The War at a Glance June 28, 1914 to December 31, 1916 S. J. Duncan-Clark Events Battles Campaigns Statistics The War at a Glance by S. J. Duncan-Clark CHICAGO 1917 339 COPYRIGHT 1917 BY S. J. DUNCAN-CLARK ©CI.A453738 JRNII19I7 WHAT AND WHY/' This little book is meant purely as a handbook for ready reference. It has no literary pretensions, and no claim to be a contribution to serious discussion of war problems. For the reader who wants to get a date in a hurry, or to refresh his memory concerning any particular cam- paign or event of significant importance it is hoped it will live up to its title "The War at a Glance." The writer had made a vow to himself that he would not perpetrate a war book. His excuse is that just this kind of book has not been done by anybody else, so far as he knows. The bold marginal headings are a quick eye guide to the matter in the body of the type. ''The War Month by Month" makes it possible to find quickly important events. '"The Great Campaigns" gives a condensed survey of the big movements of the war. The tables are careful estimates based on such figures as were available before the end of the year. The writer is indebted to Mr. Frank H. Simonds, of the New York Tribune, whose two volumes on ''The Great War" have been used for reference, and to the New York Times* "Current History," an in- valuable source of information. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Africa, War in 92 Battles, Land: Champagne 77 Donajec 77 Liege 69 Lodz 74 Marne 71 Mazurian Lakes 75 Mons and Charleroi 69 Neuve Chapelle 7 6 Somme 78 Tanneberg 73 Verdun 77 Ypres, First Battle 74 Ypres, Second Battle 76 Yser 73 Battles, Naval: Coronel 79 Falkland Islands 79 Jutland 79 North Sea 79 Belgium, Germany in 95 British Colonies in the War 96 British War Charity 96 Campaigns, the Great: Armenia, Russian Campaign in 59 Austrian Campaign Against Italy 60 Belgium, Conquest of 41 Galicia, Russian Campaigns in 47 Campaigns, the Great — Continued: Gallipoli 54 German Campaigns for Warsaw 50 Italian Isonzo Campaign 63 Macedonia 67 Mesopotamia 57 Mons to the Marne 43 Return of the Russians 61 Roumania 64 Serbia's Victorious Defense 46 Serbia Conquered by Austrians 53 Chronology of the War Month by Month. 5-37 Cost of War 87 Declarations of War 83 Distance Measurements 98 Fighting Forces 84 Greece, Why Allies Are in 93 Losses of War, Human 85 Military Terms 97 Prisoners of War 81 Sieges 80 Submarine Losses 91 Territory Conquered 89 Zeppelin Raids 90 THE WAR MONTH BY MONTH June 28, 1914 to December 31, 1916 A Serbian assassinated the Archduke The Spark Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of That Austria-Hungary, and his wife, the Duch- Exploded ess of Hohenberg, in the streets of Sara- Europe. jevo, capital of Bosnia, on June 28, 1914. The deed is supposed to have been a mad protest against the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Austria charged that the assassin represented an organization with headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia. Following a speech that reassured the cap- Julyi 1914. itals of Europe, made in the Austrian par- liament by Count Tisza about the middle of July, Austria sent an ultimatum to Serbia on July 23, demanding a reply in 48 hours. Foreign ambassadors at Vienna immediately warned their governments that the situation was serious. The tone of the ultimatum suggested the most dangerous possibilities. On July 25, at 5 :45 p. m. Serbia answered, astonishing the world by accepting all but one of eleven demands made by Austria. She refused only to permit Austrian agents to engage in the work of suppressing an al- leged anti-Austrian movement on Serb- ian territory. She agreed, however, to report to Austrian agents the progress of her own efforts in this direction. In con- clusion she offered, if Austria were not satisfied with her concessions, to submit the whole matter to The Hague or any tribunal constituted by the Great Powers. The Austrian minister in Belgrade, a few minutes after receiving Serbia's reply, asked for his papers, severed diplomatic relations and left for Vienna. The reply was not considered. It w^as barely read. Manifestly he had his instructions. Events followed in rapid succession. Wires buzzed with the passing of diplomatic communications. Statesmen and rulers conferred in every capital of Europe. July 27 — England proposed to Germany that the points at issue between Austria and Serbia be considered at a conference of Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain. Germany declined the proposal by which peace might have been pre- served. Russia opened direct negotiations with Vienna for a peaceful settlement. Vienna refused to discuss her ultimatum to Serbia. Serbia and Austria mobilized. Rus- sia mobilized five army corps. July 28 — Austria declared war on Serbia, and hostilities began at once. Germany mobilized her fleet. July 29 — The bombardment of Belgrade began. Russia mobilized in her southwest- ern provinces, without menace to Ger- many, and renewed her effort to negotiate with Vienna. July 30 — The semi-official Lokal Anzeiger, of Berlin, issued an extra edition con- taining a decree for the general mobiliza- tion of the German army. It was im- mediately suppressed, but not before word of it reached Petrograd. At the same time Germany demanded that Russia cease mobilizing within twenty-four hours. Russia answered by a general mob- ilization order. July 31 — England, having made every ef- fort either to prevent war or localize it, asked France and Germany if they would respect the neutrality of Belgium. France promptly agreed. Germany made no re- ply. On the first day of August Germany de- Aug^t, clared war on Russia and made public 1914. her suppressed mobilization order. The following day England assured France she would use her fleet to protect the French north coast. On the same day a German patrol crossed the French fron- tier at Cirey. August 3 — Germany served an ultimatum on Belgium, demanding right of passage across her territory. It was at once re- jected. Germany declared war on France and Belgium, and German troops entered the tovrn of Arion, across the Belgian frontier. Italy broke with the triple al- liance, asserting her neutrality because her former allies were not engaging in de- fensive warfare. August 4 — Great Britain sent an ulti- matum to Germany demanding that she respect the neutrality of Belgium and answer by midnight. Germany's answer through Herr von Jagow, secretary of state, was **No." Chancellor von Beth- mann HoUweg denounced Great Britain for putting such stress on the mere word ** neutrality*' and on a ** scrap of paper." At midnight in London it was announced a state of war existed between Great Britain and Germany. While this was happening the German guns were open- ing the bombardment of Liege. August 7 — German troops penetrate Liege. French invasion of Alsace begins. August 8 — First British troops land in France. August 11 — German sweep through north- Belgium begins. August 14 — French troops enter Belgium near Charleroi. August 15 — Czar promises restoration of Poland. August 18 — Russians begin invasion of East Prussia. August 20 — Germans occupy Brussels; Belgians retire on Antwerp. August 21 — French defeated in Alsace. Germans attack Namur, and advance on Mons and Charleroi. British troops reach Mons. August 22 — Germans take Namur, and battle of Mons-Charleroi begins. s August 23 — French defeated at Charleroi, and Anglo-French retreat from Belgium begins. Russians advance in East Prussia. Austrians are driven from Serbia. Japan declares war on Germany. August 26 — New French ministry formed. Anglo-French forces continue retreat. Louvain is burned. Russians win in East Prussia, occupying Allenstein, and begin attack on Lemberg, in Galicia. August 29 — Germans pass second line of French defense. August 31 — Allies fall back on Paris and the Seine. The month is memorable for the battle September, of the Marne; Von Hindenburg's victory 1914. at Tannenberg; the fall of Lemberg and the beginning of the siege of Antwerp. September 1 — Von Kluck's army reaches Senlis, 25 miles north of Paris. Von Hin- denburg routs the Russians at Tannenberg, and Russians occupy Lemberg, in Galicia. September 3 — French government leaves Paris for Bordeaux. Von Kluck begins his turning movement toward the Marne. September 6 — Battle of the Marne begins with attack on Von Kluck 's flank. September 7 — Von Kluck begins retreat of German right wing. September 10 — ^Whole German army in re- treat from Marne. September 12 — Battle of the Aisne begins. September 21 — The U-9 sinks British cruisers Cressy, La Hogue and Aboukir in North Sea. September 24 — Germans reach Niemen river in Russia, and drive wedge across Meuse at St. Mihiel, south of Verdun. September 28 — Siege of Antwerp begins. October, The extension of the battle line to the 1914. North Sea coast, and the beginning of trench warfare in France and Flanders characterize this month. In the east the Germans reached Warsaw and were driven back, and Turkey entered the war. Re- bellion broke out in South Africa. October 4 — The Germans, having been de- feated on the Niemen, fall back on the East Prussian frontier. Belgian govern- ment leaves Antwerp for Ostend. October 8 — Antwerp surrenders, and Ger- mans enter the following day. October 12 — The Maritz-Beyer-De Wet re- bellion begins in South Africa. October 13 — Belgian government leaves Ostend for Havre. October 14 — British take Ypres. October 17 — Germans reach the Vistula, in Russia, and bombard Warsaw and Ivan- gorod. 10 October 20 — Germans begin retreat from Vistula. October 24-31 — Germans attempt to break Belgian line on Yser, and are repulsed in terrific battle. October 29 — Turkey begins war on Russia without notice, bombarding Black Sea ports. Among the big events of the month were November, the first battle of Ypres, ending in a Brit- 1914. ish victory ; the naval battle off Chili ; the death of Lord Roberts ; the surrender of Kiao-Chau to the Japanese; the Russian conquest of Galicia; the battle of Lodz, in Poland and the crushing of the South African rebellion. November 1-15 — First battle of Ypres. In this battle the city was destroyed, but the British, aided by the French, held it against the desperate assaults of the fa- mous Prussian Guard, under the eyes of the Kaiser. German losses for the battles of the Yser and of Ypres are estimated at fully 150,000. November 1 — Naval battle of Coronel, off coast of Chili, in which the British lost the Monmouth and Good Hope. November 3 — First German naval raid on British coast. November 5 — Russians capture Jaroslav, in Galicia, and Austrian offensive )col- Lapses. 11 November 17 — Japanese eapture Kiao- Ohau. November 9 — German raider Emden sunk off Cocos Island by British cruiser Syd- ney. November 11 — Russians invest Przemysl, Austrian fortress in Galicia. November 14 — Death of Lord Roberts in France. November 19 — Germans, in effort to reach Warsaw by Christmas begin battle of Lodz, in Poland. November 25 — German army corps of 40,- 000 captured near Lodz. Battle contin- nes. November 30 — Austrians drive Serbians from Belgrade. December, The Christmas month brought the end of 1914. the South African rebellion, the destruc- tion of the German squadron off the Falk- land Islands, the end of the second great German offensive in Poland, and the re- occupation of Belgrade by the Serbians. It also saw the raid on Scarborough, Hartle- pool and Whitby, English east coast towns. England declared a protectorate over Egypt. December 1 — Collapse of South African rebellion with capture of DeWet. December 3 — Battle of Lodz, begun No- vember 19, ends in defeat of Russians who evacuate the city. 12 December 8 — British fleet avenges loss at Coronel by sinking the Gneisenau, Scham- horst, Nurnberg and Leipzig in fight off the Falkland Islands. December 12 — Austrians begin new of- fensive in western Galicia. December 14 — Serbians reoccupy Bel- grade. December 16 — German cruisers raid Eng- lish east coast, bombarding Scarborough, Whitby and Hartlepool, killing over 100 men, women and children noncombatants. December 17 — England declares a protec- torate over Egypt. December 22 — German campaign against Warsaw is halted on the Bzura river, where a state of trench siege ensues and stretches across Poland. December 25 — British fleet and aero- planes make Christmas raid on German port of Cuxhaven. December 29 — Allies gain ground in Flan- ders between Nieuport and Ypres. The sinking of the British battleship January, Formidable in the English Channel, with 1915. a loss of 700 lives began the New Year. Throughout the month there was much hard fighting along the whole western front. The Russians invaded Bukowina. The German cruiser Blucher was sunk in battle in the North Sea. 13 January 1 — German submarine sinks the Formidable. Januaey 4 — Russians invade Bukowina; French capture Steinbach, in Alsace. January 12 — French launch an offensive on the Aisne near Soissons. January 13 — Germans, reinforced, defeat French at Soissons, capturing five miles of trenches and over 3,000 prisoners. January 16 — Austrians dismayed over / Russian progress in Galicia and the Car- I pathian passes bring up heavy artillery to defend Donajec river front. January 24 — Vice- Admiral Beatty defeats German squadron in North Sea, sinking the Blucher and damaging two other cruisers. British cruisers Lion and Tiger suffer. January 28 — Great battle for control of southern Galicia and the Carpathians be- gins. February, A short month, but crowded with big 1915. events. It saw the opening of the Dar- danelles campaign; the proclamation of a naval war zone for submarine operations by Germany ; the disastrous defeat of the Russians in the Mazurian lake regions, and the terrifi<} fighting in the Baltic prov- inces, Poland and Galicia. February 3 — Turkish attempts to invade Egypt meet crushing repulse east of Suez canal. 14 February 4 — Germany proclaims a war zone around British Isles, and begins her submarine blockade. February 5 — Russians defeat Germans un- der Von Mackensen with terrible slaugh- ter. February 9 — Russians invade East Prussia again, crossing Angerapp river. February 12 — Von Hindenburg routs Rus- sians in Mazurian lake region, taking 50,- 000 prisoners. February 16 — French advance on two mile front in Champagne. February 19 — Anglo-French fleet opens bombardment of forts at entrance to the Dardanelles. The month closed with the Russians on the offensive along their whole front; the French taking trenches in the Champagne, and the Germans advancing west of the Vosges. In trhis month President Wilson sent his famous * 'strict accountability" note to Berlin. The battle of the Champagne ; the battle March, 1915. of Neuve Chapelle ; the surrender of Prze- mysl to the Russians, and the sinking of the Bouvet, Ocean and Irresistible in the Dardanelles are the striking features of this month. March 1 — British announce blockade of German ports. 15 March 1-10 — Battle of the Champagne, in which the French advanced through the first and second line German trenches, but were checked before reaching the railroad which was their objective. Ger- mans estimated French loss at 45,000 men. March 6 — ^Venizelos, premier of Greece, resigns. Constantine 's usurpation of au- tocratic power begins. March 10 — British attack Neuve Chapelle and capture it the following day. Ger- man loss 18,000. British loss heavy es- pecially in officers. Victory only partial owing to mistakes of General French's subordinates. March 18 — French battleship Bouvet, and British battleships Ocean and Irresistible sunk by floating mines in the Dardanelles. March 22 — Surrender of Przemysl, Aus- trian fortress in Galicia, after siege that began on November 11, 1914. Whole gar- rison captured with many guns. March 30 — Great Russian drive across Carpathians begins. April, 1915. This spring month was marked by the great Russian advance in the Carpathians that threatened an invasion of Hungary. On the western front the French made a vigorous campaign in the Woevre, east ol the Meuse, and the second battle of Ypres Avas won by the allies through the courage of the Canadian troops who stopped the gap caused by the first use of poisonous 16 gas. Submarine activity increased. The allies landed troops on the Gallipoli pe- ninsula. April 5 — Russians emerge from Dukla and Lupkow passes on Hungarian side, and gain in Uzsok pass. April 6 — French open campaign in Woevre district, east of Meuse, in effort to destroy St. Mihiel salient. April 9 — French take Les Eparges, on northern flank of St. Mihiel salient. Ger- man losses heavy. April 16 — Russian successes continue in Carpathians. April 22-28 — Second battle of Ypres in which Germans force retreat of French colonial troops by use of gas. Canadians block enemy's advance, holding gap for three days. Germans are repulsed and driven back across the Yser. April 22-26 — French and British troops are landed on Gallipoli peninsula in face of terrific fire from Turks. April 30 — Russian campaign in Carpa- thians slackening. Allies establish posi- tions on tip of Gallipoli peninsula. It was the month of fate for Russia, wit- May, 1915. nessing the great drive of Von Macken- sen across Galicia and into Volhynia, with the loss of all gains in the Carpathians. It was also the month of the war's most diabolical deed — ^the sinking of the Lusi- 17 tania. On the western front there was severe fighting around Ypres, and the French opened an offensive north of Ar- ras. Italy declared war on Austria and crossed the Isonzo. A coalition govern- ment was formed in Great Britain. May 3 — Yon Mackensen wins great vic- tory along the Donajec river in west Gali- cia, breaking the Russian line and taking 30,000 prisoners. May 6 — Russian aviators bombard Con- stantinople; allies make progress on Gal- lipoli peninsula. May 7 — U-39 sinks the Lusitania off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, at 2 :05 P. M. 1,154 persons are drowned or killed by the shock, including many women and children. Among the dead are 102 Amer- icans. May 10 — President Wilson in speech at Philadelphia says: *^ There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight; there is such a thing as a nation being so right that it does not need to convince others by force that it is right.*' French offensive develops north of Arras. May 12 — Teutons cross the San in Gali- cia. May 13 — President Wilson sends his Lusi- tania note to Germany demanding repara- tion for loss of American lives. May 21 — Australians and New Zealanders defeat Turks on Gallipoli peninsula. We begin to hear about the **Anzac'' region. 18 May 22 — Italy declares war on Austria. ]\Iay 23 — British advance east of Festu- bert. JVIay 26 — Great Britain forms coalition cabinet under Asquitli. j\Iay 29 — Teutons fight desperately to re- capture Przemysl. ]\iAY 31 — French capture German posi- tions in ''The Labyrinth" north of Arras. The beginning of summer was signal- June, 1915. ized by the resignation of William Jen- nings BvysLn as Secretary of State. The i^ussian retreat in Galicia continued. The French maintained their offensive north of Arras, making fui'ther gains. The allies advanced on the Gallipoli peninsula. The Austrians recaptured Przemysl. June 2 — Przemysl is recaptured by the Teutons. June 3 — British advance in Mesopotamia. June 9 — Secretary of State Bryan resigns. June 10 — President sends second Lusi- tania note. June 17 — French carry several lines of German trenches north of Arras. June 22 — Teutons recapture Lemberg. June 29 — Teutons drive north from Gali- cia into Poland behind the Vistula. 19 June 30 — British take Turk positions known as the Quadrilateral on Gallipoli peninsula. July, 1915. In this month the Teutons closed in on Warsaw and Ivangorod. Fighting with varying fortunes continued on the west- ern front. The Italians made progress, and the allies gained ground on Gallipoli. German Southwest Africa surrendered to the British. July 8 — German Southwest Africa sur- renders. July 10 — German offensive develops north of the Vistula. July 19 — Tremendous battle opens in Po- land on 900 mile front, from Baltic to Bessarabia. Italians make great gains on Austrian front. July 21 — Austrian troops invest Ivango- rod, on the Vistula. July 31 — Germans capture Mitau, capital of Courland. August, 1915. Warsaw, Ivangorod, Novo Georgievsk and Brest Litovsk passed into Germiin hands during August. On the western front there was heavy fighting in the Ar- gonne and on the Ypres-Arras front. The Royal Edward, transport, was tor- pedoed in the Aegean. August 5-6 — Germans capture Warsaw and Ivangorod. 20 August 10 — Allies land more troops on Gallipoli, and make more gains east of Krithia. August 14 — British transport Royal Ed- ward sunk by submarine with, loss of 1,000 lives. August 19 — ^White Star liner Arabic sunk by U boat. Twenty lives lost. August 26 — Germans occupy Brest-Li- tovsk, Russia. The Czar took command of his armies in September, the field, recalling the Grand Duke Nicho- 1915. las, and sending him to Tiflis on the Cau- casian front. The French made their sec- ond great offensive in the Champagne, taking 23,000 prisoners. Teuton armies were reported massing on the Serbian frontier. Berlin estimated Russian losses since May 1 at 300,000 killed and wounded and 1,100,000 prisoners. September 8 — Czar takes command of his defeated armies. Grand Duke Nicholas goes to Caucasus. Germans begin of- fensive west of Verdun. September 16 — Von Hindenburg drives Russians across the Dvina. Von Macken- sen occupies Pinsk. September 25-30 — Allied offensive opens in west. British attack in Flanders and region of La Bassee ; French attack in Ar- tois and Champagne. In latter region they pierce second line of enemy and take 21 23,000 prisoners. Offensive ends with comparatively small territorial gains. September 29 — Teutons reported massing for attack on Serbia. Allied troops des- tined for Dardanelles are landed at Salo- niki. Turks retreat toward Bagdad, in Mesopotamia. October, At last the Russians checked the German 1915. advance, but the invasion of Serbia be- gan, Bulgaria entering the war as a Teu- ton ally. General Sir Ian Hamilton was recalled -^r--]-) ihe Dardanelles. Nurse Edith Cavv s executed by the Ger- mans in Belgium. October 1 — Russians check Teuton of- fensive along whole front from Baltic to Bessarabia. October 7 — Army of 400,000 Austro-Ger- mans begins invasion of Serbia. October 10 — Teutons take Belgrade. October 13 — Bulgars enter war, crossing Serbian frontier. Nurse Edith CaveU shot to death by Germans. King Constan- tine, of Greece, refuses to keep treaty with Serbia. October 15-19 — Great Britain, Prance, Russia and Italy declare war on Bulgaria. October 19 — Sir Ian Hamilton recalled from Dardanelles. October 24-29 — Italy in big offensive fails to capture Goritz. October 28 — Teuton and Bulgar troops ef- fect junction in Northeastern Serbia. Briand cabinet organized in France. The conquest of Serbia was practically November, completed before November ended. The 1915. British vv-ere defeated in their effort to reach Bagdad. The Ancona was sunk by a U-boat in the Mediterranean. November 7 — Nisli occupied by Bulgars. Allies attempt to rush troops up the Var- dar valley in Serbia. Ancona sunk. November 19 — Bulgars attack Monastir. November 21 — Italians advance on Carso plateau. November 24 — British defeated south of . Bagdad, and forced to retreat toward Kut- el-Amara. The second war Christmas saw much hard December fighting. Battle raged inconclusively 1915. along the Kussian front. The allies evac- uated the Vardar valley, in Serbia, falling back on Saloniki. The Italians renewed their futile efforts to take Goritz. The evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula be- gan. Boy-Ed and Von Papen were re- called from Washington. December 1-10 — Vigorous but inconclusive fighting on Russian front. December 3 — Serbs evacuate Monastir. Great retreat across Albania in progress. Ford peace ship prepares to sail for Eur- ope. 23 December 5-11 — Italian attacks on Goritz front fail. December 7 — British reach Kut-el-Amara in retreat from Bagdad and entrench. December 10 — Boy-Ed and Von Papen, German embassy attaches, bid farewell to the United States — ''unwept, unhonored and unsung.'' December 13 — Allies in Serbia fall back to Saloniki. December 21-29 — French take Hartmann's Weilerkopf in Vosges after week of hard fighting. December 21 — Allies evacuate Suvla Bay and Anzac regions on Gallipoli peninsula. January, The New Year opened with a series of 1916. thrills. The Russians began to come back in Galicia. The Austrians conquered Montenegro. The allies completed the evacuation of Gallipoli. The siege of Kut- el-Amara began, and the Grand Duke Nicholas opened his great offensive in the Caucasus. January 1 — Russians re-cross the Styr, in Galicia. January 2-9 — Turks close in on Kut-el- Amara, and siege begins. January 9 — Teutons retreat across Stripa, in Galicia. Allies withdraw successfully ■^rom Gallipoli peninsula. 24 January 10 — General Aylmer begins ex- pedition up Tigris to relieve Kut-el- Amara. January 14 — Austrians capture Cettinje, Montenegro. January 16 — Russians, under Grand Duke Nicholas, begin great offensive in Cau- casus. January 20 — Russians advance on Czerno- witz, in Bukowina. January 31 — Russians defeat Turks on 40 rnile front in Caucasus. France will never forget this month, nor February, wHl the Crov^n Prince. It witnessed the 1916. beginning of the great German offensive on the Verdun front. It also saw the cap- ture of Erzeroum by the Russians, and the completion of the conquest of the Kam- erun, in Africa. February 9 — Russians cross the Dniester, in Galicia. February 9-10 — Desperate fighting for Vimy ridge on Artois front in France ends in deadlock. February 15-20 — Heavy fighting in Ypres region. British repulsed. February 16 — Russians enter Erzeroum, capital of Armenia. February 18 — German colony of Kamerun in Africa surrenders. 25 February 21 — Germans open vigorous bombardment of Verdun front. February 23 — Germans advance two miles on 20 mile front north of Verdun. February 25 — Italians evacute Durazzo. Germans attack Fort Douaumont. February 28 — Germans enter Fort Dou- aumont, and hold ruins. March, 1916. The Battle of Verdun continued to hold the center of the stage, the Germans steadily gaining ground. The Russians suffered reverses on the northern end of their line. The whole world was shocked by the sinking of the Sussex, and the United States and Germany were brought closer to a severance of relations than at any time since the sinking of the Lusi- tania. March 3 — Germans occupy village of Dou- aumont on Verdun front. Russ capture Bitlis in southern Armenia. March 6 — Germans capture Forges, on west bank of Meuse. March 11 — Germans enter village of Vaux, southwest of Douaumont. March 16 — Long struggle for possession of Dead Man's Hill, west of Verdun, be- gins. March 18 — Russians advance west of Erze- roum. 26 Maech 25 — Channel packet Sussex is sunk off French coast with loss of life. U-boat attack was made without warning, violat- ing German pledge. Maech 27 — British smash German salient at St. Eloi, Flanders. March 30 — Germans gain foothold on Dead Man's Hill. This was a dark month for England, es- April, 1916. pecially in its last week. It brought the surrender of Kut-el-Amara, the Irish re- bellion and — least of its worries — a Ger- man raid on Lowestoft. It witnessed fur- ther gains for the Germans on the Verdun front; the landing of Russian troops at Marseilles, and the capture of Trebizond by the Russians. April. 6 — British in Mesopotamia capture Felahie on Tigris. April 9 — French abandon Bethincourt, salient west of Meuse. British defeated in effort to take Sannayat position on Tigris. Hope for relief of Kut-el-Amara gone. April 17 — Germans advance on east bank of Meuse. April 18 — Russians occupy Trebizond. President Wilson sends Germany note on Sussex case threatening to break off dip- lomatic relations if act is repeated. April 19 — President addresses Congress on submarine warfare. 27 April 20-25 — On each of these days de- tachments of Russian troops were landed at Marseilles, making their first appear- ance on the western front. April 21 — Sir Roger Casement captured on west coast of Ireland. April 25 — Germans bombard Lowestoft, on English east coast, killing four people. They are driven off after twenty minutes firing. April 25 — Rebellion breaks out in Dublin. Rebels capture Postoffice and St. Stephen's Green. April 28 — Irish rebellion collapses. April 29 — General Townsend at Kut-el- Amara surrenders to the Turks, with 81,- 970 men, 514 officers. April 30 — All Sinn Fein rebels in Dublin surrender. May, 1916. The two most notable events in this month were the opening of the Austrian offensive against Italy, and the battle of Jutland, in which the British drove the German high- seas fleet back to its shelter. The British parliament passed the compulsory military service law, and Germany named a food dictator. May 1 — French repulse Germans at Dead Man's Hill. May 1-14 — Russians advance in Armenia, 28 May 8 — Germany replies to Sussex note with new promises of good behavior which Washington accepts. May 9 — Germans repulsed in attacks on Hill 304 west of Verdun. May 13 — Germany appoints a food dic- tator. May 16 — British take trenches on Vimy Ridge. Great Austrian offensive begins in the Trentino. May 22-24 — French and Germans in bit- ter fight for Douaumont. Germans retain possession after temporary ejection. May 24 — United States protests to Great Britain and France on interference with American mails. May 25 — British parliament passes com- pulsory military service law, from opera- tion of which Ireland is excluded. May 31 — British battle cruiser squadron, under Sir David Beatty, attacks German high seas fleet off coast of Jutland, and, although suffering heavy losses, succeeds in driving enemy back to shelter. The return of the Russians was the sig- June, 1916. nificant incident of this month. General Brussiloff began his great offensive in Vol- hynia, Galicia and Bukowina, capturing hundreds of thousands of Austrians. It ended the Austrian offensive in Italy. The battle of Verdun reached its crisis for France Avith the capture of Fleury on the 29 east of the Meuse. The preliminary bom- bardment of the German front in the Somme and Artois sectors brought the month to a close. June 1-3 — German advance between Dou- aumont and Vaux. June 5 — Russians begin great offensive from Pripet marshes to Bukowina border. Italians check Austrian advance and begin counter offensive that is maintained throughout month, driving enemy back along v^hole front. June 7 — Germans take Fort Yaux, north- east of Verdun. Earl Kitchener and staff drowned en route to Russia by sinking of Hampshire off north coast of Scotland. June 7-11 — Russians capture Lutsk and Dubno, and take 75,000 prisoners. June 13 — Germans gain ground at Thiau- mont, north of Verdun. Canadians cap- ture trenches at Zillebeke, Flanders. June 18 — Russians capture Czemowitz, capital of Bukowina. June 24 — Germans enter Fleury, within inner circle of Verdun defenses. June 26-30 — ^Allies begin violent bombard- ment of German front in Somme and Ar- tois sectors. June 30 — Russians capture Kolomea, Gali- cia. 30 For the allies on the western front this July, 1916. was the most memorable month since the battle of the Marne. It saw the beginning of what it was hoped would prove to be the "Big Push," now known as the battle of the Somme. The Russian drive con- tinued in Volhynia and Galicia. The Serbs opened the Macedonian offensive by at- tacking the Bulgars in Greece. July 1 — French and British advance on seven mile front north and south of Somme river, smashing the first line trenches of the enemy. July 2 — British take Curlu and Frise, on Somme. July 3-11 — Russians advance in Galicia and Volhynia. Von Bothmer falls back on Stripa river. July 9 — French take Biaches, near Pe- ronne; British take Contalmaison. July 10 — Skouloudis cabinet resigns in Greece. Allies are granted large con- cessions. July 14 — British capture German second line between Bazentin-le-Petit and Long- ueval, north of Somme. July 20 — French advance on wide front south of Somme. July 26-27 — British take Pozieres and Del- ville wood. July 29 — Russians cross Stokhod river in Volhynia. Serbs attack Bulgars in Greece, 31 driving them back. Russians occupy Erzingan in Armenia. August, The beginning of the second year of war 1916. brought another nation to the firing line. Before the month's close Roumania de- clared war, taking her place with the en- tente allies. Italy ended her anomalous relations with Germany by declaring war on the Kaiser's realm, and began her Isonzo offensive, capturing Goritz. The Russians continued their advance in Galicia. The Anglo-French armies made further prog- ress on the Somme. August 2 — French advance east of Meuse to outskirts of Fleury. August 4 — French retake Fleury. (Sub- sequently it changed hands several times, but this was the beginning of what later developed into a notable French victory at Verdun.) August 8-11 — Allies advance north of Somme, closing in on Guillemont; Rus- sians advance in Galicia, crossing Sereth river and capturing Stanislau. August 9 — Italians after three days' bat- tle capture Goritz, on the Isonzo, occupy the whole Doberdo plateau, and advance on Carso plateau. Russians evacuate Bit- lis and Mush in Armenia. August 11 — Allies take Doiran station, east of Vardar valley. August 13 — Russians bombard Halicz. Italians gain on Carso plateau. French capture German third line trenches north of Somme. August 15 — Austrians check Italian ad- vance. August 18 — French occupy Maurepas. August 21 — Russians land at Saloniki. August 24 — Russians retake Bitlis and Mush. August 27 — Roumania enters the war. Italy declares war on Germany. The earlier half of this month was marked September, by the unimpeded progress of the Rou- 1916. manian invasion of Transylvania, and the beginning of Von Mackensen's hard drive into Dobrudja. At the same time the al- lies made big gains on the Somme front, reaching Combles later in the month, when the Roumanians were beginning to feel the pressure of Von Falkenha^Ti 's counter offensive. The Serbs, fighting in Mace- donia, reached their own soil again. September 2 — Roumanians occupy Orsova. September 3 — Mackensen begins his drive into the Dobrudja. The allies on the Somme capture Guillemont, Forest and Clery. September 7 — Mackensen captures Tur- tukai, on the Danube; French cut Roye- Peronne railroad, south of the Somme. September 11 — British cross the Struma in Macedonia. 33 September 12-26 — Allies in great offensive on the Somme smash German lines, cap- turing twelve towns and villages, includ- ing Combles, Thiepval and Guedecourt. September 17-19 — Austro-Germans defeat Russians near Halicz, September 20 — Von Falkenhayn begins his counter offensive in Transylvania. Serbs take summit of Kaimacalan ridge and are back on their own soil. September 21 — Russo-Roumanians check Von Mackensen in Dobrudja. September 28-30 — Teutons defeat Rou- manians in 3 day fight at Hermanstadt, Transylvania. October, The world was thrilled by the French vic- 1916. tory north of Verdun in which Fort Dou- aumont was regained and a wide area that it had taken the Germans months of des- perate effort to conquer. On the Somme front the allies made further progress. In Roumania the Teuton offensive gradually overcame the stubborn opposition of the defenders, and the enemy reached Rou- manian soil at several points. The Rus- sians met varying fortunes in Galicia, and extended their efforts to southern Buk- owina. In the Dobrudja the forces of Mackensen advanced, capturing Con- stantza and Chernavoda. The Russians resumed their campaign west of Trebi- zond, in Armenia. On the Macedonian front the army of General Sarrail gained important advantages. 34 October 1 — British break Bulgar line on Struma river, in Macedonia, capturing two villages. October 7 — British advance north of Somme on ten mile front; French gain ground northeast of Morval. Russians take Petra Kala, 45 miles west of Trebi- zond on Black Sea coast. October 8 — Teutons recapture Kronstadt in Transylvania, force retreat of Rou- manians. October 9 — Serbs cross Cerna river, south- east of Monastir. October 11 — Teutons penetrate into Rou- mania, repulse defenders in Alt valley. October 18 — Serbs take the village of Brod, southeast of Monastir. October 23-25 — Mackensen captures Con- stantza and the Chernavoda bridge across the Danube, in the Dobrudja. Defenders retreat into northern Dobrudja. October 24 — French break German line north of Verdun on four mile front, ad- vancing two miles and recapturing Fort Douaumont, Douaumont village and Cail- lette Wood. Reach edge of Vaux. October 25 — Teutons capture Vulcan pass, on Transylvania front. October 27 — German destroyers make raid on English channel, sink six drift-net boats, the torpedo-boat destroyer, Flirt, and the empty transport. Queen. 35 November, The month brought three brilliant allied 1916. successes. Northwest of Verdun the French recaptured Vaux; on the Somme the British smashed forward north of the Ancre river, capturing Beaumont-Hamel, St. Pierre Divion, and Beaucourt ; on the Macedonian front the allied forces occu- pied Monastir, and drove on beyond it to the north. But November also wit- nessed the development of the Teuton of- fensive against Roumania, and the inva- sion of Wallachia. November 2 — Germans evacuate the last of the forts at Verdun, abandoning Port Vaux. November 4 — Italians gain ground on Carso plateau and take 9,000 prisonera November, 5 — Teutons smash Roumanian front south of Kronstadt. November 8 — Russians coming to aid of Roumanians invade Transylvania for dis- tance of five miles from Bukowina fron- tier. November 11 — Serbians in Cerna river bend advance and capture Polog. November 13-14 — British advance north of Ancre in Somme district, taking St. Pierre Divion, Beaumont-Hamel and Beaucourt. Over 6,000 prisoners captured. November 14 — Von Falkenhayn closes in on Kimpolung and takes Bumbeshti in the Alt valley, Roumania. 36 November 18 — British advance along An- cre to outskirts of Grandcourt. November 18 — Franco-Serb forces take Monastir. Admiral Fournet presents Greek king with allied demand for sur- render of guns and munitions. November 21 — Teutons capture Craiova, important railroad town in Wallachia. November 24 — Mackensen's forces cross the Danube southwest of Bucharest. November 27 — Franco-Serbian troops cap- ture Hill 1050 northeast of Monastir. November 28 — Roumanians fall back to the Arjish river, and capture of Buchar- est is threatened. This month will live in history as the December, month of peace proposals. The central \qiq powers made their offer to enter negotia- tions, and President Wilson sent his fa- mous note to the belligerents calling for an open statement of terms. It also brought the fall of Bucharest; the resignation of Asquith ; the appointment of Lloyd-George as premier of Great Britain and the forma- tion of a new cabinet. Tlie French made another big advance on the Verdun front. December 1 — Roumanians abandon the Ar- jish river. New crisis in Greece. Greek royalists and allied troops clash in streets of Athens. December 3 — Serious cabinet crisis in Eng- land. 37 December 5 — Asquith, Balfour, Grey and Lansdowne resign from British, cabinet. Bonar Law declines to become premier. Lloyd-George, summoned by the king, accepts. December 6 — Teutons occupy Bucharest. Russo-Roumanian forces in retreat toward Moldavia. December 7 — Vote of confidence given French government. December 11 — New British cabinet an- nounced, with war council of five members — Lloyd-George, Bonar Law, Arthur Hen- derson, Lord Curzon and Lord Milner. Bal- four becomes Foreign Minister; Curzon First Lord of the Admiralty. December 12 — Central empires propose to enter peace negotiations. December 14 — Great Britain provides for 1,000,000 more men. Votes $2,000,000,000 war credit. Briand warns France ''Be- ware!" Greek ports blockaded. General Nivelle succeeds General Joffre in command of the western front. December 15 — French advance north of Verdun, take 11,000 prisoners and gain 2 miles on 7 mile front. British advance on Tigris. Russian Duma rejects peace pro- posal. December 18 — President Wilson sends identical note to belligerents requesting statement of peace terms on ground that United States' safety is involved. 3S December 19 — Lloyd-George makes first speech as premier in House of Commons. Declares entente terms are ''Reparation, Restoration and Security." No peace ne- gotiations until enemy tenns are made pub- lic. December 21 — Wilson note made public. Lansing explains and withdraws explana- tion. Allied countries display indignation. Berlin is pleased. December 24 — Teutons attack Danube river crossing at Machin, in northwestern Dobrudja. December 25, 26 — British defeat Turks on Tigris, taking 1,350 prisoners, and advanc- ing to within three miles of Kut-el-Amara. December 26 — Germany answers Wilson's peace note by proposing immediate con- ference of delegates from belligerent na- tions at some neutral place. December 28 — Teutons in Roumania open fire on Braila, near junction of Sereth and Danube rivers. December 29 — British reported to have taken over an additional section of the French front on the Somme, thus reliev- ing considerable force of French troops for rest or service elsewhere. German attack west of Verdun penetrates French positions south of Dead Man's hill. December 30 — Allied answer to Berlin peace proposal is made public. It emphati- cally rejects the proposal, charging Ger- 39 many with responsibility for the war and reminding the world that she considers treaties ''scraps of paper" and approves the principle that "necessity knows no law." December 31 — ^Year ends with Teutons gaining in Roumania and desultory fight- ing on other fronts. Berlin abandons hope of peace. Entente allies prepare to resume struggle with redoubled energy. 40 THE GREAT CAMPAIGNS August 4-22, 1914— That Germany had The planned to make war on France through Conquest of Belgium is evident from the fact that she Belgium, had built strategic railroads to the Belgian frontier, between Longwy, the northern- most of French fortifications, and Liege, the fajnous Belgian fortress. The invasion of Belgium began with a storming attack on Liege on August 4, 1916. Luexembourg had been occupied on August 2 by an advance guard. The Ger- man plan was to seize Liege, as the gate- way to Belgium, and rush the Teuton armies across King Albert's country and into France before effective resistance could be offered. The whole success of the German effort was based on a quick passage through Belgium — a passage so quick as to anticipate French mobilization and the arrival of British troops. The surprising courage and tenacity of the Belgians in defending Liege upset the plan, and made possible the subsequent battle of the Marne by giving the French time for preparation and the British op- portunity to land their first expeditionary force. For three days the efforts to storm Liege w^ere defeated, and the slaughter of the Germans attacking in massed formation staggered the world, now getting its first 41 introduction to modern warfare. On August 7 the Germans penetrated between the forts and entered the city. Several of the forts held out in spite of this vic- tory, and had to be demolished by the great forty-two centimeter guns before they surrendered. The delay occasioned by Belgian resist- ance was not used to full advantage by the French, who thrust their forces into Alsace, instead of at once hastening to strengthen the line of the Meuse south of Liege at Huy and Namur. But it forced Germany to hasten re-enforcements to her armies in Belgium and Luxembourg, fearing the appearance of the French and British. Between August 7 and August 16, Ger- man cavalry, acting as a screen for the main army, pushed forward across northeastern Belgium. It met stubborn resistance, but its advance was inexorable. Tongres, St. Trond, Hasselt, Haelen, Diest, Tirlemont, Aerschot, mark its progress toward Brus- sels. By August 16 the peril to Brussels became evident. The main German army was already moving forward behind its cavalry screen. Huy had fallen; Louvain was threatened, and Namur was expecting siege. On August 18 it was announced that the British expeditionary force had landed, numbering some 120,000 men, and Avas on its way to Belgium. On August 19 the Germans occupied Louvain, and the next day marched, unopposed, into 42 Brussels, the Belgian army retiring to- ward Antwerp. Namur fell on August 22, its capitulation coming with surprising quickness. From that moment Belgium was virtually con- quered, although the occupation of the west coast and the capture of Antwerp had to be postponed until after the bat- tle of the Marne. The Germans had now two roads open through which to invade France, one be- tween Maubeuge and Lille, the other be- tween Maubeuge and Namur. Along these roads the British 'army under General French, and the French army under Gen- eral Joffre, had occupied positions challeng- ing the German advance. August 21 to October 15, 1914 — ^When PromMons Namur fell the Anglo-French forces oc- to the Marne cupied positions between Namur and and Back Lille, with their centers at Mons and Again Charleroi. The right flank rested on the Meuse between Dinant and Givet. A French army that had met defeat in the Belgian Ardennes, filled the gap from the Meuse to the Verdun-Toul line of fortifi- cations. A third army was trying to hold the Germans near Nancy, after having met a terrible reverse in Lorraine. The French were beaten at Charleroi on the day following the fall of Namur, and the British at Mons were compelled to re- tire with them. Meantime the Germans struck the French right flank at Givet and 43 Dinant, driving it back. Thus the whole Anglo-French army was in peril of encir- clement and destruction. The Germans entered Lille unopposed, and as the British fell back their flank was uncovered on the left. Against this the en- emy hurled five army corps — more than 200,000 men. For six days, from August 22 to August 28, the fate of the allies hung in the balance. The Germans had another chance to win a Sedan. The crisis was reached on August 26, when the British met the full force of the German assault — five army corps against two. They were standing on the line of Cambrai-LeCateau- Landrecies, and preparing to retire. The blow fell; it was met with supreme cour- age. The enemy was repulsed. General French succeeded in disengaging himself, and retreated in good order on St. Quentin. The failure of his ally to send him the aid he asked nearly resulted in a disaster that would have brought France to its knees. Had the British failed there would have been no saving Paris ; the whole Anglo-French army would have been out- flanked and rolled up. Help came later, and at St. Quentin he was well supported. Here he felt the sec- ond heavy blow^ since Mons, but again the enemy was repulsed. By September 1 the allies had fallen back to within sixty miles of Paris, and the second line of French defenses had been 44 taken by the Germans. The line, as it re- treated, was pivoting on Verdun. Along the Verdun-Toul fortifications the enemy was held up, while at Nancy the French army, that had been driven ignominiously from Lorraine, was retrieving its reputation by a magnificent defensive. By September 3 the left wing of the Anglo-French army was under the guns of the Paris forts. The German encircling movement had failed. Buttressed between Paris and the Verdun-Toul fortifications, and bending in crescent form south of the Marne, the allies decided to make a stand. General Joffre's supreme moment had ar- rived. He had yielded all of northern France to find this opportunity. Instead of attempting to storm Paris, the Germans decided to attack the allied army at its center, on the Marne, and so try to divide it in two sections, one of which could be rolled back on Paris, and the other rolled back on the eastern fortress barrier. General Von Kluck, who had pur- sued the British south, and who had ranged to the Avest in his effort to get around their flank, was compelled to draw in and cross in front of Paris. As he did this Joffre struck at his flank with a hidden reserve force. At the same time General Foch struck back at Von Buelow on the center. Von Kluck narrowly escaped capture, and by September 10 was re- treating toward the Aisne with all pos- sible speed. The rest of the German army had to join him. 45 Keaching the second line of French de- fense, north of the Aisne, the Germans halted and entrenched. The Allies failed to dislodge them. By September 18 their attacks ceased, and the final stage began — the gradual extending of the lines north- ward through the Somme and Artois re- gions to the southwest corner of Belgium, and eventually, the North Sea. On Octo- ber 14, the British occupied Ypres; on October 15, the Germans occupied Ostend, and the Belgians, who had escaped from the battles before Antwerp and the siege that followed, took their place in the allied line along the Yser. So ended the first great campaign in France, and the long trench siege began from Nieuport to the mountains of Swit- zerland. Serbia's August 1 to December 14, 1914 — When Victorious ^^® ^^^^ story of the war is written there Defense. ^^^^ ^^ ^^ more brilliant chapter in it than that which tells of how Serbia, in its early months, routed the Austrian forces and drove them from her soil. With the Bel- gians, the Serbs have earned title to be con- sidered among the bravest of peoples. Belgrade was under bombardment by August 1, and in the third week in August an Austrian army that had crossed the Drina was routed at the Jedar, and driven back to its own territory. Then the tables were turned. Serbians and Montenegrins swarmed into Bosnia, and approached Serajevo. This continued through Sep- 46 tember. With the coming of October, the Austrians regained the initiative. Their army had been re-enforced. They had some German aid. Crossing the Drina again they moved forward until they had reached the Oriental railroad, running from Belgrade to Constantinople, through Nish and Sofia. Belgrade was caught on flank and rear, and the garrison had to evacuate it and retreat. The Austrians reached Valievo. They were on the high road to conquest. Then happened one of the most dramatic events in the whole war — an event never to be for- gotten. On December 9, 1914, with the shattered forces of the Serbians giving way before the enemy, there rode upon the field the erect and venerable figure of King Peter. The white haired monarch rallied his discouraged troops, and lead- ing them in person, swept forward against the enemy. The astonished Austrians were beaten, routed, driven back from Valievo, from Belgrade — back across Drina and Save and Danube, until the soil of Serbia was free from the foot of her foe. It was a scene belonging to the war- fare of centuries gone — a scene we are not likely to see repeated in the history of the world. Serbia remained free until the Great ]\rackensen drive began in October, 1915. August, 1914, to May, 1915 — The first Russia's Russian invasion of Galicia began be- Campaigns fore the end of August, 1914, while the in Galicia. 47 Germans were sweeping through Bel- gium and France. It was marked by un- interrupted success, the Austrian armies breaking in disorder before the teriffic onslaught of the Czar's troops. By Sep- tember 1, Lemberg was reached and oc- cupied after a great battle in which thou- sands of Austrians were taken prisoner. The Austrian demoralization was so great that Berlin became alarmed. Russia was already in East Prussia, and her victor- ious march through Galicia threatened an invasion of Germany from the di- rection of Cracow. Hence, at the very hour when the battle of the Marne was beginning, Germany was forced to hasten troops from the western front to check the Slav. Doubtless this fact contributed to the allied victory in France. But the Russians were not stopped at Lemberg, or at the San, seventy miles fur- ther west. On September 7 they routed the Austrians again at Ravaruska ; on Sep- tember 16 they invested Przemysl, and moved on to the capture of Jaroslav a week later. With Jaroslav occupied and Przemysl surrounded, they advanced to the Donajec and by the end of September their vanguard was within range of Cracow. Here for several weeks they held their positions, while they spread out along the Carpathians, penetrated the passes into Hungary, and actually raided the Hungarian plains. Thus two months after the beginning of the war the Rus- sians had conquered Galicia. 48 Early in October the Austrians, aided by the Germans, began a series of counter attacks. They retook the Uzsok pass, and on October 12 compelled the Russians to abandon the investment of Przemysl. Jaroslav was recaptured, and the Eussians retired beyond the San. A great battle developed along the San about October 18. It lasted for days in which fortunes varied, but the Russians gradually obtained the upper hand. Mean- time the Austrians attempted an attack on the Russian flank and rear from Buko- wina. They invaded southeastern Galicia, and reached Nadworna before they were checked. Then came a crushing defeat for them on the San, and once again the Russians captured Jaroslav, re-entering the city on November 6. Six days later the siege of Przemysl was renewed, to last this time until its capture in the following March. By November 16 the Russians had reached the outskirts of Cracow again. Once more Hungary was raided, while to the east, the Russians drove back into Bukowina and re occupied Czernowitz. The middle of December brought rever- sals, however. German aid was sent to the Austrians, and the siege of Cracow was abandoned. The Russians retired to the Donajec, where they established a strong line across Galicia, protecting the rear of their forces in the Carpathians. A long series of operations then began in 49 the mountains — battles in deep snows and zero temperatures — in which the Eussians gradually forced their way into the passes. On March 22 they captured Przemysl, and under the impulse of this success swept forward on what promised to be a serious invasion of Hungary with Buda Pest as its goal. The alarmed Austrians rallied again and again to defend their frontier, fighting stubbornly for every yard of ground, and then, with the coming of May appeared Mackensen on the Donajec. The story of how he saved Hungary, reconquered Gali- cia, and swept on behind the Vistula to Pinsk is told in the next chapter. German October, November, 1914 ; May to Septem- Campaigns ^^r, 1915 — The German offensive against for Russia is marked by three great efforts to Warsaw, conquer Poland, seize the Vistula defenses and crush the armies of the Czar. The first of these began in the opening days of October, 1914, with Von Hinden- burg in command, fresh from his victory over the Russians at Tannenberg, in East Prussia. The German armies, admirably equipped, swept across Poland to the Vis- tula. They reached the outskirts of War- saw and Ivangorod by October 17. Avia- tors dropped proclamations in Warsaw calling for the surrender of the city. The big guns began to shell its fortifications. Then re-enforcements suddenly attacked the left flank of the Teutons, driving it back and compelling a retreat all along 60 the line. In perfect order Von Hinden- burg's armies withdrew, moving too swiftly for the pursuing Russians, who followed to the German frontier and actually crossed into Posen at one point. This Russian success was brief. Von Hin- denburg struck again. Early in Novem- ber he began a movement against both flanks of the Russian army. One came down the south bank of the Vistula from the East Prussian fortress of Thorn; the other advanced northeast from Czensto- chowa, whither it had retired after its failure at Ivangorod. The Russians were in serious peril of being outflanked and cut off from Warsaw and the Vistula. They fell back toward Lodz. Here, at the moment that threatened their destruction, re-enforcements from Warsaw suddenly attacked the flank and rear of Von Hin- denburg's encircling movement, and the battle of Lodz began. The tables were turned. The Germans were in peril of extinction. An entire army corps sur- rendered. But aid was rushed to them and they cut their way out of the Slav net. The Russians fell back from Lodz, and ultimately took up positions along the Bzura river, twenty miles west of Warsaw. Thus began a long trench siege paralleling the Vistula from west of Warsaw to the Galician boundary. For months there was bitter fighting along the entrenched front in Poland, and campaign and counter campaign in the Bal- tic provinces and East Prussia. The Rus- 61 sians met disaster at the Mazurian lakes, but carried out a sweeping offensive in Ga- licia and the Carpathians, And it was this success, threatening the invasion of Hun- gary, that brought upon them the third and greatest German drive. Now General Von Mackensen came upon the stage as the deliverer of the shattered Austrians. The Eussians held a long front in the Carpathians from Bukowina to the Donajec river. They faced the plains of Hungary to the south, and had actually invaded them for a score or more of miles. They had captured Przemysl, in Galicia, and occupied the country as far west as the Donajec, where their line turned north from the mountains, and extended up into Poland. This line protected the rear of their mountain positions, and it was against this line Mackensen struck on May 3 with such a massing of artillery as had not been seen before. He shattered it, capturing 30,000 prison- ers. There followed battle after battle, the Russians resisting stubbornly, but gradually giving ground. They were driven across the San by May 12 ; by May 29, they were defending Przemysl. On June 2 Przemysl fell, and the Russians re- tired on Lemberg. They lost Lemberg on June 22, and a week later Mackensen be- gan his drive north behind the Vistula. Meantime Von Hindenburg was pressing the battle hard in Poland. By the middle of July a tremendous struggle was in progress on a 900-mile front, with Warsaw 52 and Ivangorod as the prizes. They fell on August 5 and 6. By the end of August the Germans had reached Brest Litovsk, and captured it. On September 8 the Czar took command of his defeated armies, re- calling the weary and sick Grand Duke Nicholas. On September 16 Von Hinden- burg drove the Eussians across the Dvina, and Mackensen occupied Pinsk. There the German advance halted. To this day it has been unable to go farther. South of Pinsk it has lost ground. The drive succeeded in winning territory and fortresses. It failed utterly in its main object — the crushing of the Eussian armies. October 7, 1915, to December 19, 1915 — The No sooner was the German advance halted Campaign in Eussia than a new menace developed Against for the allies. Late in September rumors Serbia. were heard that a Teuton army was mass- ing in Austria for a great drive on Serbia. The conquest of the Balkans was an essen- tial feature of German ambitions. That way, lay the road to Constantinople and Asia Minor — a place in the sun. On October 7, 1915, the central powers hurled 400,000 men against the Serbian frontier. Passage was forced across the Save, the Drina and the Danube. Macken- sen was in command. The Serbs fought bravely as they had before, but, masters as they had proved for the Austrians, they were not equal to the combined power of Austria and Germany. Moreover, by the 53 middle of the month they were treacher- ously struck on the flank by Bulgaria, who entered the war as a Teuton ally. King Constantine of Greece made a scrap of paper of his treaty pledging aid to Serbia, and, although the allies landed forces at Saloniki, they were unable to advance with sufficient strength and ra- pidity to afford the Serbians aid. Belgrade fell on October 10. By October 28 the Bulgars and Teutons had effected a junction in northeastern Serbia. Nish was captured on November 7, and the Bulgars sweeping west reached Monastir by November 19. A month later the Anglo-French forces, that had attempted to push up the Yardar valley, fell back to Saloniki. The conquest of Serbia was complete. But a large part of the Serbian army had escaped in one of the most terrible re- treats of history, across the snowy moun- tains of Albania. That army, reorganized, is now back on Serbian soil, fighting with a magnificent courage for the redemption of its fatherland. Monastir, that fell into the hands of the Bulgars in November, 1915, was once again in possession of the Serbs in November, 1916. The February 19, 1915, to January 9, 1916— Gallipoli The Gallipoli campaign, in its inception, Campaign, began long before the Teuton assault on Serbia. It was Winston Churchill, then first lord of the admiralty, who conceived the idea of using the navy to force the 54 Dardanelles and capture Constantinople. The effort to execute the idea dates from February 19, 1915, when an Anglo-French fleet began the bombardment of the Turk- ish forts at the entrance to the straits. In a week they had silenced them, and were opening fire on the first of the inner forts. Then came disaster. The Bouvet, Ocean and Irresistible were sunk by mines in the middle of March. The efforts to force a passage through the straits in the face of fire from the forts at the Narrows and the peril of mines and submarines threatened to exact a terrible toll. It was decided to land troops on the Gal- lipoli peninsula in order to aid in reducing the forts. On April 21, 1915, landings were made at various points. By the end of the month the allied forces had estab- lished themselves in positions across the tip of the peninsula, and on the coast of the Gulf of Saros, in the region that was later named Anzac. This name is com- posed of the initial letters of the Austral- ian-New Zealand Army Corps that consti- tuted a factor of great strength and un- daunted courage in the Gallipoli cam- paign. Terrific fighting followed, week after week and month after month, but the re- sistance of the Turks was stubborn, and the progress of the allies slow and costly. The Turks held strongly entrenched and fortified hill positions ; they were well offi- cered and, in the earlier stages of the cam- 55 paign, possessed an abundance of guns and amunition. During June and July the allies repeated- ly assumed the offensive and gained ground, both on the tip of the peninsula, and in the Anzac region. The Anglo- French troops drove the Turks back to- ward Krithia and the powerful mountain fortress of Achi Baba. In the Anzac zone the Australian and New Zealand troops fought with a bravery that will never be forgotten and suffered terrific losses. On August 2 they captured an important ridge, and later this was followed up by an- other splendid advance in which the territory hitherto held was trebled. The most desperate fighting of the whole cam- paign occurred during these four or five days, in which the Ghurkas distinguished themselves no less than the Anzacs. The work was done in trenches, dugouts and subterranean passages, but it was wrought in vain. It failed to take its main objec- tive, the crest of Sari Bair, and it had to give ground in the end before the counter attacks of the Turks. At the same time the Turks drove back the Anglo-French line on the peninsula tip. The outlook for success on Gallipoli was gloomy. The allies were depressed by the tremendous price the venture was costing them. Nevertheless in September re-en- forcements were sent to the weary and decimated troops. They had small effect on the situation. In October, Sir Ian Hamilton was recalled, and Major-General 56 Miinro sent to take his place. Hamilton's recall was understood to be due to the failure of the August offensive. Little was done to retrieve the situation, and on December 21 it was announced that the British had withdrawn from the Anzac and Suvla Bay front. Complete with- drawal of all the allied forces followed on January 9, 1916. The Gallipoli cam- paign was at an end. Facts that have since come to light sus- tain the belief that victory was within reach early in August, and that the chance was thrown away by the failure of Sir Ian Hamilton to insist on a night attack by the troops of the Eleventh Division under Major-General Hammersley, at the critical moment when the Turks were suffering from earlier defeat and had not been able to bring up re-enforcements. Hamilton accepted Hammersley 's statement that he could not get out orders for a night at- tack, owing to his men being scattered. When morning came the Turks were re- enforced, and the opportunity was gone. November^ 1914, to April 29, 1916— In The November, 1915, ]\Ir Asquith, addressing Campaign the House of Commons, described the inMeso- progress of operations in Mesopotamia, potajnia. They had been begun by the taking of Basra, on the Persian Gulf, in November, 1914. The object of this effort so far from the main scene of warfare, was to secure an imperial outpost on the road to India, enforce neutrality on the part of the Arabs, and protect important oil fields in 57 which the British were interested. The operations were conducted under the di- rection of the India office, and there was evident lack of co-operation with the war office at "Westminster. But, when Mr. Asquith spoke, all had gone well. The Turks had been driven up the Tigris, Kurna and Kut-el-Amara had been taken, and the Townshend expedition was near- ing Bagdad. Mr. Asquith finished his ref- erence to the campaign, by saying, *'I do not think that in the whole course of the war there has been a series of operations more carefully contrived, more brilliantly conducted, and with a better prospect of final success.** His optimism received a terrible shock the following month, when, within eighteen miles of Bagdad, General Townshend was routed by the Turks and forced to re- treat on Kut-el-Amara. There followed the long siege, and the desperate efforts of relieving forces under General Aylmer and Sir Percy Lake to break through the Turk cordon around the beleaguered city. Some progress was made in the opening months of 1916. The trenches at Umm-el- Henna were carried and the town of Fela- hie occupied in the first week of April. This brought the British to the powerful Sannayat position of the enemy, and here, on April 9, they were repulsed with a loss of 3,000 killed. On April 29 the starved, sick and exhausted garrison of Kut-el- Amara surrendered. General Townshend was sent to an island in the Sea of Mar- mora as a Turkish prisoner. The Turks 68 took 8,970 men, 514 officers, and $5,000,000 in cash, according to their reports. Brit- ish forces are still holding the territory- south of Sannayat, and as the year ends successful operations have brought them within three miles of Kut-el-Amara. January 16, 1916, to October, 1916— FoI- The lowing the great retreat of the Russians, Campaign in September, 1915, the Grand Duke in Armenia. Nicholas was relieved of his command by the czar and sent to Tiflis, in the Caucasus, to recuperate. He did more than that. He organized an army for the conquest of Armenia. The Russians had several times crossed the frontier and engaged the Turks, but efforts hitherto had been spor- adic and inconclusive. It was not until January, 1916, that the Grand Duke was ready to move. On January 16 his ad- vance began. As the month ended he broke the Turkish front in the Caucasus along a line of forty miles. Pursuing his advantage he reached the outer forts of Erzeroum by the middle of February, and occupied the city on February 16. His offensive then spread in three directions — south, toward Lake Van; west, toward Erzingan, and northwest, toward Trebi- zond. A separate army advanced from the Caucasus along the Black Sea coast toward Trebizond. Early in March, he captured Bitlis, southeast of Erzeroum, and Rizeh, on the Black Sea, east of Trebi- zond, while troops from Erzeroum sur- rounded Baiburt on the road through the mountains north to Trebizond. {»9 On April 18 Trebizond was taken in a combined action of the fleet and land forces. Over 50,000 Turks were driven into the mountains. Meantime the Rus- sians were advancing west of Erzeroum in the direction of Erzingan, and extend- ing their control of southern Armenia in the region of Mush, Bitlis and Diarbekr. Baiburt was lost and regained. In the middle of July the Russians took Brzin- gan, but were driven from Mush and Bit- lis. Late in August the two latter towns were reoccupied. In October, the Rus- sians, after a long delay, resumed opera- tions Avest of Trebizond, capturing Petra Kala, forty-five miles beyond. Operations are still in progress in Ar- menia and in Persia. The area of Russian occupation gradually extends. The end of this campaign can neither be told nor fore- told here. The May 16, 1916, to June 3, 1916— The Aus- Austrian trian offensive in the Trentino was a well Campaign conceived plan to reach the Italian plains Against and cut the rail communications with Italy, the Isonzo front, thus compelling a Latin retirement from the positions that threat- ened Goritz and Trieste. It began on May 16, 1916, and was checked by June 3. In that short space, however, the Austrians pushed through the moun- tains, captured the Arsiero region and reached the edge of the Italian plains. They were within twenty-five miles of their objective when the Latins brought 60 them to a halt, and began a counter offen- sive that gradually reconquered all the lost territory. The Italians were aided in bringing this serious menace to a sharp conclusion by the sudden drive of G-eneral Brussiloff into Bukowina and Galicia. Austrian troops had to be withdrawn from the Trentino front to meet the new Rus- sian advance. June 5, 1916, to September, 1916 — Gen- The eral Brussiloff began a great offensive Return against the Austro-German lines on June of the 5, 1916. Since the halting of the German Russians, drive in the autumn of 1915, there had been sporadic fighting alon^ the whole front. Von Hindenburg had made per- sistent efforts to cross the Dvina, on the northern end, and occupy Dvinsk. In these attempts he was as persistently re- pulsed, and, indeed, had lost ground be- tween Jacobstadt and the Gulf of Riga. The Russians had made several ventures toward the invasion of Galicia and Buko- wina, but with only temporary success. The Brussiloff drive came as a surprise. It was not expected that Russia would un- dertake any great offensive until the spring of 1917. But it came at a welcome moment for the allies. The Austrians were over the Italian frontier, and Ver- dun was under teriffic pressure. Brussiloff struck at three main points — Kovel, in Volhynia, an important railroad junction, vital to the Teuton front; the Lutsk-Rovno-Dubno triangle of forts, and Czernowitz, the capital of Bukowina, 61 With a sudden sweep he captured Lutsk and Dubno before the middle of June, tak- ing" 75,000 Austrian prisoners. By June 18, he was in possession of Czernowitz, and had begun his advance along the Dniester, toward Kolomea and Stanislau. West of Lutsk, and north along the line of the Stokhod river, opposite Kovel, he was fighting daily battles with the enemy, now re-enforced by troops dispatched from the western front. As June ended, he took Kolomea, in southeastern Galicia, and began an attack on the army of Von Bothmer, defending the approaches to Lemberg in positions along the Stripa river. Bothmer 's army was flanked by the Russian advance on the Dniester, and under heavy pressure against its front was forced to fall back from the Stripa. Mean- time, west of Lutsk, ground was gained in the direction of Vladimir Volynski. During July the Russians made vigorous assaults against the German front in the Riga region, and succeeded in achieving considerable advances at several points. As the month closed they crossed the Stokhod river, opposite Kovel. In August they resumed their Galician operations, pushing the enemy back in the vicinity of Brody, crossing the Sereth and capturing several villages. On August 11, Stanislau was captured, and the menace to Lemberg became so great that 150,000 Turks were rushed north to aid in its de- fense. General Bothmer was forced to re- 62 treat beyond the Zlota Lip a, his right flank falling back on Halicz. Eenewed attacks on the Kovel front re- sulted in further gains. The Teuton de- fense was stiffening, however, and counter attacks became more frequent. Nothwith- standing this the Russians opened fire on Halicz early in September, driving the enemy across the Gnita Lipa. In mid-September the Teutons made a powerful assault, recapturing positions near Halicz and driving the Russians back on the Vladimir Volynski front. The Turkish army appeared on the firing line, and made its presence felt. In October the Roumanians cried for help, and the Russians had to turn their at- tention to the Bukowina-Moldavian front. Since then the progress in Galicia and Volhynia has been very slight. The of- fensive, however, wrested important terri- tory from the Teutons; cost them enor- mous losses in men ; helped the Italians and played its part in relieving Verdun. Its full value will be realized when the Russians move again. August 6, 1916, to September, 1916 — The The Italians, having driven their foes Italian from their soil on the Trentino front, early Isonzo ^ in August began preparations for another Campaign. great drive against the Goritz bridgehead and the Carso plateau. The attack came as a surprise to the Aus- trians, who had their hands pretty well es occupied with keeping the Russians out of Lemberg. It opened on August 6, the Latin guns concentrating their fire on Sabatino, San Michele and the bridge across the Isonzo that was protected by these mountain positions. On August 8, in a great charge they stormed and crossed the bridge, took the mountain for- tifications and reached Goritz. The city fell the following day, while the Italians drove forward routing the Carso positions of the enemy. Across the Carso plateau, south of Goritz, lies the road to Trieste. On August 11, the advance continued along a twelve-mile front. The whole Doberdo plateau was occupied, and further gains made on the Carso. Oppacchiasella was taken the next day. The advanced line of the Latin army reached positions within thirteen miles of Trieste. The offensive rested with this for a few weeks, to be resumed in September, when more ground was gained on the Carso plateau. In October and November the fighting shifted to the Trentino and other sectors of the Italian front, but the wedge has been driven far in toward Trieste, and the Italians are well placed for further suc- cessful operations. The August 27, 1916, to December, 1916 — Ill-Fat ed The story of why Roumania entered the Eouma,nian war before she was ready; of why she Campaign, risked everything on an invasion of Tran- sylvania, leaving the Danube unprotected and the Dobnidja open to the Bui gars, has not yet been told. It should be an inter- esting story when it comes from authori- tative sources. Well informed people say Roumania disregarded the advice of her allies, both in the time she chose to de- clare war, and in the plan of campaign she followed. Be that as it may some ill star presided over her operations. Roumania declared war on August 27, throwing her main forces at once across the Carpathian passes into Transylvania. Before the month ended she had occupied Orsova and Kronstadt, and the Vulcan pass was in her hands. The Teuton an- swer came with amazing swiftness. Gen- eral Von Mackensen with a Bulgar army pushed his way through Roumania 's back door, the Dobrudja, between the Danube and the Black Sea, and began a drive north to seize the Constanza-Chernavoda railroad, and the Chernavoda bridge across the Danube into Roumania proper. While the main Roumanian army was win- ning easy victories in Transylvania, Mac- kensen was advancing rapidly. Turtukai fell with barely a struggle. The menace was recognized as serious, and Bucharest recalled troops from the Transylvanian front to check it. Russian troops also came south from Bessarabia and joined the Roumanians in the Dobrudja. For a time they held Mackensen; but on the western frontier Von Falkenhayn was ad- vancing to free Transylvania. As Septem- ber closed, he defeated the Roumanians in battle at Hermanstadt. 65 Early in October, a rash coup was at- tempted. The Roumanians crossed the Danube at Turtukai in the rear of Mac- kensen. But they had no guns, and were quickly driven back. The fighting con- tinued with varying fortunes along the western mountain front, the Roumanians falling back on the passes, but holding them stubbornly. On October 23, Macken- sen took Constantza; two days later he took Chernavoda, the Russo-Roumanian force retreating into northern Dobrudja. It was not until the middle of November had passed that Von Falkenhayn began to seep through the mountains. Then events followed quickly. Orsova was cap- tured. The Vulcan and Red Tower passes were taken. Western Wallachia was en- tered. The Russians began a desperate effort to save Roumania by attacks on the Bukowina-Moldavia front, and for a few days made hopeful progress. It was of no avail, however. Von Falkenhayn swept on. He took Craiova on November 21. Then Mackensen forced a crossing of the Dan- ube southwest of Bucharest. The capital was now threatened from the northwest, west and south. In the opening days of December the Roumanians were defeated on the Arjish river, and fell back on Bucharest. On December 6, they aban- doned the capital, and the victorious Teu- tons entered it. The Russians screened the retreating Roumanians who fell back be- yond the Sereth to reorganize. The Rus- sians held the Danube-Sereth front as the year closed. August, 1916, (Contimiing)— The Mace- The donian campaign is only beginning. In Macedonian the latter part of August, 1916, there were Campaign. indications that General Sarrail's composite army, including French, British, Russians, Serbians, Greeks and Italians, was on the eve of an important advance. In the region south of Monastir, in the Vardar valley and along the Struma, there were skirmishes. The Anglo-French forces seized the station at Doiran. In Septem- ber the Franco-Serbian forces on the Mon- astir front began an advance. The British crossed the Struma. The Serbs, fighting in the mountains on the border, captured the summit of Kaimacalan ridge and won an insecure foothold on their own soil. Narrow as it was, hov/ever, they held it and extended it. On October 9, they crossed the Cerna river, and began the now famous operations in its elbow, des- tined to turn the Bulgar flank in front of Monastir. On October 18, they took the village of Brod. IJxactly a month later they and their allies routed the Bulgar line and entered the city of Monastir. Since that time the Serbs have made steady progress in an advance that is aimed at Prilep. 67 THE GREAT BATTLES August 4-19, 1914— The attack on Liege, Liege. the fortified Belgian city guarding the pas- sage of the Meuse, began on August 4, 1914. The garrison and field army con- sisted of not more than 40,000 men un- der the gallant General Leman. Against it were three German army corps — over 120,000 men. The city was surrounded by six major and six minor forts, designed in 1886 by General Brialmont. The Ninth and Fourteenth Belgian line regiments held the field positions guarding the ap- proaches to the forts. It was these regi- ments that met the massed attacks of the Germans, and that were gradually driven back into the city. On August 6, one of the forts was silenced; on August 7, the Germans entered the city, but several of the forts still held out. Not until Sun- day, August 9, were they completely in- vested. For six days General Leman maintained his defense, sticking to the last fort until it had been reduced to a heap of ruins, and he, himself, suffocating with the gas from exploding shells, was taken prisoner. The enemy, impressed by his great courage, allowed him to retajn his sword. August 21-23, 1914— The battles of Mons Mons and and Charleroi marked the beginning of Charleroi. the great allied retreat to the Marne. The French held the line along the Sambre, 69 from Namur west to Charleroi; west of them again two British army corps^ — ^the first arrivals of the British expeditionary force — held positions based on Mons. The French army of the Meiise had suffered re- verse and fallen back along the Meuse to- ward Givet, leaving the right wing of the army of the Sarabre exposed. Early on Fri- day morning, August, 21, a column of Uh- lans broke into Charleroi. It was a misty morning, and they were hailed as British troops. This mistake was soon discovered, and the battle of Charleroi began. By Sun- day afternoon Namur had fallen, and Gen- eral Yon Hansen was advancing on the ex- posed flank of the army of the Sambre. General French was tardily advised of the serious turn events were taken, and received the news after his own flank at Mons has been uncovered by the retreat of his ally. Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien held the line along the canal to the west of Mons, and Sir Douglas Haig held that along the Binche road, to the east. His right flank was covered the Fifth Cavalry Brigade. The German attack began on Sunday morning. General French as yet unaware of the events that were happen- ing at Charleroi. All day Sunday the British kept the Germans at bay, beating them back as they attacked in mass. But Sunday evening General French received word from General Joffre that the enemy was in much larger numbers than had been thought, and a retreat was decided upon. The British found themselves left without support by the French, who had 70 already retired and were still fallini? back. In this situation there was nothing to be done but escape from a situation threatening serious disaster. September 6-13, 1914— The decisive battle The Maine, of the war, the battle that made Teuton victory impossible, lives in history as the battle of the Marne. It was, in reality, much more general than the name indi- cates. The opposing: forces were in con- tact from Paris to Verdun, on a front of 180 miles. To this position the allied troops retired, forming a crescentic front between the fortifications of the French capital and the fortified line of Verdun- Toul. The concavity of the crescent faced the enemy. Joffre was resDonsible for the strategy of the battle. He disposed his troops so that General Maunoury's army covered Paris, standing to the northeast of the city; General D'Esperey, with the Fifth army was directly to the east of Maunoury; General Foch, ea^t of the Fifth, held the center with the Seventh, and to the east of him was General DeLansrle, with the Fourth: General Sarrail, with the Third, was at Verdun. The Germans, swinging on Verdun as a pivot, approached the French -positions with the army of Von Kluek on the west- ern end. Von Buelow, the Saxons and the Duke of Wurtemberg in the center, and the Crown Prince on the eastern, or Ver- dun end. 71 Von Kluck, who had been attempting to encircle the British flank, was compelled to draw in across the front of Paris in order to concentrate for the blow on the French line. The British were occupying by this time a reserve position in the rear of Mau- nonry, and a second reserve of French troops from the garrison of Paris was also behind Maunonry, but further north and west than the British. Von Kluck swept past Maunoury's army, and struck at P'Bs- perey's. This was the chance for which Joffre had waited. He swung Maunoury's army against Von Kluck 's right flank on the Ourcq river. The Germans brought up reenforcements and attempted to break the flank, but they were met by the reserve from the Paris garrison, and at the same time the British came into action with D'Esperey's army. Von Kluck held his flank long enough to withdraw his ad- vanced troops, and then beat a retreat. So doing he uncovered Von Buelow's flank, against which D'Esperey now hurled his forces while Foch drove hard on its front. Von Buelow retreated, and uncovered the Saxons and the Duke of Wurtemberg, whose flanks now felt Foch's blow. This left De Langle free to meet the Crown Prince coming through the Argonne with Sarrail on his left. Thus Paris and the Verdun line of the Meuse were saved. By September 12 the whole Germany army was in retreat. 72 September 1, 1914 — The battle of Tannen- Tannenberg. berg deserves to be remembered because the reverse suffered by the Russians was the price they paid for a daring invasion of East Prussia designed to aid their allies on the west front at an hour of great crisis. It is memorable, too, as the first dramatic appearance of General Von Hindenburg in the role of the German deliverer. The Rus- sians lost 80,000 men in killed, wounded and prisoners, and were forced to retreat to their fortified line on the Niemen. October 21-31, 1914— The battle of the Yser. Yser, in Flanders, was the beginning of the futile efforts of the Germans to redeem the defeat at the Marne by driving through the allied front to Calais. The Yser rises in France, east of Dunkirk, and flows through the southwestern corner of Belgium, turn- ing suddenly west to Dixmude and con- tinuing at right angles to its former course to the sea. Along the Yser, between Dix- mude and Nieuport, on the coast, the brave little remnant of the Belgian army had taken its stand. Here the Germans at- tacked them. They succeeded in crossing the river and entered Nieuport after suffer- ing heavy losses. But the Belgians cut the dykes, and flooded them out. British war ships also aided by bombarding their positions. As the month ended the Ger- mans were forced back across the Yser where they have been held ever since. It is the Belgian oath that the Yser will never again be crossed, and 200,000 Belgians are still there to see that the oath is kept. 73 First Battle October 31 — November 16, 1914 — ^Ypres, of Ypres. in Flanders, lay at an angle in the allied line which bent around it at some distance from the city. The British held thirty miles with about 150,000 men. To break the line at Ypres meant to open a way to Calais. The Germans attacked with forces at least three times the number of the defenders. They drove the British slowly back until Ypres was under bombardment, and crumbling beneath the enemy shells. But the line held. It was re-enforced to some extent by the French as the fighting pro- ceeded. On November 15, the Kaiser ar- rived on the scene and sent his Prussian Guard in to give the final crushing blow. But the Prussian Guard crumpled against the contemptible little araiy of England, and the Kaiser abandoned the effort for a time. His losses were estimated at 150,- 000 men. Lodz. November 19 — December 3, 1914 — Lodz stands out in the story of the war on the eastern front as the narrowest escape from disaster the German arm^y has experienced in fighting with the Russians. Lodz was reached in the course of a Russian retreat with German armios pres^ins: on the front and both flanks. The battle began with all the signs of a great German victory. Ber- lin was already celebrating the destruc- tion of the Czar's army, when suddenly Russian masses, hurried from Warsaw, swept down on the Germans, caught them in the rear, and turned the tables com- pletely. With great bravery the forces of 74 Von Hindenbnrg fought to free themselves from the trap. Re-enforcements were hur- ried to their aid from the west front, and, after suffering immense losses, escape was effected. The Russians, under the pres- sure of the re-enforced enemy, evacuated Lodz on December 3, and Berlin contin- ued its interrupted celebration, claiming the capture of 100,000 prisoners. February 12, 1915— The battle of the Ma- Mazurian zurian Lakes, in East Prussia, was Von Lakes. Hindenburg's answer to the second inva- sion of the German province. The Russian Tenth army had gradually advanced until it faced a region of lake and bog. At some points it had penetrated on the ice and frozen swamp into the dangerous ground. Inferior forces confronted the Czar's army, and were falling back slowly. Behind this screen Von Hindenburg swdftly concen- trated a large force recruited from the front in Poland. Suddenly he struck the Russians on both flanks. Caught in the in- tricate lake district, and as yet unaware of the enemy's strength, they fought to free themselves instead of retreating. The result was disastrous. They lost 100,000 prisoners and probably 150,000 in killed and wound- ed. They were driven out of East Prussia, and fled in disorder across Suwalki toward Grodno and Ossowetz. For just such a chance as this Von Hindenburg is said to have made a special study of the Mazur- ian Lake region years before the war be- gan. 75 Neuve March 10, 1915— The battle of Neuve Cha- Chapelle. pelle, in northern France near the Flan- ders line, and west of Lille, seems a trifling incident now. It deserves importance from the fact that it was the first British of- fensive effort following the Marne. It gave the first demonstration of the use of con- centrated artillery fire to break up trench defenses, and it hinted at the coming strat- egy of the allies on the western front. Neuve Chapelle was taken, but at a cost of 13,- 000 casualties to the British — more than twice those suffered at Waterloo. Blunders were made that detracted from the victory, but taught lessons of immense value. The allies were sobered by the realization of the sacrifices that any general offensive would demand, based upon the losses in this small engagement. German losses were estimated at 20,000. The Second April 22-25, 1916— Tliis battle will live in Battle of Canadian history forever. It was begun by Ypres. the Germans releasing billows of poisonous gas that were carried by the breeze into the trenches of French colonial troops west of the Canadian positions. The French re- treated in disorder, creating a gap through which the Germans poured. The Cana- dians extended their line to close the gap, stopped the German advance and held their positions for three days and three nights until re-enforcements arrived. They were greatly outnumbered. This was the first use of poisonous gas as a means of war- fare. 76 May 3, 1915— The battle of the Donajee The river began the great Russian retreat in Donajec. Galicia and Poland that ended with the capture of the Vistula and Niemen de- fenses, Brest Litovsk and the Rovno-Dub- no-Lutsk triangle. It made Mackensen's reputation as a strategist and general. The Russians held the whole Carpathian front between Galicia and Hungary, their line turning northward along the Donajec into Poland. It was against this Donajec flank- ing line that Mackensen hurled his forces after a bombardment up to that time un- precedented. September 25-30, 1915 — This was the sec- The ond great effort of the French in the Cham- Champagne. pagne. The first coincided with the second battle of Ypres. This battle is memorable because it demonstrated the possibility of driving the enemy from powerfully forti- fied trench positions, and breaking through his line. The French took 23,000 pris- oners and over 100 guns in five days' fight- ing. February 21, 1916 — No effort will be made Verdun. here to describe what will live after this war as one of the greatest battles in his- tory. The battle of the Somme is alone comparable with it. It had employed more soldiers, cost a larger number of casualties and lasted longer than any conflict on a lim- ited and strictly localized front in this or any other war, up to the beginning of the Somme drive in July, 1916. It was marked by a tenacious but slowly retreating de- 77 fense on the part of the French. In the latter part of June the Germans reached their positions northeast of Verdun within the inner circle of the fortifications. The opening of the Somme offensive brought a halt to their campaign. In the autumn the French began slowly to regain lost ground. On October 24 they made a great attack, advancing two miles on a four mile front, and recapturing the fort and village of Douaumont. A few days later they took Fort Vaux and reoccupied the village. On December 15 they advanced again for an- other two miles on a seven mile front, cap- turing 11,000 prisoners and many cannon and machine guns. The tide has definitely turned. Verdun has cost the Germans prob- ably 500,000 men. It is thus far their big- gest failure. Somme. July 1, 1916— The battle of the Somme is only the beginning of bigger battles — the initial impetus to the "Big Push," in the belief of the allies. It has driven a bulge into the German front 20 miles in breadth, and nine miles deep at its deepest point. It has captured scores of villages and fortified positions, conquered the ridge overlooking Bapaume, cost the Germans an estimated loss of 700,000 men, including 95,000 pris- oners, and 135 heavy guns, 180 field pieces and 1,438 machine guns. The Germans estimate the allied losses — French and British— at between 800,000 and 900,000. The winter rainy season has temporarily checked allied operations in this field. 78 NAVAL BATTLES November 1, 1914 — A German squadron, Coronel. under Admiral von Spee, overhauled a British squadron of lighter armament off Coronel, Chile. Rear-Admiral Craddock was in command of the British. His flag- ship, the Good Hope, was sunk, and the cruiser Monmouth met like fate. December 8, 1914 — ^A British cruiser Falkland squadron took revenge for the battle of Islands. Coronel by defeating the victorious squad- ron under Admiral von Spee. The Ger- man flagship, Scharnhorst, and the battle cruisers, Gneisenau, Leipzig and Numberg were sunk. The British suffered only slight damage. Vice-Admiral Sturdee was in command of the British squadron. January 24, 1915 — A British patrolling North Sea. squadron, under Vice-Admiral Beatty, de- feated a German raiding squadron, sinking the battle cruiser Blucher, and seriously damaging two other battle cruisers. The British cruisers Lion and Tiger suffered, but were able to make port under their own steam. May 31, 1916 — This was the greatest naval Jutland. battle of the war. It was fought off the coast of Denmark between the British bat- tle cruiser fleet, under Vice-Admiral Beatty, and the German high seas fleet. The battle began in the afternoon and con- tinued until darkness enabled the German ships to escape, just as the British dread- 79 naughts were arriving on the scene. Los- ses were heavy on both sides — heavier on the British side, but the victory was with the British, who held the sea after the enemy had retired to the shelter of his coast fortifications and mined waters. The British lost three battle cruisers — the Queen Mary, Indefatigable and Invincible ; three armored cruisers — the Defense, War- rior and Black Prince, and eight destroyers. Their loss in life was 5,613. The Germans admit the loss of one battle- ship, the Pomimern, one battle cruiser, the Lutzow, four cruisers and five destroyers. Their loss in life was 3,966. SIEGES Maubeuge. August 23— September 7, 1914— French fortified town on Belgian frontier. Be- sieged after fall of Namur. Detained big guns that might have been used on Yerdun or Paris. The siege lasted 15 days. Antwerp. September 28 — October 9, 1914 — After the fall of Brussels the Belgians retired to Ant- werp. During the advance to the Marne and the retreat they harrassed the German rear. This led to the siege. British ma- rines were sent to aid, but the German guns were too much for the brave garrison. The siege lasted 11 days. Przemysl. October 11, 1914— March 22, 1915— The Galician city was invested by the Russians while their conquest of the Galicia pro- ceeded. The siege lasted 162 days. 80 January 2, 1916— April 29, 1916— General Kut-el- Townshend retreated from Bagdad, after Amara. being defeated by the Turks, and was sur- rounded in the town of Kut on the Tigris. Vain efforts were made to relieve him. He surrendered with 9,000 survivors after a siege of 117 days. PRISONERS OF WAR On August 1, 1916, the Central Powers held the following prisoners of war: In Germany 1,663,794 In Austria 942,489 In Bulgaria 38,000 In Turkey 14,000 Total 2,658,283 Of these 1,981,631 are Russians; 360,000 French; 37,000 British; 43,000 Belgians, and 25,000 Serbians. The Entente Allies held in round num- bers 1,750,000, of whom over 1,000,000 were Austrians, and probably 500,000 Germans; the balance being composed of Bulgars and Turks. Since August 1, at least 400,000 have been added to this total, while the Central Powers have added perhaps 300,- 000 through their operations in Roumania and elsewhere. SI TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Africa, War in 92 Battles, Land: Champagne 77 Donajec 77 Liege 69 Lodz 74 Marne 71 Mazurian Lakes 75 Mons and Charleroi 69 Neuve Chapelle 76 Somme 78 Tanneberg 73 Verdun 77 Ypres, First Battle 74 Ypres, Second Battle 76 Yser 73 Battles, Naval: Coronel 79 Falkland Islands 79 Jutland 79 North Sea 79 Belgium, Germany in 95 British Colonies in the War 96 British War Charity 96 Campaigns, the Great: Armenia, Russian Campaign in 59 Austrian Campaign Against Italy 60 Belgium, Conquest of 41 Galicia, Russian Campaigns in 47 Campaigns, the Great — Continued: Gallipoli 54 German Campaigns for Warsaw 50 Italian Isonzo Campaign 63 Macedonia 67 Mesopotamia 57 Mons to the Marne 43 Return of the Russians 61 Roumania 64 Serbia's Victorious Defense 46 Serbia Conquered by Austrians 53 Chronology of the War Month by Month. 5-37 Cost of War 87 Declarations of War 83 Distance Measurements 98 Fighting Forces 84 Greece, Why Allies Are in 93 Losses of War, Human 85 Military Terms 97 Prisoners of War 81 Sieges 80 Submarine Losses 91 Territory Conquered 89 Zeppelin Raids 90 The following tables give the estimated Human losses of the entente and Teuton allies up Losses. to the end of 1916: Country Dead Wounded Total Entente France 980,000 2,650,000 3,630,000 ^'^^' Kussia 1,600,000 4,000,000 5,600,000 Gt. Britain. . 380,000 835,500 1,215,500 Italy 190,000 425,000 615,000 Serbia 120,000 150,000 270,000 Roumania .. 100,000 200,000 300,000 Totals ...3,370,000 8,260,500 11,630,500 Country Dead Wounded Total Teuton Germany ..1,100,000 2,750,000 3,850,000 Allies. Austria-H. . 950,000 2,375,000 3,325,000 Bulgaria ... 50,000 100,000 150,000 Turkey .... 210,000 425,000 635,000 Totals ....2,310,000 5,650,000 7,960,000 These estimates are largely guess work, and nothing better can be had. Nor are they of much value, since there are many factors that must be considered in any effort to form an accurate conception of the man power of the belligerent nations. Allowance must be made in the wounded column for those who recover and return to the front. Sickness must be counted as well as battle casualties, and the quality of the reserves employed to fill the gaps is an important factor. More interesting than the above tables, or any table, is the analysis of German re- 8g serve power made by Hillaire Belloc in the issue of Land and Water for November 2, 1916. His elaborate process cannot be given here, but these are his conclusions based on as ample data as can be had by any man outside of Germany : ''The reserve of man power available up to, say, August of next year, is not more than 1,310,000 or 1,320,000 upon a general estimate. It may well in practice prove to be not over 1,200,000. It cannot upon any calculation be made to reach a mil- lion and a half. *'That is a replacement of one man in five, but not one man in four of the existing German armies. In other words, of every ^ve men, the first man who falls or who is sick can be replaced, but the next one cannot. This round figure of 1,130,000 to 1,320,000 is arrived at by the consideration of four categories : The depots ; the men capable of service before next summer not yet called; the men now in hospital who will return cured; the men capable of bearing arms, but kept back for necessary work within the country. "Of these four categories only the first three are available as a reserve of man power. These three amount: The first to some 560,000 men; the second to some 150,000 men, or at the most 160,000 men; the third to not more at the very most than 600,000 men. The total of these is 1,310,000 to 1,320,000." 86 Since Mr. Belloc made the calculations leading to this interesting conclusion sev- eral things have happened that may affect it. Germany has had to make consider- able draft on this limited reserve for the Roumanian campaign, but, to off-set it, she has laid her plans to recruit a Polish army, and has deported thousands of Belgians to take the place of men included by Mr. Belloc in his fourth, or unavailable, cate- gory. The bid for peace, following so quickly after the draft on reserves to meet the Roumanian menace, sustains the belief of Mr. Belloc that Germany is nearing the end of her human resources. On December 14, 1916, the British parlia- The Cost ment was asked to vote additional war of the credit to the amount of $2,000,000,000. War. This, it was told, would meet expenditures until February 24, 1917. The voting of this $2,000,000,000 brought the total war credits since August, 1914, up to the immense sum of $19,260,000,000. The daily rate of expenditure was re- ported to have reached $28,550,000. Great Britain has made immense loans to her allies. Her borrowings amounted on recent reports to the staggering total of $13,840,000,000, but it is estimated at least one-quarter of this has been loaned to Russia, Serbia, Roumania and other countries — some of it to Greece. Only $4,500,000,000 of the borrowed money is in 87 long-term loans. All the rest is in the form of floating debt. She is said to have paid practically one- third of her war bills out of new taxation, besides all the heavy interest charges from current receipts. The British dominions have made no drafts on the mother land. They have thus far borne their own burdens. France, by the end of 1916, was estimated to have spent or incurred obligations since the beginning of the war amounting to 64,000,000,000 francs, or nearly $13,000,- 000,000. Of this amount $1,800,000,000 has come from the ordinary treasury re- ceipts; $2,600,000,000 is from short term national defense bonds; $2,300,000,000 from the first war loan ; $352,000,000 from the American loan ; $1,800,000,000 was ad- vanced by the Bank of France, and the balance came from short term bonds, bonds negotiated abroad, and advances from the bank of Algiers and other sources. France expects her second war loan to clean up all immediate obligations, and give her a clear start in the new year. Russia 's war cost for two and a half years totals approximately $12,500,000,000. Italy has spent so far nearly $4,000,000,000. The expense to the other allies is estimated at about $2,250,000,000. The total daily cost of the entente allies is put at about $75,000,000. ts August 23 — French defeated at Charleroi, and Anglo-French retreat from Belgium begins. Russians advance in East Prussia. Austrians are driven from Serbia. Japan declares war on Germany. August 26 — New French ministry formed. Anglo-French forces continue retreat. Louvain is burned. Russians win in East Prussia, occupying Allenstein, and begin attack on Lemberg, in Galicia. August 29 — Germans pass second line of French defense. August 31 — Allies fall back on Paris and the Seine. The month is memorable for the battle September, of the Mame; Von Hindenburg's victory 1914. at Tannenberg; the fall of Lemberg and the beginning of the siege of Antwerp. September 1 — Von Kluck's army reaches Senlis, 25 miles north of Paris. Von Hin- denburg routs the Russians at Tannenberg, and Russians occupy Lemberg, in Galicia. September 3 — French government leaves Paris for Bordeaux. Von Kluck begins his turning movement toward the Mame. September 6 — Battle of the Mame begins with attack on Von Kluck's flank. September 7 — ^Von Kluck begins retreat of German right wing. September 10 — Whole German army in re- treat from Marne. September 12 — Battle of the Aisne begins. September 21 — The U-9 sinks British, cruisers Gressy, La Hogue and Aboukir in North Sea. September 24 — Germans reach Niemen river in Russia, and drive wedge across Meuse at St. Mihiel, south of Verdun. September 28 — Siege of Antwerp begins. October, The extension of the battle line to the 1914. North Sea coast, and the beginning of trench warfare in France and Flanders characterize this month. In the east the Germans reached Warsaw and were driven back, and Turkey entered the war. Re- bellion broke out in South Africa. October 4 — The Germans, having been de- feated on the Niemen, fall back on the East Prussian frontier. Belgian govern- ment leaves Antwerp for Ostend. October 8 — Antwerp surrenders, and Ger- mans enter the following day. October 12 — The Maritz-Beyer-De Wet re- bellion begins in South Africa. October 13 — Belgian government leaves Ostend for Havre. October 14 — British take Ypres. October 17 — Germans reach the Vistula, in Russia, and bombard Warsaw and Ivah- gorod. 10 from a half to three quarters of a million dollars each, have been destroyed during the war. SUBMARINE LOSSES Sir Norman Hill, Secretary of the Liver- pool Steamship Owner's Association, makes calculations that the effect of the German campaign on British shipping has been as follows : In the twenty-seven months of war from August, 1914, to October, 1916, 435 steam vessels of more than 1,600 tons, represent- ing 1,774,000 tons gross register, were lost through war perils. Great Britain started the war with 3,600 steamships of 16,000,000 tons gross, so that the losses represent 12 per cent, in numbers or 11 per cent, in ton- nage, being less than one-half of 1 per cent, a month. The value of the cargoes is calculated at 0.49 per cent, of the total by Sir Norman who adds : ' ' A ten shillings in one hundred pounds blockade will never starve us." A recent list of merchant steamships and sailing vessels lost in the war as a result of submarine attack, striking mines, or other hostile activities shows that in the six months that ended Sept. 30, 1916, vessels were destroyed or damaged at the average rate of almost four ships a day. Since the date the list was compiled it is said that the ratio of ships destroyed has remained about the same, which would add more than 250 vessels to the total. SI From the beginning of the war in August, 1914, to September 30, 1916, the number of merchant vessels destroyed or seriously damaged was 1,840, of a total gross register of 3,381,100 tons. Of these ships, 1,438 flew the flag of belligerent and 402 of neutral nations. The lost tonnage of the belligerent nations in the period of the war to September 30 was 2,756,583 and that of the neutral ships 624,317. Another disclosure in the latest compila- tion is that the neutral ships destroyed since April 1 comprise nearly one-fifth of the total tonnage lost; in other words, the belligerents lost 840,487 tons and the neu- trals 234,383. Of the Entente nations, Eng- land's losses in the six months covered by the compilation totaled 534,454, Italy's 146,855, France's 61,561, Japan's 9,708, Russia's 7,354, and Belgium 3,413 tons. Of the Central powers, Germany leads with a loss of 35,655 tons, Turkey is next with 33,810 tons, and Austria-Hungary next with 7,667 tons. Among the neutral nations, the greatest loss suffered was that of Norway — sixty- nine ships, with a total tonnage of 89,082. The other neutral tonnage losses in order were: Spain, 28,456; Sweden, 27,355; Greece, 25,342; Denmark, 21,932; United States, 13,783; Brazil, 2,258 tons.— New York Times. THE WAR IN AFEICA Military operations in Africa have re- ceived small attention in pre^ reports, although of considerable importance. Three great German colonies have been con- quered — The Cameroon, German Southwest Africa and German East Africa. The Cameroon was conquered by joint operations of the British and French, the work being completed by February 18, 1916. German Southwest Africa was the trophy of General Botha, after suppressing the Af- rican rebellion and capturing DeWet. The conquest was completed May 13, 1915. German East Africa fell to the com- bined efforts of British, Portuguese and Belgian troops. It was a long and arduous campaign. The work was practically fin- ished with the occupation of the German provisional seat of government, Mrogoro, August 26, 1916. The following statistics give some idea of what these conquests mean : Country Area sq. m. Populat'n Exports 1911, mks. Cameroon ..191,130 2,720,000 21,250,883 S.W. Afr'a 322,450 95,000 28,573,244 E. Africa ..384,000 10,000,000 22,437,760 Totals ...897,580 12,815,000 72,261,887 WHY THE ALLIES ARE IN GREECE The presence of the allies in Greece has been criticised by people who either do not know the facts or do not care to know 93 them. Comparison has been made between the allied action in Greece and German conduct in Belgium, Here is the true comparison : Germany violated a treaty to enter Belgium. The allies entered Greece to keep a treaty. Germany entered Belgium by violence. The allies entered Greece by invitation of the constitutional government, of which Venizelos was then premier. Germany killed Belgians and burned their towns. The allies have respected the lives and property of the Greeks. Germany has bled Belgium white with taxation. The allies have kept Greece alive with loans. Great Britain, France and Russia are the three powers that gave Greece its independ- ence and placed the father of Constantine on the throne. They are obligated by treaty to preserve the dynasty and the con- stitutional government of Greece. The treaty further provides that they may land troops on Greek soil by common agree- ment among themselves in order to fulfill their treaty obligations. When Constantine refused to recognize the vote of the people that returned the 94 Veiiizelist government after its forced resignation he over-threw constitutional government. This fact justifies the pres- ence of the allies in Greece, aside from their invitation, and aside from the fact that thej^ are there to fulfill for Greece her treaty pledge to Serbia, which Constantine refused to keep. GERMANY IN BELGIUM The report of the commission headed by Lord Bryce found, in summary, the fol- lowing indictment against Germany in Belgium : 1. In many parts of Belgium deliberate and systematically organized massacres of the civil population. 2. Large numbers of instances in which individual citizens were murdered, women violated and children slain. 3. Looting, house burning and wanton destruction of property ordered and countenanced by officers of the German army. Provision made for systematic in- cendiarism. All being part of a system of general terrorism. 4. Rules and usages of war broken by using civilians, including women and chil- dren, as a shield for advancing forces ; to a less degree by killing wounded and pris- oners. Frequent abuse of red cross and white flag. To this may be added a constantly in- creasing burden of taxation ; the removal of 95 agricultural implements and industrial ma- chinery to Germany, and, finally, the de- portation of many thousands of Belgian men to serve as the slaves of German home industries. BRITISH COLONIES AND THE WAR Australia and New Zealand have sent to the front nearly 250,000 men, and 50,000 more are under enlistment. Canada has sent about the same number, and on Decem- ber 15 had enlisted a total of 381,438 out of her 7,500,000 population. The Anzaes and the Canadians have distinguished themselves for their skill and bravery. These over-seas dominions have borne all the expense of their own forces^ — enlist- ment, training, equipment and transporta- tion. It should be kept in mind that these colonial araiies are made up wholly of vol- unteers. Neither their own governments nor the government of Great Britain has used any compulsion to recruit them. India has done valiant service and given largely in both men and money. South Africa has conquered an empire of hundreds of thou- sands of square miles. BRITISH WAR CHARITY It is estimated that over $300,000,000 has been raised in the British empire for char- ities growing out of the war. Of this aimount $75,000,000 has been devoted to the needs of her allies, the larger share of which has gone to Belgium. MILITARY TERMS IN FREQUENT USE A military force comprising all arms of Anny. the land service — infantry, cavalry, artil- lery, aeroplanes, engineers, signal corps and red cross. The term is often used to signify the whole military establishment of a nation, although this, as a matter of fact, is usually constituted in several aiTQies each under its own commander. An army is subdivided into army corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions and com- panies. Literally * ' barrier fire, ' ' sometimes called Barrage Fire. "curtain fire." A concentrated artillery bombardment so directed as to interpose a rain of shells between the attackers and the enemy, thus holding the enemy in his trenches. It is used sometimes to prevent an enemy attack, and sometimes to prevent reserves from coming to the aid of a posi- tion which is under attack. Four companies of about 250 men each, in Battalion. all about 1,000 men. Two regiments, or six battalions; about Brigade. 6,000 men. Usually two divisions, or about 40,000 men. Corps. In the German army about 43,000 men. Two brigades, or about 20,000 men, includ- Division. ing artillery and often cavalry. In the German artny it consists sometimes of three brigades. 97 Enfilade. A flanking fire from artillery, machine guns or rifles. Eschelon. A step-like formation of an attacking front. The steps are formed by the front being pushed forward to increasingly greater depths at more or less regular intervals of space. It permits of combined frontal and flank attacks. Redoubt. A field fortification; an earthwork conceal- ing guns. Regiment. Three battalions; about 3,000 men. Salient, a position that projects into the enemy front, and so exposes two sides to attack. Sector. A certain specified and limited portion of a battle front upon which one of the sub- ordinate units of an army may be operat- ing. DISTANCE MEASUREMENTS Meter. About 3 feet 3 inches. Exactly 39.37 inches. Kilometer. About two-thirds of a mile. Exactly .62137 of a mile. Verst. Often used in Russian dispatches. About two-thirds of a mile; a little more than a kilometer. LINCOLN PRINTING CO PUBLISHERS CHICAGO