LIBRARY OF RICHARD A. LONG KELLY MILLER, A. M„ LL. D. Dctm of the College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University, Washington D. C. KELLY MILLER'S HISTORY OF The World War An Intensely Human and Brilliant Account of the World War; Why America Entered the Conflict; What the Allies Fought For; And a Thrilling Account of the Import¬ ant Part Taken by the Negro in the Tragic Defeat of Germany; The Downfall of Autocracy, and Complete Victory for the Cause of Righteousness and Freedom. A Wonderful Array of Striking Pictures Made from Recent Official Photo« graphs, Illustrating and Describing the New and Awful Devices Used in the Horrible Methods of Modern Warfare, together with Remarkable Pictures of the Negro in Action in Both Army and Navy. FOfc Human INCLUDING BY KELLY MILLER, A. M., LL. D. The Well-Known and Popular Author of "Race Adjustment," "Out of the House of Bondage' and "The Disgrace of Democracy." ALSO Important Contributions by JOHN J. PERSHING, the Famous General, FREDERICK DRINKER, the Noted War Correspondent, and E. A. ALLEN, Author of "The History of Civilization." Copyright, 1919 By A. JENKINS Copyright, 1918 By O, KELLER A COLORED ACE BRINGING DOWN A GERMAN AEROPLANE. PUBLISHED BY AUSTIN JENKINS ifl.. MA NUfSvPU B LISH ERS OF HIGH GRADE SUBSCRIPTION BOOKS. WASHINGTON, 0. C., 1921 THIS COLORED HERO DIED TO SAVE HIS COMRADES (See Page 569) CONSTANT ARTILLERY FIRE AND BARRAGE ENABLE AMERICAN TROOPS TO MAKE THEIR IRRESISTIBLE ADVANCE. THIS GUN MANNED BY NEGRO GUNNERS DID WONDERFUL WORK. ONE LESS SLINKING COWARDLY SUBMARINE. A CENTER SHOT BY COLORED GUNNERS ON BOARD AN AMERICAN DESTROYER. THE NEGRO'S PART IN THE WAR By Professor Kelly Miller, the Well-Known Thinker and "Writer. This treatise will set forth the black man's part in the world's war with the logical sequence of facts and the bril¬ liant power of statement for which the author is famous. The mere announcement that the author of '1 Race Adjust¬ ment," "Out of the House of Bondage/' and "The Dis¬ grace of Democracy" is to present a history of the Negro in the great world conflict, is sufficient to arouse expectancy among the wide circle of readers who eagerly await any¬ thing that flows from his pen. In this treatise, Professor Miller will trace briefly, but with consuming interest, the relation of the Negro to the great wars of the past. He will point out the never-failing fount of loyalty and patriotism which characterizes the black man's nature, and will show that the Negro has never been a hireling, but has always been characterized by that moral energy which actuates all true heroism. The conduct of the Negro in the present struggle will be set forth with a brilliant and pointed pen. The idea of three hundred thousand American Negroes crossing three thousand miles of sea to fight against autocracy of the Ger¬ man crown constitutes the most interesting chapter in the history of this modern crusade against an unholy cause, The valor and heroism of the Afro-American contingent were second to none according to the unanimous testimony of those who were in command of this high enterprise, iv THE NEGRO'S PART IN THE WAR. The story of Negro officers in command of troops of their own color will prove the wisdom of a policy entered upon with much distrust and misgiving. It is just here that Professor Miller reaches the high-water mark. Here is a story never told before, because the world has never before witnessed Negro officers in large numbers partici¬ pating in the directive side of war waged on the high level of modern science and system. Professor Miller's treatise carries its own prophecy. He logically enough forecasts the future of the race in glow¬ ing colors as the result of his loyal and patriotic conduct in this great world epoch. The author wisely queries: "When, hereafter, the Negro asks for his rights as an American citizen, where can the American be found with the heart or the hardihood to say him, Nay?" The work will be profusely illustrated. Publishers. March 27, 1919. GENERAL PREFACE WHILE the underlying causes of the greatest war in all history must be traced far back into the centuries, the one great object of the conflict which was precipitated by the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria, in Bosnia, at the end of June, 1914, is the ultimate determination as to whether imperialism as exemplified in the government of Germany shall rule the world, or whether democracy shall reign. "Whenever men or nations disregard those principles which society has laid down for their conduct in modern civilized life, and obligation and duty are forgotten in the desire for self-advancement, conflict results. Since the days of Athens and Sparta the world's great¬ est wars have in the main been conflicts of ideals—democ¬ racy being arrayed against oligarchy—men fighting for individual rights as against militarism and military dom¬ ination. In the World War, which terminated with the sign¬ ing of the armistice, November 11, 1918, which painted the green fields of Prance and Belgium red with blood, and swept nations into the most significant and bitter struggle in all history, the fight was against the Imperial Government of Germany, by men and nations who claim that humanity the world over has rights that must be observed. Germany has brought upon herself the destruction of her government by ruthlessly trampling upon her neigh¬ bors and assuming that "might is right." The Imperial Government, led by the House of Hohen- zollern, was suffering from an exaggerated ego. Her vi GENERAL PREFACE. trouble was psychological. The men who study the strange workings and Wists of the human mind which land some men in the institutions for the criminal insane, agree that when any man becomes obsessed with an idea and " rides a hobby" to the exclusion of all else, he loses his balance and develops an obliquity of view which makes him a dan¬ gerous creature. Germany was obsessed with the spirit of militarism and almost everything else had been sacrificed to this idol. The very first appearance of Germans in history is as a warlike people. The earliest German literature is of folk¬ tales about war heroes, and these stories tell of the manly virtues of the heroes. It is true that there are many scientists, poets, and musicians among the Germans, but their warlike side must never be forgotten. The entire race is imbued with the military spirit, the influence reaching to every phase of national life. All that was best in the nation was raised to its highest efficiency through military training, but in the accomplishment of its purposes the House of Hohen- zollern, which is responsible for the development of the national fighting arm, neglected much and produced mil¬ lions of creatures who are but human machines, taught to obey orders without consideration as to the effect their acts might produce, whether right or wrong. In their criticisms of the Prussian militarism the world democracies defined militarism as an arrogant, or exclusive, professional military spirit, developed by train¬ ing and environment until it became despotic, and assumed superiority over rational motives and deliberations. This attitude was reflected in the conduct of the Kaiser, who, as illustrative of the point, is quoted at the dedi¬ cation of the monument to Prince Frederick Charles at Frankfurt-on-the-Oder in 1891, as having said, "We would GENERAL PREFACE. vii rather sacrifice our eighteen army corps and our forty-two millions inhabitants on the field of battle than surrender a single stone of what my father and Prince Charles Fred¬ erick gained.'' His speeches were filled with similar bombastic and extravagant expressions which were the subject of inter¬ national comment for many years. Other countries besides Germany have maintained great armies, but their main¬ tenance has been but an incidental part of the general busi¬ ness of the nation and there was no submerging of the spirit which seeks and demands appropriate public ideals in government and action. So that while other elements have always tended to produce friction between neighbor¬ ing countries, it was adamant, stubborn, military Prussian- ism which asserted itself in the middle of 1914 and set the world afire. Enough is known at this writing to show that the cost in lives, money, morals and weakening of humanity as a whole, is staggering, and yet the whole truth can not be real¬ ized for .years to come. In our own great struggle, which had for its object the liberation of the Negro, the scars which our country received have not yet been entirely elim¬ inated. Portions of the country devastated by the soldiers still bear the marks of the invasion, but what was lost in money and material things was made up by the welding together of the two sections of the country. The Union was made a concrete, humanitarian body of citizens. The battle was for the right and liberty triumphed. And by the defeat of Germany liberty again triumphs and the world is made a safe place in which to live. And just as America fought for liberty in the stirring days of 1776, and her peoples fought one another in the trying days of 1861-65, so America was drawn into the World's War that the principles of liberty, for which she viii GENERAL PREFACE. has ever stood, might be perpetuated throughout the world, and that an international peace might be estab¬ lished, which has for its purposes the ending of such con¬ vulsions as have shaken the world since August, 1914, since the first shots were fired in fair Belgium by German invaders. CONTENTS CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY Civilization at Issue—The German Empire—Character op William II—The Obeat Conspiracy—The War by Years—United States in the Was—Two Hundred Fifty Miles of Battle—The Downfall of Turkey—The Demo¬ cratic Close of the War 17 CHAPTER II GEN. PERSHING'S OWN STORY Organization of His General Staff—Training in France—In the Aisne Of¬ fensive—At Chateau Thierry—The St. Mihiel Salient—Meuse-Argonne, First Phase—The Battle in the Forest—Summary 49 CHAPTER III PRESIDENT WILSON'S REVIEW OF THE WAR Troop Movement During the Year—Tribute to American Soldiers—Splendid Spirit of the Nation—Resume the Work of Peace—Outline of Work in Paris—Support of Nation Urged 79 CHAPTER IV THE FLASH THAT SET THE WORLD AFLAME Teutons Find in a Murder the Excuse for War—Germany Inspired by Am- bitions for World Control—The Struggle for Commercial Supremacy a Factor—The Underlying Motives 89 CHAPTER V WHY AMERICA ENTERED THE WAR The Iron Hand of Prussianism—The Arrogant Hohenzollern Attitude— Secretary Lane Tells Why We Fight—Broken Pledges—Laws Violated —Prussianism the Child of Barbarity—Germany's Plans for a Worbd Empire 97 CHAPTER VI THE THINGS THAT MADE MEN MAD Germany's Barbarity—The Devastation of Belgium—Human Fiends—Fire¬ brand and Torch—Rape and Pillage—The Sacking of Louvain—Wanton Destruction—Official Proof 113 CHAPTER VII THE SLINKING SUBMARINE A Voracious Sea Monster—The Ruthless Destructive Policy of Germany— Starvation of Nations the Goal—How the Submarines Operate—Some Personal Experiences 135 ix CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII THWARTING THE U-BOAT Nets to Entangle the Sea Sharks of Wae—"Chasers" or "Skimming dish" Boats—"Blimps" and Seaplanes—Hunting the Submarine With "Lance," Bomb and Gun—A Sailor's Description 154 CHAPTER IX THE EYES OF BATTLE Aeroplanes and Airships—They Spy the Movements of Forces on Land or Sea—Lead Disastrous Bomb Attacks—Valuable in "Spotting" Sub¬ marines—The Bombardment at Messines Ridge 170 CHAPTER X WAR'S STRANGE DEVICES Chemistry a Demon op Destruction—Poison Gas Bombs—Gas Masks—Hand Grenades—Mortars—"Tanks"—Feudal "Battering Rams"—Steel Hel¬ mets—Strange Bullets—Motor Plows—Real Dogs of Wae. 185 CHAPTER XI WONDERFUL WAR WEAPONS The Terrible Rapid-fire Gun—Armored Automobiles and Automobile Artillery —Howitzers—Mounted Forts—Armored Trains—Observation Towers— Wireless Apparatus—The Army Pantry 205 CHAPTER XII THE WORLD'S ARMIES The Efficient German Organization—The Landwehr and Landsturm— General Forms of Military Organization—The Brave French Troops— The Picturesque Italian Soldiery—The Peace and War Strength- Available Fighting Men—Fortifications 221 CHAPTER XIII THE WORLD'S NAVIES Germany's Sea Strength—Great Britain's Immense War Fleet—Immense Fighting Craft—The United States' New Battle Cruisers—The Fastest and Biggest Ocean Fighting Ships—The Picturesque Marines: The Soldiers of the Sea 243 CHAPTER XIV THE NATIONS AT WAR ' - it Unexpected Developments—How the Was Flames Spread—A Score of Coun¬ tries Involved—The Points of Contact—Picturesque and Rugged Bulgaria, Roumania, Servia, Greece, Italy and Historic Southeast Europe 259 CONTENTS. xi CHAPTER XV MODERN WAR METHODS Individual Initiative as Against Mass Movements—Trench Warfare a Game of Hide and Seek—Rats and Disease—Surgery's Triumphs—Changed Tac¬ tics—Italian Mountain Fighting 281 CHAPTER XVI WOMAN AND THE WAR S'he has Won "Her Place in the Sun"—Rich and Poor in the Munitions Factories—'Nurse and Ambulance Driver—Khaki and Trousers—Organ¬ izer and Farmer—Heroes in the Stress of Circumstances—Dying Men's Work for Men—Even a "Bobbie" 298 CHAPTER XVII THE TERRIBLE PRICE A Nation of Men Destroyed—Millions in Shipping and Commerce Destroyed— World's Maps Changed—Billions in Money—Immense Debts—Nation's Wealth—The United States a Great Provider 316 CHAPTER XVIII THE WORLD RULERS AT WAR Woodrow Wilson, the Champion of Democracy—The Egotistical Kaiseb— The German Crown Prince—Britain's Monarch—Constantine Who Quit Rather than Fight Germany—President Poincare—And Other National Heads 323 CHAPTER XIX THE WAR'S WHO'S WHO Striking Figures in the Conflict—Joffke, the Hero of Marne—Nivelle, the French Commander—Sir Douglas Haig—The Kaiser's Chancellor—Ven- izelos—"Black Jack" Pershing 344 CHAPTER XX CHEMISTRY IN THE WAR Substitutes for Cotton—Nitrates Produced from Air—Yeast a Real Sub¬ stitute for Beef—Seaweed Made to Give up Potash—A Gangrene Pre¬ ventative—Soda Made Out of Salt Water—America Chemically Indepen¬ dent 361 CHAPTER XXI OUR NEIGHBORING ALLY Canada's Recruiting—Raise 33,000- Troops in Two Months—First Expedi¬ tion aky Force to Cross Atlantic—Bravery at Ypres and Lens—Meeting Difficult Problems—Quebec Aroused by Conscription 371 xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXII THE HEROIC ANZAC Forces that Stirred the Wobld in the Gallipoli Campaign—Famotts as Sap¬ pers—The Blasting of Messines Ridge—Two Years Tunnelling—30,000 Germans Blown to Atoms—1,000,000 Pounds of Explosives Used—Troops that Were Transported 11,000 Miles 390 CHAPTER XXIII AMERICA STEPS IN President Wilson's Famous Message to Congress—The War Resolution— April 6, 1917, Sees the United States at War—Review of the Negotia¬ tions Between Germany and America—The U-Boat Restricted Zone An¬ nouncement of Germany—Premier Lloyd George on America in the Con¬ flict 399 CHAPTER XXIV UNCLE SAM TAKES HOLD Makes World's Biggest War Loan—Seize German Ships—Intrigue Exposed— General Pershing and Staff in Europe—The Navy on Duty in North Sea —First United States Troops Reach France—Germany's Attempts to Sink Troop Ships Thwarted by Navy's Guns 427 CHAPTER XXV A GERMAN CRISIS The Downfall of Bethmann-Hollweg—The Crown Prince in the Lime Light <—Hollweg's Unique Career—Dr. Georg Michaelis Appointed Chancellor -.-The Kaiser and How He Gets His Immense Power 444 CHAPTER XXVI UNCLE SAM AND THE NEUTRALS President Wilson Puts Embargo on Food Shipments—Scandinavian Countries Furnishing Supplies to Germany Inspires Order—The Difficult Position of Norway, Denmark, Holland and Switzerland 452 CHAPTER XXVII THE ACTIONS OF THE WAR From Bosnia to Flanders—Marne the Turning Point of the Conflict The Conquests of Servia and Rumania—The Fall of Bagdad—Russia's Women Soldiers—America's Conscripts 433 CHAPTER XXVIII AMERICAN FORCES BECOME FACTOR United Sttes Soldiers Inspired Allied Troops—Russian Government Col¬ lapses—Italian Army Fails—Allied War Council Formed Foch Com¬ mands Allied Armies—Pershing Offers American Troops—Under Fire U-Boat Bases Raided by British 473 CONTENTS. xiii CHAPTER £XIX AMERICANS TURN WAR'S TIDE Brilliant American Fighting Stops Hun Advance—French and Bbitish In- shred—Famous Marines Lead in Picturesque Attack—Halt Germans at Chatteau-Thierry—Used Open Style Fighting—Thousands of Germans Slain—United States Troops in Siberia—New Conscription Bill Passed— Allied Successes on All Fronts 489 CHAPTER XXX VICTORY—PEACE The German Empire Collapses—Foch's Strategy Wins—American Inspiration a Big Factor—Bulgaria, Turkey and Aushtia Quit War—Monarchs Fall—Kaiser Abdicates and Flees Germany—Armistice Signed—November 11, Peace 497 THE NEGRO IN THE WORLD WAR 507 The f modern times. Her population doubled, her foreign trade increased four fold, her shipping grew by leaps and bounds. Her army became so perfected that it was ac¬ knowledged to be the greatest military machine the world had ever seen; she was building a navy that threatened the supremacy of England on the sea. BUILT ON A FOUNDATION OF SAND. In spite of this brilliant development, the empire rested on a foundation of sand. You will never under¬ stand the World War unless you grasp this thought and its justification. The government was autocratic, though under the form of a constitutional government. The entire military class in Germany held to theories of government of national rights and wrongs that belonged to the middle ages. Theories of state-craft which the world long since outgrew were proclaimed and taught, and enforced by every means at command of the government, the military INTRODUCTORY. 21 class, the professors, scientists and theologians of Ger¬ many. Education and religion were state controlled. As a consequence, every German child from his cradle to his grave was under the influence of state officials and never allowed to forget reverence for the kaiser, the glorious military record of Germany, German supremacy in every department of culture. Such a government was hopelessly behmd modern ideas. WILLIAM II. William II was the third emperor of Germany,—also the last. His reign began, in pomp and ceremony, June 15,1888, it ended in the darkness and gloom of night, shortly before the signing of the armistice, November 11, 1918. Other reigns have been longer in duration; none surpassed his in deeds. When his reign began he said he wculd lead his people to "shining days." He did so; but "shining days" ended in despairing night. Personally, William II was an able man, but he was not well balanced. In the early days of his reign, Bismarck confided to a friend that it would some day be necessary for Germany to confine William II in an insane asylum. We must remember his lineage, his long line of ancestors dating back to the Robber Knights of the Middle Ages, all used to the exercise of autocratic power. Medieval conceptions were his by inheritance. He believed he was divinely commissioned to rule Germany; he said so in his speeches. He believed he was a man of destiny who was to advance Germany to the zenith of earthly greatness; he himself, not someone else, asserted this. He asserted that while Napoleon failed in his great scheme of con¬ quest, he, by God's help, would succeed. Every promi¬ nent military leader in Germany applauded such beliefs. He said that when he contemplated.the paintings of his 22 INTRODUCTORY. ancestors, and the military chiefs of Germany, who ad¬ vanced the insignificant Mark of Brandenbury to the rank of the most powerful state in Europe, they seemed to re¬ proach him for not being active in similar work. But we now know that he was not idle. ACTIVITIES IN WHICH HE WAS INTERESTED. One year after the accession of William II he paid a spectacular visit to "his friend" (as he called him) Abdul Hamid, Sultan of Turkey, the head of one of the most cruel, licentious, incompetent, blood-thirsty governments that ever cursed the world; greeted him with a kiss, put on a Turkish uniform (fez and all), and assured the Moham¬ medan world that he was henceforth their friend. The ignorant Turks actually supposed he had become a Mo¬ hammedan and native papers spoke of him as "His Islamic Holiness.,, In the light of history, the meaning of all this is so clear that he who runs may read, and the wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein. This visit was repeated in 1898. For more than twenty years every effort was made to extend German influence in Turkey, because that country with its minerals, its oils, its wonderfully strong strategical location was vital to the success of a vast scheme of conquest official Germany with William II as leader was contemplating. PAN-GERMANISM. Two years after his accession, there was organized the Pan-Germanic League. This League soon attracted-to-its ranks the entire class of Prussian Junkers, virtually all the military class, and a galaxy of writers and speakers. The purpose of the league was to foster in the minds of German people the idea that it was their privilege, right and duty to extend the power, influence and political dom¬ inance of Germany to all parts of the world, peacefully if INTRODUCTORY. 23 possible, otherwise by the sword. This doctrine was taught openly and boldly in Germany in books and pamphlets and by means of lectures with such frankness and fullness of details that the world at large laughed at it as an ex¬ uberant dream of fanatics. Intellectual, military, and offi¬ cial Germany was in earnest. Her generals wrote books illustrated with maps showing the stages of world con¬ quest; her professors patiently explained how necessary all this was to Germany's future; while her theologians pointed out it was God's will. But the world at large, except uneasy France, slept on. OUTWORKINGS OF THE PLOT. It was this vision that fired the imagination of "Wil¬ liam II. He was to be the Augustus of this greater Roman Empire; over virtually all the earth the House of Hohen- zollern was to exercise despotic sway. Then began prepa¬ ration for the World's War. With characteristic German thoroughness and patience the plans were laid. Thorough¬ ness, since they embraced every conceivable means that would enhance their prospect of victory, her military lead¬ ers, scientists and statesmen were all busy. Patience, since they realized there was much to do. Many years were needed and Germany refused to be hurried. She carefully attended to every means calculated to increase the com¬ merce and industry of the empire, but with it all—under¬ lying it all—were activities devoted to preparation for world conquest. Building for world empire, Germany could afford to take time. PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED. Time was needed to solve the military problems in¬ volved. A nation aspiring to territory extending from Hamburg to Bagdad must firmly control the Balkan States. That meant that Austria must become, in effect, 24 INTRODUCTORY. a German province; Serbia must be crushed, Bulgaria must become an ally; and Turkey must be broug un control. In 1913, two of these desired results were attained. Turkey was to a surprising degree under the military and economic control of Germany. Austria had become such a close ally that she might almost be styled a vassal of Germany. She faithfully carried out the wishes of Ger¬ many in 1908 when she annexed the Serbian states of Bosnia and Herzegovnia, a step she felt safe in taking since (the Kaiser's own words) behind her was the "shining sword of Germany.'' It were tedious to enlarge on this point. Let it suffice to say that in 1914 Germany felt her¬ self ready for the conflict. Enormous supplies of guns, of a caliber before unthought of, and apparently inexhaust¬ ible supplies of ammunition had been prepared; strategic railroads had been built by which armies and supplies could be hurried to desired points; the Kiel Canal had been completed; her navy had assumed threatening proportions; her army, greatly enlarged, was in perfect readiness. THE REAL CAUSES OF THE WAR. The real cause of the war is now disclosed. It is not necessary to discuss other possible causes. The pistol shot at Serajevo was the occasion, not the cause of the war. The simple fact is that on one pretext or another war would have come anyway, simply because Germany was ready. In 1913 the speakers of the Pan-German League were go¬ ing to and fro in Germany making public speeches on all possible occasions, warning the people to be ready, telling them "There was the smell of blood in the air," that the wrath of God was about to be visited upon the nations that would hem Germany in. We now know from official sources that Germany was eager for war in the fateful days of July 1914, when France and England were almost beg- INTRODUCTORY. 25 ging for peace. All this is made exceedingly clear in the secret memoirs of Prince Lichnowski, German ambassador to England, the published statements of the premier of Bavaria, also those of the Prince of Monaco, and the rec¬ ords of the Potsdam council over which the Kaiser pre¬ sided, secretly convened one week after the murder of the Prince. There were present the generals, diplomats and bankers of Germany. DECISION FOR WAR. The matter of possible war was carefully considered. To the earnest question of the emperor, all present assured him that the interests they represented were ready, with the exception of the financiers who desired two weeks' time in which to make financial arrangements for the coming storm. This was given them, and the council adjourned. The emperor, to divert suspicion, hurried off on a yacht¬ ing trip while the financiers immediately commenced dis¬ posing of their foreign securities. The stock markets of London, Paris, and New York during that interval of time bear eloquent testimony to the truth of these assertions. Two weeks and three days after the council adjourned, Austria sent her ultimatum to Serbia. The truth of these statements is vouched for by Henry Morgenthau, Ameri¬ can ambassador to Turkey. Thus were unleashed the dogs of war. For four long years they rioted in blood. To advance dynastic ambitions and national greed, millions of Armenian Christians were tortured, outraged and murdered; hapless Belgians were ravished and put to the sword, their cities made charnal heaps; millions of men—the fairest sons of many lands- gave up their lives, and anguished hearts sobbed out their grief in desolated homes, while generations to come will feel the crushing financial burdens this struggle has en¬ tailed with its heritage of woe. 26 INTRODUCTORY. THE WAR BY YEARS. We must now gain a general view of the events of the war. Every well-informed man or woman feels the neces¬ sity of such outline knowledge. It was not only the great¬ est war in history, but it was our war. Our liberties were threatened. Rivers and hamlets of France are invested with new interest. There, our American boys are sleeping; they died that our Republic might live. We may regard the annals of other wars with languid interest; those of this war grip our hearts, our breath comes quicker as we read; we experience a glow of patriotic pride. We shall let each year of the war tell its story. Of necessity we can only record the main events, the peaks of each year's achieve¬ ments. EVENTS OF 1914. A state of war was declared to exist in Germany, July 31, 1914. Four days later Germany had mobilized five large armies with full supplies on the extended line from Metz northward along the eastern boundary of France— a distance of about 130 miles. That mobilization was a wonderful exhibition of military efficiency. From Verdun to Paris, slightly southwest, is also about 130 miles. The German plan of campaign may be crudely stated as follows: Regard that extended line as a flail ready to fall, hinged near Verdun, moved in a circle until the north¬ ern tip, under command of Von Kluck, should fall with all the energy Germany could put into the blow on Paris. In the meantime, the other armies would crush back, out¬ flank, defeat, and capture the small British and hastily mobilized French armies that confronted them along the entire line. It was believed that a short campaign would crush France, over-awe Great Britain, and end the war in the West. It was thought that six weeks would be ample to accomplish this result. INTRODUCTORY. 27 BELGIAN RESISTANCE. Germany expected that at the most a day or so would see Belgian resistance broken and the dash on Paris be¬ gun. It. was not safe to start such a forward rush with Belgium unconquered. This was the first of many, many mistakes made by Germany. It required two weeks to break down this resistance. Thus the northern end of the flail was held and movement along the entire line was slowed down or suspended. The unexpected delay saved France. Let us remember this when we read the story of Belgium's martyrdom, a story written in blood. Then began the fulfillment of the threat of William II to the Prince of Monaco "the world will see what it never dreamed of." And truly the world never dreamed of the terrible scenes that attended the sack of Louvain (August 26). Not until after the situation in Belgium had been given a bloody setting did the first dash on Paris begin (August 23). RETREAT TO THE MARNE. We are now approaching the "Miracle of the Marne." The line of German armies along the eastern frontier of France were confronted by the forces of France, hastily mobilized during the delay occasioned by the heroic but pathetically futile resistance of Belgium. The first Eng¬ lish army had also assumed a position before the menac¬ ing rush of the German forces. The only thing the Allies could do was to retreat. This movement, directed by Gen¬ eral Jofdre, was a remarkably able one. His plan was to give ground before the advance without risking a deci¬ sive battle until he could rearrange his forces and gain a favorable position. Only with difficulty was the retreat saved from becoming a great disaster when the British army was defeated at Mons-Charleroi (August 21-3). Ap¬ parently, the German forces were carrying everything 28 INTRODUCTORY. before them as the retreat continued. The flail, swinging from Metz to Belgium, was falling with crushing effect along the entire front, the movement being very rapid at the western but slow at the eastern end. It was centered at Verdun because it was not safe to leave that fortress unconquered in the rear. THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE MARNE. The Marne is a small river in France, gently cours¬ ing from the water-shed south of Verdun to the Seine near Paris, its general course convex to the north. It will hereafter rank as one of the storied rivers of history, the scene of mighty battles, where the red tide of German suc¬ cess ebbed in its flow. The night of September 4, the German armies were in position along this river in an irregularly curved line slightly convex to the south from a point only twenty-five miles east of Paris to Verdun, one hundred and twenty-five miles, slightly to the north¬ east., The evening of that day, General Joffre issued orders for a general attack all along the line. His mes¬ sage to the French Senate was couched in words of deep meaning,—he had made, he said, the best disposition pos¬ sible. France could only await in hope the outcome. The battle that began the next day continued for one week and ended with a victory for the Allies as the German armies were forced back everywhere, a varying distance, to a line of defense prepared back of the Aisne River, to the north and east. This was a marvelous result. Just as the world was waiting with bated breath to hear of the fall of Paris, it heard instead, that the German army was in retreat. It was truly a miracle. Why not see in it proof that a Power infinitely greater than that of man was directing events ? INTRODUCTORY. 29 THE MAGNITUDE OF THE BATTLE. The battle front covered a distance of about 125 miles. The forces engaged numbered about 1,500,000 men. Thus this battle far exceeds in magnitude the battle of Mukden, previously considered the greatest battle of modern times"; while the great battle of Waterloo was an insignificant skirmish in comparison. It is of further interest to learn that Allied success was largely the result of the use of flying machines for scouting purposes, which enabled General Joffre to take instant advantage of tactical mis¬ takes of General Yon Kluck. The results were commen¬ surate with the immensity of the struggle. Paris was saved; the first period of the war in the west was ended; Germany was rudely awakened from her dream of easy conquest. THE BATTLE OF TANNENBERG. The success of the Allies in the west was in a measure offset by Teutonic victories in the east. When the inva¬ sion of Belgium began, Russia made immediate efforts to counteract by invasion of East Prussia. She was success¬ ful to the extent of drawing to that section a number of army corps that would otherwise have taken part in the Marne campaign. These movements culminated in the battle of Tannenberg, commencing August 26, 1914. Tan- nenberg is nearly one hundred miles southeast of Konigs- burg. This was the battle that gave General Von Hinden- burg his fame. He was a native of East Prussia, and acquainted with the country, but had lived in retirement for some years. Appointed to command, he made such a skillful disposition of his troops that the. Russian army was virtually annihilated, less than one corps escaped by headlong flight. According to German authority, 70,000 Russians were captured. General Von Hinderburg was acclaimed the greatest soldier of the day, and was imme- 30 INTRODUCTORY. diately appointed field marshal in command of all the German forces in the east. EVENTS OF 1915. The year 1915 was one of meager results, the advan¬ tages remaining on the side of the Central Powers, with this understanding, however: The Allies were growing stronger because Great Britain was making rapid progress in marshaling her resources for war. On the west front, the long, irregular line of trenches, from Switzerland on the south to Ostend on the North Sea, marking the Ger¬ man retreat after the battle of the Marne, remained with¬ out substantial jdhange. Do not understand there were no battles along that extended line. Almost daily there were conflicts that in former wars would have been given a place among the world's great battles. They are scarcely worth mentioning in the annals of this war. Back and forth across that narrow line surged the red tide without decisive changes in position. There were attacks and coun¬ ter attacks of the most sanguinary nature near Calais. The first instance of the use of gas in war occurred in these battles, at the second battle of Ypres, 3£pril 23, 1915. ON THE EAST FRONT. In spite of the great reverse at Tannenberg, Russia was not defeated. Her armies in Galicia (Northeastern Hungary) were winning important battles. A determined effort was made in 1915 by Germany to crush Russia and thus retire her from the war. For days at a time, on the railroads of East Germany, double headed trains were passing every fifteen minutes, loaded with troops and munitions withdrawn from the western front which ac¬ counts for the comparative quiet in that section, which in turn gave Great Britain time to prepare in earnest. And INTRODUCTORY. 31 so it was that during a large part of 1915 Russia had to withstand the shock of war. Russian soldiers were brave \ her generals able, but the whole official life was more or less corrupt. The poison of German propaganda was at work. Her ammunition was totally insufficient. Immense supplies made in France according to specifications furnished by high officials in Russia did not fit the guns they were in¬ tended to serve. There were already signs of the approach¬ ing utter collapse of Russia as a world power, then more than a year distant in time. In spite of these drawbacks we read of brilliant but futile efforts of her poorly equipped army to stem the tide of Teutonic success that soon began. Before the close of the year Poland was entirely over¬ run by German forces. It seemed for a time as if Petro- grad itself must fall. In short, it was thought that Russia was crushed. Then it was that the Kaiser wrote to his sister, the Queen of Greece, "having crushed Russia, the rest of Europe will soon tremble before me." But when 1915 ended a line of trenches from Riga on the north to Czernowitz on the south still guarded the frontiers of Russia. THE DARDANELLES CAMPAIGN. This campaign began in December, 1914, and con¬ tinued during 1915. It was an effort on the part of the Allies to force the Dardanelles, capture Constantinople, and inflict a crushing blow on Turkey. This effort was a dismal failure for the Allies, but had all the effect of a decisive victory for Turkey and her allies. The fact that the attack was failing had considerable to do with induc¬ ing Bulgaria to enter the war on the side of Germany. The immediate result of this step on the part of Bulgaria was the complete crushing of Serbia (October 6-December 32 INTRODUCTORY. 2), and this in turn made possible full and free railroad transportation between Germany on the north and Turkey on the south. The net result was to greatly strengthen the Teutonic allies. The conduct of Turkey in the war was marked by most atrocious treatment of the Armen¬ ians. Belgium on the north, Armenia on the south, are blood-stained chapters in the annals of war. EVENTS OF 1916. Apparently believing that Russia was so badly crip¬ pled that she could not again peril Austria-Hungary or wrest Poland from the grasp of Germany, the latter country gathered her available resources for a decisive, crushing blow in France. We have several times men¬ tioned Verdun. It is well to study its location on the map, about 130 miles slightly north of east of Paris. It is a city of great historic interest, beautifully located in the Meuse valley with its approach defended by low-lying ranges of hills through which lead numerous defiles. At this city, more than a thousand years ago, was concluded the celebrated treaty of Verdun that settled the disputes between the grandsons of Charlemagne, and this consti¬ tutes a landmark in the early history of France. It was Verdun that held back the southern end of the flail wherewith France was to be crushed in 1914; in the battle of the Marne it held the eastern or left wing of the long German line, which could not advance and leave Verdun unsubdued in the rear. The German Crown Prince was in command near Verdun. His ideal was Napoleon. His private library contained nearly everything ever written about that great general. He was exceedingly anxious to pose as the conqueror of France. To strengthen his dynasty, the Kaiser was also anxious that his son should take a prominent part. Accordingly it was planned INTRODUCTORY. 33 to gather an enormous army under his command, over¬ whelm Verdun and smash through to Paris. Thus Prince Wilhelm would be enrolled among the great commanders of history. Yon Hindenburg was opposed to this plan, he wanted to finish up his work so happily begun in Russia. But the Crown Prince had his way; and immense supplies of guns, ammunition, and men were withdrawn from the eastern front and massed at Yerdun. THE GREAT BATTLE OF VERDUN. The annals of history record no battle approaching in duration, artillery fire, and awful sacrifice than the bat¬ tle that enveloped Verdun for six months, beginning Feb¬ ruary 21, 1916. Other battles have been fought along more extended fronts and thus engaged larger numbers of troops; but none ever presented in a more acute form the issue of national life or death. The stand of the heroic Greeks at Thermoplae denying passage to the hosts of Persia was not more vital to the cause of civilization than this storied defense of Verdun. The reflective writer can but notice that in every campaign of the war, when fur¬ ther success of the German armies meant victory, it was as if an unseen Power decreed '1 thus far and no further.'' It was so at Verdun. The French soldier, calmly going to death, chanting "They shall not pass," did not die in vain. THE BATTLE ITSELF. The French were taken somewhat by surprise as they had not expected such an early attack or that its fury would break at Verdun. Of course it was known that a great force was being assembled, but no one dreamed of the enormous concentration of guns of all kinds that were made. They literally cumbered the ground and the shells assembled were in keeping. The German generals were 34 INTRODUCTORY. so confident of success that foreign correspondents were invited to be present to witness the resistless onslaught. The evening before the attack began there was a banquet at the German headquarters, the Kaiser and all his not¬ able generals (but not Yon Hindenburg) were present. The toast was "After four days, Yerdun; then Paris.'' They estimated that it would take possibly three weeks to accomplish their ends. Evidently among the uninvited and unseen guests were Defeat and Death. The attack that commenced the next day lasted with but slight interruptions until October. It is interesting to remark that more shot and shell wTere used in this battle than the total used during the four years of the Civil War in America on both sides. Yerdun itself was reduced to ruins. Considerable portions of the fortified area to the north of Yerdun were captured, including the important forts Douamont and Yaux, but the entire attack failed. The minor successes achieved were won with an appalling loss of life and were easily retaken by the French later in the fall. Yerdun was renamed by the German soldiers as "The Grave,'' and such it truly was to the hopes of victory and peace that inspired the toast at the Yerdun banquet. CONQUEST OF ROUMANIA Roumania is one of the Balkan States. Her entry into the second Balkan war in 1913 was one of the deci¬ sive factors against Bulgaria. After the entry of Bulgaria into the World War in 1915 the pressure became very strong on Roumania by Russia to come into the war on the side of the Allies. The summer of 1916 Russia had reorganized her forces, and the war in the west was going against Germany at Yerdun and along the Somme. This was deemed an opportune time for Roumania to enter the war and so, with no principles at stake, Roumania declared INTRODUCTORY. war on Austria, August 27, 1916. The response of Ger¬ many and Bulgaria to this new menace was prompt and decisive. Before the end of the year Roumania was crushed, the capital city, Bucharest, was taken. Roumania was not at all prepared to wage war on the scale this war had assumed, but the immediate cause of her easy con¬ quest was the failure of Russia to keep her promises of assistance. Russia, undermined by German intrigue, with traitors at court, was already tottering to her fall. EVENTS OF 1917. The year 1917 witnessed startling changes in the group* ing of the belligerent powers. The three largest republics in the world—China, Brazil, and the United States,—were drawn into the war on the side of the Entente Allies. Other small nations, members of the Pan-American Union, joined with the United States in this action. Other South American nations showed their sympathy with the United States by severing diplomatic relations with Germany. In Europe, Greece made a formal declaration of war July 2, 1917. Thus all of the Balkan States were finally in¬ volved. To complete the record, we must note that Siam in Asia and Liberia in Africa also joined the Entente Allies. Never before in history had there been such an alignment of nations for purposes of war. It was signifi¬ cant of one thing,—growing resentment against what had long been recognized as the criminal ambitions of Ger¬ many to dominate the world. THE UNITED STATES IN WAR. April 6, 1917, will hereafter be one of the most im¬ portant dates in the annals of this republic. Then it was that Congress in a joint resolution declared a state of war existed between the United States and Germany, and 36 INTRODUCTORY. authorized the President to employ the naval and military power of our country to carry on the war and pledged all our resources to that end. We can now see that the hidden currents of national destiny were tending in an irresistible way to war on the part of the United States. Every consideration of national safety and every prin¬ ciple that we hold dear, demanded that we should re¬ spond to the call of the President to arms. Then com¬ menced the wonderful preparations for war on the part of the United States. Official Germany in conversation with Minister Gerard, before the rupture of diplomatic relations, laughed to scorn the thought that the United States could render any military aid worth considering to her allies. Germany in the fall of 1917 was not laughing. THE COLLAPSE OF RUSSIA. The collapse of Russia was the second great event of 1917. It was the result of a long train of causes. Let it suffice to say that treachery in high places backed by German propaganda, had undermined the government. March 15, 1917, the storm broke. The utter overthrow of autocratic rule in Russia was one of those explosive out¬ breaks, but few of which have occurred in history. In a single day the old order of government passed away never to return in Russia. It was a revolution as thorough¬ going as its prototype, the French revolution of 1789, and it soon developed equal scenes of horror. After some months of struggle, the government of Russia passed under the control of the Bolsheviki and anarchy followed, out¬ doing the scenes of the French commune. The immediate effect on the war- was to retire Russia from the conflict, thus releasing a large army and its supplies for service elsewhere. INTRODUCTORY. 37 THE ITALIAN REVERSE. Having achieved such signal successes in the east, Rus¬ sia and Roumania being both disposed of, the German leaders planned a campaign designed to crush Italy. In the summer of 1917 the Italian front was along the Isonza River in Austrian territory. The test of Italian endur¬ ance was at hand. A great force of Austrians and Ger¬ mans was assembled along the river. As was usual in all Teutonic drives, endeavors were made by propaganda work to break down the morale of the Italian troops. This effort consisted in spreading fearsome accounts of the crushing nature of the blow about to fall, the foUy of further resistance, and the advantages to be gained by accepting the generous terms of peace their true friends —their former allies—were ready to grant. This effort had an effect, but Italy was not Russia. The drive began October 24th. It was a very pro¬ nounced Teutonic success, though the great object of the drive was not achieved. In three weeks' time the Italians were forced back from the Isonza to the Piava River line; nearly 200,000 soldiers had been captured, together with immense supplies of all kinds. But yet Italy was not crushed, the German forces were firmly held along the Piava. We should reflect that in the World War millions were engaged and the loss of one or even two hundred thousand men did not mean the end of the war. EVENTS OF 1918. The Allies could only hope to defend their position on the west front against the impending offensive on the part of Germany, for which preparations on a vast scale were being made, until reinforcements from the United States could reach them sufficient to enable them to take the of¬ fensive in their turn. Germany hastened its preparations 38 INTRODUCTORY. through the winter months of 1917-18, for they knew they must win a decisive victory to crush the armies of France and England before the United States could give efficient assistance. It was a race between America and Germany, and America won. With the assistance of the British and French merchant marine and such shipping as could be procured at home the American forces were landed in France in the most astonishing numbers ever recorded. The fears of Germany, the'hopes of the Allies were alike exceeded by the forces sent across the ocean. The first of July, 1918, there were one million American soldiers in France. They came just in time to avert disaster. GERMAN OFFENSIVE IN 1918. The initiative was with Germany, and the German command selected the British army in position along the Scarpe River, north of Cambria, to the Oise River—a dis¬ tance of sixty miles—as the object of the first drive. The assault began the morning of March 21, 1918. Along the entire front the artillery fire that opened the drive was on the scale never before approached in war. More than one million men, the choicest troops of Germany, were ready to assault the British lines and they came on, wave after wave, and Germany came perilously near success in her efforts to break through the British lines. The British were driven back beyond the lines of the battle of the Somme in 1916, important towns were captured, but their lines still held. The first phase of the great battle—known in history as the battle of Picardy—was a defeat to Ger¬ man hopes. WHEN THE AMERICANS CAME. From the opening of the great offense of March 21 1918, to the signing of the armistice, November 11 1918* there were few days when there were not battles raging INTRODUCTORY. 39 at several places along the west front extending from near Metz in a prolonged sweep, west to Rheims, thence in an irregular curved line convex toward Paris curving to the North Sea near Dixmude approximately 250 miles in length. There were days and weeks when battles of great intensity raged at certain sections, then died away in that vicinity to break in fury elsewhere. Organized efforts on a large scale in certain directions were called drives. Until July the initiative was with Germany, that is to sny the Allies were on the defensive. They were waiting fr»i reinforcements from America. Germany was making des¬ perate efforts to win a decisive victory and force peace on their terms before effective aid could arrive. TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES OF BATTLE, At this point try to realize what these statements im¬ ply. We do not grasp their meaning. A battle front of two hundred and fifty miles! And along that line at least ten million men were facing each other with other mil¬ lions in reserve. Trench lines were strung along most of the front. Not simply one line of trenches, but several, with connecting trenches, the opposing lines being at places only a few hundred yards apart. As the struggle con¬ tinued, however, it became more and more a war in the open. This series of struggles are undoubtedly the greatest exertion of military power in the history of the world. Never before had such masses of munitions been used; never before had scientific knowledge been so drawn on in the service of war. Thousands of airplanes were pa¬ trolling the air, sometimes scouting, sometimes dropping bombs on hostile troops or on hostile stores, sometimes flying low, firing their machine guns into the faces of marching troops. Thousands upon thousands of great 40 INTRODUCTORY. guns were sending enormous projectiles, which made great pits wherever they fell. Swarms of machine guns were pouring their bullets like water from a hose upon charg¬ ing soldiers. It was an inferno such as Dante never dreamed of. The Fifteen Decisive Battles of history of which we have heard—all put together,—were exceeded day after day in the summer of 1918 when Germany was making her last desperate effort. Thus for weeks the red tide of war ebbed and flowed, while civilization trembled in the balance. UNIFIED COMMAND. It was clearly seen by the Allied leaders that appoint¬ ing a generalissimo to command all their forces was a necessity. This command was given to General Ferdinand Foch, who had won fame in the battle of the Marne and who was recognized as one of the greatest strategists of the day. Events soon demonstrated the wisdom of this step. No general ever commanded such armies as he. Napoleon, Yon Moltke, Grant and Lee were great generals, but everything connected with this war was on a scale never before approached, and we can say that the quali¬ ties of leadership displayed by Marshal Foch were nec¬ essarily on a higher plane of action—and we can say this without in the least detracting from the just fame of other Allied commanders—as Pershing, Haig, Allenby, Diaz and others. When the war opened, Germany had much to say about her unconquerable army; her generals were supposed to be superior in a military way to any others. The war showed that other soldiers were just as brave, other gen¬ erals just as able. The fetish of German military invinci¬ bility was early overthrown. AMERICAN ASSISTANCE. No American can read the story of the part America took in the war without experiencing a glow of patriotic INTRODUCTORY. 41 feeling. Every Allied nation can say the same thing. We came late into the struggle, but no nation in history ever made such wonderful preparation for war as did our coun¬ try in the eighteen months that elapsed from the declara¬ tion of war to the signing of the armistice. Our prepa¬ rations in France, representing only a part of our total effort, were on such an enormous scale, that neutral na¬ tions—as Sweden and Spain—sent trusted officials to investigate if it were possibly true that America was mak¬ ing such colossal preparations; could it be that men by the hundreds of thousands were disembarking on Euro¬ pean soil every week? Were such forces drilled? Were supplies sent them? It was almost unbelievable. Surely, it must be American brag. They came, they saw, they departed convinced but in bewildered wonderment. It was the slowly growing realization of what this prepara¬ tion meant that spurred Germany on during the early summer of 1918. But it was too late. Already the hand¬ writing of defeat was outlining in letters of fire on the wall. AGAIN THE MARNE. May 27, 1918, the Germans opened a drive towards Paris. It resulted in a deep bulge in the line from Rheims west to Soissons, once more the German line in that sec¬ tion had reached the Marne. It was a time of great anxiety in the Allied world. The German tide was rolling on about seven miles a day toward Paris about fifty miles distant to the southwest. The German commanders felt- sure of success and were talking about the "strong Ger¬ man peace'' they would enforce. The war minister assured the Reichstag that they must exact at least $50,000,000,000 as indemnity, while their economic writers devised an elab¬ orate plan whereby all the trade of the world was .to pay 42 INTRODUCTORY. tribute to Germany. It was another ease of "Thus far and no father.'' CHATEAU THIERRY. Chateau Thierry was a thriving city, about 6,000 in population, on the Marne River, approximately 50 miles northeast of Paris. It is in a fertile valley. There amid fields of ripening wheat the advancing troops of Germany were suddently confronted by American marines, hurried to the scene of action in motor driven vehicles of all de¬ scriptions from Paris. The forces that faced them, bent on forcing a passage to Paris were composed of the best Prussian guards and shock troops. They felt perfectly confident they could drive the Americans back. But the amateurs went into the battle (the afternoon of June 2) as calmly as if going to drill on the parade ground. In¬ stead of being driven from the field they repulsed the seasoned veterans of Germany. It was at a cruel loss to themselves, 1,600 dead, 2,500 wounded out of 8,000 that came from Paris on that journey of victory and death; but they never faltered. This was not a battle of great dimensions but it is among the most important battles of the war. It saved Paris; but that is not all. When the news of that battle was flashed up and down the west front, not an Allied force but was thrilled, enthused, given new courage; the message that the Americans had stopped the Germans at Chateau Thierry, electrified Paris. Strong men wept as they realized that the forces of the Great Republic, able and brave, stood between France and the ravening wolf of Germany. OTHER VICTORIES. Tn the limited space at our command we can only give a general description of the remaining weeks of war¬ fare in which American forces participated. Before INTRODUCTORY. 43 advancing at Chateau Thierry the Germans had fortified their position in Belleau Woods which they had previously occupied. In the black recesses of this woods they estab¬ lished nest after nest of machine guns and in the jungle of matted underbrush, of vines, of heavy foliage they had placed themselves in a position they believed impregnable. The battle of Chateau Thierry was not rendered secure until the Germans were driven from Belleau Woods. And so for the next three weeks the battle of Belleau Woods raged. Fighting day after day without relief, without sleep, often without water, and for days without hot ra¬ tions, the marines met and defeated the best divisions Germany could throw into the line. According to official decree in France the name of that woods is now ''Woods of the American Brigade." In September, came the won¬ derful work of reducing the St. Mihiel salient to the south and to the east of Yerdun, a German wedge that had with¬ stood every effort to drive it back for four years. We can only mention the series of battles that took place in the Forest of the Argonne. When the armistice was de¬ clared American forces had fought their way to Sedan. That was the place that witnessed the deep humiliation of France in the war of 1870 with which the German Empire began. Germany was only saved from a deeper humilia¬ tion near Sedan in this war that ended that empire, by the prompt signing of the armistice. THE DOWNFALL OF TURKEY. We must notice even in a hurried review of" the war the downfall of Turkey, the release of ancient Mesopo¬ tamia, Palestine, and large parts of Asia Minor, and free¬ ing the ancient Christian nation of Armenia from the dreadful despotism of Turkish misrule. It is impossible to go into the details of the successive movements lead- 44 INTRODUCTORY. ing to this happy result. The forces of Great Britain, under command of General Maud, later General Allenby, must be given the credit. We must not forget that Meso¬ potamia was the cradle land of early civilization. There are the plains of Shinar, there are the ruins of Babylon and Nineveh. Now, that Turkish rule has been over¬ thrown, we may look to see that entire country once more a scene of smiling fertility. And consider the case of Palestine, the land of Biblical history, the home of Abraham, and the scene of Old Testa¬ ment activities; finally there is the land forever hallowed by the ministrations of Jesus of Nazareth. It was the goal of the religious wars of the Crusades. For more than six centuries it groaned under Turkish misrule. The tide of British success began in 1917. In December of that year (9th) Jerusalem was taken by the British forces under command of General Allenby. During 1918 all Palestine was freed. September 20, 1918, Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, was taken. The future of Pales¬ tine with its wealth of Biblical history is a wonderful theme for contemplation. Given the blessings of a twen¬ tieth century government there is no reason why Palestine should not once more become _a land 1 'flowing with milk and honey." THE APPROACHING END. The ending of the war was almost as dramatically sudden as its beginning. As late as July 15, 1918, accord¬ ing to statements of German leaders, they still believed they were to be successful; less than four months later at Senlis, France, their> representatives signed an armis¬ tice, the terms of which were the most drastic and humili¬ ating ever inflicted on a prominent nation; while the Kaiser tand Crown Prince had fled for safety to Holland, a nation they had asserted existed only by the long sufferance of INTRODUCTORY. 45 Germany. Before the fatal day (November 11, 1918) of the armistice—like the falling of a house of cards—had occurred a succession of abject surrenders, as one by one of the nations composing the Teutonic Alliance had fallen before the crushing blows of the Entente forces. The middle of July the great German offensive was held. It was expected by the German leaders that, as in the past, there would now ensue a period of comparative quiet along the west front during Which Germany could rearrange her forces, perhaps to open an attack elsewhere. Marshal Foch—ably seconded by General Pershing and General Haig— thought differently. There were one mil¬ lion American soldiers on the fighting line, other millions were coming, Great Britain had thrown into Prance her reserve army held in England to meet unforeseen emer¬ gencies. Then was the time to begin a counter-attack. Accordingly, just as a German official was explaining to the Reichstag that General Foch had no reserves to with¬ stand a fresh onslaught that Germany would soon begin, —the blow fell. A great counter-attack was initiated by the French and Americans along the Marne-Aisne front July 18, 1918. " THE ALLIES TAKE THE INITIATIVE. From that day to the signing of the armistice the in¬ itiative remained with General Foch. Up and down the long line, now here, now there; the British and Belgians on the north, the French and Americans on the south, first one, then the other, then together, the Allies drove for¬ ward with hammer blows on the yielding German armies. That subtle force,-so hard to define, the morale of the invaders, was broken down. Their confidence was gone. They knew they were defeated. The one hope of their leaders was to get safely back to Germany, and soon a 46 INTRODUCTORY. general retreat was in progress. But to remove armies aggregating several million men, with guns and supplies, from a contracted area, in the face of a victorious and aggressive enemy, without the retreat degenerating into a rout is almost impossible; it requires generalship of high¬ est order. Day by day the remorseless jaws of the Allied military machine, hinged to the north of the Aisne,—Brit¬ ish and Belgian forces on the north, French in the center, Americans on the south and east,—were closing, and when the American forces fought their way through the Argonne to Sedan (forty miles northeast of Rheims) the case was hopeless. Only the armistice saved Germany from the humiliation of a surrender, on a scale vastly greater than the surrender of the French armies near that same point in 1870. THE COLLAPSE OF THE TEUTONIC ALLIES. With Germany herself falling, it is not strange that the nations leagued with her also went down to defeat. They had been almost forced into the war by Germany; not one of them could carry on a war when deprived of counsel and help from Germany. Only the threat of force kept Austria in the war. As the counter-attack in France gained in force, as the retreat continued, it was recognized on all hands that the end was approaching. The will to war—the morale—was completely broken down; and so on every side the Allied forces gained great vic¬ tories with surprising ease. Bulgaria was the first nation to surrender. This was the conclusion of a succession of great victories beginning September 16,1918, ending by the surrender ten days later. The case with Turkey was hopeless after Bulgaria fell. iNo reinforcements or supplies could reach them from Ger¬ many. The English forces under General Allenby were INTRODUCTORY. i# 47 carrying everything before them. Turkey surrendered October 31, 1918. Austria-Hungary was the third power to surrender. This came as the culmination of one of the greatest drives of the war. GREAT ITALIAN VICTORY. In 1917—as we have seen,—Italy suffered a great reverse, losing 200,000 soldiers and immense supplies. In August, 1918, Austria renewed the attack. In his procla¬ mation to his soldiers, the Austrian commander bade them remember "the white bread, the fat cattle, the wine" and supplies they had won the year before. Surely as great rewards awaited them this time, and learned professors assured them and the entire nation that they belonged to a "conquering superior race" and so could be confident of further victory. The drive was a "hunger offensive" on the part of hard-pressed Austria. It was a dismal failure. It is interesting to know that American airplanes, piloted by Americans, rendered great assistance in repulsing this attack. Then came the counter-attack. In this drive American forces assisted. The drive began October 27th; it was attended by a series of most astonishing victories. The drive culminated in the abject surrender of Austria, November 3, 1918. The victories can only be explained by the fact that the morale of the Austrian troops had completely broken down, more than 500,000 prisoners being taken, together with enormous supplies. THE GERMAN ARMISTICE. With their armies perilously near route on the west¬ ern front, with a great military disaster confronting them, with everyone of her allies forced to surrender, with revo¬ lution threatening at home, there was nothing left for Germany to do but to make the best terms possible. Their 48 INTRODUCTORY. commissioners met General Foch at Senlis and the drastic armistice terms were signed at 5 o'clock, Paris time, the morning of November 11, 1918, and the last shots in the war were fired at 11 o'clock, that forenoon, Paris time. The war had lasted (from the date of the declaration of war on Serbia) four years, three months and thirteen days. On subsequent pages we shall consider more in detail this skeletonized story, study the enormous political, geographic and economic changes it has necessitated, and mentally view the new age in history at hand. Copyright Underwood & Underwood PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON. President Wilson's latest photograph. Copyright Underwood & Underwood GENERAL JOHN J. PERSHING. This is the latest and best photograph of General Pershing. Copyright Underwood & Underwood • MARSHAL FERDINAND FOCH. This is the latest photograph of Marshal Ferdinand Foch, Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies, as he appears since the termination of the war. A comparison of this photograph with earlier ones shows the effect of the war on the famous general. v,.,wai i ijuiugidpn, rrom unaerwooa 0W8A6A TOWN HOW AFRICA WAS DIVIDED UP AMONG THE NATIONS OP EUROPE BEFORE THE WAR Area Country Sq. Miles Populat'n British Empire ... 3,700,000 52,325,000 France , . 4,641,000 29,577,000 Germany 1. . . 931,000 13,420,000 Portugal 8,244,000 Italy 1,579,000 Area Country Sq. Miles Populat'n Belgium (Belgian Congo) 909,000 15,000,000 Spain 88,000 660,000 INDEPENDENT STATES Used by permission of the 40,000 ' 1,800,000 'Crisis," New York. Copyrighted by Underwood & Underwood. AFRICAN TROOPS BEING TRAINED IN PRANCE. These husky fighters are bound to deliver the groods PRESIDENT WILSON'S REVIEW OF THE WAR. 81 with more splendid courage and achievement when put to the test. Those of us who played some part in directing the great processes by which the war was pushed irre¬ sistibly forward to the final triumph may now forget all that and delight our thoughts with the story of what our men did. Their officers understood the grim and exacting task they had undertaken and performed with audacity, efficiency, and unhesitating courage that touch the story of convoy and battle with imperishable distinction at every turn, whether the enterprise were great or small—from their chiefs, Pershing and Sims, down, to the youngest lieutenant; and their men were worthy of them—such men as hardly need to be commanded, and go to their terrible adventure blithely and with the quick intelligence of those who know just what it is they would accomplish. I am proud to be the fellow-countryman of men of such stuff and valor. Those of us who stayed at home did our duty; the war could not have been won or the gallant men who fought it given their opportunity to win it otherwise; but for many a long day we shall think ourselves 'accursed we were not there, and hold our manhoods cheap while any speaks that fought' with these at St. Mihiel or Thierry. The memory of those days of triumphant battle will go with these fortunate men to their graves; and each will have his favorite memory. 1Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot, but he'll remember with advantages what feats he did that day!' "What we all thank God for with deepest gratitude is that our men went in force into the line of battle just at the critical moment, and threw their fresh strength into the ranks of freedom in time to turn the whole tide and sweep of the fateful struggle—turn it once for all, so that henceforth it was back, back, back for their enemies, always back, never again forward! After that it was only a sca^t-fow months-'before the commanders of the Central 82 PRESIDENT WILSON'S REVIEW OF THE WAR.. empires knew themselves beaten, and now their very em¬ pires are in liquidation! SPLENDID SPIRIT OF THE NATION. "And throughout it all how fine the spirit of the Nation was; what unity of purpose, what untiring zeal! What elevation of purpose ran through all its splendid display of strength, its untiring accomplishment. I have said that those of us who stayed at home to do the work of organization and supply will always wish that we had been with the men whom we sustained by our labor; but we can never be ashamed. It has been an inspiring thing to be here in the midst of fine men who had turned aside from every private interest of their own and devoted the whole of their trained capacity to the tasks that supplied the sinews of the whole great undertaking! The patriot¬ ism, the unselfishness, the thoroughgoing devotion and dis¬ tinguished capacity that marked their toilsome labors, day after day, month after month, have made them fit mates and comrades of the men in the trenches and on the sea. And not the men here in Washington only. They have but directed the vast achievement. Throughout innumerable factories, "upon innumerable farms, in the depths of coal mines and iron mines and copper mines, wherever the stuffs of industry were to be obtained and prepared, in the ship¬ yards, on the railways, at the docks, on the sea, in every labor that was needed to sustain the battle lines men have vied with each other to do their part and do it well. They can look any man-at-arms in the face, and say, we also strove to win and gave the best that was in us to make our fleets and armies sure of their triumph! PATRIOTIC WOMEN OF AMERICA. " And what shall we say of the women—of their instant intelligence, quickening every task that they touched; their PRESIDENT WILSON'S REVIEW OF THE WAR. 83 capacity for organization and co-operation, which gave their action discipline and enhanced the effectiveness of everything they attempted; their aptitude at tasks to which they had never before set their hands; their utter self- sacrificing alike in what they did and in what they gave? Their contribution to the great result is beyond appraisal. They have added a new luster to the annals of American womanhood. "The least tribute we can pay them is to make them the equals of men in political rights, as they have proved themselves their equals in every field of practical work they have entered, whether for themselves or for their country. These great days of completed achievement would be sadly marred were we to omit that act of justice. Besides the immense practical services they have rendered, the women of the country have been the moving spirits in the systematic economies by which our people have volun¬ tarily assisted to supply the suffering peoples of the world and the armies upon every front with food and everything else that we had that might serve the common cause. The details of such a story can never be fully written, but we carry them in our hearts and thank God that we can say we are the kinsmen of such. RESUME THE WORK OF PEACE. "And now we are sure of the great triumph for which every sacrifice was made. It has come, come in its com¬ pleteness, and with the pride and inspiration of these days of achievement quick within us we turn to the tasks of peace again—a peace secure against the violence of irre¬ sponsible monarchs and ambitious military coteries and made ready for a new order, for new foundations of jus¬ tice and fair dealing. "We are about to give order and organization to this 84 PRESIDENT WILSON'S REVIEW OF THE WAR. peace, not only for ourselves, but for tlie other peoples of the world as well, so far as they will suffer us to serve them. It is international justice that we seek, not domestic safety merely. . . . "So far as our domestic affairs are concerned the problem of our return to peace is a problem of ecoromic and industrial readjustment. That problem is less seri¬ ous for us than it may turn out to be for the nations which have suffered the disarrangements and the losses of war longer than we. Our people, moreover, do not wait to be coached and led. They know their own business, are quick and resourceful at every readjustment, definite in pup- pose and self-reliant in action. Any leading strings we might seek to put them in would speedily become hope¬ lessly tangled because they would pay no attention to them and go their own way. All that we can do as their legis¬ lative and executive servants is to mediate the process of change here, there and elsewhere as we may. I have heard much counsel as to the plans that should be formed and personally conducted to a happy consummation, but from no quarter have I seen any general scheme of reconstruc¬ tion emerge which I thought it likely we could force our spirited business men and self-reliant laborers to accept with due pliancy and obedience. ORGANIZATION FOR WAR. u While the war lasted we set up many agencies by which to direct the industries of the country in the services it was necessary for them to render, by which to make sure of an abundant supply of the materials needed, by which to check undertakings that could for the time be dispensed with and stimulate those that were most service¬ able in war, by which to gain for the purchasing depart¬ ments of the government a certain control over the prices PRESIDENT WILSON'S REVIEW OF THE WAR. 85 of essential articles and materials, by which to restrain trade with alien enemies, make the most of the available shipping and systematize financial transactions, both pub¬ lic and private, so that there would be no unnecessary conflict or confusion—by which, in short, to put every ma¬ terial energy of the country in harness to draw the common load and make of us one team in accomplishment of a great task. "But the moment we knew the armistice to have been signed we took the harness off. Raw materials upon which the government had kept its hand for fear there should not be enough for the industries that supplied the armies have been released, and put into the general market again. Great industrial plants whose whole output and machinery had been taken over for the uses of the government have been set free to return to the uses to which they were put before the war. It has not been possible to remove so readily or so quickly the control of foodstuffs and of ship¬ ping, because the world has still to be fed from our gran¬ aries and the ships are still needed to send supplies to our men oversea and to bring the men back as fast as the dis¬ turbed conditions on the other side of the water permit; but even there restrains are being relaxed as much as pos¬ sible, and more and more as the weeks go by. 4 4Never before have there been agencies in existence in this country which knew so much of the field of supply of labor, and of industry as the War Industries Board, the War Trade Board, the Labor Department, the Food Administration and the Fuel Administration have known since their labors became thoroughly systematized; and they have not been isolated agencies; they have been directed by men which represented the permanent depart¬ ments of the government and so have been the centers of unified and co-operative action. It has been the policy 86 PRESIDENT WILSON'S REVIEW OF THE WAR. of the Executive, therefore, since the armistice was as¬ sured (which is in effect a complete submission of the enemy) to put the knowledge of these bodies at the dis¬ posal of the business merT of the country and to offer their intelligent mediation at every point and in every matter where it was desired. It is surprising how fast the process of return to a peace footing has moved in the three weeks since the fighting stopped. It promises to outrun any inquiry that may be instituted and any aid that may be offered. It will not be easy to direct it any better than it will direct itself. The American business man is of quick initiative. . . . OUTLINE OF WORK IN PARIS. "I welcome this occasion to announce to the Congress my purpose to join in Paris the representatives of the governments with which we have been associated in the war against the Central Empires for the purpose of dis¬ cussing with them the main features of the treaty of peace. I realize the great inconveniences that will attend my leav¬ ing the country, particularly at this time, but the con¬ clusion that it was my paramount duty to go has been forced upon me by considerations which I hope will seem as conclusive to you as they have seemed to me. "The Allied governments have accepted the bases of peace which I outlined to the Congress on the 8th of Janu¬ ary last, as the Central Empires also have, and very rea¬ sonably desire my personal counsel in their interpretation and application, and it is highly desirable that I should give it, in order that the sincere desire of our government to contribute without selfish purpose of any kind to settle¬ ments that will be of common benefit to all the nations con¬ cerned may be made fully manifest. The peace settle¬ ments which are now to be agreed upon are of trans- PRESIDENT WILSON'S REVIEW OF THE WAR. 82 cendent importance both to us and to the rest of the world, and I know of no business or interest which should take precedence of them. The gallant men of our armed forces on land and sea have consciously fought for the ideals which they knew to be the ideals of their country; I have sought to express those ideals; they have accepted my statements of them as the substance of their own thought and purpose, as the associated governments have accepted them; I owe it to them to see to it, so far as in me lies, that no false or mistaken interpretation is put upon them, and no possible effort omitted to realize them. It is now my duty to play my full part in making good what they offered their life's blood to obtain. I can think of no call to service which could transcend this. . . . SUPPORT OF NATION URGED. "May I not hope, gentlemen of the Congress, that in the delicate tasks I shall have to perform on the other side of the sea in my efforts truly and faithfully to inter¬ pret the principles and purposes of the country we love, I may have the encouragement and the added strength of your united support? I realize the magnitude and diffi¬ culty of the duty I am undertaking. I am poignantly aware of its grave responsibilities. I am the servant of the Nation. I can have no private thought or purpose of my own in performing such an errand. I go to give the best that is in me to the common settlements which I must now assist in arriving at in conference with the other work¬ ing heads of the associated governments. I shall count upon your friendly countenance and encouragement. I shall not be inaccessible. The cables and the wireless will render me available for any counsel or service you may desire of me, and I shall be happy in the thought that I am constantly in touch with the weighty matters of do- 88 PRESIDENT WILSON'S REVIEW OP THE WAR. mestie policy with which we shall have to deal. I shall make my absence as brief as possible and shall hope to return with the happy assurance that it has been possible to translate into action the great ideals for which America has striven.'* PRESIDENT WILSON'S DIPLOMATIC MISSION. In accordance with this message, President Wilson broke the traditions of more than a century, and took upon himself the deep responsibility of a diplomatic mission. He went as the representative of one of the great belliger¬ ent powers to confer with the premiers and leading diplo¬ mats of Europe to frame, not only a peace of justice to terminate the World War, but—if possible—to organize a League of Nations, henceforth making such cataclysms an impossibility. .CHAPTER IV. THE FLASH THAT SET THE WORLD AFLAME. Teutons Find in a Murdeb the Excuse fob Wab—Germ ant Inspired by Am¬ bitions fob wobld control—the struggle for commercial supremacy a Factor—The Underlying Motives. THE assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir apparent to the throne of Austria, together with his wife, in Bosnia, during the last days of June, 1914, is com¬ monly regarded as the blow which forged the chain that bound the European powers in bloody warfare. The tragedy was the signal for putting on the world stage the greatest war play of all times. When Austria, regarding the murder of the Archduke as a National affront, precipitated the conflict which has con¬ vulsed the universe, she marked the way easy for Imperial Ger¬ many to put into effect a long-contemplated plan for territo¬ rial expansion, and to wage a warfare so insidious, so brutal and so ruthless in its character as to amaze the civilized world. Word-pictures were drawn, so to speak, of a mighty nation striving to burst iron bands that were slowly strangling .her, and her perfectly natural wish to find outlets for her rapidly growing population and commerce. Germany sought to obtain "a place in the sun," to use one of the Kaiser's most unfortunate expressions, and the world soon found that the "place" included the territory embracing a few ports on the English channel, with control of Holland and Belgium, Poland, the Balkan countries, a big slice of Asia Minor, Egypt, English and French colonies in Africa, not to mention remote possibilities. Germany's ambitions may have been laudable, but her methods of trying to satisfy these ambitions were not such as 89 90 TT1E FLASH THAT SET THE WORLD AFLAME. co either gain for her the "solar warmth" which she sought to win, or gain for her the friendship of the nations of the civilized world. The drama which Germany directed moved swiftly in thiswise: Austria claimed that Servia, as a Nation, was responsible for the assassination of the Archduke in Bosnia. She sent an ultimatum to Belgrade, making demands which the Servians could not admit. Thereupon Austria declared war and moved across the Danube with her army. THE FOUR GROUPS. Austria's attack threatened to disturb the balance of power, because at the time the continent was divided into four groups: The close alliance of the central powers—Germany, Austria and Italy—referred to as the Triple Alliance or Drei- bund; the Triple Entente, or understanding between Great Britain, France and Russia; the smaller group whose neutral¬ ity and integrity had been guaranteed, or at least recognized—* Belgium, Denmark, Holland and the Grand Duchy of Luxem¬ bourg, sandwiched in between Germany, France and Belgium, together with Switzerland. The fourth group included the Balkan nations: Bulgaria, Servia, Montenegro, Greece, Tur¬ key and Roumania, all drawn close to Russia; Norway and Sweden, and the Iberian nations, Spain and Portugal. The increase in the power of one of these groups would at any time have been sufficient to precipitate a war, but in the movement of Austria against Servia there entered a racial element. There was a threatened drawing of another Slavonic peoples into the Teutonic system. Besides this, the action let loose the flood of militarism which civilization had been holding in check. With this situation in mind, it is easy to understand how Germany could precipitate a world conflict by attempting to keep open the way to the near East, and controlling the mar¬ kets as against Britain, France and Russia. Back of all this was the question of commercial supremacy, Germany showing THE FLASH THAT SET THE WORLD AFLAME. 91 her intention of keeping the way open to the near East and dominating the markets as against Britain, France and Russia. Russia could not stand by and see one of her Slavonic wards crushed, and France, which held the Russian national debt, prepared to support her debtor, whereupon Germany, threatened on both sides, struck. In doing so the Kaiser ig¬ nored the rights of the small neutral states, invaded Belgium and brought his armies within threatening distance of Eng¬ land. France prepared to defend her country against Ger¬ many, and England, alarmed by the move of Germany and sympathizing with Belgium, struck back to avert the disaster which she felt must follow the German movement, which had been threatening for years. REGARDED EACH OTHER WITH SUSPICION. All attempts to maintain a balance of power between the European countries were from time to time jeopardized by various developments. .The elements in the continental group struggled against each other, and the Nations, while seemingly at rest, regarded each other with suspicion. One of the under¬ lying forces that the world knew must at some time be felt was of racial origin. The historical explanations of the war would involve the retelling of almost everything that has happened in Europe for more than a century. But it is necessary to the long train of evil consequences which have followed the interference of other powers in the settlement of affairs between Russia and Turkey after the war of 1877, when Russia was victorious. Russia and Turkey had agreed upon a large Bulgaria and an enlarged and independ¬ ent Servia, but at the Berlin Congress, which Austria had taken the initiative in calling, Austria showed that she wished to have as much as possible of this Christian territory of Southeastern Europe kept under the domination or nominal authority of Turkey. Austria feared Russia's influence with the new coun¬ tries of Servia, Roumania, Bulgaria and Montenegro, and 92 THE FLASH THAT SET THE WORLD AFLAME. therefore she desired to have this .territory remain Turkish by influence, to the end that she might some day acquire part or all of it for herself. One of the articles of the agreement of Berlin turned Bosnia and Herzegovina over to Austria for temporary occu¬ pation and management, Austria was a trustee of the country which lies between Servia and the Adriatic sea, and while Aus¬ tria's management was efficient, Servia looked forward to the time when a union could be effected with Bosnia-, which would provide Servia with an outlet to the sea. THE SERVIANS EMBITTERED. But when Russia fell humiliated by the Japanese and the Young Turks reformed their government, and there was pros¬ pect that the Turks might demand the evacuation of Bosnia by Austria, the powers that had engaged in the Berlin treaty were informed that Austria had decided to make Bosnia and Herze¬ govina a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Ser¬ vians were embittered, because this stood in the way of their attaining their ideals, and their country was landlocked. With this bitterness rankling in her national breast, Servia joined forces with Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro to drive the Turks out of Europe. The larger powers, including Aus¬ tria, tried to prevent the action, but the heroic Balkan struggle is a matter of history. Servia was to have secured as a share of the conquered territory a portion of Albania, on the Adri¬ atic. This would have compensated her for the loss of Bosnia, but the great powers, led by Austria, stepped in, and a plan was devised of making Albania an independent state or princi¬ pality, with a German prince to rule over it. The Servians were bitter, and both Servia and Greece demanded of Bulgaria portions of the territory acquired in the war and which had originally been assigned to Bulgaria as her share. Bulgaria stood upon her technical rights and precipi¬ tated the last Balkan war, which was really made possible, or THE FLASH THAT SET THE WORLD AFLAME. 93 probable, by the Austrian policy. When the war was con¬ cluded Servia had acquired more territory to the south, but she remained a landlocked country, with Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania stretching between her and the Adriatic sea. This was the situation when the assassination of the Arch¬ duke Ferdinand and his wife occurred in Bosnia. The Arch¬ duke was, in effect, a joint ruler with the Emperor Franz Joseph, who was nearly 84 years of age, and the entire world realized that great events were likely to follow the killing of the heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The mur¬ der was committed by a young Servian fanatic, and Austria determined to hold Servia responsible for the murder, and therefore presented her now-famous ultimatum. NO CAUSE FOR WAR. Students of history hold that if there had been a proper respect for the commendable desire of the Christian peoples in European Turkey to throw off the Turkish yoke and become self-governing states, there would have been no cause for war, so far as relates to Servia and the situation which precipitated the conflict. There would have been developed a series of peaceful and progressive countries of the non-military type of Denmark, Sweden and Holland. A wiser treatment of the Balkan problem might have averted the war, but it could not have set aside racial differ¬ ences, nor could it have ended the curse of militarism or set at rest the distrust and fear which it promotes. The end of European militarism might have come about, however, through a better understanding between Germany and France. This might have been arrived at years ago if Germany had opened the Alsace-Lorraine question, and had rearranged the boundary line between the two countries so that the French-speaking communities lost in the Franco-Prussian war be ceded back to France. The cost of maintaining the feud over Alsace-Lorraine has been a burden to both France 94 THE FLASH THAT SET THE "WORLD AFLAME. and Germany, and the progress which Germany has made in world affairs, despite the burden of militarism which she has carried, is one of the marvels of the century. And the situation compelled France to maintain a defensive military organiza¬ tion which was as great a burden to her and barrier to world peace as the military burden of Germany. STRAIN BETWEEN GERMANY AND RUSSIA. Whether Germany conspired to bring on the war so that she could wage a campaign of aggression has not yet been made clear, but the strain between Germany and Russia had been growing for some time, and the assassination of the Teu¬ tonic heir, Francis Ferdinand, by a ward of Russia, created an occasion which gave Germany an opportunity to fight, without being compelled to directly precipitate the conflict. Russia could do naught else but come to the aid of Servia, and Ger¬ many by reason of her alliance with Austria must aid the latter country. Germany anticipated the entry of Italy into the conflict as the third member of the Triple Alliance, but Italy did not regard Germany's action as defensive and declined to aid Aus¬ tria. Germany had made overtures to Great Britain, but Eng¬ land had an understanding with France, which was in the nature of a limited alliance, and Germany might have kept England out of the struggle; but Germany proceeded with a plan to invade France by way of Belgium, which was in viola¬ tion of international agreement establishing Belgium's neu¬ trality and independence. Germany had nothing to gain by choosing the Belgium route, for the fact is that even had the Belgian government approved the movement, there must have been a French counter-movement, which would have made Bel¬ gium the theatre of war just the same. Pan-Germanism has been described as one of the under¬ lying motives in the world war, and Pan-Slavism has always opposed Pan-Germanism. Pan-Germanism is described as a THE FLASH THAT SET THE WORLD AFLAME. 95 well-defined policy or movement which seeks the common wel¬ fare of the Germanic peoples of all Europe and the advance of Teutonic culture, while Pan-Slavism, represented by Rus¬ sia, seeks in the main the uniting of all the Slavonic folk for common welfare. The contact between these two has always been seething, and the racial differences made burdensome the arbitrary alignment and political geography arranged by the Berlin Congress. OUTLETS TO THE WORLD'S MARKET. The commercial side, however, was a big factor, for Ger¬ many sought world markets for its products. In the near East are the grain fields of Mesopotamia, and in the far East are the vast markets of India and China. The great banking and financial interests of Europe have been seeking the conquest of Asia for nearly half a century. German capital built railroads through Asia Minor, but English capital controls the Suez Canal. Russia welded the Balkan states until the Slavonic wedge from the Black sea to the Adriatic barred Germany's way to the Orient. England threatened the Kaiser's expan¬ sion on the sea; while Russia, on one side, with France her strong ally, closed the Germans in on opposite sides. So Ger¬ many must have outlets to the world markets. The religious element was also a factor in tKe affairs of Europe, for the territory has been divided into four large reli¬ gious groups for centuries. Moslems counted several millions of Turks, Bosnians and Albanians in Europe, the Prot¬ estants among the Germans, English, Swiss and Hungarians number about 100,000,000, while the Roman Catholics in all the Latin countries, Southern Germany, Croatia, Albania, Bohemia, and in Russian Austria and Russian Poland are about 180,000,000. The Greek Catholics in Russia, the Balkan countries and a few provinces in the Austrian Empire number more than 110,000,000. The differences in religion have precipitated many Euro- 96 THE FLASH THAT SET THE WORLD AFLAME. pean struggles, but for more than a century the countries have been forced to assume an attitude of tolerance, so that churches other than those established by the State have thrived. But just what influence religions may have had in the various inci¬ dents of the war it is difficult to determine. The outstanding fact is that but for the arrogant, mili¬ taristic policy of Imperial Germany, the differences between nations might have been settled, and almost indescribable horrors of the war would never have been experienced. CHAPTER Y. WHY AMERICA ENTERED THE WAR. The Iron Hand of Pbussianism:—The Abrogant Hohenzollern Attittob-' Secretary Lane Tells Why We Fight—Broken Pledges—Laws Violated —Prussianism the Child of Barbarity—Germany's Plans for a World Empire. NOT merely to prevent Germany from opening avenues of commerce to the seas nor to throttle the ambitions of the Kaiser was America drawn into the vortex of war with France, England, Russia, Belgium, Italy and other nations; but that the iron hand of Prussianism, as exemplified in the conduct of the German Government, might be lifted from the shoulders of men, and the world given that measure of peace and security which modern civilization demands. Germany by her ruthless submarine warfare brought deso¬ lation to many American homes. She sank without a pang of conscience the great transatlantic steamship Lusitania, and, while pretending friendship for the United States and plead¬ ing no intent to disregard American rights, broke her own pledges and repeated her overt acts, ignoring international law and the rights of all neutrals at sea. She began her outlawry by the invasion of Belgium, which was followed by conduct on the part of the German forces which clearly marked them descendants of the "wolf tribes" of feudal days, fighting with the motto before them of, "To the victor belong the spoils." But all of Germany's diabolical acts involving the peace and security of Ajnerica and American citizens might have been the subject of international adjudication but for the arro¬ gance of the ruling forces of the Teutons. In a broad sense, Prussianism is credited with responsibility for the devastating war and for the policy which drew America into the conflict. The country, led by President Woodrow Wilson, who m 98 WHY AMERICA ENTERED THE WAR. temporized to an extent that for a time made him the subject of bitter criticism, found that war was being forced upon it by an autocratic and ambitious German Government—that of the Hohenzollern dynasty—which possessed an insane ambition to dominate the earth, leaving to America no alternative but to borrow the piratical terrorism of Imperialistic Germany, with temporary abandonment of its own constitutional free govern¬ ment, and join the Allies to defend it. In the sense which Prussianism or militarism is here used it denotes a mental attitude or view. It is a condition of mind which is partisan, exaggerated and egotistical, and is developed by environment and training. Just as the professional spirit in any other occupation leads to an exhibition of exaggerated importance, the despotic doctrine of militarism assumes supe¬ riority over rational motives and deliberations. Everything must be sacrificed to perpetuate and maintain the honor and prestige of the military. WHAT MILITARISM IS. What that militarism is and what it has done to America, and to the whole world, is best summed up in the words of Secretary Lane, of the Department of the Interior, at Wash¬ ington, who in an address before the Home Club of the De¬ partment on June 4, 1917, just when America was beginning to send forces to Europe, said: "America is at war in self-defense and because she could not keep out; she is at war to save herself with the rest of the world from the nation that has linked itself with the Turk and adopted the methods of Mahomet, setting itself to make the world bow before policies backed by the organized and scien¬ tific military system. Why are we fighting Germany? The brief answer is that ours is a war of self-defense. We did not wish to fight Germany, She made the attack upon us; not on our shores, but on our ships, our lives, our rights, our future. For two WHY AMERICA ENTERED THE WAR 99 years and more we held to a neutrality that made us apologists for things which outraged man's common sense of fair play and humanity. "At each new offense—the invasion of Belgium, the kill¬ ing of civilian Belgians, the attacks on Scarborough and other defenseless towns, the laying of mines in neutral waters, the fencing off of the seas—and on and on through the months, we said: " 'This is war—archaic, uncivilized war, but war. All rules have been thrown away; all nobility; man has come down to the primitive brute. And while we cannot justify, we can¬ not intervene. It is not our war.' IN WAR TO DEFEND RIGHTS. "Then why are we in? Because we could not keep out. The invasion of Belgium, which opened the war, led to the invasion of the United States by slow, steady, logical steps. Our sympathies evolved into a conviction of self-interest. Our love of fair play ripened into alarm at our own peril. "We talked in the language and in the spirit of good faith and sincerity, as honest men should talk, until we discovered that our talk was construed as cowardice. And Mexico was called upon to cow us. "We talked as men would talk who cared alone for peace and the advancement of their own material interests, until we discovered that we were thought to be a nation of mere money¬ makers, devoid of all character—until, indeed, we were told that we could not walk the highways of the world without per¬ mission of a Prussian soldier, that our ships might not sail without wearing a striped uniform of humiliation upon a nar¬ row path of national subservience. "We talked as men talk who hope for honest agreement, not for war, until we found that the treaty torn to pieces at Liege was but the symbol of a policy that made agreements worthless against a purpose that knew no word but success. 100 WHY AMERICA ENTERED THE WAR. ?