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diff --git a/29341.txt b/29341.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..48e070a --- /dev/null +++ b/29341.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18289 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Story of the Great War, Volume V (of 8), +Edited by Francis J. (Francis Joseph) Reynolds, Allen L. (Allen Leon) +Churchill, and Francis Trevelyan Miller + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Story of the Great War, Volume V (of 8) + Battle of Jutland Bank; Russian Offensive; Kut-El-Amara; East Africa; Verdun; The Great Somme Drive; United States and Belligerents; Summary of Two Years' War + + +Editor: Francis J. (Francis Joseph) Reynolds, Allen L. (Allen Leon) +Churchill, and Francis Trevelyan Miller + +Release Date: July 7, 2009 [eBook #29341] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR, VOLUME +V (OF 8)*** + + +E-text prepared by Charlene Taylor, Christine P. Travers, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from +page images generously made available by Internet Archive +(http://www.archive.org) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 29341-h.htm or 29341-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29341/29341-h/29341-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29341/29341-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available + through Internet Archive. See + http://www.archive.org/details/storyofgreatwarh05churuoft + + +Transcriber's note: + + Obvious printer's errors have been corrected. Hyphenation + and accentuation have been made consistent. All other + inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's + spelling has been retained. + + Page 26: "notwithstanding he or they may believe to the + contrary" has been changed to "notwithstanding what he or + they may believe to the contrary". + + Pages 178/179: Words are missing between "cross-" and "of" + in the sentence: Ten miles west of Kolki the Russians + succeeded in cross-of Gruziatin, two miles north of + Godomitchy, the small German garrison of which, consisting + of some five hundred officers and men, fell into Russian + captivity. + + Page 200: "during pursuit of the Russians" has been + changed to "during pursuit by the Russians". + + + + + +THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR + +History of the European War from Official Sources + +Complete Historical Records of Events to Date, +Illustrated with Drawings, Maps, and Photographs + +Prefaced by + +What the War Means to America +Major General Leonard Wood, U.S.A. + +Naval Lessons of the War +Rear Admiral Austin M. Knight, U.S.N. + +The World's War +Frederick Palmer + +Theatres of the War's Campaigns +Frank H. Simonds + +The War Correspondent +Arthur Ruhl + +Edited by + +Francis J. Reynolds +Former Reference Librarian of Congress + +Allen L. Churchill +Associate Editor, The New International Encyclopedia + +Francis Trevelyan Miller +Editor in Chieft, Photographic History of the Civil War + +P. F. Collier & Son Company +New York + + +[Illustration: Jutland.] + + +THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR + +Battle of Jutland Bank . Russian +Offensive . Kut-El-Amara +East Africa . Verdun . The +Great Somme Drive . United +States and Belligerents +Summary of Two Years' War + +VOLUME V + + + + + + + +P . F . Collier & Son . New York + +Copyright 1916 +By P. F. Collier & Son + + + + +CONTENTS + + +PART I.--AUSTRIAN PROPAGANDA + +CHAPTER Page + + I. Austrian Ambassador Implicated in Strike Plots--his + Recall--Ramifications of German Conspiracies 9 + + II. The Plot To Destroy Ships--Pacific Coast + Conspiracies--Hamburg-American Case--Scope of New York + Investigations 15 + + III. Von Rintelen's Activities--Congressman Involved--Germany's + Repudiations--Dismissal of Captains Boy-Ed and + Von Papen 22 + + IV. Great Britain's Defense of Blockade--American + Methods in Civil War Cited 28 + + V. British Blockade Denounced As Illegal and Ineffective + by the United States--The American Position 35 + + VI. Great Britain Unyielding--Effect of the Blockade--The + Chicago Meat Packers' Case 44 + + VII. Seizure of Suspected Ships--Trading With the Enemy--The + Appam--The Anglo-French Loan--Ford Peace Expedition 49 + + VIII. American Pacificism--Preparedness--Munition Safeguard 54 + + +PART II.--OPERATIONS ON THE SEA + + IX. Naval Engagements in Many Waters 59 + + X. Minor Engagements and Losses 66 + + XI. The Battle of Jutland Bank--Beginning 70 + + XII. Some Secondary Features of the Battle 89 + + XIII. Losses and Tactics 94 + + XIV. Death of Lord Kitchener--Other Events of the Second Year 108 + + +PART III.--CAMPAIGN ON THE EASTERN FRONT + + XV. The Eastern Front at the Approach of Spring, 1916 116 + + XVI. The Russian March--Offensive from Riga to Pinsk 122 + + XVII. Resumption of Austro-Russian Operations 133 + + XVIII. Thaw and Spring Floods 141 + + XIX. Artillery Duels 149 + + XX. The Great Russian Offensive 154 + + XXI. The Russian Reconquest of the Bukowina 162 + + XXII. In Conquered East Galicia 173 + + XXIII. The German Counteroffensive Before Kovel 178 + + XXIV. Progress of the Bukowinian Conquest 183 + + XXV. Temporary Lull in the Russian Offensive 188 + + XXVI. Advance Against Lemberg and Kovel 192 + + XXVII. The Germans' Stand on the Stokhod 198 + + XXVIII. Increased Strength of the Russian Drive 207 + + +PART IV.--THE BALKANS + + XXIX. Holding Fast in Saloniki 212 + + XXX. Military and Political Events in Greece 216 + + +PART V.--AUSTRO-ITALIAN CAMPAIGN + + XXXI. Resumption of Operations on the Italian Front 229 + + XXXII. The Spring of 1916 on the Austro-Italian Front 235 + + XXXIII. The Austrian May Drive in the Trentino 244 + + XXXIV. The Rise and Failure of the Austro-Hungarian Drive 255 + + XXXV. The Italian Counteroffensive in the Trentino 265 + + XXXVI. Continuation of the Italian Counteroffensive 276 + + XXXVII. Minor Operations on the Austro-Italian Front in + Trentino Offensive 283 + + +PART VI.--RUSSO-TURKISH CAMPAIGN + + XXXVIII. Russian Successes After Erzerum 292 + + +PART VII.--CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA AND PERSIA + + XXXIX. Renewed Attempt To Relieve Kut-el-Amara 307 + + XL. The Surrender of Kut-el-Amara 318 + + XLI. Spring and Summer Trench War on the Tigris 326 + + XLII. Russian Advance Toward Bagdad 330 + + XLIII. Turkish Offensive and Russian Counteroffensive in + Armenia and Persia 335 + + +PART VIII.--OPERATIONS ON THE WESTERN FRONT + + XLIV. Renewal of the Battle of Verdun 340 + + XLV. The Struggle for Vaux Fort and Village--Battle of + Mort Homme 348 + + XLVI. Battle of Hill 304 and Douaumont--The Struggle at + Fleury 361 + + XLVII. Spring Operations in Other Sectors 371 + + XLVIII. Battle of the Somme--Allied Preparations--Position + of the Opposing Forces 377 + + XLIX. The British Attack 382 + + L. The French Attacks North and South of the Somme 387 + + LI. The British Attack (Continued) 392 + + LII. The Second Phase of the Battle of the Somme 401 + + +PART IX.--THE WAR IN THE AIR + + LIII. The Value of Zeppelins in Long-Distance + Reconnoitering--Naval Auxiliaries 412 + + LIV. Aeroplane Improvements--Giant Machines--Technical + Developments 418 + + LV. Losses and Casualties in Aerial Warfare--Discrepancies + in Official Reports--"Driven Down" and "Destroyed" 424 + + LVI. Aerial Combats and Raids 427 + + +PART X.--THE UNITED STATES AND THE BELLIGERENTS + + LVII. War Cloud in Congress 433 + + LVIII. The President Upheld in Armed-Merchantmen Issue--Final + Crisis With Germany 439 + + LIX. The American Ultimatum--Germany Yields 449 + + + TWO YEARS OF THE WAR. _By Frank H. Simonds_ + + The German Problem 461 + The Belgian Phase 463 + The French Offensive 466 + The Battle of the Marne 469 + The End of the First Western Campaign 472 + The Russian Phase 476 + Tannenberg and Lemberg 476 + Warsaw and Lodz 479 + The Galician Campaign 480 + The Battle of the Dunajec 481 + Russia Survives 484 + The Balkan Campaign 484 + In the West 487 + Italy 488 + Verdun 488 + The February Attack 490 + Later Phases 491 + Gettysburg 493 + The Austrian Offensive 494 + Germany Loses the Offensive 495 + The Russian Attack 496 + The Battle of the Somme 499 + Gorizia 499 + As the Third Year Begins 501 + + + THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR, STATEMENTS FROM THE BRITISH, + FRENCH, AND GERMAN AMBASSADORS TO THE UNITED STATES 503 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Jutland _Frontispiece_ + + Opposite Page + + Queen Mary, British Battle Cruiser 78 + + Earl Kitchener 110 + + Austrian 30.5-Centimeter Gun 158 + + Austrian Intrenchment High on a Mountain 238 + + German Crown Prince Giving Crosses for Valor 350 + + French Aviation Camp Near Verdun 366 + + U-C-5, German Mine-Laying Submarine 446 + + Motor-Mounted French 75's 494 + + + + +LIST OF MAPS + + Page + Expansion of the War--Dates on Which Declarations of War + Were Made (_Colored Map_) _Front Insert_ + + Battle of Jutland Bank, the + + Plate I--Distribution of Forces 74 + + Plate II--Running Fight to the Southward 77 + + Plate III--Running Fight to the Northward 79 + + Plate IV--British Grand Fleet Approaching from Northwest 81 + + Plate V--British Grand Fleet Coming into Action 83 + + Plate VI--Jellicoe and Beatty Acting Together to "Cap" + German Fleet 85 + + Plate VII--Jellicoe and Beatty Pass Around the German + Flank, "Capping" It 86 + + Plate VIII--British Forces Heading Off to Southward to + Avoid Attack During Darkness 88 + + Plate IX--Movement of Forces 103 + + Plate X--Movement of Jellicoe's Forces on May 31 105 + + Plate XI--What Von Scheer Should Have Done 106 + + Eastern Battle Front, August, 1916 119 + + Russian Offensive from Pinsk To Dubno, The 157 + + Russian Offensive in Galicia, The 175 + + Italian Front, The 241 + + Austrian Offensive, May, 1916, Detail of 263 + + Gorizia 272 + + Kut-el-Amara 322 + + Russians in Persia, The 333 + + Russians in Armenia, The 338 + + Western Battle Front, August, 1916 343 + + Four Zone Maps (_colored_) _Opposite_ 344 + + Verdun, First Attack on 346 + + Verdun, Northeast District in Detail 352 + + Verdun, Northwest District in Detail 356 + + Mort Homme Sector in Detail 364 + + Verdun to St. Mihiel 366 + + Verdun Gain up to August, 1916 369 + + Sector Where Grand Offensive was Started 379 + + English Gains, The 394 + + French Gains, The 406 + + Two Years of the War + + August 18, 1914, When the Belgian Retreat to Antwerp + Began 465 + + August 23, 1914, After the Allies Had Lost All the First + Battles 467 + + September 6, 1914, the Battle of the Marne 471 + + September 20, 1914, the Deadlock 473 + + November 15, 1914, the End of the Western Campaign 475 + + October 24, 1914, the Battle of the Vistula 478 + + October 1, 1915, at the End of the Russian Retreat 483 + + The Conquest of Serbia, December, 1915 485 + + The Russian Spring Offensive, 1916 497 + + Austro-Italian Campaigns, May to September, 1916 500 + + + + +PART I--AUSTRIAN PROPAGANDA + + + + +CHAPTER I + +AUSTRIAN AMBASSADOR IMPLICATED IN STRIKE PLOTS--HIS +RECALL--RAMIFICATIONS OF GERMAN CONSPIRACIES + + +Public absorption in German propaganda was abating when attention +became directed to it again from another quarter. An American war +correspondent, James F. J. Archibald, a passenger on the liner +_Rotterdam_ from New York, who was suspected by the British +authorities of being a bearer of dispatches from the German and +Austrian Ambassadors at Washington, to their respective Governments, +was detained and searched on the steamer's arrival at Falmouth on +August 30, 1915. A number of confidential documents found among his +belongings were seized and confiscated, the British officials +justifying their action as coming within their rights under English +municipal law. The character of the papers confirmed the British +suspicions that Archibald was misusing his American passport by acting +as a secret courier for countries at war with which the United States +was at peace. + +The seized papers were later presented to the British Parliament and +published. In a bulky dossier, comprising thirty-four documents found +in Archibald's possession, was a letter from the Austro-Hungarian +Ambassador at Washington, Dr. Dumba, to Baron Burian, the +Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister. In this letter Dr. Dumba took "this +rare and safe opportunity" of "warmly recommending" to the Austrian +Foreign Office certain proposals made by the editor of a +Hungarian-American organ, the "Szabadsag," for effecting strikes in +plants of the Bethlehem Steel Company and others in the Middle West +engaged in making munitions for the Allies. + +The United States Government took a serious view of the letter +recommending the plan for instigating strikes in American factories. +Dr. Dumba, thrown on his defense, explained to the State Department +that the incriminating proposals recommended in the document did not +originate from him personally, but were the fruit of orders received +from Vienna. This explanation was not easily acceptable. The +phraseology of Dr. Dumba far from conveyed the impression that he was +submitting a report on an irregular proposal inspired by instructions +of the Austrian Government. Such a defense, however, if accepted, only +made the matter more serious. Instead of the American Government +having to take cognizance of an offensive act by an ambassador, the +Government which employed him would rather have to be called to +account. Another explanation by Dr. Dumba justified his letter to +Vienna on the ground that the strike proposal urged merely represented +a plan for warning all Austrians and Hungarians, employed in the +munition factories, of the penalties they would have to pay if they +ever returned to their home country, after aiding in producing weapons +and missiles of destruction to be used against the Teutonic forces. +This defense also lacked convincing force, as the letter indicated +that the aim was so to cripple the munition factories that their +output would be curtailed or stopped altogether--an object that could +only be achieved by a general strike of all workers. + +The Administration did not take long to make up its mind that the time +for disciplining foreign diplomats who exceeded the duties of their +office had come. On September 8, 1915, Austria-Hungary was notified +that Dr. Konstantin Theodor Dumba was no longer acceptable as that +country's envoy in Washington. The American note dispatched to +Ambassador Penfield at Vienna for transmission to the Austrian Foreign +Minister was blunt and direct. After informing Baron Burian that Dr. +Dumba had admitted improper conduct in proposing to his Government +plans to instigate strikes in American manufacturing plants, the +United States thus demanded his recall: + +"By reason of the admitted purpose and intent of Dr. Dumba to conspire +to cripple legitimate industries of the people of the United States +and to interrupt their legitimate trade, and by reason of the flagrant +violation of diplomatic propriety in employing an American citizen, +protected by an American passport, as a secret bearer of official +dispatches through the lines of the enemy of Austria-Hungary, the +President directs us to inform your excellency that Dr. Dumba is no +longer acceptable to the Government of the United States as the +Ambassador of His Imperial Majesty at Washington." + +Dr. Dumba was not recalled by his Government until September 22, 1915, +fourteen days after the American demand. Meanwhile Dr. Dumba had +cabled to Vienna, requesting that he be ordered to return on leave of +absence "to report." His recall was ostensibly in response to his +personal request, but the Administration objected to this resort to a +device intended to cloak the fact that he was now _persona non grata_ +whose return was really involuntary, and would not recognize a recall +"on leave of absence." His Government had no choice but to recall him +officially in view of the imminent contingency that otherwise he would +be ousted, and in that case would be denied safe conduct from capture +by an allied cruiser in his passage across the ocean. His request for +passports and safe conduct was, in fact, disregarded by the +Administration, which informed him that the matter was one to be dealt +directly with his Government, pending whose official intimation of +recall nothing to facilitate his departure could be done. On the +Austrian Government being notified that Dr. Dumba's departure "on +leave of absence" would not be satisfactory, he was formally recalled +on September 28, 1915. + +The seized Archibald dossier included a letter from the German +military attache, Captain Franz von Papen, to his wife, containing +reference to Dr. Albert's correspondence, which left no doubt that the +letters were genuine: + +"Unfortunately, they stole a fat portfolio from our good Albert in the +elevated (a New York street railroad). The English secret service of +course. Unfortunately, there were some very important things from my +report among them such as buying up liquid chlorine and about the +Bridgeport Projectile Company, as well as documents regarding the +buying up of phenol and the acquisition of Wright's aeroplane patent. +But things like that must occur. I send you Albert's reply for you to +see how we protect ourselves. We composed the document to-day." + +The "document" evidently was Dr. Albert's explanation discounting the +significance and importance of the letters. This explanation was +published on August 20, 1915. + +The foregoing disclosures of documents covered a wide range of +organized German plans for embarrassing the Allies' dealings with +American interests; but they related rather more to accomplished +operations and such activities as were revealed to be under way--e. g., +the acquisition of munitions combined with propaganda for an +embargo--were not deemed to be violative of American law. But this +stage of intent to clog the Allies' facilities for obtaining sinews of +war, in the face of law, speedily grew to one of achievement more or +less effective according to the success with which the law interposed +to spoil the plans. + +The autumn and winter of 1915 were marked by the exposure of a number +of German plots which revealed that groups of conspirators were in +league in various parts of the country, bent on wrecking munition +plants, sinking ships loaded with Allies' supplies, and fomenting +strikes. Isolated successes had attended their efforts, but +collectively their depredations presented a serious situation. The +exposed plots produced clues to secret German sources from which a +number of mysterious explosions at munition plants and on ships had +apparently been directed. Projected labor disturbances at munition +plants were traced to a similar origin. The result was that the docket +of the Federal Department of Justice became laden with a motley +collection of indictments which implicated fifty or more individuals +concerned in some dozen conspiracies, in which four corporations were +also involved. + +These cases only represented a portion of the criminal infractions of +neutrality laws, which had arisen since the outbreak of the war. In +January, 1916, an inquiry in Congress directed the Attorney General to +name all persons "arrested in connection with criminal plots affecting +the neutrality of our Government." Attorney General Gregory furnished +a list of seventy-one indicted persons, and the four corporations +mentioned. A list of merely arrested persons would not have been +informative, as it would have conveyed an incomplete and misleading +impression. Such a list, Mr. Gregory told Congress, would not include +persons indicted but never arrested, having become fugitives from +justice; nor persons indicted but never arrested, having surrendered; +but would include persons arrested and not proceeded against. Thus +there were many who had eluded the net of justice by flight and some +through insufficient evidence. The seventy-one persons were concerned +in violations of American neutrality in connection with the European +war. + +The list covered several cases already recorded in this history, +namely: + +A group of Englishmen, and another of Montenegrins, involved in +so-called enlistment "plots" for obtaining recruits on American soil +for the armies of their respective countries. + +The case of Werner Horn, indicted for attempting to destroy by an +explosive the St. Croix railroad bridge between Maine and New +Brunswick. + +A group of nine men, mainly Germans, concerned in procuring bogus +passports to enable them to take passage to Europe to act as spies. +Eight were convicted, the ninth man, named Von Wedell, a fugitive +passport offender, was supposed to have been caught in England and +shot. + +The Hamburg-American case, in which Dr. Karl Buenz, former German +Consul General in New York, and other officials or employees of that +steamship company, were convicted (subject to an appeal) of defrauding +the Government in submitting false clearance papers as to the +destinations of ships sent from New York to furnish supplies to German +war vessels in the Atlantic. + +A group of four men, a woman, and a rubber agency, indicted on a +similar charge, their operations being on the Pacific coast, where +they facilitated the delivery of supplies to German cruisers when in +the Pacific in the early stages of the war. + +There remain the cases which, in the concatenation of events, might +logically go on record as direct sequels to the public divulging of +the Albert and Archibald secret papers. These included: + +A conspiracy to destroy munition-carrying ships at sea and to murder +the passengers and crews. Indictments in these terms were brought +against a group of six men--Robert Fay, Dr. Herbert O. Kienzie, Walter +L. Scholz, Paul Daeche, Max Breitung, and Engelbert Bronkhorst. + +A conspiracy to destroy the Welland Canal and to use American soil as +a base for unlawful operations against Canada. Three men, Paul Koenig, +a Hamburg-American line official, R. E. Leyendecker, and E. J. +Justice, were involved in this case. + +A conspiracy to destroy shipping on the Pacific Coast. A German baron, +Von Brincken, said to be one of the kaiser's army officers; an +employee of the German consulate at San Francisco, C. C. Crowley; and +a woman, Mrs. Margaret W. Cornell, were the offenders. + +A conspiracy to prevent the manufacture and shipment of munitions to +the allied powers. A German organization, the National Labor Peace +Council, was indicted on this charge, as well as a wealthy German, +Franz von Rintelen, described as an intimate friend of the German +Crown Prince, and several Americans known in public life. + +In most of these cases the name of Captain Karl Boy-Ed, the German +naval attache, or Captain Franz von Papen, the German military +attache, figured persistently. The testimony of informers confirmed +the suspicion that a wide web of secret intrigue radiated from sources +related to the German embassy and enfolded all the conspiracies, +showing that few, if any, of the plots, contemplated or accomplished, +were due solely to the individual zeal of German sympathizers. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE PLOT TO DESTROY SHIPS--PACIFIC COAST +CONSPIRACIES--HAMBURG-AMERICAN CASE--SCOPE OF NEW YORK INVESTIGATIONS + + +The plot of Fay and his confederates to place bombs on ships carrying +war supplies to Europe was discovered when a couple of New York +detectives caught Fay and an accomplice, Scholz, experimenting with +explosives in a wood near Weehawken, N. J., on October 24, 1915. Their +arrests were the outcome of a police search for two Germans who +secretly sought to purchase picric acid, a component of high +explosives which had become scarce since the war began. Certain +purchases made were traced to Fay. On the surface Fay's offense seemed +merely one of harboring and using explosives without a license; but +police investigations of ship explosions had proceeded on the theory +that the purchases of picric acid were associated with them. + +Fay confirmed this surmise. He described himself as a lieutenant in +the German army, who, with the sanction of the German secret +information service, had come to the United States after sharing in +the Battle of the Marne, to perfect certain mine devices for +attachment to munition ships in order to cripple them. In a Hoboken +storage warehouse was found a quantity of picric acid he had deposited +there, with a number of steel mine tanks, each fitted with an +attachment for hooking to the rudder of a vessel, and clockwork and +wire to fire the explosive in the tanks. In rooms occupied by Fay and +Scholz were dynamite and trinitrotoluol (known as T-N-T), many caps of +fulminate of mercury, and Government survey maps of the eastern coast +line and New York Harbor. The conspirators' equipment included a fast +motor boat that could dart up and down the rivers and along the water +front where ships were moored, a high-powered automobile, and four +suit cases containing a number of disguises. The purpose of the +enterprise was to stop shipments of arms and ammunitions to the +Allies. The disabling of ships, said Fay, was the sole aim, without +destruction of life. To this end he had been experimenting for several +months on a waterproof mine and a detonating device that would operate +by the swinging of a rudder, to which the mine would be attached, +controlled by a clock timed to cause the explosion on the high seas. +The German secret service, both Fay and Scholz said, had provided them +with funds to pursue their object. Fay's admission to the police +contained these statements: + +"I saw Captain Boy-Ed and Captain von Papen on my arrival in this +country. Captain Boy-Ed told me that I was doing a dangerous thing. He +said that political complications would result and he most assuredly +could not approve of my plans. When I came to this country, however, I +had letters of introduction to both those gentlemen. Both men warned +me not to do anything of the kind I had in mind. Captain von Papen +strictly forbade me to attach any of the mines to any of the ships +leaving the harbors of the United States. But anyone who wishes to, +can read between the lines. + +"The plan on which I worked was to place a mine on the rudder post so +that when it exploded it would destroy the rudder and leave the ship +helpless. There was no danger of any person being killed. But by this +explosion I would render the ship useless and make the shipment of +munitions so difficult that the owners of ships would be intimidated +and cause insurance rates to go so high that the shipment of +ammunition would be seriously affected, if not stopped." + +The Federal officials questioned the statement that Fay's design was +merely to cripple munition ships. Captain Harold C. Woodward of the +Corps of Engineers, a Government specialist on explosives, held that +if the amount of explosive, either trinitrotoluol, or an explosive +made from chlorate of potash and benzol, required by the mine caskets +found in Fay's possession, was fired against a ship's rudder, it would +tear open the stern and destroy the entire ship, if not its passengers +and crew, so devastating would be the explosive force. A mine of the +size Fay used, three feet long and ten inches by ten inches, he said, +would contain over two cubic feet: + +"If the mine was filled with trinitrotoluol the weight of the high +explosive would be about 180 pounds. If it was filled with a mixture +of chlorate of potash and benzol the weight would be probably 110 +pounds. Either charge if exploded on the rudder post would blow a hole +in the ship. + +"The amount of high explosive put into a torpedo or a submarine mine +is only about 200 pounds. It must not be forgotten that water is +practically noncompressible, and that even if the explosion did not +take place against the ship the effect would be practically the same. +Oftentimes a ship is sunk by the explosion of a torpedo or a mine +several feet from the hull. + +"Furthermore, if the ship loaded with dynamite or high explosive, and +the detonating wave of the first explosion reaches that cargo, the +cargo also would explode. In high explosives the detonating wave in +the percussion cap explodes the charge in much the same manner in +which a chord struck on a piano will make a picture wire on the wall +vibrate if both the wire and the piano string are tuned alike. + +"Accordingly, if a ship carrying tons of high explosive is attacked +from the outside by a mine containing 100 pounds of similar explosive, +the whole cargo would go up and nothing would remain of either ship or +cargo." + +Therefore the charge made against Fay and Scholz, and four other men +later arrested, Daeche, Kienzie, Bronkhorst, and Breitung, namely, +conspiracy to "destroy a ship," meant that and all the consequences to +the lives of those on board. Breitung was a nephew of Edward N. +Breitung, the purchaser of the ship _Dacia_ from German ownership, +which was seized by the French on the suspicion that its transfer to +American registry was not bona fide. + +The plot was viewed as the most serious yet bared. Fay and his +confederates were credited with having spent some $30,000 on their +experiments and preparations, and rumor credited them with having +larger sums of money at their command. + +The press generally doubted if they could have conducted their +operations without such financial support being extended them in the +United States. A design therefore was seen in Fay's statement that he +was financed from Germany to screen the source of this aid by +transferring the higher responsibility _in toto_ to official persons +in Germany who were beyond the reach of American justice. These and +other insinuations directed at the German Embassy produced a statement +from that quarter repudiating all knowledge of the Fay conspiracy, and +explaining that its attaches were frequently approached by "fanatics" +who wanted to sink ships or destroy buildings in which munitions were +made. + +A similar conspiracy, but embracing the destruction of railroad +bridges as well as munition ships and factories, was later revealed on +the Pacific Coast. Evidence on which indictments were made against the +men Crowley, Von Brincken, and a woman confederate aforementioned, +named Captain von Papen, the German military attache, as the director +of the plot. The accused were also said to have had the cooperation of +the German Consul General at San Francisco. The indictments charged +them, _inter alia_, with using the mails to incite arson, murder, and +assassination. Among the evidence the Government unearthed was a +letter referring to "P," which, the Federal officials said, meant +Captain von Papen. The letter, which related to a price to be paid for +the destruction of a powder plant at Pinole, Cal., explained how the +price named had been referred to others "higher up." It read: + +"Dear Sir: Your last letter with clipping to-day, and note what you +have to say. I have taken it up with them and 'B' [which the Federal +officials said stood for Franz Bopp, German Consul at San Francisco] +is awaiting decision of 'P' [said to stand for Captain von Papen in +New York], so cannot advise you yet, and will do so as soon as I get +word from you. You might size up the situation in the meantime." + +The indictments charged that the defendants planned to destroy +munition plants at Aetna and Gary, Ind., at Ishpeming, Mich., and at +other places. The Government's chief witness, named Van Koolbergen, +told of being employed by Baron von Brincken, of the German Consulate +at San Francisco, to make and use clockwork bombs to destroy the +commerce of neutral nations. For each bomb he received $100 and a +bonus for each ship damaged or destroyed. For destroying a railway +trestle in Canada over which supply trains for the Allies passed, he +said he received first $250, and $300 further from a representative of +the German Government, the second payment being made upon his +producing newspaper clippings recording the bridge's destruction. It +appeared that Van Koolbergen divulged the plot to the Canadian +Government. + +The three defendants and Van Koolbergen were later named in another +indictment found by a San Francisco Federal Grand Jury, involving in +all sixty persons, including the German Consul General in that city, +Franz Bopp, the Vice Consul, Baron Eckhardt, H. von Schack, Maurice +Hall, Consul for Turkey, and a number of men identified with shipping +and commercial interests. + +The case was the first in which the United States Government had asked +for indictments against the official representatives of any of the +belligerents. The warrants charged a conspiracy to violate the Sherman +Anti-Trust Law by attempting to damage plants manufacturing munitions +for the Allies, thus interfering with legitimate commerce, and with +setting on foot military expeditions against a friendly nation in +connection with plans to destroy Canadian railway tunnels. + +The vice consul, Von Schack, was also indicted with twenty-six of the +defendants on charges of conspiring to defraud the United States by +sending supplies to German warships in the earlier stages of the war, +the supplies having been sent from New York to the German Consulate in +San Francisco. The charges related to the outfitting of five vessels. +One of the latter, the _Sacramento_, now interned in a Chilean port, +cleared from San Francisco, and when out to sea, the Government +ascertained, was taken in command by the wireless operator, who was +really a German naval reserve officer. Off the western coast of South +America the _Sacramento_ was supposed to have got into wireless +communication with German cruisers then operating in the Pacific. +There she joined the squadron under a show of compulsion, as though +held up and captured. In this guise the war vessels seemingly convoyed +the _Sacramento_ to an island in the Pacific, where her cargo of food, +coal, and munitions were transferred to her supposed captors. The +_Sacramento_ then proceeded to a Chilean port where her commanding +officer reported that he had been captured by German warships and +deprived of his cargo. The Chilean authorities doubted the story and +ordered the vessel to be interned. + +Far more extensive were unlawful operations in this direction +conducted by officials of the Hamburg-American line, as revealed at +their trial in New York City in November, 1915. The indictments +charged fraud against the United States by false clearances and +manifests for vessels chartered to provision, from American ports, +German cruisers engaged in commerce destroying. The prosecution +proceeded on the belief that the Hamburg-American activities were +merely part of a general plan devised by German and Austrian +diplomatic and consular officers to use American ports, directly and +indirectly, as war bases for supplies. The testimony in the case +involved Captain Boy-Ed, the German naval attache, who was named as +having directed the distribution of a fund of at least $750,000 for +purposes described as "riding roughshod over the laws of the United +States." The defense freely admitted chartering ships to supply German +cruisers at sea, and in fact named a list of twelve vessels, so +outfitted, showing the amount spent for coal, provisions, and charter +expenses to have been over $1,400,000; but of this outlay only $20,000 +worth of supplies reached the German vessels. The connection of +Captain Boy-Ed with the case suggested the defense that the implicated +officials consulted with him as the only representative in the United +States of the German navy, and were really acting on direct orders +from the German Government, and not under the direction of the naval +attache. Military necessity was also a feasible ground for pleading +justification in concealing the fact that the ships cleared to deliver +their cargoes to German war vessels instead of to the ports named in +their papers. These ports were professed to be their ultimate +destinations if the vessels failed to meet the German cruisers. Had +any other course been pursued, the primary destinations would have +become publicly known and British and other hostile warships +patrolling the seas would have been on their guard. The defendants +were convicted, but the case remained open on appeal. + +About the same time the criminal features of the Teutonic propaganda +engaged the lengthy attention of a Federal Grand Jury sitting in New +York City. A mass of evidence had been accumulated by Government +agents in New York, Washington, and other cities. Part of this +testimony related to the Dumba and Von Papen letters found in the +Archibald dossier. Another part concerned certain revelations a former +Austrian consul at San Francisco, Dr. Joseph Goricar, made to the +Department of Justice. This informant charged that the German and +Austrian Governments had spent between $30,000,000 and $40,000,000 in +developing an elaborate spy system in the United States with the aim +of destroying munition plants, obtaining plans of American +fortifications, Government secrets, and passports for Germans desiring +to return to Germany. These operations, he said, were conducted with +the knowledge of Count von Bernstorff, the German Ambassador. Captains +Boy-Ed and Von Papen were also named as actively associated with the +conspiracy, as well as Dr. von Nuber, the Austrian Consul General in +New York, who, he said, directed the espionage system and kept card +indices of spies in his office. + +The investigation involved, therefore, diplomatic agents, who were +exempt from prosecution; a number of consuls and other men in the +employ of the Teutonic governments while presumably connected with +trustworthy firms; and notable German-Americans, some holding public +office. + +Contributions to the fund for furthering the conspiracy, in addition +to the substantial sums believed to be supplied by the German and +Austrian Governments, were said to have come freely from many Germans, +citizens and otherwise, resident in the United States. The project, +put succinctly, was "to buy up or blow up the munition plants." The +buying up, as previously shown, having proved to be impracticable, an +alternative plan presented itself to "tie up" the factories by +strikes. This was Dr. Dumba's miscarried scheme, which aimed at +bribing labor leaders to induce workmen, in return for substantial +strike pay, to quit work in the factories. Allied to this design was +the movement to forbid citizens of Germany and Austria-Hungary from +working in plants supplying munitions to their enemies. Such +employment, they were told, was treasonable. The men were offered high +wages at other occupations if they would abandon their munition work. +Teutonic charity bazaars held throughout the country and agencies +formed to help Teutons out of employment were regarded merely as means +to influence men to leave the munition plants and thus hamper the +export of war supplies. Funds were traced to show how money traveled +through various channels from the fountainhead to men working on +behalf of the Teutonic cause. Various firms received sums of money, to +be paid to men ostensibly in the employ of the concerns, but who in +reality were German agents working under cover. + +Evidence collected revealed these various facts of the Teutonic +conspiracy. But the unfolding of such details before the Grand Jury +was incidental to the search for the men who originated the scheme, +acted as almoners or treasurers, or supervised, as executives, the +horde of German and Austrian agents intriguing on the lower slopes +under their instructions. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +VON RINTELEN'S ACTIVITIES--CONGRESSMAN INVOLVED--GERMANY'S +REPUDIATIONS--DISMISSAL OF CAPTAINS BOY-ED AND VON PAPEN + + +In this quest the mysterious movements and connections of one German +agent broadly streaked the entire investigation. This person was Von +Rintelen, supposed to be Dr. Dumba's closest lieutenant ere that +envoy's presence on American soil was dispensed with by President +Wilson. Von Rintelen's activities belonged to the earlier period of +the war, before the extensive ramifications of the criminal phases of +the German propaganda were known. At present he was an enforced +absentee from the scenes of his exploits, being either immured by the +British in the Tower of London, or in a German concentration camp as a +spy. This inglorious interruption to the role he appeared to play +while in the United States as a peripatetic Midas, setting plots in +train by means of an overflowing purse, was due to an attempt to +return to Germany on the liner _Noordam_ in July, 1915. The British +intercepted him at Falmouth, and promptly made him a prisoner of war +after examining his papers. + +Whatever was Von Rintelen's real mission in the United States in the +winter of 1914-15, he was credited with being a personal emissary and +friend of the kaiser, bearing letters of credit estimated to vary +between $50,000,000 and $100,000,000. The figure probably was +exaggerated in view of the acknowledged inability of the German +interests in the United States to command anything like the lesser sum +named to acquire all they wanted--control of the munition plants. His +initial efforts appeared to have been directed to a wide advertising +campaign to sway American sentiment against the export of arms +shipments. His energies, like those of others, having been fruitless +in this field, he was said to have directed his attention to placing +large orders under cover for munitions with the object of depleting +the source of such supplies for the Allies, and aimed to control some +of the plants by purchasing their stocks. The investigation in these +channels thus contributed to confirm the New York "World's" charges +against German officialdom, based on its expose of the Albert +documents. Mexican troubles, according to persistent rumor, inspired +Von Rintelen to use his ample funds to draw the United States into +conflict with its southern neighbor as a means of diverting munition +supplies from the Allies for American use. He and other German agents +were suspected of being in league with General Huerta with a view to +promoting a new revolution in Mexico. + +The New York Grand Jury's investigations of Von Rintelen's activities +became directed to his endeavors to "buy strikes." The outcome was the +indictment of officials of a German organization known under the +misleading name of the National Labor Peace Council. The persons +accused were Von Rintelen himself, though a prisoner in England; Frank +Buchanan, a member of Congress; H. Robert Fowler, a former +representative; Jacob C. Taylor, president of the organization; David +Lamar, who previously had gained notoriety for impersonating a +congressman in order to obtain money and known as the "Wolf of Wall +Street," and two others, named Martin and Schulties, active in the +Labor Peace Council and connected with a body called the Antitrust +League. They were charged with having, in an attempt to effect an +embargo (which would be in the interest of Germany) on the shipment of +war supplies, conspired to restrain foreign trade by instigating +strikes, intimidating employees, bribing and distributing money among +officers of labor organizations. Von Rintelen was said to have +supplied funds to Lamar wherewith the Labor Peace Council was enabled +to pursue these objects. One sum named was $300,000, received by Lamar +from Von Rintelen for the organization of this body; of that sum Lamar +was said to have paid $170,000 to men connected with the council. + +The Labor Peace Council was organized in the summer of 1915, and met +first in Washington, when resolutions were passed embracing proposals +for international peace, but were viewed as really disguising a +propaganda on behalf of German interests. The Government sought to +show that the organization was financed by German agents and that its +crusade was part and parcel of pro-German movements whose +ramifications throughout the country had caused national concern. + +Von Rintelen's manifold activities as chronicled acquired a tinge of +romance and not a little of fiction, but the revelations concerning +him were deemed sufficiently serious by Germany to produce a +repudiation of him by the German embassy on direct instructions from +Berlin, i. e.: + +"The German Government entirely disavows Franz Rintelen, and +especially wished to say that it issued no instructions of any kind +which could have led him to violate American laws." + +It is essential to the record to chronicle that American sentiment did +not accept German official disclaimers very seriously. They were too +prolific, and were viewed as apologetic expedients to keep the +relations between the two governments as smooth as possible in the +face of conditions which were daily imperiling those relations. +Germany appeared in the position of a Frankenstein who had created a +hydra-headed monster of conspiracy and intrigue that had stampeded +beyond control, and washed her hands of its depredations. The +situation, however, was only susceptible to this view by an inner +interpretation of the official disclaimers. In letter, but not in +spirit, Germany disowned her own offspring by repudiating the deeds of +plotters in terms which deftly avoided revealing any ground for the +suspicion--belied by events--that those deeds had an official +inception. Germany, in denying that the plotters were Government +"agents," suggested that these men pursued their operations with the +recognition that they alone undertook all the risks, and that if +unmasked it was their patriotic duty not to betray "the cause," which +might mean their country, the German Government, or the German +officials who directed them. Not all the exposed culprits had been +equal to this self-abnegating strain on their patriotism; some, like +Fay, were at first talkative in their admissions that their pursuits +were officially countenanced, another recounted defense of Werner +Horn, who attempted to destroy a bridge connecting Canada and the +United States, even went so far as to contend that the offense was +military--an act of war--and therefore not criminal, on the plea that +Horn was acting as a German army officer. In other cases incriminating +evidence made needless the assumption of an attitude by culprits of +screening by silence the complicity of superiors. Yet despite almost +daily revelations linking the names of important German officials, +diplomatic and consular, with exposed plots, a further repudiation +came from Berlin in December, 1915, when the New York Grand Jury's +investigation was at high tide. This further disavowal read: + +"The German Government, naturally, has never knowingly accepted the +support of any person, group of persons, society or organization +seeking to promote the cause of Germany in the United States by +illegal acts, by counsels of violence, by contravention of law, or by +any means whatever that could offend the American people in the pride +of their own authority.... I can only say, and do most emphatically +declare to Germans abroad, to German-American citizens of the United +States, to the American people all alike, that whoever is guilty of +conduct tending to associate the German cause with lawlessness of +thought, suggestion or deed against life, property, and order in the +United States is, in fact, an enemy of that very cause and a source of +embarrassment to the German Government, notwithstanding what he or they +may believe to the contrary." + +The stimulus for this politic disavowal, and one must be sought, since +German statements always had a genesis in antecedent events--was not +apparently due to continued plot exposures, which were too frequent, +but could reasonably be traced to a ringing address President Wilson +had previously made to Congress on December 7, 1915. The President, +amid the prolonged applause of both Houses, meeting in joint session, +denounced the unpatriotism of many Americans of foreign descent. He +warned Congress that the gravest threats against the nation's peace +and safety came from within, not from without. Without naming +German-Americans, he declared that many "had poured the poison of +disloyalty into the very arteries of our national life," and called +for the prompt exercise of the processes of law to purge the country +"of the corrupt distempers brought on by these citizens." + +"I am urging you," he said in solemn tones, "to do nothing less than +save the honor and self-respect of the nation. Such creatures of +passion, disloyalty, and anarchy must be crushed out." + +Three days before this denunciation, the Administration had demanded +from Germany the recall of Captains Boy-Ed and Von Papen, respectively +the military aid and naval attache of the German embassy. Unlike the +procedure followed in requesting Dr. Dumba's recall, no reasons were +given. None according to historic usage were necessary, and if +reasons were given, they could not be questioned. It was sufficient +that a diplomatic officer was _non persona grata_ by the fact that his +withdrawal was demanded. + +Germany, through her embassy, showed some obduracy in acting upon a +request for these officials' recall without citing the cause of +complaint. There was an anxiety that neither should be recalled with +the imputation resting upon them that they were concerned, say, in the +so-called Huerta-Mexican plot--if one really existed--or with the +conspiracies to destroy munition plants and munition ships, or, in +Captain Boy-Ed's case, in the Hamburg-American line's chartered ships +for provisioning of German cruisers, sailing with false manifests and +clearance papers. + +An informal note from Secretary Lansing to Count von Bernstorff so far +acceded to the request for a bill of particulars, though not +customary, that the German embassy professed to be satisfied. +Secretary Lansing stated that Captains Boy-Ed and Von Papen had +rendered themselves unacceptable by "their activities in connection +with naval and military affairs." This was intended to mean that such +activities here indicated had brought the two officials in contact +with private individuals in the United States who had been involved in +violation of the law. The incidents and circumstances of this contact +were of such a cumulative character that the two attaches could no +longer be deemed as acceptable to the American Government. Here was an +undoubted implication of complicity by association with wrongdoers, +but not in deed. The unofficial statement of the cause of complaint +satisfied the embassy in that it seemed to relieve the two officers +from the imputation of themselves having violated American laws. The +record stood, however, that the United States had officially refused +to give any reasons for demanding their recall. Germany officially +recalled them on December 10, 1915, and before the year was out they +quitted American soil under safe conducts granted by the British +Government. + +Captain von Papen, however, was not permitted to escape the clutches +of the British on the ocean passage. While respecting his person, they +seized his papers. These, duly published, made his complicity in the +German plots more pronounced than ever. His check counterfoils showed +a payment of $500 to "Mr. de Caserta, Ottawa." De Caserta was +described in British records as "a dangerous German spy, who takes +great risks, has lots of ability, and wants lots of money." He was +supposed to have been involved in conspiracies in Canada to destroy +bridges, armories, and munition factories. He had offered his services +to the British Government, but they were rejected. Later he was +reported to have been shot or hanged in London as a spy. + +Another check payment by Captain von Papen was to Werner Horn for +$700. Horn, as before recorded, was the German who attempted to blow +up a railroad bridge at Vanceboro, Maine. Other payments shown by the +Von Papen check book were to Paul Koenig, of the Hamburg-American +line. Koenig was arrested in New York in December, 1915, on a charge +of conspiracy with others to set on foot a military expedition from +the United States to destroy the locks of the Welland Canal for the +purpose of cutting off traffic from the Great Lakes to the St. +Lawrence River. + +The German consul at Seattle was shown to have received $500 from +Captain von Papen shortly before an explosion occurred there in May, +1915, and $1,500 three months earlier. Another payment was to a +German, who, while under arrest in England on a charge of being a spy, +committed suicide. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +GREAT BRITAIN'S DEFENSE OF BLOCKADE--AMERICAN METHODS IN CIVIL WAR +CITED + + +Issues with Great Britain interposed to engage the Administration's +attention, in the brief intervals when Germany's behavior was not +doing so, to the exclusion of all other international controversies +produced by the war. In endeavoring to balance the scales between the +contending belligerents, the United States had to weigh judicially the +fact that their offenses differed greatly in degree. Germany's crimes +were the wanton slaughter of American and other neutral noncombatants, +Great Britain's the wholesale infringements of American and neutral +property rights. Protests menacing a rupture of relations had to be +made in Germany's case; but those directed to Great Britain, though +not less forceful in tone, could not equitably be accompanied by a +hint of the same alternative. Arbitration by an international court +was the final recourse on the British issues. Arbitration could not be +resorted to, in the American view, for adjusting the issues with +Germany. + +The Anglo-American trade dispute over freedom of maritime commerce by +neutrals during a war occupied an interlude in the crisis with +Germany. The dispatch of the third _Lusitania_ note of July 21, 1915, +promised a breathing spell in the arduous diplomatic labors of the +Administration, pending Germany's response. But a few days later the +Administration became immersed in Great Britain's further defense of +her blockade methods, contained in a group of three communications, +one dated July 24, and two July 31, 1915, in answer to the American +protests of March 31, July 14, and July 15, 1915. The main document, +dated July 24, 1915, showed both Governments to be professing and +insisting upon a strict adherence to the same principles of +international law, while sharply disagreeing on the question whether +measures taken by Great Britain conformed to those principles. + +The United States had objected to certain interferences with neutral +trade Great Britain contemplated under her various Orders in Council. +The legality of these orders the United States contested. Great +Britain was notified by a caveat, sent July 14, 1915, that American +rights assailed by these interferences with trade would be construed +under accepted principles of international law. Hence prize-court +proceedings based on British municipal legislation not in conformity +with such principles would not be recognized as valid by the United +States. + +Great Britain defended her course by stating the premise that a +blockade was an allowable expedient in war--which the United States +did not question--and upon that premise reared a structure of argument +which emphasized the wide gap between British and American +interpretations of international law. A blockade being allowable, +Great Britain held that it was equally allowable to make it effective. +If the only way to do so was to extend the blockade to enemy commerce +passing through neutral ports, then such extension was warranted. As +Germany could conduct her commerce through such ports, situated in +contiguous countries, almost as effectively as through her own ports, +a blockade of German ports alone would not be effective. Hence the +Allies asserted the right to widen the blockade to the German commerce +of neutral ports, but sought to distinguish between such commerce and +the legitimate trade of neutrals for the use and benefit of their own +nationals. Moreover, the Allies forebore to apply the rule, formerly +invariable, that ships with cargoes running a blockade were +condemnable. + +On the chief point at issue Sir Edward Grey wrote: + +"The contention which I understand the United States Government now +puts forward is that if a belligerent is so circumstanced that his +commerce can pass through adjacent neutral ports as easily as through +ports in his own territory, his opponent has no right to interfere and +must restrict his measure of blockade in such a manner as to leave +such avenues of commerce still open to his adversary. + +"This is a contention which his Majesty's Government feel unable to +accept and which seems to them unsustained either in point of law or +upon principles of international equity. They are unable to admit that +a belligerent violates any fundamental principle of international law +by applying a blockade in such a way as to cut out the enemy's +commerce with foreign countries through neutral ports if the +circumstances render such an application of the principles of blockade +the only means of making it effective." + +In this connection Sir Edward Grey recalled the position of the United +States in the Civil War, when it was under the necessity of declaring +a blockade of some 3,000 miles of coast line, a military operation for +which the number of vessels available was at first very small: + +"It was vital to the cause of the United States in that great struggle +that they should be able to cut off the trade of the Southern States. +The Confederate armies were dependent on supplies from overseas, and +those supplies could not be obtained without exporting the cotton +wherewith to pay for them. + +"To cut off this trade the United States could only rely upon a +blockade. The difficulties confronting the Federal Government were in +part due to the fact that neighboring neutral territory afforded +convenient centers from which contraband could be introduced into the +territory of their enemies and from which blockade running could be +facilitated. + +"In order to meet this new difficulty the old principles relating to +contraband and blockade were developed, and the doctrine of continuous +voyage was applied and enforced, under which goods destined for the +enemy territory were intercepted before they reached the neutral ports +from which they were to be reexported. The difficulties which imposed +upon the United States the necessity of reshaping some of the old +rules are somewhat akin to those with which the Allies are now faced +in dealing with the trade of their enemy." + +Though an innovation, the extension of the British blockade to a +surveillance of merchandise passing in and out of a neutral port +contiguous to Germany was not for that reason impermissible. Thus that +preceded the British contention, which, moreover, recognized the +essential thing to be observed in changes of law and usages of war +caused by new conditions was that such changes must "conform to the +spirit and principles of the essence of the rules of war." The phrase +was cited from the American protest by way of buttressing the argument +to show that the United States itself, as evident from the excerpt +quoted, had freely made innovations in the law of blockade within this +restriction, but regardless of the views or interests of neutrals. +These American innovations in blockade methods, Great Britain +maintained, were of the same general character as those adopted by the +allied powers, and Great Britain, as exemplified in the _Springbok_ +case, had assented to them. As to the American contention that there +was a lack of written authority for the British innovations or +extensions of the law of blockade, the absence of such pronouncements +was deemed unessential. Sir Edward Grey considered that the function +of writers on international law was to formulate existing principles +and rules, not to invent or dictate alterations adapting them to +altered circumstances. + +So, to sum up, the modifications of the old rules of blockade adopted +were viewed by Great Britain as in accordance with the general +principles on which an acknowledged right of blockade was based. They +were not only held to be justified by the exigencies of the case, but +could be defended as consistent with those general principles which +had been recognized by both governments. + +The United States declined to accept the view that seizures and +detentions of American ships and cargoes could justifiably be made by +stretching the principles of international law to fit war conditions +Great Britain confronted, and assailed the legality of the British +tribunals which determined whether such seizures were prizes. Great +Britain had been informed: + +"... So far as the interests of American citizens are concerned the +Government of the United States will insist upon their rights under +the principles and rules of international law as hitherto established, +governing neutral trade in time of war, without limitation or +impairment by order in council or other municipal legislation by the +British Government, and will not recognize the validity of prize-court +proceedings taken under restraints imposed by British municipal law in +derogation of the rights of American citizens under international +law." + +British prize-court proceedings had been fruitful of bitter grievances +to the State Department from the American merchants affected. Sir +Edward Grey pointed out that American interests had this remedy in +challenging prize-court verdicts: + +"It is open to any United States citizen whose claim is before the +prize court to contend that any order in council which may affect his +claim is inconsistent with the principles of international law, and +is, therefore, not binding upon the court. + +"If the prize court declines to accept his contentions, and if, after +such a decision has been upheld on appeal by the judicial committee of +His Majesty's Privy Council, the Government of the United States +considers that there is serious ground for holding that the decision +is incorrect and infringes the rights of their citizens, it is open to +them to claim that it should be subjected to review by an +international tribunal." + +One complaint of the United States, made on July 15, 1915, had been +specifically directed to the action of the British naval authorities +in seizing the American steamer _Neches_, sailing from Rotterdam to an +American port, with a general cargo. The ground advanced to sustain +this action was that the goods originated in part at least in Belgium, +and hence came within the Order in Council of March 11, 1915, which +stipulated that every merchant vessel sailing from a port other than a +German port, carrying goods of enemy origin, might be required to +discharge such goods in a British or allied port. The _Neches_ had +been detained at the Downs and then brought to London. Belgian goods +were viewed as being of "enemy origin," because coming from territory +held by Germany. This was the first specific case of the kind arising +under British Orders in Council affecting American interests, the +goods being consigned to United States citizens. + +Great Britain on July 31, 1915, justified her seizure of the _Neches_ +as coming within the application of her extended blockade, as +previously set forth, which with great pains she had sought to prove +to the United States was permissible, under international law. Her +defense in the _Neches_ case, however, was viewed as weakened by her +citing Germany's violations of international law to excuse her +extension of old blockade principles to the peculiar circumstances of +the present war. In intimating that so long as neutrals tolerated the +German submarine warfare, they ought not to press her to abandon +blockade measures that were a consequence of that warfare, Great +Britain was regarded as lowering her defense toward the level of the +position taken by Germany. Sir Edward Grey's plan was thus phrased: + +"His Majesty's Government are not aware, except from the published +correspondence between the United States and Germany, to what extent +reparation has been claimed from Germany by neutrals for loss of +ships, lives, and cargoes, nor how far these acts have been the +subject even of protest by the neutral governments concerned. + +"While these acts of the German Government continue, it seems neither +reasonable nor just that His Majesty's Government should be pressed to +abandon the rights claimed in the British note and to allow goods from +Germany to pass freely through waters effectively patrolled by British +ships of war." + +Such appeals the American Government had sharply repudiated in +correspondence with Germany on the submarine issue. Great Britain, +however, unlike Germany, did not admit that the blockade was a +reprisal, and therefore without basis of law, on the contrary, she +contended that it was a legally justifiable measure for meeting +Germany's illegal acts. + +The British presentation of the case commanded respect, though not +agreement, as an honest endeavor to build a defense from basic facts +and principles by logical methods. One commendatory view, while not +upholding the contentions, paid Sir Edward Grey's handling of the +British defense a generous tribute, albeit at the expense of Germany: + +"It makes no claim which offends humane sentiment or affronts the +sense of natural right. It makes no insulting proposal for the barter +or sale of honor, and it resorts to no tricks or evasions in the way +of suggested compromise. It seeks in no way to enlist this country as +an auxiliary to the allied cause under sham pretenses of humane +intervention." + +The task before the State Department of making a convincing reply to +Sir Edward Grey's skillful contentions was generally regarded as one +that would test Secretary Lansing's legal resources. The problem was +picturesquely sketched by the New York "Times": + +"The American eagle has by this time discovered that the shaft +directed against him by Sir Edward Grey was feathered with his own +plumage. To meet our contentions Sir Edward cites our own seizures and +our own court decisions. It remains to be seen whether out of strands +plucked from the mane and tail of the British lion we can fashion a +bowstring which will give effective momentum to a counterbolt launched +in the general direction of Downing Street." + + + + +CHAPTER V + +BRITISH BLOCKADE DENOUNCED AS ILLEGAL AND INEFFECTIVE BY THE UNITED +STATES--THE AMERICAN POSITION + + +Secretary Lansing succeeded in accomplishing the difficult task +indicated at the conclusion of the previous chapter. The American +reply to the British notes was not dispatched until October 21, 1915, +further friction with Germany having intervened over the _Arabic_. It +constituted the long-deferred protest which ex-Secretary Bryan vainly +urged the President to make to Great Britain simultaneously with the +sending of the third _Lusitania_ note to Germany. The President +declined to consider the issues on the same footing or as susceptible +to equitable diplomatic survey unless kept apart. + +The note embraced a study of eight British communications made to the +American Government in 1915 up to August 13, relating to blockade +restrictions on American commerce imposed by Great Britain. It had +been delayed in the hope that the announced intention of the British +Government "to exercise their belligerent rights with every possible +consideration for the interest of neutrals," and their intention of +"removing all causes of avoidable delay in dealing with American +cargoes," and of causing "the least possible amount of inconvenience +to persons engaged in legitimate trade," as well as their "assurance +to the United States Government that they would make it their first +aim to minimize the inconveniences" resulting from the "measures taken +by the allied governments," would in practice not unjustifiably +infringe upon the neutral rights of American citizens engaged in +trade and commerce. The hope had not been realized. + +The detentions of American vessels and cargoes since the opening of +hostilities, presumably under the British Orders in Council of August +20 and October 29, 1914, and March 11, 1915, formed one specific +complaint. In practice these detentions, the United States contended, +had not been uniformly based on proofs obtained at the time of +seizure. Many vessels had been detained while search was made for +evidence of the contraband character of cargoes, or of intention to +evade the nonintercourse measures of Great Britain. The question +became one of evidence to support a belief--in many cases a bare +suspicion--of enemy destination or of enemy origin of the goods +involved. The United States raised the point that this evidence should +be obtained by search at sea, and that the vessel and cargo should not +be taken to a British port for the purpose unless incriminating +circumstances warranted such action. International practice to support +this view was cited. Naval orders of the United States, Great Britain, +Russia, Japan, Spain, Germany, and France from 1888 to the opening of +the present war showed that search in port was not contemplated by the +government of any of these countries. + +Great Britain had contended that the American objection to search at +sea was inconsistent with American practice during the Civil War. +Secretary Lansing held that the British view of the American sea +policy of that period was based on a misconception: + +"Irregularities there may have been at the beginning of that war, but +a careful search of the records of this Government as to the practice +of its commanders shows conclusively that there were no instances when +vessels were brought into port for search prior to instituting prize +court proceedings, or that captures were made upon other grounds than, +in the words of the American note of November 7, 1914, evidence found +on the ship under investigation and not upon circumstances ascertained +from external sources." + +Great Britain justified bringing vessels to port for search because of +the size and seaworthiness of modern carriers and the difficulty of +uncovering at sea the real transaction owing to the intricacy of +modern trade operations. The United States submitted that such +commercial transactions were essentially no more complex and disguised +than in previous wars, during which the practice of obtaining evidence +in port to determine whether a vessel should be held for prize-court +proceedings was not adopted. As to the effect of size and +seaworthiness of merchant vessels upon search at sea, a board of naval +experts reported: + +"The facilities for boarding and inspection of modern ships are in +fact greater than in former times, and no difference, so far as the +necessities of the case are concerned, can be seen between the search +of a ship of a thousand tons and one of twenty thousand tons, except +possibly a difference in time, for the purpose of establishing fully +the character of her cargo and the nature of her service and +destination." + +The new British practice, which required search at port instead of +search at sea, in order that extrinsic evidence might be sought (i. e., +evidence other than that derived from an examination of the ship +at sea), had this effect: + +"Innocent vessels or cargoes are now seized and detained on mere +suspicion while efforts are made to obtain evidence from extraneous +sources to justify the detention and the commencement of prize +proceedings. The effect of this new procedure is to subject traders to +risk of loss, delay and expense so great and so burdensome as +practically to destroy much of the export trade of the United States +to neutral countries of Europe." + +The American note next assailed the British interpretation of the +greatly increased imports of neutral countries adjoining Great +Britain's enemies. These increases, Sir Edward Grey contended, raised +a presumption that certain commodities useful for military purposes, +though destined for those countries, were intended for reexportation +to the belligerents, who could not import them directly. Hence the +detention of vessels bound for the ports of those neutral countries +was justified. Secretary Lansing denied that this contention could be +accepted as laying down a just and legal rule of evidence: + +"Such a presumption is too remote from the facts and offers too great +opportunity for abuse by the belligerent, who could, if the rule were +adopted, entirely ignore neutral rights on the high seas and prey with +impunity upon neutral commerce. To such a rule of legal presumption +this Government cannot accede, as it is opposed to those fundamental +principles of justice which are the foundation of the jurisprudence of +the United States and Great Britain." + +In this connection Secretary Lansing seized upon the British +admission, made in the correspondence, that British exports to those +neutral countries had materially increased since the war began. Thus +Great Britain concededly shared in creating a condition relied upon as +a sufficient ground to justify the interception of American goods +destined to neutral European ports. The American view of this +condition was: + +"If British exports to those ports should be still further increased, +it is obvious that under the rule of evidence contended for by the +British Government, the presumption of enemy destinations could be +applied to a greater number of American cargoes, and American trade +would suffer to the extent that British trade benefited by the +increase. Great Britain cannot expect the United States to submit to +such manifest injustice or to permit the rights of its citizens to be +so seriously impaired. + +"When goods are clearly intended to become incorporated in the mass of +merchandise for sale in a neutral country it is an unwarranted and +inquisitorial proceeding to detain shipments for examination as to +whether those goods are ultimately destined for the enemy's country or +use. Whatever may be the conjectural conclusions to be drawn from +trade statistics, which, when stated by value, are of uncertain +evidence as to quantity, the United States maintains the right to sell +goods into the general stock of a neutral country, and denounces as +illegal and unjustifiable any attempt of a belligerent to interfere +with that right on the ground that it suspects that the previous +supply of such goods in the neutral country, which the imports renew +or replace, has been sold to an enemy. That is a matter with which the +neutral vendor has no concern and which can in no way affect his +rights of trade." + +The British practice had run counter to the assurances Great Britain +made in establishing the blockade, which was to be so extensive as to +prohibit all trade with Germany or Austria-Hungary, even through the +ports of neutral countries adjacent to them. Great Britain admitted +that the blockade should not, and promised that it would not, +interfere with the trade of countries contiguous to her enemies. +Nevertheless, after six months' experience of the "blockade," the +United States Government was convinced that Great Britain had been +unsuccessful in her efforts to distinguish between enemy and neutral +trade. + +The United States challenged the validity of the blockade because it +was ineffective in stopping all trade with Great Britain's enemies. A +blockade, to be binding, must be maintained by force sufficient to +prevent all access to the coast of the enemy, according to the +Declaration of Paris of 1856, which the American note quoted as +correctly stating the international rule as to blockade that was +universally recognized. The effectiveness of a blockade was manifestly +a question of fact: + +"It is common knowledge that the German coasts are open to trade with +the Scandinavian countries and that German naval vessels cruise both +in the North Sea and the Baltic and seize and bring into German ports +neutral vessels bound for Scandinavian and Danish ports. Furthermore, +from the recent placing of cotton on the British list of contraband of +war it appears that the British Government had themselves been forced +to the conclusion that the blockade is ineffective to prevent +shipments of cotton from reaching their enemies, or else that they are +doubtful as to the legality of the form of blockade which they have +sought to maintain." + +Moreover, a blockade must apply impartially to the ships of all +nations. The American note cited the Declaration of London and the +prize rules of Germany, France, and Japan, in support of that +principle. In addition, "so strictly has this principle been enforced +in the past that in the Crimean War the Judicial Committee of the +Privy Council on appeal laid down that if belligerents themselves +trade with blockaded ports they cannot be regarded as effectively +blockaded. (The Franciska, Moore, P. C. 56). This decision has +special significance at the present time since it is a matter of +common knowledge that Great Britain exports and reexports large +quantities of merchandise to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Holland, +whose ports, so far as American commerce is concerned, she regards as +blockaded." + +Finally, the law of nations forbade the blockade of neutral ports in +time of war. The Declaration of London specifically stated that "the +blockading forces must not bar access to neutral ports or coasts." +This pronouncement the American Government considered a correct +statement of the universally accepted law as it existed to-day and +prior to the Declaration of London. Though not regarded as binding +upon the signatories because not ratified by them, the Declaration of +London, the American note pointed out, had been expressly adopted by +the British Government, without modification as to blockade, in the +Order in Council of October 9, 1914. More than that, Secretary Lansing +recalled the views of the British Government "founded on the decisions +of the British Courts," as expressed by Sir Edward Grey in instructing +the British delegates to the conference which formulated the +Declaration of London, and which had assembled in that city on the +British Government's invitation in 1907. These views were: + +"A blockade must be confined to the ports and coast of the enemy, but +it may be instituted of one port or of several ports or of the whole +of the seaboard of the enemy. It may be instituted to prevent the +ingress only, or egress only, or both." + +The United States Government therefore concluded that, measured by the +three universally conceded tests above set forth, the British policy +could not be regarded as constituting a blockade in law, in practice, +or in effect. So the British Government was notified that the American +Government declined to recognize such a "blockade" as legal. + +Stress had been laid by Great Britain on the ruling of the Supreme +Court of the United States on the _Springbok_ case. The ruling was +that goods of contraband character, seized while going to the neutral +port of Nassau, though actually bound for the blockaded ports of the +South, were subject to condemnation. Secretary Lansing recalled that +Sir Edward Grey, in his instruction to the British delegates to the +London conference before mentioned, expressed this view of the case, +as held in England prior to the present war: + +"It is exceedingly doubtful whether the decision of the Supreme Court +was in reality meant to cover a case of blockade running in which no +question of contraband arose. Certainly if such was the intention the +decision would _pro tanto_ be in conflict with the practice of the +British courts. His Majesty's Government sees no reason for departing +from that practice, and you should endeavor to obtain general +recognition of its correctness." + +The American note also pointed out that "the circumstances surrounding +the _Springbok_ case were essentially different from those of the +present day to which the rule laid down in that case is sought to be +applied. When the _Springbok_ case arose the ports of the confederate +states were effectively blockaded by the naval forces of the United +States, though no neutral ports were closed, and a continuous voyage +through a neutral port required an all sea voyage terminating in an +attempt to pass the blockading squadron." + +Secretary Lansing interjected new elements into the controversy in +assailing as unlawful the jurisdiction of British prize courts over +neutral vessels seized or detained. Briefly, Great Britain arbitrarily +extended her domestic law, through the promulgation of Orders in +Council, to the high seas, which the American Government contended +were subject solely to international law. So these Orders in Council, +under which the British naval authorities acted in making seizures of +neutral shipping, and under which the prize courts pursued their +procedure, were viewed as usurping international law. The United +States held that Great Britain could not extend the territorial +jurisdiction of her domestic law to cover seizures on the high seas. A +recourse to British prize courts by American claimants, governed as +those courts were by the same Orders in Council which determined the +conditions under which seizures and detentions were made, constituted +in the American view, the form rather than the substance of redress: + +"It is manifest, therefore, that, if prize courts are bound by the +laws and regulations under which seizures and detentions are made, and +which claimants allege are in contravention of the law of nations, +those courts are powerless to pass upon the real ground of complaint +or to give redress for wrongs of this nature. Nevertheless, it is +seriously suggested that claimants are free to request the prize court +to rule upon a claim of conflict between an Order in Council and a +rule of international law. How can a tribunal fettered in its +jurisdiction and procedure by municipal enactments declare itself +emancipated from their restrictions and at liberty to apply the rules +of international law with freedom? The very laws and regulations which +bind the court are now matters of dispute between the Government of +the United States and that of His Britannic Majesty." + +The British Government, in pursuit of its favorite device of seeking +in American practice parallel instances to justify her prize-court +methods, had contended that the United States, in Civil War contraband +cases, had also referred foreign claimants to its prize courts for +redress. Great Britain at the time of the American Civil War, +according to an earlier British note, "in spite of remonstrances from +many quarters, placed full reliance on the American prize courts to +grant redress to the parties interested in cases of alleged wrongful +capture by American ships of war and put forward no claim until the +opportunity for redress in those courts had been exhausted." + +This did not appear to be altogether the case, Secretary Lansing +pointed out that Great Britain, during the progress of the Civil War, +had demanded in several instances, through diplomatic channels, while +cases were pending, damages for seizures and detentions of British +ships alleged to have been made without legal justification. Moreover, +"it is understood also that during the Boer War, when British +authorities seized the German vessels, the _Herzog_, the _General_ and +the _Bundesrath_, and released them without prize court proceedings, +compensation for damages suffered was arranged through diplomatic +channels." + +The point made here was by way of negativing the position Great +Britain now took that, pending the exhaustion of legal remedies +through the prize courts with the result of a denial of justice to +American claimants, "it cannot continue to deal through the diplomatic +channels with the individual cases." + +The United States summed up its protest against the British practice +of adjudicating on the interference with American shipping and +commerce on the high seas under British municipal law as follows: + +"The Government of the United States has, therefore, viewed with +surprise and concern the attempt of His Majesty's Government to confer +upon the British prize courts jurisdiction by this illegal exercise of +force in order that these courts may apply to vessels and cargoes of +neutral nationalities, seized on the high seas, municipal laws and +orders which can only rightfully be enforceable within the territorial +waters of Great Britain, or against vessels of British nationality +when on the high seas. + +"In these circumstances the United States Government feels that it +cannot reasonably be expected to advise its citizens to seek redress +before tribunals which are, in its opinion, unauthorized by the +unrestricted application of international law to grant reparation, nor +to refrain from presenting their claims directly to the British +Government through diplomatic channels." + +The note, as the foregoing series of excerpts show, presented an array +of legal arguments formidable enough to persuade any nation at war of +its wrongdoing in adopting practices that caused serious money losses +to American interests and demoralized American trade with neutral +Europe. Great Britain, however, showed that she was not governed by +international law except in so far as it was susceptible to an elastic +interpretation, and held, by implication, that a policy of expediency +imposed by modern war conditions condoned, if it did not also +sanction, infractions. + +Nothing in Great Britain's subsequent actions, nor in the utterances +of her statesmen, could be construed as promising any abatement of the +conditions. In fact, there was an outcry in England that the German +blockade should be more stringent by extending it to all neutral +ports. Sir Edward Grey duly convinced the House of Commons that the +Government could not contemplate such a course, which he viewed as +needless, as well as a wrong to neutrals. + +As to the hostility of the neutrals to British blockade methods, Sir +Edward Grey said: + +"What I would say to neutrals is this: There is one main question to +be answered--Do they admit our right to apply the principles which +were applied by the American Government in the war between the North +and South--to apply those principles to modern conditions, and to do +our best to prevent trade with the enemy through neutral countries? + +"If they say 'Yes'--as they are bound in fairness to say--then I would +say to them: 'Do let chambers of commerce, or whatever they may be, do +their best to make it easy for us to distinguish.' + +"If, on the other hand, they answer it that we are not entitled to +interrupt trade with the enemy through neutral countries, I must say +definitely that if neutral countries were to take that line, it is a +departure from neutrality." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +GREAT BRITAIN UNYIELDING--EFFECT OF THE BLOCKADE--THE CHICAGO MEAT +PACKERS' CASE + + +The existing restrictions satisfied Great Britain that Germany, +without being brought to her knees, was feeling the pinch of food +shortage. To that extent--and it was enough in England's view--the +blockade was effective, the contentions of the United States +notwithstanding. So Great Britain's course indicated that she would +not relax by a hair the barrier she had reared round the German coast; +but she sought to minimize the obstacles to legitimate neutral trade, +so far as blockade conditions permitted, and was disposed to pay ample +compensation for losses as judicially determined. The outlook was +that American scores against her could only be finally settled by +arbitral tribunals after the war was over. Satisfaction by arbitration +thus remained the only American hope in face of Great Britain's +resolve to keep Germany's larder depleted and her export trade at a +standstill, whether neutrals suffered or not. Incidentally, the United +States was reminded that in the Civil War it served notice on foreign +governments that any attempts to interfere with the blockade of the +Confederate States would be resented. The situation then, and the +situation now, with the parts of the two countries reversed, were +considered as analogous. + +A parliamentary paper showed that the British measures adopted to +intercept the sea-borne commerce of Germany had succeeded up to +September, 1915, in stopping 92 per cent of German exports to America. +Steps had also been taken to stop exports on a small scale from +Germany and Austria-Hungary by parcel post. The results of the +blockade were thus summarized: + +"First, German exports to overseas countries have almost entirely +stopped. Exceptions which have been made are cases in which a refusal +to allow the export goods to go through would hurt the neutral country +concerned without inflicting injury upon Germany. + +"Second, all shipments to neutral countries adjacent to Germany have +been carefully scrutinized with a view to the detection of a concealed +enemy destination. Wherever there has been a reasonable ground for +suspecting the destination, the goods have been placed in charge of a +prize court. Doubtful consignments have been detained pending +satisfactory guarantees. + +"Third, under agreement with bodies of representative merchants of +several neutral countries adjacent to Germany, stringent guarantees +have been exacted from importers. So far as possible all trade between +neutrals and Germany, whether arising from oversea or in the country +itself, is restricted. + +"Fourth, by agreements with shipping lines and by vigorous use of the +power to refuse bunker coal in large proportions the neutral +mercantile marine which trades with Scandinavia and Holland has been +induced to agree to conditions designed to prevent the goods of these +ships from reaching Germany. + +"Fifth, every effort is being made to introduce a system of rationing +which will insure that the neutrals concerned will import only such +quantities of articles as are specified as normally imported for their +own consumption." + +The case of the Chicago meat packers, involving food consignments to +neutral European countries since the war's outbreak, came before a +British prize court before the American protest had been lodged. +Apparently the issues it raised dictated in some degree the +contentions Secretary Lansing made. The British authorities had seized +thirty-three vessels mainly bearing meat products valued at +$15,000,000, twenty-nine of which had been held without being +relegated for disposal to the prize courts. The remaining four +cargoes, held for ten months, and worth $2,500,000 were confiscated by +a British prize court on September 15, 1915. The goods were declared +forfeited to the Crown. One of the factors influencing the decision +was the sudden expansion in shipments of food products to the +Scandinavian countries immediately after the war began. The president +of the prize court, Sir Samuel Evans, asserted that incoming vessels +were carrying more than thirteen times the amount of goods to +Copenhagen--the destination of the four ships involved--above the +volume which under normal conditions arrived at that port. He cited +lard, the exportation of which by one American firm had increased +twentyfold to Copenhagen in three weeks after the war, and canned +meat, of which Denmark hitherto had only taken small quantities, yet +the seized vessels carried hundreds of thousands of tins. + +The confiscation formed the subject of a complaint made by Chicago +beef packers to the State Department on October 6, 1915. The British +Court condemned the cargoes on the grounds: (1) that the goods being +in excess of the normal consumption of Denmark, raised a presumption +that they were destined for, i. e., eventually would find their way +into Germany. (2) That, owing to the highly organized state of +Germany, in a military sense, there was practically no distinction +between the civilian and military population of that country and +therefore there was a presumption that the goods, or a very large +proportion of them, would necessarily be used by the military forces +of the German Empire. (3) That the burden of proving that such goods +were not destined for, i. e., would not eventually get into the hands +of the German forces, must be accepted and sustained by the American +shippers. + +The Chicago beef firms besought the Government to register an +immediate protest against the decision of the prize court and demand +from the British Government adequate damages for losses arising from +the seizure, detention and confiscation of the shipments of meat +products. They complained that the judgment and the grounds on which +it was based were contrary to the established principles of +international law, and subversive of the rights of neutrals. The +judgment, they said, was unsupported by fact, and was based on +inferences and presumptions. Direct evidence on behalf of the American +firms interested, to the effect that none of the seized shipments had +been sold, consigned or destined to the armed forces or to the +governments of any enemy of Great Britain, was uncontradicted and +disregarded and the seizures were upheld in the face of an admission +that no precedent of the English courts existed justifying the +condemnation of goods on their way to a neutral port. + +An uncompromising defense of the prize court's decision came to the +State Department from the British Government a few days later. Most of +the seizures, it said, were not made under the Order in Council of +March 11, 1915, the validity of which and of similar orders was +disputed by the United States Government. The larger part of the +cargoes were seized long before March, 1915. The ground for the +seizures was that the cargoes were conditional contraband destined +from the first by the Chicago beef packers, largely for the use of the +armies, navies and Government departments of Germany and Austria, and +only sent to neutral ports with the object of concealing their true +destination. + +From cablegrams and letters in the possession of the British +Government and produced in court, the statement charged, "it was clear +and that packers' agents in these neutral countries, and also several +of the consigners, who purported to be genuine neutral buyers, were +merely persons engaged by the packers on commission, or sent by the +packers from their German branches for the purpose of insuring the +immediate transit of these consignments to Germany.... No attempt was +made by any written or other evidence to explain away the damning +evidence of the telegrams and letters disclosed by the Crown. The +inference was clear and irresistible that no such attempt could be +made, and that any written evidence there was would have merely +confirmed the strong suspicion, amounting to a practical certainty, +that the whole of the operations of shipment to Copenhagen and other +neutral ports were a mere mask to cover a determined effort to +transmit vast quantities of supplies through to the German and +Austrian armies." + +A portion of the Western press had denounced the confiscation as a +"British outrage" and as "robbery by prize court"; but the more +moderate Eastern view was that, while American business men had an +undoubted right to feed the German armies, if they could, they were in +the position of gamblers who had lost if the British navy succeeded in +intercepting the shipments. + +Exaggerated values placed on American-owned goods held up for months +at Rotterdam and other neutral ports by British became largely +discounted on October 1, 1915, under the scrutiny of the Foreign Trade +Advisers of the State Department. These goods were German-made for +consignment to the United States, and would only be released if the +British Government were satisfied that they were contracted for by +American importers before March 1, 1915, the date on which the British +blockade of Germany began. Early protests against their detention +complained that $50,000,000 was involved; later the value of the +detained goods was raised to $150,000,000. But actual claims made by +American importers to the British Embassy, through the Foreign Trade +Advisers, seeking the release of the consignments, showed that the +amount involved was not much more than $11,000,000 and would not +exceed $15,000,000 at the most. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +SEIZURE OF SUSPECTED SHIPS--TRADING WITH THE ENEMY--THE APPAM--THE +ANGLO-FRENCH LOAN--FORD PEACE EXPEDITION + + +The next issue the United States raised with Great Britain related to +the seizure of three ships of American registry--the _Hocking_, +_Genesee_ and the _Kankakee_--in November, 1915, on the ground that +they were really German-owned. France had also confiscated the +_Solveig_ of the same ownership for a like reason. The four vessels +belonged to the fleet of the American Transatlantic Steamship Company, +the formation of which under unusual circumstances was recorded +earlier in this history. Great Britain and France served notice that +this company's vessels were blacklisted, and became seizable as prizes +of war because of the suspicion that German interests were behind the +company, and that its American officials with their reputed holdings +of stock were therefore really prizes for German capital. The Bureau +of Navigation had at first refused registry to these vessels, but its +ruling was reversed, and the vessels were admitted, the State +Department taking the view that it could not disregard the company's +declaration of incorporation in the United States, and that its +officers were American citizens. Great Britain sought to requisition +the vessels for navy use without prize-court hearings, but on the +United States protesting she agreed to try the cases. + +Another dispute arose, in January, 1916, over the operation of the +Trading with the Enemy Act, one of Great Britain's war measures, the +provisions of which were enlarged to forbid British merchants from +trading with any person or firm, resident in a neutral country, which +had German ownership or German trade connections. The United States +objected to the prohibition as constituting a further unlawful +interference with American trade. It held that in war time the trade +of such a person or firm domiciled in a neutral country had a neutral +status, and consequently was not subject to interference; hence goods +in transit of such a trader were not subject to confiscation by a +belligerent unless contraband and consigned to an enemy country. + +An example of the working of the act was the conviction of three +members of a British glove firm for trading with Germany through their +New York branch. They had obtained some $30,000 worth of goods from +Saxony between October, 1915, and January, 1916, the consignments +evading the blockade and reaching New York, whence they were reshipped +to England. One defendant was fined $2,000; the two others received +terms of imprisonment. + +While the act would injure American firms affiliated with German +interests, it aimed to press hardest upon traders in neutral European +countries contiguous to Germany who were trading with the Germans and +practically serving as intermediaries to save the Germans from the +effect of the Allies' blockade. + +The appearance of a captured British steamer, the _Appam_, at Newport +News, Va., on February 1, 1916, in charge of a German naval +lieutenant, Hans Berg, and a prize crew, involved the United States in +a new maritime tangle with the belligerents. One of the most difficult +problems which Government officials had encountered since the war +began, presented itself for solution. The _Appam_, as elsewhere +described, was captured by a German raider, the _Moewe_ (Sea Gull), +off Madeira, and was crowded with passengers, crews, and German +prisoners taken from a number of other ships the _Moewe_ had sunk. +Lieutenant Berg, for lack of a safer harbor, since German ports were +closed to him, sought for refuge an American port, and claimed for his +prize the privilege of asylum under the protection of American +laws--until he chose to leave. Count von Bernstorff, the German +Ambassador, immediately notified the State Department that Germany +claimed the _Appam_ as a prize under the Prussian-American Treaty of +1828, and would contend for possession of the ship. + +This treaty was construed as giving German prizes brought to American +ports the right to come and go. The British Government contested the +German claim by demanding the release of the _Appam_ under The Hague +Convention of 1907. This international treaty provided that a +merchantman prize could only be taken to a neutral port under certain +circumstances of distress, injury, or lack of food, and if she did not +depart within a stipulated time the vessel could not be interned, but +must be restored to her original owners with all her cargo. Were the +_Appam_ thus forcibly released she would at once have been recaptured +by British cruisers waiting off the Virginia Capes. The view which +prevailed officially was that the case must be governed by the +Prussian treaty, a liberal construction of which appeared to permit +the _Appam_ to remain indefinitely at Newport News. This was what +happened, but not through any acquiescence of the State Department in +the German contention. The _Appam_ owners, the British and African +Steam Navigation Company, brought suit in the Federal Courts for the +possession of the vessel, on the ground that, having been brought into +a neutral port, she lost her character as a German prize, and must be +returned to her owners. Pending a determination of this action, the +_Appam_ was seized by Federal marshals under instructions from the +United States District Court, under whose jurisdiction the vessel +remained. + +After twelve months of war Great Britain became seriously concerned +over the changed conditions of her trade with the United States. +Before the war the United States, despite its vast resources and +commerce, bought more than it sold abroad, and was thus always a +debtor nation, that is, permanently owing money to Europe. In the +stress of war Great Britain's exports to the United States, like those +of her Allies, declined and her imports enormously increased. She sold +but little of her products to her American customers and bought +heavily of American foodstuffs, cotton, and munitions. The result was +that Great Britain owed a great deal more to the United States than +the latter owed her. The unparalleled situation enabled the United +States to pay off her old standing indebtedness to Europe and became +a creditor nation. American firms were exporting to the allied powers, +whose almoner Great Britain was, commodities of a value of +$100,000,000 a month in excess of the amount they were buying abroad. +Hence what gold was sent from London, at the rate of $15,000,000 to +$40,000,000 monthly, to pay for these huge purchases was wholly +insufficient to meet the accumulating balance of indebtedness against +England. + +The effect of this reversal of Anglo-American trade balance was a +decline in the exchange value of the pound sterling, which was +normally worth $4.86-1/2 in American money, to the unprecedented level +of $4.50. This decline in sterling was reflected in different degrees +in the other European money markets, and the American press was +jubilant over the power of the dollar to buy more foreign money than +ever before. Because Europe bought much more merchandise than she sold +the demand in London for dollar credit at New York was far greater +than the demand in New York for pound credit at London. Hence the +premium on dollars and the discount on pounds. It was not a premium +upon American gold over European gold, but a premium on the means of +settling debts in dollars without the use of gold. Europe preferred to +pay the premium rather than send sufficient gold, because, for one +reason, shipping gold was costly and more than hazardous in war time, +and, for another, all the belligerents wanted to retain their gold as +long as they could afford to do so. + +An adjustment of the exchange situation and a reestablishment of the +credit relations between the United States and the allied powers on a +more equitable footing was imperative. The British and French +Governments accordingly sent a commission to the United States, +composed of some of their most distinguished financiers--government +officials and bankers--to arrange a loan in the form of a credit with +American bankers to restore exchange values and to meet the cost of +war munitions and other supplies. After lengthy negotiations a loan of +$500,000,000 was agreed upon, at 5 per cent. interest, for a term of +five years, the bonds being purchasable at 98 in denominations as low +as $100. The principal and interest were payable in New York City--in +gold dollars. The proceeds of the loan were to be employed exclusively +in the United States to cover the Allies' trade obligations. + +The loan was an attractive one to the American investor, yielding as +it did a fraction over 5-1/2 per cent. It was the only external loan +of Great Britain and France, for the repayment of which the two +countries pledged severally and together their credit, faith, and +resources. No such an investment had before been offered in the United +States. + +Strong opposition to the loan came from German-American interests. Dr. +Charles Hexamer, president of the German-American Alliance, made a +country-wide appeal urging American citizens to "thwart the loan" by +protesting to the President and the Secretary of State. Threats were +likewise made by German depositors to withdraw their deposits from +banks which participated in the loan. The Government, after being +consulted, had given assurances that it would not oppose the +transaction as a possible violation of neutrality--if a straight +credit, not as actual loan, was negotiated. Conformity to this +condition made all opposition fruitless. + +Toward the close of 1915 an ambitious peace crusade to Europe was +initiated by Henry Ford, the automobile manufacturer. Accompanied by +148 pacifists, he sailed on the Scandinavian-American liner, _Oscar +II_, early in December, 1915, with the avowed purpose of ending the +war before Christmas. The expedition was viewed dubiously by the +allied powers, who discerned pro-German propaganda in the presence of +Teutonic sympathizers among the delegates. They also suspected a +design to accelerate a peace movement while the gains of the war were +all on Germany's side, thus placing the onus of continuing hostilities +on the Allies if they declined to recognize the Ford peace party as +mediators. The American Government, regardful of the obligations of +neutrality, notified the several European Governments concerned that +the United States had no connection with the expedition, and assumed +no responsibility for any activities the persons comprising it might +undertake in the promotion of peace. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +AMERICAN PACIFICISM--PREPAREDNESS--MUNITION SAFEGUARD + + +The Ford peace mission, lightly regarded though it was, nevertheless +recorded itself on the annals of the time as symptomatic of a state of +mind prevailing among a proportion of the American people. It might +almost be said to be a manifestation of the pacifist sentiment of the +country. This spirit found a channel for expression in the Ford +project, bent on hurling its protesting voice at the chancellories of +Europe, and heedless of the disadvantage its efforts labored under in +not receiving the countenance of the Administration. + +"The mission of America in the world," said President Wilson in one of +his speeches, "is essentially a mission of peace and good will among +men. She has become the home and asylum of men of all creeds and +races. America has been made up out of the nations of the world, and +is the friend of the nations of the world." + +But Europe was deaf alike to official and unofficial overtures of the +United States as a peacemaker. The Ford expedition was foredoomed to +failure, not because it was unofficial--official proposals of +mediation would have been as coldly received--but more because the +pacifist movement it represented was a home growth of American soil. +The European belligerents, inured and case-hardened as they were to a +militarist environment, had not been sufficiently chastened by their +self-slaughter. + +The American pacifists, with a scattered but wide sentiment behind +them, consecrated to promoting an abiding world peace, and espousing +the internationalism of the Socialists to that end, and President +Wilson, standing aloof from popular manifestations, a solitary +watchman on the tower, had perforce to wait until the dawning of the +great day when Europe had accomplished the devastating achievement of +bleeding herself before she could extend beckoning hands to American +mediation. + +In the autumn of 1915 the President inaugurated his campaign for +national defense, or "preparedness," bred by the dangers more or less +imminent while the European War lasted. "We never know what to-morrow +might bring forth," he warned. In a series of speeches throughout the +country he impressed these views on the people: + +The United States had no aggressive purposes, but must be prepared to +defend itself and retain its full liberty and self-development. It +should have the fullest freedom for national growth. It should be +prepared to enforce its right to unmolested action. For this purpose a +citizen army of 400,000 was needed to be raised in three years, and a +strengthened navy as the first and chief line of defense for +safeguarding at all costs the good faith and honor of the nation. The +nonpartisan support of all citizens for effecting a condition of +preparedness, coupled with the revival and renewal of national +allegiance, he said, was also imperative, and Americans of alien +sympathies who were not responsive to such a call on their patriotism +should be called to account. + +This, in brief, constituted the President's plea for preparedness. But +such a policy did not involve nor contemplate the conquest of other +lands or peoples, nor the accomplishment of any purpose by force +beyond the defense of American territory, nor plans for an aggressive +war, military training that would interfere unduly with civil +pursuits, nor panicky haste in defense preparations. + +The President took a midway stand. He stood between the pacifists and +the extremists, who advocated the militarism of Europe as the +inevitable policy for the United States to adopt to meet the dangers +they fancied. + +The country's position, as the President saw it, was stated by him in +a speech delivered in New York City: + +"Our thought is now inevitably of new things about which formerly we +gave ourselves little concern. We are thinking now chiefly of our +relations with the rest of the world, not our commercial relations, +about those we have thought and planned always, but about our +political relations, our duties as an individual and independent force +in the world to ourselves, our neighbors and the world itself. + +"Within a year we have witnessed what we did not believe possible, a +great European conflict involving many of the greatest nations of the +world. The influences of a great war are everywhere in the air. All +Europe is embattled. Force everywhere speaks out with a loud and +imperious voice in a Titanic struggle of governments, and from one end +of our own dear country to the other men are asking one another what +our own force is, how far we are prepared to maintain ourselves +against any interference with our national action or development. + +"We have it in mind to be prepared, but not for war, but only for +defense; and with the thought constantly in our minds that the +principles we hold most dear can be achieved by the slow processes of +history only in the kindly and wholesome atmosphere of peace, and not +by the use of hostile force. + +"No thoughtful man feels any panic haste in this matter. The country +is not threatened from any quarter. She stands in friendly relations +with all the world. Her resources are known and her self-respect and +her capacity to care for her own citizens and her own rights. There is +no fear among us. Under the new-world conditions we have become +thoughtful of the things which all reasonable men consider necessary +for security and self-defense on the part of every nation confronted +with the great enterprise of human liberty and independence. That is +all." + +Readiness for defense was also the keynote of the President's address +to Congress at its opening session in December, 1915; but despite its +earnest plea for a military and naval program, and a lively public +interest, the message was received by Congress in a spirit approaching +apathy. + +The President, meantime, pursued his course, advocating his +preparedness program, and in no issue abating his condemnation of +citizens with aggressive alien sympathies. + +In one all-important military branch there was small need for anxiety. +The United States was already well armed, though not well manned. The +munitions industry, called into being by the European War, had grown +to proportions that entitled the country to be ranked with first-class +powers in its provision and equipment for rapidly producing arms and +ammunition and other war essentials on an extensive scale. Conditions +were very different at the outset of the war. One of the American +contentions in defense of permitting war-munition exports--as set +forth in the note to Austria-Hungary--was that if the United States +accepted the principle that neutral nations should not supply war +materials to belligerents, it would itself, should it be involved in +war, be denied the benefit of seeking such supplies from neutrals to +amplify its own meager productions. + +But the contention that the country in case of war would have to rely +on outside help could no longer be made on the face of the sweeping +change in conditions existing after eighteen months of the war. From +August, 1914, to January, 1916, inclusive, American factories had sent +to the European belligerents shipment after shipment of sixteen +commodities used expressly for war purposes of the unsurpassed +aggregate value of $865,795,668. Roughly, $200,000,000 represented +explosives, cartridges, and firearms; $150,000,000 automobiles and +accessories; and $250,000,000 iron and steel and copper manufacturing. + +This production revealed that the United States could meet any war +emergency out of its own resources in respect of supplies. Its army +might be smaller than Switzerland's and its navy inadequate, but it +would have no cause to go begging for the guns and shells needful to +wage war. + +How huge factories were built, equipped, and operated in three months, +how machinery for the manufacture of tinware, typewriters, and countless +other everyday articles was adapted to shell making; and how methods for +producing steel and reducing ores were revolutionized--these +developments form a romantic chapter in American industrial history +without a parallel in that of any other country. + +The United States, in helping the European belligerents who had free +intercourse with it, was really helping itself. It was building better +than it knew. The call for preparedness, primarily arising out of the +critical relations with Germany, turned the country's attention to a +contemplation of an agreeable new condition--that the European War, +from which it strove to be free, had given it an enormous impetus for +the creation of a colossal industry, which in itself was a long step +in national preparedness, and that much of this preparedness had been +provided without cost. The capital sunk in the huge plants which +supplied the belligerents represented, at $150,000,000, an outlay +amortized or included in the price at which the munitions were sold. +Thus, when the last foreign contract was fulfilled, the United States +would have at its own service one of the world's greatest munition +industries--and Europe will have paid for it. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +NAVAL ENGAGEMENTS IN MANY WATERS + + +The months which brought the second year of war to a close were marked +by increased activity on the part of all the navies engaged. Several +single-ship actions took place, and the Germans pursued their +submarine tactics with steady, if not brilliant, results. + +It was during this period that they sent the first submersible +merchant ship across the Atlantic and gave further proof of having +developed undersea craft to an amazing state of efficiency. On their +part the British found new and improved methods of stalking submarines +until it was a hazardous business for such craft to approach the +British coast. A considerable number were captured; just how many was +not revealed. + +After a slackening in the submarine campaign against merchant ships, +due partly to a division of opinion at home and largely to the growing +protests of neutrals, Germany declared that after March 1, 1916, every +ship belonging to an enemy that carried a gun would be considered an +auxiliary, and torpedoed without warning. (For an account of the +negotiations with the United States in relation to this edict, see +United States and the Belligerents, Vol. V, Part X.) + +A spirited fight took place in the North Sea on March 24, 1916, when +the _Greif_, a German auxiliary of 10,000 tons, met the _Alcantara_, +15,300 tons, a converted British merchantman. The _Greif_ was +attempting to slip through the blockade under Norwegian colors when +hailed. She parleyed with the British vessel until the latter came +within a few hundred yards of her. Then, seeing a boat put out, the +German unmasked her guns and opened fire. Broadside after broadside. +In twelve minutes the _Greif_ was on fire and the _Alcantara_ sinking +from the explosion of a torpedo. The _Greif_ might have got away had +not two other British vessels come on the scene, the converted cruiser +_Andes_ ending her days with a few long-range shots. One hundred and +fifteen men and officers out of 300 on the _Greif_ were saved, and the +British lost five officers and sixty-nine men. Both vessels went to +the bottom after as gallant an action as the war had produced. The +_Greif_ was equipped for a raiding cruise and also was believed to +have had on board a big cargo of mines. When the fire started by +exploding shells reaching her hold she blew up with a terrific +detonation and literally was split in twain. Officers of the +_Alcantara_ spoke warmly of their enemy's good showing. One of them +said that they approached to within two hundred yards of the _Greif_ +before being torpedoed and boarding parties actually had been ordered +to get ready. They were preparing to lash the rigging of the two +vessels together in the time-honored way and settle accounts with +sheath knives when the torpedo struck and the _Alcantara_ drifted away +helpless. + +On the stroke of midnight, February 29, 1916, the German edict went +into effect placing armed merchantmen in a classification with +auxiliary cruisers. The opening of March also was marked by the +deliverance of a German ultimatum in Lisbon, demanding that ships +seized by the Portuguese be surrendered within forty-eight hours. +Thirty-eight German and Austrian steamers had been requisitioned, +striking another blow at Teutonic sea power. Most of these belonged to +Germany. Coincident with Portugal's action Italy commandeered +thirty-four German ships lying in Italian ports, and several others in +her territorial waters. All Austrian craft had been seized months +before, but the fiction of peace with Germany still was punctiliously +observed by both nations. Despite this action Germany did not declare +war upon her quondam ally. + +Italy brought another issue sharply to the fore in the early days of +March. A few of her passenger vessels running to America and other +countries had been armed previous to that time. It was done quietly, +and commanders found many reasons for the presence of guns on their +vessels. Of a sudden all Italian passenger craft sailed with 3-inch +pieces fore and aft. + +Berlin announced that on the first day of March, 1916, German +submarines had sunk two French auxiliaries off Havre, and a British +patrol vessel near the mouth of the Thames. Paris promptly denied the +statement, and London was noncommittal. No other particulars were made +public. Russian troops landed on the Black Sea coast on March 6, 1916, +under the guns of a Russian naval division and took Atina, +seventy-five miles east of Trebizond, the objective of the Grand Duke +Constantine's army. Thirty Turkish vessels, mostly sailing ships +loaded with war supplies, were sunk along the shore within a few days. + +Winston Spencer Churchill, former First Lord of the Admiralty, on +March 7, 1916, delivered a warning in the House of Commons against +what he believed to be inadequate naval preparations. He challenged +statements made by Arthur J. Balfour, his successor, on the navy's +readiness. Mr. Balfour had just presented naval estimates to the +House, and among other things set forth that Britain had increased her +navy by 1,000,000 tons and more than doubled its personnel since +hostilities began. This encouraging assurance impressed the world, but +Colonel Churchill demanded that Sir John Fisher, who had resigned as +First Sea Lord, be recalled to his post. + +An announcement from Tokyo, March 8, 1916, served to show the new +friendship between Russia and Japan. Three warships captured by the +Japanese in the conflict with Russia were purchased by the czar and +added to Russian naval forces. They were the _Soya_, the _Tango_ and +the _Sagami_, formerly the _Variag_, _Poltava_ and _Peresviet_, all +small but useful ships. Following the capture of Atina, the Russians +took Rizeh on March 9, 1916, a city thirty-five miles east of +Trebizond, an advance of forty miles in three days toward that +important port. The fleet cooperated, and it was announced that the +defenses of Trebizond itself were under fire and fast crumbling away. + +On March 16, 1916, the Holland-Lloyd passenger steamer _Tubantia_, a +vessel of 15,000 tons, was sunk near the Dutch coast by a mine or +torpedo. She was commonly believed to have been the victim of a +submarine. Her eighty-odd passengers and 300 men reached shore. +Several Americans were aboard. Statements by some of the crew that +four persons lost their lives could not be verified, but several of +the _Tubantia's_ officers made affidavit that the vessel was +torpedoed. + +The incident aroused public feeling in Holland to fever pitch, and +there were threats of war. Germany hastened to deny that a submarine +attacked the ship, and made overtures to the Dutch Government, +offering reparation if it could be established that a German torpedo +sank the steamer. This was never proved, and nothing came of the +matter. But it cost Germany many friends in Holland and intensified +the fear and hatred entertained toward their neighbor by the majority +of Hollanders. It served to keep Dutch troops, already mobilized, +under arms, and gave Berlin a bad quarter hour. + +Fast on the heels of this incident came the sinking of another Dutch +steamer, the _Palembang_, which was torpedoed and went down March 18, +1916, near Galloper Lights in a Thames estuary. Three torpedoes struck +the vessel and nine of her crew were injured. This second attack in +three days upon Dutch vessels wrought indignation in Holland to the +breaking point. The Hague sent a strong protest to Berlin, which again +replied in a conciliatory tone, hinting that an English submarine had +fired on the _Palembang_ in the hope of embroiling Holland with +Germany. This suggestion was instantly rejected by the Dutch press and +people. Negotiations failed to produce any definite result, save to +prolong the matter until tension had been somewhat relieved. The +French destroyer _Renaudin_ fell prey to a submarine in the Adriatic +on the same day. Three officers, including the commander, and +forty-four of her crew, were drowned. Vienna also announced the loss +in the Adriatic of the hospital ship _Elektra_ on March 18, 1916. She +was said to have been torpedoed, although properly marked. One sailor +was killed and two nuns serving as nurses received wounds. + +German submarine activity in the vicinity of the Thames was emphasized +March 22, 1916, when the Galloper Lightship, well known to all +seafaring men, went to the bottom after being torpedoed. The vessel +was stationed off dangerous shoals near the mouth of the river. The +Germans suffered the loss of a 7,000-ton steamship on this day, when +the _Esparanza_ was sunk by a Russian warship in the Black Sea. She +had taken refuge in the Bulgarian port of Varna at the outbreak of the +conflict and attempted to reach Constantinople with a cargo of +foodstuffs, but a Russian patrol vessel ended her career. + +Another tragedy of the sea came at a moment when strained relations +between Germany and the United States made almost anything probable. +The _Sussex_, a Channel steamer plying between Folkestone and Dieppe, +was hit by a torpedo March 24, 1916, when about three hours' sail from +the former port, and some fifty persons lost their lives. A moment +after the missile struck there was an explosion in the engine room +that spread panic among her 386 passengers, many of whom were Belgian +women and children refugees bound for England. One or two boats +overturned, and a number of frightened women jumped into the water +without obtaining life preservers. Others strapped on the cork jackets +and were rescued hours later. Some of the victims were killed outright +by the impact of the torpedo and the second explosion. Fortunately the +vessel remained afloat and her wireless brought rescue craft from both +sides of the Channel. + +The rescuers picked up practically all of those in the water who had +donned life belts and took aboard those in the boats. Many of the +passengers, including several Americans, saw the torpedo's wake. It +was stated that the undersea craft approached the _Sussex_ under the +lee of a captured Belgian vessel, and when within easy target distance +fired the torpedo. According to this version, the Belgian ship then +was compelled to put about and leave the stricken steamer's passengers +and crew to what seemed certain destruction. The presence of this +third craft never was definitely established, although vouched for by +a number of those on the _Sussex_. + +Of thirty American passengers five or six sustained painful injuries. +The victims included several prominent persons, one of whom was +Enrique Granados, the Spanish composer, and his wife. They had just +returned from the United States where they had witnessed the +presentation of his opera "Goyescas." + +The _Sussex_, which flew the French flag, although owned by a British +company, had no guns aboard and was in no wise an auxiliary craft. She +reached Boulogne in tow, and the American consul there reported that +undoubtedly she had been torpedoed. (For an account of the +negotiations between the United States and Germany in relation to this +affair see United States and the Belligerents, Vol. V, Part X.) +Ambassador Gerard, in Berlin, was instructed to ask the German +Government for any particulars of the incident in its possession, so +as to aid the United States in reaching a conclusion. Berlin, after +much evasion, admitted that a submarine had sunk a vessel near the +spot where the _Sussex_ was lost, but gave it an entirely different +description. + +The British converted liner _Minneapolis_, used as a transport, was +torpedoed in the Mediterranean with a loss of eleven lives, although +this vessel also stayed afloat, according to a statement issued in +London, March 26, 1916. She was a ship of 15,543 tons and formerly ran +in the New York-Liverpool service. In a brush between German and +British forces near the German coast, March 25, 1916, a British light +cruiser, the _Cleopatra_, rammed and sunk a German destroyer. The +British destroyer _Medusa_ also was sunk, but her crew escaped to +other vessels. In addition the Germans lost two of their armed fishing +craft. + +Fourteen nuns and 101 other persons were killed or drowned March 30, +1916, when the Russian hospital ship _Portugal_ was sunk in the Black +Sea between Batum and Rizeh on the Anatolian coast by a torpedo. The +_Portugal_ had stopped and was preparing to take aboard wounded men on +shore. Several of those on the vessel saw the periscope of a +submarine appear above the waves, but had no fear of an attack, as the +_Portugal_ was plainly marked with the Red Cross insignia and was +flying a Red Cross flag from her peak. + +The submarine circled about the ships twice and then, to the horror of +those who were watching, fired a torpedo. The missile went astray, but +another followed and found its mark. Although the ship was at anchor, +with the shore near by, it was impossible to get all of her crew and +wounded to safety. + +This attack greatly incensed Russia. She sent protests to all of the +neutral powers, calling attention to the deed perpetrated against her. +The flame of national anger was fanned higher when Constantinople +issued a statement saying that a Turkish submarine had sunk the +_Portugal_, claiming that she flew the Russian merchant flag without +any of the usual Red Cross markings upon her hull. It was said that +the explosion which shattered the vessel was caused by the presence of +ammunition. + +On the morning of March 30, 1916, the steamship _Matoppo_, a British +freighter, put into Lewes, Delaware, with her master and his crew of +fifty men held prisoners by a single individual. Ernest Schiller, as +he called himself, had gone aboard the _Matoppo_ in New York, March +29, 1916, and hid himself away until the vessel passed Sandy Hook, +bound for Vladivostok. Then he came out and with the aid of two +weapons which the captain described as horse pistols, proceeded to cow +the master and crew. Schiller announced that the _Matoppo_ was a +German prize of war and that he would shoot the first man who moved a +hostile hand. The crew believed him. They also had an uneasy fear that +certain bombs which Schiller mentioned would be set off unless they +obeyed. + +With Schiller in command the _Matoppo_ headed down the coast, her +captor keeping vigil. Off Delaware he ordered the captain to make +port. The latter obeyed, but also signaled to shore that a pirate was +aboard. Port authorities then sent a boat alongside, and Schiller was +arrested. He admitted under examination that he and three other men +had plotted to blow up the Cunard liner _Pannonia_. They bought the +dynamite and made the bombs, but his companions' courage failed, and +the plan was abandoned. Then it was proposed to stow away on some +outward bound ship, seize her at sea and make for Germany. With this +purpose in mind Schiller got aboard the _Matoppo_, but the other +conspirators deserted him. Not to be foiled, he captured the vessel +single-handed. It developed that his name was Clarence Reginald +Hodson, his father having been an Englishman, but he was born of a +German mother, had been raised in Germany, and was fully in sympathy +with the German cause. After a trial he was sent to prison for life, +the only man serving such a sentence in the United States on a charge +of piracy. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +MINOR ENGAGEMENTS AND LOSSES + + +The beginning of April found growing discontent among neutrals against +the British blockade of Germany and the virtual embargo on many other +nations. Sweden especially demonstrated resentment. The United States +made new representations about the seizure and search of first-class +mail. All of this did not deter the Allies from pursuing their policy +of attrition toward Germany. + +The opening day of the month saw the arrival in New York harbor of the +first armed French steamer to reach that port. The _Vulcain_, a +freighter, tied up at her dock with a 47-millimeter quick-firing gun +mounted at the stern. Inquiries followed, with the usual result, and +the advancing days found other French vessels arriving, some of the +passenger liners carrying three and four 75-millimeter pieces, the +famous 75's. + +On April 5, 1916, Paris announced that French and British warships had +sunk a submarine at an unnamed point and captured the crew. In this +connection it should be said that many reports were current of +frequent captures made by the Allies of enemy submersibles. The +British seldom admitted such captures, seeking to befog Berlin as to +the fate of her submarines. But there was little doubt that numbers of +them had been taken by both French and British. + +An Austrian transport was torpedoed by a French submarine and lost in +the Adriatic, April 8, 1916. Neither the loss of life nor the name of +the vessel was made public by Vienna. + +Two days later a Russian destroyer, the _Strogi_, rammed and sunk an +enemy submersible near the spot where the hospital ship _Portugal_ was +torpedoed. + +Reports from Paris, April 18, 1916, stated that the French had +captured the submarine that torpedoed the _Sussex_. It was said that +her crew and commander were prisoners, and that documentary evidence +had been obtained on the vessel to prove that she sank the _Sussex_. +The report could not be verified, but Paris semiofficially intimated +that she had indisputable proof that the _Sussex_ was a submarine's +victim. The two incidents coincided so well that the capture of the +vessel was believed to have been made. + +Trebizond fell April 18, 1916, the Russian fleet cooperating in a +grand assault. This gave Russia possession of a fine port on the +Turkish side of the Black Sea and marked important progress for her +armies in Asia. + +Zeebrugge, Belgium, was shelled by the British fleet, April 25, 1916, +the city sustaining one of the longest and heaviest bombardments which +it had suffered since its capture by the Germans. As a convenient base +for submarines it was a particularly troublesome thorn to the Allies, +and the bombardment was directed mainly at buildings suspected of +being submarine workshops, and the harbor defenses. Several vessels +were sunk and much damage wrought, the German batteries at Heyst, +Blankenberghe, and Knocke coming in for the heavy fire. + +Naval vessels on guard engaged the Germans and succeeded in driving +them off, although outnumbered. Two British cruisers were hit, without +serious injury. The attack was part of a concerted plan which +contemplated a smashing blow at the British line, while the Irish +trouble engaged attention. + +One British auxiliary was lost and her crew captured and a destroyer +damaged in a scouting engagement off the Flanders coast on April 25, +1916. The identity of the vessel was never learned. The _E-22_, a +British submarine, went down April 25, 1916, in another fight. The +Germans scored again when they sank an unidentified guard vessel off +the Dogger Bank after dusk April 26, 1916. + +Reports from Holland, April 28, 1916, told of the sinking by an armed +British trawler of a submarine near the north coast of Scotland. The +enemy vessel had halted two Dutch steamers when the trawler appeared. +The submersible was said to be of the newest and largest type and +sixty men were believed to have been lost with her. The British +announced the sinking of a submarine on the same day off the east +coast, one officer and seventeen men being taken prisoners. It was +believed that the two reports concerned the same craft. + +London also admitted the loss on April 28, 1916, of the battleship +_Russell_, which struck a mine or was torpedoed in the Mediterranean. +Admiral Freemantle, whose flag she bore, was among the 600 men saved. +The loss of life included one hundred and twenty-four officers and +men. + +The _Russell_ was a vessel of 14,000 tons, carried four 12-inch guns, +twelve 6-inch pieces, and a strong secondary battery. She belonged to +the predreadnought period, but was a formidable fighting ship. + +The quality of Russia's determination to win victory, despite serious +reverses in the field, was well indicated by an announcement made in +Petrograd, May 1, 1916. A railroad from the capital to Soroka, on the +White Sea, begun since the war started, had just reached completion. +It covered a distance of 386 miles and made accessible a port that +hitherto had been practically useless, where it was proposed to divert +commercial shipments. This left free for war purposes the port of +Archangel, sole window of Russia looking upon the west until Soroka +was linked with Petrograd. German activity had halted all shipping to +Russian Baltic ports. At the moment announcement was made of this +event more than 100 ships were waiting for the ice to break up, +permitting passage to Archangel and Soroka, which are held in the +grip of the north for many months of each year. A majority of these +vessels carried guns, ammunition, harness, auto trucks and other +things sorely needed by the Czar's armies. Additional supplies were +pouring in through Vladivostok for the long haul across Siberia. + +May 1, 1916, witnessed the destruction of a British mine sweeper, the +_Nasturtium_, in the Mediterranean along with the armed yacht +_Aegusa_, both said to have been sunk by floating mines. + +The _Aegusa_ formerly was the _Erin_, the private yacht of Sir Thomas +Lipton, and valued at $375,000 when the Government took it over. The +craft was well known to Americans, as Sir Thomas, several times +challenger for the international cup held in America, had made more +than one trip to our shores on the vessel. + +The French submarine _Bernouille_ was responsible for the sinking of +an enemy torpedo boat in the Adriatic, May 4, 1916. + +Washington received a note from Germany, May 6, 1916, offering to +modify her submarine orders if the United States would protest to +Great Britain against the stringent blockade laid upon Germany. This +offer met with prompt rejection, President Wilson standing firm and +insisting upon disavowal for the sinking of the _Sussex_ and search of +merchantmen before attack. (See United States and the Belligerents, +Vol. V, Part X.) + +Laden with munitions, the White Star liner _Cymric_ was torpedoed and +sunk May 9, 1916, near the British coast with a loss of five killed. +The vessel remained afloat for several hours, and the remainder of her +110 officers and men were saved. She had no passengers aboard. + +An Austrian transport, name unknown, went down in the Adriatic, May +10, 1916, after a French submarine torpedoed her. She was believed to +have had a heavy cargo of munitions, but few soldiers, and probably +was bound for Durazzo, Albania, from Pola, the naval base. + +The _M-30_, a small British monitor, was struck by shells from a +Turkish battery upon the island of Kesten in the Mediterranean and +sunk on the night of May 13, 1916. Casualties consisted of two killed +and two wounded. + +The sunny weather of May brought a resumption of attacks by British +and Russian submarines in the Baltic. May 18, 1916, London announced +that four German steamers, the _Kolga_, _Biancha_, _Hera_ and _Trav_, +had been halted and destroyed in that sea within a few days. Other +similar reports followed and German shipping was almost driven from +the Baltic, thereby cutting off an important source of supply with +Sweden and Norway, the only neutrals still trading with Germany to any +considerable extent. For her part, Germany alleged that several +merchant ships torpedoed by the British were sunk without warning and +some of the crews killed. London denied the charge and there was none +to prove or disprove it. + +An Italian destroyer performed a daring feat on the night of May 30, +1916, running into the harbor at Trieste and sinking a large transport +believed to have many soldiers aboard. Scarcely a soul was saved, +current report stated. The raider crept out to sea again and made good +her escape. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND BANK--BEGINNING + + +A great naval battle was fought in the North Sea off Jutland, where, +in the afternoon and evening hours of May 31, 1916, the fleets of +England and Germany clashed in what might have been--but was not--the +most important naval fight in history. Why it missed this ultimate +distinction is not altogether clear. Nor is it altogether clear to +which side victory leaned. To pronounce a satisfactory judgment on +this point we need far more information than we have at present, not +only as to the respective losses of the contending fleets, but as to +the objects for which the battle was fought and the degree of success +attained in the accomplishment of these objects. The official German +report states that the German fleet left port "on a mission to the +northward." No certain evidence is at hand as to the nature of this +mission; but whatever it was, it can hardly have been accomplished, as +the most northerly point reached was less than 180 miles from the +point of departure, and the whole fleet, or what was left of it, was +back in port within thirty-six hours of the time of leaving. + +It has been surmised, and there is some reason to believe, that the +German plan was to force a passage for their battle cruisers through +the channel between Scotland and Norway into the open sea, where, with +their high-speed and long-range guns, they might, at least for a time, +have paralyzed transatlantic commerce with very serious results for +England's industries, and still more serious results for her supplies +of food. + +Another and a somewhat more plausible theory is that the plan +contemplated the escape to the open sea, not of the battle cruisers +themselves, but of a number of very fast armed merchant cruisers of +the _Moewe_ type, which were to repeat the _Moewe's_ exploit on a +large scale, serving the same purpose that the submarines served +during the period of their greatest activity. Color is lent to this +theory by what is known of the controversy now going on in Germany +between those who advocate a renewal of the submarine warfare against +commerce, and those who are opposed to this. It is evident that if +fast cruisers could be maintained on England's trade routes they might +do all that the submarine could do and more, and this without raising +any question as to their rights under international law. + +Whatever the plan was, we must assume that it was thwarted by the +interposition of the British fleet; and from this point of view the +battle takes on the aspect of a British victory. The German fleet is +back behind the fortifications and the mine fields of the Helgoland +Bight, in the waters which have been its refuge for nearly two years +of comparative inactivity. And the British fleet still holds the +command of the sea with a force which makes its command complete, and, +in all human probability, permanent. + +From the narrower point of view of results on the actual field of +battle, it appears from the evidence at present available that, +although the Germans were first to withdraw, they had the advantage +in that they lost fewer ships than their opponents and less important +ones. This is not admitted by the British, and it may not be true, but +we have the positive assurance of the German Government that it is so, +and no real evidence to the contrary. It must therefore be accepted +for the present, always with remembrance of the fact that the first +reports given out by the German authorities are admitted to have been +understated "for military reasons." Only time can tell us whether the +world has the whole truth even now. But taking the situation as it +appears from the official statements on both sides the losses are as +follows: + + BRITISH: GERMAN: + + _Battleships_ _Battleships_ + None One + + _Battle Cruisers_ _Battle Cruisers_ + Three One + + _Armored Cruisers_ _Armored Cruisers_ + Three None + + _Light Cruisers_ _Light Cruisers_ + None Four + + _Destroyers_ _Destroyers_ + Eight Five + +It is certain that the British losses as here given are substantially +correct. It is possible, as has been said, that the German losses are +much understated. British officers and seamen claim to have actually +seen several large German ships blow up, and they are probably quite +honest in these claims. They may be right. But it is only necessary to +picture to one's self the conditions by which all observers were +surrounded while the appalling inferno of the battle was at its height +to understand how hopelessly unreliable must be the testimony of +participants as to what they saw and heard. Four or five 15-inch +shells striking simultaneously against the armor of a battleship and +exploding with a great burst of flame and smoke might well suggest to +an eager and excited observer the total destruction of the ship. And +an error here would be all the easier when to the confusion of battle +was added the obscurity of darkness and of fog. + +No doubt the time will come when we shall know, if not the full truth, +at least enough to justify a conclusion as to the comparative losses. +Until that time comes, we may accept the view that, measured by the +narrow standard of ships and lives lost, the Germans had the +advantage. This may be true, and yet it may be also true that the real +victory was with the British, since they may have bought with their +losses, great as these were, that for which they could well afford to +pay an even higher price. + +According to the statement of Admiral Jellicoe, the British fleet has +for some months past made a practice of sweeping the North Sea from +time to time with practically its whole force of fighting ships, with +a view to discouraging raids by the German fleet, and in the hope of +meeting any force which might, whether for raiding or for any other +purpose, have ventured out beyond the fortifications and mine fields +of the Helgoland Bight. + +On May 31, 1916, the fleet was engaged in one of these excursions, +apparently with no knowledge that the German fleet was to be abroad at +the same time. + +In accordance with what appears to have been the general practice, the +Grand Fleet was divided; the main fighting force under the command of +Admiral Jellicoe himself occupying a position near the middle of the +North Sea, while the two battle-cruiser divisions under Vice Admiral +Beatty, supported by a division of dreadnoughts of the _Queen +Elizabeth_ class under Rear Admiral Evan-Thomas, were some seventy +miles to the southward (Plate I). Admiral Jellicoe had a division of +battle cruisers and another of armored cruisers in addition to his +dreadnoughts, and both he and Admiral Beatty were well provided with +destroyers and light cruisers. + +[Illustration: PLATE I. Map of Distribution of Forces. 2:30 P.M., May +31, 1916. Not drawn to scale, all distances distorted.] + +The day was pleasant, but marked by the characteristic mistiness of +North Sea weather; and as the afternoon wore on the mist took on more +and more the character of light drifting fog, making it impossible at +times to see clearly more than two or three miles. + +At two o'clock in the afternoon Admiral Beatty's detachment was +steaming on a northerly course, being then about ninety miles west of +the coast of Denmark, accompanied by several flotillas of destroyers +and with a screen of light cruisers thrown out to the north and east. + +At about 2.20 p. m. the _Galatea_, one of the light cruisers engaged +in scouting east of Beatty's battle cruisers, reported smoke on the +horizon to the eastward, and started to investigate, the battle +cruisers taking up full speed and following. The _Galatea_ and her +consorts were soon afterward engaged with a German force of similar +type, and at 3.30 p. m. a squadron of five battle cruisers was made +out some twelve miles farther to the eastward. + +Beatty immediately swung off to the southeast in the hope of getting +between the German squadron and its base; but the German commander, +Vice Admiral von Hipper, changed course correspondingly, and the two +squadrons continued on courses nearly parallel but somewhat converging +until, at about 3.45 p. m., fire was opened on both sides, the range +at that time being approximately nine miles. About ten minutes after +the battle was fully joined, the _Indefatigable_, the rear ship of the +British column, was struck by a broadside from one or more of the +enemy ships, and blew up; and twenty minutes later the _Queen Mary_, +latest and most powerful of the British battle cruisers, met the same +fate. The suddenness and completeness of the disaster to these two +splendid ships has not yet been explained and perhaps never will be. +Their elimination threw the advantage of numbers actually engaged from +the British to the German side, but very shortly afterward the leading +ships of Rear Admiral Thomas's dreadnought division came within range +and opened fire (Plate II), thus throwing the superiority again to the +British side. For the next half hour or thereabouts, Von Hipper's five +battle cruisers were pitted against four battle cruisers and four +dreadnoughts, and Beatty reports that their fire fell off materially, +as would naturally be the case. They appear, however, to have stood up +gallantly under the heavy punishment to which they must have been +subjected. + +Beatty was drawing slowly ahead, though with little prospect of being +able to throw his force across the enemy's van, as he had hoped to do, +his plan being not only to cut the Germans off from their base, but to +"cap" their column and concentrate the fire of his whole force on Von +Hipper's leading ships. Had he been able to do this he would have +secured the tactical advantage which is the object of all maneuvering +in a naval engagement, and would at the same time have compelled Von +Hipper to run to the northward toward the point from which Jellicoe +was known to be approaching at the highest speed of his dreadnoughts. +With this thought in mind, Beatty was holding on to the southward, +taking full advantage of his superiority in both speed and gunfire, +when a column of German dreadnoughts was sighted in the southeast +approaching at full speed to form a junction with Von Hipper's +squadron (Plate II). Seeing himself thus outmatched, Beatty made a +quick change of plan. There was no longer any hope of carrying out the +plan of throwing himself across the head of the German column, but if +Von Hipper could not be driven into Jellicoe's arms it was conceivable +that he might be led there, and with him the additional force that Von +Scheer was bringing up to join him. So Beatty turned to the northward, +and, as he had hoped, Von Hipper followed; not, however, until he had +run far enough on the old course to effect a junction with Von Scheer, +whose battleships fell in astern of the battle cruisers as these last +swung around to the northward and took up a course parallel to that of +Beatty and Thomas. Thus the running fight was resumed, with the +difference that both forces were now heading at full speed toward the +point from which Beatty knew Jellicoe to be approaching. Von Hipper's +delay in turning had permitted Beatty to draw ahead, and the relative +positions of the engaged squadrons were now those shown in Plate III. + +[Illustration: PLATE II. Map of The Running Fight to the Southward. +3:48 to 4:40 P.M.] + +It is during this part of the fight that the British accounts speak of +Beatty as engaging the whole German fleet and as being thus +tremendously overmatched. A moment's study of Plate III will make it +clear that this claim is not tenable. Without fuller information +than we have of positions and distances, it is impossible to say +exactly how many of Von Scheer's ships were able to fire on Beatty's +column, but certainly the total German force within effective range +could not have been materially larger than the British force it was +engaging. + +As far as can be figured out from Beatty's own report, the only time +when he was actually pitted against a force superior to his own, +within fighting range, was after he had lost the _Indefatigable_ and +the _Queen Mary_, and before the dreadnoughts of Admiral Thomas's +force had reached a point from which they were able to open an +effective fire. He entered the fight with six battle cruisers opposed +to five. He then, for a short time, had four opposed to five. A little +later he had four battle cruisers and four dreadnoughts opposed to +five battle cruisers, and a little later still, as has just been +stated, the forces actually opposed within firing range became +practically equal. + +About six o'clock, having gained enough to admit of an attempt to +"cap," Beatty turned his head to the eastward, but Von Hipper refused +to accept this disadvantage and turned east himself, thus continuing +the parallel fight on a large curve tending more and more to the east +(Plate IV). It was about this time that the _Luetzow_, Von Hipper's +flagship and the leader of the German column, dropped out of the +formation, having been so badly damaged that she could no longer +maintain her position in the formation. Von Hipper, calling a +destroyer alongside, boarded her and proceeded, through a storm of +shell, to the _Moltke_, on which he resumed his place at the head of +the fleet. + +[Illustration: The "Queen Mary," sister ship of the "Lion" and the +"Princess Royal" and capable of a speed of 28-1/2 knots an hour. The +modern British battle cruiser was sunk about half an hour after the +battle was fully joined.] + +Jellicoe, seventy miles to the northward with the main fighting force, +received word about three o'clock that the scouting force was in +contact with the enemy, and started at once to effect a junction with +Beatty. He may well have wished at that moment that his forces were +separated somewhat less widely. Under his immediate command he had +three squadrons of the latest and most powerful fighting ships in the +world, twenty-five in all, including his own flagship, the _Iron +Duke_. His squadrons were led by three of the youngest and most +efficient vice admirals in the service, Sir Cecil Burney, Sir Thomas +Jerram, and Sir Doveton Sturdee (Plate V). With him also were Rear +Admirals Hood and Arbuthnot, the former commanding three of the +earlier battle cruisers, _Invincible_, _Inflexible_, and +_Indomitable_, the latter commanding four armored cruisers, of which +we shall hear more hereafter. + +[Illustration: PLATE III. Map of Running Fight to Northward. 4:40 to +6:00 P.M.] + +A majority of the battleships were capable of a speed of 21 to 22 +knots, but it is improbable that the force, as a whole, could do +better than 20 knots. Hood, with his "Invincibles," was capable of +from 27 to 28 knots, and Jellicoe appears to have sent him on ahead to +reenforce Beatty at the earliest possible moment, while following +himself at a speed which, he says, strained the older ships of his +force to the utmost. The formation of the fleet was probably somewhat +like that shown at A, Plate V, which doubtless passed into B before +fighting range was reached. + +Of the southward sweep of this great armada, the most tremendous +fighting force the world has ever seen on sea or land, we have no +record. They started. They arrived. Of the hours that intervened no +word has been said. Yet it is not difficult to picture something of +the dramatic tenseness of the race. The admirals, their staffs, the +captains of the individual ships, all were on the bridges, and there +remained not only through the race to reach the battle area, but +through all the fighting after they had closed with the enemy. The +carefully worked-out plans for directing everything from the shelter +of the conning tower were thrown aside without a thought. So there we +see them, grouped in the most exposed positions on their ships, +straining their eyes through the haze for the first glimpse of friend +or foe, and urging those below, at the fires and the throttle, to +squeeze out every fraction of a knot that boilers and turbines could +be made to yield. + +[Illustration: PLATE IV. British Grand Fleet Approaching from +Northwest. Beatty turns eastward at 6 P.M. to meet Jellicoe and cap +Von Hipper. Von Hipper turns east to avoid cap.] + +Word must have been received by wireless of the loss of the +_Indefatigable_ and the _Queen Mary_, while the battleships were still +fifty or sixty miles away, for Beatty at this time was running south +faster than Jellicoe could follow. It was perhaps at this time that +Hood was dispatched at full speed to add his three battle cruisers to +the four that remained to Beatty. They arrived upon the scene about +6.15 p. m., shortly after Beatty had turned eastward, and swung in +ahead of Beatty's column, which, as thus reenforced, consisted of +seven battle cruisers and four dreadnoughts (Plate IV). Admiral Beatty +writes in terms of enthusiastic admiration of the way in which Hood +brought his ships into action, and it is easy to understand the thrill +with which he must have welcomed this addition to his force. + +But his satisfaction was not of long duration. Hardly had the +_Invincible_, Hood's flagship, settled down on her new course and +opened fire than she disappeared in a great burst of smoke and flame. +Here, as in the case of the _Indefatigable_ and the _Queen Mary_, the +appalling suddenness and completeness of the disaster makes it +impossible of explanation. The survivors from all three of the ships +totaled only about one hundred, and none of these are able to throw +any light upon the matter. + +By this time Beatty's whole column had completed the turn from north +to east, and Jellicoe was in sight to the northward with his +twenty-five dreadnoughts, coming on at twenty knots or more straight +for the point where Beatty's column blocked his approach. Jellicoe +writes of this situation: + +"Meanwhile, at 5.45 p. m., the report of guns had become audible to +me, and at 5.55 p. m. flashes were visible from ahead around to the +starboard beam, although in the mist no ships could be distinguished, +and the position of the enemy's fleet could not be determined. + +"... At this period, when the battle fleet was meeting the battle +cruisers and the Fifth Battle Squadron, great care was necessary to +ensure that our own ships were not mistaken for enemy vessels." + +[Illustration: PLATE V. British Grand Fleet Coming into Action. 6:30 +P.M. (Probable Formation.)] + +Here is a bald description of a situation which must have been charged +with almost overwhelming anxiety for the commander in chief. He knew +that just ahead of him a tremendous battle was in progress, but of the +disposition of the forces engaged he had only such knowledge as he +could gather from the few fragmentary wireless messages that Beatty +had found time to flash to him. He could see but a short distance, and +he knew that through the cloud of mingled fog and smoke into which he +was rushing at top speed, all ships would look much alike. That he +was able to bring his great force into action and into effective +cooperation with Beatty without accident or delay is evidence of high +tactical skill on his part and on that of every officer under his +command; and, what is even more creditable, of supremely efficient +coordination of all parts of the tremendous machine which responded so +harmoniously to his will. + +As Jellicoe's leading ships appeared through the fog, Beatty realized +that he must make an opening in his column to let them through. +Accordingly, he called upon his own fast battle cruisers for their +highest speed and drew away to the eastward, at the same time +signaling Admiral Evan-Thomas to reduce speed and drop back (Plate +VI). The maneuver was perfectly conceived and perfectly timed. As +Jellicoe approached he found Beatty's column opening before him. As he +swept on through, steering south toward the head of the German line, +Beatty also swung south on a course parallel and a little to the +eastward, and, by virtue of his high speed, a little ahead. The result +was that neither force blanketed the other for a moment, and the head +of the German column a little later found itself under the +concentrated fire of practically the whole British fleet. It may well +have "crumpled" as Jellicoe says it did; and whether it is true or +not, as British reports insist, that several of the leading ships were +destroyed at this time, it appears to be true, at least, that a second +battle cruiser dropped out, leaving only three of this type under Von +Hipper's command. + +[Illustration: PLATE VI. Jellicoe and Beatty acting together to "cap" +German Fleet Germans turn to Westward.] + +The situation quickly passed from that shown in Plate VI to that shown +in Plate VII. The British had succeeded in establishing a cap, and +their position was so favorable that it looked as if nothing could +save the Germans from destruction. But night was coming on, the mist +was thickening into fog, and the only point of aim for either fleet +was that afforded by the flash of the enemy's guns. Von Scheer, who, +as Von Hipper's senior, was in command of the German forces as a +whole, turned from east to west, each ship swinging independently, and +sent his whole force of destroyers at top speed against the enemy. It +would be difficult to imagine conditions more favorable for such an +attack. Jellicoe saw the opportunity and acted upon it as quickly +as did Von Scheer, with the result that as the German destroyers swept +toward the British fleet they met midway the British destroyers bent +on a similar mission, and a battle followed in the fog between +destroyers, which broke up both attacks against the main fleets and +saved the capital ships on both sides from what must otherwise have +been very serious danger. Meantime, as the German fleet drew off to +the westward, Jellicoe and Beatty passed completely around the German +flank and reached a position to the southward and between the German +fleet and its base at Helgoland (Plate VIII). By the time this was +accomplished it was nearly ten o'clock, and the long day of that high +northern latitude was passing into darkness rendered darker by the +fog. Contact between the main fleets had been lost, and firing had +ceased. Both sides continued destroyer attacks through the night, and +some of these were delivered with great dash and forced home with +splendid determination. The British claim to have sunk at least two of +the German capital ships during these attacks. But this the Germans +deny. + +[Illustration: PLATE VII. Jellicoe and Beatty pass around flank of +German Fleet, "capping" it and interposing between the Fleet and its +base. Both sides send out destroyer attacks, which continue throughout +the night.] + +The Battle of Horn Reef, if that is to be its name, was at an end. The +German fleet, now heading west, evidently soon afterward headed south +toward the secure waters of the Helgoland Bight, which it was allowed +to reach without interference by the British main fleet and apparently +without discovery. The British may well have been cautious during the +night about venturing far into the fog, which, as they knew, if it +concealed the capital ships of Von Hipper and Von Scheer, concealed +also their destroyers, and possibly a stretch of water strewn with +mines laid out by the retreating enemy. It must not be forgotten, +however, that the British were between the German fleet and its base +when they ceased the offensive for the night, and that only a few +hours, in that high latitude, separate darkness from dawn. + +With daylight, which was due by two o'clock or thereabouts, and with +the lifting of the fog, Jellicoe reports that he searched to the +northward and found no enemy. The following day, June 2, 1916, his +fleet was back in port taking account of its losses, which were +undeniably great, though whether or not they were greater than those +of the enemy, only the future can prove. + +[Illustration: PLATE VIII. 10:00 P.M. Darkness and Fog. British Forces +heading off to Southward to avoid attack during darkness and to keep +between German Fleet and its Base. Protecting rear with Destroyers +and Light Cruisers.] + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +SOME SECONDARY FEATURES OF THE BATTLE + + +One of the most inexplicable incidents of the day occurred as +Jellicoe's fleet approached the battle area and shortly before the +leading ship of his column passed through the opening in Beatty's +column as already described. The four armored cruisers, _Duke of +Edinburgh_, _Defence_, _Warrior_, and _Black Prince_, under Rear +Admiral Arbuthnot, were in company with Jellicoe, but separated from +his main force by several miles. These ships were lightly armed and +very lightly armored, and had absolutely no excuse for taking part in +the main battle. Yet they now appeared, somewhat in advance of the +main fleet and to the westward of it, standing down ahead of +Evan-Thomas's division of battleships, which, as has been explained, +had dropped back to allow Jellicoe to pass ahead of them. As Arbuthnot +appeared from the mist, several German ships opened on him at short +range, and within a very few moments three of his four ships were +destroyed. The _Defence_ and _Black Prince_ were sunk immediately. The +_Warrior_ was so badly damaged that she sank during the night while +trying to make port. The _Duke of Edinburgh_ escaped. + +Another incident belonging to this phase of the battle was the jamming +of the steering gear of the _Warspite_, of Admiral Evan-Thomas's +division of dreadnoughts. Apparently the helm jammed when in the +hard-over position, and the ship for some time ran around in a circle. +Through the whole of this time she was under heavy fire, and is +reported to have been struck more than one hundred times by heavy +shells, in spite of which she later returned to her position in column +and continued the fight. In the course of her erratic maneuvers, while +not under control, she circled around the _Warrior_ and received so +much of the fire intended for that ship as to justify the belief that +her accident saved the _Warrior_ from immediate destruction and made +it possible, later, to rescue her crew before she finally sank, as she +did during the night following the battle. It was for a time believed +that the _Warspite_ had deliberately intervened to save the _Warrior_, +and there was much talk of the "chivalry" of the _Warspite's_ +commander in thus risking his own ship to save another--this from +those who overlooked the fact that the duty of the _Warspite_, as one +of the most valuable fighting units of the fleet, was to keep place in +line as long as possible, and to carry out the general battle plan; +which, of course, is exactly what the _Warspite_ did to the best of +her ability. + +It is an interesting fact that of the small number of capital ships +lost or disabled, four were flagships. Two rear admirals, Hood and +Arbuthnot, went down with their ships. Two vice admirals, Von Hipper +and Burney, shifted their flags in the thickest of the fight, Von +Hipper from the _Luetzow_ to the _Moltke_, Burney from the +_Marlborough_ to the _Revenge_. + +A large part of Admiral Jellicoe's official report deals with the work +of the light cruisers and destroyers, which, while necessarily +restricted to a secondary role, contributed in many ways to the +operations of the main fighting forces, securing and transmitting +information, attacking at critical times, and repelling attacks from +the corresponding craft of the enemy. All of these tasks took on a +special importance as the afternoon advanced, because of the +decreasing visibility due to fog and darkness. The light cruisers were +constantly employed in keeping touch with the enemy, whose capital +ships they approached at times to within two or three thousand yards. +And the destroyers of both fleets were repeatedly sent at full speed +through banks of fog within which the enemy battleships were known to +be concealed. It is rather remarkable that so few of either type were +lost, and still more remarkable, so far as the destroyers are +concerned, that so few of the large ships were torpedoed. + +The _Marlborough_ was struck and badly damaged, but she made her way +safely to port. The _Frauenlob_, _Rostock_, and _Pommern_ were sunk. +And that is the whole story so far as known at present. Yet several +hundred torpedoes must have been discharged, most of them at ranges +within 5,000 yards. It looks a little as if the world would be obliged +to modify the view that has been held of late with reference to the +efficiency of the torpedo--or at least of the torpedo as carried by +the destroyer. + +The loss of the three large battle cruisers, _Indefatigable_, +_Invincible_, and _Queen Mary_ is, and will always remain, the most +dramatic incident of the battle, and the most inexplicable. It is +doubtful if we shall ever know the facts, but that something more than +gunfire was involved is made clear by the fact that in each case the +ship was destroyed by an explosion. Whether this was due to a shell +actually penetrating the magazine, or to the ignition of exposed +charges of powder, or to a torpedo or a mine exploding outside in the +vicinity of the magazine, it is impossible to do more than conjecture. +There is a suggestion of something known, but kept back, in the +following paragraph from a description of the battle by Mr. Arthur +Pollen, which is presumably based upon information furnished by the +British admiralty: + +"As to the true explanation of the loss of the three ships that did +blow up, the admiralty, no doubt, will give this to the public if it +is thought wise to do so. But there can be no harm in saying this. The +explanation of the sinking of each of these ships by a single lucky +shot--both they and practically all the other cruisers were hit +repeatedly by shots that did no harm--is, in the first place, +identical. Next, it does not lie in the fact that the ships were +insufficiently armored to keep out big shell. Next, the fatal +explosion was not caused by a mine or by a torpedo. Lastly, it is in +no sense due to any instability or any other dangerous characteristic +of the propellants or explosives carried on board. I am free to +confess that when I first heard of these ships going down as rapidly +as they did, one of two conclusions seemed to be irresistible--either +a shell had penetrated the lightly armored sides and burst in the +magazine, or a mine or torpedo had exploded immediately beneath it. +But neither explanation is right." + +One of the most striking and surprising features about the battle is +the closeness with which it followed conventional lines, both in the +types of vessels and weapons used and in the manner of using them. +Neither submarines nor Zeppelins played any part, although both were +at hand. Some effective scouting was done by an aeroplane sent up from +one of the British cruisers early in the afternoon, and the British +report that they saw and fired on a Zeppelin early in the morning of +June 1, 1916. But this is all. + +There have been stories for many months of a 17-inch gun of marvelous +power carried by German dreadnoughts, but no such weapon made its +appearance on this occasion. + +And the tactics employed on both sides were as conventional as the +weapons used. The fight was a running fight in parallel columns from +the moment when Beatty and Von Hipper turned simultaneously toward the +south upon their first contact with each other, until night and fog +separated them at the end. Beatty's constant effort to secure a "cap" +contained no element of novelty, and Von Hipper's reply, refusing the +cap by turning his head away and swinging slowly on a parallel +interior curve, was the conventional, as it was the proper, reply. +Unfortunately, as we shall presently have occasion to note, the German +fleet ultimately allowed itself to be capped, with results which ought +to have been far more disastrous than they actually were. The +destroyers availed themselves of the opportunities for attack +presented from time to time by smoke and fog, and their drive was +stopped by opposing destroyers. + +So little is known of the German injuries that there is hardly +sufficient ground for comment on the British marksmanship, but it does +not appear to have been what the world had expected. Exactly the +reverse is true of the German marksmanship, especially at long ranges. +It was surprisingly good, and the most surprising thing about it was +the promptness with which it found the target. The _Indefatigable_ was +blown up ten minutes after she came under fire. Hood, in the +_Invincible_, had barely gained his place in line ahead of Beatty's +column when the ship was smothered by a perfect avalanche of shells. +If it is true that the Germans had the best of the fight so far as +material damage is concerned, the explanation must be sought in their +unexpectedly excellent marksmanship, with, perhaps, some sinister +factor added, either of weakness in the British ships or of amazing +power in the German shells, yet to be made known. It should be noted +that the sinking of the _Indefatigable_ and the _Queen Mary_ belongs +to a phase of battle in which Beatty had a distinct advantage of +force, his six battle cruisers being opposed to five. + +While the torpedo, as has been said, played no important part in the +action, the destroyers on both sides appear to have been active and +enterprising, and if they accomplished little in a material way, the +threat involved in their presence and their activity had an important +moral effect at several critical stages of the battle. When Jellicoe +decided not to force his offensive during the night he was no doubt +influenced in a large degree by the menace of the German destroyers. + +Destroyers, too, contributed indirectly to the loss of Arbuthnot's +armored cruisers. When Jellicoe's fleet was seen approaching, +"appearing shadowlike from the haze bank to the northeast," the German +destroyers were thrown against them, and it was apparently to meet and +check this threat that Rear Admiral Arbuthnot pushed forward with his +armored cruisers into the area between the two main battle lines. It +may be that he could not see what lay behind the thrust he sought to +parry. Both the British and the German stories of the battle assume +that he was surprised. But whether this is true or not, the fact is +that it was in seeking to shield the battleships from a destroyer +attack that he came under fire of the main German force and lost three +of his ships almost immediately; for the _Warrior_, although she +remained afloat for several hours, was doomed from the first. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +LOSSES AND TACTICS + + +The British losses as reported officially, and no doubt truthfully, +are as follows: + + BATTLE CRUISERS: Tonnage Officers and Men + + _Queen Mary_ 27,500 1,000 + _Invincible_ 17,250 790 + _Indefatigable_ 18,750 780 + + ARMORED CRUISERS: + + _Defence_ 14,600 850 + _Black Prince_ 13,500 750 + _Warrior_ 13,500 750 + + DESTROYERS: + + _Tipperary_ 1,850 160 + _Turbulent_ 980 100 + _Fortune_ 950 100 + _Sparrowhawk_ 935 100 + _Ardent_ 950 100 + _Nestor_ 950 100 + _Nomad_ 950 100 + _Shark_ 950 100 + +The reported German losses are as follows. The actual losses may be +much greater: + + BATTLE CRUISERS: Tonnage Officers and Men + + _Luetzow_ 28,000 1,150 + + BATTLESHIP: + + _Pommern_ 13,040 736 + + LIGHT CRUISERS: + + _Wiesbaden_ ...... ... + _Frauenlob_ 2,657 281 + _Elbing_ ..... ... + _Rostock_ 4,820 373 + + DESTROYERS: + + Five .... ... + + _Total Tonnage Lost_ + + British 117,150 + German 60,720 (acknowledged) + + _Total Personnel Lost_ + + British 6,105 + German 2,414 (acknowledged) + +When the losses above given are analyzed they are found to be much +less favorable to the German side than they appear to be on the +surface. To begin with, we may eliminate the three armored cruisers on +the British side as of no military value whatever. This reduces the +_effective_ tonnage lost on the British side by more than 40,000 tons. + +The _Queen Mary_ and the _Luetzow_ offset each other. + +If we accept the German claim that the _Pommern_, which was lost, was +actually the old predreadnought of that name, it is fair to say that +she offsets the _Invincible_. There is, however, very good reason for +believing that she was a new and very powerful dreadnought. If this is +the case, her loss easily offsets that of both the _Invincible_ and +the _Indefatigable_. Accepting the German statement, however, as we +have done at all other points, we may say that so far as _effective_ +capital ships are concerned, the British lost one more than the +Germans. This, after all, is not a very great difference, and it is to +a large extent offset by the loss of four light cruisers which the +German admiralty admit. In destroyers the advantage is with the +Germans. + +With regard to the armored cruisers already referred to, it is +interesting to note the fact that these three ships were practically +presented to the Germans, thus paralleling the fate of their sister +ships, the _Cressy_, _Hogue_ and _Aboukir_, which, as will be +remembered, were destroyed by a submarine in September, 1914, under +conditions of inexplicable carelessness. The military loss represented +by all six of these ships was small (disregarding the loss of +personnel), but they all selected a fate which was so timed, and in +its character so spectacular, as to contribute enormously to the +lessening of the prestige with which the British navy had entered upon +the war. + +As bearing still further upon the comparative losses of the battle, +account must be taken of ships seriously injured. Of these, reports +from sources apparently unprejudiced insist that the German fleet has +a large number and that the number includes several of the most +powerful ships that took part in the battle. It is known that the +_Seydlitz_, one of the latest and largest of the German battle +cruisers, was so badly damaged that it will be many months before she +can take the sea again. There are stories of two other large ships +which reached port in such a condition that it was necessary to dock +them at once to keep them from sinking. Contrasted with this is the +fact that the British ships which reached port were but little +injured. This gives an air of probability to the story that the German +fire tactics provided for concentrating the fire of several of their +ships on some one ship of the enemy's line until she was destroyed. +This would explain the otherwise inexplicable fact that, while the +_Indefatigable_ and the _Queen Mary_ were being overwhelmed, the ships +ahead and astern of them were hardly struck at all. + +It may well be that the total damage done the German ships by the +steady pounding of the whole line vastly exceeds the total received by +the British ships. Something will be known on this subject when it +becomes clear that the Germans are, or are not, ready to take the sea +again. If their losses and their injuries were as unimportant as they +would have the world believe, if their victory was as great as they +claim that it was, they should be ready at an early date to challenge +the British again, this time with a fleet practically intact as to +ships, and with a personnel fired with enthusiastic confidence in its +own superiority. If, instead of this, they resume the attitude of +evasion which they have maintained so long, the inference will be +plain that they have not given the world the truth with regard to what +the battle of May 31, 1916, meant to them. + +A significant fact in this connection is that, regardless of what +others may say on the subject, the officers and men of the British +navy are convinced that the victory was with them, and are eager for +another chance at the enemy, which they fully believe they would have +destroyed if night and fog had not intervened to stay their hand. + +The net result of the battle as seen by the world, after careful +appraisement of the claims and counterclaims on both sides, is that +England retains the full command of the sea, with every prospect of +retaining it indefinitely, but that the British navy has, for the +moment, lost something of the prestige which it has enjoyed since the +days of Nelson and Jervis. There is nothing to support the belief that +the control of the North Sea or of any other sea has passed, or by any +conceivable combination of circumstances can pass, into the hands of +Germany during the present war, or as a result of the war. + +All accounts of the battle by those who participated in it represent +the weather as capricious. The afternoon came in with a smooth sea, a +light wind, and a clear, though somewhat hazy, atmosphere. The smoke +of the German ships was made out at a distance which must have been +close to twenty miles, and the range-finding as Beatty and Von Hipper +closed must have been almost perfect, as is proved by the promptness +with which the Germans began making hits on the _Queen Mary_ and the +_Indefatigable_. But this did not continue long. Little wisps of fog +began to gather here and there, drifting about, rising from time to +time and then settling down and gathering in clouds that at times cut +off the view even close at hand. + +As the sun dropped toward the horizon it lighted up the western sky +with a glow against which the British ships were clearly outlined, +forming a perfect target, while the dark-colored German ships to the +eastward were projected against a background of fog as gray as +themselves. It is interesting to recall the fact that these are +exactly the conditions which existed when the British and German +squadrons in the Pacific met off Coronel. In that case, as in the +present one, the British fleet was to the westward, clearly +silhouetted against the twilight sky. And the fate of the +_Indefatigable_ and the _Queen Mary_ was not more sudden or more +tragic than that of the _Good Hope_ and the _Monmouth_. It may be that +the unfavorable conditions were a matter of luck in both cases. But it +may be also that the Germans chose the time of day for fighting in +each case to accord with the position which they expected to occupy. + +The British complain much of their bad luck, but there are +well-recognized advantages of position with regard to light and wind +and sea, and the Germans seem to have the luck, if luck it be, to find +these advantages habitually on their side. + +The British call it luck that both in the battle off Horn Reef and +that off Dogger Bank the Germans escaped destruction through the +coming on of night. But how would this claim look if it were shown +that the Germans timed their movements with direct regard for +this--allowing themselves time for a decided thrust, to be followed by +withdrawal under cover of night before they could be brought to a +final reckoning? A careful study of the operations of the present war +shows, on both sea and land, a painstaking attention on the German +side to every detail, however small; and instances are not rare in +which they have benefited from this in ways which could hardly have +been anticipated. + + +TACTICS + +There has been much discussion of the tactics of the battle. And +critics, not in foreign countries alone, but in England, have pointed +out errors of Beatty and Jellicoe, while many more have come to their +defense and shown conclusively that everything done was wisely done, +and that the escape of the German fleet and the losses by the British +fleet were due not to bad management but to bad luck. + +The first point selected for criticism by those who venture to +criticize is the initial separation of Beatty's force from Jellicoe's +by from sixty to seventy miles. This certainly proved unfortunate, and +if it was deliberately planned it is undoubtedly open to criticism. A +reference, however, to the letter which Mr. Balfour addressed to the +mayors of Yarmouth and Lowestoft on May 8, 1916, suggests an +explanation which makes the separation of the two forces seem a +reasonable one. Mr. Balfour states, for the reassurance of the mayors +and their people, that a policy is to be adopted of keeping a force of +fast and powerful ships in certain ports near the English Channel, +where they will be ready to sally forth at short notice to run down +any force which may venture to cross the North Sea, whether for +raiding or for any other purpose. This foreshadows the assignment of a +force of battle cruisers to the south of England, and it is altogether +probable that Beatty, instead of having been detached by Jellicoe for +operations to the southward, had, in fact, gone out directly from the +mouth of the Thames to sweep northward toward a junction with the main +fleet. This view of the matter is confirmed by the opening sentence of +Beatty's official report to Jellicoe: + +"I have the honor to report that at 2.37 p. m. on 31st May, 1916, I +was cruising and steering to the northward to join your flag." + +Another point which has been criticized is the action of Beatty in +turning south instead of north when he first found himself in touch +with Von Hipper. + +It is not clear from the evidence at hand whether he followed Von +Hipper in this move or whether Von Hipper followed him. If Von Hipper +headed south, Beatty could not well refuse to follow him. Beatty was +there to fight if there was a chance to fight, and there is no +question that in heading south, whether he was following Von Hipper's +lead or taking the lead himself, he took the one course which made the +existing chance a certainty. + +From this point of view he was right. From another point of view he +was wrong, for he was running at full speed directly away from his own +supports and directly toward those of his opponent. He thought, and +Jellicoe appears to have thought, that the Germans did not wish to +fight. But when Beatty finally turned north, both Von Hipper and Von +Scheer followed readily enough, although they must have known pretty +accurately what lay ahead of them. Beatty's error, then, if error it +was, seems to have been not so much in judging the tactical situation +as in judging the spirit of his opponent. + +Very severe criticism has been directed against Beatty for fighting at +comparatively short ranges--9,000 to 14,000 yards--when he had a +sufficient excess of speed to choose his distance. This is hardly a +fair criticism of the early stages of the battle, as he was then +opposed to ships of the same type as his own, so that if he was +accepting a disadvantage for himself, he was forcing the same +disadvantage upon his opponent. And after all, 14,000 yards is not a +short range, though it is certainly much shorter to-day than it would +have been ten years ago. + +When, in the later stages of the battle, he was opposed to +dreadnoughts, it would perhaps have been wiser to maintain a range of +from 18,000 to 20,000 yards, but the situation was complicated by the +necessity of holding the enemy and leading him to the northward, and +it is not possible to say with any confidence that he could have done +this if he had held off at a distance as great as prudence might have +suggested. Circumstances placed him in a position where it seemed to +him desirable to forget the distinction between his ships and +battleships, and this is exactly what he did. + +Broadly speaking, it must be said that Beatty's course throughout the +day was, to quote the favorite expression of British writers on naval +matters, "in keeping with the best traditions of the service." And +while it was bold and dashing, it was entirely free from the rashness +which the British public has been a little inclined to attribute to +him since the Dogger Bank engagement. + +The only further criticism of the conduct of the battle is that which +insists that the German fleet should not have been allowed to escape. +And here it is difficult to find an explanation which is at the same +time an excuse. Of the situation at 9 p. m. Admiral Jellicoe writes +that he had maneuvered into a very advantageous position, _in which +his fleet was interposed between the German fleet and the German +base_. He then goes on to say that the threat of destroyer attack +during the rapidly approaching darkness made it necessary to dispose +the fleet with a view to its safety, _while providing for a renewal of +the action at daylight_. Accordingly, he "maneuvered so as to remain +between the Germans and their base, placing flotillas of destroyers +where they could protect the fleet and attack the heavy German ships." + +Admiral Beatty reported that he did not consider it desirable or +proper to engage the German battle fleet during the dark hours, _as +the strategical position made it appear certain he could locate them +at daylight under most favorable circumstances_. + +Here, then, is the situation between nine and ten o'clock at night, +when the approach of darkness made it seem desirable to call a halt +for the night--a huge fleet, of more than thirty capital ships, was +interposed between the Germans and their base. The general position of +the Germans was known, and destroyers, of which the British had at +least seventy-five available, were so disposed as to keep in touch +with the Germans and attack them during the night. The German fleet +was slower than the British fleet by several knots, and if the +statements by Jellicoe and Beatty of the damage done are even +approximately true, Von Hipper and Von Scheer must have been +embarrassed by the necessity of caring for a large number of badly +crippled ships. The night is short in that high latitude--not over +five hours at the maximum. + +And this is the report of what happened at daylight: + +"At daylight on the first of June the battle fleet, being southward of +Horn Reef, turned northward in search of the enemy vessels, and for +the purpose of collecting our own cruisers and torpedo-boat +destroyers. The visibility early on the first of June was three to +four miles less than on May 31, and the torpedo-boat destroyers, being +out of visual touch, did not rejoin the fleet until 9 a. m. The +British fleet remained in the proximity of the battle field and near +the line of approach to German ports until 11 a. m., in spite of the +disadvantages of long distances from fleet bases and the danger +incurred in waters adjacent to the enemy's coasts from submarines and +torpedo craft. + +"The enemy, however, made no sign, and I was reluctantly compelled to +the conclusion that the High Sea Fleet had returned into port. +Subsequent events proved this assumption to have been correct. Our +position must have been known to the enemy, as, at 4 a. m., the fleet +engaged a Zeppelin about five minutes, during which time she had ample +opportunity to note and subsequently report the position and course of +the British fleet." + +Here is the mystery of the Battle of Horn Reef, and here we may place +our finger on the point at which the explanation lies (if we could +only make out what the explanation is) of the reason why this battle +cannot take rank, either in its conduct or in its results, with the +greatest naval battles of history--with Trafalgar and the Nile, to +speak only of English history. It is an unfinished battle; +inconclusive, indecisive. And in this respect it cannot be changed by +later news of greater losses than are now known. When Jellicoe, with a +force materially superior to that commanded by Von Scheer _and with +higher speed_, had interposed between the latter and his base, it +would seem that there should have been no escape for the German fleet +from absolute destruction. It should have been "played" during the +night, and either held or driven northward. How it could work around +the flank of the British fleet and be out of sight at dawn is +impossible of comprehension even when we have made due allowance for +low visibility. And its disappearance was complete. The only German +force that was seen was a lone Zeppelin, which was engaged for five +minutes. The mystery is increased by Jellicoe's statement that at +daylight he "turned northward in search of the enemy's vessels." + +His story ends with something in the nature of a reproach for the +Germans because they did not return, although "our position must have +been known to them." + +[Illustration: PLATE IX. Movement of Forces. 10 P.M. May 31st to 4 +A.M. June 1st.] + +Let us consider what the situation actually was at daylight. The +German fleet, as a whole, had a maximum speed of perhaps 18 knots when +fresh from port, and with every ship in perfect condition. According +to the English account it had suffered very severely, many of its +units being badly crippled. It is inconceivable that it was in a +condition when Jellicoe lost touch with it at ten o'clock at night to +make anything like its maximum speed without deserting these cripples. +Let us suppose, however, that it could and did make 18 knots in some +direction between 10 p. m. and 4 a. m. It would run in that time 108 +miles. If, therefore, we draw a circle around the point at which it +was known to have been at ten o'clock, with 108 miles as a radius, we +shall have a circle beyond which it cannot have passed at 4 a. m. +(Plate IX). + +If we assume a lower limit for its speed, say 12 knots, we may draw +another circle with 72 miles as a radius, and say that in all +probability the fleet has passed beyond this circle, in some +direction, by 4 a. m. We have now narrowed the space within which the +German fleet may be at 4 a. m. of June 1, 1916, to the narrow area +between our two circles. + +But we know that the fleet, if it is in reality badly crippled, will +be under the necessity of making its way back to a base at once, and +that the detour which it makes to avoid the British fleet will +accordingly be as slight as possible. It certainly will not attempt to +reach Helgoland by running north or east. It will doubtless start off +toward the west or southwest and swing around to the south and +southeast as soon as Von Scheer feels confident of having cleared the +western flank of the British fleet. We may then draw two bounding +lines from the point which the Germans are known to have occupied at +ten o'clock, and feel reasonably sure that four o'clock will find them +between these lines. In other words, Jellicoe knew with almost +mathematical certainty that at four o'clock on the morning of June 1, +1916, the German fleet was within the area _A_, _B_, _C_, _D_, Plate +IX. His own more powerful fleet was at _E_ and _F_, _still between the +Germans and their base_, with an excess of speed of at least three +knots, and probably much more than this. He searched _to the north_, +and not finding them there, "was reluctantly compelled to the +conclusion that the High Sea Fleet had returned into port." He +accordingly returned to port himself. + + +THE GERMAN TACTICS + +[Illustration: PLATE X. Movements of Jellicoe's Forces--3:30 P.M. to +9:30 P.M. May 31st. (as shown in Jellicoe's Official Report). Note: +The movements of the German Forces here shown correspond nearly, but +not exactly, with the information on which plates VI and VII are +based.] + +If it is true that the British blundered in allowing the Germans to +escape from a trap from which escape should have been impossible, +it is equally true that the Germans blundered in allowing +themselves to be caught in such a trap. In the early part of the +battle the German tactics were all that they should have been. In +turning south, when Beatty's force was sighted, Von Hipper was right +from every point of view, for he was closing with Von Scheer while +drawing Beatty away from Jellicoe. He was equally sound a little later +when he turned north, for he did not turn until he had been joined by +Von Scheer. He was still sound when at six o'clock he turned east, +refusing to be capped, for there was as yet no threat of any important +increase in the force to which he was opposed. His mistake--or that of +his superior, Von Scheer--came when the British battleships were +sighted to the northeastward, heading down across his course. He knew, +or should have known, that he was now opposed by a force +overwhelmingly superior to his own and with considerably higher speed; +and yet he not only did not attempt to withdraw, but held his course +and allowed himself to be capped, thus deliberately accepting battle +with a greatly superior force and with conditions the most unfavorable +that could have been devised. That he suffered much at this point, as +he undoubtedly did, was the result of his own bad tactics. That he +suffered less than he deserved was the result of the equally bad +tactics on the part of his opponent. + +[Illustration: PLATE XI. What Von Scheer should have done when British +battleship fleet was sighted. NOTE: Compare this with Plates VII and +VIII.] + +As soon as the British battleships were seen approaching the German +fleet should have turned south and proceeded at full speed (Plate X), +not necessarily with intent to refuse battle permanently, but with +intent to refuse it until conditions could be made more favorable than +they were at this time. There would have been no difficulty about +reproducing on a larger scale the parallel fight which had marked the +earlier phases of the battle; and with night coming on and the weather +thickening, this would have reduced the British advantage to a +minimum. This plan would, moreover, have led the British straight +toward the mine and submarine area of the Helgoland Bight; or, if they +refused to be so led, would have made it necessary for them to abandon +the fight. + +It is true, of course, that they did abandon the fight in spite of +the great advantage which the German tactics gave them, but it is +equally true that the German admiral had no reason to hope for +anything so amazingly fortunate for his reputation as a tactician. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +DEATH OF LORD KITCHENER--OTHER EVENTS OF THE SECOND YEAR + + +The night of June 7, 1916, a storm raged along the Scottish shore. +There was wind, rain, and high seas. Toward dusk a British cruiser +approached a point on the extreme northerly end of the coast and took +aboard Earl Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, and his staff. +Among those with him were Lieutenant Colonel Oswald Arthur Fitzgerald, +his military secretary; Brigadier General Arthur Ellershaw, one of the +war secretary's advisers; Sir Hay Frederick Donaldson, munitions +expert, and Hugh James O'Beirne, former counselor at the British +embassy in Petrograd and for some time secretary of the embassy in +Washington. + +The cruiser, which was the _Hampshire_, of an old class, put to sea +and headed for Archangel, whence Lord Kitchener was to travel to +Petrograd for a war council with the czar and his generals. About +eight o'clock, only an hour after the party embarked, a mine or +torpedo struck the _Hampshire_ when she was two miles from land +between Merwick Head and Borough Brisay, west of the Orkney Islands. +It is supposed that the cruiser's magazine blew up. Persons on shore +saw a fire break out amidships, and many craft went to her assistance, +although a northwest gale was blowing and the sea was rough. + +Four boats got away from the _Hampshire_, all of which were swamped. +According to one report Lord Kitchener and his staff were lost after +leaving the cruiser, but a survivor said that he was last seen on the +bridge with Captain Herbert J. Savill, her commander. According to +this man Kitchener had on a raincoat and held a walking stick in his +hand. He said that the two men calmly watched preparations for +departure and saw at least two lifeboats smashed against the ship's +side. + +Twenty minutes after being torpedoed the _Hampshire_ sank, with a loss +of 300 lives. + +On July 9, 1916, two days after the _Hampshire_ went down, eleven men +of the cruiser reached the Orkneys, after forty-eight hours buffeting +by the waves upon a raft. The body of Colonel Fitzgerald was washed +ashore the same day of the sinking, but the sea did not give up +Kitchener or any of the other members of his staff. + +The Italian admiralty made known June 9, 1916, that the transport +_Principe Umberto_ had fallen victim to a submarine in the Adriatic +with a large loss of life. Estimates of the dead ran from 400 to 500. + +King George and Queen Mary attended a memorial service at St. Paul's +in honor of Kitchener on June 13, 1916, when many of the most +prominent officials and citizens of the realm were present. They had a +large military escort to and from the cathedral in respect to the dead +war minister. Other services were held at Canterbury and in many +cities through the kingdom. + +On the night of June 18, 1916, a squadron of Russian submarines, +destroyers and torpedo boats surprised a German convoy of merchant +vessels at a point southeast of Stockholm and not far from Swedish +waters. Owing to the heavy losses of German shipping in the Baltic +practically all Teuton ships in that sea traveled under escort only, +and there was a dozen or more vessels in the convoy. An engagement +took place lasting forty-five minutes, during which the Russians sank +the auxiliary cruiser _Herzmann_, capturing her crew and two other +craft, one of which was believed to have been a destroyer. In the +confusion all of the merchant ships reached the Swedish coast and +other destroyers and armed trawlers accompanying them made good their +escape. Berlin admitted the loss, adding that the _Herzmann's_ +commander and most of her crew were saved. + +During the night of June 16, 1916, the British destroyer _Eden_ +collided with the transport _France_ in the English Channel and sank. +Thirty-one men and officers escaped. + +The German submarine _U-35_, commanded by Lieutenant von Arnauld, put +into Cartagena, Spain, June 21, 1916, after a 1,500 mile run from Pola +with a personal letter to King Alfonso, signed by Kaiser Wilhelm. The +missive bore thanks for the treatment of German refugees from the +Kameruns who had been interned in Spain, and the submarine also +brought hospital supplies for the fugitives. Its arrival made a strong +impression on the Spanish public and was taken as a new sign of +Germany's power. No such trip ever had been made before for such a +purpose. It was a precedent in the communication of kings. + +The British steamship _Brussels_, carrying freight and a number of +passengers, most of whom were Belgian refugees bound from Rotterdam to +Tillbury, a London suburb, was captured in the channel by German +destroyers and taken to Zeebrugge, Belgium on the night of June 23, +1916. The incident proved that German warcraft were again far afield. +It was said that the capture had been made by means of previous +information as to the time of the _Brussels's_ sailing and with the +aid of a spy. Her course lay about forty miles north of Zeebrugge, and +a suspected passenger was seen to wave a lantern several times before +the destroyers came up. + +Captain Fryatt attempted to ram the nearest vessel and escape, but the +effort failed and he was arrested and charged with piracy. Germany had +announced early in the war that she would consider any merchant +captain who made a hostile move, even in defense of his vessel, as a +franc-tireur. + +Loss of the Italian auxiliary cruiser _Citta di Messina_, 3,495 tons, +and the French destroyer _Fourche_ was announced by Paris June 25, +1916. The _Messina_ was carrying troops across the Strait of Otranto +when a submarine torpedoed her. The _Fourche_, serving as a convoy, +gave pursuit without result, then turned back to save such survivors +as she could. Within a few minutes she was struck by a second torpedo +and sunk. All on board the two vessels, probably 300 men, were +drowned. + +[Illustration: Earl Kitchener.] + +The Austrians lost two transports in the harbor of Durazzo, June 26, +1916, when Italian submarines succeeded in passing the forts and +inflicting a heavy blow. Both ships had troops, arms and ammunition +aboard, according to a Rome report. The casualties were unknown. + +Petrograd announced that Russian torpedo craft intercepted a large +convoy of Turkish sailing vessels in the Black Sea on June 29, 1916, +and destroyed fifty-four ships. The attack took place off the +Anatolian coast, and several hundred men were believed to have been +drowned. If the number of ships sunk was correct it established a +record for the war. + +The former German warship _Goeben_, renamed the _Sultan Selim_, +shelled Tournose, a Russian Black Sea port, on July 3, 1916, and did +considerable damage. One steamship in the harbor went down as a result +of shell fire and large oil works near the city broke into flames. The +_Breslau_, called the _Midullu_ by the Turks, bombarded Scotchy, a +near-by port, about the same time. Several fires started in the latter +city and there were some casualties at both points. + +A second Russian hospital ship, the _Vperiode_, was torpedoed in the +Black Sea, July 9, 1916, with a loss of seven lives. She was a ship of +850 tons, having accommodations for about 120 wounded. Like the +_Portugal_, sunk by a submarine some weeks before the _Vperiode_ was +plainly marked with the usual Red Cross emblem. The attack came in +daylight and was accepted by the Russians as having been deliberately +made, which once more aroused the indignation of the Russian people. + +Berlin announced July 7, 1916, that the British steamer _Lestris_, +outward bound from Liverpool had been captured near the British East +Coast and taken to a German port. This second capture in the channel +within a few days caused considerable criticism in England. + +As dawn was breaking on July 10, 1916, a submarine came alongside a +tug in Hampton Roads and asked for a pilot. The pilot went aboard and +found himself on the subsea freighter _Deutschland_, first merchant +submarine to be built and the first to make a voyage. She came from +Bremerhaven, a distance of 4,000 miles, in sixteen days. Reports had +been current since the _U-35_ made her trip to Cartagena that the +kaiser would send a message to President Wilson by an undersea boat. +The American public scouted the idea as being impossible of +accomplishment, but the report persisted, and cities along the +Atlantic Coast line had been on the watch for several days. The +_Deutschland_ eventually turned into Hampton Roads, piloted by a +waiting tug, and tied up at a Baltimore dock. + +The submarine, which was the largest ever seen in American waters, +became a seven days' wonder. Captain Paul Koenig and his twenty-nine +men and officers told some interesting stories of their trip across +the ocean. It was said that the _Deutschland_ could remain submerged +for four days. When they got into the English Channel there was a +cordon of warships barring exit to the Atlantic that made them +extremely cautious. So Captain Koenig let his vessel lay on the bottom +of the channel for a day and a night while the men enjoyed themselves +with a phonograph and rousing German songs. When their enemies thinned +out to some extent the submarine started again on her way and headed +directly for Baltimore, which she reached without special incident. + +The _Deutschland_ immediately received the name of supersubmarine. +Some thousand tons of dyes and other valuable products filled her +hold. They were reported to be worth $1,000,000. The vessel was able +to make twelve knots an hour on the surface and about seven knots when +submerged. She traveled most of the way across on the surface, being +under water about one-third of the time. In addition to her valuable +cargo, she brought a special message from Kaiser Wilhelm to the +president. + +No other submarine, so far as known, had made a trip of such distance +as the _Deutschland_ up to that time. Longer voyages have been +accredited to several British submarines, but they were either made +with a convoy or broken by stops enroute. Soon after the beginning of +the war, several Australian submarines journeyed from their far-away +home ports to the Dardanelles, traveling 13,000 miles. They called at +various points in the two Americas. Submarines built in America and +assembled in Canada proceeded from Newfoundland to Liverpool before +the _Deutschland_ crossed the Atlantic, but they had another ship as +convoy. + +The _Sultan Selim_ and the _Midullu_ clashed with Russian ships in the +Black Sea, July 11, 1916, sinking four merchant vessels. They also +bombarded harbor works on the Caucasian Coast near Puab. Both +attacking vessels made their escape without injury. + +Vienna reported on the same day the sinking of five British patrol +boats in the Otranto Road, between Italy and Albania, by the cruiser +_Novara_. Only nine men were saved. + +Seaham Harbor, a small coal port near Sunderland, on the British +Channel coast, was shelled by a submarine the night of July 11, 1916. +Thirty rounds of shrapnel started several fires and caused the death +of one woman. Berlin also claimed the sinking of a British auxiliary +cruiser of 7,000 tons and three patrol vessels on the night of that +day. The statement was never denied in London, and no details were +made public as to the fate of the crews. + +The Italian destroyer _Impetuoso_ was torpedoed in the Adriatic, July +16, 1916, with a loss of 125 lives. + +In retaliation for Turkish attacks upon her hospital ships, Russia +announced July 21, 1916, that she would no longer respect hospital +ships of the Ottomans. It was pointed out that hitherto all vessels +bearing the markings of the Red Crescent Society, which is the Turkish +equivalent of the Red Cross, had been uniformly respected. This +declaration by Russia implied a depth of resentment that had swept +through all of the allied countries because of deeds said to have been +committed by the Teutons and their Turkish cohorts. Some few reprisals +were taken by France in the way of air raids in retaliation for the +bombardment of open cities. But this was the first recorded step of +Russia in that direction and foretold a war in which all quarter would +disappear. + +Two years of fighting had cost both sides heavily upon the sea. Up to +August 1, 1915, according to the best available figures, the allied +navies lost seventy-one warships, with a tonnage of 326,855. Great +Britain was a sufferer to the extent of forty-two ships in that first +year, aggregating 254,494 tons, represented by eight battleships, +three armored cruisers, four protected cruisers, four light cruisers, +and twenty-three smaller craft. In the same period France lost twelve +ships of 28,027 tons; Russia six ships of 21,775 tons; Japan seven +ships of 4,801, and Italy four ships of 17,758 tons. + +The losses of Germany, Austria and Turkey in 1915 were placed at +eighty-nine ships, with a gross tonnage of 262,791. Of these Germany +lost sixty-nine vessels, aggregating 238,904 tons, and consisting of +one battle cruiser, five armored cruisers, ten protected cruisers and +fifty smaller craft. Austria lost seven ships of 7,397 tons, and +Turkey thirteen ships of 16,490 tons. + +Curiously enough the second year's figures show smaller losses for +both sides. The Allies are accredited with forty-one ships having a +tonnage of 202,600, and the Teutonic allies with thirty-three ships, +having a tonnage of 125,120. Thirty-four British ships were sunk, +including two battleships, three battle cruisers, seven protected +cruisers, two light cruisers, and seventeen smaller craft. The other +losses were distributed between her partners in arms. + +Germany's loss in 1916 was twenty-six ships--four battleships, one +battle cruiser, six protected cruisers, and fifteen smaller craft, +approximating 114,620 tons. The remaining casualties on the German +side were divided between Austria and Turkey. + +These figures do not take into account several vessels claimed to have +been sunk by both sides but are predicated upon known sea casualties. +During the two years Germany sustained a reduction of 18.5 of her +strength in battleships and battle cruisers of the dreadnought era, +which means ships built since 1904, and these are the units that +really count in modern warfare. Britain is believed to have lost 6.6 +of similar vessels. In light cruisers her loss was only 5.2 per cent, +while Germany was weakened nearly 45 per cent in that class of vessel. +The figures shift for vessels of an older type, showing a ratio of +about two to one against Great Britain. This is due largely to the +Dardanelles enterprise and because in some instances older craft were +assigned to many dangerous undertakings where the newer ships were +held in reserve. + +In every engagement of any consequence that took place during the +first two years of war, with the single exception of the fight off +Chile, Britain won and Germany lost. But Germany inflicted greater +injury upon her opponent than any other nation in all the years of +Britain's maritime supremacy. The actual material loss to her enemies +was larger than her own. Despite this and the fact of Germany's +strongest efforts Britain still ruled the waves. + + + + +PART III--CAMPAIGN ON THE EASTERN FRONT + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE EASTERN FRONT AT THE APPROACH OF SPRING, 1916 + + +In the preceding volumes we have followed the fates of the Austrian, +German, and Russian armies from the beginning of the war up to March +1, 1916. Although spring weather does not set in in any part of the +country through which the eastern front ran until considerable time +after that date, events along the western front, where the Germans +were then hammering away at the gates of Verdun, had shaped themselves +in such a manner that they were bound to influence the plans of the +Russian General Staff. It was, therefore, not much of a surprise that +a Russian offensive should set in previous to the actual arrival of +spring. + +As we shall see shortly, the first two weeks or so of March, 1916, saw +a renewal of active fighting at many points along the entire eastern +front. But most of this was restricted during this period to +engagements between small bodies of troops and in most instances +amounted to little more than clashes between patrols. This preliminary +period of reconnoitering was followed by another short period of +preparatory work on the part of the Russian armies consisting of +artillery attacks on certain selected points and undertaken with a +violence and an apparently unlimited supply of guns and ammunition +such as had not been displayed by the Russian forces on any previous +occasion, and when, after these preliminaries the actual offensive was +launched, the number of men employed was proportionally immense. + +Before we follow in detail developments along the eastern front, it +will be well for a fuller understanding of these, to visualize again +its location and to determine once more the distribution of the forces +maintaining it on both sides. In its location the eastern front had +experienced very little change since the winter of 1915 had set in and +ended active campaigning. Its northern end now rested on the southwest +shore of the Gulf of Riga at a point about ten miles northwest of the +Baltic town of Pukkum on the Riga-Windau railroad and about thirty +miles northwest of Riga itself. From these it ran in a southeasterly +direction through Schlock, crossed the river Aa where it touches Lake +Babit, passed to the north of the village of Oley and only about five +miles south of Riga, and reached the Dvina about halfway between +Uxkull and Riga. From there it followed more or less closely the left +bank of the Dvina, passed Friedrichstadt and Jacobstadt to a point +just west of Kalkuhnen, a little town on the bend of the Dvina, +opposite Dvinsk. There it continued, generally speaking, in a +southerly direction, at some points with a slight twist to the east, +at others with a similarly slight turn to the west. It thus passed +just east of Lake Drisviaty, crossed the Disna River at Koziany, then +ran through Postavy and just east of Lake Narotch, crossed the Viliya +River and the Vilna-Minsk railroad at Smorgon, and reached the Niemen +at Lubcha. From thence it passed by the towns of Korelitchy, Zirin, +Luchowtchy and entered the Pripet Marshes at Lipsk. About ten miles +south of the latter town the line crossed the Oginsky Canal and +followed along its west bank through the town of Teletshany to about +the point where the canal joins the Jasiolda River. From that point +the Germans still maintained their salient that swings about five +miles to the east of the city of Pinsk. + +Up to just south of the Pinsk salient, where the line crossed the +Pripet River, it was held, for the Central Powers, almost exclusively +by German troops. Below that point its defense was almost entirely in +the hands of Austro-Hungarian regiments. Soon after crossing the +Pripet River the line reached the Styr River and followed its many +turns for some thirty miles, now on its western bank and then again on +its eastern shore. This river was crossed between Czartorysk and +Kolki. About thirty miles south of Kolki, just to the east of the +village of Olyka the Russians had succeeded in maintaining a small +salient, the apex of which was directed toward their lost fortress of +Lutsk almost twenty miles to the west, while the southern side passed +very close to that other fortress, Dubno, even though it ran still +some distance to the east of it. Crossing then the Lemberg-Rovno +railroad, the line ran along both banks of the Sokal River to Ikva and +crossed the Galician border near Novo Alexinez. + +A short distance south of the border, about twenty miles, it crossed +the Lemberg-Tarnopol railroad, at Jesierne, a little town about sixty +miles east of Lemberg and less than twenty miles west of Tarnopol. Ten +miles further south the Strypa River was crossed and followed within a +mile or so along its west bank for a distance of some twenty miles, +passing west of Burkanow and Buczacz. Just south of the latter town +the line overspread both banks of the Strypa up to its junction with +the Dniester, thence along the banks of this stream for almost twenty +miles to a point about ten miles west of the junction of the Sereth +River with the Dniester. At that point the line took another slight +turn to the east, passing just east of the city of Czernowitz, and +crossing at that point the river Pruth into the Austrian province of +Bukowina. Less than ten miles southeast of Czernovitz the border of +Rumania was reached near Wama and thereby the end of the line. + +As the crow flies, the length of this line, from the Gulf of Riga to +the Rumanian border was six hundred and twenty miles. Actually, +counting its many turns and twists and salients, it covered more than +seven hundred and fifty miles. From the Gulf to the Pripet River the +eastern front was held by German troops with one single exception. + +From there an Austrian army corps with only a very slight admixture of +German troops completed the front of the Central Empires down to the +Bessarabian border. + +[Illustration: Eastern Battle Front, August, 1916.] + +From the Gulf of Riga down to the Oginski Canal five distinct German +army corps were facing the Russians. The most northern of these +covered the Gulf section and the Dvina front down to a point near +Friedrichstadt. The second group was lined up from that point on down +to somewhere just south of Lake Drisviaty, the third from Lake +Drisviaty to the Viliya River, the fourth from the Viliya River to the +Niemen River, and the fifth from the Niemen to the Oginski Canal. +Generals von Scholz, von Eichhorn, von Fabeck, and von Woyrsch, were +in command of these difficult units, with Field Marshal von Hindenburg +in supreme command. The sector south of the Oginski Canal and up to +the Pripet River was held by another army group under the command of +Field Marshal Prince Leopold of Bavaria. + +The first Austrian army corps, forming the left wing of the front held +by the Austro-Hungarian forces, was commanded by Archduke Joseph +Ferdinand. Later on, as the rapid success of the Russian offensive +made it necessary for German troops to come to the assistance of their +sorely pressed allies, General von Linsingen was dispatched from the +north with reenforcements and assumed supreme command of this group of +armies located in Volhynia. The command of the Galician front was in +the hands of the Bavarian general, Count von Bothmer, while the forces +fighting in the Bukowina were directed by General Pflanzer. + +On the Russian side of the line General Kuropatkin, well known from +the Russo-Japanese War, was in command of the northern half of the +front. Of course, there were a number of other generals under him in +charge of the various sectors of this long line. But on account of the +comparative inactivity which was maintained most of the time along +this line, their names did not figure largely. South of the Pripet +Marshes General Alexeieff was in supreme command. Under him were +General Brussilov and General Kaledin in Volhynia, General Sakharoff +in Galicia, and the Cossack General Lechitsky in the Bukowina along +the Dniester. Here, too, of course were a number of other commanders +who, however, came into prominence only occasionally. + +An intimate view of some of the Russian generals and their troops is +presented in the following description from the pen of the official +English press representative: + +"The head of the higher command, General Alexeieff, early in the +Galician campaign clearly proved, as chief of staff to General +Ivanoff, his extraordinary capacity to direct an advance. As commander +on the Warsaw front he made it evident that he could, with an army +short of all material things, hold until the last moment an enemy +equipped with everything, and then escape the enemy's clutches. At +Vilna he showed his technique by again eluding the enemy. + +"General Kaledin, the commander of the army on the Kovel front, is +relatively a new figure in important operations. At the beginning of +the war, as commander of a cavalry division, his universal competence +in all operations committed to his care brought him rapid promotion, +until now he is the head of this huge army. Meeting him frequently as +a guest, I have come to feel great confidence in this resolute, quiet +man, who is surrounded by a sober, serious staff, each officer picked +for his past performance. + +"I note an infinite improvement since last year in the army. In the +first place I see no troops without rifles, and there is no shortage +of ammunition apparent. Then there is an extraordinary improvement in +the organization of the transport. In spite of the large volume of +troops on this front they are moving with less confusion than the +transport of single corps entailed two years ago. The compact +organization of munition columns and the absence of wasted time have +speeded up communications fully fifty per cent., enabling three units +to be moved as easily as two last year. + +"The transport has been further improved by the addition of motor +vehicles. The staff organization is incomparably better than at the +beginning of the war, and I have not seen a single staff on this front +which is not entirely competent. The system of transporting the +wounded has been well organized, and vast numbers are being cleared +from the front stations without confusion or congestion. + +"In comparison I can recall the early Galician days when unimagined +numbers of wounded, both our own and Austrian, flooded Lemberg in a +few days, and there were countless casualties. In spite of the numbers +of wounded here I have not seen any congestion, and I find all the +clearing stations cleared within a few hours after every fight, the +wounded passing to base hospitals and being evacuated into the +interior of Russia with great promptness. + +"Owing to the few good roads and the distance from the railway of much +of the fighting, in many places the wounded have been obliged to make +trips of two or three days in peasants' carts before reaching the +railways. + +"Finally, the morale of the army has reached an unexampled pitch. In +the hospitals which I inspected with the general many of the wounded, +even those near death, called for news of the front, asking if the +trenches were taken, and saying they were willing to die if the +Germans were only beaten. Such sentiments typify the extent to which +this conflict is now rooted in the hearts of the Russian army and +people." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE RUSSIAN MARCH--OFFENSIVE FROM RIGA TO PINSK + + +Beginning with March 1, 1916, active campaigning was renewed along the +eastern front. Climatic conditions, of course, made any extensive +movements impossible as yet. But from here and there reports came of +local attacks, of more frequent clashes between patrols, and of +renewed artillery activity. Some of these occurred in the Bukowina, in +Bessarabia, and in Galicia, others in the neighborhood of +Baranovitchy, north of the Pripet Marshes, and, later, toward the +middle of March, 1916, fighting took place at the northernmost point +of the line, near Lake Babit. + +It was not until March 17, 1916, however, that it became more apparent +what was the purpose of the many encounters between Russian and German +patrols that had been officially reported with considerable regularity +since the beginning of March. On March 17, 1916, both the German and +Austro-Hungarian official statements reported increased Russian +artillery fire all along the line. On the following day, March 18, +1916, the Russians started a series of violent attacks. The first of +these was launched in the sector south of Dvinsk. This is the region +covered with a number of small marshy lakes that had seen a great deal +of the most desperate fighting in 1915. With great violence Russian +infantry was thrown against the German lines that ran from Lake +Drisviaty south to the town of Postavy; another attack of equal +strength developed still further south along both banks of Lake +Narotch. But the German lines not only held, but threw back the +attacking forces with heavy losses which, according to the German +official statement of that day were claimed to have numbered at Lake +Narotch alone more than 9,000 in dead. + +In spite of these heavy losses and of the determined German +resistance, the Russians repeated the attack with even increased force +on March 19, 1916. At Lake Drisviaty, in the neighborhood of Postavy +and between Lake Vishnieff and Lake Narotch attack after attack was +launched with the greatest abandon. This time the Germans not only +repulsed all these attacks, but promptly launched a counterattack near +Vidzy, a little country town on the Vilna-Dvinsk post road, capturing +thereby some 300 men. The German official statement claimed that these +prisoners belonged to seven different Russian regiments, giving +thereby an indication of the comparatively large masses of troops +employed on the Russian side. + +Again on March 30, 1916, new attacks were launched in the same +locality. At one point the Germans were forced to withdraw a narrow +salient which protruded to a considerable distance just south of Lake +Narotch. Russian machine guns had been placed in such positions that +they enfiladed the salient in three directions and made it untenable. +The German line here was withdrawn a few hundred feet toward the +heights of Blisuiki. During the night of March 20, 1916, especially +violent attacks were again launched against the German lines between +Postavy and Vileity, a small village to the northwest of that town. +There the Russians succeeded in gaining a foothold in the German +trenches. During the afternoon the Russians attempted to extend this +success. With renewed violence they trained their guns on the German +positions. In order to throw back a strong German counterattack, a +curtain of fire was laid before the trenches stormed earlier in the +day. At the same time German artillery strongly supported the attack +of their infantry. On both sides the gunfire became so violent that +single shots could not be distinguished any longer. Shrapnel exploded +without cessation and rifle fire became so rapid that it sounded +hardly less loudly than the gunfire. Late in the afternoon the Germans +succeeded in retaking the trenches which they had lost in the morning, +capturing at that time the Russian victors of the morning to the +number of 600. + +On the same day, March 21, 1916, the Russians extended the sphere of +their attack. At the same time that they were hammering away at the +German lines south of Dvinsk other attacks were launched all along the +northern front. In the Riga region, near the village of Plakanen, as +well as in the district south of Dahlen Island, heavy engagements were +fought. Farther south, between Friedrichstadt and Jacobstadt, on the +south bank of the Dvina River the Russians captured a Village and wood +east of Augustinhof. + +At many other points, along the entire eastern front from Lake Narotch +south attacks developed. In most of these the Russians assumed the +initiative. But here and there--near Tverietch, just south of Vidzy; +along Lake Miadziol, just north of Lake Narotch, and around Lake +Narotch itself--the Germans attempted a series of counterattacks +which, however, yielded no tangible results. All in all, the day's +fighting made little change in the respective positions and the losses +in men were about evenly divided. + +The violence and energy with which the Russian attacks during March +were executed may readily be seen from reports of special +correspondents, who were behind the German lines at that period. +Their collective testimony also tends to confirm the German claims +that very large Russian forces were used and that their losses were +immense. + +"From Riga to the Rumanian border," says one of these eye-witnesses, +"thundered the crashing of guns.... About seventy miles northeast of +Mitau, a chain of lakes runs through the wooded, swampy country, +narrow, long bodies of water follow the course of Mjadsjolke River, a +natural trench in a region that is otherwise a very difficult +territory by nature. In the south the chain is closed by Lake Narotch, +a large secluded body of water of some thirty-five square miles, +through which now runs the front. In the north of this chain of lakes, +near the village of Postavy, a thundering of guns commenced on the +morning of March 18, 1916, such as the eastern front had hardly ever +heard before. Russian drum fire! From out of the woods, across the ice +and snow water of the swamps, line after line came storming against +the German trenches.... On the same day, farther south, between Lakes +Narotch and Vishnieff another Russian attack was launched.... The +losses of the Russians are immense. More than 5,000 dead and wounded +must be lying before our positions only about ten miles wide. During +the night a lull came. But with the break of dawn the drum fire broke +out once more, and again the waves of infantry rolled up against our +positions.... During the night from March 19 to March 20, 1916, the +drum fire of the Russian guns increased to veritable fury. As if the +entire supply of ammunition collected throughout the winter months +were to be used up all at once, shells continuously shrieked and +howled through the darkness: 50,000 hits were counted in one single +sector...." + +Another correspondent writes: "The numbers of the Russians are +immense. They have about sixty infantry divisions ready. Their losses +are in proportion and were estimated on a front of about ninety miles +to have been near to 80,000 men. For instance, against one German +cavalry brigade there were thrown seven regiments with a very narrow +front, but eight lines deep. Four times they came rushing on against +the German barbed-wire obstacles without being able to break through, +but losing some 3,000 men just the same.... On March 24, 1916, 6,000 +Russian shells were counted in a small sector on the Dvinsk front." + +In the latter sector and to the north of it, heavy fighting had +developed on March 22 and 23, 1916. Especially around Jacobstadt, +attack followed attack, both sides taking turns in assuming the +offensive. The Russian attacks were particularly violent during the +evening and night of March 22, 1916, and in some places resulted in +the temporary invasion of the German first-line trenches. Especially +hard was fighting along the Jacobstadt-Mitau railroad. Between Dvinsk +and Lake Drisviaty a violent artillery and rifle duel was kept up +almost continuously, resulting at one point, just below Dvinsk near +Shishkovo, in the breaking up of a German attack. South of the lake, +at the village of Mintsiouny, however, a German attack succeeded and +drove the Russians out of some trenches which they had gained only the +day before. Here, too, both artillery and rifle fire of great violence +carried death into both the Russian and German ranks. At Vidzy, a few +miles farther south, the Russians stormed four times in quick +succession against the German positions. Northwest of Postavy another +Russian attack failed, the Germans capturing over 900 men and officers +at that particular point. On the other hand, a German attack still +farther south and northwest of Lake Narotch was repulsed and the +Russians made slight gains in the face of a most violent fire. Near +the south shore of Lake Narotch a German attack supported by +asphyxiating gas forced back the Russians on a very narrow front for a +very short distance. From Lake Narotch down to the Pripet Marshes the +Russians maintained a lively cannonade at many points without, +however, making any attacks in force. + +During March 23, 1916, a determined Russian attack against the +bridgehead at Jacobstadt broke down under the heavy German gunfire. +During the night repeated Russian attacks to the north of the +Jacobstadt-Mitau railroad a surprise attack southwest of Dvinsk and +violent attacks along the Dvinsk-Vidzy sector suffered the same fate, +although in some instances the Russian troops succeeded in coming +right up to the German barbed-wire obstacles. Between Lake Narotch and +Lake Vishnieff the Russians captured some woods after driving out +German forces which had constructed strong positions there. + +Without cessation the Russian attacks continued day by day. Fresh +troops were brought up continuously. The munition supply, which in the +past had been one of the chief causes of Russian failure and disaster, +seemed to have become suddenly inexhaustible. Not only was each attack +carefully and extensively prepared by the most violent kind of +artillery fire, but the latter was directed also against those German +positions which at that time were immune from attack on account of the +insurmountable natural difficulties brought about by climatic +conditions. For by this time winter began to break up and ice and snow +commenced to melt, signifying the rapid approach of the spring floods. +To a certain extent these climatic conditions undoubtedly had an +important influence on Russian plans. Almost along the entire northern +part of the front the Germans possessed one great advantage. Their +positions were located on higher and drier ground than those of the +Russians, whose trenches were on low ground, and would become next to +untenable, once thaw and spring floods would set in in earnest. There +is little doubt that the great energy and superb disregard of human +life which the Russian commanders developed throughout the March +offensive were principally the result of their strong desire to get +their forces on better ground before it was too late or too difficult, +and from a tactical point of view the risks which they took at that +time and the price which they seemed to be willing to pay to achieve +their ends were not any too great. + +In spite of the lack of any important success the Russian attacks +against the Jacobstadt sector were renewed on March 24, 1916. But the +German guns had shot themselves in so well that it availed nothing. +Other attacks, attempted to the southwest of Dvinsk and at various +points north of Vidzy suffered the same fate. In the neighborhood of +Lake Narotch Russian activities on that day were restricted to +artillery fire. + +The Germans assumed the offensive on March 25, 1916, on the +Riga-Dvinsk sector. Their guns were trained against Schlock, a small +town on the south shore of the Gulf of Riga, just northwest of Lake +Babit, against the bridgehead at Uxkull, fifteen miles southeast of +Riga on the Dvina, and against a number of other positions between +that point and Jacobstadt. A German attempt to gain ground north of +the small sector of the Mitau-Jacobstadt railway, that was still in +Russian hands, failed in the face of a devastating Russian cannonade. +A German trench was captured by Russian infantry ably supported by +artillery west of Dvinsk, but neither southwest nor south of this +fortress were the Russians able to register any success. Northwest of +Postavy and between Lake Narotch and Lake Vishnieff heavy fighting +still continued and in some places developed into hand-to-hand +fighting between smaller detachments. From Lake Narotch down to the +Pripet Marshes German and Russian guns again raked the trenches facing +them. + +On March 26, 1916, the following day, the Russians attacked at many +points. Northwest of Jacobstadt, near the village of Augustinhof, a +most violent attack brought no results. Northwest of Postavy the +Russians stormed two trenches. Southwest of Lake Narotch repeated +heavy attacks were repulsed and some West Prussian regiments recovered +an important observation point which they had lost a week before. Over +2,100 officers and men were captured that day by the Germans. +Aeroplanes of the latter also resumed activity and dropped bombs on +the stations at Dvinsk, and Vileika, as well as along the +Baranovitchy-Minsk railroad. + +Russian artillery carried death and destruction into the German +trenches on March 27, 1916, before Oley, south of Riga, and before the +Uxkull bridgehead. In the Jacobstadt sector, as well as near Postavy, +violent engagements, launched now by the Germans and then again by the +Russians, occurred all day long without yielding any results to either +side. Southwest of Lake Narotch the Russians made a determined attack +with two divisions against the positions captured by German regiments +on the previous day, but were not able to dislodge the latter. +Fighting also developed now in the Pripet Marshes and the territory +immediately adjoining. Weather conditions were rapidly changing for +the worse all along the eastern front. Thaw set in, and all marsh and +lake ground was flooded. Everywhere, not only in the southern region, +but also in the northern, the ice on the rivers and lakes became +covered with water and was getting soft near the banks. Throughout the +northern region the melting of the thickly lying snow in the roads was +making the movements of troops and artillery extraordinarily +difficult. + +As a result of these conditions, which were growing more difficult +every day, a decided decrease in activity became immediately +noticeable on both sides. For quite a time fighting, of course, +continued at various points. But both the numbers of men employed as +well as the intensity of their effort steadily increased. + +Before Dvinsk and just south of the fortress artillery fire formed the +chief event on March 28, 1916. But south of Lake Narotch the Russians +still kept up their attacks. At one point, where the Germans had +gained a wood a few days ago the Russian forces attacked seven times +in quick succession and thereby recovered the southern part of the +forest. Along the Oginski Canal fighting was conducted at long range. +German aeroplanes again dropped bombs, this time on the stations at +Molodetchna on the Minsk-Vilna railroad, as well as at Politzy and +Luniniets. + +Both March 30 and 31, 1916, were marked by a noticeable cessation of +attacks on either side. Long-range rifle fire and artillery +cannonades, however, took place at many points from the Gulf down to +the Pripet Marshes. German aeroplanes again attacked a number of +stations on railroads leading out of Minsk to western points. + +Of all the violent fighting which took place during the second half of +March, 1916, along the northern half of the eastern front, the little +village of Postavy, perhaps, saw more than any other point. The +special correspondent of a Chicago newspaper witnessed a great deal of +this remarkably desperate struggle during his stay with Field Marshal +von Hindenburg's troops. His vivid description, which follows, will +give a good idea of the valor displayed both by German and Russian +troops, as well as of the immense losses incurred by the attackers +during this series of battles lasting ten days. + +"Despite the artillery, despite the machine guns and despite the +infantry fire, the apparently inexhaustible regiments of Russians +swept on over the dead, over the barbed-wire barriers before the +German line, over the first trenches and routed the German soldiers, +who were half frozen in the mud of their shattered shelters. A +terrible hand-to-hand conflict followed. Hand grenades tore down +scores of defenders and assailants' attacks. The men fought like +maniacs with spades, bayonets, knives and clubbed guns. + +"But the Russians won at a fearful price for so slight a gain. They +stopped within a hundred feet of victory. It may have been lack of +discipline, lack of officers or lack of reserves; no one knows. + +"The Russians seemed helpless in the German trenches. Instead of +sweeping on to the second lines they tried to intrench themselves in +the wrecked German first line. Immediately German artillery hurled +shells of the heaviest caliber into those lines and tore them into +fragments. + +"Then came the reserves and by nightfall the Russians had again been +driven out. + +"Four days later, suddenly without warning, a mud-colored wave began +to pour forth from the forest. It was a line of Russians three ranks +deep containing more than 1,000 men. Behind this was a second wave +like the first, and then a third. + +"The German artillery tore holes in the ranks, which merely closed up +again, marched on, and made no attempt to fire. They marched as though +on parade. 'It was magnificent but criminal!' said a German officer. + +"When a fourth line emerged from the woods the German artillery +dropped a curtain of fire behind it, and then a similar wall of shells +ahead of those in front. They then moved these two walls closer +together with a hail of shrapnel between them, while at the same time +they cut loose with the machine guns. + +"The splendid formation of Russians, trapped between the walls of +fire, scattered heedlessly in vain. Shells gouged deep holes in the +dissolving ranks. The air was filled with clamor and frantic shrieks +were sometimes heard above the incessant roar and cracking of +exploding projectiles. + +"Defeated men sought to dig themselves into the ground in the foolish +belief that they could find safety there from this deluge of shells. +Others raced madly for the rear and some escaped in this way as if by +a miracle. Still others ran toward the German lines only to be cut +down by the German machine-gun fire. + +"In less than twenty minutes the terrible dream was over. The attack +had cost the Russians 4,000 lives, and yet not a Russian soldier had +come within 600 yards of the German line." + +Another important feature of the March offensive, especially in its +early phases, was the patrol work, executed on both sides. This +required not only courage of the highest order, but also a high degree +of intelligence on the part of the leader as well as of the men +working under him. The results obtained by patrol work are, of course, +of the greatest importance to the respective commanding officers, and +many times the way in which such a mission is carried out is the +decisive factor in bringing success or failure to an important +movement. At the same time patrol work is, of course, a matter of +chiefly local importance, and no matter how difficult the problem or +how cleverly it is solved it is only on rare occasions that the result +reaches the outside world, even though a collection of detailed +reports which patrol leaders are able to make would form a story that +would put to shadow the most impossible book of fiction or the most +unbelievable adventure film. + +The following two descriptions of such work, therefore, make not only +a highly sensational story, but prove also that war in modern times +relies almost as much on personal valor and initiative as in times +gone by, all claims to the contrary notwithstanding, and in spite of +the wonderful technical progress which military science of our times +shares with all other sciences. + +An American special newspaper correspondent with Von Hindenburg's army +reports the following occurrences and also gives a vivid pen picture +of conditions in the territory immediately behind the front: + +"In a forest near the town of Lyntupy a patrol of thirteen Russian +spies hid in an abandoned German dugout in the course of a night march +southward to destroy a bridge over the river Viliya with high +explosives. + +"Desperate for food, they finally intrusted their safety to a Polish +forester, ordering him to bring food. The forester promptly gave the +Germans information. The Germans surrounded the dugout, throwing in +three hand grenades. On entering the dugout they discovered ten +Russians killed by grenades and three by bullets. + +"The Russian lieutenant had shot two comrades not killed by grenades +and then himself, in order to escape execution as spies, for the +patrol was not in uniform. + +"Another audacity was performed during a Russian attack on the German +trenches. From the darkness came a voice calling in perfect German, +'What is the matter with you? Are you soldiers? Are you Germans? Are +you men? Why don't you get forward and attack the Russians? Are you +afraid?' + +"Bewildered by these words coming up to them direct from the nearest +wire entanglements, the Germans turned a searchlight in the direction, +discovering the speaker to be a Russian officer who had taken his life +in his hands on the chance of drawing the Germans from the trenches. +His audacity cost him his life, for instantly he fell before a volley +of bullets. + +"The Germans speak well of the marksmanship of considerable bodies of +the Russian infantry. Personally, I can say they shoot as well as I +have any desire to have men shoot when aiming at me. Twice on Friday I +was sent scurrying off exposed ridges by the waspish whisper of +bullets coming from a Russian position jutting from the south shore of +Lake Miadziol. + +"There is not only railroad building, but also much farming going on +around Karolinow. The land for a distance of thirty miles has been +divided into thirteen farm districts by the Germans and planted to +potatoes, rye, oats and summer barley. In many parts the Germans are +taking a census, all their methodicalness contributing vastly to the +troops' comfort and happiness. Their health is amazing. The records +of one division show five sick men daily, which is not as many as one +would find in any town of 20,000 in any part of the world. + +"German caution and inventiveness also keep down the casualties +marvelously. Records I saw to-day showed thirty-eight wounded in one +division in the month of March, though the division was attacked twice +during the offensive. The percentage of heavily wounded for all the +German troops in this region in the last three months averages seven. + +"Despite the horrible roads, Field Marshal von Hindenburg has +penetrated to numerous villages on the front in the last few days to +greet and thank the troops. Returning to his headquarters Von +Hindenburg attended a banquet given by princes, nobles and generals of +the empire to mark the fiftieth year of the field marshal's army +service. Present amid the notables was a private soldier, in civil +life a blacksmith, who was elected with two officers by their comrades +to represent Von Hindenburg's old regiment at the banquet. The private +was chosen because he had been in all the battles, but never had been +wounded and never sick. He wears the Iron Cross of both classes." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +RESUMPTION OF AUSTRO-RUSSIAN OPERATIONS + + +Just as was the case along the Russo-German line, considerable local +fighting took place during the early part of March, to the south, +along the Austro-Russian front. Here, too, much of it was between +scouting parties and advanced outposts who attempted to feel out each +other's strength. Occasionally one or the other side would launch an +attack, with small forces, which, however, had little influence on +general conditions, even though the fighting always was furious and +violent. + +On March 4, 1916, a detachment of Russian scouts belonging to General +Ivanoff's army captured and occupied an advanced Austrian trench, +close to the bridgehead of Michaleze, to the northeast of the town of +Uscieszko on the Dniester River. Austrian forces immediately attempted +to regain this position, launching three separate attacks against it. +But the Russian troops held on to their slight gain. Near by, in the +neighborhood of Zamnshin on the Dniester, Russian engineers had +constructed elaborate mining works which were exploded on the same +day, doing considerable damage to the Austrian defense works, and +enabling the Russian forces to occupy some advanced Austrian trenches. + +During the next two weeks considerable fighting of this nature +occurred at many points along the front from the Pripet Marshes down +to the Dniester. At no time, however, were the forces engaged on +either side very numerous, nor did the results change the front +materially. The various engagements coming so early in the year, quite +some time before spring could be expected, signified, however, that +there were more important undertakings in the air. The fact that the +Russians were especially active in these scouting expeditions--for +they really amounted to little more at that time--rather pointed +toward an early resumption of the offensive on their part. + +It was, therefore, not at all surprising that, before long, a +considerable increase in Russian artillery activity became noticeable. +About the middle of March, coincident with a similar increase of +artillery attacks along the German-Russian front, the Russian guns in +South Poland, Galicia, and the Bukowina began to thunder again as they +had not done since the fall of 1915. This was especially done along +the Dniester River and the Bessarabian front. + +During the night of March 17, 1916, the Austrian position near +Uscieszko, which had been attacked before in the early part of March, +again was subjected to extensive attacks by means of mines and to a +considerable amount of shelling. This was a strongly fortified +position, guarding a bridgehead on the Dniester, which had been held +by the Austrians ever since October, 1915. The mining operations were +so successfully planned and executed that the Austrians, were forced +to withdraw a short distance, when the Russians followed the explosion +of their mines with a determined attack with hand grenades. In spite +of this, however, the Austrians held the major part of this position +until March 19, 1916. + +How furious the fighting was on both sides is indicated in the +official Austrian statement announcing on March 20, 1916, the final +withdrawal from this position: + +"Yesterday evening, after six months of brave defense, the destroyed +bridge and fortifications to the northwest of Uscieszko (on the +Dniester) were evacuated. Although the Russians succeeded in the +morning in exploding a breach 330 yards in width, the garrison, which +was attacked by an eightfold superior force, despite all losses held +out for seven hours in a most violent gun and infantry fire. + +"Only at 5 o'clock in the afternoon the commandant, Colonel Planckh, +determined to evacuate the destroyed fortifications. Smaller +detachments and the wounded reached the south bank of the Dniester by +means of boats. Soon, however, this means of transport had to be given +up, owing to the concentrated fire of the enemy. + +"There remained for our brave troops, composed of the Kaiser Dragoons +and sappers, only one outlet if they were to evade capture. They had +to cut their way through Uscieszko, which was strongly occupied by the +enemy, to our troops ensconced on the heights north of Zaleszczyki. +The march through the enemy position succeeded. Under cover of night +Colonel Planckh led his heroic men toward our advanced posts northwest +of Zaleszczyki, where he arrived early this morning." + +During the next few days the fire from the Russian batteries increased +still more in violence. It did not, however, at any time or place +assume the same strength which it had reached by that time at many +points along the Russo-German front, north of the Pripet Marshes. Nor, +indeed, did the Russians duplicate in the south their attempt at a +determined offensive which they were making then in the north. + +Considering the relative importance of Russian activities during the +month of March, 1916, most of the engagements which took place in +Galicia and Volhynia must be classed as unimportant. On March 21, +1916, it is true, almost the entire Austrian front was subjected to +extensive artillery fire. But only at a few points was this followed +by infantry attacks, and these were executed with small detachments +only. Along the Strypa River Russian forces attempted to advance at +various points, without gaining any ground. + +Throughout the following days many engagements between individual +outposts were again reported. On March 27, 1916, a Russian attempt to +capture Austrian positions near Bojan, after destroying some of the +fortifications by mines, failed. A similar fate met the attempt made +during that night to cross the Strypa River at its junction with the +Dniester. Other parts of the front, especially near Olyka and along +the Bessarabian border, were again subjected to heavy artillery fire. + +Although, generally speaking, the Austrians restricted themselves in +most instances to a determined resistance against all Russian attacks, +they took the offensive in some places, without, however, making any +more headway than their adversaries. By the end of March, 1916, +aeroplanes became more active on this part of the front, just as they +did further north. On March 28, 1916, both sides report more or less +successful bombing expeditions, which on that day seemed to bring +better results to the Austrians than to the Russians, though these +operations, too, must be considered of minor importance. Increasingly +bad weather now began to hamper further undertakings, just as it did +in the north, and by March 31, 1916, the Russian activities seemed to +have lost most of their energy. Along the entire southeastern front +thaw set in and the snows were melting. Although the territory along +the Austro-Russian front, south of the Pripet Marshes, is not as +difficult as further north, not being equally swampy, the fact that +the line ran to a great extent along rivers and through a mountainous, +or at least hilly country, resulted in difficulties hardly less +serious. Rivers and creeks which only a few weeks before held little +water suddenly became torrents and caused a great deal of additional +suffering to the troops on both sides by invading their trenches. + +The Russian offensive had barely slowed down when the Austrians +themselves promptly assumed offensive operations. But here, too, it +must be borne in mind that, although we used the word offensive, +operations were altogether on a minor scale and restricted to local +engagements. Some of the heaviest fighting of this period occurred +near the town of Olyka, on the Rovno-Brest-Litovsk railroad. Just +south of this place repeated Austrian attacks were launched against a +height held by the Russians, both on April 1 and 2, 1916, but they +were promptly repulsed. + +On April 3, 1916, another attack in that neighborhood, this time +northeast of Olyka, near the villages of Bagnslavka and Bashlyki, also +failed to carry the Austrians into the Russian trenches. On the same +day Austrian attacks were reported northwest of Kremenets on the Ikva, +along the Lemberg-Tarnopol railway and in the vicinity of Bojan. +Against all of these the Russian troops successfully maintained their +positions. Austrian aeroplanes continued their bombing expeditions +against some of the more important places immediately to the rear of +the Russian front, without, however, inflicting any very important +damage. + +Again a comparative lull set in. Of course, artillery duels as well as +continuous fighting between scouting parties and outposts took place +even during that period. But attacks in force were rare, and then +restricted to local points only. The latter were made chiefly by the +Austrians, but did not lead to anything of importance. The official +Russian statements report such engagements on April 6, 1916, near Lake +Sosno, south of Pinsk, along the upper Strypa in Galicia, and north of +Bojan. On April 7, 1916, an Austrian offensive attack attempted with +considerable force on the middle Strypa, east of Podgacie, in Galicia, +did not even reach the first line of the Russian trenches. On April 9, +1916, the Russians captured some Austrian trenches in the region of +the lower Strypa, and on April 11, 1916, repulsed Austrian attacks +north and south of the railway station of Olyka. Once more comparative +quiet set in along the southern part of the eastern front, broken +only by engagements between outposts and by a considerable increase in +aeroplane activity. + +But on April 13, 1916, the Russians again began to hammer away against +the Austrian lines. A violent artillery attack was launched against +the Austrian positions on the lower Strypa, on the Dniester and to the +northwest of Czernowitz, and the Austrians were forced to withdraw +some of their advanced positions to their main position northeast of +Jaslovietz. Southeast of Buczacz an Austrian counterattack failed. A +height at the mouth of the Strypa, called Tomb of Popoff, fell into +the hands of the Russian troops. Both Austrian and Russian aeroplanes +dropped bombs, without however inflicting any serious damage, even +though the Russians officially announced that as many as fifty bombs +fell on Zuczka--about half a mile outside of Czernowitz--and on North +Czernowitz. + +On April 14, 1916, the Russian artillery attacks on the lower Strypa, +along the Dniester and near Czernowitz, were repeated. Again the +Russians launched attacks against the advanced Austrian trenches at +the mouth of the Strypa and southeast of Buczacz. An advanced Russian +position on the road between that town and Czortkov was occupied by +the Austrians. + +For the balance of April, 1916, comparative quiet again ruled along +the southeastern front. The muddy condition of the roads made +extensive movements practically impossible. Outposts engagements, +artillery duels, aeroplane bombardments, isolated attacks on advanced +trenches and field works, of course, continued right along. But both +success and failure were only of local importance, so that the +official reports in most cases did not even mention the location of +these engagements. + +On the last day of April, 1916, however, the army of Archduke Joseph +Ferdinand started a new strong offensive movement north of Mouravitzy +on the Ikva in Volhynia. Heavy and light artillery prepared the way +for an attack in considerable force against Russian trenches which +formed a salient at that point, west of the villages of Little and +Great Boyarka. The Russians had to give ground, but soon afterward +started a strong counterattack, supported by heavy artillery fire, +and regained the lost ground, capturing some 600 officers and men. In +the southern half of the eastern front, just as in the northern half, +there was little change in the character of fighting with the coming +of May and the improvement in the weather. Artillery duels, aeroplane +attacks, scouting expeditions, and local infantry attacks of limited +extent and strength were daily occurrences. + +On May 1, 1916, Austro-Hungarian detachments were forced to withdraw +from their advanced positions to the north of the village of Mlynow. +This place is located on the Ikva River, some ten miles northwest of +the fortress of Dubno. Here the Russians had made a slight gain on +April 28, 1916, and when they made an attack with superior forces from +their newly fortified positions, they were able to drive back the +Austro-Hungarians still a little bit farther. + +Twenty miles farther north, in the vicinity of Olyka, the little town +about halfway between the fortress of Lutsk and Rovno, on the railway +line connecting these two points, the Russian forces reported slight +progress on May 2, 1916. Northwest of Kremenets, in the Ikva section, +Austro-Hungarian engineers succeeded in exploding mines in front of +the Russian trenches. But the Russians themselves promptly utilized +this accomplishment by rushing out of their trenches and making an +advanced trench of their own out of the mine craters dug for them by +their enemies. + +Two days later, on May 4, 1916, the Russians were able to improve +still more their new positions southeast of Olyka station, and to gain +some more ground there. Repeated Austro-Hungarian counterattacks were +repulsed. The same fate was suffered by determined infantry attacks on +the Russian trenches in the region of the Tarnopol-Pezerna railway, in +spite of the fact that these attacks were made in considerable force +and were supported by strong artillery and rifle fire. Later the same +day an engagement between reconnoitering detachments in the same +region, southwest of Tarnopol, resulted in the capture of one Russian +officer and 100 men by their Austro-Hungarian opponents. + +Minor engagements between scouting parties and outposts were the rule +of the day on May 5, 1916. These were especially frequent in the +region of Tzartorysk on the Styr, just south of the Kovel-Kieff +railway and south of Olyka station where Austro-Hungarian troops were +forced to evacuate the woods east of the village of Jeruistche. A +slight gain was made on May 6, 1916, by Russian troops in Galicia, on +the lower Strypa River, north of the village of Jaslovietz. + +Extensive mining operations, which, of course, were carried on at all +times at many places, culminated successfully for the Russians in the +region northwest of Kremenets on the Ikva and south of Zboroff on the +Tarnopol-Lemberg railway. In the latter place Russian troops crept +through a mine crater toward a point where Austro-Hungarian +engineering troops were preparing additional mines and dispersed the +working parties by a shower of hand grenades. + +Throughout the balance of May operations along the southern part of +the eastern front consisted of continued artillery duels, of frequent +aeroplane attacks, and of a series of unimportant though bitterly +contested minor engagements at many points, most of which had no +relation to each other, and were either attacks on enemy trenches or +attempts at repulsing such attacks. Equally continuous, of course, +also were scouting expeditions and mining operations. None of these +operations, however, yielded any noticeable results for either side, +and the story of one is practically the story of all. The result of +the artillery duels frequently was the destruction of some advanced +trenches, while occasionally a munitions or supply transport was +caught, or an exposed battery silenced. Mining operations sometimes +would also lead to the destruction of isolated trenches, and thus +change slightly the location of the line. But what one side gained on +a given day was often lost again the next day, and the net result left +both Germans and Russians at the end of May practically where they had +been at the beginning. Most of these minor engagements occurred in +regions that had seen a great deal of fighting before. Again and again +there appear in the official reports such well-known names as +Tzartorysk, Kolki, Olyka, Kremenets, Novo Alecinez, Styr River, Ikva +River, Strypa River. Inch by inch almost this ground, long ago +drenched with the blood of brave men, was fought over and over +again--and a gain of a few hundred feet was considered, indeed, a +gain. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THAW AND SPRING FLOODS + + +With the coming of thaw and the resulting spring floods roads along +the eastern front, not any too good under the most favorable climatic +conditions, had become little else than rivers of mud. Many of them, +it is true, had been considerably improved during the long winter +months, especially on the German-Austrian side of the line. But in +many instances this improvement consisted simply of covering them with +planks in order to make it possible to move transports without having +wheels sink into the mud up to the axles. When the creeks and rivers +along the line were now suddenly transformed by the melting snows into +streams and torrents, much of this improvement was carried away and +many roads not only sank back into their former impossible state, but, +becoming thoroughly soaked and saturated with water in many places +became impassable even for infantry. Movements of large masses soon +were out of the question. To shift artillery, especially of the +heavier kind, as quickly as an offensive movement required, and to +keep both guns and men sufficiently supplied with munitions, were out +of the question. The natural result, therefore, of these conditions +was the prompt cessation of the Russian offensive which had been +started in March, 1916, just before the breaking up of a severe +winter. + +However, this did not mean everywhere a return to the trench warfare, +such as had been carried on all winter, although in many parts of the +front activities on both sides amounted to little more. At other +points, however, offensive movements were kept up, even if they were +restricted in extent and force. Throughout the months of April and +May, 1916, no important changes took place anywhere on the eastern +front. A great deal of the fighting, almost all, indeed, was the +result of clashes between scouting detachments or else simply a +struggle for the possession of the most advantageous points, involving +in most instances only a trench here or another trench there, and +always comparatively small numbers of soldiers. + +Though the story of this series of minor engagements as it can be +constructed from official reports and other sources offers few thrills +and is lacking entirely in the sensational accomplishments which mark +movements of greater extent and importance, this is due chiefly to the +fact that few details become known about fighting of only local +character. In spite of this it must be borne in mind that all of this +fighting was of the most determined kind, was done under conditions +requiring the greatest amount of endurance and courage, and resulted +in innumerable individual heroic deeds, which, just because they were +individual, almost always remained unknown to the outside world. + +On April 1, 1916, a German attack against the bridgehead at Uxkull was +repulsed by Russian artillery. Farther south, in the Dvinsk sector +German positions were subjected to strong artillery bombardment at +many points, especially at Mechkele, and just north of Vidzy. On the +following day, April 2, 1916, fighting again took place in the Uxkull +region. Mines were exploded near Novo Selki, south of Krevo, a town +just south of the Viliya River. The Germans launched an attack north +of the Baranovitchy railway station. This is the strategically +important village through which both the Vilna-Rovno and the +Minsk-Brest-Litovsk railways pass and around which a great deal of +fighting had taken place in the past. Even though this attack was +extensively supported by aeroplanes, which bombarded a number of +railway stations on that part of the Minsk-Baranovitchy railway which +was in the hands of the Russians, it was repulsed by the Russians. + +April 3, 1916, brought a renewal of the German attacks against the +Uxkull bridgehead. For over an hour and a half artillery of both heavy +and light caliber prepared the way for this attack. But again the +Russian lines held and the Germans had to desist. Before Dvinsk and to +the south of the fortress artillery duels inflicted considerable +damage without affecting the positions on either side. Just north of +the Oginski Canal German troops crossed the Shara River and attacked +the Russian positions west of the Vilna-Rovno railway, without being +able to gain ground. All along the line aircraft were busily engaged +in reconnoitering and in dropping bombs on railway stations. + +The bombardment of the Uxkull region was again taken up on April 4, +1916, by the German artillery. South of Dvinsk, before the village of +Malogolska, the German troops had to evacuate their first-line of +trenches when the arising floods of neighboring rivers inundated them. +German aeroplanes bombarded the town of Luchonitchy on the Vilna-Rovno +railway, just southeast of Baranovitchy. + +By April 5, 1916, the German artillery fire before Uxkull had spread +to Riga and Jacobstadt, as well as to many points in the Dvinsk +sector. Floods were still rising everywhere and the ice on the Dvina +began to break up. + +Again on April 7, 1916, the German guns thundered against the Russian +front from Riga down to Dvinsk. Lake Narotch, where so many battles +had already been fought, again was the scene of a Russian attack which +resulted in the gain of a few advanced German positions. The next day +the Germans promptly replied with a determined artillery attack which +regained for their side some of the points lost the previous day. +Artillery duels also were staged near Postavy, in the Jacobstadt +sector, and at the northernmost end of the line where the German guns +bombarded the city of Schlock. + +All day on April 9, 1916, the guns of all calibers kept up their +death-dealing work along the entire Dvina front, and in the Lake +district south of Dvinsk. The railway stations at Remershaf and Dvinsk +were bombarded by German aeroplanes, while other units of their +aircraft visited the Russian lines along the Oginski Canal. Both on +April 11 and 12, 1916, artillery activity on the Dvina was maintained. +A German infantry attack against the Uxkull bridgehead, launched on +the 11th, failed. + +By this time the ice had all broken up and the floods had stopped +rising. In the Pinsk Marshes considerable activity developed on both +sides by means of boats. A vivid picture of conditions as they existed +at this time in the Pripet Marshes may be formed from the following +description from the pen of a special correspondent on the staff of +the Russian paper "Russkoye Slovo": + +"The marshes," he writes, "have awakened from their winter sleep. Even +on the paved roads movement is all but impossible; to the right and +left everything is submerged. The small river S----en has become +enormously broad; its shores are lost in the distance. + +"The marshes have awakened, and are taking their revenge on man for +having disturbed the ordinary life of Poliessie. But however difficult +the operation, the war must be continued and material obstacles must +be overcome. Owing to the enormous area covered by water the +inhabitants have taken to boat building. Sentries and patrols move in +boats, reconnoitering parties travel in boats, fire on the enemy from +boats, and escape in boats from the attentions of the German heavy +guns. + +"The great marshy basin of the S----en and the P---- is full of new +boats, which are called 'baidaka.' These 'baidaka' are small, +constructed to hold three or four men. The boats are flat-bottomed and +steady. The scouts take the 'baidaka' on their shoulders, and as soon +as they come to deep water launch their craft and row to the other +side. Small oars or paddles are used, and punting operations are often +necessary. + +"On the S----en these boats move with great secrecy in the night; in +the daytime they are hidden in rushes and reeds. + +"It was a foggy day when we decided on making a voyage in a 'baidaka.' +'The Germans came very suddenly to this place,' said one of my +companions. 'Our soldiers are concealed everywhere.' We decided to row +near the forest, so that in case of necessity we might gain the +shelter of the trees. The silence was broken by occasional rifle +reports from the direction of Pinsk, and a big gun roared now and +then. Once a shell flew overhead, hissing as it went. But this was +very ordinary music to us. + +"I was more interested in the intense silence of the marsh, for I knew +that all this silence was false. Our secret posts abounded, and +perhaps German scouts were in the vicinity. The marsh was full of men +in hiding, and the waiting for a chance shot was more terrible than a +continuous cannonade. Our sentinels fired twice close by; we did not +know why. The shots resounded in the forest. We lay down in our boat +and hid our heads. It was difficult for us to advance through the +undergrowth as the spaces between the bushes were generally very +narrow. We could not row, and we had to punt with our oars. + +"We advanced in this fashion half an hour. Then we reached a lakelike +expanse clear of growth. 'This is the river S----en,' I was further +informed. 'The Germans are on the other side.' + +"I could not see where the 'other side' was. The water spread to the +horizon and ended only in the purple border of the forest. 'We must be +quiet here,' one whispered. The boat moved along the river without a +splash, and strange, unaccustomed outlines grew up as we proceeded. +'What place is that yonder?' I asked my neighbor. 'Pinsk,' he replied. +I felt excited; we were near a town that was occupied by the Germans, +and I wished that boat would turn back. + +"We got into the rushes and moved through the jungle as though we were +advancing in open water, for the path through the rushes had been +prepared in the autumn. We advanced in this manner forty minutes until +we could distinctly hear the whistling of steam engines and the bells +ringing in the monastery at Pinsk. It was evident that the monks had +remained. 'The kaiser himself was in Pinsk in November,' said one of +my companions, 'and we knew it. The Germans blew horns all over the +railway line and sang their national hymn. In Pinsk there was much +animation.' + +"A minute or two later the boat stopped and I was told it was +dangerous to go farther. On the right we could see the outlines of +houses and of the quay at Pinsk, only about a thousand paces distant. +The town was covered by a thin mist and a faint fog was rising from +the marsh. + +"'There on your left are their heavy guns.' I could see nothing except +some trenches near the quay. + +"We took our leave of Pinsk. The twilight had arrived and it was +necessary to retire." + +Though the ice on the rivers and lakes had well broken up by the +middle of April, thaw, of course, steadily increased, and with it the +volume of water carried by the creeks and rivers. More and more +difficult it became, therefore, to carry out military operations, and, +as a result of these conditions, they were especially limited at this +period. + +In spite of this the Russians attempted local advance on April 13, +1916, in the region of Garbunovka, northwest of Dvinsk and south of +Lake Narotch; however, though their losses were quite heavy, they +could not gain any ground. This was also true of another local attack +made against the army of Prince Leopold of Bavaria near Zirin, on the +Servetsch River northeast of Baranovitchy. Similarly unsuccessful were +German attacks made the same day between Lakes Sventen and Itzen. +German artillery still kept up its work along the entire front, +especially at Lake Miadziol, south of Dvinsk at Lake Narotch, and at +Smorgon, the little railroad station south of the Viliya River on the +Vilna-Minsk railway. + +On the following day, April 14, 1916, the Russians repeated their +efforts in the Servetsch region. After strong artillery preparation +they launched another attack near Zirin, and southeast of Kovelitchy, +but were again repulsed. The same fate was suffered by an attack +attempted northwest of Dvinsk. South of Garbunovka, however, they +registered a slight local success. After cutting down four lines of +barbed-wire obstacles that had been erected by the Germans, they +stormed and occupied two small hills west and south of this village. +This gain was maintained in the face of strongly concentrated +artillery and rifle fire, and repeated German counterattacks, which +later proved very sanguinary to the German troops. German artillery +again directed violent fire against the Russian positions between Lake +Narotch and Lake Miadziol and near Smorgon. A German attack made +northwest of the latter village broke down under Russian gunfire. + +At this point the Germans resumed their offensive at daybreak on April +15, 1916, after strong artillery preparation accompanied by the use of +asphyxiating gas. Concentrated fire from the Russian artillery, +however, prohibited any noticeable advance. During the following day, +April 16, 1916, both sides restricted themselves more or less to +artillery bombardments, which became especially violent on the Dvina +line, around the Uxkull bridgehead, and in the neighborhood of the +Russian positions south of the village of Garbunovka, as well as +between Lake Narotch and Lake Miadziol. + +Two days later, on April 18, 1916, German detachments temporarily +regained some of the ground lost about a week before south of +Garbunovka. Again on that day the guns on both sides roared along the +entire northern sector of the eastern front. On the 19th the +bombardment became especially intense at the bridgehead at Uxkull and +south of lake. + +The artillery attack against the former was maintained throughout the +following two days. German scouting parties which crossed the river +Shara, north of the Oginski Canal, on April 22, 1916, were surrounded +in the woods adjoining and practically annihilated. On the same day a +German squadron of ten aeroplanes bombarded the Russian hangars on the +island of Oesel, a small island in the Baltic across the entrance to +the Gulf of Riga. + +As if both sides had agreed to observe the Easter holidays, a lull set +in during the next four or five days. Only occasional unimportant +local attacks and artillery duels were reported. Aeroplanes were the +only branch of the two armies which showed any marked activity. Dvinsk +was visited repeatedly by German machines and extensively bombarded. +On April 26, 1916, a German airship dropped bombs on the railway +station at Duna-Muende, at the mouth of the Dvina, and caused +considerable damage. Other railway stations and warehouses at various +points, as well as a number of Russian flying depots, were attacked on +April 27, 1916. + +The end of April, 1916, brought one more important action, the most +important, indeed, which had occurred anywhere on the eastern front +since the Russian offensive of the latter half of March, 1916. On +April 28, 1916, at dawn, German artillery began a very violent +bombardment of the Russian positions south of Lake Narotch. There, +between the village of Stavarotche and the extensive private estate of +Stakhovtsy, the Germans had lost a series of important trenches on +March 20, 1916, during the early part of the short Russian offensive. +Part of these positions had been recaptured a few days later on March +26, 1916. Now, after a considerable artillery preparation, a strong +attack was launched with the balance of the lost ground as an +objective. Large bodies of German infantry came on against the Russian +positions in close formation. They recaptured not only all of the +ground lost previously but carried their attack successfully into the +Russian trenches beyond. The most fierce hand-to-hand fighting +resulted. Losses on both sides were severe, especially so on the part +of the Russians, who attempted unsuccessfully during the night +following to regain the lost positions by a series of violent +counterattacks, executed by large forces of infantry, who, advancing +in close formation over difficult ground, were terribly exposed to +German machine-gun fire and lost heavily in killed and wounded. The +Germans officially claimed to have captured as a result of this +operation the remarkably large number of fifty-six officers, 5,600 +men, five guns, twenty-eight machine guns and ten trench mortars. +During the same day artillery attacks were directed against Schlock on +the Gulf of Riga and Boersemnende near Riga, as well as against +Smorgon, south of the Lake district. An infantry attack, preceded by +considerable artillery preparation, near the village of Ginovka, west +of Dvinsk, was met by severe fire from the Russian batteries and the +Germans were forced to withdraw to their trenches. In the early +morning hours German airships bombarded railway stations along the +Riga-Petrograd railroad as far as Venden, about fifty miles northeast +of Riga, and along the Dvinsk-Petrograd railway as far as Rzezytsa, +about fifty miles northeast of Dvinsk. At the latter point +considerable damage was done by a dirigible which dropped explosive +and incendiary bombs. + +Throughout the last day of April, 1916, artillery duels were fought +again at many points. Once more the railway station and bridgehead at +Uxkull was made the target for a most violent German artillery attack. +Along the Dvinsk sector, too, guns of all caliber were busy. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +ARTILLERY DUELS + + +With the beginning of May, the weather became warmer and the rain and +watersoaked roads more accessible. In spite of this, however, +conditions along the eastern front throughout the entire month of May +were very much the same as during April. Continuously the guns on both +sides thundered against each other, with a fairly well-maintained +intensity which, however, would increase from time to time in some +places. Frequently, almost daily, infantry attacks, usually preceded +by artillery preparation, would be launched at various points. These, +however, were almost all of local character and executed by +comparatively small forces. Even smaller detachments, frequently +hardly more than scouting parties, often would reach the opponent's +lines, but only rarely succeed in capturing trenches, and then usually +were soon forced to retire to their own lines in the face of +successive counterattacks. Again in May the story of events on the +eastern front is lacking in sensational movements, accompanied by +equally unsensational success or failure. But, nevertheless, it is on +both sides a story of unceasing activity, of unending labor, of +unremitting toil, of endless suffering, of unlimited heroism, and of +unsurpassed courage, the more so, because much of all that was +accomplished was counted only as part of the regular daily routine, +and lacked both the incentive and the reward of widespread publicity, +which more frequently attaches to military operations of more +extensive character. Not for years to come will it be possible to +write a detailed history of this phase of the Great War as far as the +eastern front is concerned. Not until the regimental histories of the +various Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian military units will have +been completed will it become practicable to recount all the uncounted +deeds of valor accomplished by heroes whose names and deeds now must +remain unknown to the world at large, even though both perchance have +been for months and months on the lips of equally brave comrades in +arms. + +The new month was opened by the Germans with another intensive +artillery bombardment of the Uxkull bridgehead. Farther to the south, +before Dvinsk, and also at many points in the Lake district to the +south of this fortress, the Russian positions likewise were raked by +violent gunfire. An attempted offensive movement on the extreme +northern end of the line before Raggazem, on the Gulf of Riga, broke +down before the Russian gunfire, even before it was fully developed. +German naval airships successfully bombarded Russian military depots +at Perman, while another squadron of sea planes inflicted considerable +damage to the Russian aerodrome at Papenholm. A Russian squadron was +less successful in an attack on the German naval establishment at +Vindau on the east shore of the Baltic Sea. + +May 2, 1916, brought a continuation of artillery activity at many +points. It was especially intensive in the Jacobstadt and Dvinsk +sectors of the Dvina front, as well as in the Ziriu-Baranovitchy +sector in the south and along the Oginski Canal, still farther to the +south. At two other points the Germans, after extensive artillery +preparation, attempted to launch infantry attacks, but were promptly +driven back. This occurred near the village of Antony, ten miles +northwest of Postavy, where two successive attacks failed, and farther +north in the region east of Vidzy. + +The following day again was devoted to artillery duels at many points. +Aeroplanes, also, became more active. German planes bombarded many +places south of Dvinsk, and attacked the railway establishments at +Molodetchna, on the Vilna-Minsk railway, at Minsk, and at Luniniets, +in the Pripet Marshes, east of Pinsk on the Pinsk-Gomel railway. May +4, 1916, brought especially intensive artillery fire along the entire +Dvina front, in the Krevo sector south of the Vilna-Minsk railway, and +along the Oginski Canal, particularly in the region of Valistchie. + +The Dvina front along its entire length was once more the subject of a +violent artillery attack from German batteries on May 5, 1916. Uxkull, +so many times before the aim of the German fire, again received +special attention. The Friedrichstadt sector, too, came in for its +share. All along this front aeroplanes not only guided the gunfire, +but supported it extensively by dropping bombs. Between Jacobstadt and +Dvinsk a Russian battery succeeded in reaching a German munition depot +and with one well-placed hit caused havoc among men and munitions. +Southeast of Lake Med a surprise attack, carried out by comparatively +small Russian forces, resulted in the capture of some German trenches. +Northwest of Krochin strong German forces, after artillery preparation +lasting over three hours, attacked the village of Dubrovka. Some +ground was gained, only to be lost again shortly after as a result of +a ferocious counterattack made by Russian reenforcements which had +been brought up quickly. + +May 6, 1916, brought a slightly new variation in fighting. Russian +torpedo boats appeared in the Gulf of Riga, off the west coast, and +bombarded, without success, the two towns of Rojen and Margrafen. +Artillery fire of considerable violence marked the next day, May 7, +1916. Russian batteries before Dvinsk caused a fire at Ill, the little +town just northwest of Dvinsk on the Dvinsk-Ponevesh railway, and so +well was this bombardment maintained that the Germans were unable to +extinguish the conflagration before it had reached some of their +munition depots. In the early morning hours very violent gunfire was +directed south of Illuxt. But an infantry attack, for which this +bombardment was to act as preparation, failed. Other bombardments were +directed against Lake Ilsen and the sector north of it, and against +the region south of the village of Vishnieff on the Beresina River. +Mining operations of considerable extent were carried out that night +near the village of Novo Selki, south of the town of Krevo. On May 8, +1916, artillery fire again roared along the Dvina front, especially +against the Uxkull bridgehead. An attack in force was made by German +troops against the village of Peraplianka north of Smorgon on the +Viliya May 9, 1916. After considerable artillery preparation the +Germans rushed up against the Russian barbed-wire obstacles. There, +however, they were stopped by concentrated artillery and rifle fire +and, after heavy losses, had to withdraw. A Russian attack of a +similar nature south of Garbunovka was not any more successful. In the +Pripet Marshes, too, artillery operations had by now become possible +again and the Russian positions west of the village of Pleshichitsa, +southeast of Pinsk, were subjected to a violent bombardment. + +Throughout the balance of May not a day passed during which guns of +all calibers did not maintain a violent bombardment at many points +along the entire front. Especially frequent and severe was the gunfire +which the Germans directed against the Dvina sector of the Russian +positions. But, just as in the past weeks, the result, though not at +all negligible as far as the damage inflicted on men, material, and +fortifications was concerned, was practically nil in regard to any +change in the location of the front. + +Infantry attacks during this period were not lacking, though they were +less frequent than artillery bombardments, and were at all times only +of local character, and in most cases executed with limited forces. A +great deal of this kind of fighting occurred in the region of Olyka +where engagements took place almost every day. One of the few more +important events was a German attack against the Jacobstadt sector of +the Dvina front. For two days, May 10 and 11, 1916, the fighting +continued, becoming especially violent to the north of the railway +station of Selburg on the Mitau-Kreutzburg railway. There very heavy +artillery fire succeeding the infantry attacks had destroyed some +small villages for the possession of which the most furious kind of +hand-to-hand fighting ensued. Finally the Germans captured by storm +about 500 yards of the Russian positions as well as some 300 unwounded +soldiers and a few machine guns and mine throwers. + +Engagements of a similar character, though not always yielding such +definite results to either side, occurred on May 11, 1916, southwest +of Lake Medum, on May 12, 1916, at many points along the Oginski Canal +and also in the Pripet Marshes, where fighting now had again become a +physical possibility. On the latter day a Russian attempt to recapture +the positions lost previously near Selburg failed. + +Thus the fortunes of war swayed from side to side. One day would bring +to the Germans the gain of a trench, the capture of a few hundred men +or guns, or the destruction of an enemy battery, to be followed the +next day by a proportionate loss. So closely was the entire line +guarded, so strongly and elaborately had the trenches and other +fortifications been built up, that the fighting developed into a +multitude of very short but closely contested engagements. In each one +of these the numbers engaged were very small, though the grand total +of men fighting on a given day at so many separate points on a front +of some 500 miles was, of course, still immense. + +Amongst the places which saw the most fighting during this period were +many which had been mentioned a great many times before. Again and +again there appeared in the official records such names as: Lake +Sventen, Krevno, Lake Miadziol, Ostroff, Lake Narotch, Smorgon, Dahlen +Island, and many others. + +The net result of all the fighting during May, 1916, was that both +sides lost considerable in men and material. Both Russians and +Germans, however, had succeeded in maintaining their respective lines +in practically the same position in which they had been at the +beginning of May. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE GREAT RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE + + +During the first two days of June, 1916, a lull occurred at almost all +important points of the eastern front. Only one or two engagements of +extremely minor importance between scouting parties were reported. In +the light of future events this remarkable condition might well be +called ominous, especially if one connects with it a decided increase +in Russian aeroplane activity, which resulted in two strong attacks on +June 1, 1916, against points on the Vilna-Minsk and Sarny-Kovel +railways. + +On June 2, 1916, a more or less surprising increase in the strength of +the Russian artillery fire was noticed, especially along the +Bessarabian and Volhynian fronts and in the Ikva sector. So strong did +this fire become that the official Austrian statement covering that +day says that at several places the artillery duels "assumed the +character of artillery battles." + +More and more the extent and violence of the Russian artillery attack +increased. The next day, June 3, 1916, Russian artillery displayed the +greatest activity all along the southern half of the eastern front, +and covered the Dniester, Strypa, and Ikva sectors, as well as the gap +between the last two rivers, northwest of Tarnopol, and the entire +Volhynian front. Near Olyka in the region of the three Volhynian +fortresses of Rovno, Dubno, and Lutsk, the Russian gunfire was +especially intense along a front of about seventeen miles. That this +unusually strong artillery activity increased the alarm of the +Austro-Hungarian commanders may readily be seen from the concluding +sentence of that day's official Austrian statement, which read: +"Everywhere there are signs of an impending infantry attack." + +The storm began to break the next day, June 4, 1916. That it was +entirely unexpected, was not likely, for this new Russian offensive +coincided with the Austro-Hungarian offensive against the Italian +front which by that time had assumed threatening developments. +Undoubtedly it was one of the objects of the Russian offensive to +force the Austrians to withdraw troops from the Italian front and at +least curtail their offensive efforts against the Italian armies, if +not to stop them entirely. At the same time the limits within which +the Russian offensive was undertaken indicated that the Russian +General Staff had another much more important object in view, the +breaking of the German-Austrian front at about the point where the +German right touched the Austrian left. Along a front of over 300 +miles the Russian forces attacked. From the Pinth in the south--at the +Rumanian border to the outrunners of the Pripet Marshes--near Kolki +and the bend of the Styr--in the north the battle raged. At many +points along this line the Russians achieved important successes, with +unusual swiftness they were pushing whatever advantage they were able +to gain. But not only swiftness did they employ. Immense masses of men +were thrown against the strongly fortified Austrian lines and +quantities of munitions of the Russian artillery which transcended +everything that had ever been done along this line on the eastern +front. Not against one or two points chosen for that particular +purpose, but against every important point on the entire line the +Russian attacks were hurled. The most bitter struggle developed at +Okna, northwest of Tarnopol, at Koklow, at Novo Alexinez, along the +entire Ikva, at Sanor, around Olyka and from there north to Dolki. No +matter how strong the natural defenses, no matter how skillful the +artificial obstacles, on and on rolled the thousands and thousands of +Russians. So overwhelming was this onrush that the Austro-Hungarians +had to give way in many places in spite of the most valiant +resistance, and so quick did it come that as a result of the first +day's work the Russians could claim to have captured 13,000 prisoners, +many guns and machine guns. + +By June 5, 1916, this number had increased to 480 officers, 25,000 +men, twenty-seven guns and fifty machine guns. The battle on the +northeast front continued on the whole front of 218 miles with +undiminished stubbornness. North of Okna, the Austrians had, after +stiff and fluctuating battles, to withdraw their shattered first +positions to the line prepared three miles to the south. Near +Jarlowiec, on the lower Strypa, the Russians attacked after artillery +preparation. They were repulsed at some places by hand fighting. At +the same time a strong Russian attack west of Trembowla (south of +Tarnopol) broke down under Austrian fire. West-northwest of Tarnopol +there was bitter fighting. Near Sopanow (southeast of Dubno) there +were numerous attacks by the enemy. Between Mlynow, on the Ikva, and +the regions northwest of Olyka, the Russians were continually becoming +stronger, and the most bitter kind of fighting developed. + +Especially heavy fighting developed in the region before Lutsk. There +the pressure from the Russian army of General Brussilov had become so +strong that the Austrians had found it necessary by June 6, 1916, to +withdraw their forces to the plain of Lutsk, just to the east of that +fortress and of the river Styr. This represented a gain of at least +twenty miles made in two days. The official Russian statement of that +day claimed that during the same period General Brussilov's armies had +captured 900 officers, more than 40,000 rank and file, seventy-seven +guns, 134 machine guns and forty-nine trench mortars, and, in +addition, searchlights, telephone, field kitchens, a large quantity of +arms and war material, and great reserves of ammunition. + +On the other hand, the Austrians were still offering a determined +resistance at most points south and north of Lutsk, and Russian +attacks were repulsed with sanguinary losses at many places, as for +instance at Rafalowka, on the lower Styr, near Berestiany, on the +Corzin Brook, near Saponow, on the upper Strypa, near Jazlovice, on +the Dniester, and on the Bessarabian frontier. Northwest of Tarnopol +were repulsed two attacks. At another point seven attacks were +repulsed. + +The Russians also suffered heavy losses in the plains of Okna (north +of the Bessarabian frontier) and at Debronoutz, where there were +bitter hand-to-hand engagements. + +[Illustration: The Russian Offensive from Pinsk to Dubno.] + +It was quite clear by this time that the Russian offensive +threatened not only the pushing back of the Austrian line, but their +very existence. Unless the Austrians either succeeded in repulsing the +Russians decidedly or else found some other way of reducing +immediately the strength of this extensive offensive movement, it was +inevitable that many of the important conquests which the Central +Powers had made in the fall of 1915 would be lost again. In spite of +this and in spite of the quite apparent strength of the Russian +forces, it caused considerable surprise when it was announced +officially on June 8, 1916, that the fortress of Lutsk had been +captured by the Russians on June 7, 1916. + +The fortress lies halfway between Rovno and Kovel, on the important +railway line that runs from Brest-Litovsk to the region southwest of +Kiev. It is this railway sector, between Rovno and Kovel, that has +been the objective of the Russian attacks ever since the Teuton +offensive came to a standstill eight months ago, for its control would +give the Russians a free hand to operate southward against the lines +in Galicia. + +[Illustration: An Austrian 30.5 centimeter mortar in position. The +gunner is ready and the officer is just giving the command to fire. +Meanwhile, another great 12-inch shell is being brought up for the +next loading.] + +Lutsk is a minor fortress, the most westerly of the Volhynian triangle +formed by Rovno, Dubno, and Lutsk. The town is the center of an +important grain trade, and the districts of which it is the center +contained before the war a considerable German colony. It is supposed +to have been founded in the seventh century. In 1791 it was taken by +Russia. It is the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop and at the outbreak +of the war had a population of about 18,000. During the war it +suffered a varied fate. On September 1, 1915, it was captured by the +combined German and Austro-Hungarian forces which had accomplished a +month before the capture of Warsaw and had forced the Russian legions +to a full retreat. Twenty-three days later it was evacuated by the +forces of the Central Powers and recaptured by the Russians on +September 24, 1915. Four days later, September 28, 1915, the Russians +were forced to withdraw again, and on October 1, 1915, it fell once +more into the hands of the Austrians. During the winter the Russians +had made a dash for its recapture, but had not succeeded, and ever +since the front had been along a line about twenty miles to the east. +The capture of the fortress was due primarily to the immensity of +the Russian artillery, which maintained a violent, continuous fire, +smashing the successive rows of wire entanglements, breastworks, and +trenches. The town was surrounded with nineteen rows of entanglements. +The laconic order to attack was given at dawn on June 7, 1916. Up to +noon the issue hung in the balance, but at 1 o'clock the Russians made +a breach in the enemy's position near the village of Podgauzy. They +repulsed a fierce Austrian counterattack and captured 3,000 prisoners +and many guns. Almost simultaneously another Russian force advanced on +Lutsk along the Dubno and stormed the trenches of the village of +Krupov, taking several thousand prisoners. General Brussilov seemed to +have at his disposal an immense infantry force, which he sent forward +in rapid, successive waves after artillery preparation. Reserves were +brought up so quickly that the enemy was given no time to recover from +one assault before another was delivered. + +Fifty-eight officers, 11,000 men and large quantities of guns, machine +guns, and ammunition fell in the hands of the victorious Russian +armies. On the same day on which Lutsk was captured other forces +stormed strong Austrian positions on the lower Strypa in Galicia +between Trybuchovice and Jazlovice and crossed both the Ikva and the +Styr. Along the northern part of the front, north of the Pripet River, +comparative quiet reigned throughout the early stages of the Russian +offensive. During the evening of June 7, 1916, however, German +artillery violently bombarded the region northeast of Krevo and south +of Smorgon, southeast of Vilna. The bombardment soon extended farther +north, and during the night of June 8, 1916, the Germans took the +offensive there with considerable forces. + +In the neighborhood of Molodetchna station (farther east) on the +Vilna-Minsk railway, a German aeroplane dropped four bombs. + +Five German aeroplanes carried out a raid on the small town of +Jogishin, north of Pinsk, dropping about fifty bombs. + +The battle in Volhynia and Galicia continued with undiminished force +on June 8, 1916. Near Sussk, to the east of Lutsk, a squadron of +Cossacks attacked the enemy behind his fortified lines, capturing two +guns, eight ammunition wagons, and 200 boxes of ammunition. + +Near Boritin, four miles southeast of Lutsk, Russian scouts captured +two 4-inch guns, with four officers and 160 men. A 4-inch gun and +thirty-five ammunition wagons were captured, near Dobriatin on the +Ikva below Mlynow, fourteen miles southeast of Lutsk. + +Young troops, just arrived at the front, vied with seasoned Russian +regiments in deeds of valor. Some regiments formed of Territorial +elements by an impetuous attack drove back the Austrians on the Styr, +and pressing close on their heels forced the bridgehead near +Rozhishche, thirteen miles north of Lutsk, at the same time taking +about 2,500 German and Austrian prisoners, as well as machine guns and +much other booty. Other regiments forced a crossing over the Strypa +and some advanced detachments even reached the next river, the Zlota +Potok, about five miles to the west. + +The number of prisoners captured by the Russians continually +increased. Exclusive of those already reported--namely, 958 officers, +and more than 51,000 Austrian and German soldiers, they captured in +the course of the fighting on June 8, 1916, 185 officers and 13,714 +men, making the totals so far registered in the present operations +1,143 officers and 64,714 men. + +The next day, June 9, 1916, the troops under General Brussilov +continued the offensive and the pursuit of the retreating Austrians. +Fighting with the latter's rear guards, they crossed the river Styr +above and below Lutsk. + +In Galicia, northwest of Tarnopol, in the regions of Gliadki and +Cebrow, heavy fighting developed for the possession of heights, which +changed hands several times. During that day's fighting the Russians +captured again large numbers of Austrians, consisting of ninety-seven +officers and 5,500 men and eleven guns, making a total up to the +present of 1,240 officers and about 71,000 men, ninety-four guns, 167 +machine guns, fifty-three mortars, and a large quantity of other war +material. + +At dawn of June 10, 1916, Russian troops entered Buczacz on the west +bank of the Strypa and, developing the offensive along the Dniester, +carried the village of Scianka, eight miles west of the Strypa. In the +village of Potok Zloty, four miles west of the Strypa, they seized a +large artillery park and large quantities of shells. + +In the north the Germans again attempted to relieve the pressure on +their allies by attacking in force at many points. Artillery duels +were fought along the Dvina front and on the Oginski Canal. + +Without let up, however, the Russian advance continued. So furious and +swift was the onslaught of the czar's armies that the Austrians lost +thousands upon thousands of prisoners and vast masses of war material +of every kind. For instance, in one sector alone the Austrians were +forced to retreat so rapidly that the Russians were able to gather in, +according to official reports, twenty-one searchlights, two supply +trains, twenty-nine field kitchens, forty-seven machine guns, 193 tons +of barbed wire, 1,000 concrete girders, 7,000,000 concrete cubes, 160 +tons of coal, enormous stores of ammunition, and a great quantity of +arms and other war material. In another sector they captured 30,000 +rounds of rifle ammunition, 300 boxes of machine-gun ammunition, 200 +boxes of hand grenades, 1,000 rifles in good condition, four machine +guns, two optical range finders, and even a brand-new Norton well, a +portable contrivance for the supply of drinking water. + +The prisoners captured during June 10, 1916, comprised one general, +409 officers, and 35,100 soldiers. The material booty included thirty +guns, thirteen machine guns, and five trench mortars. The total +Russian captures in the course of about a week thus amount to one +general, 1,649 officers, more than 106,000 soldiers, 124 guns of all +sorts, 180 machine guns, and fifty-eight trench mortars. + +This was now the seventh day of the new Russian offensive, and on it +another valuable prize fell into the hands of General Brussilov, the +town and fortress of Dubno. This brought his forces within twenty-five +miles of the Galician border and put the czar's forces again in the +possession of the Volhynian fortress triangle, consisting of Lutsk, +Dubno, and Rovno. + +Dubno, which had been in the hands of the Austrians since September 7, +1916, lies on the Rovno-Brody-Lemberg railway, and is about eighty-two +miles from the Galician capital, Lemberg. The town has about 14,000 +inhabitants, mostly Jews, engaged in the grain, tobacco, and +brickmaking industry. It was in existence as early as the eleventh +century. + +So powerful was the Russian onrush on Dubno that the attackers swept +westward apparently without meeting any resistance, for on the same +day on which the fortress fell, some detachments crossed the Ikva. One +part of these forces even swept as far westward as the region of the +village of Demidovka, on the Mlynow-Berestetchko road, thirteen miles +southwest of the Styr at Mlynow, compelling the enemy garrison of the +Mlynow to surrender. Demidovka is twenty-five miles due west of Dubno. +Thus the Russians have in Volhynia alone pushed the Austro-Hungarian +lines back thirty-two miles. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE RUSSIAN RECONQUEST OF THE BUKOWINA + + +Simultaneously with the drive in Volhynia, the extreme left wing of +the Russian southern army under General Lechitsky forced the +Austro-Hungarians to withdraw their whole line in the northeastern +Bukowina, invaded the crownland with strong forces and advanced to +within fourteen miles of the capital, Czernowitz. On the Strypa the +Austrians had to fall back from their principal position north of +Buczacz. In spite of the most desperate resistance and in the face of +a violent flanking fire, and even curtain fire, and the explosions of +whole sets of mines, General Lechitsky's troops captured the Austrian +positions south of Dobronowce, fourteen miles northeast of Czernowitz. +In that region alone the Russians claimed to have captured 18,000 +soldiers, one general, 347 officers, and ten guns. Southeast of +Zaleszcyki on the Dniester the Russians again were victorious and +forced the withdrawal of the Austrian lines. Fourteen miles north of +Czernowitz the Austrian troops tried to stem the tide by blowing up +the railroad station of Jurkoutz. At the same time they made their +first important counterattack in the Lutsk region. Making a sudden +stand, after being driven over the river Styr, north of Lutsk, they +turned on the Russians with the aid of German detachments rushed to +them by General von Hindenburg, drove the Muscovite troops back over +the Styr and took 1,508 prisoners, including eight officers. At other +points, too, the Austrian resistance stiffened perceptibly, especially +in the region of Torgovitsa, and on the Styr below Lutsk. + +Dubno, a modern fortress, built, like Lutsk, mainly in support of +Rovno, to ward off possible aggression, now supplied an excellent +starting point for a Russian drive into the heart of Galicia. +Proceeding on both sides of the Rovno-Dubno-Brody-Lemberg railway the +Russians should be able to cover the eighty-two miles which still +separates them from the Galician capital within a comparatively short +time, provided that Austrian resistance in this region continues as +weak as it has been up to date. + +A greater danger than the capture of Lemberg was, however, presented +by the Russian advance into the Bukowina. If these two Russian +drives--to Lemberg and to Czernowitz--would prove successful the whole +southeastern Austro-Hungarian army would find itself squeezed between +two Russian armies, and its only escape would be into the difficult +Carpathian Mountain passes, where the Russians, this time well +equipped and greatly superior in numbers, could be expected to be more +successful than in their first Carpathian campaign. + +Still the Russian advance continued, although on June 11, 1916, there +was a slight slowing down on account of extensive storms that +prevailed along the southern part of the front. + +In Galicia, in the region of the villages of Gliadki and Verobieyka, +north of Tarnopol, the Austrians attacked repeatedly and furiously, +but were repulsed on the morning of the 11th. Farther south, however, +near the town of Bobulintze, on the Strypa, fifteen miles north of +Buczacz, the Austro-Hungarians, strongly reenforced by Germans, scored +a substantial success. They launched a furious counterattack, bringing +the Russian assaults to a standstill and even forcing the Muscovite +troops to retreat a short distance. According to the German War Office +more than 1,300 Russian prisoners were taken. + +Simultaneously with this partial relief in the south Field Marshal von +Hindenburg began an attack at several points against the Russian right +wing and part of the center. He penetrated the czar's lines at two +points near Jacobstadt, halfway between Riga and Dvinsk, and at +Kochany between Lake Narotch and Dvinsk. At the three other points, in +the Riga zone, south of Lake Drisviaty and on the Lassjolda, his +attacks broke down under the Russian fire. + +Lemberg, Galicia's capital, was now threatened from three sides. +Czernowitz, the capital of the Bukowina, was even in a more precarious +position. It had been masked by the extreme left wing of the Russian +armies and, unless some unexpected turn came to the assistance of the +Austrians, its fall was sure to be only a matter of days, or possibly +even of hours. All of southern Volhynia had been overrun by the +Russians who were then, on the ninth day of their offensive, forty-two +miles west of the point from where it had begun in that province. + +Northwest of Rojitche, in northwestern Volhynia, after dislodging the +Germans, General Brussilov on June 12, 1916, approached the river +Stokhod. West of Lutsk he occupied Torchin and continued to press the +enemy back. + +On the Dniester sector and farther General Lechitsky's troops, having +crossed the river after fighting, captured many fortified points and +also the town of Zaleszcyky, twenty-five miles northwest of +Czernowitz. The village of Jorodenka, ten miles farther, northwest of +Zaleszcyky, also was captured. + +On the Pruth sector, between Doyan and Niepokoloutz, the Russian +troops approached the left bank of the river, near the bridgehead of +Czernowitz. + +The only point at which the Austrian line held was near Kolki in +northern Volhynia, south of the Styr. There attempts by the Russians +to cross that river failed and some 2,000 men were captured by the +Austro-Hungarians. In the north Field Marshal von Hindenburg's efforts +to divert the Russian activities in the south by a general offensive +along the Dvina line had not developed beyond increased artillery +bombardments which apparently exerted no influence on the movements of +the Russian armies in Volhynia, Galicia and the Bukowina. + +The only hopeful sign for the fate of the threatened Austro-Hungarian +armies was the fact that the daily number of prisoners taken by the +Russians gradually seemed to decrease, indicating that the Austrians +found it possible by now, if not to withstand the Russian onslaught, +at least to save the largest part of their armies. Even at that the +Russian General Staff claimed to have captured by June 12, 1916, a +total of 1,700 officers and 114,000 men. Inasmuch as it was estimated +that the total Austrian forces on the southwestern front at the +beginning of the operations were 670,000, of which, according to +Russian claims, the losses cannot be less than 200,000, including an +estimated 80,000 killed and wounded, the total losses now constituted +30 per cent of the enemy's effectives. + +How the news of the continued Russian successes was received in the +empire's capital and what, at that time, was expected as the immediate +results of this remarkable drive, secondary only to the Austro-German +drive of the summer and fall of 1915, are vividly described in the +following letter, written from Petrograd on June 13, 1916, by a +special correspondent of the London "Times": + +"As the successive bulletins recording our unprecedented victories on +the southwestern fronts come to hand, the pride and joy of the Russian +people are becoming too great for adequate expression. There is an +utter absence of noisy demonstrations. The whole nation realizes that +the victory is the result of the combined efforts of all classes, +which have given the soldiers abundant munitions, and of an admirable +organization. + +"The remarkable progress in training the reserves since the beginning +of this year was primarily responsible for the enormous increase in +the efficiency of our armies and the heightening of their morale. The +strategy of our southwestern offensive has been seconded by a +remarkable improvement in the railways and communications. Last, but +not least, it must be noted that the Russian high command long ago +recognized that the essential condition of the overthrow of the +Austro-German league, so far as this front is concerned, was the +completion of the work of disintegration in the Austrian armies, in +which Russia has already achieved such wonderful results. At the rate +at which they are at present being exterminated it would require many +weeks completely to exhaust the military resources of the Dual Empire +and to turn the flank of the German position in Poland. + +"The consensus of military opinion is inclined to the belief that the +Germans will not venture to transfer large reenforcements to the +Galician front, as it would require too much time and give the Allies +a distinct advantage in other theaters. But as the Germans were +obviously bound to do something to save the Austrian army, they are +endeavoring to create a diversion north of the Pripet in various +directions. The points selected for these efforts are almost +equidistant on the right flank of the Riga front, near Jacobstadt, and +south of Lake Drisviaty, where the enemy's maximum activity +synchronized with General Lechitsky's greatest successes on the +southern front.... + +"On the southwestern front all eyes are now focused on General +Lechitsky's rapid advance on Zaleszcyky and Czernowitz. As the +official reports show, the Austrians have already blown up a bridge +across the Pruth at Mahala, thus indicating that they entertain scant +hope of being able to hold Czernowitz, and they may even now be +evacuating the city. General Lechitsky's gallant army, which some +months ago stormed the important stronghold of Uscieszko on the +Dniester, has performed prodigies of valor in its advance during the +last few days. The precipitous banks of the Dniester had been +converted into one continuous stronghold which appeared impregnable +and last December defied all our efforts to overcome the enemy's +resistance. In the first few days of the offensive we took one of the +principal positions between Okna and Dobronowce, southeast of +Zaleszcyky. Dobronowce and the surrounding mountains, which are +thickly covered with forests, were regarded by the enemy as a +reliable protection against any advance on Czernowitz. The country +beyond offers no such opportunities for defense. + +"General Brussilov's operations on the flanks of the Austro-German +army under Von Linsingen are proceeding with wonderful rapidity. All +the efforts of German reenforcements to drive in a counterwedge at +Kolki, Rozhishshe and Targowica, at the wings and apex of our Rovno +salient, proved ineffectual. On the other hand, we have scored most +important successes west of Dubno, capturing the highly important +point of Demidovka, marking an advance of twenty miles to the west. +Demidovka places us in command of the important forest region of +Dubno, which, as its name indicates, is famous for its oak trees. +These forests form a natural stronghold, of which the Ikva and the +Styr may be compared to immense moats protecting it on two sides. The +possession of this valuable base will enable General Brussilov to +checkmate any further effort on the part of the enemy to counter our +offensive at Targowica, which is situated fifteen miles to the north. + +"The valiant troops of our Eighth Army, who have altogether advanced +nearly thirty miles into the enemy's position in the direction of +Kovel, will doubtless be in a position powerfully to assist the thrust +of the troops beyond Tarnopol and join hands with them in the possible +event of an advance on Lemberg." + +On June 13, 1914, the progress of the Russian armies continued along +the entire 250-mile front from the Pripet River to the Rumanian +border. The capture of twenty officers, 6,000 men, six cannon, and ten +machine guns brought the total, captured by the Russian troops, up to +about 120,000 men, 1,720 officers, 130 cannon and 260 machine guns, +besides immense quantities of material and munitions. + +South of Kovel the Austrians, reenforced by German troops, offered the +most determined resistance near the village of Zaturzi halfway between +Lutsk and Vladimir-Volynski. Southwest of Dubno, in the direction of +Brody and Lemberg, Kozin was stormed by the Russians, who were now +only ten miles from the Galician border. To the north of Buczacz, on +the right bank of the Strypa, a strong counterattack launched by the +Austrians could not prevent the Russians from occupying the western +heights in the region of Gaivivonka and Bobulintze, where only two +days before the Austrians had been able to drive back their opponents. +But the most furious battle of all raged for the possession of +Czernowitz. A serious blow was struck to the Austro-Hungarian +defenders when the Russians captured the town of Sniatyn, on the +Pruth, about twenty miles northwest of Czernowitz, on the +Czernowitz-Kolomea-Lemberg railway. This seriously threatened the +brave garrison which held the capital of the Bukowina, as it put the +Russians in a position where they could sweep southward and cut off +the defenders of Czernowitz, if they should hold out to the last. In +fact the entire Austro-Hungarian army in the Bukowina was now facing +this peril. + +The first massed attack against Von Hindenburg's lines since the +offensive in the south began was delivered on June 13, 1916, when, +after a systematic artillery preparation by the heaviest guns at the +Russians' disposal, troops in dense formation launched a furious +assault against the Austro-German positions north of Baranovitchy. The +attack was repeated six times, but each broke down under the Teuton +fire with serious losses to the attackers, who in their retreat were +placed under the fire of their own artillery. + +Baranovitchy is an important railway intersection of great +strategical value and saw some of the fiercest fighting during the +Russian retreat in the fall of 1915. It is the converging point of +the Brest-Litovsk-Moscow and Vilna-Rovno railways. Sixty-one miles +to the west lies Lida, one of the commanding points of the entire +railway systems of western Russia. + +Again, on June 14, 1916, the number of prisoners in the hands of the +Russians was increased by 100 officers and 14,000 men, bringing the +grand total up to over 150,000. All along the entire front the +Russians pressed their advance, gaining considerable ground, without, +however, achieving any success of great importance. + +Closer and closer the lines were drawn about Czernowitz, though on +June 16, 1916, the city was still reported as held by the Austrians. +On that day furious fighting also took place south of Buczacz, where +the Russians in vain attempted to cross the Dniester in order to join +hands with their forces which were advancing from the north against +Czernowitz with Horodenka, on the south bank of the Dniester as a +base. To the west of Lutsk in the direction toward Kovel, now +apparently the main objective of General Brussilov, the +Austro-Hungarians had received strong German reenforcements under +General von Linsingen and successfully denied to the Russians a +crossing over the Stokhod and Styr Rivers. + +June 17, 1916, was a banner day in the calendar of the Russian troops. +It brought them once more into possession of the Bukowinian capital, +Czernowitz. + +Czernowitz is one of the towns whose people have suffered most +severely from the fluctuating tide of war. + +Its cosmopolitan population, the greater part of whom are Germans, +have seen it change hands no less than five times in twenty-one +months. The first sweep of the Russian offensive in September, 1914, +carried beyond it, but they had to capture it again two months later, +when they proceeded to drive the Austrians out of the whole of the +Bukowina. By the following February, however, the Austrians, with +German troops to help them, were again at its gates, and they forced +the Russians to retire beyond the Pruth. For a week the battle raged +about the small town of Sudagora, opposite Czernowitz, the seat of a +famous dynasty of miracle-working rabbis, but the forces of the +Central Powers were in overwhelming numbers, and with the loss of +Kolomea--the railway junction forty-five miles to the west, which the +Russians were again rapidly approaching--the whole region became +untenable and the Russians retired to the frontier. + +Czernowitz is a clean and pleasant town of recent date. A century ago +it was an insignificant village of 5,000 people. To-day it has several +fine buildings, the most conspicuous of which is the Episcopal Palace, +with a magnificent reception hall. In one of the squares stands the +monument erected in 1875 to commemorate the Austrian occupation of +the Bukowina. + +The population consists for the most part of Germans, Ruthenes, +Rumanians, and Poles. Among these are 21,000 Jews and there are also a +number of Armenians and gypsies. With all these diverse elements, +therefore, the town presents a very varied appearance, and on market +days the modern streets are crowded with peasants, attired in their +national dress, who mingle with people turned out in the latest +fashions of Paris and Vienna. + +How violently the Russians assaulted Czernowitz is vividly described +in a letter from a correspondent of a German newspaper who was at +Czernowitz during this attack. + +"The attack began on June 11, 1916. Shells fell incessantly, mostly in +the lower quarter of the town and the neighborhood of the station. +They caused a terrible panic. Incendiary shells started many fires. + +"Austrian artillery replied vigorously. The Russians during the night +of June 12, 1916, attempted a surprise attack against the northeast +corner defenses, launching a tremendous artillery fire against them +and then sending storming columns forward. These were stopped, +however, by the defenders, who prevented a crossing of the Pruth, +inflicting severe losses upon the Russians. + +"The Russian artillery attack on the morning of June 16, 1916, was +terrific. It resembled a thousand volcanoes belching fire. The whole +town shook. Austrian guns replied with equal intensity. The Russians +advanced in sixteen waves and were mown down and defeated. Hundreds +were drowned. Russian columns were continually pushed back from the +Pruth beyond Sudagora." + +Serious, though, this loss was to the Central Powers, they had one +consolation left. Before the fall of Czernowitz the Austro-Hungarian +forces were able to withdraw and only about 1,000 men fell into +Russian captivity. In one respect then the Russians had not gained +their point. The Austrian army in the Bukowina was still in the field. + +Slowly but steadily the force of Von Hindenburg's offensive in the +north increased. On the day on which Czernowitz fell attacks were +delivered at many points along the 150-mile line between Dvinsk in the +north and Krevo in the south. Some local successes were gained by the +Germans, but generally speaking this offensive movement failed in its +chief purpose, namely, to lessen the strength of the Russian attack +against the Austrian lines. + +A more substantial gain was made by the combined German and +Austro-Hungarian forces, opposing the Russians west of Lutsk, in order +to stop their advance against Kovel. There the Germans drove back the +center of General Brussilov's front and captured 3,500 men, 11 +officers, some cannon, and 10 machine guns. + +On the day of Czernowitz's fall the official English newspaper +representative with the Russian armies of General Brussilov secured a +highly interesting statement from this Russian general who, by his +remarkable success, had so suddenly become one of the most famous +figures of the great war. + +"The sweeping successes attained by my armies are not the product of +chance, or of Austrian weakness, but represent the application of all +the lessons which we have learned in two years of bitter warfare +against the Germans. In every movement, great or small, that we have +made this winter, we have been studying the best methods of handling +the new problems which modern warfare presents. + +"At the beginning of the war, and especially last summer, we lacked +the preparations which the Germans have been making for the past fifty +years. Personally I was not discouraged, for my faith in Russian +troops and Russian character is an enduring one. I was convinced that, +given the munitions, we should do exactly as we have done in the past +two weeks. + +"The main element of our success was due to the absolute coordination +of all the armies involved and the carefully planned harmony with +which the various branches of the service supported each other. + +"On our entire front the attack began at the same hour and it was +impossible for the enemy to shift his troops from one quarter to +another, as our attacks were being pressed equally at all points. + +"The most important fighting has been in the sector between Rovno, and +here we have made our greatest advances, which are striking more +seriously at the strategy of the whole enemy front in the east. + +"If we are able to take Kovel there is reason to believe that the +whole eastern front will be obliged to fall back, as Kovel represents +a railway center which has been extraordinarily useful for the +intercommunications of the Germans and Austrians. + +"That this menace is fully realized by the enemy is obvious from the +fact that the Germans are supporting this sector with all the +available troops that can be rushed up. Some are coming from the west +and some from points on the eastern front to the north of us. + +"In all of this fighting the Russian infantry has proved itself +superb, with a morale which is superior even to that of 1914, when we +were sweeping through Galicia for the first time. This is largely due +to the fact that the army now represents the feeling of the whole +people of Russia, who are united in their desire to carry the war to +its final and successful conclusion." + +To the question how he had been able to make such huge captures of +prisoners the Russian general replied: + +"The nature of modern trenches, which makes them with their deep +tunnels and maze of communications, so difficult to destroy, renders +them a menace to their own defenders once their position is taken in +rear or flank, for it is impossible to escape quickly from these +elaborate networks of defenses. + +"Besides, we have for the first time had sufficient ammunition to +enable us to use curtain fire for preventing the enemy from retiring +from his positions, save through a scathing zone of shrapnel fire, +which renders surrender imperative." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +IN CONQUERED EAST GALICIA + + +Another very interesting account of conditions along the southeastern +front can be found in a letter from the Petrograd correspondent of a +London daily newspaper, who spent considerable time in Tarnopol, a +city which had been in the hands of the Russians ever since the early +part of the war: + +"We are in Austria here, but no one who was plumped down into +Tarnopol, say from an aeroplane, would ever guess it. Not only are the +streets full of Russian soldiers: all the names on the shop fronts are +in Russian characters. The hotels have changed their styles and +titles. The notices posted up in public places are Russian. Everywhere +Russian (of a kind) is talked. German, the official language of +Austria, is neither heard nor seen. + +"It is true that this part of Galicia has been in the possession of +Russia since the early days of the war. Even so, it is a surprise to +find a population so accommodating. + +"The people in this part of Austria are Poles, Ruthenes and Jews. +Polish belongs to the same family of languages as Russian, and the +Poles are Slavs. So are the Ruthenes, whose speech is almost identical +with that of southwestern Russia. They are very like the 'Little' +Russians, so called to distinguish them from the people of 'Great' +Russia on the north. They live in the same neat, thatched and +whitewashed cottages. They have the same gayly colored national +costumes still in wear, and the same fairy tales, the same merry +lilting songs, so different from the melancholy strains of northern +folk music. Almost the same religion. + +"The finest churches in Tarnopol belong to the Poles, who are Roman +Catholics. The Russian soldiers, many of them, seem to find the Roman +mass quite as comforting as their Orthodox rite. They stand and listen +to it humbly, crossing themselves in eastern fashion, only caring to +know that God is being worshiped in more or less the same fashion as +that to which they are accustomed. But in the Ruthenian churches they +find exactly the same ritual as their own. With their blood relations +they are upon family terms. There was an interesting exhibition in +Petrograd last year illustrating the Russian racial traits in the +Ruthenian population. Down here one recognizes these at once. + +"No clearer proof could be found of the gentle, kindly character of +the Russians than the attitude toward them of the Austrian Slavs +generally. At a point close to the firing line, early this morning, I +saw three Austrian prisoners who had been 'captured' during the night. +They had, in point of fact, given themselves up. They were Serbs from +Bosnia, and they were quite happy to be in Russian hands. I saw them +again later in the day on their way to the rear, sitting by the +roadside smoking cigarettes which their escort had given them. +Captives and guardians were on the best of terms. + +"The only official evidences of occupation which I noticed are notices +announcing that restaurants and cafes close at 11, and that there must +be no loud talking or playing of instruments in hotels after 10--an +edict for which I feel profoundly grateful. Signs of peaceful +penetration are to be found everywhere. The samovar (urn for making +tea) has become an institution in Galician hotels. The main street is +pervaded by small boys selling Russian newspapers or making a good +thing out of cleaning the high Russian military 'sapogee' (top boots). +They get five cents for a penny paper and ninepence or a shilling for +boot-blacking, but considering the mud of Galicia (I have been up to +my boot tops--that is, up to my knees--in it), the charge is not too +heavy, especially if the unusual dearness of living be taken into +account. + +[Illustration: The Russian Offensive in Galicia.] + +"Very gay this main street is of an afternoon, crowded with officers, +who come in from the trenches to enjoy life. A very pleasant lot of +young fellows they are, and very easily pleased. One I met invited me +to midday tea in his bombproof shelter in a forward trench. I accepted +gratefully and found him a charmingly gay host. He took a childlike +pleasure in showing me all the conveniences he had fitted up, and kept +on saying, 'Ah, how comfortable and peaceful it is here,' with the +sound of rifle shots and hand grenade and mine explosions in our ears +all the time. + +"From highest to lowest, almost all the Russian officers I have met +are friendly and unassuming. The younger ones are delightful. There is +no drink to be had here, and therefore no foolish, tipsy loudness or +quarreling among them." + +On June 18, 1916, further progress and additional large captures of +Austro-Hungarian and German prisoners were reported by the Russian +armies fighting in Volhynia, Galicia, and the Bukowina. However, both +the amount of ground gained and the number of prisoners taken were +very much slighter than had been the case during the earlier part of +the Russian offensive. This was due to the fact that the armies of the +Central Powers had received strong reenforcements and had apparently +succeeded in strengthening their new positions and in stiffening their +resistance. Powerful counterattacks were launched at many points. + +One of these, according to the Russian official statement, was of +special vigor. It was directed against General Brussilov's armies +which were attempting to advance toward Lemberg, in the region of the +village of Rogovitz to the southwest of Lokatchi, about four miles to +the south of the main road from Lutsk to Vladimir-Volynski. There the +Austro-Hungarian forces in large numbers attacked in massed formation +and succeeded in breaking through the Russian front, capturing three +guns after all the men and officers in charge of them had been killed. +The Russians, however, brought up strong reenforcements and made it +necessary for the Austro-Hungarians to withdraw, capturing at the same +time some hundred prisoners, one cannon, and two machine guns. + +At another point of this sector in the region of Korytynitzky, +southeast of Svinioukhi, a Russian regiment, strongly supported by +machine-gun batteries, inflicted heavy losses on the Austro-Hungarian +troops and captured four officers, a hundred soldiers, and four +machine guns. + +South of this region, just to the east of Borohoff, a desperate fight +developed for the possession of a dense wood near the village of +Bojeff, which, after the most furious resistance, had to be cleared +finally by the Austro-Hungarian forces, which, during this engagement, +suffered large losses in killed and wounded, and furthermore lost one +thousand prisoners and four machine guns. + +At still another point on this part of the front, just south of +Radziviloff, a Russian attack was resisted most vigorously and heavy +losses were inflicted on the attacking regiments. Here, as well as in +other places, the Austro-Hungarian-German forces employed all possible +means to stem the Russian onrush, and a large part of the losses +suffered by General Brussilov's regiments was due to the extensive use +of liquid fire. + +The troops of General Lechitsky's command, after the occupation of +Czernowitz, crossed the river Pruth at many points and came frequently +in close touch with the rear guard of the retreating Austro-Hungarian +army. During the process of these engagements, about fifty officers +and more than fifteen hundred men, as well as ten guns, were captured. +Near Koutchournare, four hundred more men and some guns of heavy +caliber, as well as large amounts of munitions fell into the hands of +the Russian forces. The latter claimed also at this point the capture +of immense amounts of provisions and forage, loaded on almost one +thousand wagons. At various other points west and north of Czernowitz, +large quantities of engineering material had to be left behind at +railroad stations by the retreating Austro-Hungarian army and thus +easily became the booty of the victorious Russians. + +Farther to the north, along the Styr, to the west of Kolki, in the +region of the Kovel-Rovno Railway, General von Linsingen's +Austro-German army group successfully resisted Russian attacks at some +points, launched strong counterattacks at other points, but had to +fall back before superior Russian forces at still other points. + +In the northern sector of the eastern front, along the Dvina, activity +was restricted to extensive artillery duels during this day. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE GERMAN COUNTEROFFENSIVE BEFORE KOVEL + + +An extensive offensive movement was developed on June 19, 1916, by +General von Linsingen. The object of this movement apparently was not +only to secure the safety of Kovel, but also to threaten General +Brussilov's army by an enveloping movement which, if it had succeeded, +would not only have pushed the Russian center back beyond Lutsk and +even possibly Dubno, but would also have exposed the entire Russian +forces, fighting in Galicia and the Bukowina, to the danger of being +cut off from the troops battling in Volhynia. This movement developed +in the triangle formed by the Kovel-Rafalovka railroad in the north, +the Kovel-Rozishtchy railroad in the south, and the Styr River between +these two places. The severest fighting in this sector occurred along +the Styr between Kolki and Sokal. + +On the other hand Russians scored a decided success in the southern +corner of the Bukowina where a crossing of the Sereth River was +successfully negotiated. + +Artillery duels again were fought along the Dvina front as well as +along the Dvina-Vilia sector. In the latter region a number of +engagements took place south of Smorgon, near Kary and Tanoczyn, where +German troops captured some hundreds of Russians as well as four +machine guns and four mine throwers. A Russian aeroplane was compelled +to land west of Kolodont, south of Lake Narotch, while German +aeroplanes successfully bombarded the railroad station at Vileika on +the Molodetchna-Polotsk railway. + +With ever increasing fury the battle raged along the Styr River on the +following day, June 20, 1916. Both sides won local successes at +various points, but the outstanding feature of that day's fighting was +the fact that in spite of the most heroic efforts the Russian troops +were unable to advance any farther toward Kovel. Ten miles west of +Kolki the Russians succeeded in cross- [see TN] of Gruziatin, two miles +north of Godomitchy, the small German garrison of which, consisting of +some five hundred officers and men, fell into Russian captivity. Only +a short time later, on the same day, heavy German batteries +concentrated such a furious fire on the Russian troops occupying the +village that they had to withdraw and permit the Germans once more to +occupy Gruziatin. How furious the fighting in this one small section +must have been that day may readily be seen from the fact that the +German official statement claimed a total of over twenty thousand men +to have been lost by the Russians. + +Hardly less severe was the fighting which developed along the Stokhod +River. This is a southern tributary of the Pripet River, joining it +about thirty miles west of the mouth of the Styr. It is cut by both +the Kovel-Rovno and the Kovel-Rafalovka railways, and forms a strong +natural line of defense west of Kovel. In spite of the most desperate +efforts on the part of large Russian forces to cross this river, near +the village of Vorontchin northeast of Kieslin, the German resistance +was so tenacious that the Russians were unable to make any progress. +Large numbers of guns of all calibers had been massed here and +inflicted heavy losses to the czar's regiments. Another furious +engagement in this region occurred during the night near the village +of Rayniesto on the Stokhod River. + +To the north heavy fighting again developed south of Smorgon, where, +with the coming of night, the Germans directed a very intense +bombardment against the Russian lines. Again and again this was +followed up with infantry attacks, which in some instances resulted in +the penetrating of the Russian trenches, while in others it led to +sanguinary hand-to-hand fighting. However, the Russian batteries +likewise hurled their death-dealing missiles in large numbers and +exacted a terrific toll from the ranks of the attacking Germans. Along +the balance of the northern half of the front a serious artillery duel +again was fought, which was especially intense in the region of the +Uxkull bridgehead, in the northern sector of the Jacobstadt positions +and along the Oginsky Canal. + +German aeroplane squadrons repeated their activity of the day before +and successfully bombarded the railroad stations at Vileika, +Molodetchna, and Zalyessie. + +The well-known English journalist, Mr. Stanley Washburn, acted at this +time as special correspondent of the London "Times" at Russian +headquarters and naturally had exceptional opportunities for observing +conditions at the front. Some of his descriptions of the territory +across which the Russians' advance was carried out, as well as of +actual fighting which he observed at close quarters, therefore, give +us a most vivid picture of the difficulties under which the Russian +victories were achieved and of the tenacity and courage which the +Austro-German troops showed in their resistance. + +Of the Volhynian fortress of Lutsk, as it appeared in the second half +of June, 1916, he says: + +"This town to-day is a veritable maelstrom of war. From not many miles +away, by night and by day, comes an almost uninterrupted roar of heavy +gunfire, and all day long the main street is filled with the rumble +and clatter of caissons, guns, and transports going forward on one +side, while on the other side is an unending line of empty caissons +returning, mingled with wounded coming back in every conceivable form +of vehicle, and in among these at breakneck speed dart motorcycles +carrying dispatches from the front. + +"The weather is dry and hot, and the lines of the road are visible for +miles by the clouds of dust from the plodding feet of the soldiery and +the transport. As the retreat from Warsaw was a review of the Russian +armies in reverse, so is Lutsk to-day a similar spectacle of the +Muscovite armies advancing; but now all filled with high hopes and +their morale is at the highest pitch. + +"Along the entire front the contending armies are locked in a fierce, +ceaseless struggle. No hour of the day passes when there is not +somewhere an attack or a counterattack going forward with a bitterness +and ferocity unknown since the beginning of the war. The troops coming +from Germany are rendering the Russian advance difficult, and the +general nature of the fighting is defense by vigorous counterattacks." + +Of the fighting along the Kovel front he says: "The story of the +fighting on the Kovel front is a narrative of a heroic advance which +at the point of the bayonet steadily forced back through barrier after +barrier the stubborn resistance of the Austrians, intermingled +occasionally with German units, till at one point the advance measured +forty-eight miles. + +"After two days spent on the front I can state without any reservation +that I believe that the Russians are engaged in the fiercest and most +courageous fight of their entire war, hanging on to their hardly won +positions and often facing troops concentrated on the strategic points +of the line outnumbering them sometimes by three to one. + +"I spent Thursday at an advanced position on the Styr, where the +Russian troops earlier forced a crossing of the river, facing a +terrific fire, and turning the enemy out of his positions at the point +of the bayonet. In hurriedly dug positions offering the most meager +kind of shelter, the Russians in one morning drove back four +consecutive Austrian counterattacks. Each left the field thickly +studded with Austrian dead, besides hundreds of their wounded who had +been left. + +"From an observation point in the village I studied the ground of the +day's fighting, and though familiar with Russian courage and tenacity, +I found it difficult to realize that human beings had been able to +carry the positions which the Russians carried here. + +"I was obliged to curtail my study of the enemy's lines and of the +position on account of the extremely local artillery fire, the shells +endeavoring to locate our observation point, which was evidently +approximately known. At any rate, two shells bursting over us and one +narrowly missing our waiting carriage, besides three others falling in +the mud almost at our feet, prompted our withdrawal. Fortunately the +last three had fallen in the mud and did not explode. + +"Along this front the Russians are holding against heavy odds, but +they are certainly inflicting greater losses than they are receiving. + +"The next day I spent at the Corps and Divisional Headquarters west +of the Kovel road. The forward units of this corps represent the +maximum point of our advance, and the Russians' most vital menace to +the enemy, as is obvious from the numbers of Germans who are attacking +here in dense masses, without so far seriously impairing the Russian +resistance. + +"After spending three days on this front motoring hundreds of versts, +and inspecting the positions taken by the Russians, their achievement +becomes increasingly impressive. The first line taken which I have +inspected represents the latest practice in field works, in many ways +comparing with the lines which I saw on the French front. The front +line is protected by five or six series of barbed wire, with heavy +front line trenches, studded with redoubts, machine-gun positions, and +underground shelters twenty feet deep, while the reserve positions +extend in many places from half a mile to a mile in series behind the +first line, studded with communication trenches, shelters, and +bomb-proofs. + +"It must not be thought that the Austrians offered only a feeble +resistance, for I inspected one series of trenches where, I was +informed, the Russians in a few versts of front buried 4,000 Austrian +dead on the first lines alone. This indicates the nature and tenacity +of the enemy resistance. I am told also that far fewer Slavs and Poles +have been found among the Austrians than in any other big action. It +is believed that most of these have been sent to the Italian front on +account of their tendency to surrender to the Russians. + +"Another interesting point about their advance is the fact that the +Russians practically in no place used guns of the heaviest caliber, +and that the preliminary artillery fire in no place lasted above +thirty hours, and in many places not more than twelve hours. + +"Last summer's experience is not forgotten by the Russians and there +has probably been the most economic use of ammunition on any of the +fronts in this war commensurate with the results during these +advances. Rarely was a hurricane fire directed on any positions +preceding an assault, but the artillery checked each shell and its +target, which was rendered possible by the nearness of our front +lines. + +"In this way avenues were cut through the barbed wire at frequent +intervals along the line through which the attacks were pressed home +and the flanking trenches and the labyrinths were taken in the rear or +on the flanks before the Austrians were able to effect their escape. +The line once broken was moved steadily forward, taking Lutsk six days +after the first attack, and one division reaching its maximum advance +of forty-eight miles just ten days after the first offensive +movement." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +PROGRESS OF THE BUKOWINIAN CONQUEST + + +On June 21, 1916, the Russians gained another important victory by the +capture of the city of Radautz, in the southern Bukowina, eleven miles +southwest of the Sereth River, and less than ten miles west of the +Rumanian frontier. This river Sereth must not be confused with a river +of the same name further to the north in Galicia. The latter is a +tributary of the Dniester, while the Bukowinian Sereth is a tributary +of the Danube, which latter it joins near the city of Galatz, in +Rumania, after flowing in a southeasterly direction through this +country for almost two hundred miles. + +The fall of Radautz was an important success for various reasons. In +the first place, it brought the Russian advance that much nearer to +the Carpathian Mountains. In the second place, it gave the invading +armies full control of an important railway running in a northwesterly +direction through the Bukowina. This railway was of special +importance, because it is the northern continuation of one of the +principal railroad lines of Rumania which, during its course in the +latter country, runs along the west bank of the Sereth River. + +In Galicia, General von Bothmer's army successfully resisted strong +Russian attacks along the Hajvoronka-Bobulinze line, north of +Przevloka. + +Without cessation the furious fighting in the Kolki-Sokal sector on +the Styr River continued. There General von Linsingen's German +reenforcements had strengthened the Austro-Hungarian resistance to +such an extent that it held against all Russian attempts to break +through their line in their advance toward Kovel. + +The same condition existed on the Sokal-Linievka line, where the +Russian forces had been trying for the best part of a week to force a +crossing of the Stokhod River, the only natural obstacle between them +and Kovel. Further south, west of Lutsk, from the southern sector of +the Turiya River down to the Galician border near the town of +Gorochoff, the Teutonic forces likewise succeeded in resisting the +Russian advance. This increased resistance of the Teutonic forces +found expression, also, in a considerable decrease in the number of +prisoners taken by the Russians. + +Along the northern half of the front, Field Marshal von Hindenburg +renewed his attacks south of Dvinsk. South of Lake Vishnieff, near +Dubatovka, German troops, after intense artillery preparation, stormed +a portion of the Russian trenches, but could not maintain their new +positions against repeated ferocious counterattacks carried out by +Russian reenforcements. Near Krevo, the Germans forced a crossing over +the River Krevlianka, but were again thrown back to its west bank by +valiant Russian artillery attacks. + +The Russian advance in the Bukowina progressed rapidly on June 22, +1916. Three important railroad towns fell into their hands, on that +day, of the left wing of the Russian army, Gurahumora in the south, +Straza in the center, and Vidnitz in the northwest. Gurahumora lies +fifty miles south of Czernowitz, and is situated on the only railway +in the southern part of the crownland. The town is ten miles from the +Russian border. Straza lies a few miles east of the western terminal +of the Radautz-Frasin railway. Its fall indicates a Russian advance of +eighteen miles since the capture of Radautz. Vidnitz is on the +Galician border, a few miles south of Kuty, and twenty-five miles +southwest of Czernowitz. + +In spite of these successes, however, it became clear by this time that +the Russian attempt to cut off the Austrian army fighting in the +Bukowina had miscarried. Each day yielded a smaller number of prisoners +than the preceding day. The main part of the Austro-Hungarian forces had +safely reached the foot-hills of the Carpathians, while other parts +farther to the north had succeeded in joining the army of General von +Bothmer. + +In Galicia and Volhynia the Teutonic forces continued to resist +successfully all Russian attempts to advance, even though there was +not the slightest let-up in the violence of the Russian attack. + +Along many other points of the front, more or less important +engagements took place, especially so along the Oginsky Canal, where +the Russians suffered heavy losses. Von Hindenburg's troops in the +north also were active again, both in the Lake district south of +Dvinsk, and along the Dvina sector from Dvinsk to Riga. + +Once more a Russian success was reported in the Bukowina on June 23, +1916. West of Sniatyn the Russian troops advanced to the Rybnitza +River, occupying the heights along its banks. Still further west, +about twenty miles south of the Pruth River, the town of Kuty, well up +in the Carpathian Mountains, was captured. Kuty is about forty miles +west of Czernowitz, just across the Galician border and only twenty +miles almost due south from the important railroad center Kolomea, +itself about one-third the distance from Czernowitz to Lemberg on the +main railway between these two cities. + +A slight success was also gained on the Rovno-Dubno-Brody-Lemberg +railway. A few miles northeast of Brody, just east of the +Galician-Russian border, near the village of Radziviloff, Russian +troops gained a footing in the Austro-Hungarian trenches and captured +a few hundred prisoners. Later that day, however, a concentrated +artillery bombardment forced them to give up this advantage and to +retire to their own trenches. + +In Volhynia the German counterattacks against General Brussilov's army +extended now along the front of almost eighty miles, stretching from +Kolki on the Styr River to within a few miles of the Galician border +near Gorochoff. Along part of this line, General von Linsingen's +forces advanced on June 23, 1916, to and beyond the line of +Zubilno-Vatyn-Zvinatcze, and repulsed a series of most fierce +counterattacks launched by the Russians which caused the latter +serious losses in killed, wounded, and prisoners. The country covered +by these engagements is extremely difficult, impeded by woods and +swamps, and a great deal of the fighting, therefore, was at close +quarters, especially so near the town of Tortchyn, about fifteen miles +due west of Lutsk. Other equally severe engagements occurred near +Zubilno and southeast of Sviniusky, near the village of Pustonyty. + +In the north, the Russians took the offensive in the region of Illuxt, +on the Dvina, and in the region of Vidzy, north of the Disna River. +Although successful in some places, the German resistance was strong +enough to prevent any material gain. German aeroplanes attacked and +bombarded the railway stations at Kolozany, southwest of Molodetchna, +and of Puniniez. + +West of Sniatyn, Russian troops, fighting as they advanced, occupied +the villages of Kilikhoff and Toulokhoff on June 24, 1916. + +Late on the preceding evening, June 23, 1916, the town of Kimpolung +was taken after intense fighting. Sixty officers and 2,000 men were +made prisoners and seven machine guns were captured. In the railway +station whole trains were captured. + +With the capture of the towns of Kimpolung, Kuty and Viznic, the whole +Bukowina was now in the hands of the Russians. So hurried had been the +retirement of the Austro-Hungarian forces that they left behind +eighty-eight empty wagons, seventeen wagons of maize, and about 2,500 +tons of anthracite, besides structural material, great reserves of +fodder and other material. + +On the Styr, two miles south of Sminy, in the region of Czartorysk, +the Russians, by a sudden attack, took the redoubt of a fort whose +garrison, after a stubborn resistance, were all put to the bayonet. + +North of the village of Zatouritzky, the German-Austrian forces +assumed the offensive, but were pushed back by a counterattack, both +sides suffering heavily in the hand-grenade fighting. + +North of Poustomyty, southeast of Sviusky (southwest of Lutsk), the +Germans attacked Russian lines, but were received by concentrated +fire, and penetrated as far as the Russian trenches in only a few +points, where the trenches had been virtually destroyed by the +preparatory artillery fire. + +German artillery violently bombarded numerous sectors of the Riga +positions. A strong party of Germans attempted to approach Russian +trenches near the western extremity of Lake Babit, but without result. + +On the Dvina, between Jacobstadt and Dvinsk, German artillery was also +violently active. German aeroplanes dropped twenty bombs on the +station at Polochany southwest of Molodetchna. + +On June 25, 1916, there was again intense artillery fire in many +sectors in the regions of Jacobstadt and Dvinsk. + +Along the balance of the front many stubborn engagements were fought +between comparatively small detachments. Thus for instance, in the +region east of Horodyshchy north of Baranovitchy, after a violent +bombardment of the Russian trenches near the Scroboff farm on Sunday +night, the German troops took the offensive, but were repulsed. At the +same time, on the road to Slutsk, a German attempt to approach the +Russian trenches on the Shara River was repulsed by heavy fire. + +In the region northwest of Lake Vygonovskoye, at noon the Germans +attacked the farm situated five versts southwest of Lipsk. At first +they were repulsed; but nevertheless they renewed the attack afterward +on a greatly extended front under cover of heavy and light artillery. + +Especially heavy fighting again developed along the Kovel sector of +the Styr front. From Kolki to Sokal the Germans bombarded the Russian +trenches with heavy artillery and made many local attacks, most of +which were successfully repulsed. + +Repeated attacks in mass formation in the region of Linievka on the +Stokhod, resulted also in some successes to the German troops. West of +Sokal they stormed Russian positions over a length of some 3,000 +meters and repulsed all counterattacks. + +On the reaches of the Dniester, south of Buczacz, Don Cossacks, having +crossed the river fighting and overthrowing elements of the +Austro-Hungarian advance guards, occupied the villages of Siekerghine +and Petruve, capturing five officers and 350 men. Russian cavalry, +after a fight, occupied positions near Pezoritt, a few miles west of +Kimpolung. + +Additional large depots of wood and thirty-one abandoned wagons were +captured at Molit and Frumos stations on the Gurahumora-Rascka +railway. + +On the other hand the number of prisoners and the amount of booty +taken by General von Linsingen's army alone in Volhynia since June 16, +1916, increased to sixty-one officers, 11,097 men, two cannon and +fifty-four guns. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +TEMPORARY LULL IN THE RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE + + +So strong had the combined Austro-Hungarian-German resistance become +by this time, that by June 26, 1916, the Russian advance seemed to +have been halted all along the line. The resistance had stiffened, +especially in front of Kovel, where the Central Powers seemed to have +assembled their strongest forces and were not only successful in +keeping the Russians from reaching Kovel but even regained some of the +ground lost in Volhynia. + +Southwest of Sokal they stormed Russian lines and took several hundred +prisoners. Russian counterattacks were nowhere successful. This was +especially due to the fact that both on the Kolki front and on the +middle Strypa the Germans bombarded all Russian positions with heavy +guns. + +To the north of Kuty and west of Novo Posaive Russian attacks were +repulsed likewise with heavy losses. + +The fighting in the north, along the Dvina front and south of Dvinsk +in the lake district, had settled down to a series of local +engagements between small detachments and to artillery duels. German +detachments which penetrated Russian positions south of Kekkau brought +back twenty-six prisoners, one machine gun and one mine thrower. +Another detachment which entered Russian positions brought back north +of Miadziol one officer, 188 men, six machine guns and four mine +throwers. Numerous bombs were again dropped on the railway freight +station at Dvinsk. In the Baltic, however, three Russian hydroplanes +in the Irben Strait engaged four German machines, bringing down one. +On the Riga front and near Uxkull bridgehead there was an artillery +duel. Against the Dvinsk positions, too, the Germans opened a violent +artillery fire at different points, and attempted to take the +offensive north of Lake Sventen, but without success. + +In the region north of Lake Miadziol, south of Dvinsk, the Germans +bombarded with heavy and light artillery Russian trenches between +lakes Dolja and Voltchino. They then started an offensive which was +stopped by heavy artillery fire. A second German offensive also +failed, the attacking troops being again driven back to their own +trenches. + +In the region of the Slutsk road, southeast of Baranovitchy, the +Germans after a short artillery preparation attempted to take the +offensive, but were repulsed by heavy fire. + +The Germans also resumed the offensive in the vicinity of a farm +southwest of Lipsk, northeast of Lake Vygonovskoe, and succeeded in +reaching the east bank of the Shara, but soon afterward were dislodged +from it and fell back. + +The Russian official statement of that day, June 26, 1916, announced +that General Brussilov had captured between June 4th and 23d, 4,413 +officers and doctors, 194,941 men, 219 guns, 644 machine guns and 195 +bomb throwers. + +Again, during the night of June 26, 1916, southeast of Riga, the +Germans, after bombarding the Russian positions and emitting clouds of +gas, attacked in great force in the direction of Pulkarn. +Reenforcements, having been brought up quickly by the Russians, they +succeeded with the assistance of their artillery, in repulsing the +Germans, who suffered heavy losses. + +On the Dvina and in the Jacobstadt region there was an artillery and +rifle duel. German aeroplanes were making frequent raids on the +Russian lines. They dropped sixty-eight bombs during a nocturnal raid +on the town of Dvinsk on June 27, 1916. The damage both to property +and life was considerable. + +An attempt on the part of German troops to take the offensive south of +Krevo was repulsed by gunfire. On the rest of the front as far as the +region of the Pripet Marshes there was an exchange of fire. + +On the same day General von Linsingen's forces stormed and captured +the village of Linievka, west of Sokal and about three miles east of +the Svidniki bridgehead on the Stokhod, and the Russian positions +south of it. West of Torchin, near the apex of the Lutsk salient, a +strong Russian attack collapsed under German artillery and infantry +fire. + +In Galicia, southwest of Novo Pochaieff, east of Brody, +Austro-Hungarian outposts repulsed five Russian night attacks. + +Gradually the Russians were closing in on the important position of +Kolomea, near the northern Bukowina border. On the east they were only +twelve miles off, on the north they had crossed the Dniester +twenty-four miles away, and in a few days they reported having driven +the Austrians across a river thirteen miles to the southeast, while at +Kuty, twenty miles almost due south, one attack followed another. + +On the following day, June 28, 1916, strong offensive movements again +developed both in East Galicia and in Volhynia. In the former region +the Russians were the aggressors; in the latter, the Germans. + +In East Galicia General Lechitsky, commander of Brussilov's center, +began a mighty onrush against the Austro-Hungarian lines, between the +Dniester and the region around Kuty, in an effort to push his +opponents beyond the important railway city of Kolomea, strategically +the most valuable point of southern Galicia. + +He succeeded in inflicting a crushing defeat upon the +Austro-Hungarians, taking three lines of trenches and 10,506 +prisoners. This success was achieved in the northern part of the area +of attack, between the Dniester and the region around the Pruth. The +fall of Kolomea looked inevitable because of this new advance. + +Persistent fighting took place on the line of the River Tchertovetz, a +tributary of the Pruth, and also in the region of the town of Kuty. +Both sides again suffered heavy losses at these points. + +East of Kolomea the Russians again attacked in massed formations on a +front of twenty-five miles. At numerous points, at a great sacrifice, +Russian reserves were thrown against the Austrian lines, and succeeded +in advancing in hand-to-hand fighting, but during the evening were +forced to evacuate a portion of their front near Kolomea and to the +south. On the Dniester line superior Russian forces were repulsed +north of Obertyn. All Russian attempts to dislodge the Austrians west +of Novo Peczaje failed. At many other points in Galicia and the +Bukowina there were artillery duels. + +In Volhynia, especially in the region of Linievka, and at other points +on the Stokhod, the desperate fighting which had been in progress for +quite a few days continued without abatement. + +Russian attacks made by some companies between Dubatowska and Smorgon +failed in the face of terrific German fire. + +Near Guessitschi, southeast of Ljubtscha, a German division stormed an +enemy point of support east of the Niemen, taking some prisoners and +capturing two machine guns and two mine throwers. + +On the Dvina front German artillery bombarded the region of +Sakowitche, Seltze and Bogouschinsk Wood, northwest of Krevo. Strong +forces then proceeded to attack, but were repulsed by Russian machine +guns and infantry fire. + +On June 29, 1916, the fighting northwest of Kuty continued. As a +result of pressure on the part of the superior forces of the Russians +the Austro-Hungarians were forced to withdraw their lines west and +southwest of Kolomea. The town of Obertyn was taken after a stubborn +fight, as well as villages in the neighborhood, north and south. In +the region south of the Dniester, the Russians were pursuing the +Austrians, who were forced to leave behind a large number of convoys +and military material. + +Near the village of Solivine, between the rivers Stokhod and Styr, to +the west of Sokal, the Germans attempted to take the offensive. Their +attack was repulsed, but an artillery duel continued until late in the +day. + +In the morning German aviators dropped thirty bombs on Lutsk. Light +and heavy German artillery opened a violent fire on the Russian +trenches in the Niemen sector, northeast of Novo Grodek. Under cover +of this fire German forces crossed the Niemen and occupied the woods +east of the village of Guessitschi. + +On the Dvina front German artillery bombarded Russian positions +southeast of Riga and the bridgehead above Uxkull. North of Illuxt the +Germans attempted to move forward, but were thrown back by Russian +gunfire. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +ADVANCE AGAINST LEMBERG AND KOVEL + + +Late that day, June 29, 1916, General Lechitsky captured Kolomea, the +important railway junction for the possession of which the battle had +been raging furiously for days past. This was a severe blow to the +Central Powers. It meant a serious danger to the remainder of General +Pflanzer's army and likewise threatened the safety of General von +Bothmer's forces to the north. + +Still the Russian advances continued. On the last day of June their +left wing drove back the retreating Austro-Hungarians over a front +situated south of the Dniester and occupied many places south of +Kolomea. + +Northwest of Kolomea, Russian troops, after a violent engagement, +drove back their opponents in the direction of the heights near the +village of Brezova, and as the result of a brilliant attack, took part +of the heights. + +The number of prisoners taken by General Lechitsky during the last +days of June, 1916, was 305 officers and 14,574 men. Four guns and +thirty machine guns were captured. The total number of prisoners taken +from June 4 to June 30, 1916, inclusive, was claimed to have reached +the immense total of 217,000 officers and men. + +During June, in the region south of Griciaty, 158 officers and 2,307 +men, as well as cannon and nineteen machine guns, fell into the hands +of the Central Powers. + +In the region of the Lipa Austrian artillery continued to bombard the +Russian front with heavy artillery and field artillery. Desperate +attacks made by newly arrived German troops were, however, repulsed +with heavy losses to the attacking forces. + +Near Thumacz an attack of cavalry, who charged six deep along a front +of three kilometers, was successfully repulsed by Austro-Hungarian +troops. + +German forces drove back Russian troops south of Ugrinow, west of +Tortschin, and near Sokal. + +At other points on the Kovel front engagements likewise took place, +though the violence of the combat had somewhat abated. + +West of Kolki, southwest of Sokal, and near Viczny, German forces +conquered Russian positions. West and southwest of Lutsk various local +engagements occurred. Here the Russians on June 30, 1916, lost fifteen +officers, 1,365 men; since June 16th, twenty-six officers, 3,165 men. + +The next objective of General Lechitsky's army was Stanislau, about +thirty miles farther northwest than Kolomea, on the Czernovitz-Lemberg +railway. On July 1, 1916, in the region west of Kolomea, the army of +General Lechitsky, after intense fighting, took by storm some strong +Austrian positions and captured some 2,000 men. + +Further north, German and Austro-Hungarian troops of General von +Bothmer's army stormed the hill of Vorobijowka, a height southwest of +Tarnopol, which had been occupied by the Russians, and took seven +officers and 891 men. Seven machine guns and two mine throwers were +captured. + +On the Volhynia front the German troops continued to deliver desperate +attacks against some sectors between the Styr and Stokhod and south +of the Stokhod. + +In the afternoon German artillery produced gusts of fire in the region +of Koptchie, Ghelenovka and Zabary, southwest of Sokal. An energetic +attack then followed, but was repulsed. Southwest of Kiselin Russian +fire stopped an offensive. At the village of Seniawa and in the same +region near the village of Seublino there was a warm engagement. A +series of fresh German attacks southwest of Kiselin-Zubilno-Kochey was +repulsed. The German columns were put to flight with heavy losses. The +fugitives were killed in large numbers, but, reenforced by reserves, +the attacks were promptly renewed, without, however, meeting with much +success. + +South of the village of Zaturze, near the village of Koscheff, Russian +forces stopped an Austrian offensive by a counteroffensive. Austrian +attempts to cross the River Shara southwest of Lipsk and south of +Baranovitchy were likewise repulsed. + +On July 2, 1916, Russian torpedo boats bombarded the Courland coast +east of Raggazem without result. They were attacked effectively by +German coastal batteries and by aeroplanes. + +At many points along the front of Field Marshal von Hindenburg the +Russians increased their fire, and repeatedly undertook advances. +These led to fighting within the German lines near Niki, north of +Smorgon. The Russians were ejected with losses. + +On the front of Prince Leopold the Russians attacked northeast and +east of Gorodische and on both sides of the Baranovitchy railway, +after artillery preparation lasting four hours. + +Farther south fierce battles occurred between the Styr and the Stokhod +and to the south of these rivers. On the Koptche-Ghelenovka-Zobary +front, after gusts of gunfire, the Germans left their trenches and +opened an assault upon the Russian line. Under cover of a bombardment +of extreme violence German troops opened an offensive south of +Linievka, but were checked. In the region of Zubilno and Zaturze (west +of Lutsk) the Austrians took the offensive in massed formation, but +were repulsed with heavy losses. East of the village of Ougrinov, +midway between Lutsk and Gorochoff, fresh German forces held up +Russian attacks. At other points on the front of General von +Linsingen strong Russian counterattacks were delivered west and +southwest of Lutsk, but failed to stop the German advance. Large +cavalry attacks broke down under German fire. The number of prisoners +was increased by the Germans by about 1,800. As the result of a week +of costly onslaughts by the Austro-German army between the Stokhod and +the Styr Rivers in Volhynia, the Russian forces had now been forced +back a distance of five miles along the greatest part of the front +before Kovel. + +In the region of Issakoff, on the right bank of the Dniester, +southeast of Nijniff, the Austrians took the offensive in superior +numbers. The Russians launched a counteroffensive, which resulted in a +fierce fight. + +On July 3, 1916, the Russian advance west of Kolomea still continued +in this direction. The Austrians were dislodged from several +positions, and as a result of this the Russians occupied the village +of Potok Tcharny. The booty taken by the Russians here was four cannon +and a few hundred prisoners. + +Further north in Galicia the army group of General Count von Bothmer, +southeast of Thumacz, in a quick advance, forced back the Russians on +a front more than twelve and a half miles wide and more than five and +a quarter miles deep. + +On the Styr-Stokhod front the Russians again threw strong forces, part +of them recently brought up to this front, in masses against the +German lines to stay their advance, but were repulsed. + +An attempt of German troops to cross the Styr in the region of the +village of Lipa was repulsed. During the night the Russians captured +on this front eleven officers, nearly 1,000 men and five machine guns. + +Still farther north, local counterattacks at points where the Russians +first succeeded in making some advances, all yielded finally some +successes for the Germans, who captured thirteen officers and 1,883 +men. Two lines of German works south of Tzirine, northeast of +Baranovitchy, however, were pierced by the Russians. In this fighting +they captured seventy-two officers, 2,700 men, eleven cannon and +several machine guns and bomb throwers. + +On the northerly front there was lively artillery fire, which became +violent at some points. In the region of the village of Baltaguzy, +east of Lake Vichnevskoye the Germans attempted to leave their +trenches, but were prevented by Russian fire. A Russian air squadron +raided the Baranovitchy railway station. + +Once more, on July 4, 1916, the coast of Courland was bombarded +fruitlessly from the sea by Russian ships. The operations of the +Russian forces against the front of Field Marshal von Hindenburg were +continued, especially on both sides of Smorgon. On the Riga-Dvinsk +front the artillery duels were growing more intense. Northwest of +Goduziesk, Russian troops dislodged German forces from the outskirts +of a wood. German aeroplane squadrons dropped bombs freely on the +railway. + +The Russians recommenced attacking the front from Tzirin to a point +southeast of Baranovitchy. Hand-to-hand fights in some places were +very stubborn. The Russians were driven out of the sections of the +German lines into which they had broken and suffered very heavy +losses. + +On the lower Styr and on the front between the Styr and Stokhod, and +farther south as far as the region of the lower Lipa, everywhere there +were fought most desperate engagements. + +In the region of Vulka-Galouziskai the Russians broke through wire +entanglements fitted with land mines. In a very desperate fight on the +Styr west of Kolki the Russians overthrew the Germans and took more +than 1,000 prisoners, together with three guns, seventeen machine guns +and two searchlights, and several thousand rifles. + +In the region north of Zaturse and near Volia Sadovska the Russians +seized the first line of enemy trenches, and stopped by artillery fire +an enemy attack on Schkline. + +In the region of the lower Lipa the Germans made a most stubborn +attack without result. At another point the Germans, who crossed the +Styr above the mouth of the Lipa, near the village of Peremel, were +attacked and driven back to the river. + +On the Galician front, in the direction of the Carpathians, there was +an artillery action. The left wing of the Russians continued to press +the Austrians back. On the road between Kolomea and Dalatyn the +Russians captured the village of Sadzadka at the point of the bayonet. + +Southeast of Riga and at many points on the front between Postavy and +Vishnieff, further partial attacks by the Russians were repulsed on +July 5, 1916. On the Dvina front and the Dvinsk position and further +south there were also lively artillery engagements at numerous points. +Near Boyare, on the Dvina above Friedrichstadt, Russian light +artillery smashed a German light battery. Attempts by the Germans to +remove the guns were unsuccessful. The gun team, which endeavored to +save one of the guns, was annihilated. All the guns were eventually +abandoned. + +Extremely fierce fighting, especially in the region east of Worodische +and south of Darovo, was everywhere in German favor. The losses of the +Russians were very considerable. + +In the direction of Baranovitchy the fighting continues, developing to +Russian advantage. The Germans delivered repeated counterattacks in +order to regain positions captured by the Russians, but each was +easily repulsed. + +South of the Pinsk Marshes the Russians had important new successes. +In the region of Gostioukhovka they captured an entire German battery +and took prisoners twenty-two officers and 350 soldiers. Northwest of +Baznitchi, on the Styr, north of Kolki, the Russians captured two +cannon, three machine guns, and 2,322 prisoners. North of +Stegrouziatine they captured German trenches and took more than 300 +prisoners and one machine gun. Between the Styr and the Stokhod, west +of Sokal and southward, the Germans launched many counterattacks under +the protection of artillery. + +In Galicia, after intense artillery preparations, the Russians took up +an energetic offensive west of the lower Strypa and on the right bank +of the Dniester. The Germans were defeated and driven back. The +Russian troops were now approaching the Koropice and Souhodolek +Rivers, tributaries of the Dniester. They took here nearly 5,000 +prisoners and eleven machine guns. On the front of the Barysz sector +the defense, after the repulse of repeated Russian attacks, was +partially transferred to the Koropice sector. Russian assaults +frequently broke down before the German lines on both sides of +Chocimirz, southeast of Tlumach. + +Near Sadzadka the Russians with superior forces were successful in +penetrating the Austrian positions, who then retreated about five +miles to the west, where they formed a new line and repulsed all +attacks. + +Southwest and northwest of Kolomea the Austrians maintained their +positions against all Russian efforts. + +Southwest of Buczacz, after heavy fighting at Koropice Brook, the +Austrians recaptured their line. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +THE GERMAN STAND ON THE STOKHOD + + +General Von Linsingen saw himself forced to abandon on July 6, 1916, a +corner of the German lines protruding toward Czartorysk on account of +the superior pressure on its sides near Kostiukovka and west of Kolki, +and new lines of defense were selected along the Stokhod. On both +sides of Sokal, Russian attacks broke down with heavy losses. West and +southwest of Lutsk the situation remained unchanged that day. + +Against the front of Field Marshal von Hindenburg, the Russians +continued their operations. They attacked with strong forces south of +Lake Narotch, but after fierce fighting were repulsed. Northeast of +Smorgon and at other points they were easily repulsed. + +The fighting in the vicinity of Kolomea was extended. A strong Russian +advance west of the town was checked by a counterattack. Southeast of +Tlumach German and Austro-Hungarian troops broke up with artillery and +infantry fire an attack over a front of one and a half kilometers by a +large force of Russian cavalry. + +The number of prisoners the Russians took on July 4 and 5, 1916, +during the fighting which still continued on west of the line of the +Styr and below the town of Kolki, totals more than 300 officers and +7,415 men, mostly unwounded. The Russians also captured six guns, +twenty-three machine guns, two searchlights, several thousand rifles, +eleven bomb throwers, and seventy-three ammunition lights. + +The Russians repulsed violent German attacks near Gruziatyn. On the +right bank of the Dniester, in the region of Jidatcheff and Hotzizrz, +there also was desperate fighting. + +There was a lively artillery duel in many sectors of the front north +of the Pinsk Marshes. East of Baranovitchy, the Austro-Hungarian +forces launched several desperate counterattacks which were repulsed +by the Russians. Several times the Austrians opened gusts of fire with +their heavy and light guns against the region of the village of +Labuzy, east of Baranovitchy. Under cover of this fire, the Austrians +delivered two violent counterattacks. The Russians drove the +Austro-Hungarians back on both occasions, bringing to bear on them the +fire of their artillery, machine guns, and rifles. + +During the repulse of repeated attacks made on July 7, 1916, south of +Lake Narotch, the Germans captured two officers and 210 men. They +repelled weak advances at other points. + +Repeated efforts by strong Russian forces against the front from +Tzirin to the southeast of Gorodische and on both sides of the Darovo +ended in complete failure. The dead lying before the German positions +numbered thousands. In addition to these the Russians lost a +considerable number of prisoners. + +Austro-Hungarian troops fighting along the bend of the Styr, opposed +for four weeks past to hostile forces which have increased from +threefold to fivefold superiority, found it necessary to withdraw +their advanced lines which were exposed to a double outflanking +movement. Assisted by the cooperation of German troops west of Kolki +and by the Polish Legion near Kaloda, the movement was executed +undisturbed by the Russians. + +In the region of the lower Styr, west of the Czartorysk sector, the +Russians were closely pressing the Austrians. After the battle they +occupied the Gorodok-Manevichi station on the Okonsk-Zagorovka-Gruziatyn +line. In combats seventy-five officers in the zone of the railway were +taken with 2,000 men, and also in the Gruziatyn region. + +Following the capture of the village of Grady, and after a hot bayonet +encounter, the village of Dolzyca, on the main road between Kolki and +Manevichi, and village of Gruziatyn were taken. The number of German +and Austrian prisoners continued to increase. + +In the region of Optevo a great number of Austrians were sabered +during pursuit by the Russians after a cavalry charge. More than 600 +men, five cannon, six machine guns, and three machine gun detachments, +with complete equipment, were captured. + +East of Monasterzyska (Galicia), the Russians took possession of the +village of Gregorov, carrying off more than 1,000 prisoners. There +were artillery duels at many points. Russian troops continued to press +back the Austrians. In southeastern Galicia, between Delatyn and +Sadzovka, a Russian attack in strong force was defeated by Alpine +Territorials. + +In the Bukowina, in successful engagements, Austrian troops brought in +500 prisoners and four machine guns. + +On July 8, 1916, the Russians fighting against the army group of +Prince Leopold of Bavaria, repeated several times their strong +attacks. The attacks again broke down, with heavy losses for the +Russians. In the fighting of the last few days the Germans captured +two officers and 631 men. + +The Russian offensive on the lower Stokhod continued. South of the +Sarny-Kovel railway the villages of Goulevitchi and Kachova were +occupied after fighting. Farther south there were fires everywhere in +the region of the villages of Arsenovitchi, Janovka, and Douchtch. + +In southern Galicia, General Lechitsky occupied Delatyn after very +violent fighting. Delatyn is a railway junction of great importance. +Depots of war material, steel shields, grenades, cartridges, iron, and +wire abandoned by the Austrians have been captured at many points. + +On the northern section of the front, apart from fruitless Russian +attacks in the region of Skobowa, east of Gorodische, nothing of +importance occurred on July 9, 1916. + +The Russians advancing toward the Stokhod line were repulsed +everywhere. Their attacks west and southwest of Lutsk were +unsuccessful. German aeroplane squadrons made a successful attack on +Russian shelters east of the Stokhod. + +Near the villages of Svidniki, Starly Mossor and Novy Mossor, on the +left bank of the Stokhod, lively fighting was in progress. The +Russians took German prisoners at three points. Between Kiselin and +Zubilno the Austrians attempted a surprise attack, but it was repulsed +with heavy loss. + +The total number of prisoners taken by General Kaledine, from July 4 +to July 8, 1916, was 341 officers and 9,145 unwounded soldiers. He +also captured ten pieces of artillery, forty-eight machine guns, +sixteen bomb throwers, 7,930 rifles, and depots of engineering +materials. These figures were supposed to be added to those given +previously, which included 300 officers, 12,000 men and forty-five +pieces of artillery. + +On the Galician front there was a particularly intense artillery +action on both banks of the Dniester. + +From the coast to Pinsk no events of special importance occurred +during July 10, 1916. + +The Russians made futile attacks with very strong forces at several +points against the German line along the Stokhod River, notably near +Czereviscze, Hulevicze, Korysmi and Janmaka, and on both sides of the +Kovel-Rovno railway. + +Near Hulevicze the Germans drove back Russian troops beyond their +position by a strong counterattack, capturing more than 700 prisoners +and three machine guns. + +In the Stokhod region the Germans received strong reenforcements and +brought up powerful artillery, enabling them to offer a very stubborn +resistance. + +On the Briaza-Fondoul-Moldava front, northwest of Kimpolung, in the +southern Bukowina, considerable Austro-Hungarian forces were thrown +back by Russian troops after violent engagements at various points. + +German aeroplanes successfully attacked the railway station at Zamirie +on the Minsk-Baranovitchy railway line, dropping as many as sixty +bombs. + +An attempt to cross the Dvina made by weak Russian forces west of +Friedrichstadt on July 11, 1916, and attacks south of Narotch Lake +were frustrated. + +Russian detachments which attempted to establish themselves on the +left bank of the Stokhod River, near Janowka, were attacked. Not a +single man of these detachments got away from the southern bank. At +this point and on the Kovel-Rovno railroad the Germans took more than +800 prisoners. The booty taken on the Stokhod during the two days, +apart from a number of officers and 1,932 men, included twelve machine +guns. The German aerial squadron continued their activity in attacks +east of the Stokhod. A Russian captive balloon was shot down. + +Russian artillery dispersed Germans who were attempting to bring +artillery against the Ikakul works. Near the village of Grouchivka, +north of Hulevicze, the Germans made their appearance on the right +bank of the river, but later were ejected therefrom. + +In the sector of the Tscherkassy farm, south of Krevo, the Germans, +supported by violent artillery fire, took the offensive, but were +repulsed by Russian counterattacks. + +On the whole front from Riga to Poliessie, there was intermittent +artillery fire, together with rifle fire. German aviators dropped +bombs on the station of Zamirie and the town of Niesvij, where several +houses were set on fire. + +German troops, belonging to General von Bothmer's army group, by an +encircling counterattack, carried out near and to the north of Olessa, +northwest of Buczacz, on July 12, 1916, drove back Russian troops +which had pushed forward and took more than 400 prisoners. + +On the Stokhod there were violent artillery duels. German aeroplanes +appeared behind the Russian front and dropped many bombs, doing +considerable damage. + +Again, on July 13, 1916, the Russians advanced on the Stokhod, near +Zarecz, but were driven back by troops belonging to General von +Linsingen's army, and lost a few hundred men and some machine guns +which fell into the hands of the Germans. Other German detachments +successfully repeated their attacks on the east bank of the Stokhod +River. + +German aeroplanes bombarded Lutsk and the railway station at Kivertsk, +northeast of Lutsk. + +To the north of the Sarny-Kovel railway the Russians gained a footing +in their opponents' positions on the west bank of the Stokhod. A +surprise attack, made by strong German forces late in the evening, +drove them back again to the opposite bank. + +In the region of the lower Lipa, German guns opened a violent fire +against the Russian trenches and inflicted heavy losses. + +The town of Polonetchki, northeast of Baranovitchy, was attacked by +German aeroplanes, which threw many bombs and caused considerable +damage. + +West of the Strypa the Austro-German forces launched a series of +furious counterattacks, as a result of which the Russians claimed to +have captured over 3,000 prisoners. + +West and northwest of Buczacz the Russians made two attacks on a broad +front which were repulsed. During the third assault, however, they +succeeded in penetrating the Austro-Hungarian positions northwest of +Buczacz, but were completely ejected during a most bitter night +battle. + +On July 14, 1916, the Germans under cover of a violent fire, +approached the barbed-wire entanglements of the Russians on the +grounds in the region of the River Servitch, a tributary of the +Niemen. They were repulsed by Russian artillery fire. + +The same day the Germans opened a violent artillery fire against +Russian lines eastward of Gorodichtche (Baranovitchy sector), after +they assumed the offensive in the region of the village of Skrobowa, +but were repulsed with heavy losses. A little later, after a +continuation of the bombardment, the Germans took the offensive in +massed formation a little farther north of Skrobowa, but were again +repulsed by Russian fire. + +After having taken breath the Germans made a fresh attack in the +region of the same village, but the Russian troops repulsed the +Germans with machine-gun and rifle fire. The Russians then made a +counterattack which resulted in the capture of more ground. + +Repeated German attempts to advance toward the sector southwest of the +village of Skrobowa were also repulsed by Russian fire. + +On the front of the Russian position southeast of Riga the Germans +took the offensive against the Russian sectors near Frantz, northeast +of Pulkarn, but were repulsed by Russian artillery and infantry fire +and by hand-grenade fighting. Russian detachments which attempted to +cross the Dvina, near Lennewaden, northwest of Friedrichstadt, were +repulsed. Numerous bombs were dropped from German aeroplanes on +railway stations on the Smorgon-Molodetchna line. + +On the right wing of their Riga positions, the Russians, supported +strongly by artillery on land and sea, made some progress during July +15, 1916, in the region west of Kemmern. On the remainder of the north +front there were some local engagements which, however, did not modify +the general situation. + +Troops belonging to the army of Field Marshal Prince Leopold of +Bavaria recaptured some positions in the region of Skrobowa, which had +been lost the previous day. The Russians in turn attempted to regain +this ground by making a number of very strong counterattacks, but were +not successful. In this attempt they lost a few hundred men and six +officers. + +Austrian troops dispersed some Russian detachments southwest of +Moldaha. Near Jablonica their patrols captured, by a number of daring +undertakings, a few hundred prisoners. + +Near Delatyn, in the Carpathian Mountains, there was increased +activity. Russian advance guards entered Delatyn, but were driven back +to the southern outskirts. Another Russian attack to the southwest of +the town broke down under the Austrian fire. + +There also was a renewal of the fighting in the region southwest of +Lutsk, west of Torchin. A number of Russian attacks were repulsed in +this neighborhood. + +At other points of the Volhynian front, in the region southeast of +Sviniusky, near Lutsk, the Germans again assumed the offensive and +attacked in massed formations. This resulted in a series of strong +counterattacks, which enabled the Russians to maintain their +positions. + +At many points in the region of Ostoff and Goubine, Russian troops +registered local successes by very swiftly executed attacks which +threatened to outflank their opponents, who were, therefore, forced to +retreat in great haste. As a result of this, the Russians captured one +heavy and one light battery as well as numerous cannon which had been +installed in isolated locations. Upward of 3,000 prisoners fell into +their hands. + +In Volhynia, on July 16, 1916, to the east and southeast of Svinisuky +village, Russian troops under General Sakharoff broke down the +resistance of the Germans. In battles in the region of Pustomyty, more +than 1,000 Germans and Austrian prisoners have been taken, together +with three machine guns and much other military booty. + +In the region of the lower Lipa the successful Russian advance +continued. The Germans were making a stubborn resistance. In battles +in this region the Russians took many prisoners and guns, as well as +fourteen machine guns, a few thousand rifles and other equipment. + +The total number of prisoners taken on July 16, 1916, in battles in +Volhynia, was claimed to be 314 officers and 12,637 men. The Russians +also claimed to have captured thirty guns, of which seventeen were +heavy pieces, and a great many machine guns and much other material. + +In the direction of Kirliababa, on the frontier of Transylvania, +Russians have occupied a set of new positions. + +In the region of Riga, skirmishes on both sides have been successful +for the Russians, and parts of German trenches have been taken, +together with prisoners. Increased fire west and south of Riga and on +the Dvina front preceded Russian enterprises. Near Katarinehof, south +of Riga, considerable Russian forces attacked. Lively fighting +developed here. + +On the Riga front artillery engagements continued throughout July 17 +and 18, 1916. At Lake Miadziol, Russian infantry and a lake flotilla +made a surprise attack on the Germans in the night. German airmen +manifested great activity from the region south of the Dvina to the +Pinsk Marshes. + +On the Stokhod there was artillery fighting at many places. + +Russian troops repulsed by artillery fire an attempt on the part of +the Germans to take the offensive north of the Odzer Marsh. Owing to +the heavy rains the Dniester rose almost two and one half meters, +destroying bridges, buttresses and ferry-boats, and considerably +curtailing military operations. + +On the Russian left flank, in the region of the Rivers Black and White +Tscheremosche, southwest of Kuty, Russian infantry were advancing +toward the mountain defiles. + +Southwest of Delatyn the German troops drove back across the Pruth +Russian detachments which had crossed to the western bank. The Germans +took 300 prisoners. + +On July 19, 1916, General Lechitsky's forces, which were advancing +from the Bukowina and southern Galicia toward the passes of the +Carpathians leading to the plains of Hungary, met with strong +opposition in the region of Jablonica, situated at the northern end of +a pass leading through the Carpathians to the important railroad +center of Korosmezo, in Hungary. + +Jablonica is about thirty-three miles west of Kuty and fifteen miles +south of Delatyn. It is on the right of the sixty-mile front occupied +by the advancing army of General Lechitsky. + +No let-up was noticeable in the battle along the Stokhod, where the +combined forces of the Central Powers seemed to be able to withstand +all Russian attacks. Along the Lipa increased artillery fire was the +order of the day. In Galicia the floods in the Dniester Valley +continued to hamper military operations. Many minor engagements were +fought both in the northern and central sectors of the front. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE RUSSIAN DRIVE + + +As the month of July approached its end the Russian assaults became +more and more violent. Along the entire front the most bitter and +sanguinary fighting took place day after day and night after night. +Artillery bombardments such as never had been heard before raged at +hundreds of places at the same time. Troops in masses that passed all +former experience were employed by the Russians to break the +resistance of the Teutonic allies. + +The latter, however, seemed to have their affairs well in hand. At +many points they lost local engagements. At other points advanced +positions had to be given up, and at still other points occasional +withdrawals of a few miles became inevitable. But, all in all, the +Austro-German lines held considerably well. + +During the last two or three days of July, 1916, however, the +German-Austrian forces suffered some serious reverses. On July 21, +1916, General Sakharoff had succeeded in crossing the Lipa River and +in establishing himself firmly on its south bank. This brought him +within striking distance of the important railway point of Brody on +the Dubno-Lemberg railway, very close to the Russo-Galician border, +and only fifty miles northeast of Lemberg. + +In spite of the most determined resistance on the part of the Austrian +troops, the Russian general was able to push his advantage during the +next few days, and on July 27, 1916, Brody fell into his hands. + +Less successful was the continued attack on the Stokhod line with the +object of reaching Kovel. There the German-Austrian forces repulsed +all Russian advances. + +In the Bukowina, however, the Russians gradually pushed on. Slowly but +surely they approached once more the Carpathian Mountain passes. + +The same was true in eastern Galicia. After the fall of Kolomea in the +early part of the month, the Russian advance had progressed steadily, +even if slowly, in the direction of Stanislau and Lemberg. Closer and +closer to Stanislau the Russian forces came, until on July 30, 1916, +they were well within striking distance. + +In the north, too, General Kuropatkin displayed greatly increased +activity against Von Hindenburg's front, although as a result he +gained only local successes. + +Midsummer, 1916, then saw the Russians once more on a strong offensive +along their entire front. How far this movement would ultimately carry +them, it was hard to tell. Once more the way into the Hungarian plains +seemed to be open to the czar's soldiers, and a sufficiently +successful campaign in Galicia might easily force back the center of +the line to such an extent that they might then have prospects of +regaining some of the ground lost during their great retreat. + +Interesting details of the terrific struggle which had been going on +on the eastern front for many weeks are given in the following letter +from an English special correspondent: + +"I reached the headquarters of a certain Siberian corps about midnight +on July 15, 1916, to find the artillery preparation, which had started +at 4 p. m., in full blast. Floundering around through the mud, we came +almost on to the positions, which were suddenly illuminated with fires +started by Austrian shells in two villages near by, while the jagged +flashes of bursting shells ahead caused us to extinguish the lights of +the motor and to turn across the fields, ultimately arriving at the +headquarters of a corps which I knew well on the Bzura line in Poland. + +"Sitting in a tiny room in an unpretentious cottage with the +commander, I followed the preparations which were being made for the +assault. The ticking of the instruments gave news from the front, the +line of which was visible from the windows by flares and rockets and +burning villages. By midnight ten breaches had been made in the barbed +wire, each approximately twenty paces broad, and the attacks were +ordered for three o'clock in the morning. + +"Rising at 5 a. m. I accompanied the commander of the corps to his +observation point on a ridge. The attacks had already swept away the +resistance of the enemy's first line. + +"Thousands of prisoners were in our hands, and the enemy was already +retiring rapidly. He therefore halted but a few minutes, pushing on to +the advanced positions. The commander stopped repeatedly by the +roadside tapping the field wires, and giving further instructions as +to the disposition of the troops. + +"As we moved forward we began to meet the flood from the battle field, +first the lightly wounded, and then Austrian prisoners helping our +heavily wounded, who were in carts. + +"Before we were halfway to the positions a cavalry general splashed +with mud met the commander and informed him that six guns were already +in our hands. The next report from the field telephone increased the +number to ten guns, with 2,000 prisoners, including some Germans. + +"At quite an early hour the entire country was alive, and every +department of the army beginning to move forward. All the roads were +choked with ammunition parks, batteries, and transports following up +our advancing troops; while the stream of returning caissons, the +wounded, and the prisoners equaled in volume the tide of the advancing +columns. + +"The commander took up his position on a ridge which but a few hours +before had been our advanced line. Thence the country could be +observed for miles. Each road was black with moving troops, pushing +forward on the heels of the enemy, whose field gun shells were +bursting on the ridges just beyond. + +"Here I met the commander of the division and his staff. Plans were +immediately made for following up our success. Evidently the size of +our group was discernible from some distant enemy observation point, +for within five minutes came the howl of an approaching projectile and +a 6-inch shell burst with a terrific crash in a neighboring field. Its +arrival, which was followed at regular intervals by others ranging +from 4-inch upward, was apparently unnoticed by the general, whose +interest was entirely occupied with pressing his advantage. + +"So swift was our advance that nearly half an hour elapsed before the +newly strung field wires were working properly. + +"The fire had become so persistent that our group scattered and +hundreds of prisoners, whose black mass could be seen by the enemy, +were removed beyond the possibility of observation. Then the corps +commander, stretched on straw on the crest of the ridge, with his maps +spread out, dictated directions to the operator of the field telephone +who crouched beside him. + +"Before and beneath us lay the abandoned line of Austrian trenches, +separated from ours by a small stream, where since daylight the heroic +engineers were laboring under heavy shell fire to construct a bridge +to enable our cavalry and guns to pass in pursuit. + +"Leaving the general we proceeded. Our troops had forced the line here +at 3 a. m., wading under machine-gun and rifle fire in water and marsh +above their waists, often to their armpits. The Austrian end of the +bridge was a horrible place, as it was congested with dead, dying and +horribly wounded men, who, as the ambulances were on the other side of +the river, could not be removed. A sweating officer was urging forward +the completion of the bridge, which was then barely wide enough to +permit the waiting cavalry squadrons to pass in single file. On the +opposite bank waited the ambulance to get across after the troops had +passed. A number of German ambulance men were working furiously over +their own and the Austrian wounded, many of whom, I think, must have +been wounded by their own guns in an attempt to prevent the bridging +of the stream. A more bloody scene I have not witnessed, though within +a few hours the entire place was probably cleared up. + +"Passing on I, for the first time, witnessed the actual taking of +prisoners, and watched their long blue files as they passed out from +their own trenches and were formed in groups allotted to Russian +soldiers, who served as guides rather than guards, and sent to the +rear. + +"Near here I encountered about fifty captured Germans and talked with +about a dozen of them. Certainly none of them showed the smallest +lack of morale or any depression. + +"By noon sufficient details of the fighting were available to indicate +that this corps alone had taken between three and five thousand +prisoners and twenty guns, of which four are said to be howitzers. +When one is near the front the perspective of operations is nearly +always faulty, and it was, therefore, impossible to estimate the +effect of the movement as a whole, but I understand that all the other +corps engaged had great success and everywhere advanced." + + + + +PART IV--THE BALKANS + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +HOLDING FAST IN SALONIKI + + +The six months ending with March, 1916, had been not only an eventful +period in the Balkans, but a most unfortunate one for the Allies. In +no theater of the war had they sustained such a series of smashing +disasters in diplomacy as well as on the field of battle. First of +all, early in the fall, the Austrians had begun their fourth invasion +of Serbia, this time heavily reenforced by the Germans and in such +numbers that it was obvious before the first attack was begun that +Serbia by herself would not be able to hold back the invaders. And +then, hardly had the real fighting begun, when Bulgaria definitely +cast her lot in with the Teutons and Hungarians and attacked the +Serbians from the rear. + +While it was true that King Ferdinand and his governing clique had +made this decision months before, it is nevertheless a fact that it +was probably the blundering diplomacy of the Allies which was +responsible for this action on the part of the Bulgarians. Under all +circumstances King Ferdinand would probably have favored the Teutons, +since by birth and early training he is an Austrian and, moreover, as +he once expressed himself publicly, he was firmly convinced that the +Teutons would ultimately win. But the Bulgarian people are +sentimentally inclined toward the Russians and dislike the Germans. +Had not the diplomatic policy of the Allies played into the hands of +the king, they would naturally have turned toward the Allies. + +Above all else the Bulgarians have desired either the freedom or the +annexation of Macedonia, which is almost entirely inhabited by +Bulgars. The Germans made the definite promise that Macedonia should +be theirs if they allied themselves with them. The Allies endeavored +to promise as much, but the protests of Greece and Serbia stood in the +way. Neither of these two nations was willing to give up its +possessions in this disputed territory, though later, when she saw +that her very existence was at stake, Serbia did make some +concessions, but not until after Bulgaria had already taken her +decision. Had the Allies disregarded these greedy bickerings on the +part of her minor allies and promised as much as the Germans had +promised, there is no doubt that the popular sentiment in Bulgaria +would have been strong enough to block Ferdinand's policy. + +In Greece, too, there had been the same blundering policy. Here the +situation was much the same as in Bulgaria; the king, with his +Teutonic affiliations, was in favor of the Germans, while the +sentiment of the people was in favor of the Allies. Moreover, here the +popular sentiment was voiced by and personified in quite the strongest +statesman in Greece, Eleutherios Venizelos. Had the Allies made known +to the Greeks definitely and in a public manner just what they were to +expect by joining the Entente, the policy of the king would have been +frustrated. But here again the ambitions of Italy in Asia Minor and in +the Greek archipelago caused the same hesitation. The result was that +popular enthusiasm was so dampened that the king was able to pursue +his own policy. + +Then came the disastrous invasion of Serbia; the Serbian armies were +overwhelmed and practically annihilated, a few remnants only being +able to escape through Albania. The assistance that was sent in the +form of an Anglo-French army under General Sarrail came just too late. +Having swept Macedonia clear of the Serbians, the Bulgarians next +attacked the forces under Sarrail and hurled them back into the Greek +territory about Saloniki. + +The Italians, too, had attempted to take part in the Balkan +operations, but with their own national interests obviously placed +above the general interests of the whole Entente. They had landed on +the Albanian coast, at Durazzo and Avlona, hoping to hold territory +which they desire ultimately to annex. Then followed the invasion of +Montenegro and Albania by the Austrians and the Bulgarians, and the +Italians were driven out of Durazzo, retaining only a foothold in +Avlona. + +By March, 1916, all major military operations had ceased. Except for +the British and French at Saloniki and the Italians at Avlona, the +Teutons and the Bulgarians had cleared the whole Balkan peninsula +south of the Danube of their enemies and were in complete possession. +The railroad running down through Serbia and Bulgaria to +Constantinople was repaired where the Serbians had had time to injure +it, and communications were established between Berlin and the capital +of the Ottoman Empire, which had been one of the main objects of the +campaign. + +In the beginning, however, the Bulgarians did not venture to push +their lines across the Greek frontier, though this is a part of +Macedonia which is essentially Bulgarian in population. There are +several reasons why the Bulgarians should have restrained themselves. +The traditional hatred which the Greeks feel for the Bulgarians, so +bitter that an American cannot comprehend its depths, would +undoubtedly have been so roused by the presence of Bulgarian soldiers +on Greek soil that the king would not have been able to have opposed +successfully Venizelos and his party, who were strong adherents of the +Allies. This would not have suited German policy, though to the +victorious Bulgarians it would probably not have made much difference. +Another reason was, as has developed since, that the Bulgarian +communications were but feebly organized, and a further advance would +have been extremely precarious. The roads through Macedonia are few, +and the best are not suited to automobile traffic. The few prisoners +that the French and English were able to take evinced the fact that +the Bulgarians were being badly supplied and that the soldiers were +starved to the point of exhaustion. And finally, from a military point +of view, the Allied troops were now in the most favorable position. +Their lines were drawn in close to their base, Saloniki, with short, +interior communications. The Bulgarians, on the contrary, were +obliged to spread themselves around the wide semicircle formed by the +Anglo-French lines. To have taken Saloniki would have been for them an +extremely costly undertaking, if, indeed, it would have at all been +possible. + +On the other hand, it was equally obvious that the Allies were not, +and would not be, for a long time to come, in a position to direct an +effective offensive against the Bulgarians in Macedonia. That they and +their German allies realized this was apparent from the fact that the +German forces now began withdrawing in large numbers. + +The Bulgarians, however, did not attempt to assist their German allies +on any of the other fronts, a fact which throws some light on the +Bulgarian policy. Naturally, it is in the interests of the Bulgarians +that the Teutons should win the war, therefore it might have been +expected that they would support them on other fronts, notably in +Galicia. That this has never been done shows conclusively that the +alliance with the Germans is not popular among the Bulgarians. They +have, rather reluctantly, been willing to fight on their own +territory, or what they considered rightly their own territory, but +they have not placed themselves at the disposal of the Germans on the +other fronts. It is obvious that Ferdinand has not trusted to oppose +his soldiers against the Russians. + +Meanwhile the forces under Sarrail were being daily augmented and +their position about Saloniki was being strengthened. By this time all +the Serbians who had fled through Albania, including the aged King +Peter, had been transported to the island of Corfu, where a huge +sanitarium was established, for few were the refugees that did not +require some medical treatment. Cholera did, in fact, break out among +them, which caused a protest on the part of the Greek Government. Just +how many Serbians arrived at Corfu has never been definitely stated, +but recent reports would indicate that they numbered approximately +100,000. All those fit for further campaigning needed to be equipped +anew and rearmed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +MILITARY AND POLITICAL EVENTS IN GREECE + + +On March 27, 1916, a squadron of seven German aeroplanes attempted to +make a raid on Saloniki. Their purpose was to drop bombs on the +British and French warships in the harbor, but the fire of the Allied +guns frustrated their efforts and four of the aeroplanes were brought +down. But during the encounter some of these aircraft dropped bombs +into the city and twenty Greek civilians were killed, one of the bombs +falling before the residence of General Moschopoulos, commander of the +Greek forces in Saloniki. + +Deep resentment against the Germans flared up throughout Greece on +account of this raid, which found expression in bitter editorials in +the Liberal press against the continued neutrality of Greece. The +question of the declaration of martial law was raised in an exciting +session of the Chamber of Deputies, which lasted till late at night. +The Government discouraged all hostile comment on the action of the +Germans, and Premier Skouloudis declined to continue a debate +involving discussion of foreign relations "because the highest +interests impose silence." Notwithstanding the attitude of the +government the raid was characterized in the chamber as "simply +assassination" and as "German frightfulness." Plans were started to +hold mass meetings in Athens and Saloniki, but the police forbade +them. At the funerals of the victims, however, large crowds gathered +in spite of the efforts of the police to disperse them and the +ceremonies were marked by cries of "Down with the barbarians!" and +"Down with the Germans!" + +Hardly had this agitation died down when Venizelos, who for a long +time had remained silent, so aloof from politics that, to quote his +own statement, "I do not even read the reports of the proceedings in +the Chamber," resumed active participation in the nation's affairs by +giving out a lengthy interview to the press, as well as with an +editorial in his own personal organ. This latter occupied an entire +page and reviewed completely the position of the Greek monarch since +the dissolution of the last Chamber of Deputies. Referring to the +king's alleged characterization of himself as a "dreamer," M. +Venizelos said: + +"By keeping the country in a state of chronic peaceful war through +purposeless mobilization, the present government has brought Greece to +the verge of economic, material and moral bankruptcy. This policy, +unhappily, is not a dream, but downright folly." He further laid great +stress on the Bulgarian peril, pointing out that the utmost to be +gained by the present policy would be to leave Greece the same size, +while Bulgaria, flushed with victory, trained for war, enlarged by the +addition of Serbia and Macedonia and allied with the Turks, would not +wait long before falling on her southern neighbor. "Who thinks," he +continued, "that under these conditions that Greece, unaided, could +drive the Bulgars from Macedonia, once they have seized it, is a fool. +The politicians who do not see this inevitable danger, are blind, and +unfortunate are the kings following such politicians, and more +unfortunate still the lands where sovereigns fall their victims." + +And, indeed, the ex-premier's references to the economic ruin of the +country were strongly supported by the dispatches that had for some +time been coming from the Greek capital. "Greece," said a prominent +official to a press correspondent, "is much more likely to be starved +into war than Germany is to be starved out of it." + +The deficit in the Greek treasury for the previous year was now shown +to have amounted to L17,000,000, or $85,000,000. The budget for 1916 +authorized an expenditure of $100,000,000, which was double the entire +state revenues. For the masses the situation was daily becoming more +difficult. The streets of Athens were said to be alive with the +beggars, while the island of Samos was in a sporadic state of revolt. +At Piraeus and Patras there were disquieting demonstrations of popular +discontent with the increasing cost of living. Many commodities had +more than doubled in price. This situation was largely due to the +mobilization, as in the case of the fishermen. As most of them were +with the colors, the price of fish, which had hitherto been one of the +main food supplies, had become prohibitive to the poorer families. + +The sentiment of the people was further expressed on April 7, 1916, +when the Greeks celebrated the 100th anniversary of their national +independence. On this occasion Venizelos appeared in public for the +first time since his retirement from political life, after he had been +obliged to resign by the king. When he left the cathedral in Athens, +where services were held, thousands of persons followed his motor car, +cheering enthusiastically. Finally his car could proceed no farther, +being densely packed about by the people, who broke forth into +deafening cheers and shouts of "Long live our national leader!" and +"Long live Venizelos!" + +At about this time, on April 14, 1916, a new critical situation was +precipitated between the Allies and the Greek Government. On that date +the British Minister at Athens had asked permission of the Greek +Government to transport Serbian troops from Corfu to Saloniki by way +of Patras, Larissa, and Volo, which involved the use of the +Peloponnesian railway. This was peremptorily refused as involving a +breach of Greek neutrality. + +Under ordinary conditions transports would have conveyed the Serbians +from Corfu to Saloniki, such a trip requiring less than three days. +But the German submarines had been so active in these waters of late +that the Allies desired to evade this danger, contending that it was +with the connivance of the Greek Government officials that the Germans +were able to maintain submarine bases among the islands. Moreover, +they also contended that the cases were different from what it would +have been had the request concerned French or British troops. The +Greeks were allies of the Serbians, bound to them by a formal treaty, +and though they had refused to assist them in a military sense, as the +terms of the treaty demanded, they might at least help them in their +need. Two days later, on April 16, 1916, the Chamber of Deputies +adjourned for the session, which left the whole matter in the hands +of the government. However, this question hung fire for some time, and +later dispatches would indicate that the Allies did not press their +point, for eventually when the arrival of the Serbian troops in +Saloniki was announced, it was stated incidentally that they had come +by means of transports. + +But meanwhile Venizelos was continuing his campaign against the +ministry. On April 16, 1916, the Liberals had attempted to hold +several public meetings in Athens, which were vigorously broken up by +the police, or, according to some reports, by agents of the government +in civilian dress. The following day Venizelos gave out an interview +to the press in which he said: + +"I beg you to bring the events of yesterday and the earnest protest of +a majority of the Greeks to the knowledge of the American people, who +have struggled for so long to establish free speech as the fundamental +right of a free people. Here in Greece we are confronted by the +question whether we are to have a democracy presided over by a king or +whether at this hour of our history we must accept the doctrine of the +divine rights of kings. The present government represents in no sense +the majority of the Greek people. We Liberals, in the course of a year +received the vote of the majority. At the last election, which was +nothing more than a burlesque on the free exercise of the right of +suffrage, we were not willing to participate in a farcical +formality.... Now it is even sought to deny us the right of free +speech. Our meetings were held within inclosed buildings. Those who +came to them were invited, but the police threw out our doorkeepers, +put in their own and let enter whomsoever they, the police, wanted to +be present at the meetings." + +It was now evident that Venizelos had determined to fight the present +government to the bitter end. + +On May 7, 1916, it was demonstrated that the contention of the king, +that the agitation in favor of Venizelos and the demonstrations in his +favor were largely artificial, was not true, in one electoral district +of Greece at least. Venizelos had been nominated candidate for deputy +to the National Assembly in Mytelene, and when the election took +place, on the above date, he was elected with practically no +opposition and amid a tremendous enthusiasm. On the following day, May +8, 1916, at a by-election in Kavalla, Eastern Macedonia, Constantine +Jourdanou, a candidate of the Venizelos Liberty party, was also +elected a deputy to the National Assembly by an 85 per cent majority +vote. + +But these were merely demonstrations--meant merely as indications of +popular sentiment--for neither Venizelos nor the Kavalla +representative had any intention of taking their seats in the chamber, +which they considered illegally elected. + +Meanwhile practically no military activity had been displayed. On +March 17, 1916, a dispatch was issued from Vienna to the effect that +the Austrian army had reached the vicinity of Avlona and had engaged +the Italians in pitched battle outside the town, into which they were +driving them. But apparently there was little truth in this report, +for some weeks later a body of Italian troops were reported to have +crossed the Greek frontier in Epirus, which caused an exchange of +notes between the Greek and Italian governments, by no means the best +of friends, on account of their conflicting ambitions in Albania. +Further encounters between both Austrians and Bulgarians and the +Italians in Avlona were reported during the spring, but apparently the +Italians were well able to hold their own. + +There were, however, indications that the Allies in Saloniki had been +steadily strengthening their positions and augmenting their numbers, +and that, conscious of their growing strength, they were throwing out +their lines. In the first week in May came a dispatch announcing that +they had occupied Florina, a small town only some fifteen miles south +of Monastir, though still on Greek territory. + +That there was really some truth in these announcements; that the +Allies were really showing some indications of expanding their lines +and were assuming a threatening attitude, was indicated by the next +move made on the board, this time by the Bulgarians; a move, however, +which was obviously of a defensive nature, though at the time it +seemed to portend a Bulgarian offensive. + +On May 26, 1916, the Bulgarians for the first time ventured across the +Greek frontier. And not only did they cross the frontier, but, instead +of attacking the Allies, they forced the Greek forces occupying a +point of strategic value to evacuate it and occupied it themselves. + +Fort Rupel, on the Struma River, and north of Demir Hissar, is about +six miles within Greek territory. It commands a deep gorge, or defile, +which forms a sort of natural passageway through which troops can be +marched easily into Greek territory from Bulgaria. To either side +tower difficult mountains and rocky hills. On account of these natural +features Greece had fortified this defile after the Balkan Wars so +that she might command it in case of a Bulgarian invasion. On the +commanding prominences the Greeks had also built fortifications. + +It was the chief, the most important, of these forts that the +Bulgarians took. A courier was sent forward with notice to the Greek +commander that he had two hours in which to evacuate the position with +his troops. This he did peacefully, and before evening the Bulgarians +were installed, though it was said that they had given due assurances +that their occupation was merely a temporary measure undertaken as a +defensive precaution, and that as soon as the need should cease the +fort would be returned to Greece. + +On the following day came the announcement that the Bulgarians, in +strong force, had deployed from Fort Rupel and had also occupied Fort +Dragotin and Fort Kanivo. At the same time unusual activity on the +part of the Bulgarians was also reported from Xanthi. Here, on the +left bank of the Mesta River, which for some distance from its mouth +forms the Bulgar-Greek boundary, the Bulgarians were collecting +material for building pontoon bridges. + +Naturally this action on the part of the Bulgarians caused wild +excitement throughout Greece. The government organs stated that the +forts had been taken by German forces, but this was soon proved to be +untrue. + +In reporting this movement the Bulgarian Government added, by way of +explanation and excuse: + +"Two months ago the Anglo-French troops began the abandonment of the +fortified camp at Saloniki and started a movement toward our frontier. +The principal enemy forces were stationed in the Vardar Valley and to +the eastward through Dovatupete to the Struma Valley, and to the +westward through the district of Subotsko and Vodena to Florina. A +part of the reconstituted Serbian army has also been landed at +Saloniki. Artillery fire has occurred daily during the past month." + +Evidently Bulgaria was anxious to impress on the outside world the +fact that she had invaded Greek territory entirely for defensive +purposes, for only several days later a correspondent of the +Associated Press was allowed to send through a report of an inspection +he had made of the Bulgarian camp, something that had not previously +been permitted. From this report it was evident that the Bulgarian +army was not contemplating a forward movement. + +These assurances probably had their effect in calming the excitement +in Greece, a result which Germany was no doubt wishful of obtaining. +Nevertheless the fact that the government had quietly permitted the +Bulgarians to take the forts was not by any means calculated to +increase its popularity with the masses and made for the strengthening +of the Venizelos party. + +In spite of the formal protests which the Greek Government made +against the occupation of its territory and fortifications by +Bulgarian troops, there was not a little reason for suspecting that +the Skouloudis government was working on some secret understanding, if +not with the Bulgarians, then with the Germans. At least this was the +general impression that was created in France and England, as +reflected in the daily press. + +On June 8, 1916, it was reported from Saloniki that the Allies were +about to institute a commercial blockade of Greek ports, preliminary +to presenting certain demands, the exact nature of which was not given +out, but which were expected to include the demobilization of the +Greek army. + +The notice of the blockade again aroused the excitement of the Greek +population, but not so much against the Allies as against the +Skouloudis government. And this was because what the Allies were +expected to demand was just what the majority of the Greek masses +seemed most to want, the demobilization of the army; the return to +their vocations of the thousands of workingmen with the colors. The +Venizelos party was especially in favor of such a measure, for its +leaders claimed that it was because the mass of the voters was with +the army and was therefore deprived of their suffrage, that the +sentiment of the Greek people could not be determined. + +On June 9, 1916, it was announced from Athens that the king had signed +an order demobilizing twelve classes of the army, amounting to 150,000 +men. But this order was not, for some reason, put into execution, nor +was there any indication of the Allies putting an end to the blockade. +On the contrary, on the same day it was announced that the Greek +captain of the port at Saloniki had been removed and a French naval +officer had been put in his place. Entry to the port had also been +refused to Greek ships from Kavala, and an embargo had been placed on +Greek ships in French ports. Obviously the Allies were demanding +something more than the demobilization of the army. As a matter of +fact, they had not yet formally presented their demands. + +From later reports it was shown that the Allies had prepared their +demands formally and that they were to have been presented on June 13, +1916. But the evening before, on the 12th, certain events took place +in Athens which caused them to delay the presentation of their note, +holding it back for revision. + +On the 12th a military fete had been held at the Stadium, at which +members of the British Legation were present, including the military +attache and Admiral Palmer, the new chief of the British Naval +Mission. When the king and his suite appeared at the Stadium, Greek +police officers immediately grouped themselves around the British +representatives, giving the inference that the royal party needed to +be protected from them. The indignant Englishmen immediately left the +Stadium. After the fete a mob collected in the street and began a +demonstration against the Allies. The crowd was escorted by fifty or +sixty policemen in uniform. It first marched to the Hotel Grande +Bretagne, where the French Minister resided, and began shouting +insulting remarks. Next the British Legation building was visited and +a similar hostile demonstration was made. Thence the mob proceeded to +the office of the "Nea Hellas," a Venizelist journal, hurled stones +through the windows and assaulted the editor and his staff. The +editor, in defending himself, fired a revolver over the heads of the +mob, whereupon he was arrested and thrown into jail. During the same +evening another demonstration was made in a theater, in which the +performers made most insulting remarks regarding the representatives +of the Allies. Several meetings were held in other parts of the city +at the same time, at which resolutions were passed against the Allies, +one of these resolutions denouncing the conduct of the Allies toward +neutral countries, "and especially their conduct toward the President +of the United States." + +Finally, on June 23, 1916, the full text of the demands of the Allies +on Greece, signed by the representatives of France, Great Britain, and +Russia and indorsed by Italy, was given out, simultaneously with the +official announcement that all the conditions had been accepted by the +Greek Government. The text was as follows: + +"As they have already solemnly declared verbally and in writing, the +three Protecting Powers of Greece do not ask her to emerge from her +neutrality. Of this fact they furnish a striking proof by placing +foremost among their demands the complete demobilization of the Greek +army in order to insure to the Greek people tranquillity and peace. +But they have numerous and legitimate grounds for suspicion against +the Greek Government, whose attitude toward them has not been in +conformity with repeated engagements, nor even with the principles of +loyal neutrality. + +"Thus, the Greek Government has all too often favored the activities +of certain foreigners who have openly striven to lead astray Greek +public opinion, to distort the national feeling of Greece, and to +create in Hellenic territory hostile organizations which are contrary +to the neutrality of the country and tend to compromise the security +of the military and naval forces of the Allies. + +"The entrance of Bulgarian forces into Greece and the occupation of +Fort Rupel and other strategic points, with the connivance of the +Hellenic Government, constitute for the allied troops a new threat +which imposes on the three powers the obligation of demanding +guarantees and immediate measures. + +"Furthermore, the Greek Constitution has been disregarded, the free +exercise of universal suffrage has been impeded, the Chamber of +Deputies has been dissolved a second time within a period of less than +a year against the clearly expressed will of the people, and the +electorate has been summoned to the polls during a period of +mobilization, with the result that the present chamber only represents +an insignificant portion of the electoral college, and that the whole +country has been subjected to a system of oppression and of political +tyranny, and has been kept in leading strings without regard for the +legitimate representations of the powers. + +"These powers have not only the right, but also the imperative duty, +of protesting against such violations of the liberties, of which they +are the guardians in the eyes of the Greek people. + +"The hostile attitude of the Hellenic Government toward the powers, +who have emancipated Greece from an alien yoke, and have secured her +independence, and the evident collusion of the present cabinet with +the enemies of these powers, constitute for them still stronger +reasons for acting with firmness, in reliance upon the rights which +they derive from treaties, and which have been vindicated for the +preservation of the Greek people upon every occasion upon which it has +been menaced in the exercise of its rights or in the enjoyment of its +liberties. + +"The Protecting Powers accordingly see themselves compelled to exact +immediate application of the following measures: + +"1. Real and complete demobilization of the Greek Army, which shall +revert as speedily as possible to a peace footing. + +"2. Immediate substitution for the existing ministry of a business +cabinet devoid of any political prejudice and presenting all the +necessary guarantees for the application of that benevolent neutrality +which Greece is pledged to observe toward the Allied Powers and for +the honesty of a fresh appeal to the electors. + +"3. Immediate dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, followed by +fresh elections within the time limits provided by the constitution, +and as soon as general demobilization will have restored the electoral +body to its normal condition. + +"4. Dismissal, in agreement with the Allied Powers, of certain police +officials whose attitude, influenced by foreign guidance, has +facilitated the perpetration of notorious assaults upon peaceable +citizens and the insults which have been leveled at the Allied +Legations and their members. + +"The Protecting Powers, who continue to be inspired with the utmost +friendliness and benevolence toward Greece, but who are, at the same +time, determined to secure, without discussion or delay, the +application of these indispensable measures, can but leave to the +Hellenic Government entire responsibility for the events which might +supervene if their just demands were not immediately accepted." + +The treaties referred to in the note, on which the "three Protecting +Powers" base their right to intervene in the affairs of Greece to +enforce the carrying out of her constitution, date back to the early +period of last century, when the three nations in question assisted +the newly liberated Greeks in establishing a government and assumed a +semiprotectorate. + +This note was presented to Premier Skouloudis, but he refused to +accept it on the ground that no Greek Cabinet existed, as it had been +deposited at the Foreign Office while he was on his way back from the +residence of the king, where he had presented the resignation of the +ministry. + +The people were unaware of what had happened until evening, when +newspapers and handbills, distributed broadcast, made known the text +of the demands. King Constantine returned hastily to Athens. All the +troops in the city were ordered under arms. The Deputies were +summoned to the Chamber, where Skouloudis announced that he had +resigned, after which the Chamber immediately adjourned again. + +On the following day the king summoned Alexander Zaimis, a Greek +politician, reputed to be in favor of the Allies, to form a new +Cabinet. He immediately organized a new ministry, comprising himself +as Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs; General Callaris, Minister +of War and Marine; George Rallis, Minister of Finance; Phocian Negria, +of Communications; Colonel Harlambis, of the Interior; Anthony +Momperatos, of Justice; Constantine Libourkis, of Instruction, and +Colligas, of National Economy. The first act of the new Cabinet was to +announce a new election of Deputies to the National Chamber, to take +place on August 7, 1916. The new Premier also announced that the +demands of the Allies would be carried out to the letter. As a token +of good faith, the chief of police of Athens was immediately dismissed +and Colonel Zimbrakakis, who had been police chief during the +Venizelos regime, was installed in his place. The Allies, on their +part, at once raised the blockade and agreed to advance Greece a loan +to tide over her present financial difficulties. + +For some days afterward large and enthusiastic pro-Venizelos +demonstrations took place in Athens and other Greek cities, in which +the labor unions and the soldiers were reported to take a very +prominent part. Meanwhile the demobilization of the Greek army was +begun in good faith. + +During this period there had been no further aggression, or advance, +on the part of the Bulgarians. And while there had been a number of +German officers present at the demand for the evacuation of Fort Rupel +by the Greeks, as well as a small force of German engineers, all the +reports emanating from Bulgaria indicated, directly or indirectly, +that the German forces had been almost entirely drawn away from the +Balkans, to meet the gradually increasing pressure that both the +Russians on the eastern front and the English and French on the +western front were bringing to exert on the Teutonic forces. Being +practically left to themselves, for the Turks, too, had their hands +full in their Asiatic provinces, and considering the need of forces +for garrison duty in conquered territory, especially in Albania and +upper Serbia, as well as the army needed to watch the movements of the +Rumanians, it was doubtful if the Bulgarians had more than 300,000 men +to spare for their lines opposing those of the Allies at Saloniki. + +The Allies, on the other hand, had been daily waxing stronger. At +least 100,000 Serbians had been added to their forces about Saloniki +before the beginning of August. There were, at this time, about +350,000 French and British soldiers in Saloniki, so that the total +force was not very far short of half a million. General Mahon, the +British commander, had gone to Egypt, to superintend the removal to +Saloniki of the British troops there, who had been provided as a +defending force when the danger of a German attack in that section +seemed imminent. These forces were estimated at another 200,000. Added +to this the favorable position of the Allies from a strategic point of +view, it was obvious, by the middle of August, that if active +hostilities were to break out on the Saloniki front very shortly, the +initiative would most likely come from the Allies. + + + + +PART V--AUSTRO-ITALIAN CAMPAIGN + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +RESUMPTION OF OPERATIONS ON THE ITALIAN FRONT + + +Throughout the early part of March, 1916, military operations on the +Italian front were very restricted. At the end of February the +atmospheric conditions, which up till then had remained exceptionally +favorable, changed suddenly, giving place to a period of bad weather, +with meteorological phenomena particularly remarkable in that theater +of the operations, which among all those of the European war is the +most Alpine and the most difficult. In the mountain zone snow fell +very heavily, causing frequent great avalanches and sometimes the +movement of extensive snow fields. Communications of every kind were +seriously interrupted. Not only shelters and huts, but in many cases +columns of men and supplies on the march were swept away. The +unceasing tempest made it difficult and in some cases quite impossible +to render any aid, but owing to an organized service for such +eventualities, ample and effective assistance was given in the great +majority of cases. This led to the speedy restoration of +communications and supplies. Nevertheless the distressing but +inevitable loss of human lives was comparatively large. + +In the lowland zone heavy and constant rains caused landslides in the +lines of defense and shelters. The rise of the rivers and the +consequent floods soon made the ground impassable. Even the main roads +were interrupted at several points. In the whole theater of operations +it was a regular battle against adverse circumstances. + +Austrian troops in many places used the heavy snowfall to their +advantage. By means of mines, bombs and artillery fire they produced +avalanches artificially. Thus on March 8, 1916, some damage was done +in this manner to Italian positions in the Lagaznos zone. On the same +day Italian forces succeeded in pushing their lines forward for a +slight distance in the zone between the Iofana peaks (in the +Dolomites), as well as in the valley of the middle Isonzo and in the +Zagara sector. Along the entire front vigorous artillery fire was +maintained. + +The artillery combat gradually increased in vehemence during the next +few days, especially on the Isonzo front, indicating a resumption of +offensive movements. About the middle of March, 1916, Italian troops +began again to attack the Austrian positions. On March 15, 1916, a +lively artillery duel and a series of attacks and counterattacks were +repulsed from the Isonzo front. + +Italian infantry carried out a number of successive attacks in the +region of Monte Rombon in the Plezzo basin and on the height +commanding the position of Lucinico, southeast of San Martino del +Carso. After an intensive preparation by artillery fire the Austrians, +on March 16, 1916, launched at dawn a counterattack against the +positions conquered by the Italians the day before, but were at first +everywhere repulsed, suffering heavy losses. + +The Austrian concentration of artillery fire, in which guns of all +caliber were employed, lasted uninterruptedly throughout the day, +forcing the Italians to evacuate the positions during the course of +the night. + +The Fella sector of the Carinthian front and also the Col di Lana +sector in the Tyrol were shelled by Italian artillery. Italian airmen +dropped bombs on Trieste without doing any damage. + +Again atmospheric conditions enforced a lull in military operations +during the next few days and brought to a sudden end what had seemed +to be an extensive offensive movement on the part of the Italian +forces on the Isonzo front. + +On March 17, 1916, however, violent fighting again developed on the +Isonzo front in the region of the Tolmino bridgehead. It began with +greatly increased artillery activity along the entire sector between +Tolmino and Flitsch. Later that day the Austro-Hungarians launched an +attack against the Italian forces which netted them considerable +ground on the northern part of the bridgehead, as well as some 500 +prisoners. + +The battle in the Tolmino sector continued on March 18 and 19, 1916, +and to a slighter degree on March 20, 1916. On the first of these +three days the Austro-Hungarian troops succeeded in advancing beyond +the road between Celo and Ciginj and to the west of the St. Maria +Mountain. Italian counterattacks failed. South of the Mrzli, too, the +Italians lost a position and had to withdraw toward Gabrije, losing +some 300 prisoners. Increased artillery activity was noticeable on the +Carinthian front, particularly in the Fella sector; in the Dolomites, +especially in the Col di Lana sector; in the Sugana Valley and at some +points on the west Tyrol front. Goritz, too, was again subjected to +heavy Italian gunfire. + +On the following day, March 19, 1916, fighting continued at the +Tolmino bridgehead as a result of Italian efforts to conquer positions +firmly in Austro-Hungarian hands. The number of Italians captured +reached 925 and the number of machine guns taken was increased to +seven. Several Italian attacks against Mrzli and Krn (Monte Nero) +broke down. On the Rombon the Austro-Hungarians captured a position +and took 145 Italians and two machine guns. + +Lively fighting continued on the Carinthian front. In the Tyrol +frontier district Italian artillery again held the Col di Lana section +and some points south of the front under heavy artillery fire. + +On the Goritz bridgehead Austro-Hungarians in the morning set fire to +an Italian position before the southern part of Podgora Height. In the +afternoon Austro-Hungarian artillery shelled heavily the front before +the bridgehead. During the night they ejected Italian forces from a +trench before Bevma. + +Again on March 20, 1916, Italian counterattacks against the positions +captured by the Austro-Hungarians during the preceding days failed. +Again fighting slowed down for a few days. + +As usual, resumption of military operations was indicated by increased +artillery fire. + +In the Rovereto zone on March 23, 1916, an artillery duel was followed +during the night by Austro-Hungarian attacks against Italian positions +at Moriviccio, near Rio Comeraso, and in the Adige and Terragnole +Valleys. These were repulsed. Throughout the theater of operations bad +weather limited, however, artillery action on the Isonzo, which was +active only near Tolmino and the heights northwest of Goritz. + +On March 25, 1916, Italian artillery again bombarded the Doberdo +Plateau (south of Goritz), the Fella Valley and various points on the +Tyrolese front. East of Ploecken Pass (on the Carnia front) Italian +positions were penetrated and Italian attacks repulsed near Marter +(Sugana Valley). + +Severe fighting took place on March 26, 1916, at several points. At +the Goritz bridgehead the Austro-Hungarians captured an Italian +position fronting on the northern portion of Podgora Heights, taking +525 prisoners. Throughout the entire day and the following night the +Italian troops in vain attempted to regain the positions which they +had lost the day before east of Ploecken Pass. + +In the Doberdo sector on March 27, 1916, the artillery was again +active on both sides. Italian attacks on the north slope of Monte San +Michele and near the village of San Martino were repulsed. East of +Selz a severe engagement developed. + +In the Ploecken sector all Italian attacks were beaten back under +heavy losses. Before the portion of the Carinthian front held by the +Eighth Chasseurs Battalion more than 500 dead Italians were observed. +Austro-Hungarian airmen dropped bombs on railroads in the province of +Venice. + +Especially severe fighting occurred once more in the region of the +Gonby bridgehead during March 27, 28 and 29, 1916. On the last of +these days the Italians lost some 350 prisoners. Without cessation the +guns thundered on both sides on these three days on the Doberdo +Plateau, along the Fella and Ploecken sectors, in the Dolomites and to +the east of Selz. Scattered Italian attacks at various points failed. +Then, with the end of March, the weather again necessitated a stoppage +of military operations. + +An interesting description of the territory in which most of this +fighting occurred was rendered by a special correspondent of the +London "Times" who, in part, says: + +"There is no prospect on earth quite like the immense irregular +crescent of serrated peak and towering mountain wall that is thrown +around Italy on the north, as it unrolls itself from the plains of +Lombardy and Venetia. How often one has gazed at it in sheer delight +over its bewildering wealth of contrasting color and fantastic form, +its effect of light and shade and measureless space! But now, for +these many months past, keen eyes have been bent upon it; eyes, not of +the artist or the poet, but those of the soldier. + +"It was such a pair of military eyes that I had beside me a day or two +ago, as I stood upon the topmost roofs of a high tower, in a certain +little town in northern Italy, where much history has been made of +late; and, since the owner of the eyes was likewise the possessor of a +very well-ordered mind and a gift of lucid exposition, I found myself +able to grasp the main elements of the extraordinarily complex +strategic problem with which the chiefs of the Italian army have had +to grapple. As I looked and listened I felt that the chapter which +Italy is contributing to the record of the greatest war of all time is +one of which she will have every reason to be proud when she has at +length brought it to its victorious conclusion. + +"There are few such viewpoints as this. In the luminous stillness of a +perfect morning of the Italian summer I could look north, and east, +and west, upon more than a third of the battle line, that goes snaking +among the mountains from near the Swiss frontier to the Adriatic. And +what a length of line it is! In England some people seem to think this +is a little war that Italy has on hand, little in comparison with the +campaigns in France and Russia. But it is not small, weighed even in +that exacting balance. The front measures out at over 450 miles, which +is not very far short of the length of ribbon of trench and earthwork +that is drawn across western Europe. + +"Here, as there, every yard is held and guarded. It is true that there +is not a continuous row of sentries; for on the Austro-Italian front +there are places where the natural barriers are impassable even for +the Alpine troops, who will climb to the aerie of the eagles. But +wherever nature has not barred the way against both sides alike the +trenches and fortified galleries run, stretching across the saddle +between two inaccessible peaks, ringing around the shoulder of a +mountain, dipping it into the valley, and then rising again to the +very summit or passing over it. + +"There are guns everywhere--machine guns, mountain guns, field guns, +huge guns of position, 6-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch--which have been +dragged or carried with all their mountings, their equipment, their +tools and appurtenances, up to their stations, it may be, 3,000, +4,000, 6,000 feet above the level. And at those heights are the +larders of shell which must always be kept full so that the +carnivorous mouths of the man-eaters may not go hungry even for the +single hour of the single day which, at any point, an attack may +develop. + +"Such is the long Italian battle line. When you know what it is you +are not surprised that here and there, and now and again, it should +bend and give a little before an enemy better supplied with heavy +artillery, and much favored by the topographical conditions; for he +has the higher mountain passes behind him instead of in front, and is +coming down the great Alpine stairway instead of going up. + +"That of course is the salient feature of the campaign. The Italians +are going up, the Austrians coming, or trying to come, down. On the +loftier uplands, range beyond range, in enemy territory, the Austrians +before the war had their forts and fortified posts and their strategic +roads; and almost everywhere along the front they have observing +stations which overlook, at greater or less distance, the Italian +lines. Thus the Italians have had to make their advance, and build +their trenches, and place their guns, in the face of an enemy who lies +generally much above them, sometimes so much above them that he can +watch them from his nests of earth and rock as though he were soaring +in an aeroplane." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +THE SPRING OF 1916 ON THE AUSTRO-ITALIAN FRONT + + +During the early part of the spring of 1916, a large number of +engagements took place at many scattered points along the entire +Austro-Italian front. Neither side apparently had determined as yet +upon any definite plan of operations, or, if they had, they took +special pains to avoid a premature disclosure. To a certain extent the +fighting which occurred was little more than of a reconnoitering +nature. Each side attempted with all the facilities at its command to +improve its positions, even if only in a small way, and to find out +weak spots in the lines of its adversary. It was only natural that +during the process of this type of warfare, fortune should smile one +day on one side and turn its back promptly the next day. + +During the first week of April, 1916, there was little to report +anywhere along the front. On the 6th, however, considerable artillery +activity developed along the Isonzo front, where the Italians shelled +once more the city of Goritz. This activity gradually increased in +vehemence. At the end of about two weeks it decreased slightly for a +few days, only to be taken up again with renewed vigor and to be +maintained with hardly a break during the balance of April, 1916. + +Coincident with this artillery duel there developed a series of +violent engagements on the Carso plateau to the east of the lower +Isonzo. The first of these occurred on April 12, 1916, when Italian +advance detachments approached Austrian trenches between Monte San +Michelo and San Martino, wrecking them with hand grenades and bombs. +Another engagement of somewhat greater importance occurred on April +22, 1916, east of Selz. Italian infantry, supported by artillery, +despite obstinate resistance occupied strong trenches 350 meters long. +The Austrians receiving reenforcements, violently counterattacked +twice during the night, the second time succeeding in retaking part +of the lost trenches. After a deadly hand-to-hand struggle in which +the Austrians suffered severely, the Italians drove them out, +capturing 133, including six officers, two machine guns, 200 rifles, +several flame throwers, and numerous cases of ammunition and bombs. + +The following day, April 23, 1916, Austrian artillery of all calibers +violently shelled the trenches occupied east of Selz, obliging the +Italians to evacuate a small section north of the Selz Valley, which +was especially exposed to the Austrian fire. Another strong attack, +supported by a very destructive gunfire was launched by the Austrians +against these trenches on April 25, 1916, and enabled them to reoccupy +some of the ground previously lost. + +Two days later the Italians attempted to regain these positions. At +first they succeeded in entering the Austrian trenches on a larger +front than they had held originally, but when they manifested an +intention to continue the attack, the Austro-Hungarians, by +counterattacks drove them into their former positions and even ejected +them from these in bitter hand-to-hand fighting, thereby regaining all +their former positions. + +During the balance of April, and up to May 15, 1916, military +operations on the entire Isonzo front were restricted to artillery +bombardments, which, however, at various times, became extremely +violent, especially so with respect to Goritz and the surrounding +positions. + +In the next sector, the Doberdo Plateau, much the same condition was +prevalent. From the 1st of April, until the middle of May, 1916, there +was always more or less artillery activity. Occasionally infantry +engagements of varying importance and extent would occur. On April 7, +1916, the Italians were driven back from some advanced saps. South of +Mrzlivrh, Austro-Hungarian troops conquered Italian positions, taking +forty-three prisoners and one machine gun. + +Again on the 9th, hand-to-hand fighting, preceded by bomb throwing, +was reported on the Mrzlivrh front. Another attack, launched early in +the morning of April 13, 1916, by the Austrians, lasted throughout +the day, with varying fortune, but finally resulted in a success for +the Italians. On April 14, 1916, the Austro-Hungarians captured an +Italian position at Mrzlivrh and repulsed several counterattacks. The +Italians suffered heavy losses. Artillery vigorously shelled the +Italian positions at Flitsch and Hontebra. + +Other violent engagements took place on the Doberdo Plateau on April +27, May 9, 10, 12, and 13, without, however, having any influence on +the general situation. + +In all the other sectors very much the same conditions prevailed. +Artillery fire was maintained on both sides almost constantly. +Infantry attacks were launched wherever and whenever the slightest +opportunity offered itself. Scarcely any of these, however, resulted +in any noticeable advantage to either side, especially in view of the +fact that whenever one side would register a slight gain, the other +side immediately would respond by counterattack and frequently nullify +all previous successes. Comparatively unimportant and restricted, +though, as most of this fighting was, it was so only because it +exerted practically no influence on the general situation. On the +other hand, it was carried on with the greatest display of valor and +persistence that can be imagined and, because of the very nature of +the ground on which it occurred, it forms one of the most spectacular +periods of the war on the Austro-Italian front. + +Of these many local operations there were only a few which developed +to such an extent that they need to be mentioned specifically. + +One of these was a series of engagements in the Ledro Valley, +southwest of Riva and west of Lake Garda. There the Italians on April +11, 1916, by systematic offensive actions, pushed their occupation of +the heights north of Rio Tonale, between Concei Valley and Lake Garda. +Efficaciously supported by their artillery, their infantry carried +with the bayonet a strong line of intrenchments and redoubts along the +southern slopes of Monte Pari Cimadoro and the crags of Monte Sperone. +On the following day, however, April 12, 1916, the Austro-Hungarians, +by violent surprise attacks, succeeded in rushing a part of the +trenches taken by the Italians at Monte Sperone. In the evening, +after an intense preparation by artillery, Italian infantry +counterattacked, reoccupying the lost positions, after a deadly +hand-to-hand struggle and extending their occupation to the slopes of +Monte Sperone. This was followed by a still further extension on April +16, 1916. + +Much of the fighting involved positions on mountain peaks of great +height, creating difficulties for both the attacker and the defender, +which at first glance appeared to be almost insurmountable. Of this +type of warfare in the high mountains, the special correspondent of +the London "Times" gives the following vivid description: + +"The Italian dispositions are very complete, and it is at this point +necessary to say a few words upon Alpini warfare, which the Italians +have brought to such a pitch of perfection. They are not the only +mountaineers in the world, nor the only people to possess warriors +famous on the hillside, but they were the first people in Europe, +except the Swiss, to organize mountain warfare scientifically, and in +their Alpine groups they possess a force unrivaled for combat in the +higher mountains. The Alpini are individualists who think and act for +themselves and so can fight for themselves. They are the cream of the +army. + +"Locally recruited, they know every track and cranny of the hills, +which have no terrors for them at any season, and their self-contained +groups, which are practically the equivalent of divisions, contain +very tough fighters and have achieved remarkable results during the +war. Their equipment, clothing, artillery, and transport are all well +adapted to mountain warfare, and as the whole frontier has been +accurately surveyed, and well studied from every point of view, the +Italians are at a great advantage in the hills. + +[Illustration: An Austrian entrenchment high up on a mountainside. The +soldiers are pulling barbed wire devices up the slope in order to +strengthen their defenses.] + +"There is nothing new about these troops, whose turnout and tactics +have been a subject of admiration for many years, but in this war much +has changed, in the Alps as elsewhere, and the use of the heaviest +artillery in the mountains is one of the most striking of these +changes. One finds oneself under the fire of twelve-inch howitzers +from the other side of mountains 10,000 feet high, and it is no +extraordinary experience to find Italian heavy howitzers sheltering +behind precipices rising sheer up several thousand feet, and fighting +with Austrian guns ten miles distant, and beyond one, if not two, high +ranges of hills. One imagines that the Austrians must have many +twelve-inch howitzers to spare, for there are, to give an example, a +couple near Mauthen, beyond the crest of the Carnic Alps, and other +heavy artillery in the same district hidden in caverns. In these +caverns, which are extremely hard to locate, they are secure against +shrapnel and cannot be seen by airmen. I fancy the Austrians use +galleries with several gun positions, which are used in turn. + +"This style of fighting compels the Italians to follow suit, or at +least it is supposed to do so, and then, as no road means no heavy +guns, there comes in the Italian engineer, the roadmaker, and the +mason, and in the art of roadmaking the Italian is supreme. + +"They are very wonderful, these mountain roads. They play with the +Alps and make impossibilities possible. Thanks to them, and to the +_filovia_, or air railway on chains, it is possible to proceed from +point to point with great rapidity, and to keep garrisons and posts +well supplied. The telephones run everywhere, and observing stations +on the highest peaks enable Italian howitzers to make sure of their +aim. I am not quite sure whether the Italians do not trust too much to +their telephones and will not regret the absence of good flag +signalers. When large forces are operating, and many shells bursting, +the telephone is often a broken reed. The motor lorries, with about a +one and one-half ton of useful load, get about wherever there is a +road, and the handy little steam tractors, which make light of +dragging the heaviest guns up the steepest gradients, are valuable +adjuncts to the defense. At the turns of bad zigzags, the Italians +have a remarkable drill for men on the dragropes, and in fact all +difficulties have been overcome. + +"I recall some Italian batteries mounted at an elevation of about +9,000 feet, of which each gun weighed eleven tons, the carriage five +tons, and the platform, which was divided into sections, thirty tons. +These guns, the battery officers declared, were brought up from the +plains by a new mountain road in seven hours, and placed in position +on these platforms five hours later. It is all a question of roads, +but the _filovia_ can carry 400 kilos, and any gun under that weight +can get up to a peak by way of the air. + +"It is all very marvelous and very perfect, and the Italians are also +adepts at trench building, and make them most artistically. The only +objection I can see to the mountain road is that, when the enemy gets +a hold of the territory which they serve, he has the benefit of them. +This is true of Trentino operations now, and the enemy has many more +roads at his disposal than the old maps show. Sometimes I wonder +whether the Italians do not immerse themselves a little too much in +these means of war and lose sight a little of the ends, but over +nine-tenths of Italy's frontier the war is Alpine, and it must be +allowed that Italian soldiers have brought the art of mountain +fighting to a degree of perfection which it has never attained before. + +"The Italian Alpine group varies in strength and composition. It +usually has the local Alpine battalions reenforced by the mountaineers +of Piedmont, and completed, when necessary, by line infantry, who +usually act in the lower valleys, leaving the high peaks to the +mountaineers. Artillery is added according to needs--mountain, field, +and heavy--while there are engineers in plenty, and the mule transport +is very good. + +"The Alpini wear a good hobnailed boot for ordinary service, but for +work on the ice the heel of the boot is taken off, and an iron clamp +with ice nails substituted. For mountaineering feats they often use +_scarpe da gatto_, or cat shoes, made of string soles with felt +uppers, which are more lasting than the Pyrenean straw sandals. The +_Gavetta_, or mess tin of the Alpini, is very practical. It is of the +same shape as ours, but a little deeper, and has a reserve of spirit +at the base and a spirit lamp, enabling the Alpini to make coffee or +heat their wine. They use racquets or skis on the snow, and carry +either the alpenstock or the ice ax. + +[Illustration: The Italian Front.] + +"I did not realize before coming here that trench warfare, and the +close proximity of hostile trenches, had become as usual in the +mountains as in the plains. The defenses are, of course, not +continuous over such a long, and in parts, impassable line, but tend +to concentrate at the passes and other points of tactical importance. +But here the adversaries draw together, and one often finds lines only +separated by twenty yards. + +"The Alpini are usually as much deprived of the power of maneuvering +as their comrades in the plains, and all that is left for them is to +act by surprise. They have a system of attacking by infiltration +forward, not so very dissimilar from Boer methods, and they have a +number of devices and surprises which repay study. + +"Their enemy is worthy of them, for the chamois hunters, the +foresters, the cragsmen of the Austrian Alps are no mean antagonists, +as all of us know who have shot and climbed with them. Very fine men, +they shoot quick and straight, and when an officer of Alpini tells us +not to dally to admire the scenery, because we are within view of an +Austrian post within easy range, we recall old days and make no +difficulty about complying. + +"The Germans trained their Alpine corps here before it went to Serbia, +and the Italians made many prisoners from it--Bavarians, Westphalians, +and East Prussians. So at least I am told by officers of Alpini who +fought with it, and it is certainly proved beyond all doubt that +German artillery has been, and is now, cooperating with the Austrians +on the Italian front. + +"The Alpini hold their positions winter and summer on the highest +peaks and have made a great name for themselves. They have lost +heavily, and the avalanches have also taken a serious toll of them. +One parts with them with regret, for they are indeed very fine +fellows, and the war they wage is very hard. + +"One point more. Pasubio is not one of the highest peaks in Italian +hands, but snow fell there in the end of May and will fall again at +the end of August. The time allowed for big things in the Alps by big +armies is strictly limited. Also we must remember that there are +winter defenses to be made in the snow, and summer defenses to be made +in the earth and rock. The Austrians were clever in attacking the +other day, just as the snow defenses had crumbled and the summer +defenses had not been completed. The barbed-wire chevaux-de-frise are +often covered by snow in a night and have to be renewed. When the +snow thaws, all this jumble of obstacles reappears tangled together. + +"Other ghastly sights also reappear, like the 600 Austrian corpses on +Monte Nero--almost awe-inspiring of heights. They had fallen in the +snow which had covered them. In the summer they reappeared one morning +in strange attitudes, frozen hard and lifelike, and gave the Italian +garrison their first fright." + +On April 11, 1916, in the Monte Adamello zone, while a heavy storm was +raging, Italian detachments attacked the Austrian positions on the +rocky crags of the Lobbia Alta and the Doss di Genova, jutting out +from the glaciers at an altitude of 3,300 meters, (10,918 feet). On +the evening of April 12, 1916, they completely carried the positions, +fortifying themselves in them and taking thirty-one prisoners, +including one officer and one machine gun. + +The next day, April 13, 1916, saw some severe fighting in the Sugana +Valley in the Dolomites, where Italian troops carried with the +bayonet, a position at Santosvaldo, west of the Sarganagna torrent, +taking seventy-four prisoners, including five officers. + +Three days later, April 17, 1916, Italian Alpine troops in the Monte +Adamello zone, occupied and strengthened the Monte Val di Fumo Pass, +at an altitude of 3,402 meters (11,161 feet). + +During the night of April 18, 1916, one of the most spectacular and +important exploits of this period was executed. In the upper Cordevole +zone Italian troops, after successful mining operations, attacked +Austrian positions on the Col di Lana and occupied the western ridge +of Monte Ancora. The Austrian detachment occupying the trenches was +mostly killed. The Italians took as prisoners 164 Kaiserjaegers, +including nine officers. + +This successful operation of the Italians was of exceptional +importance. The Col di Lana is a mountain 4,815 feet high, which forms +a natural barrier in the valley of Livinallengo and protects the road +of the Dolomites from Falzarego to the Pordoi Pass and dominates the +road to Caprile. The Italians had already occupied Col di Lana, but +could not drive the Austrians from its western peak, where an entire +battalion of Alpine troops, Kaiserjaegers, was strongly intrenched and +protected by semipermanent fortifications with field and machine guns. + +It was impossible for the Italians to attack the enemy's positions, +within range of the Austrian artillery on Mount Sief, which is nearly +on the same level, so the entire western margin of Col di Lana was +carefully and patiently mined, an undertaking which probably took +months of hard work, and several tons of high explosives were +distributed in such a way as to destroy the whole side of the mountain +above which the enemy was intrenched. + +The explosion that followed was terrific. The earth shook as if rocked +by an earthquake, and the havoc wrought was so great that out of the +1,000 Austrians who held the position, only 164 survived. + +Of course, the Austrians launched many counterattacks against this new +strong position of the Italians. But the latter had fortified it so +well that all attempts of their opponents to dislodge them failed. + +Considerable further fighting also occurred during the second half of +April, 1916, and the first half of May, 1916, in the Adamello zone, +adjoining the Camonica Valley, especially in the region of the Tonale +Pass. The same was true of the Tofana sector on the upper Boite. But +though spectacular, the results were of comparatively small +importance. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +THE AUSTRIAN MAY DRIVE IN THE TRENTINO + + +About May 15, 1916, the Italians were at the gates of Rovereto, less +than twelve miles south of Trent and seriously threatening that city. +East of Rovereto the Italian lines ran along the crest of Doss di +Somme to the Monte Maggio beyond Val Terragnolo and then northward to +Soglio d'Aspio. The Austrian forts of Folgaria and Lavarone compelled +the Italians to follow the frontier as far as Val Sugana, where they +occupied good strategical positions on Austrian territory and held +Ronsegno, on the railroad between Borgo and Trent. Further north the +Italians held dominating positions in front of the Austrian forts at +Fabonti and Monte Cola. + +During the preceding months the Austrian forces along the Italian +front had gradually been increased, until they now numbered about +thirty-eight divisions. Of these, it was estimated that sixteen +divisions, or over 300,000 men had been massed by May 15, 1916, +between the Adige and Brenta Rivers. Artillery, too, in comparatively +great quantity and of as heavy caliber as the country permitted, had +been assembled. + +Suddenly on May 15, 1916, the Austrians along the Trentino front +followed up an intense bombardment which had lasted throughout May 14, +1916, with an attack by large masses of infantry against the Italian +positions between the Adige and the upper Astico. Although the +Italians valiantly resisted the first onrush they had finally to give +way, losing some 2,500 men and sixty-five officers. Austrian troops +have occupied Italian positions on Armentara Ridge, south of the +Sugana Valley, on the Folgarone Plateau, north of Cagnolo Valley and +south of Rovereto. On the Oberdo Plateau they entered trenches east of +Monfalcone, capturing five officers and 150 soldiers belonging to five +different Italian cavalry regiments. + +The following vivid picture of the vehemence of the Austrian attack is +given in the "Comere della Sera": + +"The Austrians have opened a breach in the wall of defense which we +have won by heavy sacrifices beyond our frontier. They have beaten +with a hurricane of fire upon our Alpine line at its most delicate +point, striving with desperate fury to penetrate into Italian +territory. This is the hardest moment of our war; it is also one of +the most bitter and violent assaults of the whole European war. + +"The battle rages furiously. The Austrian attack is being made with +colossal forces in the narrow zone between the Adige and the Val +Sugana. The enemy had assembled fourteen divisions of his best troops. +An Austrian officer who was taken prisoner said: + +"'You are not far from the truth in reckoning that there are three +hundred thousand men against you. These comprise the armies of Dankl, +Koevess, and the Boroevic, and these armies are served by unlimited +artillery. More than two thousand pieces are raining on a +twenty-five-mile front projectiles of all calibers.'" + +"On Sunday morning, May 14, 1916, three shadows approached the Italian +trenches. As they advanced they were recognized as Austrian Slav +deserters. They said: + +"'The attack has been ordered for to-morrow. The bombardment will last +from dawn to 6 p. m., when the infantry will attack.' + +"The information was exact. A bombardment of incredible violence +began. Aeroplanes regulated the fire of a 15-inch naval gun, which +sent five projectiles on the town of Asiago. After the bombardment had +ceased the first infantry attack came. The troops attacked _en masse_, +and at the same time attacks were made from the Adige to the Val +Sugana. Four onslaughts were made on Zugna Torta. Our machine guns cut +down the blue masses of men; the wire entanglements were heaped with +dead. The bombardment had destroyed all the first-line trenches. The +infantry then hurled itself against the advance posts of the Val +Terragnolo. The Alpini, deafened by twelve hours of bombardment, +defended every foot of the ground, fighting always in snow. Three +terrible bayonet counterattacks lacerated the Austrian lines, but the +assailants were innumerable, and no help could come, as the entire +front was in action. The Alpini who remained, so few in number, threw +themselves on the enemy again, permitting the retirement of the main +body to the line running from Malga Milegna to Soglio d'Aspio. Even +here there was one avalanche of fire. The enemy artillery had been +pouring explosives on these positions for ten hours. The enemy +infantry here attacking were annihilated and the enemy dead filled the +valleys, but fresh troops swarmed up from all parts. + +"Night fell on the first day's slaughter." + +The following day, May 16, 1916, the Austrians attacked again the +Italian positions on the northern slopes of the Zugna Torta in the +Lagarina Valley in five assaults. In the zone between the Val +Terragnolo and the upper Astico a violent concentrated fire from the +Austrian artillery of all calibers forced the Italians to abandon +their advanced positions. In the Asiago sector persistent attacks were +repulsed. In the Sugana Valley the Austrians vigorously attacked +between the Val Maggio bridgehead and Monte Collo. The prisoners taken +by the Austrians were increased to forty-one officers and 6,200 men, +and the booty to seventeen machine guns and thirteen guns. Along the +whole remaining front there was artillery fire. Sporadic infantry +attacks were made in the San Pellegrino Valley, the upper But, at +Monte Nero, Mrzli, the Tolmino zone, the northern slopes of Monte San +Michele, the region east of Selz, and Monfalcone. + +Austrian aeroplanes shelled Castel Tesino, Capedaletto, Montebelluna, +and the stations at Carnia and Gemona. Italian aeroplanes shelled +Dellach and Kotsschach in the Gail Valley. + +The shelling of Zugna Torta was renewed on May 17, 1916, when five +attacks against the Italian positions were repulsed with heavy losses. + +Meanwhile artillery fire continued against the Italian positions +between Val Terragnolo and the upper Astico. After three days of +intense and uninterrupted artillery fire the Italians abandoned their +positions on Zugna Torta on May 18, 1916, but repulsed two attacks +against their positions further south. The Italians also abandoned +their line of resistance between Monte Soglio d'Aspio and retired upon +other prepared positions. + +Zugna Torta, the ridge running down upon Rovereto, between Val +Lagarina and Vallarsa, was a dangerously exposed salient. The western +slopes were commanded by the fire of the Austrian artillery positions +at Biaena, north of More, on the western side of Val Lagarina, and the +rest of the position lay open to Ghello and Fenocchio, east of +Rovereto. The Italians had never been able to push forward their lines +on either side of this salient. Biaena blocked the way on the west, +and the advance east of Vallarsa was held up by the formidable group +of fortifications on the Folgaria Plateau. When the Austrians attacked +Zugna Torta, under cover of a converging artillery fire, the position +quickly became untenable. + +On the same day the Austrians, for the first time since the beginning +of hostilities between Italy and Austria, crossed the Italian frontier +in the Lago di Garda region and established themselves on the +Costabella, a ridge of the Monte Baldo, between the lake and the +Lagarina Valley. At this point, where the Austrian offensive met with +the greatest success, the Italians were driven back four miles from +the positions on Austrian soil which they occupied at the opening of +the attack and which they had held early in the war. + +The Austrian advance was well maintained on the following day, May 19, +1916, when the Italians were driven from their positions on the Col +Santo, almost directly to the west of Monte Maggio captured the day +before, between the Val di Terragnolo and the Vallarsa. + +By that time the number of Italians taken prisoners by the Austrians +since May 15, 1916, had increased to 257 officers and 13,000 men and +the booty to 109 guns, including twelve howitzers, and sixty-eight +machine guns. + +An Austrian dispatch forwarded at that time from Trent tells of the +violent fighting which was in progress in the zone of Monte Adamello +and the Tonale Pass and gives a description of the capture by the +Austrians of an unarmed mountain in this region. + +The preparatory bombardment was begun at three o'clock in the +afternoon, the Italian guns making only a desultory reply. The +bombardment was continued until after sunset, when the Austrian +infantry began to move forward from the direction of Fort Strino, on +the Noce River, northeast of the Tonale Pass, guided by searchlights +and star shells. + +The seasoned Austrian troops encountered an extremely heavy +machine-gun and rifle fire as they climbed the slope, using their +bayonets to give them support on the slippery ground, but continued +the advance, and near the summit engaged the Italian defenders in a +hand-to-hand combat, and after an hour of bayonet fighting drove the +Italians from their positions. Both sides engaging in the encounter +lost heavily, according to the dispatch. + +According to Rome dispatches the Austrian troops were under the +command of the Austrian heir-apparent, Archduke Charles Francis +Joseph, as well as Field Marshal Count von Hoetbendorff, chief of the +Austrian General Staff. General Cadorna, the Italian commander in +chief, was also said to have established his headquarters on the +Trentino front to take personal command of the defense. + +The special correspondent of the London "Times" describes the fighting +in the Trentino at this period as follows: + +"It is the fifth day of the Austrian offensive. 'We have an action in +progress,' says the colonel. The night is clear and mild. A moon, full +red, is rising on the horizon. Headquarters are located in an ancient +Austrian feudal castle, which crowns a hilltop. At our feet the valley +spreads out, and the mountain-chains to the right and left seem to +meet at an angle in the west. Here a blackened mountain mass dominates +the valley. It is the Panarotta, the stronghold of the enemy. + +"'The eye of the Austrians,' a young officer exclaims, as from the +crest a beam of light breaks forth, flaring with great intensity on +the Italian positions lower down. Immediately an Italian light +endeavors to shine directly in the path of the Austrian light and +blind its rays. Another Austrian light darts forth from across the +valley. Promptly an Italian searchlight gives battle. Thus for more +than an hour the opposing searchlights endeavor to intercept one +another. To-night the Austrians are on the offensive. Their lights +sweep the hill crests, pursued by Italian rays. + +"The moon is now high in the heavens, the snow-clad peaks, the shadowy +ravines, the villages within Italian lines, as well as those beyond +the invisible ring of steel, are bathed in a silvery light. We are +standing less than four miles from the advanced enemy positions. The +stage is set, the battle is about to begin. Information brought in +during the day tells of fresh units of the enemy, massed in second +line. Deserters, surrendering to Italian patrols, report that an +important action is impending. The general commanding bids us good +night. + +"We make our way on foot through quiet country lanes. Through the +trees, the glimmer of the searchlights' flashes comes and goes like +giant fireflies. The clear notes of a nightingale ring out in the +stillness of the night. Nestling in the valley lies a large town, +which only a fortnight ago was filled with civilians, 'redeemed +Italians,' who had enjoyed eight months of prosperity and liberty +under Italian rule. Now these have been evacuated and scattered in the +four corners of Italy, and the deserted houses and empty streets add +to the unreality of the scene. The whirring of the field-telephone +wires which hang low, hastily looped over the branches of olive and +mulberry trees, alone indicates any activity of man. There are no +troops in sight, save a patrol which stops us and examines our papers. +It seems difficult to realize that a great battle is impending. No +scene could be more peaceful. In the marshes, frogs are croaking in +loud unison. The scent of new-mown hay is wafted across the valley. + +"The minutes hang heavily. A half hour passes. An hour seems +interminable. This afternoon, beyond the mountains, in the next +valley, not more than nine miles away as the crow flies, a bloody +action was fought. Not a sound of the cannonade reached us; what had +happened there we did not know, for the Austrians are attacking from a +single base, and their battle line is not more than fifteen miles +long, pivoting on a central position, whereas the Italian forces in +this same sector are compelled, by the configuration of the mountains +and the intersecting valleys, to fight separate actions which can only +be coordinated with utmost difficulty. + +"Shortly before one o'clock in the morning the Austrian batteries open +fire. From the west, the north, the east, the hail of shell and +shrapnel tears open the crest of the hill, the Monte Collo, against +which the attack is directed. So intense an artillery fire has not +hitherto been witnessed on the Italian front; 380's, 305's, 240's, +149's, 105's rain upon the short line of Italian intrenchments. + +"For more than three hours the bombardment continues. The Italian guns +apparently refrain from answering. But every battery is in readiness, +every Italian gun is trained on the spot where the enemy must pass. +Every man is at his post, waiting, waiting. It is just before dawn. +The air of this Alpine Valley is cold and raw. A bleak wind blows +through the trees. The cannonade slackens. From our position we cannot +see the enemy advancing, but the black, broad strip of newly-upturned +soil on the crest of the Monte Collo shows the effect of the +bombardment. Split wide open like a yawning crater, the hilltop has +been plowed up in every direction. Barbed wire, parapets, and trench +lines have disappeared, buried under the tangled earth clumps. + +"A minute, perhaps five or ten! 'They are coming,' is whispered in the +observation post. A thunder of Italian artillery greets the attacking +forces. On they come. Instinctively one can discern a shadowy mass +moving forward. Huddled together, they crouch low. Shells are falling +and then cease, and the 'click,' 'click,' of the machine gun's +enfilading fire is heard. The enemy reaches the Italian advance +trenches. The first streaks of light, gray and cold, show new +attacking forces coming up over the hill. They penetrate deep into the +plowed soil. They seem to hold the hill. Stumbling through the +cratered terrain the Austrians advance toward the Italian positions. +Then from out of the tawny earth an Italian battalion springs up. One +can almost imagine that one hears their hoarse battle cry, 'Avanti, +Savoia! Avanti!' as they fall upon their enemies. + +"We learn later that the losses have been heavy. The Italian +possessions have been badly damaged and have been temporarily +evacuated. Both sides have taken prisoners, and what was the battle +ground is now a neutral zone. Some hours later I again look across to +the Monte Collo. The hill crest is deserted. Below the summit fresh +Italian troops are occupying new and stronger positions, while an +endless stream of pack-mules is winding slowly up the mountainside." + +On May 20, 1916, the battles in southern Tyrol, on the Lavarone +Plateau, increased in violence as the result of Italian attacks. The +Austrians reached the summit of the Armentara Ridge and on the +Lavarone Plateau penetrated the first hostile position. + +The troops of Archduke Charles Francis Joseph also added to their +successes. They captured the Cima dei Laghi and the Cima di Nesole. +The Italians also were driven from the Borgola Pass toward the south +and lost three more twenty-eight centimeter howitzers and 3,000 men, +84 officers, 25 guns and 8 machine guns. + +Austrian aeroplanes dropped bombs on Vicenza. + +Although the Italian line still held in the main, it could not deny +Austrian advances at certain important points. Slowly the +Austro-Hungarians pushed on everywhere toward the Italian frontier. On +May 21, 1916, an attack of the Graz Corps on Lavarone Plateau was +attended with complete success. The Italians were driven from their +entire position. Other Austrian troops captured Fima, Mandriolo and +the height immediately west of the frontier from the summit as far as +the Astico Valley. + +The troops of Archduke Charles Francis Joseph reached the Monte +Tormino Majo line. + +Between the Astico and Brenta, in the Sugana Valley, the Austrian +attacks likewise continued, supported by powerful artillery, against +advanced lines in the west valleys of Terra Astico, Doss Maggio and +Campelle. + +Since the beginning of the offensive 23,883 Italians, among whom are +482 officers, had now been captured and the number of cannon taken had +been increased to 172. + +Between Lake Garda and the Adige large Austrian forces were massed on +May 22, 1916, in the Riva zone. There was also considerable aerial +activity on that day on Monte Baldo (the mountain ridge to the east of +the lake). From the Adige to the Astico there were only +reconnoiterings. Between the Astico and the Brenta Rivers in the +Sugana Valley, the Italians were again forced to fall back gradually +on their main lines after repulsing heavy attacks throughout the day. +The retreat, however, was orderly and spontaneous. + +Besides accomplishing their advance in the Val Sugana, the Austrians +continued the reduction of the forts protecting Arsiero, well across +the Italian frontier on the way toward Vicenza. Arsiero is the +terminus of a railway leading down into the Vicenza plain and the city +of Vicenza. Through the capture of the Spitz Tonezza and Monte +Melignone the Austrians now held the entire line across the frontier +as far as Forni on the Astico. They also pushed their advance toward +the ridge north of the Val dei Laghi, and toward Monte Tormino and +Monte Cremone, all three outlying defenses of Arsiero. Meanwhile the +right wing of the Austrian army, after storming Col Santo, had moved +toward Monte Pasubio, and the left wing had stormed the Sasso Alto, +commanding the Armentara Ridge, enabling the Austrians to advance into +the Sugana Valley and to take Roncegno. + +In order to appreciate the difficulties connected with all of this +fighting, it must be remembered that the fighting is going on in the +mountains, on ground varying in altitude as much as 5,000 feet per +mile. The mountains were still partly covered with snow and the +transportation of supplies, therefore, was exceedingly difficult. + +As the month of May drew to its end, the Austrian advance spread +steadily. By May 23, 1916, the Austrians had occupied north of the +Sugana Valley the ridge from Salubio to Borgo. On the frontier ridge +south of the valley the Italians were driven from Pompeii Mountain. +Further south the Italians successfully defended the heights east of +the Val d'Assa and the fortified district Asiago and Arsiero. The +armored work of Campolono, however, fell into Austro-Hungarian hands. +The Austro-Hungarian troops approached more closely the Val d'Assa and +Posina Valley. + +Orderly as the Italian retreat was, it was nevertheless a hasty one. +For the official Italian report for May 23, 1916, admits that +artillery "that could not be removed" was destroyed. + +Both the violence and unexpectedness of the Austrian attacks are +testified to by articles published at this time in Italian newspapers. +A writer in the "Giornale d'Italia" of Rome says that "the Austrian +offensive came as a surprise to the Italian command and the taking of +Monte Maggio and other important positions was possible, because the +Italians were not looking for so heavy an attack." + +A correspondent of the "Corriere della Sera" of Milan, writing of the +extensive preparations made by the Austrians for the present +offensive, says "that the Austrians massed 2,000 guns, mostly of large +caliber, on the twenty-four-mile front attacked." + +Though it was now scarcely more than a week since the beginning of the +Austrian offensive, 24,400 Italians had been made prisoners, among +them 524 officers, and 251 cannon; 101 machine guns had been taken. + +The Italians, of course, appreciated fully the deeper meaning of this +Austrian offensive. They understood that the Austrian objective was +not simply to reduce the Italian pressure on Trent or to drive the +Italians out of southern Tyrol, but to advance themselves into Italy. +At the same time, Italy also knew that, though such an advance was not +an impossibility, its successful accomplishment for any great distance +or duration would be seriously handicapped by the fact that the +preponderance of numbers was unquestionably on the Italian and not the +Austrian side. This confidence found expression in an order of the day +issued at this junction by King Victor Emmanuel in which he says: + +"Soldiers of land and sea: Responding with enthusiasm to the appeal of +the country a year ago, you hastened to fight, in conjunction with our +brave allies, our hereditary enemy and assure the realization of our +national claims. + +"After having surmounted difficulties of every nature, you have fought +in a hundred combats and won, for you have the ideal of Italy in your +heart. But the country again asks of you new efforts and more +sacrifices. + +"I do not doubt that you will know how to give new proofs of bravery +and force of mind. The country, proud and grateful, sustains you in +your arduous task by its fervent affections, its calm demeanor and +its admirable confidence. + +"I sincerely hope that fortune will accompany us in future battles, as +you accompany my constant thoughts." + +Still further Austrian successes were reported on May 24, 1916. In the +Sugana Valley they occupied the Salubio Ridge and drove the Italians +from Kempel Mountain. + +In the Lagarina Valley, after an intense night bombardment, Austrian +forces attacked twice toward Serravalle and Col di Buole, but were +vigorously repulsed. Next morning the attack on Col di Buole was +renewed with fresh troops, but again repulsed with heavy loss. Italian +troops followed up this repulse and reoccupied the height of Darmeson, +southeast of Col di Buole. + +Between the Val d'Assa and Posina the Austrians, after having kept +Italian positions at Pasubio under violent bombardment, launched a +night attack with strong columns of infantry, which were mowed down by +Italian fire and thrown back in disorder. Between Posina and the +Astico the Austrians unmasked their heavy artillery along the Monte +Maggio-Toraro line, but Italian guns replied effectively. + +On May 25, 1916, the Austro-Hungarians occupied the Cima Cista, +crossed the Maso rivulet and entered Strigno in the Val Sugana, four +miles northeast of Borgo and a little less than that distance +southeast of Salubio, with the Maso stream between. They also captured +the Corno di Campo Verde to the east of Grigno, on the Italian border +and occupied Chiesa on the Vallarsa Plateau, southwest of Pasubio. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +THE RISE AND FAILURE OF THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN DRIVE + + +By May 26, 1916, the center of the Austro-Hungarian army was sweeping +down toward Arsiero, while another strong force further west was +within ten miles of the Italian city of Schio. Both of these points +are terminals of the railroad system of which Vicenza is the center. +That day some of the armored works of Arsiero and some strongly +fortified positions southwest of Bacarola were captured and Monte +Mochicce was occupied. Another Austrian success was the capture of the +entire mountain range from Corno di Campo Verde to Montemeata (in the +Val d'Assa). The Italians suffered sanguinary losses and also lost +more than 2,500 prisoners, four guns, four machine guns, 300 bicycles +and much other material. + +In the Monte Nero zone on the night of May 26, 1916, the +Austro-Hungarians attacked Italian trenches near Vrsic and succeeded +in gaining a temporary foothold. When reenforcements arrived, after a +violent counterattack, the Italians drove out the enemy, taking some +prisoners and machine guns. + +The natural difficulties in the way of the Austro-Hungarian invaders +were so manifold and severe that it appeared at times as if the +offensive had come to a standstill. However, this was not the case. +Slowly but surely it progressed and as it progressed it even spread +out. Thus on May 27, 1916, the Austrians not only captured a +fortification at Coronolo, west of Arsiero, and also a barricade in +the Assa Valley, southwest of Monte Interrotto, but also carried their +offensive further toward the west until it included the northern end +of Lake Garda. + +Again on May 28, 1916, the Italians had to give way. The Austrians +crossed the Assa Valley near Roana, four and a half miles southwest of +Asiago. They also repulsed Italian attacks near Canove, between Asiago +and Schio, and occupied the southern slopes and captured the +fortifications on the Monte Ingrotto heights, north of Asiago, after +having taken Monte Cebio, Monte Sieglarella and the Corno di Campo +Bianco. In the upper Posina Valley the Italians were driven out of +their positions west and south of Webalen. + +With renewed vigor the Austrians attacked on May 29, 1916. As a result +the armored work of Punta Gorda fell into their hands, and west of +Arsiero they forced the crossing of the Posina Brook and occupied the +heights on the southern bank in the face of determined Italian +resistance. + +The next day, May 30, 1916, Austrian troops, northeast of Asiago, +drove the Italians from Gallio and stormed positions on the heights +northward. Monte Baldo and Monte Fiara fell into their hands. West of +Asiago the Austrian line south of the Assa Valley was advanced to the +conquered Italian position of Punta Gorda. The troops which had +crossed the day before the Posina took Monte Priafora. + +This brought the Austrians so near to Asiago that the Italians deemed +it wise to evacuate this town, holding, however, the hills to the +east. In spite of the gradual advance of the Austrian center, the +Italian wings held and severely punished the attacking Austrians. This +was made possible by the admirable Italian motor transports which +enabled the Italian command to bring up great reenforcements and stop +the gap made in the first line. The most serious loss which they +suffered was that of the big guns the Italians were obliged to abandon +on the Monte Maggio-Spitz Tonezza line. + +The Austrian offensive was now in its second week. So far it had +yielded in prisoners 30,388 Italians, including 694 officers and 299 +cannon. + +Reviewing the Austro-Hungarian offensive up to this point, the +military critic of the Berlin "Tageblatt" says: + +"The Austro-Hungarian advance is in progress on a front of thirty-one +miles between the Adige and the Brenta. This is about the same +distance as the front between Gorlice and Tarnow, in Galicia, over +which the offensive against the Russians was conducted thirteen months +ago. + +"The general direction of the advance is toward the Italian line +running through Asiago, Arsiero, and Schio, which up to the present +time had been protected by advanced positions. This line represents +the third and last fortified defensive position, the strategic object +of which is to prevent an invasion of the Venetian plain. + +"The Austro-Hungarian troops already have disposed of the loftiest +heights, which presents a situation favorable to them. When the heavy +artillery has been brought into place there will be visible evidence +of this. + +"The total Italian casualties thus far are not less than 80,000 men. +The loss of more than 200 cannon is exceedingly serious for the +Italians, since they cannot be replaced during the war." + +In spite of the fact that on May 30, 1916, the Austrians had forced +their way across the Posina torrent between Posina and Arsiero and +succeeded in partly enveloping the latter, a force which attempted to +take Sant' Ubaldo, immediately southeast of Arsiero, on May 31, 1916, +was driven back by the Italians beyond the Posina, thus relieving the +strongest pressure on the town. A little further west another Austrian +force attacked the Italian positions on Monte Spin, southeast of +Posina. The Italian lines held on the mountain slopes and the Austrian +advance here was checked. West of Posina an Austrian assault on Monte +Forni Alti was repulsed. On the Sette Comuni Plateau, where the +Austrians were advancing against Asiago, they began operations against +the Italian positions on Monte Cengio and Campo Niulo. + +On June 1, 1916, however, the Austro-Hungarians in the Arsiero region +captured Monte Barro and gained a firm footing on the south bank of +the Posina torrent. Repeated night attacks along the Posina front +against the northern slopes of Monte Forni Alti and in the direction +of Quaro, southwest of Arsiero, were repulsed. + +All day long an intense uninterrupted bombardment by Austrian +batteries of all calibers was maintained against the Italian lines in +the Col di Xomo-Rochette sector (southwest of Posina). + +On the left wing the Austrians, leaving massed heavy forces between +Posina and Fusine (in the Posina Valley, east of Posina), made +numerous efforts to advance toward Monte Spin. + +On the right wing strong Austro-Hungarian columns in the afternoon +launched a violent attack against Segheschiri. These were completely +repulsed after a fierce engagement. + +In the uplands of the Sette Comuni there was an intense and obstinate +struggle along the positions south of the Assa Valley as far as +Asiago. Italian troops holding the Monte Cengio Plateau determinedly +withstood powerful infantry attacks supported by a most violent +bombardment. + +On the front parallel with the Asiago-Guglio-Valle road near Campo +Mullo the Italians gained ground by a violent counteroffensive in +spite of the strong Austrian resistance. + +Intense artillery and infantry fighting along the Trentino front +continued unabated on June 2, 1916, and according to the official +Italian statement the Austrian offensive in some places was checked. +The Austrian infantry on Zugna Torta was scattered by the fierce +Italian infantry fire. + +Around Asiero and on the Asiago Plateau in Italy, the Italians +repulsed Austrian infantry. The Belmonte position northeast of Monte +Cengio, where the struggle was fiercest and which was repeatedly taken +and lost, was finally definitely occupied by the Italians. + +Several Italian towns, including Vicenza and Verona, were attacked by +Austrian aeroplanes, while Italian air squadrons in a raid on objects +of military importance in the lower Astico Valley, dropped 100 bombs +on various enemy camps and munition depots. + +The next day, June 3, 1916, the Austrian attack once more found fresh +impetus. In spite of desperate Italian resistance on the ridge south +of the Posina Valley and before Monte Cengio, on the Asiago front, +south of Monte Cengio, considerable ground was won and the town of +Cesuna was captured. Italian counterattacks were repulsed. + +During this one day 5,600 prisoners, including seventy-eight officers, +were taken and three cannon, eleven machine guns and 126 horses were +captured. + +In the region west of the Astico Valley fighting activity was +generally less pronounced on June 4, 1916, than it had been during the +preceding days. South of Posina Austrian troops took a strong point of +support and repulsed several Italian counterattacks. + +East of the Astico Valley, Austrian groups situated on the heights +east of Arsiero stormed Monte Panoccio (east of Monte Barco) and +thereby gained command of the Canaglio Valley. + +Considerable fighting occurred on June 5, 1916, without, however, +resulting in any important changes. Austro-Hungarian attacks, +preceded by intensive artillery fire, were launched all along the +Trentino front, but were met everywhere with determined Italian +resistance. Italian aeroplanes attacked the railway stations of San +Bona di Piava, Livenca and Lati Sana, while Austrian airmen bombed the +stations of Verona, Ala and Vicenza. + +Since June 1, 1916, 9,700 Italians, including 184 officers, had been +captured, as well as thirteen machine guns and five cannons. + +On June 6, 1916, activities were restricted to artillery duels, +although the Austrians southwest of Asiago continued the attack near +Cesuna and captured Monte del Busiballo, southwest of Cesuna. + +More and more it became evident now that the force of the Austrian +offensive had been spent. The pressure on the Italian center in the +Trentino front gradually diminished as a result of the determined +Italian resistance, which had made impossible an equal progress of the +Austrian wings. Possibly, too, the great Russian offensive on the +southeastern front made itself felt even now. At any rate, there was a +decided slowing down of infantry attacks. At one point, however, on +the Sette Comuni Plateau, the battle raged along the whole front. On +the evening of June 6, 1916, after an intense artillery preparation, +the Austro-Hungarians made repeated attacks against Italian positions +south and southwest of Asiago. The action, raging fiercely throughout +the night of June 6-7, ended in the morning of June 7th with the +defeat of the Austrian columns. During the afternoon the Austrians +renewed their violent efforts against the center and right wing of the +Italian positions. Preceded by the usual intense bombardment, dense +infantry masses repeatedly launched assaults against positions south +of Asiago, east of the Campo Mulo Valley, but were always repulsed +with heavy losses. + +Concerning the Austro-Hungarian troops who had carried this offensive +into Italy, the special correspondent of the London "Times" says: + +"Trench warfare, for the time being, has been abandoned here. Trench +lines no longer count. + +"Great troop masses are maneuvering in the open, through the valleys +and gorges, swarming over the summits of these mountains. The +Austrians dare advance only as far as the long arm of their guns will +reach, and are bending all their energy to bring up these guns. It is +a gigantic task, and the skill of the enemy commander in holding +together and coordinating his attacks, now that his troops have +entered these defiles, must be acknowledged. + +"It is sledge-hammer tactics, so dear to the Prussians, that the +Austrian commanders have adopted, and from the general aspect of their +plans, it would appear that these were prepared and matured in Berlin +rather than in Vienna. + +"How long can it last? How long before the Austrian effort will have +spent itself?" are the questions that are being asked here as the +second week of this great battle is drawing to a close. For, unlike +Verdun, it is not a fortress that is being assaulted, but a great +drive, carried on by siege methods. Not converging on a single center, +but radiating, like sticks of a fan, from a central base. + +"So much has been written regarding the exhaustion of the resources of +the Dual Monarchy, not only of materials, but of men. In how far is +this true? + +"To deal first with the question of ordnance. The Austrians, it is +estimated by competent experts, have well over 2,000 pieces of +artillery in action along this battle line. These include a great +number of heavy-caliber guns. Naval guns, with an extreme length of +range, are being used with great skill throughout the engagement. Kept +in reserve, and silent, though posted close up to the firing line, +they have had a disconcerting effect, in that their fire has reached +far behind the Italian lines at intervals between the attacks, firing +shots at random which did little actual damage, but gave the +impression of continued advance. With the front of this battle line +extending now to a length of twenty-two miles, the artillery of the +enemy works out at nearly 100 pieces to the mile, or one gun every +twenty yards. + +"The shells fired by this artillery are of excellent workmanship. I +have on my table as I write a fragment of a 10-inch shell which I +picked up here. It is rent in deep fissures, which would prove, +according to competent authority, that the explosive materials used +are good. 'The Austrians fired away all their bad shells during +preliminary actions,' was the comment of a young staff officer who is +in the habit of recording the efficiency of enemy shells. But it is +quantity as well as quality which the enemy is relying upon. + +"'Twenty thousand shells were fired against my position the first two +days of the engagement,' an Alpini major, commanding a small knoll, +remarked to me. Using this as a basis, it would not be far from the +truth to assert that over 1,000,000 shells have been fired by the +enemy in the present battle, and there is as yet no slackening of +effort. + +"And the troops? This morning a group of some 250 Austrians, taken +during the action last night, are in this village. They are divided in +squads of twenty-five, each in charge of an Austrian noncommissioned +officer. The men had had six hours' rest before I saw them. These +prisoners are Rumanians from Transylvania. They are young, well-set-up +troops. They are naturally glad to be prisoners, though their captors +tell me that they fought valiantly. The equipment of these men is new, +and I was struck by the excellent quality of their boots; high, new +leather, thick mountain boots. In fact, all their leather +accouterments are new, and of good leather. Their uniforms are in many +cases of heavy cotton twill, very tough, and resisting the hard +mountain fighting better than the usual cloth uniform. Nearly every +man has an overcoat, which is of stout new cloth. Only five or six of +the men are without caps. None have helmets of any kind, but all wear +the soft cap with ear flaps tied back. According to answers given to +the interpreter, they are of the class of 1915, and have seen fighting +in Galicia. + +[Illustration: Detail of Austrian Offensive, May, 1916.] + +"Asked about their food, they replied that they did not get enough to +eat, but their looks belied their statements. Whatever may be the +truth in regard to the meatless and fatless days in the Hapsburg +Empire, the armies in the field are not suffering in this respect, +and, though the civilians at home are now put on strict rations, +their soldiers' rations, in this sector at least, have not been cut +down. I was shown small tins of meat, taken from the knapsack of a +prisoner, and several carried 3-ounce tins of a good quality of +butter. In another sector I saw Bosnian prisoners wearing a gray fez, +and looking much like Turkish troops. They also impressed me as very +fit men; in fact, all the prisoners taken recently would seem to be of +strong fiber, and far better equipped than Austrian troops which I +have seen elsewhere. + +"It is evident that the Austrian commanders have assembled the picked +troops of the Dual Monarchy for the storming of these Trentino +heights. Everything would point to the fact that they are making a +supreme and final effort to win the war. Prisoners confirm this by +stating that the war cannot go on much longer. + +"Are the last good reserves being used up in this battle? Yesterday +morning an Italian patrol coming in from the night's tour of +inspection of their positions bring in a prisoner. He is a burly, +thick-lipped peasant boy of twenty, dressed in a Russian uniform. On +his loose-fitting blouselike tunic, torn in many places, is pinned a +black and yellow ribbon, and hanging from a thin remaining strand +shines the silver medal of St. George. An Italian subaltern takes +charge of the prisoner. + +"'A Russian refugee,' the officer remarks, in answer to my look of +surprise at the sight of a Russian prisoner being brought in by an +Italian patrol on the Trentino front. The Russian smiles +good-naturedly, as he feels secure, now that he is among friends. In +due time he will be repatriated, or perhaps join the Russian corps in +France. We leave him busy over a big bowl of macaroni. + +"'There are close to 20,000 Russian prisoners of war employed by the +Austrians along our front, repairing roads, making trenches, and +engaged on other 'noncombatant military duties,' the officer informed +me. 'A few manage to escape into our lines nearly every day, but many +more Russian dead lie in the silent crevasses of our high mountains +who have lost their lives while attempting to escape. + +"'You see, they need the men,' he concluded, as we watched an endless +stream of fresh Italian troops winding their way up from the valley." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +THE ITALIAN COUNTEROFFENSIVE IN THE TRENTINO + + +Hardly had the Austro-Hungarian offensive shown signs of weakening +when the Italians themselves began to attack the invaders. The first +indication of this change was gleaned from the wording of the official +statements, covering military operations on the Italian front for June +9, 1916. No longer is there any mention of Austro-Hungarian advances, +but on the contrary this term appears now in the reports concerning +the military operations of the Italian troops, who are also reported +as "making attacks." Of course, this turn in affairs developed slowly +in the beginning. + +Thus, although on June 9, 1916, the Italian troops attacked at many +points along the entire front between the Adige and Brenta Rivers, +most of these attacks were repulsed by the Austro-Hungarians, who were +still able to claim the capture of some 1,600 prisoners. At the same +time Italian forces began to push back the invaders at some points and +were able to advance in the upper Arsa Valley in the Monte Novegno +region, between the Posina and Val d'Astico, as well as on the western +slopes of Monte Cengio. Artillery duels were maintained along the +entire balance of the front to the sea. Austrian aeroplanes dropped +bombs on various localities in the Venetian plain, while an Italian +squadron shelled Austro-Hungarian positions in the Arsa Valley and the +Val d'Astico. + +Much the same was the result of the fighting on June 10 and 11, 1916. +On the former day the Austro-Hungarians concentrated their efforts +still more and restricted themselves to an attack against a small +portion of the Italian front southeast of Asiago. After an intense +bombardment strong forces numbering about one division repeatedly +attacked the Monte Lemerle positions. They were repulsed with very +heavy losses by counterattacks. + +From the Adige to the Brenta the Italian offensive action was +increasing. Infantry, effectively supported by artillery, made fresh +progress along the Vallarsa height, south of the Posina, in the Astico +Valley, at the Frenzela Valley bridgehead, on the Asiago Plateau, and +to the left of the Maso torrent. + +During the following day Austro-Hungarian artillery intensely +bombarded the Italian positions near Conizugna in the Lagarina Valley. +In the Arsa Valley, in the Pasubio sector, on the Posina, and on the +Astico line Italian infantry advance continued despite violent +artillery fire and a snowstorm. + +Two Austrian counterattacks toward Forni Alti and Campigliazione were +repulsed with very heavy losses. In the plateau of the Sette Comuni, +southwest of Asiago, Italian advanced detachments, after passing the +Canaglia Valley, progressed toward the southeastern slopes of Monte +Cengio, Monte Barco, and Monte Busibello. In the Sugana Valley +detachments progressed toward the Masso torrent, repulsing two +Austrian counterattacks near Sucrelle. Along the remainder of the +front there were artillery duels and bomb-throwing activity by small +detachments. Austrian aeroplanes dropped bombs on Vicenza, hitting the +military hospital, and also attacked Thiene, Venice, and Mestre, +causing slight damage. + +Still further ground was gained by the Italian forces on June 12, +1916, in spite of the most obstinate resistance. + +In the Lagarina Valley, by a strong attack after artillery preparation, +the Italians carried the strongly fortified line from Parmesan, east of +the Cima Mezzana, to Rio Romini. The Austro-Hungarians immediately +launched violent counterattacks, but were always repulsed. + +Along the Posina-Astico front there was an intense bombardment by both +sides. Austrian infantry, which succeeded in penetrating Molisini, was +driven out by gunfire, pursued and dispersed. + +In the Sugana Valley on the night of June 12, 1916, and the following +morning, Austrian detachments attempting to advance east of the Maso +torrent were repulsed with very heavy losses. + +Once more the Austro-Hungarians attempted to wrest the initiative from +their opponents, without, however, succeeding to any extent. On the +Posina front on the evening of June 12, 1916, after violent artillery +preparation, they attacked Monte Forni Alti, the Campiglia (both +southwest of Posina), Monte Ciove and Monte Brazonne (both south of +Arsiero), but were everywhere repulsed with heavy losses. + +During the day they bombarded with numerous batteries of all calibers +the Italian positions along the whole front from the Adige to the +Brenta, especially in the Monte Novegno zone. The Italian troops +firmly withstood the violent fire and repelled infantry detachments +which attempted to advance. + +Austro-Hungarian hydroaeroplanes attacked the station and military +establishments at San Giorgio di Nogaro, as well as the inner harbor +at Grado. + +More and more it became evident that the Austro-Hungarian drive in the +Trentino region had definitely been stopped or abandoned. From time to +time, it is true, the Austrians returned to the offensive. But this +was always of local importance only and restricted in strength and +extent. The Italians, on the other hand, not only maintained their new +offensive movement, but even extended gradually its sphere. + +Two attempted attacks by the Austro-Hungarian forces in the region of +Monte Novegno, made in the direction of Monte Ciove and Monte +Brazonne, were repulsed. But on Monte Lemerle, against which the +Austrians had launched without success a very violent attack only a +few days before, they now surprised a hostile detachment near the +summit and captured the mountain completely, taking 500 prisoners. + +Italian activity was renewed again on the Isonzo front. After intense +artillery preparation a Naples brigade, supported by dismounted +cavalry detachments, in a surprise attack, penetrated Austrian lines +east of Monfalcone. The trenches remained in Italian possession after +a severe struggle, during which 10 officers, 488 men, and 7 machine +guns were captured. + +Italian squadrons of aeroplanes bombarded the railway station at +Mattarello, in the Lagarina Valley, and encampments at the junction of +the Nos and Campomulo Valleys on the Asiago Plateau, while Austrian +aeroplanes dropped bombs on Padova, Giorgio di Nogaro, and Porto +Rosega. + +The Italian advance was steadily maintained from now on, not without, +however, finding everywhere the stiffest kind of resistance, which at +times made it even possible for the Austro-Hungarians to gain slight +local successes. These, however, were not extensive or frequent enough +to change the general picture of military operations on the +Austro-Italian front. The Austrians, though still on Italian territory +in a number of localities, were on the defensive with the Italians, +though making only very slow and painful progress, unquestionably on +the offensive. + +On June 16, 1916, the Italians advanced northeast of Asiago, between +the Frenzela Valley and Marcesina. Notwithstanding the difficult and +intricate nature of the terrain and the stubborn resistance of the +Austrians, intrenched and supported by numerous batteries, the Italian +troops made progress at the head of the Frenzela Valley, on the +heights of Monte Fior and Monte Castel Gomberto and west of Marcesina. +The best results were attained on the right wing, where Alpine troops +carried the positions of Malga Fossetta and Monte Magari, inflicting +heavy losses on the Austrians and taking 203 prisoners, a battery of 6 +guns, 4 machine guns, and much material. + +During the next few days the most fierce fighting occurred on the +plateau of Sette Comuni. All Austrian attempts to resume the offensive +and continue their advance failed. The Italian advance was scarcely +more successful; fighting had to be done in the most difficult +territory; strong Austrian resistance developed everywhere. +Thunderstorms frequently added to the difficulties already existent. +Yet slowly the Italian forces pushed back the invader. + +On June 18, 1916, Alpine troops carried with the bayonet Cima di +Sidoro, north of the Frenzela Valley. Fighting developed in the Boite +sector, where the Italians had made some slight gains during the +previous days, which the Austrians tried to dispute. Heavy Italian +artillery bombarded the railway station at Toblach and the Landro +road in the Rienz Valley. Artillery and aeroplane activity was +extremely lively during this period. Not a day passed without +artillery duels at many scattered points along the entire front from +the Swiss border down to the Adriatic. Aeroplane squadrons of +considerable force paid continuously visits to the opposing lines, +dropping bombs on lines of communication and railway stations. + +Alpine troops captured a strong position for the Italians on June 20, +1916, at the head of the Posina Valley, southwest of Monte Purche. On +the 22d the Italians pushed their advance beyond Romini in the Arsa +Valley, east of the Mezzana Peak, and on the Lora Spur, west of Monte +Pasubio. + +On the same day the Austrians counterattacked with extreme violence at +Malga Fossetta and Castel Gomberto, but were repulsed with heavy +losses. On the 21st a further Austrian attack at Cucco di Mandrielle +resulted in a rout. On the 22d the Italians, while holding all the +Austrian first-line approaches under heavy fire to prevent the +bringing up of reserves, attacked on the entire front, but still +encountered a strong resistance. During the night of the 24th the +remaining peak of Malga Fossetta, held by the Austrians, Fontana +Mosciar, and the extremely important Mandrielle were taken by storm, +while the Alpini on the right made themselves masters of the Cima +Zucadini by the 22d. + +Henceforth retreat was inevitable, and during the night of the 25th +the Italians on Monte Fior, seeing that the Austrian resistance had +greatly diminished, pushed their offensive vigorously. Shortly after +the advance was begun along the whole right. Monte Cengio, which had +received an infernal bombardment for three days and nights, fell at +last, and the advance proceeded apace. + +On June 26, 1916, Italian troops in the Arsa Valley carried strong +trenches at Mattassone and Naghebeni, completing the occupation of +Monte Lemerle. Along the Posina front, after driving out the last +Austrian detachments from the southern slopes of the mountain, the +Italians crossed the torrent and occupied Posina and Arsiero, +advancing toward the northern slopes of the valley. + +On the Sette Comuni Plateau Italian infantry, preceded by cavalry +patrols, reached a line running through Punta Corbin, Fresche, +Concafondi, Cesuna, southwest of Asiago, and passing northeast of the +Nosi Valley, and occupied Monte Fiara, Monte Lavarle, Spitzkaserle and +Cimasaette. + +On the right wing Alpine troops, after a fierce combat, carried Grolla +Caldiera Peak and Campanella Peak. + +The inside workings of the Italian armies engaged in this offensive +movement are interestingly pictured in the following account from the +pen of the special correspondent of the London "Times," who, of +course, had special opportunities for observation: + +"Thanks to the courtesy of the Italian Government and higher command, +I have been allowed to go everywhere, to see a great deal on the chief +sectors of a 400-mile Alpine border, and to study the administrative +services on the lines of communication. + +"I have visited the wild hills of the upper Isonzo, have inspected the +strange Carso region on the left bank of the river, and have continued +my investigations on the Isonzo front as far as Aquileia and the sea. +I have threaded beautiful and rugged Carnia nearly as far west as +Monte Croce, have ascended the valley of the But to Mount Timau, where +the Austrians, as elsewhere, are in close touch, and, passing on to +wonderful Cadore, have visited the haunts of the Alpini above the +sources of the Tagliamento and Piave. + +"Coming then to the Trentino sector, I have traversed the Sugana +Valley as far as was practicable, accompanied the army in its +reconquest of Asiago Plateau, and concluded an instructive tour by +ascending the mountains which dominate Val Lagarina to the point of +contact between the contending armies. + +"The rest of the front, from the Lago di Garda to the Stelvio and the +frontier of Switzerland, is not at present the scene of important +operations, so I contented myself by ascertaining at second hand how +matters stand between the Valtellina and the Chiese. + +"I have had the honor of a private audience with his Majesty the King +of Italy, and have seen and talked to nearly all the leading soldiers. +Nothing could exceed the kindness with which I have been received, and +my grateful thanks are due especially to Colonels Count Barbarich and +Claricetti, who were placed at my disposal by General Cadorna and +accompanied me during my tour. + +"It is necessary for those who wish to have a clear understanding of +Italy's share in the war to look back and realize the situation of our +Italian friends when, at the most critical moment for the cause, they +threw the weight of their sword into the scales. + +"Italy, like England, had lost the habit of considering policy in +military terms. Home politics ruled all decisions. The army had been +much neglected, and the campaign in Libya had left the war material at +a very low ebb. United Italy had not yet fought a great modern +campaign, and neither the army nor the navy possessed in the same +measure as other powers those great traditions which are the outcome +of many recent hard-fought wars. Italy was without our coal and our +great metallurgic industries. She did not possess the accumulation of +resources which we were able to turn to warlike uses; nor could she +find in her oversea possessions, as we did, the strength and vitality +of self-governing younger people of her own race. The old Sardinian +army had given in the past fine proofs of valor, but it was not known +how the southern Italians would fight, and it was at first uncertain +whether the whole country would throw itself heart and soul into the +war. + +"These impediments to rapid decisions and the extreme difficulty of +breaking with an old alliance explain the apparent hesitation of Italy +to enter the war. + +[Illustration: Gorizia.] + +"On the other hand, there were compensations. The heart of Italy was +always with the Allies, and the hatred of Austria was very deep. There +was every hope that the long-prevailing system of amalgamating the +various races of Italy in the common army would at last bear fruit, +and that this amalgamation, combined with the moral and material +progress of Italy in recent years, and the pride of the country in its +past history, would enable Italy to play an honorable and notable +part in the war by land and sea, and to wrest from her hereditary +enemy those portions of unredeemed Italy which still remained in +Austrian hands. + +"These hopes have either been fulfilled or are in course of +fulfillment. United Italy is unitedly in the war, and, except among a +few political busybodies, who intrigue after the manner of their kind, +there are not two opinions about the war. There are many cases of +mothers compelling their sons to volunteer and other cases of fathers +insisting upon being taken because their sons are at the front. The +prefect of Friuli told me that nearly all the 24,000 men in his +province who were absent abroad when the war broke out returned home +to fight before they were recalled. The south and the island areas +warm for war as the north, and the regiments of Naples and of Sicily +have done very well indeed in the field. Some people think that +Piedmont is not quite so enthusiastic as other parts of Italy, because +she flags her streets rather less, but I do not think that there is +any real difference of feeling. In all the capitals of the Allies the +political climate has been a trifle unhealthy, and of Rome it has been +said that the old families of the Blacks have not taken a leading part +in the campaign. My inquiries make me doubt the accuracy of this +statement, and I think on the whole it will be found that, despite the +old and persistent divergence of opinion on certain topics, all ranks +and all classes are heartily for the war, and that an enemy who counts +on assistance from within Italy will be grievously disappointed. + +"Italy is fortunate in having at her head, at this critical hour of +her destinies, a king who is a soldier born and bred. + +"It is a common saying here that the King of Italy is homesick when he +is absent from the army, and it is certain that his majesty spends +every hour that he can spare from state affairs with his troops. He +wears on his breast the medal ribbon, only given to those who have +been at the front for a year, and, though he deprecates any allusion +to the fact, it is true that he is constantly in the firing line, has +had many narrow escapes, and is personally known to the whole army, +who love to see him in their midst. + +"I have not found any officer of his army who has a better, a more +intimate, or a more accurate knowledge of his troops than the king. +His attention to the wants of the army is absolutely untiring, and I +fancy that his cool judgment and large experience must often be of +great service to his ministers and his generals. + +"I do not know whether the field headquarters of the King of Italy or +of King Albert of Belgium is the most unpretentious, but certainly +both monarchs live in circumstances of extreme simplicity. My +recollection is that when I last had the honor of visiting King +Albert's headquarters, the bell in what I must call the parlor did not +ring, and the queen of the Belgians had to get up and fetch the tea +herself. + +"When I had the honor of being received by the King of Italy I found +his majesty in a little villa which only held four people, and the +king was working in a room of which the only furniture which I can +recall consisted of a camp bed close to the ground and of exiguous +breadth, a small table, and two chairs of uncompromising hardness. The +only ornament in the room was the base of the last Austrian shell +which had burst just above the king's head and has been mounted as a +souvenir by the queen. + +"When a prince of the House of Savoy lives in the traditions of his +family, and shares all the hardships of his troops, it needs must that +his people follow him. And so they do. + +"The hardy Alpini from the frontiers, the stout soldiers of Piedmont, +the well-to-do peasantry of Venetia, the Sardinians, who are ever to +the front when there is fighting to be enjoyed, the Tuscans, +Calabrians, and those Sicilians once so famous amongst the +legionaries, are all here or at the depots training for war. +Mobilization must have affected two and a half million Italians at +least. There have been fairly heavy losses, and fighting of one kind +or another is going on in every sector that I have visited, and every +day, despite the great hardships of fighting on the Alpine frontier, +the moral of the army remains good, the men are in splendid health, +and Italy as a whole remains gay and confident, less affected on the +whole by the war than any other member of the grand alliance. + +"There are certainly more able-bodied men of military age out of +uniform in Italy than there are in France, or than there are now with +us. Except volunteers, no men under twenty are at the front. There are +large reserves still available upon which to draw. The army has been +more than doubled since the war began. + +"The Italian regular officers, and the officers of reserve, are quite +excellent. The spirit of good comradeship which prevails in the army +is most admirable, and the corps of officers reminds me of a large +family which is proverbially a happy one. Those foreign observers who +have seen much of the Italian officers under fire tell me that they +have always led their men with superb valor and determination, while, +though Italy has not such a professional body of N. C. O.'s as +Germany, I believe that most of these men are capable of leading when +their officers fall. + +"But there are not enough of good professional officers and N. C. O.'s +to admit for the moment of a considerable further expansion of the +army. Existing formations can be, and are being, well maintained, and +this is what matters most for the moment. + +"The peasant in certain parts of Italy rarely eats meat. In the army +he gets 300 to 350 grams a day, according to the season, not to speak +of a kilogram of good bread and plenty of vegetables, besides wine and +tobacco. He is having the time of his life, and if, as cynics say, +peace will break up many happy homes in England, peace in Italy will +certainly make some peasants less joyful than before." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +CONTINUATION OF THE ITALIAN COUNTEROFFENSIVE + + +Between the Adige and the Brenta the retreating Austro-Hungarian +forces had now reached strongly fortified and commanding positions +which considerably increased their power of resistance. The Italians, +however, continued, even if at reduced speed, to make progress. On +June 27, 1916, they shelled Austrian positions on Monte Trappola and +Monte Testo and took trenches near Malga Zugna. Between the Posina and +the Astico they took Austrian positions on Monte Gamonda, north of +Fusine, and Monte Caviojo. Cavalry detachments reached Pedescala (in +the Astico Valley, about three miles north of Arsiero). + +On the Asiago Plateau other Italian forces occupied the southern side +of the Assa Valley and reached the slopes of Monte Rasta, Monte +Interrotto and Monte Mosciagh, which were held strongly by the +Austrian rear guards. Further north, after carrying Monte Colombara, +Italian troops began to approach Calamara Valley. + +On June 28, 1916, the Vallarsa Alpine troops stormed the fort of +Mattassone, and detachments of infantry carried the ridge of Monte +Trappola. On the Pasubio sector Italian troops took some trenches near +Malga Comagnon. Along the Posina line their advance was delayed by the +fire of heavy batteries from the Borcola. + +In the Astico Valley they occupied Pedescala. On the Sette Comuni +Plateau the Austrians strengthened the northern side of the Assa +Valley Heights on the left bank of the Galmarara to the Agnella Pass. +The Italians established themselves on the southern side of the Assa +Valley and gained possession of trenches near Zebio and Zingarella. + +The following day, June 29, 1916, the Italian line in the region +between the Val Lagarina and the Val Sugana was pushed forward still +further until it reached the main Austrian line of resistance. The +Italians occupied the Valmorbia line, in the Vallarsa, the southern +slopes of Monte Spil, and began an offensive to the northwest of +Pasubio, in the Cosmagnon region. + +Farther east on the line of the Posina Valley, the Italians took Monte +Maggio, the town of Griso, northwest of Monte Maggio; positions in the +Zara Valley and Monte Scatolari and Sogliblanchi. Monte Civaron and +the Zellonkofel, in the Sugana Valley, fell into the hands of the +Italians. + +The Italians continued their advance along the Posina front on June +30, 1916, despite the violent fire of numerous Austro-Hungarian +batteries dominating Borcola Pass, and also Monte Maggio and Monte +Toraro. Italian infantry occupied Zarolli in the Vallarsa, north of +Mattassone. On the left wing, overcoming stubborn resistance, Italian +troops scaled the crest of Monte Cosmagnon, whose northerly ridges +they shelled to drive out the enemy hidden among the rocks. On the +Sette Comuni Plateau they kept in close contact with Austrian +positions. Conflicts in the densely wooded and rocky ground were +carried on chiefly by hand grenades. + +Between the Adige and the Brenta the Italians continued their +offensive vigorously on July 1, 1916. In the Vallarsa infantry began +an attack on the lines strongly held by the Austrians between Zugna +Torta and Foppiano. + +Italian artillery shelled Fort Pozzacchio. On Monte Pasubio the +Austrians were offering stubborn resistance from their fortified +positions between Monte Spil and Monte Cosmagnon. + +Along the Posina-Astico line Italian forces completed the conquest of +Monte Maggio and occupied the southern side of Monte Seluggio. On the +Asiago Plateau there were skirmishes on the northern side of the Assa +Valley. + +On July 2, 1916, in the region of the Adige Valley, the Austrians +directed a heavy bombardment against the Italian positions from +Serravalle, north of Coni Zugna to Monte Pasubio. Some shells fell on +Ala. Italian artillery replied effectively. The infantry fighting on +the northern slopes of Pasubio was continued with great violence. In +the Posina Valley Italian troops occupied the spur to the northwest of +Monte Pruche, Molino, in the Zara Valley (northwest of Laghi), and +Scatolari, in the Rio Freddo Valley. The operations against Corno del +Coston, Monte Seluggio, and Monte Cimono (northwest and north of +Arsiero), the main points of Austrian resistance, were continued. + +On the Asiago Plateau Italian detachments were pushed forward beyond +the northern edge of Assa Valley. On the remainder of this sector +there was a lull in the fighting, preparatory to further attacks on +the difficult ground. In the Brenta Valley small encounters took place +on the slopes of Monte Civaron north of Caldiera. + +Monte Calgari, in the Posina Valley, was occupied by the Italians on +July 3, 1916, while other detachments completed the occupation of the +northern edge of the Assa Valley on the Asiago Plateau. + +Between the Adige and the Brenta the Austrians on July 4, 1916, +contested with great determination the Italian advance and attempted +to counterattack at various points. + +After several attempts, Alpine troops reached the summit of Monte +Corno, northwest of the Pasubio. + +In the upper Astico Basin they captured the crest of Monte Seluggio +and advanced toward Rio Freddo. + +Between the Lagarina and Sugana Valleys the Italian offensive was +continued on July 5, 1916. In the Adige Valley and in the upper Astico +Basin pressure compelled the Austrians to withdraw, uncovering new +batteries on commanding positions previously prepared by them. + +On the Asiago Plateau Italian artillery bombarded the Austrian lines +actively. In the Campelle Valley the Austrians evacuated the positions +they still held on the Prima Lunetta, abandoning arms, ammunitions and +supplies. + +The following day brought some new successes to the Italians on the +Sette Comuni Plateau. With the support of their artillery they renewed +their attack on the strongly fortified line of the Austrians from +Monte Interrotto to Monte Campigoletto and captured two important +points of the Austrian defenses, near Casera, Zebio and Malga Pozza, +taking 359 prisoners, including 5 officers and 3 machine guns. Between +the Adige and the Astico, north of the Posino and along the Rio Freddo +and Astico Valleys there was intense artillery activity, especially in +the region of Monte Maggio and Monte Camone. The same condition +continued throughout July 7, 1916. + +On July 8, 1916, Italian infantry advanced on the upper Astico in the +Molino Basin and toward Forni. Dense mist prevented all activity of +artillery on the Sette Comuni Plateau. In the northern sector the +Italians stormed some trenches north of Monte Chiesa, and occupied +Agnella Pass. + +A great deal of the fighting, both during the Austro-Hungarian +offensive in the Trentino and the Italian counteroffensive, took place +in territory abounding with lofty mountain peaks. Though it was now +midsummer, these were, of course, covered with eternal snow and ice. +Austrians and Italians alike faced difficulties and hardships, the +solution and endurance of which would have seemed utterly impossible a +few years ago until the Great War swept away many long-established +military and engineering maxims. An intimate picture of this new mode +of warfare was given by a special correspondent of the London "Daily +Mail" who, in part, says: + +"The villages in the lower ground behind the front have been aroused +from their accustomed appearance of sleepy comfort. In their streets +are swarms of soldiers on their way to the front or back from it for a +holiday. Thousands are camping out in the neighborhood of the villages +or billeted on the inhabitants. Constant streams of motor vehicles +rumble through the villages on their way up the steep road, bearing +ammunition, food and supplies of all sorts, to the batteries, trenches +and dugouts on the peaks. + +"The road over which these vehicles travel was before the war a mere +hill path--now the military engineers have transformed it into a +modern road, graded, metaled and carried by cunningly devised spirals +and turns three-quarters of the way up the mountains. + +"It is a notable piece of military engineering, but it is not merely +that. It will serve as an artery of commerce when it is no longer +needed for the passage of guns and army service wagons. There is +nothing temporary or makeshift about it. Rocks have been blasted to +leave a passage for it and solid bridges of stone and steel thrown +across rivers. + +"Because the Austrians started with the weather gauge in their favor, +being on the upper side of the great ridges, it was necessary for the +Italians to get their guns as high as they could. The means by which +they accomplished this task was described to me. They would seem +incredible if one had not ocular demonstration of the actual presence +of the cannon among these inaccessible crags. + +"There are some of them on the ice ledges of the Ortler nearly 10,000 +feet above sea level, in places which it is by way of an achievement +for the amateur climber to reach with guides and ropes and porters, +and nothing to take care of but his own skin. But here the Alpini and +Frontier Guides had to bring up the heavy pieces, hauling them over +the snow slopes and swinging them in midair across chasms and up +knife-edged precipices, by ropes passed over timbers wedged somehow +into the rocks. I was shown a photograph of a party of these pioneers +working in these snowy solitudes last winter. They might have been a +group of Scott's or Shackleton's men toiling in the Antarctic +wilderness. + +"By means of a suspension railway made of wire rope with sliding +baskets stretched across chasms of great depth, oil, meat, bread and +wine are sent up, for the soldier must not only be fed, but must be +fed with particular food to keep the blood circulating in his body in +the cold air and chilling breezes of the snow-clad peaks. Kerosene +stoves in great numbers have been sent aloft to make the life of the +mountaineer soldiers more comfortable." + +On July 9, 1916, there was bitter fighting between the Brenta and the +Adige. Strong Alpine forces repeatedly attacked the Austrian lines +southeast of Cima Dieci, but were repulsed with heavy losses. Shells +set fire to Pedescala and other places in the upper Astico Valley. An +attempt by the Austrians to make attacks on Monte Seluggio was +checked promptly. + +In the Adige Valley another intense artillery duel was staged on July +10, 1916. On the Pasubio front the Italians captured positions north +of Monte Corno, but the Austrians succeeded in obtaining partial +repossession of them by a violent counterattack. On the Asiago Plateau +Alpine detachments successfully renewed the attack on the Austrian +positions in the Monte Chiesa region. + +The next day, July 11, 1916, the Italians again made some progress in +the Adige Valley, north of Serravalle and in the region of Malga +Zugna, and reoccupied partially some of the positions lost on the +northern slopes of Monte Pasubio on the previous day. Heavy artillery +duels took place in the Asiago Basin and on the Sette Comuni Plateau. + +The Austrians promptly responded on July 12, 1916, by attacking in the +Adige Valley, after artillery preparation on an immense scale, the new +Italian positions north of Malga Zugna. They were driven back in +disorder, with heavy loss, by the prompt and effective concentration +of the Italian gunfire. + +Fighting in the Adige Valley and on the Sette Comuni Plateau continued +without cessation during the next few days without yielding any very +definite results. In that period there also developed extremely severe +fighting at the head of the Posina Valley. During the night of July +13, 1916, the Italians succeeded in carrying very strong Austrian +positions south of Corno del Coston and east of the Borcola Pass, +notwithstanding the strong resistance of the Austrians and the +difficulty presented by the roughness of the ground. During the night +the Austrians launched several violent but unsuccessful counterattacks +in which they lost heavily. + +In spite of violent thunderstorms, seriously interfering with +artillery activity, fighting continued in this sector on July 14 and +15, 1916. Italian troops made some progress on the southern slopes of +Sogli Bianchi, south of Borcola and the Corno di Coston and in the +Boin Valley, where they occupied Vanzi on the northern slopes of Monte +Hellugio. + +Austrian reenforcements arrived at this time, and as a result a +series of heavy attacks was delivered in the upper Posina area in an +attempt to stop the Italian advance between Monte Santo and Monte +Toraro. Italian counterattacks, however, were launched promptly and +enabled the Italian forces to maintain and extend their lines. +Throughout the balance of July, 1916, the Italian troops succeeded in +continuing their advance, although the Austro-Hungarian resistance +showed no noticeable abatement and frequently was strong enough to +permit not only very effective defensive work, but rather considerable +counterattacks. However, all in all, the Italians had decidedly the +better of it. Step by step they pushed their way back into the +territory from which the Austro-Hungarian offensive of a few weeks ago +had driven them. + +On July 18, 1916, the Italians gained some new positions on the rocky +slopes of the Corno del Coston in the upper Posina Valley. Four days +later, July 22, 1916, they captured some trenches on Monte Zebio on +the Sette Comuni Plateau. The next day, July 23, 1916, between Cismon +and Aviso they completed the occupation of the upper Trevignolo and +St. Pellegrino Valleys, taking the summit of Monte Stradone and new +positions on the slopes of Cima di Bocche. + +On the Posina-Astico line at daybreak of July 24, 1916, after a fierce +attack by night, they captured Monte Cimone, for the possession of +which violent fighting had been in progress for days. + +Further north, Alpine troops renewed their efforts against the steep +rock barrier rising to more than 2,000 yards between the peaks of +Monte Chiesa and Monte Campigoletto. Under heavy fire from the +Austrian machine guns they crossed three lines of wire and succeeded +in establishing themselves just below the crest. + +Again and again the Austrians launched attacks against the Italian +positions on these various mountains without, however, accomplishing +more than retarding the further advance of General Cadorna's forces. + +The second anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War, August 1, 1916, +found the Italians on the Trentino front still strongly on the +offensive and well on their way toward regaining all of the ground which +they had lost in June and July, 1916, before the Austro-Hungarian +offensive had been brought to a standstill, while the Austrians were +yielding only under the force of the greatest pressure which their +opponents could bring to bear on them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +MINOR OPERATIONS ON THE AUSTRO-ITALIAN FRONT IN TRENTINO OFFENSIVE + + +Just as soon as the Austro-Hungarian forces began to concentrate their +activities in the latter part of May, 1916, on their drive in the +Trentino, military operations in the other sectors of the +Austro-Italian front lost in importance and strength. During the +greatest part of both the Austro-Hungarian drive and the Italian +counteroffensive in the Trentino--May to July, 1916--operations along +the rest of the Austro-Italian fronts--on the northwestern frontier of +Tyrol, along the Boite River in the northeastern Dolomites, in the +Carnic and Julian Alps, and on the Isonzo front--were practically +restricted to artillery duels. Only occasional, and then but very +local infantry engagements took place, none of which had any +particular influence on general conditions in these various sectors. +However, as the Italian counteroffensive in the Trentino progressed, +there developed from time to time minor operations along the other +parts of the front. Quite a number of these were initiated by the +Austro-Hungarians, undoubtedly in the hopes that they might thereby +reduce the Italian pressure on their newly gained successes in the +Trentino. Others found their origin on the Italian side, which at all +times attempted to avail itself of every opportunity to extend and +strengthen its positions anywhere along the front. And as the Austrian +resistance against the Italian counteroffensive stiffened and showed +no signs of abatement, General Cadorna, in undertaking operations in +other sectors of the front than the Trentino, was undoubtedly +influenced by motives similar to those guiding his opponents. He, +too, hoped to impress his adversary sufficiently by minor operations +in sectors unconnected with the Trentino, to reduce their strength +there. + +Considerable light is thrown upon the organization of the Italian +army, which made it possible to carry on successfully these +operations, in the following article from the pen of the special +correspondent of the London "Times": + +"I have been allowed to visit the offices of the general staff at army +headquarters and those of the administrative services at another point +within the war zone. This is not a favorable moment for describing how +the army machinery works; but there is no harm done in saying that all +these services appear to run smoothly, have good men at their head, +and produce good results. + +"I was particularly struck by the maps turned out. They do great +credit to the Military Geographical Institute at Florence, and to the +officers at headquarters who revise the maps as new information pours +in. All the frontiers have been well surveyed and mapped on scales of +1:25,000, 1:50,000, 1:100,000, and 1:200,000. These maps are very +clear and good. I like best the 1:100,000, which is issued to all +officers, and on which operation orders are based. The photographs are +also very fine, and the panoramas excellent, while the airmen's +photographs, and the plans compiled from them, are quite in the front +rank. + +"The service of information at headquarters also appears to me to be +good. There are more constant changes in all the Italian staffs than +we should consider desirable, and officers pass very rapidly from one +employment to another, but in spite of this practice the information +is well kept up, and the knowledge of the enemy's dispositions is up +to standard, considering the extraordinary difficulty of following the +really quite chaotic organization of the Austro-Hungarian forces. + +"I am not sure that I like very much the liaison system in Italy. The +comparatively young officers intrusted with it report direct to army +headquarters, and on their reports the communiques are usually based. +These officers remind us of the _missi dominici_ of the great Moltke, +but on the whole I confess that the system does not appeal to me very +much. + +"All the rearward services of the army are united under the control of +the intendant general, who is a big personage in Italy. He deals with +movements, quarterings, railways, supply, munitions in transit, and, +in fact, everything except drafts and aviation, both of which services +come under the general staff. There is a representative of the +intendant general in each army and army corps. An order of movement is +repeated to the intendant general by telephone and he arranges for +transport, food, and munitions. + +"The means of transport include the railways, motor lorries, carts, +pack mules, and porters. The railways have done well. They had 5,000 +locomotives and 160,000 carriages available when war broke out, and on +the two lines running through Venetia, they managed during the period +of concentration to clear 120 trains a day. Between last May 17 and +June 22, 1916, for the purposes of General Cadorna's operations in the +Trentino, the railways carried 18,000 officers, 522,000 men, about +70,000 animals, and 16,000 vehicles, with nearly 900 guns. These +figures have been given by the Italian press, so there is no harm done +by alluding to them. The railway material is much better than I +expected it to be, but coal is very dear. + +"The motor lorries work well. There are three types in use--the heavy +commercial cars, the middleweight lorries, which carry over a couple +of tons, and the lightweights, taking about one and a half tons. These +lorries form an army service. Each army park has a group of lorries +for each army corps forming part of the army, and each group has two +sections for each division. The motor cars of the commanders and +staffs are good. I traveled several thousand miles in them, and having +covered 300 miles one day and 350 another, am prepared to give a good +mark to Italian motor-car manufacturers, and also to Italian roads and +Italian chauffeurs. + +"I may also point out that the army has hitherto administered the +Austrian districts which have been occupied on various parts of the +front, and has had to deal with agriculture, roads, births, deaths, +marriages, police, and a great many other civil matters. As I had +once seen a French corps of cavalry farming nearly 5,000 acres of land +I was prepared to see the Italian army capable of following suit; but +I fancy that if Signor Bissolati is to take over all these civil +duties General Porro will be far from displeased. + +"There is the little matter of the 4,000 ladies who remain at Cortina +d'Ampezzo while their men are away fighting in the Austrian ranks, and +there are such questions as those of the Aquileia treasures, which +have fortunately been preserved intact. I must confess that it is a +novelty and a pleasure to enter an enemy's territory and sit down in a +room marked _Militaer Wachtzimmer_, with all the enemy's emblems on the +walls, but on the whole I liked best the advice _evitare di fumare +esplosioni_ painted by some Italian wag on an Austrian guardhouse, and +possibly intended as a hint to Austro-German diplomacy in the future. + +"The Italians regard Austria as we regard Germany, and Germany as we +regard Austria. Austria is the enemy, but at the same time, while +every crime is attributed to Austria on slight suspicion, I find no +unworthy depreciation of Austrian soldiers. I am told that while +Austrian discipline is very severe, and the officer's revolver is ever +quick to maintain it, the Austrian private soldier has a sense of deep +loyalty toward his emperor, and that this is a personal devotion which +will not easily be transferred to a successor. In meeting the +Kaiserjaeger so often the Italians perhaps see Austria's best, but the +fact remains that the Italian has a good word for the Austrian as a +soldier, and that I did not see many signs of such willful and +shameless vandalism by the Austrians as has disgraced the name of +Germany in Belgium and in France. Even towns which are or have been +between the contending armies have not, I think, been willfully +destroyed, but they have naturally suffered when one army or the other +has used the town as a pivot of defense. + +"The officers who have to keep the tally of the Austrian forces and to +locate all the divisions have my deepest sympathy. Long ago the +Austrian army corps ceased to contain the old divisions of peace +times, but one now finds army corps with as many as four divisions, +while the division may be composed of anything from two to eight +battalions. A certain number of the divisions reckoned to be against +the Italians on the whole front are composed of dubious elements, and +there are some sixty Austrian battalions of rifle clubmen. + +"The Austrians shift regiments about in such apparently haphazard +fashion that it is hard to keep track of them. They may take half a +dozen battalions from different regiments and call it a mountain +group. In a week or two they will break it up and distribute the +battalions elsewhere. They usually follow up their infantry with +so-called march battalions, but whether these battalions are 100 or +1,000 strong seems quite uncertain. Some surprise occurs elsewhere, +and away go some of the march battalions. They may lose prisoners, +say, on the Russian front, and the Russians naturally believe that the +regiment and the division to which the regiment belongs are all on the +Russian front, whereas only one weak battalion of drafts may be there +and all the rest may still be against the Italians. The Austrians also +take a number of regiments from a division and send them elsewhere, +leaving a mere skeleton of the divisional command behind. + +"For these reasons one must regard with a good deal of scepticism any +estimate which professes to give an accurate distribution list of the +Austrian army. Also it is difficult to believe that any real _esprit +de corps_ can remain when such practices are common, and we are +reduced to the belief that the only real soldier of the army is the +personal devotion to the emperor of which I have already written. + +"I could not find time to study the Italian air service, but foreign +officers with the army speak well of it. The Austrian airmen deserve +praise. They watched us daily and bombed with pleasing regularity. + +"My view of the war on the Italian front is that Italy is in it with +her whole heart, and has both the will and the means to exercise +increasing pressure on Austria, whom she is subjecting to a serious +strain along 400 miles of difficult country. I think that few people +in England appreciate the special and serious difficulties which +confront both combatants along the Alpine borderland, and especially +Italy, because she has to attack. The Italian army is strong in +numbers, ably commanded, well provided, and animated by an excellent +spirit. As this army becomes more inured to war, and traditions of +victory on hard-fought fields become established, the military value +of the army is enhanced. + +"As I think over the Italian exploits during the war, I remember that +the men of Alps, of Piedmont and Lombardy, of Venetia, and Tuscany, of +Rome, Naples, Sardinia, and Sicily have one and all contributed +something to the record, and have had the honor of distinguished +mention in General Cadorna's bulletins, which are austere in character +and make no concessions to personal or collective ambitions. I find +much to admire in the cool and confident bearing of the people, in the +endurance of great fatigues by the troops, and in the silent patience +of the wounded on the battle field. I fancy that the army is better in +the attack than in the defense, and I should trust most with an +Italian army to an attack pressed through to the end without halting." + +The first indications of renewed activity, outside of artillery duels, +anywhere except in the Trentino, appeared during the last days of +June. On June 28, 1916, the Italians suddenly, after a comparative +quiet of several months, began what appeared to be a strong offensive +movement on the Isonzo front. They violently bombarded portions of the +front on the Doberdo Plateau (south of Goritz). In the evening heavy +batteries were brought to bear against Monte San Michele and the +region of San Martino. After the fire had been increased to great +intensity over the whole plateau, Italian infantry advanced to attack. +At Monte San Michele, near San Martino and east of Vermigliano, +violent fighting developed. At the Goritz bridgehead the Italians +attacked the southern portion of the Podgora position (on the right +bank of the Isonzo), and penetrated the first line trenches of the +Austrians, but were driven out. + +The Italian offensive was continued the next day, June 29, 1916, and +resulted in the capture of Hills 70 and 104 in the Monfalcone +district. The Austrians undertook a counteroffensive at Monte San +Michele and Monte San Marino, on the Doberdo Plateau, attacking the +Italian lines under cover of gas. Fighting continued in the Monfalcone +sector of the Isonzo front for about a week, during which time the +Austrians vainly endeavored to regain the positions which they had +lost in the first onrush of the Italian offensive. After that it again +deteriorated into artillery activity which was fairly constantly +maintained throughout the balance of July, 1916, without producing any +noteworthy changes in the general situation. + +Coincident with this short Italian offensive in the Monfalcone sector +of the Isonzo front, there also developed considerable fighting to the +east on the Carso Plateau, north of Trieste, which, however, was +equally barren of definite results. + +Minor engagements between comparatively small infantry detachments +occurred in the adjoining sector--that of the Julian Alps--on July 1, +1916, especially in the valleys of the Fella, Gail and Seebach. These +were occasionally repeated, especially so on July 19, 1916, but +throughout most of the time only artillery duels took place. + +In the Carnic Alps hardly anything of importance occurred throughout +the late spring and the entire summer of 1916, excepting fairly +continuous artillery bombardments, varying in strength and extent. + +Considerable activity, however, was the rule rather than the exception +in the sector between the Carnic Alps and the Dolomites. There, one +point especially, saw considerable fighting. Monte Tofana, just beyond +the frontier on the Austrian side, had been held by the Italians for a +considerable period, and with it a small section of the surrounding +country, less than five miles in depth. The Italians at various times +attempted, with more or less success, to extend and strengthen their +holdings, while the Austrians, with equal determination, tried to +wrest from them what they had already gained, and to arrest their +further progress. + +In this region Alpine detachments of the Italian army on the night of +July 8, 1916, gained possession of a great part of the valley between +Tofana Peaks Nos. 7 and 2, and of a strong position on Tofana Prima +commanding the valley. The Austrian garrison was surrounded and +compelled to surrender. The Italians took 190 prisoners, including +eight officers, and also three machine guns, a large number of rifles +and ammunition. + +A few days later, on July 11, 1916, the Italians exploded a mine, +destroying the Austro-Hungarian defenses east of Col dei Bois peak. +This position commanded the road of the Dolomites and the explosion +blew it up entirely, and gave possession of it to the Italians. The +entire Austrian force which occupied the summit was buried in the +wreckage. On the following night the Austrians attempted to regain +this position which the Italians had fortified strongly in the +meantime, but the attack broke down completely. + +Three days later, July 14, 1916, Italian Alpine detachments surprised +and drove the Austrians from their trenches near Castelletto and at +the entrance of the Travenanzes Valley. They took some prisoners, +including two officers, as well as two guns, two machine guns, one +trench mortar and a large quantity of arms and ammunition. An Austrian +counterattack against this position was launched on July 15, 1916, but +was repulsed. + +Finally on July 30, 1916, the Italians registered one more success in +this region. Some of their Alpine troops carried Porcella Wood and +began an advance in the Travenanzes Valley. + +Throughout this period considerable artillery activity was maintained +on both sides. As a result Cortina d'Ampezzo, on the Italian side, +suffered a great deal from Austrian shells, while Toblach, on the +Austrian, was the equally unfortunate recipient of Italian gunfire. + +On the western frontier, between Italy and Austria, along Val +Camonica, only artillery bombardments were the order of the day. These +were particularly severe at various times in the region of the Tonale +Pass, but without important results. + +Aeroplanes, of course, were employed extensively, both by the +Austro-Hungarians and the Italians, although the nature of the +country did not lend itself as much to this form of modern warfare as +in the other theaters of war. Some of these enterprises have already +been mentioned. The Austrians, in this respect, were at a decided +advantage, because their airships had many objects for attacks in the +various cities of the North Italian plain. Among these Bergamo, +Brescia, and Padua were the most frequent sufferers, while Italian +aeroplanes frequently bombarded Austrian lines of communication and +depots. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +RUSSIAN SUCCESSES AFTER ERZERUM + + +With the same surprising vigor with which the Russian armies in the +Caucasus had pushed their advance toward Erzerum, they took up the +pursuit of the retreating Turkish army, after this important Armenian +stronghold had capitulated on February 16, 1916. With Erzerum as a +center the Russian advance spread out rapidly in all directions toward +the west in the general direction of Erzingan and Sivas; in the south +toward Mush, Bitlis and the region around Lake Van, and in the north +with the important Black Sea port of Trebizond as the objective. This +meant a front of almost 300 miles without a single railroad and only a +limited number of roads that really deserved that appellation. Almost +all of this country is very mountainous. To push an advance in such +country at the most favorable season of the year involves the solution +of the most complicated military problems. The country itself offers +comparatively few opportunities for keeping even a moderate-sized army +sufficiently supplied with food and water for men and beasts. But +considering that the Russian advance was undertaken during the winter, +when extremely low temperatures prevail, and when vast quantities of +snow add to all the other natural difficulties in the way of an +advancing army, the Russian successes were little short of marvelous. + +As early as February 23, 1916, the right wing of the Russian army had +reached and occupied the town of Ispir on the river Chorok, about +fifty miles northwest of Erzerum, and halfway between that city and +Rizeh, a town on the south shore of the Black Sea, less than fifty +miles east of Trebizond. At the same time Russian destroyers were +bombarding the Black Sea coast towns. Under their protective fire +fresh troops were landed a few days later at Atina on the Black Sea, +about sixty miles east of Trebizond, which promptly occupied that +town. From there they rapidly advanced southward toward Rizeh, forcing +the Turks to evacuate their positions and capturing some prisoners as +well as a few guns, together with rifles and ammunition. + +The center, in the meantime, had advanced on the Erzerum-Trebizond +road, and by February 25, 1916, occupied the town of Ashkala, about +thirty miles from Erzerum. From all sides the Russian armies were +closing in on Trebizond, and their rapid success threw the Turkish +forces into consternation, for the loss of Trebizond would mean a +serious threat to their further safety, having been up to then the +principal point through which supplies and ammunition reached them +steadily and rapidly by way of the Black Sea. No wonder then that the +London "Times" correspondent in Petrograd was able to report on March +5, 1916, that all accounts agreed that the population of the Trebizond +region were panic-stricken and fleeing even then in the direction of +Kara-Hissar and Sivas, flight along the Black Sea route being out of +question on account of the presence of Russian warships. + +In the south the left wing of the Russian army was equally successful. +On March 1, 1916, it occupied Mamawk, less than ten miles north of +Bitlis, a success foreshadowing the fall of that important Armenian +city. And, indeed, on the next day, March 2, 1916, Bitlis was occupied +by the Russians. This was indeed another severe blow to the Turkish +armies. Bitlis, 110 miles south of Erzerum, in Armenian Tamos, is one +of the most important trade centers, and commands a number of +important roads. It is only about fifty miles north of the upper +Tigris, and even though it is more than 350 miles from Bagdad, its +occupation by Russian forces seriously menaced the road to Bagdad, +Bagdad itself, and even the rear of the Turkish army, fighting +against the Anglo-Indian army in Mesopotamia. + +Hardly had the Turks recovered from this blow when their left wing in +the north suffered another serious reverse through the loss of the +Black Sea port of Rizeh. This event took place on March 8, 1916, and +the capture was accomplished by the fresh Russian troops that had been +landed a few days before at Atina, from which Rizeh is only twenty-two +miles distant. Along the Black Sea coast the Russians were now within +thirty-eight miles of Trebizond. On and on the Russians pressed, and +by March 17, 1916, their advance guard was reported within twenty +miles of Trebizond. However, by this time Turkish resistance along the +entire Armenian front stiffened perceptibly. This undoubtedly was due +to reenforcements which must have reached the Turkish line by that +time. For on March 30, 1916, the official Russian statement announced +that seventy officers and 400 men who had been captured along the +Caucasus littoral front belonged to a Turkish regiment which had +previously fought at Gallipoli. At the same time it was also announced +that fighting had occurred northwest of Mush. The Turkish forces +involved in this fighting must have been recent reenforcements, +because Mush is sixty-five miles northwest of Bitlis, the occupation +of which took place about four weeks previously, at which time the +region between Erzerum and Bitlis undoubtedly had been cleared of +Turkish soldiers. Their reappearance, now so close to the road between +Bitlis and Erzerum, presented a serious menace both to the center and +to the left wing of Grand Duke Nicholas's forces, for if the Turkish +troops were in large enough force, the Russians were in danger of +having their center and left wing separated. This condition, of +course, meant that until this danger was removed, the closest +cooperation between the various parts of the Russian army became +essential, and therefore resulted in a general slowing down of the +Russian advance for the time being. + +In the meantime the Russian center continued its advance against +Erzingan. This is an Armenian town of considerable military +importance, being the headquarters of the Fourth Turkish Army Corps. +On March 16, 1916, an engagement took place about sixty miles west of +Erzerum, resulting in the occupation by the Russians of the town of +Mama Khatun, located on the western Euphrates and on the +Erzerum-Erzingan-Sivas road. According to the official Russian +statement the Turks lost five cannon, some machine guns and supplies +and forty-four officers and 770 men by capture. Here, too, however, +the Turks began to offer a more determined resistance, and although +the official Russian statement of the next day, March 17, 1916, +reported a continuation of the Russian advance towards Erzingan, it +also mentioned Turkish attempts at making a stand and spoke even of +attempted counterattacks. + +This stiffening of Turkish resistance necessitated apparently a change +in the Russian plans. No longer do we hear now of quick, straight, +advances from point to point. But the various objectives toward which +the Russians were directing their attacks--Trebizond, Erzingan, the +Tigris--are attacked either successfully or consecutively from all +possible directions and points of vantage. Not until now, for +instance, do we hear of further advances toward Erzingan from the +north. It will be recalled that as long ago as February 23, 1916, the +Russians occupied the town of Ispir, some fifty miles northwest of +Erzerum on the river Chorok. + +The headwaters of this river are located less than twenty-five miles +northeast of Erzingan, and up its valley a new Russian offensive +against Erzingan was started as soon as the new strength of the +Turkish defensive along the direct route from Erzerum made itself +felt. + +On April 1, 1916, and again on April 12, 1916, the Turks reported that +they had repulsed attacks of Russian scouting parties advancing along +the upper Chorok, and even claimed an advance for their own troops. +But on the next day, April 3, 1916, the Russians apparently were able +to turn the tables on their opponents, claiming to have crossed the +upper basin of the Chorok and to have seized strongly fortified +Turkish positions located at a height of 10,000 feet above sea level, +capturing thereby a company of Turks. Again on the following day, +April 4, 1916, the Russians succeeded in dislodging Turkish forces +from powerful mountain positions. + +Concurrent with these engagements, fighting took place both in the +south and north. On April 2, 1916, a Turkish camp was stormed by +Russian battalions near Mush to the northwest of Bitlis. Still farther +south, about twenty-five miles southeast of Bitlis, the small town of +Khizan had fallen into the hands of the Russians, who drove its +defenders toward the south. The Russian advance to the southwest of +Mush and Bitlis continued slowly but definitely throughout the next +few days, with the town of Diarbekr on the right bank of the upper +Tigris as its objective. + +Beginning with the end of March, 1916, the Turks also launched a +series of strong counterattacks along the coastal front. The first of +these was undertaken during the night of March 26, 1916, but +apparently was unsuccessful. It was an answer to a strong attack on +the part of the Russians during the preceding day which resulted in +the dislodgment of Turkish troops holding strong positions in the +region of the Baltatchi Darassi River and in the occupation by the +Russians of the town of Off on the Black Sea, thirty miles to the east +of Trebizond. This success was due chiefly to the superiority of the +Russian naval forces, which made it possible to precede their infantry +attack with heavy preparatory artillery fire. By March 27, 1916, the +Russians had advanced to the Oghene Dere River, another of the +numerous small rivers flowing into the Black Sea between Rizeh and +Trebizond. There they had occupied the heights of the left (west) +bank. During the night the Turks made a series of strong +counterattacks, all of which, however, were repulsed with considerable +losses to the attackers. Another Turkish counterattack in the +neighborhood of Trebizond was launched on April 4, 1916. Although +strongly supported by gunfire from the cruiser _Breslau_, it was +repulsed by the combined efforts of the Russian land forces and +destroyers lying before Trebizond. During the next few days the Turks +offered the most determined resistance to the Russian advance against +Trebizond, especially along the river Kara Dere. This resistance was +not broken until April 15, 1916, when the Turks were driven out of +their fortified positions on the left bank of that river by the +combined action of the Russian land and naval forces. The Russian army +was now, after almost a fortnight's desperate fighting, within sixteen +miles of its goal, Trebizond. On April 16, 1916, it again advanced, +occupying Surmench on the Black Sea, and reaching later that day, +after a successful pursuit of the retreating Turkish army, the village +of Asseue Kalessi, only twelve miles east of Trebizond. + +With this defeat the fall of Trebizond apparently was sealed. Although +reports came from various sources that the Turkish General Staff was +making the most desperate efforts to save the city by dispatching new +reenforcements from central Anatolia, the Russian advance could not be +stopped seriously any longer. Every day brought reports of new Russian +successes along the entire Armenian front. On April 17, 1916, they +occupied Drona, only six and a half miles east of Trebizond. Then +finally, on April 18, 1916, came the announcement that Trebizond +itself had been taken. + +Trebizond is less important as a fortified place than as a port and +harbor and as a source of supply for the Turkish army. It is in no +sense a fortress like Erzerum, though the defenses of the town, +recently constructed, are not to be despised. As a vital artery of +communications, however, its value is apparent from the fact, first, +that it is the Turks' chief port in this region, and secondly, that +railway facilities, which are so inadequate throughout Asia Minor, are +nonexistent along the northern coast. Hence the Turks will have to +rely for the transport of troops and supplies upon railways which at +the nearest point are more than 300 miles from the front at Trebizond. + +Trebizond is an ancient seaport of great commercial importance, due +chiefly to the fact that it controls the point where the principal +trade route from Persia and central Asia to Europe, over Armenia and +by way of Bayezid and Erzerum, descends to the sea. It has been the +dream of Russia for centuries to put her hands forever upon this +important "window on the Black Sea." + +Trebizond's population is about 40,000, of whom 22,000 are Moslems and +18,000 Christians. The city first figured in history during the +Fourth Crusade, when Alexius Comnenus, with an army of Iberian +mercenaries, entered it and established himself as sovereign. In 1461 +Trebizond was taken by Mohammed II, after it had for two centuries +been the capital of an empire, having defied all attacks, principally +by virtue of its isolated position, between a barrier of rugged +mountains of from 7,000 to 8,000 feet and the sea. + +As far as capturing important ports of the Turkish left wing was +concerned, the victory of Trebizond was an empty one. For the Turks +evacuated the town apparently a day or two before the Russians +occupied it. The latter, therefore, had only the capture of "some +6-inch guns" to report. This quick evacuation, at any rate, was +fortunate for the town and its inhabitants, for it saved them from a +bombardment and the town did not suffer at all as a result of the +military operations. + +The campaign resulting in the fall of Trebizond did really not begin +until after the fall of Erzerum on February 16, 1916. Up to that time +the Russian Caucasian army had apparently been satisfied to maintain +strong defensive positions along the Turkish border. But since the +occupation of Erzerum a definite plan of a well-developed offensive +was followed looking toward the acquisition of Turkish territory which +had long been coveted by Russia. + +With the fall of Trebizond Russia became the possessor, at least +temporarily, of a strip of territory approximately 125 miles wide +along a front of almost 250 miles length, or of an area of 31,250 +square miles. In the north this valuable acquisition was bounded by +that part of the south shore of the Black Sea that stretches from +Batum in Russian Transcaucasia to Trebizond. In the south it +practically reached the Turko-Persian frontier, while in the west it +almost reached the rough line formed by the upper Euphrates and the +upper Tigris. It thus comprised the larger part of Armenia. As soon as +the Russians had found out that the Turks had a start of almost two +days, they began an energetic pursuit. The very first day of it, April +19, 1916, brought them into contact with Turkish rear guards and +resulted in the capture of a considerable number of them. The retreat +of the Turks took a southwesterly direction toward Baiburt along the +Trebizond-Erzerum road and toward Erzingan, to which a road branches +off the Trebizond-Erzerum road. Baiburt was held by the Turks with a +force strong enough to make it impossible for the Russians to cut off +the Trebizond garrison. Along the coast the Russians found only +comparatively weak resistance, so that they were able to land fresh +forces west of Trebizond and occupy the town of Peatana, about ten +miles to the west on the Black Sea. + +A desperate struggle, however, developed for the possession of the +Trebizond-Erzerum road. The Russians had been astride this road for +some time as far as Madan Khan and Kop, both about fifty miles +northwest of Erzerum and just this side of Baiburt. There the Turks +put up a determined resistance and succeeded in holding up the Russian +advance. Although they were not equally successful farther north, the +Russians managed to advance along this road to the south of Trebizond +only as far as Jeyizlik--about sixteen miles south of Trebizond--where +they were forced into the mountains toward the Kara Dere River. This +left still the larger part of the entire road in possession of the +Turks, and especially that part from which another road branched off +to Erzingan. + +In the Mush and Bitlis region the Russians had made satisfactory +progress in the meantime. On April 19, 1916, progress was reported to +the south of Bitlis toward Sert, although the Turks fought hard to +hold up this advance toward Diarbekr. This advance was the direct +result of the defeat which the Russians had inflicted on a Turkish +division at Bitlis as early as April 15, 1916. By April 23, 1916, the +Turks had again gathered some strength and were able to report that +they had repulsed Russian attacks south of Bitlis, west of Mush, east +of Baiburt, and south of Trebizond. From then on, however, the +Russians again advanced to the south of Bitlis as well as in the +direction of Erzingan. By the beginning of May, 1916, the Russian +official statements do not speak any longer of the "region south of +Bitlis," but mention instead "the front toward Diarbekr." This +important town is about 100 miles southwest of Bitlis, and apparently +had become, after the fall of Trebizond, together with Erzingan, one +of the immediate objectives of the Russian campaign. + +Diarbekr is a town of 35,000 inhabitants, whose importance arises from +its being the meeting point of the roads from the Mediterranean via +Aleppo and Damascus from the Black Sea via Amasia-Kharput, and Erzerum +and from the Persian Gulf via Bagdad. Ras-el-Ain, the present railhead +of the Bagdad railway, is seventy miles south. + +The stiffening of the Turkish defensive was being maintained as April, +1916, waned and May approached. The Russian campaign in the Caucasus +had resolved itself now into three distinctive parts: In the north its +chief objective, Trebizond, had been reached and gained. There further +progress, of course, would be attempted along the shore of the Black +Sea, and in a way it was easier to achieve progress here than at any +other part of the Caucasian front. For first of all the nature of the +ground along the coast of the Black Sea was much less difficult, and +then, too, the Russian naval forces could supply valuable assistance. +That progress was not made faster here by the Russians was due +entirely to the fact that the advance along the two other sectors was +more difficult and the Turkish resistance more desperate. And, of +course, if the front of any one sector was pushed considerably ahead +of the front of the other two, grave danger immediately arose that the +most advanced sector would be cut off from the rest of the Russian +armies by flank movements. For in a country such as Turkish Armenia, +without railroads and with only a few roads, it was of course +impossible to establish a continuous front line, such as was to be +formed on the European battle fields both in the east and west. This +explains why by May 1, 1916, the Russian front had been pushed less +than twenty-five miles west of Trebizond, even though almost two weeks +had elapsed since the fall of Trebizond. + +In the center sector the immediate objective of the Russians was +Erzingan. Beyond that they undoubtedly hoped to advance to Swas, an +important Turkish base. Toward this objective two distinct lines of +offensive had developed by now--one along the valley of the river +Oborok and the other along the Erzerum-Erzingan road and the valley of +the western Euphrates. The latter was somewhat more successful than +the former, chiefly because it did not offer so many natural means of +defense. But to both of these offensives the Turks now offered a most +determined resistance, and the Russians, though making progress +continuously, did so only very slowly. + +In the southern sector conditions were very similar. Here, too, two +separate offensives had developed, although they were more closely +correlated than in the center. One was directed in a southwestern +direction from Mush, and the other in the same direction from Bitlis. +Both had as their objective Diarbekr, an important trading center on +the Tigris and a future station on the unfinished part of the Bagdad +railroad. Here, too, Russian progress was fairly continuous but very +slow. + +Some interesting details regarding the tremendous difficulties which +nature put in the way of any advancing army, and which were utilized +by the Turks to their fullest possibility, may be gleaned from the +following extracts from letters written by Russian officers serving at +the Caucasian front: + +"We have traveled sixty miles in two days, and never have we been out +of sight of the place from whence we started. South and north we have +scouted until we have come into touch with the cavalry of the +---- Corps of the vedettes which the Cossacks of the Don furnished for +the ---- Brigade. Sometimes it is wholly impossible to ride. The +slopes of these hills are covered with huge bowlders, behind any of +which half a company of the enemy might be lurking. That has been our +experience, and poor K---- was shot dead while leading his squadron +across a quite innocent-looking plateau from which we thought the +enemy had been driven. + +"As it turned out, a long line of bowlders, which he thought were too +small to hide anything but a sniper, in reality marked a rough trench +line which a Kurdish regiment was holding in strength, K---- was shot +down, as also was his lieutenant, and half the squadron were left on +the ground. Fortunately, at the foot of the road leading down to the +plateau, the sergeant who led the men out of action found one of our +Caucasian regiments who are used to dealing with the fezzes, and they +came up at the double, and after two hours' fighting were reenforced +by another two companies and carried the trench. + +"Farther back we found the enemy in a stronger plateau. Almost within +sight of the enemy we made tea and rested before attempting to push +forward to the fight. + +"An officer of the staff who does not understand the Caucasian way +reproved the colonel for delaying, but he took a very philosophical +view, and pointed out that it was extremely doubtful whether he even +now had men enough to carry the enormous position, and that he +certainly could not do so with exhausted troops. So we had the +extraordinary spectacle of our men lying down flat, blowing their +fires and drinking their tea and laughing and joking as though they +were at a picnic, but when they had finished and had formed up they +made short work of the fellows in the trench. But think of what would +have happened if we had left this plateau unsearched!" + +"On the Baiburt road," writes another Russian officer, "there was one +small pass which had been roughly reconnoitered, and through this we +were moving some of the heavy guns, not imagining that there were any +Turks within ten miles, when a heavy fire was opened from a fir wood a +thousand feet above us. The limbers of the guns were a long way in the +rear, and there was no way of shelling this enemy from his aerie. +There was nothing to do but for the battalion which was acting as +escort to the guns to move up the slope under a terrific machine-gun +and rifle fire and investigate the strength of the attack. The guns +were left on the road, and mules and horses were taken to whatever +cover could be found, and an urgent message was sent back to the +effect that the convoy was held up, but the majority of the infantry +had already passed the danger point. Two mountain batteries were +commandeered, however, and these came into action, firing incendiary +shells into the wood, which was soon blazing at several points. + +"The battle which then began between the Turks who had been ejected +from the wood and the gun escort lasted for the greater part of the +afternoon. It was not until sunset that two of our batteries, which +had been brought back from the front for the purpose, opened fire upon +the Turks' position, and the ambushers were compelled to capitulate. +The progress on the left was even more difficult than that which we +experienced in the northern sector. The roads were indescribable. +Where they mounted and crossed the intervening ridges they were almost +impassable, whilst in the valleys the gun carriages sank up to their +axles in liquid mud." + +From still another source we hear: + +"In the Van sector a Russian brigade was held up by a forest fire, +started by the Turks, which made all progress impossible. For days a +brigade had to sit idle until the fire had burned itself out, and even +when they moved forward it was necessary to cover all the munition +wagons with wet blankets, and the ashes through which the stolid +Russians marched were so hot as to burn away the soles of their boots. + +"A curious discovery which was made in this extraordinary march was +the remains of a Turkish company which had evidently been caught in +the fire they had started and had been unable to escape." + +On May 1, 1916, Russian Cossacks were able to drive back Turkish +troops, making a stand somewhere west of Erzerum and east of Erzingan. +Other detachments of the same service of the Russian army were equally +successful on May 2, 1916, in driving back toward Diarbekr resisting +Turkish forces west of Mush and Bitlis, and a similar achievement was +officially reported on May 3, 1916. On the same date Russian regiments +made a successful night attack in the upper Chorok basin which netted +some important Turkish positions, which were immediately strongly +fortified. May 4, 1916, brought a counterattack on the part of Turkish +forces in the Chorok sector at the town of Baiburt, which, however, +was repulsed. On the same day the Russians stormed Turkish trenches +along the Erzerum-Erzingan road, during which engagement most savage +bayonet fighting developed, ending in success for the Russian armies. +Turkish attacks west of Bitlis were likewise repulsed. On May 5, 1916, +the Turks attempted to regain the trenches in the Erzingan sector +lost the day before, but although their attack was supported by +artillery, it was not successful. + +The Russian official statement of May 7, 1916, gives some data +concerning the booty which the Russians captured at Trebizond. It +consisted of eight mounted coast defense guns, fourteen 6-inch guns, +one field gun, more than 100 rifles, fifty-three ammunition wagons, +supply trains and other war material. This, taken in connection with +the fact that practically the entire Turkish garrison escaped, +confirms the view expressed previously that the capture of Trebizond +was of great importance to the Russians, not so much on account of +what they themselves gained thereby, but on account of what the Turks +lost by being deprived of their principal harbor on the Black Sea, +comparatively close to the Caucasian theater of war. + +The Turkish artillery attack of May 5, 1916, in the Erzingan sector +was duplicated on May 7, 1916, but this time the Russians used their +guns, and apparently with telling effect. For so devastating was the +Russian fire directed toward the newly established Turkish trenches +that the Turks had to evacuate their entire first line and retire to +their second line of defensive works. Throughout the entire day on May +8, 1916, the Turks doggedly attacked the Russian positions. Losses on +both sides were heavy, especially so on the Turkish side, which hurled +attack after attack against the Russian positions, not desisting until +nightfall. Though no positive gain was made thereby, the Russians at +least were prevented from further advances. The same day, May 8, 1916, +yielded another success for the Russians in the southern sector, south +of Mush. There, between that town and Bitlis, stretches one of the +numerous mountain ranges, with which this region abounds. On it the +Turks held naturally strong positions which had been still more +strengthened by means of artificial defense works. A concentrated +Russian attack, prepared and supported by artillery fire, drove the +Turks not only from these positions, but out of the mountain range. + +On May 9, 1916, engagements took place along the entire front. In the +center fighting occurred near Mount Koph, in the Chorok basin +southeast of Baiburt, and the Turks made some 300 prisoners. Farther +south a Turkish attack near Mama Khatun was stopped by Russian fire. +In the south another Turkish attack in the neighborhood of Kirvaz, +about twenty-five miles northwest of Mush, forced back a Russian +detachment after capturing some fifty men. All this time the Russians +were industriously building fortifications along the Black Sea coast +both east and west of Trebizond. During the night of May 9, 1916, the +Turks made a successful surprise attack against a Russian camp near +Baschkjoej, about thirty-five miles southeast of Mama Khatun. There a +Russian detachment consisting of about 500 men, of which one-half was +cavalry and one-half infantry, found themselves suddenly surrounded by +the bayonets of a superior Turkish force. All, except a small number +who managed to escape, were cut to pieces. + +As the Russians succeeded in pushing their advance westward, even if +only very slowly, they became again somewhat more active in the north +along the Black Sea. On May 10, 1916, they were reported advancing +both south and southwest of Platana, a small seaport about twelve +miles west of Trebizond. Throughout May 11, 1916, engagements of +lesser importance took place at various parts of the entire front. +During that night the Turks launched another strong night attack in +the Erzingan sector, without, however, being able to register any +marked success. The same was true of an attack made May 12, 1916, near +Mama Khatun. In the south, between Mush and Bitlis, an engagement +which was begun on May 10, 1916, concluded with the loss of one +Turkish gun, 2,000 rifles and considerable stores of ammunition. In +the Chorok sector the Turks succeeded on May 13, 1916, in driving the +Russian troops out of their positions on Mount Koph and in forcing +them back in an easterly direction for a distance of from four to five +miles. There, however, the Russians succeeded in making a stand, +though their attempt to regain their positions failed. May 14, 1916, +was comparatively uneventful. Some Russian reconnoitering parties +clashed with Turkish advance guards near Mama Khatun, and a small +force of Kurds was repulsed west of Bitlis. On May 16, 1916, the +Russians announced officially that they had occupied Mama Khatun, a +small town on the western Euphrates, about fifty miles west of Erzerum +and approximately the same distance from Erzingan. Throughout the +balance of May, 1916, fighting along the Caucasian front was +restricted almost entirely to clashes between outposts, which in some +instances brought slight local successes to the Russian arms, and at +other times yielded equally unimportant gains for the Turkish sides. +To a certain extent this slowing down undoubtedly was due to the +determined resistance on the part of the Turks. It is also quite +likely that part of the Russian forces in the north had been diverted +earlier in the month to the south in order to assist in the drive +against Bagdad and Moone, which was pushed with increased vigor just +previous to and right after the capitulation of the Anglo-Indian +forces at Kut-el-Amara in Mesopotamia. + + + + +PART VII--CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA AND PERSIA + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX + +RENEWED ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE KUT-EL-AMARA + + +As far as the Turko-English struggle in the Tigris Valley is +concerned, the preceding volume carried us to the beginning of March, +1916. On March 8, 1916, an official English communique was published +which raised high hopes among the Allied nations that the day of +delivery for General Townshend's force was rapidly approaching. That +day was the ninety-first day of the memorable siege of Kut-el-Amara. +On it the English relief force under General Aylmer had reached the +second Turkish line at Es-Sinn, only eight miles from Kut-el-Amara. +After an all night march the English forces, approaching in three +columns against the Dujailar Redoubt, attacked immediately after +daybreak. Both flanks of the Turkish line were subjected to heavy +artillery fire. But, although this resulted quickly in a wild stampede +of horses, camels and other transport animals and also inflicted heavy +losses in the ranks of the Turkish reenforcements, which immediately +came up in close order across the open ground in back of the Turkish +position, the English troops could not make any decisive impression on +the strongly fortified position. Throughout the entire day, March 8, +1916, the attacks were kept up, but the superior Turkish forces and +the strong fortifications that had been thrown up would not yield. +Lack of water--all of which had to be brought up from the main +camp--made it impossible for the English troops to maintain these +attacks beyond the end of that day. In spite of the fact that they +could see the flash of the guns of their besieged compatriots who were +attacking the rear of the Turkish line from Kut, they were forced to +give up their attempt to raise the siege. During the night of March 8, +1916, they returned to the main camp, which was located about +twenty-three miles from Kut-el-Amara. + +The unusual conditions and the immense difficulties which confronted +the English relief force may be more easily understood from the +following very graphic description of this undertaking rendered by the +official representative of the British press with the Tigris Corps: + +"The assembly was at the Pools of Siloam, a spot where we used to +water our horses, two miles southwest of Thorny Nullah. We left camp +at seven, just as it was getting dark. We had gone a mile when we saw +the lamps of the assembly posts--thousands of men were to meet here +from different points, horse, foot, and guns. They would proceed in +three columns to a point south of west, where they would bifurcate and +take a new direction, Columns A and B making for the depression south +of the Dujailar Redoubt, Column C for a point facing the Turkish lines +between the Dujailar and Sinn Aftar Redoubts. There was never such a +night march. Somebody quoted Tel-el-Kebir as a precedent, but the +difficulties here were doubled. The assembly and guidance of so large +a force over ground untrodden by us previously, and featureless save +for a nullah and some scattered sand hills, demanded something like +genius in discipline and organization. + +"I was with the sapper who guided the column. Our odd little party +reported themselves to the staff officer under the red lamp of Column +A. 'Who are you?' he asked, and it tickled my vanity to think that we, +the scouts, were for a moment the most vital organ of the whole +machine. If anything miscarried with us, it would mean confusion, +perhaps disaster. For in making a flank march round the enemy's +position we were disregarding, with justifiable confidence, the first +axiom of war. + +"We were an odd group. There was the sapper guide. He had his steps to +count and his compass to look to when his eye was not on a bearing of +the stars. And there was the guard of the guide to protect him from +the--suggestions of doubts as to the correctness of his line. +Everything must depend on one head, and any interruption might throw +him off his course. As we were starting I heard a digression under the +lamp. + +"'I make it half past five from Sirius.' + +"'I make it two fingers left of that.' + +"'Oh, you are going by the corps map.' + +"'Two hundred and six degrees true.' + +"'I was going by magnetic bearing.' + +"Ominous warning of what might happen if too many guides directed the +march. + +"Then there was the man with the bicycle. We had no cyclometer, but +two men checked the revolution of the wheel. And there were other +counters of steps, of whom I was one, for counting and comparison. +From these an aggregate distance was struck. But it was not until we +were well on the march that I noticed the man with the pace stick, who +staggered and reeled like an inebriated crab in his efforts to +extricate his biped from the unevennesses of the ground before he was +trampled down by the column. I watched him with a curious fascination, +and as I grew sleepier and sleepier that part of my consciousness +which was not counting steps, recognized him as a cripple who had come +out to Mesopotamia in this special role 'to do his bit.' His humped +back, protruding under his mackintosh as he labored forward, bent into +a hoop, must have suggested the idea which was accepted as fact until +I pulled myself together at the next halt and heard the mechanical and +unimaginative half of me repeat 'Four thousand, seven hundred, and +twenty-one.' The man raised himself into erectness with a groan, and a +crippled greengrocer whom I had known in my youth, to me the basic +type of hunchback--became an upstanding British private. + +"Walking thus in the dark with the wind in one's face at a kind of +funeral goose step it is very easy to fall asleep. The odds were that +we should blunder into some Turkish picket or patrol. Looking back it +was hard to realize that the inky masses behind, like a column of +following smoke, was an army on the march. The stillness was so +profound one heard nothing save the howl of the jackal, the cry of +fighting geese, and the ungreased wheel of an ammunition limber, or +the click of a picketing peg against a stirrup. + +"The instinct to smoke was almost irresistible. A dozen times one's +hands felt for one's pipe, but not a match was struck in all that army +of thousands of men. Sometimes one feels that one is moving in a +circle. One could swear to lights on the horizon, gesticulating +figures on a bank. + +"Suddenly we came upon Turkish trenches. They were empty, an abandoned +outpost. The column halted, made a circuit. I felt that we were +involved in an inextricable coil, a knot that could not be unraveled +till dawn. We were passing each other, going different ways, and +nobody knew who was who. But we swung into direct line without a +hitch. It was a miracle of discipline and leadership. + +"At the next long halt, the point of bifurcation, the counter of steps +was relieved. An hour after the sapper spoke. The strain was ended. We +had struck the sand hills of the Dujailar depression. Then we saw the +flash of Townshend's guns at Kut, a comforting assurance of the +directness of our line. That the surprise of the Turk was complete was +shown by the fires in the Arab encampments, between which we passed +silently in the false dawn. A mile or two to our north and west the +campfires of the Turks were already glowing. + +"Flank guards were sent out. They passed among the Arab tents without +a shot being fired. Soon the growing light disclosed our formidable +numbers. Ahead of us there was a camp in the nullah itself. An old man +just in the act of gathering fuel walked straight into us. He threw +himself on his knees at my feet and lifted his hands with a biblical +gesture of supplication crying out, 'Ar-rab, Ar-rab,' an effective, +though probably unmerited, shibboleth. As he knelt his women at the +other end of the camp were driving off the village flock. Here I +remembered that I was alone with the guide of a column in an event +which ought to have been as historic as the relief of Khartum." + +After this unsuccessful attempt at relief comparative quiet reigned +for about a week, interrupted only by occasional encounters between +small detachments. On March 11, 1916, English outposts had advanced +again about seven miles toward Kut-el-Amara to the neighborhood of Abn +Roman, among the sand hills on the right bank of the Tigris. There +they surprised at dawn a small Turkish force and made some fifty +prisoners, including two officers. Throughout the next two or three +days intermittent gunfire and sniping were the only signs of the +continuation of the struggle. On March 15, 1916, two Turkish guns were +put out of action and during that night the Turks evacuated the sand +hills on the right bank of the river, which were promptly occupied by +English troops in the early morning hours of March 16, 1916. + +During the balance of March, 1916, conditions remained practically +unchanged. The siege of General Townshend's force was continued by the +Turks along the same lines to which they had adhered from its +beginning--a process of starving their opponents gradually into +surrender. No attempt was made by them to force the issue, except that +on March 23, 1916, the English general reported that his camp at +Kut-el-Amara had been subjected to intermittent bombardment by Turkish +airships and guns during March 21, 22, and 23, 1916. No serious +damage, however, was inflicted. + +As spring advanced the difficulties of the English forces attempting +the relief of General Townshend increased, for with the coming of +spring, there also came about the middle of March--the season of +floods. Up in the Armenian highlands, whence the Tigris springs, vast +quantities of snow then begin to melt. Throughout March, April, and +May, 1916, a greatly increased volume of water finds the regular +shallow bed of the Tigris woefully insufficient for its needs. The +entire lack of jetties and artificial embankments results in the +submersion of vast stretches of land adjacent to the river. Military +operations along its banks then become quite impossible, although in +many places this impossibility exists throughout the entire year, +because the land on both sides of the river for miles and miles has +been permitted to deteriorate into bottomless swamps, through which +even the ingenuity of highly trained engineering troops finds it +impossible to construct a roadway within the available space of time. + +These natural difficulties were still more increased by the fact that +the equipment of the relief force was not all that might have been +expected. This is well illustrated by the following letter from a +South African officer, published in the "Cape Times:" + +"The river Tigris plays the deuce with the surrounding country when it +gets above itself, from melting snows coming down from the Caucasus, +when it frequently tires of its own course and tries another. The +river is the only drinking water, and you can imagine the state of it +when Orientals have anything to do with it. A sign of its fruity state +is the fact that sharks abound right up to Kurna. + +"We have all kinds of craft up here, improvised for use higher up. His +Majesty's ship _Clio_, a sloop, was marked down in 1914 to be +destroyed as obsolete, but she, with her sister ships, _Odin_ and +_Espiegle_, have done great work in the battles to date. Now that we +have got as far as Amara and Nassariyeh, the vessels that give the +greatest assistance are steam launches with guns on them, +flat-bottomed Irrawaddy paddle steamers. For troops we have 'nakelas' +a local sailing vessel, and have 'bellums,' a long, narrow, small +cone-shaped thing, holding from fifteen to twenty men; barges for +animals, etc. Rafts have been used higher up to mount guns on. Here we +have also motor boats. + +"The difficulties as we advance are increased to a certain extent, +though country and climate are improving. Our lines of communication +will lengthen out, and we shall have to look out for Arab tribes +raiding. Our aerial service is increasing; we have now a Royal Navy +flight section, which has hydroplanes as well." + +In spite of these handicaps, however, General Lake, in command of the +English relief force, reported on April 5, 1916, that a successful +advance was in progress and that the Tigris Corps at five o'clock in +the morning of that day had made an attack against the Turkish +position at Umm-el-Hannah, and had carried the Turkish intrenchments. +Umm-el-Hannah is at a much greater distance from Kut-el-Amara than +Es-Sinn which was reached on March 8, 1916, but from where the relief +force had to withdraw again that same night to a position only a short +distance beyond Umm-el-Hannah. However, it is located on the left bank +of the Tigris, the same as Kut-el-Amara, and the success of taking +this position, small as it was, promised therefore, once more an early +relief of General Townshend. + +This successful attack against Umm-el-Hannah on April 5, 1916, was +carried out by the Thirteenth Division, which had previously fought at +the Dardanelles. It now stood under the command of Lieutenant General +Sir G. Gorringe who had succeeded to General Aylmer. The most careful +preparations had been made for it. For many weeks British engineering +troops had pushed forward a complicated series of sap works, covering +some sixteen miles and allowing the British forces to approach to +within 100 yards of the Turkish intrenchments. With the break of dawn +on April 5, 1916, bombing parties were sent forward, whose cheers soon +announced the fact that they had invaded the first line of Turkish +trenches. Already on the previous day the way had been cleared for +them by their artillery, which by means of incessant fire had +destroyed the elaborate wire entanglements which the Turks had +constructed in front of their trenches. + +The storming of the first line of trenches was followed quickly by an +equally successful attack on the second line. By 6 a. m., one hour +after the beginning of the attack, the third line had been carried +with the assistance of concentrated machine-gun and artillery fire. +Within another hour the same troops had stormed and occupied the +fourth and fifth lines of the Turks. The latter thereupon were forced +to fall back upon their next line of defensive works at Felahieh and +Sanna-i-Yat, about four and six miles respectively farther up the +river. Reenforcements were quickly brought up from the Turkish main +position at Es-Sinn, some farther ten miles up, and with feverish +haste the intrenchments were made stronger. General Gorringe's +aeroplane scouts promptly observed and reported these operations, and +inasmuch as the ground between these new positions and the positions +which had just been gained by the British troops is absolutely flat +and offers no means of cover whatsoever, the British advance was +stopped for the time being. + +In the meantime the Third British Division under General Keary had +advanced along the right bank of the river and had carried Turkish +trenches immediately in front of the Felahieh position. In the +afternoon of April 5, 1916, the Turks tried to regain these trenches +by means of a strong counterattack with infantry, cavalry and +artillery, but were unable to dislodge the British forces. + +With nightfall General Gorringe again returned to the attack along the +left bank and stormed the Felahieh position. Here, too, the Turks had +constructed a series of successive deep trenches, some of which were +taken by the British battalions only at the point of the bayonet. This +attack as well as all the previous attacks were, by the nature of the +ground over which they had to be fought, frontal attacks. For all the +Turkish positions rested on one side of the river and on the other on +the Suwatcha swamps, excluding, therefore, any flank attack on the +part of the British forces. + +Again General Gorringe halted his advance, influenced undoubtedly by +the open ground and increasing difficulties caused by stormy weather +and floods. April 6, 7, and 8, 1916, were devoted by the British +forces to the closest possible reconnoissance of the Sanna-i-Yat +position and to the necessary preparatory measures for its attack, +while the Turks energetically strengthened this position by means of +new intrenchments and additional reenforcements from their position at +Es-Sinn. + +With the break of dawn on April 19, 1916, General Gorringe again +attacked the Turkish lines at Sanna-i-Yat. The attack was preceded by +heavy artillery fire lasting more than an hour. In the beginning the +British troops entered some of the Turkish trenches, but were driven +back at the point of the bayonet. After this stood success. Again the +floods came to the assistance of the Turkish troops. Increasing, as +they were, day by day, they covered more and more of the ground +adjoining the river bed and thereby narrowed the front, on which an +attack could be delivered, so much so that most of its force was bound +to be lost. According to Turkish reports the British lost over 3,000 +in dead. Although the British commanding general stated that his +losses were much below this number, they must have been very heavy, +from the very nature of the ground and climatic conditions, and much +heavier, indeed, than those of the Turks which officially were stated +to have been only seventy-nine killed, 168 wounded and nine missing. + +After this unsuccessful attempt to advance further a lull ensued for a +few days. On April 12, 1916, however, the Third Division again began +to attack on the right bank of the Tigris and pushed back the Turks +over a distance varying from one and one-half to three miles. At the +same time a heavy gale inundated some of the advanced Turkish trenches +on the left bank at Sanna-i-Yat with the waters from the Suwatcha +marshes. This necessitated a hurried withdrawal to new positions, +which British guns made very costly for the Turks. A heavy gale made +further operations impossible for either side on April 13 and 14, +1916. On the following day, April 15, 1916, the Third Division again +advanced a short distance on the right bank, occupying some of the +advanced Turkish trenches. Further trenches were captured on April 16 +and 17, 1916, at which time the Turks lost between 200 and 300 in +killed, 180 by capture as well as two field and five machine guns, +whereas the English losses were stated to have been much smaller. This +was due to the fact that for once the English forces had been able to +place their guns so that their infantry was enabled to advance under +their protection up to the very trenches of the Turks, which, at the +same time, were raked by the gunfire and fell comparatively easily +into the hands of the attackers. The latter immediately pressed their +advantage and succeeded in advancing some hundred yards beyond the +position previously held by the Turks near Beit Eissa. Here, as well +as during the fighting of the few preceding days, the British troops +were frequently forced to advance wading in water up to their waist, +after having spent the night before in camps which had no more solid +foundation than mud. They were now within four miles of the Turkish +position at Es-Sinn, which in turn was less than ten miles from +Kut-el-Amara. However, this position had been made extremely strong by +the Turks and extended much further to the north and south of the +Tigris than any of the positions captured so far by the British relief +force. + +In spite of this the Turks recognized the necessity of defending the +intermediate territory to the best of their ability. After the British +success at Beit Eissa in the early morning of April 17, 1916, they +again brought up strong reenforcements from Es-Sinn, and at once +launched two strong counterattacks, both of which, however, were +repulsed by the British. + +During the night of April 17 and 18, 1916, the Turks again made a +series of counterattacks in force on the right bank of the Tigris, and +this time they succeeded in pushing back the British lines between 500 +and 800 yards. According to English reports, about 10,000 men were +involved on the Turkish side among whom there were claimed to be some +Germans. The same source estimates Turkish losses in dead alone to +have been more than 3,000, and considerably in excess of the total +British losses. On the other hand the official Turkish report places +the latter as above 4,000, and also claims the capture of fourteen +machine guns. Storms set in again on April 18 and 19, 1916, and +prevented further operations. + +Beginning with April 20, 1916, the relief force prepared for another +attack of the Sanna-i-Yat position on the left bank of the Tigris, by +a systematic bombardment of it, lasting most of that night, the +following night, April 21, 1916, and the early morning of April 22, +1916. On that day another attack was launched. Again the flooded +condition of the country fatally handicapped the British troops. To +begin with, there was only enough dry ground available for one brigade +to attack, and that on a very much contracted front against superior +forces. To judge from the official British report, the leading +formations of this brigade gallantly overcame the severe obstacles in +their way in the form of logs and trenches full of water. But, +although they succeeded in penetrating the Turkish first and second +lines, and in some instances even in reaching the third lines, their +valor brought no lasting success, because it was impossible for +reenforcements to come up quickly enough in the face of the determined +Turkish resistance strongly supported by machine-gun fire. According +to the Turkish reports, the British lost very heavily without being +able to show any gain at the end of the day. The same condition +obtained on the right bank of the Tigris. In spite of this failure the +bombardment of the Sanna-i-Yat position was kept up by the British +artillery throughout April 23, 1916. On the next day, April 24, 1916, +the British troops again registered a small success by being able to +extend their line at Beit Eissa, on the right Tigris bank--in the +direction of the Umm-el-Brahm swamps. On the left bank, however, the +line facing the Sanna-i-Yat position remained in its original +location. + +All this time General Townshend was able to communicate freely by +means of wireless with the relief forces. As the weeks rolled by it +became evident that his position was becoming rapidly untenable on +account of the unavoidable decrease of all supplies. Having had his +lines of communication cut off ever since December 3, 1915, it was now +almost five months since he had been forced to support the lives of +some 10,000 men from the meager supplies which they had with them at +the time of their hurried retreat from Ctesiphon to Kut-el-Amara, +which were only slightly increased by whatever stores had been found +at the latter place. So complete was the circle which the Turks had +thrown around Kut that not a pound of food had come through to the +besieged garrison. It was well known that the latter had been forced +for weeks to exist on horse flesh. Beyond that, however, few details +concerning the life of the Anglo-Indian force during the siege were +known at that time except that they had not been subjected to any +attack on the part of the Turks. + +During the night of April 24, 1916, one more desperate effort was made +to bring relief to General Townshend's force. A ship, carrying +supplies, was sent up the Tigris. Although this undertaking was +carried out most courageously in the face of the Turkish guns +commanding the entire stretch of the Tigris between Sanna-i-Yat and +the Turkish lines below Kut-el-Amara, it miscarried, for the boat went +aground near Magasis, about four miles below Kut-el-Amara. Another +desperate effort to get at least some supplies to Kut by means of +aeroplanes also failed. The British forces had only some comparatively +antiquated machines, which quickly became the prey of the more modern +equipment of the Turks. + + + + +CHAPTER XL + +THE SURRENDER OF KUT-EL-AMARA + + +By the end of April it had become only a question of days, almost of +hours, when it would be necessary for General Townshend to surrender. +It was, therefore, no surprise when in the morning of April 29, 1916, +a wireless report was received from him reading as follows: + +"Have destroyed my guns, and most of my munitions are being destroyed; +and officers have gone to Khalil, who is at Madug, to say am ready to +surrender. I must have some food here, and cannot hold on any more. +Khalil has been told to-day, and a deputation of officers has gone on +a launch to bring some food from Julnar." + +A few hours afterward another message, the last one to come through, +reached the relief forces, announcing the actual surrender: + +"I have hoisted the white flag over Kut fort and towns, and the guards +will be taken over by a Turkish regiment, which is approaching. I +shall shortly destroy wireless. The troops at 2 p. m. to camp near +Shamran." + +It was on the hundred and forty-third day of the siege that General +Townshend was forced by the final exhaustion of his supplies to hoist +the white flag of surrender. According to the official British +statements this involved a force of "2970 British troops of all ranks +and services and some 6,000 Indian troops and their followers." + +About one o'clock in the afternoon of April 29, 1916, a pre-arranged +signal from the wireless indicated that the wireless had been +destroyed. It was then that the British emissaries were received by +the Turkish commander in chief, Khalil Bey Pasha, in order to arrange +the terms of surrender. According to these it was to be unconditional. +But the Turks, who expressed the greatest admiration for the bravery +of the British, readily agreed to a number of arrangements in order to +reduce as much as possible the suffering on the part of the captured +British forces who by then were near to starvation. As the Turks +themselves were not in a position to supply their captives with +sufficiently large quantities of food, it was arranged that such +supplies should be sent up the Tigris from the base of the relief +force. It was also arranged that wounded prisoners should be exchanged +and during the early part of May, 1916, a total of almost 1,200 sick +and wounded reached headquarters of the Tigris Corps as quickly as the +available ships could transport them. + +The civil population of Kut-el-Amara had not been driven out by +General Townshend as had been surmised. This was undoubtedly due to +the fact that a few civilians who, driven by hunger, had attempted to +escape, had been shot promptly by the Turks. Rather than jeopardize +the lives of some 6,000 unfortunate Arabs, the English commander +permitted them to remain and the same rations that went to the British +troops were distributed to the Arabs. This, of course, hastened the +surrender, an eventuality on which the Turks undoubtedly had counted +when they adopted such stringent measures against their own subjects +who were caught in their attempt to flee from Kut. Although Khalil +Pasha refused to give any pledge in regard to the treatment of these +civilians, he stated to the British emissaries that he contemplated no +reprisals or persecutions in regard to the civilian population and +that their future treatment at the hands of the Turkish troops would +depend entirely on their future behavior. + +With the least possible delay the Turks moved their prisoners from +Kut-el-Amara to Bagdad and from there to Constantinople, from which +place it was reported on June 11, 1916, that General Townshend had +arrived and, after having been received with military honors, had been +permitted to visit the United States ambassador who looked after +British interests in Turkey during the war. An official Turkish +statement announced that together with General Townshend four other +generals had been captured as well as 551 other officers, of whom +about one-half were Europeans and another half Indians. The same +announcement also claimed that the British had destroyed most of their +guns and other arms, but that in spite of this the Turks captured +about forty cannon, twenty machine guns, almost 5,000 rifles, large +amounts of ammunition, two ships, four automobiles, and three +aeroplanes. + +It was only after the capitulation of General Townshend that details +became available concerning the suffering to which the besieged army +was subjected and the heroism with which all this was borne by +officers and men, whites and Hindus alike. An especially clear picture +of conditions existing in Kut-el-Amara during the siege may be gained +from a letter sent to Bombay by a member of the Indian force and later +published in various newspapers. It says in part: + +"Wounded and diseased British and native troops are arriving from +Kut-el-Amara, having been exchanged for an equal number of Turkish +prisoners. They bring accounts of Townshend's gallant defense of +Mesopotamia's great strategic point. Some are mere youngsters while +others were soldiers before the war. + +"All are frightfully emaciated and are veritable skeletons as the +result of their starvation and sufferings. The absolute exhaustion of +food necessitated the capitulation, and if General Townshend had not +surrendered nearly the whole force would have died of starvation +within a week. + +"The Turkish General Khalil Pasha provided a river steamer for the +unexchanged badly wounded, the others marching overland. Because of +the wasted condition of the prisoners the marches were limited to +five miles a day. + +"When the capitulation was signed only six mules were left alive to +feed a garrison and civilian population of nearly 20,000 persons. + +"In the early stages of the siege, the Arab traders sold stocks of +jam, biscuits, and canned fish at exorbitant prices. The stores were +soon exhausted and all were forced to depend upon the army +commissariat. Later a dead officer's kit was sold at auction. Eighty +dollars was paid for a box of twenty-five cigars and twenty dollars +for fifty American cigarettes. + +"In February the ration was a pound of barley-meal bread and a pound +and a quarter of mule or horse flesh. In March the ration was reduced +to half a pound of bread and a pound of flesh. In April it was four +ounces of bread and twelve ounces of flesh, which was the allowance +operative at the time of the surrender. The food problem was made more +difficult by the Indian troops, who because of their religion refused +to eat flesh, fearing they would break the rules of their caste by +doing so. + +"When ordinary supplies were diminished a sacrifice was demanded of +the British troops in order to feed the Indians, whose allowance of +grain was increased while that of the British was decreased. Disease +spread among the horses and hundreds were shot and buried. The +diminished grain and horse feed supply necessitated the shooting of +nearly 2,000 animals. The fattest horses and mules were retained as +food for forty days. + +"Kut-el-Amara was searched as with a fine tooth comb and considerable +stores of grain were discovered beneath houses. These were +commandeered, the inhabitants previously self-supporting receiving the +same ration as the soldiers and Sepoys. It was difficult to use the +grain because of inability to grind it into flour, but millstones were +finally dropped into the camp by aeroplanes. + +"In the first week in February scurvy appeared, and aeroplanes dropped +seeds, which General Townshend ordered planted on all the available +ground, and the gardens bore sufficient fruit to supply a few patients +in the hospital. + +[Illustration: Kut-el-Amara.] + +"Mule and horse meat and sometimes a variety of donkey meat were +boiled in the muddy Tigris water without salt or seasoning. The +majority became used to horseflesh and their main complaint was that +the horse gravy was like clear oil. + +"Stray cats furnished many a delicate 'wild rabbit' supper. A species +of grass was cooked as a vegetable and it gave a relish to the +horseflesh. Tea being exhausted, the soldiers boiled bits of ginger +root in water. Latterly aeroplanes dropped some supplies. These +consisted chiefly of corn, flour, cocoa, sugar, tea, and cigarettes. + +"During the last week of the siege many Arabs made attempts to escape +by swimming the river and going to the British lines, twenty miles +below. Of nearly 100, only three or four succeeded in getting away. +One penetrated the Turkish lines by floating in an inflated mule +skin." + +Another intimate description was furnished by the official British +press representative with the Tigris Corps and is based on the +personal narratives of some of the British officers who, after having +been in the Kut hospital for varying periods of the siege on account +of sickness or wounds, were exchanged for wounded Turkish officers +taken by the relief force. According to this the real privations of +the garrison began in the middle of February and were especially felt +in the hospital. + +"When the milk gave out the hospital diet was confined to corn, flour, +or rice water for the sick, and ordinary rations for the wounded. On +April 21, 1916, the 4 oz. grain rations gave out. From the 22d to the +25th the garrison subsisted on the two days' reserve rations issued in +January; and from the 25th to the 29th on supplies dropped by +aeroplanes. + +"The troops were so exhausted when Kut capitulated that the regiments +who were holding the front line had remained there a fortnight without +being relieved. They were too weak to carry back their kit. During the +last days of the siege the daily death rate averaged eight British and +twenty-one Indians. + +"All the artillery, cavalry, and transport animals had been consumed +before the garrison fell. When the artillery horses had gone the +drivers of the field batteries formed a new unit styled 'Kut Foot.' +One of the last mules to be slaughtered had been on three Indian +frontier campaigns, and wore the ribbons round its neck. The supply +and transport butcher had sent it back twice, refusing to kill it, but +in the end it had to go with the machine-gun mules. Mule flesh was +generally preferred to horse, and mule fat supplied good dripping; +also an improvised substitute for lamp oil. + +"The tobacco famine was a great privation, but the garrison did not +find the enforced abstention cured their craving, as every kind of +substitute was there. An Arab brand, a species similar to that smoked +in Indian hookahs, was exhausted early in April. After that lime +leaves were smoked, or ginger, or baked tea dregs. In January English +tobacco fetched forty-eight rupees a half pound (equal to eight +shillings an ounce). + +"Just before General Townshend's force entered Kut a large consignment +of warm clothing had arrived, the gift of the British Red Cross +Society. This was most opportune and probably saved many lives. The +garrison had only the summer kit they stood up in. + +"Different units saw very little of each other during the siege. At +the beginning indirect machine-gun and rifle fire, in addition to +shells, swept the whole area day and night. The troops only left the +dugouts for important defense work. During the late phase when the +fire slackened officers and men had little strength for unnecessary +walking. Thus there was very little to break the monotony of the siege +in the way of games, exercise, or amusements, but on the right bank +two battalions in the licorice factory, the 110th Mahratas and the +120th Infantry, were better off, and there was dead ground here--'a +pitch of about fifty by twenty yards'--where they could play hockey +and cricket with pick handles and a rag ball. They also fished, and +did so with success, supplementing the rations at the same time. Two +companies of Norfolks joined them in turn, crossing by ferry at night, +and they appreciated the relief." + +A personal acquaintance of the heroic defense of Kut-el-Amara drew in +a letter to the London "Weekly Times" the following attractive picture +of this strong personality: + +"A descendant of the famous Lord Townshend who fought with Wolfe at +Quebec, and himself heir to the marquisate, General Townshend set +himself from boyhood to maintain the fighting traditions of his +family. His military fighting has been one long record of active +service in every part of the world. Engaged first in the Nile +expedition of 1884-85, Townshend next took part in the fighting on the +northwest frontier of India in 1891-92, when he leaped into fame as +commander of the escort of the British agent during the siege of +Chitral. He fought in the Sudan expedition of 1898, and served on the +staff in the South African War. In the peaceful decade which followed +Townshend acted for a time as military attache in Paris, was on the +staff in India, and finally commanded the troops at Bloemfontein, +Orange River Colony. + +"The outbreak of the Great War found him in command of a division in +India, longing to be at the front in France, but destined, as events +turned out, to win greater fame in Mesopotamia. All accounts agree as +to the masterly strategy with which he defeated Nur-ed-Din Pasha at +Kut-el-Amara, and subsequently fought the battle of Ctesiphon. Those +two battles and his heroic endurance of the long siege of Kut have +given his name a permanent place in the annals of the British army. + +"Townshend has always attributed his success as a soldier to his +constant study of the campaigns of Napoleon, a practice which he has +long followed for a regular period of every day wherever he has +happened to be serving. He has mastered the Napoleonic battle fields +at first hand, and is an ardent collector of Napoleonic literature and +relics. Everyone who knows him is familiar with the sight of the +paraphernalia of his studies in peace time--the textbooks and maps, +spread on the ground or on an enormous table, to which he devotes his +morning hours. During the present campaign his letters have been full +of comparisons with the difficulties which confronted Napoleon. + +"But Townshend possesses other qualities besides his zeal for his +profession, and one of them at least must have stood him in good stead +during these anxious months. He is indomitably serene and cheerful, a +lover of amusement himself and well able to amuse others. In London +and Paris he is nearly as well known in the world of playwrights and +actors as in the world of soldiers. He can sing a good song and tell a +good story. Like Baden-Powell, the hero of another famous siege, he is +certain to have kept his gallant troops alert and interested during +the long period of waiting for the relief which never came. Up to the +last his messages to the outside world have been full of cheery +optimism and soldierly fortitude. No general was ever less to blame +for a disastrous enterprise or better entitled to the rewards of +success." + + + + +CHAPTER XLI + +SPRING AND SUMMER TRENCH WAR ON THE TIGRIS + + +After the surrender of Kut-el-Amara a lull of a few weeks occurred. +The Turkish forces seemed to be satisfied for the time being with +their victory over their English opponents for which they had striven +so long. The English forces below Kut-el-Amara likewise seemed to have +ceased their activities as soon as the fall of Kut had become an +established fact. + +Almost for three weeks this inactivity was maintained. On May 19, +1916, however, both sides resumed military operations. The Turks on +that day vacated an advanced position on the south bank of the Tigris +at Beit Eissa, which formed the southern prolongation of the +Sanna-i-Yat position. On the north bank the latter was still held +strongly by the Sultan's forces. + +Immediately following this move the English troops, who under General +Sir Gorringe had attempted the relief of Kut-el-Amara, attacked. +Advancing about three miles south of the Tigris and south of the +Umm-el-Brahm marshes, they threw themselves against the southern end +of the Turkish position at Es-Sinn. The latter is about seven miles +west of the former and about the same distance east of Kut-el-Amara. +It began on the north bank of the Tigris, a few miles north of the +Suwatcha marshes, continued between these and the Tigris and for +almost five miles in a southeasterly direction. On its southern end +the Turks had erected a strong redoubt, known under the name Dujailar +Redoubt, from which a strong line of six lesser redoubts run in a +southwesterly direction to the Shatt-al-hai. This body of water is the +ancient bed of the Tigris. In the first half of the year it is a +navigable stream, carrying the waters of the Tigris across the desert +to the Euphrates near Nasiriyeh, a town which British forces have held +since the spring of 1915. It was against the key of this very strong +line of defense, the Dujailar Redoubt, which General Gorringe's +battalions attacked. At various other times before English troops had +attempted to carry this point, but had never succeeded. This time, +however, they did meet with success. In spite of strong resistance +they stormed and carried the position. + +On the same day, May 19, 1916, it was officially announced that a +force of Russian cavalry had joined General Gorringe's troops. This +cavalry detachment, of course, was part of the Russian forces +operating in the region of Kermanshah in Persia. Inasmuch as these +troops were then all of 200 miles from Kut-el-Amara and had to pass +through a rough and mountainous country, entirely lacking in roads and +inhabited by hostile and extremely ferocious Kurdish hillmen, the +successful dash of this cavalry detachment was little short of +marvelous. The difficulties which had to be faced and the valor which +was exhibited is interestingly described by the official British press +representative with the Mesopotamian forces: + +"The Cossacks' ride across country was a fine and daring achievement, +an extreme test of our Allies' hardness, mobility, and resource. Their +route took them across a mountainous territory which has been a +familiar landmark in the plains where we have been fighting for the +last few months. + +"The country traversed was rough and precipitous and the track often +difficult for mules. They crossed passes over 8,000 feet high. Enemy +forces were likely to be encountered at any moment, as these hills are +infested with warlike tribes, whose attitude at the best might be +described as decidedly doubtful. + +"Their guide was untrustworthy. He roused their suspicions by +constant attempts to mislead them, and eventually he had to point the +way with a rope round his neck. Nevertheless, they met with no actual +opposition during the whole journey other than a few stray shots at +long range. + +"They traveled light. For transport they had less than one pack animal +for ten men. These carried ammunition, cooking pots, and a tent for +officers. Otherwise, beyond a few simple necessaries, they had no +other kit than what they stood up in, and they lived on the country, +purchasing barley, flour, rice, and sheep from the villagers. Fodder +and fuel were always obtainable. + +"For ambulance they had only one assistant surgeon, provided with +medical wallets, but none of these Cossacks fell sick. They are a hard +lot. + +"Their last march was one of thirty miles, during which five of their +horses died of thirst or exhaustion on the parched desert, and they +reached camp after nightfall. Yet, after a dinner which was given in +their honor, they were singing and dancing all night and did not turn +in till one in the morning. + +"The ride of the Cossacks establishing direct contact between the +Russian force in Persia and the British force on the Tigris, of +course, has impressed the tribesmen on both sides of the frontier." + +On the next day the Turks withdrew all their forces who, on the south +bank of the Tigris, had held the Es-Sinn position. Only at a bridge +across the Shatt-al-Hai, about five miles below its junction with the +Tigris, they left some rear guards. On the north bank of the Tigris +they continued to hold, not only the Es-Sinn position, but also the +Sanna-i-Yat position, some eight miles farther down the river. This +meant that General Gorringe not only had carried an important +position, but also that he had advanced the British lines on the south +bank of the Tigris by about ten miles, for on May 20, 1916, the +British positions were established along a line running from the +village of Magasis, on the south bank of the Tigris, about five miles +east of Kut-el-Amara, to a point on the Shatt-al-Hai, about equally +distant from Kut. + +The withdrawal of the Turkish forces on the south bank of the Tigris +naturally left their positions on the north bank very much exposed to +British attacks. It was, therefore, not at all surprising that English +artillery subjected the Turks on the north bank to heavy bombardments +during the following days, nor that this fire was extremely effective. +However, in spite of this fact, the Turks continued to maintain their +positions on the north bank of the Tigris. + +Throughout the balance of May, June, and July, 1916, nothing of +importance occurred in Mesopotamia. The temperature in that part of +Asia during the early summer rises to such an extent that military +operations become practically impossible. It is true that from time to +time unimportant skirmishes between outposts and occasional artillery +duels of very limited extent took place. But they had no influence on +the general situation or on the location of the respective positions. + +During the early part of the month the British trenches on the north +bank of the Tigris were pushed forward a short distance, until they +were within 200 yards of the Turkish position, Sanna-i-Yat, where they +remained for the balance of midsummer. To the south of Magasis, on the +south bank of the river, British troops occupied an advanced position +about three and one-half miles south of the main position. Then they +stopped there too. About the same time, June 10, 1916, Turkish guns +sunk three barges on the Tigris, the only actual success which the +Sultan's forces won since the fall of Kut-el-Amara. + +Along the Euphrates, where British troops had held certain positions +ever since 1915, there was also an almost entire lack of activity, +except that occasional small and entirely local punitive expeditions +became necessary in order to hold in hand the Arab tribes of the +neighborhood. + +Climatic conditions continued extremely trying, and enforced further +desistance from military activity until, toward the end of July, +relief in the form of the _shamal_ (northwest wind) would come and +once more make it possible to resume operations. + + + + +CHAPTER XLII + +RUSSIAN ADVANCE TOWARD BAGDAD + + +Coincident with the Russian advance in Armenia and the English attempt +at capturing the city of Bagdad by advancing up the Tigris, the +Russian General Staff also directed a strong attack against this +ancient Arabian city from the northeast through Persia. + +Before the Mesopotamian plain, in which Bagdad is situated, could be +reached from Persia the mountains along the Persian-Turkish frontier +had to be crossed, an undertaking full of difficulties. + +Just as in Armenia, here completed railroads were lacking entirely. +Such roads as were available were for the most part in the poorest +possible condition. The mountains themselves could be crossed only at +a few points through passes located at great height, where the +caravans that had traveled for centuries and centuries between Persia +and Mesopotamia had blasted a trail. At only one point to the north of +Bagdad was there a break in the chain of mountains that separated +Persia from Mesopotamia. That was about one hundred miles northeast of +Bagdad in the direction of the Persian city of Kermanshah. There one +Russian army was advancing undoubtedly with the twofold object of +reaching and capturing Bagdad and of submitting the Turkish army +operating in that sector to an attack from this source as well as from +the British army advancing along the Tigris. A Russian success at this +point would have meant practically either the capture of all the +Turkish forces or their ultimate destruction. For the only avenue of +escape that would have been left to them would have been across the +desert into Syria. And although there were a number of caravan routes +available for this purpose, it would have been reasonably sure that +most of the Turkish forces attempting such a retreat would have been +lost. For a modern army of the size operating around Bagdad could not +have been safely brought across the desert with all the supplies and +ammunition indispensable for its continued existence. + +In order to prevent the escape of these Turkish forces in a northerly +direction along the Tigris and the line of the projected but +uncompleted part of the Bagdad railroad, the Russians had launched +another attack from the north. This second army advanced to the south +of the region around Lake Urumiah, a large body of water less than +fifty miles east of the Turko-Persian border. This attack was directed +against another important Arabian city, Mosul. This town, too, was +located on the Tigris, and on the line of the Bagdad railroad, about +200 miles northwest of Bagdad. + +Still another Russian attack was developed by a third army, advancing +about halfway between the other two army groups and striking at +Mesopotamia from Persia slightly north of the most easterly point of +the Turkish frontier. + +Broadly speaking the Russian attack through Persia covered a front of +about 200 miles. It must not be understood, however, that this was a +continuous "front" of the same nature as the front in the western and +eastern theaters of war in Europe. The undeveloped condition of the +country made the establishment of a continuous front not only +impossible, but unnecessary. Each of the three Russian groups were +working practically independent of each other, except that their +operations were planned and executed in such a way that their +respective objectives were to be reached simultaneously. Even that +much cooperation was made extremely difficult, because of the lack of +any means of communication in a horizontal direction. No roads worthy +of that name, parallel to the Turko-Persian frontier, existed. +Telegraph or telephone lines, of course, were entirely lacking, except +such as were established by the advancing armies. How great the +difficulties were which confronted both the attacking and the +defending armies in this primitive country can, therefore, readily be +understood. They were still more increased by the climatic conditions +which prevail during the winter and early spring. If fighting in the +comparatively highly developed regions of the Austro-Italian +mountains was fraught with problems that at times seemed almost +impossible of solution, what then must it have been in the more or +less uncivilized and almost absolutely undeveloped districts of +Persian "Alps!" The difficulties that were overcome, the suffering +which was the share of both Russians and Turks make a story the full +details of which will not be told--if ever told at all--for a long +time to come. No daily communique, no vivid description from the pen +of famous war correspondents acquaints us of the details of the heroic +struggle that for months and months progressed in these distant +regions of the "near East." Not even "letters from the front" guide us +to any extent. For where conditions are such that even the transport +of supplies and ammunition becomes a problem that requires constantly +ingenuity of the highest degree, the transmission of mail becomes a +matter which can receive consideration only very occasionally. +Whatever will be known for a long time to come about this campaign is +restricted to infrequent official statements made by the Russian and +Turkish General Staffs, announcing the taking of an important town or +the crossing of a mountain pass, up to then practically unknown to the +greatest part of the civilized world. + +It was such a statement from the Russian General Staff, that had +announced the fall of Kermanshah on February 27, 1916. This was an +important victory for the southernmost Russian army. For this ancient +Persian town lies on the main caravan route from Mesopotamia to +Teheran, passing over the high Zaros range, as well as on other roads, +leading to Tabriz in the north and to Kut-el-Amara and Basra in the +south. It brought this Russian army within less than 200 miles of +Bagdad. Toward this goal the advance now was pushed steadily, and on +March 1, 1916, Petrograd announced that the pursuit of the enemy to +the west of Kermanshah continued and had yielded the capture of two +more guns. The next important success gained by the Russians was +announced on March 12, 1916, when the town of Kerind was occupied. +This town, too, is located on the road to Bagdad and its occupation +represented a Russian advance of about fifty miles in less than two +weeks, no mean accomplishment in the face of a fairly determined +resistance. + +[Illustration: The Russians in Persia.] + +On March 22, 1916, it was officially announced that a Russian column, +advancing from Teheran, to the south, had reached and occupied Ispaha, +the ancient Persian capital in central Persia. This, of course, had no +direct bearing on the Russian advance against Mosul and Bagdad, except +that it increased Russian influence in Persia and by that much +strengthened the position and security of any Russian troops operating +anywhere else in that country. + +Fighting between the northernmost Russian army and detachments of +Turks and Kurds was reported on March 24, 1916, in the region south of +Lake Urumiah. Throughout the balance of March, 1916, and during April, +1916, similar engagements took place continuously in this sector. On +the Turkish side both regular infantry and detachments of Kurds +opposed the Russian advance in the direction of Mosul and the Tigris. +Russian successes were announced officially on April 10 and 12, 1916, +and again on May 3, 1916. + +In the meantime the advance toward Bagdad also progressed. On May 1, +1916, the Russians captured some Turkish guns and a number of +ammunition wagons to the west of Kerind. On May 6, 1916, a Turkish +fortified position in the same locality was taken by storm and a +considerable quantity of supplies were captured. + +Up to this time the Russian reports were more or less indefinite, +announcing simply from time to time progress of the advance in the +direction of Bagdad. From Kerind, captured early in March, 1916, two +roads lead into Mesopotamia, one by way of Mendeli, and another more +circuitous, but more frequented and, therefore, in better condition, +by way of Khanikin. Not until May 10, 1916, did it become apparent +that the Russians had chosen the latter. On that day they announced +the occupation of the town of Kasr-i-Shirin, about twenty miles from +the Turkish border, between Kerind and Khanikin. Not only were the +Russian forces now within 110 miles of Bagdad--an advance of +forty-five miles since the capture of Kerind--but they were also +getting gradually out of the mountains into the Mesopotamian plain. +At Kasr-i-Shirin, they took important Turkish munition reserves, +comprising several hundred thousand cartridges, many shells and hand +grenades, telegraph material, and a camel supply convoy laden with +biscuits, rice, and sugar. + +Five days later, on May 15, 1916, another important Russian success +was announced, this time further north. The Russian forces that had +been fighting for a long time ever since the early part of 1915 to the +south of Lake Urumiah, and whose progress in the direction of Mosul +was reported at long intervals, were now reported to have reached the +Turkish town of Rowandiz. This represented an advance of over 100 +miles from the town of Urumiah and carried the Russian troops some +twenty-five miles across the frontier into the Turkish province of +Mosul. Rowandiz is about 100 miles east of Mosul, and in order to +reach it it was necessary for the Russian forces to cross the +formidable range of mountains that runs along the Turko-Persian border +and reaches practically its entire length, a height of 8,000 to 10,000 +feet. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII + +TURKISH OFFENSIVE AND RUSSIAN COUNTEROFFENSIVE IN ARMENIA AND PERSIA + + +On the last day of May, 1916, the Turks scored their first substantial +success against the Russians since the fall of Erzerum. Having +received reenforcements, the Turkish center assumed the offensive +between the Armenian Taurus and Baiburt and forced the Russians to +evacuate Mama Khatun. This was followed by a withdrawal of the Russian +lines in that region for a distance of about ten miles. + +For the next few days the Turks were able to maintain their new +offensive in full strength. The center of the Russian right wing was +forced back continuously until it had reached a line almost +twenty-five miles east of its former positions. + +In the south, too, the Turkish forces scored some successes against +the Russian troops, who had been pushing toward the Tigris Valley from +the mountains along the Persian border. On June 8, 1916, Turkish +detachments even succeeded in crossing the border and occupied +Kasr-i-Shirin, just across the frontier in Persia. By June 10, 1916, +these troops had advanced sixteen miles farther east and fought slight +engagements with Russian cavalry near the villages of Serpul and +Zehab. + +In the north the Turkish advance continued likewise. An important +engagement between Turkish troops and a strong Russian cavalry force +occurred on June 12, 1916, east of the village of Amachien and +terminated in favor of the Turks. + +Fighting continued throughout the balance of June, 1916, all along the +Turko-Russian front from Trebizond down to the Persian border +northeast of Bagdad. At some points the Russians assumed the +offensive, but were unable to make any impression on the Turks, who +continued to push back the invader and, by quickly fortifying their +newly gained positions, succeeded in maintaining them against all +counterattacks. + +By June 30, 1916, Kermanshah in Persia, about 100 miles across the +border, was seriously threatened. On that day Russian forces, which +retreated east of Serai, could not maintain their positions near +Kerind, owing to vigorous pursuit. Russian rear guards west of Kerind +were driven off. Turkish troops passing through Kerind pursued the +Russians in the direction of Kermanshah. + +On July 5, 1916, Kermanshah was occupied by the Turkish troops after a +battle west of the town which lasted all day and night. The first +attempt of the Russians to prevent the capture of the city was made at +Mahidesst, west of Kermanshah. Here the Russians had hastily +constructed fortifications, but the Turks, by a swift encircling move, +made their position untenable and forced them to retreat farther east. +A strong Russian rear guard defended the village for one day and then +followed the main body to a series of previously prepared positions +just west of the city. Here a terrific battle lasting all day and all +night was waged, and resulted in the retreat of the Russians to +Kermanshah. Three detachments of Turks, almost at the heels of the +Muscovites, drove them out before they could make another stand. + +On July 9, 1916, Turkish reconnoitering forces came in contact with +the Russians who were ejected from Kermanshah at a point fifteen miles +east of the city, while they were on their way to join their main +forces. After a fight of seven hours the Russians were compelled to +flee to Sineh. + +By this time, however, the Russians had recovered their breath in the +Caucasus. On July 12, 1916, they recaptured by assault the town of +Mama Khatun. The next day, after a violent night battle, they occupied +a series of heights southeast of Mama Khatun. The Turks attempted to +take the offensive, but were thrown back. Pressing closely upon them, +the Russians took the villages of Djetjeti and Almali. + +The Russian offensive quickly assumed great strength. By July 14, +1916, the Russians were only ten miles from Baiburt, had again taken +up their drive for Erzingan and had wrested from the Turks some +strongly fortified positions southwest of Mush. + +Baiburt fell to the Russians on July 15, 1916. From then on the +Russian advance continued steadily, although the Turks maintained a +stiff resistance. + +On July 18, 1916, the Russians occupied the town of Kugi, an important +junction of roads from Erzerum, Lhaputi and Khzindjtna. On July 20, +1916, the Grand Duke's troops captured the town of Gumuskhaneh, +forty-five miles southwest of Trebizond. + +The next day, July 21, 1916, these forces had advanced to and occupied +Ardas, about thirteen miles northwest of Gumuskhaneh. The West +Euphrates was crossed the following day. On July 23, 1916, Russian +troops on the Erzingan route, in the Ziaret Tapasi district, repulsed +two Turkish counterattacks and occupied the heights of Naglika. + +East of the Erzingan route they captured a Turkish line on the Durum +Darasi River. After having repulsed several Turkish attacks Russian +cavalry has reached the line of Boz-Tapa-Mertekli. + +[Illustration: The Russians in Armenia.] + +Closer and closer the Russians approached to the goal for which they +had striven for many months, Erzingan. On July 25, 1916, this strongly +fortified Turkish city in Central Armenia, fell into the hands of the +Russian Caucasus army under Grand Duke Nicholas. + +Erzingan, situated at an altitude of 3,900 feet, about one mile from +the right bank of the Euphrates, manufactures silk and cotton and lies +in a highly productive plain, which automatically comes into +possession of the Russians. Wheat, fruit, wines, and cotton are grown +in large quantities, and there are also iron and hot sulphur springs. +With its barracks and military factories, the city formed an important +army base. + +Erzingan has frequently figured in ancient history. It was here that +the Sultan of Rum was defeated by the Mongols in 1243, and in the +fourth century St. Gregory, "the Illuminator," lived in the city. +Erzingan was added to the Osman Empire in 1473 by Mohammed II, after +it had been held by Mongols, Tartars, and Turkomans. + +With the capture of Erzingan the Russians not only removed the +strongest obstacle on the road to Sivas, Angora, and Constantinople, +but also virtually completed their occupation of Turkish Armenia. + +Throughout the Russian advance, considerable fighting had occurred in +the region of Mush, which, however, resulted in no important changes. +The main object of the Russian attacks there was to hold as large a +Turkish force as possible from any possible attempt to relieve the +pressure on Erzingan. + +In the south, near the Persian border at Roanduz, and in Persia, near +Kermanshah, there were no important developments after the fall of +Kermanshah. Considerable fighting, however, went on in both of these +sectors without changing in any way the general situation. + + + + +PART VIII--OPERATIONS ON THE WESTERN FRONT + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV + +RENEWAL OF THE BATTLE OF VERDUN + + +In another part of this work we have followed the intense struggle +that marked the German assault that began on February 21, 1916, and +continued without cessation for four days and nights. Despite the +tremendous force employed by the Germans and the destruction wrought +by their guns, the French by incessant counterattacks had held back +their opponents and, by depriving them of the advantage of surprise, +had undoubtedly saved Verdun for the Allies. Though losing heavily in +men and material, they held the Bras-Douaumont front until they could +be relieved by fresh forces. The German advance was stayed on the +night of the 24th. + +In the morning of February 25, 1916, the Germans succeeded in +penetrating Louvemont, now reduced to ruins by fire and shell. +Douaumont village to the right seemed in imminent danger of being +captured by the Germans, who were closing in on the place. But the +French infantry attacking toward the north, and the vigorous action of +the Zouaves east of Haudromont Farm, cleared the surroundings of the +enemy. At the close of the day they occupied the village and a ridge +to the east. Though they were in such position as to half encircle the +fort, yet a body of Brandenburgers succeeded by surprise in forcing +their way into its walls, from which subsequent French attacks failed +to dislodge them. + +East and west of Douaumont the Germans made incessant efforts to +break through the new French front, but only succeeded in gaining a +foothold in Hardaumont work. Douaumont village was attacked with fresh +forces and abundant material on the morning of the 27th. The struggle +here was marked by hand-to-hand fighting and bayonet charges in which +the Germans were clearly at a disadvantage. They won a French redoubt +on the west side of Douaumont Fort, but after an intense struggle were +forced out and retreated, leaving heaps of dead on the ground. + +Douaumont became again the center of German attack, and though driven +off with terrible losses, they brought up fresh troops and renewed the +fray. Advances were pushed with reckless bravery, but in vain, for +their forces were shattered before they could reach the French +positions. Their losses in men must have been enormous, and for two +days no further attacks were made. The French knew that they had not +accepted defeat and were only reorganizing their forces for a fresh +onslaught. On March 2, 1916, the Germans renewed the bombardment, +smothering the village under an avalanche of shells. Believing that +this time the way was clear to advance, they rushed forward in almost +solid ranks. French machine-gun and rifle fire cut great gaps in the +advancing waves, but this time the brave defenders could not hold them +back, and Douaumont was penetrated. + +The Germans occupied the place, but they were not permitted to leave +it, for the French infantry were posted only a hundred yards away and +every exit was under their fire. + +On the day following, the 3d, the French, after bombarding the ruins +of Douaumont and working havoc in the ranks of the enemy, rushed two +battalions during the night against the German barricades, and after a +stubborn fight occupied the place. But their victory was short lived. +Before dawn the Germans, attacking with large reenforcements, after +four or five hours of intense and murderous struggle, again occupied +the village. The French, somewhat shattered in numbers but by no means +discouraged, fell back some two hundred yards to the rear, where they +proceeded to reestablish their line and there await their opportunity +to strike again. + +Some idea of the great courage and devotion displayed by the French +troops during the intense struggle around Douaumont village may be +gained from the statement made by an infantry officer which appeared +in the Army Bulletin, and from which some quotations may be made. + +The Germans on March 2, 1916, at 3.15 a. m. had attacked the village +simultaneously from the north by a ravine and on the flank, where they +debouched from the fort, and certain covered positions which the +French had not had time to reconnoiter. + +"The Germans we saw first were those who came from the fort. They were +wearing French helmets, and for a moment our men seemed uncertain as +to their identity. Major C---- called out: 'Don't fire! They are French.' +The words were hardly out of his mouth before he fell with a bullet in +his neck. This German trick made us furious, and the adjutant cried: +'Fire for all you're worth! They are Germans!' But the enemy continued +his encircling movement with a view to taking the village. + +"The battalion which was charged with its defense had lost very +heavily in the bombardment, and most of its machine guns were out of +action, but they were resolved to make any sacrifice to fulfill their +trust. When their left was very seriously threatened, the Tenth +Company made a glorious charge straight into the thick of the oncoming +German masses. The hand-to-hand struggle was of the fiercest +description, and French bayonets wrought deadly havoc among the German +ranks. This company went on fighting until it was at length completely +submerged in the flood, and the last we saw of it was a handful of +desperate heroes seeking death in the heart of the struggle." + +An attempt at this time was made by the Germans to debouch from +Douaumont village on the southwestern side, with the evident purpose +of forcing their way to the top of the crest in the direction of +Thiaumont Farm. + +[Illustration: Western Battle Front, August, 1916.] + +"The commander of the Third Company," to continue the French officer's +narrative, "immediately made his dispositions to arrest their +progress. A machine gun was cleverly placed and got to work. In a +short time the hundred or so of Germans that had got through were so +vigorously peppered that only about twenty of them got back. This gun +was in action until nightfall, dealing with successive German parties +that attempted to advance from the western and southwestern sides of +the village." + +After describing how the French built barricades during the night and +adjusted their front in such a way as to present a solid wall facing +the east, the narrator continues: + +"Our counterattack took place at nightfall on March 3, and was +undertaken by two battalions (the Four Hundred and Tenth and the Four +Hundred and Fourteenth) of consecutive regiments. After an intense +rifle fire we heard the cry of 'Forward with the bayonet!' and night +rang with the shouts of the men. Our first line was carried beyond the +village. + +"The Germans returned to the attack about 8 o'clock, but were stopped +dead by our rifle and machine-gun fire. Two hours later another attack +was attempted, but was likewise dashed to pieces before our unshaken +resistance. The Germans came on in very close formation, and on the +following morning we counted quite eight hundred dead before the +trench. + +"At daybreak on March 4 the Germans launched a fresh counterattack +against Douaumont after an intense bombardment accompanied by the use +of aerial torpedoes. No detailed description is possible of the +terrible fighting from house to house, or the countless deeds of +heroism performed by our men in this bloody struggle, which lasted for +two hours. The gaps in our ranks increased from moment to moment. +Finally we were ordered to retire to a position about 200 meters south +of the exit from Douaumont. The enemy tried in vain to dislodge us and +exploit the success he had so dearly won." + +On March 4, 1916, an Order of the Day issued by the crown prince was +read to the troops in rest billets in which they were urged to make a +supreme effort to conquer Verdun, "the heart of France." For four days +following the German command was busy organizing for an onslaught on a +gigantic scale, which they hoped would so crush the French army as to +eliminate it as a serious factor in the war. + +In order to clear the way for this great attack the German General +Staff decided that it would be necessary first to capture the French +positions of Mort Homme and Cumieres on the left bank of the Meuse. + +At this time the French line to the west of the Meuse ran by the +village of Forges, the hills above Bethincourt and Malancourt, crossed +Malancourt Wood and passed in front of Avocourt. The Germans held +positions on the heights of Samogneux and Champneuville, and their +operations were threatened by the French artillery in the line west of +the river. + +On March 6, 1916, the Germans began to bombard the French positions +from the Meuse to Bethincourt. They pursued their usual methods, +smashing a selected sector, demolishing advance works, and keeping a +curtain fire over roads and trenches. The village of Forges during the +first half of the day of attack was literally covered with shells. +Crossing the Forges Brook, which ran through a ravine, and where they +were protected from French artillery fire, the Germans advanced along +the northern slopes of the Cote de l'Oie. Following the railway line +through Regneville, at all times under heavy fire from French guns, +they attacked Hill 265 on the 7th. An entire division was employed by +the Germans in this assault, and the French, overwhelmed by weight of +men and metal, were forced out of the position. + +In the morning of March 7, 1916, the Germans began a furious +bombardment of Corbeaux Wood. At first the French enjoyed every +advantage, for though the Germans had penetrated the position, the +French by a dashing attack occupied almost the whole of the wood. A +mass attack made by the Germans against Bethincourt having failed, +they counterattacked at Corbeaux Wood, during which their force was +almost annihilated. By evening of March 8, 1916, the French had +recovered all the wood but a small corner. + +[Illustration: First Attack on Verdun.] + +The Germans were persistent in their attempts to gain the wood, +despite many failures and heavy losses. On the 10th, after being +reenforced, they threw three regiments against the wood. The French +defense was broken when they lost their colonel and battalion +commanders during the opening bombardment. The brave defenders, +badly hit, were forced to yield ground and retire, but they held the +enemy in the wood, thus preventing him from advancing on Mort Homme, +the next objective. + +This is a double hill, having a summit of 265 meters at the northwest +and the main summit of 295 meters at the southeast. The road from +Bethincourt to Cumieres scales Hill 265 and divides it in two. When it +reaches Hill 295 it encircles it and bends toward the northeast. + +After a lull that lasted for four days the Germans at half past 10 in +the morning began a terrific bombardment to capture Bethincourt, the +Mort Homme, and Cumieres. In this they employed a great number of +heavy guns, and all the points of attack and the region around was +flooded with shells of every variety. They were said to have fallen at +the rate of one hundred and twenty a minute. + +In the afternoon about 3 o'clock the German infantry attacked. They +succeeded in capturing the first French line, where many soldiers had +fallen half asphyxiated by the gas shells, or were buried under the +debris. Hill 265 was occupied, but the highest summit, owing to the +valor of its defenders, remained in French hands. During the night the +French succeeded in stemming the German advance by executing a +brilliant counterattack which carried them to the slope between Hill +295 and Bethincourt, where they came in touch with the enemy. + +The French at once proceeded by daring efforts to improve their +positions, and were so successful that when during the 16th and 18th +the Germans after prolonged bombardments resumed their attack on Hill +295 they were repulsed with appalling losses. + +Having failed to capture Mort Homme from the front, the Germans now +attempted to outflank it. They enlarged the attacking front in the +sector of Malancourt and tried to take Hill 304. In order to do this +it was necessary for them to take the southeastern point of the +Avocourt Wood which was held by the French. On March 20, 1916, the +crown prince threw a fresh division against these woods, the Eleventh +Bavarian, belonging to a selected corps that had seen service in the +Galician and Polish campaigns with Mackensen's army. This division +launched a number of violent attacks, making use of flame throwers. +They succeeded in capturing Avocourt Wood, but in the advance on Hill +304 they were caught between two converging fires and suffered the +most appalling losses. According to the figures given by a neutral +military critic, Colonel Feyler, between March 20 and 22, 1916, the +three regiments of this division lost between 50 and 60 per cent of +their number. + +This decisive result had the effect of stopping for the time at least +any further attacks by the Germans in this sector. A period of calm +ensued, which they employed in bringing up fresh troops and in +reconstituting their units. Their costly sacrifices in men and +material had brought them little gain. They had advanced their line to +Bethincourt and Cumieres, but the objective they had been so eager to +capture, Mort Homme, was in French possession, and so strongly held +that it could only be captured at an exceedingly heavy price. + + + + +CHAPTER XLV + +THE STRUGGLE FOR VAUX FORT AND VILLAGE--BATTLE OF MORT HOMME + + +On the right bank of the Meuse the Germans on March 8, 1916, resumed +their offensive against the French lines to the east of Douaumont +Fort. The advance was rapidly carried out, and they succeeded in +penetrating Vaux village. A little later by a dashing bayonet charge +the French drove them out of the greater part of the place except one +corner, where they held on determinedly despite the furious attacks +that were launched against them all day long. Vaux Fort had not been +included in this action, or indeed touched, yet a German communique of +March 9, 1916, announced that "the Posen Reserve Regiments commanded +by the infantry general Von Gearetzki-Kornitz had taken the armored +fortress of Vaux by assault, as well as many other fortifications +near by." + +At the very hour, 2 p. m., that this telegram appeared an officer of +the French General Staff entered the fort and discovered that it had +not been attacked at all, and that the garrison were on duty and quite +undisturbed by the bombardment storming about the walls. + +During the following days the Germans attempted to make good the false +report of their capture of the fort by launching a series of close +attacks. The slopes leading to the fort were piled with German dead. +According to what German prisoners said, these attacks were among the +costliest they had engaged in during the entire campaign. It was +necessary for them to bring up fresh troops to reconstitute their +shattered units. + +At daybreak on March 11, 1916, the Germans renewed their attack on +Vaux village with desperate energy. The French had had time to fortify +the place in the most ingenious manner. The defense was so admirably +organized that it merits detailed description, if only to illustrate +that the French are not inferior to the Germans in "thoroughness" in +military matters. + +The French trenches ran from the end of the main street of the village +to the church. Barricades had been constructed at the foot of +Hardaumont Hill at intervals of about a hundred yards. Around the +ruined walls of the houses barbed wire was strongly wound and the +street was mined in a number of places. The houses on the two flanks +were heavily fortified with sandbags, while numerous machine guns with +steel shields were set up in positions where they could command all +the approaches. Batteries of mountain guns firing shrapnel were also +cunningly hidden in places where they could work the greatest +destruction. + +The French had so skillfully planned the defenses that the Germans +twice fought their way up and back the length of the main street +without discovering the chief centers of resistance. + +For nine hours the German bombardment of Vaux Fort and village was +prolonged. Enormous aerial torpedoes were hurled into the ruined +houses, but in the chaos of dust and flame and smoke the French held +fast, and not a position of any importance within the village or its +surroundings was abandoned. + +The first regiments to attack were drawn from the Fifteenth and +Eighteenth German Army Corps. At daybreak, when the German hosts +debouched from the plain of the Woevre, there was a heavy white mist +which enabled them to reach the French trenches. Owing to the enemy's +superiority in numbers, and fearing that they might be surrounded, the +French retired from their first positions. The Germans pushed their +way as far as the church, losing heavily, and could go no farther. +They found some shelter behind the ruined walls of the church and +neighboring houses. Each time that they attempted to leave the +protective walls the French guns smashed their ranks and slew +hundreds. + +When the mist vanished and the air cleared, the French batteries of +75's and 155's opened a heavy fire on and behind the foremost German +regiments, which not only cut gaps in their formations, but shut them +off from any help. The German commanders were in a desperate state of +mind, for they could not send either men or ammunition to the relief +of the troops under fire. The Germans did not start any new attacks +after that for a day and a half, although their artillery continued +active. + +Vaux Fort the Germans claimed to have captured, when after four days +of the bloodiest fighting they had not succeeded in reaching even the +entanglements around the position. + +The struggle in the village was of the most desperate character, but +while it lasted there was no more terrible fighting during the Verdun +battle than that which raged back and forth on the outskirts of the +fort. French officers from their commanding positions on the +neighboring heights afterward testified that they had never seen the +German command so recklessly and wantonly sacrifice their men. Column +after column was sent forward to certain death. Giant shells hurled by +the French burst in the midst of the exposed German battalions, and +the dead were piled in heaps over acres of ground. + +[Illustration: The Crown Prince, who commands the German forces on the +Verdun front, giving Iron Crosses to men who have distinguished +themselves for valor.] + +While this slaughter was going on the German artillery was trying to +destroy the French batteries on the plateau, but being cunningly +concealed few were silenced. The French freely acknowledged the +great bravery displayed by the Germans, who, after gaining the foot +of the slope, fought splendidly for an hour to get up to the fort. +Then reserve Bavarian troops were brought forward and endeavored to +climb the slopes by clinging to rocks and bushes. Many lost their +foothold, or were struck down under the rain of shells. At last even +the German command sickened of the slaughter and ordered a retreat. + +It was an especially bitter fact to the Germans that they had incurred +such great losses without gaining any advantage. The French positions +before the fort and in Vaux village remained intact, and the enemy had +failed utterly in their attempts to pierce the Vaux-Douaumont line. + +After some days' pause for reorganization, on March 16, 1916, the +Germans made five attacks on the village and fortress of Vaux. After a +bombardment by thousands of shells they must have believed that their +opponents would be crushed, if not utterly annihilated. But the French +soldiers clung stubbornly to the shell-ravaged ground, and though +sadly reduced in numbers, held their positions and flung back five +times the German horde. + +Two days later, on the 18th, the Germans resumed their offensive, and +no less than six attacks were made, in which flame projectors were +freely used and every effort made to smash the stubborn defense. But +the French wall of iron held firm, and in every instance the Germans +were beaten back with colossal losses. Again they were compelled to +pause and reorganize their lines. The calm that succeeded the storm +was no less welcome to the French defenders in this sector, for they +too had been hit hard, and it was questionable if they could have held +their positions against another strong attack. + +[Illustration: Verdun Northeast District in Detail.] + +Attacks on the sector north of Verdun having failed, the Germans began +on March 20, 1916, and continued during succeeding days to turn the +French by their (German) right in the Malancourt sector. The woods of +Montfaucon and Malancourt, where the Germans were strongly +established, crown a great island of sand and clay. The southeastern +portion of Malancourt Wood forms a sort of promontory known as +Avocourt Wood, and was the objective of the next German attack. The +main purpose in this operation was to extend their offensive front. + +On March 20, 1916, after intense bombardment in which their heaviest +guns were employed, the Germans sent a new division that had been +hurried up from another front against the French positions between +Avocourt and Malancourt. The attackers were thrown back in disorder at +every point but a corner of Malancourt Wood. During the night, though +strongly opposed by the French, who contested every foot of ground, +and despite heavy losses, the Germans penetrated and occupied Avocourt +Wood, from which they could not be dislodged. The French were, +however, in a position to prevent them from leaving the wood, and +every attempt made by the Germans to debouch met with failure. + +On March 22, 1916, the Germans having bombarded throughout the day, +made a number of attacks between Avocourt Wood and Malancourt village. +The French defeated every effort they made to leave the wood, but they +obtained a foothold on Haucourt Hill, where the French occupied the +redoubt. + +For five days the Germans were engaged in filling up their broken +units with fresh troops and in preparing plans of attack. On March 28, +1916, strong bodies of German infantry were thrown against the French +front at Haucourt and Malancourt. In numbers they far outmatched the +French defenders, but they gained no advantage and were thrown back in +disorder. Emboldened by this success, the French on the 29th +counterattacked to recover Avocourt Wood, and occupied the southeast +corner, which included an important stronghold, the Avocourt Redoubt. + +The Germans attacked and bombarded throughout the day. Their attempts +to regain the captured position in the wood failed, but they secured a +foothold on the northern edge of the village of Malancourt. + +This place was held by a single French battalion. It formed a salient +in the French line, and the Germans appeared to be desperately eager +to capture it. In the night of March 30, 1916, they launched mass +attacks from three sides of the village. The fighting was of the most +violent character and raged all night long. There were hand-to-hand +struggles from house to house; the losses were heavy on both sides. +Finally the French were forced to evacuate, the place now a mass of +ruins. They occupied, however, positions that commanded the exits to +the place. + +Early in the evening of the following day, the 31st, the Germans +launched two violent attacks on French positions northeast of Hill 295 +in the Mort Homme sector. Tear shells and every variety of projectile +were rained upon the French defenses. The attacks were delivered with +dash and vigor, and in one instance they succeeded in penetrating a +position. But the German success was only temporary. The French +rallied, and fell upon the intruders in a counterattack that drove +them from the field. + +During the evening and all night long the Germans violently bombarded +the territory between the wood south of Haudremont and Vaux village. +Twice they attacked in force. The French defeated one assault, but the +second carried the Germans into Vaux, where they occupied the western +portion of the place. + +On April 2, 1916, the fighting was prolonged throughout the day. The +Germans employed more than a division in the four simultaneous attacks +they made on French positions between Douaumont Fort and Vaux village. +Southeast of the fort they succeeded for a time in occupying a portion +of Caillette Wood, but were subsequently ejected. + +On the same day the Germans on the northern bank of Forges Brook, to +the west of Verdun, made a spirited attack on the French lines on the +southern bank, but it was not a success, and they lost heavily. They +also failed on the following day in an attack on Haucourt. + +During the night between March 5 and 6, 1916, the Germans attacked two +of the salients of the Avocourt-Bethincourt front with a large body of +troops. On the French right they failed entirely, and suffered heavy +losses. In the center, after many costly failures, they gained a +foothold in Haucourt Wood. On the other hand, the French delivered a +strong counterattack from the Avocourt Redoubt and succeeded in +reoccupying a large portion of the so-called "Square Wood" and in +capturing half a hundred prisoners. + +During the night of March, 6, 1916, new German attacks were launched +along the Bethincourt-Chattancourt road. Part of the French first line +was occupied, but was later lost. + +On the 7th the Germans attacked on a front of over a mile. The +assailants lacked neither dash nor daring, and were strong in numbers, +but they were shattered against the wall of French defense and driven +back with slaughter to their own line. Attempts on the French +positions south and east of Haucourt during the night of the 7th +failed, except in the south, where the Germans occupied two small +works. + +As a result of the fighting between March 30 and April 8, 1916, the +Germans had possession of the French advanced line on Forges Brook and +were in a position to strike at the most formidable line of French +defense, the Avocourt-Hill 304-Mort Homme-Cumieres front. + +The French General Staff during this gigantic struggle was constantly +guided by the following rule: Make the Germans pay dearly for each of +their advances. When it was believed that in order to defend a certain +point too many sacrifices would have to be made, they evacuated that +point. As soon as the Germans took hold of the point, however, they +were the target of a terrific fire from all of the French guns, which +were put to work at once. This was what General Petain, commanding the +Verdun army, called "the crushing fire." + +[Illustration: Verdun Northwest District in Detail.] + +On April 9, 1916, a general attack was made by the Germans on the +front between Haucourt and Cumieres, and simultaneously assaults were +delivered north and west of Avocourt and in Malancourt Wood and the +wood near Haudromont Farm. The struggle for the possession of Mort +Homme developed into one of the most notable and important battles of +Verdun. The attacking front of the Germans ran from west of Avocourt +to beyond the Meuse as high as the wood in the Haudromont Farm. This +general attack, one of the most violent that the Germans had made at +Verdun, failed completely. On the left of the French, a little strip +of land along the southern edge of the Avocourt Wood was won, but in a +dashing counterattack the French recaptured it. In the center the +Germans were repulsed everywhere, except south of Bethincourt, where +they succeeded in penetrating an advanced work. On the right bank, at +the side of Pepper Hill, the Germans only gained a foothold in one +trench east of Vacherauville. The main summit of Mort Homme, Hill 295, +as well as Hill 304, the principal positions, remained firmly in the +hands of the French. + +A captain of the French General Staff, and who was an eyewitness, has +described in a French publication some striking phases of the fight: + +"It is Sunday, and the sun shines brilliantly above--a real spring +Sunday. The artillery duel was long and formidable. Mort Homme was +smoking like a volcano with innumerable craters. The attack took place +about noon. At the same time, from this same place, lines of +sharpshooters could be seen between the Corbeaux Wood and Cumieres and +the gradient at the east of Mort Homme. They must have come from the +Raffecourt or from the Forges Mill, through the covered roads in the +valley-like depressions in the ground. It was the first wave +immediately followed by heavy columns. Our artillery fire from the +edge of Corbeaux Wood isolated them.... At times a rocket appeared in +the air; the call to the cannons, then the marking of the road. The +regular ticktack of the machine guns and the cracking of the shells +were distinctly heard even among the terrific noises of the +bombardment. + +"The German barrage fire in the rear of our front lines is so +frightful that one must not dream of going through it. Where will our +reenforcements pass? The inquietude increases when at 3.15 p. m. sharp +numerous columns in disorder regain on the run the wood of Cumieres. +What a wonderful sight is the flight of the enemy! The sun shines +fully on these small moving groups. But our shells also explode among +them, and the groups separate, stop disjointed. They disappear; they +are lying down. They get up--not all of them--but do not know where to +go, like pheasants flying haphazard before the fusillade. + +"With a tenacity that must be acknowledged the enemy comes back to the +charge, but the new attacks are less ordinate, less complete, and +quite weak. Even from a distance one feels that they cannot succeed as +well as the first. This lasts until sunset." + +To honor the French troops for their brilliant defense General Petain +issued the following Order of the Day: + +"April 9, 1916, has been a glorious day for our armies. The furious +assaults of the crown prince's soldiers have been broken everywhere; +infantry, artillerymen, sappers, and aviators of the Second Army have +rivaled each other in heroism. Honor to all! + +"The Germans will attack again without a doubt; let each work and +watch, so that we may obtain the same success. + +"Courage! We will win!" + +Far from showing the effects of their defeat, the Germans on April 10, +1916, attacked Caillette Wood, but were repulsed. Further attempts +made in the course of the night to eject the French from the trenches +to the south of Douaumont also failed. These futile assaults by no +means weakened the Germans' determination, and on March 11, 1916, they +attacked in force the front between Douaumont and Vaux. At some points +they succeeded in penetrating the French trenches, but were driven out +by vigorous counterattacks. + +On March 12, 1916, the French learned that the enemy was making +elaborate preparations to the west of the Meuse for a great assault. +Before the Germans could make ready for the attack the French +artillery showered their trenches and concentration points with +shells, and the assaulting columns that were in the act of assembling +were scattered in disorder. The French fire was so intense that the +Germans who occupied the first line of trenches were unable to leave +them. + +Artillery duels continued for several days, marked on the 15th by a +spirited attack made by the French on the German trenches at +Douaumont, during which they took several hundred prisoners and +wrested from the enemy some positions. + +The German bombardment now reached the highest pitch of intensity, and +the sector between Bras on the Meuse and Douaumont was swept by a +storm of fire. Poivre (or Pepper) Hill, Haudremont, and Chaufour Wood +especially, were subjected to such destruction that old landmarks were +wiped out as by magic, and the very face of nature was changed and +distorted. + +Having, as they believed, made the way clear for advance, the Germans +launched an attack in great force. It was estimated that the attacking +mass numbered 35,000 men. Believing that their guns had so crushed the +French forces that they would be unable to present any serious +defense, the German hordes swept on to attack on a front of about +three miles. Their reception was hardly what had been anticipated. +Great ragged gaps were torn in their formations as the French brought +rifles, machine guns, and heavy artillery into play. Their dead lay in +heaps on the ground, and along the whole front they were only able on +the right to penetrate a French trench south of Chaufour Wood. The +greater part of this was subsequently won back by their opponents in a +counterattack. On the 19th a German infantry assault launched against +Eparges failed. + +There was a lull in the fighting during most of the day of April 28, +1916, but in the twilight the Germans attacked at points between +Douaumont and Vaux and west of Thiaumont, but were forced back by the +French artillery. + +During the following day the Germans incessantly bombarded French +positions and made a futile attack. On the 30th the French forces +north of Mort Homme were on the offensive, and carried a German +trench. East of Mort Homme on the Cumieres front on the same day they +captured from the Germans 1,000 meters of trenches along a depth +varying from 300 to 600 meters. + +The Germans reattacked almost immediately with two of their most +famous corps, the Eighteenth and the Third Brandenburgers, which had +suffered so severely at Douaumont that they had been relegated to the +rear. It was estimated by the neutral military critic, Colonel Feyler, +that the first of these corps had lost 17,000 men and the second +22,000. After the fight in which they had been so hard hit the two +corps had spent seven weeks resting and were now drawn again into the +battle. Both were in action in the evening of April 30, 1916, the +Third north of Mort Homme and the Eighteenth at Cumieres. + +According to the evidence given by German prisoners, the Third Corps +again received heavy punishment. Of one regiment, the Sixty-fourth, +only a remnant survived, and one battalion lost nearly a hundred men +during the first attack. + +The Eighteenth Corps of Brandenburgers succeeded in penetrating one +point in the French lines, but a French regiment rushed the trench +with fixed bayonets and destroyed or captured all the Germans in +occupation. + +Some futile attempts were made by the Germans to retrieve their +failure, but the French firmly maintained their positions. + +In the evening of May 1, 1916, the French again assumed the offensive +and successfully stormed a 500-yard sector south of Douaumont. On the +front northwest of Mort Homme, between Hills 295 and 265, the French +made a brilliant attack in the evening of May 3, 1916, which was +entirely successful, the Germans being pushed back beyond the line +they had won early in March, 1916. + +The position of the French front on May 5, 1916, was as follows: It +was bounded by a line that ran through Pepper Hill, Hardaumont Wood, +the ravine to the southwest of the village of Douaumont, Douaumont +plateau to the south, and a few hundred yards from the fort, the +northern edge of Caillette Wood, the ravine and village of Vaux, and +the slopes of the fortress of Vaux. + +On May 5, 1916, this line was on the whole intact. Only in one place +had the Germans gained a small advance; they had captured Vaux +village, which consisted of a single street, but the French occupied +the slopes near by that commanded the place. + +There was no change on the French line on the left bank, where the +character of the ground was favorable for defense. For two months the +French line had remained fixed on Hill 304 and on Mort Homme. Only the +covering line, which extended from the wood of Avocourt to the Meuse +along the slopes of Haucourt, the bed of Forges Brook, and the crests +north of Cumieres, had been broken by the terrific attacks of the +enemy. + +The crown prince's army, which had been badly punished and suffered +heavy losses in this area in March, renewed the attempt to capture +Mort Homme and Hill 304 in May, 1916. It was evident from the +elaborate preparations made to possess these points that the Germans +considered them of first importance and that their conquest would +hasten the defeat of the French army. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI + +BATTLES OF HILL 304 AND DOUAUMONT--THE STRUGGLE AT FLEURY + + +It will be recalled that on April 9, 1916, the crown prince had +launched a general attack on the whole front between Avocourt and the +Meuse, the capture of Hill 304 being one of his chief objectives. The +onslaught, carried out on a huge scale, was a failure, and another +attempt made on the 28th also collapsed. Since then the Germans had +been held in their trenches, unable to engage in any action owing to +the vigilance of the French artillery gunners. + +On May 3, 1916, the Germans began a violent bombardment as a prelude +to another attempt to capture Hill 340. On the following day, about 2 +p. m., their assaulting waves were hurled against the French positions +on the counterslope north of the hill. The bombardment had been so +destructive that large numbers of French soldiers were buried in the +trenches. The active defenders that remained were not strong enough in +numbers to repel the masses of Germans thrown against them, and the +slopes were occupied by the enemy. During the night there was a French +counterattack; it was directed by a brilliant officer of the General +Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Odent, who had at his own request been +assigned the duty of defending this dangerous position. Rallying the +men of his regiment, he threw them against the foe. The French +succeeded in reaching the edges of the plateau facing northeast. This +advance was not gained without considerable losses, and during the +charge Lieutenant Colonel Odent was killed. + +On May 5, 1916, the Germans after an intense bombardment, in which gas +shells were lavishly used, tried to turn Hill 304, and also attacked +the Camart Wood and Hill 287. On the northern slope of Hill 304 the +French trenches were so badly damaged that they could not be held. But +the Germans, caught by the French artillery fire, found it impossible +to advance. Having failed to reach the plateau from the north, an +attempt was made through the ravine and behind the woods west and +northwest of Hill 304. This plan was frustrated by the French, who +repulsed them with the bayonet. + +The German attacks having failed everywhere, Hill 304 was subjected to +continuous and violent bombardment. In the afternoon of the 7th they +attacked again. With the exception of a strip of trench east of the +hill, which was retaken the following night, they did not register any +advance. + +Among the German regiments participating in these attacks the +following were identified: Regiments of the Eleventh Bavarian +Division, a regiment of the Hundred and Ninety-second Brigade, the +Twelfth Reserve Division, the Fourth Division, and the Forty-third +Reserve Division. + +From the 13th to the 16th of May, 1916, the Germans continued their +attacks on the Camart Wood west of Hill 304. In these operations they +employed a fresh corps, the Twenty-second Reserve Corps, for the first +time. + +After a lull lasting a few days the battle assumed an increasing +violence on the left bank. In the afternoon of the 20th the Germans +threw four divisions to the assault of Mort Homme. During the night +and on the following day the battle raged with undiminished fury. At a +heavy cost the Germans succeeded at last in capturing some trenches +north and west of Mort Homme. At one time the French second lines were +seriously threatened, but a spirited defense scattered the attackers. +After intense fighting the French won back some of the ground they had +lost on Hill 287, and during May 21 and 22, 1916, succeeded in +regaining other positions captured by the enemy. + +The recovery of Fort Douaumont which had been occupied by +Brandenburgers since February 25, 1916, was now the aim of the French. +General Mangin, one of the youngest officers of that rank in the +French army and commanding the Fifth Division, directed operations. +The French brought into action their heaviest artillery, which opened +a terrific fire on the German lines. + +The French soldiers accepted it as an omen of success when about 8 +o'clock in the morning of May 22, 1916, six captive balloons stationed +over the right bank of the Meuse exploded, thus depriving the German +batteries of their observers on whom they counted to get the range. + +At about 10 in the morning the French infantry by a brilliant charge +captured three lines of German trenches. The fortress of Douaumont was +penetrated, and during the entire night a fierce struggle was +continued within its walls. In spite of the most violent efforts of +the Germans to dislodge the French they maintained their positions +within the fort. + +Throughout the morning of May 23, 1916, the Germans rained shells on +French positions defended by the Hundred and Twenty-ninth Regiment. +The bombardment spread destruction among the French troops, but they +still clung to the terrain they had won and refused to yield or +retreat. + +Throughout the night of May 23, 1916, the bloody struggle continued +unabated. On the morning of May 24, 1916, the fortress was still in +the hands of the French, with the exception of the northern salient +and some parts to the east. On the following day two new Bavarian +divisions were thrown into the fight and succeeded in retaking the +lines of the fortress, driving back the French as far as the immediate +approaches; that is, to the places they occupied previous to their +attack. + +On the left bank of the Meuse the fighting slowed down, decreasing +gradually in intensity. The Germans were reacting feebly in this +territory, concentrating their greatest efforts on the right bank. +Throughout the whole region of Thiaumont, Douaumont, and Vaux they +pressed the fighting and were engaged in almost continuous attacks +and bombardments. + +[Illustration: The Mort Homme Sector in Detail.] + +On the 1st of June, 1916, all the French front in this sector was +attacked. The Germans, disregarding their heavy losses, returned +repeatedly to the charge. It was ascertained through a document found +on a prisoner that General Falkenhayn, chief of the German General +Staff, had given the order to advance at all costs. + +The Germans attacked fearlessly, but the only progress they succeeded +in making was through the Caillette Wood to the southern edge of Vaux +Pool. + +For five days this battle continued, one of the most desperately +fought around Verdun, and yet the Germans made insignificant gains, +out of all proportion to their immense losses. The Bavarian Division +which led the attack displayed an "unprecedented violence," according +to a French communique issued at the time. The Germans, repulsed again +and again, returned to the charge, and succeeded in obtaining a +foothold in the first houses of Damloup. + +The struggle was continued without pause during the night from June 2 +to June 3, 1916. By repeated and vigorous attacks the Germans at last +entered the ditches to the north of the fortress of Vaux, but were +unable to penetrate the works occupied by the French. + +About 8 o'clock in the evening of June 3, 1916, the Germans attempted +to surprise the fortress at the southeast by escalading the ravine +which cuts the bank of the Meuse near Damloup. This was foiled by the +French, who drove them back in a sharp counterattack. The Germans did +not make the attempt again at this time, but continued to bombard the +fort with heavy guns. + +On June 4, 1916, at 3 in the afternoon, several German battalions +advancing from Vaux Pool attempted to climb the slopes to the wood of +Fumin, but were swept back by French machine-gun fire. In the evening +and during the night the Germans repeatedly attacked without gaining +any advantage. The wood of Fumin remained in French possession. + +[Illustration: Verdun to St. Mihiel.] + +There were no attacks on the following day, owing to weather +conditions and the general exhaustion of the German troops. But +the Sixth German Artillery resumed its firing on the fortress, +throwing such an avalanche of shells that every approach to the place +became impassable. Inside the works a mere handful of French under +Major Raynal firmly held its ground. + +[Illustration: The thoroughly organized French Aviation camp near +Verdun, as seen by an aviator flying at a height of 500 meters (about +1640 feet). As the war continues, the daring and skill of aviators win +more and more admiration.] + +In the evening of June 6, 1916, the garrison of the fortress of Vaux +repulsed a savage German attack; but during the night, owing to the +tremendous bombardment which cut off all communication with the +fortress, the position of the French became serious indeed. The brave +garrison was now entirely surrounded. Finally by means of signals they +were able to make their condition known to French troops at some +distance away. Unless they could get speedy assistance there was no +hope of their holding the fort. The struggle continued more +desperately than ever as the Germans realized how precarious was the +French hold on the place. + +On June 6, 1916, the French gunner Vannier, taking with him some +comrades, most of whom were wounded, succeeded in escaping through an +air hole and tried to reach the French lines. + +The heroic garrison had now reached the limit of human endurance. +Without food or water, it was hopeless for them to continue their +defense of the place. When the last hope was gone, Major Raynal +addressed this message to his men: + +"We have stayed the limit. Officers and men have done their duty. Long +live France!" + +On June 7, 1916, the Germans took possession of the fortress and its +heroic garrison. + +Major Raynal for his brave conduct was by order of General Joffre made +a Commander of the Legion of Honor. According to a German report +Raynal was permitted by the crown prince to retain his sword in +appreciation of his valorous defense of the fort. It must be conceded +that the capture of Fort Vaux, though costly, was a valuable +acquisition to the Germans, and served to hearten and encourage the +troops who had met with so many disasters in this area. + +By this victory they were brought into contact with the inner line of +the Verdun defenses, and now if ever were in a position for a supreme +effort which might decide the war, as far as France was concerned. But +if this desired end was to be obtained, the crushing blow must be +delivered at once, for time threatened. Russian successes on the +southeastern front had created a new and serious problem. It was known +that a Franco-British offensive was imminent. The Germans were in a +situation that called for heroic action: the capture of Verdun with +all possible speed. + +During the month of June, 1916, the Germans used up men and material +on a lavish and unprecedented scale. On June 23, 1916, they started a +general attack against the French positions of Froideterre, Fleury, +and Souville. From papers taken from prisoners it was learned that a +very great offensive was intended which the Germans believed would +carry them up to the very walls of Verdun. The German troops were +ordered to advance without stopping, without respite, and regardless +of losses, to capture the last of the French positions. The assaulting +force that was to carry out this program was estimated to number +between 70,000 and 80,000 men. + +Preceded by a terrific bombardment the Germans attacked at 8 o'clock +in the morning of June 23, 1916, on a front of five kilometers, from +Hill 321 to La Lauffee. Under the fury of the onslaught the French +line was bent in at a certain point. The Thiaumont works and some +near-by trenches were carried by the Germans. One of their strong +columns succeeded in penetrating the village of Fleury, but was +speedily ejected. To the west in the woods of Chapitre and Fumin all +the German assaults were shattered. During the night the French +counterattacked; they recaptured a part of the ground lost between +Hills 320 and 321 and drove the Germans back as far as the Thiaumont +works. + +[Illustration: Verdun gain up to August, 1916.] + +The battle raged with varying fortunes to the combatants all day long +on June 24, 1916. The village of Fleury in the center was directly +under fire of the German guns, and they succeeded in occupying a group +of houses. The French delivered a dashing counterattack, and were +successful in freeing all but a small part of the place. On the 25th +the Germans doubled the violence of their bombardment. Not since they +assumed the offensive had they launched such a tornado of +destructive fire. Another objective of the Germans besides Fleury was +the fortress of Souville. In the ravines of Bazile they suffered +appalling losses, but succeeded in gaining a foothold in the wood of +Chapitre. The French, counterattacking, regained most of the lost +ground, and still held the village of Fleury. + +The struggle around Thiaumont works continued for days, during which +the place changed hands several times. It was recaptured by the French +on June 28, 1916, lost again on the following day, retaken once more, +and on July 4, 1916, it was again in German hands. The struggle over +this one position will give some impression of the intensity of the +fighting along the entire front during this great offensive which the +Germans hoped and believed would prove decisive. + +The general tactics pursued by the Germans in these attacks never +varied. They made their efforts successively on the right and on the +left of the point under aim, so that they could encircle the point +which formed in this manner a salient, and was suitable for +concentration of artillery fire. + +The Germans failed to make any serious advance in the center of the +French lines, being halted by vigorous counterattacks. + +On July 12, 1916, the Germans attacked with six regiments and pushed +their way to the roads to Fleury and Vaux within 800 meters of the +fortress of Souville. This advance during the next few days was halted +by the French. + +The Germans claimed to have captured thirty-nine French officers and +2,000 men during their attack. They did not, apparently, attempt to +pursue their advantage and press on, but returned to bombarding the +French works at Souville, Chenois, and La Lauffee. As the Allied +offensive on the Somme developed strength, the German attacks on +Verdun perceptibly weakened, and beyond a few patrol engagements in +Chenois Wood, no further infantry fighting was reported from Verdun on +July 16, 1916. But the French continued to "nibble" into the German +positions around Fleury three miles from Verdun, and had improved and +strengthened their positions at Hill 304. Fleury was now the nearest +point to Verdun that the Germans had succeeded in reaching, but here +their advance was halted. + +The British had meanwhile been pressing forward on the Somme, and by +July 23, 1916, had penetrated the German third line. The Russians too +were winning successes, and had dealt a destructive blow in Volhynia. +The pressure from the east and west forced the Germans to withdraw +large bodies of troops from the Verdun sector and send them to the +relief of their brothers on other fronts. + +In the closing days of July, 1916, the Franco-British "push" became +the principal German preoccupation. The great struggle for Verdun, the +longest battle continuously fought in history, from that time on +became a military operation of only second importance. + +The magnitude of this great struggle may be illustrated by a few +statistics. In the six months' combat some 3,000 cannon had been +brought into action. About two millions of men had attacked or +defended the stronghold. No correct estimate can be made of the losses +on both sides, but it is stated that at least 200,000 were killed, and +the end was not yet in sight. + +The second anniversary of the war found the Germans on the defensive. +Twenty million fighters had been called to the colors of twelve +belligerent nations; about four million had been killed, and over ten +million wounded and taken prisoners. For all this vast expenditure in +blood and treasure no decisive battle had been fought since the German +defeat on the Marne in September, 1914. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII + +SPRING OPERATIONS IN OTHER SECTORS + + +While greater issues were being fought out in the Verdun sector, from +the beginning of the second phase of the German attack during March, +there was considerable sporadic "liveliness" on other parts of the +western front. Though the main interest centered for the time around +the apparently impregnable fortresses of which Verdun is the nucleus, +a continuous, fluctuating activity was kept in progress along the +whole line up to the opening of the big allied offensive on the last +day of June. March 1, 1916, found the battle line practically +unchanged. From Ostend on the North Sea it ran straightway south +through the extreme western comer of Belgium, crossing the French +frontier at a point northwest of Lille. From there it zigzagged its +way to a point about sixty miles north of Paris, whence it then +followed an eastern tangent paralleling the northern bank of the River +Aisne; thence easterly to Verdun, forming there a queer half-moon +salient arc with the points bent sharply toward the center. From the +south of Verdun the line extended unbroken and rather straight south +and a little easterly to the Swiss frontier. + +In the Ypres sector during the first four days of March the fighting +was confined to the usual round of violent artillery duels, mine +springing, hand grenade skirmishing, intermittent hand-to-hand attacks +and effective aircraft raids. On March 1, 1916, twenty British +aircraft set out seeking as their objective the important German lines +of communication and advanced bases east and north of Lille. +Considerable damage was inflicted with high explosive bombs. One +British aeroplane failed to return. From all parts thrilling, tragic +and heroic aerial exploits are recorded. While cruising over the +Beanon-Jussy road a German Fokker observed a rapidly moving enemy +transport. Reversing his course, the pilot floated over the procession +and dropped bombs. The motor lorries stopped immediately, when the +aeroplane dropped toward the earth, attacked the transport at close +range and got away again in safety. On the same day also a French +biplane equipped with double motors encountered an enemy plane near +Cernay, in the valley of the Thur, and brought it down a shattered +mass of flame. North of Soissons, near the village of Vezaponin, a +French machine was shot down into the German lines; another French +aero was struck by German antiaircraft guns; with a marvelous dive and +series of loops it crashed to earth. Both pilot and observer were +buried with their machine. During the evening of March 1, 1916, the +German infantry, after a furious cannonading north of the Somme, +delivered a sharp assault on a line of British trenches, but were held +back by machine-gun fire. Along the Ypres sector the same night +violent gunfire took place on both sides with apparently small effect +or damage. In a previous volume it was mentioned that the Germans had +once more recaptured the "international trench" on February 14, 1916. +For a fortnight the British artillery constantly held the position +under fire and prevented the consolidation of the ground. At 4.30 a. m. +the British infantry suddenly emerged from their trenches. The +grenadiers dashed ahead, smothering the surprised Germans with bombs. +The general disorder was increased by the fact that the trench parties +were just being relieved. In a few minutes the lost ground was +recovered, the German line dangerously pushed in and 254 prisoners, +including five officers, fell to the British. At midday the Germans +bombarded the line with fifty batteries for four hours. Then waves of +assaulting columns were let loose against the British. The latter +noticed that the front line of infantry hurled their bombs several +yards _behind_ the British trenches and rushed forward with hands up. +Immediately a hurricane of shells from their own guns burst among the +German infantry. The survivors flung themselves on the ground and +crawled into the British trenches for protection. This action was the +more significant in that the men who thus surrendered were all very +young and belonged to a regiment which, until then, had fought with +conspicuous bravery. At the end of the day the British counted more +than 300 corpses, while their own losses were slight and their entire +gains maintained. + +Most of the combats in the Artois and Ypres sectors consisted of mine +springing and crater fighting. What was once the Hohenzollern Redoubt +was particularly the scene of some vigorous subterranean warfare. What +happened there on March 2 is thus described by an eyewitness: "Many +huge craters have been made, won, and what is more, retained by a rare +combination of skill, courage, and endurance. Men who fought all +through the war have seen nothing comparable with the largest of +these craters. They are amphitheaters, and cover perhaps half an acre +of ground. When the mine exploded at 5.45 p. m. on March 2, 1916, a +thing like a great black mushroom rose from the earth. Beneath it +appeared, with the ponderous momentum of these big upheavals, a white +growth like the mushroom's gills. It was the chalk subsoil following +in the wake of the black loam. With this black and white upheaval went +up, Heaven knows, how many bodies and limbs of Germans, scattered +everywhere with the rest of the debris. And the explosion sent up many +graves as well as the bodies of the living. One of the British bombers +who occupied the crater and spent a crowded hour hurling bombs from +the farther lip found that he was steadying himself and getting a +lever for the bowling arm by clinging on to a black projection with +his left hand. It was a Hessian boot. The soil of the amphitheater was +so worked, mixed, and sieved by the explosive action and the effects +of the melting snow that it was almost impassable. A staff officer, +among others, who went up to help, had to be pulled out of the morass +as he was carrying away one of the wounded. There is no fighting so +terrible and so condensed as crater fighting. The struggle is a +veritable graveyard, a perfect target for bomb and grenade and the +slower attack of the enemy's mine. The British held a circle of German +trenches on a little ridge of ground north of Loos. The capture meant +that they could overlook the plain beyond and win a certain +projection. At 6.00 p. m. on March 2, 1916, the engineers exploded +four mines under the nearer arc, and within a few minutes, while +artillery thundered overhead, the British infantry advanced in spite +of terrible mud and occupied each crater. Not a single machine gun was +fired at them as they charged--probably the mines had destroyed them +all--and their casualties were very small indeed." + +Germans counterattacking hurried up their communication trenches, and +as they came on some examples of prompt handiwork stopped their +advance. A sergeant and one man stopped one rush; a color sergeant and +private, well equipped with sandbags, each holding a score of bombs, +performed miracles of resistance. Every night the Germans came on, +capping a day of continuous bombardment with showers of bombs, rifle +grenades, and artillery, mostly 5.9 howitzers, and with infantry +onsets at close quarters. They stormed with dash and determination, +backed by good artillery and an apparently inexhaustible stock of +grenades. The tale of the German losses was high. One communication +trench packed with men was raked from end to end with a British Lewis +gun till it was a graveyard. On this occasion the British artillery +was overwhelming in amount and volume; shells were not spared, and +they fired ten to the Germans' one. Within less than a mile and a half +there were eight groups of mines. + +On March 3, 1916, an intense artillery duel progressed for possession +of the Bluff, an elevated point above the Ypres-Comines Canal. The +Germans evidently regarded the point as important, for they flung +great masses of troops over the Bluff, when the British attacked and +captured more than their lost lines of trenches running along an +eastern hillock by the canal. The next night and morning the British +heavy artillery poured a continuous stream of shell on the Bluff in +well-marked time. The men in the front trenches began cheering, as +always before an attack, but instead of advancing they shot over a +heavy shower of bombs. One soldier alone was credited with having +flung more than 300 bombs into the German trenches. In the obscurity +of the gray dawn British troops quietly and suddenly dashed into the +Germans and cleared the trenches with bayonets. This was accomplished +in two minutes, when the large guns spread a curtain of fire over the +Germans, inflicting severe losses. The German soldiers then attempted +resolute counterattacks, but were repulsed with machine-gun fire. + +Between the 1st and 4th of March, 1916, there was sharp grenade +fighting southeast of Vermelles, in some mine craters. After severe +bombardment the Germans attempted to recapture the craters by infantry +attacks, but apparently without success. In Artois they endeavored to +drive the French from a crater they occupied near the road from +Neuville to La Folie, and failed in the enterprise. In the Argonne the +French bombarded the German organizations in the region southeast of +Vauquois and demolished several shelters, while in Lorraine, in the +neighborhood of the Thiauville Ponds, the French carried sections of +German trenches after artillery preparation, capturing sixty +prisoners, including two officers, and some machine guns. On March 4, +1916, a serious explosion occurred in the powder magazine known as +"Double Couronne," St. Denis, a fort used by the French as a munitions +store. The concussion was so terrific that a car a considerable +distance away and containing thirty-two passengers was overturned and +nearly all were injured. Altogether the casualties amounted to about +thirty-five killed and 200 wounded. + +In the Ypres sector during March 4 and 5, 1916, the fighting came to a +standstill and the positions remained unchanged. In the Champagne +vigorous artillery action continued on both sides with occasional +infantry attacks and counterattacks of little consequence. In the +district about Loos and northeast of Ypres heavy cannonading endured +all day on the 6th, the Germans hurling quantities of large caliber +shells over the enemy's trenches without any apparent object. On the +Ypres-Comines Canal the British still held the positions gained by +storm on March 2, 1916. Near Soissons the French heavily bombarded the +German works, and their terrific fire at Badenviller in Lorraine +compelled a German retirement from the positions established there +February 21, 1916. In the Flanders sector, on the Belgian front, +concentrated artillery fire silenced German bomb throwers in a futile +attempt to capture a trench. In the Woevre district the German troops, +after a fierce assault, stormed the village of Fresnes and captured +it, the French retaining a few positions on the outskirts. The German +infantry advanced in close formation and literally swarmed into the +village, while the French 75's and machine guns tore great gaps in +their ranks. Northeast of Vermelles small detachments of British +troops penetrated the German trenches on March 6, 1916, but were +compelled to retire. Active engagements and furious hand-to-hand +fighting centered around Maisons de Champagne. The positions the +French had taken on February 11, 1916, were recaptured by surprise +bayonet attacks, the Germans taking two officers and 150 men +prisoners. In the Argonne region attempts on the part of the Germans +to occupy some mine craters were repulsed. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII + +BATTLE OF THE SOMME--ALLIED PREPARATIONS--POSITIONS OF THE OPPOSING +FORCES + + +Picardy, where the great battle of the Somme was staged in the summer +of 1916, is a typical French farming region of peasant cultivators, a +rolling table-land, seldom rising more than a few hundred feet, and +intersected by myriad shallow, lazy-flowing streams. Detached farms +are few, the farmers congregating in and around the little villages +that stand in the midst of hedgeless corn and beet fields stretching +far and wide. Here the Somme flows with many crooked turns, now +broadening into a lake, now flowing between bluffs and through swamps. +There is, or rather was, an inviting, peaceful look about this +country. Untouched, remote from the scene of battle it seemed, yet +here in the spring of 1916 preparations were already going forward for +what was to prove one of the fiercest struggles of the Great War. + +In July, 1915, the British had taken over most of the line from Arras +to the Somme, and had passed a quiet winter in the trenches. The long +pause had been occupied by the active Germans in transforming the +chalk hills they occupied into fortified positions which they believed +would prove impregnable. The motives for the Allies' projected +offensive on the Somme were to weaken the German pressure on Verdun, +which had become severe in June, and to prevent the transference of +large bodies of troops from the west to the eastern front where they +might endanger the plans of General Brussilov. + +The British had been receiving reenforcements steadily, and were at +the beginning of 1916 in a position to lengthen their line sensibly. +In the neighborhood of Arras they were able to relieve an entire +French army, the Tenth. The French on their side had by no means +exhausted their reserves at Verdun, but it would prove a welcome +relief to them if by strong pressure the long strain were lifted in +Picardy. Sir Douglas Haig, it was stated, would have preferred to +delay the Somme offensive a little longer, for while his forces were +rapidly increasing, the new levies were not as yet completely trained. +In view, however, of the general situation of the Allies in the west +it was imperative that the blow should be delivered not later than +midsummer of 1916. + +The original British Expeditionary Force, popularly known as the "Old +Contemptibles," who performed prodigies of valor in the first terrible +weeks of the war, had largely disappeared. In less than two years the +British armies had grown from six to seventy divisions, not including +the troops sent by India and Canada. In addition there were large +numbers of trained men in reserve sufficient, it was believed, to +replace the probable wastage that would occur for a year to come. It +was in every sense a New British Army, for the famous old regiments of +the line had been renewed since Mons, and the men of the new +battalions were drawn from the same source that supplied their drafts. +The old formations had a history, the new battalions had theirs to +make. This in good time they proceeded to do, as will be subsequently +shown. + +In the Somme area the German front was held by the right wing of the +Second Army, once Von Billow's, but now commanded by Otto von Below a +brother of Fritz von Below commanding the Eighth Army in the east. The +area of Von Below's army in the Somme region began south of Monchy, +while the Sixth Army under the Crown Prince of Bavaria lay due north. +The front between Gommecourt and Frise in the latter part of June was +covered in this manner. North of the Ancre lay the Second Guard +Reserve Division and the Fifty-second Division (two units of the +Fourteenth Reserve Corps raised in Baden, but including Prussians, +Alsatians, and what not), the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-eighth Reserve +Divisions, and then the Twelfth Division of the Sixth Reserve Corps. +Covering the road to Peronne south of the river were the One Hundred +and Twenty-first Division, the Eleventh Division, and the Thirty-sixth +Division belonging to the Seventeenth Danzig Corps. + +[Illustration: Sector where Grand Offensive was Started.] + +The British General Staff had decided that the Fourth Army under +General Sir Henry Rawlinson should make the attack. General Rawlinson +was a tried and experienced officer, who at the beginning of the +campaign had commanded the Seventh Division, and at Loos the Fourth +Army Corps. His front extended from south of Gommecourt across the +valley of the Ancre to the north of Maricourt, where it joined the +French. There were five corps in the British Fourth Army, the Eighth +under Lieutenant General Sir Aylmer Hunter-Weston; the Tenth under +Lieutenant General Sir T. L. N. Morland, the Third under Lieutenant +General Sir W. P. Pulteney, the Fifteenth under Lieutenant General +Home, and the Thirteenth under Lieutenant General Congreve, V. C. The +nucleus for another army, mostly composed of cavalry divisions, lay +behind the forces along the front. Called at first the Reserve, and +afterward the Fifth Army under the command of General Sir Hubert +Gough, it subsequently won renown in some of the hottest fights of the +campaign. + +The French attacking force, the Sixth Army, once commanded by +Castelnau, but now by a famous artilleryman, General Fayolle, lay from +Maricourt astride the Somme to opposite Fay village. It comprised the +very flower of the French armies, including the Twentieth Corps, which +had won enduring fame at Verdun under the command of General +Balfourier. It was principally composed of Parisian cockneys and +countrymen from Lorraine, and at Arras in 1914, and in the Artois in +the summer of 1915, had achieved memorable renown. There were also the +First Colonial Corps under General Brandelat, and the Thirty-fifth +Corps under General Allonier. To the south of the attacking force lay +the Tenth Army commanded by General Micheler, which was held in +reserve. The soldiers of this army had seen less fighting than their +brothers who were to take the offensive, but they were quite as eager +to be at the enemy, and irked over the delay. + +During the entire period of bombardment the French and British +aviators, by means of direct observation and by photographs, rendered +full and detailed reports of the results obtained by the fire. The +British and French General Staffs thus followed from day to day, and +even from hour to hour, the progress made in the destruction of German +trenches and shelters. + +During the bombardment some seventy raids were undertaken between +Gommecourt and the extreme British left north of Ypres. Some of these +raids were for the purpose of deceiving the enemy as to the real point +of assault and others to identify the opposing units. Few of the +raiders returned to the British line without bagging a score or so of +prisoners. Among these raiding parties a company of the Ninth Highland +Light Infantry especially distinguished themselves. + +Fighting in the air continued every day during this preliminary +bombardment. It was essential that the Germans should be prevented +from seeing the preparations that were going forward. The eyes of a +hostile army are its aeroplanes and captive balloons. Owing to the +daring of the French and British aviators the German flyers were +literally prohibited from the lines of the Allies during all that +time. In five days fifteen German machines were brought to the ground. +Very few German balloons even attempted to take the air. + +On June 24, 1916, the bombardment of German trenches had reached the +highest pitch of intensity. The storm of shells swept the entire enemy +front, destroying trenches at Ypres and Arras and equally obliterating +those at Beaumont-Hamel and Fricourt. + +By July 28, 1916, all the region subjected to bombardment presented a +scene of complete and appalling devastation. Only a few stumps marked +the spot where leafy groves had stood. The pleasant little villages +that had dotted the smiling landscape were reduced to mere heaps of +rubbish. Hardly a bit of wall was left standing. It seemed impossible +that any living thing could survive in all that shell-smitten +territory. + +As the day fixed upon for the attack drew near the condition of the +weather caused the British command some anxious hours. The last week +of June, 1916, was cloudy, and frequent showers of rain had +transformed the dusty roads into deep mud. But in the excitement that +preceded an assault of such magnitude the condition of the weather +could not dampen the feverish ardor of the troops. There was so much +to be done that there was no time to consider anything but the work in +hand. A nervous exhilaration prevailed among the men, who looked +eagerly and yet fearfully forward to the hour for the great offensive +from which such great things were expected. + +In the afternoon of the last day of June, 1916, the sky cleared and +soon the stars shone brightly in the clear, blue night. Orders were +given out to the British commanders to attack on the following morning +three hours after daybreak. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIX + +THE BRITISH ATTACK + + +The first day of July, 1916, dawned warm and cloudless. Since half +past 5 o'clock every gun of the Allies on a front of twenty-five miles +was firing without pause, producing a steady rumbling sound from which +it was difficult to distinguish the short bark of the mortars, the +crackle of the field guns, and the deep roar of the heavies. The +slopes to the east were wreathed in smoke, while in the foreground lay +Albert, where German shells fell from time to time, with its shattered +church of Notre Dame de Bebrieres, from whose ruined campanile the +famous gilt Virgin hung head downward. At intervals along the Allies' +front, and for several miles to the rear, captive kite balloons, +tugging at their moorings, gleamed brightly in the morning light. + +The Allies' bombardment reached its greatest intensity about 7.15, +when all the enemy slopes were hidden by waves of smoke like a heavy +surf breaking on a rock-bound coast. Here and there spouts and columns +of earth and debris shot up in the sunlight. It seemed that every +living thing must perish within the radius of that devastating +hurricane of fire. + +At 7.30 exactly there was a short lull in the bombardment--just long +enough for the gunners everywhere to lengthen their range, and then +the fire became a barrage. The staff officers, who had been studying +their watches, now gave the order, and along the twenty-five mile +front the Allies' infantry left the trenches and advanced to attack. + +In this opening stage of the battle the British aim was the German +first position. The section selected for attack ran from north to +south, covering Gommecourt, passing east of Hebuterne and following +the high ground before Serre and Beaumont-Hamel, crossed the Ancre +northwest of Thiepval. From this point it stretched for about a mile +and a quarter to the east of Albert. Passing south around Fricourt, it +turned at right angles to the east, covering Mametz and Montauban. +Midway between Maricourt and Hardecourt it turned south, covering +Curlu, crossing the Somme at a marshy place near Vaux, and finally +passed east of Frise, Dompierre, and Soyecourt, to leave east of +Lihons the sector in which the Allied offensive was in progress which +we are describing. + +The disposition of the British forces on the front of attack was as +follows: The right wing of Sir Edmund Allenby's Third Army and General +Hunter-Weston's Eighth Corps lay opposite Gommecourt, and down to a +point just south of Beaumont-Hamel. North of Ancre to Authuille was +General Morland's Tenth Corps, and east of Albert General Pulteney's +Third Corps, a division directed against La Boiselle, and another +against Ovillers. Adjoining the French forces on the British right +flank lay General Congreve's Thirteenth Corps. + +The Allies' attack was not unexpected by the Germans, and they were +not entirely wrong as to the area in which the blow would be +delivered. From Arras to Albert they had concentrated large forces of +men and many guns, but south of Albert they were less strongly +prepared. Their weakest point was south of the Somme, where the Allies +had all the advantage. In recording the history of the day's fighting +two separate actions must be described, in the north and in the south. +The Allies failed in the first of these, but in the second they gained +a substantial victory over the German hosts. The most desperate +struggle of the day was fought between Gommecourt and Thiepval. + +Three of the British divisions in action here were from the New Army; +one was a Territorial brigade and the two others had seen hard +fighting in Flanders and Gallipoli. They confronted a series of +strongly fortified villages--Gommecourt Serre, Beaumont-Hamel, and +Thiepval--with underground caves that could shelter whole battalions. +A network of underground passages led to sheltered places to the rear +of the fighting line, and deep pits had been dug in which, in time of +bombardment, the machine guns could be hidden. The Germans had also +direct observation from the rear of these strongholds, where their +guns were massed in large numbers. + +Occupying such strong positions with every advantage in their favor, +it is easy to understand why the British troops that attacked from +Gommecourt to Thiepval failed to attain their objective. If the +British bombardment had reached a high pitch of intensity on the +morning of July 1, 1916, the German guns were no less active, and +having the advantage of direct observation, their explosive shells +soon obliterated parts of the British front trenches, compelling the +British to form up in the open ground. A hot barrage fire of shrapnel +accurately directed followed the British troops as they advanced over +no-man's-land. Into a very hell of shrapnel, high explosives, rifle +and machine-gun fire they pushed on in ordered lines. Soon the +devastating storm of German artillery fire cut great gaps in their +formation, yet not a man hung back or wavered. And this destructive +German fire, accurate and relentless, the British soldiers faced +unflinchingly from early dawn to high noon. Here and there the German +position was penetrated by the more adventurous spirits, some +detachments even forcing their way through it, but they could not hold +their ground. The attack was checked everywhere, and by evening what +was left of the British troops from Gommecourt to Thiepval struggled +back to their old line. + +The British had failed to win their objective, but the day had not been +wholly wasted; they had struck deep into the heart of the German defense +and inspired in the enemy a wholesome respect for their fighting powers. +In this stubborn attack nearly every English, Scotch, and Irish regiment +was represented--a Newfoundland battalion, a little company of +Rhodesians, as well as London and Midland Territorials--all of whom +displayed high courage. Again and again the German position was pierced. +Part of one British division broke through south of Beaumont-Hamel and +penetrated to the Station road on the other side of the quarry, a +desperate adventure that cost many lives. It was at Beaumont-Hamel, +under the Hawthorne Redoubt, that exactly at 7.30 a. m., the hour of +attack, the British exploded a mine which they had been excavating for +seven months. It was the work of Lancashire miners, the largest mine +constructed thus far in the campaign. It was a success. Half the village +and acres of land sprang into the air, blotting out for a time the light +of the sun on the scene and hiding in a pall of dust and smoke the +rapidly advancing British troops. + +In the day's fighting the Irish soldiers were especially distinguished +for many remarkable acts of bravery. The Royal Irish Fusiliers were +the first to leave the trenches. To the north of Thiepval the Ulster +Division broke through the German position at a point called "The +Crucifix," holding for a time the formidable Schwaben Redoubt, and +some even penetrated the outskirts of Grandcourt. The Royal Irish +Rifles swept over the German parapet, and, assisted by the +Inniskillings, cleared the trenches and destroyed the machine gunners. +Through the enemy lines they swept, enfiladed on three sides, and +losing so heavily that only a few escaped from the desperate venture. +But the gallant remnant that struggled back to their own line took 600 +prisoners, one trooper alone bringing in fifteen through the enemy's +own barrage. + +The village of Fricourt, as will be seen by the map, forms a prominent +salient, and the British command decided to cut it off by attacking on +two sides. An advance was planned on the strongly fortified villages +of Ovillers and La Boiselle. The British on the first day won the +outskirts and carried all the intrenchments before them, but had not +gained control of the ruins, though a part of a brigade had actually +entered La Boiselle and held a portion of the place. To complete the +operation of cutting off Fricourt it was necessary to carry Mametz on +the south; this accomplished, the forces would unite in the north at +La Boiselle and Ovillers and, following the long depression popularly +known as Sausage Valley toward Contalmaison, would be able to squeeze +Fricourt so hard that it must be abandoned by the enemy. The British +plans worked out successfully. A division that had been sorely +punished at Loos and was now occupying a position west of Fricourt had +now an opportunity to avenge its previous disaster. With grim +determination to clean up the old score against the Germans, they +advanced rapidly into the angle east of Sausage Valley, carrying two +small woods and attacking Fricourt from the north and occupying a +formidable position that threatened Fricourt. + +The strongly fortified village of Montauban fell early in the day of +July 1, 1916. Reduced to ruins, it crowned a ridge below the position +of the British lines in a hollow north of the Peronne road at Carnoy. +The British artillery had done effective work, and the attack on +Montauban resulted in an easier victory than had been expected. The +Sixth Bavarian Regiment which defended the place was said to have lost +3,000 out of the 8,500 who had entered the battle. Here for the first +time in the campaign was witnessed the advance in line of the soldiers +of Britain and France. + +It was a moving sight that thrilled and heartened all the combatants. +The Twentieth Corps of the French army lay on the British right, while +the Thirty-ninth Division under General Nourisson marched in line with +the khaki-clad Britons. + +Only after surveying the captured ground did the French and British +realize what a seemingly impregnable stronghold had been won. Endless +labor had been expended by the Germans not only in fortifying the +place but in constructing dugouts that were well furnished and +homelike. The best of these were papered, with linoleum on the floor, +pictures on the wall, and contained bathrooms, electric lights and +electric bells. There were also at convenient points bolt holes from +which the occupants could escape in case of surprise. Some of the +dugouts had two stories, the first being reached by a thirty-foot +staircase. Another stairway about as long communicated with the lower +floor. Every preparation seemed to have been made for permanent +occupation. The Germans had good reasons for believing that their +position was impregnable. The utmost ingenuity had been employed to +fortify every point. Carefully screened manholes used by the snipers +were reached by long tunnels from the trenches. The most notable piece +of military engineering was a heavily timbered communication trench +300 feet long, and of such a depth that those passing through it were +safe from even the heaviest shells. + +Late in the afternoon Mametz fell, after it had been reduced to a +group of ruined walls, above which rose a rough pile of broken masonry +that represented the village church. The Germans who occupied trench +lines on the southern side had shattered the British trenches opposite +Mametz so completely that the British infantry were forced to advance +over open ground. + + + + +CHAPTER L + +THE FRENCH ATTACKS NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE SOMME + + +From the hamlet of Vaux, ruined by German artillery, on the right bank +of the Somme, part of the battle field, with the configuration of a +long crest, looks like a foaming sea stretching away to the horizon. + +Against the whitish yellow background the woods resolve into dark +patches and the quarries into vast geometric figures. In the valley +the Somme zigzags among the poplars; its marshy bed is covered with +rushes and aquatic plants; on the left stand crumbled walls +surrounding an orchard whose trees were shattered by German shells. +This is the mill of Fargny through which the French line passes. A +little beyond at a place called Chapeau-de-Gendarme was the first +German trench, and farther still in the valley stands the village of +Curlu, its surrounding gardens occupied by Bavarian troops. To the +eastward, half hidden by the trees, a glimpse could be had of the +walls of the village of Hem. In the distance a solitary church spire +marked the site of Peronne, a fortress surrounded by its moat of three +streams. + +General Foch had planned his advance in the same methodical manner as +the British command. At half past 7 on the morning of July 1, 1916, +the French infantry dashed forward to assault the German trenches. +During a period of nearly two years the Germans had been allowed +leisure to strongly fortify their positions. At different points there +were two, three and four lines of trenches bounded by deep ditches, +with the woods and the village of Curlu organized for defense. But the +magnificent driving power of the French infantry carried all before +it, and by a single dash they overran and captured the foremost German +works. Mounting the steep ascent of the height that is called +Chapeau-de-Gendarme the young soldiers of the class of 1916, who then +and there received their baptism of fire, waved their hats and +handkerchiefs and shouted "Vive la France!" + +The French troops had reached the first houses of the village of Curlu +occupied by Bavarian troops, who offered a most stubborn resistance. +Machine guns and mitrailleuses, which the French bombardment had not +destroyed, appeared suddenly on the roofs of houses, in the ventholes +of the cellars, and in every available opening. + +The French infantry, obedient to the orders they had received, at once +stopped their advance and crouched on the ground while the French +artillery recommenced a terrible bombardment of the village. In about +half an hour most of the houses in the place had been razed to the +ground, and the enemy guns were silenced. This time without pause the +French infantry went forward and Curlu was captured without a single +casualty. The Germans later attempted a counterattack, but the village +remained in French hands. + +There were found in the ruined houses a large number of packages which +had been put together by the Bavarians, consisting of articles of +dress, pieces of furniture, household ornaments, and a great variety +of objects stolen from the inhabitants of the village. The sudden +attack of the French troops did not allow the Bavarians time to +escape with their loot. + +During the three days that followed the French were entirely occupied +with organizing and consolidating the positions they had conquered. + +At 7 a. m. on July 5, 1916, they began a fresh offensive. In a few +hours' fighting the village of Hem and all the surrounding trenches +had been captured. About noon the few houses in the village to which +the Germans had clung tenaciously were evacuated. + +Thanks to the prudence of the French command and the wisdom of their +plans and the rapidity with which the attack had been carried out, the +casualties were less than had been anticipated and out of all +proportion to the value of the conquered positions. + +While the French were thus forcing the pace and winning successes +north of the Somme, their brothers in arms south of the river were +carrying out some important operations with neatness and dispatch. + +In this area the French launched their attack on July 1, 1916, at 9.30 +a. m., on a front of almost ten kilometers from the village of Frise +to a point opposite the village of Estrees. + +Here it was that a Colonial corps that had especially distinguished +itself during the war delivered an assault that was entirely +successful. The Germans were taken by surprise. The French captured +German officers engaged in the act of shaving or making their toilet +in the dugouts; whole battalions were rounded up, and all this was +done with the minimum of loss. One French regiment had only two +casualties, and the total for one division was 800. The villages of +Dompierre, Becquincourt, and Bussu were in French hands before +nightfall, and about five miles had been gouged out of the German +front. Southward the Bretons of the Thirty-fifth Corps, splendid +fighters all, had captured Fay. Between them the Allies had captured +on this day the enemy's first position without a break, a front of +fourteen miles stretching from Mametz to Fay. They had taken about +6,000 prisoners and a vast quantity of guns and military stores. + +On July 2, 1916, the French infantry attacked the village of Frise, +and by noon the Germans were forced to evacuate the place. Here the +French captured a battery of seventy-sevens which the enemy had not +had time to destroy. Pushing rapidly on, the French took the wood of +Mereaucourt. The village of Herbecourt, a little more to the south, +was captured by the French after an hour's fighting. By early dark the +entire group of German defenses was taken, thus linking Herbecourt to +the village of Assevillers. + +Between this last place and the river they broke into the German +second position. Fayolle's left now commanded the light railway from +Combles to Peronne, his center held the great loop of the Somme at +Frise village, while his right was only four miles from Peronne +itself. + +During the day of July 3, 1916, the French continued their victorious +advance, capturing Assevillers and Flaucourt. During the night their +cavalry advanced as far as the village of Barleux, which was strongly +held by the Germans. On the day following, July 4, 1916, the Foreign +Legion of the Colonial Corps had taken Belloy-en-Santerre, a point in +the third line. On July 5, 1916, the Thirty-fifth Corps occupied the +greater part of Estrees and were only three miles distant from +Peronne. + +The Germans attempted several counterattacks, aided by their +Seventeenth Division, which had been hurried to support, but these +were futile, and finally the German railhead was moved from Peronne to +Chaulnes. + +There followed a few days' pause, employed by the French in +consolidating their gains and in minor operations. On the night of +July 9, 1916, the French commander Fayolle took the village of +Biaches, only a mile from Peronne. The German losses had been very +great since the beginning of the French offensive, and at this place +an entire regiment was destroyed. On July 10, 1916, the French +succeeded in reaching La Maisonette, the highest point in that part of +the country, and held a front from there to Barleux--a position beyond +the third German line. In this sector nothing now confronted Fayolle +but the line of the upper Somme, south of the river. North of the +stream some points in the second line had been won, but it had been +only partly carried northward from Hem. + +The French attacks north and south of the Somme had at all points won +their objectives and something more. In less than two weeks Fayolle +had, on a front ten miles long and having a maximum depth of six and a +half miles, carried fifty square miles of territory, containing +military works, trenches, and fortified villages. The French had also +captured a large amount of booty which included 85 cannon, some of the +largest size, 100 mitrailleuses, 26 "Minenwerfer," and stores of +ammunition and war material. They took prisoner 236 officers and +12,000 men. + +It might well be said that this was a very splendid result. But it +only marked the first stage in the French assault. + +The measured and sustained regularity of this advance, the precision +and order of the entire maneuver, are deserving of a more detailed +description. If we examine what might be called its strategic +mechanism, it will be noted that south of the Somme the French line +turned with its left on a pivot placed at its right in front of +Estrees. + +The longer the battle continued the more this turning movement became +accentuated. On July 3, 1916, the extreme left advanced from Mericourt +to Buscourt, the left from Herbecourt to Flaucourt, which was taken, +while the center occupied Assevillers. + +On the 4th the right, abandoning in its turn the role of fixed point, +moved forward and took the two villages of Estrees and Belloy. Thus in +the first four days of July, 1916, the French forces operating south +of the Somme constantly marched with the left in advance. + +After a pause for rest and to consolidate positions won, the attack +was again resumed by the left wing on the 9th, and carried before +Peronne, Biaches, and La Maisonette. + +It will be seen by this outline of operations that the maneuver, which +began early in an easterly direction, developed into a movement toward +the south. The object as stated in the official communique was to +clear the interior of the angle of the Somme and to cover the right of +the French troops operating north of the river. This delicate maneuver +involved great difficulty and risk, inasmuch as the French right +flank became the target for an enfilading fire from the south. By +consulting the map it will be seen that the artillery positions south +of Villers direct an enfilading fire on the plateau of Flaucourt and +points near by. The French General Staff showed keen foresight in +parrying this danger by advancing the right at the proper moment. + +By these operations the French had reached the actual suburbs of the +old fortified city of Peronne, occupying a strong strategic position +above the angle made by the Somme between Bray and Ham. + +It is a natural and necessary road of passage for all armies coming +from the north or south that want to cross the river. Bluecher in his +pursuit of the French armies after the Battle of Waterloo crossed the +Somme exactly at this point. + +As a matter of fact at this time both adversaries were astride of the +river, the Allies facing the east and the Germans facing toward the +west. It is interesting to note that this is exactly the situation +that prevailed in the war of 1870, but with the roles reversed. At +that time the Germans were attacking Peronne as the French forces were +attacking it in July, 1916; they came, however, from the direction of +Amiens, precisely as the French came on this occasion. + +The French, on the other hand, were in the positions of the +Germans--they came from the north. The army of Faidherbe had its bases +at Lille and Cambrai as the Crown Prince of Bavaria had his in the +present war. + + + + +CHAPTER LI + +THE BRITISH ATTACK (CONTINUED) + + +The British captured the fortified villages of Mametz and Montauban on +July 1, 1916. This success, as will have been noted, put the British +right wing well in advance of their center; and to make the gap in the +German position uniform over a broad enough front it was necessary to +move forward the left part of the British line from Thiepval to +Fricourt. At this time the extreme British left was inactive, in the +circumstances it seemed doubtful that a new attack would be +profitable, so what was left of the advanced guard of the Ulster +Division retired from the Schwaben Redoubt to its original line. The +front had now become too large for a single commander to manage +successfully, so to General Hubert Gough of the Reserve, or Fifth +Army, was given the ground north of the Albert-Bapaume road, including +the area of the Fourth and Eighth Corps. + +Sunday, July 2, 1916, was a day of steady heat and blinding dust, and +the troops suffered severely. At Ovillers and La Boiselle the Third +Corps sustained all day long a desperate struggle. Two new divisions +which had been brought forward to support now joined the fighting. One +of these divisions successfully carried the trenches before Ovillers +and the other in the night penetrated the ruins of the village of La +Boiselle. + +The Germans had evidently not recovered from their surprise in the +south, for no counterattacks were attempted, nor had any reserve +divisions been brought to their support. Throughout the long, stifling +July day squadrons of Allied aeroplanes were industriously bombing +depots and lines of communication back of the German front. The +much-lauded Fokkers were flitting here and there, doing little damage. +Two were sent to earth by Allied airmen before the day was over. The +Allies had a great number of kite balloons ("sausages") in the air, +but only one belonging to the Germans was in evidence. + +With the capture of Mametz and positions in Fricourt Wood to the east, +Fricourt could not hold out, and about noon on July 2, 1916, the place +was in British hands. Evidently the Germans had anticipated the fall +of the village, for a majority of the garrison had escaped during the +night. But when the British entered the village, bombing their way +from building to building, they captured Germans in sufficiently large +numbers to make the victory profitable. + +On Monday, July 3, 1916, General von Below issued an order to his +troops which showed that the German officers appreciated the +seriousness of the Allied offensive: + +[Illustration: The English Gains.] + +"The decisive issue of the war depends on the victory of the Second +Army on the Somme. We must win this battle in spite of the enemy's +temporary superiority in artillery and infantry. The important ground +lost in certain places will be recaptured by our attack after the +arrival of reenforcements. The vital thing is to hold on to our +present positions at all costs and to improve them. I forbid the +voluntary evacuation of trenches. The will to stand firm must be +impressed on every man in the army. The enemy should have to carve his +way over heaps of corpses...." + +To understand the exact position of the British forces on July 3, +1916, the alignment of the new front must be described in detail. + +The first section extended from Thiepval to Fricourt, between which +the Albert-Bapaume road ran in a straight line over the watershed. +Thiepval, Ovillers, and La Boiselle were positions in the German front +line. East of the last place the fortified village of Contalmaison +occupied high ground, forming as it were a pivot in the German +intermediate line covering their field guns. + +The British second position ran through Pozieres to the two Bazentins +and as far as Guillemont. Thiepval and Ovillers had not yet been +taken, and only a portion of La Boiselle, but the British had broken +through the first position south of that place and had pushed well +along on the road to Contalmaison. This northern section had been +transformed by warfare into a scene of desolation, bare, and +forbidding, seamed with trenches and pitted with shell holes. The few +trees along the roads had been razed--the only vegetation to be seen +being coarse grass and weeds and thistles. + +The southern section between Fricourt and Montauban presented a more +inviting prospect. A line of woods extended from the first village in +a northeasterly direction, a second line running from Montauban around +Longueval. In this sector all the German first positions had been +captured. The second position ran through a heavily wooded country and +the villages of the Bazentins, Longueval, and Guillemont. + +During the night of July 2, 1916, the British had penetrated La +Boiselle, and throughout the following day the battle raged around +that place and Ovillers. The fighting was of the most desperate +character, every foot of ground being contested by the opposing +forces. The struggle seesawed back and forth, here and there the +Germans gaining a little ground, only to lose it a little later when a +vigorous British attack forced them to fall back, and so the tide of +battle ebbed and flowed. + +On July 4, 1916, the heat wave was broken by violent thunderstorms and +a heavy rain that transformed the dusty terrain into quagmires, +through which Briton and German fought on with undiminished spirit and +equal valor. On the morning of July 5, 1916, the British, after one of +the bloodiest struggles in this sector, captured La Boiselle and +carried forward their attack toward Bailiff Wood and Contalmaison. + +In the five days' fighting since they assumed the offensive the +British had been hard hit at some points, but at others had registered +substantial gains. They had captured a good part of the German first +line and carried by assault strongly fortified villages defended +stubbornly by valiant troops. The total number of prisoners taken by +the British was by this time more than 5,000. These first engagements +had for the British one exceedingly important result: it gave to the +troops an absolute confidence in their fighting powers. They had shown +successfully that they could measure themselves with the best soldiers +of the kaiser and beat them. + +During the day of July 5, 1916, the British repulsed several +counterattacks and fortified the ground that they had already won. On +this date Horseshoe Trench, the main defense of Contalmaison from the +west, was attacked, and here a battalion of West Yorks fought with +distinction and succeeded in making a substantial advance. + +There was a pause in the fighting during the day of July 6, 1916, as +welcome to the Germans as to the British, for some rest was +imperative. + +On Friday, July 7, 1916, the British began an attack on Contalmaison +from Sausage Valley on the southwest, and from the labyrinth of copses +north of Fricourt through which ran the Contalmaison-Fricourt +highroad. + +South of Thiepval there was a salient which the Germans had organized +and strongly fortified during twenty months' preparation. After a +violent bombardment the British attacked and captured this formidable +stronghold. More to the south they took German trenches on the +outskirts of Ovillers. + +The attack ranged from the Leipzig Redoubt and the environs of +Ovillers to the skirts of Contalmaison. After an intense bombardment +the British infantry advanced on Contalmaison and on the right from +two points of the wood. Behind them the German barrage fire, beating +time methodically, entirely hid from view the attacking columns. + +By noon the British infantry, having carried Bailiff Wood by storm, +captured the greater part of Contalmaison. There they found a small +body of British soldiers belonging to the Northumberland Fusiliers who +had been made prisoners by the Germans a few days before and were +penned up in a shelter in the village. The British were opposed by the +Third Prussian Guard Division--the famous "Cockchafers"--who lost 700 +men as prisoners during the attack. In the afternoon of the same day, +July 7, 1916, the Germans delivered a strong counterattack, and the +British, unable to secure reenforcements, and not strong enough to +maintain the position, were forced out of the village, though able to +keep hold of the southern corner. + +On the following day, July 8, 1916, the British struggled for the +possession of Ovillers, now a conglomeration of shattered trenches, +shell holes and ruined walls. Every yard of ground was fought over +with varying fortunes by the combatants. While this stubborn fight was +under way the British were driving out the Germans from their +fortified positions among the groves and copses around Contalmaison, +and consolidating their gains. + +In the night of July 10, 1916, the British, advancing from Bailiff +Wood on the west side of Contalmaison, pressed forward in four +successive waves, their guns pouring a flood of shells before them, +and breaking into the northwest corner, and after a desperate +hand-to-hand conflict, during which prodigies of valor were performed +on both sides, drove out the Germans and occupied the entire village. +The victory had not been won without considerable cost in casualties. +The British captured 189 prisoners, including a commander of a +battalion. + +Ovillers, where the most violent fighting had raged for some days, +continued to hold out, though surrounded and cut off from all relief +from the outside. Knowing this the German garrison still fought on, +and it was not until July 16, 1916, that the brave remnant consisting +of two officers and 124 guardsmen surrendered. + +We now turn to the British operations in the southern sector where +they were trying to clear out the fortified woods that intervened +between them and the German second line. + +On July 3, 1916, the ground east of Fricourt Wood was clear of Germans +and the way opened to Mametz Wood. During the day the Germans +attempted a counterattack, and incidentally the British enjoyed "a +good time." A fresh German division had just arrived at Montauban, +which received such a cruel welcome from the British guns that it must +have depressed their fighting spirit. East of Mametz a battalion from +the Champagne front appeared and was destroyed, or made prisoner, a +short time after detraining at the railhead. The British took a +thousand prisoners within a small area of this sector. An eyewitness +describes seeing 600 German prisoners being led to the rear by three +ragged soldiers of a Scotch regiment "like pipers at the head of a +battalion." + +The British entered the wood of Mametz to the north of Mametz village +on July 4, 1916, and captured the wood of Barnafay. These positions +were not carried without stiff fighting, for the Germans had fortified +the woods in every conceivable manner. Machine-gun redoubts connected +by hidden trenches were everywhere, even in the trees there were +machine guns, while the thick bushes and dense undergrowth impeded +every movement. In such a jungle the fighting was largely a matter of +hand-to-hand conflicts. The German guns were well served, and every +position won by the British was at once subjected to a heavy +counterbombardment. Indeed from July 4, 1916, onward, there was +scarcely any cessation to the German fire on the entire British front, +and around Fricourt, Mametz, and Montauban in the background. + +On July 7, 1916, the British General Staff informed the French high +command that they would make an attack on Trones Wood on the following +morning, asking for their cooperation. Assisted by the flanking fire +of the French guns, the British penetrated Trones Wood, and obtained a +foothold there, seizing a line of trenches and capturing 130 prisoners +and several mitrailleuses. On the same day the French on the British +right were pushing forward toward Maltzhorn Farm. + +Trones Wood which for some days was to be the scene of the hottest +fighting in the southern British sector, is triangular in form and +about 1,400 meters in length, running north and south. Its southern +side is about forty meters. The Germans directed against it a violent +bombardment with shells of every caliber. + +Owing to its peculiar position every advantage was in favor of the +defense. Maltzhorn Ridge commanded the southern part, and the German +position at Longueval commanded the northern portion. The German +second line in a semicircle extended around the wood north and east, +and as the covert was heavy, organized movement was impossible while +the German artillery had free play. + +The British, however, continued to advance slowly and stubbornly from +the southern point where they had obtained a foothold, but it was not +until the fire of the German guns had been diverted by pressure +elsewhere that they were able to make any appreciable gains on their +way northward. + +On July 9, 1916, at 8 o'clock the Germans launched desperate +counterattacks directed from the east to the southeast. The first +failed; the second succeeded in landing them in the southern part of +the wood, but they were ultimately repulsed with heavy losses. During +the night there was a fresh German attack strongly delivered that was +broken by British fire. Of the six counterattacks delivered by the +Germans between Sunday night and Monday afternoon, July 9-10, 1916, +the last enabled them to gain some ground in the wood, but it was at +a heavy cost. They did not long enjoy even this small success, for on +Tuesday, July 11, 1916, the British had recaptured the entire wood +excepting a small portion in the extreme northern corner. + +On the same date the British advanced to the north end of Mametz Wood, +and by evening of July 12, 1916, had captured virtually the whole of +it, gathering in some hundreds of German prisoners in the operation. +The place had not been easily won, for while the whole wood did not +comprise more than two hundred acres or so, there was a perfect +network of trenches and apparently miles of barbed-wire entanglements, +while machine guns were everywhere. It was only after the British +succeeded in clearing out machine-gun positions on the north side, and +enfiladed every advance, that they were able to get through the wood +and to face at last the main German second position. This ran, as will +have been noted, from Pozieres through the Bazentins and Longueval to +Guillemont. The capture of Contalmaison was a necessary preliminary to +the next stage of the British advance. After the fall of this place +Sir Douglas Haig issued a summary of the first of the gains made by +the Allies since the beginning of the offensive: + +"After ten days and nights of continuous fighting our troops have +completed the methodical capture of the whole of the enemy's first +system of defense on a front of 14,000 yards. This system of defense +consisted of numerous and continuous lines of fire trenches, extending +to various depths of from 2,000 to 4,000 yards and included five +strongly fortified villages, numerous heavily wired and intrenched +woods, and a large number of immensely strong redoubts. The capture of +each of these trenches represented an operation of some importance, +and the whole of them are now in our hands." + +General Haig's summary of what had been accomplished in the first +stage of the battle of the Somme was modest in its claims. The British +had failed in the north from Thiepval to Gommecourt, but in the south +they had cut their way through almost impregnable defenses and now +occupied a strong position that promised well for the next offensive. +At the close of the first phase of the battle the number of prisoners +in the hands of the British had risen to 7,500. The French had +captured 11,000. The vigor with which the offensive had been pushed by +the Allies caused the Germans to bring forward the bulk of their +reserves, but they were unable to check the advance and lost heavily. + + + + +CHAPTER LII + +THE SECOND PHASE OF THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME + + +British commanders are methodical and believe in preparing thoroughly +before an attack, but they are ready at times to take a gambler's +chance if the moment seems opportune to win by striking the enemy a +sudden and unexpected blow. + +At half past three in the morning of July 14, 1916, the British +started an attack with full knowledge of the risk involved, but hoping +to find the Germans poorly prepared. At Contalmaison Villa and Mametz +Wood they held positions within a few hundred yards of the German +line. It was the section from Bazentin-le-Grand and Longueval where +the danger lay, for here there was a long advance to be made, as far +as a mile in some places, up the slopes north of Caterpillar Valley. + +French officers are not inclined to err on the side of overcaution, +but on this occasion more than one of them expressed a doubt that the +projected British attack would succeed. + +The 14th of July is a national holiday in France, the anniversary of +the fall of the Bastille. Paris was in gala attire, the scene of a +great parade, such as that city had not witnessed in its varied +history, when the Allied troops, Belgians, Russians, British, and the +blue-clad warriors of France, were reviewed by the President of the +Republic amid the frantic acclamations of delighted crowds. On this +day so dear to the heart of every French patriot the British troops in +Picardy were dealing hammer blows to the German line with the rallying +cry of "Vive la France" that made up in sincerity what it lacked in +Parisian accent. + +The front selected for the British attack was a space of about four +miles from a point southeast of Longueval, Pozieres to Longueval, and +Delville Wood. The work cut out for the British right flank to perform +was the clearing out of Trones Wood still partly occupied by the +Germans. The two Bazentins, Longueval, and the wood of Delville were +either sheltered by a wood, or there was one close by that was always +a nest of cunningly hidden guns. More than a mile beyond the center of +the German position, High Wood, locally known as Fourneaux, formed a +dark wall in the background. + +The British had only consolidated their new line on the day before the +attack of July 14, 1916, so every preparation was hurried at topmost +speed. In the first hours of the morning they began a furious +bombardment of the German positions. This was continued until 3.20 a. m., +when the hurricane of fire abated. The Germans, as it developed +later, were not expecting an assault, such bombardments being of +frequent occurrence, a part of the day's program intended to impress +them, or to hide some stupid British strategy. + +At 3.25 a. m., when the day was breaking and a faint light covered the +scene from a cloudy sky, the British infantry attacked. The Germans +were so completely surprised that the battalions which were assigned +to strike at the most distant points, hardly suffered a casualty +before they were within a few hundred yards of the enemy's defensive +wires. When the Germans did awake to their danger and loosed their +barrage fire, it fell to the rear of the attackers. + +Success crowned the British efforts at every point on the line of +attack, though in such places where the German defenses had not been +destroyed the advance was necessarily slow. It may be of interest to +cite one instance to show how the British military machine worked on +this important day in the history of the battle of the Somme. In one +division there were two attacking brigades, each composed of two +battalions of the New Army, and two of the old regulars. It might +appear a hazardous experiment that the British command should have +placed the four battalions of the New Army in the first line, but the +inexperienced troops justified the confidence that had been placed in +them. They went forward with the dogged determination of old veterans, +and shortly after noon had triumphantly carried out the work assigned +to them. They had captured their part of the line and taken 662 +unwounded men and 36 officers (among whom was a battalion commander), +while the booty included four howitzers, four field guns, and fourteen +machine guns and quantities of military stores. + +By nightfall the British had captured the whole of the German second +line from Bazentin-le-Petit to Longueval, a front of over three miles, +and had netted over 2,000 prisoners. Many of these belonged to the +Third Division of the German Guard, and included the commander of a +regiment. The commander of the Ninety-first Bavarian Regiment was +discovered by the British at the bottom of his dugout. + +One of the most striking incidents of the day occurred on the British +right flank in Trones Wood. On the night of July 13, 1916, an attack +had been delivered there when 170 men belonging to the Royal West +Kents were separated from their battalion. Having a few machine guns, +and being well supplied with ammunition, they fortified one or more +positions, and in spite of vigorous German attacks, were able to +maintain their posts all night until the British advance in the +morning gathered them in. + +It was a bit of good luck that these men had strayed away from their +regiment, for the positions they had fortified now proved of great +value in clearing the Germans out of the wood. + +One of the most picturesque episodes of the day's fighting was a +brilliant cavalry charge. This was the first time since the battle of +the Marne that the British had any opportunity to engage the enemy on +horseback. The French, however, had employed two squadrons in their +offensive in Champagne in September, 1915. + +A British division, pushing their way northward against the Tenth +Bavarian Division, had penetrated the third German position at High +Wood supported by cavalry--a troop of the Dragoon Guard and a troop +of Deccan Horse. The mounted men proceeded to show their mettle and to +share in the fighting honors of the day. Beyond Bazentin-le-Grand on +the valley slopes they found cover for a time in the growing corn. +About eight in the evening the cavalry set out on their last advance +on foot and on horseback through the corn, riding down the enemy, or +cutting him down with lance and saber, and capturing a number of +prisoners. Their rapid success had a heartening effect on the whole +British line. Having reached their objective, the cavalry proceeded to +intrench, in order to protect the British infantry that was advancing +from High Wood. + +Throughout the day's fighting the British airmen had been constantly +active despite the haze which hampered observation. In twenty-four +hours they had destroyed four Fokkers, three biplanes, and a +double-engined plane without the loss of a single British machine. + +On July 15, 1916, the British consolidated the new ground they had +won, while their left advancing to the outskirts of Pozieres attacked +the Leipzig Redoubt, and renewed the struggle for Ovillers which had +been fought over with scarcely any pause since July 7, 1916. Strong +counterattacks by the German Seventh Division forced the British out +of High Wood, or the greater portion of it, but the loss was not +serious, the place having served its purpose as a screen for the +British while consolidating their line. + +Perhaps the fiercest struggle in this area was waged around Longueval +and Delville Wood, which became popularly known by the soldiers as +"Devil Wood." The struggle started there on the morning of July 14, +1916, and continued almost without pause for thirteen days. The losses +on both sides reached a formidable figure. + +A better situation for defense could not have been selected. Delville +Wood presented a frightful jungle of shattered tree trunks and ragged +bushes interspersed with shell holes. There were cuttings through it +along which ranged the German trenches. Some seventy yards from the +trees on the north and east sides the Germans had a strong trench that +was crowded with machine guns, and the whole interior of the wood was +incessantly bombarded. Longueval, a straggling village to the +southwest of the wood, was a less troublesome problem. + +Brigadier General Lukin's South African Brigade, which had been +ordered to clear the wood, succeeded in carrying it completely about +midday. + +Those brigades which had been assigned the task of capturing Longueval +only gained a portion of it, and the Germans launching a counterattack +from the north end of the village, succeeded in forcing the British +back. Lukin's South Africans tried again on the 16th and 17th, but +failed with heavy losses, hanging on stubbornly to the southern +corner, where they were not relieved until the 20th. + +It was during the four days' fighting in and around Delville Wood that +Lieutenant Colonel Thackera from the Transvaal, of the Third +Battalion, with Scots of other formations, made a desperate and heroic +defense. Without food or water the remnant clung to the position, +undismayed even when the withering fire of the enemy had thinned their +ranks and at last killed or wounded all the officers of one battalion. +But even under these depressing conditions the spirit of those who +remained had not weakened, and an attack subsequently made by +Brandenburgers of the Fifth Division was repulsed with considerable +losses. + +[Illustration: The French Gains.] + +The splendid courage displayed by the British New Army during these +days of intense fighting, and when all the odds were in favor of the +enemy, had done much to sustain the courage of the British command and +to offset the effect caused by heavy losses. The New Army for some +days had been trying conclusions with the German Third Guard Division +brought over from the Russian front in the spring, and considered by +the kaiser as the very flower of his forces. This division included +the Lehr Regiment, the Ninth Grenadiers, and the Guards Fusiliers. +Their reputation had preceded them, but the New Army were not disposed +to take them overseriously, and fought against them with as grim +determination as if they had been ordinary soldiers and not +distinguished soldiers of the War Lord. The crack regiments fought in +the main bravely, but the comparatively green troops of England made +up in initiative and audacity what they lacked in military experience, +and were more than a match for them. Each of these famous German +formations lost heavily. + +Ovillers which had been bravely defended for some days was finally +captured by the British on July 16, 1916, thus clearing out the +principal obstacle in the way of a general assault on Pozieres. On +this day the British were also successful in taking Waterlot Farm, +about midway between Longueval and Guillemont, which cut another slice +out of the German front. For three days a heavy rain and low mists +hindered the observation of the British airmen, who were unable to +detect the positions of the new batteries they knew the enemy was +setting up. The Germans had all the advantage, as the British were now +occupying their old trench lines and they had the register. + +On July 20, 1916, the British Seventh Division attacked again at High +Wood in the hopes of extending their situation at Longueval, which by +this time was exposed to the enemy's attacks. They carried the entire +wood, but a portion to the north, where the Eighth Division of the +Fourth Magdeburg Corps were intrenched, and where for many weeks they +defied every effort of the British to oust them. + +At this stage in the battle of the Somme the total of unwounded +prisoners captured by the British numbered 189 officers and 10,779 +men. The German losses in guns included five 8-inch and three 6-inch +howitzers, four 6-inch guns, five other heavies, thirty-seven field +guns, sixty-six machine guns, and thirty trench mortars. + +No exact estimate of the German losses in dead and wounded could be +made, but captured letters spoke of desperate conditions and of +terrible slaughter. One German battalion was reduced to three officers +and twenty-one men, and there was mention in these letters of several +other formations which had broken down through exhaustion and retired +from action. + + * * * * * + +It was imperative now for the British to finish off their capture of +the German second position and to prepare for a German attack which +might develop at any moment. From east of Pozieres to Delville Wood +the enemy had lost their second line and were forced to construct a +switch line to establish a connection between the third position and +an uncaptured point, such as Pozieres, in his second position. + +There was stubborn fighting among the orchards of Longueval and the +outskirts of Delville, where the British made little headway, but +registered some gains. All their hopes were centered at this time on +their chief objectives, Guillemont and Pozieres. The latter was +especially important, for it formed a part of the plateau of Thiepval. +If the British succeeded in gaining the crest of the ridge all the +country to the east would come under direct observation. The most +important points on the watershed were Mouquet Farm, between Thiepval +and Pozieres, the Windmill east of the last place, High Wood, and the +high ground that lay directly east of Longueval. It was important that +the British should capture Guillemont in order to align the next +advance with the French forces. This task presented many difficulties, +for the advance from Trones Wood must be made over a bare and +shelterless country that was under the Germans' direct observation +from Leuze Wood. There was also a strongly fortified quarry on its +western edge and a ravine to the south of it between Maltzhorn and +Falfemont Farms, while Angle Wood in the center was a German +stronghold. + +The difficulties of the British position were summarized by Sir +Douglas Haig: + +"The line of demarkation agreed upon by the French commander and +myself ran from Maltzhorn Farm due eastward to the Combles Valley, and +then northeastward up the valley to a point midway between +Sailly-Saillisel and Morval. These two villages had been fixed upon as +the objective respectively of the French left and my right. In order +to advance in cooperation with my right and eventually to reach +Sailly-Saillisel, our Allies had still to fight their way up that +portion of the main ridge which lies between Combles Valley on the +west and the river Tortille on the east. To do so they had in the +first place to capture the strongly fortified villages of Maurepas, Le +Forest, Rancourt, and Fregicourt, besides many woods and strong +systems of trenches. As the high ground on each side of the Combles +Valley commands the slopes of the ridge on the opposite side, it was +essential that the advance of the two armies should be simultaneous +and made in the closest cooperation." + +The British made an attack on Guillemont from Trones Wood on July 19, +1916. It was a rainy, foggy day, that hampered military operations, +and they failed to advance. + +On the day following the French made a general attack that achieved +brilliant results. North of the Somme over a front of five kilometers +from Ridge 139 (800 meters north of Hardecourt) the French carried the +first German trenches. They reached as far as the slope east of the +height of Hardecourt. Their line passed the boundary of Maurepas, and +followed the highway from Maurepas to Feuillieres. South of the Somme +they carried the whole of the German defense system from Barleux to +Vermandovillers. During the two following days the British guns +incessantly bombarded the entire German front. Two new corps had been +joined with the Fifth Army, the Second and First Anzac, which occupied +ground between the Ancre and south of the Albert-Bapaume road. + +On July 23, 1916, the British launched a strong attack over a wide +front. The heaviest blows were centered on Pozieres and the Windmill +on the left. The village was now a mass of rubble, but amid the ruins +the Germans had fortified almost every yard of ground, there were deep +and carefully prepared dugouts, cunningly concealed machine-gun +emplacements, and lines of covered trenches on every hand. + +The British forces began the movement about midnight, delivering the +assault from two sides. A division of Midland Territorials advanced +from the southwest over the ground between Pozieres and Ovillers. +About the same time an Anzac division advanced from the southeast. +German defenses south of the village were rapidly cleared by the +Midland "Terriers," who then occupied a line in the outskirts of the +village extending toward Thiepval. + +To the Australian troops which had displayed such valor at Gallipoli +was assigned the most difficult task in this assault, for there was +first a sunken road heavily organized to capture which ran parallel +with the highway, then a strong line of trenches, and finally the +highway itself which ran through the center of the village in a direct +line. + +The Australians gave a good account of themselves, and added to the +reputation they had gained on many fields early in the war. They were +of one opinion that they had never tackled a more dangerous job or +come under a hotter fire than in this attack. It was only after +intense fighting that they won the highway and established a line so +near the enemy that only the width of the road separated them. +Instances of personal bravery were many and a number of Victoria +Crosses were awarded for especially heroic deeds, a few of which +deserve special mention. Private Thomas Cooke, a machine gunner, +continued to fire after all his companions had been killed and was +found dead beside his gun. Second Lieutenant Blackburn having led four +parties of bombers against a formidable enemy position, captured 250 +yards of trench, then after crawling forward and reconnoitering +returned and led his men to the capture of another long trench. Of all +the Australians who won the V. C. on this day none was more deserving +of the honor than Private John Leak. He was one of a party that had +captured a strongly fortified place. Noticing that the German bombs +were outranging the British he sprang from the trench and dashing +forward under hot machine-gun fire at short range, after bombing the +enemy's post, leaped in and bayoneted three German bombers. + +Private John Leak's bravery received special mention in the official +report. "His courage was amazing, and had such an effect on the enemy +that, on the arrival of reenforcements, the whole trench was +recaptured." + +The battle continued almost without pause, and by evening of July 24, +1916, the British had captured the greater part of Pozieres. In the +morning of the following day the entire place was in their hands. The +Midland Territorials having taken two lines of trenches, linked up +with the Australians at the north corner of the village, where they +established themselves in a cemetery. As the Germans still held the +Windmill on much higher ground, they had good observation, and made +the most of it, bombarding the British position unceasingly until it +seemed smothered in smoke and fire. It seemed incredible that anything +could live in such a zone of death. + +Captain C. W. Bean, who was with the Australians, has recorded his +impressions of the German bombardment in a few graphic lines. + +"Hour after hour, day and night, with increasing intensity as the time +went on, the enemy rained heavy shell into the area. Now he would send +them crashing in on a line south of the road--eight heavy shells at a +time, minute after minute followed by a burst of shrapnel. Now he +would place a curtain straight across this valley or that till the sky +and landscape were blotted out.... Day and night the men worked +through it, fighting the horrid machinery far over the horizon as if +they were fighting Germans hand to hand, building up whatever it +battered down, burying some of them, not once, but again and again and +again. What is a barrage against such troops? They went through it as +you would go through a summer shower, too proud to bend their heads, +many of them, because their mates were looking. As one of the best of +their officers said to me: 'I have to walk about as if I liked it; +what else can you do when your own men teach you to?'" + + + + +PART IX--THE WAR IN THE AIR + + + + +CHAPTER LIII + +THE VALUE OF ZEPPELINS IN LONG-DISTANCE RECONNOITERING--NAVAL +AUXILIARIES + + +The growing intensity and fierceness of the gigantic struggle between +the great nations of the world in the second half of the second year +naturally was reflected in the extraordinary activities of the aerial +fleets of the combatants. To give in detail the thousands of +individual and mass attacks is manifestly impossible in a restricted +work of this kind, and we shall have to be satisfied with a +description of the more important events in this latest of all +warfares. + +Undoubtedly the most pronounced feature of aerial combat in 1916 was +the complete rehabilitation of the Zeppelin type of rigid airship +construction as an invaluable aid to the land and naval forces in the +difficult and dangerous task of reconnoitering the enemy forces. There +can be no doubt that the frequent raids of the eastern counties of +Great Britain were undertaken far more with the idea of gaining as +clear an idea as possible of the distribution of British naval units +in the North Sea than with the desire of hurling destruction from the +sky upon sleeping villages, towns, and, of course, harbors and +factories which might be of value to the British military forces. And +there also can be no doubt that for this purpose of reconnoitering +over immense areas the Zeppelin airship stands to-day unchallenged by +any other single means at the disposal of the army leaders. + +The German Zeppelin airship carries at present a powerful +wireless-sending apparatus, the electric current for which is +furnished by one of the motors. These motors, five in number, are of +the six-cylinder Mercedes type, furnishing a total of 1,200 +horsepower. Four of the motors are usually in service, the fifth being +held in reserve, and used in the meantime for furnishing the required +electric current. The wireless equipment is stated to have an +effective range of about 300 miles, due mainly to the great height of +the "sending station." It was this wireless equipment which is now +known to have precipitated the great naval battle off the Jutland +coast, and to have sent the German fleet to its home base before the +full force of the much superior British fleet had a chance to exercise +its crushing power. + +According to the report of the captain of one of the German battle +cruisers, the Zeppelins, of which there were two in the early hours of +the battle, sighted a strong British naval force in the North Sea, +about two-thirds of the way from the British coast to Helgoland. The +information was flashed to Helgoland by the leading Zeppelin, which +was hovering more than two miles in the air, commanding an immense +area of the North Sea. The approach of the German fleet was unknown to +the British, although the Zeppelins could distinguish both fleets from +their great height. + +As the battle developed and the British battle cruiser squadron became +sorely pressed by the superior forces opposed to them, calls for +assistance were flashed from them to the main fleet. The Zeppelins, of +course, caught the calls and set off at high speed northward with the +intention of giving timely warning to the German squadron battling +several thousand feet below them against the gradually increasing +British force. + +The mist which hung over the North Sea made it difficult for the +Zeppelin commanders to distinguish objects clearly, but the same mist +prevented the British ship crews from sighting the airships in the +clouds. When the heavy black smoke from the battleships rushing south +at their highest speed was sighted by the northernmost Zeppelin, word +of the apparent strength of the reenforcements was flashed to the +German commander in chief and the order for retreat was given. While +the fleets executed their maneuvers, the British main forces arrived +and the greatest battle in naval history took place. Had it not been +for the timely warning from the Zeppelins hanging high in the air +above the sea, the German fleet might have been overwhelmed by the +huge forces rushing south to destroy it. Outnumbered by more than two +to one, its only safety lay in retreat--and so heavy had been the +fire, that the British commander did not press the pursuit too close. +For while the Germans knew to a ship the strength of their adversary, +the latter had to reckon with the unknown, hidden possibilities of +forces not yet seen. It cannot be denied that the Jutland naval battle +was a complete vindication of the use of Zeppelins as naval scouts, a +value now recognized by every naval officer in the world. + +The second field of action in which the Zeppelin airship has shown a +certain measure of success is that of destroying small naval units of +the enemy. And not only the German airships have had occasion to show +their value, but the French have been especially successful in this +work. For several months previous to February, 1916, little had been +heard of the activities of the new French dirigibles, which were +reported to have been built, although a number of them were +continually cruising high in the air above Paris and in the district +north of the capital. Occasionally hints were dropped here and there +concerning their activity above the Channel and portions of the North +Sea, and in the early summer a fairly substantial report reached this +country to the effect that the new French lighter-than-air machines +were utilized chiefly in "submarine hunting." + +In the early stages of the war, when military and naval aviation was +trying to adopt peace-time theories to war-time facts, Great Britain +attempted to hunt the German submarines with aeroplanes, or +hydroaeroplanes; but the method had its serious draw-backs. The +aeroplane is of necessity a fast traveling machine; it must make at +least forty miles an hour to be able to stay aloft. Whizzing through +the air at such speed is not conducive to a careful scrutiny of the +surface of the water below, necessary in order to detect the vague, +dim outlines of a submerged submarine. At first the pilots of naval +aeroplanes had considerable success in locating the submarines, and +Germany lost quite a few of them, before the reason was discovered. +Some one in Great Britain announced that it was easy to locate a +submarine from an aeroplane by the peculiar reflection in the sunlight +caused by the fine film of lubricating oil on the surface of the +water. As soon as this "tip" was communicated to Germany, submarines +discontinued the use of oil for lubrication, employing instead +deflocculated graphite. The fuel oil used in the Diesel engines for +propulsion on the surface is so thoroughly consumed and the exhaust +now is so free of oil that an oil film as an indication of submarine +proximity is no longer trustworthy. Besides, the submerged boat +_might_ be a friendly one, a fact which was borne upon the British +authorities on two separate occasions when scouting aeroplanes +reported submarines near, and speedy motor boats rushed to the attack. +In one case the British submarine is reported to have been rammed, and +in the other--so the story goes--the commander of the submarine +liberated a little buoy attached to the outside of the boat, which +rose to the surface and informed the watchers above that "a friend is +down below--not an enemy!" + +The system followed now in the locating and possible destruction of +German submarines in the Channel and North Sea by French dirigibles is +as follows: The airships, chiefly of the _Astra_ type, travel at a +height of not more than 500 feet above the surface of the ocean, while +the observers constantly sweep the water within a radius of half a +mile with their glasses. Usually the airships are sent ahead at low +speed in spirals, or in a series of curves which enable them to cover +every square mile of watery area below. As soon as one of these +airships sights a submarine traveling submerged, it flashes the news +by wireless to destroyers which at the time may be fifty or more miles +away, and in the meantime endeavors to remain directly above the +submerged boat. Soon the destroyers arrive and, following the +direction of the airship, can ram or sink the submarine with almost +certain success. The French admiralty claims to have accounted for a +number of submarines by this method, but has found that the scheme no +longer will work. The German naval department, learning of the +airship patrol, has given its submarine commanders orders to travel at +great depth during daylight hours in the Channel and the southwestern +section of the North Sea, or to go to sleep on the bottom where the +sea is too shallow. In the evening the boat makes its escape from the +dangerous neighborhood. + +The third field of action of airships--devastating hostile +countries--is the least valuable, although perhaps the most +spectacular of the activities of airships of the Zeppelin type. The +damage caused by the numerous Zeppelin raids over England, for +instance, is a subject of so much dispute that a true appreciation of +their value cannot be formed at present. While the German official +bulletins repeatedly declare that great material damage was done by +the bombs to military establishments, factories, harbor works, etc., +the British statements dwell more upon the number of noncombatants who +were killed, and deny the infliction of any material damage. + +Information of this kind is considered legitimate secrecy and it is +only when files of the British local and trade papers are examined +that an inkling of the real damage is obtained. Fires, boiler +explosions, railway traffic suspensions, and similar highly suggestive +items fill the columns of the papers, after every one of the Zeppelin +raids. On only one occasion, February 2, 1916, has the British War +Office admitted serious military damage in its official communication. +This communication was issued after exaggerated reports of the damage +caused had appeared in the German and neutral press, covering the +Zeppelin raids of January 30-31, 1916, and February 1, 1916, and +admitted officially the following: Bombs dropped totaled 393; +buildings destroyed: three railway sheds, three breweries, one tube +factory, one lamp factory, one blacksmith shop; damaged by explosions: +one munition factory, two iron works, a crane factory, a harness +factory, railway grain shed, colliery and a pumping station. "One of +the spectacular incidents of this raid was the chase of an express +train by the Zeppelin, the train rushing at its utmost speed of +seventy miles an hour into a tunnel, disappearing just as the first +bombs began to drop. The train remained in the tunnel for more than +an hour, waiting for the Zeppelin to fly away!" The official figures +of killed and wounded in this raid are given as sixty-seven killed, +and 117 injured. + +During the month of July, reports of the new German super-Zeppelins +began to appear in British reports, and a number of neutral +correspondents endeavored to obtain authentic data concerning them. +Conflicting descriptions arrived from many sources, and it was not +until a Swiss reporter, equipped with extremely powerful glasses, +watched the trial flights of two of these super-Zeppelins above Lake +Constance, that fairly reliable information could be compiled. + +One of these airships leaves Friedrichshafen every week for duty in +the North Sea, and the factory on the shore of Lake Constance expects +to be able to complete five machines every month after July, 1916. The +super-Zeppelin has two armored gondolas, without a visible connection, +although it is highly probable that such communication is provided for +within the outer envelope. Each gondola carries six machine guns and, +in addition, two quick-firing guns, as well as an aerial +torpedo-launching device, which was first used in the extensive air +raids on England in the last week of July. + +The super-Zeppelin contains approximately 1,000,000 cubic feet of gas +and has a capacity of ten tons useful load. Of this load, about four +tons can be composed of bombs or other munitions, the remainder being +needed for fuel, machinery, and the crew, as well as ballast and +provisions. The gross weight of a fully equipped and loaded +super-Zeppelin is thirty tons, or roughly, 60,000 pounds. The +envelope, which heretofore has been painted gray with liquid aluminum +paint, now is impregnated thoroughly with finely divided metal, by +means of the Schoop metal-coating process, which is heralded as one of +the most far-reaching improvements in aerial navigation. By its means +the airship envelope is made absolutely impervious to atmospheric +influences. + +For its protection against antiaircraft fire the new super-Zeppelins +carry apparatus in each gondola, producing artificial clouds of such +size and intensity as to envelop and shroud completely the entire +airship, rendering it absolutely invisible from below. While this +cloud expands and gradually grows thinner, the airship rises rapidly +in a vertical direction, speeding away while under protection of the +self-made clouds. + +The motors of the latest Zeppelins weigh only 595 pounds each, +although developing 240 horsepower, which means that one horsepower is +developed for every three and three-quarter pounds of metal used. They +are fitted with twin pumps, double jet carburetors, and are usually +operated on mixtures consisting of one part benzol with one part +alcohol. + + + + +CHAPTER LIV + +AEROPLANE IMPROVEMENTS--GIANT MACHINES--TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS + + +The experience gathered in the first eighteen months of the war by the +aviators of the hostile armies has done more for the development of +aeroplanes than many years of peaceful improvements could possibly +have accomplished. The ever increasing size, power and stability of +the heavier-than-air machine is plainly shown in the latest types of +battle planes, in which a spread of wings exceeding seventy-five feet +is no longer a novelty. True, the heralded approach of the gigantic +German battle triplanes did not take place in the second year of the +Great War, although it is an incontrovertible fact that such machines +have been built and are being used for some purpose. But none of them +took part in the fighting on the western front, nor has one of them +been seen on the Russian battle lines. There is reason to believe, +however, that these planes are used in naval reconnoitering, and their +great size permits of the carrying of large supplies of fuel, giving +them a great cruising radius. Reports from steamers plying the Baltic +state that gigantic aeroplanes have been sighted high up in the air by +captains and officers on Swedish and Danish ships, seemingly +maintaining a careful patrol of that sea against possible Russian and +British naval exploits. + +There have been numerous unconfirmed reports concerning the use of +_cellon_, a tough and yet completely transparent material, in the +construction of aeroplanes on the German side, and occasional hints of +new "invisible" machines were dropped now and then. The reports +probably are based on some foundation of fact, but there is little to +show that _cellon_ is used to any large extent by the Teuton forces. +Samples of the material reached New York late in 1915, but the actual +uses to which it was put were not known at the time. + +The tendency in recent months, especially on the western battle front, +has been the "attack in squadrons," instead of the individual combats +which made international heroes out of Boillot, Immelmann, Boelke, +Warneford and Navarre. The squadron attack was first employed by the +Germans in the Verdun operations. Previous to that time, only bombing +expeditions had been undertaken en masse, as many as sixty aeroplanes +taking part in a single attack. But actual aerial combat usually +engaged only two or four aviators. + +Early in February of the second year of the war, several famous French +aviators fell victims to the new mode of warfare. It seems that as +soon as a machine would appear above the trenches in that section, six +or more German machines would rise quickly and surround the Frenchman. +Outnumbered and surrounded on all sides the French machines rarely got +back safely to their lines, among the first to be lost being George +Boillot, world-famous as an automobile racer. + +The German tactics at once were imitated and improved on by the allied +forces, and by July, 1916, the French had perfected a system of +defense which, paradoxically speaking, may be termed "air-tight." +French aviation squadrons would be held in readiness at all times to +repel attacks, and twenty machines usually were considered a "unit." +At first sign of a hostile aeroplane approaching, ten French machines +would rise at top speed to a height of 10,000 feet, while five minutes +later the second ten would follow, rising to 5,000 feet. The +attacking machine usually would be found at a height intermediate +between the upper and lower French squadrons, both of which would +attack the invader vigorously, and with highly satisfactory results. + +One of the lessons of these true aerial battles between opposing +squadrons has been the efficiency of the biplane, as compared with +that of the monoplane. When the war started the monoplane was +considered the machine par excellence for war use; its high speed and +quick maneuvering being cited as most important for fighting in the +air. Eighteen months of aerial battles have shown that for all-round +fighting, bombing and reconnoitering the biplane is far more +effective, and the construction of new monoplanes has been practically +abandoned by the allied governments. The Germans, it is true, have +found the Fokker type of monoplane a very efficient one, but the +number of Fokkers in use is comparatively small, when the great fleets +of Aviatiks and other well-known types of German biplanes are +remembered. + +Exact statistics regarding the number of aeroplanes at present in use +along the various battle fronts are not available, but estimates made +by aviation officers, by correspondents and from notes in the +respective publications devoted to aviation abroad, fix it as in +excess of 12,000 machines. More than half of these are used by the +Allies on the western front; Germany is credited with 3,000 +aeroplanes, Russia with about 1,000, Austria with 1,500, and Bulgaria +and Turkey with 500. In a statement made in the British House of +Commons, Mr. Tennant, speaking of the Royal British Flying Corps, +declared that 835 officers and 521 civilians were on the waiting list +of the Flying Corps in the last week of February, 1916. + +France has definitely discontinued the use of monoplanes and is +manufacturing them solely for the British forces, as some of the +British aviators greatly prefer the monoplane. One of the reasons +given by the French for their action is the construction of Fokker +monoplanes by the Germans, which are so accurate a copy of the earlier +Morane monoplanes of the French that they could not be distinguished +from them in the air. Furthermore, the German copy of the Morane was +far speedier and could easily outdistance or overtake the French +machines of the same type. In place of the original Morane France now +has three types of speed planes, the Maurice Farman, a 110 mph. +biplane, the Morane-Saulnier, 111 mph., and Spad, 107 mph. The older +Nieuports, too, are fast machines, being capable of more than 100 +miles per hour. + +The new Maurice Farman speed plane is a biplane of small wing area, +the upper plane overhanging the lower. It is equipped with a new type +of Renault-Mercedes eight-cylinder motor, giving 240 horsepower at the +highest crank shaft speed. The Morane-Saulnier and the Spad are both +monoplanes, but of different shape and construction from the original +Morane; it is of the so-called monocoque type, made familiar to +Americans by the Duperdessin monocoques which took part in the Gordon +Bennett Cup race in Chicago in 1912. It is equipped with a device +which was first used in Germany and which permits the firing of the +gun through the propeller. It is an electric synchronizing device +which fires the gun at the exact moment when the bullet will pass +between the propeller blades. + +Following the destructive raids of the German naval Zeppelins over the +eastern counties of England during the last days of January, 1916, +there came a period of retaliation flights by Allied aviators over +German cities, attacks on railway stations and munition depots, +culminating in the great attack of the coast of Schleswig-Holstein by +a fleet of British aeroplanes. On a certain section of this coast the +Germans have erected a series of Zeppelin hangars behind one of the +most elaborate systems of defenses known at present. According to +information which had reached the British admiralty, the German coast +north of the Kiel Canal is protected at intervals by the most powerful +antiaircraft artillery, including 4.1-inch guns, capable of firing +thirty-five pound shells to a height of 26,000 feet at the rate of ten +every minute. The risk which the British sea planes underwent was +great, but there seems to have been no hesitation on the part of the +aviators to fly to the attack. + +Early in the morning of March 25, 1916, two sea-plane "mother ships," +accompanied by a squadron of eight protected cruisers and fast +destroyers under the command of Commodore Tyrwhitt, started from the +east coast of England. When about fifty miles from Schleswig-Holstein +five sea planes and one "battle aeroplane" (according to the German +version of the attack) rose from the mother ships and flew toward +shore. What happened during the next two hours is still a matter of +doubt. Only two of the machines returned from the invasion, torn and +riddled with bullets and shrapnel, reporting the most terrific shell +fire from batteries of antiaircraft guns. The aviators declared, +however, that they "successfully bombarded the airship sheds." The +subsequent German report denied the claim, stating that none of the +machines succeeded in even reaching the Zeppelin stations, which were +several miles inland. Three of the sea planes were shot down by the +German guns, and the aviators were made prisoners. It was a gallant +attempt against heavy odds on the part of the British Flying Corps, +and its failure probably was due to the small number of machines +employed. If fifty or sixty machines had taken part in the attack, ten +or twelve might have been lost, but the others would probably have +been able to reach the sheds and do great damage to the Zeppelins +stationed there. + +It was from the same sheds that three days later the Zeppelins arose +for their tremendous raids of England, during the week of March 30 to +April 4, 1916, as many as seven of the airships appearing over the +British Isles at the same time. During this series of raids London was +visited by one of the airship squadrons, the visit resulting in +twenty-eight deaths and forty-four injuries. Another squadron turned +northward and dropped bombs on Stowmarket, Lowestoft, and Cambridge, +while a third section of the air fleet attacked the northeast coast. +One of the attacking air cruisers was hit by gunfire, as well as by +bombs thrown from an aeroplane piloted by Lieutenant Brandon to a +height of several hundred feet above the Zeppelin. This ship, believed +to be the _L-15_, was so severely damaged that it was forced to +descend in the mouth of the Thames, after dropping overboard portions +of its machinery, gun, ammunition, and gasoline tank. The loss of the +airship was admitted by the German admiralty in a statement issued on +April 2, 1916, which said: "In spite of violent bombardment all the +airships returned, with the exception of _L-15_, which, according to +report, was compelled to descend in the waters of the Thames River. +Searches instituted by our naval forces have, up to the present, not +been productive of any result." + +Zeppelin raids followed each other in quick succession, no less than +forty having been chronicled by July 31, 1916. They became so common, +in fact, that the people of England lost much of their first terror +and began to view the spectacle of a bombardment from the air as +something that was quite "interesting" to watch! How great the damage +caused to manufacturing and to railroads and shipping has been in the +course of these two-score air raids is something that the British +censor has jealously guarded. That such damage has been done is but +natural, for tons of explosives cannot be hurled from heights of two +miles upon a thickly populated district without doing considerable +harm. In one case, it is known, the first bomb dropped upon the power +house of the manufacturing town which was attacked, and put the entire +electric power and light supply out of business for a week. + +Another Zeppelin raid, in which the attacking squadron suffered the +loss of an airship, took place on February 22, 1916, in the +neighborhood of Verdun. The Zeppelin _L-77_, one of the largest and +latest of the German air fleet, crossed the French battle lines at a +height of about 2,500 yards, when it was picked up by searchlights +stationed in the rear. A violent bombardment immediately began and one +of the exploding shells damaged the motor of the rear gondola. The +speed of the Zeppelin was reduced by the failure of the motor, and one +of the new French incendiary shells struck the gas bag near its +center, causing a violent explosion. The two ends of the big gas bag +dropped and as the gondolas hit the ground the entire load of bombs +exploded, tearing the ship and its crew to shreds. Two other +Zeppelins, flying at greater height, about ten miles to the north of +the scene of the accident, watched the destruction and then continued +inland over the French positions, dropping bombs for more than an +hour. They returned undamaged to the German lines. + +Still another Zeppelin, _L-19_, was lost in the North Sea, on February +2, 1916, while returning from an "invasion" of England. Hit by gunfire +from the British antiaircraft batteries--or by the Dutch, as some +reports have it, for crossing over Dutch territory--the _L-19_ +gradually dropped lower and lower until it floated on the surface of +the sea. The British trawler, _King Stephen_, appeared and the crew of +the Zeppelin asked to be taken off, and offered to surrender. The +captain of the trawler frankly declared that he would not take the +chance of rescuing twenty-eight well-armed German sailors, as his own +crew only amounted to nine men, unarmed. He steamed away, leaving the +Zeppelin crew to drown. When destroyers of the British fleet appeared +later on, guided to the spot by the trawler captain's report, the +Zeppelin and its crew had vanished. + + + + +CHAPTER LV + +LOSSES AND CASUALTIES IN AERIAL WARFARE--DISCREPANCIES IN OFFICIAL +REPORTS--"DRIVEN DOWN" AND "DESTROYED" + + +To tabulate or chronicle accurately the losses and casualties suffered +by the various armies in their aerial warfare is absolutely +impossible. Not so much because of censorship or secrecy, but because +of the fact that when an aeroplane is "driven down" by the French +behind the German lines, it cannot be said that this aeroplane is +actually destroyed or even damaged, or that its pilot has received a +wound. Similarly when German machines attack and force a French or +British machine to descend swiftly behind its own lines. The reporting +of machines "driven down" among those "destroyed" is the cause of all +the discrepancies between the official reports of the contending +forces. + +The following figures have been gathered with the greatest care from +the British "Roll of Honor," covering the killed, missing and wounded +members of the Royal British Flying Corps. They are for the month of +February, 1916, a month of comparative quiet, and there can be no +doubt that proportionately larger casualty lists could be compiled +from the more active months of the summer of 1916. The first week of +February resulted in nine officers killed, one wounded, and five +"missing"; two noncommissioned officers were also reported "missing." +The second week six officers were killed, two wounded, while one +noncommissioned officer was killed and another wounded. During the +third week three flight lieutenants were killed, five wounded, and two +captured by the enemy, while eight noncommissioned officers were +wounded. In the last week of the month there were three officers +killed, five wounded, and six "missing," while three noncommissioned +men were listed as killed. The total losses for the month on the short +battle line held by the British forces were therefore: twenty-one +officers killed, thirteen wounded, and thirteen missing; fifteen +noncommissioned officers killed or wounded. The losses among German +aviators, taken from the regularly published casualty lists issued by +the German Government, were twenty-four killed, and eleven wounded, +during the month of January. + +The casualty lists become a deep mystery when compared with the losses +of machines admitted by the respective war departments. During the +month of February, for instance, the British announced the loss of +_six_ aeroplanes--yet the casualty lists showed a loss of sixty-two +officers and men! During the same month the French lost six machines, +the Germans eight, the Russians three, Austria one, and Italy one. + +Statistics for the four months from April to July, 1916, gathered from +the periodical press of Great Britain and Germany, and probably far +more accurate than the occasional "estimates" made by the war +departments themselves, show the following losses in officers killed +in aerial combats: + +_April_--British 18, French 15, Russian 7, Italian 3; German 16, +Austrian 3, Turkish 1, Bulgarian 0. + +_May_--British 16, French 11, Russian 5, Italian 4; German 10, +Austrian 5, Turkish 0, Bulgarian 0. + +_June_--British 19, French 10, Russian 11, Italian 3; German 8, +Austrian 6, Turkish 1, Bulgarian 0. + +_July_--British 15, French 15, Russian 13, Italian 5; German 16, +Austrian 8, Turkish 0, Bulgarian 1. + +Total losses in aviation officers: Allies, 170; Central Powers, 75. + +A cursory examination of the records of aerial combats on the western +battle front shows an average of eighteen combats daily; on some days +there were as many as forty distinct aerial battles, while on others, +in blinding snow and rainstorms no machines were aloft. In the +3,000-odd duels in the air, the Franco-American Flying Corps began to +take a prominent part early in the spring of 1916, shortly after the +various American volunteer aviators had been gathered into a single +unit and been placed at the point of the greatest danger--the Verdun +sector of the front. + +The formation of the Franco-American Flying Corps was formed by +Frazier Curtis and Norman Prince, after many unsuccessful attempts +since December, 1914. At the time of gathering the scattered Americans +into a single corps there were about thirty experienced aviators in +the group, but the number has been greatly augmented since then, and +in the latter part of July nearly a hundred are reported to have been +gathered in the aviation corps near Verdun. + +The first American aviator to fly over the Verdun battle field since +the beginning of the great battle still raging in that sector, was +Carroll Winslow, of New York, who piloted one of the Maurice Farman +speed planes. Previous to the beginning of that battle, Lieutenant +William Thaw of Pittsburgh and Elliott Cowdin of New York had crossed +the battle field repeatedly. + + + + +CHAPTER LVI + +AERIAL COMBATS AND RAIDS + + +February, 1916, because of foggy, stormy weather, did not furnish many +thrilling aerial combats. With the exception of a Zeppelin raid over +England and an attack on Kent by two German Fokker aeroplanes, in the +course of which bombs were dropped on Ramsgate and Broadstairs, few +events worthy of chronicling occurred on either of the big battle +fronts. In Egypt, early in that month, an officer of the R. F. C. flew +from Daba, railhead of the Mariut railway, to El Gara and return, +without a stop. The entire trip was made in eight hours, covering 400 +miles. It was one of the most splendid pieces of reconnoitering work +accomplished by a British aviation officer. + +On February 25, 1916, announcement was made in the British House of +Commons to the effect that the total loss of life in the twenty-nine +great and small Zeppelin raids up to that date had been 266. + +On March 1, 1916, an Aviatik aeroplane, piloted by Lieutenant Faber, +and containing Lieutenant Kuehl as observer, succeeded in wrecking the +leading truck of a motor transport train on the Besancon-Jussey road. +The bomb struck squarely and blockaded the road for a considerable +time, causing confusion and delay in the transport. While the drivers +of the trucks endeavored to straighten out the tangle, the aviators +poured a withering fire from their machine gun into the crowd of men, +while circling over the truck at low altitude. + +Four days later an extensive Zeppelin raid was directed at the east +coast of England, the result being twelve killed and thirty-three +injured, while considerable material damage was admitted by British +papers. + +Aerial duels and combats over the battle lines began to increase in +number to such an extent as to cause their omission from the official +bulletins. Only the most spectacular feats thereafter were considered +worthy of record. Among these was an attack by four German sea planes, +which set out from some part of the Belgian coast and raided the +English coast from Dover to Margate, killing nine and injuring +thirty-one persons. One of the planes was damaged by the defending +guns. + +A few days later the British returned the visit with five sea planes, +accompanied by a cruiser and destroyers, with disastrous results. As +related in a former chapter at some length, only two of the machines +succeeded in escaping from the withering fire of the strong +antiaircraft defense guns. + +Then followed the series of Zeppelin raids between March 31 and April +5, 1916, when practically the entire eastern and northeastern coast of +England was bombarded by the German air fleet. Even Scotland was +visited by some of the Zeppelins, and there is every reason to believe +that the main object of the raid was to discover the whereabouts of +the main British battleship fleet. However, the airships seem to have +returned southward before locating the fleet. The German admiralty +never gave up hope of locating the main base with certainty, for many +Zeppelin and submarine raids were made with no other object in view. +Had the ships succeeded, there is no doubt that all available +submarines would have been dispatched to the spot, ordered to lie in +wait, and then entice the fleet out by offering a couple of older +ships as a sacrifice. The plan did not work out to the satisfaction of +the German navy heads, but it still remains one of their pet hopes. + +On April 3, 1916, a French dirigible appeared above Audun-le-Roman, +bombarding the railway station, while on the same day a German Aviatik +was winged at Souchez, crashing to the earth and killing the +occupants. + +On April 4, 1916, a sensational aerial battle took place between more +than a score of Austrian and Italian machines above Ancona. Three +Austrian planes were reported shot down, while two of the Italians +seemed severely damaged. + +The next day a German official resume of the aerial battles was issued +by the Germans, in which it was claimed that fourteen German machines +and forty-four British and French were lost in March. In this +compilation the German statement differentiated between "destroyed" +and "brought down," claiming to have listed only those which were +actually shot down under conditions which precluded the safety of +pilot and observer, or which were captured in the German lines. + +April 7, 1916, saw a heavy bombardment of Saloniki by Bulgarian and +Austrian aeroplanes; the camp of the Australian section and that of +the French contingent were severely damaged, and fire broke out in +them. + +A week later, three naval British aeroplanes dropped bombs on +Constantinople and also farther north on Adrianople, in an attempt to +destroy the large powder factories and hangars there. The damage +reported was very slight, and of no military value. The machines made +a trip of 300 miles length, in order to carry out this attack, an +achievement worthy of special notice. + +A strong French squadron shelled the stations at Nantillons and +Brieulles on April 10 and 11, 1916, doing considerable material damage +to buildings. + +On April 12, 1916, the Czar of Russia had a narrow escape from death +when an Austrian aeroplane, of the Rumpler-Taube type, appeared over +the parade grounds at Czernowitz, throwing several bombs on the +officers present. The aviator did not know of the presence of the +czar, and the incident did not become public for several days after. + +On April 15, 1916, a large French battle plane, fitted with a +37-millimeter gun, attacked a German steamer in the North Sea, but the +ship escaped without damage, as all the shells went wide of the mark. + +The French resume of the operations on the west front during March +challenges the statement of the German authorities concerning the +number of machines lost. "During the month of March," says the +official communique, "our military aircraft displayed great activity +along the entire front, notably in the region of Verdun. In the course +of the many aerial engagements thirty-one German machines were +'brought down' by our pilots, nine of which descended or crashed to +the ground within our lines, while twenty-two were brought down in +the German lines. There is no doubt concerning the fate of those +twenty-two machines which our pilots attacked over the enemy's lines. +Twelve of these aeroplanes were seen coming down in flames, and ten +descended in headlong spirals under the fire of our airmen. Moreover, +four German machines were brought down by our special guns, one in our +lines in the environs of Avocourt and three in the enemy lines--one +near Suippes, one near Nouvion and one near Sainte-Marie-a-Py. This +total of thirty-five machines should be contrasted with the figures of +our own aerial losses, which amount to thirteen aeroplanes, as +follows: One French machine brought down in our lines and twelve +brought down in the German lines." + +A pitched battle between Zeppelins, battle cruisers, and submarines on +the German side, and destroyers, land batteries, aeroplanes and sea +planes on the British side, took place in the morning of April 25, +1916, near Lowestoft. A number of aeroplanes and sea planes rose to +attack the Zeppelins which were flying high and bound westward. In the +course of the battle the airships turned toward the sea, bringing the +pursuing aeroplanes within range of the naval guns. Four submarines +also appeared on the surface and began firing their high-angle guns +against the British aeros. One of the latter was destroyed by fire +from a Zeppelin quick-firing gun, while two sea planes were severely +damaged by the fire from the battle cruisers and submarines. + +May, 1916, began with three disasters for the German aerial forces. On +the 3d of the month, the naval airship _L-20_ (Schuette-Lanz type) +which had raided the coast of England and Scotland on the preceding +day, ran out of fuel on the return trip and was carried by a strong +wind eastward onto the Norwegian coast, where it stranded near +Stavanger. The Norwegian authorities interned the crew and blew up the +ship. + +Two more Zeppelins were lost two days later; the _L-7_ (one of the +oldest airships in the service) was shot down by French warships off +Saloniki, while the other fell a victim to the guns of a British +squadron off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. + +An Italian airship, the _M-3_, attempted a reconnoitering trip over +the Austrian positions on the Gorizia front, but was heavily bombarded +with incendiary shells. Fire broke out on the airship and the +resulting explosion tore it apart, killing the crew of six men. + +Sixteen Allies' aeroplanes undertook a bombing expedition upon the +German aerodromes at Mariakerke, dropping thirty-eight large and +seventeen small bombs. A sea plane dropped one 100-pound bomb and two +65-pound bombs on the Solvay Works at Zeebrugge. All the machines are +reported to have returned in safety, with one exception. + +Aerial combats increased in number and violence during the summer +months, as many as thirty separate fights taking place in a single day +on a short stretch of the battle fronts. In one of the combats, early +in June, Lieutenant Immelmann, of the German forces, was shot down and +killed. At first the report included his famous comrade, Lieutenant +Boelke, among the killed, but news received later mentioned his name +among the fighting corps. + +Dover and other ports on the English coast were raided by two German +sea planes on June 9 and 10, 1916, according to the German official +report. The British denied that any such raid took place. The next +day, two German sea planes attacked Calais, on the French side of the +Channel, dropping bombs on the port and the encampments. They returned +to their base undamaged. + +German aeroplanes also raided Kantara, thirty miles south of Port +Said, and fired on Romani with machine guns. A number of casualties +occurred at Kantara. + +A raid of considerable magnitude was carried out by the German forces +against the port of Reval, during which they bombarded cruisers, +destroyers, military buildings, and several submarines lying in the +harbor. One of the latter is reported to have been hit four times. The +sea planes had been convoyed to the port by a fleet of cruisers and +destroyers which waited in the open sea for the return of the +aeroplanes. The attacking party had no losses. + +An aerial battle between more than forty machines took place on July +3, 1916, near Lille. A British squadron set out to bombard the city of +Lille, but was attacked during the bombardment by a fleet of twenty +German monoplanes and biplanes. The British claim to have brought down +two of the German machines, while all the British returned safely to +their lines. + +Similar raids continue every day along the battle front in Flanders, +Belgium, and France, and even to enumerate them would be merely a +repetition entirely without value to the reader. + + + + +PART X--THE UNITED STATES AND THE BELLIGERENTS + + + + +CHAPTER LVII + +WAR CLOUD IN CONGRESS + + +A confused situation prevailed in Congress on March 1, 1916, the date +on which Germany decreed that her submarines would sink all armed +merchantmen of the Allied Powers without warning. The promulgation of +this decree had abruptly interrupted the imminent settlement of the +_Lusitania_ case, the Administration having taken a serious view of +Germany's latest step, which injected new elements into the whole +submarine dispute with that country. Once more the old question of the +danger to Americans traveling on belligerent vessels arose in an +aggravated form. The Administration was steadfast in upholding the +right of Americans to travel the seas when and whither they chose, +immune under international law from interference or menace on the part +of any belligerent power. Strong factions in Congress, in the face of +Germany's new decree, feared that the Administration's stand was +driving the country into certain war with Germany. Americans were +bound to be among the crews of passengers of the armed merchantmen +that Germany was determined to sink on sight, and this country had +already clearly indicated to Berlin what would happen if any fatality +befell them. + +Hence, as mentioned in the previous volume of the history, a feverish +agitation developed in Congress for the passage of resolutions +forbidding Americans to travel on belligerent ships at all during the +war. German-American influences, especially congressional delegations +from districts, chiefly in the Middle West, where the German vote was +a decisive factor, assiduously fanned this movement, but there was a +scattered sentiment, wholly American at heart, and unallied with +pro-Germanism, which also held the view that Americans ought not to +jeopardize the peace of their country by traveling in belligerent +vessels. Resolutions pending in the House and Senate prohibiting them +from doing so had been pigeonholed in committee. President Wilson had +interposed, urging that no action be taken on them. He held that the +executive and legislature ought not to be at cross-purposes on a +question of foreign policy, and any antagonistic step by Congress +against the Administration would weaken the United States in the sight +of the world. The Congressional leaders, at heart opposed to the +President, reluctantly agreed that the two branches of the Government +should not be rent by divided counsels on such a dangerous issue as +the country's relations with Germany. + +The President faced a critical and exasperating situation. He changed +his earlier view that Congress should not put itself in the position +of wrangling with the executive over the armed-merchantmen issue. If +divided counsels there were in Congress regarding his submarine +policy, let them now declare themselves, and let the stronger prevail! +Hence, instead of any longer desiring that the armed-merchantmen +resolutions should remain smothered in committee, he challenged the +leaders in Congress to bring them to a vote so that the world might +know whether Congress was with him or against him. The President would +not brook the continuation of an impasse which lent a spurious color +to the manufactured impression current abroad, that he was playing a +lone hand in his submarine policy, unsupported by Congress and the +country. He strove to emphasize that his insistence on the right of +Americans to travel on belligerent merchant ships, whether armed for +defense or otherwise, would not mean war with Germany, the latter +would rather surrender to the American demands to avoid war. + +The immediate effect of the President's demand for a vote on the +armed-merchantmen resolutions was to clear the air regarding the +strength of their supporters in Congress. The overwhelming sentiment +in their favor rapidly diminished--if it ever really existed--under +the searchlight of careful canvassing by the Administration's +supporters, until it began to be manifest that, far from Congress +ranging itself against the President, the latter would carry the day. +Then came a reversal of tactics by the congressional factions opposed +to the President. When the belief or illusion prevailed that the +armed-merchantmen resolutions would pass the House by a big majority, +strident demands were heard for submitting them to a roll call and +unrestrained resentment against the President was expressed for +thwarting such action. But now, when national sentiment ranged itself +in support of the President, and many Congressmen had heard from their +constituents, there was a disposition in Congress to turn the tables +on the President by preventing the resolution being put to the vote +that is, by keeping them in the limbo where they had been consigned at +the President's original request, since, to be sure, the vote would +compel Congressmen to go on record as to their pro-German leanings, +and would, moreover, be defeated. This and other influences deferred +action by the House for a week. + +Meantime national sentiment had rapidly crystallized to a simple +viewpoint, and Congressmen could not wisely ignore it. The general view +was that if Congress opposed the executive on the armed-merchantmen +issue, and proscribed the present rights of American citizens to travel +on the trading ships of belligerent nations, the whole diplomatic +negotiations with Germany on the submarine dispute would be reduced to +chaos. No president, oppressed by such a precedent, could enter with +confidence on any contention with a foreign power. His most earnest +representations and most solemn protestations might be rendered +meaningless by the intrusion of a Congress influenced by incorrect +reports or overcome by personal antagonism. Such a condition of +executive impotence was viewed as endangering rather than safeguarding +the country's tranquillity. The paramount need then was that Congress +should support the presidency, not the temporary occupant of the White +House. The country was in a controversy with a European power and the +American stand had been taken on definite and well-understood +principles. + +In the midst of that dispute the demand had been voiced that the +American attitude be radically changed and the conditions seriously +altered. The inevitable effect of such a change in American policy, it +was felt, would be to hearten the power that was at issue with the +United States, to embarrass the President, and encourage the belief +that those to whom he must look for support would withhold it from +him. That injury could only be repaired by the repudiation by Congress +of the influences at work within it aiming at the overthrow of the +President's policy, and by a convincing exhibition of the unity of the +republic. + +The Senate was the first to act. The armed-ship resolution, forbidding +Americans to travel on such craft, was introduced by Senator Gore, of +Oklahoma, who thus explained his purpose in doing so: + +"I introduced this resolution because I was apprehensive that we were +speeding headlong upon war; perhaps, I ought to go further and say +what I have hitherto avoided saying, that my action was based on a +report which seemed to come from the highest and most responsible +authority, that certain Senators and certain members of the House, in +a conference with the President of the United States, received from +the President the information, if not the declaration, that if Germany +insisted upon her position the United States would insist upon her +position, and that it would result probably in a breach of diplomatic +relations, and that a breach of diplomatic relations would probably be +followed by a state of war, and that a state of war might not be of +itself and of necessity an evil to this republic, but that the United +States, by entering upon war now, might be able to bring it to a +conclusion by midsummer and thus render a great service to +civilization. + +"Mr. President," added the Senator, "I cannot say what the truth may +be. I tell you the tale as it was told to me. This came to my ears in +such a way, with such a concurrence of testimony, with such internal +and external marks of truth, that I feared it might be the truth, and +if such a thing be conceivable I did not feel that, discharging my +duty as a Senator, I could withhold whatever feeble service I might +render to avert the catastrophe of war." + +The President immediately authorized an unqualified denial to be made +that he had expressed any utterance to which such a meaning could be +attached. On the contrary, the President, in his talks with members of +Congress, had insisted that war was the last happening he wanted and +that his and not Congress' course would best insure peace. One version +of what transpired at the conference referred to by Senator Gore +credited the President with making these statements to the Senators +and Congressmen who consulted him: That the way to avoid war was to +convince the rest of the world that the people of the United States +were standing solidly behind the executive; that the course Congress +was seeking to pursue would lead toward war rather than away from it, +because yielding to Germany on the present issue would result in +further curtailments of American rights; that the only course the +United States could safely pursue now was to abide by international +law; that any other course would result in making circumstances +themselves the sole guide, and this policy would eventually cause the +fabric of international law itself to crumble and disappear; that any +concession to Germany, abridging the right of Americans to travel on +the seas, would necessitate a concession to Great Britain; and that +such a weakening of American policy would cause the country to drift +toward war. Asked what would happen if a German submarine sank an +armed merchantman with the loss of American life, the President was +quoted as intimating that in that event only a break in diplomatic +relations would follow; further asked as to the effect such a rupture +would probably have, he carefully replied that "it had been +represented that this would lead to war," and that the participation +of the United States in the European upheaval might result in ending +hostilities in six months. + +The effect of the disputed disclosure of the President's views on the +issues with Germany, coupled with his disavowal of Senator Gore's +statements, was an accession of congressional support to the +Administration, and the dooming of the Gore resolution to certain +failure. After a couple of days' debate the resolution was put to the +vote and defeated March 3, 1916, by sixty-eight to fourteen. But this +only meant an overwhelming rejection of the intent of the Gore +resolution, for its proposer, foreseeing that it could not pass, +confused the President's supporters at the last minute by resorting to +a parliamentary maneuver changing its purport. The resolution, as put +before the Senate, had been reversed; instead of forbidding Americans +to travel on belligerent vessels, it had become a hypothetical +declaration of war against Germany--a bellicose affirmation in +irreconcilable contrast with the senator's well-known pacifism. +Originally the resolution read: + +"Whereas a number of leading powers of the world are now engaged in a +war of unexampled proportions; and + +"Whereas the United States is happily at peace with all of the +belligerent nations; and + +"Whereas it is equally the desire and the interest of the American +people to remain at peace with all nations; and + +"Whereas the President has recently offered fresh and signal proofs of +the superiority of diplomacy to butchery as a method of settling +international disputes; and + +"Whereas the right of American citizens to travel on unarmed +belligerent vessels has recently received renewed guarantees of +respect and inviolability; and + +"Whereas the right of American citizens to travel on armed belligerent +vessels rather than upon unarmed vessels is essential neither to their +life, liberty, or safety; nor to the independence, dignity, or +securing of the United States; and + +"Whereas Congress alone has been vested with the power to declare war, +which involved the obligations to prevent war by all proper means +consistent with the honor and vital interest of the nation; therefore +be it + +"Resolved, by the Senate (the House of Representatives, concurring), +That it is the sense of the Congress, vested as it is with the sole +power to declare war, that all persons owing allegiance to the United +States should, in behalf of their own safety and the vital interest of +the United States, forbear to exercise the right of travel as +passengers upon any armed vessel of any belligerent power, whether +such vessel be armed for offensive or defensive purposes; and it is +the further sense of the Congress that no passport should be issued or +renewed by the Secretary of State, or by anyone acting under him, to +be used by any person owing allegiance to the United States for +purpose of travel upon any such armed vessel of a belligerent power." + +As voted upon by the Senate, this resolving clause had disappeared and +the following substitute with the preamble unaltered, had taken its +place: + +"Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), +That the sinking by a submarine without notice or warning of an armed +merchant vessel of her public enemy, resulting in the death of a +citizen of the United States, would constitute a just and sufficient +cause of war between the United States and the German Empire." + + + + +CHAPTER LVIII + +THE PRESIDENT UPHELD IN ARMED-MERCHANTMEN ISSUE--FINAL CRISIS WITH +GERMANY + + +The issue in the Senate, as far as the text of the resolution was +concerned, was beclouded. Senators on both sides vainly sought to +ascertain what the change meant. Senator Gore himself even voted +against his amended proposal. But out of the confusion the upshot was +plain. The debate before the Senate had been on the question whether +Americans should be allowed to travel on armed belligerent ships, and, +whatever the resolution finally expressed, that was the question on +which Senators really declared their aye or nay. Technically, the +Senate had failed, if it had not actually refused, to adopt a +resolution hostile to the Administration's foreign policy. Another +resolution similar to that originally proposed by Senator Gore, +sponsored by Senator Jones of Washington, was withdrawn by him, and a +bitter debate continued for hours without any measure pending. Hence +the Senate had technically gone on record against declaring war on +Germany if any of her submarines sank an armed merchantman without +warning, thereby causing the death of any American on board. Actually +it supported the Administration in its policy upholding the right of +Americans to travel on belligerent ships, and the handful of Senators +who voted for the amended resolution were hostile to the President's +stand. + +Meantime parliamentary tactics by the President's opponents in the +House of Representatives successfully delayed the submission of the +McLemore resolution to a vote. The Foreign Relations Committee had +decided, by 17 to 2, to report it, with the recommendation that it be +"tabled." The resolution had even been abandoned by its author, +Representative Jeff McLemore of Texas, who was of opinion that it had +really served its purpose without being adopted. "The main object of +the resolution," he said, "was to prevent this country being plunged +into war with one or more of the belligerent nations, simply because +of the heedless act of some indiscreet American citizens, and I feel +sure that this object has now been attained." + +But the object the President sought, which was a virtual vote of +confidence, by both Houses of Congress, on his submarine policy, had +not been attained, and would not until the resolution had been brought +into the open House and squarely voted upon. The issue between the +House and the President had gone too far for further cross-fires of +parliamentary moves to succeed in preventing the resolution from +coming to a vote, and, on March 7, 1916, it reached this crucial stage +and was defeated by 276 to 143, after six hours of turbulent debate. + +The majority of 133 in favor of shelving the resolution, achieved by +the aid of many Republican votes, was interpreted as a decisive +compliance with the request of the President. + +The voting in both the House and Senate on the armed-merchantmen issue +ranged more on geographical than on political divisions, and +indicated that on questions of foreign policy Congressional sentiment +was governed by sectional, not by party lines. Thus, of the fourteen +votes cast in the Senate against "tabling" the Gore resolution twelve +were recorded by Senators from States west of Indiana and Lake +Michigan, while a geographical analysis of the House vote revealed +that President Wilson met the strongest opposition from the Middle +West delegations, and derived his chief support from the Atlantic +Seaboard States. + +Secretary Lansing later issued a ruling of the State Department +defining the status of armed merchant ships. Germany was thereby +notified that the United States recognized the equity of her +argument--that if a vessel was armed and used its armament to attack a +submarine the latter could not be called upon to give warning in +advance, for in so doing the safety of the submarine and its crew was +imperiled. But the United States reiterated what it had frequently +pointed out before as the only criterion governing such +occurrences--each case must be judged by itself. Only a belligerent +vessel which had been proved guilty of such an offensive use of +armament could be regarded as a warship. The presence of armament +could not of itself be construed as a presumption of hostility. +Summarized, the State Department's ruling laid down: + +(1) That the status of an armed merchantman must in each case be +determined before it could be regarded as a warship--a neutral +government, on entry of the ship into port, presuming that the +armament was aggressive unless the belligerent proved otherwise. + +(2) The belligerents on the high seas must assume that the armed ship +carried armament only for protection, and, unless resistance or an +attempt to escape was immediately made, the merchantman could not be +attacked without receiving due warning. + +(3) That Americans and all others who took passage on armed ships +intermittently engaged in commerce raiding could not expect to be +immune, for such vessels acquired a "hostile taint." This was +Germany's contention; but the United States refused to agree to the +German idea that, because a few British vessels might be guilty of +wrongful use of armament, all British ships must consequently be +regarded as warships. + +(4) The right of "self-protection" could be exercised by an armed +merchantman; and this was different from cruising the high seas for +the special purpose of attacking hostile ships. + +(5) If belligerent vessels were under orders to attack submarines in +all circumstances they lost their status as "peaceful merchantmen." +Germany claimed England had so ordered. England denied the charge. +Evidence in each case must reconcile the difference of opinion. + +The Administration's position in the submarine issue with Germany, now +that Congress had upheld the President, seemed to be that Germany's +decree condemning armed merchantmen curtailed the liberty of Americans +to travel on the high seas. The status quo had not been affected. +Germany, in the _Arabic_ case, had undertaken that merchant vessels +would not be torpedoed without first being warned, and that pledge the +United States looked to her to respect, whether the vessels were armed +for defense or not. What, then, would now happen, with Germany's +latest decree sent ringing round the world with resounding bombast, by +way of telling neutral noncombatants, including Americans, to stay at +home, as though cataclysmic destruction awaited all vessels which +dared to show a gun at the stern? The United States waited. Nothing, +so far as the German armed-merchantmen decree was concerned, did +happen. There was no appreciable increase in the number of vessels +sunk by Teutonic submarines, and armed merchantmen did not especially +figure among the victims. + +In the face of this tame execution of the terrible decree, providing a +sorry anticlimax to its noisy proclamation, the German press called +for a policy of no compromise with the United States. The "Berliner +Tageblatt" announced that Germany intended to wage a ruthless U-boat +war against her enemies, whatever the American attitude might be. +Apparently the German people believed that a renewal of submarine +activity was vitally necessary, and were convinced of the propriety of +their stand, both from the point of view of ethics and international +law. Germany's armed-merchantmen decree, as indicated, was not +immediately followed by any submarine activity of a character in +keeping with the dire threat made; but toward the close of March, +1916, a sudden indiscriminate outbreak of destruction came against +merchantmen of every type. Many were sunk without warning, the +question of whether they were armed or not seemingly being disregarded +in the new crusade. The United States began to take stern cognizance +of these reckless operations when four ships having Americans on +board, either among the crews or passengers, became targets for the +kaiser's torpedoes, without warning. These were the _Eagle Point_, the +_Manchester Engineer_, the _Englishman_, and the _Sussex_. All were +sunk except the last-named vessel, and the Americans were saved except +one on the _Englishman_, though not, in several cases, without injury. + +The circumstances of the torpedoing of the _Sussex_ provoked a final +clash between the United States and Germany. This vessel plied as a +Channel ferryboat between Folkestone and Dieppe. On March 24, 1916, at +4.30 p. m., while near the latter port, with 436 persons on board, +including seventy-five Americans, she was struck by a torpedo from a +submarine. The captain observed a torpedo about 100 meters from the +side and immediately maneuvered to avoid it; but the vessel was struck +in the forward part, which was destroyed. Rescuing craft towed the +disabled boat to Boulogne, where a majority of the passengers were +landed. About fifty persons lost their lives, and three Americans were +hurt. + +The State Department at once instructed the American ambassador at +Berlin to inquire whether the torpedo which almost sunk the _Sussex_ +came from a German submarine, though the Government entertained little +doubt that this was the case. The American suspicions were later +confirmed by incontestable evidence; but the Government first sought +to give Germany the opportunity of having her day in court before +acting. + +Unofficially came reports from Berlin scouting as impossible the +assumption that a German submarine was the culprit, the assurance +being repeated that Germany in no circumstance would violate her +pledge to the United States not to destroy enemy vessels except after +full warning to enable crews and passengers to save their lives. No +official statement was forthcoming. The German admiralty declined to +"deny or explain" until all the submarines operating off the French +coast had returned and reported. + +The American procedure in the _Sussex_ case differed from that +followed in previous issues with Germany arising from submarine +warfare. There were no official representations made to Berlin; +Ambassador Gerard was merely asked to ascertain informally and +transmit to Washington any pertinent facts he could gather bearing on +Germany's culpability. The submarine issue, in fact, had reached a +stage where explanations and excuses were of minor importance. +Evidence showing whether Germany had or had not broken her pledge not +to torpedo passenger vessels without warning was alone of interest to +the President. Proof of Germany's guilt foreshadowed an unqualified +threat by the United States to break off diplomatic relations. The +United States determined to be the judge with Germany in the dock as a +defendant, instead of arguing an issue with Berlin, as in the past. +This attitude placed Germany in the position of having to prove her +innocence in the face of damaging evidence of her guilt. No discussion +was even invited with the German ambassador over the case, and Count +von Bernstorff apparently did not want to make his usual extenuatory +or defensive pleas. + +Germany assumed a mien of innocence. Her spokesmen by implication +declined to consider that she was in any way involved in the _Sussex_ +case; hence there could be no need for Count von Bernstorff to make it +a subject of discussion with the American Government. + +"I cannot help it," said the ambassador unofficially. "One cannot +blame Germany because the _Sussex_ struck a British mine. Why should +we discuss it? It does not concern us." + +This was Germany's first informal explanation. The readiest means of +exculpating Germany from complicity in the _Sussex_ affair was +eagerly seized upon and clung to. What other cause except a British +mine would there be for the calamity the _Sussex_ had encountered when +Germany had pledged herself not to make such attacks? + +Meantime information reached Washington that the German secret orders +to submarine commanders relating to the armed-merchantmen decree did +not conform to the pledges given to the United States, but urged the +importance of a policy of concealment in their operations, so that it +would be difficult, if not impossible, to lay the proof at Germany's +door, if any vessel was sunk contrary to pledge. By this means the +German Government could decline to acknowledge responsibility for any +attack unless the United States could prove that the submarine was of +German nationality. + +Whether Washington was correctly informed or not, Germany's attitude +gave color to the theory that she had predetermined on repudiating +having any hand in submarine attacks if she could successfully cloak +the operations of her U-boat commanders. The situation embarrassed the +United States and influenced the procedure of the diplomatic +negotiations necessary to elucidate any given case. Germany's +attitude, in short, placed the United States in the position of either +assuming that the word of a friendly government could not be accepted +at its face value, or of abandoning further inquiry, as happened in +the case of the _Persia_, recorded in the previous volume. The +President boldly undertook to act on the first of these alternatives. + +Before the crisis reached this stage, the German point of view +regarding submarine warfare was, despite pledges, more than ever +unalterably opposed to modifying that warfare to conform to the wishes +of any foreign power. For eleven days after the attack of the _Sussex_ +the Berlin Foreign Office preserved an attitude of ignorance regarding +the torpedoing; but the seriousness with which the case was viewed in +the United States, coupled with the instructions from Washington to +Ambassador Gerard, at length caused the Foreign Office to call upon +the admiralty for a report on the destruction of the _Sussex_ if any +submarine commander could throw any light upon it. No hope, however, +was entertained that a satisfactory statement would be received from +Berlin. A resort to evasion, a professed lack of information, the +familiar assumption of an English or French mine being to blame, were +expected to be embodied in any defense Berlin made, and an explanation +of this tenor was rejected in advance. + +Germany's answer was received on April 10, 1916, and fulfilled +expectations. The United States was informed that the admiralty had +subjected the affair to the fullest investigation, with this +results--that no German submarine attacked the _Sussex,_ but that one +torpedoed another vessel, about the same time in the same vicinity, +with the same result. A sketch the submarine commander made of the +vessel he struck was submitted to show that it was not the _Sussex_, +as the sketch differed from the published pictures of that ship. The +submarine commander, the German note said, had been led to attack the +"unknown" vessel in the belief that it was a warship, that is, "a mine +layer of the recently built _Arabic_ class." A violent explosion +occurred in the fore part of the ship after the torpedo had been +fired, which "warrants the certain conclusion that great amounts of +ammunitions were on board." The German note proceeded: + +"No other attack whatever by German submarines at the time in question +for the _Sussex_ upon the route between Folkestone and Dieppe +occurred. The German Government must therefore assume that the injury +to the _Sussex_ is attributable to another cause than an attack by a +German submarine. + +"For an explanation of the case the fact may perhaps be serviceable +that no less than twenty-six English mines were exploded by shots by +German naval forces in the channel on the 1st and 2nd of April alone. +The entire sea in that vicinity is, in fact, endangered by floating +mines and by torpedoes that have not sunk. Off the English coast it is +further endangered in an increasing degree through German mines which +have been laid against enemy naval forces. + +"Should the American Government have at its disposal further material +for a conclusion upon the case of the _Sussex_ the German Government +would ask that it be communicated, in order to subject this material +also to an investigation. + +[Illustration: British sailors and officers boarding the captured U-C-5 +German mine-laying submarine. The open grating shows one of the +openings through which mines are laid.] + +"In the event that differences of opinion should develop hereby +between the two Governments, the German Government now declares itself +ready to have the facts of the case established through mixed +commissions of investigation, in accordance with the third title of +'The Hague agreement for the peaceful settlement of international +conflicts, November 18, 1907.'" + +In explanation of the sinking of the _Manchester Engineer_, the +_Englishman_, and the _Eagle Point_, which vessels had Americans on +board, the German note professed to be unable to say whether the +first-named ship was attacked by a German submarine, but in the case +of the two last-named they were attacked after attempting to escape +and disregarding signals to stop. + +The communication made the worst of impressions on the Washington +Government. The clumsy prevarication of attempting to show that a +steamer other than the _Sussex_ had been torpedoed in the belief that +it was a war vessel merely sufficed to complete the accumulating +circumstantial evidence in the possession of the Government that the +_Sussex_ had been torpedoed by a German submarine without warning in +violation of an express pledge. The Administration had become weary of +Germany's protestations of innocence and good behavior, and of shallow +excuses for breaking her word, and had lost faith in any German +utterance. The cabinet view of the situation, as expressed at a +meeting called the day following the receipt of the German note, was +that a nation which would accept perjured affidavits as a basis for a +note charging that the _Lusitania_ was armed would not hesitate to +enter a blanket denial of any act if perpetrated. + +The tension created by Germany's unconvincing alibi caused alarm in +Berlin, and government officials were reported as showing a nervous +anxiety to strain every nerve to avoid a rupture with the United +States. A loophole had been provided in the German note for a possible +withdrawal of her denial of responsibility for the destruction of the +_Sussex_ as will be seen from this passage: + +"Should the American Government have at its disposal further material +for a conclusion upon the case of the _Sussex_ the German Government +would ask that it be communicated, in order to subject this material +also to an investigation." + +This saving clause gave the German note the aspect of a preliminary to +the usual backdown and to an admission of liability, with the +palliating excuse of ignorance of the vessel's identity. At any rate +signs were not wanting that Germany recognized, had she had a choice +to make, with the American Government reenforced with clinching +testimony, to be duly presented, that a German submarine and none +other torpedoed the _Sussex_ and jeopardized the lives of twenty-five +Americans on board. + +On April 19, 1916, President Wilson had the issue with Germany before +Congress and addressed that body in person, solemnly informing the +legislators that "a situation has arisen in the foreign relations of +the country of which it is my plain duty to inform you very frankly." +This he proceeded to do, speaking, he said, on behalf of the rights of +the United States and its citizens and the rights of humanity in +general. He announced that he had notified Germany that "unless the +Imperial Government should now immediately declare and effect an +abandonment of its present methods of submarine warfare against +passenger and freight-carrying vessels, the Government of the United +States can have no choice but to sever diplomatic relations with the +German Empire altogether." + +The President's address was more or less a paraphrase of the note he +had that day sent to Berlin, and was in fulfillment of a promise he +made to notify Congress of any action he took to bring Germany to +realize the serious condition of her relations with the United +States. + + + + +CHAPTER LIX + +THE AMERICAN ULTIMATUM--GERMANY YIELDS + + +The American note was an indictment of Germany's conscienceless +practices and broken faith. Secretary Lansing informed the kaiser's +advisers that their note denying any attack on the _Sussex_, but +acknowledging that another vessel had been torpedoed under identical +circumstances as to time, place, and result, confirmed the inferences +the American Government had drawn from information it possessed +establishing "the facts in the case of the _Sussex_." + +A "statement of facts" relating to the _Sussex_ accompanied the +virtual American ultimatum. It set forth a chain of testimony, citing +the source thereof, showing that the passengers of the _Sussex_, which +included about twenty-four American citizens, were of several +nationalities, many of them women and children, and half of them +subjects of neutral states; that the _Sussex_ carried no armament; +that the vessel has never been employed as a troopship, but solely as +a Channel ferryboat, and was following a route not used for +transporting troops from Great Britain to France; that a torpedo was +seen driving toward the vessel and the captain was unable to swing the +vessel out of the torpedo's course; that on a subsequent inspection of +the broken hull a number of pieces of metal were found which American, +French, and British naval experts decided were not parts of a mine, +but of a torpedo, with German markings, and were otherwise different +from parts of torpedoes used by the French and British. + +Regarding the sketch made by the German submarine commander of the +steamer which he said he torpedoed, showing that it did not agree with +a photograph of the _Sussex_ as published, the American statement made +this comment: + +This sketch was apparently made from memory of an observation of the +vessel through a periscope. As the only differences noted by the +commander, who relied on his memory, were the position of the +smokestack and the shape of the stern, it is to be presumed the +vessels were similar in other respects. + +This conclusion was the more certain because no other German +submarines, on the day the _Sussex_ was wrecked, attacked steamers in +the same locality. Hence, in the American views, "as no vessel is +reported to have been torpedoed without warning by a submerged +submarine other than the _Sussex_, it is beyond question that that +vessel was torpedoed by the submarine whose commander's report is +relied upon in the note of April 10, 1916." + +The United States had spoken its last word. No attempt was made to +disguise the gravity of the situation, and there was a quiet +recognition of the fact that the continuance of friendly relations +rested wholly on the action of the German Government. Just now, +however, political conditions in Germany were believed to be such that +the Government itself, even if it desired to give full satisfaction in +word and deed to the United States, would be facing a problem in +finding a way of doing so. The Imperial Chancellor, Dr. +Bethmann-Hollweg, representing the civilian part of the federated +government, had so far succeeded in holding the concessions to the +United States. But the military element, including the naval and +submarine advocates of a continued campaign of "frightfulness," headed +until recently by Grand Admiral von Tirpitz, had nevertheless pursued +its course of ruthless destruction, either with the reluctant and +tacit consent of the chancellor or in spite of his opposition. There +thus existed a fundamental cleavage of policy between these two +factions of the German Government. The chancellor made pledges to the +United States and the naval authorities disregarded them, the kaiser +apparently being helpless or lukewarm in his support of the +chancellor's commitments. Presently, however, when Admiral von +Tirpitz's retirement was announced, the civilian element appeared in +the ascendant. His resignation smote the German people with the +startling effect of a coup d'etat, and was plainly the outcome of a +long and silent struggle in the inner councils of the Government. All +the political influence of the chancellor, supported by the romantic +weight of the kaiser's name, was exercised to stifle an outburst of +criticism in the Reichstag. Meantime, under the German system of +censorship, the submarine warfare was reported to the German people in +boastful terms, which made them almost a unit in demanding its +continuance without abatement. They heard little of the hundreds of +noncombatants killed by their submarines, or else these casualties +were explained as the result of the explosion of cargoes of munitions. +They had been told week by week of the steady reduction of British +tonnage, that the pinch of hunger which they had experienced was also +being felt in England, and that the German submarine was the only +shield between Germany and starvation. So the German people were +behind the military and naval element for an unrestricted U-boat +warfare. The situation was such that the gravest doubt was felt +whether the chancellor, even with the kaiser's support, could adjust +the submarine issue in a way satisfactory alike to the United States +and to the clamorous radical militarists upheld by a misled people. + +The German Government brooded over the ultimatum of the United +States for fifteen days before it decided upon a declaration that +averted a rupture of diplomatic relations. The German note, +dispatched May 5, 1916, grudgingly admitted "the possibility that +the ship mentioned in the note of April 10, 1916, as having been +torpedoed by a German submarine is actually identical with the +_Sussex_." It characteristically withheld an unreserved admission, +but "should it turn out that the commander was wrong in assuming the +vessel to be a man-of-war, the German Government will not fail to +draw the consequences resulting therefrom." This hesitating and +qualified acknowledgment was accepted as about as near to a +confession of guilt as Germany was then capable of making. + +On the vital question of the conduct of submarine warfare, a change in +which the United States was determined upon forcing Germany to make, +the note was more explicit and thus yielded to the American demand: + +"The German Government will only state that it has imposed +far-reaching restraint upon the use of the submarine weapon, solely in +consideration of neutrals' interests, in spite of the fact that these +restrictions are necessarily of advantage to Germany's enemies. No +such consideration has ever been shown neutrals by Great Britain and +her allies. + +"The German submarine forces have had, in fact, orders to conduct the +submarine warfare in accordance with the general principles of visit +and search and the destruction of merchant vessels recognized by +international law, the sole exception being the conduct of warfare +against enemy trade carried on enemy freight ships encountered in the +war zone surrounding Great Britain. + +"With regard to these no assurances have ever been given to the +Government of the United States. No such assurances are contained in +the declaration of February 8, 1916. + +"The German Government cannot admit any doubt that these orders were +given or are executed in good faith." + +Having said so much, the German note proceeded to cloud the issue by +virtually blaming the United States for the continued existence of +conditions calling for the sea warfare Germany practiced: + +"The German Government has made several proposals to the Government of +the United States in order to reduce to a minimum for American +travelers and goods the inherent dangers of naval warfare. +Unfortunately, the Government of the United States decided not to +accept the proposals. Had it accepted, the Government of the United +States would have been instrumental in preventing the greater part of +the accidents that American citizens have met with in the meantime. + +"The German Government still stands by its offer to come to an +agreement along these lines." + +As though this reproach did not go far enough, the German note, while +affirming that the German Government attached no less importance to +the sacred principles of humanity than the American Government did, +accused the United States of showing favoritism in its humanitarian +sympathies: + +"As matters stand, the German Government cannot but reiterate regret +that the sentiments of humanity, which the Government of the United +States extends with such fervor to the unhappy victims of submarine +warfare, are not extended with the same warmth of feeling to many +millions of women and children who, according to the avowed intention +of the British Government, shall be starved, and who by sufferings +shall force the victorious armies of the Central Powers into +ignominious capitulation. + +"The German Government, in agreement with the German people, fails to +understand this discrimination, all the more as it has repeatedly and +explicitly declared itself ready to use the submarine weapon in strict +conformity with the rules of international law as recognized before +the outbreak of the war, if Great Britain likewise was ready to adapt +the conduct of warfare to these rules. + +"The German people knows that the Government of the United States has +the power to confine the war to armed forces of the belligerent +countries, in the interest of humanity and maintenance of +international law. The Government of the United States would have been +certain of attaining this end had it been determined to insist against +Great Britain on the incontrovertible rights to freedom of the seas. +But, as matters stand, the German people is under the impression that +the Government of the United States, while demanding that Germany, +struggling for existence, shall restrain the use of an effective +weapon and while making compliance with these demands a condition for +maintenance of relations with Germany, confines itself to protest +against illegal methods adopted by Germany's enemies. Moreover, the +German people knows to what considerable extent its enemies are +supplied with all kinds of war material from the United States. + +"It will, therefore, be understood that the appeal made by the +Government of the United States to sentiments of humanity and +principles of international law cannot, under the circumstances, meet +the same hearty response from the German people which such an appeal +otherwise always is certain to find here." + +This complaint was an allusion to the refusal of the United States to +involve its issues with Great Britain with those it had with Germany +or to mediate the proposal that Great Britain raise her food blockade +against Germany, who would then discontinue her submarine war on +British merchantmen. The tone of an injured party Germany assumed in +taking this attitude, as though she had a just cause of complaint +against the United States, was accepted as a plaintive prelude to her +final surrender; but even this surrender she did not make without +again clogging her concessions with the same proposal which the United +States had already flatly rejected. + +"The German Government, conscious of Germany's strength, twice within +the last few months announced before the world its readiness to make +peace on a basis safeguarding Germany's vital interests, thus +indicating that it is not Germany's fault if peace is still withheld +from the nations of Europe. The German Government feels all the more +justified in declaring that responsibility could not be borne before +the forum of mankind and in history if after twenty-one months of the +war's duration the submarine question, under discussion between the +German Government and the Government of the United States, were to +take a turn seriously threatening maintenance of peace between the two +nations. + +"As far as lies with the German Government, it wishes to prevent +things from taking such a course. The German Government, moreover, is +prepared to do its utmost to confine operations of the war for the +rest of its duration to the fighting forces of the belligerents, +thereby also insuring the freedom of the seas, a principle upon which +the German Government believes, now as before, that it is in agreement +with the Government of the United States. + +"The German Government, guided by this idea, notifies the Government +of the United States that German naval forces have received the +following orders: + +"'In accordance with the general principles of visit and search and +the destruction of merchant vessels, recognized by international law, +such vessels, both within and without the area declared a naval war +zone, shall not be sunk without warning and without saving human lives +unless the ship attempts to escape or offer resistance.' + +"But neutrals cannot expect that Germany, forced to fight for +existence, shall, for the sake of neutral interests, restrict the use +of an effective weapon if the enemy is permitted to continue to apply +at will methods of warfare violating rules of international law. Such +a demand would be incompatible with the character of neutrality, and +the German Government is convinced that the Government of the United +States does not think of making such a demand, knowing that the +Government of the United States repeatedly declares that it is +determined to restore the principle of freedom of the seas, from +whatever quarter it has been violated. + +"Accordingly, the German Government is confident, that in consequence +of the new orders issued to the naval forces, the Government of the +United States will also now consider all impediments removed which may +have been in the way of a mutual cooperation toward restoration of the +freedom of the seas during the war, as suggested in the note of July +23, 1915, and it does not doubt that the Government of the United +States will now demand and insist that the British Government shall +forthwith observe the rules of international law universally +recognized before the war, as are laid down in the notes presented by +the Government of the United States to the British Government, +December 28, 1914, and Nov. 5, 1915. + +"Should steps taken by the Government of the United States not attain +the object it desires, to have the laws of humanity followed by all +belligerent nations, the German Government would then be facing a new +situation, in which it must reserve to itself complete liberty of +decision." + +The first feeling aroused by the German note, with its wounded tone +and qualified compliance with the American demand, was one of +irritation. But after closer study the President was willing to accept +the German undertaking on probation, without taking a too liberal view +of the phraseology employed, and to regard the intrusive strictures +on the United States as intended for German, not for American reading. +The disposition was to be charitable and to take cognizance of the +matter rather than the manner of Germany's backdown, and to wait and +see if her government would live up in good faith to its new +instructions to submarine commanders, without recognizing the +impossible conditions imposed. + +But in the country at large public opinion was less ready to interpret +the German note except as it read textually. It was denounced in +scathing language as shuffling, arrogant and offensive, or as +insulting and dishonest. One paper deemed its terms to be a series of +studied insults added to a long inventory of injuries. Said another, +Germany's mood is still that of a madman. A third comment on the note +described it as "a disingenuous effort to have international petty +larceny put on the same plane as international murder and visited with +the same punishment." A fourth paper remarked: "If an American can +read the note without his temples getting hot then his blood is poor +or his understanding dense." The weight of American press opinion was +against Germany, especially in the South, and either called for the +breaking of diplomatic relations or considered such a course +inevitable. + +For the United States even to contemplate, as Germany proposed, "an +alliance between Germany and the United States to break a British +blockade that Germany cannot break" was viewed as unthinkable. +Intellectual dishonesty, characteristic of Germany in its attitude +toward the world since the war began, and especially shown in +negotiations with the United States, was seen in the effort to place +upon Great Britain the responsibility for wrongs committed by Germany +against the United States and in the renewed attempt to convict the +American Government of lapses because it has not controlled Great +Britain's sea policy. In fact, the attempt to dictate the American +attitude to Great Britain in return for a promise to restrict +submarine warfare was generally resented as an impertinence. + +When all was said, however, the German reply, although having the +appearance of being as little conciliatory as words could make it, +did in fact yield to President Wilson on the main issue. + +The President, in considering this view, was guided by Ambassador +Gerard's dispatches reporting his interview with the kaiser on the +submarine crisis. The kaiser, he said, was animated by a keen desire +that relations between the two Governments should continue amicable, +but he felt that German public opinion must be considered in making +concessions to the United States. From the kaiser's concern for +popular approval the ambassador gathered that the German Government +faced the necessity of so wording its answer to the United States that +the German people would not feel that the Government had been forced +to modify the rules under which submarines operated. The +Administration received the impression that Germany would go to great +length to avoid a rupture with the United States, and the German note +must therefore be construed in the light of this feeling. The kaiser's +views, as transmitted by the ambassador, tended to soften the +irritating tone and language of the German note, and was not without +effect on the President and cabinet when they determined to accept it +provisionally. + +The President decided to ignore the pointed suggestion of Germany that +the United States should now seek to prevail on Great Britain to +abandon her blockade of Germany. One source of irritation caused by +the note was the statement that should the United States fail to raise +the British embargo "the German Government would then be facing a new +situation in which it must reserve to itself complete liberty of +action." The Administration had no intention of accepting any +conditional compliance with its demand for the abandoning of illegal +submarine warfare; but the opinion officially prevailed that this +effort of Germany to lecture the United States as to its duty toward +another nation might be overlooked in view of the accomplishment of +the main object for which the Administration had been contending. + +Nor would the Government heed Germany's proposal that it undertake the +role of peacemaker in the absence of any indication that the Allied +Powers were willing to respond to Germany's willingness to make +peace--presumably on Germany's own terms. + +The promises in the German note were accepted per se, and the +qualifications and animadversions Germany attached to them ignored. +This determined upon, the intimation was made plain to Germany that +should another ship be sunk in contravention of her new pledge no +exchange of notes would ensue, but a severance of diplomatic relations +would automatically be effected by the forbidden act. German submarine +commanders held in their hands the key to the situation. Any +infraction of Germany's latest word would not call for a disavowal or +punishment of the commander; the United States would merely act on the +presumption that Germany could not or would not control her own naval +forces. Berlin would not be consulted again. + +The American response to the German note was sent three days later. It +was brief, and swept aside the considerable debating ground Germany +had invitingly spread to inveigle the United States into discussing +mediation in the war. Its principal passage ran: + +"Accepting the Imperial Government's declaration of its abandonment of +the policy which has so seriously menaced the good relations between +the two countries, the Government of the United States will rely upon +a scrupulous execution henceforth of the now altered policy of the +Imperial Government, such as will remove the principal danger to an +interruption of the good relations existing between the United States +and Germany. + +"The Government of the United States feels it necessary to state that +it takes it for granted that the Imperial German Government does not +intend to imply that the maintenance of its newly announced policy is +in any way contingent upon the course or result of diplomatic +negotiations between the Government of the United States and any other +belligerent government, notwithstanding the fact that certain passages +in the Imperial Government's note of the 4th instant might appear to +be susceptible of that construction. + +"In order, however, to avoid any possible misunderstanding, the +Government of the United States notifies the Imperial Government that +it cannot for a moment entertain, much less discuss, a suggestion +that respect by German naval authorities for the rights of citizens of +the United States upon the high seas should in any way or in the +slightest degree be made contingent upon the conduct of any other +government affecting the rights of neutrals and noncombatants. +Responsibility in such matters is single, not joint; absolute, not +relative." + +Secretary Lansing, in a comment on this reply, said the German note +was devoted to matters which the American Government could not discuss +with the German Government. He took the ground, as the American reply +indicated, that the only "questions of right" which could be discussed +with the German Government were those arising out of German or +American action exclusively, not out of those questions which were the +subject of diplomatic exchanges between the United States and any +other country. + +"So long as she (Germany) lives up to this altered policy," he +explained, "we can have no reason to quarrel with her on that score, +though the losses resulting from the violation of American rights by +German submarine commanders operating under the former policy will +have to be settled. + +"While our differences with Great Britain cannot form a subject of +discussion with Germany, it should be stated that in our dealings with +the British Government we are acting, as we are unquestionably bound +to act, in view of the explicit treaty engagements with that +Government. We have treaty obligations as to the manner in which +matters in dispute between the two Governments are to be handled. We +offered to assume mutually similar obligations with Germany, but the +offer was declined." + +Mr. Lansing's comment appeared to be more enlightening to German +opinion than the official communication. But while the German was +frankly puzzled by the American contention--holding that there was an +intimate connection between England's "illegal blockade policy" and +the submarine war--and wondered naively whether or not he was the +simple victim of an American confidence game, or strongly suspected +that he had been hoodwinked by President Wilson into parting with the +effective submarine weapon, with no guarantee of getting any action +against England in return, hard German common sense discerned through +these doubts, and made the most of the one all-important fact it could +comprehend--that the dreaded break had been avoided. + +With the air thus cleared, the usual anticlimax came to the +situation--the tumbling down of Germany's elaborate and grandiose +defense of her misdeeds--by a tardy confession of error, which swept +everything she had previously said into the discard. On May 8, 1916, +the same day on which the American note had been dispatched, Germany +sent a further communication acknowledging that, as result of further +investigation, her previous contention "that the damage of the +_Sussex_ was to be traced back to a cause other than the attack of a +German submarine cannot be maintained." It now seems that the _Sussex_ +had been mistaken by the submarine commander for a British transport. +Nothing could be more complete than Germany's belated resort to an +amende honorable after the United States had proved her guilt: + +"In view of the general impression of all the facts at hand the German +Government considers it beyond doubt that the commander of the +submarine acted in the bona fide belief that he was facing an enemy +warship. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that, misled by the +appearance of the vessel under the pressure of the circumstances, he +formed his judgment too hurriedly in establishing her character and +did not, therefore, act fully in accordance with the strict +instructions which called upon him to exercise particular care. + +"In view of these circumstances the German Government frankly admits +that the assurance given to the American Government, in accordance +with which passenger vessels were not to be attacked without warning, +has not been adhered to in the present case.... The German Government +does not hesitate to draw from this resultant consequences. It +therefore expresses to the American Government its sincere regret +regarding the deplorable incident, and declares its readiness to pay +an adequate indemnity to the injured American citizens. It also +disapproved of the conduct of the commander, who has been +appropriately punished." + + + + +TWO YEARS OF THE WAR + +BY FRANK H. SIMONDS + + +The purpose of this article is to review rapidly and briefly the +history of the military operations in the European conflict during the +first two years, from the attack upon Liege to the opening of the +first general Allied offensive. Necessarily, in view of the space +limitations it will be confined to a summary of events in the three +more considerable campaigns, that of Germany against France in 1914, +that of Germany against Russia in 1915, and the second German attack +upon France at Verdun in 1916. All other land operations have been +subsidiary or minor and will claim only passing comment. + + +THE GERMAN PROBLEM + +In the years that lay between the end of the Franco-Prussian War and +the outbreak of the present conflict the Great General Staff of the +German Army had carefully elaborated plans for that war on two fronts +which the Franco-Russian alliance forecast. In company with the staffs +of her two allies, Austria and Italy, Germany had formulated the +methods by which she purposed to repeat the great success of 1870. + +With Italy in the war, with Great Britain out of it, it was plain that +with German efficiency and the numbers that she and her allies would +possess, Germany could count on a permanent advantage in numbers as +well as material. But the events of the early years of the century, +the incidents beginning at Tangier in 1905, and extending to the +Balkan Wars in 1913, clearly established the possibility that Italy +might enter the war as an enemy, and the probability that Britain +would decline to stay out while France was being destroyed. + +If either of these things should happen, as both did, then German +soldiers recognized that Germany and her Austrian ally would +ultimately be outnumbered, although superior preparation would give +them the advantage in the first and perhaps in the second years of the +conflict. It was therefore the problem of German high command to +prepare its plans in such fashion as to win the war, while it still +possessed the advantage of numbers and before the enemy could equip +and train its own forces. + +In fact the problem was this: Should the Germans hurl the mass of +their great army first at Russia or first at France, leaving only a +small containing force on the other front? The question was much +debated and remains a matter of dispute, now, when the attack +ultimately decided upon has failed. (Vol. I, 85.) + +The decision to attack France, which seems to have been reached well +in advance of the actual coming of the war, involved new +considerations. Russia's mobilization was notoriously known to be a +slow thing, although it turned out far more rapid than Germany had +calculated. But at the least German high command figured upon two +months, during which it could safely turn all of its energies and +resources against France. (Vol. I, 85.) + +Unhappily in the years since the Franco-Prussian War France had built +up a great barrier of fortresses from Luxembourg to Switzerland. +Granted the great superiority of German heavy artillery, it was clear +that this barrier could be forced, but defended by the mass of the +French army this forcing would consume more than two months. + +If France were to be attacked first, then it must be attacked by some +other road than that leading from the valleys of the Rhine and the +Moselle, the route of the 1870 invasion. And the route manifestly lay +through Belgium. The fortresses of the Meuse were patently of little +modern value, the Belgian army was weak in numbers and only at the +beginning of a process of reorganization. By coming through Belgium +the Germans could hope, even if the Belgians resisted, to get to Paris +in six weeks, having delivered their decisive battle on the road. +(Vol. I, 85.) + +The element of additional opposition supplied by the Belgian army and +the small British Expeditionary Army, if it came to the Continent, did +not offset in the German mind the strength of the French barrier +fortresses from Verdun to Belfort, and Belgium seemed the line of +least resistance even if that resistance were to be reckoned at the +maximum. If France were crushed within six weeks, it was safe to +reckon that there would be time to turn east and deal with Russia, +still unprepared and so far held up--if not defeated--by Austria. If +Italy merely remained neutral up to the moment of the decisive battle +in France, the outcome of this conflict would decide Italian policy. +Here, briefly, is the basis of German strategy and the reason for +German decision. (Vol. I, 86.) + + +THE BELGIAN PHASE + +Germany declared war upon Russia on August 1, 1914. (Vol. I, 279.) She +was already mobilizing, and in a more or less complete form all Europe +had been mobilizing for at least a week. While there were delays in +the exchange of other declarations, this date may be accepted as the +real beginning of the world war. Moreover, when the declaration of war +was sent to Russia, Germany was already aware that France purposed to +stand by her ally. (Vol. I, 280.) + +The first step in German action, then, was to seize the road through +Belgium. It might be had by diplomacy, but this hope was speedily +extinguished when King Albert revealed his determination to defend his +country. (Vol. I, 280.) Liege, the most important outer barrier, might +still be won by a quick blow, and thus the opening move of the +struggle was the dash of a few thousand German troops, not yet put on +a complete war basis, westward from Aix-la-Chapelle and along the main +Berlin-Cologne-Brussels railroad to the environs of Liege. (Vol. II, +9.) + +As a _coup-de-main_ this attack upon Liege failed. The forts resisted. +For several days Belgian field forces held the open spaces between the +eastern forts, and the first German troops suffered bloody repulses +and were presently compelled to pause until heavy artillery could be +brought up. Meantime German troops moved north of the city and forced +the crossing of the Meuse at Vise. Thereupon the Belgian field forces, +which had been defending Liege, retired, to escape envelopment. The +German army penetrated in the wide unfortified gaps between the Liege +forts and occupied the city of Liege on August 7, 1914. The forts held +out for another week, one by one succumbing to the new heavy German +and Austrian howitzers, which were making their first noise in Europe. +(Vol. II, 12-23.) + +Meantime, behind Liege the German concentration was going forward, the +main mass of the German army was getting ready for its great drive on +Paris, while west of Liege German cavalry was slowly but methodically +driving in the slender Belgian field forces, which took their stand +behind the north and south flowing rivulets of the central Belgian +plain. Here were fought some of the minor engagements which filled the +press of the world in the early days, but had no actual value. (Vol. +II, 9-11.) + +Early in the third week of August, 1914, the German preparations were +complete and one great German army under Kluck, crossing the Meuse +about Liege moved directly west upon Brussels, while a second, under +Buelow, crossed the Meuse about Huy, between Liege and Namur, and +advanced upon the latter place. Still a third army, under Hausen, +moved across the Ardennes toward the Meuse crossings southeast of +Namur, while a fourth under the Crown Prince of Wuerttemberg aimed +farther south through the Ardennes at the Meuse crossings in France. +(Vol. II, 25, 26.) + +Before this torrent the Belgian army was swept with little or no +delay. (Vol. II, 27.) By August 19, 1914, it was fleeing back to the +intrenched camp of Antwerp. (Vol. II, 27.) Brussels fell on August 20, +1914 (Vol. II, 30), and on August 22, 1914, the Belgian phase was over +and the German troops had come to grips with French and British troops +along the whole Belgian frontier from Luxemburg to Mons. (Vol. II, +37.) So far German plans had worked about as they had been expected to +work, and at the end of the third week Germany was on the eve of the +decisive battle, which she had planned. + +[Illustration: On August 18, 1914, when the Belgian Retreat to Antwerp +began. + +_Allies._--A, Belgians; B, British; C, Lanrezac; D, Langle de Cary; E, +Ruffey; F, Castelnau; G, Dubail; H, Pau. + +_Germans._--I, Kluck; II Buelow; III Hausen; IV, Wuerttemberg; V, Crown +Prince; VI, Bavaria; VII, Heoringen; VIII, Deimling.] + + +THE FRENCH OFFENSIVE + +Meantime the French had mobilized with expected speed and before +mobilization was completed had pushed a raid into southern Alsace, +wholly comparable to the German raid on Liege. (Vol. II, 38.) This +advance had taken, lost and retaken Muelhausen by August 15, 1914. +(Vol. II, 41-45.) At this time the French were approaching the Rhine, +in this sector, and had crossed the Vosges and come down the Rhine +affluents for some distance. + +But this was a minor operation. The main thrust of the French General +Staff, the answer to the German drive through Belgium, had long been +prepared. It was to be a swift and heavy advance through Lorraine, +between Metz and Strassburg, rolling up the German forces here, +cutting communications between these fortresses, and moving down the +Rhine Valley and menacing the rear of the German armies which had +invaded Belgium. (Vol. II, 43.) + +While the German armies were beginning their main advance upon +Brussels and Namur, the French thrust was pushed out, was very +successful for several days until the French had reached the main +Metz-Strassburg railroad, and from Delme to Saarburg stood far within +the German boundary. But at this point came the first real disaster. +(Vol. II, 44.) + +Resting on the hills of Delme and the marshes of the Seille, the +Germans had constructed strong fortified lines and furnished them with +heavy artillery. When the French reached these positions they were +assailed by artillery which was beyond the reach of their own guns, +they suffered heavy losses, were thrown into confusion, and presently +were flowing back upon Nancy and Luneville in something approximating +a rout, having lost flags, cannon, and many thousand prisoners. This +was the Battle of Morhange, or of Metz--as the Germans name it--and it +was over by August 22, 1914. (Vol. II, 44, 45.) + +[Illustration: August 23, 1914, after the Allies had lost all the +First Battles. + +_Allies._--A, Belgians; B, British; C, Lanrezac; D, Langle de Cary; E, +Ruffey; F, Castelnau; G, Dubail; H, Pau. + +_Germans._--I, Kluck; II, Buelow; III, Hausen; IV, Wuerttemberg; V, +Crown Prince; VI, Bavaria; VII, Heeringen; VIII, Deimling.] + +At the same time another French army had pushed across the Meuse into +Belgium from the district between Sedan and Montmedy, it had won +minor initial successes, and about Neufchateau it had suffered exactly +the same sort of reverse that the French army to the south had met at +Morhange, German heavy artillery had procured another French defeat, +which again approximated a rout and this French army was also in rapid +retreat, having lost flags and guns as well as many thousand +prisoners. + +Finally, still farther to the northeast, a French army had taken its +stand in the angle between the Meuse and the Sambre, from Dinant, +through Namur to Charleroi, and the British army prolonged the line to +the east of Mons. Against this dike there now burst the full fury of +the German advance made by the armies of Kluck and Buelow. (Vol. II, +46-49.) Again the French were defeated after a desperate battle about +Charleroi (Vol. II, 54), this time without any rout and after having +inflicted very heavy losses. But retreat was inevitable because the +Germans succeeded in forcing the crossings of the Meuse at +Dinant--that is, in the rear of the main army--while the fall of Namur +(Vol. II, 55-59), another triumph for German heavy artillery and a +complete surprise to the Allies, completed the ruin of their plans. + +Meantime the British army about Mons, after a day of hard fighting +which had compelled them to contract their lines somewhat, but left +them unshaken, was thrown in the air by the French retreat from +Charleroi (Vol. II, 60), tardily announced to it, and was compelled to +begin its long and terrible retreat, which so nearly ended in +destruction. (Vol. II, 66.) + +By the middle of the third week in August, 1914, the Germans had then +made good their way through Belgium, defeated the French counterthrust +in Lorraine, routed two French armies and heavily defeated a third, +together with its British supports. (Vol. II, 9-68.) + +It was not yet clear whether the French armies could rally for another +general battle, but it was clear that if this should happen, the +Germans had still time, accepting their original time-table. + + +THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE + +In the fourth week of August, 1914, Joffre, the French commander in +chief, was compelled to make a momentous decision. All his first plans +had failed, all his armies had been defeated. It very promptly turned +out that none of the defeats had materially affected the fighting +value of his armies. Thus the army defeated at Morhange was promptly +reenforced by the troops drawn out of Muelhausen and in turn defeated +and repulsed its conquerors before Nancy, in one of the bloodiest +battles of the war. The army defeated at Neufchateau made good its +position behind the Meuse from Verdun to Charleville and inflicted +grave losses upon the Germans endeavoring to pass the river. Even the +army defeated at Charleroi was able, a few days later at Guise, to +pass to the offensive and throw back the Prussian Guard into the Oise. +(Vol. II, 90-92.) + +Meantime two new armies, one under Foch, the other under Manoury, were +in the making and there was reason to believe that it would be +possible to renew the battle on the line of the Aisne, the Oise, and +the Somme. But there was one grave peril. German plans had not only +taken the French by surprise in making the main thrust through +Belgium, but had prepared to send this way a far greater number of men +than France had expected and had sent them much farther to the west. +The result was that the weight of the blow had fallen upon the +British. The British army had been compelled to make a night and day +retreat and had narrowly escaped destruction at Cambrai on August 26, +1914, "the most critical day." (Vol. II, 77.) The British army was too +heavily outnumbered to meet the German attack, its retreat had been so +rapid that the line of the Somme was about to be lost before the +British could be supported by Manoury's army, which came up on its +western flank too late. There was, therefore, the real danger that +Kluck might get between Paris and the main mass of the Allied armies, +enveloping them and producing a Sedan ten times greater than that +which had wrecked the Third Empire. + +Joffre, accordingly, decided to continue the retreat and brought all +his forces that were west of the Meuse, in good order and no longer +heavily pressed back behind the Marne and on a line from Paris, +through Meaux, Sezanne, La Fere Champenoise, Vitry-le-Francois, +Bar-le-Duc, and thence north to Verdun. He thus stood with his forces +in a semicircle, the concave side toward the Germans and his flanks +resting upon Paris and Verdun, whose forts covered these flanks. (Vol. +II, 83.) + +By September I, 1914, it was plain to the Germans that the French army +had escaped its embrace and that no envelopment was longer possible. +It remained possible to destroy them by main force, since German +numbers were still superior, German artillery unchallenged, and the +early successes productive of unbounded confidence. The German armies +thus leaped forward for the final decisive battle, which had been just +missed at the French frontier. (Vol. II, 84, 85.) + +But the new situation imposed new strategy. It was no longer possible +to envelop the Allies, and accordingly, Kluck, on the western flank, +turned southeast and marched across the face of Paris, crossing the +Marne near Meaux and leaving only one corps to guard his flank toward +Paris. This was a sound maneuver, if the French troops in Paris were +too few or too broken to strike; it was perilous in the extreme, if +the opposite were the case. And it was the case, for Joffre had +concentrated behind Paris a new army, Manoury's, which was now to +attack. + +On September 5, 1914, the Germans having now fallen into Joffre's +trap, the French commander in chief issued his famous order, and the +whole Anglo-French army suddenly passed from the defensive to the +offensive. (Vol. II, 102.) The first shots of the conflict, the great +Battle of the Marne, were fired by some German field pieces, at +Monthyon, just north of the Marne and less than twenty miles from +Paris. They greeted the advance of Manoury's army coming east out of +Paris and striking at Kluck's open flank. (Vol. II, 103.) + +[Illustration: September 6, 1914, the Battle of the Marne. + +_Allies._--A, Belgians; B, Manoury; C, British; D, Franchet d'Esperey +(Lanrezac); E, Foch; F, Langle de Cary; G, Sarrail (Ruffey); H, +Castelnau; I, Dubail. + +_Germans._--I, Kluck; II, Buelow; III, Hausen; IV, Wuerttemberg; V, +Crown Prince; VI, Bavaria; VII, Heeringen.] + +The next day Manoury rolled up Kluck's flank, drove his troops in on +the Ourcq River, and threatened his army with destruction. Kluck saved +himself by extraordinary clever work, he drew his troops back from +the front of the British south of the Marne, put them in against +Manoury and by September 10, 1914, had driven Manoury back toward +Paris and was threatening him. The first blow had failed, but it had +brought a chain of consequences fatal to German plans. (Vol. II, +99-110.) + +First of all the British, once Kluck had drawn his main masses from +their front, began somewhat tardily to advance, threatening Kluck's +other flank, and Franchet d'Esperey's army, to the east, about +Montmirail, in turn, attacked Buelow's, whose position had been made +dangerous by the retreat of Kluck. Buelow had to go back north of the +Marne, suffering severe losses and his retirement uncovered the flank +of Hausen's army fighting to the east from La Fere Champenoise to +Vitry. (Vol. II, 107.) + +Meantime things had been going badly on this line for the French, and +their troops under Foch had been driven back many miles. The Germans, +feeling the danger from the west, were making one final effort to +break the French center and win the decisive contest. But Buelow's +retreat opened the way for a supreme piece of strategy on the part of +Foch, who descended from the heights, struck Hausen, almost routed him +and sent him in quick retreat beyond the Marne. (Vol. II, 120, 121.) + +This settled the battle. Kluck, Buelow, and Hausen were now forced to +retreat, their retreat communicated itself all along the line and by +September 13, 1914, the Germans were all withdrawing, Kluck was over +seventy miles north of the Grand Morin, just taking root behind the +Aisne, the Battle of the Marne was over, and the great German plan to +deal with France in six weeks had been completely wrecked. Actually +the first phase of the war was over, unless the Germans could regain +the offensive and restore the conditions existing before the Marne. +(Vol. II, 120-123.) + + +THE END OF THE FIRST WESTERN CAMPAIGN + +In this the Germans failed. They did succeed in rallying and beating +down the Anglo-French pursuit with great skill and promptitude. The +Battle of the Aisne (Vol. II, 130-146) marked the beginning of the +deadlock and the Germans took the positions they were to hold for the +next two years between the Oise and the Meuse. + +[Illustration: September 20, 1914, the Deadlock. Solid lines show +trench fronts. Dotted lines show extension toward Belgium--"the race +to the sea" in September and October.] + +But the effort to renew the attack failed. It began with an effort, +made by troops brought from before Nancy, where a new French defensive +success had saved the Lorraine capital, to come south to Paris along +the west bank of the Oise. It was continued in the so-called "race to +the sea," when French and German commanders tried to outflank their +opponents along the Oise, the Somme, and the Lys. But this resulted +only in extending the lines of parallel trenches which now stretched +to the Belgian frontier from Noyon. + +Finally, having beaten down the Belgian resistance and taken Antwerp +in the second week of October (Vol. II, 168-172), the Germans made a +last attempt to interpose between the Allies and the sea, take Calais +and Boulogne and come south through Artois and Picardy. + +They were halted in the desperate battles along the Yser and the Lys. +(Vol. II, 169-175.) The Belgian army, escaping from Antwerp, stood +solidly behind the Yser, the British just managed to cling to Ypres +(Vol. II, 171-172), and the French under Foch performed new miracles +on the defensive. Two months after the German defeat at the Marne, the +loss of the western campaign was made absolute by the unsuccessful +termination of the Battle of Flanders and a war of movement had fallen +to a war of trenches, a state of deadlock had succeeded to the +operations in the open field and the German tide had been permanently +checked. (Vol. II, 174-177.) But actually the check had been at the +Marne and in this battle the original German plan had been decisively +defeated. France had not been disposed of in two months, but had won +the decisive battle that German strategy had prepared. But she had +lacked the numbers and the artillery to turn the victory to best +account and had failed wholly in the attempt to free her own territory +as she was to continue to fail for two years. + +[Illustration: November 15, 1914, the End of the Western Campaign.] + + +THE RUSSIAN PHASE + +We have seen that it was the plan of the German General Staff to hold +the Russian armies while the great attack upon France was being made. +To do this the Germans had left a very small force in East Prussia, +but had practically assigned to Austria the task of holding up Russia. +(Vol. II, 371.) + +German calculations as to Russian mobilization proved sadly +inaccurate. While the German troops were still in Belgium and the +Battle of Charleroi unfought, Russian troops crossed the East Prussian +boundary and began an invasion which produced something approximating +a panic. (Vol. II, 434.) One Russian army came due west from the +Niemen, another north from Warsaw, and all of Germany east of the +Vistula seemed in grave peril. (Vol. II, 437.) + + +TANNENBERG AND LEMBERG + +It was then that the kaiser summoned Hindenburg, gave him the task of +defending East Prussia, and thus introduced one of the few famous and +successful soldiers of the war. (Vol. II, 438.) Hindenburg cleverly +concentrated his forces, leaving only a screen in front of the Russian +army coming from the Niemen toward Koenigsberg, practically surrounded +the other Russian army in the marshes about Tannenberg, brought into +action great parks of German heavy artillery, and routed and destroyed +the Russian army about September 1, 1914. (Vol. II, 438-441.) + +On "Sedantag" Germany was able to celebrate one of the most decisive +of all her many victories, and the Russian peril in East Prussia had +been quickly abolished. + +But the East Prussian incident was only a detail, due, it is still +insisted, to the prompt yielding of Russian strategy to Allied appeals +for some action in the east that might relieve the terrible pressure +now being exerted upon the Anglo-French forces in the west. And if the +East Prussian invasion did not, as was asserted at the time, compel +the Germans to send troops from Belgium to East Prussia, it did hold +up new formations and seriously complicate the German problem, +contributing materially to the French victory at the Marne thereby. + +The real Russian blow was delivered against Austria. Faithful to her +agreement, Austria had promptly undertaken the invasion of southern +Poland and in the third week of August an Austrian army was +approaching Lublin, while another stood in a wide circle about the +Galician city of Lemberg. (Vol. II, 376-379.) + +Ignoring the first army, the Russians sent their main masses westward +on a front extending from the Rumanian boundary to the Kiev-Lemberg +railroad. Before Lemberg the Austrian army was overwhelmed in a +terrible rout, which ended in a wild flight, costing some 300,000 +prisoners and almost destroying the Austrian military establishment. +(Vol. II, 385, 386.) + +The Austrian army, which had advanced into Poland was left in the air, +and its retreat was transformed into a new disaster. Lemberg fell +about September 1, 1914, and meantime a Serbian victory at the Jedar +had destroyed still another Austrian army and emphasized the weakness +of Hapsburg military power. (Vol. II, 329-335.) + +At about the time the German blow at France was failing along the +Marne, the Russian victories were mounting, Russian armies were +sweeping through Galicia and approaching the San. (Vol. II, 398.) +Serbian armies were across the Bosnia frontier, (Vol. II, 323), and +the eastern situation was becoming perilous in the extreme for the +Central Powers, despite the great victory of Tannenberg, which had +cost the Russians an army of 100,000 men. (Vol. II, 438-450.) Thus in +the first six weeks of the war the whole German conception had been +defeated, France had not been destroyed by one great blow, and Russia +had not been held up by Austria, pending the delivery of this blow and +the return of the German troops who had delivered it. + +[Illustration: October 24, 1914, The Battle Of The Vistula. Arrows +show Hindenburg's attack on Warsaw and Ivangorod.] + + +WARSAW AND LODZ + +October brought the plain necessity to the Germans of coming to the +aid of their ally. While they were still endeavoring to reopen the +decision in the west it was necessary to send troops to Hindenburg and +to take pressure off Austria. The blow took the form of a rapid +advance upon Warsaw through Central Poland, which was destitute of +Russian troops. (Vol. II, 454-461.) + +The thrust almost succeeded, German troops reached the suburbs of +Warsaw, German guns were heard by the citizens of the town and Warsaw +was in deadly peril, but Siberian troops arrived in the nick of time +and Hindenburg was obliged to retire. (Vol. II, 462-466.) Still his +main purpose was achieved. Russian armies in Galicia had been weakened +to save Warsaw and were compelled to retire behind the San and the +Vistula. (Vol. II, 420-427.) + +Hindenburg's retreat was masterly, he flowed back upon Cracow and +Breslau, pursued by a great Russian army. (Vol. II, 458-462.) Meantime +the Russian armies in Galicia again took the offensive and November +saw Russian armies at the outskirts of Cracow and approaching the +boundary of Silesia. (Vol. II, 413-423.) Taken in connection with the +German repulses all along the western front and the defeat in +Flanders, which disclosed the final collapse of the original German +plan, this moment marked the high-water stage of allied fortunes for +many, many months. + +Having led the Russian army after him to the German frontier, +Hindenburg quickly moved his troops on strategic railroads to the +north, invaded Poland again between the Vistula and the Warta (Vol. +II, 462-481), almost succeeded in interposing between the Russian army +and Warsaw, and won the great victory of Lodz. (Vol. II, 466, 467.) +But Russian numbers saved the day. After terrific fighting and +tremendous losses the Russians got back to the Bzura line, which they +were to hold for nearly a year and the German advance was beaten down +in fighting wholly similar to that in Flanders. (Vol. II, 471-478.) + + +THE GALICIAN CAMPAIGN + +Once more the Russian advance in Galicia was resumed. (Vol. III, 264.) +Russian armies never again approached Cracow, but they did come to the +Dunajec line, while to the south they began the slow ascent of the +Carpathians (Vol. III, 261-264), across which raiding forces of +Cossacks had several times passed. They also concentrated against the +fortress of Przemysl, the last Austrian stronghold along the San. This +campaign endured throughout the winter. Finally Przemysl, with a +garrison of 125,000 men, surrendered in early March (Vol. III, +249-257), and Russia was at last free to strike either at Cracow or +through the Carpathians for the Hungarian Plain. + +Her decision to go south was probably influenced by the great victory +of the Serbs at Valievo. While German aid was taking pressure off the +Austrians a new Hapsburg thrust had been delivered at Serbia, +Austro-Hungarian troops had passed the Drina and penetrated deeply +into Serbia, Belgrade had fallen, and the end of Serbia seemed in +sight. But new Russian attacks having compelled Austria to recall many +of her troops, the remaining Hapsburg forces in Serbia were almost +destroyed in the bloody defeat of Valievo in December. (Vol. II, +325-357.) + +To offset this the Germans soon won one more great victory in East +Prussia, at the Mazurian Lakes, where another Russian army was +well-nigh destroyed by the quick-marching, better-trained German +troops. And this victory beat down another Russian invasion of East +Prussia and, as it turned out, closed the period of immediate peril +for the German territories in the east. + +In March and April the Galician campaign reached its climax in the +bloody battles of the Carpathians and Russian armies seemed slowly but +surely pushing their way over the mountains and descending into the +Hungarian Plain. (Vol. III, 235-276.) It was at this moment that Italy +had chosen to enter the war on the allied side, and there was every +reason to believe that Rumania would follow. + + +THE BATTLE OF THE DUNAJEC + +Instead there came a sudden and tremendous German victory which was to +prove the prelude to more victories and to a summer of unparalleled +success for German arms. This victory was won at the Battle of the +Dunajec--named Gorlice by the Germans--which may well rank with the +Marne as the second great struggle of the war, since it saved Austria, +brought Russia to the edge of ruin and wholly transformed the horizons +of the conflict. (Vol. III, 264-276.) + +It will be recalled that at the outset of the war the German General +Staff had to choose between two possible operations, an offensive +against France or an offensive against Russia. It had chosen to attack +France and had lost the campaign. It had in addition failed measurably +in its defensive against Russia and the result had been the loss of +most of Galicia with the incidental Austrian disasters. + +But the campaign in the west had resulted in the occupation of +advantageous positions far within French territory and in the conquest +of most of Belgium. + +Now the German General Staff was again able to decide whether it would +turn its entire energies for the summer of 1915 against France or +against Russia. If it chose to attack Russia there was solid reason +for believing that neither in munitions nor in numbers would the +Allies in the west reach a point where they would become dangerous +before autumn and between May and October Germany could hope to put +Russia out of the war, particularly as Germany knew what the rest of +the world did not, that Russia was at the end of her munitions, and +her long and terrible campaigns in Galicia, together with her defeats +in East Prussia, had temporarily much reduced the fighting value of +her armies. + +Accordingly Germany decided to get east and put Russia out of the war +as she had undertaken nine months before to go west and had tried and +failed to put France out of the war. But she was again faced with the +fact that failure would expose her to new perils, this time on the +west. + +For her first attack Germany selected the point in the Russian line +between the Vistula and the Carpathians, about Tarnow, where the +Russian line stood behind the Dunajec River. If the Russian line +should be suddenly broken here, the German General Staff might hope to +sweep up all the Russian armies which were facing south and +endeavoring to push through the Carpathians. + +Just about May 1, 1915, the blow fell and Germany, massing hitherto +unheard-of numbers of heavy guns on a narrow front, and using untold +ammunition, not merely routed, but abolished Radko Dmitrieff's army +(Vol. III, 267-276), and moved rapidly in on the rear of the Russian +Carpathian armies. With difficulty these extricated themselves and +retired behind the San. (Vol. III, 276.) But they were unable here to +withstand Mackensen who had assumed command in all this field, and +fell back first upon Lemberg and then upon the Volhynian triangle of +fortresses within the Russian frontier. Przemysl fell, Lemberg was +lost and Dubno and Lutsk, two of the three Volhynian fortresses, fell. +(Vol. III, 276-312.) + +Having thus disposed of the Galician armies, Mackensen turned +northeast from the San, struck at Lublin and Cholm (Vol. III, +357-365), and through them at Brest-Litovsk, far in the rear of the +Russian armies in Poland. At the same time Hindenburg in East Prussia +moved south, aiming at Grodno and Vilna, also behind the Warsaw front +(Vol. III, 256-361), while a third Germany army invaded the Courland +and aimed at Riga. (Vol. III, 337.) + +The Russian armies in Poland were thus threatened with complete +envelopment; they were caught between the closing jaws of the pincers, +which were Mackensen and Hindenburg. For a certain time it was not +clear whether the gigantic double thrust might not result in the +capture of the whole Russian army in Poland. But this did not happen. +Warsaw was evacuated (Vol. III, 356), Ivangorod, Novo Georgievsk, the +fortresses along the Bobr-Narew-Niemen barrier fell (Vol. IV, +176-181), but the Russian armies drew back upon Riga, Vilna, and +Brest-Litovsk. (Vol. IV, 186-188.) + +[Illustration: October 1, 1915, at the End of the Russian Retreat. +Dotted line shows Russian front on April 1, 1915.] + + +RUSSIA SURVIVES + +At Brest-Litovsk there was only a brief halt and then the Russians +resumed their retreat upon Pinsk and the Pripet Marshes. Behind the +Dvina from Riga to Dvinsk the northern army stood fast. But the +central armies, retiring upon Vilna, were nearly trapped and once were +actually cut off by German cavalry. (Vol. IV, 193-223.) + +By September the great campaign approached its end. The Russians at +last took root on a line from Riga, through the Pripet Marshes to +Rovno and thence to the Rumanian boundary. (Vol. IV, 184-255.) The +czar sent the grand duke to the Caucasus and took command himself +(Vol. IV, 188), an allied offensive in the west in Champagne and +Artois (Vol. IV, 52-81) made sudden demands upon German man power, as +the Russian advance in East Prussia and Galicia had taxed German man +power in the days of the Marne, and so, by October, it was plain that +the second great German effort had also failed. Russia had not been +destroyed, she had not been put out of the war for any long period; +Russian armies were to resume the offensive the following June. + +As in the west, Germany had conquered wide territories, she had taken +fortresses, provinces, vast numbers of prisoners and guns, but a +decision had escaped her. She was still confronted by the certainty +that at some future time all her foes, superior in numbers and +munitions, would beat upon all her fronts at once. But she was no +longer able to push eastward to follow the pathway of Napoleon and +meet a Russian winter on the road; moreover the situation in the +Balkans demanded attention and the Italian offensive along the Isonzo, +as well as Anglo-French pressure in the west, also claimed notice. + + +THE BALKAN CAMPAIGN + +Early in the spring the Anglo-French fleets had made a desperate and +almost successful attempt to force the Dardanelles. (Vol. III, +423-437.) Their failure had been followed by a land expedition, which +took root at the southern tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula, made slight +progress inward and was halted only a short distance south and west of +the commanding hills. (Vol. III, 429-437.) + +[Illustration: The Conquest of Serbia, December, 1915. + +Arrows show routes taken by Austrian, German, and Bulgar invaders. + +_A_--Route of retreating Serbs + +_B_--Route of Allies from Saloniki in their unsuccessful attempt to +rescue the Serbs.] + +A new effort in August directed from the Gulf of Saros through Suvla +Bay had also just missed supreme success, through failures in +preparation and command which were beginning to show in all British +operations. (Vol. IV, 344.) + +For the moment Turkey had saved Constantinople, but the Turks' +supplies of munitions were running short and there was reason to +believe that the Gallipoli thrust might presently end in victory and +open the straits to Russia, if Germany did not take a hand. + +Thus spurred, Germany and Austria planned and executed the most +successful single campaign of the war. German diplomacy succeeded in +enlisting Bulgaria. (Vol. IV, 269-274.) Allied diplomacy chained +Serbian action while there was yet time for Serbia to save herself, +Greece deserted her old ally and in November a great Austro-German +army under Mackensen suddenly burst into Serbia from the north and +west (Vol. IV, 268-269), while a Bulgarian army entered from the east. +(Vol. IV, 269-273.) The result was inevitable. Serbia was crushed. Her +gallant army fled over the mountains after heroic resistance and +reached the Adriatic, but as a mob rather than as an army. (Vol. IV, +263-307.) + +Tardy Allied efforts to come to the rescue through Saloniki were +blocked by the Bulgarians south of Uskub (Vol. IV, 308-316), all +Macedonia was taken (Vol. IV, 267-334), and the Anglo-French +expedition was driven south under the very shadow of the old walls of +Saloniki, and the roads to Constantinople and to Albania were opened +to Germany and Austria, the Balkans were conquered at a blow and +Berlin began to forecast a German-led drive upon Egypt by Suez and +even upon India by Bagdad. + +As for the Gallipoli troops, December saw them hurriedly withdrawn +after great losses and terrible suffering. (Vol. IV, 369-380.) +Germany and Austria had now broken the iron circle about them; for the +moment Germany had realized the German dream of expansion to the Near +East, the conception of a Central Empire, a Mittel-Europa, fronting +the Baltic and the Adriatic, overflowing the Sea of Marmora into Asia +Minor and bound by the German-built railroad uniting Berlin, Vienna, +and Constantinople with Bagdad and Hamburg and Antwerp with Suez and +the Persian Gulf. Here at last was a solid gain, a real victory after +two great disappointments. + + +IN THE WEST + +Meantime there had been a long trench struggle in the west. The German +attack at the outset of the war had terminated in Flanders. It was not +for several months that the Allies felt able to undertake any +offensive. Then in rapid succession came French attacks in Alsace, in +Champagne, and south of St. Mihiel (Vol. III, 151-169), while the +British made a desperate drive about Neuve Chapelle. (Vol. III, +83-98.) All these were checked by the Germans who passed to the +offensive themselves in April, and made a new attack about Ypres, +marked by the first use of poison gas. (Vol. III, 99-115.) + +German success was inconsiderable, but it did reveal the fact that the +Allies were not yet dangerous and Germany turned her whole attention +toward the great Russian campaign just beginning. In May and June the +French made terrific attacks under Foch in Artois (Vol. III, 121-125), +and won some ground north of Arras. (Vol. III, 155.) But the attacks +had to be abandoned because they were too costly in men, while a +British attempt to support the French failed dismally. + +Not until late September, when Russia was just at the lowest ebb in +her fortunes, did the western Allies try again. Then, starting on +September 25, 1915, they launched terrific drives in Champagne and +Artois, came within an ace of piercing the German lines, captured some +30,000 prisoners and many guns, but in the end failed to get through. +(Vol. IV, 61-131.) German troops were recalled from Russia and +Russia's escape was made certain, but this was the only considerable +consequence of the Allied attack, preparation for which had consumed +many months. Again it was demonstrated that England was not ready and +France, alone, could not free her own territory. + + +ITALY + +Italy had entered the war just as Russia was suffering her first +terrible defeats in Galicia. (Vol. III, 382-392.) Had Italian decision +been reached a few months earlier the effect might have been decisive. +As it was, Italy came too late, her attack was halted south of Trent +and along the Isonzo, after inconsiderable progress. A certain number +of Austrian divisions, which conceivably might have been directed +against Russia and contributed to making the outcome of that campaign +decisive, were drawn off to the south. (Vol. III, 392-402.) + +In September, and again when the Austro-German attack upon Serbia was +at its height, Italy attacked along the Isonzo. (Vol. IV, 415-417.) +Once more the result was limited to drawing off certain divisions, a +useful but not highly important service. In opening another front +Italy had contributed to the further consumption of the reserves of +the Central Powers, she had begun an operation to be compared with +that of Britain in Spain in the later days of the First Empire. She +was taking off a portion of the weight that France and Russia were +carrying, she was contributing to the exhaustion of Austria, but +neither in the first nor the second year of the war was the +contribution to be considerable and Italy was presently to require aid +from Russia, when at last Austria decided to pass to the offensive in +the Trentino. + + +VERDUN + +With the coming of winter the German General Staff had to face a new +situation, full of menace. Their first great conception, the +destruction of the military power of France, had failed, although it +had won much territory and provided an admirable defensive position +far beyond their own frontiers. Their second major conception, the +elimination of Russia from the war, had failed, but it had also given +them much territory and they were not overoptimistic in assuming that +their victories would keep Russia on the defensive for many months; +their actual mistake, it turned out, was in overestimating the length +of time. + +Again, then, there was offered the original choice: Should the next +blow be postponed until spring and directed at Petrograd or Moscow, or +should it be prepared and delivered before spring and in the west? The +decision for the west was made. Apparently the German reasoning was +this: Britain was not yet ready, winter and defeat had reduced the +value of Russia so low that it was safe to turn the best of their +troops from the east to the west. Actually the whole weight of the +military machine could be exerted against France. + +From this second blow at France the Germans expected to derive the +benefits missed at the Marne. If the French lines were broken, as the +Russian had been at the Dunajec, then a wide swinging advance would +carry German troops deep into the French territory, end French hope +and compel French surrender. This was the maximum of possibility. + +On the other hand, if there were no actual and deep piercing of the +French lines, the pressure upon the French would lead them to call +upon the British for help. British attack, while the British force was +still unready, would lead to great losses and would exhaust the +reserves in men and munitions of both France and Britain. At the worst +this would mean that neither France nor Britain would be ready to take +the field in their long-promised general offensive in 1916. + +There was, of course, the possibility that the German attack would be +repulsed, that the French and British would not undertake a premature +offensive, and that Russia would rally and be able to storm the +eastern lines stripped of reserves to strengthen the western attack. + +If all these things happened then Germany might herself lose the +offensive and conceivably the war. But no German soldier could believe +these things would happen and the remote possibility did not weigh +against the apparent opportunity to win a sweeping and decisive +victory, while the British and Russians were still unready and France +alone in the field. + + +THE FEBRUARY ATTACK + +Accordingly Germany decided to attack in the west. She selected Verdun +as the objective for reasons not at first clear but now well known. +Verdun was in the public mind a great fortress, surrounded by +impregnable works, the strongest point on the French front. In fact it +was the weakest sector. The forts had been evacuated, the first line +defenses some miles north of the town were strong, but the second and +third had been neglected. The line was held by less than two army +corps of territorials; there were other faults in preparation +chargeable to the politicians. Worst of all of these was the lack of +rail communications due to failure to build new lines to replace those +cut by the Germans, who at St. Mihiel blocked the north and south line +from the Paris-Nancy trunk line and at Montfaucon and Varennes +interrupted the Paris-Verdun railroad by indirect fire. + +There was every reason why the Germans could expect that a sudden and +terrific blow would permit them to get to Verdun, take the forts on +the east bank, and possibly cut clear through the French lines and +break them into two parts. Not impossibly this would mean retirement +as far as the old Marne battle field: certainly it would mean the +extinction of French hope. So the Germans reasoned. + +The first blow fell on February 21, 1916. The initial attack was made +east of the Meuse on a very narrow front; it resulted in an immediate +local success. The French trenches were abolished, the French line was +threatened, and the German army overflowed south in great force. The +possibility of a repetition of the Dunajec success was at this time +plain. + +Worst of all, from the allied point of view, there now came a +difference in opinion between the French General Staff and the French +Civil Government. The former wished to retire behind the Meuse and +evacuate the eastern forts and trenches, thereby gaining a strong +defensive line, but surrendering Verdun. The Government felt that such +a retreat would be accepted as a grave disaster, would depress the +French people, and result in a political overturn. + +At the outset the general staff seems to have adhered to its view, and +for some days the German advance was steady. Even Fort Douaumont, on +the outer rim of the old permanent fortifications, was lost, and the +German press announced the fall of the city itself. But in the end the +army listened to the Government, Castelnau and Petain went to the +front to organize the defense. By the middle of March the first crisis +was about over and the French had restored their line, the most +expensive detail in their defense. But they had not been able to +retake Douaumont, and German possession was to prove a thorn in their +side thenceforth. + +With the great general attack of April 9, 1916, the first phase of the +battle for Verdun was over. This check abolished all chance of a +piercing of the French lines, of a second Dunajec. It assured to the +French time to complete their second- and third-line defenses, and it +gave ample evidence that the dangers of the first hours, due to +failures and errors which cost many generals their positions, were at +an end. Above all, it demonstrated that the wonderful motor-transport +system which had been improvised had proved adequate to save a city +deprived of all railroad communications. + + +LATER PHASES + +Still the Germans kept on. Halted on the east bank, they transferred +their attack to the west, and Hill 304 and Le Mort Homme became famous +the world over. But their advances were slight and their losses were +tremendous. French tactics were now disclosed. It was the purpose of +the French to exact the very heaviest price for each piece of ground +that they defended, but they held their lines with very small +contingents, and, save in the case of a few vital points, surrendered +the positions whenever the cost of holding them was too great. + +German high command had seen its larger aims fail. Why did it continue +to assail Verdun after the chance of piercing the French lines had +passed and when the cost was so terrific? The answer is not wholly +clear, but we do know that the concentration of artillery and men had +taken months; these could not quickly be moved elsewhere. Such a +change in plans would mean the loss of several months, which would be +improved by the British and the Russians; it would give France the +"lift" of a great victory. + +Conversely it was clear that, while the French lines could not be +pierced, Verdun might be taken and the moral value of the capture +would be enormous in Germany, France, and the neutral world, although +the military value would be just nothing. Again, there remained the +fair chance that the continued pressure upon France would lead the +French to ask the British to attack, and the premature attack would +spoil the allied offensive, obviously preparing. + +Against this chance the Germans had massed not less than 800,000 +troops along the British front. Meantime they told the world that +Verdun was exhausting France, that it was making an allied offensive +impossible, and they used their slow but considerable advances, which +resulted from the French policy of "selling" their positions at the +maximum of cost to the Germans and minimum of loss to themselves, to +convince the world that they were systematically approaching Verdun +and would take it at the proper moment. + +This phase lasted from April 9, 1916, down to the opening of July. +During that time the Germans pushed out from Douaumont and captured +Vaux; they crowded up and over Dead Man's Hill and up the slope of +Hill 304; by July 1, 1916, they had pushed the French right back to +the extreme edge of the hills, on the east bank of the Meuse, and the +French were just holding the inside line of forts--Belleville, +Souville, and Tavannes--with their backs to the river and with German +trenches coming right up to the ditches of these three forts. + +By July 1, 1915, the French were in their last ditch before +Verdun--that is, on the east bank--but on July 1, 1916, there began +that allied offensive at the Somme which changed the whole face of the +western operations. Thus, by August 1, 1916, the Germans had been +compelled to remove many troops from Verdun and the French were able +to take the offensive here again, and by August 6, 1916, had made +material progress in retaking portions of the ground they had "sold" +the Germans for so great a price in previous weeks. + + +GETTYSBURG + +After the German checks in April the French compared the Verdun fight +to Gettysburg. General Delacroix used that example to me in March, but +it was not until June that General Joffre was ready to adopt it. By +this time it was well established in all minds. Gettysburg had been +the final effort of the South to win a decision on the field while +superior organization gave her advantage over a foe that had +superiority in ultimate resources, both of money and men. The failure +at Gettysburg was promptly followed by the loss of the initiative, the +North passed to the attack, and the rest of the war consisted in the +steady wearing out of the Confederacy. + +A victory at Gettysburg would probably have won the Civil War for the +South. A victory of the Dunajec style might have won the Great War for +the Germans. But the victory did not come, the struggle went on for +many months, and presently the consequence of stripping the eastern +lines was disclosed in new Russian victories, while the absolute +failure to provoke a premature offensive in the west, or prevent any +offensive, was disclosed in the Battle of the Somme. + +Verdun, then, was the third failure of Germany to win the war by a +major thrust. It was a failure which was wholly similar to the +failures at the Marne and in Russia. Relatively speaking, it was a far +greater failure, because it brought no incidental profit as did the +other campaigns: it won only a few square miles of storm-swept hills, +it has cost not less than 250,000 casualties, and allied statements +placed the cost at half a million. From the military, the moral, the +political points of view, Verdun was a defeat for the Germans of the +first magnitude. Conversely, the French victory filled the world with +admiration. The French success at the Marne had been won in complete +darkness, and after two years the world still has only a vague notion +of the facts of this grandiose conflict. But there never was any +possibility of concealment about Verdun. The fight was in the open, +the issue was unmistakable, and French courage and skill, French +steadiness and endurance, surprised the world once more. + + +THE AUSTRIAN OFFENSIVE + +While the German attack upon Verdun was still in its more prosperous +phase the Austrians delivered a wholly similar attack upon Italy. +(Vol. V, 244-264.) Precisely as the Russian defeats had enabled +Germany to turn many troops west, they had provided Austria for the +first time with reserves that could be used against Italy. +Conceivably, success would put Italy out of the war, for it was plain +Italian sentiment was wearying of the long strain of sterile +sacrifice. + +For the attack the Austrians selected the Trentino district. If they +could drive their masses through the Italian lines between the Adige +and the Brenta, and enter the Venetian Plain, taking Verona and +Vicenza, all the Italian forces to the eastward along the Isonzo would +have to retreat and might be captured. At the least, Austria might +hope to carry her front to the Po and the Adige, and thus stand on the +defensive far within Italian frontiers, as Germany stood within French +frontiers. + +The same artillery preparation was made here as before Verdun, the +battle opened in the same way (Vol. V, 244), and for many weeks, until +June 1, 1916, the Austrian advance was steady, and finally passed the +old frontier and actually approached the Venetian Plain about Vicenza. +(Vol. V, 260.) For the first time Austria seemed within reach of a +great victory, and Italian apprehension was great. As for the moral +effect, an Italian ministry fell because of the reverses, and many +Italian generals were retired. + +[Illustration: The mobility of the French motor-mounted batteries +makes them most effective, not only in bringing down aircraft but in +strengthening the line at any point. The gun is the famous 75. The +motor in the rear carries a supply of shells.] + +By June 1, 1916, the Italian situation had become critical, (Vol. V, +258), just as the French situation about Verdun became critical on +July 1, 1916. But at this point the Russian attack upon the east front +changed the whole face of affairs, and Austria was forced shortly to +abandon her offensive in Venetia and hurry her reserves eastward. +(Vol. V, 265-291.) Accordingly, in a brief time Italian troops were +advancing again and regaining the lost ground. The Verdun attack +actually failed in all but local value, the Trentino thrust was still +succeeding when it had to be abandoned, but in abandoning it Austria +confessed her great preparations and considerable sacrifices had been +vain. Compared with Verdun, it was a minor defeat; but coming with +Verdun, it was a further blow to Austro-German prestige. + + +GERMANY LOSES THE OFFENSIVE + +At the outset of the war Germany found herself with greater numbers, +superior artillery, and possessing a mechanical efficiency surpassing +anything that war had known. She was able to mobilize more men, +transport them more quickly, and employ them more effectively than her +opponents. Her heavy artillery gave her a decisive advantage both in +the matter of enemy fortresses and enemy armies. But they did not +quite avail to give her the decisive victory she had expected. + +The second year of the war revealed the enormous resources of Germany +and the incredible fashion in which her people had been disciplined +and her preparations made. The collapse of Austria and the defeat of +the Marne did not deprive her of the offensive, and the weight of her +initial blow sufficed to hold her western foes incapable of effective +action, while she reorganized Austrian resources, put new armies in +the field, and won the great battles in the Russian field, which +carried her advance to the Beresina and the Dvina. + +But the Russian operation in 1914 had been sufficient to deprive her +of the troops needed to deliver the final blow in the west, and the +French, Italian, and British attacks in September, 1915, had compelled +her to stay her hand against Russia at the critical hour. When she +chose to attack France at Verdun she had always to recognize that +sooner or later Russia would again take the field, and that unless her +second blow at France had already succeeded before this time came her +position would be difficult, while if her blow at France did not +suffice to prevent an allied offensive in the west, she might at last +have to fight a defensive war on both fronts. + +Hitherto she had been able to fight offensively on one front while +holding on the other. Hitherto she had been able to move her reserves +from one front to the other whenever the need was urgent. She reckoned +that Russia would be incapable of a real offensive in 1916; she +reckoned that Britain would not be able to train her armies for +effective action in the same year, and she gambled on the probability +that her blows at Verdun would dispose of France. In addition, she +reckoned the Austrian attack upon Italy would dispose of Italian +threats for the summer. + +But long before the war Bernhardi had foretold a German defeat in her +next conflict if all her foes were able to get their forces into the +field at one time, and Germany should fail to dispose of at least one +of her enemies before all were ready. It is not the time or the place +to assert that what Bernhardi forecast has now come true, but it is +clear that Germany, temporarily or permanently, as it may prove, lost +the initiative following her defeat at Verdun, that she was compelled +to accept the defensive on all fronts by July, and that up to the date +this article is written, August 8, 1916, she has been losing ground on +all fronts. + + +THE RUSSIAN ATTACK + +Very briefly, now, in the remaining space allowed me, I purpose to +discuss the remarkable change in the whole face of the war that had +come by the second anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict. The +first authentic sign of this change was the great Russian success in +Volhynia and Galicia about June 1, 1916. (Vol. V, 154.) As far back as +February Russian successes in Asia Minor had suggested that the +Russian army was regaining power and receiving adequate munitions. The +captures of Erzerum and Trebizond were a warning that deserved, but +did not earn, attention in Berlin and the British failure and +surrender at Kut-el-Amara served to obscure the Eastern situation. +(Vol. V, 318-326.) + +[Illustration: The Russian Spring Offensive, 1916. Shaded section +shows ground gained, June to September.] + +But about June 1, 1916, Russia suddenly stepped out and assailed the +whole Austro-German line with fire and steel. The weight of the blow +fell between the Pripet Marshes and the Rumanian frontier. From this +front Germany had drawn many troops to aid in her Verdun operation, +Austria had made similar drafts to swell her forces attacking Italy. +Too late Berlin and Vienna realized that they had weakened their line +beyond the danger point and had hopelessly underestimated the +recuperative power of the Slav. + +By July 1, 1916, the magnitude of the Russian success was no longer +hidden from German or Austrian. An advance of over forty miles in the +north threatened Kovel and Lemberg, twice as extensive an advance in +the south had reconquered Bukowina (Vol. V, 162-182), brought Cossacks +to the Carpathians, and threatened Lemberg from the south. (Vol. V, +192-198.) Lutsk (Vol. V, 159), Dubno (Vol. V, 163), and Czernowitz +(Vol. V, 162) had been taken, Kolomea and Stanislau were threatened +and were soon to fall. Upward of 400,000 prisoners were claimed by the +Russians, whose estimates of prisoners had hitherto proved reliable; +guns, supplies, munitions had been captured in incredible amounts, and +an Austrian collapse like to that of Lemberg seemed at hand. + +In this situation Germany, seemingly on the point of taking Verdun, +had to turn her attention toward the east and direct new troops and +new reserves of munitions and guns to Volhynia and Galicia to save +Lemberg. (Vol. V, 198.) This effort was temporarily successful, and +July saw the Russian sweep slowing down, although by no means halted. +(Vol. V, 207-212.) Since the German victory at the Dunajec there had +been no such single success, and save for the Russian victory at +Lemberg, the Allies had won no such offensive victory. + + +THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME + +But on July 1, 1916, just as the Russian drive was slowing down and +while Germany was straining every nerve to meet the eastern crisis, +the French and British along the Somme suddenly broke out in a +terrific attack over twenty miles of front. The French rapidly +approached Peronne, the British more slowly by steadily moving toward +Bapaume. Here was the answer to the German assertion that Verdun had +exhausted France and made an allied offensive in the west impossible. +It was as complete a refutation of reckonings for the west as the +Russian victory had been of the German calculations for the east. + +And after six weeks the Somme drive is continuing, slowly, but +steadily, actually recalling in every detail the slow but steady +advance of the Germans before Verdun. Meantime about Verdun itself a +new operation has begun, the Germans have been forced to recall troops +to use at the Somme and the French, passing to the offensive, have +temporarily, at least, retaken much ground and abolished the grave +danger that existed on July 1, 1915, when they stood in their last +ditch, with the river at their backs. + + +GORIZIA + +The Russian blow had fallen in the first days of June, 1916; the +Anglo-French attack had opened in the early days of July, 1916; now, +in the first week of August, 1916, Italy suddenly launched against the +Gorizia bridgehead, the gateway into Austria between the sea and the +Julian Alps, which recalls in a grandiose fashion the Spartan position +at Thermopylae, the most considerable and the most successful military +effort in modern Italian history. + +[Illustration: Austro-italian Campaigns, May to September, 1916. Lined +section shows ground gained by the Austrians in May and June, 1916. +Dotted section shows ground gained by Italians in August, 1916.] + +On a front of thirty miles from the Alps to the Adriatic, their flanks +secured by the mountains and the sea, the Austrians had erected a +formidable system of trenches which closed the Italian road to Austria +and to Trieste, twenty miles to the south. (Vol. V, 288-290.) Monte +Sabotino on the north, Podgora Hill in the center, Monte San Michele +on the south at the edge of the Carso Plateau were the main features +of this position, and Gorizia lay in the cuplike valley of the Wippach +behind Podgora. + +After some days of bombardment, first directed at the whole front and +then concentrated upon Sabotino and San Michele, the Italians swept +forward, took both hills, turned the Austrians out of Podgora and +Gorizia, took 15,000 prisoners and a vast booty of guns and munitions. +They had completed the first phase of their task by August 7, 1916. It +remained to be seen--and it remains to be seen now on August 15, 1916, +when these lines are written--whether they will get Trieste and force +the Austrians back from the whole position between the Adriatic and +the Alps. If they do, then an invasion of Austria on a wide front will +be inevitable; if they fail, they will have won a great local victory +and made a new draft upon Austrian man power. + +Finally, in the Balkans a great Anglo-French-Serb army is standing +before Saloniki (Vol. V, 212-215), only waiting until Germany shall +have recalled her troops from the Peninsula and Austria summoned back +her contingents to strike the Bulgarians and strive to reopen the road +from the AEgean to Belgrade, thus cutting the railroad that binds +Berlin to Byzantium and the Osmanli to the Teuton. Similarly the +victorious Russians have passed Erzingan in Asia Minor (Vol. V, 337), +completed the conquest of Armenia, and are pushing on toward Sivas and +the Bagdad railroad. (Vol. V, 335-339.) + + +AS THE THIRD YEAR BEGINS + +For the first time since the war broke out Germany and her allies are +everywhere on the defensive, and everywhere they have been and are +ceding ground. Their enemies, imperfectly prepared two years ago, are +now the rivals of Germany in preparation; England has millions of men +where she had hundreds of thousands in August, 1914; France and +Britain both have heavy artillery, and Russia is demonstrating her +wealth of munitions and her resources in men. Such is the great +transition that has come as the third year of the Great War begins. + +Conceivably, Germany may still be able to forge a new thunderbolt, to +pass to the offensive again, and win the war; conceivably she can hold +her present lines until the fury of the Allies abates and losses and +economic strain impose a drawn battle and a peace without victory for +any contestant. But all these considerations are for the future. What +it is now important to recognize is that the three great efforts of +Germany to win the war in the Napoleonic fashion have failed. She has +had neither an Austerlitz, a Jena, nor a Friedland. She has instead +the Marne, Verdun, and the Russian failure. She has failed to +eliminate any one of her great foes as Napoleon eliminated, first +Austria, then Prussia, and then Russia. She has failed to win the war +while she had superior numbers, incomparably greater resources in +equipment, and unrivaled supremacy in artillery. She is outnumbered, +outgunned, and her foes control the sea and possess vastly greater +resources in money than she can boast. + +The parallel of Napoleon before Leipzig, of the Confederacy after +Gettysburg, is in many men's minds to-day. But it is for the future to +disclose whether the parallel be true or false. What is clear as the +third year of the war opens is that all three of Germany's major +conceptions have gone wrong; all three of her great campaigns have +failed to accomplish their main purpose, and that, as a consequence, +Germany is now on the defensive on all fronts for the first time in +the war. + +A moment ago I mentioned Bernhardi's words. Perhaps they will serve as +the best comment with which to close this review. The quotation is +from his book, "On War of To-day": + +"If at some future time Germany is involved in the slowly threatening +war, she need not recoil before the numerical superiority of her +enemies. But so far as human nature is able to tell, she can only rely +on being successful if she is resolutely determined to break the +superiority of her enemies by a victory over one or the other of them +before their total strength can come into action, and if she prepares +for war to that effect, and acts at the decisive moment in _that_ +spirit which made the great Prussian king once seize the sword against +a world in arms." + + + + +THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR + +Statements from the British, French, and German Ambassadors to the +United States + + +BRITISH EMBASSY + +WASHINGTON + + July 19, 1916. + +DEAR SIR: + +I beg to acknowledge with thanks your courteous invitation to my +government to make a statement concerning the war on the occasion of +the second anniversary of its outbreak. + +My government fully appreciates your kindness and courtesy in placing +at its service the Review which has already contributed to such an +honourable extent to the world's knowledge of the great events which +are now passing before us. Had the policy of my government undergone +any change since the war's commencement I have no doubt that a +statement explaining such a change would have been issued. But the +policy of the British government is now what it was when the war first +began under circumstances with which your readers are entirely +familiar. To quote Sir Edward Grey's words: "Is there anyone who +thinks it possible that we could have sat still and looked on without +eternal disgrace?" + + Yours faithfully, + CECIL SPRING RICE. + + The Editor + _Collier's Weekly_, + NEW YORK. + + +AMBASSADE DE LA REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE AUX ETATS-UNIS + + WASHINGTON, le July 10, 1916. + +DEAR SIR: + +I had not failed to forward to my Government your request for a +statement concerning the war on the occasion of its impending second +anniversary. + +I am instructed to convey to you, in answer, the expression of the +Prime Minister's regret at his inability to comply with the wish of a +review so honorably known as _Collier's Weekly_. The case of France is +so plain that it is not felt there can be need for explanations, much +less for pleadings; and it is enough to refer to public documents. + +They show how that war, which France had done her utmost to prevent, +was declared on her by the Germans on the 3rd of August, 1914, for +such frivolous motives as a shelling by her aeros of places as distant +as Nurenberg: an imaginary deed of which she never dreamt, which she +has never been able to duplicate, and which an inspection of the local +newspapers has proved to have passed unmentioned by them and unnoticed +by the inhabitants. As she was considered a prey to be dealt with at +once and at all cost, the invasion of her territory was effected +through Belgium, and that invasion, entailing on the Belgian and +French populations untold misery, still continues. + +It still continues; not for very long, a day will soon dawn which will +be the day of Justice. + + I have the honor to be, dear Sir, + Sincerely yours, + JUSSERAND. + + The Editor + _Collier's Weekly_, + NEW YORK. + + +KAISERLICH DEUTSCHE BOTSCHAFT + +GERMAN EMBASSY + +WASHINGTON, D. C. + + NEW YORK, August 28, 1916. + + P. F. COLLIER & SON, + Publishers. + +DEAR SIRS: + +With reference to previous conversations I beg to send you the +enclosed statement for the "Story of the Great War". It has been +written by Baron Mumm von Schwarzenstein, former Ambassador to Japan, +now attached to the Foreign Office in Berlin. + + Yours very sincerely, + F. BERNSTORFF. + + +WHAT HAS GERMANY ACHIEVED IN TWO YEARS OF WAR? + +In order to appreciate what Germany has accomplished during two years +of war, one has to recall to mind the great expectations which her +enemies had attached to this war, into which their powerful coalition, +after years of political scheming and thorough military preparations, +had enmeshed the prosperous Empire. + +At the outset, the avowed purpose of Germany's enemies was to +annihilate her,--her army, her fleet, her commerce and her industry. +France hoped to regain Alsace Lorraine and the western bank of the +Rhine. Russia expected to gratify her desire for territorial expansion +by conquering the provinces of East and West Prussia and Posen, which +probably were to receive the blessings of Russian culture. +Austria-Hungary was to be dismembered; the Balkan states were to be +rendered tributary to the Czar; Constantinople and the Dardanelles +were to be added to the Romanoff's dominions. As for England, she +deliberately entered this war because she thought that she would run +small risk in helping to bring the war to a speedy termination. + +The world will remember the vainglorious way in which Germany's +enemies foretold that before long their armies would meet in the heart +of Germany, where Cossacks would parade the streets of Berlin and +Indian lancers and Gurkhas would stroll through the parks of Potsdam. +The German fleet, it was asserted, would be at the bottom of the sea +before it had time to think. When this fond hope was not realized, the +German fleet was to be dug out like a rat of a rat-hole. In their +expectations our enemies saw German industry ruined. Germany was soon +to be paralyzed, nay, would soon be passing away. + +Such were the expectations of the enemies, attacking us from all +sides. Germany was drawn into a war of self-defense. Her fight is a +fight for national existence. And to-day how do matters stand? + +Have the hopes and plots of our enemies been realized? Has Germany +successfully fought her war of self-defense or has she not? + +Excepting one small corner of the Empire, the only enemy soldiers on +German soil are vast numbers of prisoners of war. The war is fought on +enemy soil. Germany and her allies occupy three independent kingdoms. +They hold vast areas of enemy territory in east and west. They hold +these territories firmly and without fear of losing them by force of +arms. + +Consider the efforts that our enemies have made on the west front. In +their unsuccessful attempts at Loos and in Champagne last autumn they +suffered terrible losses and made no headway. In the spring Germany +took up the offensive against Verdun. Step by step, and with but small +losses, we are steadily gaining ground; the French positions, although +defended with desperate courage, are crumbling away one by one. + +Thanks to the genius of Hindenburg, East Germany is no longer +threatened by Russia. Last year, in cooperation with our valiant +ally, Austria-Hungary, we drove back the Russians, overwhelming their +armies as well as their strongholds. We took possession of Courland, +Lithuania and Poland. For the last two months, it is true, the +Russians have resumed the offensive. But, although they have gained +considerable local advantages at terrible cost, they have not +succeeded in breaking through our lines. + +Even at the very moment when our enemies, after months of careful +preparation, seek to bring to bear their greatest possible pressure on +both German fronts they attain nothing but terrible losses. They +achieve but little substantial gain. They have in no material way +deranged our general position on the western front. The tide has +turned again. Our enemies will probably realize in time that they are +biting on granite and that partial successes will sooner or later lead +to their exhaustion without materially changing the military +situation. To-day Germany awaits the outcome of the present combined +offensive of the Allies with calmness and confidence. Then her turn +may come once more. The Allies have been rejoicing over the collapse +of Germany. They have repeatedly and positively prophesied it. +Repeatedly it has been postponed. It seems now as if it would have to +be adjourned _ad Kalendas Graecas_. + +Last autumn the world saw the rapid conquest of Serbia and Montenegro +by German, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian troops. The result was the +establishment of direct communication between Berlin and Bagdad. Who +can underestimate the political, military and economic importance of +this feat to Germany and to her allies? + +Bulgaria joined the alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey +because she realized that theirs was to be the ultimate victory. The +four Central Powers form a solid and powerful political combination; +they adjoin each other and are bound together by economic interests. + +Let us now consider the naval situation. Instead of the German fleet +being at the bottom of the sea, considerably more British than German +men-of-war find themselves in that position. Since the great battle of +the Skagerrak, where the German High Sea Fleet successfully fought +against the entire British Grand Fleet, the British losses have +increased alarmingly. The German Navy is young, but it has proved its +merit; more than that, it has proved that the proud British fleet is +by no means invincible. Our submarines have shown to the world that +Germany possesses a powerful weapon against England, even though, out +of consideration for neutral interests, this arm of her navy has not +yet been fully tested against the illegal methods adopted by England +in her effort to starve Germany's entire civilian population. The +exploits of the _Emden_, the _Moewe_ and the _Appam_ are still fresh +in everybody's memory. To them can now be added the achievements of +the submersible _Deutschland_, by means of which we have begun to +resume our trade relations with the United States despite the +so-called British blockade. + +For two years we have been fighting for the freedom of the seas. +Doubtless, Great Britain's sea power, which has caused us the loss of +our distant colonies and the suspension of most of our maritime trade, +is not yet broken. Nevertheless, to-day British prestige is not what +it used to be. + +British sea power has caused Germany and the neutral nations of the +world many inconveniences, and it will no doubt continue to do so +until the end of the war. But we know that this will not advance our +enemies' cause. Victory does not lie this way. Germany has learned to +live on her resources during the war. All the raw materials necessary +for her economic life she produces herself. For such as are not +accessible at present, she has found substitutes. Our food supply is +ample for the maintenance of our military forces as well as for our +civilian population. The skillfully organized distribution of food, +recently introduced, will enable us to hold out in spite of the +British blockade, even if our harvest, which promises to be excellent, +should not come up to our expectations. + +Looking back upon her achievements during the last two years, Germany +enters into the third year of the war with unaltered confidence in her +final triumph. Germany is willing to terminate this terrible +bloodshed, she is willing to make an honorable peace on condition that +her legitimate interests are safeguarded; but she is prepared to +continue the struggle with the same dogged determination that she has +manifested up to now, since her enemies are still virtually resolved +to annihilate her, even if, for appearance's sake, they have of late +somewhat modified their war aims by declaring that they merely intend +to wipe out what they call German "Militarism." + +Germany is fighting against the greatest odds known in history. She is +not only fighting against the most powerful combination of enemies, +but at the same time has to contend with a world of prejudice, +skillfully created against her, as well as with lukewarmness toward +our enemies' tyranny on the part of the neutral nations. Sometimes we +wonder at this; but unerringly we go on fighting for our cause. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR, VOLUME V +(OF 8)*** + + +******* This file should be named 29341.txt or 29341.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/9/3/4/29341 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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