History of the World War

Front matter

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Chapter II

I. The Grand Strategy: New year sees German position little changed — ^No immediate prospect of a Russian offensive — British army, expanded, becomes a menace to German flank in Flanders and Artois, but lacks guns for successful offensive — British failure at Loos — Once more Germans have to deal with France — Elimination of France would mean removal of the British menace — Campaign to be a colossal blow *^ aimed at the heart of France** — Its failure not contemplated by German leadership. 11. Why Verdun ? Selection made as result of many conditions — The gun master of the fort — ^Verdun isolated — Dependent almost entirely on road communication for its supplies — Defects of the position — Reinforcement a difiicult task — ^Verdun itself without value, but its capture might compel abandonment of northern and eastern Lorraine and the line of fortresses from Chlllons to Belfort. III. Verdun Topography: Weak point in French line — ^Weakness increased by French neglect of preparation — Point and character of the attack — The terrain — ^Real military value of the Verdun position — Phases of the battle. IV. The German Plan: Preparations for the offensive — Methods used — ^The element of surprise temporarily paralyzes French High Command — ^Utter defeat narrowly averted — French territorials versus specially trained, crack German corps — Crown Prince's order to attack. V, The Flood: Battle of Verdun — ^Number of guns beyond French aviators' ability to indicate on the map — Phases of the contest — ^Verdun, in flames and ashes, is hastily evacuated by civilian

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inhabitants— German prospect of supreme victory brilliant — French counter-attack stems flood — The battle over, the siege begins — The counter-attack on Douaumont Plateau a decisive circumstance in a decisive battle.'^t' 13

Chapter III

I. The Supreme Achievement: Perhaps the finest achievement in the two thousand years of French military history — Duration of the attack — French tenacity amazing — "They shall not pass!" — ^The achievement of the French soldier beyond power of just appraisal — Paris and provinces sense that the life of France is at stake — Kaiser forecasts speedy entrance of his troops into Verdun — The defence a miracle. II. French Preparation: Certain precautions taken, but several essendals neglected — ^No third-line defences — ^Neglect of railway communications fault of the French politician — ^Automobile transport, planned by General Staff, saved the city — Legend that Germans walked into a trap not true; the attack a surprise — The tragedy of Verdun. III. The Decision to Fight: Doubt as to whether first bombardment was a major attack or a mere feint — By February 24 magnitude of the thrust no longer questionable — General de Castelnau is sent to review situation and to decide whether a new French army should cross the Meuse to defend the eastern hills or the whole French line drawn back from the east bank of the river from Verdun down to St. Mihiel — ^Joffre favours the latter plan, but Paris, the politicians, the Government, are strongly for accepting the German challenge — Castelnau decides for the defence, recognizing the moral and the military significance of Verdun — Petain summoned — His arrival restores "delicate'* situation — Heroic stand and sacrifices of the *'Iron Corps" — The penalty of prior negligence. IV. The End of The Battle : First step in protracted siege — Fort Douaumont taken by Brandenburgers — Balfourier halts German rush — Enemy reserves in men and munitions exhausted — ^Whole German conception breaks down — Deadly effect of French "7S*s" — Arrival of French first-line corps — In her second great crisis France had found a man, Petain, the defender of Verdun 36

Chapter IV

I. The German Problem : Considerations that led to the French decision to accept battle on the Meuse Heights — German High Command viii CONTENTS

has to decide whether or not to continue the Verdun operation — ^No alternative but to continue — Germany's fears and calculations — ^Her changed objectives — Seeks to induce premature British offensive; Britain volunteers to attack but Joffre wisely forbids — The siege a struggle, France seeking to give Britain time to organize the Somme offensive, Germany crying to make that offence impossible — Peril of Verdun hastens Somme stroke — Siege of Verdun a figure of speech; the city never invested — ^Automobile transport system saved Verdun. 11. The New Fighting: In earlier battles artillery abolishes first- and second-line defences — Bombardment lasts days, even weeks — ^Trenches abolished — Meuse Heights devastated — Lines of communication blotted out — Suffering of troops, horrors of siege, indescribable — ^Misery of fighters and desolation of country beyond realization — ^Verdun itself melts into dust and ashes — ^The siege a scientific butchery, a new phase of war. III. On the Left Bank — Dead Man*s Hill: German advance halted — Conflict shifts from centre to flanks — Second phase of the contest — *" Battle of the Wings" — Struggles costly to Germans — Main French defensive position at Chamy Ridge — Surrender of Dead Man's Hill and Hill 304. IV. On the Right — Fort de Vaux: Defence of fort an epitome of whole Verdun epic — Germans falsely report capture of Vaux by attack; invent French counter-attack next day to explain continued French occupation — ^The fort invested — Communication with outside by carrier pigeons and then, when last pigeon released, by heliograph — Garrison live in underground passages — Enemy reaching ground above pours bombs down staircases — Garrison holds out against gas attacks till food and water run out ; then its commander surrenders — Battle of the Wings is ended — ^Verdun in extremis. V. The Attack in the Centre : Positions of the two contending forces — Final phase of Verdun offensive — Capture of Thiaumont Farm and redoubt — German flood halted at ditch of Fort de Souville — ^Wedge penetrates southwest of Douaumont — ^Anglo-French offensive in Picardy causes Germans loss of initiative — ^Their Verdun game played out — ^Verdun has served Allied purpose; the military and the moral objectives realized — ^A moral victory — They had not passed 45

Chapter V

L Brftish Perplexities : British public life and sentiment at lowest ebb since Waterloo removed menace of Napoleon — The Irish Rebellion, the surrender of Kut and the Battle of Jutland together disclose governmental ineptitude which leads to fall of Asquith Ministry — Jutland so

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presented by the Admiralty as to appear a defeat — Britain lacks a leader — Chaos — Industrial struggles — British Labour's grievance and struggle. II. The Great Disappointments: From the outset plain that France, even with Russia's aid, could not reach a decisive victory — In spring of 191 6 the war waits on Britain — ^^Popular misapprehension — Statesmen conceal from people the gravity of the situation — British leaders and journals propagate legend that foe is already beaten — Colonies far more alive to situation — Britain not unwilling to make necessary sacrifice to win the war, army not unwilling to bear burden of casualties, but whole nation craves leadership — Rulers afraid to tell people the truth, to trust the masses who were worthy of all confidence — France sees facts unmistakably. III. The Great Awakening: The truth comes home to British masses after the Irish Rising, the surrender of Kut, and the first belief that the Battle of Jutland had been lost — Dis« astrous consequences of lack of central or intelligent direction realized — British prestige in east suffers owing to Turkish triumphs at Gallipoli and Kut — ^Whole of Asia stirred — British fury over Dublin tragi-comedy — ^Young Ireland stretches out hand to Germany — ^While France has a grip on realities, readers of the British press (controlled by censor) conclude that people of Germany are starving and on the verge of rebellion to expel their Kaiser — British people lose confidence in their statesmen — ^In England a sense of little men, eternal talk, words disguising the truth — People appalled by the revelation — Splendid achievements of British people, army, navy, a priceless contribution — Conscious of her mighty potentialities, England longed for a Cromwell and found an Asquith — Relief of Verdun ends period of depression — Britain throws herself into hands of Lloyd George — Internal dissensions in England and in France contrasted with the perfect unity and subordination of domestic differences in Germany — ^The Allied world in disarray* IV. The Irish Rebellion: Tragic in its consequences, ridiculous in its comparative insignificance — Causes of the Rebellion — England's efforts to right past wrongs — Generous legislation leaves Irish hearts untouched — Barrier of mutual misapprehension — English eflForts at reconciliation fruitless — ^Ulster in arms — ^John Redmond's gesture; pledges Ireland to support the war for human liberty — Ireland's prompt response — The golden moment passes — Instead of passing the Home Rule Act, the Asquith Ministry postponed it — Disappointed Ireland throws itself into the arms of the Sinn Fein, which looks to Kaiser as a champion and a liberator— Story of the actual Rebellion — Casualties and consequences— Ireland becomes friendless — Tools of Germany. V. KuT'EL-Amara: Enquiry reveals a new scandal, a new folly — Origjl* nal expedition a wise step— But policy of adventure reasserts itself and

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a small force is pushed forward to a region whither Turks are able to draw unlimited numbers — ^The force gallantly attacks superior numbers, is defeated, retreats to Kut, and is besieged — Frantic efforts of awak* ened officials to save beleaguered army — Relieving force too late — ^Townshend surrenders — The Bagdad gamble ends in a disastrous reverse — Victorious advance of Maude to Bagdad and beyond — ^Jerusalem occupied — British prestige restored — Kut an unjustifiable waste of men and material — Landmarks of a year .... 70

Chapter VI The Battle Of Jutland

I. "The Day" at Last: Greatest conflict in naval history — Circumstances of the engagement — ^A chance encounter on both sides — The meeting — ^A threefold operation follows — Flight. IL The Fight: Hipper runs away from Beatty — Beatty runs away when Scheer brings up battle fleet — Scheer flees from Jellicoe — British losses frankly conceded, German losses remain to be established — German fleet escapes owing to lateness of hour and "low visibility" — British fleet proceeds to base^ injured ships are put under repairs — ^Jellicoe resumes cu9« tomary watch of the North Sea — Summary — British losses — German losses — Enemy's gunnery — Criticism of tactical aspects — ^The battle develops nothing new, but depreciates value of the submarine. IIL The Result: British battle fleet, confident that it had won a great victory, returns to find nation near panic from belief that the battle had been lost — Same impression shared by whole world — Stupidity of Admiralty the cause — Kaiser congratulates Scheer — The facts — ^The ** victorious" fleet continues to hide — The "defeated" fleet resumes its normal functions — Final answer to the claim that Jutland was a German victory — Perception grows clearer that Britain had won the war on the seas — Mastery of the enemy fleet the true naval victory of the war — ^A great and a small battle compared — ^An allegory — ^Jutland a vindication of Britain's claim to naval supremacy, a failure of the Kaiser's challenge years previous to the war: "Our future lies on the sea." . 103

Chapter VII The Battle Of The Somme— Conditions Of The Contest

I. A Supreme Tragedy: The First Battle of the Somme the graveyard of more men and more hopes than any western field of fighting up to July, 191 8 — ^Although a British victory, much of its glory is swept away in March, 191 8 — ^The scene of a Brirish victory becomes mem-

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orable as the field of great British disaster — Britain pays full price for long years of political blindness — Battle a fight between a still-unorganized population and a perfected machine commanded by men versed in the industry of war — Between July and November a period of tragic sacrifice, the cost of unpreparedness. IL The Purpose : Immediate object to relieve Verdun — The battle a contest in attrition — ^Advance slow and grim — ^Numbers engaged — Casualties — Germans lose initiative in France and Belgium — First Somme, a strategic success for the Allies, not a defeat of material consequence to Germans — In all but one sense a bitter disappointment to the Allies. III. The Noyon Salient: Created by the fighting immediately following the German retreat from the Mame — ^The salient geographically described — Railway facilities — ^Allied strategy — Description of Battle of the Somme — Choice of the Picardy front — ^Terrific losses. IV. The Battleground : Features of surrounding country — ^The German line — Elaborately fitted dugouts — ^Natural advantages with the German — Formidable defences — British point of attack known in advance — French attack not foreseen — Progress of the battle — ^Meaning of the struggle — Critics at the time described it as the beginning of the end^Now regarded as a sad waste — ^Murder unparalleled 113

Chapter VIII

I. The New Army: Somme the "first full-dress show" of the New British Army — Features of New Army — Its leaders — ^After two years of disappointment and humiliation, Britain answers "present'' in the roll call of peoples fighting Germany. II. Hopes and Fears: New Army an untried experiment — ^Artillery and ammunition in plenty but experience lacking — British achievement a landmark — ^New Army dies on July I — ^The real costs of the Somme — The struggle a tragic blunder. III. The Same Old Problem: The Somme an effort to transform a war of positions into a war of movement — Previous experiments — Causes of their failure — Problem of penetration solved later by Germans — British artillery not up to task in opening phase of battle — ^Infantry advance to annihilation — In later phases British artillery masters problem — Germans driven from fixed defences — ^The dugout a tomb — On July i the opening attack conforms to older standards — ^The Brirish fail. IV. July i : Disposition and composition of the British and the French armies — ^Numbers engaged — ^The German force — Details of the fighting — Brirish suffer a bloody check from Gommecourt almost to Fricourt — From Fricourt to Maricourt a measure of success — Fall of Mametz and

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Montauban necessitates German retirement from Fricourt and as far west as La Boiselle — Details of the French action — French losses insignificant — British losses heavy — First day of Somme a ghastly failure — In one respect only the Allies establish superiority, they seize control of the air. V. Haig Makes Grant's Decision: His efforts to pierce enemy line and compel a general retirement a failure — Renewal of general attack impossible — To abandon the action altogether out of the question — Haig's decision changes character of the Battle of the Somme — French armies as flank guard — Out of failure Haig constructs success — ^The Somme, a symbol; contrasted with the Mame and Verdun. . 137

Chapter IX

I. To THE Crest of the Ridge : German first line is broken — Fricourt is taken — German second line is broken — Second phase opens — British reach crest of the Ridge — Bridsh advance slow — French more success-^ ful — Haig^ aided by the French, extends lines. H. The End of the Battle : The third phase — British master final line of enemy entrench* ments — Delville Wood, Flers, and Combles taken — German resistance weakens — ^Micheler*s French army active on Fayolle's flank — Fulfilment of Haig's expectations prevented by climatic conditions — End of campaign sees German line still unbroken — One brilliant incident lightens gloom: The taking of Beaumont-Hamel — Proof that British army has learned the lessons of modem offensive action. HI. The Tanks: First appearance on the field — Comparison with other engines of war — The tank a movable fort — In its first action it produces consternation yet evokes uncontrollable laughter — Element of surprise promptly exhausted — ^Tank remains a permanent detail in the new order — Fleet of tanks achieve break-through — Reserves lacking to exploit success — Brirish and French improve form and mechanism of tank, which revolutionizes their method of attack — ^Actual origin of tank. IV. The Achievement: Both sides, at close of the battle, try to measure its meaning — ^The situation analyzed — Effects of Russia's fall — German retirement — Devastation — ^A new perspective — ^Sterility of Sonune campaign — America prepares to intervene. V. The Desert: Revelation of power of modem weapons of destruction — Havoc at Ypres and Verdun — Once-beautiful landscapes of Picardy transformed into a Sahara — Shell-wracked Albert — Ruin indescribable — The Mame regioa — The Somme region — ^Mametz: not a stone, not a fragment remains — ^Montauban, Fricourt, scores of villages from Roye to Miraucourt,

CONTENTS xiii obliterated — ^A wartime legend of Picardy finds mournful refutation — Third Battle of the Somme opens 159

Chapter X

I. The Pause: The Crown Prince's promise — ^The situation analyzed — ^The furnace of the Somme slowly devours German resources — French attacks directed at Fleury and Thiaumont savagely repulsed — Preparations for counter-offensive planned by Petain, Nivelle, and Mangin — Their records. II. The Objectives: For the first offensive, Douaumont and Vaux — ^The terrain — ^The front line — ^Mission of the three divisions of attack — Distances to be covered — Plan of operation — ^Hour for the attack — Climatic conditions — ^The attack one of the finest bits of scientific fighting in all the first four years of the war — Mechanical perfection unexcelled even in German achievement. III. Douaumont AND Vaux : Descriptive account of the attack — Douaumont taken — Fate of Vaux sealed — Prisoners and booty — Full measure of success disclosed later — ^Vaux evacuated — ^The circle of Verdun defences restored — "They shall not pass'* is a boast fulfilled — ^The soul of the French people revealed. IV. Verdun Answers the Kaiser: The victory of October 24 gives Verdun security but cost of holding place still unduly high — French prepare for another thrust — ^Mangin leads swift surprise attack heralded by terrific bombardment — French objectives — Details of attack — Prisoners and booty captured — ^Nivelle leaves Verdun to succeed Joffre — His stay in the High Command is brief and disastrous — France turns to Petain, the central figure of the Verdun campaign. V. Aftermath: Germans still holding important ground on west bank of Meuse — Petain, on becoming Commander-in-Chief, organizes third offensive — Germans thrust off dominating hills — Ground is retaken, entirely reestablishing the old situation — ^Verdun ceases to be of any value in the immediate fighting — Prisoners and booty captured during third counter-offensive — ^Verdun operation consisted of three phases — First phase — Second phase — ^Third phase — ^Verdun from the military and the human side — ^A national epic 181

Chapter XI

I. The General Allied Conception: Major strategic conceptions — Allies' plans — Central Powers* alternatives — Great attack on Verdun commences — The Italian situation — The Verdun attack fails — Rela* xiv CONTENTS

tions between the operations in France, in Italy, and in Russia — German strategy fails — ^Austria attacks Italy. II. Trentine Geography: Natural features aid Austrians — Inherent viciousness of the Italian situation — ^The Venetian Plain. III. The Attack: The Trentine offensive — Forces engaged — ^The preliminary bombardment is followed by a repetition of the Verdun episode — ^The Italians counter-attack — Brusiloflfs guns sound overture to the Russian offensive — Austrian effort dies out — Cadoma's counter-offensive. IV. On the Isonzo: Italy's strenuous defence — ^The Gorizia bridgehead — ^Thermopylae — The Gorizia position outlined — Bulwarks of the defence system — Railway systems — Italian advance halted — Italy's lack of guns — ^The defeat of Caporetto — Italian purpose in the Gorizia offensive — ^The three separate elements of the Gorizia position — Italy's preparations — Her failure complete. V. Gorizia: Cadoma's great blow — East and west, Central Powers in retreat — ^Allied fortunes mounting — ^The Gorizia offensive outlined — Gorizia taken — Austrians still hold their main positions — Italian rush comes to a halt — Italy has shot her bolt of 1916 — Allies' concentric attack lasts little more than a month — Its strain on the enemy promptly met — Italy declares war on Germany; the reasons — Preface to Rumania's entrance — Influence upon the course of the wan 201

Chapter XII

I. Looking Eastward : Russia launches the last campaign of the Romanoff Empire — Interdependence between the eastern and the western operations — Influence upon western events of the Russian blow — Even dying, Russia deals heavy stroke to endurance of shaken Hapsburg Empire — Russian campaign of 191 6 examined — In London and Paris the true situation in Russia unknown — Russia abandons Allied cause, and Allies face possible defeat — Russia's armies beyond praise but her Court, rulers, and statesmen corrupt — ^The scandals of Rasputin — Intrigues of German coteries — Progressive degeneration of national spirit and determination — Russia collapses inward — ^The last Russian offensive seen in the light of the Russian situation — ^Allied hopes brought from the heights to a Dead Sea level. II. Russian Strategy: Positions of the beaten Russian forces — Out of chaos Alexieff creates great armies — Russian military strength restored — Erzerum falls before Grand Duke Nicholas — ^Trebizond taken — Conquest of Turkish Armenia completed — ^The three objectives of Russian strategy — ^Austria, .after deadly peril, again saved by German intervention. III. Battle-

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FIELD AND Armies: Disposition of armies; their commanders — First phase of the Russian offensive — ^Numbers engaged — Physical features of the battlefield — Russians at a disadvantage owing to scarcity of roads and railroads — ^Value of Kovel, Lemberg, and Stanislau as railway junctions — ^Austrians' trunk and lateral communications give them advantage. IV. June 5 : Actual progress of events — Russians bombard enemy lines — All five Austrian armies assailed by Russian infantry; the results — Russian flood sweeps forward — Dubno and Lutsk taken — ^Archduke Joseph Ferdinand's army, routed, loses more than 70,000 prisoners — Pflanzer's army loses more than 40,000 prisoners and ceases to exist — ^The situation critical — Bothmer's position perilous — German intervention rapid and efficient — ^A new army created— Defeated Archduke deprived of all but nominal authority — Germans counter-attack — Russian advance checked and thrown back a little — Results of the German stroke. V. The End of the First Phase: Prisoners, cannon, and booty taken — ^Territorial gains — ^The Russian achievement colossal — The attack a surprise to the foe — Signs, recognized by Germany, fail to warn Western powers — Russia's victories had entailed colossal sacrifices — ^The victorious Russians had outrun their guns and supplies; the routed Austrians had retired upon guns and German reinforcements — Russia's check fatal to her main purpose — While London and Paris acclaim Russian ''steam roller" restored to efficiency the real opportunity had passed — ^The Russian offensive doomed to end in dismal slaughter and unmistakable check. VI. The Russian Offensive Slows Down: Further phases summarized — German strategy dominates — ^Aims of Russian strategy — ^The Kerensky offensive — Loesche's army attacks — ^Lutsk salient ironed out — Kaledin retakes ground lost in mid-June — Campaign for Kovel ends — Sakharoff* defeats Boehm-Ermoli's army, takes more than 50,000 prisoners, captures Brody, and arrives on northern flank of Bothmer's army — In July, Bothmer still holds on — Brusiloff has secured his northern positions — ^Threatens Bothmer's left flank — ^Lechitsky turns Bothmer's southern flank — ^The situation in the middle of August outlined. VII. The End : Brusiloff's offensive after August 1 5 — Effects of Lechitsky 's earlier successes — Results of Rumania's entrance — Last Russian offensive wears itself out — ^What might have been — ^The Russian army in the autumn of 1916 a powerful disciplined force, in the spring of 1917 a mob without courage or loyalty 216 xvi CONTENTS

Chapter XIII

L The Battle of Europe : Rumania declares war upon the Central Powers — The situation as it existed on September i, 191 6 — Paris, London^ and Rome convinced that decisive victory was at hand — In Petrograd, a suspicion of the truth — Facts contrasted with appearances — Rumania, led into the war by Russian treachery, marked as a victim — Rumanian army thrown against an unshaken enemy able to throw it back in ruin — Because Germany saw the situation in single and unified way she won the Battle of Europe, the campaign, and, almost, the war itself — Comparisons with our Civil War — Cause of the Rumanian failure — Treason of the Ministry of Stuermer and ProtopopofF — Destruction of Rumania planned, that Russia might obtain peace — The blindness of Allied statesmanship. II. The Policy of National Instinct: Reasons that imderlay Rumania's entrance into the war — Brutality of Austro-Hungarian rule in Rumania Irredenta — Facts of the Rumanian situation little understood in the west — Germany's calumniation follows on Rumania's failure — Rumania's real aims — Rumania crushed — Bound hand and foot to the Central Powers by the new Treaty of Bucharest — Duties devolving upon Rumania's western allies — Belgium, Serbia, Rumania; the small states sacrificed in turn to the German power. III. Conspiracy: Aged King'^arol, at outset of the war, sought to persuade Rumania to enter on the side of the Central Powers — Effects of his death — ^Attitude of the new sovereign, Ferdinand, and of the new queen — Rumanian policy like that of Italy — Rumania's entrance postponed as a result of Russian reverses and the German invasion of Russia — Situation in June changed by BrusilofPs and Lechitsky's advances — Russia sends ultimatum to Rumania demanding her immediate enlistment or the surrender of all her hopes for territorial and racial unification — Stuermer's purpose now clear — ^The Russian Court and bureaucracy, fearful of a revolution, seek to save the existing regime — Documentary evidence of the betrayal of Rumania — Bulgaria throws off the mask and declares war as soon as Rumania is deeply committed in Transylvania — ^When Rumania falls, Germany makes proposal of peace by negotiation — Western nations decline the proffer — Russia falls into revolution, as Stuermer had foreseen — Execution of ministers and agents that had procured the betrayal of Rumania. IV. The Rumanian Offensive: Rumania's position when she declared war — The twofold Rumanian problem — ^Invasion of Transylvania — ^Thedanger of the venture — Importance of Bulgaria's attitude — Assured of Bulgaria's neutrality, Rumania sends her armies across Transylvanian fron*

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tier — Disposition of armies — Plans — Objectives of the invasion — Kronstadt taken — Bulgaria declares war — ^Mackensen crosses Dobrudja frontier, destroys one Rumanian division, and drives covering troops back toward vital Const anza-Bucharest railway — ^Troops transferred from Transylvania to the Dobrudja temporarily arrest Mackensen — Reinforcements reach Mackensen — Rumania fatally caught between the upper and the lower millstones. V. Falkenhayn and Mackensen: Invasion of Transylvania at first meets Httle resistance — Refugees flow to Vienna and Budapest — Commotion in Hungarian parliament — ^Appeals to Berlin for aid are heard — Germany organizes army for counter-offensive, and Falkenhayn is assigned to command it — Its magnitude — The counter-offensive is launched — Falkenhayn's strategy — ^The opening blow — Mackensen takes offensive on the Dobrudja front — Constanza is taken — Rumania cut off" from her one seaport — ^The off^ensive is halted by arrival of two Russian divisions sent by Brusiloff^ — Falkenhayn checked at the Predeal, the Red Tower, and the Vulcan Passes — First Rumanian Army decisively beaten at Ter Jiu — Rumanians retire behind the Alt — Germans reach positions between the Alt and Bucharest — Mackensen forces passage of the Danube at Sistova — Mackensen and Falkenhayn unite before Bucharest — ^The Battle of the Argeln — Bucharest evacuated; occupied by armies of the Central Powers — Rumanian army slips out of conquerors' grasp and retires upon lines of the Sereth — Government flees to Jassy — ^Army losses^Rumanians in retreat fire oil wells and wheat crops — But the defeat of Rumania was absolute 246

Chapter XIV

I. At Salonica: Objects of the Salonica Army — Its inability to accomplish results of material value; the reasons — Sarrail appointed to command on new front — Recalled when Clemenceau came to the helm in France — ^The task in the Orient well nigh impossible — Composition of the force — Salonica turned into an entrenched camp — ^The harbour transformed — Political complications — ^Venizelos fails and falls — King Constantine in complete control; his sympathies and influence all with the Kaiser — Impedes Allied army — Circumstances grotesque — PossibiUty of attack from north and, by the Greek army, from the rear- Intolerable situation continues throughout 1916. II. Incidents: Situation of Allies at Salonica almost incredible — Harbour forts in Greek hands — German air raids rouse Sarrail to take steps to abolish a situation dangerous and absurd — Fort Karabumu taken over by Allies — xviii CONTENTS