted a few seconds and then +disappeared, was also observed. The vessel bore round gradually to the +south. Her wireless was put into operation, and she made efforts to get +through to the _Canopus_. But the Germans had again set their apparatus +in motion, and the messages were jambed. Only after some hours was the +_Glasgow_ successful. Steaming hard at twenty-four knots through the +heavy seas, her engines and boilers fortunately being intact, she at +length joined the battleship. The two ships made straight for the +Falkland Islands. + +The news of the disaster stirred great alarm in the colony. Before the +day on which the ships arrived was out the dismay was further increased. +The _Canopus_ at first expected to stay ten days. Her presence provided +substantial relief. If the enemy appeared, she and even the damaged +_Glasgow_ could give a very good account of themselves. But during the +morning Captain Grant of the _Canopus_ received a wireless message from +the Admiralty. He was to proceed immediately to Rio de Janeiro with the +_Glasgow_. The Brazilian Government had granted the latter permission to +enter the dry dock there to make urgent repairs. But seven days only +were allowed for this purpose. In the evening the warships cast off, and +steamed away to northward. + +[Sidenote: The colony almost defenseless.] + +[Sidenote: Falklands prepare for attack.] + +[Sidenote: Burying the Governor's silver and table linen.] + +Stanley was now in an unenviable situation. A powerful German squadron, +flushed with victory, was probably making for the Islands. The colony +was almost defenceless. All the opposition that the enemy would meet +would be from a few hundred volunteers. A wireless message that came +through emphasized the imminence of the danger. Warnings and +instructions were outlined. If the enemy landed, the volunteers were to +fight. But retiring tactics must be adopted. Care should be taken to +keep out of range of the enemy's big guns. The Governor at once called a +council of war. There could be little doubt that a descent would be made +upon the colony. The position was full of peril. But resistance must +certainly be offered. The few women, children, and old men who still +remained at Stanley must be sent away immediately. Fortunately the time +of year was propitious. November is, indeed, in the Falklands considered +the only dry month. The ground is then covered with a variety of +sweet-scented flowers. Further, all the stores it was possible to remove +must be taken into the 'camp'. Quantities of provisions must be hidden +away at various points within reach of the town. In order to add to the +mobility of the defending force, it would be well to bring in another +hundred horses from the 'camp'. Every man should be mounted. These +measures were duly carried out. Every preparation was made and every +precaution taken. Everybody began to pack up boxes of goods. Clothes, +stores, and valuables were all taken away to safety. Books, papers, and +money were removed from the Government offices, and from the +headquarters of the Falkland Islands Company. What was not sent away was +buried. The official papers and code-books were buried every night, and +dug up and dried every morning. The Governor's tableclothes gave rise to +much anxiety. It was thought, since they were marked 'G. R.', they would +be liable to insult by the Germans. They were accordingly buried. This +conscientious loyalty, however, proved costly. The Governor's silver, +wrapped in green baize, was, unfortunately, placed in the same hole. The +tablecloths became mixed up with the baize. The damp got through, and +the linen was badly stained. There was a feeling that the attack would +come at dawn. People sat up all night, and only went to bed when morning +was well advanced. All offices were closed and business was suspended. +This state of tension lasted several days. At length, from the look-out +post above the town, a warship, apparently a cruiser, was seen making +straight for the wireless station. When she got within range she turned +broadside on. Her decks were cleared for action. + +[Sidenote: _Canopus_ arrives.] + +There was a call to arms. Church and dockyard bells pealed out the +alarm. Non-combatants streamed out of the town into the 'camp'. The +volunteers paraded, and lined up with their horses. It would soon become +a question whether to resist a landing or to retire. In any event the +men were ready and provided with emergency rations. But no firing +sounded. Signals were exchanged between the vessel and the shore. It was +a false alarm. The new-comer was H. M. S. _Canopus_. + +[Sidenote: A serious outlook--decks are cleared for action.] + +She had proceeded, in accordance with her orders, towards Rio de Janeiro +with the _Glasgow_. When two days' journey off her destination, however, +she received another message. She was directed to return and to defend +the Falklands in case of attack. These instructions were received with +mingled feelings. To fight alone a powerful squadron was by no means an +attractive prospect. Duty, however, was duty. The _Canopus_ turned +about, and retraced her passage. She set her wireless in operation, and +tried to get through to Stanley. But for some reason she was unable to +do so. It was concluded that the Germans had made a raid and had +destroyed the wireless station. Probably they had occupied the town. The +outlook seemed serious. The _Canopus_ had her instructions, however, and +there was no drawing back. The decks were cleared for action. Ammunition +was served out. Guns were loaded and trained. With every man at his post +the ship steamed at full speed into the harbour. Great was the relief +when it was found that all was well. + +[Sidenote: German raid anticipated.] + +[Sidenote: Shackleton's visit to South Georgia.] + +The inhabitants were not less relieved. The presence of the battleship +was felt to add materially to the security of the town. The Germans +would probably hesitate before attacking a ship of her size. If they +sustained damage involving loss of fighting efficiency, there was no +harbour they could turn to for repair, except so far as their +seaworthiness was affected. Nevertheless, it was almost certain that +some raid upon the Islands would be attempted. Guns were landed from the +ship, and measures were taken to make the defence as effective as +possible. Perhaps if the enemy blockaded Stanley, the British would be +able to hold out until other warships, certain to be sent to avenge the +defeat, arrived. Relief could hardly be expected for two or three weeks. +The Falklands formed a very distant corner of the Empire. It was +doubtful, indeed, whether even the ubiquitous German spy had penetrated +to these remote and barren shores. It could, however, be recalled that, +in 1882, a German expedition had landed on South Georgia, a dependent +island of the Falklands, eight hundred miles to their south-east, to +observe the transit of Venus. Upon that same island, indeed, another +and a quite unsuspicious expedition had landed, early in that very +month, November. Sir Ernest Shackleton, the explorer, had left Buenos +Ayres on the morning of October 26, on his way across the antarctic +continent. His little vessel of 230 tons, the _Endurance_, passed +through the war zone in safety, and reached South Georgia on November 5. +He remained for about a month before leaving for the lonely tracts for +which his little party was bound. The island was his last link with +civilization. Though sub-antarctic, it possessed features as up-to-date +as electric-light, universal even in pigsties and henhouses. And the +march of man, it was observed, had introduced the familiar animals of +the farmyard, and even a monkey, into a region whose valleys, destitute +of tree or shrub, lay clothed with perpetual snow. + +[Sidenote: Sturdee's squadron reaches Port Stanley.] + +[Sidenote: German cruisers sighted.] + +Meanwhile, November passed into December without any appearance of the +Germans off the Falklands. The tension became very much relieved. Women +and children were brought back to Stanley, after being away a month or +six weeks. Messages emanating from the hostile squadron, registered by +the wireless station, indicated that the enemy were still in the +vicinity. But the condition of the colony became again almost normal. +The relief and security were complete when, at length, on Monday, +December 7, a powerful British squadron, under Vice-Admiral Sir Doveton +Sturdee, arrived at Port Stanley. There were seven warships, besides the +_Canopus_. The _Invincible_ and the _Inflexible_ had left Plymouth on +November 11, and had proceeded to the West Indies. Their mission was to +avenge Coronel. They had picked up at Albatross Rock the _Carnarvon_, +_Cornwall_, _Bristol_, _Kent_, _Glasgow_, now repaired, and _Macedonia_, +an armed liner. All had then steamed southwards towards the Falklands. +The vessels started coaling. Officers came ashore to stretch their legs. +Certain stores were laid in. It was anticipated that the squadron would +depart in search of the enemy on the evening of the following day. That +search might, indeed, be a matter of months. Early next morning, +December 8, at about eight o'clock, a volunteer observer posted on +Sapper's Hill, two miles from Stanley, sighted two vessels upon the +horizon. Twenty minutes later the smoke of two others came into view in +the same direction. They were soon recognized as German cruisers. The +excitement was intense. The news was immediately carried to the +authorities. It was hastily signalled to the fleet. Most of the ships +were at anchor in Port William, the outer entrance to Port Stanley. Some +of the naval officers were aroused from their repose. It is recorded +that, upon hearing the news, the flag-lieutenant dashed down to Admiral +Sturdee's cabin, clad in his pyjamas. Sir Doveton was shaving. The +lieutenant poured forth his information. 'Well,' said the Admiral, +dryly, 'you had better go and get dressed. We'll see about it later.'[1] + +FOOTNOTE: + +[1] The writer cannot vouch for the truth of this anecdote, +which he merely records as given in a letter published in the press. But +the source from which it was taken, together with many of the preceding +details of the condition of Stanley during the period of tension, has +proved so accurate in essential points of fact, that their insertion +seems justifiable. + +[Sidenote: Achievements of the raiders.] + +[Sidenote: Supplies hard to obtain.] + +[Sidenote: The question of neutrality.] + +[Sidenote: Chile's neutrality.] + +[Sidenote: Falklands a possible base.] + +[Sidenote: _Gneisenau_ and _Nuernberg_ fire on wireless station.] + +[Sidenote: Germans are surprised.] + +The Graf von Spee had, meanwhile, after the Battle of Coronel, been +devoting himself to harrying maritime commerce. The Falklands could wait +for the present. Since the beginning of hostilities the work of his +light cruisers had been moderately successful. The _Nuernberg_ had cut +the cable between Bamfield, British Columbia, and Fanning Island. The +_Leipzig_ had accounted for at least four British merchantmen, and the +_Dresden_ for at least two more. The armed liner _Eitel Friedrich_ had +also achieved some success. Several traders had had narrow escapes. The +Chilian coast was in a state of blockade to British vessels, the ports +being crowded with shipping that hesitated to venture forth into the +danger zone. The Germans were masters of the Pacific and South Atlantic +trade routes. The Straits of Magellan and the Horn formed a great +waterway of commerce, which for sailing vessels was, indeed, the only +eastern outlet from the Pacific. But completely as he had the situation +in hand, von Spee was experiencing increasing problems and difficulties +with regard to supplies of coal and provisions. Without these he was +impotent. He had been employing German merchantmen to great advantage +for refueling. But trouble was brewing with the Chilian authorities. +Many signs were leading the latter to suspect that, contrary to +international law, German traders were loading at Chilian ports cargoes +of coal and provisions, contraband of war, and were transferring them at +sea to the German warships. There were other causes of complaint. Juan +Fernandez, the isle of romance and of mystery, the home of the original +of Robinson Crusoe, was said to have been degraded into use as a base +for apportioning the booty, coals and victuals, among the belligerent +vessels. The island was a Chilian possession. It was practically certain +that von Spee's squadron had stayed there beyond the legal limit of +time. A French merchantman had, contrary to rule, also been sunk there +by the _Dresden_, within Chilian territorial waters. Inquiries in other +quarters were being made, moreover, as to the friendly wireless stations +which the Germans had been utilizing secretly in Colombia and Ecuador; +while a rumour was current in the United States that neutral vessels had +been seized and pillaged on the high seas. Von Spee soon found that he +was nearing the end even of his illegitimate resources. He had tried the +patience of the Chilian authorities too far. About the middle of +November they suddenly prohibited, as a provisional measure, the vessels +of the Kosmos Company from leaving any Chilian port. On November 24 a +Government ship was sent to Juan Fernandez to investigate, and to see +that Chilian neutrality was upheld. Many such signs seemed to warn von +Spee that the time was appropriate to a sudden disappearance. He +gathered his squadron for a descent at last upon the Falklands. His +plans must be, not merely for a raid, but for an occupation. There were +probably two or three small ships there. They should be sunk. The +wireless station must be destroyed. The Islands, after a landing had +been effected and the defence reduced, could be used as a base for the +German operations. There were large quantities of coal and stores at +Stanley. The harbour possessed facilities for refitting. To dislodge a +strong German naval force, with adequate guns, placed in occupation of +the colony, would be a difficult task for the enemy. The Falklands had +many possibilities. According to von Spee's information they were feebly +defended and would fall an easy prey. At length, early in the morning of +December 8, the Admiral brought his fleet off Stanley. His five cruisers +approached from the south. They were, of course, observed. A warning +gun, probably from one of the small ships which he would shortly sink, +sounded the alarm inside the harbour. There was no need, however, for +haste. At twenty minutes past nine the _Gneisenau_ and the _Nuernberg_ +moved towards the wireless station, and brought their guns to bear upon +it. But suddenly from inside the harbour there came the thunder of a big +gun. Five shells, of very heavy calibre, screamed in quick succession +from over the low-lying land. One of the vessels was struck. Surprise +and bewilderment took the Germans. This was most unexpected. The +_Gneisenau_ and the _Nuernberg_ hastily retired out of range. + +[Sidenote: Strength of British squadron.] + +[Sidenote: Admiral Sturdee both confident and cautious.] + +[Sidenote: Enemy eight miles away.] + +[Sidenote: _Canopus_ opens fire.] + +Sir Doveton and his fleet, meanwhile, had gone to breakfast. Steam for +full speed was got up as rapidly as possible. Coaling operations had +recommenced at 6.30 that morning. The colliers were hurriedly cast off, +and the decks were cleared for action. Officers and men were delighted +at the prospect of an early fight. The Germans had saved them a long +cold search around the Horn by calling for them. There was going to be +no mistake this time. The enemy could not escape. Sturdee's squadron was +superior both in weight and speed to the German. It consisted of two +battle-cruisers of over 17,000 tons, the _Invincible_ and _Inflexible_; +of three cruisers of about 10,000 tons, the _Carnarvon_, _Kent_, and +_Cornwall_; and of two light cruisers of 4,800 tons, the _Glasgow_ and +_Bristol_. The primary armament of the _Invincible_ and _Inflexible_ was +eight 12-inch guns; of the _Carnarvon_, four 7'5-inch; of the _Kent_ and +_Cornwall_, fourteen 6-inch; of the _Glasgow_ and _Bristol_, two 6-inch. +The speed of the battle-cruisers was twenty-eight knots; of the three +middle-class cruisers, twenty-two to twenty-four knots; and of the light +cruisers, twenty-five to twenty-six knots. In size, in armament, in +speed, the British squadron would decidedly preponderate. Admiral +Sturdee, however, though confident of victory, was determined to take no +risks, and to minimize loss in men and material by making full use of +his superior long-range gunfire, and of his superior speed. He would +wait, screened by the land, until the Germans had drawn nearer. +Everything should be got ready carefully. Undue excitement was to be +deprecated. Meanwhile, he watched the enemy closely. At about a quarter +to nine, Captain Grant of the _Canopus_ reported that the first two +ships sighted were now about eight miles away: the other two were still +at a distance of some twenty miles. The _Kent_ passed down the harbour +and took up a position at the entrance. Five minutes later the smoke of +a fifth German vessel was observed. When, in about half an hour's time, +the two leading enemy ships made a threatening move in the direction of +the wireless station, the Admiral ordered a swift counterstroke. +Officers upon the hills above the town signalled the range, 11,000 +yards, to the _Canopus_. She opened fire with her 12-inch guns. The +Germans hoisted their colours and drew back. Their masts and smoke were +now visible from the upper bridge of the _Invincible_ across the low +land bounding Port William on the south. Within a few minutes the two +cruisers altered course and made for the harbour-mouth. Here the _Kent_ +lay stationed. It seemed that the Germans were about to engage her. As, +however, they approached, the masts and funnels of two large ships at +anchor within the port became visible to them. The _Gneisenau_ and the +_Nuernberg_ could hardly expect to contend alone with this force. They at +once changed their direction, and moved back at increased speed to join +their consorts. + +[Sidenote: Weather unusually fair.] + +[Sidenote: Chase begins.] + +[Sidenote: More German ships sighted.] + +[Sidenote: Battle joined.] + +The morning was gloriously fine. The sun shone brightly, the sky was +clear, the sea was calm, and a breeze blew lightly from the north-west. +It was one of the rare bright stretches that visit the Islands, for +usually rain falls, mostly in misty drizzles, on about 250 days in the +year. At twenty minutes to ten the _Glasgow_ weighed anchor, and joined +the _Kent_ at the harbour-mouth. Five minutes later the rest of the +squadron weighed, and began to steam out. The battleship _Canopus_, her +speed making her unsuitable for a chase, was left in harbour. The +_Bristol_ and the _Macedonia_ also remained behind for the present. By a +dexterous use of oil fuel the two battle-cruisers were kept shrouded as +much as possible in dense clouds of smoke. The enemy for some time could +not gauge their size. But as vessel after vessel emerged, Admiral von +Spee grew uneasy. The English were in altogether unexpected strength. +His squadron could not cope with such force. He had played into the +enemy's hands, and unless he could outspeed their ships, the game was +up. Without hesitation, he steamed off at high speed to eastward. The +British followed, steaming at fifteen to eighteen knots. The enemy, to +their south-east, were easily visible. At twenty past ten an order for a +general chase was signalled. The _Invincible_ and the _Inflexible_ +quickly drew to the fore. The Germans were roughly in line abreast, +20,000 yards, or some eleven miles, ahead. The morning sunlight, the +gleaming seas, the grey warships, white foam springing from their bows, +tearing at high speed through the waves, formed a magnificent spectacle. +Crowds of the inhabitants of Stanley gathered upon the hills above the +town to view the chase. The excitement and enthusiasm were intense. The +vessels were in sight about two hours. At about a quarter past eleven it +was reported from a point in the south of East Falkland that three other +German ships were in sight. They were probably colliers or transports. +The _Bristol_ signalled the information to Admiral Sturdee. He at once +ordered her, with the armed liner _Macedonia_, to hasten in their +direction and destroy them. The newcomers made off to south-west, and +the British followed. Meanwhile the rest of the squadron, now travelling +at twenty-three knots, were slowly closing upon the enemy. The distance +had narrowed to 15-16,000 yards. The British were within striking +range. Nevertheless, Sturdee decided to wait till after dinner before +engaging. His guns could outdistance those of the enemy. It would be +advisable for him to keep at long range. The Germans, on the other hand, +would be forced, when firing commenced, to alter course and draw in, in +order to bring their own guns into play. The men had their midday meal +at twelve o'clock as usual. It is said that comfortable time was allowed +afterwards for a smoke. The _Invincible_, _Inflexible_, and _Glasgow_ at +about 12.30 increased their speed to between twenty-five and +twenty-eight knots, and went on ahead. Just after a quarter to one there +was a signal from the Admiral: 'Open fire and engage the enemy.' A few +minutes later there were sharp commands. The ranges were signalled, and +the bigger guns were laid. Fiery glares and dense clouds of smoke burst +suddenly from their muzzles. The air quivered with their thunder. Shells +went screaming in the direction of the nearest light cruiser, the +_Leipzig_, which was dropping rapidly astern. The firing was +uncomfortably accurate. The three smaller German cruisers very soon left +the line, and made an attempt, veering off to the south, to scatter and +escape. Flame and smoke issued from the _Leipzig_, before she drew +clear, where a shell had struck. Sir Doveton Sturdee directed the +_Glasgow_, _Kent_, and _Cornwall_ to pursue the German light cruisers. +With his remaining vessels, the _Invincible_, the _Inflexible_, and the +slower _Carnarvon_, he turned upon the _Scharnhorst_ and the +_Gneisenau_, and began operations in earnest. + +[Sidenote: The _Scharnhorst_ on fire.] + +[Sidenote: The _Scharnhorst_ sinks.] + +[Sidenote: The _Gneisenau_ goes down.] + +The interval of sunlight which had opened the day with such promise was +of short duration. The sky became overcast. Soon after four o'clock the +air was thick with rain-mist. From 1.15 onwards for three hours a fierce +duel was maintained between the two British battle-cruisers and the two +German armoured cruisers. The enemy made every effort to get away. They +replied to the British fire for some time, having dropped back to within +13,500 yards. But shortly after two o'clock they changed their course, +and began to haul out to south-east. The _Invincible_ and the +_Inflexible_ had eased their speed, and the range now widened by about +3,000 yards. A second chase ensued. A full-rigged sailing-ship appeared +in the distance at about a quarter to three. Her crew must have beheld +an awe-inspiring scene. Shortly before the hour firing recommenced. The +action began to develop. Great coolness and efficiency were shown on +board the British vessels. Every man was at his battle-station, behind +armour. Fire-control parties were at their instruments. Water from +numerous hoses was flooding the decks as a precaution against fire. The +roaring of the discharges, the screaming of the shells, the clangour of +metal upon metal, the crashes of the explosions, made up a tumult that +was painful in its intensity. During intervals in the firing came the +rushing of the waves and of the breeze, and the grinding and grunting of +the hydraulic engines in the turrets, where swung, training constantly +upon the enemy, the greater guns. The Germans soon began to show signs +of distress. The _Scharnhorst_ particularly suffered. Dense clouds of +smoke, making it difficult for the British accurately to gauge the +damage, rose from her decks. Shells rending her side disclosed +momentarily the dull red glow of flame. She was burning fiercely. The +firing on both sides was deadly, though the German had slackened +considerably. But the British vessels, through their preponderance in +gunfire, suffered little damage. Their 12-inch guns hit their marks +constantly, while 8.2-inch guns of the _Scharnhorst_ were accurate, but +ineffective. She veered to starboard at about 3.30, to bring into play +her starboard batteries. Both her masts and three of her four funnels +were shot away. At length the German flagship began to settle down +rapidly in the waters. It was about a quarter past four. There was a +swirl of the seas and a rush of steam and smoke. The _Scharnhorst_ +disappeared. She went down with her flag flying to an ocean grave, +bearing 760 brave men and a gallant admiral, whose name will deservedly +rank high in the annals of German naval history. The _Gneisenau_ passed +on the far side of her sunken flagship. With the guns of both +battle-cruisers now bearing upon her alone, the German was soon in sore +straits. But she fought on gallantly for a considerable time. At +half-past five she had ceased firing, and appeared to be sinking. She +had suffered severe damage. Smoke and steam were rising everywhere. Her +bridge had been shot away. Her foremost funnel was resting against the +second. Her upper deck was so shattered that it could not be crossed, +and every man upon it had been killed. An exploding shell had hurled one +of the gun-turrets bodily overboard. Fire was raging aft. Her colours +had been shot away several times, and hoisted as often. One of the flags +was hauled down at about twenty to six, though that at the peak was +still flying. She began to fire again with a single gun. The +_Invincible_, the _Inflexible_, and the _Carnarvon_, which had now come +up, closed in upon the doomed vessel. Firing was recommenced. The +_Gneisenau_ was not moving. Both her engines were smashed. Shells +striking the water near her sent up colossal columns of water, which, +falling upon the ship, put out some of the fires. She soon began to +settle down in the waves. All her guns were now out of action, and +Sturdee ordered the "Cease fire". There could be little doubt that her +stubborn resistance was nearing its end. The German commander lined up +his men on the decks. The ammunition was exhausted. The ship would soon +go down. Some six hundred men had already been killed. The survivors had +better provide themselves with articles for their support in the water. +At six o'clock the _Gneisenau_ heeled over suddenly. Clouds of steam +sprang forth. Her stem swung up into the air, and she sank. Large +numbers of her crew could be seen floating in the icy waves, hanging on +to pieces of wreckage, and uttering terribly uncanny cries. The sea was +choppy. Drizzling rain was falling. The British steamed up immediately. +All undamaged boats were got out. Ropes were lowered. Lifebuoys and +spars were thrown to the drowning men. But many of them, numbed by the +freezing water, let go their hold and sank. About 180, among them the +captain of the _Gneisenau_, were saved. It is said that much agreeable +surprise, upon the discovery that their anticipations of being shot +would not be realized, was manifested by the German sailors. + +[Sidenote: The _Eitel Friedrich_ escapes.] + +[Sidenote: The _Leipzig_ is sunk.] + +Meanwhile, battle had been in progress elsewhere. The _Bristol_ and the +_Macedonia_ had overtaken the transports _Baden_ and _Santa Isabel_, had +captured their crews, and had sunk the ships. The armed liner +accompanying them, the _Eitel Friedrich_, had, however, made off and got +away by means of her superior speed. The _Kent_, _Glasgow_ and +_Cornwall_ had pursued the German light cruisers in a southerly +direction. The _Dresden_, the fastest, proved too speedy a vessel to +overtake. She was ahead of her consorts, upon either quarter, and made +her escape whilst they were being engaged. The _Kent_ gave chase to the +_Nuernberg_. The _Glasgow_, in pursuit of the _Leipzig_, raced ahead of +the _Cornwall_, and by about three o'clock in the afternoon had closed +sufficiently, within 12,000 yards, to open fire with her foremost guns. +The German ship turned every now and then to fire a salvo. Soon a +regular battle began which was maintained for some hours. Shells fell +all around the _Glasgow_. There were several narrow escapes, but the +casualties were few. Shortly after six a wireless message was received +from Admiral Sturdee, announcing that the _Scharnhorst_ and the +_Gneisenau_ had been sunk. A cheer surged up, and the men set to work +with renewed spirits and energy. The _Cornwall_ had come up some time +before, and the _Leipzig_ was now severely damaged. But she fought on +for three more hours. Darkness came on. The German cruiser began to burn +fore and aft. It was nine o'clock before she at last turned over and +sank. + +[Sidenote: The _Kent_ returns.] + +[Sidenote: Sinking of the _Nuernberg_.] + +The British vessels had, during the course of the action, steamed miles +apart, and far out of sight of land. During the evening and night they +began to get into touch with one another and with Stanley by means of +their wireless. All the ships except the _Kent_ were accounted for, and +reported all well. But no reply was forthcoming to the numerous calls, +"Kent, Kent, Kent", that were sent out. She had, in chase of the +_Nuernberg_, lost all touch with the rest of the squadron. There was +great uneasiness. It was feared that she had been lost. The other ships +were directed to search for her, and for the _Nuernberg_ and the +_Dresden_. Late in the afternoon of the following day, however, she +entered Stanley harbour safely. Her wireless had been destroyed, but she +had sunk the _Nuernberg_, after a very stern struggle. The German +captain, Schoenberg, is reported, indeed, to have said at Honolulu, "The +_Nuernberg_ will very likely be our coffin. But we are ready to fight to +the last". He had fought and died true to his words. The German ship was +ordinarily more than a knot faster than the British. But the engineers +and stokers of the _Kent_ rose magnificently to the occasion. Fuel was +piled high. Her engines were strained to the utmost. Soon she was +speeding through the waves at twenty-five knots, a knot and a half more +than her registered speed. The _Nuernberg_ drew nearer. At five o'clock +she was within range, and firing was opened. A sharp action began which +lasted some two and a half hours. The _Kent_ was struck many times, and +lost several men. She had one narrow escape. A bursting shell ignited +some cordite charges, and a flash of flame went down the hoist into the +ammunition passage. Some empty shell bags began to burn. But a sergeant +picked up a cordite charge and hurled it out of danger. Seizing a fire +hose, he flooded the compartment and extinguished the fire. A disastrous +explosion, which might have proved fatal to the vessel, was thus +averted. Her silken ensign and jack, presented by the ladies of Kent, +were torn to ribbons. The gallant captain collected the pieces, some +being caught in the rigging, and carefully preserved them. The +_Nuernberg_, however, was soon in sore straits. Many shells struck her, +and she was set afire. Day drew into evening, and darkness deepened. The +Germans ceased firing, and the _Kent_, within about 3,000 yards, +followed suit upon the enemy's colours being hauled down. The _Nuernberg_ +sank just before half-past seven. As she disappeared beneath the +surface, men upon her quarterdeck were waving the German ensign. The +_Kent_, after picking up some survivors, put about, and returned to +Stanley. + +Here the rest of the squadron soon gathered. Congratulatory telegrams +began to pour in to Sir Doveton Sturdee. And the curtain closed, in the +flush of triumph, upon the most memorable and most dramatic episode in +the history of the Falklands. + +[Sidenote: Exploits of the _Eitel Friedrich_.] + +[Sidenote: The _Eitel Friedrich_ comes to Newport News.] + +[Sidenote: The _Dresden_ sinks.] + +One further episode remains to complete the story. The _Dresden_ and +the armed liner _Eitel Friedrich_, the sole survivors of the German +squadron, made once more for the Pacific. They were lost sight of for +many weeks. Suspicious movements and activities on the part of German +merchantmen were, however, again observed. The Government wireless +station at Valparaiso intercepted messages from the _Dresden_ summoning +friendly vessels to bring her supplies. Persistent rumours began to be +circulated that she was hiding in the inlets of southern Chili. During +January, 1915, the _Eitel Friedrich_ seized and destroyed six vessels, +chiefly sailing-ships, some in Pacific, most in Atlantic waters. In +February she accounted for four more. Towards the end of the month a +British barque was sunk by the _Dresden_. The position was again rapidly +becoming troublesome. The movement of British shipping, on the Chilian +coast had to be suspended. But the _Glasgow_ and the _Kent_ were on the +_Dresden's_ track. The _Kent_ entered Coronel on March 13, coaled, and +departed the same night. The _Eitel Friedrich_, meanwhile, had arrived +at Newport News, a United States port, with her engines badly in need of +repair. Much indignation was aroused among Americans by the announcement +that one of her victims had been an American vessel. The German liner +had many prisoners on board. Declarations of a resolve, if he had been +caught by the British, to have sunk fighting to the last, were +repeatedly and emphatically declaimed by the German captain. Five days +later he learned that the _Dresden_ had tamely surrendered off Juan +Fernandez after a five minutes' action. The _Kent_, at nine o'clock on +the morning after she had left Coronel, together with the _Glasgow_ and +the auxiliary cruiser _Orama_, came up with the _Dresden_ near the +island. A sharp encounter followed. The German cruiser was hit heavily. +Fire broke out. In five minutes' time she hauled down her colours and +hoisted a white flag. The crew were taken off. The _Dresden_ continued +to burn for some time, until finally her magazine exploded and she sank. +The German officers contended that their vessel was sunk within Chilian +territorial waters. It had not hitherto been noticeable that their +consciences were concerned to maintain Chilian neutrality inviolate. + +[Sidenote: Results of the Falkland battle.] + +The Battle of the Falkland Islands was the first decisive naval contest +of the war. It removed a formidable menace to the trade routes. It +relieved British convoys and transports from danger of interruption. It +freed many battleships and cruisers, engaged in sweeping the oceans, for +other usefulness. It gave Great Britain effective mastery of the outer +seas. Henceforth German naval ambition, frustrated in its endeavour to +disorganize the trade routes, was forced, within the limits of the North +Sea and of British waters, to seek less adventurous but more +disreputable ends. A series of bombardments of coast towns was planned. +A preliminary success was followed by a galling disaster. + + * * * * * + +With the exception of the naval engagements described above, the +operations of the Germans in the sea was limited chiefly to preying upon +enemy commerce by isolated vessels. Of these terrors of the sea the most +famous was the cruiser _Emden_, which began her career on October 29 by +sinking the Russian cruiser _Jemtchug_ in Penang Harbor. Her career +until her destruction and the adventures of those of her crew who +escaped are described in the following chapter. + + + + +CRUISE OF THE EMDEN + +CAPTAIN MUeCKE + + +[Sidenote: The _Indus_ sunk.] + +"We on the _Emden_ had no idea where we were going, as on August 11, +1914, we separated from the cruiser squadron, escorted only by the +coaler _Markomannia_. Under way, the _Emden_ picked up three officers +from German steamers. That was a piece of luck, for afterward we needed +many officers for the capturing and sinking of steamers, or manning them +when we took them with us. On September 10 the first boat came in sight. +We stop her. She proves to be a Greek tramp, chartered from England. On +the next day we met the _Indus_, bound for Bombay, all fitted up as a +troop transport, but still without troops. That was the first one we +sunk. The crew we took aboard the _Markomannia_. 'What's the name of +your ship?' the officers asked us. '_Emden!_ Impossible. Why, the +_Emden_ was sunk long ago in battle with the _Ascold_!' + +[Sidenote: Capturing ships a habit.] + +[Sidenote: Provisions secured.] + +"Then we sank the _Lovat_ a troop transport ship, and took the _Kabinga_ +along with us. One gets used quickly to new forms of activity. After a +few days capturing ships became a habit. Of the twenty-three which we +captured, most of them stopped after our first signal. When they didn't, +we fired a blank shot. Then they all stopped. Only one, the _Clan +Mattesen_, waited for a real shot across the bow before giving up its +many automobiles and locomotives to the seas. The officers were mostly +very polite and let down rope ladders for us. After a few hours they'd +be on board with us. We ourselves never set foot in their cabins, nor +took charge of them. The officers often acted on their own initiative +and signaled to us the nature of their cargo; then the Commandant +decided as to whether to sink the ship or take it with us. Of the cargo, +we always took everything we could use, particularly provisions. Many of +the English officers and sailors made good use of the hours of transfer +to drink up the supply of whisky instead of sacrificing it to the waves. +I heard that one Captain was lying in tears at the enforced separation +from his beloved ship, but on investigation found that he was merely +dead drunk. But much worse was the open betrayal which many practiced +toward their brother Captains, whom they probably regarded as rivals. +'Haven't you met the _Kilo_ yet? If you keep on your course two hours +longer, you must overhaul her,' one Captain said to me of his own +accord. To other tips from other Captains we owed many of our prizes. I +am prepared to give their names," Captain Muecke added. + +"The Captain of one ship once called out cheerily: 'Thank God I've been +captured!' He had received expense money for the trip to Australia, and +was now saved half the journey! + +[Sidenote: The process of sinking.] + +"We had mostly quiet weather, so that communication with captured ships +was easy. They were mostly dynamited, or else shot close to the water +line. The sinking process took longer or shorter, according to where +they were struck and the nature of the cargo. Mostly the ships keeled +over on their sides till the water flowed down the smokestacks, a last +puff of smoke came out, and then they were gone. Many, however, went +down sharply bow first, the stern rising high in the air. + +[Sidenote: The _Kabinga_.] + +"On the _Kabinga_ the Captain had his wife and youngster with him. He +was inclined at first to be disagreeable. 'What are you going to do +with us? Shall we be set out in boats and left to our fate?' he asked. +Afterward he grew confidential, like all the Captains, called us 'Old +Chap,' gave the Lieutenant a nice new oilskin, and as we finally let the +_Kabinga_ go wrote us a letter of thanks, and his wife asked for an +Emden armband and a button. They all gave us three cheers as they +steamed away. 'Come to Calcutta some time!' was the last thing the +Captain said, 'and catch the pilots so that those [unprintable seaman's +epithet] fellows will feel something of the war, too.' + +"A few days later, by Calcutta, we made one of our richest hauls, the +_Diplomat_, chock full of tea--we sunk $2,500,000 worth. On the same day +the _Trabbotch_, too, which steered right straight toward us, literally +into our arms. + +[Sidenote: Madras oil tanks burned.] + +"But now we wanted to beat it out of the Bay of Bengal, because we had +learned from the papers that the _Emden_ was being keenly searched for. +By Rangoon we encountered a Norwegian tramp, which, for a cash +consideration, took over all the rest of our prisoners of war. Later on +another neutral ship rejected a similar request and betrayed us to the +Japanese into the bargain. On September 23 we reached Madras and steered +straight for the harbor. We stopped still 3,000 yards before the city. +Then we shot up the oil tanks. Three or four burned up and illuminated +the city. They answered. Several of the papers asserted that we left +with lights out. On the contrary, we showed our lights so as to seem to +indicate that we were going northward; only later did we put them out, +turn around, and steer southward. As we left we could see the fire +burning brightly in the night, and even by daylight, ninety sea miles +away, we could still see the smoke from the burning oil tanks. Two days +later we navigated around Ceylon, and could see the lights of Colombo. +On the same evening we gathered in two more steamers, the _King Lund_ +and _Tyweric_. The latter was particularly good to us, for it brought us +the very latest evening papers from Colombo, which it had only left two +hours before. + +[Sidenote: Ships that the _Emden_ captured.] + +"Everything went well, the only trouble was that our prize, the +_Markomannia_, didn't have much coal left. We said one evening in the +mess: 'The only thing lacking now is a nice steamer with 500 tons of +nice Cardiff coal.' The next evening we got her, the _Burresk_, +brand-new, from England on her maiden voyage, bound for Hongkong. Then +followed in order the _Riberia_, _Foyle_, _Grand Ponrabbel_, _Benmore_, +_Troiens_, _Exfort_, _Grycefale_, _Sankt Eckbert_, _Chilkana_. Most of +them were sunk; the coal ships were kept. The _Eckbert_ was let go with +a load of passengers and captured crews. We also sent the _Markomannia_ +away because it hadn't any more coal. She was later captured by the +English together with all the prize papers about their own captured +ships. All this happened before October 20; then we sailed southward, to +Deogazia, southwest of Colombo. South of Lakadiven on Deogazia some +Englishmen came on board, solitary farmers who were in touch with the +world only every three months through schooners. They knew nothing about +the war, took us for an English man-of-war, and asked us to repair their +motor boat for them. We kept still and invited them to dinner in our +officers' mess. Presently they stood still in front of the portrait of +the Kaiser, quite astounded. 'This is a German ship!' We continued to +keep still. 'Why is your ship so dirty?' they asked. We shrugged our +shoulders. 'Will you take some letters for us?' they asked. 'Sorry, +impossible; we don't know what port we'll run into.' Then they left our +ship, but about the war we told them not a single word. + +[Sidenote: Coal steamers captured.] + +"Now we went toward Miniko, where we sank two ships more. The Captain of +one of them said to us: 'Why don't you try your luck around north of +Miniko? There's lots of ships there now?' On the next day we found three +steamers to the north, one of them with much desired Cardiff coal. From +English papers on captured ships we learned that we were being hotly +pursued. The stokers also told us a lot. Our pursuers evidently must +also have a convenient base. Penang was the tip given us. There we had +hopes of finding two French cruisers. + +[Sidenote: The fourth smokestack.] + +"One night we started for Penang. On October 28 we raised our very +practicable fourth smokestack--Muecke's own invention. As a result, we +were taken for English or French. The harbor of Penang lies in a channel +difficult of access. There was nothing doing by night; we had to do it +at daybreak. At high speed, without smoke, with lights out, we steered +into the mouth of the channel. A torpedo boat on guard slept well. We +steamed past its small light. Inside lay a dark silhouette; that must be +a warship! But it wasn't the French cruiser we were looking for. We +recognized the silhouette--dead sure; that was the Russian cruiser +_Jemtchug_. There it lay, there it slept like a rat. No watch to be +seen. They made it easy for us. Because of the narrowness of the harbor +we had to keep close; we fired the first torpedo at 400 yards. Then to +be sure things livened up a bit on the sleeping warship. At the same +time we took the crew quarters under fire, five shells at a time. There +was a flash of flame on board, then a kind of burning aureole. After the +fourth shell, the flame burned high. The first torpedo had struck the +ship too deep because we were too close to it, a second torpedo which we +fired off from the other side didn't make the same mistake. After +twenty seconds there was absolutely not a trace of the ship to be seen. +The enemy had fired off only about six shots. + +[Sidenote: French ships fight the _Emden_.] + +[Sidenote: A burial at sea.] + +"But now another ship, which we couldn't see, was firing. That was the +French _D'Ibreville_, toward which we now turned at once. A few minutes +later an incoming torpedo destroyer was reported. He mustn't find us in +that narrow harbor, otherwise we were finished! But it proved to be a +false alarm; only a small merchant steamer that looked like a destroyer, +and which at once showed the merchant flag and steered for shore. +Shortly afterward a second one was reported. This time it proved to be +the French torpedo boat _Mousquet_. It comes straight toward us. That's +always remained a mystery to me, for it must have heard the shooting. An +officer whom we fished up afterward explained to me that they had only +recognized we were a German warship when they were quite close to us. +The Frenchman behaved well, accepted battle and fought on, but was +polished off by us with three broadsides. The whole fight with both +ships lasted half an hour. The commander of the torpedo boat lost both +legs by the first broadside. When he saw that part of his crew were +leaping overboard, he cried out: 'Tie me fast; I will not survive after +seeing Frenchmen desert their ship!' As a matter of fact, he went down +with his ship as a brave Captain, lashed fast to the mast. Then we +fished up thirty heavily wounded; three died at once. We sewed a +Tri-color (the French flag), wound them in it and buried them at sea, +with seamen's honors, three salvos. That was my only sea fight. The +second one I did not take part in." + +Muecke, who had been recounting his lively narrative, partly like an +officer, partly like an artist, and not trying to eliminate the flavor +of adventure, now takes on quite another tone as he comes to tell of +the end of the _Emden_: + +[Sidenote: Landing on Cocos Island.] + +[Sidenote: Order to weigh anchor.] + +"On November 9 I left the _Emden_ in order to destroy the wireless plant +on the Cocos Island. I had fifty men, four machine guns, about thirty +rifles. Just as we were about to destroy the apparatus it reported: +'Careful; _Emden_ near.' The work of destruction went smoothly. The +wireless operator said: 'Thank God! it's been like being under arrest +day and night lately.' Presently the _Emden_ signaled to us: 'Hurry up.' +I pack up, but simultaneously wails the _Emden's_ siren. I hurry up to +the bridge, see the flag 'Anna' go up. That means 'Weigh anchor.' We ran +like mad into our boat, but already the _Emden's_ pennant goes up, the +battle flag is raised, they fire from starboard. + +[Sidenote: The _Sydney_ traps the _Emden_.] + +"The enemy is concealed by the island and therefore not to be seen, but +I see the shells strike the water. To follow and catch the _Emden_ is +out of the question; she's going twenty knots, I only four with my steam +pinnace. Therefore, I turn back to land, raise the flag, declare German +laws of war in force, seize all arms, set up my machine guns on shore in +order to guard against a hostile landing. Then I run again in order to +observe the fight. From the splash of the shells it looked as if the +enemy had fifteen-centimeter guns, bigger, therefore, than the +_Emden's_. He fired rapidly, but poorly. It was the Australian cruiser +_Sydney_." + +"Have you heard?" Muecke suddenly asked in between, "if anything has +happened to the _Sydney_? At the Dardanelles maybe?" And his hatred of +the _Emden's_ "hangman" is visible for a second in his blue eyes. Then +he continues: + +[Sidenote: The _Emden_ on fire.] + +"According to the accounts of the Englishmen who saw the first part of +the engagement from shore, the _Emden_ was cut off rapidly. Her forward +smokestack lay across the ship. She went over to circular fighting and +to torpedo firing, but already burned fiercely aft. Behind the mainmast +several shells struck home; we saw the high flame. Whether circular +fighting or a running fight now followed, I don't know, because I again +had to look to my land defenses. Later I looked on from the roof of a +house. Now the _Emden_ again stood out to sea about 4,000 to 5,000 +yards, still burning. As she again turned toward the enemy, the forward +mast was shot away. On the enemy no outward damage was apparent, but +columns of smoke showed where shots had struck home. Then the _Emden_ +took a northerly course, likewise the enemy, and I had to stand there +helpless gritting my teeth and thinking: 'Damn it; the _Emden_ is +burning and you aren't on board!' An Englishman who had also climbed up +to the roof of the house, approached me, greeted me politely, and asked: +'Captain, would you like to have a game of tennis with us?' + +[Sidenote: The fighting ships disappear.] + +"The ships, still fighting, disappeared beyond the horizon. I thought +that an unlucky outcome for the _Emden_ was possible, also a landing by +the enemy on Keeling Island, at least for the purpose of landing the +wounded and taking on provisions. As, according to the statements of the +Englishmen, there were other ships in the neighborhood, I saw myself +faced with the certainty of having soon to surrender because of a lack +of ammunition. But for no price did I and my men want to get into +English imprisonment. As I was thinking about all this, the masts again +appear on the horizon, the _Emden_ steaming easterly, but very much +slower. All at once the enemy, at high speed, shoots by, apparently, +quite close to the _Emden_. A high, white waterspout showed among the +black smoke of the enemy. That was a torpedo. I see how the two +opponents withdrew, the distance growing greater between them; how they +separate, till they disappear in the darkness. The fight had lasted ten +hours. + +[Sidenote: Muecke seizes a schooner.] + +"I had made up my mind to leave the island as quick as possible. The +_Emden_ was gone; the danger for us growing. In the harbor I had noticed +a three-master, the schooner _Ayesha_. Mr. Ross, the owner of the ship +and of the island, had warned me that the boat was leaky, but I found it +quite a seaworthy tub. Now quickly provisions were taken on board for +eight weeks, water for four. The Englishmen very kindly showed us the +best water and gave us clothing and utensils. They declared this was +their thanks for our 'moderation' and 'generosity.' Then they collected +the autographs of our men, photographed them, and gave three cheers as +our last boat put off. It was evening, nearly dark. We sailed away. +After a short address, amid three hurrahs, I raised the German war flag +on 'S.M.S. _Ayesha_.'" + +[Sidenote: The _Ayesha_ sails westward.] + +"The _Ayesha_ proved to be a really splendid ship," Muecke continued, and +whenever he happens to speak of this sailing ship he grows warmer. One +notices the passion for sailing which this seaman has, for he was +trained on a sailing ship and had won many prizes in the regattas at +Kiel. "But we had hardly any instruments," he narrated, "we had only one +sextant and two chronometers on board, but a chronometer journal was +lacking. Luckily I found an old 'Indian Ocean Directory' of 1882 on +board; its information went back to the year 1780. + +[Sidenote: En route to Padang.] + +"At first we had to overhaul all the tackle, for I didn't trust to +peace, and we had left the English Captain back on the island. I had +said: 'We are going to East Africa.' Therefore I sailed at first +westward, then northward. There followed the monsoons, but then also +long periods of dead calm. Then we scolded! Only two neutral ports came +seriously under consideration: Batavia and Padang. At Keeling I +cautiously asked about Tsing-tao, of which I had naturally thought +first, and so quite by chance learned that it had fallen. Now I decided +for Padang, because I knew I would be more apt to meet the _Emden_ +there, also because there was a German Consul there, because my schooner +was unknown there, and because I hoped to find German ships there and +learn some news. 'It'll take you six to eight days to reach Batavia,' a +Captain had told me at Keeling. Now we needed eighteen days to reach +Padang, the weather was so rottenly still. + +[Sidenote: Life on board the _Ayesha_.] + +"We had an excellent cook on board; he had deserted from the French +Foreign Legion. But with water we had to go sparingly, each man received +three glasses daily. When it rained, all possible receptacles were +placed on deck and the main sail was spread over the cabin roof to catch +the rain. The whole crew went about naked, in order to spare our wash, +for the clothing from Keeling was soon in rags. Toothbrushes were long +ago out of sight. One razor made the rounds of the crew. The entire ship +had one precious comb. + +[Sidenote: A Dutch torpedo boat.] + +"As at length we came in the neighborhood of Padang, on November 26, a +ship appeared for the first time and looked after our name. But the name +had been painted over, because it was the former English name. As I +think, 'You're rid of the fellow,' the ship comes again in the evening, +comes within a hundred yards of us. I send all men below deck. I +promenade the deck as the solitary skipper. Through Morse signals the +stranger betrayed its identity. It was the Hollandish torpedo boat +_Lyn_. I asked by signals, first in English, then twice in German: 'Why +do you follow me?' No answer. The next morning I find myself in +Hollandish waters, so I raise pennant and war flag. Now the _Lyn_ came +at top speed past us. As it passes, I have my men line up on deck, and +give a greeting. The greeting is answered. Then, before the harbor at +Padang, I went aboard the _Lyn_ in my well and carefully preserved +uniform and declared my intentions. The commandant opined that I could +run into the harbor, but whether I might come out again was doubtful." + +[Sidenote: A German ship.] + +"On the South Coast," interjected Lieutenant Wellman, who at that time +lay with a German ship before Padang and only later joined the landing +corps of the _Emden_, "we suddenly saw a three-master arrive. Great +excitement aboard our German ship, for the schooner carried the German +war flag. We thought she came from New Guinea and at once made all boats +clear, on the _Kleist_, _Rheinland_, and _Choising_, for we were all on +the search for the _Emden_. When we heard that the schooner carried the +landing corps, not a man of us would believe it." + +[Sidenote: Supplies are refused.] + +"They wanted to treat me as a prize!" Muecke now continued. "I said, 'I +am a man of war,' and pointed to my four machine guns. The harbor +authorities demanded a certification for pennant and war flag, also +papers to prove that I was the commander of this warship. I answered, +for that I was only responsible to my superior officers. Now they +advised me the most insistently to allow ourselves to be interned +peacefully. They said it wasn't at all pleasant in the neighborhood. +We'd fall into the hands of the Japanese or the English. As a matter of +fact, we had again had great luck. On the day before a Japanese warship +had cruised around here. Naturally, I rejected all the well-meant and +kindly advice, and did this in presence of my lieutenants. I demanded +provisions, water, sails, tackle, and clothing. They replied we could +take on board everything which we formerly had on board, but nothing +which would mean an increase in our naval strength. First thing, I +wanted to improve our wardrobe, for I had only one sock, a pair of +shoes, and one clean shirt, which had become rather seedy. My comrades +had even less. But the Master of the Port declined to let us have not +only charts, but also clothing and toothbrushes, on the ground that +these would be an increase of armament. Nobody could come aboard, nobody +could leave the ship without permission. I requested that the Consul be +allowed to come aboard. This Consul, Herr Schild, as also the Brothers +Baeumer, gave us assistance in the friendliest fashion. From the German +steamers boats could come alongside and talk with us. Finally we were +allowed to have German papers. They were, to be sure, from August. Until +March we saw no more papers. + +[Sidenote: The German ship _Choising_.] + +"Hardly had we been towed out again after twenty-four hours, on the +evening of the 28th, when a searchlight appeared before us. I think: +'Better interned than prisoner.' I put out all lights and withdrew to +the shelter of the island. But they were Hollanders and didn't do +anything to us. Then for two weeks more we drifted around, lying still +for days. The weather was alternately still, rainy and blowy. At length +a ship comes in sight--a freighter. It sees us and makes a big curve +around us. I make everything hastily 'clear for battle.' Then one of our +officers recognizes her for the _Choising_. She shows the German flag. I +send up light rockets, although it was broad day, and go with all sails +set that were still setable, toward her. The _Choising_ is a coaster, +from Hongkong for Siam. It was at Singapore when the war broke out, then +went to Batavia, was chartered loaded with coal for the _Emden_, and +had put into Padang in need, because the coal in the hold had caught +fire. There we had met her. + +[Sidenote: The crew board the _Choising_.] + +"Great was our joy now. I had all my men come on deck and line up for +review. The fellows hadn't a rag on. Thus, in Nature's garb, we gave +three cheers for the German flag on the _Choising_. The men on the +_Choising_ told us afterward 'we couldn't make out what that meant, +those stark naked fellows all cheering!' The sea was too high, and we +had to wait two days before we could board the _Choising_ on December +16. We took very little with us; the schooner was taken in tow. In the +afternoon we sunk the _Ayesha_ and we were all very sad. The good old +_Ayesha_ had served us faithfully for six weeks. The log showed that we +had made 1,709 sea miles under sail since leaving Keeling. She wasn't at +all rotten and unseaworthy, as they had told me, but nice and white and +dry inside. I had grown fond of the ship, on which I could practice my +old sailing manoeuvres. The only trouble was that the sails would go to +pieces every now and then because they were so old. + +[Sidenote: The _Ayesha_ is sunk.] + +"But anyway she went down quite properly, didn't she?" Muecke turned to +the officer. "We had bored a hole in her; she filled slowly and then all +of a sudden plump disappeared! That was the saddest day of the whole +month. We gave her three cheers, and my next yacht at Kiel will be named +_Ayesha_, that's sure. + +[Sidenote: Turkey an ally of Germany.] + +"To the Captain of the _Choising_ I had said, when I hailed him: 'I do +not know what will happen to the ship. The war situation may make it +necessary for me to strand it.' He did not want to undertake the +responsibility. I proposed that we work together, and I would take the +responsibility. Then we traveled together for three weeks, from Padang +to Hodeida. The _Choising_ was some ninety meters long and had a speed +of nine miles, though sometimes only four. If she had not accidentally +arrived I had intended to cruise high along the west coast of Sumatra to +the region of the northern monsoon. I came about six degrees north, then +over Aden to the Arabian coast. In the Red Sea the northeastern monsoon, +which here blows southeast, could bring us to Djidda. I had heard in +Padang that Turkey is allied with us, so we would be able to get safely +through Arabia to Germany. + +"I next waited for information through ships, but the _Choising_ did not +know anything definite, either. By way of the _Luchs_, the _Koenigsberg_, +and _Kormoran_ the reports were uncertain. Besides, according to +newspapers at Aden, the Arabs were said to have fought with the English. +Therein there seemed to be offered an opportunity near at hand to damage +the enemy. I therefore sailed with the _Choising_ in the direction of +Aden. Lieutenant Gerdts of the _Choising_ had heard that the Arabian +railway now already went almost to Hodeida, near the Perim Strait. The +ship's surgeon there, Docounlang, found confirmation of this in Meyer's +traveling handbook. This railway could not have been taken over by the +Englishmen, who always dreamed of it. By doing this they would have +further and completely wrought up the Mohammedans by making more +difficult the journey to Mecca. Best of all, we thought, we'll simply +step into the express train and whizz nicely away to the North Sea. +Certainly there would be safe journeying homeward through Arabia. To be +sure, we hadn't maps of the Red Sea; but it was the shortest way to the +foe, whether in Aden or in Germany. + +[Sidenote: On toward Aden.] + +"Therefore, courage! Adenwards!" + +[Sidenote: Through the Strait of Perim.] + +"On the 7th of January, between 9 and 10 o'clock in the evening, we +sneaked through the Strait of Perim. That lay swarming full of +Englishmen. We steered along the African coast, close past an English +cable layer. That is my prettiest delight--how the Englishmen will be +vexed when they learn that we have passed smoothly by Perim. On the next +evening we saw on the coast a few lights upon the water. We thought that +must be the pier of Hodeida. But when we measured the distance by night, +3,000 meters, I began to think that must be something else. At dawn I +made out two masts and four smokestacks; that was an enemy ship, and, +what is more, an armored French cruiser. I therefore ordered the +_Choising_ to put to sea, and to return at night. + +[Sidenote: Muecke's party enters Hodeida.] + +"The next day and night the same; then we put out four boats--these we +pulled to shore at sunrise under the eyes of the unsuspecting Frenchmen. +The sea reeds were thick. A few Arabs came close to us; then there +ensued a difficult negotiation with the Arabian Coast Guards. For we did +not even know whether Hodeida was in English or French hands. We waved +to them, laid aside our arms, and made signs to them. The Arabs, +gathering together, begin to rub two fingers together; that means 'We +are friends.' We thought that meant 'We are going to rub against you and +are hostile.' I therefore said: 'Boom-boom!' and pointed to the warship. +At all events, I set up my machine guns and made preparations for a +skirmish. But, thank God! one of the Arabs understood the word +'Germans'; that was good. + +"Soon a hundred Arabs came and helped us, and as we marched into Hodeida +the Turkish soldiers, who had been called out against us, saluted us as +allies and friends. To be sure, there was not a trace of a railway, but +we were received very well, and they assured us we could get through by +land. Therefore, I gave red-star signals at night, telling the +_Choising_ to sail away, since the enemy was near by. Inquiries and +determination concerning a safe journey by land proceeded. I also heard +that in the interior, about six days' journey away, there was healthy +highland where our fever invalids could recuperate. I therefore +determined to journey next to Sana. On the Kaiser's birthday we held a +great parade in common with the Turkish troops--all this under the noses +of the Frenchmen. On the same day we marched away from Hodeida to the +highland. + +"Two months after our arrival at Hodeida we again put to sea. The time +spent in the highlands of Sana passed in lengthy inquiries and +discussions that finally resulted in our foregoing the journey by land +through Arabia, for religious reasons. But the time was not altogether +lost. The men who were sick with malaria had, for the most part, +recuperated in the highland air. + +[Sidenote: To sea in sambuks.] + +"The Turkish Government placed at our disposal two 'sambuks' (sailing +ships) of about twenty-five tons, fifteen meters long and four meters +wide. But in fear of English spies, we sailed from Jebaua, ten miles +north of Hodeida. That was on March 14. At first we sailed at a +considerable distance apart, so that we would not both go to pot if an +English gunboat caught us. Therefore, we always had to sail in coastal +water. That is full of coral reefs, however." + +[Sidenote: One sambuk runs on a reef.] + +"The Commander," Lieutenant Gerdts said, "had charge of the first +sambuk; I of the second, which was the larger of the two, for we had +four sick men aboard. At first everything went nicely for three days. +For the most part I could see the sails of the first ship ahead of me. +On the third day I received orders to draw nearer and to remain in the +vicinity of the first boat, because its pilot was sailing less +skillfully than mine. Suddenly, in the twilight, I felt a shock, then +another, and still another. The water poured in rapidly. I had run upon +the reef of a small island, where the smaller sambuk was able barely to +pass because it had a foot less draught than mine. Soon my ship was +quite full, listed over, and all of us--twenty-eight men--had to sit on +the uptilted edge of the boat. The little island lies at Jesirat Marka, +200 miles north of Jebaua. To be sure, an Arab boat lay near by, but +they did not know us. Nobody could help us. If the Commander had not +changed the order a few hours before and asked us to sail up closer, we +would probably have drowned on this coral reef--certainly would have +died of thirst. Moreover, the waters thereabouts are full of sharks, and +the evening was so squally that our stranded boat was raised and banged +with every wave. We could scarcely move, and the other boat was nowhere +in sight. And now it grew dark. At this stage I began to build a raft of +spars and old pieces of wood, that might at all events keep us afloat. + +[Sidenote: The crew finally rescued.] + +[Sidenote: Machine guns brought up.] + +"But soon the first boat came into sight again. The commander turned +about and sent over his little canoe; in this and in our own canoe, in +which two men could sit at each trip, we first transferred the sick. Now +the Arabs began to help us. But just then the tropical helmet of our +doctor suddenly appeared above the water in which he was standing up to +his ears. Thereupon the Arabs withdrew; we were Christians, and they did +not know that we were friends. Now the other sambuk was so near that we +could have swam to it in half an hour, but the seas were too high. At +each trip a good swimmer trailed along, hanging to the painter of the +canoe. When it became altogether dark we could not see the boat any +more, for over there they were prevented by the wind from keeping any +light burning. My men asked 'In what direction shall we swim?' I +answered: 'Swim in the direction of this or that star; that must be +about the direction of the boat.' Finally a torch flared up over +there--one of the torches that were still left from the _Emden_. But we +had suffered considerably through submersion. One sailor cried out: 'Oh, +pshaw! it's all up with us now; that's a searchlight.' The man who held +out best was Lieutenant Schmidt, who later lost his life. About 10 +o'clock we were all safe aboard, but one of our typhus patients, Seaman +Keil, wore himself out completely by the exertion; he died a week later. +On the next morning we went over again to the wreck in order to seek the +weapons that had fallen into the water. You see, the Arabs dive so well; +they fetched up a considerable lot--both machine guns, all but ten of +the rifles, though these were, to be sure, all full of water. Later they +frequently failed to go off when they were used in firing. + +[Sidenote: Sami Bey becomes guide.] + +"Now we numbered, together with the Arabs, seventy men on the little +boat, until evening. Then we anchored before Konfida, and met Sami Bey, +who is still with us. He had shown himself useful even before in the +service of the Turkish Government, and has done good service as guide in +the last two months. He is an active man, thoroughly familiar with the +country. He procured for us a larger boat, of fifty-four tons, and he +himself, with his wife, sailed alongside on the little sambuk. We sailed +from the 20th to the 24th unmolested to Lith. There Sami Bey announced +that three English ships were cruising about in order to intercept us. I +therefore advised traveling a bit overland. I disliked leaving the sea a +second time, but it had to be done." + +[Sidenote: Travelling overland.] + +"Lith is, to be sure, nothing but this," said Muecke, with a sweeping +gesture toward the desert through which we were traveling, "and +therefore it was very difficult to get up a caravan at once. We remained +aboard ship so long. We marched away on the 28th. We had only a vague +suspicion that the English might have agents here also. We could travel +only at night, and when we slept or camped around a spring, there was +only a tent for the sick men. Two days' march from Jeddah, the Turkish +Government, as soon as it had received news about us, sent us sixteen +good camels. + +[Sidenote: An attack.] + +"Suddenly, on the night of April 1, things became uneasy. I was riding +at the head of the column. All our shooting implements were cleared for +action, because there was danger of an attack by Bedouins, whom the +English here had bribed. When it began to grow a bit light, I already +thought: 'We're through for to-day'; for we were tired--had been riding +eighteen hours. Suddenly I saw a line flash up before me, and shots +whizzed over our heads. Down from the camels! Form a fighting line! You +know how quickly it becomes daylight here. The whole space around the +desert hillock was occupied. Now, up with your bayonets! Rush 'em! * * * +They fled, but returned again, this time from all sides. Several of the +gendarmes that had been given us as an escort are wounded; the machine +gun operator, Rademacher, falls, killed by a shot through his heart; +another is wounded; Lieutenant Schmidt, in the rear guard, is mortally +wounded--he has received a bullet in his chest and abdomen. + +[Sidenote: A flag of truce and a barricade.] + +"Suddenly they waved white cloths. The Sheik, to whom a part of our +camels belonged, went over to them to negotiate, then Sami Bey and his +wife. In the interim we quickly built a sort of wagon barricade, a +circular camp of camel saddles, rice and coffee sacks, all of which we +filled with sand. We had no shovels, and had to dig with our bayonets, +plates, and hands. The whole barricade had a diameter of about fifty +meters. Behind it we dug trenches, which we deepened even during the +skirmish. The camels inside had to lie down, and thus served very well +as cover for the rear of the trenches. Then an inner wall was +constructed, behind which we carried the sick men. In the very centre we +buried two jars of water, to guard us against thirst. In addition we had +ten petroleum cans full of water; all told, a supply for four days. Late +in the evening Sami's wife came back from the futile negotiations, +alone. She had unveiled for the first and only time on this day of the +skirmish, had distributed cartridges, and had conducted herself +faultlessly. + +[Sidenote: Death of Schmidt and Rademacher.] + +"Soon we were able to ascertain the number of the enemy. There were +about 300 men; we numbered fifty, with twenty-nine guns. In the night, +Lieutenant Schmidt died. We had to dig his grave with our hands and with +our bayonets, and to eliminate every trace above it, in order to protect +the body. Rademacher had been buried immediately after the skirmish, +both of them silently, with all honors. + +[Sidenote: The men suffer from thirst.] + +"The wounded had a hard time of it. We had lost our medicine chest in +the wreck; we had only little packages of bandages for skirmishes; but +no probing instrument, no scissors were at hand. On the next day our men +came up with thick tongues, feverish, and crying 'Water! water!' But +each one received only a little cupful three times a day. If our water +supply was exhausted, we would have to sally from our camp and fight our +way through. Then we should have gone to pot under superior numbers. The +Arab gendarmes simply cut the throats of those camels that had been +wounded by shots, and then drank the yellow water that was contained in +the stomachs. Those fellows can stand anything. At night we always +dragged out the dead camels that had served as cover, and had been +shot. The hyenas came, hunting for dead camels. I shot one of these, +taking it for an enemy in the darkness. + +"That continued about three days. On the third day there were new +negotiations. Now the Bedouins demanded arms no longer, but only money. +This time the negotiations took place across the camp wall. When I +declined, the Bedouin said: 'Beaucoup de combat,' (lots of fight.) I +replied: + +"'Please go to it!' + +[Sidenote: Troops of the Emir of Mecca.] + +"We had only a little ammunition left, and very little water. Now it +really looked as if we would soon be dispatched. The mood of the men was +pretty dismal. Suddenly, at about 10 o'clock in the morning, there +bobbed up in the north two riders on camels, waving white cloths. Soon +afterward there appeared, coming from the same direction, far back, a +long row of camel troops, about a hundred; they draw rapidly near by, +ride singing toward us, in a picturesque train. They were the messengers +and troops of the Emir of Mecca. + +"Sami Bey's wife, it developed, had, in the course of the first +negotiations, dispatched an Arab boy to Jeddah. From that place the +Governor had telegraphed to the Emir. The latter at once sent camel +troops, with his two sons and his personal surgeon; the elder, Abdullah, +conducted the negotiations; the surgeon acted as interpreter, in French. +Now things proceeded in one-two-three order, and the whole Bedouin band +speedily disappeared. From what I learned later, I know definitely that +they had been corrupted with bribes by the English. They knew when and +where we would pass and they had made all preparations. Now our first +act was a rush for water; then we cleared up our camp, but had to +harness our camels ourselves, for the camel drivers had fled at the +very beginning of the skirmish. More than thirty camels were dead. The +saddles did not fit, and my men know how to rig up schooners, but not +camels. Much baggage remained lying in the sand for lack of pack +animals. + +[Sidenote: The party reaches Mecca.] + +"Then, under the safe protection of Turkish troops, we got to Jeddah. +There the authorities and the populace received us very well. From there +we proceeded in nineteen days, without mischance, by sailing boat to +Elwesh, and under abundant guard with Suleiman Pasha in a five-day +caravan journey toward this place, to El Ula, and now we are seated at +last in the train and are riding toward Germany--into the war at last!" + +"Was not the war you had enough?" I asked. + +"Not a bit of it," replied the youngest Lieutenant; "the _Emden_ simply +captured ships each time; only a single time, at Penang, was it engaged +in battle, and I wasn't present on that occasion. War? No, that is just +to begin for us now." + +[Sidenote: Muecke's great task.] + +"My task since November," said Muecke, "has been to bring my men as +quickly as possible to Germany against the enemy. Now, at last, I can do +so." + +"And what do you desire for yourself?" I asked. + +"For myself," he laughed, and the blue eyes sparkled, "a command in the +North Sea." + + * * * * * + +Japan was bound by alliance with Great Britain to join with her to +attack any aggressor, and to carry out her pledges she, at the outbreak +of the war, prepared to capture the German stronghold Tsing-tao, the +capital of the concession of Kiao-chau, which Germany had obtained from +China, and had converted into a German possession. + + + + +CAPTURE OF TSING-TAO + +A. N. HILDITCH + +Battle Sketches by A. N. Hilditch, Oxford University Press. + + +[Sidenote: Qualities of the Japanese.] + +[Sidenote: Count Okuma Prime Minister.] + +[Sidenote: Japanese ultimatum.] + +Tokyo, capital of Japan, lies at the head of Tokyo Bay, in the +south-east of Nippon. Its two million inhabitants are distributed among +houses and streets which present curious intermixtures of Japanese and +European architecture, customs, or science. The jinrikisha notably has +been displaced largely by tramcars which, carrying all passengers at a +uniform rate of four sen, make it possible to travel ten miles for a +penny. It is an industrial city, but on account of occasional +earthquakes no very large buildings line the thoroughfares. The +traveller can here observe to advantage the strange characteristics of +the most stoical race upon earth, or can contrast, if he will, the +courteous, imperturbably serene disposition of the most martial nation +of the East with the present disposition of the most rabidly bellicose +nation of the West. When Japanese and German, indeed, met in conflict +before Tsing-tao in the autumn of 1914, there was seen, in the Japanese +soldier, during a campaign of peculiar hardship and difficulty, a +revival of the qualities of the old Samurai, with his quiet courage, his +burning patriotism, his patience, his habitual suppression of emotional +display singularly distinct from those of the modern Goth. Nor was the +statesmanship which brought about that conflict less admirable. Japan's +alliance with Great Britain was at once a solemn pledge and the guiding +principle of her foreign policy. August 1914 found British interests +and the vast trade that centred at Hong-kong in danger: German armed +vessels prowled the seas, and the German naval base of Tsing-tao was +busy with warlike preparations. Great Britain appealed to Japan to free +their joint commerce from the menace. The Japanese Prime Minister, Count +Okuma, might well hesitate, however, before recommending intervention. +Was he the right minister to direct a war? He was nearer eighty than +seventy years old, and recently had been for seven years in retirement: +his Government had a minority in the Diet, and to the Genro his name was +anathema: he claimed the allegiance of no party, and the powerful +military and naval clans, Choshiu and Satsuma, were openly hostile. He +had been raised to power a few months before by public demand for +progressive government. There were considerations other than domestic or +personal, indeed, which might have tempted some statesmen to hold their +hands. To temporize while events revealed themselves in Europe would be +safer than immediate action; while to remain neutral might lead to the +transference to the Japanese of much trade with China now in British +hands, inevitably hampered by the menace of German commerce-destroyers. +Nevertheless, Count Okuma's Cabinet came to a bold and loyal decision. +Baron Kato, the Foreign Minister, reassured Great Britain of active +Japanese aid, and on August 15 sent an ultimatum to Germany. The latter +was requested to withdraw at once all German armed vessels from Eastern +waters, and to deliver to Japan before September 15 the entire leased +territory of Kiao-chau, with a view to its eventual restoration to +China. The ultimatum was timed to expire at noon on August 23. That day +arrived without satisfaction having been given to Japan. Within a few +hours the 2nd Japanese squadron steamed off towards Tsing-tao. + +[Sidenote: German Pacific squadron sails.] + +[Sidenote: Tsing-tao's importance.] + +[Sidenote: Germans prepare defense.] + +[Sidenote: Japanese warships approach.] + +Before the outbreak of hostilities with Great Britain, Vice-Admiral the +Graf von Spee, who commanded the German Pacific squadron, had steamed +away from Tsing-tao with most of his ships. To use Tsing-tao as a naval +base while engaging in commerce-raiding seemed a sound and a practicable +plan, since the British and Australian naval forces, though superior, +were hardly strong enough simultaneously to blockade the harbour and to +search the seas. The plan was, however, rendered impossible by the +Japanese ultimatum, and the Admiral, after having lingered for some +weeks in the Western Pacific, departed for other seas and other +adventures. Such was the result of Japan's action, and thus dangerous +were the tactics that Japan's action had frustrated. For Tsing-tao, +situated upon one of the two peninsulas, divided by two miles of +waterway, enclosing the bay of Kiao-chau, with its safe and spacious +anchorage for vessels of any size, constituted one of the most important +naval bases on the Chinese coast. It had, indeed, been described as the +key to Northern China. Dominating the eastern coast of the Shantung +peninsula, the port formed the centre of the semicircular area known as +Kiao-chau, extending on a radius of 32 miles around the shores of the +bay, with a population of 60,000. This area was, under the Chinese +German agreement as to Tsing-tao, influenced and controlled by Germany, +though not strictly subject to her, and regarded as neutral territory. +Its surface was mainly mountainous and bare, though the lowlands were +well cultivated, but in parts it was rich in mineral wealth, large but +undeveloped supplies of coal being present. In winter the port, +connected to the junction of Tsi-nan by a German-built railway, was the +natural outlet for the trade of Northern China. The heights which +surrounded the bay offered admirable sites for fortification, while the +land-approaches to Tsing-tao were guarded by formidable defences +stretched across its peninsula. In many quarters the stronghold was +regarded as a second Port Arthur. The Germans had paid particular +attention to defence, so much so, indeed, that over five-sixths of the +white inhabitants were engaged in military occupations. Five thousand +German marines constituted the normal garrison, though the outbreak of +war in August called about a thousand more men--volunteers, reservists, +and sailors--to the colours. The complement of the _Kaiserin Elizabeth_, +an Austrian cruiser sheltering in the harbour, left for Tientsin, having +received orders to disarm their ship, but returned in time to join the +defenders. The garrison was amply provisioned for five or six months, +and well provided with weapons, stores, and munitions. Most of the +German ships off the Chinese coast at the outbreak of war, indeed, had +made immediately for Tsing-tao, and discharged upon its wharves many +thousand tons of cargo. When war with Japan became inevitable, +therefore, the defenders could anticipate a successful resistance, +provided the expected instantaneous victories in Europe materialized. +Elaborate preparations were made for the defence. The harbour mouth was +blocked by three sunken vessels, enabling only small craft to enter. +Chinese villages within the leased territory, and the bridge where the +railway crossed the boundary, were destroyed, partial compensation being +paid to the inhabitants. Native labourers were engaged to throw up +earthworks to strengthen the town fortifications. Many foreigners, +women, children, and non-combatants, meanwhile, had left the town. On +Friday evening, August 21, at roll-call, the Governor, Captain +Meyer-Waldeck, read out a message from the German Emperor exhorting the +garrison to defend the town to their utmost, and to do their 'duty to +the last'. It was listened to stoically. The following day a diversion +occurred which opened hostilities propitiously for the Germans. The +British destroyer _Kennet_, encountering the German destroyer _S. 90_ +off the coast, gave chase. The _S. 90_ immediately made for port, and +the _Kennet_, in the ardour of pursuit, closed in unawares within range +of the German land batteries. The latter opened fire, and before she +could draw off the _Kennet_ sustained ten casualties, though little +material damage. Next day the term of the Japanese ultimatum expired. It +was doubtful at what point the Japanese would begin operations, or what +tactics they would adopt. The fear was prevalent among Germans that the +enemy would enter Chinese territory to reach the town from the land: +newspapers under German influence, indeed, circulating in Chinese coast +towns, started a press campaign with the object of stirring the Chinese +Government to oppose by force any Japanese landing in her territory. +Outposts were placed by the Germans along the shores of the neutral zone +to watch for developments: they descried, on August 24, the approach of +Japanese warships. + +Vice-Admiral Sadakichi Kato, who commanded the approaching squadron, +immediately upon arrival took measures to protect himself against danger +from mines. Seven islets clustering round the mouth of Kiao-chau Bay +were occupied, to form a convenient local naval base, while +mine-sweepers swept the surrounding seas. No less than a thousand mines +were taken from the water. A blockade of the whole Kiao-chau coast was +declared, as commencing from 9 a.m., August 27, and war vessels +patrolled the shores, some seventy miles long. Action soon began, and +continued during ensuing days, with shells that at intervals screamed +towards the town. The position was, however, reconnoitred carefully. +Japanese airmen went up frequently to scan the fortifications and to +drop bombs. All protruding structures, spires and factory-chimneys, had +been levelled to the ground by the Germans so as to afford no mark for +fire. Bombs were dropped on the railway station and on one of the +numerous barrack buildings. The operations continued spasmodically into +September, while Kato was awaiting the approach by land of a +co-operating army, which had now disembarked on the northern coast of +the Shantung peninsula, about 150 miles due north of Tsing-tao. + +[Sidenote: Landing effected.] + +[Sidenote: Floods hinder advance.] + +The landing was effected on September 2, without hindrance or opposition +on the part of the Chinese. The Government, following the precedent of +the Russo-Japanese War, immediately published a declaration refusing to +hold itself responsible for the obligations of strict neutrality in +areas that formed, within Lung-kow, Lai-chau, and the neighbourhood of +Kiao-chau Bay, passage-ways essential to the belligerent troops. It was, +of course, incumbent upon the Powers involved to respect Chinese +property and administrative rights. Japan, therefore, was permitted to +make use of the main roads to transport an army to the rear of +Tsing-tao. The forces landed composed a division numbering 23,000, and +commanded by Lieutenant-General Mitsuomi Kamio. An advance-guard was +sent forward without delay, but soon found its way rendered impassable +by torrential floods which at this time swept down upon and devastated +the province of Shantung, bridges, roads, and even villages being +submerged and destroyed, with great loss of life, largely owing to +Chinese official incompetence. The Japanese, after covering 20 +kilometres in two days, reached a stream so swollen that crossing was +impossible. The artillery had to return to Lung-kow. German diplomacy, +meanwhile, exasperated at its inability to prevent a Japanese landing, +had not been inactive. + +[Sidenote: Chinese neutrality.] + +[Sidenote: Rivalry of British and Japanese.] + +[Sidenote: Japanese advance.] + +The German and Austrian ministers at Peking, on hearing of the Japanese +landing, protested strongly. China, it was claimed, ought to have +forestalled and resisted the landing, but instead had deliberately +extended the war-zone in order to facilitate Japanese movements. She +would be held responsible for any injury to the German cause or +property. To this China replied that, if it was incumbent upon her to +prevent by force Japan operating in her territory, it was equally her +duty to prevent by force Germany fortifying and defending Tsing-tao. +China had endeavoured, indeed, but unsuccessfully, to preclude +belligerent operations in her territory: only after the Japanese +landing, when she was powerless to do otherwise, had she extended the +zone of war. As to the responsibility, she reiterated her previous +declaration. The baffled Germans fell back on threats: the right was +reserved to visit upon China dire consequences for her alleged breach of +neutrality. The incident, thrown into striking contrast with Germany's +offer to Belgium, marked the unscrupulousness of German diplomacy, but +stirred also many doubts among the foreign communities in China, in +which the British, allied as they were to the Japanese, formed a +predominating element. An anomaly of the situation was that British +local interests had long conflicted with Japanese national interests. +Japan's activities had, at every stage of her recent history, reduced +British opportunities. Japanese trader competed with British trader for +the markets of China, and Japan's share of the annual trade expansion +was increasing, that of Great Britain decreasing. High tariffs and +preferential rates had closed Corea and Manchuria to British enterprise. +It is easy to estimate in what commercial jealousy and rivalry such +circumstances had resulted. While the expediency of the British-Japanese +alliance was fully recognized, and its consequences admitted to be the +freedom of the China seas from menace of commerce-destroyers, +nevertheless the fact remained that the hostilities against Tsing-tao +would constitute a fresh impulse to Japanese expansion. The operations +in Shantung were watched with critical eyes by many British in the +foreign settlements of China. The floods had, meanwhile, subsided +considerably, and on September 12 Japanese cavalry reached Tsimo, ten +miles outside the Kiao-chau zone. No trace of the enemy north of the +Pai-sha River had been seen, beyond a German aeroplane that occasionally +passed overhead on reconnoitring flights. On the following day a number +of sharp skirmishes with outposts occurred, and one Japanese patrol +found its way to the small town of Kiao-chau, situated at the head of +the bay, some 22 miles from Tsing-tao itself. The brushes with the +Germans became of daily occurrence, and in one of them a high official +of the German Legation at Peking, who had volunteered for service, was +killed. On September 17 the Japanese attacked Wang-ko-huang, 13 miles +from Tsimo, the enemy being in a fortified position and provided with +machine-guns. At sunset, however, they abandoned the village and +withdrew under cover of darkness, leaving behind quantities of equipment +and supplies. A little later a development came about that brought the +dissatisfaction of British traders to a head. About September 18, after +hostile patrols had been driven away from the shore by the fire of +destroyers, Japanese artillery and troops were landed at Laoshan Bay, +north of Tsing-tao, just within the leased territory. Why was it +necessary that troops should have been landed on the northern shore of +the peninsula of Shantung, 150 miles from their objective, when guns +could be disembarked with perfect safety on the eastern shore, not 40 +miles from the objective, and within the German zone? + +[Sidenote: A British force co-operates.] + +The British were not as critical of Japan's strategy as they were +suspicious of her policy. Dark suggestions got afoot that she had +ulterior designs upon the whole Chinese province of Shantung. Such views +could not but have reached the ears of the British authorities at +Wei-hei-wei and elsewhere, nor could they have been deaf to previous +murmurs. Diplomatic circles, however, could extend little sympathy to +the critics. Nevertheless, it was undeniable that the latter were +aggrieved, and that their attitude might produce unfortunate effects. If +Great Britain herself took some share in the Tsing-tao operations, +greater sympathy with their purpose might be induced, and a better state +of feeling in the Orient between the two peoples might possibly result. +It must have been some aim such as this that prompted the dispatch of a +British force to the Tsing-tao area to co-operate with General Kamio, a +step which the earlier symptoms of the British discontent cannot but +have influenced. On September 19, however, 1,000 of the 2nd South Wales +Borderers, a force so small as to be nominal, under Brigadier-General +Barnardiston, left Tientsin and proceeded to Wei-hei-wei. Transport +mules having here been taken on board, the expedition on September 22 +coasted down the eastern shore of Shantung, and next day landed at +Laoshan Bay. A month later, as will be seen, they were joined by 500 of +the 36th Sikhs. + +[Sidenote: Faint opposition.] + +[Sidenote: Artillery battle.] + +Meanwhile, it was probably about this time, or shortly after, that the +_Triumph_, a British battleship of nearly 12,000 tons displacement, +19-1/2 knots speed, and four 10-inch guns primary armament, joined the +Japanese squadron off Tsing-tao. A spasmodic bombardment had been +maintained during the preceding weeks, and seaplanes had been busy, +bombing and range-finding. The wireless station, the electric-power +station, and several ships in harbour were damaged by explosive +missiles. Little could be done, however, from the sea alone, and the +attack by land, owing largely to transport difficulties, had still to +develop. But the weather was now improving considerably. Another +set-back to Japanese military ardour was, indeed, constituted by the +marked reluctance of the Germans to form a line of resistance. German +outposts, upon encountering hostile patrols, invariably retired after +offering faint opposition. When the British troops, after a circuitous +march of 40 miles, much hampered by bad roads, came up in the rear of +the Japanese, then preparing to assault the enemy's advanced positions +on high ground between the rivers Pai-sha and Li-tsun, the part that it +had been arranged they should take in the Japanese attack, on September +26, fell through owing to a disinclination of the Germans to fight. +Their resistance was so meagre that the Allies were hardly engaged, and +next day gained without difficulty the easterly banks of the Li-tsun and +Chang-tsun rivers, only seven miles north-east of Tsing-tao. The enemy +at all points fell back, and the advance upon the town continued. The +Japanese had now drawn their lines across the neck of the narrow +peninsula upon which Tsing-tao stands. There were indications that the +main forces were now in contact. The only obstacle, but a formidable +one, between the invaders and the forts themselves was constituted by +the dominating height of Prince Heinrich Hill, from whose crest, rising +some five miles from the town, all the forts could be bombarded. General +Kamio estimated that three days of fighting would be required for its +capture: it was as all-important to the defence as to the attack, and +was sure to be strongly held. The forts themselves, of the latest type, +were elaborately constructed, and equipped with concrete and steel +cupolas, mounting high calibre pieces. They commanded both landward and +seaward approaches to the town, those nearest the invading Japanese +being situated upon, and named Moltke Berg, Bismarck Berg, and Iltis +Berg. Earth redoubts and trenches between formed the German line of +defence. Plans for the most considerable engagement, the assault of +Prince Heinrich Hill, that had so far taken place, to begin on Sunday, +September 27, were made by the Japanese General. It developed more +speedily than had been expected. German artillery opened a terrific +cannonade upon the Japanese lines, while three warships shelled the +attacking right wing from the bay. The German fire was heavy and +accurate. Japanese warships and aeroplanes, and also the British +battleship _Triumph_, however, created a diversion that relieved the +assaulting forces. Two of the forts were shelled from the sea, and +suffered serious injury, a barrack-house and other buildings being, +moreover, damaged. For many hours the great guns, thundering their +challenges from sea and land and estuary, maintained continual uproar. +Darkness began to gather. Fighting continued into the night, and early +next morning was renewed. But the defenders seemed to lack enthusiasm. +It is doubtful, indeed, whether their forces were sufficiently numerous +to hold with strength their advanced positions, and at the same time to +man adequately their main fortified positions. During the morning of the +28th the Germans withdrew from Prince Heinrich Hill, leaving fifty of +their number and four machine-guns in Japanese hands, and many dead upon +the slopes. The Japanese casualties numbered 150. By noon the whole +position was in the attackers' hands, and the beleaguered town, visible +from the height, was now face to face with siege. German officers who +knew all the points, weak and strong, of the defences, could not but +realize their inability to withstand the siege guns which Japan would +sooner or later bring to the attack. But the heavy artillery was yet far +away. A month was to elapse before the pieces could be dragged across +the difficult country, and emplaced in prepared positions on Prince +Heinrich Hill. + +[Sidenote: The siege continues.] + +[Sidenote: Gunboats sunk.] + +This month, which covered the whole of October, saw many interesting +incidents, and betrayed no signs of idleness on the part of besiegers or +besieged. The Germans, indeed, proved extraordinarily prodigal in +ammunition, firing on an average 1,000 to 1,500 shells daily, a fact +which lent support to the current view that, while undesirous of +incurring their emperor's displeasure, they realized the hopelessness, +so far as Tsing-tao was concerned, of their emperor's cause. Warships in +the bay assisted the cannonade from the forts, and Lieutenant von +Pluschow, the airman of the single aeroplane the town possessed, +ventured forth at intervals to reconnoitre or to bomb. Life in the town +itself continued to be quite normal. Japanese and British, meanwhile, +drew their lines closer and closer to the fortress by sap and mine, +though hindered greatly by terrible weather, and occasionally having +slight encounters with the enemy. In one of these, on October 5, a +German night-attack was heavily repulsed, forty-seven dead being left +behind by the attackers. At sea the operations were also spasmodic. At +the end of September a landing force occupied Lao-she harbour, in the +vicinity of Tsing-tao, where four abandoned field-guns were taken +possession of. Mine-sweeping had constantly to be maintained, under fire +from the shore, and proved a dangerous task. Several vessels thus +engaged were sunk or damaged, though with comparatively few casualties, +through coming into contact with mines. Some German gunboats, however, +among them the _Cormoran_ and the _Iltis_, were apparently sunk about +this time, either deliberately by the Germans, or from the fire of the +Japanese guns. A torpedo flotilla bombarded one of the barracks, +moreover, to some effect, while Japanese aeroplanes were also active. +Von Pluschow twice attempted to attack vessels of the blockading +squadron, but unsuccessfully, and on one occasion a Japanese aeroplane +pursuing him gave a German balloon, floating captive above the town, +some critical moments before it could be hauled to safety. A few days +later, about October 7, the rope which held this balloon was, during the +spasmodic firing, severed by a shot, and the great bag floated away, +apparently across the bay in the direction of Kiao-chau town and the +railway line inland. In this quarter, indeed, over the line itself, +serious friction had arisen between the Japanese and the Chinese +authorities. + +[Sidenote: Railway seized.] + +[Sidenote: China protests.] + +The line ran from Tsing-tao and Kiao-chau to the junction of Tsi-nan, a +distance of about 250 miles, passing through the towns of Wei-hsien and +Tsing-chau. It was German built and almost wholly German owned. From +some points of view it might reasonably be said to constitute an +adjunct, if not a part, of the leased territory itself. In any case the +Japanese claimed that, since the outbreak of war, the line had been +consistently utilized to bring reservists, supplies, and ammunition to +the town. The Austrian crew of the disarmed _Kaiserin Elizabeth_, both +when they left and later returned to Tsing-tao, had used this means of +transit. The railway, being still under German control, constituted a +menace in the Japanese rear, which the latter, upon consolidating their +position towards the end of September, took measures to remove. After +occupying Wei-hsien, they began to arrange for the seizure of the whole +line as far as Tsi-nan itself. Hints of such action drew forth protests +from China, whose Government, however, adopted too compromising an +attitude. The Japanese Government was firm. China's right to formal +protest was admitted, but the occupation was stated to be an urgent +military necessity, and without any prejudice to Chinese claims after +the war. Since China was unable to enforce the neutrality of the line, +flagrantly violated by the Germans, the Japanese had no alternative but +to bring it under their own control. The Chino-German Treaty of 1898 and +the German Government's charter clearly proved that the railway was +essentially German. A compromise, hastened by the unhesitating and +thorough measures taken by the Japanese to effect the occupation, was +arrived at. The Japanese were temporarily to control the administration, +while the Chinese conducted the traffic, of the railway. Its fate, since +China did not admit the contention that it was purely German, was to be +decided after the war. A bellicose attitude noticeable in Chinese +military circles became very marked when, three days later, on October +6, unquestionably in breach of the arrangement, Japanese soldiers +arrived at Tsi-nan, and took over the control of the rolling stock on +the Shantung line. It was alleged at Peking that this force had declared +martial law in the town, which contained, indeed, many German +sympathizers who, rumour added, had destroyed several collieries there +in their anxiety to obstruct the Allies. But the Chinese Government +submitted under further strong protest, and with a request that the +troops should be withdrawn. The Japanese action occasioned, however, +further distrust among British residents in the Orient. Meanwhile, a +second British force, consisting of 500 Sikhs, was being prepared to +reinforce General Barnardiston. + +[Sidenote: Non-combatants depart.] + +[Sidenote: Heavy weather.] + +[Sidenote: Difficulties on land.] + +[Sidenote: Bombardment on Mikado's birthday.] + +At one o'clock on October 12, Captain Meyer-Waldeck, the Governor of +Tsing-tao, received a joint wireless message from the commanders of the +besieging troops and the blockading squadron, offering a safe escort out +of the town of Tientsin of neutrals and non-combatants. He at once +assented. Delegates met next day at ten o'clock to discuss details, and +on the 15th the American consul, accompanied by German women and +children and Chinese subjects, left the town. On the previous day there +had been a combined sea and air attack upon forts Iltis and Kaiser, in +which the _Triumph_ participated and suffered the only Allied +casualties. It is recorded that, before reopening bombardment after the +departure of the non-combatants, the Japanese, ever polite, signalled +'Are you now quite ready, gentlemen?' For reply a German sniper, taking +careful but faulty aim, sent a bullet which removed three out of the +eleven hairs on the signalman's moustache. Two days later, days notable +for torrential rains, which intensified the discomforts of the troops +ashore, the Japanese suffered a severe naval loss. The _Takachiho_, an +old cruiser of some 3,000 tons, which had seen service in the +Chino-Japanese War, was on patrol duty on Saturday night, October 17, +when she fouled a mine, released by and adrift in the rough seas. +Destroyers hastened to her aid, but rescue work was difficult in the +darkness and the heavy weather. The cruiser sank rapidly. Two hundred +and seventy-one officers and seamen lost their lives. The rough weather +which contributed to the disaster continued with little break, and +hindered operations, till the end of the month. The landing of the Sikh +contingent at Laoshan Bay on October 21 was, indeed, attended by great +difficulties and some loss of life. A strong southerly gale had raised +high seas, and enormous lighters and sampans, employed for +disembarkation, were thrown high and dry upon the beach. Sixteen +Japanese were drowned in trying to save other boats that broke loose. +The Sikhs got safely ashore, but next morning again the winds blew and +the rains descended, and the camping-ground was soon a miry pool. +Circumstances other than the weather, however, helped to put the British +officers out of humour. Trouble ahead threatened in connexion with +transport arrangements. While the Chinese carts and drivers, brought +hurriedly from Tientsin, were doubtfully reliable, many of the mules +were raw and quite unused to harness. When a start for the front was +preparing on the morning of the 23rd, it was found that the best of the +harness, which had been purchased from peasants in the locality, had +been stolen in the night by the people who had brought it in, and that +what was left was tied up with string. The column, however, at length +set off, and made a march memorable for hardship and difficulty. From +Laoshan to Lutin, where a metalled road began, was 30 miles, crossed by +a track formed at one time by quagmire, at another by slippery boulders. +During eleven hours 6 miles were covered, by which time the Sikhs were +completely exhausted with digging carts or mules out of the mud, hauling +them out with drag-ropes, reloading overturned carts, or unloading those +immovable. Next day the column was on the road at seven o'clock, and +covered 13 miles. So deep was the mud in parts that when, owing to the +rotten harness giving way, a mule would occasionally lurch forward +suddenly and walk away by itself, the body of the cart would be left +floating on the surface. One cart was pulled completely off its axles by +a squad of men, and slid along admirably for a considerable distance. +Seventy Chinese wheelbarrows, however, obtained from a Japanese depot, +rendered invaluable aid on this day. Tsimo, the halting-place, was +reached in the evening, and next day, after the first ten miles, saw +plain sailing. A few days later, on October 30, after the Sikhs had +rested and recovered, the whole British force, now some 1,500 strong, +moved up to the front in readiness for the bombardment of Tsing-tao, +which had been arranged to begin next morning in celebration of the +birthday of the Mikado. Siege artillery, 150 pieces, including six +28-cm. howitzers and some heavy naval guns, had now been brought up and +placed in position. The shelling was timed to start, in royal salute, at +dawn. + +[Sidenote: Oil-tanks blaze.] + +Men who, stationed upon Prince Heinrich Hill, could look below upon the +doomed town, athwart the narrowing peninsula, with the sea, studded with +grey warships, surrounding, had before them a wonderful spectacle as the +morning sun, rising from the Pacific, slowly dispersed the darkness. The +thunder of the great guns broke suddenly upon that stillness which only +dawn knows, and their discharges flashed redly on the darkling slopes. +The Japanese shooting, it is related, displayed remarkable accuracy, +some of the first projectiles bursting upon the enormous oil-tanks of +the Standard Oil Company and the Asiatic Petroleum Company. A blaze +roared skywards, and for many hours the heavens were darkened by an +immense cloud of black petroleum smoke which hung like a pall over the +town. Shells passing over these fires drew up columns of flame to a +great height. Chinese coolies could be seen running before the spreading +and burning oil. Fires broke out also on the wharves of the outer +harbour, in which during the day a gunboat, apparently damaged fatally +by a shot which carried away her funnel, disappeared. The redoubts and +infantry works particularly were heavily bombarded. On the left of the +German line 100 Chinese in the village of Tao-tung-chien were +unfortunately caught by shell-fire directed on the redoubt close at +hand, while the fort of Siao-chau-shan, near by, was set afire. The tops +of several of the forts were soon concealed by clouds of dust and smoke. +A heavy fusillade was concentrated upon an observation point which the +defenders had constructed on a hill in the town, and had considerable +effect. The Germans did not on this first day of general bombardment +reply strongly, two only of the forts persistently firing. At length the +sun sank and night obscured the conflict. It had been a bad day for the +besieged: and dismantled guns, shattered concrete platforms and +entrenchments, devastated barbed-wire entanglements, augured the town's +approaching fate. + +[Sidenote: Aeroplanes direct guns.] + +[Sidenote: The _Triumph_ attacks Fort Bismarck.] + +[Sidenote: _Kaiserin Elizabeth_ sinks.] + +[Sidenote: Night activity.] + +The bombardment continued for a week. During that period the Japanese +and British guns, directed from land and sea by a balloon, by +aeroplanes, or by observation stations on the hills, in daytime +thundered incessantly. The German shelling, though severe, was far less +heavy, because, it is said, the men in the forts, sheltering most of +the time in bomb-proof caverns, issued forth only at night, and during +pauses of the Japanese to return the fire. The airman von Pluschow +actively directed the replies. The latter seemed not, indeed, +impartially distributed. The marked attention paid to British troops and +ships afforded an illustration of that attitude of peculiar malevolence +which Germans have adopted towards the British nation and name. The +German airman singled out the British camp, recognizable by its white +tents, for his bombs, while for the German artillery it had an +inordinate attraction. Officers on board the _Triumph_, moreover, +observed that the largest German guns, of 12-inch calibre, were +consistently directed upon their vessel. But of many projectiles one +only, which struck the mast, being fired from Hui-tchien-huk, proved +effective. This hit, however, caused rejoicing in Tsing-tao which, it is +asserted, would not have been equalled by the sinking of a Japanese +Dreadnought. The _Triumph_ singled out for attack Fort Bismarck +especially, and two of the German 6-inch guns were early put out of +action. The British gunners adopted the ingenious plan of heeling their +ship by five degrees, and bombarding the enemy, from sight strips +specially calculated, without exposing themselves or their weapons. It +became customary aboard to call the bombardment 'pressing the enemy' +from an exhortation sent by the Japanese Crown Prince to 'press the +enemy, braving all hardships'. Ashore, indeed, the pressure on the enemy +developed steadily as the days passed. On November 2 the Austrian +cruiser _Kaiserin Elizabeth_, which had, with the German gunboats still +afloat, been engaging vigorously in the fighting, sank, having probably +been blown up deliberately, and the floating dock also disappeared. +Iltis Fort, moreover, was silenced, two guns being smashed and +ammunition giving out, and Japanese infantry advanced and captured an +eminence in German hands. On another ridge, however, hard by the +silenced fort, some German naval gunners carried out a ruse which saved +for the present both their position and their battery, composed of naval +9-cm. pieces, which were exposed dangerously to fire from sea and land. +Lieutenant von Trendel, in command, during the night constructed wooden +models of cannon, which he placed in position 200 yards from his real +guns. Next morning he exploded powder near by, and drew the fire of the +besiegers, attracted by the flashes, upon the dummies. That day the +wireless and electric power stations were wrecked, and large attacking +forces crept further forward, despite severe fire, and entrenched closer +to the enemy's lines. In the evening and night the latter showed special +activity, star rockets and other fireworks being used to illumine the +opposing positions, which were heavily fusilladed. A German night-attack +was delivered, but was repulsed. Next day, the 4th, and on the two +following days, progress was maintained. The Allied trenches were pushed +forward until they were right up to and almost half round the nearest +German forts. Many casualties were suffered, but the German fire was +kept down by the Japanese guns, whose accuracy was remarkable. The +weather conditions were unfavourable, high winds and heavy rains +prevailing, and the troops in the trenches had to endure hard +privations. So effective was the bombardment, however, that during +November 5 and 6 plans were prepared for the final assault. It was +arranged that a general infantry attack should be made as soon as +practicable. The garrisons in the forts, meanwhile, were beginning to +exhaust their ammunition, of which they had been, during the +preliminary operations, strangely prodigal. Guns lay silent for other +reasons than structural injury, though the latter cause, indeed, was +frequent, a single shot, in one case, from the _Suwo_, the Japanese +flagship, having destroyed a 24-cm. gun and killed eight men on Fort +Hui-tchien-huk. In the town itself the streets, not immune from falling +projectiles, were deserted, and the only centre of social intercourse +and conviviality was the German Club, where regularly officers or +non-combatants slipped in for dinner, luncheon, or a glass of beer. But +it was realized that the end was not far distant. + +[Sidenote: Central redoubt taken.] + +[Sidenote: Mass attack on forts.] + +[Sidenote: The white flag.] + +Early in the morning of November 6 the airman von Pluschow flew away +across Kiao-chau Bay, and did not return. He escaped with the Governor's +last dispatches into Chinese territory, where his machine was interned. +That day and night saw no cessation of the firing, the guns of the +defenders still roaring at intervals. About an hour after midnight the +first impulse of the general attack took effect. While a particularly +heavy artillery fire kept the Germans in their bomb-proof shelters, the +central redoubt of the first line of defence, which had been badly +shattered by the bombardment, was rushed by a storming party headed by +General Yoshimi Yamada. Engineers had in the darkness sapped right up to +the barbed-wire entanglements, which being cut provided way for the +infantry, who, while part held the enemy in front, rushed the redoubt on +both flanks. Two hundred prisoners were taken, and the Japanese flag was +hoisted. The besiegers were through the German line, but the position +had to be consolidated, or disaster would follow. Danger from the flank +was, however, soon obviated by advances in other parts of the line. Just +after five o'clock a battery on Shao-tan Hill was captured; half an hour +later another battery in Tao-tung-chien redoubt was taken, and Fort +Chung-shan-wa, the base of the German right wing, fell. The shadows were +still dense, and the final phase of the siege, viewed from Prince +Heinrich Hill, presented a sight brilliant with many flashes and flaming +fireworks, and a sound dominated by the thunder of the batteries. But +dawn, as the besiegers began in mass to close in upon the main line of +forts Iltis, Moltke, and Bismarck, was breaking. It was decided to storm +these positions forthwith, since the German fire, owing to exhaustion of +the ammunition, was dying away. Governor Meyer-Waldeck, who had been +wounded, realized now that further resistance was futile. Shortly before +six o'clock he sent Major von Kayser, his adjutant, accompanied by +another officer and a trumpeter, from the staff headquarters bearing the +white flag: at the same time a signal of surrender was made from the +Observatory. This was not, however, observed, while von Kayser's party, +coming under fire, was dispersed by a shell which killed the trumpeter +and the adjutant's horse. Meanwhile, Japanese and British were closing +in, and were tensely awaiting the final assault. It was never made. Soon +after seven o'clock a welcome sight relaxed the tension of the troops, +torn, dirty, and weary, calling forth cheers from the British, and +shouts of 'Banzai!' from the Japanese. The campaign was over: Tsing-tao +had fallen. White flags were fluttering from the forts. + +[Sidenote: Terms of capitulation.] + +[Sidenote: War material taken.] + +[Sidenote: Cost of victory.] + +That evening delegates from the two armies met and signed the terms of +capitulation, which were unconditional. Honours of war were accorded the +defenders, the Governor and his officers being permitted to retain their +swords. The Allies marched into the town, and on November 10 the +garrison was formally transferred. Over 4,000 Germans were sent to +Japan as prisoners, and large quantities of war material were +confiscated. The captures included 30 field-guns, 100 machine-guns, +2,500 rifles, 40 motor-cars, L1,200 in bullion, and 15,000 tons of coal. +All ships in harbour, and also the floating dock, had been destroyed, +but it seemed probable that the _Kaiserin Elizabeth_ could be +successfully raised. Sufficient provisions were found to feed 5,000 +persons for three months, and the victors were able to regale their +appetites with luxuries such as butter, crab, or salmon, which were +plentiful. Looting, however, was strictly forbidden. For fastidious +persons the bath, after many weeks, was again available, and proved, +indeed, in view of steady accumulations of mud, a salutary course. +Measures, meanwhile, were at once taken to restore the town to its +normal condition. The troops and sailors were employed in removing +debris or undischarged land and sea mines. Another Japanese gunboat was +sunk, and several officers and men lost their lives, while engaged in +this dangerous work. The victory had to be paid for, indeed, with a +heavy toll of life and limb. The Japanese casualties numbered 236 killed +and 1,282 wounded; the British, 12 killed and 53 wounded. On November 16 +the Allies formally took possession of Tsing-tao; and a memorial service +was held for the dead. + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Plan for Dardanelles campaign.] + +The plan of breaking through the Straits of the Dardanelles, and thus +clearing the way to Constantinople, is believed to have been conceived +by Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the British Admiralty. After +careful consideration it was approved by the military and naval +authorities, and plans were made to carry out the project. The initial +steps are described in the following chapter. + + + + +GALLIPOLI + +A. JOHN GALLISHAW + +Copyright, Century Magazine, July, 1916. + + +[Sidenote: The Newfoundlanders in the War.] + +Husky, steel-muscled lumbermen; brawny, calloused-handed fishermen; +loose-jointed, easy-swinging trappers; athletes from the city foot-ball +and hockey teams; and gawky, long-armed farmers joined the First +Newfoundland Regiment at the outbreak of war. A rigid medical +examination sorted out the best of them, and ten months of bayonet +fighting, physical drill, and twenty-mile route marches over Scottish +hills had molded these into trim, erect, bronzed soldiers. They were +garrisoning Edinburgh Castle when word came of the landing of the +Australians and New-Zealanders at Gallipoli. At Ypres the Canadians had +just then recaptured their guns and made for themselves a deathless +name. + +[Sidenote: Not militaristic.] + +So the Newfoundlanders felt that as colonials they had been overlooked. +They were not militaristic and hated the ordinary routine of army life, +but they wanted to do their share. That was the spirit all through the +regiment. It was the spirit that possessed them on the long-waited-for +day at Aldershot when Kitchener himself pronounced them "just the men I +want for the Dardanelles." That day at Aldershot every man was given a +chance to go back to Newfoundland. They had enlisted for one year only, +and could demand to be sent home at the end of the year; and when +Kitchener reviewed them ten months of that year had gone. + +[Sidenote: Re-enlistment at Aldershot.] + +[Sidenote: The desire to get to the front.] + +With the chance to go home in his grasp, every man of the first +battalion reenlisted for the duration of war. And it is on record, to +their eternal honor, that during the week preceding their departure from +Aldershot breaches of discipline were unknown, for over their heads hung +the fear that they would be punished by being kept back from active +service. To break a rule that week carried with it the suspicion of +cowardice. This was the more remarkable because many of the men were +fishermen, trappers, hunters, and lumbermen who until their enlistment +had said "Sir" to no man, and who gloried in the reputation given them +by one inspecting officer as "the most undisciplined lot he had ever +seen." From the day the Canadians left Salisbury Plain to take their +places in the trenches in Flanders the Newfoundlanders were obsessed by +one idea: they had to get to the front. + +[Sidenote: Troop-ships in Mudros Harbor.] + +So it was with eleven hundred of such eager spirits that I lined up, on +a Sunday evening early in August, 1915, on the deck of the troop-ship in +Mudros Harbor, which is the center of the historic island of Lemnos, +about fifty miles from Gallipoli. Around us lay all sorts of ships, from +ocean leviathans to tiny launches and rowboats. There were +gray-and-black-painted troopers, their rails lined with soldiers; +immense four-funneled men-of-war; and brightly lighted, white hospital +ships, with their red crosses outlined in electric lights. The landing +officer left us in a little motor-boat. We watched him glide slowly +shoreward, where we could faintly discern through the dusk the white of +the tents that were the headquarters for the people at Lemnos; to the +right of the tents we could see the hospital for wounded Australians and +New-Zealanders. A French battleship dipped its flag as it passed, and +our boys sang "The Marseillaise." + +[Sidenote: The Iron Ration.] + +A mail that had come that day was being sorted. While we waited, each +man was served with his "iron ration." This consisted of a one-pound +tin of pressed corned beef--the much-hated and much-maligned "bully +beef"--a bag of biscuits, and a small tin that held two tubes of Oxo, +with tea and sugar in specially constructed air- and damp-proof +envelopes. This was an emergency ration, to be kept in case of direst +need, and to be used only to ward off actual starvation. After that we +were given our ammunition, two hundred and fifty rounds to each man. + +[Sidenote: The solitary letter home.] + +But what brought home to me most the seriousness of our venture was the +solitary sheet of letter paper, with its envelope, that was given to +every man to be used for a parting letter home. For some poor chaps it +was indeed the last letter. Then we went over the side and aboard the +destroyer that was to take us to Suvla Bay. + +The night had been well chosen for a surprise landing. There was no +moon, but after a little while the stars came out. Away on the port bow +we could see the dusky outline of land, and once, when we were about +half-way, an airship soared phantomlike out of the night, poised over us +a short time, then ducked out of sight. At first the word ran along the +line that it was a hostile airship, but a few inquiries soon reassured +us. + +[Sidenote: Approaching Cape Hellas.] + +[Sidenote: Passing Anzac.] + +[Sidenote: The name Anzac.] + +Suddenly we changed our direction. We were near Cape Hellas, which is +the lowest point of the peninsula of Gallipoli. Under Sir Ian Hamilton's +scheme it was here that a decoy party of French and British troops were +to be landed to draw the Turks from Anzac. Simultaneously an +overwhelming British force was to land at Suvla Bay and Anzac to make a +surprise attack on the Turks' right flank. Presently we were going +upshore past the wrecked steamer _River Clyde_, the famous "Ship of +Troy" from the side of which the Australians had issued after the ship +had been beached on the shore hitherto nameless, but now known as Anzac. +Australian New Zealand Army Corps those five letters stand for; but to +those of us who have been on Gallipoli they stand for a great deal more; +they represent the achievement of the impossible. They are a glorious +record of sacrifice, reckless devotion, and unselfish courage; to put +each letter there cost the men from Australasia ten thousand of their +best soldiers. + +And so we edged our way along, fearing mines or, even more disastrous +than mines, discovery by the enemy. From the Australasians over at Anzac +we could hear desultory rifle fire. Once we heard the boom of some big +guns that seemed almost alongside the ship. Four hours it took us to go +fifty miles in a destroyer that could make thirty-two knots easily. By +one o'clock the stars had disappeared, and for perhaps three-quarters of +an hour we nosed our way through pitch darkness. Gradually we slowed +down until we had almost stopped. Something scraped along our side. +Somebody said it was a floating mine, but it turned out to be a buoy +that had been put there by the navy to mark the channel. + +Out of the gloom directly in front some one hailed, and our people +answered. + +"Who have you on board?" we heard a casual English voice say, and then +came the reply from our colonel: + +"Newfoundlanders." There was to me something very reassuring about that +cool, self-contained voice out of the night. It made me feel that we +were being expected and looked after. + +[Sidenote: Arrival of a launch.] + +"Move up those boats," I heard the English voice say, and from right +under our bow a naval launch with a middy in charge swerved alongside. +In a little while it, with a string of boats, was securely fastened. + +Just before we went into the boats the adjutant passed me. + +"Well," he said, "you've got your wish. In a few minutes you'll be +ashore. Let me know how you like it when you're there a little while." + +"Yes, sir," I said. But I never had a chance to tell him. The first +shrapnel shell fired at the Newfoundlanders burst near him, and he had +scarcely landed when he was taken off the peninsula, seriously wounded. + +[Sidenote: The Newfoundlanders land.] + +In a short time we had all filed into the boats. There was no noise, no +excitement; just now and then a whispered command. I was in a tug with +about twenty others who formed the rear-guard. The wind had freshened +considerably, and was now blowing so hard that our unwieldy tug dared +not risk a landing. We came in near enough to watch the other boats. +About twenty yards from shore they grounded. We could see the boys jump +over the side and wade ashore. Through the half-darkness we could barely +distinguish them forming up on the beach. Soon they were lost to sight. + +[Sidenote: Enemy artillery in action.] + +During the Turkish summer dawn comes early. We transhipped from our tug +to a lighter. When it grounded on the beach day was just breaking. +Daylight disclosed a steeply sloping beach, scarred with ravines. The +place where we landed ran between sheer cliffs. A short distance up the +hill we could see our battalion digging themselves in. To the left I +could see the boats of another battalion. Even as I watched, the enemy's +artillery located them. It was the first shell I had ever heard. It came +over the hill close to me, screeching through the air like an +express-train going over a bridge at night. Just above the boat I was +watching it exploded. A few of the soldiers slipped quietly from their +seats to the bottom of the boat. At first I did not realize that any +one had been hit. There was no sign of anything having happened out of +the ordinary, no confusion. As soon as the boat touched the beach the +wounded men were carried by their mates up the hill to a temporary +dressing-station. + +[Sidenote: Beginning of bombardment.] + +[Sidenote: Coolness of the Newfoundlanders.] + +The first shell was the beginning of a bombardment. Beachy Bill, a +battery that we were to become better acquainted with, was in excellent +shape. Every few minutes a shell burst close to us. Shrapnel-bullets and +fragments of shell-casing forced us to huddle under the baggage for +protection. A little to the left some Australians were severely +punished. Shell after shell burst among them. A regiment of Sikh troops, +mule-drivers, and transport-men were caught half-way up the beach. Above +the din of falling shrapnel and the shriek of flying shells rose the +piercing scream of wounded mules. The Newfoundlanders did not escape. +That morning Beachy Bill's gunners played no favorites. On all sides the +shrapnel came in a shower. Less often, a cloud of thick, black smoke and +a hole twenty feet deep showed the landing-place of a high-explosive +shell. The most amazing thing was the coolness of the men. The +Newfoundlanders might have been practising trench-digging in camp in +Scotland. When a man was hit some one gave him first aid, directed the +stretcher-bearers where to find him, and coolly resumed digging. In two +hours our position had become untenable. We had been subjected to a +merciless and devastating shelling, and our first experience of war had +cost us sixty-five men. In a new and safer position we dug ourselves in. + +[Sidenote: Four miles of graveyard.] + +No move could be made in daylight. That evening we received our ration +of rum, and under cover of darkness moved in open order across the Salt +Lake for about a mile, then through three miles of knee-high, prickly +underbrush, to where our division was intrenched. Our orders were to +reinforce the Irish. The Irish sadly needed reinforcing. Some of them +had been on the peninsula for months. Many of them are still there. From +the beach to the firing-line is not over four miles, but it is a ghastly +four miles of graveyard. Everywhere along the route are small, rude +wooden crosses, mute record of advances. Where the crosses are thickest +there the fighting was fiercest, and where the fighting was fiercest +there were the Irish. On every cross, besides a man's name and the date +of his death, is the name of his regiment. No other regiments have so +many crosses as the Dublins and the Munsters. And where the shrapnel +flew so fast that bodies mangled beyond hope of identity were buried in +a common grave, there also are the Dublins and Munsters; and the cross +over them reads "In Memory of Unknown Comrades." + +[Sidenote: The incomparable Twenty-ninth.] + +[Sidenote: How the hill was taken, and lost.] + +The line on the left was held by the Twenty-ninth Division; the Dublins, +the Munsters, the King's Own Scottish Borderers, and the Newfoundlanders +made up the 88th Brigade. The Newfoundlanders were reinforcements. From +the very first days of the Gallipoli campaign the other three regiments +had formed part of what General Sir Ian Hamilton in his report calls the +"incomparable Twenty-ninth Division." When the first landing was made, +this division, with the New-Zealanders, penetrated to the top of a hill +that commanded the Narrows. For forty-eight hours the result was in +doubt. The British attacked with bayonet and bombs, were driven back, +and repeatedly re-attacked. The New-Zealanders finally succeeded in +reaching the top, followed by the 88th Brigade. The Irish fought on the +tracks of a railroad that leads into Constantinople. At the end of +forty-eight hours of attacks and counter-attacks the position was +considered secure. The worn-out soldiers were relieved and went into +dug-outs. Then the relieving troops were attacked by an overwhelming +hostile force, and the hill was lost. A battery placed on that hill +could have shelled the Narrows and opened to our ships the way to +Constantinople. The hill was never retaken. When reinforcements came up +it was too late. The reinforcements lost their way. In his report +General Hamilton attributes our defeat to "fatal inertia." Just how +fatal was that inertia is known only to those who formed some of the +burial-parties. + +[Sidenote: Newfoundlanders run in battle.] + +[Sidenote: The Turks charge in mass formation.] + +[Sidenote: Terrible casualties of the enemy.] + +After the first forty-eight hours we settled down to regular trench +warfare. The routine was four days in the trenches, eight days in rest +dug-outs, four in the trenches again, and so forth, although two or +three months later our ranks were so depleted that we stayed in eight +days and rested only four. We had expected four days' rest after our +first trip to the firing-line, but at the end of two days came word of a +determined advance of the enemy. We arrived just in time to beat it off. +Our trenches, instead of being at the top, were at the foot of the hill +that meant so much to us. The ground here was a series of four or five +hogback ridges about a hundred yards apart. Behind these towered the +hill that was our objective. From the nearest ridge, about seven hundred +yards in front of us, the Turks had all that day constantly issued in +mass formation. During that attack we were repaid for the havoc wrought +by Beachy Bill. As soon as the Turk topped the crest they were subjected +to a demoralizing rain of shell from the navy and the artillery. Against +the hazy blue of the sky-line we could see the dark mass clearly +silhouetted. Every few seconds, when a shell landed in the middle of the +approaching columns, the sides of the column would bulge outward for an +instant, then close in again. Meanwhile every man in our trenches stood +on the firing-platform, head and shoulders above the parapet, with fixed +bayonet and loaded rifle, waiting for the order to begin firing. Still +the Turks came on, big, black, bewhiskered six-footers, reforming ranks +and filling up their gaps with fresh men. Now they were only six hundred +yards away, but still there was no order to open fire. It was uncanny. +At five hundred yards our fire was still withheld. When the order came, +"At four hundred yards, rapid fire," everybody was tingling with +excitement. Still the Turks came on, magnificently determined. But it +was too desperate a venture. The chances against them were too great, +our artillery and machine-gun fire too destructively accurate. Some few +Turks reached almost to our trenches, only to be stopped by +rifle-bullets. "Allah! Allah!" yelled the Turks as they came on. A +sweating, grimly happy machine-gun sergeant between orders was shouting +to the Turkish army in general, "'Tis not a damn' bit of good to yell to +Allah now." Our artillery opened huge gaps in their lines; our +machine-guns piled them dead in the ranks where they stood. Our own +casualties were very slight, but of the waves of Turks that surged over +the crest all that day only a mere shattered remnant ever straggled back +to their own lines. + +[Sidenote: The armies in a state of siege.] + +That was the last big attack the Turks made. From that time on it was +virtually two armies in a state of siege. Every night at dark we stood +to arms for an hour. Every man fixed his bayonet and prepared to repulse +any attack of the enemy. After that sentry groups were formed, three +reliefs of two men each. Two men stood with their heads over the parapet +watching for any movement in the no-man's-land between the lines. That +accounts for the surprisingly large number of men one sees wounded in +the head. + +At daylight every morning came "Stand to arms" again. Then day duties +began. In the daytime, by using a periscope, an arrangement of double +mirrors, a sentry can keep his head below the parapet while he watches +the ground in front. Sometimes a bullet struck one of the mirrors, and +the splintered glass blinded the sentry. It was a common thing to see a +man go to hospital with his face badly lacerated by periscope glass. + +[Sidenote: When a shell comes.] + +Ordinarily a man is much safer on the firing-line than in the rest +dug-outs. Trenches are so constructed that even if a shell drops right +in the traverse where men are, only half a dozen or so suffer. In open +or slightly protected ground where the dug-outs are the burst of a +shrapnel-shell covers an area twenty-five by two hundred yards in +extent. + +[Sidenote: Shrapnel and bullets.] + +A shell can be heard coming. Experts claim to identify the caliber of a +gun by the sound the shell makes. Few live long enough to become such +experts. In Gallipoli the average length of life was three weeks. In +dug-outs we always ate our meals, such as they were, to the +accompaniment of "Turkish Delight," the Newfoundlanders' name for +shrapnel. We had become accustomed to rifle-bullets. When you hear the +_zing_ of a spent bullet or the sharp crack of an explosive you know it +has passed you. The one that hits you you never hear. At first we dodged +at the sound of a passing bullet, but soon we came actually to believe +the superstition that a bullet would not hit a man unless it had on it +his regimental number and his name. Then, too, a bullet leaves a clean +wound, and a man hit by it drops out quietly. The shrapnel makes nasty, +jagged, hideous wounds, the horrible recollection of which lingers for +days. It is little wonder that we preferred the firing-line. + +[Sidenote: The mode of intrenching.] + +Most of our work was done at night. When we wished to advance our line, +we sent forward a platoon of men the desired distance. Every man carried +with him three empty sand-bags and his intrenching-tool. Temporary +protection is secured at short notice by having every man dig a hole in +the ground that is large and deep enough to allow him to lie flat in it. +The intrenching-tool is a miniature pickax, one end of which resembles a +large-bladed hoe with a sharpened and tempered edge. The pick end is +used to loosen hard material and to break up large lumps; the other end +is used as a shovel to throw up the dirt. When used in this fashion the +wooden handle is laid aside, the pick end becomes a handle, and the +intrenching-tool is used in the same manner as a trowel. + +[Sidenote: The necessity for concealment.] + +Lying on our stomach, our rifles close at hand, we dug furiously. First +we loosened up enough earth in front of our heads to fill a sand-bag. +This sand-bag we placed beside our heads on the side nearest the enemy. +Out in no-man's-land, with bullets and machine-gun balls pattering about +us, we did fast work. As soon as we had filled the second and third +sand-bags we placed them on top of the first. In Gallipoli every other +military necessity was subordinated to concealment. Often we could +complete a trench and occupy it before the enemy knew of it. + +[Sidenote: The Turks use star-shells.] + +Sometimes while we were digging the Turks surprised us by sending up +star-shells. They burst like rockets high overhead. Everything was +outlined in a strange, uncanny way that gave the effect of stage-fire. +At first when a man saw a star-shell he dropped flat on his face; but +after a good many men had been riddled by bullets, we saw our mistake. +The sudden blinding glare makes it impossible to identify objects +before the light fades. Star-shells show only movement. The first stir +between the lines becomes the target for both sides. So after that, even +when a man was standing upright, he simply stood still. + +[Sidenote: Aeroplanes attacked by artillery.] + +Every afternoon from just behind our lines an aeroplane buzzed up. At +the tremendous height it looked like an immense blue-bottle fly. At +first the enemy's aeroplanes came out to meet ours, but a few encounters +with our men soon convinced them of the futility of this. After that +they relied on their artillery. In the air all around the tiny speck we +could see white puffs of smoke where their shrapnel was exploding. +Sometimes those puffs were perilously close to it; at such times our +hearts were in our mouths. Everybody in the trench craned his neck to +see. When our aeroplane man[oe]uvered clear you could hear a sigh of +relief run along the trench. + +[Sidenote: An air-man's adventure.] + +One of our air-men, Samson, captured a German Taube that he used for +daily reconnaissance. Every day we watched him hover over the Turkish +lines, circle clear of their bursting shrapnel, and return to our +artillery with his report. One day we watched two hostile planes chase +him back right to our trench. When they came near us we opened rapid +fire that forced them to turn; but before Samson reached his +landing-place at Salt Lake we could see that he was in trouble; one of +the wings of the machine was drooping badly. We watched him land in +safety, saw him jump out of his seat, and walk about ten yards to a +waiting motor-ambulance. The ambulance had just turned when a shell hit +the aeroplane. A second shell blew it to pieces. + +[Sidenote: A naval and artillery bombardment.] + +But Samson had completed his mission. About half an hour later the navy +in the bay and our artillery began a bombardment. From our trenches, +looking through ravines, we could see the men-of-war lined up pouring +broadsides over our heads into the Turkish lines. From our position in +the valley we watched our shells demolish the enemy's front-line +trenches on the hill well to our left. Through field-glasses we could +see the communication-trenches choked with fleeing Turks. Some of our +artillery concentrated on the support-trenches, preventing +reinforcements from coming up. A mule-train of supplies was caught in +the curtain of fire. The Turks, caught between two fires, could not +escape. In a few minutes all that was left of the scientifically +constructed intrenchments was a conglomerate heap of sand-bags, +equipments, and machine-guns; and on top of it all lay the mangled +bodies of men and mules. + +All through the bombardment we had hoped for the order to go over the +parapet, but for the Worcesters on our left was reserved the distinction +of making the charge. High explosives cleared the way for their advance, +and cheering and yelling they went over the parapet. The Turks in the +front-line trenches, completely demoralized, fled to the rear. A few, +too weak or too sorely wounded to run, surrendered. + +[Sidenote: The Turk's dislike for German officers.] + +Prisoners taken in this engagement told us that the Turkish rank and +file heartily hated their German officers. One prisoner said that he had +been an officer, but since the outbreak of this war had been replaced by +a German. At present the Turks are officered entirely by Germans. + +[Sidenote: Losses from disease.] + +With the monotony varied occasionally by some local engagement like this +we dragged through the hot, fly-pestered days and cold, drafty, +vermin-infested nights of September and early October. By the middle of +October, 1915, disease and scarcity of water had depleted our ranks; +instead of having four days on the firing-line and eight days' rest, we +were holding the firing-line eight days and resting only four. In my +platoon, of the six non-commissioned officers who started with us, only +two corporals were left, I and one other. For a week after he had been +ordered by the doctor to leave the peninsula the other chap hung on, +pluckily determined not to leave me alone, although staying meant +keeping awake nearly all night. By this time dysentery and enteric had +taken toll of more men than bullets. These diseases became epidemic +until the clearing-stations and the beaches were choked with sick. The +time we should have been sleeping was spent in digging, but still the +men worked uncomplainingly. Some, too game to quit, would not report to +the doctor, working on courageously until they dropped, although down in +the bay beckoned the Red Cross of the hospital-ship, with its assurance +of safety, rest, and cleanliness. By sickness and snipers' bullets we +lost thirty men a day. Every day the sun poured down relentlessly, +adding to the torment of parched throats and tongues. Every night, +doubly cold in comparison with the day's burning heat, found us chilled +and shivering. + +[Sidenote: The wounded considered lucky.] + +Nobody in the front-line trenches or on the shell-swept area behind ever +expected to leave the peninsula alive. Their one hope was to get off +wounded. Every night men leaving the trenches to bring up rations from +the beach shook hands with their comrades. From every ration party of +twenty men we always counted on losing two. Those who were wounded were +looked on as lucky. The best thing we could wish a man was a "cushy +wound," one that would not prove fatal. But no one wanted to quit. Every +day rumors flew through the trenches that in four days all the Turks +would surrender. Men dying from dysentery and enteric lingered to see +it, but the surrender never materialized. + +[Sidenote: Faith in Australians.] + +We knew that in the particular section of trench held by us an advance +was hopeless. Still, we thought that some other parts of the line might +advance. There was always faith in the invincible Australasians. Early +in October, 1915, had come the news of the British advance at Loos. The +report that reached us said that the enemy on the entire Western front +had begun to retreat. The Australians, catching the Turks napping, took +two lines of trenches. + +[Sidenote: The man who stood on a bomb.] + +By the time I left, the sordid monotony had begun to tell on the men. +Every day officers were besieged with requests for permission to go out +between the lines to locate snipers. When men were wanted for night +patrol every one volunteered. Ration parties, which had formerly been a +dread, were now an eagerly sought variation. Any change was welcome. The +thought of being killed had lost its fear. Daily intercourse with death +had robbed it of its horror. One chap had his leg blown off from +standing on a bomb. Later, in hospital, he told me that he felt +satisfied. He had always wondered what would happen if a man stood on a +bomb; now he knew. It illustrates how the men hated the deadly sameness. +Anything was better than waiting in the trenches, better than being +killed without a chance to struggle. + +[Sidenote: Donnelly's post on Caribou Ridge.] + +The men our regiment lost, although they gladly fought a hopeless fight, +have not died in vain; the foremost advance on the Suvla Bay front, +Donnelly's Post on Caribou Ridge, was made by Newfoundlanders. It is +called Donnelly's Post because it is here that Lieutenant Donnelly won +his military cross. The hitherto nameless ridge from which the Turkish +machine-guns poured their concentrated death into our trenches stands +as a monument to the initiative of the Newfoundlanders. It is now +Caribou Ridge as a recognition of the men who wear the deer's-head +badge. + +[Sidenote: Swept by machine-guns.] + +From Caribou Ridge the Turks could enfilade parts of our firing-line. +For weeks they had continued to pick off our men one by one. You could +almost tell when your turn was coming. I know, because from Caribou +Ridge came the bullet that sent me off the peninsula. The machine-guns +on Caribou Ridge not only swept parts of our trench, but commanded all +of the intervening ground. Several attempts had been made to rush those +guns. All had failed, held up by the murderous machine-gun fire. Under +cover of darkness, Lieutenant Donnelly, with only eight men, surprised +the Turks in the post that now bears his name. The captured machine-gun +he used to repulse constantly launched bomb and rifle attacks. + +[Sidenote: How Donnelly surprised the Turks.] + +[Sidenote: Deeds of great heroism.] + +Just at dusk one evening Donnelly stole out to Caribou Ridge and +surprised the Turks. All night the Turks strove to recover their lost +ground. Darkness was the Newfoundlanders' ally. When reinforcements +arrived, Donnelly's eight men were reduced to two. Dawn showed the havoc +wrought by the gallant little group. The ground in front of the post was +a shambles of piled-up Turkish corpses. But daylight showed something +more to the credit of the Newfoundlanders than the mere taking of the +ridge. It showed one of Donnelly's men, Jack Hynes, who had crawled away +from his companion to a point about two hundred yards to the left. From +here he had all alone kept up through the whole night a rapid fire on +the enemy's flank that duped them into believing that we had men there +in force. It showed Hynes purposely falling back over exposed ground to +draw the enemy's attention from Sergeant Greene, who was coolly making +trip after trip between the ridge and our lines, carrying a wounded man +in his arms every time until all our wounded were in safety. Hynes and +Greene were each given a distinguished-conduct medal. None was ever more +nobly earned. + +One Saturday morning near the end of October, 1915, the brigade major +passed through our lines. Before we took over the trench the occupants +of the firing-line threw their refuse over the parapet into the short +underbrush. Since coming in we had made a dump for it. I was sent out +with five men to remove the rubbish from the underbrush to the dump, and +this despite the fact that a short distance to our right we had just +lost two men sent over the parapet in broad daylight to pick up some +cans. + +[Sidenote: The writer is wounded.] + +About nine in the morning we started. It was about half-an-hour's work. +There was no cover for men standing. The small bushes hid men lying or +sitting. Every little while I gave the men a rest, making them sit in +the shelter of the underbrush. We had almost finished when the snipers +somewhere on our left began to bang at us. I ordered the men to cover, +and was just pointing out a likely place to young Hynes when I felt a +dull thud in the left shoulder-blade and a sharp pain in my chest. Then +came a drowsy, languid feeling, and I sank down first on my knees, then +my head dropped over on my chest, and down I went like a Mohammedan +saying his prayers. Connecting the hit in the back with the pain in my +chest, I concluded that I was done for, and can distinctly remember +thinking quite calmly that I was indeed fortunate to be conscious long +enough to tell them what to do about my will and so forth. I tried to +say, "I'm hit," and must have succeeded, because immediately I heard my +henchman Hynes yell with a frenzied oath: "The corporal's struck! Can't +you see the corporal's struck?" and heard him curse the Turk. Then I +heard the others say, "We must get him in out of this." After that I was +quite clear-headed, and when three or four of the finest boys that ever +stepped risked their lives to come out over the parapet under fire, I +was able to tell them how to lift me, and when the stretcher-bearers +arrived to give me first aid I was conscious enough to tell them where +to look for the wound. Also I became angry at the crowd who gathered +around to watch the dressing and make remarks about the amount of blood. +I asked them if they thought it was a nickel-show. This when I felt +almost certain I was dying. I don't remember even feeling relieved when +they told me the bullet had not gone through my heart. + +[Sidenote: Hospital at Alexandria.] + +That night I was put on board a hospital-ship, and a few days later I +was in hospital at Alexandria. + +[Sidenote: The rear-guard action.] + +The night the First Newfoundland Regiment landed in Suvla Bay there were +about eleven hundred of us. In December, 1915, when the British forces +evacuated Gallipoli, to the remnant of our regiment fell the honor of +fighting the rear-guard action. This is the highest recognition a +regiment can receive; for the duty of the rear-guard in a retreat is to +keep the enemy from reaching the main body of troops, even if this means +annihilation for itself. At Lemnos island the next day, when the roll +was called, of the eleven hundred men who landed when I did, only one +hundred and seventy-one answered "Here." + + * * * * * + +The German armies, following the Great Retreat from the Marne to the +Aisne, and after the series of mighty struggles which make up the Battle +of the Aisne, and the attempts to win the Channel ports, continued the +efforts to break through the British and French lines. The British held +the strong line of Ypres, and in March made gains at Neuve Chapelle. In +April the Germans made a desperate effort to break through at Ypres. +There followed the Second Battle of Ypres, terrific in itself, but +especially notable because of the first employment by the Germans of +poisonous gas. + + + + +GAS: SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES + +COL. E. D. SWINTON + + +[Sidenote: Second Battle of Ypres.] + +Since the last summary there has been a sudden development in the +situation on our front, and very heavy fighting has taken place to the +north and northeast of Ypres, which can be said to have assumed the +importance of a second battle for that town. With the aid of a method of +warfare up to now never employed by nations sufficiently civilized to +consider themselves bound by international agreements solemnly ratified +by themselves, and favored by the atmospheric conditions, the Germans +have put into effect an attack which they have evidently contemplated +and prepared for some time. + +Before the battle began our line in this quarter ran from the +cross-roads at Broodseinde, east of Zonnebeke on the Ypres-Moorslede +Road to the cross-roads half a mile north of St. Julien, on the +Ypres-Poelcapelle Road, roughly following the crest of what is known as +the Grafenstafel Ridge. The French prolonged the line west of the +Ypres-Poelcapelle Road, whence their trenches ran around the north of +Langemarck to Steenstraate on the Yperlee Canal. The area covered by the +initial attack is that between the canal and the Ypres-Poelcapelle Road, +though it was afterward extended to the west of the canal and to the +east of the road. + +[Sidenote: Germans plan a gas attack.] + +An effort on the part of the Germans in this direction was not +unexpected, since movements of troops and transport behind their front +line had been detected for some days. Its peculiar and novel nature, +however, was a surprise which was largely responsible for the measure of +success achieved. Taking advantage of the fact that at this season of +the year the wind not infrequently blows from the north, they secretly +brought up apparatus for emitting asphyxiating vapor or gas, and +distributed it along the section of their front line opposite that of +our allies, west of Langemarck, which faced almost due north. Their plan +was to make a sudden onslaught southwestward, which, if successful, +might enable them to gain the crossings on the canal south of Bixschoote +and place them well behind the British left in a position to threaten +Ypres. + +The attack was originally fixed for Tuesday, the 20th, but since all +chances of success depended on the action of the asphyxiating vapor it +was postponed, the weather being unfavorable. On Thursday, the 22d, the +wind blew steadily from the north, and that afternoon, all being ready, +the Germans put their plan into execution. Since then events have moved +so rapidly and the situation has moved so frequently that it is +difficult to give a consecutive and clear story of what happened, but +the following account represents as nearly as can be the general course +of events. The details of the gas apparatus employed by them are given +separately, as also those of the asphyxiating grenades, bombs, and +shells of which they have been throwing hundreds. + +[Sidenote: The first gas battle in war.] + +At some time between 4 and 5 p.m. the Germans started operations by +releasing gases with the result that a cloud of poisonous vapor rolled +swiftly before the wind from their trenches toward those of the French +west of Langemarck, held by a portion of the French Colonial Division. +Allowing sufficient time for the fumes to take full effect on the troops +facing them, the Germans charged forward over the practically +unresisting enemy in their immediate front, and, penetrating through the +gap thus created, pressed on silently and swiftly to the south and west. +By their sudden irruption they were able to overrun and surprise a large +proportion of the French troops billeted behind the front line in this +area and to bring some of the French guns as well as our own under a hot +rifle fire at close range. + +The first intimation that all was not well to the north was conveyed to +our troops holding the left of the British line between 5 and 6 p.m. by +the withdrawal of some of the French Colonials and the sight of the wall +of vapor following them. Our flank being thus exposed the troops were +ordered to retire on St. Julien, with their left parallel to but to the +west of the high road. The splendid resistance of these troops, who +saved the situation, has already been mentioned by the Commander in +Chief. + +[Sidenote: Bombardment by shell and gas projectiles.] + +Meanwhile, apparently waiting till their infantry had penetrated well +behind the Allies' line, the Germans had opened a hot artillery fire +upon the various tactical points to the north of Ypres, the bombardment +being carried out with ordinary high-explosive shell and shrapnel of +various calibres and also with projectiles containing asphyxiating gas. +About this period our men in reserve near Ypres, seeing the shells +bursting, had gathered in groups, discussing the situation and +questioning some scattered bodies of Turcos who had appeared; suddenly a +staff officer rode up shouting "Stand to your arms," and in a few +minutes the troops had fallen in and were marching northward to the +scene of the fight. + +Nothing more impressive can be imagined than the sight of our men +falling in quietly in perfect order on their alarm posts amid the scene +of wild confusion caused by the panic-stricken refugees who swarmed +along the roads. + +[Sidenote: Steadiness of the British.] + +In the meantime, to the north and northeast of the town, a confused +fight was taking place, which gave proof not only of great gallantry and +steadiness on the part of the troops referred to above, but of +remarkable presence of mind on the part of their leaders. Behind the +wall of vapor, which had swept across fields, through woods, and over +hedgerows, came the German firing line, the men's mouths and noses, it +is stated, protected by pads soaked in a solution of bicarbonate of +soda. Closely following them again came the supports. These troops, +hurrying forward with their formation somewhat broken up by the +obstacles encountered in their path, looked like a huge mob bearing down +upon the town. A battery of 4.7-inch guns a little beyond the left of +our line was surprised and overwhelmed by them in a moment. Further to +the rear and in a more easterly direction were several field batteries, +and before they could come into action the Germans were within a few +hundred yards. Not a gun, however, was lost. + +[Sidenote: The left retires slowly.] + +One battery, taken in flank, swung around, fired on the enemy at +point-blank range, and checked the rush. Another opened fire with the +guns pointing in almost opposite directions, the enemy being on three +sides of them. It was under the very heavy cannonade opened about this +time by the Germans, and threatened by the advance of vastly superior +numbers, that our infantry on our left steadily, and without any sign of +confusion, slowly retired to St. Julien, fighting every step. + +[Sidenote: British reserves arrive.] + +Help was not long in arriving, for some of our reserves near Ypres had +stood to arms as soon as they were aware of the fact that the French +line had been forced, and the officers on their own initiative, without +waiting for orders, led them forward to meet the advancing enemy, who, +by this time, were barely two miles from the town. These battalions +attacked the Germans with the bayonet, and then ensued a melee, in which +our men more than held their own, both sides losing very heavily. + +One German battalion seems to have been especially severely handled, the +Colonel being captured among several other prisoners. Other +reinforcements were thrown in as they came up, and, when night fell, the +fighting continued by moonlight, our troops driving back the enemy by +repeated bayonet charges, in the course of which our heavy guns were +recaptured. + +[Sidenote: Germans cross the canal.] + +By then the situation was somewhat restored in the area immediately +north of Ypres. Further to the west, however, the enemy had forced their +way over the canal, occupying Steenstraate and the crossing at Het Sast, +about three-quarters of a mile south of the former place, and had +established themselves at various points on the west bank. All night +long the shelling continued, and about 1.30 a.m. two heavy attacks were +made on our line in the neighborhood of Broodseinde, east of Zonnebeke. +These were both repulsed. The bombardment of Ypres itself and its +neighborhood had by now redoubled in intensity and a part of the town +was in flames. + +In the early morning of Friday, the 23d, we delivered a strong +counter-attack northward in co-operation with the French. Our advance +progressed for some little distance, reaching the edge of the wood about +half a mile west of St. Julien and penetrating it. Here our men got into +the Germans with the bayonet, and the latter suffered heavily. The +losses were also severe on our side, for the advance had to be carried +out across the open. But in spite of this nothing could exceed the dash +with which it was conducted. One man--and his case is typical of the +spirit shown by the troops--who had had his rifle smashed by a bullet, +continued to fight with an intrenching tool. Even many of the wounded +made their way out of the fight with some article of German equipment as +a memento. + +[Sidenote: The British intrench.] + +About 11 a.m., not being able to progress further, our troops dug +themselves in, the line then running from St. Julien practically due +west for about a mile, whence it curved southwestward before turning +north to the canal near Boesinghe. Broadly speaking, on the section of +the front then occupied by us the result of the operations had been to +remove to some extent the wedge which the Germans had driven into the +allied line, and the immediate danger was over. + +During the afternoon our counter-attack made further progress south of +Pilkem, thus straightening the line still more. Along the canal the +fighting raged fiercely, our allies making some progress here and there. +During the night, however, the Germans captured Lizerne, a village on +the main road from Ypres to Steenstraate. + +[Sidenote: The enemy throws bridges across the canal.] + +When the morning of the 24th came the situation remained much the same, +but the enemy, who had thrown several bridges across the canal, +continued to gain ground to the west. On our front the Germans, under +cover of their gas, made a further attack between 3 and 4 a.m. to the +east of St. Julien and forced back a portion of our line. Nothing else +in particular occurred until about midday, when large bodies of the +enemy were seen advancing down the Ypres-Poelcapelle road toward St. +Julien. Soon after a very strong attack developed against that village +and the section of the line east of it. + +[Sidenote: A French counter-attack.] + +Under the pressure of these fresh masses our troops were compelled to +fall back, contesting every inch of ground and making repeated +counter-attacks; but until late at night a gallant handful, some 200 to +300 strong, held out in St. Julien. During the night the line was +re-established north of the hamlet of Fortuin, about 700 yards further +to the rear. All this time the fighting along the canal continued, the +enemy forcing their way across near Boesinghe, and holding Het Sase, +Steenstraate, and Lizerne strongly. The French counter-attacked in the +afternoon, captured fifty prisoners, and made some further progress +toward Pilkem. The Germans, however, were still holding the west bank +firmly, although the Belgian artillery had broken the bridge behind them +at Steenstraate. + +[Sidenote: German assaults on Broodseinde.] + +On the morning of Sunday, the fourth day of the battle, we made a strong +counter-attack on St. Julien, which gained some ground but was checked +in front of the village. To the west of it we reached a point a few +hundred yards south of the wood which had been the objective on the 23d +and which we had had to relinquish subsequently. In the afternoon the +Germans made repeated assaults in great strength on our line near +Broodseinde. These were backed up by a tremendous artillery bombardment +under the throwing of asphyxiating bombs; but all were beaten off with +great slaughter to the enemy, and forty-five prisoners fell into our +hands. When night came the situation remained unchanged. + +This determined offensive on the part of the enemy, although it has +menaced Ypres itself, has not so far the appearance of a great effort to +break the line and capture the Channel ports. Its initial success was +gained by the surprise rendered possible by the use of a device which +Germany pledged herself not to employ. + +[Illustration: THE GAS BATTLE OF YPRES] + + + + +THE CANADIANS AT YPRES + +BY THE CANADIAN RECORD OFFICER + + +[Sidenote: Position of the Canadian Division.] + +On April 22 the Canadian Division held a line of, roughly, 5,000 yards, +extending in a northwesterly direction from the Ypres-Roulers Railway to +the Ypres-Poelcapelle road, and connecting at its terminus with the +French troops. The division consisted of three infantry brigades, in +addition to the artillery brigades. Of the infantry brigades the First +was in reserve, the Second was on the right, and the Third established +contact with the Allies at the point indicated above. + +[Sidenote: The sudden gas attack.] + +The day was a peaceful one, warm and sunny, and except that the previous +day had witnessed a further bombardment of the stricken town of Ypres, +everything seemed quiet in front of the Canadian line. At 5 o'clock in +the afternoon a plan, carefully prepared, was put into execution against +our French allies on the left. Asphyxiating gas of great intensity was +projected into their trenches, probably by means of force pumps and +pipes laid out under the parapets. The fumes, aided by a favorable wind, +floated backward, poisoning and disabling over an extended area those +who fell under their effect. + +[Sidenote: The French give ground.] + +The result was that the French were compelled to give ground for a +considerable distance. The glory which the French Army has won in this +war would make it impertinent to labor the compelling nature of the +poisonous discharges under which the trenches were lost. The French did, +as every one knew they would do, all that stout soldiers could do, and +the Canadian Division, officers and men, look forward to many occasions +in the future in which they will stand side by side with the brave +armies of France. + +The immediate consequences of this enforced withdrawal were, of course, +extremely grave. The Third Brigade of the Canadian Division was without +any left, or, in other words, its left was in the air. + +[Sidenote: Gap on the Canadian left.] + +It became imperatively necessary greatly to extend the Canadian lines to +the left rear. It was not, of course, practicable to move the First +Brigade from reserve at a moment's notice, and the line, extending from +5,000 to 9,000 yards, was naturally not the line that had been held by +the Allies at 5 o'clock, and a gap still existed on its left. + +It became necessary for Brigadier General Turner, commanding the Third +Brigade, to throw back his left flank southward to protect his rear. + +In the course of the confusion which followed upon the readjustments of +position, the enemy, who had advanced rapidly after his initial +successes, took four British 4.7 guns in a small wood to the west of the +village of St. Julien, two miles in the rear of the original French +trenches. + +[Sidenote: Heroism of the Canadian Division.] + +The story of the second battle of Ypres is the story of how the Canadian +Division, enormously outnumbered--for they had in front of them at least +four divisions, supported by immensely heavy artillery--with a gap still +existing, though reduced, in their lines, and with dispositions made +hurriedly under the stimulus of critical danger, fought through the day +and through the night, and then through another day and night; fought +under their officers until, as happened to so many, those perished +gloriously, and then fought from the impulsion of sheer valor because +they came from fighting stock. + +The enemy, of course, was aware--whether fully or not may perhaps be +doubted--of the advantage his breach in the line had given him, and +immediately began to push a formidable series of attacks upon the whole +of the newly-formed Canadian salient. If it is possible to distinguish +when the attack was everywhere so fierce, it developed with particular +intensity at this moment upon the apex of the newly formed line, running +in the direction of St. Julien. + +[Sidenote: Assault on the wood.] + +It has already been stated that four British guns were taken in a wood +comparatively early in the evening of the 22d. In the course of that +night, and under the heaviest machine-gun fire, this wood was assaulted +by the Canadian Scottish, Sixteenth Battalion of the Third Brigade, and +the Tenth Battalion of the Second Brigade, which was intercepted for +this purpose on its way to a reserve trench. The battalions were +respectively commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Leckie and Lieutenant +Colonel Boyle, and after a most fierce struggle in the light of a misty +moon they took the position at the point of the bayonet. At midnight the +Second Battalion, under Colonel Watson, and the Toronto Regiment, +Queen's Own, Third Battalion, under Lieutenant Colonel Rennie, both of +the First Brigade, brought up much-needed reinforcement, and though not +actually engaged in the assault were in reserve. + +All through the following days and nights these battalions shared the +fortunes and misfortunes of the Third Brigade. An officer who took part +in the attack describes how the men about him fell under the fire of the +machine guns, which, in his phrase, played upon them "like a watering +pot." He added quite simply, "I wrote my own life off." But the line +never wavered. When one man fell another took his place, and with a +final shout the survivors of the two battalions flung themselves into +the wood. The German garrison was completely demoralized, and the +impetuous advance of the Canadians did not cease until they reached the +far side of the wood and intrenched themselves there in the position so +dearly gained. They had, however, the disappointment of finding that the +guns had been blown up by the enemy, and later on in the same night a +most formidable concentration of artillery fire, sweeping the wood as a +tropical storm sweeps the leaves from a forest, made it impossible for +them to hold the position for which they had sacrificed so much. + +The fighting continued without intermission all through the night, and, +to those who observed the indications that the attack was being pushed +with ever-growing strength, it hardly seemed possible that the +Canadians, fighting in positions so difficult to defend and so little +the subject of deliberate choice, could maintain their resistance for +any long period. At 6 A. M. on Friday it became apparent that the left +was becoming more and more involved, and a powerful German attempt to +outflank it developed rapidly. The consequences, if it had been broken +or outflanked, need not be insisted upon. They were not merely local. + +[Sidenote: Counter-attack on German lines.] + +It was therefore decided, formidable as the attempt undoubtedly was, to +try and give relief by a counter-attack upon the first line of German +trenches, now far, far advanced from those originally occupied by the +French. This was carried out by the Ontario First and Fourth Battalions +of the First Brigade, under Brigadier General Mercer, acting in +combination with a British brigade. + +It is safe to say that the youngest private in the rank, as he set his +teeth for the advance, knew the task in front of him, and the youngest +subaltern knew all that rested upon its success. It did not seem that +any human being could live in the shower of shot and shell which began +to play upon the advancing troops. They suffered terrible casualties. +For a short time every other man seemed to fall, but the attack was +pressed ever closer and closer. + +[Sidenote: Enemy's first line trenches taken.] + +The Fourth Canadian Battalion at one moment came under a particularly +withering fire. For a moment--not more--it wavered. Its most gallant +commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Burchill, carrying, after an old +fashion, a light cane, coolly and cheerfully rallied his men and, at the +very moment when his example had infected them, fell dead at the head of +his battalion. With a hoarse cry of anger they sprang forward, (for, +indeed, they loved him,) as if to avenge his death. The astonishing +attack which followed--pushed home in the face of direct frontal fire +made in broad daylight by battalions whose names should live for ever in +the memories of soldiers--was carried to the first line of German +trenches. After a hand-to-hand struggle the last German who resisted was +bayoneted, and the trench was won. + +The measure of this success may be taken when it is pointed out that +this trench represented in the German advance the apex in the breach +which the enemy had made in the original line of the Allies, and that it +was two and a half miles south of that line. This charge, made by men +who looked death indifferently in the face, (for no man who took part in +it could think that he was likely to live,) saved, and that was much, +the Canadian left. But it did more. Up to the point where the assailants +conquered, or died, it secured and maintained during the most critical +moment of all the integrity of the allied line. For the trench was not +only taken, it was held thereafter against all comers, and in the teeth +of every conceivable projectile, until the night of Sunday, the 25th, +when all that remained of the war-broken but victorious battalions was +relieved by fresh troops. + +[Sidenote: The poisonous gas attack.] + +It is necessary now to return to the fortunes of the Third Brigade, +commanded by Brigadier General Turner, which, as we have seen, at 5 +o'clock on Thursday was holding the Canadian left, and after the first +attack assumed the defense of the new Canadian salient, at the same time +sparing all the men it could to form an extemporized line between the +wood and St. Julien. This brigade also was at the first moment of the +German offensive, made the object of an attack by the discharge of +poisonous gas. The discharge was followed by two enemy assaults. +Although the fumes were extremely poisonous, they were not, perhaps +having regard to the wind, so disabling as on the French lines, (which +ran almost east to west,) and the brigade, though affected by the fumes, +stoutly beat back the two German assaults. + +Encouraged by this success, it rose to the supreme effort required by +the assault on the wood, which has already been described. At 4 o'clock +on the morning of Friday, the 23d, a fresh emission of gas was made both +upon the Second Brigade, which held the line running northeast, and upon +the Third Brigade, which, as has been fully explained, had continued the +line up to the pivotal point, as defined above, and had then spread down +in a southeasterly direction. It is, perhaps, worth mentioning that two +privates of the Forty-eighth Highlanders who found their way into the +trenches commanded by Colonel Lipsett, Ninetieth Winnipeg Rifles, Eighth +Battalion, perished in the fumes, and it was noticed that their faces +became blue immediately after dissolution. + +[Sidenote: A brief retirement.] + +The Royal Highlanders of Montreal, Thirteenth Battalion, and the +Forty-eighth Highlanders, Fifteenth Battalion, were more especially +affected by the discharge. The Royal Highlanders, though considerably +shaken, remained immovable upon their ground. The Forty-eighth +Highlanders, which, no doubt, received a more poisonous discharge, was +for the moment dismayed, and, indeed, their trench, according to the +testimony of very hardened soldiers, became intolerable. The battalion +retired from the trench, but for a very short distance, and for an +equally short time, in a few moments they were again their own men. They +advanced upon and occupied the trenches which they had momentarily +abandoned. + +In the course of the same night the Third Brigade, which had already +displayed a resource, a gallantry, and a tenacity for which no eulogy +could be excessive, was exposed (and with it the whole allied case) to a +peril still more formidable. + +[Sidenote: Germans pass gap on left.] + +It has been explained, and, indeed, the fundamental situation made the +peril clear, that several German divisions were attempting to crush or +drive back this devoted brigade, and in any event to use their enormous +numerical superiority to sweep around and overwhelm its left wing. At +some point in the line which cannot be precisely determined the last +attempt partially succeeded, and in the course of this critical struggle +German troops in considerable though not in overwhelming numbers swung +past the unsupported left of the brigade, and, slipping in between the +wood and St. Julien, added to the torturing anxieties of the long-drawn +struggle by the appearance, and indeed for the moment the reality, of +isolation from the brigade base. + +[Sidenote: The Royal Highlanders of Montreal.] + +In the exertions made by the Third Brigade during this supreme crisis it +is almost impossible to single out one battalion without injustice to +others, but though the efforts of the Royal Highlanders of Montreal, +Thirteenth Battalion, were only equal to those of the other battalions +who did such heroic service, it so happened by chance that the fate of +some of its officers attracted special attention. + +[Sidenote: Death of Captain McCuaig.] + +Major Norsworth, already almost disabled by a bullet wound, was +bayoneted and killed while he was rallying his men with easy +cheerfulness. The case of Captain McCuaig, of the same battalion, was +not less glorious, although his death can claim no witness. This most +gallant officer was seriously wounded, in a hurriedly constructed +trench, at a moment when it would have been possible to remove him to +safety. He absolutely refused to move and continued in the discharge of +his duty. + +But the situation grew constantly worse, and peremptory orders were +received for an immediate withdrawal. Those who were compelled to obey +them were most insistent to carry with them, at whatever risk to their +own mobility and safety, an officer to whom they were devotedly +attached. But he, knowing, it may be, better than they, the exertions +which still lay in front of them, and unwilling to inflict upon them the +disabilities of a maimed man, very resolutely refused, and asked of them +one thing only, that there should be given to him, as he lay alone in +the trench, two loaded Colt revolvers to add to his own, which lay in +his right hand as he made his last request. And so, with three revolvers +ready to his hand for use, a very brave officer waited to sell his life, +wounded and racked with pain, in an abandoned trench. + +On Friday afternoon the left of the Canadian line was strengthened by +important reinforcements of British troops amounting to seven +battalions. From this time forward the Canadians also continued to +receive further assistance on the left from a series of French +counter-attacks pushed in a northeasterly direction from the canal bank. + +[Sidenote: The defenders give ground.] + +But the artillery fire of the enemy continually grew in intensity, and +it became more and more evident that the Canadian salient could no +longer be maintained against the overwhelming superiority of numbers by +which it was assailed. Slowly, stubbornly, and contesting every yard, +the defenders gave ground until the salient gradually receded from the +apex, near the point where it had originally aligned with the French, +and fell back upon St. Julien. + +[Sidenote: The enemy in St. Julien.] + +Soon it became evident that even St. Julien, exposed to fire from right +and left, was no longer tenable in the fact of overwhelming numerical +superiority. The Third Brigade was therefore ordered to retreat further +south, selling every yard of ground as dearly as it had done since 5 +o'clock on Thursday. But it was found impossible, without hazarding far +larger forces, to disentangle the detachment of the Royal Highlanders of +Montreal, Thirteenth Battalion, and of the Royal Montreal Regiment, +Fourteenth Battalion. The brigade was ordered, and not a moment too +soon, to move back. It left these units with hearts as heavy as those +with which his comrades had said farewell to Captain McCuaig. The German +tide rolled, indeed, over the deserted village, but for several hours +after the enemy had become master of the village the sullen and +persistent rifle fire which survived showed that they were not yet +master of the Canadian rearguard. If they died, they died worthily of +Canada. + +The enforced retirement of the Third Brigade (and to have stayed longer +would have been madness) reproduced for the Second Brigade, commanded by +Brigadier General Curry, in a singularly exact fashion, the position of +the Third Brigade itself at the moment of the withdrawal of the French. +The Second Brigade, it must be remembered, had retained the whole line +of trenches, roughly 2,500 yards, which it was holding at 5 o'clock on +Thursday afternoon, supported by the incomparable exertions of the Third +Brigade, and by the highly hazardous employment in which necessity had +involved that brigade. The Second Brigade had maintained its lines. + +[Sidenote: General Curry's maneuvres.] + +[Sidenote: Lieutenant Colonel Lipsett holds the left.] + +It now devolved upon General Curry, commanding this brigade, to +reproduce the tactical maneuvres with which, earlier in the fight, the +Third Brigade had adapted itself to the flank movement of overwhelming +numerical superiority. He flung his left flank around south, and his +record is, that in the very crisis of this immense struggle he held his +line of trenches from Thursday at 5 o'clock till Sunday afternoon. And +on Sunday afternoon he had not abandoned his trenches. There were none +left. They had been obliterated by artillery. He withdrew his undefeated +troops from the fragments of his field fortifications, and the hearts of +his men were as completely unbroken as the parapets of his trenches were +completely broken. In such a brigade it is invidious to single out any +battalion for special praise, but it is, perhaps, necessary to the story +to point out that Lieutenant Colonel Lipsett, commanding the Ninetieth +Winnipeg Rifles, Eighth Battalion of the Second Brigade, held the +extreme left of the brigade position at the most critical moment. + +The battalion was expelled from the trenches early on Friday morning by +an emission of poisonous gas, but, recovering in three-quarters of an +hour, it counter-attacked, retook the trenches it had abandoned, and +bayoneted the enemy. And after the Third Brigade had been forced to +retire Lieutenant Colonel Lipsett held his position, though his left +was in the air, until two British regiments filled up the gap on +Saturday night. + +The individual fortunes of these two brigades have brought us to the +events of Sunday afternoon, but it is necessary, to make the story +complete, to recur for a moment to the events of the morning. After a +very formidable attack the enemy succeeded in capturing the village of +St. Julien, which has so often been referred to in describing the +fortunes of the Canadian left. This success opened up a new and +formidable line of advance, but by this time further reinforcements had +arrived. Here, again, it became evident that the tactical necessities of +the situation dictated an offensive movement as the surest method of +arresting further progress. + +[Sidenote: Cheers for the Canadians.] + +General Alderson, who was in command of the reinforcements, accordingly +directed that an advance should be made by a British brigade which had +been brought up in support. The attack was thrust through the Canadian +left and centre, and as the troops making it swept on, many of them +going to certain death, they paused an instant, and, with deep-throated +cheers for Canada, gave the first indication to the division of the warm +admiration which their exertions had excited in the British Army. + +The advance was indeed costly, but it could not be gainsaid. The story +is one of which the brigade may be proud, but it does not belong to the +special account of the fortunes of the Canadian contingent. It is +sufficient for our purpose to notice that the attack succeeded in its +object, and the German advance along the line, momentarily threatened, +was arrested. + +[Sidenote: Second and Third Brigades relieved.] + +We had reached, in describing the events of the afternoon, the points at +which the trenches of the Second Brigade had been completely destroyed. +This brigade, the Third Brigade, and the considerable reinforcements +which this time filled the gap between the two brigades were gradually +driven fighting every yard upon a line running, roughly, from Fortuin, +south of St. Julien, in a northeasterly direction toward Passchendaele. +Here the two brigades were relieved by two British brigades, after +exertions as glorious, as fruitful, and, alas! as costly as soldiers +have ever been called upon to make. + +Monday morning broke bright and clear and found the Canadians behind the +firing line. This day, too, was to bring its anxieties. The attack was +still pressed, and it became necessary to ask Brigadier General Curry +whether he could once more call upon his shrunken brigade. "The men are +tired," this indomitable soldier replied, "but they are ready and glad +to go again to the trenches." And so once more, a hero leading heroes, +the General marched back the men of the Second Brigade, reduced to a +quarter of its original strength, to the very apex of the line as it +existed at that moment. + +[Sidenote: Back to the apex of the line.] + +This position he held all day Monday; on Tuesday he was still occupying +the reserve trenches, and on Wednesday was relieved and retired to +billets in the rear. + +Such, in the most general outline, is the story of a great and glorious +feat of arms. A story told so soon after the event, while rendering bare +justice to units whose doings fell under the eyes of particular +observers, must do less than justice to others who played their +part--and all did--as gloriously as those whose special activities it is +possible, even at this stage, to describe. But the friends of men who +fought in other battalions may be content in the knowledge that they, +too, shall learn, when time allows the complete correlation of diaries, +the exact part which each unit played in these unforgettable days. It +is rather accident than special distinction which had made it possible +to select individual battalions for mention. + +[Sidenote: Signalers and dispatch carriers.] + +It would not be right to close even this account without a word of +tribute to the auxiliary services. The signalers were always cool and +resourceful. The telegraph and telephone wires being constantly cut, +many belonging to this service rendered up their lives in the discharge +of their duty, carrying out repairs with the most complete calmness in +exposed positions. The dispatch carriers, as usual, behaved with the +greatest bravery. Theirs is a lonely life, and very often a lonely +death. One cycle messenger lay upon the ground, badly wounded. He +stopped a passing officer and delivered his message, together with some +verbal instructions. These were coherently given, but he swooned almost +before the words were out of his mouth. + +[Sidenote: Artillery and engineers.] + +The artillery never flagged in the sleepless struggle in which so much +depended upon its exertions. Not a Canadian gun was lost in the long +battle of retreat. And the nature of the position renders such a record +very remarkable. One battery of four guns found itself in such a +situation that it was compelled to turn two of its guns directly about +and fire upon the enemy in positions almost diametrically opposite. + +It is not possible in this account to attempt a description of the +services rendered by the Canadian Engineers or the Medical Corps. Their +members rivaled in coolness, endurance, and valor the Canadian infantry, +whose comrades they were, and it is hoped in separate communications to +do justice to both these brilliant services. + +No attempt has been made in this description to explain the recent +operations except in so far as they spring from, or are connected with, +the fortunes of the Canadian Division. It is certain that the exertions +of the troops who reinforced and later relieved the Canadians were not +less glorious, but the long, drawn-out struggle is a lesson to the whole +empire. "Arise, O Israel!" The empire is engaged in a struggle, without +quarter and without compromise, against an enemy still superbly +organized, still immensely powerful, still confident that its strength +is the mate of its necessities. To arms, then, and still to arms! In +Great Britain, in Canada, in Australia there is need, and there is need +now, of a community organized alike in military and industrial +co-operation. + +That our countrymen in Canada, even while their hearts are still +bleeding, will answer every call which is made upon them, we well know. + +[Sidenote: The Canadian graveyard in Flanders.] + +The graveyard of Canada in Flanders is large; it is very large. Those +who lie there have left their mortal remains on alien soil. To Canada +they have bequeathed their memories and their glory. + + On Fame's eternal camping ground + Their silent tents are spread, + And Glory guards with solemn round + The bivouac of the dead. + +Assaults accompanied with gas were not made on every position of the +front held by the British to the north of Ypres at the same time. At one +point it was not until the early morning of Saturday, April 24, that the +Germans brought this method into operation against a section of our line +not far from our left flank. + +[Sidenote: Germans fire poison gas shells.] + +Late on Thursday afternoon the men here saw portions of the French +retiring some distance to the west, and observed the cloud of vapor +rolling along the ground southward behind them. Our position was then +shelled with high explosives until 8 P.M. On Friday also it was +bombarded for some hours, the Germans firing poison shells for one hour. +Their infantry, who were intrenched about 120 yards away, evidently +expected some result from their use of the latter, for they put their +heads above the parapets, as if to see what the effect had been on our +men, and at intervals opened rapid rifle fire. The wind, however, was +strong and dissipated the fumes quickly, our troops did not suffer +seriously from their noxious effect, and the enemy did not attempt any +advance. + +[Sidenote: Stupefying gas employed.] + +On Saturday morning, just about dawn, an airship appeared in the sky to +the east of our line at this point, and dropped four red stars, which +floated downward slowly for some distance before they died out. When our +men, whose eyes had not unnaturally been fixed on this display of +pyrotechnics, again turned to their front it was to find the German +trenches rendered invisible by a wall of greenish-yellow vapor, similar +to that observed on the Thursday afternoon, which was bearing down on +them on the breeze. Through this the Germans started shooting. During +Saturday they employed stupefying gas on several occasions in this +quarter, but did not press on very quickly. One reason for this, given +by a German prisoner, is that many of the enemy's infantry were so +affected by the fumes that they could not advance. + +To continue the narrative from the night of Sunday, April 25. At 12:30 +A. M., in face of repeated attacks, our infantry fell back from a part +of the Grafenstafel Ridge, northwest of Zonnebeke, and the line then ran +for some distance along the south bank of the little Haanebeek stream. +The situation along the Yperlee Canal remained practically unchanged. + +[Sidenote: Line pierced at Broodseinde.] + +When the morning of the 26th dawned the Germans, who had been seen +massing in St. Julien, and to the east of the village on the previous +evening, made several assaults, which grew more and more fierce as the +hours passed, but reinforcements were sent up and the position was +secured. Further east, however, our line was pierced near Broodseinde, +and a small body of the enemy established themselves in a portion of our +trenches. In the afternoon a strong, combined counter-attack was +delivered by the French and British along the whole front from +Steenstraate to the east of St. Julien, accompanied by a violent +bombardment. This moment, so far as can be judged at present, marked the +turning point of the battle, for, although it effected no great change +in the situation, it caused a definite check to the enemy's offensive, +relieved the pressure, and gained a certain amount of ground. + +[Sidenote: Attack near St. Julien.] + +During this counter-attack the guns concentrated by both sides on this +comparatively narrow front poured in a great volume of fire. From the +right came the roar of the British batteries, from the left the rolling +thunder of the _soixante-quinze_, and every now and then above the +turmoil rose a dull boom as a huge howitzer shell burst in the vicinity +of Ypres. On the right our infantry stormed the German trenches close to +St. Julien, and in the evening gained the southern outskirts of the +village. In the centre they captured the trenches a little to the south +of the Bois des Cuisinirs, west of St. Julien, and still further west +more trenches were taken. This represented an advance of some 600 or 700 +yards, but the gain in ground could not at all points be maintained. +Opposite St. Julien we fell back from the village to a position just +south of the place, and in front of the Bois des Cuisinirs and on the +left of the line a similar retirement took place, the enemy making +extensive use of his gas cylinders and of machine guns placed in farms +or at other points of vantage. None the less, the situation at nightfall +was more satisfactory than it had been. We were holding our own well all +along the line and had made progress at some points. On the right the +enemy's attacks on the front of the Grafenstafel Ridge had all been +repulsed. + +[Sidenote: Enemy lines.] + +In the meantime the French had achieved some success, having retaken +Lizerne and also the trenches round Het Sast, captured some 250 +prisoners, and made progress all along the west bank of the canal. Heavy +as our losses were during the day, there is little doubt that the enemy +suffered terribly. Both sides were attacking at different points, the +fighting was conducted very largely in the open, and the close +formations of the Germans on several occasions presented excellent +targets to our artillery, which did not fail to seize its opportunities. + +Nothing in particular occurred during the night. + +[Sidenote: The new battle lines.] + +The morning of the 27th found our troops occupying the following +positions; North of Zonnebeke the right of the line still held the +eastern end of the Grafenstafel Ridge, but from here it bent +southwestward behind the Haanebeek stream, which it followed to a point +about half a mile east of St. Julien. Thence it curved back again to the +Vamheule Farm, on the Ypres-Poelcappelle road, running from here in a +slight southerly curve to a point a little west of the Ypres-Langemarck +road, where it joined the French. In the last mentioned quarter of the +field it followed generally the line of a low ridge running from west to +east. On the French front the Germans had been cleared from the west +bank of the canal, except at one point, Steenstraate, where they +continued to hold the bridgehead. + +About 1 P. M. a counter-attack was made by us all along the line +between the canal and the Ypres-Poelcappelle road, and for about an hour +we continued to make progress. Then the right and centre were checked. A +little later the left was also held up, and the situation remained very +much as it had been on the previous day. The Germans were doubtless much +encouraged by their initial success, and their previous boldness in +attack was now matched by the stubborn manner in which they clung on to +their positions. In the evening the French stormed some trenches east of +the canal, but were again checked by the enemy's gas cylinders. + +[Sidenote: German exhaustion.] + +The night passed quietly, and was spent by us in reorganizing and +consolidating our positions. The enemy did not interfere. This is not +surprising, in view of the fact that by Tuesday evening they had been +fighting for over five days. Their state of exhaustion is confirmed by +the statements of the prisoners captured by the French, who also +reported that the German losses had been very heavy. + +On Wednesday, the 28th, there was a complete lull on this sector of our +line, and the shelling was less severe. Some fighting, however, occurred +along the canal, the French taking over 100 prisoners. + +[Sidenote: Air battles.] + +Nothing of any importance has occurred on other parts of the front. On +the 27th at the Railway Triangle opposite Guinchy, the south side of the +embankment held by the Germans was blown up by our miners. On the 28th a +hostile aeroplane was forced to descend by our anti-aircraft guns. On +coming down in rear of the German lines, it was at once fired upon and +destroyed by our field artillery. Another hostile machine was brought +down by rifle fire near Zonnebeke. + +Splendid work has been done during the past few days by our airmen, who +have kept all the area behind the hostile lines under close +observation. On the 26th they bombed the stations of Staden, Thielt, +Courtrai, Roubaix, and other places, and located an armored train near +Langemarck, which was subsequently shelled and forced to retire. There +have been several successful conflicts in the air, on one occasion a +pilot in a single seater chasing a German machine to Roulers, and +forcing it to land. + +[Sidenote: Raid on Courtrai]. + +The raid on Courtrai unfortunately cost the nation a very gallant life, +but it will live as one of the most heroic episodes of the war. The +airman started on the enterprise alone in a biplane. On arrival at +Courtrai he glided down to a height of 300 feet and dropped a large bomb +on the railway junction. While he did this he was the target of hundreds +of rifles, of machine guns, and of anti-aircraft armament, and was +severely wounded in the thigh. Though he might have saved his life by at +once coming down in the enemy's lines, he decided to save his machine at +all costs, and made for the British lines. Descending to a height of +only 100 feet in order to increase his speed, he continued to fly and +was again wounded, this time mortally. He still flew on, however, and +without coming down at the nearest of our aerodromes went all the way +back to his own base, where he executed a perfect landing and made his +report. He died in hospital not long afterward. + +[Sidenote: Steadiness of the Canadians.] + +The outstanding feature of the action of the past week has been the +steadiness of our troops on the extreme left; but of the deeds of +individual gallantry and devotion which have been performed it would be +impossible to narrate one-hundredth part. At one place in this quarter a +machine gun was stationed in the angle of a trench when the German rush +took place. One man after another of the detachment was shot, but the +gun still continued in action, through five bodies lay around it. When +the sixth man took the place of his fallen comrades, of whom one was his +brother, the Germans were still pressing on. He waited until they were +only a few yards away, and then poured a stream of bullets on to the +advancing ranks, which broke and fell back, leaving rows of dead. He was +then wounded himself. + +[Sidenote: Telephone wires cut.] + +Under the hot fire to which our batteries were subjected in the early +part of the engagement telephone wires were repeatedly cut. The wire +connecting one battery with its observing officer was severed on nine +separate occasions, and on each occasion repaired by a Sergeant, who did +the work out in the open under a perfect hail of shells. + +About 5 P. M. a dense cloud of suffocating vapors was launched from +their trenches along the whole front held by the French right and by our +left from the Ypres-Langemarck road to a considerable distance east of +St. Julien. The fumes did not carry much beyond our front trenches. But +these were to a great extent rendered untenable, and a retirement from +them was ordered. + +[Sidenote: Strange appearance of gas battle.] + +No sooner had this started than the enemy opened a violent bombardment +with asphyxiating shells and shrapnel on our trenches and on our +infantry as they were withdrawing. Meanwhile our guns had not been idle. +From a distance, perhaps owing to some peculiarity of the light, the gas +on this occasion looked like a great reddish cloud, and the moment it +was seen our batteries poured a concentrated fire on the German +trenches. + +Curious situations then arose between us and the enemy. The poison belt, +the upper part shredding into thick wreaths of vapor as it was shaken by +the wind, and the lower and denser part sinking into all inequalities of +the ground, rolled slowly down the trenches. Shells would rend it for a +moment, but it only settled down again as thickly as before. + +Nevertheless, the German infantry faced it, and they faced a hail of +shrapnel as well. In some cases where the gas had not reached our lines +our troops held firm and shot through the cloud at the advancing +Germans. In other cases the men holding the front line managed to move +to the flank, where they were more or less beyond the affected area. +Here they waited until the enemy came on and then bayoneted them when +they reached our trenches. + +[Sidenote: A charge through the gas.] + +On the extreme left our supports waited until the vapor reached our +trenches, when they charged through it and met the advancing Germans +with the bayonet as they swarmed over the parapets. + +South of St. Julien the denseness of the vapor compelled us to evacuate +trenches, but reinforcements arrived who charged the enemy before they +could establish themselves in position. In every case the assaults +failed completely. Large numbers were mown down by our artillery. Men +were seen falling and others scattering and running back to their own +lines. Many who reached the gas cloud could not make their way through +it, and in all probability a great number of the wounded perished from +the fumes. + +It is to that extent, from a military standpoint, a sign of weakness. +Another sign of weakness is the adoption of illegal methods of fighting, +such as spreading poisonous gas. It is a confession by the Germans that +they have lost their former great superiority in artillery and are, at +any cost, seeking another technical advantage over their enemy as a +substitute. + +[Sidenote: The enemy sticks at nothing.] + +Nevertheless, this spirit, this determination on the part of our enemies +to stick at nothing must not be underestimated. Though it may not pay +the Germans in the long run, it renders it all the more obvious that +they are a foe that can be overcome only by the force of overwhelming +numbers of men and guns. + +Further to the east a similar attack was made about 7 P. M. which seems +to have been attended with even less success, and the assaulting +infantry was at once beaten back by our artillery fire. + +It was not long before all our trenches were reoccupied and the whole +line reestablished in its original position. The attack on the French +met with the same result. + +Prisoners captured in the recent fighting, the narrative continues, +stated that one German corps lost 80 per cent. of its men in the first +week; that the losses from our artillery fire, even during days when no +attacks were taking place, had been very heavy and that many of their +own men had suffered from the effects of the gas. + +[Sidenote: German gains due to poison gas.] + +In regard to the recent fighting on our left, the German offensive, +effected in the first instance by surprise, resulted in a considerable +gain of ground for the enemy. Between all the earlier German efforts, +the only difference was that on this latest occasion the attempt was +carried out with the aid of poisonous gases. + +There is no reason why we should not expect similar tactics in the +future. They do not mean that the Allies have lost the initiative in the +Western theatre, nor that they are likely to lose it. They do mean, +however, and the fact has been repeatedly pointed out, that the enemy's +defensive is an active one, that his confidence is still unshaken and +that he still is able to strike in some strength where he sees the +chance or where mere local advantage can be secured. + +The true idea of the meaning of the operations of the Allies can be +gained only by bearing in mind that it is their primary object to bring +about the exhaustion of the enemy's resources in men. + +In the form now assumed by this struggle--a war of attrition--the +Germans are bound ultimately to lose, and it is the consciousness of +this fact that inspires their present policy. This is to achieve as +early as possible some success of sufficient magnitude to influence the +neutrals, to discourage the Allies, to make them weary of the struggle +and to induce the belief among the people ignorant of war that nothing +has been gained by the past efforts of the Allies because the Germans +have not yet been driven back. It is being undertaken with a political +rather than a strategical object. + +[Sidenote: Violent artillery fire.] + +The calm that prevailed Thursday and Friday proved to be only the lull +before the storm. Early Saturday morning it became apparent that the +Germans were preparing an attack in strength against our line running +east and northeast from Ypres, for they were concentrating under cover +of a violent artillery fire, and at about 10 o'clock the battle began in +earnest. + +At that hour the Germans attacked our line from the Ypres-Poelcappelle +road to within a short distance of the Menin highroad, it being +evidently their intention while engaging us closely on the whole of this +sector to break our front in the vicinity of the Ypres-Roulers Railway, +to the north and to the south of which their strongest and most +determined assaults were delivered. + +Under this pressure our front was penetrated at some points around +Frezenberg, and at 4:30 o'clock in the afternoon we made a +counter-attack between the Zonnebeke road and the railway in order to +recover the lost ground. Our offensive was conducted most gallantly, but +was checked before long by the fire of machine guns. + +[Sidenote: Enemy attacks near Menin road.] + +Meanwhile, the enemy launched another attack through the woods south of +the Menin road, and at the same time threatened our left to the north of +Ypres with fresh masses. Most desperate fighting ensued, the German +infantry coming on again and again and gradually forcing our troops +back, though only for a short distance, in spite of repeated +counter-attacks. + +[Sidenote: On the Poelcappelle road.] + +During the night the fighting continued to rage with ever-increasing +fury. It is impossible to say at exactly what hour our line was broken +at different points, but it is certain that at one time the enemy's +infantry poured through along the Poelcappelle road, and even got as far +as Wieltje at 9 P. M. + +There was also a considerable gap in our front about Frezenberg, where +hostile detachments had penetrated. At both points counter-attacks were +organized without delay. To the east of the salient the Germans first +were driven back to Frezenberg, but there they made a firm stand, and +under pressure of fresh reinforcements we fell back again toward +Verlorenhoek. + +[Sidenote: Canadian counter-attack.] + +Northeast of the salient a counter-attack carried out by us about 1 A. +M. was more successful. Our troops swept the enemy out of Wieltje at the +bayonet's point, leaving the village strewn with German dead and, +pushing on, regained most of the ground to the north of that point. And +so the fight surged to and fro throughout the night. All around the +scene of the conflict the sky was lit up by the flashes of the guns and +the light of blazing villages and farms, while against this background +of smoke and flame, looking out in the murky light over the crumbling +ruins of the old town, rose the battered wreck of the cathedral town and +the spires of Cloth Hall. + +[Sidenote: German assaults on the east.] + +When Sunday dawned there came a short respite, and the firing for a time +died down. The comparative lull enabled us to reorganize and +consolidate our position on the new line we had taken up and to obtain +some rest after the fatigue and strain of the night. It did not last +long, however, and in the afternoon the climax of the battle was +reached, for, under the cover of intense artillery fire, the Germans +launched no less than five separate assaults against the east of the +salient. + +To the north and northeast their attacks were not at first pressed so +hard as on the south of the Menin road, where the fighting was +especially fierce. In the latter direction masses of infantry were +hurled on with absolute desperation and were beaten off with +corresponding slaughter. + +At one point, north of the town, 500 of the enemy advanced from the +wood, and it is affirmed by those present that not a single man of them +escaped. + +[Sidenote: German losses at Chateau Hooge.] + +On the eastern face, at 6:30 P. M., an endeavor was made to storm the +grounds of the Chateau Hooge, a little north of the Menin road, but the +force attempting it broke and fell back under the hail of shrapnel +poured upon them by our guns. It was on this side, where they had to +face the concentrated fire of guns, Maxims and rifles again and again in +their efforts to break their way through, that the Germans incurred +their heaviest losses, and the ground was literally heaped with dead. + +They evidently, for the time being at least, were unable to renew their +efforts, and as night came on the fury of their offensive gradually +slackened, the hours of darkness passing in quietness. + +During the day our troops saw some of the enemy busily employed in +stripping the British dead in our abandoned trenches, east of the Hooge +Chateau, and several Germans afterward were noticed dressed in khaki. + +[Sidenote: A successful day.] + +So far as the Ypres region is concerned, this for us was a most +successful day. Our line, which on the northeast of the salient had, +after the previous day's fighting, been reconstituted a short distance +behind the original front, remained intact. Our losses were +comparatively slight, and, owing to the targets presented by the enemy, +the action resolved itself on our part into pure killing. + +The reason for this very determined effort to crush our left on the part +of the Germans is not far to seek. It is probable that for some days +previously they had been in possession of information which led them to +suppose that we intended to apply pressure on the right of our line, and +that their great attack upon Ypres on the 7th, 8th, and 9th was +undertaken with a view to diverting us from our purpose. + +In this the Germans were true to their principles, for they rightly hold +that the best manner of meeting an expected hostile offensive is to +forestall it by attacking in some other quarter. In this instance their +leaders acted with the utmost determination and energy and their +soldiers fought with the greatest courage. + +[Sidenote: The enemy held in check.] + +The failure of their effort was due to the splendid endurance of our +troops, who held the line around the salient under a fire which again +and again blotted out whole lengths of the defenses and killed the +defenders by scores. Time after time along those parts of the front +selected for assault were parapets destroyed, and time after time did +the thinning band of survivors build them up again and await the next +onset as steadily as before. + +Here, in May, in defense of the same historic town, have our +incomparable infantry repeated the great deeds their comrades performed +half a year ago and beaten back most desperate onslaughts of hostile +hordes backed by terrific artillery support. + +The services rendered by our troops in this quarter cannot at present +be estimated, for their full significance will only be realized in the +light of future events. But so far their devotion has indirectly +contributed in no small measure to the striking success already achieved +by our allies. + +Further south, in the meantime, on Sunday another struggle had been in +progress on that portion of the front covered by the right of our line +and the left of the French, for when the firing around Ypres was +temporarily subsiding during the early hours of the morning another and +even more tremendous cannonade was suddenly started by the artillery of +the Allies some twenty miles to the south. + +The morning was calm, bright, and clear, and opposite our right, as the +sun rose, the scene in front of our line was the most peaceful +imaginable. Away to the right were Guinchy, with its brickfields and the +ruins of Givenchy. To the north of them lay low ground, where, hidden by +trees and hedgerows, ran the opposing lines that were about to become +the scene of the conflict, and beyond, in the distance, rose the long +ridge of Aubers, the villages crowning it standing out clear cut against +the sky. + +[Sidenote: Bombardment of Guinchy.] + +At 5 o'clock the bombardment began, slowly at first and then growing in +volume until the whole air quivered with the rush of the larger shells +and the earth shook with the concussion of guns. In a few minutes the +whole distant landscape disappeared in smoke and dust, which hung for a +while in the still air and then drifted slowly across the line of +battle. + +[Sidenote: The battle near Festubert.] + +Shortly before 6 o'clock our infantry advanced along our front between +the Bois Grenier and Festubert. On the left, north of Fromelles, we +stormed the German first line trenches. Hand-to-hand fighting went on +for some time with bayonet, rifle, and hand grenade, but we continued to +hold on to this position throughout the day and caused the enemy very +heavy loss, for not only were many Germans killed in the bombardment, +but their repeated efforts to drive us from the captured positions +proved most costly. + +On the right, to the north of Festubert, our advance met with +considerable opposition and was not pressed. + +[Sidenote: A French victory.] + +Meanwhile, the French, after a prolonged bombardment, had taken the +German positions north of Arras on a front of nearly five miles, and had +pushed forward from two to three miles, capturing 2,000 prisoners and +six guns. This remarkable success was gained by our allies in the course +of a few hours. + +As may be supposed from the nature of the fighting which has been in +progress, our losses have been heavy. On other parts of the front our +action was confined to that of the artillery, but this proved most +effective later, all the communications of the enemy being subjected to +so heavy and accurate a fire that in some quarters all movement by +daylight within range of our lines was rendered impracticable. At one +place opposite our centre a convoy of ammunition was hit by a shell, +which knocked out six motor lorries and caused two to blow up. Opposite +our centre we fired two mines, which did considerable damage to the +enemy's defenses. + +[Sidenote: Air fighting.] + +During the day also our aeroplanes attacked several points of +importance. One of our airmen, who was sent to bomb the canal bridge +near Don, was wounded on his way there, but continued and fulfilled his +mission. Near Wytschaete, one of our aviators pursued a German aeroplane +and fired a whole belt from his machine gun at it. The Taube suddenly +swerved, righted itself for a second, and then descended from a height +of several thousand feet straight to the ground. + +On the other hand, a British machine unfortunately was brought down over +Lille by the enemy's anti-aircraft guns, but it is hoped that the +aviator escaped. + +_In regard to the German allegation, that the British used gas in their +attacks on Hill 60, the Eyewitness says_: + +[Sidenote: British had not used gas.] + +No asphyxiating gases have been employed by us at any time, nor have +they yet been brought into play by us. + + * * * * * + +Germany, desperate at her failure to win the rapid victories she had +anticipated on the land, resorted, in 1915, to a ruthless policy of +sinking the ships of the belligerent powers, whether or not they were +engaged on legitimate errands. This policy culminated on May 7, 1915, in +the sinking of the great transatlantic steamship the _Lusitania_, with +the loss of over a thousand men, women, and children. + + + + +SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA + +THE JUDICIAL DECISION BY JUDGE J. M. MAYER + + +[Sidenote: The _Lusitania_ sails.] + +On May 1, 1915, the British passenger-carrying merchantman _Lusitania_ +sailed from New York bound for Liverpool, with 1,257 passengers and a +crew of 702, making a total of 1,959 souls on board, men, women, and +children. At approximately 2:10 on the afternoon of May 7, 1915, weather +clear and sea smooth, without warning, the vessel was torpedoed and went +down by the head in about eighteen minutes, with an ultimate tragic loss +of 1,195. + +[Sidenote: Passengers and equipment.] + +So far as equipment went, the vessel was seaworthy in the highest sense. +Her carrying capacity was 2,198 passengers and a crew of about 850, or +about 3,000 persons in all. She had 22 open lifeboats capable of +accommodating 1,322 persons, 26 collapsible boats with a capacity for +1,283, making a total of 48 boats with a capacity for 2,605 in all, or +substantially in excess of the requirements of her last voyage. Her +total of life belts was 3,187, or 1,959 more than the total number of +passengers, and, in addition, she carried 20 life buoys. She was classed +100 A1 at Lloyd's being 787 feet long over all, with a tonnage of 30,395 +gross and 12,611 net. She had 4 turbine engines, 25 boilers, 4 boiler +rooms, 12 transverse bulkheads, dividing her into 13 compartments, with +a longitudinal bulkhead on either side of the ship for 425 feet, +covering all vital parts. + +[Sidenote: The _Lusitania_ unarmed.] + +The proof is absolute that she was not and never had been armed nor did +she carry any explosives. She did carry some 18 fuse cases and 125 +shrapnel cases, consisting merely of empty shells without any powder +charge, 4,200 cases of safety cartridges, and 189 cases of infantry +equipment, such as leather fittings, pouches, and the like. All these +were for delivery abroad, but none of these munitions could be exploded +by setting them on fire in mass or in bulk, nor by subjecting them to +impact. She had been duly inspected on March 17, April 15, 16, and 17, +all in 1915, and before she left New York the boat gear and boats were +examined, overhauled, checked up, and defective articles properly +replaced. + +[Sidenote: The drills sufficient.] + +There is no reason to doubt that this part of her equipment was in +excellent order when she left New York. The vessel was under the command +of a long service and experienced Captain and officered by competent and +experienced men. The difficulties of the war prevented the company from +gathering together a crew fully reaching a standard as high as in normal +times, (many of the younger British sailors having been called to the +colors,) but, all told, the crew was good and, in many instances, highly +intelligent and capable. Due precaution was taken in respect of boat +drills while in port, and the testimony shows that those drills were +both sufficient and efficient. Some passengers did not see any boat +drills on the voyage, while others characterized the drills, in effect, +as formally superficial. Any one familiar with ocean traveling knows +that it is not strange that boat drills may take place unobserved by +some of the passengers who, though on deck, may be otherwise occupied or +who may be in another part of the ship, and such negative testimony must +give way to the positive testimony that there were daily boat drills, +the object of which mainly was to enable the men competently and quickly +to lower the boats. + +[Sidenote: Emergency precautions.] + +Each man had a badge showing the number of the boat to which he was +assigned, and a boat list was posted in three different places in the +ship. Each day of the voyage a drill was held with the emergency boat, +which was a fixed boat, either No. 13 on the starboard side or No. 14 on +the port side, according to the weather, the idea, doubtless, being to +accustom the men quickly to reach the station on either side of the +ship. The siren was blown and a picked crew from the watch assembled at +the boat, put on life belts, jumped into the boat, took their places, +and jumped out again. + +Throughout this case it must always be remembered that the disaster +occurred in May, 1915, and the whole subject must be approached with the +knowledge and mental attitude of that time. It may be that more +elaborate and effective methods and precaution have been adopted since +then, but there is no testimony which shows that these boat drills, as +practiced on the voyage, were not fully up to the then existing +standards and practices. There can be no criticism of the bulkhead door +drills, for there was one each day. + +[Sidenote: Speed reduced.] + +In November, 1914, the Directors of the Cunard Company, in view of the +falling off of the passenger traffic, decided to withdraw the +_Lusitania's_ sister ship, _Mauretania_, and to run the _Lusitania_ at +three-fourths boiler power, which involved a reduction of speed from an +average of about twenty-four knots to an average of about twenty-one +knots. The ship was operated under this reduced boiler power and reduced +rate of speed for six round trips until and including the fatal voyage, +although at the reduced rate she was considerably faster than any +passenger ship crossing the Atlantic at that time. This reduction was in +part for financial reasons and in part "a question of economy of coal +and labor in time of war." No profit was expected and none was made, +but the company continued to operate the ship as a public service. The +reduction from twenty-four to twenty-one knots is, however, quite +immaterial to the controversy, as will later appear. + +Having thus outlined the personnel, equipment, and cargo of the vessel, +reference will now be made to a series of events preceding her sailing +on May 1, 1915. + +On February 4, 1915, the Imperial German Government issued a +proclamation as follows: + +[Sidenote: The German proclamation.] + + "1. The waters surrounding Great Britain and + Ireland, including the whole English Channel, + are hereby declared to be war zone. On and + after the 18th of February, 1915, every enemy + merchant ship found in the said war zone will + be destroyed without its being always possible + to avert the dangers threatening the crews and + passengers on that account. + + "2. Even neutral ships are exposed to danger in + the war zone, as in view of the misuse of + neutral flags ordered on January 31 by the + British Government and of the accidents of + naval war, it cannot always be avoided to + strike even neutral ships in attacks that are + directed at enemy ships. + + "3. Northward navigation around the Shetland + Islands, in the eastern waters of the North Sea + and in a strip of not less than thirty miles + width along the Netherlands coast is in no + danger. + + "VON POHL, + "Chief of the Admiral Staff of the Navy. + "Berlin, February 4, 1915." + +[Sidenote: Submarine blockade declared.] + +This was accompanied by a so-called memorial, setting forth the reasons +advanced by the German Government in support of the issuance of this +proclamation, an extract from which is as follows: + + "Just as England declared the whole North Sea + between Scotland and Norway to be comprised + within the seat of war, so does Germany now + declare the waters surrounding Great Britain + and Ireland, including the whole English + Channel, to be comprised within the seat of + war, and will prevent by all the military means + at its disposal all navigation by the enemy in + those waters. To this end it will endeavor to + destroy, after February 18 next, any merchant + vessels of the enemy which present themselves + at the seat of war above indicated, although it + may not always be possible to avert the dangers + which may menace persons and merchandise. + Neutral powers are accordingly forewarned not + to intrust their crews, passengers, or + merchandise to such vessels." + +[Sidenote: Protests sent by the United States.] + +To this proclamation and memorial the Government of the United States +made due protest under date of February 10, 1915. On the same day +protest was made to England by this Government regarding the use of the +American flag by the _Lusitania_ on its voyage through the war zone on +its trip from New York to Liverpool of January 30, 1915, in response to +which, on February 19, Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign +Affairs, handed a memorandum to Mr. Page, the American Ambassador to +England, containing the following statement: + +[Sidenote: British reply to American protest.] + + "It is understood that the German Government + had announced their intention of sinking + British merchant vessels at sight by torpedoes + without giving any opportunity of making any + provisions for saving the lives of noncombatant + crews and passengers. It was in consequence of + this threat that the _Lusitania_ raised the + United States flag on her inward voyage and on + her subsequent outward voyage. A request was + made by the United States passengers who were + embarking on board her that the United States + flag should be hoisted, presumably to insure + their safety." + +The British Ambassador, the Hon. Cecil Spring-Rice, on March 1, 1915, +in a communication to the American Secretary of State regarding an +economic blockade of Germany, stated in reference to the German +proclamation of February 4: + +[Sidenote: British statement on the submarine blockade.] + + "Germany has declared that the English Channel, + the north and west coasts of France, and the + waters around the British Isles are a war area + and has officially notified that all enemy + ships found in that area will be destroyed, and + that neutral vessels may be exposed to danger. + This is in effect a claim to torpedo at sight, + without regard to the safety of the crew or + passengers, any merchant vessel under any flag. + As it is not in the power of the German + Admiralty to maintain any surface craft in + these waters, this attack can only be delivered + by submarine agency." + +[Sidenote: Submarines sink merchant ships.] + +Beginning with the 30th of January, 1915, and prior to the sinking of +the _Lusitania_ on May 7, 1915, German submarines attacked and seemed to +have sunk twenty merchant and passenger ships within about 100 miles of +the usual course of the _Lusitania_, chased two other vessels which +escaped, and damaged still another. + +It will be noted that nothing is stated in the German memorandum as to +sinking enemy merchant vessels without warning, but, on the contrary, +the implication is that settled international law as to visit and search +and an opportunity for the lives of passengers to be safeguarded will be +obeyed, "although it may not always be possible to avert the dangers +which may menace persons and merchandise." + +As a result of this submarine activity, the _Lusitania_ on its voyages +from New York to Liverpool, beginning with that of January 30, 1915, +steered a course further off from the south coast of Ireland than +formerly. + +[Sidenote: Precautions in danger zone.] + +In addition, after the German proclamation of February 4, 1915, the +_Lusitania_ had its boats swung out and provisioned while passing +through the danger zone, did not use its wireless for sending messages, +and did not stop at the Mersey Bar for a pilot, but came directly up to +its berth. + +The petitioner and the master of the _Lusitania_ received certain +advices from the British Admiralty on February 10, 1915, as follows: + + "Vessels navigating in submarine areas should + have their boats turned out and fully + provisioned. The danger is greatest in the + vicinity of ports and off prominent headlands + on the coast. Important landfalls in this area + should be made after dark whenever possible. So + far as is consistent with particular trades and + state of tides, vessels should make their ports + at dawn." + +[Sidenote: Advices from the British Admiralty.] + +On April 15 and 16, 1915, and after the last voyage from New York, +preceding the one on which the _Lusitania_ was torpedoed, the Cunard +Company and the master of the _Lusitania_ received at Liverpool the +following advices from the British Admiralty: + + "Confidential Daily Voyage Notice 15th April, + 1915, issued under Government War Risks Scheme. + + "German submarines appear to be operating + chiefly off prominent headlands and landfalls. + Ships should give prominent headlands a wide + berth. + + "Confidential memorandum issued 16th April, + 1915: + +[Sidenote: Fast steamers follow a zigzag course.] + + "War experience has shown that fast steamers + can considerably reduce the chance of + successful surprise submarine attacks by + zigzagging--that is to say, altering the course + at short and irregular intervals, say in ten + minutes to half an hour. This course is almost + invariably adopted by warships when cruising in + an area known to be infested by submarines. The + underwater speed of a submarine is very slow + and it is exceedingly difficult for her to get + into position to deliver an attack unless she + can observe and predict the course of the ship + attacked." + +Sir Alfred Booth, Chairman of the Cunard Line, was a member of the War +Risks Committee at Liverpool, consisting of ship owners, representatives +of the Board of Trade and the Admiralty, which received these +instructions and passed them on to the owners of vessels, including the +Cunard Company, which distributed them to the individual masters. + +[Sidenote: Advertisement in the New York papers.] + +On Saturday, May 1, 1915, the advertised sailing date of the _Lusitania_ +from New York to Liverpool on the voyage on which she was subsequently +sunk, there appeared the following advertisement in the New York +"Times," New York "Tribune," New York "Sun," New York "Herald," and the +New York "World," this advertisement being in all instances except one +placed directly over, under, or adjacent to the advertisement of the +Cunard Line, regarding the sailing of the _Lusitania_: + + "Travelers intending to embark on the Atlantic + voyage are reminded that a state of war exists + between Germany and her allies and Great + Britain and her allies. That the zone of war + includes the waters adjacent to the British + Isles. That in accordance with formal notice + given by the Imperial German Government, + vessels flying the flag of Great Britain or of + any of her allies are liable to destruction in + those waters, and that travelers sailing in the + war zone on ships of Great Britain or her + allies do so at their own risk." + + "IMPERIAL GERMAN EMBASSY, + "April 22, 1915. Washington, D. C." + +This was the first insertion of this advertisement, although it was +dated more than a week prior to its publication. Captain Turner, the +master of the vessel, saw the advertisement or "something of the kind" +before sailing, and realized that the _Lusitania_ was included in the +warning. The Liverpool office of the Cunard Company was advised of the +sailing and the number of passengers by cable from the New York office, +but no mention was made of the above quoted advertisement. Sir Alfred +Booth was informed through the press of this advertisement on either +Saturday evening, May 1, or Sunday morning, May 2. + +[Sidenote: _Lusitania_ justified in sailing.] + +The significance and construction to be given to this advertisement will +be discussed infra, but it is perfectly plain that the master was fully +justified in sailing on the appointed day from a neutral port with many +neutral and non-combatant passengers, unless he and his company were +willing to yield to the attempt of the German Government to terrify +British shipping. No one familiar with the British character would +expect that such a threat would accomplish more than to emphasize the +necessity of taking every precaution to protect life and property which +the exercise of judgment would invite. + +And so, as scheduled, the _Lusitania_ sailed, undisguised, with her four +funnels and a figure so familiar as to be readily discernible not only +by naval officers and marines, but by the ocean-going public generally. + +[Sidenote: In the submarine war zone.] + +The voyage was uneventful until May 6. On approaching the Irish coast on +May 6 the Captain ordered all the boats hanging on the davits to be +swung out and lowered to the promenade deckrail, and this order was +carried out under the supervision of Staff Captain Anderson, who later +went down with the ship. All bulkhead doors which were not necessary for +the working of the ship were closed, and it was reported to Captain +Turner that this had been done. Lookouts were doubled, and two extra +were put forward and one on either side of the bridge; that is, there +were two lookouts in the crow's-nest, two in the eyes of the ship, two +officers on the bridge, and a quartermaster on either side of the +bridge. + +Directions were given to the engine room to keep the highest steam they +could possibly get on the boilers, and in case the bridge rang for full +speed, to give as much as they possibly could. Orders were also given +that ports should be kept closed. + +[Sidenote: Wireless messages from the Admiralty.] + +At 7:50 P. M., on May 6, the _Lusitania_ received the following wireless +message from the Admiral at Queenstown: "Submarines active off south +coast of Ireland," and at 7:56 the vessel asked for and received a +repetition of his message. The ship was then going at a rate of 21 knots +per hour. + +At 8:30 P. M. of the same day the following message was received from +the British Admiralty: + + "To All British Ships 0005: + + "Take Liverpool pilot at bar and avoid + headlands. Pass harbors at full speed; steer + midchannel course. Submarines off Fastnet." + +[Sidenote: The _Lusitania's_ speed reduced.] + +At 8:32 the Admiralty received a communication to show that this message +had been received by the _Lusitania_, and the same message was offered +to the vessel seven times between midnight of May 6 and 10 A. M. of May +7. + +At about 8 A. M. on the morning of May 7, on approaching the Irish +coast, the vessel encountered an intermittent fog, or Scotch mist, +called "banks" in seafaring language, and the speed was reduced to 15 +knots. Previously the speed, according to Captain Turner's recollection, +had been reduced to 18 knots. This adjustment of speed was due to the +fact that Captain Turner wished to run the last 150 miles of the voyage +in the dark, so as to make Liverpool early on the morning of May 8, at +the earliest time when he could cross the bar without a pilot. + +[Sidenote: Approaching the most dangerous waters.] + +Judging from the location of previous submarine attacks, the most +dangerous waters in the _Lusitania's_ course were from the entrance to +St. George's Channel to Liverpool Bar. There is no dispute as to the +proposition that a vessel darkened is much safer from submarine attack +at night than in the daytime, and Captain Turner exercised proper and +good judgment in planning accordingly as he approached dangerous waters. +It is futile to conjecture as to what would or would not have happened +had the speed been higher prior to the approach to the Irish coast, +because, obviously, until then the Captain could not figure out his +situation, not knowing how he might be impeded by fog or other +unfavorable weather conditions. + +On the morning of May 7, 1915, the ship passed about twenty-five or +twenty-six, and, in any event, at least eighteen and a half miles south +of Fastnet, which was not in sight. The course was then held up slightly +to bring the ship closer to land, and a little before noon land was +sighted, and what was thought to be Brow Head was made out. + +Meanwhile, between 11 A. M. and noon, the fog disappeared, the weather +became clear, and the speed was increased to 18 knots. The course of the +vessel was S. 87 E. Mag. At 11:25 A. M. Captain Turner received the +following message: + + "Submarines active in southern part of Irish + Channel, last heard of twenty miles south of + Coningbeg. Light vessel make certain + '_Lusitania_' gets this." + +[Sidenote: Submarines reported by wireless.] + +At 12:40 P. M. the following additional wireless message from the +Admiralty was received: + + "Submarines five miles south of Cape Clear, + proceeding west when sighted at 10 A. M." + +After picking up Brow Head and at about 12:40 P. M., the course was +altered in shore by about 30 degrees, to about N. 63 or 67 E. Mag., +Captain Turner did not recall which. Land was sighted which the Captain +thought was Galley Head, but he was not sure, and therefore held in +shore. This last course was continued for an hour at a speed of 18 knots +until 1:40 P. M., when the Old Head of Kinsale was sighted and the +course was then changed back to the original course of S. 87 E. Mag. + +[Sidenote: The _Lusitania_ torpedoed.] + +At 1:50 P. M. the Captain started to take a four-point bearing on the +Old Head of Kinsale, and while thus engaged and at about 2:30 P. M., as +heretofore stated, the ship was torpedoed on the starboard side. Whether +one, two, or three torpedoes were fired at the vessel cannot be +determined with certainty. Two of the ship's crew were confident that a +third torpedo was fired and missed the ship. While not doubting the good +faith of these witnesses, the evidence is not sufficiently satisfactory +to be convincing. + +[Sidenote: Conflicting testimony.] + +[Sidenote: Probably two torpedoes.] + +[Sidenote: No explosives on board.] + +There was, however, an interesting and remarkable conflict of testimony +as to whether the ship was struck by one or two torpedoes, and +witnesses, both passengers and crew, differed on this point, +conscientiously and emphatically. The witnesses were all highly +intelligent, and there is no doubt that all testified to the best of +their recollection, knowledge, or impression, and in accordance with +their honest conviction. The weight of the testimony (too voluminous to +analyze) is in favor of the "two torpedo" contention, not only because +of some convincing direct testimony, (as, for instance, Adams, Lehman, +Morton,) but also because of the unquestioned surrounding circumstances. +The deliberate character of the attack upon a vessel whose identity +could not be mistaken, made easy on a bright day, and the fact that the +vessel had no means of defending herself, would lead to the inference +that the submarine commander would make sure of her destruction. +Further, the evidence is overwhelming that there was a second explosion. +The witnesses differ as to the impression which the sound of this +explosion made upon them--a natural difference due to the fact, known by +common experience, that persons who hear the same explosion even at the +same time will not only describe the sound differently, but will not +agree as to the number of detonations. As there were no explosives on +board, it is difficult to account for the second explosion, except on +the theory that it was caused by a second torpedo. Whether the number of +torpedoes was one or two is relevant, in this case, only upon the +question of what effect, if any, open ports had in accelerating the +sinking of the ship. + +While there was much testimony and some variance as to the places where +the torpedoes struck, judged by the sound or shock of the explosions, +certain physical effects, especially as to smoke and blown-up debris, +tend to locate the areas of impact with some approach of accuracy. + +From all the testimony it may be reasonably concluded that one torpedo +struck on the starboard side somewhere abreast of No. 2 boiler room and +the other, on the same side, either abreast of No. 3 boiler room or +between No. 3 and No. 4. From knowledge of the torpedoes then used by +the German submarines, it is thought that they would effect a rupture of +the outer hull thirty to forty feet long and ten to fifteen feet +vertically. + +[Sidenote: Flooding of boiler rooms and coal bunkers.] + +Cockburn, senior Second Engineer, was of opinion that the explosion had +done a great deal of internal damage. Although the lights were out, +Cockburn could hear the water coming into the engine room. Water at once +entered No. 1 and No. 2 boiler rooms, a result necessarily attributable +to the fact that one or both of the coal bunkers were also blown open. +Thus, one torpedo flooded some or all of the coal bunkers on the +starboard side of Nos. 1 and 2 boiler rooms, and apparently flooded both +boiler rooms. + +The effect of the other torpedo is not entirely clear. If it struck +midway between two bulkheads, it is quite likely to have done serious +bulkhead injury. The _Lusitania_ was built so as to float with two +compartments open to the sea, and with more compartments open she could +not stay afloat. As the side coal bunkers are regarded as compartments, +the ship could not float with two boiler rooms flooded and also an +adjacent bunker, and, therefore, the damage done by one torpedo was +enough to sink the ship. + +To add to the difficulties, all the steam had gone as the result of the +explosions, and the ship could not be controlled by her engines. + +Little, senior Third Engineer, testified that in a few seconds after the +explosion the steam pressure fell from 190 to 50 pounds, his explanation +being that the main steam pipes or boilers had been carried away. + +[Sidenote: Engines disabled.] + +The loss of control of and by the engines resulted in disability to stop +the engines, with the result that the ship kept her headway until she +sank. That the ship commenced to list to starboard immediately is +abundantly established by many witnesses. + +[Sidenote: The ship's behavior in going down.] + +Some of the witnesses, (Lauriat and Adams, passengers; Duncan, Bestic, +and Johnson, officers,) testified that the ship stopped listing to +starboard and started to recover and then listed again to starboard +until she went over. + +This action, which is quite likely, must have resulted from the inrush +of water on the port side. There can be no other adequate explanation +consistent with elementary scientific knowledge; for, if the ship +temporarily righted herself, it must have been because the weight of +water on the two sides was equal or nearly so. The entry of water into +the port side must, of course, have been due to some rupture on that +side. Such a result was entirely possible, and, indeed, probable. + +The explosive force was sufficiently powerful to blow debris far above +the radio wires--i. e., more than 160 feet above the water. The boiler +rooms were not over sixty feet wide, and so strong a force could readily +have weakened the longitudinal bulkheads on the port side in addition to +such injury as flying metal may have done. It is easy to understand, +therefore, how the whole pressure of the water rushing in from the +starboard side against the weakened longitudinal bulkheads on the port +side would cause them to give way and thus open up some apertures on the +port side for the entry of water. Later, when the water continued to +rush in on the starboard side, the list to starboard naturally again +occurred, increased and continued to the end. As might be expected, the +degree of list to starboard is variously described, but there is no +doubt that it was steep and substantial. + +[Sidenote: Ports had all been ordered closed.] + +A considerable amount of testimony was taken upon the contention of +claimants that many of the ship's ports were open, thus reducing her +buoyancy and substantially hastening her sinking. There is no doubt that +on May 6 adequate orders were given to close all ports. The testimony is +conclusive that the ports on Deck F (the majority of which were dummy +ports) were closed. Very few, if any, ports on E deck were open, and, if +so, they were starboard ports in a small section of the first class in +the vicinity where one of the torpedoes did its damage. A very limited +number of passengers testified that the portholes in their staterooms +were open, and if their impressions are correct, these portholes, +concerning which they testified, were all, or nearly all, so far above +the water that they could not have influenced the situation. + +[Sidenote: Sinking not affected by open ports.] + +There was conflicting testimony as to the ports in the dining room on D +deck. The weight of the testimony justifies the conclusion that some of +these ports were open--how many it is impossible to determine. These +ports, however, were from twenty-three to thirty feet above water, and +when the gap made by the explosion and the consequent severe and sudden +list are considered, it is plain that these open ports were not a +contributing cause of the sinking, and had a very trifling influence, if +any, in accelerating the time within which the ship sank. + +From the foregoing the situation can be visualized. Two sudden and +extraordinary explosions, the ship badly listed so that the port side +was well up in the air, the passengers scattered about on the decks and +in the staterooms, saloons and companion ways, the ship under headway +and, as it turned out, only eighteen minutes afloat--such was the +situation which confronted the officers, crew, and passengers in the +endeavor to save the lives of those on board. + +[Sidenote: Calm heroism of the passengers.] + +The conduct of the passengers constitutes an enduring record of calm +heroism with many individual instances of sacrifice and, in general, a +marked consideration for women and children. There was no panic, but +naturally, there was a considerable amount of excitement and rush and +much confusion, and, as the increasing list rendered ineffective the +lowering of the boats on the port side, the passengers, as is readily +understandable, crowded over on the starboard side. + +The problem presented to the officers of the ship was one of exceeding +difficulty, occasioned largely because of the serious list and the +impossibility of stopping the ship or reducing her headway. + +[Sidenote: Lookouts sighted the torpedo.] + +[Sidenote: Boats ordered lowered.] + + +The precaution of extra lookouts resulted in a prompt report to the +Captain, via the bridge, of the sighting of the torpedo. Second Officer +Heppert, who was on the bridge, immediately closed all watertight doors +worked from the bridge, and the testimony satisfactorily shows that all +watertight doors worked by hand were promptly closed. Immediately after +Captain Turner saw the wake of the torpedo there was an explosion and +then Turner went to the navigation bridge and took the obvious course, +i. e., had the ship's head turned to the land. He signaled the engine +room for full speed astern, hoping thereby to take the way off the ship, +and then ordered the boats lowered down to the rail and directed that +women and children should be first provided for in the boats. As the +engine room failed to respond to the order to go full speed astern, and +as the ship was continuing under way, Turner ordered that the boats +should not be lowered until the vessel should lose her headway, and he +told Anderson, the Staff Captain, who was in charge of the port boats, +to lower the boats when he thought the way was sufficiently off to allow +that operation. Anderson's fidelity to duty is sufficiently exemplified +by the fact that he went down with the ship. + +[Sidenote: The officers display courage and skill.] + +Jones, First Officer, and Lewis, Acting Third Officer, were in charge of +the boats on the starboard side and personally superintended their +handling and launching. Too much cannot be said both for their courage +and skill, but, difficult as was their task, they were not confronted +with some of the problems which the port side presented. There, in +addition to Anderson, were Bestic, Junior Third Officer, and another +officer, presumably the Second Officer. These men were apparently doing +the best they could and standing valiantly to their duty. Anderson's +fate has already been mentioned, and Bestic, although surviving, stuck +to his post until the ship went down under him. The situation can +readily be pictured even by a novice. + +With the ship listed to starboard, the port boats, of course, swung +inboard. If enough man power were applied, the boats could be put over +the rail, but then a real danger would follow. Robertson, the ship's +carpenter, aptly described that danger in answer to a question as to +whether it was possible to lower the open boats on the port side. He +said: + +[Sidenote: Port boats could not be lowered.] + +"No. To lower the port boats would just be like drawing a crate of +unpacked china along a dock road. What I mean is that if you started to +lower the boats you would be dragging them down the rough side of the +ship on rivets which are what we call "snap-headed rivets"--they stand +up about an inch from the side of the ship, so you would be dragging the +whole side of the boat away if you tried to lower the boats with a +15-degree list." + +That some boats were and others would have been seriously damaged is +evidenced by the fact that two port boats were lowered to the water and +got away, (though one afterward filled,) and not one boat reached +Queenstown. + +Each boat has its own history, (except possibly Boats 2 and 4,) although +it is naturally difficult, in each case, to allocate all the testimony +to a particular boat. + +[Sidenote: Accidents in lowering.] + +There is some testimony, given in undoubted good faith, that painted or +rusted davits stuck out, but the weight of the testimony is to the +contrary. There were some lamentable occurrences on the port side, which +resulted in spilling passengers, some of whom thus thrown out or injured +went to their death. These unfortunate accidents, however, were due +either to lack of strength of the seaman who was lowering, or possibly, +at worst, to an occasional instance of incompetency due to the personal +equation so often illustrated, where one man of many may not be equal to +the emergency. But the problem was of the most vexatious character. In +addition to the crowding of passengers in some instances was this +extremely hazardous feat of lowering boats swung inboard from a tilted +height, heavily weighted by human beings, with the ship still under way. +It cannot be said that it was negligent to attempt this, because, +obviously, all the passengers could not be accommodated in the starboard +boats. + +[Sidenote: Six boats get away from starboard.] + +On the starboard side, the problem, in some respects, was not so +difficult, while, in others, troublesome conditions existed quite +different from those occurring on the port side. Here the boats swung so +far out as to add to the difficulty of passengers getting in them, a +difficulty intensified by the fact that many more passengers went to the +starboard side than to the port side and, also that the ship maintained +her way. Six boats successfully got away. In the case of the remaining +boats, some were successfully lowered but later met with some +unavoidable accident, and some were not successfully launched (such as +Nos. 1, 5, and 17) for entirely explainable reasons which should not be +charged to inefficiency on the part of the officers or crew. + +[Sidenote: Collapsible boats cut loose.] + +The collapsible boats were on the deck under the open lifeboats, and +were intended to be lifted and lowered by the same davits which lowered +the open boats after the open boats had gotten clear of the ship. It was +the duty of the officers to get the open boats away before giving +attention to the collapsible boats, and that was a question of time. +These boats are designed and arranged to float free if the ship should +sink before they can be hoisted over. They were cut loose and some +people were saved on these boats. + +It is to be expected that those passengers who lost members of their +family or friends, and who saw some of the unfortunate accidents, should +feel strongly and entertain the impression that inefficiency or +individual negligence was widespread among the crew. Such an impression, +however, does an inadvertent injustice to the great majority of the +crew, who acted with that matter-in-fact courage and fidelity to duty +which are traditional with men of the sea. Such of these men, presumably +fairly typical of all, as testified in this court, were impressive not +only because of inherent bravery, but because of intelligence and +clear-headedness, and they possessed that remarkable gift of simplicity +so characteristic of truly fearless men who cannot quite understand why +an ado is made of acts which seem to them merely the day's work. + +Mr. Grab, one of the claimants and an experienced transatlantic +traveler, concisely summed up the situation when he said: + +"They were doing the best they could--they were very brave and working +as hard as they could without any fear. They didn't care about +themselves. It was very admirably done. While there was great confusion, +they did the best they could." + +[Sidenote: Captain Turner's comment on the crew.] + +It will unduly prolong a necessarily extended opinion to sift the +voluminous testimony relating to this subject of the boats and the +conduct of the crew and something is sought to be made of comments of +Captain Turner, construed by some to be unfavorable but afterward +satisfactorily supplemented and explained, but if there were some +instances of incompetency they were very few and the charge of +negligence in this regard cannot be successfully maintained. + +In arriving at this conclusion, I have not overlooked the argument +earnestly pressed that the men were not sufficiently instructed and +drilled; for I think the testimony establishes the contrary in the light +of conditions in May, 1915. + +I now come to what seems to be the only debatable question of fact in +the case, i. e., whether Captain Turner was negligent in not literally +following the Admiralty advices and, also, in not taking a course +different from that which he adopted. + +[Sidenote: The Captain's judgment free.] + +The fundamental principle in navigating a merchantman, whether in times +of peace or of war, is that the commanding officer must be left free to +exercise his own judgment. Safe navigation denies the proposition that +the judgment and sound discretion of the Captain of a vessel must be +confined in a mental straitjacket. Of course, when movements are under +military control, orders must be strictly obeyed, come what may. No such +situation, however, was presented either to the Cunard Steamship Co. or +Captain Turner. The vessel was not engaged in military service nor under +naval convoy. True, she was, as between the German and British +Governments, an enemy ship as to Germany, but she was unarmed and a +carrier of not merely noncombatants, but, among others, of many citizens +of the United States, then a neutral country, at peace with all the +world. + +[Sidenote: Admiralty advices considered.] + +In such circumstances the Captain could not shield himself automatically +against error behind a literal compliance with the general advices or +instructions of the Admiralty, nor can it be supposed that the +Admiralty, any more than the Cunard Steamship Co., expected him so to +do. What was required of him was that he should seriously consider and, +as far as practicable, follow the Admiralty advices and use his best +judgment as events and exigencies occurred; and if a situation arose +where he believed that a course should be pursued to meet emergencies +which required departure from some of the Admiralty advices as to +general rules of action, then it was his duty to take such course, if in +accordance with his carefully formed deliberate judgment. After a +disaster has occurred, it is not difficult for the expert to show how it +might have been avoided, and there is always opportunity for academic +discussion as to what ought or ought not to have been done; but the true +approach is to endeavor, for the moment, to possess the mind of him upon +whom rested the responsibility. + +[Sidenote: Enemy obligations in care of merchant ships.] + +Let us now see what that responsibility was and how it was dealt with. +The rules of naval warfare allowed the capture and, in some +circumstances, the destruction of an enemy merchant ship, but, at the +same time, it was the accepted doctrine of all civilized nations (as +will be more fully considered infra) that, as Lord Mersey put it, "there +is always an obligation first to secure the safety of the lives of those +on board." + +The responsibility, therefore, of Captain Turner, in his task of +bringing the ship safely to port, was to give heed not only to general +advices advanced as the outcome of experience in the then developing +knowledge as to submarine warfare, but particularly to any special +information which might come to him in the course of the voyage. + +[Sidenote: Advices of the Admiralty.] + +Realizing that if there was a due warning, in accordance with +international law, and an opportunity, within a limited time, for the +passengers to leave the ship, nevertheless that the operation must be +quickly done, Captain Turner, on May 6, had taken the full precautions, +such as swinging out the boats, properly provisioned, which have been +heretofore described. The principal features of the Admiralty advices +were (1) to give the headlands a wide berth; (2) to steer a midchannel +course; (3) to maintain as high a speed as practicable; (4) to zigzag, +and (5) to make ports, if possible, at dawn, thus running the last part +of the voyage at night. + +[Sidenote: Fastnet given a wide berth.] + +The reason for the advice as to keeping off headlands was that the +submarines lurked near those prominent headlands and landfalls to and +from which ships were likely to go. This instruction Captain Turner +entirely followed in respect of Fastnet, which was the first point on +the Irish coast which a vessel bound from New York to Liverpool would +ordinarily approach closely, and, in normal times, the passing would be +very near, or even inside of Fastnet. The _Lusitania_ passed Fastnet so +far out that Captain Turner could not see it. Whether the distance was +about twenty-five miles, as the Cunard Steamship Co. contends, or about +eighteen and one-half miles, as the claimants calculate, the result is +that either distance must be regarded as a wide berth, in comparison +with the customary navigation at that point, and, besides, nothing +happened there. At 8:30 P. M. on May 6 the message had been received +from the British Admiralty that submarines were off Fastnet, so that +Captain Turner, in this regard, not only followed the general advices, +but the specific information from the Admiralty. + +At 11:25 A. M. on May 7 Captain Turner received the wireless from the +Admiralty plainly intended for the _Lusitania_, informing him that +submarines (plural) were active in the southern part of the Irish +Channel and when last heard of were twenty miles south of Coningbeg +Light Vessel. This wireless message presented acutely to the Captain +the problem as to the best course to pursue, always bearing in mind his +determination and the desirability of getting to the Liverpool Bar when +it could be crossed while the tide served and without a pilot. Further, +as was stated by Sir Alfred Booth, "The one definite instruction we did +give him with regard to that was to authorize him to come up without a +pilot." The reasons for this instruction were cogent and were concisely +summed up by Sir Alfred Booth during his examination as a witness as +follows: + +[Sidenote: The Mersey sandbar.] + +"It was one of the points that we felt it necessary to make the Captain +of the _Lusitania_ understand the importance of. The _Lusitania_ can +only cross the Liverpool Bar at certain states of the tide, and we +therefore warned the Captain, or whoever might be Captain, that we did +not think it would be safe for him to arrive off the bar at such a time +that he would have to wait there, because that area had been infested +with submarines, and we thought therefore it would be wiser for him to +arrange his arrival in such a way, leaving him an absolutely free hand +as to how he would do it, that he could come straight up without +stopping at all. The one definite instruction we did give him with +regard to that was to authorize him to come up without a pilot." + +The tide would be high at Liverpool Bar at 6:53 on Saturday morning, May +8. Captain Turner planned to cross the bar as much earlier than that as +he could get over without stopping, while at the same time figuring on +passing during the darkness the dangerous waters from the entrance of +St. George's Channel to the Liverpool Bar. + +[Sidenote: The Captain decides to work inshore.] + +Having thus in mind his objective, and the time approximately when he +intended to reach it, the message received at 11:25 A. M. required that +he should determine whether to keep off land approximately the same +distance as he was when he passed Fastnet, or to work inshore and go +close to Coningbeg Lightship. He determined that the latter was the +better plan to avoid the submarines reported in midchannel ahead of him. + +[Sidenote: Taking a bearing.] + +When Galley Head was sighted the course was changed so as to haul closer +to the land, and this course was pursued until 1:40 P. M., at which time +Captain Turner concluded that it was necessary for him to get his +bearings accurately. This he decided should be done by taking a +four-point bearing, during which procedure the ship was torpedoed. It is +urged that he should have taken a two-point bearing or a cross bearing, +which would have occupied less time, but if, under all the conditions +which appealed to his judgment as a mariner, he had taken a different +method of ascertaining his exact distance and the result would have been +inaccurate, or while engaged in taking a two-point bearing the ship had +been torpedoed, then somebody would have said he should have taken a +four-point bearing. The point of the matter is that an experienced +Captain took the bearing he thought proper for his purposes, and to +predicate negligence upon such a course is to assert that a Captain is +bound to guess the exact location of a hidden and puzzling danger. + +[Sidenote: Testimony about the ship's speed.] + +Much emphasis has been placed upon the fact that the speed of the ship +was eighteen knots at the time of the attack instead of twenty-four, or, +in any event, twenty-one knots, and upon the further fact (for such it +is) that the ship was not zigzagging as frequently as the Admiralty +advised or in the sense of that advice. + +Upon this branch of the case much testimony was taken, (some in camera, +as in the Wreck Commissioners' Court,) and, for reasons of public +interest, the methods of successfully evading submarines will not be +discussed. If it be assumed that the Admiralty advices as of May, 1915, +were sound and should have been followed, then the answer to the charge +of negligence is twofold: (1) that Captain Turner, in taking a +four-point bearing off the Old Head of Kinsale, was conscientiously +exercising his judgment for the welfare of the ship, and (2) that it is +impossible to determine whether, by zigzagging off the Old Head of +Kinsale or elsewhere, the _Lusitania_ would have escaped the German +submarine or submarines. + +As to the first answer I cannot better express my conclusion than in the +language of Lord Mersey: + +[Sidenote: Lord Mersey's opinion.] + +"Captain Turner was fully advised as to the means which in the view of +the Admiralty were best calculated to avert the perils he was likely to +encounter, and in considering the question whether he is to blame for +the catastrophe in which his voyage ended I have to bear this +circumstance in mind. It is certain that in some respects Captain Turner +did not follow the advice given to him. It may be (though I seriously +doubt it) that had he done so his ship would have reached Liverpool in +safety. But the question remains: Was his conduct the conduct of a +negligent or of an incompetent man? On this question I have sought the +guidance of my assessors, who have rendered me invaluable assistance, +and the conclusion at which I have arrived is that blame ought not to be +imputed to the Captain. The advice given to him, although meant for his +most serious and careful consideration, was not intended to deprive him +of the right to exercise his skilled judgment in the difficult questions +that might arise from time to time in the navigation of his ship. His +omission to follow the advice in all respects cannot fairly be +attributed either to negligence or incompetence. + +[Sidenote: Skilled and experienced judgment.] + +"He exercised his judgment for the best. It was the judgment of a +skilled and experienced man, and although others might have acted +differently, and, perhaps, more successfully, he ought not, in my +opinion, to be blamed." + +[Sidenote: More than one submarine in wait.] + +As to the second answer, it is only necessary to outline the situation +in order to realize how speculative is the assertion of fault. It is +plain from the radio messages of the Admiralty, (May 6, 7:50 P. M., +"Submarines active off south coast of Ireland"; May 6, 8:30 P. M., +"Submarines off Fastnet"; the 11:25 message of May 7, supra; May 7, +11:40 A. M., "Submarines five miles south of Cape Clear, proceeding west +when sighted at 10 A. M.,") that more than one submarine was lying in +wait for the _Lusitania_. + +[Sidenote: Submarines bold with unarmed vessels.] + +A scientific education is not necessary to appreciate that it is much +more difficult for a submarine successfully to hit a naval vessel than +an unarmed merchant ship. The destination of a naval vessel is usually +not known, that of the _Lusitania_ was. A submarine commander, when +attacking an armed vessel, knows that he, as the attacker, may and +likely will also be attacked by his armed opponent. The _Lusitania_ was +as helpless in that regard as a peaceful citizen suddenly set upon by +murderous assailants. There are other advantages of the naval vessel +over the merchant ship which need not be referred to. + +[Sidenote: Probably two submarines.] + +It must be assumed that the German submarine commanders realized the +obvious disadvantages which necessarily attached to the _Lusitania_, +and, if she had evaded one submarine, who can say what might have +happened five minutes later? If there was, in fact, a third torpedo +fired at the _Lusitania's_ port side, then that incident would strongly +suggest that, in the immediate vicinity of the ship, there were at least +two submarines. + +It must be remembered also that the _Lusitania_ was still in the open +sea, considerably distant from the places of theretofore submarine +activity and comfortably well off the Old Head of Kinsale, from which +point it was about 140 miles to the Scilly Islands, and that she was +nearly 100 miles from the entrance to St. George's Channel, the first +channel she would enter on her way to Liverpool. + +[Sidenote: Attack intended to destroy life.] + +No transatlantic passenger liner, and certainly none carrying American +citizens, had been torpedoed up to that time. The submarines, therefore, +could lay their plans with facility to destroy the vessel somewhere on +the way from Fastnet to Liverpool, knowing full well the easy prey which +would be afforded by an unarmed, unconvoyed, well-known merchantman, +which from every standpoint of international law had the right to expect +a warning before its peaceful passengers were sent to their death. That +the attack was deliberate and long contemplated and intended ruthlessly +to destroy human life, as well as property, can no longer be open to +doubt. And when a foe employs such tactics it is idle and purely +speculative to say that the action of the Captain of a merchant ship, in +doing or not doing something or in taking one course and not another, +was a contributing cause of disaster or that had the Captain not done +what he did or had he done something else, then that the ship and her +passengers would have evaded their assassins. + +[Sidenote: The Captain and company not negligent.] + +I find, therefore, as a fact, that the Captain and, hence, the Cunard +Company were not negligent. + +The importance of the cause, however, justifies the statement of another +ground which effectually disposes of any question of liability. + +It is an elementary principle of law that even if a person is negligent +recovery cannot be had unless the negligence is the proximate cause of +the loss or damage. + +There is another rule, settled by ample authority, viz.: that, even if +negligence is shown, it cannot be the proximate cause of the loss or +damage if an independent illegal act or a third party intervenes to +cause the loss. + +The question, then, is whether the act of the German submarine commander +was an illegal act. + +[Sidenote: International law.] + +The United States courts recognize the binding force of international +law. + +At least since as early as June 5, 1793, in the letter of Mr. Jefferson, +Secretary of State, to the French Minister, our Government has +recognized the law of nations as an "integral part" of the laws of the +land. + +To ascertain international law, "resort must be had to the customs and +usages of civilized nations; and, as evidence of these, to the works of +commentators and jurists. * * * Such works are resorted to by judicial +tribunals * * * for trustworthy evidence of what the law really is." + +Let us first see the position of our Government, and then ascertain +whether that position has authoritative support. Mr. Lansing, in his +official communication to the German Government dated June 9, 1915, +stated: + +[Sidenote: Mr. Lansing's communication.] + +[Sidenote: Responsibility of the German Government.] + +[Sidenote: A principle of humanity.] + +"But the sinking of passenger ships involves principles of humanity +which throw into the background any special circumstances of detail that +may be thought to affect the cases, principles which lift it, as the +Imperial German Government will no doubt be quick to recognize and +acknowledge, out of the class of ordinary subjects of diplomatic +discussion or of international controversy. Whatever be the other facts +regarding the _Lusitania_, the principal fact is that a great steamer, +primarily and chiefly a conveyance for passengers, and carrying more +than a thousand souls who had no part or lot in the conduct of the war, +was torpedoed and sunk without so much as a challenge or a warning, and +that men, women, and children were sent to their death in circumstances +unparalleled in modern warfare. The fact that more than one hundred +American citizens were among those who perished made it the duty of the +Government of the United States to speak of these things and once more +with solemn emphasis to call the attention of the Imperial German +Government to the grave responsibility which the Government of the +United States conceives that it has incurred in this tragic occurrence, +and to the indisputable principle upon which that responsibility rests. +The Government of the United States is contending for something much +greater than mere rights of property or privileges of commerce. It is +contending for nothing less high and sacred than the rights of humanity, +which every Government honors itself in respecting and which no +Government is justified in resigning on behalf of those under its care +and authority. Only her actual resistance to capture or refusal to stop +when ordered to do so for the purpose of visit could have afforded the +commander of the submarine any justification for so much as putting the +lives of those on board the ship in jeopardy. This principle the +Government of the United States understands the explicit instructions +issued on August 3, 1914, by the Imperial German Admiralty to its +commanders at sea to have recognized and embodied as do the naval codes +of all other nations, and upon it every traveler and seaman had a right +to depend. It is upon this principle of humanity, as well as upon the +law founded upon this principle, that the United States must stand. * * * + +[Sidenote: Americans must be safeguarded.] + +"The Government of the United States cannot admit that the proclamation +of a war zone from which neutral ships have been warned to keep away may +be made to operate as in any degree an abbreviation of the rights either +of American shipmasters or of American citizens bound on lawful errands +as passengers on merchant ships of belligerent nationality. It does not +understand the Imperial German Government to question those rights. It +understands it, also, to accept as established beyond question the +principle that the lives of non-combatants cannot lawfully or rightfully +be put in jeopardy by the capture or destruction of an unresisting +merchantman, and to recognize the obligation to take sufficient +precaution to ascertain whether a suspected merchantman is in fact of +belligerent nationality or is in fact carrying contraband of war under a +neutral flag. The Government of the United States therefore deems it +reasonable to expect that the Imperial German Government will adopt the +measures necessary to put these principles into practice in respect of +the safeguarding of American lives and American ships, and asks for +assurances that this will be done. (See White Book of Department of +State entitled 'Diplomatic Correspondence with Belligerent Governments +Relating to Neutral Rights and Duties, European War, No. 2,' at p. 172. +Printed and distributed October 21, 1915.)" + +The German Government found itself compelled ultimately to recognize the +principles insisted upon by the Government of the United States, for, +after considerable correspondence, and on May 4, 1916, (after the +_Sussex_ had been sunk,) the German Government stated: + +[Sidenote: The _Sussex_ agreement.] + +"The German submarine forces have had in fact, orders to conduct +submarine warfare in accordance with the general principles of visit +and search and destruction of merchant vessels as recognized by +international law, the sole exception being the conduct of warfare +against the enemy trade carried on enemy freight ships that are +encountered in the war zone surrounding Great Britain. * * * + +[Sidenote: Merchant ships not to be sunk without warning.] + +"The German Government, guided by this idea, notifies the Government of +the United States that the German naval forces have received the +following orders: In accordance with the general principles of visit and +search and destruction of merchant vessels recognized by international +law, such vessels, both within and without the area declared as naval +war zone, shall not be sunk without warning and without saving human +lives, unless these ships attempt to escape or offer resistance. See +Official Communication by German Foreign Office to Ambassador Gerard, +May 4, 1916. (White Book No. 3 of Department of State, pp. 302, 305.)" + +[Sidenote: Right to make a prize.] + +There is, of course, no doubt as to the right to make prize of an enemy +ship on the high seas, and, under certain conditions, to destroy her, +and equally no doubt of the obligation to safeguard the lives of all +persons aboard, whether passengers or crew. + +Two quotations from a long list of authorities may be given for +convenience, one stating the rule and the other the attitude which +obtains among civilized Governments. Oppenheim sets forth as among +violations of the rules of war: + +"(12) Attack on enemy merchantmen without previous request to submit to +visit." + +The observation in Vattel's "Law of Nations" is peculiarly applicable to +the case of the _Lusitania_: + +"Let us never forget that our enemies are men. Though reduced to the +disagreeable necessity of prosecuting our right by force of arms, let us +not divest ourselves of that charity which connects us with all mankind. +Thus shall we courageously defend our country's rights without +violating those of human nature. Let our valor preserve itself from +every stain of cruelty and the lustre of victory will not be tarnished +by inhuman and brutal actions." + +[Sidenote: Codes and rules of nations.] + +In addition to these authorities are the regulations and practices of +various Governments. In 1512 Henry VIII. issued instructions to the +Admiral of the Fleet which accord with our understanding of modern +international law. Such has been England's course since. + +Substantially the same rules were followed in the Russian and Japanese +regulations, and probably in the codes or rules of many other nations. + +The rules recognized and practiced by the United States, among other +things, provide: + +"(10) In the case of an enemy merchantman it may be sunk, but only if it +is impossible to take it into port, and provided always that the persons +on board are put in a place of safety. (U. S. White Book, European War, +No. 3, p. 192.)" + +[Sidenote: Humane principles in American wars.] + +These humane principles were practiced both in the war of 1812 and +during our own war of 1861-65. Even with all the bitterness (now happily +ended and forgotten) and all the difficulties of having no port to which +to send a prize, Captain Semmes of the _Alabama_ strictly observed the +rule as to human life, even going so far as to release ships because he +could not care for the passengers. But we are not confined to American +and English precedents and practices. + +While acting contrary to its official statements, yet the Imperial +German Government recognized the same rule as the United States, and +prior to the sinking of the _Lusitania_ had not announced any other +rule. The war zone proclamation of February 4, 1915, contained no +warning that the accepted rule of civilized naval warfare would be +discarded by the German Government. + +Indeed, after the _Lusitania_ was sunk, the German Government did not +make any such claim, but in answer to the first American note in +reference to the _Lusitania_ the German Foreign Office, per von Jagow, +addressed to Ambassador Gerard a note dated May 18, 1915, in which, +inter alia, it is stated in connection with the sinking of the British +steamer _Falaba_: + +[Sidenote: The _Falaba_ case.] + +"In the case of the sinking of the English steamer _Falaba_, the +commander of the German submarine had the intention of allowing +passengers and crew ample opportunity to save themselves. It was not +until the Captain disregarded the order to lay to and took to flight, +sending up rocket signals for help, that the German commander ordered +the crew and passengers by signals and megaphone to leave the ship +within ten minutes. As a matter of fact, he allowed them twenty-three +minutes, and did not fire the torpedo until suspicious steamers were +hurrying to the aid of the _Falaba_. (White Book No. 2, U. S. Department +of State, p. 169.)" + +Indeed, as late as May 4, 1916, Germany did not dispute the +applicability of the rule, as is evidenced by the note written to our +Government by von Jagow of the German Foreign Office, an extract of +which has been quoted supra. + +Further, Section 116 of the German Prize Code, (Huberich and Kind +translation, p. 68,) in force at the date of the _Lusitania's_ +destruction, conformed with the American rule. It provided: + +[Sidenote: Safety of passengers necessary.] + +"Before proceeding to a destruction of the vessel the safety of all +persons on board, and, so far as possible, their effects, is to be +provided for, and all ship's papers and other evidentiary material +which, according to the views of the persons at interest, is of value +for the formulation of the judgment of the prize court, are to be taken +over by the commander." + +Thus, when the _Lusitania_ sailed from New York, her owner and master +were justified in believing that, whatever else and theretofore +happened, this simple, humane and universally accepted principle would +not be violated. Few, at that time, would be likely to construe the +warning advertisement as calling attention to more than the perils to be +expected from quick disembarkation and the possible rigors of the sea +after the proper safeguarding of the lives of passengers by at least +full opportunity to take to the boats. + +It is, of course, easy now in the light of many later events, added to +preceding acts, to look back and say that the Cunard Line and its +Captain should have known that the German Government would authorize or +permit so shocking a breach of international law and so foul an offense, +not only against an enemy, but as well against peaceful citizens of a +then friendly nation. + +But the unexpected character of the act was best evidenced by the horror +which it excited in the minds and hearts of the American people. + +[Sidenote: Fault with the Imperial German Government.] + +[Sidenote: Those who plotted the crime.] + +The fault, therefore, must be laid upon those who are responsible for +the sinking of the vessel, in the legal as well as moral sense. It is, +therefore, not the Cunard Line, petitioner, which must be held liable +for the loss of life and property. The cause of the sinking of the +_Lusitania_ was the illegal act of the Imperial German Government, +acting through its instrument, the submarine commander, and violating a +cherished and humane rule observed, until this war, by even the +bitterest antagonists. As Lord Mersey said, "The whole blame for the +cruel destruction of life in this catastrophe must rest solely with +those who plotted and with those who committed the crime." + + * * * * * + +Italy, bound at the outbreak of the war to Germany and Austria by a +treaty which formed the so-called Triple Alliance, was in a most +difficult position. Her people, however, were strongly convinced of the +aggressive intentions of Germany, and, after careful consideration, the +Government and the people alike decided to cast their lot with the +Allies. Active operations were at once begun along the border between +Italy and Austria, and in this difficult terrain the events which are +described in the following chapter occurred. + + + + +MOUNTAIN WARFARE + +HOWARD C. FELTON + +Copyright, Munsey's Magazine, May, 1916. + + +[Sidenote: New style of warfare.] + +At the outbreak of the great war huge and well-equipped bodies of men, +led by highly trained officers, rich in the strategic lore of centuries, +set out to demonstrate the value of the theories that they had learned +in time of peace. In a few months an entirely new style of warfare +developed, and most of the military learning of the past was interesting +chiefly because of its antiquity. + +[Sidenote: Italy and Austria fight in the Alps.] + +After the tremendous conflict at the Marne and the German rush for +Calais, which was halted on the line of the Yser, there were on the +western front no more battles in the old sense of the word. From the +North Sea to the Swiss frontier, the fighting was just a novel and +gigantic form of siege warfare. Cavalry became an obsolete arm. Battle +tactics, in the old sense, ceased to have any meaning. Of strategy +nothing much remained save the dictionary definition. + +And now, since Italy and Austria have locked horns above the clouds, +among the glaciers and snow-faced slopes of the Alps, even the old +text-books on mountain warfare have lost their significance. In the +Trentino and along the Isonzo we see the consummation of a new style of +mountain fighting, which grew out of the old methods in the struggle for +the Carpathian passes during the first winter and spring of the war. + +In the old days, during a campaign in a mountain region, most of the +battles were fought on the level--in the literal, not the colloquial +sense of the word. There was a deal of marching and scouting among crags +and precipices, but all with the object of obtaining the best position +in an open valley or upland plain where the real fighting must take +place. Now the smooth floors of the valleys are comparatively deserted, +while whole armies are spread out over great peaks and dizzy snow-fields +thousands of feet above sea-level, chopping trenches in the ice and +sparring for some vantage-point on a crag that in peace times might tax +the strength and skill of the amateur mountain-climber. + +[Sidenote: Bourcet's "Principles of Mountain Warfare."] + +Some time between 1764 and 1770, Pierre de Bourcet wrote a treatise +entitled "The Principles of Mountain Warfare." This may seem to be going +a long way back, but Bourcet's volume and that of the young Comte de +Guilbert on general tactics have historical interest and importance +because, according to Spenser Wilkinson, they show where some of +Napoleon's strategic "miracles" were born. Bourcet's observations are as +vital as if they had been written in 1910, but, as will be seen, many of +them are somewhat musty in 1916. + +[Sidenote: Passes and defiles once the strong positions.] + +Bourcet, without the slightest idea of a battle-line extending from +frontier to sea, lays down as the first principle of mountain warfare +that when the enemy holds a strong position, the assailant should force +him to leave it by turning it. These strong positions in the mountains +were, until this war, the passes and defiles. + +"These contracted places," he explains, "as they generally constitute +the principal objects of the defense, must compel the general who is +taking the offensive to seek every possible means of turning them, or of +misleading the enemy by diversions which will weaken him and facilitate +access to them. + +"Suppose, for example, that the general on the defensive should be +entrenched at all points surrounding his position in such a way as to be +able to resist any direct attack that might be attempted against him, it +would be necessary to attempt to turn him by some more distant point, +choosing positions that would facilitate the scheme, and which, by +suggesting some different object, could not raise the suspicion that the +troops there collected were destined for the purpose really in view. + +[Sidenote: Unlike modern warfare.] + +"It often happens in the mountains that the only passages favorable to +our plans are interrupted by narrow defiles. In such cases we must avoid +letting the enemy know our real purpose, and must undertake diversions, +dividing our forces into small bodies. This method, which would be +dangerous in any other sort of country, is indispensable in the +mountains, and is the whole science of this kind of warfare, provided +that the general who uses it always has the means to reconcentrate his +forces when necessary." + +Bourcet's conclusion is that in such a campaign the offensive has great +advantages over the defensive. It will always possess the initiative; +and if it prepares its blow with sufficient secrecy and strikes swiftly, +the enemy, whose troops are necessarily scattered along the whole line +menaced, can never be ready to meet the attack. + +[Sidenote: Generals understand each other's strategy.] + +To-day, the only trouble about this beautifully tricky system of +strategy is that the defending general would pay no attention to it. The +Austrian general staff, for instance, knew that the Italians would try +to smash through the frontier defenses of the Dual Empire, and that the +natural avenues of attack were up the valley of the Adige, along the +railway through Pontebba and Malborghetto, or between Malborghetto and +the sea. The Austrians have enough men and guns to defend all these +routes and all the tortuous pathways in between. So all they had to do +was plant themselves on their chosen ground along the whole carefully +fortified mountain line, and wait for the Italians to attack wherever +they pleased. + +"It is only by marching and countermarching," Bourcet said, "that we can +hope to deceive the enemy and induce him to weaken himself in certain +positions in order to strengthen himself in others." + +[Sidenote: The enemy cannot be outflanked.] + +But this cannot be done in the mountain fighting in the Alps to-day. The +Italians might march and countermarch as much as they pleased, but there +is no possible way of turning the enemy out of his position by +outflanking him. It is a case of frontal attack, with every valley +blocked and every peak a fortress. + +[Sidenote: Italy's great objectives.] + +The Italians campaign has two principal objectives--Trent and Gorizia. +These two lovely cities of Italia Irrendenta are respectively the keys +to the right and left flank of the Austrian frontier. Trent guards the +valley of the Adige, one of the few natural highways from Italy into +Austrian territory. Bourcet himself, in 1735, designed the defense of +this pathway at Rivoli, just inside the Italian boundary, where he laid +out what were considered impregnable positions. To the north; where +Trent lies, the country becomes more and more difficult for an invader, +and up to this time the Italians have not been able to come within +striking distance of the great Austrian fortress, though they hold +Rovereto, and have cut the direct line of communication between Trent +and Toblach. + +[Sidenote: Italian game on the Gorizia front.] + +On the Gorizia front they have made what in this war may be considered +as important gains. Gorizia stands watch over the valley of the Isonzo +and Austria's Adriatic littoral. Besides occupying Grado and Monfalcone +in the coastlands, General Cadorna's forces have crossed the Isonzo at +several points, have smashed through to the north, and now threaten to +envelop Gorizia. Indeed, many observers believe that Cadorna could at +any time take the place by a grand assault if he were willing to pay the +cost in blood. + +Despite the very unfavorable character of the country, the Italians have +gained more ground here in the same period than either the Germans or +the Anglo-French forces in the flat or rolling plains of Flanders and +northern France. But the outflanking tactics of Bourcet, with feints and +swift maneuvering, have had little to do with it. The assailants have +had to fight their way step by step. + +The Austrians had prepared all sorts of disagreeable surprises. They had +hewn gun-positions out of solid cliffs, skilfully placed so as to cover +the routes of approach, and had cemented up the embrasures. It was +merely necessary to knock the cement out and pour shells upon the +advancing Italians at a range of several miles. The batteries were +inaccessible to storming parties, and the Italians had to drag up guns +of equal caliber to put them out of business. + +[Sidenote: Ancient methods employed.] + +In some places rocks and masses of ice were rolled down the slopes, as +in the brave old days of the Helvetians; and in this line the Austrians +introduced an innovation. When the Italians began driving their trenches +up the steep slopes of Podgora--the Gibraltar of Gorizia--the defenders +rolled down barrels of kerosene and set them alight with artillery fire. +This enterprise throve joyously until the Italian gunners got the range +of the launching-point and succeeded in exploding a few barrels among +the Austrians themselves. + +[Sidenote: Austria had possession of the heights.] + +The writer does not mean to give the impression that Italy's job in the +Alps is all but finished. A glance at the map of the frontier will cure +any one of such a notion. The Italians were forced to start this +campaign under every strategic disadvantage. By the frontier delimited +in 1866, they were left without natural defenses on the north and east. +All along the Austrian boundary the heights remained in the hands of the +Hapsburgs as natural menaces to Venetia and Lombardy. Italy received the +plains, but Austria held the mountain fastnesses that hung above them. + +This is so much the case that when Italy declared war, the Austrian +general orders reminded the troops that they were in the position of men +on the top floor of a six-story house, defending it from attackers who +must mount from the street under a plunging fire. + +[Sidenote: Chasseurs Alpins in the Vosges.] + +But in one way or another the Italians have been doggedly fighting their +way up the walls of the house. For one thing, their Alpini have brought +to great perfection the use of skis in military operations on the +snow-clad slopes. This is the first war in which skis have really come +to the front. In France, too, the Chasseurs Alpins have been able to +show the Germans some astonishing things with their long wooden +snow-shoes in the winter fighting among the crests of the Vosges. + +A typical instance of this is the story of the capture of a German post +on the Alsatian frontier in the winter of 1914-15. The Germans, holding +the railroad from Ste. Marie to Ste. Croix, were expecting an attack +from the French position at St. Die. This impression was deliberately +strengthened by a heavy artillery fire from St. Die, while a +considerable detachment of the Chasseurs Alpins led a body of infantry +along a winding mountain road to the village of Bonhomme. There they +posted themselves just out of sight of the German lines, while the +_chasseurs_ scaled the snow-covered heights and crept along the flank +of the German position. + +When they had reached the desired position, the infantry charged along +the road and the Chasseurs Alpins simultaneously whizzed down the slope +on their skis. The swift flank attack did the business, and the Germans +were driven for some miles down the valley of the Weiss toward Colmar. + +[Sidenote: Austrians capture of Mt. Loevchen.] + +One of the greatest single mountain successes of the war was the +Austrian capture of Mount Loevchen, the huge black mass of rock, nearly +six thousand feet high, which dominates the Austrian port of Cattaro and +sentinels the little kingdom of Montenegro on the west. + +Ever since the war began the Austrians have from time to time made +attempts to reach the summit of this mighty rock. It is only a matter of +an hour or two by winding road in peace times, but the Austrians were +something like eighteen months on the job; and in all this time it is +doubtful if the defenders ever numbered much more than five thousand. It +was not captured until the Montenegrins had practically run out of +ammunition and of reasons for holding the position. The rest of their +kingdom was overrun, and they were to all intents and purposes out of +the war. + +[Sidenote: Russians in the Carpathians.] + +The Russian campaign in the Carpathians, before the great German drive +of a year ago pushed the Czar's armies back into their own country, also +illustrates how the mountain warfare of to-day grew by natural +tendencies from the tactics of Bourcet into the trench warfare of +northern France. + +In the first weeks of the war, when the great offensive movement of the +Austrian army toward Lublin was crushed by the Grand Duke Nicholas, and +the broken hosts of the Dual Monarchy were sent flying through Galicia +and the Carpathians, a cloud of Cossack cavalry followed them and +penetrated into the plains of Hungary. This last operation was merely a +raid, however, and the Cossacks were soon galloping back through the +mountain passes. + +Then the Russians laid siege to Przemysl, and occupied the whole of +Galicia up to the line of the San. Later they pushed on westward to the +Dunajec, threatening Cracow. This was their high tide. On their left +flank was the mass of the Carpathians, pierced by a number of passes. +The more important of these, from west to east, are the Tarnow, Dukla, +Lupkow, and Uzsok. + +[Sidenote: The Carpathian passes.] + +The Austrians were rallied after some weeks, and put up something of a +fight for these "contracted places." The Russians, following the +precepts of Bourcet, threatened the passage which seemed most desirable, +because of the railroad facilities, and delivered a heavy blow at the +Dukla Pass, the least important of the four. Here they pushed through to +Bartfeld, on the Hungarian plain. Then, however, Mackensen's fearful +blow smashed the Russian line on the Dunajec and poured the German +legions across Galicia in the rear of the Carpathian armies, forcing the +Muscovites to abandon the passes and scurry home. + +[Sidenote: Plains more often battlegrounds.] + +Mountain warfare has always had a certain romantic glamour, and it has +filled many pages in the literature of fighting. As a matter of +historical fact, however, it has played a comparatively small part in +the world's annals. Almost all the great campaigns have been fought out +in the lowlands. It is Belgium, for instance, and not Switzerland, that +has been proverbially the battle-ground of Europe. Napoleon and Suwaroff +marched armies through the Alps, but only as a means of striking +unexpectedly at the enemy who occupied the plains beyond. + +Up to the time of the present war, mountain campaigns have usually been +no more than picturesque foot-notes to history, illuminated by the valor +of raiding clansmen like Roderick Dhu of the Scottish Highlands, or +guerrilla chiefs like Andreas Hofer, the Tyrolese patriot. Hofer's +struggle against Napoleon was indeed a gallant and notable one, but it +scarcely entered into the main current of history. + +[Sidenote: Garibaldi's mountain campaigns.] + +If, however, we include Garibaldi among the mountain fighters--and such +was the characteristic bent of his remarkable military genius--we must +accord him a place among the molders of modern Europe, for without his +flashing sword Italy could not have been liberated and united. His two +Alpine campaigns against the Austrians were successful and effective, +but his most brilliant powers were shown in his memorable invasion of +Sicily in 1860. Chased ashore at Marsala by the Neapolitan war-ships, +and narrowly escaping capture, he led his followers--one thousand +red-shirted volunteers armed with obsolete muskets--into the Sicilian +mountains, where he played such a game that within two months he +compelled the surrender of a well-equipped army of nearly thirty +thousand regulars. The history of warfare can show but few exploits so +daring and so dramatic. + + * * * * * + +The most important military movement on the western front in the early +autumn of 1915 was the great French offensive in Champagne. During the +preceding months of the spring and summer, there had been hard fighting +all along the 400-mile line from the North Sea to Switzerland. The +military results had been small on either side and now the French +resolved on a mighty offensive which should be decisive in its +accomplishments. What these results actually were is told in the +following narrative. + + + + +THE GREAT CHAMPAGNE OFFENSIVE OF 1915 + +OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF THE FRENCH HEADQUARTERS STAFF + +Copyright, National Review, January, 1916. + + +[Sidenote: Menace of the French in Alsace.] + +After the battles of May and June, 1915, in Artois, activity on the +Western front became concentrated in the Vosges, where, by a series of +successful engagements, we managed to secure possession of more +favorable positions and to retain them in spite of incessant +counter-attacks. The superiority established over the adversary, the +wearing down of the latter through vain and costly counter-offensives, +which absorbed in that sector his local resources; the state of +uncertainty in which the Germans found themselves in view of the menace +of a French division in Alsace--such were the immediate results of these +engagements. From the number of the effectives engaged, and the limited +front along which the attacks took place, those attacks nevertheless +were no more than local. + +[Sidenote: Preparing for a great offensive.] + +While those operations were developing, the higher command was carefully +preparing for a great offensive. The situation of the Russian armies +imposed on us, as their Allies, obligations the accomplishment of which +had been made possible by the results of a long course of preparation no +less than by the aid of circumstances. + +[Sidenote: Improved defensive organizations.] + +The inaction of the adversary, engaged on the Eastern front in a series +of operations of which he had not foreseen the difficulties, and thus +reduced to the defensive on our front, left the initiative of the +operations in our hands. The landing in France of fresh British troops +enabled Marshal French to take upon himself the defence of a portion of +the lines hitherto held by French troops. The improvement of our +defensive organizations, which made possible certain economies in the +effectives, the regrouping of units and the creation of new units, also +had the effect of placing a larger number of men at the disposal of the +Generalissimo. The increased output of war _materiel_ ensured him the +necessary means for a complete artillery preparation. + +[Sidenote: Joffre's appeal to the troops.] + +Among all the elements of success which were thus united at the end of +the summer of 1915, not the least was the incomparable individual worth +of the French soldier. It was to the traditional warlike qualities of +the race that the Generalissimo appealed when, on September 23, 1915, he +addressed to the troops the following general order, which was read to +the regiments by their officers: + + "SOLDIERS OF THE REPUBLIC + + "After months of waiting, which have enabled us + to increase our forces and our resources, while + the adversary has been using up his own, the + hour has come to attack and conquer and to add + fresh glorious pages to those of the Marne and + Flanders, the Vosges and Arras. + + "Behind the whirlwind of iron and fire let + loose, thanks to the factories of France, where + your brothers have, night and day, worked for + us, you will proceed to the attack, all + together, on the whole front, in close union + with the armies of our Allies. + +[Sidenote: The spirit of the soldier.] + + "Your _elan_ will be irresistible. It will + carry you at a bound up to the batteries of the + adversary, beyond the fortified lines which he + has placed before you. + + "You will give him neither pause nor rest until + victory has been achieved. + + "Set to with all your might for the deliverance + of the soil of la Patrie, for the triumph of + justice and liberty. + + "J. JOFFRE." + +The description of the operations in Champagne will show under what +conditions our troops acquitted themselves of the task assigned to them, +and also the value and significance of this success, without precedent +in the war of positions in which we are at present engaged. + +[Sidenote: The German line that was broken.] + +The German line that was broken in Champagne is the same that was +fortified by our adversaries after the victory of the Marne. It rests on +the western side on the Massif de Moronvillers; to the east it stretches +as far as the Argonne. It was intended to cover the railway line from +Challerange to Bazancourt, a line indispensable for the concentration +movements of the German troops. The offensive front, which extended from +Auberive to the east of Ville-sur-Tourbe, presents a varied aspect. From +east to west may be seen: + +[Sidenote: A wooded glacis.] + +(1) A glacis about eight kilometres in width, the gentle slopes of which +are covered by numerous little woods. The road from Saint-Hilaire to +Saint-Souplet, with the Baraque de l'Epine de Vedegrange, marks +approximately its axis. + +[Sidenote: Valley of Souain.] + +(2) The hollow, at the bottom of which is the village of Souain and of +which the first German line followed the further edge. The road from +Souain to Pomme-Py describes the radius of this semi-circle. The farm of +Navarin, at a distance of three and a half kilometres to the north of +Souain, stands on the top of the hills. + +[Sidenote: Second German line.] + +(3) To the north of Perthes a comparatively tranquil region of uniform +aspect, forming between the wooded hills of the Trou Bricot and those of +the Butte du Mesnil a passage three kilometres wide, barred by several +lines of trenches and ending at a series of heights, the Butte de +Souain, Hills 195 and 201, and the Butte de Tahure, surmounted by the +second German line. + +[Sidenote: A strong German position.] + +(4) To the north of Le Mesnil, a very strong position, bastioned on the +west by two twin heights (Mamelle Nord and Trapeze), on the east by the +Butte du Mesnil. The German trenches formed between these two bastions a +powerful curtain, behind which extended as far as Tahure a thickly +wooded, undulating region. + +(5) To the north of Beausejour a bare terrain easily practicable, with a +gentle rise in the direction of Ripon as far as the farm of Maisons de +Champagne. + +[Sidenote: Eastern flank of the German line.] + +(6) To the north of Massiges, Hills numbered 191 and 199, describing on +the map the figure of a hand, very strongly constructed and constituting +the eastern flank of the whole German line. This tableland slopes down +gently in the direction of Ville-sur-Tourbe. + +[Sidenote: German system of trench defenses.] + +The achievements of our troops from September 25 to October 3, 1915, in +this region may be thus summarised: They scaled the whole of the glacis +of l'Epine de Vedegrange; they occupied the ridge of the hollow at +Souain; debouched in the opening to the north of Perthes to the slopes +of Hill 195 and as far as the Butte de Tahure; carried the western +bastions of the curtain of le Mesnil; advanced as far as Maisons de +Champagne and took by assault the "hand" of Massiges. That is to say +that they captured an area about forty square kilometres in extent. The +importance of that figure is shown when one examines on the map +accompanying this report the position of the German trenches, with a +view to understanding the system of defence adopted by our adversaries. +Two positions, distant from three to four kilometres from each other, +stand out clearly. The first is the more dense; the trenches with their +alleys of communication present at certain points the appearance of a +wirework chessboard. Everywhere, to a depth of from 300 to 400 metres +there are at least three parallel lines, sometimes five. The trenches +are separated from each other as a rule by wire entanglements varying in +width from 15 to 60 metres. + +[Sidenote: The second position.] + +[Sidenote: Alleys of communication.] + +The second position comprises only one trench, reinforced at certain +points by a supporting trench. It is everywhere constructed, as is the +wire network in front of it, in the form of a slope. On top there are +merely observation stations with machine-gun shelters connected with the +trench by an alley of communication. Between the two positions the +terrain was also specially prepared, being cut up by transverse or +diagonal trenches. The alleys of communication constructed to facilitate +the firing, which were in many cases protected by wirework, make +possible, according to the German method, a splitting up of the terrain +by lateral fire and the maintenance, even after the tide of the +assailants had flooded the trenches, of centres of resistance, veritable +strongholds that could only be reduced after a siege. The positions of +the artillery were established, as were also the camps and provision +depots, behind the first position, the principal line of defence. + +[Sidenote: German organization known.] + +The whole German organization was known to us. It was shown on our maps, +and every defensive work, trench, alley of communication, and clump of +trees was given a special name or a number preceded by a certain letter, +according to the sector of attack wherein it was situated. This minute +precision in the details of the preparation is worthy of being pointed +out; it constitutes one of the peculiarities of the present war, a +veritable siege war, in which the objective has to be realised +beforehand and clearly determined, every piece of ground having to be +captured by heavy fighting, as was formerly every redan and every +curtain. + +The bombardment of the German positions began on September 22, 1915 and +was pursued night and day according to a time scheme and a division of +labour previously determined upon. The results expected were: + +[Sidenote: Results of bombardment.] + +(1) The destruction of the wire entanglements. + +(2) The burial of the defenders in their dug-out. + +(3) The razing of the trenches and the demolition of the embrasures. + +(4) The stopping-up of the alleys of communication. + +[Sidenote: Work of the long-range guns.] + +The gun-fire covered not only the first trench but also the supporting +trench and even the second position, although the distance at which the +last was situated and the outline of its wire entanglements made it +difficult to make field observations in that direction. At the same time +the heavy long-range guns bombarded the headquarters, the cantonments +and the railway stations; they cut the railway lines, causing a +suspension of the work of revictualling. The best witnesses to the +effectiveness of our bombardment are to be found in unfinished letters +found upon prisoners. + +[Sidenote: Letters found on prisoners.] + + "SEPTEMBER 23. + + "The French artillery fired without + intermission from the morning of the 21st to + the evening of the 23rd, and we all took refuge + in our dug-outs. On the evening of the 22nd we + were to have gone to get some food, and the + French continued to fire on our trenches. In + the evening we had heavy losses, and we had + nothing to eat." + + + "SEPTEMBER 25. + + "I have received no news, and probably I shall + not receive any for some days. The whole postal + service has been stopped; all places have been + bombarded to such an extent that no human being + could stand against it. + + "The railway line is so seriously damaged that + the train service for some time has been + completely stopped. + + "We have been for three days in the first line; + during those three days the French have fired + so heavily that our trenches are no longer + visible." + +[Sidenote: Number of wounded.] + + + "SEPTEMBER 24. + + "For the last two days the French have been + firing like mad. To-day, for instance, a + dug-out has been destroyed. There were sixteen + men in it. Not one of them managed to save his + skin. They are all dead. Besides that, a number + of individual men have been killed and there + are a great mass of wounded. + + "The artillery fires almost as rapidly as the + infantry. A mist of smoke hangs over the whole + battle-front, so that it is impossible to see + anything. Men are dropping like flies. + + "The trenches are no longer anything but a + mound of ruins." + +[Sidenote: Sufferings of the soldiers.] + + + "SEPTEMBER 24. + + "A rain of shells is pouring down upon us. The + kitchen and everything that is sent to us is + bombarded at night. The field-kitchens no + longer come to us. Oh, if only the end were + near! That is the cry every one is repeating. + Peace! Peace!" + +Extract from the notebook of a man of the 103rd Regiment: + + "From the trench nothing much can now be seen; + it will soon be on a level with the ground." + +Letter of an artilleryman of the 100th Regiment of Field Artillery: + + + "SEPTEMBER 25. + + "We have passed through some terrible hours. It + was as though the whole world was in a state of + collapse. We have had heavy losses. One company + of two hundred and fifty men had sixty killed + last night. A neighboring battery had sixteen + killed yesterday. + +[Sidenote: Destructiveness of the French shells.] + + "The following instance will show you the + frightful destructiveness of the French shells. + A dug-out five metres deep, surmounted by 2 + metres 50 centimetres of earth and two + thicknesses of heavy timber, was broken like a + match." + +Report made on September 24 in the morning, by the captain commanding +the 3rd company of the 135th Regiment of Reserve: + + "The French are firing on us with great bombs + and machine-guns. We must have reinforcements + at once. Many men are no longer fit for + anything. It is not that they are wounded, but + they are Landsturmers. Moreover the wastage is + greater than the losses announced. + + "Send rations immediately; no food has reached + us to-day. Urgently want illuminating + cartridges and hand grenades. Is the hospital + corps never coming to fetch the wounded?" + +[Sidenote: German troops exhausted.] + + + "SEPTEMBER 25, 11.45. + + "I urgently beg for reinforcements; the men are + dying from fatigue and want of sleep. I have no + news of the battalion." + +The time fixed for all the attacks on the Champagne front was a +quarter-past nine in the morning. There was no hesitation. At the time +mentioned the troops came out of the trenches with the aid of steps or +scaling ladders and drew up in line before making a rush at the German +trenches. + +The operation was rapidly effected. The objective was at an average +distance of two hundred metres; this was covered without serious losses. +The Germans were nearly everywhere surprised, and their defensive fire +was not opened until after the invading tide of the attackers had passed +by. + +[Sidenote: First German trench penetrated.] + +Over the whole attacking front our troops penetrated into the first +German trench. But subsequently the progress was no longer uniform. +While certain units continued their forward movement with extreme +rapidity, others came up against machine guns still in action and either +stopped or advanced only with difficulty. Some centres of the German +resistance maintained their position for several hours and even for +several days. + +[Sidenote: Outline of advance in Champagne.] + +[Sidenote: The battle a series of assaults.] + +A line showing the different stages of our advance in Champagne would +assume a curiously winding outline, and would reveal on the one hand the +defensive power of an adversary resolved to stick to the ground at all +costs and on the other the victorious continuity of the efforts of our +troops in this hand-to-hand struggle. The battle of Champagne must be +considered in the light of a series of assaults, executed at the same +moment, in parallel or convergent directions and having for their object +either the capture or the hemming in of the first German position, the +units being instructed to reform in a continuous line before the second +position. + +[Sidenote: Unity of the action.] + +In order to understand the development, the terrain must be divided into +several sectors, in each of which the operations, although closely +co-ordinated, assumed, as a consequence either of the nature of the +ground or of the peculiarities of the enemy defences, a different +character. The unity of the action was nevertheless ensured by the +simultaneity of the rush, which carried all the troops beyond the first +position, past the batteries, to the defences established by the enemy +on the heights to the south of Py. + +[Sidenote: At extremities offensive does not progress.] + +At the two extremities of our attacking front, subjected to converging +fires and to counter-attacks on the flanks, our offensive made no +progress. The fighting which took place in Auberive and round about +Servon were distinguished by more than one trait of heroism, but they +were destined to have no other result than that of containing the forces +of the enemy and of immobilising him at the wings while the attack was +progressing in the centre. + +[Sidenote: Position from Auberive to Souain a triangle.] + +[Sidenote: Wire checks the attackers.] + +[Sidenote: Gains maintained.] + +(1) _Sector of l'Epine de Vedegrange._ The first German line was +established at the base of a wide glacis covered with clumps of trees, +and formed a series of salients running into each other. At certain +points it ran along the edge of the woods where the supplementary +defences were completed by abattis. The position as a whole between +Auberive and Souain described a vast triangle. To the west of the road, +from Saint-Hilaire to Saint-Souplet, the troops traversed the first +enemy line and rushed forward for a distance of about a kilometre as far +as a supporting trench, in front of which they were stopped by the +wirework. A counterattack debouching from the west and supported by the +artillery of Moronvillers caused a slight retirement of our left. The +troops of the right, on the contrary, maintained their gains and +succeeded on the following days in enlarging and extending them, +remaining in touch with the units which were attacking on the east of +the road. The latter had succeeded in a particularly brilliant manner +in overcoming the difficulties with which they were confronted. + +[Sidenote: Nature of the position captured.] + +[Sidenote: Prisoners and guns seized.] + +The German position which they captured, with its triple and quadruple +lines of trenches, its small forts armed with machine guns, its woods +adapted for the purpose in view, constituted one of the most complete +schemes of defence on the Champagne front and afforded cover to a +numerous artillery concealed in the woods of the glacis. On this front, +which was about three and a half kilometres wide, the attack on +September 25, 1915 achieved a varying success. The troops on the left, +after having penetrated into the first trench, had their progress +arrested by machine guns. On the right, however, in spite of the +obstacle presented by four successive trenches, each of which was +covered by a network of wire entanglements and was concealed in the +woods, where our artillery had difficulty in reaching them, the +attacking troops gained nearly two kilometres, capturing seven hundred +prisoners, of whom seventeen were officers, and seizing two guns of 77 +and five guns of 105. + +The advance recommenced on September 27, 1915. The left took possession +of the woods lining the road from Saint-Hilaire to Saint-Souplet as far +as the Epine de Vedegrange. Along the whole extent of the wooded heights +as far as the western side of the hollow at Souain the success was +identical. Notwithstanding the losses they sustained, notwithstanding +the fatigue involved in the incessant fighting, the troops pushed +forward, leaving behind them only a sufficient force to clear the woods +of isolated groups of the enemy who still remained there. Between 4 and +6 p.m. we arrived immediately in front of the second German position. + +[Sidenote: Second German position penetrated.] + +[Sidenote: Results of attack in this sector.] + +On the 27th we penetrated into this position at two points. We took +possession of a trench about a kilometre wide, called the "parallel of +the Epine de Vedegrange," which is duplicated almost throughout by +another trench (the parallel of the wood of Chevron), and the wirework +entanglements of which were intact, and precluded an assault. Further +east our soldiers also continued, thanks to the conformation of the +terrain, to penetrate into the enemy trench to a depth of about four +hundred metres. But it was impossible to take advantage of this breach +owing to a concentration of the German heavy artillery, a rapidly +continued defence of the surrounding woods, and the fire of machine guns +which it was not possible to capture and which were directed from the +trenches on the right and left of the entry and exit to the breach. The +results attained in this attacking sector alone may be stated thus: +fifteen square miles of territory organized for defence throughout +nearly the whole of its extent; on September 28, forty-four cannon, +seven of 105 and six of 150, and more than three thousand prisoners. + +(2) _Sector of Souain._ The enemy lines round about Souain described a +wide curve. In the immediate vicinity of our trenches, to the west at +the Mill and to the east of the wood of Sabot, they swerved to the +extent of over a kilometre to the north of the village and of the source +of the Ain. + +[Sidenote: Sapping operations.] + +[Sidenote: Assault made in three directions.] + +When the offensive was decided upon it was necessary, in order to extend +our lines forward to striking distance, to undertake sapping operations +in parallel lines, and at times to make dashes by night over the +intervening ground. The men working underground got into communication +with the trenches by digging alleys of communication. This difficult +undertaking was effected with very slight losses, under the eyes and +under the fire of the enemy. Our parallel lines approached to within a +distance of two hundred metres of the German trenches. The assault was +made in three different directions: on the west in the direction of +Hills 167 and 174; in the centre along a line running parallel with the +road from Souain to Pomme-Py, in the direction of the farm of Navarin; +on the east in the direction of the woods intersected by the road from +Souain to Tahure, and in the direction of the Butte de Souain. + +[Sidenote: Machine gun positions surrounded.] + +The advance was extremely rapid--on the left two kilometres in less than +one hour, in the centre three kilometres in forty-five minutes. At 10 +a.m. we had reached the farm of Navarin. Towards the east the forward +march was more difficult. Some German machine guns stood their ground in +the wood of Sabot and contributed to the resistance of the enemy. This +defence was destined to be overcome by surrounding them. Arriving at the +wooded region in that part where it is intersected by the road from +Souain to Tahure, the assailants joined up on September 27, 1915 with +those of our troops who were attacking to the north of Perthes. They +left behind them only what was barely necessary in the way of troops to +clear the woods of stragglers. + +[Sidenote: The French take guns and supplies.] + +Parlementaires were sent to the Germans, who received them with a volley +of rifle shots and endeavored to escape during the night. The majority +were killed and the survivors surrendered. Several batteries and a large +quantity of _materiel_ (supplies of shells and provisions, grenades, +telephones, wire, light railways) remained in our hands. On the 28th, +along the entire length of the sector, we were immediately in front of +the second German position. The troops had shown an unparalleled ardour +and energy. They had been trained by officers whose courage and spirit +of self-sacrifice are indicated by this casualty list; a general of +division and four colonels wounded; two colonels killed. + +[Sidenote: Wooded region between Souain and Perthes.] + +[Sidenote: Region broken up by mines and trenches.] + +(3) _Sector of Perthes._ Between Souain and Perthes stretches a wooded +region in which already, in February and March, heavy fighting had taken +place. At that period we had contrived to take possession on the eastern +extremity of this region of the German defences of the wood of Sabot. We +had also made progress to the north-west of Perthes, on the summit of +Hill 200. But between these two positions the Germans had retained a +strong system of trenches forming a salient almost triangular in shape, +to which we gave the name of the Pocket (_la Poche_). During the whole +year a war of mining had been going on, and the region, which was broken +up by concave constructions and intersected in all directions by +trenches and alleys of communication, constituted an attacking ground +all the more difficult because to the north of la Poche the somewhat +thickly wooded Trou Bricot, the edges of which were in a state of +defence, obstructed a rapid advance. This wooded region extends over a +width of a kilometre and a half and a depth of four kilometres. The +arrangements made for the attack contemplated, after the capture of la +Poche, the surrounding of the wood of the Trou Bricot. The junction was +to be made at the road from Souain to Tahure, with the troops assigned +for the attack on the eastern border of the hollow at Souain. + +[Sidenote: The York trench.] + +The ground to the east of the Trou Bricot was less difficult. Open and +comparatively flat, it was defended on the north of Perthes by a triple +line of trenches distant 100 metres from each other. At a distance of +1000 metres to 1200 metres a supporting trench, called the "York +trench," was almost unique in its entire construction. The open country +beyond stretched for a distance of three kilometres up to the second +German position (Hill 195, Butte de Tahure). The principal effort was +directed against this passage, the left flank of the attack being +secured by a subsidiary action confined to the capture of la Poche. + +[Sidenote: Attack preceded by artillery fire.] + +At 9 a.m. our artillery directed its fire successively against the +first-line trenches and the supporting trenches. The attack took place +in the most perfect order. The assailants were already swarming in the +German lines when the enemy artillery opened its defensive fire. Our +counter-batteries hampered the German pieces and our reserves in the +rear suffered little from their fire. + +[Sidenote: La Poche position surrendered.] + +[Sidenote: The York trench occupied.] + +At 9.45 a.m. the two columns which were attacking the extremities of the +salient of la Poche joined hands. The position was surrounded. These +Germans who remained alive inside it surrendered. At the same time a +battalion was setting foot in the defences of the southern edges of the +wood of Trou Bricot. The battalions that followed, marching to the +outside of the eastern edges, executed with perfect regularity a "left +turn" and came and formed up alongside the alleys of communication as +far as the supporting trench. At the same moment, in the open country to +the north of Perthes, the troops surmounted the three first-line +trenches and, preceded by our artillery, made a quick march towards the +York trench and occupied it almost without striking a blow. + +[Sidenote: Cleaning up the sector.] + +Further to the East, along the road from Perthes to Tahure, their +advance encountered greater difficulties. Some centres of the German +resistance could not be overcome. A sheltered machine gun continued its +fire. An infantry officer, with a quartermaster of artillery, succeeded +in getting into action a gun at a distance of three hundred metres from +the machine gun and in firing at it at close quarters. Of the troops +which were advancing to the north of Perthes, some made for the eastern +border of the wood of Bricot, where they penetrated into the camps, +ousting the defenders and surprising several officers in bed. Late in +the afternoon one of our regiments had reached the road from Souain to +Tahure. Other units were marching straight towards the north, clearing +out the little woods on the way. They there captured batteries of which +the artillerymen were riveted to their guns by means of bayonets +(notably ten pieces of 105 and five of 150). + +[Sidenote: Progress hindered by weather.] + +The same work was being performed in the woods extending east of the +road from Perthes to Souain and Tahure, where batteries were charged and +captured while in action. At this spot a regiment covered four +kilometres in two hours and captured ten guns, three of 105 and seven of +77. But, from twelve o'clock midday onwards the rate of progress +decreased, the bad weather making it impossible for our artillery to see +what was going on, and rendering the joining up of the different corps +extremely difficult. From the Buttes de Souain and Tahure the enemy +directed converging fires on our men, who were advancing along very open +ground. Nevertheless they continued their advance as far as the slopes +of Hill 193 and the Butte de Tahure, and there dug themselves in. + +[Sidenote: Contact with second German position.] + +The night passed without any counter-attack by the enemy. Our artillery, +including several field batteries, which had arrived immediately after +the attack beyond the York trench, also brought forward its heavy +pieces. At dawn the reconstituted regiments made another forward rush +which enabled them to establish themselves in immediate contact with the +second German position from the Butte de Souain to the Butte de Tahure, +and even to seize several advanced posts in that neighbourhood. + +But on the lower slopes some of the wire entanglements remained intact; +a successful assault on them would have been possible only after a fresh +preparation. Up to October 6, 1915, the troops remained where they were, +digging trenches and organizing a defensive system which had to be +constructed all over again on ground devastated by the enemy fire. + +[Sidenote: Ravin des Cuisines.] + +(4) _Sector of Le Mesnil._ It was to the north of Le Mesnil that we +encountered the greatest resistance on the part of the adversary. In the +course of the engagements of the preceding winter we had succeeded in +securing a foothold on top of the hill numbered 196. The Germans +remained a little to the east, in a ravine which we continued to call by +its designation of the "Ravine of the Kitchens" (Ravin des Cuisines). +Our assault rendered us masters of it, but we could make no further +progress. + +[Sidenote: Fighting on the Butte du Mesnil.] + +The German trenches are constructed on the northern slopes of Hill 196, +and are concealed from field observation so that it is difficult for the +artillery to play upon them. Moreover, they are flanked on one side by +the twin heights of the Mamelles, on the other by the Butte du Mesnil. +To the eastward some of our units contrived on September 25, 1915, to +penetrate into the trenches of the _butte_ (knoll), but failed to +maintain their ground, in consequence of a counter-attack supported by +flank fires. Westward, it was not until the night of the 1st to the 2nd +of October, 1915, that we captured the northern Mamelle, thus +surrounding the works of the Trapeze which surmount the southern +Mamelle. + +[Sidenote: Rapid and brilliant advance.] + +(5) _Sector of Beausejour._ The attacks launched north of Beausejour met +with a more rapid and more brilliant success. The swarm of invaders +throwing themselves on the first German lines captured one after the +other the enemy works in the very sparsely timbered woods called the Fer +de Lance wood and the Demi-Lune wood, and afterwards all the works known +as the Bastion. In one rush certain units gained the top of Maisons de +Champagne, past several batteries, killing the artillerymen as they +served their pieces. The same movement took the assailants across the +intricate region of the mine "funnels" of Beausejour up to the extended +wood intersected by the road to Maisons de Champagne. Our soldiers then +came across German artillerymen engaged in unlimbering their guns. They +killed the drivers and horses; the survivors surrendered. + +[Sidenote: Cavalry supports the infantry.] + +[Sidenote: Enemy counter-attacks.] + +Further westward the left wing of the attacking troops advanced with +greater difficulty, being hampered by small forts and covered works with +which the trenches were everywhere protected. It was at this moment that +the cavalry came unexpectedly to the support of the infantry. Two +squadrons of hussars having crossed our old trenches in face of a heavy +defensive artillery fire prepared to gallop against the German batteries +north of Maisons de Champagne, when they reached that part of the lines +where the Germans still maintained their position. The latter +immediately directed the fire of their machine guns against the +cavalrymen, several of whose horses were hit. The hussars dismounted +and, with drawn sabres, made for the trenches, while favoured by this +diversion, the infantrymen resumed their forward movement. The +resistance of the enemy broke down; more than six hundred Germans were +captured in this way. In the course of the afternoon and during the day +of September 25, 1915, some enemy counter-attacks were made from the +direction of Ripont, but were unsuccessful in ousting us from the summit +of Maisons de Champagne. + +On the following days a fierce struggle took place north of the summit +in the region of a defensive work known as the "Ouvrage de la Defaite," +which was captured by us, lost, then recaptured, and finally evacuated +in consequence of an extremely violent bombardment. + +[Sidenote: Heights of Massiges.] + +(6) _Sector of Massiges._ The safety of our troops which had advanced as +far as the extended wood and Maisons de Champagne was assured by the +capture of the summits of the heights of Massiges. This sharply +undulating upland, numbered 199 on the north and 191 on the south, +constituted in the hands of the Germans a fortress which they believed +to be impregnable and from the top of which they commanded our positions +in several directions. At 9.15 a.m. the two first attacking parties +marched out in columns. The men went forth gaily and deliberately, +preceded by the firing of the field artillery. By 9.30 a.m. our +infantry, before the enemy had had time to recover themselves, had +reached the summit. + +[Sidenote: Enemy machine gun fire.] + +[Sidenote: Lines of grenadiers.] + +From this moment, subject to machine gun and musketry fire, the men +could only proceed slowly along the summits by the alleys of +communication, with hand grenades, supported by the artillery, with whom +they remained in constant touch by flag-signalling. As the advance of +our grenadiers continued, the Germans surrendered in large numbers. An +uninterrupted chain of grenade-bearers, like the chains of +bucket-holders at a fire in former times, was established in the alleys +of communication from Massiges forward, and each fresh arrival of +grenades was accompanied by a fresh advance. + +[Sidenote: Value of possessing the heights.] + +From September 25 to October 3, 1915, the fight continued in this way +and was carried on by our soldiers with fierce persistency. The Germans +hurled upon the spot constant reinforcements and offered an obstinate +resistance that has rarely been equalled. They stood up to be shot +down--the machine-gun men at their guns, the grenadiers on their grenade +chests. All attempts at a counter-attack remained equally unproductive. +The possession of the heights of Massiges enabled us to extend our gains +towards Ville-sur-Tourbe, while taking in flank the trenches which we +had failed to secure by a frontal attack. + +The loss of the heights of Massiges appears to have particularly upset +the German General Staff, which, after having denied the fact, +represented that the ground which it had lost as a consequence of +grenade fighting had been abandoned owing to artillery fire. + +[Sidenote: Attitude of the enemy.] + +The attitude of the enemy was characterized by: (1) Surprise; (2) +disorganization; (3) a sudden and almost disorderly engagement of the +reserves; (4) the exhaustion and demoralization of the soldiers. + +[Sidenote: Reasons for surprise.] + +(1) It is beyond doubt that the Germans were surprised by the extent and +violence of our attacks. They were expecting a French offensive. The +orders of the day of Generals von Fleck and Von Ditfurth prove this. +("The possibility of a great French offensive must be considered": Von +Ditfurth, August 15. "The French Higher Command appears to be disposed +to make another desperate effort": Von Fleck, September 26.) But the +Germans foresaw neither the strength nor the success of the effort. +During our artillery preparation twenty-nine battalions only were +brought back to Champagne (the 183rd Brigade, the 5th Division of the +3rd Corps, and one-half of the 43rd Division of Reserve). In thus +limiting before the attack the reinforcements of its effectives the +German General Staff showed that they did not suspect the vigour of the +blow that was about to be delivered. + +The same thing happened with regard to the subordinate forces. Inside +the shelters in the second line officers were captured while lying down; +they had an unwarranted confidence in the strength of their first line, +and the interruption of telephone communications had prevented their +being informed of the rapid progress of our offensive. + +[Sidenote: Rapidity of French attack.] + +(2) This rapidity of our attack explains the disorganization of the +adversary on the morning of September 25. At some points certain +officers and non-commissioned officers were able to continue the +resistance until the investment, followed by capitulation. But elsewhere +there were prompt surrenders. Men were also seen flying before our +attacking troops and being killed while making for their second +position. + +[Sidenote: How the German reserves were utilized.] + +(3) In order to make up for the insufficiency of the local reserves the +German military authorities had to put in line not only the important +units which they held at their disposal behind the front (10th Corps +brought back from Russia), but the local reserves from other sectors +(Soissonnais, Argonne, Woevre, Alsace), which were despatched to +Champagne one battalion after another, and even in groups of double +companies. + +Nothing better indicates the disorganization of the German command and +the significance of the check suffered than the conditions under which +these reserves were engaged. + +The units were despatched to the fight completely disassociated. Among +the regiments of the 5th Division (3rd Corps), one, the 81st, was +identified near Massiges, while a battalion of the 12th was at Tahure +and a battalion of the 32nd at the Trou Bricot. It was the same as +regards the 56th Division, of which the 88th and 35th Regiments were +despatched to Massiges and the 91st to Souain, while a battalion of the +79th took up a position to the west of the Butte de Tahure. + +[Sidenote: Haste increased German losses.] + +Ill provided with food and munitions, the reinforcements were thrown +into the engagement on an unknown terrain without indication as to the +direction they had to take and without their junction with neighbouring +units having been arranged. Through the haste with which they threw +their reserves under the fire of our artillery and of our infantry, +already in possession of the positions, the German General Staff +considerably increased the number of their losses. + +[Sidenote: Soldiers brought by motor-car.] + +A letter taken from a soldier of the 118th Regiment furnishes us with +proof of this: "We were put in a motor-car and proceeded at a headlong +pace to Tahure, by way of Vouziers. Two hours' rest in the open air, +with rain falling and then we had a six hours' march to take up our +positions. On our way we were greeted by the fire of the enemy shells, +so that, for instance, out of 280 men of the second company, only 224 +arrived safe and sound inside the trenches. These trenches, freshly dug, +were barely from 35 to 50 centimetres deep. Continually surrounded by +mines and bursting shells, we had to remain in them and do the best we +could with them for 118 hours without getting anything hot to eat. + +"Hell itself could not be more terrible. To-day, at about twelve o'clock +noon, 600 men, fresh troops, joined the regiment. In five days we have +lost as many and more." + +[Sidenote: Battalions from many regiments.] + +The disorder amid which the reinforcements were engaged appears clearly +from this fact, that on the only part of the front included between +Maisons de Champagne and Hill 189 there were on October 2, 1915, +thirty-two battalions belonging to twenty-one different regiments. + +(4) The violence of the shock sustained, and the necessity of replacing +in the fighting line units which had almost entirely disappeared, +hampered the German military authorities. On the first day they were +unable to respond effectively even with their artillery, the fire of +which along the whole front was badly directed and as a rule poorly +sustained. The loss of numerous batteries obviously deprived them of a +portion of their resources. + +[Sidenote: Enemy endeavors to stem advance.] + +[Sidenote: Isolated battalion on the heights of Massiges.] + +The following days the enemy seemed to have but one idea, to strengthen +their second line to stem our advance. The counter-attacks were +concentrated on a comparatively unimportant part of the battlefront in +certain places, the loss of which appeared to them to be particularly +dangerous. Therefore on the heights of Massiges the German military +authorities threw in succession isolated battalions of the 123rd, 124th, +and 120th regiments, of the 30th regular regiment and of the 2nd +regiment of Ersatz Reserve (16th Corps), which were each in turn +decimated, for these counter-attacks, hastily and crudely prepared, all +resulted in sanguinary failures. Generally speaking, the offensive +capacity of the Germans appeared to be broken. The following order of +the day of General von Ditfurth bears witness to this: + +[Sidenote: General von Ditfurth's order.] + +"It seemed to me that the infantry at certain points was confining its +action to a mere defensive. . . . I cannot protest too strongly against +such an idea, which necessarily results in destroying the spirit of +offensive in our own troops and in arousing and strengthening in the +mind of the enemy a feeling of his superiority. + +"The enemy is left full liberty of action and our own action is +subjected to the will of the enemy." + +[Sidenote: Prisoners exhausted.] + +(5) In an engagement in the open the number of prisoners is an +indication of the spirit of the enemy. In Champagne the Germans +surrendered in constituted units (sections or companies), and even in +groups of several hundred men. They confessed that they were worn out. +They had been, for the most part, without supplies for several days and +had suffered more particularly from thirst. They all showed that they +had been greatly impressed by our uninterrupted artillery fire, the +feeble response of their own guns, and the extent of their losses. + +Here by way of specimen is what was set down by a reserve lieutenant of +the 90th Regiment of infantry (10th Corps): + +"Yesterday I had sixteen men killed by high explosive bombs. The trench +was nearly filled up. Extreme activity of the French howitzers. Our +artillery fires shrapnel, but unfortunately does not get the range. + +"B . . . was also killed. The second battalion, too, has had heavy losses. +It is frightful. Those confounded high explosive shells! + +[Sidenote: An officer wishes for rain.] + +"The weather is becoming fine again. If only it would rain again, or fog +would come. As it is, the aviators will arrive and we shall have more +high explosive bombs and flank firing on the trenches. Abominable fine +weather! Fog, fog, come to our assistance." + +[Sidenote: The enemy's lines.] + +It is difficult to estimate precisely the German losses. Certain +indications however serve to indicate their extent. A _vizefeldwebel_ +declares that he is the only man remaining out of his company. A soldier +of the third battalion of the 123rd Regiment engaged on the 26th, states +that his regiment was withdrawn from the front after only two days' +fighting because its losses were too great. The 118th Regiment relieved +in the trenches the 158th Regiment after it had been reduced to fifteen +or twenty men per company. Certain units disappeared completely, as for +instance the 27th Reserve Regiment and the 52nd Regular Regiment, +which, by the evening of the 25th had left in our hands, the first +thirteen officers and 933 men, the second twenty-one officers and 927 +men. In order to arrive at the total of the losses certain figures may +serve as an indication. + +[Sidenote: German strength in Champagne.] + +[Sidenote: Ninety-three fresh battalions.] + +At the beginning of September, 1915 the Germans had on the Champagne +front seventy battalions. In anticipation of our attack they brought +there, before September 25, 1915, twenty-nine battalions. This makes +ninety-nine battalions, representing, if account be taken of the +corresponding artillery and pioneer formations, 115,000 men directly +engaged. The losses due to the artillery preparation and the first +attacks were such that from September 25 to October 15, 1915, the German +General Staff was compelled to renew its effectives almost in their +entirety by sending ninety-three fresh battalions. + +It may be assumed that the units engaged on September 25 and 26, 1915, +suffered losses amounting to from 60 to 80 per cent. (even more for +certain corps, which have entirely disappeared). The new units brought +into line for the counter-attacks, and subjected in connection with +these to an incessant bombardment, lost 50 per cent. of their +effectives, if not more. We think we shall be understating the case if +we set down 140,000 men as the sum of the German losses in Champagne. +Account must be taken of the fact that of this number the proportion of +slightly wounded men able to recuperate rapidly and return to the front +is, in the case of the Germans, very much below the average proportion +in connection with other engagements by reason of the fact that they +were unable to gather up their wounded, and thus left in our hands +nearly the whole of the troops entrusted with the defence of the first +position. + +[Sidenote: Enthusiasm of the French.] + +All those who lived through the engagements of the battle of Champagne +experienced the sensation of victory. The aspect of the battlefield, the +long columns of prisoners, the look in the eyes of our soldiers, their +animation and their enthusiasm, all this gave expression to the +importance of a success which the Generalissimo recognized in these +terms. + +[Sidenote: Thanks of the commander-in-chief.] + + + "Grand Headquarters, + "OCTOBER 5, 1915. + + "The Commander-in-Chief addresses to the troops + under his orders the expression of his profound + satisfaction at the results obtained up to the + present day by the attacks. + + "Twenty-five thousand prisoners, three hundred + and fifty officers, a hundred and fifty guns, a + quantity of material which it has not yet been + possible to gauge, are the trophies of a + victory the echo of which throughout Europe + indicates its importance. + + "The sacrifices willingly made have not been in + vain. All have been able to take part in the + common task. The present is a sure guarantee to + us of the future. + + "The Commander-in-Chief is proud to command the + finest troops France has ever known. + + "J. JOFFRE." + + * * * * * + +Of all the brutal atrocities perpetrated by the Germans in Belgium, none +aroused such world-wide horror and execration as the murder of Edith +Cavell, an English nurse, on the charge of aiding English and Belgian +soldiers who escaped from Belgium in order to rejoin their respective +armies. + + + + +THE TRAGEDY OF EDITH CAVELL + +BRAND WHITLOCK + +Copyright, Delineator, November, 1918. + + +[Sidenote: The first letter of inquiry not answered.] + +[Sidenote: Reasons given for Miss Cavell's arrest.] + +One day in August it was learned at the Legation that an English nurse, +named Edith Cavell, had been arrested by the Germans. I wrote a letter +to the Baron von der Lancken to ask if it was true that Miss Cavell had +been arrested, and saying that if it were I should request that Maitre +de Leval, the legal counselor of the Legation, be permitted to see her +and to prepare for her defense. There was no reply to this letter, and +on September tenth I wrote a second letter, repeating the questions and +the requests made in the first. On the twelfth of September I had a +reply from the Baron stating that Miss Cavell had been arrested on the +fifth of August, that she was confined in the prison of St. Gilles, that +she had admitted having hidden English and French soldiers in her home, +as well as Belgians, of an age to bear arms, all anxious to get to the +front, that she had admitted also having furnished these soldiers with +money to get to France, and had provided guides to enable them to cross +the Dutch frontier; that the defense of Miss Cavell was in the hands of +Maitre Thomas Braun, and that inasmuch as the German Government, on +principle, would not permit accused persons to have any interviews +whatever, he could not obtain permission for Maitre de Leval to visit +Miss Cavell as long as she was in solitary confinement. + +[Sidenote: The German mentality.] + +[Sidenote: The principle that power makes right.] + +[Sidenote: The accused without rights.] + +For one of our Anglo-Saxon race and legal traditions to understand +conditions in Belgium during the German occupation, it is necessary to +banish resolutely from the mind every conception of right we have +inherited from our ancestors--conceptions long since crystallized into +inimitable principles of law and confirmed in our charters of liberty. +In the German mentality these conceptions do not exist; they think in +other sequences; they act according to another principle, if it is a +principle, the conviction that there is only one right, one privilege, +and that it belongs exclusively to Germany, the right, namely, to do +whatever they have the physical force to do. These so-called courts, of +whose arbitrary and irresponsible and brutal nature I have tried to +convey some notion, were mere inquisitorial bodies, guided by no +principle save that of interest in their own bloody nature; they did as +they pleased, and would have scorned a Jeffreys as too lenient, a Lynch +as too formal, a Spanish _auto da fe_ as too technical, and a tribunal +of the French Revolution as soft and sentimental. Before them the +accused had literally no rights, not even to present a defense, and if +he was permitted to speak in his own behalf, it was only as a generous +and liberal favor. + +It was before such a court that Edith Cavell was to be arraigned. I had +asked Maitre de Leval to provide for her defense, and on his advice, +inasmuch as Maitre Braun was already of counsel in the case, chosen by +certain friends of Miss Cavell, I invited him into consultation. + +[Sidenote: Personality of Edith Cavell.] + +[Sidenote: Miss Cavell's character and ability.] + +Edith Cavell was a frail and delicate little woman about forty years of +age. She had come to Brussels some years before the war to exercise her +calling as a trained nurse. She soon became known to the leading +physicians of the capital and nursed in the homes of the leading +families. But she was ambitious, and devoted to her profession, and ere +long had entered a nursing-home in the Rue de la Clinique, where she +organized for Doctor Depage a training-school for nurses. She was a +woman of refinement and education; she knew French as she knew her own +language; she was deeply religious, with a conscience almost puritan, +and was very stern with herself in what she conceived to be her duty. In +her training-school she showed great executive ability, was firm in +matters of discipline, and brought it to a high state of efficiency. And +every one who knew her in Brussels spoke of her with that unvarying term +of respect which her noble character inspired. + +[Sidenote: Mr. Whitlock engages a defender.] + +Some time before the trial, Maitre Thomas Braun announced to the +Legation that for personal reasons he would be obliged to withdraw from +the case, and asked that some one else appear for Miss Cavell. We +engaged Maitre Sadi Kirschen. + +[Sidenote: The court martial in the Senate chamber.] + +It was the morning of Thursday, October seventh, that the case came +before the court martial in the Senate chamber, where the military +trials always took place, and Miss Cavell was arraigned with the +Princess de Croy, the Countess de Belleville, and thirty-two others. The +accused were seated in a circle facing the court, in such a way that +they could neither see nor communicate with their own counsel, who were +compelled to sit behind them. Nor could they see the witnesses, who were +also placed behind them. + +The charge brought against the accused was that of having conspired to +violate the German Military Penal Code, punishing with death those who +conduct troops to the enemy. + +[Sidenote: The trial secret.] + +[Sidenote: Miss Cavell's attitude.] + +[Sidenote: Admits aiding English soldiers.] + +We have no record of that trial; we do not know all that occurred there +behind the closed doors of that Senate chamber, where for fourscore +years laws based on another and more enlightened principle of justice +had been discussed. Miss Cavell did not know, or knew only in the +vaguest manner, the offense with which she was charged. She did not deny +having received at her hospital English soldiers whom she nursed and to +whom she gave money; she did not deny that she knew they were going to +try to cross the border into Holland. She even took a patriotic pride in +the fact. She was very calm. She was interrogated in German, a language +she did not understand, but the questions and responses were translated +into French. Her mind was very alert, and she was entirely +self-possessed, and frequently rectified any inexact details and +statements that were put to her. When, in her interrogatory, she was +asked if she had not aided English soldiers left behind after the early +battles of the preceding Autumn about Mons and Charleroi, she said yes; +they were English and she was English, and she would help her own. The +answer seemed to impress the court. They asked her if she had not helped +twenty. + +"Yes," she said "more than twenty; two hundred." + +"English?" + +"No, not all English; French and Belgians, too." + +But the French and Belgians were not of her own nationality, said the +judge--and that made a serious difference. She was subjected to a +nagging interrogatory. One of the judges said that she had been foolish +to aid the English because, he said, the English are ungrateful. + +"No," replied Miss Cavell, "the English are not ungrateful." + +"How do you know they are not?" asked the inquisitor. + +[Sidenote: Miss Cavell makes a fatal admission.] + +"Because," she answered, "some of them have written to me from England +to thank me." + +It was a fatal admission on the part of the tortured little woman; under +the German military law her having helped soldiers to reach Holland, a +neutral country, would have been a less serious offense, but to aid them +to reach an enemy country, and especially England, was the last offense +in the eyes of the German military court. + +[Sidenote: Rumor that death sentence is asked.] + +The trial was concluded on Saturday, and on Sunday one of the nurses in +Miss Cavell's school came to tell me that there was a rumor about town +that the prosecuting officer had asked the court to pronounce a sentence +of death in the cases of the Princess de Croy, the Countess de +Belleville, and of Miss Cavell, and of several others. I remember to +have said to Maitre de Leval, when he came up to my room to report the +astounding news: + +"That's only the usual exaggeration of the prosecutor; they all ask for +the extreme penalty, everywhere, when they sum up their cases." + +[Sidenote: Leval's opinion of German courts.] + +"Yes," said Maitre de Leval, "and in German courts they always get it." + +Maitre de Leval sent a note to Maitre Kirschen, asking him to come on +Monday, at eight-thirty o'clock, to the Legation or to send a word +regarding Miss Cavell. Maitre Kirschen did not send Maitre de Leval the +word he had requested, and on that Sunday, de Leval saw another lawyer +who had been on the case and could tell him what had taken place at the +trial. The lawyer thought that the court martial would not condemn Miss +Cavell to death. At any rate, no judgment had been pronounced, and the +judges themselves did not appear to be in agreement. + +[Sidenote: Leval asks to see Miss Cavell.] + +On Monday, the eleventh of October, at eight-thirty in the morning, +Maitre de Leval went to the _Politische Abteilung_ in the Rue +Lambermont, and found Conrad. He spoke to him of the case of Miss Cavell +and asked that, now that the trial had taken place, he and the Reverend +Mr. Gahan, the rector of the English church, be allowed to see Miss +Cavell. Conrad said he would make inquiries and inform de Leval by +telephone, and by one of the messengers of the Legation who that morning +happened to deliver some papers to the _Politische Abteilung_, Conrad +sent word that neither the Reverend Mr. Gahan nor Maitre de Leval could +see Miss Cavell at that time, but that Maitre de Leval could see her as +soon as the judgment had been pronounced. + +[Sidenote: Waiting for judgment to be pronounced.] + +[Sidenote: Promise to inform the Legation.] + +At eleven-thirty o'clock on the Monday morning, Maitre de Leval himself +telephoned to Conrad, who repeated this statement. The judgment had not +yet been rendered, he said, and Maitre de Leval asked him to let him +know as soon as the judgment had been pronounced, so that he might go to +see Miss Cavell. Conrad promised this, but added that even then the +Reverend Mr. Gahan could not see her, because there were German +Protestant pastors at the prison, and that if Miss Cavell needed +spiritual advice or consolation she could call on them. Conrad concluded +this conversation by saying that the judgment would be rendered on the +morrow, that is, on Tuesday, or the day after, and that even when it had +been pronounced it would have to be signed by the Military Governor, and +that the Legation would be kept informed. + +At twelve-ten on the Monday, not having received any news from Maitre +Kirschen, Maitre de Leval went to his house, but did not find him there, +and left his card. + +[Sidenote: Leval makes repeated inquiries.] + +At twelve-twenty o'clock, Maitre de Leval went to the house of the +lawyer to whom reference has already been made, and left word for him to +go to his home. + +At four o'clock that afternoon the lawyer arrived at the Legation and +said that he had been to see the Germans at eleven o'clock, and that +there he had been told no judgment would be pronounced before the +following day. Before leaving the Legation to go home, Maitre de Leval +told to Gibson all that had happened, and asked him to telephone again +to Conrad before going home himself. Then at intervals all day long the +inquiry had been repeated, and the same response was made. + +[Sidenote: The chancellerie was closed for the night.] + +Monday evening at six-twenty o'clock, Belgian time, Topping, one of the +clerks of the Legation, with Gibson standing by, again called Conrad on +the telephone, again was told that the judgment had not been pronounced, +and that the Political Department would not fail to inform the Legation +the moment the judgment was confirmed. And the _chancellerie_ was closed +for the night. + +[Sidenote: A nurse informs Leval of the death sentence.] + +At nine o'clock that Monday evening, Maitre de Leval appeared suddenly +at the door of my chamber; his face was deadly pallid; he said that he +had just heard from the nurse who kept him informed, that the judgment +had been confirmed and that the sentence of death had been pronounced on +Miss Cavell at half-past four o'clock that afternoon, and that she was +to be shot at two o'clock the next morning. It seemed preposterous, +especially the immediate execution of sentence; there had always been +time at least to prepare and present a plea for mercy. To condemn a +woman in the evening and then to hurry her out to be shot before another +dawn! Impossible! It could not be! + +[Sidenote: Judgment read in the afternoon.] + +[Sidenote: Plea for mercy had been prepared.] + +But no; Maitre de Leval was certain. That evening he had gone home and +was writing at his table when about eight o'clock two nurses were +introduced. One was Miss Wilkinson, little and nervous, all in tears; +the other, taller and more calm. Miss Wilkinson said that she had just +learned that the judgment of the court condemned Miss Cavell to death, +that the judgment had been read to her in her cell at four-thirty that +afternoon, and that the Germans were going to shoot her that night at +two o'clock. Maitre de Leval told her that it was difficult to believe +such news, since twice he had been told that the judgment had not been +rendered and that it would not be rendered before the following day, but +on her reiteration that she had this news from a source that was +absolutely certain, de Leval left at once with her and her friends and +came to the Legation. And there he stood, pale and shaken. Even then I +could not believe; it was too preposterous; surely a stay of execution +would be granted. Already in the afternoon, in some premonition, Maitre +de Leval had prepared a plea for mercy, to be submitted to the +Governor-General, and a letter of transmittal to present to the Baron +von der Lancken. I asked Maitre de Leval to bring me these documents and +I signed them, and then, at the last minute, on the letter addressed to +von der Lancken, I wrote these words: + +[Sidenote: Mr. Whitlock's personal appeal.] + + "MY DEAR BARON: + + "I am too sick to present my request to you in + person, but I appeal to your generosity of + heart to support it, and save this unfortunate + woman from death. Have pity on her." + +[Sidenote: Search for the Spanish ambassador.] + +I told Maitre de Leval to send Joseph at once to hunt up Gibson to +present my plea and, if possible, to find the Marquis de Villalobar and +to ask him to support it with the Baron von der Lancken. Gibson was +dining somewhere; we did not know where Villalobar was. The _Politische +Abteilung_, in the Ministry of Industry, where Baron von der Lancken +lived, was only half a dozen blocks away. The Governor-General was in +his chateau at Trois Fontaines, ten miles away, playing bridge that +evening. Maitre de Leval went; and I waited. + +The nurses from Miss Cavell's school were waiting in a lower room; other +nurses came for news; they, too, had heard, but could not believe. Then +the Reverend Mr. H. Stirling T. Gahan, the British chaplain at Brussels +and pastor of the English church, came. He had a note from some one at +the St. Gilles prison, a note written in German, saying simply: + +[Sidenote: English rector summoned.] + +"Come at once; some one is about to die." + +[Sidenote: A delay of execution expected.] + +He went away to the prison; his frail, delicate little wife remained at +the Legation, and there, with my wife and Miss Larner, sat with those +women all that long evening, trying to comfort them, to reassure them. +Outside a cold rain was falling. Up in my chamber I waited; a stay of +execution would be granted, of course; they always were; there was not, +in our time, anywhere, a court, even a court martial, that would condemn +a woman to death at half-past four in the afternoon and hurry her out +and shoot her before dawn--not even a German court martial. + +[Sidenote: Miss Cavell calm and courageous.] + +When Mr. Gahan arrived at the prison that night Miss Cavell was lying on +the narrow cot in her cell; she arose, drew on a dressing gown, folded +it about her thin form, and received him calmly. She had never expected +such an end to the trial, but she was brave and was not afraid to die. +The judgment had been read to her that afternoon, there in her cell. She +had written letters to her mother in England and to certain of her +friends, and entrusted them to the German authorities. + +She did not complain of her trial; she had avowed all, she said; and it +is one of the saddest, bitterest ironies of the whole tragedy that she +seems not to have known that all she had avowed was not sufficient, even +under German law, to justify the judgment passed upon her. The German +chaplain had been kind, and she was willing for him to be with her at +the last, if Mr. Gahan could not be. Life had not been all happy for +her, she said, and she was glad to die for her country. Life had been +hurried, and she was grateful for these weeks of rest in prison. + +"Patriotism is not enough," she said, "I must have no hatred and no +bitterness toward any one." + +[Sidenote: Notes made in Bible and prayer-book.] + +She received the sacrament, she had no hatred for any one, and she had +no regrets. In the touching report that Mr. Gahan made there is a +statement, one of the last that Edith Cavell ever made, which, in its +exquisite pathos, illuminates the whole of that life of stern duty, of +human service and martyrdom. She said that she was grateful for the six +weeks of rest she had just before the end. During those weeks she had +read and reflected; her companions and her solace were her Bible, her +prayer-book and the "Imitation of Christ." The notes she made in these +books reveal her thoughts in that time, and will touch the uttermost +depths of any nature nourished in that beautiful faith which is at once +so tender and so austere. The prayer-book with those laconic entries on +its fly-leaf, in which she set down the sad and eloquent chronology of +her fate, the copy of the "Imitation" which she had read and marked +during those weeks in prison--weeks, which, as she so pathetically said, +had given her rest and quiet and time to think in a life that had been +"so hurried"--and the passages noted in her firm hand have a deep and +appealing pathos. + +Just before the end, too, as I have said, she wrote a number of letters. +She forgot no one. Among the letters that she left one was addressed to +the nurses of her school; and there was a message for a girl who was +trying to break herself of the morphine habit--Miss Cavell had been +trying to help her, and she sent her word to be brave, and that if God +would permit she would continue to try to help her. + +[Sidenote: The petitioners fail.] + +Midnight came, and Gibson, with a dark face, and de Leval, paler than +ever. There was nothing to be done. + +[Sidenote: Errand of Marquis Villalobar, Gibson and de Leval.] + +De Leval had gone to Gibson, and together they went in search of the +Marquis, whom they found at Baron Lambert's, where he had been dining; +he and Baron Lambert and M. Francqui were over their coffee. The three, +the Marquis, Gibson and de Leval, then went to the Rue Lambermont. The +little Ministry was closed and dark; no one was there. They rang, and +rang again, and finally the _concierge_ appeared--no one was there, he +said. They insisted. The _concierge_ at last found a German functionary +who came down, stood staring stupidly; every one was gone; _son +Excellence_ was at the theater. At what theater? He did not know. They +urged him to go and find out. He disappeared inside, went up and down +stairs two or three times, finally came out and said that he was at Le +Bois Sacre. They explained that the presence of the Baron was urgent and +asked the man to go for him; they turned over the motor to him and he +mounted on the box beside Eugene. They reached the little variety +theater there in the Rue d'Arenberg. The German functionary went in and +found the Baron, who said he could not come before the piece was over. + +[Sidenote: The sad wait for der Lancken.] + +All this while Villalobar, Gibson and de Leval were in the salon at the +Ministry, the room of which I have spoken so often as the yellow salon, +because of the satin upholstery of its Louis XVI. furniture of white +lacquer--that bright, almost laughing little salon, all done in the +gayest, lightest tones, where so many little dramas were played. All +three of them were deeply moved and very anxious--the eternal contrast, +as de Leval said, between things and sentiments. Lancken entered at +last, very much surprised to find them; he was accompanied by Count +Harrach and by the young Baron von Falkenhausen. + +"What is it, gentlemen?" he said. "Has something serious happened?" + +They told him why they were there, and Lancken, raising his hands, said: + +"_Impossible!_" + +[Sidenote: Der Lancken believes the rumor false.] + +He had vaguely heard that afternoon of a condemnation for spying, but he +did not know that it had anything to do with the case of Miss Cavell, +and in any event it was impossible that they would put a woman to death +that night. + +"Who has given you this information? Because, to come and disturb me at +such an hour you must have actual information," he said. + +De Leval replied: "Without doubt I consider it so, but I must refuse to +tell you from whom I received the information. Besides, what difference +does it make? If the information is true, our presence at this hour is +justified; if it is not true, I am ready to take the consequences of my +mistake." + +The Baron grew irritated. + +"What," he said, "is it on the hint of mere rumor that you come and +disturb me at such an hour, me and these gentlemen? No, no, gentlemen, +this news can not be true. Orders are never executed with such +precipitation, especially when a woman is concerned. Come and see me +to-morrow. Besides, how do you think that at this hour I can obtain any +information? The Governor-General must certainly be sleeping." + +Gibson, or one of them, suggested to him that a very simple way of +finding out would be to telephone to the prison. + +"Quite right," said he. "I had not thought of that." + +He went out, was gone a few minutes and came back embarrassed, so they +said, even a little bit ashamed, for he said: + +[Sidenote: The sad news confirmed.] + +"You are right, gentlemen; I have heard by telephone that Miss Cavell +has been condemned and that she will be shot to-night." + +Then de Leval drew out the letter that I had written to the Baron and +gave it to him, and he read it in an undertone--with a little sardonic +smile, de Leval said--and when he had finished he handed it back to de +Leval and said: + +[Sidenote: The plea for mercy.] + +"But it is necessary to have a plea for mercy at the same time." + +"Here it is," said de Leval, and gave him the document. Then they all +sat down. + +[Sidenote: Von der Lancken's attitude.] + +[Sidenote: Miss Cavell not a spy.] + +I could see the scene as it was described to me by Villalobar, by +Gibson, by de Leval, in that pretty little Louis XVI. salon that I knew +so well--Lancken giving way to an outburst of feeling against "that +spy," as he called Miss Cavell, and Gibson and de Leval by turns +pleading with him, the Marquis sitting by. It was not a question of +spying as they pointed out; it was a question of the life of a woman, a +life that had been devoted to charity, to helping others. She had nursed +wounded soldiers, she had even nursed German wounded at the beginning of +the war, and now she was accused of but one thing: having helped English +soldiers make their way toward Holland. She may have been imprudent, she +may have acted against the laws of the occupying power, but she was not +a spy, she was not even accused of being a spy, she had not been +convicted of spying, and she did not merit the death of a spy. They sat +there pleading, Gibson and de Leval, bringing forth all the arguments +that would occur to men of sense and sensibility. Gibson called +Lancken's attention to their failure to inform the Legation of the +sentence, of their failure to keep the word that Conrad had given. He +argued that the offense charged against Miss Cavell had long since been +accomplished, that as she had been for some weeks in prison a slight +delay in carrying out the sentence could not endanger the German cause; +he even pointed out the effect such a deed as the summary execution of +the death sentence against a woman would have upon public opinion, not +only in Belgium, but in America, and elsewhere; he even spoke of the +possibility of reprisals. + +[Sidenote: The military authority supreme.] + +But it was all in vain. Baron von der Lancken explained to them that the +Military Governor, that is, General von Saubersweig, was the supreme +authority in matters of this sort, that an appeal from his decision lay +only to the Emperor, that the Governor-General himself had no authority +to intervene in such cases, and that under the provisions of German +martial law it lay within the discretion of the Military Governor +whether he would accept or refuse an appeal for clemency. And then +Villalobar suddenly cried out: + +"Oh, come now! It's a woman; you can't shoot a woman like that!" + +The Baron paused, was evidently moved. + +"Gentlemen," he said, "it is past eleven o'clock; what can be done?" + +[Sidenote: Lancken goes to von Saubersweig.] + +It was only von Saubersweig who could act, he had said, and they urged +the Baron to go to see von Saubersweig. Finally he consented. While he +was gone Villalobar, Gibson and de Leval repeated to Harrach and von +Falkenhausen all the arguments that might move them. Von Falkenhausen +was young, he had been to Cambridge in England, and he was touched, +though of course he was powerless. And de Leval says that when he gave +signs of showing pity, Harrach cast a glance at him, so that he said +nothing more, and then Harrach said: + +"The life of one German soldier seems to us much more important than +that of all these old English nurses." + +[Sidenote: Lancken's return.] + +At last Lancken returned and, standing there, announced: + +"I am exceedingly sorry, but the Governor tells me that only after due +reflection was the execution decided upon, and that he will not change +his decision. Under his prerogative he even refuses to receive the plea +for mercy. Therefore, no one, not even the Emperor, can do anything for +you." + +[Sidenote: The plea for mercy handed back.] + +With this he handed my letter and the _requete en grace_ back to Gibson. +There was a moment of silence in the yellow salon. Then Villalobar +sprang up and seizing Lancken by the shoulder said to him in an +energetic tone: + +"Baron, I wish to speak to you." + +"It is useless," began Lancken. + +[Sidenote: The Marquis Villalobar pleads.] + +But the old Spanish pride had been mounting in the Marquis, and he +literally dragged the tall von der Lancken into a little room near by, +and then voices were heard in sharp discussion, and even through the +partition the voice of Villalobar: + +"It is idiotic, this thing you are going to do; you will have another +Louvain." + +A few moments later they came back, Villalobar in silent rage, Lancken +very red. And, as de Leval said, without another word, dumb, in +consternation, filled with an immense despair, they came away. + +[Sidenote: The messengers withdraw.] + +I heard the report, and they withdrew. A little while and I heard the +street door open. The women who had waited all that night went out into +the rain. + +The rain had ceased and the air was soft and warm the next morning; the +sunlight shone through an autumn haze. But over the city the horror of +the dreadful deed hung like a pall. + +[Sidenote: Other prisoners condemned.] + +Twenty-six others were condemned with Miss Cavell, four of whom were +sentenced to death: Philippe Baucq, an architect of Brussels; Louise +Thuiliez, a school-teacher at Lille; Louis Severin, a pharmacist of +Brussels; and the Countess Jeanne de Belleville of Montignies-sur-Roc. + +[Sidenote: Severe sentences.] + +Harman Capian, a civil engineer of Wasmes; Mrs. Ada Bodart of Brussels; +Albert Libiez, a lawyer of Wasmes; and Georges Derveau, a pharmacist of +Paturages, were sentenced each to fifteen years' penal servitude at hard +labor. + +The Princess Maria de Croy was sentenced to ten years' penal servitude +at hard labor. + +Seventeen others were sentenced to hard labor or to terms of +imprisonment of from two to five years. The eight remaining were +acquitted. + +[Sidenote: The people horrified at Miss Cavell's execution.] + +All day long sad and solemn groups stood under the trees in the +boulevards amid the falling leaves discussing the crime in horrified +tones. The horror of it pervaded the house. I found my wife weeping at +evening; no need to ask what was the matter; the wife of the chaplain +had been there, with some detail of Miss Cavell's last hours: how she +had arisen wearily from her cot at the coming of the clergyman, drawing +her dressing-gown about her thin throat. + +[Sidenote: The body not given to friends.] + +I sent a note to Baron von der Lancken asking that the Governor-General +permit the body of Miss Cavell to be buried by the American Legation and +the friends of the dead girl. In reply he came himself to see me in the +afternoon. He was very solemn, and said that he wished to express his +regret in the circumstances, but that he had done all he could. The +body, he said, had already been interred, with respect and with +religious rites, in a quiet place, and under the law it could not be +exhumed without an order from the Imperial Government. The +Governor-General himself had gone to Berlin. + +[Sidenote: Whitlock and Villalobar.] + +And then came Villalobar, and I thanked him for what he had done. He +told me much, and described the scene the night before in that anteroom +with Lancken. The Marquis was much concerned about the Countess Jeanne +de Belleville and Madame Thuiliez, both French, and hence protegees of +his, condemned to die within eight days; but I told him not to be +concerned; that the effect of Miss Cavell's martyrdom did not end with +her death; it would procure other liberations, this among them; the +thirst for blood had been slaked and there would be no more executions +in that group; it was the way of the law of blood vengeance. We talked a +long time about the tragedy and about the even larger tragedy of the +war. + +"We are getting old," he said. "Life is going; and after the war, if we +live in that new world, we shall be of the old--the new generation will +push us aside." + +[Sidenote: Miss Cavell's death wins mercy for others.] + +Gibson and de Leval prepared reports of the whole matter, and I sent +them by the next courier to our Embassy at London. But somehow that very +day the news got into Holland and shocked the world. Richards, of the +C. R. B., just back from The Hague, said that they had already heard of +it there and were filled with horror. And even the Germans, who seemed +always to do a deed and to consider its effect afterward, knew that they +had another Louvain, another _Lusitania_, for which to answer before the +bar of civilization. The lives of the three others remaining, of the +five condemned to death, were ultimately spared, as I had told +Villalobar they would be. The King of Spain and the President of the +United States made representations at Berlin in behalf of the Countess +de Belleville and Madame Thuiliez, and their sentences were commuted to +imprisonment, as was that of Louis Severin, the Brussels druggist. The +storm of universal loathing and reprobation for the deed was too much +even for the Germans. + + * * * * * + +In an earlier chapter we have read of the beginning of the attempt to +cross the Dardanelles and to capture the Peninsula of Gallipoli. After +great losses and terrible suffering had been endured in these attempts, +it was decided in December, 1915, by the British war authorities that +further sacrifices were not justified. Preparations were accordingly +made to abandon the enterprise. How these plans were carried out is told +in the chapter following. + + + + +GALLIPOLI ABANDONED + +GENERAL SIR CHARLES C. MONRO + + +On October 20, 1915, in London, I received instructions to proceed as +soon as possible to the Near East and take over the command of the +Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. + +[Sidenote: General Monro's orders on arrival.] + +My duty on arrival was in broad outline: + +(a) To report on the military situation on the Gallipoli Peninsula. + +(b) To express an opinion whether on purely military grounds the +Peninsula should be evacuated or another attempt made to carry it. + +(c) The number of troops that would be required-- + +(1) To carry the Peninsula. + +(2) To keep the strait open, and + +(3) To take Constantinople. + +[Sidenote: Military defects in positions occupied.] + +The positions occupied by our troops presented a military situation +unique in history. The mere fringe of the coast line had been secured. +The beaches and piers upon which they depended for all requirements in +personnel and material were exposed to registered and observed artillery +fire. Our intrenchments were dominated almost throughout by the Turks. +The possible artillery positions were insufficient and defective. The +force, in short, held a line possessing every possible military defect. +The position was without depth, the communications were insecure and +dependent on the weather. + +No means existed for the concealment and deployment of fresh troops +destined for the offensive--while the Turks enjoyed full powers of +observation, abundant artillery positions, and they had been given the +time to supplement the natural advantages which the position presented +by all the devices at the disposal of the field engineer. + +[Sidenote: Disease, loss of competent officers, make-shift +organization.] + +Another material factor came prominently before me. The troops on the +Peninsula had suffered much from various causes--exposure to shell fire, +disease, the dearth of competent officers owing to earlier losses, and +"make-shifts" due to the attachment of Yeomanry and Mounted Brigades to +the Territorial Divisions. Other arguments, irrefutable in their +conclusions, convinced me that a complete evacuation was the only wise +course to pursue. + +[Sidenote: Consequences of unusual storms.] + +On November 21, 1915 the Peninsula was visited by a storm said to be +nearly unprecedented for the time of the year. The storm was accompanied +by torrential rain, which lasted for twenty-four hours. This was +followed by hard frost and a heavy blizzard. In the areas of the Eighth +Corps and the Anzac Corps the effects were not felt to a very marked +degree owing to the protection offered by the surrounding hills. The +Ninth Corps was less favorably situated, the water courses in this area +became converted into surging rivers, which carried all before them. The +water rose in many places to the height of the parapets and all means of +communications were prevented. + +The men, drenched as they were by the rain, suffered from the subsequent +blizzard most severely. Large numbers collapsed from exposure and +exhaustion, and in spite of untiring efforts that were made to mitigate +the suffering I regret to announce that there were 200 deaths from +exposure and over 10,000 sick evacuated during the first few days of +December. + +From reports given by deserters it is probable that the Turks suffered +even to a greater degree. + +[Sidenote: Difficulties pertaining to withdrawal.] + +The problem with which we were confronted was the withdrawal of an army +of a considerable size from positions in no cases more than 300 yards +from the enemy's trenches, and its embarkation on open beaches, every +part of which was within effective range of Turkish guns, and from which +in winds from the south or southwest, the withdrawal of troops was not +possible. + +I came to the conclusion that our chances of success were infinitely +more probable if we made no departure of any kind from the normal life +which we were following both on sea and on land. A feint which did not +fully fulfill its purpose would have been worse than useless, and there +was the obvious danger that the suspicions of the Turks would be aroused +by our adoption of a course the real purport of which could not have +been long disguised. + +[Sidenote: Unsettled weather a menace.] + +Rapidity of action was imperative, having in view the unsettled weather +which might be expected in the AEgean. The success of our operations was +entirely dependent on weather conditions. Even a mild wind from the +south or southwest was found to raise such a ground swell as to greatly +impede communication with the beaches, while anything in the nature of a +gale from this direction could not fail to break up the piers, wreck the +small craft, and thus definitely prevent any steps being taken toward +withdrawal. + +[Sidenote: Evacuation of supplies continues satisfactorily.] + +Throughout the period December 10 to 18, 1915 the withdrawal proceeded +under the most auspicious conditions, and the morning of December 18, +1915, found the positions both at Anzac and Suvla reduced to the numbers +determined, while the evacuation of guns, animals, stores, and supplies +had continued most satisfactorily. + +It was imperative, of course, that the front-line trenches should be +held, however lightly, until the very last moment and that the +withdrawal from these trenches should be simultaneous throughout the +line. + +The good fortune which had attended the evacuation continued during the +night of the 19th-20th. The night was perfectly calm with a slight haze +over the moon, an additional stroke of good luck, as there was a full +moon on that night. + +[Sidenote: Final withdrawals from Anzac and Suvla.] + +Soon after dark the covering ships were all in position, and the final +withdrawal began. At 1:30 A. M. the withdrawal of the rear parties +commenced from the front trenches at Suvla and the left of Anzac. Those +on the right of Anzac who were nearer the beach remained in position +until 2 A. M. By 5:30 A. M. the last man had quit the trenches. + +At Anzac, four 18-pounder guns, two 5-inch howitzers, one 4.7 naval gun, +one anti-air craft, and two 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns were left, but they +were destroyed before the troops finally embarked. In addition, +fifty-six mules, a certain number of carts, mostly stripped of their +wheels, and some supplies which were set on fire, were also abandoned. + +[Sidenote: A few supplies destroyed.] + +At Suvla every gun, vehicle and animal was embarked, and all that +remained was a small stock of supplies, which were burned. + +On December 28, 1915, your Lordship's telegram ordering the evacuation +of Helles was received, whereupon, in view of the possibility of bad +weather intervening, I instructed the General Officer Commanding +Dardanelles Army to complete the operation as rapidly as possible. He +was reminded that every effort conditional on not exposing the personnel +to undue risk should be made to save all 60-pounder and 18-pounder +guns, 6-inch and 4.5 howitzers, with their ammunition and other +accessories, such as mules, and A. T. carts, limbered wagons, &c. + +[Sidenote: Situation on Gallipoli Peninsula.] + +[Sidenote: Increase in Turkish artillery.] + +At a meeting which was attended by the Vice Admiral and the General +Officer Commanding Dardanelles Army I explained the course which I +thought we should adopt to again deceive the Turks as to our intentions. +The situation on the Peninsula had not materially changed owing to our +withdrawal from Suvla and Anzac, except that there was a marked +increased activity in aerial reconnoissance over our positions, and the +islands of Mudros and Imbros, and that hostile patrolling of our +trenches was more frequent and daring. The most apparent factor was that +the number of heavy guns on the European and Asiatic shores had been +considerably augmented, and that these guns were more liberally supplied +with German ammunition, the result of which was that our beaches were +continuously shelled, especially from the Asiatic shore. I gave it as my +opinion that in my judgment I did not regard a feint as an operation +offering any prospect of success; and it was decided the navy should do +their utmost to pursue a course of retaliation against the Turkish +batteries, but to refrain from any unusually aggressive attitude should +the Turkish guns remain quiescent. + +[Sidenote: General Birdwood's comprehensive plans.] + +General Sir W. Birdwood had, in anticipation of being ordered to +evacuate Helles, made such complete and far-seeing arrangements that he +was able to proceed without delay to the issue of the comprehensive +orders which the consummation of such a delicate operation in war +requires. + +[Sidenote: French infantry embarked.] + +The evacuation, following the same system as was practiced at Suvla and +Anzac, proceeded without delay. The French infantry remaining on the +Peninsula were relieved on the night of January 1-2, 1916, and were +embarked by the French navy on the following nights. Progress, however, +was slower than had been hoped, owing to delays caused by accident and +the weather. One of our largest horse ships was sunk by a French +battleship, whereby the withdrawal was considerably retarded, and at the +same time strong winds sprang up which interfered materially with work +on the beaches. The character of the weather now setting in offered so +little hope of a calm period of any duration that General Sir W. +Birdwood arranged with Admiral Sir J. de Robeck for the assistance of +some destroyers in order to accelerate the progress of re-embarkation. + +[Sidenote: Turks shell trenches and beaches.] + +Meanwhile the Eighth Corps had maintained the offensive spirit in +bombing and minor operations with which they had established the moral +superiority they enjoyed over the enemy. On December 29, 1915 the +Fifty-second Division completed the excellent work which they had been +carrying out for so long by capturing a considerable portion of the +Turkish trenches, and by successfully holding these in the face of +repeated counter-attacks. The shelling of our trenches and beaches, +however, increased in frequency and intensity, and the average daily +casualties continued to increase. + +On January 7, 1916, the enemy developed heavy artillery fire on the +trenches held by the Thirteenth Division, while the Asiatic guns shelled +those occupied by the Royal Naval Division. The bombardment, which was +reported to be the heaviest experienced since we landed in April, lasted +from noon until 5 P. M., and was intensive between 3 and 3:30 P. M. + +January 8, 1916 was a bright, calm day, with a light breeze from the +south. There was every indication of the continuance of favorable +conditions, and, in the opinion of the meteorological officer, no +important change was to be expected for at least twenty-four hours. The +Turkish artillery was unusually inactive. All preparations for the +execution of the final stage were complete. + +[Sidenote: Unfavorable weather.] + +[Sidenote: Hostile submarine near by.] + +About 7 P. M. the breeze freshened considerably from the southwest, the +most unfavorable quarter, but the first trip, timed for 8 P. M., was +dispatched without difficulty. The wind, however, continued to rise +until, by 11 P. M., the connecting pier between the hulks and the shore +at "W" Beach was washed away by heavy seas, and further embarkation into +destroyers from these hulks became impracticable. In spite of these +difficulties the second trips, which commenced at 11:30 P. M., were +carried out well up to time, and the embarkation of guns continued +uninterruptedly. Early in the evening reports had been received from the +right flank that a hostile submarine was believed to be moving down the +strait, and about midnight H. M. S. _Prince George_, which had embarked +2,000 men, and was sailing for Mudros, reported she was struck by a +torpedo which failed to explode. The indications of the presence of a +submarine added considerably to the anxiety for the safety of the troop +carriers, and made it necessary for the Vice Admiral to modify the +arrangements made for the subsequent bombardment of the evacuated +positions. + +[Sidenote: Gully Beach embarkation completed.] + +At 1:50 A. M., Gully Beach reported that the embarkation at that beach +was complete, and that the lighters were about to push off, but at 2:10 +A. M. a telephone message was received that one of the lighters was +aground and could not be refloated. The N. T. O. at once took all +possible steps to have another lighter sent in to Gully Beach, and this +was, as a matter of fact, done within an hour, but in the meantime, at +2:30 A. M. it was decided to move the 160 men who had been relanded +from the grounded lighter to "W" Beach and embark them there. + +[Sidenote: Conflagrations show Turks the allies have withdrawn.] + +At 3:30 A. M. the evacuation was complete, and abandoned heaps of stores +and supplies were successfully set on fire by time fuses after the last +man had embarked. Two magazines of ammunition and explosives were also +successfully blown up at 4 A. M. These conflagrations were apparently +the first intimation received by the Turks that we had withdrawn. Red +lights were immediately discharged from the enemy's trenches, and heavy +artillery fire opened on our trenches and beaches. This shelling was +maintained until about 6:30 A. M. + +[Sidenote: Good luck and skilled organization forthcoming.] + +Apart from four unserviceable fifteen-pounders which had been destroyed +earlier in the month, ten worn-out fifteen-pounders, one six-inch Mark +VII gun, and six old heavy French guns, all of which were previously +blown up, were left on the Peninsula. In addition to the above, 508 +animals, most of which were destroyed, and a number of vehicles and +considerable quantities of stores, material, and supplies, all of which +were destroyed by burning, had to be abandoned. + +[Sidenote: Competent officers in charge.] + +The entire evacuation of the Peninsula had now been completed. It +demanded for its successful realization two important military +essentials, viz., good luck and skilled disciplined organization, and +they were both forthcoming to a marked degree at the hour needed. Our +luck was in the ascendant by the marvelous spell of calm weather which +prevailed. But we were able to turn to the fullest advantage these +accidents of fortune. + +Lieutenant General Sir W. Birdwood and his corps commanders elaborated +and prepared the orders in reference to the evacuation with a skill, +competence, and courage which could not have been surpassed, and we had +a further stroke of good fortune in being associated with Vice Admiral +Sir J. de Robeck, K. C. B., Vice Admiral Wemyss, and a body of naval +officers whose work remained throughout this anxious period at that +standard of accuracy and professional ability which is beyond the power +of criticism or cavil. + + * * * * * + +The form of "frightfulness" in which the Germans placed the greatest +faith was the terrorizing of the inhabitants of unprotected enemy cities +by bombs from Zeppelins and aeroplanes. While the objects for which +these atrocities were perpetrated were not attained, hundreds of +innocent men, women, and children were murdered. The following narrative +describes one of these German air raids. + + + + +THE DEATH-SHIP IN THE SKY + +PERRITON MAXWELL + +Copyright Forum, August, 1916. + + +[Sidenote: The switchman at Walthamstow.] + +For twenty-six years old Tom Cumbers had held his job as switchman at +the Walthamstow railroad junction where the London-bound trains come up +from Southend to the great city. It was an important post and old Tom +filled it with stolid British efficiency. A kindly man who felt himself +an integral part of the giant railroad system that employed him, old Tom +had few interests beyond his work, his white-haired wife, his reeking +pipe and the little four-room tenement in Walthamstow which he called +home. The latter was one of the thousands of two-storied rabbit-hatches +of sooty, yellow brick, all alike and all incredibly ugly, which +stretch, mile upon mile, from Walthamstow toward London's tumultuous +heart. + +[Sidenote: The workshops near Epping Forest.] + +[Sidenote: An appalling tragedy of the war.] + +Within a radius of four dun miles, just on the nearer edge of Epping +Forest--the scene in a forgotten day of Robin Hood's adventurings--a +section of these huddling homes of the submerged, together with a street +of trams and some pathetic shops, constitute this town of Walthamstow. +It is a sordid, unlovely place, but for some ten thousand +wage-strugglers it is all of England. There are workshops hereabout in +which one may mingle one's copious sweat with the grime of machinery and +have fourteen shillings a week into the bargain--if one is properly +skilled and muscular and bovinely plodding. Walthamstow is not the place +where one would deliberately choose to live if bread could be earned +elsewhere with equal certainty. But for all its dirt and dullness it has +a spot on the map and a meaning in the dull souls of its inhabitants, +and here, within half an hour's train travel of the Lord Mayor's Mansion +and the golden vaults of the Bank of England, transpired on the +sweltering night of which I write, one of the most witless and appalling +tragedies of the present war. Forever memorable in the hitherto +colorless calendar of Walthamstow will be this tragedy in the second +year of Armageddon. + +[Sidenote: An ordinary hot night.] + +[Sidenote: News of the war.] + +Beyond the stenchful heat-stress of it, there was nothing up to +half-past eleven to mark this night as different from its fellows of the +past. From eight o'clock till ten the small activities of the town +centered chiefly about its tramway terminus, its smudgy station, its +three or four moving-picture theatres, and its fetid pubs. On the +pavements, in the roadways and at every crossing, corduroyed men yawned +and spat, and slatternly women, most of them with whimpering infants in +their arms, talked of shop or household cares and the frailties of their +neighbors. Some, more alive to the big events of a clashing world, +repeated the meagre news of the ha'penny press and dwelt with prideful +fervor on the latest bit of heroism reported from the front. Now and +again an outburst of raucous humor echoed above the babble of cockney +tongues. The maudlin clamor of "a pore lone lidy 'oos 'subing 'ad +desarted 'er" failed to arouse anyone's curiosity. Ladies in their cups +are not a rarity in Walthamstow. In side streets, lads in khaki, many of +them fresh from fields of slaughter "somewhere in Flanders," sported +boisterously with their factory-girl sweethearts or spooned in the +shadows. Everywhere grubby children in scant clothing shrilled and +scampered and got in the way. Humidity enveloped the town like a sodden +cloak and its humanity stewed in moist and smelly discomfort. + +[Sidenote: Street lamps out.] + +But shortly after eleven o'clock the whole place became suddenly and +majestically still and black. People who go to their work at sunrise +cannot afford the extravagance of midnight revelry, and there are few +street-lamps alight after ten o'clock in any London suburb in these +times of martial law. Walthamstow slept in heated but profound oblivion +of its mean existence. Beyond the town lay, like a prostrate giant +camel, the heat-blurred silhouette of the classic forest. Low over +Walthamstow hung the festoons of flat, humid clouds, menacing storm, but +motionless. + +[Sidenote: The rhythm of the Zeppelin.] + +[Sidenote: The train to serve as pilot to London.] + +[Sidenote: The Zeppelin forced to travel low.] + +If there was no disturbance in the clouds themselves there was among +them something very active, something that drilled its way through them +with a muffled whirring, something that was oblong and lean and light of +texture, that was ominous and menacing for all its buoyancy. The sound +it made was too high up, too thickly shrouded by clouds, to determine +its precise position. It gave forth a breathing of persistent, definite +rhythm. This was plainly not the wing-stroke of a nocturnal bird; for no +bird, big or little, could advertise its flight in such perfect +pulsation. And yet it was a bird, a Gargantuan, man-made bird with +murder in its talons and hatred in its heart. From its steel nest in +Germanized Belgium this whirring monster had soared eight thousand feet +and crossed the Channel with little fear of discovery. It had penetrated +the English Coast somewhere down Sheerness way and over Southend and +then, dropping lower, had sought and found through the haze the tiny +train whose locomotive had just fluted its brief salutation to +Walthamstow. To the close-cropped men on the Zeppelin, the string of +cars far down under their feet, with its side-flare from lighted +windows, its engine's headlamp and its sparks, had proved a providential +pilotage. They knew that this train was on the main line, and that it +would lead them straight to the great Liverpool Street Station, and that +was London, and it was London wharfs and ammunition works along the +Thames that they had planned to obliterate with their cylinders of +mechanical doom. But the moist clouds which aided so materially in +hiding the Zeppelin's presence from below also worked for its defeat, in +so far as its ultimate objective was concerned, for to keep the guiding +train in view it was compelled to travel lower and yet lower--so low, +indeed, as to make it a target for Kitchener's sentinels. + +[Sidenote: The switchman signals "danger."] + +[Sidenote: The train stops at Walthamstow.] + +Somehow, by sight or intuition or the instant commingling of the two, +old Tom Cumbers became aware of the danger above him; for he sprang to +his switch, shut off all the cheery blue and white lights along "the +line" and swung on with a mighty jerk the ruby signal of danger. The +engineer in the on-rushing train jammed down his brakes and brought up +his locomotive with a complaining, grinding moan, a hundred yards beyond +Walthamstow station. Tom Cumbers had done a greater thing than any other +in all his existence. + +[Sidenote: The German revenge.] + +That by his act the Germans in their speeding sky-craft were baffled +there is no doubt. They had lost their trail of fire; their involuntary +guide had disappeared in the gloom. The airmen's long journey had +suddenly become fruitless; their peril from hidden British guns and +flying scouts was increased tenfold. The heat of the night was as +nothing to the hot surge of disappointment that must have swept the +brains of the Zeppelin crew. Their commander, too, must have lost his +judgment utterly, forgotten his sense of military effectiveness. +Whatever happened, he sacrificed his soul when he turned his cloud-ship +aside from the railway line, steered over the shabby roofs of +Walthamstow and, at less than two thousand feet, unloosed his iron dogs +of destruction. + +[Sidenote: Bombing tenements of a defenseless town.] + +I have it on the authority of experienced aviators that it is not +impossible on a dark night to distinguish buildings of importance like +St. Paul's or the Houses of Parliament or a great gun factory or a river +as broad as the Thames with its uprearing and frequent bridges. The +crowding tenements of Walthamstow could have had no semblance to any of +these, at any height. It would seem a cheap and worthless revenge, then, +to wreck an unimportant and defenceless town, having failed to wreck the +military nerve-center of the world's metropolis. But this is what one of +Count Zeppelin's soaring dreadnoughts did in this night, in this +blood-drenched year. + + +[Sidenote: When a bomb explodes.] + +Like the mirage of a tropical island the dirigible hung motionless in +space for a breathless minute. There was a wavering pin-prick of light +in the carriage suspended from the leviathan's belly--a light that +fluttered fore and aft as of a man with a fairy lantern running to and +fro giving orders or taking them. Then faintly discernible against the +sky, like a rope hung down for anchorage, came a thin, gray streak--the +tail of a bomb with all hell in its wake. From somewhere near the town's +centre the earth split and roared apart. The world reeled and a +brain-shattering crash compounded of all the elements of pain and hurled +from the shoulders of a thousand thunderclaps smote the senses. It was a +blast of sickening and malignant fury. It did not so much stun as it +stopped one--stopped the breath and the heart's beat, suspending +thought, halting life itself for a fraction of time. One was, somehow, +aware of existence but without sensation. And then came reaction and +the realization of what was really taking place. The German's bomb +landed fully ten blocks away, but you would have taken oath in court +that it had fallen at your feet, behind you, above you and into your +very brain. + +[Sidenote: Terror of the people.] + +[Sidenote: A broken gas main.] + +An air raid on Walthamstow, which drab town can boast neither ammunition +works nor the ownership of war material of any description, could not be +at once realized. But here was the cyclonic fact, hideously real, +appallingly actual; and there in the heavens was the buoyant Zeppelin +maneuvering for further mischief. The reverberation of the first +explosion was still grumbling back in Epping Forest when all +Walthamstow, rubbing its eyes, tumbled out into the black streets. Men, +women, children, all ludicrously clotheless, swarmed aimlessly like bees +in an overturned hive. Stark terror gripped them. It distorted their +faces and set their legs quivering. The dullest among these toil-dulled +people knew what that explosion meant, knew that it was part of the +punishment promised by the German foe. "Gott strafe England" had come to +pass. But they could not understand why the enemy had singled them out +for such drastic distinction. The more alert and cool-headed of the men +battled with their fellows and shouted instructions to get the women +folks and the kiddies back indoors and down into their cellars. The +night-gowned and pajamaed throng could not be persuaded that safety lay +not in sight of the Zeppelin but away from it. The hypnotism of horror +lured them on to where twelve houses lay spread about in smoking chaos, +a plateau of blazing and noisome havoc. Somewhere a gas-main burst with +a roar and drove the crowd back with its choking fumes as no human hands +could have done. Women frankly hysterical or swooning were roughly +thrust aside. Children shrieking in uncomprehending panic were swept +along with the crowd or trodden upon. Lumbering men ran and shouted and +cursed and shook hairy fists at the long blot on the clouds. Some of the +men leaped over iron palings like startled rabbits and flung themselves +in the grass, face downward and quaking. And yet, I dare say that most +of these would have walked straight into a familiar danger without the +waver of an eyelash; it was the unknown peril, the doubt as to how and +whence this hurtling death might spring upon them out of the night, that +unhinged their manhood. And while Walthamstow's walls went down and +great flame-tongues spouted where homes had stood, while the thick, hot +air was tortured with agonized and inhuman cries, the enemy up above let +loose another bolt. + +[Sidenote: The second bomb as the town blazes.] + +[Sidenote: Effects of the explosion.] + +More terrible than the first explosion was, or seemed, this second one. +It mowed down half a hundred shrieking souls. And it was curious to note +the lateral action of the blast when it hit a resisting surface. +Dynamite explodes with a downward or upward force, lyddite and +nitro-glycerine and what not other devil's own powers act more or less +in the same set manner. But the furious ingredients of these bombs +hurled on Walthamstow contained stuff that released a discharge which +swept all things from it horizontally, in a quarter-mile, lightning +sweep, like a scythe of flame. A solid block of shabby villas was laid +out as flat as your palm by the explosion of this second bomb. Scarcely +a brick was left standing upright. What houses escaped demolition around +the edge of the convulsion had their doors and windows splintered into +rubbish. The concussion of this chemical frenzy was felt, like an +earthquake, in a ten-mile circle. Wherever the scorching breath of the +bombs breathed on stone or metal it left a sulphurous, yellow-white +veneer, acrid in odor and smooth to the touch. Whole street-lengths of +twisted iron railings were coated with this murderous white-wash. + +[Sidenote: More bombs as the Zeppelin rises.] + +[Sidenote: Freaks of the explosion.] + +Having made sure of its mark, the ravaging Zeppelin rose higher on the +discharge of its first bomb and still higher after firing the second. At +the safe distance of four thousand feet it dropped three more shells +recklessly, haphazard. One of these bored cleanly through a slate-tiled +roof, through furniture and two floorings and burrowed ten feet into the +ground without exploding. This intact shell has since been carefully +analyzed by the experts of the Board of Explosions at the British War +Office. Another bomb detonated on the steel rails of the Walthamstow +tram-line and sent them curling skyward from their rivetted foundations +like serpentine wisps of paper. Great cobblestones were heaved through +shop windows and partitions and out into the flower-beds of rear +gardens; some of the cobbles were flung through solid attic blinds and +others were catapulted through brick walls a foot in thickness. A hole +as big as a moving-van burned into the road at one place. In a side +street an impromptu fountain squirted playfully into the dust-burdened +air, the result of a central water-pipe punctured by a slug from one of +the bomb's iron entrails. But these things were not noted until dawn and +comparative peace had returned to Walthamstow and men could count with +some degree the cost of the reckless invasion. + +[Sidenote: British aeroplanes pursue.] + +Before the clouds had swallowed up the hateful visitant the noise of its +attack had aroused the military guards across Epping Forest, in +Chingford village, and, aided by a search-light, the anti-aircraft-gun +opened its unavailing fire on the Zeppelin--ineffective, except that its +returning shrapnel smashed up several roofs and battered some innocent +heads. The Germans had gauged their skyward path to London along which, +apparently, they felt reasonably safe from gun-reach. But they had +barely headed homeward before a flock of army aeroplanes, rising from +all points of the compass, were in hot pursuit. One of the Britishers +was shot down by the men aboard the Zeppelin. Neither speed nor daring +counts for much in an encounter between flying-machines and swift +dirigibles of the latest types. The advantage lies solely with the one +that can overfly his adversary. This can be achieved by a biplane or +monoplane pilot only if he has a long start from the ground and time +enough to surmount his opponent. This is difficult even in daylight with +a cloudless sky. Given darkness and clouds, the chances for success are +tremendously against the smaller craft. + +[Sidenote: The old switchman a victim.] + +Eight bombs in all were launched on Walthamstow--two of them +ineffectual. The sixth bomb fell into a field close beside the railway +line and worked a hideous wonder. It blew into never-to-be-gathered +fragments all that was mortal of old Tom Cumbers, the signalman. They +found only his left hand plastered gruesomely against the grassy bank of +the railway cut--not a hair nor button else. + + * * * * * + +The great series of attacks by the massed German Army against the mighty +forces of Verdun began in February, 1917, and continued throughout the +following months. Taken as a whole, it was the most dramatic effort in +all its phases which took place between the German and French forces. +The French showed during these terrible months, the spirit of devotion +and sacrifice which was never excelled during the war. + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's Notes: + +Obvious punctuation errors repaired. + +Page 5, "Liege" changed to "Liege" (The Defense of Liege) + +Page 11, "again" changed to "against" (against the anarchist) + +Page 24, "Petersberg" changed to "Petersburg" (and St. Petersburg +Cabinets) + +Page 28, "thave" changed to "have" (must have rejoiced) + +Page 35, "neighbor" changed to "neighbour" to match rest of text (her +western neighbour) + +Page 41, "Liege" changed to "Liege" (strong fortress of Liege) + +Page 41, "LIEGE" changed to "LIEGE" + +Page 57, Sidenote: "centimeter" changed to "centimetre" to match text +(Forty-two centimetre) + +Page 74, Sidenote: "Compiegne" changed to "Compiegne" (towards +Compiegne-Soissons) + +Page 77, "Ferte" changed to "Ferte" (Changis, La Ferte, Nogent) + +Page 83, "betweeen" changed to "between" (right between the Vosges) + +Page 85, "Liege" changed to "Liege" (weeks at Liege Namur) + +Page 92, "Chateau" changed to "Chateau" (Marne below Chateau-Thierry) + +Page 92, Sidenote: "center" changed to "centre" to match text (on the +French centre) + +Page 92, "Chateau" changed to "Chateau" +(Humbauville-Chateau-Beauchamp-Bignicourt) + +Page 93, "Fere" changed to "Fere" (east of Fere-Champenoise) + +Page 93, Sidenote: "man[oe]uvers" changed to "man[oe]uvres" to match +text (Foch out-man[oe]uvres Germans) + +Page 93, "center" changed to "centre" to match text (Centre armies +established) + +Page 110, "statute" changed to "statue" (in front of the statue) + +Page 119, Sidenote: "sand-dunes" changed to "sand dunes" (Battle of the +sand dunes) + +Page 124, "is" changed to "are" (Allies are explained) + +Page 136, word "her" inserted into text (to her knees) + +Page 137, "strongely" changed to "strongly" (not be so strongly) + +Page 169, "most" changed to "must" (crew must have beheld) + +Page 171, double word "the" deleted. Original text read: "overtaken the +the transports". + +Page 191, "ships" changed to "ship" (sails of the first ship) + +Page 195, "intrument" changed to "instrument" (no probing instrument) + +Page 221, "hocky" changed to "hockey" (and hockey teams) + +Page 233, Sidenote: "Aeroplanes" changed to "Aeroplanes" (Aeroplanes +attacked by artillery) + +Page 236, "oof" changed to "of" (mere taking of the) + +Page 251, "blow" changed to "blown" (been blown up) + +Page 276, "asphxiating" changed to "asphyxiating" (No asphyxiating gases) + +Page 280, "advoided" changed to "avoided" (always be avoided) + +Page 288, "ships's" changed to "ship's" (ship's crew were confident) + +Page 288, "volminous" changed to "voluminous" (voluminous to analyze) + +Page 302, "that" changed to "than" (conclusion than in) + +Page 307, "submarines" changed to "submarine" (submarine warfare in) + +Page 314, word "a" inserted into text (vantage-point on a crag) + +Page 310, "N." changed to "No." (Book No. 2, U. S.) + +Page 333, "to" changed to "of" (advantage of this) + +Page 336, "These" changed to "Those" (Those Germans who) + +Page 338, "Trapeze" changed to "Trapeze" (of the Trapeze which) + +Page 339, word "the" inserted into text (from the summit) + +Page 343, "arrival" changed to "arrived" (224 arrived safe) + +Page 356, Sidenote: "executive" changed to "execution" (delay of +execution) + +Page 359, Sidenote: "De-" changed to "Der" (Der Lancken believes) + +Page 367, word "had" inserted into text (and they had been) + +Both "Ypres-Poelcapelle" and "Ypres-Poelcappelle" appear in the text. +Both spellings were retained. + +Manoeuvre, man[oe]uvre and maneuvre were used and retained. + +Both Ripon and Ripont appear in this text. Ripont seems more accurate. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of World's War Events, Vol. I, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORLD'S WAR EVENTS, VOL. 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