metal At
thes
s, who were, however, usually sent to Ruhleben.
Ruschin
869
HISTORY OF THE WORLD WAR
brighter. Both in Austria-Hungary
and Germany the militarists increased
their influence, and the liberal elements
either became silent or imperialistic,
and the Central Powers ceased to seek
for peace.
THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND AMERI-
CAN INTERVENTION.
Reference has been made to the
Russian Revolution and to American
intervention. Both occurred at nearly
the same time and the causes leading
up to them are so many and so complex
that they can not easily be summarized
in less space than the chapters devoted
to these two most important events of
the year.
The treachery of the Russian Premier,
Boris von Stiirmer, has been discussed
at length. He and many in the court
circle had clearly shown that they
did not desire a defeated Germany, not
so much, perhaps, because they favored
Germany, as because they favored
autocracy and feared that the end of
autocracy in Germany would mean its
end in Russia also. Though the Duma
was able to have Stiirmer dismissed,
the "dark forces" continued to plot,
in spite of the denunciations of the
leaders of the Duma. The Government
apparently was seeking to induce
revolt which would then be quelled
by force, thereby strengthening the
reactionary elements.
''pHE REVOLUTION IN PETROGRAD ALMOST
1 BLOODLESS.
On March n, 1917, Premier Golitzin
prorogued the Duma, which refused to
disperse. That same day soldiers in
Petrograd refused to fire upon crowds
in the streets and the next day soldiers
disarmed their officers, who would not
agree to lead them against the police.
The radicals had organized Councils
(Soviets) of Workmen's and Soldiers'
Delegates which gained great influence
over the soldiers, both in Petrograd
and at the front. On March 15, it was
announced in the Duma that the Tsar
was to be deposed, a Provisional
Government constituted, and a Con-
stituent Assembly was to be called as
soon as possible to determine the future
of Russia. The Tsar did abdicate for
himself and his son and named, as his
870
successor, his brother, the Grand Duke
Michael, who refused the empty honor.
The Provisional Government, com-
posed chiefly of the moderate elements
in the Duma, tried to carry on the
government and the war. The story of
the difficulties, and the progressive
demoralization of the Russian army is
told elsewhere (Chapter XLII).
Gradually the extremist (Bolshevist)
COUNT CZERNIN
While Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary, Count
Czernin was concerned in the mysterious negotiations
for peace during 1917, and was forced to resign early
in 1918.
elements gained control both in the
army and among the civil population.
The Russian people had undergone great
suffering and they were weary of war.
The Provisional Government did not
end the war. The Bolsheviki promised
peace, and November 7, 8, by military
force they secured control of Petro-
grad, and soon extended their power
over other parts of the country. On
December 15, a truce was signed with
the Teutonic armies.
THE GERMAN DECLARATION OF UNLIMIT-
ED SUBMARINE WARFARE.
The Allied cause, however, had
received an addition, which, as circum-
PART OF A GERMAN BATH TRAIN
The German sanitary equipment early in the war was very complete, and no pains were spared to keep the soldiers
in health. This is the "Badezug," a very important feature in the scheme. It was a series of shower baths on
wheels which could be moved from place to place. This is the tank containing the water.
THE BATHING COMPARTMENT OF THE TRAIN
Careful inspection will show near the roof of this car several nozzles through which water from the tank shown
above can flow. Soldiers were detailed by companies for bathing when the "Badezug" was in the neighborhood.
Toward the end of the war the equipment gave out and was not renewed. The German soldier had very few
comforts during the last year or two he was fighting. Pictures, Ruschin
8 7 I
HISTORY OF THE WORLD WAR
stances proved was to counterbalance
the Russian defection. The German
government had promised in May,
1916, that the submarine campaign
would be conducted like ordinary
cruiser warfare, that is, that no mer-
chant vessels would be sunk without
warning, and without provisions for
the safety of their crews. On January
3 1 , 1 9 1 7 , a note was presented announc-
execution. A request that Congress
authorize the arming of American
merchantmen passed the House by an
overwhelming majority, March i, but
was defeated by a filibuster in the
Senate as the session ended by limita-
tion on March 4. Meanwhile the
"Zimmermann Note," dated January
16, seeking an alliance with Mexico, had
been published.
SHIPS OF STONE TO REPLACE WOOD OR METAL
The destruction of tonnage by the submarine and the necessity of using so much of what was left for war pur-
poses led to considerable use of concrete vessels. This boat was constructed at Ivry-sur-Seine, France, during
1917. Concrete vessels were also constructed by other nations, and generally proved seaworthy.
French Official from N. Y. Times
THE UNITED STATES, APRIL 6, ENTERS
THE WAR.
ing that, beginning the next day,
February I, all sea traffic within cer-
tain zones around Great Britain,
France, Italy and the Eastern Medi-
terranean would "be prevented by all
weapons," except that the United
States might under restrictions be per-
mitted to send one ship a week to
England.
President Wilson immediately broke
off relations with Germany, ordering
Ambassador Gerard home and sending
Ambassador von Bernstorff his pass-
ports, though he declared that he was
unwilling to believe that Germany
would actually put her threats into
872
Germany made good her threats and
within twenty-four hours (March 16,
17) three American ships were sunk
on the homeward voyage and American
citizens lost their lives. Congress was
called in special session, and on April 2,
President Wilson asked for recognition
of a state of war with Germany. The
Senate by a vote of 82 to 6 agreed,
April 4, and the House followed April 6,
by a vote of 373 to 50. The formal
proclamation was issued the same day.
The regular army and the National
Guard were increased and a compulsory
HISTORY OF THE WORLD WAR
Selective Service Act was passed, au-
thorizing the calling of 1,000,000 men
from those between twenty-one and
thirty-one years of age, with proper
provisions for exemptions. Registra-
tion day was June 5, and on July 15,
the order in which the registrants were
to be called was settled, as described
elsewhere. Two Liberty Loan Acts
were passed, and loans of seven billion
sectors. Moreover, it was clear that
the United States was in the war to the
extent of its resources, whether of men
or material.
The intervention of the United
States had not come too soon. Both
France and Great Britain had borne a
heavy burden. The latter had been
obliged to finance some of her Allies
and the loans from the United States
THE STOCK EXCHANGE, BERLIN, WHICH REMAINED OPEN
Military authorities in Germany took little chance of reverse and failure being reflected in civil life by a panic on
the Stock Exchange, for they ordered it to be kept open. This was perfectly feasible as the blockade left only
domestic stocks on the market, which by degrees passed under government control. Picture from Henry Ruschin
dollars to the Allies were authorized.
Revenue, food control, and shipping
acts were passed, and in December the
government took over the control of the
railroads.
THE UNITED STATES AT ONCE SENDS
SHIPS AND MEN.
Within a few weeks after the declara-
tion of war American destroyers were
on patrol in European waters, and in
June General John J. Pershing and
the first contingent of American troops
reached France. Before the end of the
year five divisions besides various
special units, about 200,000 men in all,
were in France, and American soldiers
were in the front line trenches in quiet
were welcome, as was also the assist-
ance against the submarines. In France
the phenomenon known as "defeatism"
was widespread (see p. 500), and the
moral effect of the presence of United
States troops had a tonic effect long
before any considerable numbers were
ready for the fighting line.
T-MGHTING ON THE WESTERN FRONT
V DURING 1917.
The fighting during the year must
be dismissed in a few words. On the
Western Front the Allies held the
offensive. The British and French
attacks on the Somme in 1916 had
pushed the Germans to the edge of the
high ground, and had left them holding
873
HISTORY OF THE WORLD WAR
an awkward salient around Noyon,
though the Allies had failed to take
Bapaume and Peronne. Marshal von
Hindenburg prepared a strong system
of trenches, first called the Siegfried
Line, but later called by his own name,
running from the neighborhood of
Arras to the heights of the Aisne. To
SPIKES BEFORE A GERMAN TRENCH
this he withdrew during March, 1917,
just as the Allied attack was about to
begin. About 1,000 square miles of
occupied territory were given up, and
all the country between the old and
the new positions was wantonly laid
waste.
The British attack around Arras
began April 9, and Vimy Ridge was
soon taken. The French attacked the
heights of the Aisne, April 16. The
scheme of General Nivelle, now com-
mander-in-chief, was audacious. He
would not "nibble" or wage a war of
attrition. He would attack almost
simultaneously in four major operations
and break through. He made some
progress but the plan was impossibly
difficult, and the losses were tremen-
dous. Nivelle was succeeded by Petain,
874
while Foch was made Chief of Staff at
Paris. The old method of seeking
limited objectives was resumed. Cra-
onne and both ends of the Chemin des
Dames (Ladies' Road) were taken and
held against German attack, while the
British strengthened their position
around Arras.
THE WEARY STRUGGLE FOR THE PAS-
SCHENDAELE RIDGE.
Later (June 7), Sir Douglas Haig, in
one of the most brilliant operations of
the war, took the Messines-Wytschaete
Ridge between Ypres and Lens, wiping
out a German salient and strengthen-
ing the British hold in Ypres. The next
British move was an offensive from
Ypres against the Passchendaele Ridge.
The battle raged from July until
November in the face of torrential
rairts, but the British pushed steadily
forward with the double object of
gaining ground and drawing as many
German troops as possible from before
the French, farther south. Finally the
village of Passchendaele was entered,
October 30, and a week later fully se-
cured by the Canadians.
Next came the drive on Cambrai
(November 20), which almost succeed-
ed, but a German counter-attack
forced the British to retire, giving up a
part of their gains. The British were
learning that the Hindenburg Line, or
any other line, could be taken. The
British gains were substantial, though
the cost in men and munitions had been
high.
General Petain 's first duty was to
reorganize his shattered armies and to
rebuild their belief in their invincibility.
A brilliant attack northwest of Soissons
in October gained ground and forced
the Germans to give up the remaining
portion of the Chemin des Dames. In
August and September the French had
already regained the greater part of
the ground around Verdun, lost the
previous year.
THE GREAT ITALIAN DISASTER ON THE
ISONZO
Slowly over great obstacles the
Italian armies had made their way
toward Trieste. Around Caporetto,
on the upper Isonzo, the lines were
lightly held by inferior troops, as no
HISTORY OF THE WORLD WAR
attack was anticipated. Whether by
incompetence of commanders in the
region or because of treachery, con-
siderable fraternization of Austrian
and Italian soldiers took place, and the
former took opportunity to sow dis-
content. Various other reasons dis-
cussed elsewhere (Chapter 47) tended
to impair Italian morale. On October
21, after a severe bombardment, Ger-
June and July toward Lemberg with
decided success at first, but the Russian
soldiers were becoming demoralized.
Soviets had been organized at the front
and orders were discussed by the rank
and file before they were obeyed.
Reports that the lands of Russia were
being distributed were spread, and
some regiments determined to go home
to get their share. All the gains of
HEADQUARTERS OF A GERMAN BATTALION COMMANDER ON THE WESTERN FRONT
The Germans held some parts of the Western Front so long that they began to feel a proprietary interest in them.
Quarters for officers shown above were not uncommon in quiet sectors. Much care had been lavished upon them,
and they are doubtless exceedingly comfortable. Often costly rugs and china from neighboring chateaux were
placed in them.
man divisions which had been sub-
stituted for the supposedly friendly
Austrians, broke through, leaving the
flank of the two armies on the southern
Isonzo exposed. The necessary with-^
drawal became almost a rout, and the
Italians were forced to fall back to the
Piave river. There the new Com-
mander-in-Chief, General Diaz, with
the help of French and British held the
line, and repulsed desperate Austro-
German assaults, even regaining some
of the lost ground. Though shaken,
Italy was still a factor in the war.
Of the Russian fighting little need
be said. General Brusilov struck in
1917 and 1916 were wiped out, and the
Russian army ceased to exist as a
dependable military force. On the
Eastern Front, only the Rumanians
held fast.
*^pHE PRESTIGE OF THE TURK RECEIVES A
_L STUNNING BLOW/
In the Near East the Allies were
more successful. Venizelos, who had
been prevented from placing Greece
on the side of the Allies by King Con-
v stantine, raised the standard of revolt
and joined the Allied forces at Saloniki.
On June 12, King Constantine was
forced to abdicate in favor of his second
son, and on June 25, Venizelos became
875
HISTORY OF THE WORLD WAR
f -^^A
' '
CHINESE COOLIES AT WORK BEHIND THE BRITISH LINES
British Official
Prime Minister of all Greece, which he
took into the war against the Central
Powers on July 2. No longer was the
Greek army a threat against the rear
of the Allied forces at Saloniki. No
important military operations, how-
ever, occurred on this front until the
next year.
In Mesopotamia General Maude
had been preparing to recover the
ground lost by the surrender of Kut-el-
Amara, but he did not move until his
expedition was well equipped. In
February Kut was taken and in March
Bagdad was entered. Next Ramidiya
and Samara were taken, arid but for the
demoralization of the Russians in
Armenia the Turkish armies might
have been destroyed.
The British forces advancing from
the Suez Canal crossed the Sinai
Desert and entered Palestine. Under
General Allenby, Beersheba and Gaza
were taken. Advancing along the
coast, Jaffa was taken, November 16,
and then began the movement to
encircle Jerusalem. The Turkish outer
defenses were taken by storm, and on
December 10, Jerusalem was sur-
rendered. Turkish power and prestige,
by the operations in Mesopotamia
and Palestine, had suffered blows from
which they could not recover.
The war seemed to have become a
question of endurance on which the
side with the stronger nerves would
win the side which could hold out
"the last quarter of an hour." Some
of the nations on both sides had been
shaken, or put out of the war. Would
the strong members of the coalition
be able to hold the wavering members
in line? This" was the question which
1918 was to answer.
876
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