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History of the world war : an authentic narrative of the world's greatest war

Francis Andrew March · 1919 · Scanned text · Free in the US

275,954 words · about 19 h 19 min to read

Period artwork: Interior of the Bodleian Library, 1845
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About this book

Author
Francis Andrew March
Language
English
Published
1919
Length
275,954 words · about 19 h 19 min
Sections
85 reader sections
Text
Scanned text, read from page scans by OCR; may contain errors
Rights
Public domain in the United States · PD-US by publication date

 

Contents (85)
  1. Front matter about 2 min
  2. CHapter I, A War For INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM eine about 11 min
  3. Foreword about 15 min
  4. CHAPTER II Tue Worip SuppENLY TURNED Ursipn Down about 13 min
  5. CHAPTER Iii Way tHe Worip WENT TO War about 12 min
  6. CHAPTER IV Tur Prorrer BexHInp THE SCENES about 23 min
  7. CHAPTER V THe Great War Becrins about 21 min
  8. CHAPTER VI THe Trait or tHe Beast In Beierom ERMANY’S onrush into heroic Belgium speedily re about 28 min
  9. CHAPTER VII Tue Fist Barrie or THE MARNE about 13 min
  10. Chapter VIII Japan In The War about 8 min
  11. CHAPTER IX CAMPAIGN IN THE East about 19 min
  12. CHAPTER X THE StRUGGLE FoR SUPREMACY ON THE SEA about 29 min
  13. CHAPTER XI Tur SuBLIME PoRTE about 25 min
  14. Chapter XII Rescue Of The Starving about 29 min
  15. CHAPTER XIII BrRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES HE month of October, 1914, contained no important naval about 24 min
  16. Chapter XIV about 18 min
  17. CHAPTER XV GERMAN PLoTs AND PROPAGANDA IN AMERICA about 23 min
  18. CHAPTER XVI SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA HE United States was brought face to face with the Great about 25 min
  19. CHAPTER XVII Nervve CHAPELLE AND War IN BLoop-Soakep TRENCHES about 17 min
  20. CHAPTER XVIII Srmaprast SoutH AFRICA about 10 min
  21. CHAPTER XIX Traty DecLtarEs War ON AUSTRIA about 19 min
  22. CHAPTER XX Guorious GALLIPOLI about 13 min
  23. CHAPTER XXI Tue Greatest Navau Battie IN History about 21 min
  24. CHAPTER XXII Tue Russian CAMPAIGN about 28 min
  25. CHAPTER XXIIi How True Barkans DecipEep about 31 min
  26. Chapter XXIV about 15 min
  27. CHAPTER XXV Canapba’s PART IN THE GREAT WAR about 22 min
  28. CHAPTER XXVI ImMoRTAL VERDUN } about 18 min
  29. Chapter XXVIII about 7 min
  30. CHAPTER XXIx ZEPPELIN Rarps ON FRANCE AND ENGLAND about 9 min
  31. CHAPTER XXX Rep REvouurion in Russia HE Russian Revolution was not a sudden movement of about 20 min
  32. CHAPTER XXXI Tuer Descent TO BOLSHEVISM about 24 min
  33. CHAPTER XXXII GERMANY’sS Ossect Lesson To THE UNITED Sratss about 8 min
  34. Chapter XXXIII America Transformed By War about 18 min
  35. CHAPTER XXXIV How Foop Won THE War about 8 min
  36. CHAPTER XXXV THe Unitrep Srates Navy in rar War about 20 min
  37. CHAPTER XXXVI CHINA JOINS THE FigHTInG DEMOCRACIES about 6 min
  38. CHAPTER XXXVII Tue DEFEAT AND RECOVERY OF ITALY about 5 min
  39. CHAPTER XXXVIII REDEMPTION OF THE Hoty LAND about 6 min
  40. CHAPTER XXXIX AMERICA’S TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS HEN America entered the war there was a very great about 11 min
  41. CHAPTER XL SHips AND THE MeN Wuo Mabe THEM about 15 min
  42. CHAPTER XLI GERMANY’s Dying Drsperate Error about 21 min
  43. CHAPTER XLII CHATEAU-THIERRY, Fietp or GLory about 25 min
  44. CHAPTER XLIII ENGLAND AND FRANCE STRIKE IN THE NorTH P TO July 18, 1918, the Allied armies in France had been about 4 h 27 min
  45. PART I THE CovENANT OF THE LEAGUE or Nations Tae High Contracting Partiszs about 24 min
  46. Part II about 3 min
  47. Section II. Luxemburg about 1 min
  48. Section IV. Saar Basin about 5 min
  49. Section V. Alsace-Lorraine about 43 min
  50. PART IV German RIGHTS AND INTERESTS OUTSIDE GERMANY under 1 min
  51. Section I. German Colonies about 2 min
  52. Section III. Siam under 1 min
  53. Section IV. Liberia under 1 min
  54. Section V. Morocco about 1 min
  55. Section VI. Egypt about 2 min
  56. Section VII. Turkey and Bulgaria under 1 min
  57. Section VIII. Shantung about 1 min
  58. PART V Miurrary, Nava anp AERIAL CLAUSES under 1 min
  59. Chapter I. Effectives and Cadres of the German Army about 2 min
  60. Chapter II. Armament, Munitions and Material about 1 min
  61. Chapter IV. Fortifications about 4 min
  62. Part VI. Prisoners Of War And Graves about 1 min
  63. Section II. Graves about 3 min
  64. Part VIII. Reparation about 9 min
  65. PART IX. FinanciaL CLavseEs about 7 min
  66. Chapter I. Customs Regulations, Duties, and Restrictions about 9 min
  67. Section III. Debts about 1 min
  68. Section IV. Property, Rights and Interests about 1 min
  69. Section V. Contracts, Fire, Life and Marine Insurance about 1 min
  70. Section VI. Mixed Arbitral Tribunal about 2 min
  71. Section VIII. Social and State Insurance in Ceded Territory about 1 min
  72. Part XI. Abrial Navigation about 2 min
  73. Section I. General Provisions about 2 min
  74. Chapter II. Free Zones in Ports about 3 min
  75. Chapter IV. Clauses Relating to the Rhine and the Moselle about 1 min
  76. Chapter V. Clauses Giving to the Czecho-Slovak State the Use of Porthern Ports about 1 min
  77. Section III. Railways under 1 min
  78. Section IV. Disputes under 1 min
  79. Section V. Special Provision under 1 min
  80. Section VI. Causes Relating to the Kiel Canal about 2 min
  81. Section I. Organization of Labour about 1 min
  82. Chapter I. Organization about 9 min
  83. Chapter III. General about 1 min
  84. Chapter IV. Transitory Provisions about 6 min
  85. Part XV Miscellaneous Provisions about 4 min

Continue:

Front matter

Breas See

SoS Ee

OR —

CHapter I, A War For INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM eine

A Conflict that was Inevitable—The Flower of Manhood on the Fields of France—Germany’s Defiance to the World—Heroic Belgium—Four Autocratic Nations against Twenty-four Committed to the Principles of Liberty— America’s Titanic Effort—Four Million Men Under Arms, Two Million Overseas—France the Martyr Nation—The British Empire’s Tremendous Share in the Victory—A River of Blood Watering the Desert of Autocracy

Cuapter IJ. THe Worip SuppEeNnty TURNED Upsip—E Down

The War Storm Breaks—Trade and Commerce Paralyzed—Homeward Rush f Travelers—Harrowing Scenes as Ships Sail for America—Stock Markets Closed—The Tide of Desolation Following in the Wake of War . ;

Cuapter III. ..Way raz Wortp Want to War

The Balkan Ferment—Russia, the Dying Giant Among Autocracies—Turkey the “Sick Man” of Europe—Scars Left by the Balkan War—Germany’s Determination to Seizea PlaceintheSun. . . - 6+ 6 - © © es

Cuapror IV. Tue Piorrer BexinpD THE SCENES

The Assassination at Sarajevo—The Slavic Ferment—Austria’s Domineering Note—The Plotters of Potsdam—The Mailed Fist of Militarism Beneath the Velvet Glove of Diplomacy—Mobilization and Declarations of War

Cuaprer V. Tue Great War Becins

Germany Invades Belgium and Luxemburg—French Invade Alsace—England’s “Contemptible Little Army” Lands in France and Belgium—The Murderous Gray-Green Tide—Heroie Retreat of the British from Mons—Belgium Overrun—Northern France Invaded—Marshal Joffre Makes Ready to Strike .

Cuaprer VI. Tue TRAIL oF THE Brast IN BELGIUM

Barbarities that Shocked Humanity—Planned as Part of the Teutonic Policy of Schrecklichkeit+How the German and the Hun Became Synonymous Terms—The Unmitchable Crimes of a War-Mad Army—A Record of Infamy

Written in Blood and Tears—Official Reports... .

Cuaprer VII. Tue Fist Bartie or THE Marne Joffre’s Masterly Plan—The Enemy Trapped Between Verdun and Paris— Gallieni’s “Army in Taxicabs”—Foch, the “Savior of Civilization,” Appears —His Mighty Thrust Routs the Army of Hausen—Joffre Salutes Foch as

“First Strategist in Europe’—Battle that Won the Baton of a Marshal 110

CHAPTER VILL. JAPAN IN THE WAR

Tsing Tau Seized by the Mikado—German “Gibraltar” of the Far East Surrendered After Short Siege—Japan’s Aid to the Allies in Money, Ships, Men and Nurses—German Propaganda in the Far East Fails . . . .

’ Cuyaprer IX. Campaian IN THE East

Invasion of East Prussia—Von Hindenburg and Masurian Lakes—Battle of Tannenberg—Augustovo—Russians Capture Lemberg—The Offer to Poland

CHAPTER X. STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY ON THE SEA

The British Blockade—German Raiders and Their Fate—Story of the Emden’s Remarkable Voyage—Appearance of the Submarine—British Naval Victory off Helgoland—U-9 Sinks Three British Cruisers. .

Cuaptrer XI. Tue Susiime Ports Turkish Intrigues—The Holy War—Mesopotamia and Transcaucasia—The Suez Canal—Turkey the Catspaw of Germany 2a eee

CuapTerR XII. Rescue or tHe Srarvine Famine in Belgium—Belgium Relief Commission Organized in London— Herbert C. Hoover—American Aid—The Great Cardinal’s Famous Challenge

Cuapter XIII. Brirrannia Rutes tae Waves

German and British Squadrons Grapple off the Chilean Coast—Germany Wins the First Round—England Comes Back with Terrific Force—Graphic Picture of the Destruction of the German Squadron off Falkland Islands— English Coast Towns Bombarded for the First Time in Many Years

CuapteR XIV. New Mernops anp Horrors or WARFARE

Tanks—Poison Gas—Flame Projectors—Airplane Bombs—Trench Mortars— Machine Guns—Modern Uses of Airplanes for Liaison and Attacks on Infantry —Radio—Rifle and Hand Grenades—A War of Intensive Artillery Preparation—A Debacle of Insanities, Terrible Wounds and Horrible Deaths .

CuarterR XV. GERMAN Piots AND PROPAGANDA IN AMERICA

Trailing the German Plotters—Destruction of Ships—Pressure on Congress— Attacks in Canada—Zimmerman’s Foolish Effort to Embroil America with Mexico and Japan—Lies of the Propagandists After America Entered the War—Dumba, Von Bernstorff, Von Papen and Boy-Ed, a quartet of Unserupulows Destructioniste 520 7 Ah a

CuareterR XVI. Srverne or tHe Lusrranta

The Submarine Murderers at Work—Germany’s Blackhand Warning—No Chance for Life—The Ship Unarmed and Without Munitions—The Presi-

PAGH

. 120

. 148

. 164

. 201

. 217

. 231 dent’s Note—Germany’s Lying Denials—Coroner’s Inquest Charges Kaiser , with Wilful Murder—“Remember the Lusitania” One of America’s Big Reasons for Declaring War . SOR

2 ° « ° ° ° ° .

. 247

Cuapter XVII. Neuve CHAPELLE AND War IN BLOOD- jicn SOAKED TRENCHES War Amid Barbed-Wire Entanglements and the Desolation of No Man’s

Land—Subterranean Tactics Continuing Over Four Years—Attacks that Cost Thousands of Lives for Every Foot of Gain. . . . . . . . . 265

CHapTeR XVIII. Sreaprast Sout AFRICA Botha and Smuts, Rocks of Loyalty Amid a Sea of Treachery—Civil War that Ended with the Drowning of General Beyers and the Arrest of General De Wet—Conquest of German Colonies—Trail of the Hun in the Jungle . 280

\/ CHAPTER XIX. Ivaty Decuares War ON AUSTRIA

Her Great Decision—D’Annunzio, Poet and Patriot—Italia Irredenta— German Indignation—The Campaigns on the Isonzo andinthe Tyrol. . . 287

CHAPTER XX. GuorRIoUS GALLIPOLI

A Titanic Enterprise—Its Objects—Disasters and Deeds of Deathless Glory— The Heroic Anzacs—Bloody Dashes up Impregnable Slopes—Silently they

Stole Away—A Successful Failure 302

Cuaprrer XXI. Tue Greatest Navat Battie in History

The Battle of Jutland—Every Factor on Sea and in Sky Favorable to the Germans—Low Visibility a Great Factor—A Modern Sea Battle—Light Cruisers Screening Battleship Squadron—Germans Run Away when British Fleet Marshals Its Full Strength—Death of Lord Kitchener . . . . . 3ll ee “CHaprer XXII. Tue Russtan CAMPAIGN The Advance on Cracow—Von Hindenburg Strikes at Warsaw—German Barbarism—The War in Galicia—The Fall of Przemysl—Russia’s Ammunition Fails—The Russian Retreat—The Fall of Warsaw—Czernowitz . . 327

Cuaprer XXIII. How rae Batkans DEcrIpED Ferdinand of Bulgaria Insists Upon Joining Germany—Dramatic Scene in the King’s Palace—The Die is Cast—Bulgaria Succumbs to Seductions of Potsdam Gang—Greece Mobilizes—French and British Troops at Saloniki— Serbia Over-run—Roumania’s Disastrous Venture inthe Arenaof Mars . . 347

Craprer XXIV. THe Campaign 1n MESOPOTAMIA British Army Threatening Bagdad Besieged in Kut-el-Amara—After Heroic Defense General Townshend Surrenders After 143 Days of Siege—New British Expedition Recaptures Kut—Troops Push on up the Tigris—Fall of Bagdad, ee ee ee ee BO

Cuaprer XXV. Cawnapa’s PART IN THE GREAT WAR wee By Cou. Guorcs G. Nasmitu, C.M.G.

Enthusiastic Response to the Call to Action—Valcartier Camp a Splendid Example of the Driving Power of Sir Sam Hughes—Thirty-three Liners Cross the Atlantic with First Contingent of Men and Equipment—Largest Convoy Ever Gathered Together—At the Front with the Princess Pat’s—Red Cross— Financial Aid—Half a Million Soldiers Overseas—Mons, the Last Stronghold of the Enemy, Won by the Men from Canada—A Record of Glory . . . . 381

CHAPTER XXVI. ImmortTAL VERDUN

Grave of the Military Reputations of Von Falkenhayn and the Crown Prince —Hindenburg’s Warning—Why the Germans Made the Disastrous Attempt to Capture the Great Fortress—Heroic France Reveals Itself to the World— “They Shall Not Pass”—Nivelle’s Glorious Stand on Dead Man Hill—Lord Northcliffe’s Description—A Defense Unsurpassed in the History of France 398

CuHaprer XXVIII. Murprrs anp Martyrs

The Case of Edith Cavell—Nurse Who Befriended the Helpless, Dies at the Hands of the Germans—Captain a 8 eee Ny Sowed the Seeds of Disaster . . . . bn . 409

CHapTeR XXVIII. Tue Seconp Barrie or YPRES

The Canadians in Action—Undismayed by the New Weapon of the Enemy— Holding the Line eos Terrific Odds—Men from the Dominion F des Like Veterans... we usr bale the «ate ees eas ECS : yn 42

First Zeppelin Attack Kills Twenty-eight and Injures Forty-four—Part of Germany’s Policy of Frightfulness—Raids by German Airplanes on Unfortified Towns—Killing of Non-Combatants—The British Lion Awakes—Anti- Aircraft Precautions and Protections—Policy of Terrorism Fails . . . . 417

CHAPTER XXX. RED ReEvoLUTION In Russia

Rasputin, the Mystic—The Cry for Bread—Rise of the Council of Workmen’s and Soldiers’ Delegates—Rioting in Petrograd—The Threatening Cloud of Disaster—Moderate Policy of the Duma Fails—The Fatal Easter Week of 1917—Abdication of the Czar—Last Tragic Moments of the Autocrat of All the Russias—Grand Duke Issues Declaration Ending Power of Romanovs in Russia—Release of Siberian Revolutionists—Free Russia . . . . . . 425

CHAPTER XXXI. Tur Descent to BousHEevisM

Russia Intoxicated with Freedom—Elihu Root and His Mission—Last Brilliant Offensive in Galicia—The Great Mutiny in the Army—The Battalion of Death—Kerensky’s Skyrocket, Career—Kornilov’s Revolt—Loss of Riga— Lenine, the Dictator—The Impossible ‘‘Peace”’ of Brest-Litovsk . . . . 438

Cuaprer XXXII. Gurrmany’s a LESSON TO THE ice UNITED STATES

Two Voyages of the Deutschland—U-53 German Submarine Reaches Newport and Sinks Five British and Neutral Steamers off Nantucket—Rescue of

Survivors by United States Te eng es ee in America Reaching a Climax .. . 3 . 459

CHapTeR XXXIII. America TRANSFORMED BY WAR

The United States Enters the Conflict—The Efficiency of Democracy—Six Months in an American Training Camp Equal to Six Years of German Compulsory Service—American Soldiers and Their Resourcefulness on the Batitlefield—Methods of Training and Their Results—TheS.A.T.C. . . . . 464

Cuapter XXXIV. How Foop Won THE War

The American Farmer a Potent Factor in Civilization’s Victory—Scientific Studies of Food Production, Distribution and Consumption—Hoover Lays Down the Law Regulating Wholesalers and Grocers—Getting the Food Across —Feeding Armies i HE be EIe lL eve cet yates hese, Mele woke ece . . 478 x CHAPTER XXXV. Tue Unrrep States Navy IN THE WAR

Increase from 58,000 Men to Approximately 500,000—Destroyer Fleet Arrives in British Waters—“We Are Ready Now”—The Hunt of the U-Boats— Gunnery that is Unrivalled—Depth Charges and Other New Inventions— The U-Boat Menace Removed—Surrender of German Under-Sea Navy . . 483

How the Germans Behaved in China Seventeen Years Before—The Whirligig of Time Brings Its Own Revenge—The Far Eastern Republic Joins Hands with the Allies—German Propaganda at Work—Futile Attempt to Restore the Monarchy—Fear of Japan—War—Thousands of Chinese Toil Behind the Battle Lines in France—Siam with Its Eight Millions Defies the Germans— End of Teuton Influence inthe Orient. . . . as igen, Oe Ree £08

Cuaprer XXXVII. Tue Dereat anp Recovery or ITaty

Subtle Socialist Gospel Preached by Enemy Plays Havoc with Guileless Italians—Sudden Onslaught of Germans Drives Cadorna’s Men from Heights —tThe Spectacular Retreat that Dismayed the World—Glorious Stand of the Italians on the Piave—Rise of Diaz. . . . . SoeeNeT Le uctrrmragat ce” Ode

Cuaprer XXXVIII. Repemption or THE Hoty Lanp A Long Campaign Progressing Through Hardships to Glory—General Allenby Enters Jerusalem’ on Foot—Turkish ot Crushed in Palestine—Battle of Armageddon .. . : * . . . 506

Cuaprer XXXIX. America’s TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS ‘aa

Government Ownership of Railroads, Telegraphs, Telephones—Getting the Men from Training Camps to the Battle Fronts—From Texas to Toul—A Gigantic System Working Withouta Hitch . . . ... .. . . 513

The Emergency Fleet Corporation—Charles M. Schwab as Master Shipbuilder —Hog Island the Wonder Shipyard of the World—An Unbeatable Record— Concrete Ships—Wooden Ships—Standardizing the Steel Ship—Attitude of Labor in the War—Samuel Gompers an Unofficial Member of the Cabinet— Great Task of the United States Employment Service . . . . . . . 620

Cuapter XLI. Germany’s Dying DESPERATE Errort

The High Tide of German Success—An Army of Six Million Men Flung Recklessly on the Allies—Most Terrific Battles in all History—The Red Ruin of War from Arras to St. Quentin—Amiens Within Arms’ Reach of the Invaders —Paris Bombarded by Long-Range Guns from Distance of Seventy-six Miles— A Generalissimo at Last—Marshal Foch in Supreme Command . . . . 531

German Wave Stops with the Americans—Prussian Guard Flung Back—The Beginning of Autocracy’s End—America’s Record of Valor and Victory— Cantigny—Belleau Wood—Thierry—St. Mihiel—Shock Troops of the Enemy Annihilated—Soldier’s Remarkable Letter . Si eee oe Pee 4

Carter XLII]. ENGLAND AND FRANCE STRIKE IN THE Nort —

Second Terrific Blow of General Foch—Lens, the Storehouse of Minerals, Captured—Bapaume Retaken—British Snap the Famous Hindenburg Line— The Great Thrust Through Cambrai—Tanks to the Front—Cavalry in Action 563

The Little Army Under King Albert Thrusts Savagely at the Germans— Ostend and Zeebrugge Freed from the Submarine Pirates—Pathetic Scenes as Belgians are Restored to Their Homes . ci geo? ii ae ean gree ea EZ

Enemy Offensive Opens on Front of Ninety-Seven Miles—Repulse of the Austrians—Italy Turns the Tables—Terrific Counter-Thrusts from the Piave to Trente—Forcing the Alpine Passages—Battles High in the Air—English, French and Americans Back up the Italians in Humbling the Might of Austria —D’Annunzio’s Romantic Bombardment of Vienna—Diaz Leads his Men to Vistérys 2 2 ee Eo ee 5 fp Re oe ee OO

2 s e °

Greece in the Throes of Revolution—Fall of Constantine—Serbians Begin Advance on Bulgars—Thousands of Prisoners Taken—Surrender of Bulgaria—

Panic in Berlin—Passage Through the Country Granted for Armies of the ety Allies—Ferdinand eee ae see ae Dream Forever Destroyed. . . . . ; Z : . 591

Cuarter XLVII. Tue Cenrrat Emprres WHINE FOR PEACE Austria-Hungary Makes the First Plea—President Wilson’s Abrupt Answer— Prince Max, Camouflaged as an Apostle of Peace, made Chancellor and Opens Germany’s Pathetic Plea for a Peace by Negotiation—The President Replies on Behalf of ail the Allied Powers—F'och Pushes on Regardless of Peace Notes. 603

CHapteR XLVIII. Barris in THe Arr

Conquering the Fear of Death—From Individual Fights to Battles Between Squadrons—Heroes of the Warring Nations—America’s Wonderful Record— From Nowhere to First Place in Highteen Months—The Liberty Motor . . 611

CHapTeR XLIX. HeAtTH AND HAPPINESS OF THE AMERICAN Forcrs

Record of the Red Cross on all Fronts—A Gigantic Work Well Executed— Y. M. C. A—Y. W. C. A.—Knights of Columbus—Jewish Welfare Associae tion—Salvation Army—American Library Association—Other Organizations— SULpery ANd Sanitavlon Yew pe Sole eu ie on we here wae re ke cade, nome ie te, O22

CHaptrr L. Tur Pirates or THE UNDER-SEAS Germany’s Ruthless Submarine Policy—A Boomerang Destroying the Hand that Cast It—Terrorism that Failed—One Hundred and Fifty U-Boats Sunk or Captured—Shameless Surrender of the German Submarines and of the Wleetrbheys Provecved cso .< Wat sd" oe ca Ae ye pwn yens “epee ak we, Paar Vs, Od

Cuapter LI. APPROACHING THE FINAL STAGE Cutting the Railroads to Cambrai—Americans Co-operate with British in Furious Attack—Douai and St. Quentin Taken—The Battle Line Straightened for the Last Mighty Assault—All Hope Abandoned by the Kaiser. . . . 640.

Cuaprer LIT. Last Days or THE War

American Troops Join with the Allies in Colossal Drive on 71-mile Front— Historic Sedan Taken by the Yanks—Stenay, the Last Battle of the War— How the Opposing Forces Greeted the News of the Armistice . . . . . 643

Cuapter LIII. ‘Tue Drastic Terms or SuRRENDER Handcuffs for Four Nations—Bulgaria First to Fly the White Flag—Allenby’s Great Victory Forces Turkey Out—Austria nee Se oman Capitulation Complete and Humiliating . . . ee 648

CuapTer LIV. Peace at Last An Unfounded Rumor Starts Enormous Jubilation—Armistice Signed Four Days Later—Kaiser Abdicates and Flees to Holland—-Cowardly Ruler Seeks

16 CONTENTS PAGE

Protection of Small Neutral Nation—Looking Into the Future—Cost of War to the Nations—Liberty Loans—Reconstruction Problems—McAdoo Resigns

—American Ideals in the Old World. 660

Cuapter LV. America’s Position In PEACE AND WAR

President Wilson’s Stirring Speech in Congress Which Brought the United States into the War—His Great Speech Before Congress Ending the War— The Fourteen Points Outlining America’s Demands Before Peace Could be Concluded—Later Peace Principles Enunciated by the President. . . . 669

Cuaprer LVI. THe War sy Years

Condensed Word-Picture of the Happenings of the Most Momentous Fifty-two Months in All History—Leading Up to the Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month of 1918. arrears 5 iY

Cuapter LVII. Brsinp America’s Barriz LIne

General March’s Story of the Work of the Military Intelligence Division— Of the War Plans Division—Of the Purchase and Traffic Divisions—How Men, Munitions and Supplies Reached the Western Front. . . . . . . . 689

CHapTer LVIII. Gernerat Persuina’s Own Story

The Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces Tells the Story of the Magnificent Combat Operations of his Troops that Defeated Prussia’s Legions—Official Account Discloses Full Details of the Fighting. . 701

Cuapter LIX. Presipent Winson’s Review or THE War

A Year in the Life of the United States Crowded with Great Events—Tribute to the Soldiers and Sailors, the Workers at Home Who Supplied the Sinews of the Great Undertaking, the Women of the Land Who Contributed to the Great Result—The Future Safe in the Hands of American Businessmen. . 720

SUMMARIZED CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR. ....... . 729

Foreword

HIS is a popular narrative history of the world’s greatest

war. Written frankly from the viewpoint of the United

States and the Allies, it visualizes the bloodiest and most

destructive conflict of all the ages from its remote causes to its glorious conclusion and beneficent results. The world-shaking rise of new democracies is set forth, and the enormous national and individual sacrifices producing that resurrection of human equality are detailed.

Two ideals have been before us in the preparation of this necessary work. These are simplicity and thoroughness. It is of no avail to describe the greatest of human events if the description is so confused that the reader loses interest. Thoroughness is an historical essential beyond price. So it is that official documents prepared in many instances upon the field of battle, and others taken from the files of the governments at war, are the basis of this work. Maps and photographs of unusual clearness and high authenticity illuminate the text. All that has gone into war making, into the regeneration of the world, are herein set forth with historical particularity. The stark horrors of Belgium, the blighting terrors of chemical warfare, the governmental restrictions placed upon hundreds of millions of civilians, the war sacrifices falling upon all the civilized peoples of earth, are in these pages.

It is a book that mankind can well read and treasure.

CHAPTER I A Wag For INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM

Y FELLOW COUNTRYMEN: The armistice was signed this morning. Everything for which America fought has been accomplished. The war thus comes to an end.”

Speaking to the Congress and the people of the United States, President Wilson made this declaration on November 11, 1918. A few hours before he made this statement, Germany, the empire of blood and iron, had agreed to an armistice, terms of which were the hardest and most humiliating ever imposed upon.a nation of the first class. It was the end of a war for which Germany had prepared for generations, a war bred of a philosophy that Might can take its toll of earth’s possessions, of human lives and liberties, when and where it will. That philosophy involved the cession to imperial Germany of the best years of young German manhood, the training of German youths to be killers of men. It involved the creation of a military caste, arrogant beyond all precedent, a caste that set its strength and pride against the righteousness of democracy, against the possession of wealth and bodily comforts, a caste that visualized itself as part of a power-mad Kaiser’s assumption that he and God were to shape the destinies of earth.

When Marshal Foch, the foremost strategist in the world, representing the governments of the Allies and the United States, delivered to the emissaries of Germany terms upon which they might surrender, he brought to an end the bloodiest, the most destructive and the most beneficent war the world has known. It is worthy of note in this connection that the three great wars in which the United States of America engaged have been wars for freedom. The Revolutionary War was for the liberty of the colonies; the Civil War was waged for the freedom of manhood and for the principle of the indissolubility of the Union; the World War, beginning 1914, was fought for the right of small nations to self-government and for the right of every country to the free use of the high seas.

More than four million American men were under arms when the conflict ended. Of these, more than two million were upon the fields of France and Italy. These were thoroughly trained in the military art. They had proved their right to be considered among the most formidable soldiers the world has known. Against the brown rock of that host in khaki, the flower of German savagery and courage had broken at ChAteau-Thierry. There the high tide of Prussian militarism, after what had seemed to be an irresistible dash for the destruction of France, spent itself in the bloody froth and spume of bitter defeat. There the Prussian Guard encountered the Marines, the Iron Division and the other heroic organizations of America’s new army. ‘There German soldiers who had been hardened and trained under German conscription before the war, and who had learned new arts in their bloody trade, through their service in the World War, met their masters in young Americans taken from the shop, the field, and the forge, youths who had been sent into battle with a scant six months’ intensive training in the art of war. Not only did these American soldiers hold the German onslaught where it was but, in a sudden, fierce, resistless counter-thrust they drove back in defeat and confusion the Prussian Guard, the Pommeranian Reserves, and smashed the morale of that German division beyond hope of resurrection.

The news of that exploit sped from the Alps to the North Sea Coast, through all the camps of the Allies, with incredible rapidity. ‘The Americans have held the Germans. They can fight,” ran the message. New life came into the war-weary ranks of heroic poilus and into the steel-hard armies of Great Britain. ‘The Americans are as good as the best. There are millions of them, and millions more are coming,’”’ was heard on every side. The transfusion of American blood came as magic tonic, and from that glorious day there was never a doubt as to the speedy defeat of Germany. From that day the German retreat dated. The armistice signed on November 11, 1918, was merely the period finishing the death sentence of German militarism, the first word of which was uttered at ChAteau-Thierry.

Germany’s defiance to the world, her determination to

A WAR FOR INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM 21 force her will and her “kultur” upon the democracies of earth, produced the conflict. She called to her aid three sister autocracies: Turkey, a land ruled by the whims of a long line of moody misanthropic monarchs; Bulgaria, the traitor nation cast by its Teutonic king into a war in which its people had no choice and little sympathy; Austria-Hungary, a congeries of races in which a Teutonic minority ruled with an iron scepter.

Against this phalanx of autocracy, twenty-four nations arrayed themselves. Populations of these twenty-eight warring nations far exceeded the total population of all the remainder of humanity. The conflagration of war literally belted the earth. It consumed the most civilized of capitals. It raged in the swamps and forests of Africa. To its call came alien peoples speaking words that none but themselves could translate, wearing garments of exotic cut and hue amid the smart garbs and sober hues of modern civilization. A twentieth century Babel came to the fields of France for freedom’s sake, and there was born an internationalism making for the future understanding and peace of the world. The list of the twenty-eight nations entering the World War and their populations follow:

Countries. Population. | Countries. Population, United States...0 200... ees TO OOO 000s Italy sven fe. 20 ken on 37,000,000 Austria-Hungary............ 50;000;0002 |= Japan. 08, 1850 aes 54,000,000 Belgium os iae sane? i aoe SOOO O00; |= Pabernatenc.(c sae ane eee 2,000,000 Bulganiagesesa, se. eee 10,000,000). Montenegro. i... 2 as. soe. 500,000 Braga lise uae ae eee a ae PLE 23,000,000 | Nicaragua.................. 700,000 Gina ec sot Pera nls omis ss 420,000,000 | Panama.................... 400,000 Costa Ricay.s tae eas. 425.0004) Portugal. 5c uoc.n se ee 15,000,000 Cubase ee ee ae ets 2 DOU OOO | MRoumManTas. s.r. eee. aa 7,500,000 TANCE. ee ees he ees OOOO OOO Russias sci te mete ns sree 180,000,000 Gautemala:... 0050. 7... 4-5. 2,000,000 | San Marino. 2... 2.0 os ee 10,000 Germany tic ences Stine oes G7, 000 0003 Serbia cies.) a. to eee ee 4,500,000 Great Britain*.............. 440,000,000 | Siam....................... 6,000,000 Greece: 22 a eee i Sees 500000034 Lurkeyee. Gest ota cey ohhh 42,000,000 Haiti Footie sctie gee eas 2,000,000 ae Honduras! << <0, 0" ghee es 600,000 Total \i.c 6.0.0. c0s . «. -1,575,135,000

* Including colonies.

The following nations, with their populations, took no part in the World War:

Countries. Population. Countries. Population.

AD ISSUE eu lorae Oo ecjgh 2G sae 8,000,000 } Argentina....... ............ 8,000,000 Afghanistan.......... BE deter rales 6;000/000))) Bhutani. 2s 2 bec. eee ee. 250,000

Countries. Population. * Countries. Population, Colombia. os. icukew tne 5,000;000- | Paraguay. cece cue eee 800,000 Denmark eo"; 2a. ee ee 3,000;000:-|" Persiazs ac. cc ene eee 9,000,000 Bcd ad Ona oy herr ae nea 1,500,000. | Salvadorswrcn.sts = es eee 1,250,000 Mexico..... AS TER eae 15,000,000.5!= Spainaee. aestaeho~ se eee 20,000,000 Monacoi sae ee ae 20,000 | Switzerland............... ... 8,750,000 Nepal a8 casts eines ee 4,000,000 | Venezuela...............005 2,800,000 Holland*: <2. eee 40,000,000 SSeS Norwayonc. tee ee 2,500,000 Total...2. ae “185,876,000

® Including colonies.

Never before in the history of the world were so many races and peoples mingled in a military effort as those that came together under the command of Marshal Foch. If we divide the human races into white, yellow, red and black, all four were largely represented. Among the white races there were Frenchmen, Italians, Portuguese, English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Canadians, Australians, South Africans (of both British and Dutch descent) New Zealanders; in the American army, probably every other Kuropean nation was represented, with additional contingents from those already named, so that every branch of the white race figured in the ethnological total.

There were representatives of many Asiatic races, including not only the volunteers from the native states of India, but elements from the French colony in Cochin China, with Annam, Cambodia, Tonkin, Laos, and Kwang Chau Wan. England and France both contributed many African tribes, including Arabs from Algeria and ‘Tunis, Senegalese, Saharans, and many of the South African races. The red races of North America were represented in the armies of both Canada and the United States, while the Maoris, Samoans, and other Polynesian races were likewise represented. And as, in the American Army, there were men of German, Austrian, and Hungarian descent, and, in all probability, contingents also of Bulgarian and Turkish blood, it may be said that Foch commanded an army representing the whole human race, united in defense of the ideals of the Allies.

It will be seen that more than ten times the number of neutral persons were engulfed in the maelstrom of war. Millions of these suffered from it during the entire period of the conflict, four years three months and fifteen days, a total of 1,567 days. For almost four years Germany rolled up a record of victories on land and of piracies on and under the seas.

tl ll

IS y f

$ Oo fe Se

ECALE OF MILES

Oy. 4 AIfh

TERRITORY OCCUPIED BY THE ALLIES UNDER THE ARMISTICE OF NOVEMBER li, 1918

Dotted area, invaded territory of Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Alsace- Lorraine to be evacuated in fourteen days; area in small squares, part of Germany west of the Rhine to be evacuated in twenty-five days and occupied by Allied and U. 8. troops; lightly ‘shaded area to east of Rhine, neutral zone; black semi-circles bridge-heads of thirty kilometers radius in the neutral zone to be occupied by Allied armies.

Q4 HISTORY OF THE WORLD WAR

Little by little, day after day, piracies dwindled as the murderous submarine was mastered and its menace strangled. On the land, the Allies, under the matchless leadership of Marshal Ferdinand Foch and the generous co-operation of Americans, British, French and Italians, under the great Generals Pershing, Haig, Pétain and Diaz, wrested the initiative from von Hindenburg and Ludendorf, late in July, 1918. Then, in one hundred and fifteen days of wonderful strategy and the fiercest fighting the world has ever witnessed, Foch and the Allies closed upon the Germanic armies the jaws of a steel trap. A series of brilliant maneuvers dating from the battle of ChAteau-Thierry in which the Americans checked the Teutonic rush, resulted in the defeat and rout on all the fronts of the Teutonic commands.

In that titanic effort, America’s share was that of the final deciding factor. A nation unjustly titled the “Dollar Nation,” believed by Germany and by other countries to be soft, selfish and wasteful, became over night hard as tempered steel, self-sacrificing with an altruism that inspired the world and thrifty beyond all precedent in order that not only its own armies but the armies of the Allies might be fed and munitioned.

Leading American thought and American action, President Wilson stood out as the prophet of the democracies of the world. Not only did he inspire America and the Allies to a military and naval effort beyond precedent, but he inspired the civilian populations of the world to extraordinary effort, efforts that eventually won the war. For the decision was gained quite as certainly on the wheat fields of Western America, in the shops and the mines and the homes of America as it was upon the battle-field. j

This effort came in response to the following appeal by the President:

These, then, are the things we must do, and do well, besides fighting —the things without which mere fighting would be fruitless:

We must supply abundant food for ourselves and for our armies and our seamen not only, but also for a large part of the nations with whom we have now made common cause, in whose support and by whose sides we shall be fighting;

We must supply ships by the hundreds out of our shipyards to carry to the other side of the sea, submarines or no submarines, what will every day be needed there; and—

Abundant materials out of our fields and our mines and our factories

A WAR FOR INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM 25 with which not only to clothe and equip our own forces on land and sea but also to clothe and support our people for whom the gallant fellows under arms can no longer work, to help clothe and equip the armies with which Wwe are co-operating in Europe, and to keep the looms and manufactories there in raw material;

Coal to keep the fires going in ships at sea and in the furnaces of hundreds of factories across the sea;

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