UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, DIGITALIZED BY MICROSOFT 2007,

1. CO
'in
ECO
OF THE
GREAT WAR
*
CO
-CLARK
DA'S .VALOROUS ACHIEVEMENTS
If
.VCE. M.A.(OXON.)

2. <Sx oCIBRIS
J. S. MART, M.D.
No..

3. presented to
Xtbran?
of tbe
IHntveraftp of Toronto
bi
Mrs* J.S. Hart

5. David Lloyd George. Great Britain's foremost Statesman and War Premier

6. SIR DOUGLAS HAIG, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE BRITISH FORCES
IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM.

7. DEDICATION
To Righteousness,
The Foundation of Peace;
To Freedom,
The Spirit of Peace;
To Democracy,
The Dwelling of Peace;
and to all Brave Men of whatever Clime or Creed,
Who for these things fought and suffered even unto death.

9. FOREWORD
The need of a popular History of the Great War, which should be at once
authoritative and free from bias and weak sentimentalism, is felt by all. This vol-
ume is designed to fill this need.
It attempts toencompass the causes of the great conflict, the chief happenings
of military and political importance during the bloodiest fifty-one months of the
world's history, and their results and their effects upon the nations involved. An
earnest endeavor has been made to take the reader through the most important
phases. The limitation of this work to
one volume makes the giving of exhaustive
details of every incident, every battle, every siege, every advance or retreat, an
impossibility. But in this very limitation lies the book's greatest value.
To please a tactician, chapters might be devoted to the battles along the Marne,
the Somme, the Yser, at Cambrai, or to the struggle before Verdun or to the Rus-
sian campaigns. But for the reader who seeks a straightforward, circumstantial
narrative of the great war, without its chief events being clouded and obscured by a
multiplicity of subsidiary details, this book has been written.
Devotion of time to research by the very best authors and critics has been
given that its facts may be clearly and accurately presented. It contains no state-
ments based on rumors, no accounts taken from unauthoritative sources.
The New World undoubtedly was a great determining factor in the overthrow
and crushing of junkerism, and for that reason this volume should be of the great-
est interest to the peoples of Canada and the United States. Over two and one-
half million sons of North America crossed to France. Their concentration and
transportation was one of the greatest military feats in history. Canada, as a part
of the British Empire, naturally became involved first. Her record of service will
fill
every patriot with a feeling of pride and inspiration. The active share in the
war by the United States, though it covered only a little over a year and a half, is
the nation's most glorious achievement.
With mind, painstaking effort has been made to do the fullest justice to
this in
all in recounting the parts played by these nations during the months of their unself-
ish crusade against autocracy and militarism.
Entertaining visualization of the war is best attained through photographs.
Consequently this book has been profusely illustrated with hundreds of scenes offi-
cially photographed during the long period of campaigning on all the great fronts.
These in themselves tell the narrative in a convincing manner. In securing these
pictures, the most skilled men attached to the fighting forces were employed. Many
were taken by men who risked death for a "close-up".
In preparing this instructive, inspiring and entertaining history, no vital epi-
sode of the war has been overlooked. The narrative is complete from the demolition
of Liege to the restoration of Peace. It is hoped that it will do full justice to the
sacrifice, courage, steadfastness in the face of great difficulties, of the tireless and
valorous fighting men of the British Empire, France, Italy, Belgium, Serbia and
the United States.
H. H. H.

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11. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pictorial History
of
The Great War
PAGF
CHAPTER I. THE RED TRAIL OF PRUSSIA 11
CHAPTER II. THE SPARK IN EUROPE'S POWDER MAGAZINE 25
CHAPTER III. THE ARMIES ARE UNLEASHED 53
CHAPTER IV. PRUSSIAN PLANS Go ASTRAY 63
CHAPTER V. THE ERA OF GIGANTIC BATTLIS 75
CHAPTER VI. HINDENBURG RETREATS 85
CHAPTER VII. RUSSIA'S TRAGIC STORY 107
CHAPTER VIII. ITALY AND THE LITTLE NATIONS 119
CHAPTER IX. THE WAR ON THE SEA 145
CHAPTER X. AMERICA'S LONG PATIENCE 159
CHAPTER XI. THE UNITED STATES DRAWS THE SWORD 175
CHAPTER XII. THE DECISIVE CAMPAIGN IN THE YEAR 1918 183
CHAPTER XIII. THE AFTERMATH OF THE ARMISTICE 235
CHAPTER XIV. THE PRICE OF VICTORY 255
CHAPTER XV. How THE CENTRAL POWERS FELL 261
CHAPTER XVI. MARVELS OF THE WAR ON LAND, SEA AND AIR 289

12. CONTENTS (Continued)
PAGE
CHAPTER XVII. THE DEBATE ON PEACE TERMS 293
CHAPTER XVIII. GERMANY LEARNS THE TERMS 301
"AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES," BY GEN. JOHN J. PERSHING 307
"NAVAL BATTLES OF THE WAR/' BY ADMIRAL WM. S. SIMS .314
BOOK II.
CANADA IN THE GREAT WAR.
CHAPTER I. THE FIRST CANADIAN CONTINGENT 3
CHAPTER II. THE GROWTH OF THE CANADIAN CORPS 11
CHAPTER III. THE CANADIAN CORPS, 1917 17
^
CHAPTER IV. THE CANADIAN CORPS, 1918 21
CHAPTER V. THE CANADIAN CAVALRY 29
CHAPTER VI. THE WORK or THE AUXILIARY SERVICES 35
CHAPTER VII. THE STORY OF THE REINFORCEMENTS 41
CHAPTER VIII. CANADIANS IN THE IMPERIAL FORCES 45
CHAPTER IX. THE CIVILIAN WAR EFFORT 51
CHAPTER X. CANADA'S WAR GOVERNMENT 57
CHAPTER XI. THE STAND AT YPRES 63
CHAPTER XII. FESTUBERT AND GIVENCHY 71
CHAPTER XIII. ST. ELOI AND SANCTUARY WOOD 75
CHAPTER XIV. THE FIGHTING ON THE SOMMK 81
CHAPTER XV. VIMY RIDGE AND B *YOND 87
CHAPTER XVI. THE SIEGE OF LEN .93-96

13. Pictorial History of The Great War
The Red Trail of Prussia
CHAPTER I
PRUSSIA UNSCRUPULOUS IN EARLY HISTORY BISMARCK THE EMPIRE
BUILDER GERMANY VICTORIOUS OVER FRANCE IN 1870 HARSH KST
TERMS IN HISTORY PRUSSIA PREPARED CAREFULLY FOR ALL WARS
MIDDLE EUROPE EMPIRE PRUSSIAN AMBITION
About two centuries and a half ago the Meantime the sway of the Prussian
Mark of Brandenburg, formerly known dynasty extended in all directions. Swed-
as the Nordmark, came under the sway of ish Pomerania, Silesia and the Posen and
Frederick William the Great Elector. West Prussian provinces of Poland were
That was the beginning of Prussia as added in the period from 1720 to 1795.
an ambitious, aggressive and unscrupu- The fortunes of war fluctuated, it is true;
lous state. Prussian arms were not always success-
The first act of Frederick William was ful. Napoleon played havoc with Prus-
the abolition of the constitution. He sian dominions for a time, and the Hohen-
made himself absolute monarch. His sec- zollerns were stripped of territories and
ond act was to create a professional army power; but the Napoleonic success was
to sustain him in absolutism. meteoric. At the Congress of Vienna, in
He trained his army, disciplined it rig- 1814, Prussia recovered practically all
that she had lost, and came into posses-
orously and equipped it as well as was
sion of several additional states that had
possible in those seventeenth century
Then he set forth to conquer his hitherto escaped her rapacity.
days.
neighbors. However, before the yoke of autocracy
was finally fastened upon the necks of the
In this he was measurably successful.
Other little marks and duchies were subject peoples of Prussia; before they
added to the territory of Brandenburg, were made the helpless and unthinking
tools of a madly ambitious
and Berlin became the center of a con- imperialism,
there was a revolt against absolutism.
siderable domain.
The fires of democracy that had swept
So Frederick William the Great Elec-
thru the American colonies, France and
tor set the style for all Prussian rulers
who should come after him. England in the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries were slow in kindling
The three fundamental principles of their torches in central
Europe. But in
Prussianism were absolutism, military 1848 and '49 Prussia heard the cry of
power and conquest. They remained the popular defiance in the streets of Berlin,
fundamental principles of Prussianism and saw the flag of insurrection raised in
thru two centuries and a half, and until Baden and Saxony.
tliv allied democracies of the world under-
With brutal power she crushed the
took to destroy them in the World War. revolutionaries of her own domain.
The domain of the Great Elector was Those of Baden and Saxony might have
joined with East Prussia by his successor, fared better the king of Saxony, indeed,
and in 1701 Frederick III assumed the was forced to hide himself but Prussia
title df King o f Prussia, placing the sent her armies into her states
neighbor
crown on his own head with his own hands and trampled ruthlessly under foot the
that being the nearest approach to brave men who sought to win freedom.
actual coronation by the
Almighty that he That is typical of Prussia. Always and
could devise.
everywhere she has been the enemy of
n

14. 12 THE RED TRAIL OF PRUSSIA
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, his wife and children. The Archduke and wife were assassinated.

15. TICK KKD TRAIL Ol PRUSSIA 13
freedom, the implacable foe of democ- sary preparation for war. When things
racy. She has denied it to all people who were in readiness to strike a sharp, hard
came under her sway, and she has done blow, he aggravated the dispute to the
her best to destroy it in the lands that she point of ruptured relations. The war he
could not, or did not choose, to conquer. wanted followed. Prussia's armies, ready
The yoke securely fastened upon the for action, were hurled into Bavaria and
necks of the people within her own realm Austria, the former state having elected
and those of her neighbors; the revolu- to take Austria's side in the quarrel.
tionary leaders exiled, imprisoned or The struggle was of short duration. In
slain, Prussia turned her thought and seven weeks Austria capitulated at the
energy again toward the plans of aggres- battle of Konnigsgratz, or Sadowa.
sion that were the chief concern of her From that day Hapsburg never ventured
rulers and statesmen. to challenge Hohenzollern, or in any way
Bismarck had come upon the scene- to interfere with Prussian plans.
Bismarck the empire builder. His vision Bismarck, having cleared the field,
of Prussia dominant was challenged by went on with his work of building an em-
the presence of a powerful rival in central pire. He welded the German states into
Europe. The House of Hapsburg, rul- a confederation under a constitution that
Serbian civilians hung by Austrians along the roadways.
ing Austria, had been often the ally of was designed to fasten the Hohenzollern
the House of Hohenzollern in expeditions
dynasty upon it forever, and to give to
of conquest and plunder. But Bismarck its successive monarchs autocratic control,
wanted no ally of co-equal strength, no supported by military power. It was
possible competitor in imperialism. The provided in the constitution that it might
Prussian conception of an ally is a vassal, not be amended without the consent of
compelled to play the game as Prussia Prussia. This was the ultimate and abso-
pleases. lute safeguard. Only Prussia could undo
Hence it was necessary to eliminate Prussia; only Hohenzollern could relax
Austria as a potential rival in order to as- the grip of Hohenzollern upon the lives
sure for Prussia the place she desired. of the German people.
Bismarck had no difficulty in finding a Bavaria, having suffered defeat with
cause for friction. There was a dispute Austria in the Seven Weeks' war, came
over Schleswig-IIolstein that he carefully reluctantly into the confederation. She
fostered. He encouraged the belief that did not love Prussia and the Hohenzol-
all difficulties could be settled amicably lerns. For years it was against the law
and, in the meantime, made every neces- to display the German flag in Bavaria.

16. 14 THE RED TRAIL OF PRUSSIA

17. TIIK HKI) TRAIL OF IMU'SSIA 15
She never became fully reconciled to her Acomparatively short struggle re-
new status as the subordinate of Prussia sulted in a complete victory for Germany.
in tbe family of Teutonic tribes. It was another instance where prepared-
HohenzoUern ambitions were not satis- ness prevailed over courage and devotion.
fied to rest with the consolidation of terri- Alsace-Lorraine was added to the Ger-
tory under the German empire. The man empire, and France was compelled
King of Prussia had l>ecome German to pay an indemnity of five billion francs
Km|>eror, and the new title merely quick- in order to get the German army out of
ened the inherent appetite for further her territory.
conquest. Envious eyes turned toward This sketch of Prussian history is nec-
1-' ranee. The rich provinces o'f Alsace- essary in order that we may understand
Lorraine invited plunder and acquisition. how wholly in keeping with the character
Serbian officers watching experiments with liquid fire.
Moreover France was a possible rival and aspirations of the rulers and people
whose bumbling was advisable in order to of Prussia was the world war in which
assure the dominant position of Europe. their ambitions culminated.
Bismarck deliberately laid the founda- Prussia never blundered into wars un-
tion for war with France by provoking a wittingly. She made them with deliber-
quarrel thru the publication of a garbled ate purpose; prepared for them long in
telegram from the King of Prussia to the advance, and carried them thru to victory
King of France. The wording of the with only one intent to increase her own
telegram was made to carry an insult to power and territorial sovereignty.
the French monarch and in those days The forty odd years of peace that fol-
there was only one way of dealing with lowed gave the world time to forget Prus-
insults. sia's history. Moreover, Prussia, herself,

18. 16 THE RED TRAIL OF PRUSSIA

19. TIIK RKI) TRAIL OF PRUSSIA 17
was camouflaged in the German empire, maturing plans.
and people who had known the German Such is the general background of the
tribes before tliey became subject to Prus- World War.
sian rule and guidance found it difficult
As we draw nearer the fateful year in
to believe that the industrious, home-lov-
which Germany launched her long pre-
ing folk of Germany could have in their
hearts ambitions that menaced the peace
paring thunderbolts against the world,
one incident after another shows that the
and happiness of neighbor nations. It is
hour of action was no chance hour.
probable, indeed, that such ambitions were
foreign to these tribes or states in their Wilhelm II dreamed thru the earlier
earlier history as a confederation, but they years of his reign of the day when tlie
ere never absent from the minds of their
resting German sword would be again
Prussian over-lords. unsheathed to continue the traditions of
his dynasty and to carve from Europe
During those forty years Prussia did and the continents beyond a domain
two things she Prussianized the rest of
the German people, and she built up a greater in extent and incomparably richer
in resources than any autocrat of history
great army and a great navy for enter-
had ever ruled.
prises of conquest conceived on a vaster
scale than ever before. In accordance with his ambitions there
The developed in Germany an organization
story of these four decades of mis-
devoted to the creation of a great middle
education for the German people is one
Europe state, including Austria-Hun-
that merits a volume to itself. The secu-
gary in its scope, and extending its fron-
lar and religious instruction given the tiers thru the Balkans to Asia Minor and
youth of the land was definitely directed
toward inculcating a vaunting pride of Mesopotamia. Maps that were printed
and distributed in Germany twenty years
race and nation and a contempt for all
before the World War began showed the
other peoples. They were taught to be-
lieve that the Germans were the chosen
greater empire, and swept within its
boundaries Belgium and Holland on the
of God, with a destiny to subdue the
west, and the Baltic States of Russia, Po-
world to their own peculiar "kultur."
land, and the Balkan countries on the east
The state, embodied and the
in the kaiser
and southeast, as well as the dual mon-
general staff of the German army, be-
came for them the voice of God. What archy. Leaders in this movement spoke
of acquiring territory in South America,
the state decreed was right, no matter
ho notably in the southern Argentine. It
itmight violate individual concep-
was boldly predicted that the whole civil-
tions of ethics. To live and die for the
ized world would become either part of
state, unquestioningly obedient to its com- the empire, or subject to it in the relation
mands this was the supreme morality. of vassal to master.
This education was part of the process In order to promote the project for a
by bieh the German people were made middle-Europe empire with an Asiatic
the docile tools of the Prussian
dynasty, annex, the Kaiser visited Constantinople,
serviceable for the later execution of its Damascus and Jerusalem. He addressed

20. 18 THE RED TRAIL OF PRUSSIA
Wrn. Hohenzollern, ex-Kaiser of Germany, in the uniform of a Turkish officer.
The shriveled left arm is most noticeable.

21. ~

22. GENERAL JOHN J. PERSHING, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE
UNITED TATES FORCES ABROAD.

23. THE RED TRAIL OF PRUSSIA 23
a great audience of Turks in Damascus,
and declared himself the friend of the
Ottoman empire and the Mohammedhan
fa i tli. His immediate reward was a con-
ecNsion from Turkey allowing Germany
to construct the Bagdad railroad, and giv-
ing it a right of
way in European Turkey,
thru what was known as the San j at of
Xoviha/ar, thus creating the link thru the
Balkans that has heen often referred to
as the Bagdad corridor.
Austria-Hungary played her part in
these plans, doubtless with the knowledge
and approval of Germany. She seized
Bosnia and Herzegovina, border Balkan
states. When her act aroused the anger
of Europe, the Kaiser appeared as her
champion, and declared that he supported
the policy of his Austrian ally. The Ex-Crown Prince of Germany whose flight
showed his weak character.
The Prussian moving
plans were
found her ambitions checked. Serbia,
smoothly and swiftly toward the achieve-
ment of Prussian ambitions, when the enlarged in territory, lay squarely across
her path to the east. Serbia was antago-
Balkan war broke out. The utter defeat
nistic to Vienna and Berlin. She looked
of Turkey deprived Germany of her right
to Petrograd then St. Petersburg for
of way thru the San j at of Novibazar,
friendship and support. Germany real-
which became Serbian territory, and ized that diplomatic efforts to open a way
closed the Bagdad corridor.
thru the Balkans could not succeed.
Bulgaria was prompted to renew the She knew only one way in which to
struggle in a second war by the intrigues realize her ambitions and that was force.
of the central empires.
They hoped by Force, for Prussia, was the normal and
this means to recover the advantage they most desirable method of obtaining any-
had lost in the Balkans the necessary
thing she desired.
link of empire by which Hamburg would Such
he joined to
is the trail of intrigue and blood-
Bagdad. The plan failed.
shed that leads up to the critical day in
Bulgaria was defeated by her erstwhile
June 1914, when a deed of assassination
allies.
furnished the pretext that Prussia needed
And thus it was that in 1913 Germany for the execution of her
designs.

24. 24 THE RED TRAIL OF PRUSSIA
The German Ex-Emperor's Palace in Berlin.

25. The Spark in Europe's Powder Magazine
CII A I'T Kit II
ASSASSINATION OF AUSTRIAN ARCHDUKE AUSTRIA CHARiKD AXTI-DV
NASTIC PLOTS ASSASSINATION IN FACT PLOTTED BY GERMANY ULTI-
MATUM, TO SERBIA SERBIA MAKES CONCESSIONS TO KEEP PEACE GER-
MANY AND AUSTRIA REFUSE TERMS AUSTRIA DECLARES WAR ON SERBIA,
GERMANY DECLARES WAR ON RUSSIA, BELGIUM AND FRANCE AUSTRIA
DRIVES ON SERBIA AND GERMANY INVADES BELGIUM GREAT BRITAIN
SFXDS ULTIMATUM TO GERMANY STATE OF WAR DECLARED BETWEEN'
(iRFAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY.
The Balkan wars were over, and with ences of the business men and the imperial
their settlement Europe heaved a sigh of chancellor, and the men of finance and in-
relief. For a time a general conflagration dustry were warned to set their affairs in
had threatened the nations of the old order and to prepare for a great war.
world. The European war cloud, famil- the spark that exploded the
Then came
iar in the headlines of the newspapers, powder magazine of Europe,
had hung upon the horizon with low inut- The Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir
terings of thunder. But the crisis was to the throne of Austria-Hungary, went
passed safely, and men again hegan to w tn
j his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg,
talk as tho a great war were a thing im- on a vj s it o f state to Serajevo, the capital
possible. of Bosnia.
They pointed to the
growing inter- Bosnia had been annexed by Austria-
course among nations; the spread of Hungary in 1908. There were many
democratic institutions the rising intelli-
; Bosnians who bitterly resented the Haps-
gence of the masses of the people; the burg interference with their national life,
multiplying of international peace trea- The state had its secret political organ-
ties and agreements for arbitration. Had i/ations, its intrigues and plots, all con-
not the Hague peace tribunal been estab- cerned with frustrating Austrian rule and
lished, and were not many of the great promoting Slav interests,
powers of the world signatory to its con- Serajevo was not a safe city for the
ventions, which they pledged them-
in heir to the Austrian throne to visit, and
selves to regard international law, and to this fact must have been well known to
live with one another on a basis of reason- the authorities. Yet, in spite of the perils
ableness and humanity? that always beset royalty in Europe, and
These things were all true. that were peculiarly acute in southeastern
And yet from all of these things men Europe; in spite of the known existence
derived a false sense of security. of enmities and conspiracies in Bosnia,
practically no precautions were taken by
Nations ruled by responsible govern-
the municipal officials of Serajevo to pro-
ments, controlled by the enlightened sen- tect the lives of the imper ial 'heir and his
timent of their peoples, could not under-
w fe *
stand the peril that remained latent in the
It was on Sunday, June 28, 1914, that
the Archduke arrived at the Bosnian capi-
Prussia was rapidly completing her tal. He
and his wife at once got into an
plans. We
have learned from the dis- automobile and were driven toward the
closures made by Dr. Muehlon, a former town hall, where they were to be wel-
Krupp director, and others who were in corned officially. The crowd that watched
a position to know what was them pass thru the city streets showed
transpiring
within the councils of the empire, that littleenthusiasm. Their automobile had
conspiracy against the world's peace was not gone far before a man dashed from
on foot in Germany. There were confer- the throng on the pavement, and hurled a
26

26. THE SPARK IN EUROPE'S POWDER MAGAZINE

27. THK SI'AKK IN EUROPE'S POWDEB MAGA/INE 27
I u MM!) at the car. He missed the arch- exposed the royal visitor to attack. On
duke. The bom!) fell on the road, and the way back from the town hall the im-
exploded just as a second car passed over perial car passed a youth named Gavrilo
it, containing members of the archduke's Prinzip, standing on the curb, who calm-
staff. ly drew a revolver and fired twice. The
The would-be first shot fatally wounded the duchess,
assassin attempted to
but was caught and the second pierced the neck of the arch-
escape in the crowd,
He was a youth 21 duke, severing the jugular v-ein. Both
put under arrest.
died without uttering a word.
years of age named Gabrinovics.
Archduke Ferdinand was livid with Prinzip was arrested. He denied any
fear and indignation when he reached the knowledge of Gabrinovics, and declared
town hall, and, when the burgomaster that the first attempt at assassination was
German soldiers decorated for exceptional bravery during the Battle of Verdun.
These soldiers are being rewarded for making one of the many furious attacks on the Verdun front
him an address of welcome
tried to read to a surprise to him. He said he was a Ser-
he interrupted with the angry exclama- bian student, and had for long entertained
tion: the idea of killing some eminent person.
"Herr Burgomaster, it is perfectly The Austrianauthorities immediately
scandalous. We have come to Serajevo,
promulgated the story that they had dis-
and a bomb is thrown at us." covered an anti-dynastic plot, the source
The burgomaster stammered an inco- of which was in Serbia.
herent apnlnoy and went on with his The circumstances of the assassination
address. Hut the archduke's sharp re- have led many people to believe that it
buke had no practical effect. Nothing was deliberately planned, not by Bos-
was done to remedy the neglect that had nians or Serbians, but by Austrians and

28. 28 THE SPARK IN EUROPE'S POWDiLR MAGAZINE
6*
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29. Till, SPARK IX El ROPKS POWDER MAGAZINE 29
Germans who desired a for at- ized that a serious situation had developed
pretext
tac km- Serbia as tile initialstep toward involving grave possibilities.
recovering the Bagdad corridor and open- Karly in July it was rumored in diplo-
mu the mad to world conquest. It is matic circles that Austria- Hungary was
assurr.lly true that the taking off of
the planning drastic reprisals for what she
archduke coincided exactly with the cul- alleged was a Serbian crime, committed,
mination Prussia's preparations for
of ifnot with the authority, at least with the
war. It is, too, rather extraordinary that sympathy of the Serbian government.
Prin/ip, the youth who killed him, was
Then Count Tisxa, at that time premier
sentenced to twenty years imprisonment of Austria, reassured the capitals of Eu-
instead of to death. In a country where rope by a speech in the Austrian parlia-
the death penalty was common, twenty ment in which he held out strong hope
that there would be an amicable settle-
years imprisonment for the murderer of
The Arch Conspirators The Ex-Kaiser, Ferdinand of Bulgaria, the Ex-Sultan of Turkey, and the late
Franz Josef of Austria.
the heir to the throne seems strangely ment of the whole matter. Apprehen-
lenient. sions were allayed, and the world thought
The world was slow to realize the sig- it saw the war cloud passing.
nificance of the Serajevo tragedy. Peo- One week later Austria sent an ulti-
ple were horrified at the deed, and matum to Serbia, demanding a reply in
editorials were written denouncing an- 48 hours.
arehy: no one seemed to see at first
l)iit The ultimatum recited the facts of the
the figures of war and famine and pesti- assassination and alleged that the crime
lence walking in the funeral procession of was due to Serbia's tolerance of propa-
the dead archduke. ganda and intrigue against the peace and
In the chancelleries of Europe, how- territory of the dual monarchy. It de-
ever, then- was much anxiety. In Lon- manded that the Serbian government
don, Paris. Home and Petrograd men should condemn this propaganda and ut-
conversant with European affairs real- terly suppress it.

30. THE SPARK IN EUROPE'S POWDER MAGAZINE
IMPORTANT TOWN
The ENEMY'S OBJECTIVE ^.i^Mi-M-i-*--'
whicSHE FAILEDto
.
ATTAIN
*
Defenders ffeinforcerrtents^^ .'
^^2
"
., l/KDCSlHAULe; SALfl
ULTIMATELY A BAND t,
ran STROMGCFI posn
-
:r
'-V-
J
'
V '
^^
The German Offensive: The New Methods bv Which It Was Pursued and How It Was Countered. The
1
Germany made her advances on the Western Front. The new method was devised by the famous

31. Till: SI'AKK IN KTHOIM'/S I'OWDKK MACA/INK 31
V'
;".'
.-/c.
- *
m
.y$
IP
B ..j5^l5!S<
a^
>
-Tliis diagram does not represent any particular battle or area, but illustrates the principles by which
ernhardi, who was pooh-poohed for his ideas by the German General Staff at the outbreak of the war.

32. 32 THE SPARK IN EUROPE'S POWDER MAGAZINE
The ultimatum then continued:
In order to give a formal character to
thisundertaking the royal Servian gov-
ernment shall publish on the front page
of its official journal of the 26th June
(13th July) the following declaration:
"The royal government of Servia con-
demns the propaganda directed against
Austria- Hungary the general ten-
i. e.,
dency of which the final aim is to detach
from the Austro-Hungarian monarchy
territories belonging to it, and it sincerely
deplores the fatal consequences of these
criminal proceedings.
"The government regrets that
royal
Servian officers and functionaries partici-
pated in the above mentioned propaganda
and thus compromised the good neighbor-
ly relations to which the royal government
was solemnly pledged by its declaration of
Count Von Bernstorff
The German arch conspirator and ex-ambassador. the 31st March, 1909.
Supersubmarine Deutschland which arrived at Baltimore after a trip across the Atlantic.

33. TIIK SPAKK IX KTKOl'KS 1()VI)KR MACA/INK 88
"The royal government, which disap-
proves and repudiates all idea of interfer-
ing or attempting to interfere with the
destinies of the inhabitants of any part
whatsoever of Austria-Hungary, consid-
ers duty formally to warn officers
it its
and functionaries, and the whole popula-
tion of the kingdom, that henceforward
it will proceed with the utmost rigor
against persons who may be guilty of
such machinations, which it will use all
its efforts to anticipate and suppress."
This declaration shall simultaneously
be communicated to the royal army as an
order of the day by his majesty the king
and shall be published in the official bul-
letin of the army.
The royal Servian government further
undertakes:
1. To
suppress any publication which
incites to hatred and contempt of the
Alfred Zimmerman, Germany's ex-foreign minister.
Austro-IIungarian monarchy and the
One of the German Sanitary Posts before Laon.

34. THE SPARK IN EUROPE'S POWDER MAGAZINE
general tendency of which is directed
against its territorial integrity;
2. To dissolve immediately the society
styled Narodna Odbrana, to confiscate all
its means of propaganda, and to proceed
in the same manner against other societies
and their branches in Servia which engage
in propaganda against the Austro-Hun-
garian monarchy. The royal government
shall take the necessary measures to pre-
vent the societies dissolved frona continu-
ing their activity under another name and
form ;
3. To
eliminate without delay from
public instruction in Servia, both as re-
gards the teaching body and also as
regards the methods of instruction, every-
thing that serves, or might serve, to
foment the propaganda against Austria-
Hungary ;
4. To remove from the military serv-
Bethman Hollweg, the weak-minded member of the
Ex-kaiser's War Board. ice, and from the administration in gen-
Remarkable Photograph of German Sub/marine U65, Terror of the Sea, in Act of Holding up Liner.
This is probably the only photograph showing a German U-boat actually holding up a liner at sea to arrive
in America.

35. TIIK Sl'AKK IX KTROPE'S POVDER MAGAZINE 35
and functionaries guilty
eral, all officers
of propaganda against the Austro-llnn-
garian monarchy whose names and deeds
tlu AustrorHungarian government re-
serves to itself the right of communicating
to the royal government;
.">. To accept the collaboration in Ser-
bia of representatives of the Austro-Hun-
garian government in the suppression of
tin- Mibversive movement directed against
the territorial integrity of the monarchy;
6. To take judicial proceedings against
accessories to the plot of the 28th June
who are on Servian territory. Delegates
of the Austro-Hungarian government
willtake part in the investigation relating
thereto ;
7. To
proceed without delay to the ar-
rest of Major Voija Tankositch and of
the individual named Milan Ciganovitch,
a Servian state employe, who have been
compromised by the results of the magis-
terial inquiry at Serajevo;
8. To prevent by effective measures Von Hindenburg,
General commander-in-chief, and his
the co-operation of the Servian authorities chief of staff.
This Photo was taken in 1914. The Crowds were Optimistic.

36. THE SPARK IN EUROPE'S POWDER MAGAZINE

37. Till; SI'AKK IN KFUO POWDER MAGAZINE 37
in the illicit traffic of arms and explosives
arn^s tin- frontier, to dismiss and punish
-t-ly tlu- officials of the frontier serv-
ice at Schabatz and Loznica guilty of
ha ving assisted the perpetrators of the
Sera )f,> crime by facilitating their pass-
age across the frontier;
9. To furnish the imperial and royal
LM>tTiiment with explanations regarding
the unjustifiable utterances of high Ser-
bian officials, both in Servia and abroad,
who, notwithstanding their official posi-
tion, did not hesitate after the crime of
the 28th June to express themselves in in-
terviews in terms of hostility to the Aus-
tro-Hungarian government; and, finally.
10. To
notify the imperial and royal
government without delay of the execu-
tion of the measures comprised under the
preceding heads.
Immediately the terms of the Austrian The Late Count George von HertlinR-. the Ex-Ba-
varian Prime Minister and Ex-Imperial German
ultimatum became known in diplomatic Chancellor.
Ukraine and Germany Signing Peace Pact. Germany and her allies on the one side and the newly
created Ukrainian state on the other concluding a treaty of peace.

38. 38 THE SPARK IX EUROPE'S POWDER MAGAZINE
circles inEurope there was consternation. Meantime the European chancelleries
It was seen that Austria had imposed con- were vibrant with nervous agitation. The
ditions no nation could accept without an telegraph and cable were carrying coded
utter humbling. The war cloud gathered messages from ambassadors to their gov-
again, darker and more threatening than ernments, and apprehension of the most
before. serious results was everywhere felt.
We have since learned, through the Serbia's reply came within the allotted
disclosures made by Dr. Muehlon, the time. It amazed the world by its almost
former Krupp director to whom I have complete concession to Austria. Practi-
already referred, that the kaiser had a cally all of the eleven demands but one
hand in drafting this drastic document. were accepted without modification. Ser-
H,e was consulted by Austria, and ap- bia declined to permit the agents of Aus-
proved its form without consulting his tria to prosecute investigations on Serbian
Royal Family of Germany.
William II, Ex-Emperor of Germany and Ex-King of Prussia, married the Ex-Princess Victoria of Schles-
wig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Austenburg. He has six sons and one daughter. The Ex-Crown Prince Frederick Wil-
liam, married the Ex-Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The Ex-Emperor's sister. Sophia is the wife
of Constantine, Ex-King of the Hellenes. Ex-Prince Henry, his brother, married his cousin, Ex-Princess Irene
of Hesse, daughter of the late Ex-Princess Alice of England. The Ex-Emperor's mother was Princess Victoria
of England, daughter of Queen Victoria.
advisers, according to the story that soil,but agreed to carry out the required
Muehlon had from Chancellor von Beth- investigations and to report progress in
mann Hollweg. suppressing anti-Austrian propaganda to
The kaiser is saidto have told the chan- the representatives of the dual monarchy.
cellor he was determined to go thru with In conclusion she offered, if Austria w^re
his program, and that no one now could not fully satisfied with these concessions,
turn him back from his purpose. His to submit the whole matter in .dispute to
resolution being thus declared he left for The Hague or to any tribunal constituted
a trip on his royal yacht, a discreet by the Great Powers.
maneuver designed to create the impres- It was recognized by all impartial ob-
sion that he had no part in the matter. servers that a more complete acquiescence

39. WOODROW WILSON, PRESIDENT OE THE UNITED STATES.

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41. Till: SI'AKK IX KIKOl'K.s I'UWDKK MAC.A/IM. 41
could not be asked in reason.
The Austrian minister received Ser-
bia's conciliatory reply at Belgrade on
July '-'."). r.Hk at :>:IO in the afternoon.
He did not even wait to read it. Hi>
things were packed and ready for de-
all
parture. He
put the manuscript in hi-,
spa
li. teh box, and left Belgrade at once
for Vienna, thus severing diplomatic rela-
tions without ceremony.
It was evident that Austria wanted
trouble. The ultimatum had been de-
signed not to obtain a settlement of diffi-
culties,but to promote war.
Great Britain immediately took up the
task of preventing an outbreak of hostil-
ities. She proposed to Germany, on July
27, that the matters at issue between Aus-
tria and Serbia be submitted to a confer-
ence of representatives from Germany,
France, Italy and Great Britain. Italy
was then a member of the triple alliance,
of which the two other members were Ger-
many and Austria-Hungary.
Germany declined the proposal by
which peace might have been preserved, The Right Honorable Arthur J. Balfour, Foreign
Secretary of Great Britain and a prominent figure at
alleging that the controversy between the Peace Conference. He was
formerly Prime Minister
Austria and Serbia involved the honor of of England and at an advanced age
enjoys world-wide
respect for his statesmanship.
Austria and could not be submitted to
adjudication by disinterested parties.
frontiers of the central empires and con-
Russia, Serbia's friend, opened direct ne-
stituted no immediate threat.
gotiations with Vienna, and these were
proceeding more or less encouragingly On July 28 Austria formally declared
when they suddenly terminated, and war against Serbia, and began an imme-
Menna refused to negotiate further. diate movement of her forces toward the
There Serbian frontiers on the Save and Dan-
strong foundation for the belief
is
that Germany intervened to prevent an ube. Russia, alarmed by this indication
that Austria was determined to conquer
understanding between Vienna and St.
the little Slav monarchy that looked to
Petersburg.
Meantime Austria mobilized her armies her as protector, and that stood as a bar-
and Serbia responded by like action. rier between Germany and the east, at
There was some talk of once began mobilization in her southwest-
localizing the ern provinces.
trouble, and permitting a punitive expe-
dition against Serbia, but it ended in talk. Thus far there had been no direct threat
Russia, realizing that her interests in the to Germany, but the kaiser on the same
Balkans and in the Dardanelles were day mobilized his fleet an act that car-
menaced by the threat of Austria to drive ried with it a very clear menace to Great
down toward the Aegean Sea thru Serbia, Britain.
mobilized five army corps behind the Vis- By July 29 the Austrian guns were
tula. The mobilization was far from the bombarding Belgrade from the north side

42. THK SPARK IN KIKOPKS POWDKK MACAZIXE
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43. TIIK SI'AHK IN K( I)1>K S |M)VI)KI< M.(, A/INK i:;
of the Danube, and the world was aroused
to the fact that the long predicted Kuro-
pcan war could lie averted only hy some
miracle.
The semi-official Lokal Anzeiger, of
Berlin, issued an extra edition about noon
)!'
July .30, announcing that a decree had
been issm-d for the general mobilization
of the German army. The news was
flashed at once to St.
Petersburg. The
edition was promptly suppressed by the
authorities, but it had accomplished its
purpose. It may never l>e known whether
it was originally printed with authority
and in order to provoke a belligerent re-
sponse from Russia, and then suppressed
to complete the case for innocence that
Germany hoped to lay before the world
in convincing fashion.
Its suppression was followed
by a per-
emptory demand from Berlin that Rus-
Capt. Boy-ed, ex- attache of Germany to U. 8.
Tin- Orman Offensive. The Guard Grenadier Regiment who were taken prisoner, v the
l, British.

44. 44 THE SPARK IN EUROPE'S POWDER MAGAZINE
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45. I IIK SPARK IX EUROPE'S POWDER MAGAZINE 45
sia cease mobilization within twenty-four
hours. But Russia, apprised that Ger-
many was mobilizing, refused to accede
to this demand and ordered a general mo-
1 ili/at ion.
The Great Britain had failed
efforts of
either to avert or to localize the war.
France, alarmed by the swift movements
of the central empires and their implaca-
ble spirit, was calling out her troops. She
held them, however, at a discreet distance
from the frontier, avoiding as far as pos-
sible needless provocation.
now that a general European
Realizing
war was inevitable that France and Rus-
;
sia were certain to be involved with Ger-
many and Austria, Great Britain made
one avert the worst possible
last effort to
consequences she addressed a note to
Paris and Berlin, asking both govern-
ments to respect the neutrality of Bel-
gium.
Aprompt reply was received from
France, agreeing unconditionally. Ger-
Dr. Richard von Kuehlmann. ex-member Russian
many made no answer. Her plans were Peace Conference.
One Shot from a French 305 Battery did this to a German 88M Gun. The first shot aimed at the gun
struck it clear amidship.

46. Ki THE SPARK IN EUROPE'S POWDER MAGAZINE
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47. TIIK SPARK IN KIKOPKS POWDER MAGAZINE 47
already laid for tin- invasion of Belgium.
It was tlu- most convenient route to Paris,
and Prussia considers nothing but her
own interests.
On August 1 Germany formally de-
clared war on Russia and made public
her suppressed mobilization order.
Great Britain followed this action by
informing France that her fleet would
undertake to protect the French north
coast against German invasion. On the
same day the first hostilities opened the
itruggle on the west front when a Ger-
man patrol crossed the French frontier
at Cirey. The French immediately began
the movement of their troops toward the
frontier. Their preparations were made
to defend the line from Luxembourg
south to Switzerland, along the Alsace-
Lorraine border. The invasion of Alsace
was planned as a counter-stroke to the
Captain Franz von Papen, Ex-German Military Attache,
Sn'tish Capture Line of Luxurious German Dugouts in Sunken Road.

48. THE SPARK IN EUROPE'S POWDER MAGAZINE
Great Britain addressed to Berlin an ulti-
matum, allowing twenty-four hours for
reply, in which she demanded that the
neutrality of Belgium be respected.
The ultimatum was delivered by Sir
W. E. Goschen, British ambassador to
Berlin, on the afternoon of August 4.
Herr Von Jagow, the German secretary
for foreign affairs, received it in person,
and gave an immediate answer in the
negative. He said it was impossible for
Germany to observe the neutrality of Bel-
gium since her troops had already crossed
the frontier. He argued that Germany
had to take this course in order to prevent
France attacking her thru Belgium. He
ignored the fact that France had already
given her word that she would observe the
obligation of Belgian neutrality, and that
Great Britain, had France broken her
word, would have been compelled to deal
with her as she later dealt with Germany.
The British ambassador asked if he
might see the chancellor, unwilling to take
Field Marshal Von Mackensen who led the Austro- Von Jagow's reply as final. He was
Gennan Forces on the Italian Front.
granted permission. Von Bethmann
Hollweg appeared much perturbed. He
German threat.
talked for twenty minutes, haranguing
They relied upon the neutrality of Bel- Great Britain's representative in tones
gium and Luxembourg as protection pleading and upbraiding. He declared
against invasion over an almost unforti- it seemed impossible that Great Britain
fied frontier. was going to make war on a friendly
But on August 3 Germany addressed neighbor merely for the little word "neu-
a demand to Belgium for free passage trality" that had been disregarded so
across her territory. The little country often in history, merely for a "scrap of
did not hesitate. She returned a prompt paper."
refusal, and mobilized her small army to The interview ended unavailingly. Sir
meet the menace that immediately over- W. E. Goschen prepared at once to leave
shadowed her. Her refusal was at once Berlin. That evening the British em-
followed by a declaration of war against
bassy was mobbed.
her. A
like declaration was simultane-
At midnight in London a vast throng
ously made against France, and the in
gathered Trafalgar Square, awaiting
armies of Germany began the attack. the issue of the momentous ultimatum.
On the afternoon of August 3 German As the great clock in the tower of West-
troops entered the little Belgian town of minster struck the fateful hour it was an-
Arien, while Chancellor Von Bethmann war
nounced that a state of existed be-
Hollweg explained to the reichstag that
tween Great Britain and Germany.
military necessity compelled Germany to
commit a wrong against Belgium for Th'ere was a moment's silence. Then a
which reparation would be made. great cheer went up, and the multitude
Clinging to an eleventh hour hope melted silently away.

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50. CAMOUFLAGE ARTISTS CHANGING A MONSTER GUN INTO A "PIECE OF LANDSCAPE" NOT]

51. IE BRILLIANT COLORING WHICH BLENDS COMPLETELY WITH ITS SURROUNDINGS

52. .2 S

53. The Armies Are Unleashed
CHAPTER III
l.r.K.MANY AND ATSTKIA HAD TWO MEN KI.ADY GREAT
.MIl.l.l'fN
HKITAIN'S AHMV WEAK -- FRANC i. WELL PREPARED - BEU.HM
AND SERBIA REASONABLY WELL EQUIPPED -- GERMANY'S DRIVE
THROUGH BELGIUM - ALLIED REVERSES - - GERMANY'S ENOR-
MOUS STRENGTH CRUSHES ALLIES.
Great Britain, Russia, France and Bel- France, a military country, was in
gium were now embroiled in war with much better situation. She began the wai
lirrniany. Austria-Hungary was at war with nearly 4,000,000 trained men be-
with Serbia, and almost immediately be- tween the ages of 19 and 48, of whom
came a belligerent against the other allies. 2,500,000 belonged to the active army and
its reserves, the remainder constituting
Germany had 25 first line
army corps
the territorial army.
ready foraction, numbering approxi-
mately 1,000,000 men; she had twenty- Accurate figures as to Russia's military
five additional reserve corps of like num- strength have. always been difficult to ob
ber. On the day that hostilities began tain. Her available man power was
there were at least 2,000,000 German sol- enormous. It is estimated that she had
diers available, and this number was soon 28,000,000 men between the ages of
increased by another 1,500,000. twenty and forty-three who could be
drawn upon for military service in Aug-
Austria-Hungary had a first line army
of about 1,000,000 well trained soldiers, ust 1914. is probable that at least
It
with reserves of less number than those twenty-five per cent of this number was
of Germany, but material that was rapid- called to the colors or 7,000,000 men
before the war had continued many weeks.
ly converted which brought her total force
up to approximately 3,000,000 before Perhaps one-half that number was sent
to the long fighting front.
many weeks had elapsed.
Italy, who came into the war on the
Turkey, soon to enter the war as an
side of the allies in the spring of 1915, had
ally of the central empires, was a nation
of soldiers. In later years they had been about 1,200,000 fully trained soldiers,
trained by German officers. She is esti- 800,000 partly trained, and a million more
mated to have
untrained but available for call.
had about 750,000 good
soldiers subject to mobilization when the Belgium had only 120,000 men with
war began. which to meet the armies of Germany
Bulgaria, whose decision to link her
when they crossed her frontier. This
fortunes with Germany came only after force was later increased to a quarter of
much hesitation and a cool and calculated a million.
bargaining, had probably a little less than Serbia mobilized 350,000 to face the
half a million men fit for the field. Austrian invasion.
Great whose reliance was
Britain,
Such was the approximate strength of
the opposing forces at the beginning of
placed upon her navy, was notably weak
Her regular army, at home the great struggle.
militarily.
and in the colonies, numbered only 156,- It was recognized that Germany had
100 men. She had a territorial or militia the best organized army in Europe. Its
force numbering 251,000. Her native equipment was perfect in every detail.
troops in India and her volunteer sQldiers Xot a necessary thing had been over-
<>f the overseas dominions, including looked that was within range of human
cadets and members of rifle clubs, did not foresight. Kvt-ry officer was provided
exceed half a million. with maps, showing in detail the cities,

54. 54 THE ARMIES ARE UNLEASHED
towns and villages, the roads and rail- shells began to fall upon the Belgian de-
roads, the rivers, forests and elevations fenses. Then they were a nightmare to
of Belgium and France. the world.
For years the trucks used for peace Germany's decision to attack France
transport in Germany had been built so thru Belgium was due to the topograph-
as to be available for war purposes. ical difficulties in the way of a successful
A German Lookout in a Waterproof Trench. A view of a sandbag-constructed trench
on the German battlefront in the Western battle zone showing how carefully the
trench has been water-proofed.
Never had any nation in arms been pre- advance from Alsace-Lorraine. Paris
pared with every type of known fighting lieswithin a series of natural escarpments
weapon as Germany was prepared. She that run in a north and south direction
had guns more powerful than the world across France to the east of the capital.
had dreamed of, until their 42 centimeter The outermost is that of the Vosges,

55. TIIK AH.MIKS AHK UNLEASHED .V,
mountains: moving toward Paris the next
is the heights of the Meuse; then comes
the eastern edge of the Champagne, and,
nearest Paris, the hills that extend from
the region of Laon to the Seine.
After the war of 1870 France strongly
fortified the line of the Meuse. The Ver-
bar-
dun-Toul-Epinal-Belfort defensive
rier is famous. This Germany would
have been compelled to storm, after cross-
ing the Vosges, had she
observed the neu-
trality of Belgium,
and struck France
directly from her own territory.
There are gaps in the line, but they
were readily defensible and offered only
narrow entrances for the immense force
with which Germany planned to over-
whelm her neighbor. The gap of Stenay
lies between the Ardennes forest and the
Meuse heights; the Toul-Epinal gap is
made by the valley of the Moselle, and Teuton Machine Gun in Action Under Bomb-Proof
gap lies between the southern
Shelter.
the Belfort
end of the Meuse escarpment and the
over ground vastly freer from obstacles.
mountains of Switzerland.
Germany had two main foes to con-
By sweeping thru Belgium the enemy sider when she began her campaigns-
hoped to circumvent the escarpments at France and Russia. She anticipated no
their northern end, and to reach Paris
appreciable resistance from Belgium.
She knew the military weakness of Great
Britain, and feared chiefly her fleet. Rus-
sia, she reasoned, would be slow in mobil-
izing and reaching her frontiers.
Hence it was her plan to drive France
to her knees in a swift, smashing blow,
and then to turn and deal with Russia
before the Slavic giant mustered his
strength and became dangerous.
Of the twenty-six army corps that she
had available for an immediate use she
sent twenty against France and six to
hold Russia in check.
She began her attack by occupying the
Duchy of Luxembourg, to the east of Bel-
Armorplated Battery on the Flanders ("oast.
Ilack View of the Armorplated Gun Turret. gium. It was an easy victory. Luxem-

56. THE ARMIES ARE UNLEASHED
bourg had no army to oppose invasion. enemy attempted to storm the forts after
The Duchess went out to meet the ad- a heavy bombardment. He was driven
vance guard of the enemy and made for- back with heavy losses, and an amazed
mal, but futile, protest against the outrage world began to wonder whether little Bel-
that was planned. gium would halt the foe on the very
The capital of Luxembourg was seized, threshold of his campaign. But the world
and its railroads taken over by the Ger- had much to learn of Prussian power. A
mans. The latter were, of course, of con- third storming effort was made on Aug-
siderable value for the transport of troops ust 7, and the enemy succeeded in enter-
to the French frontier.
ing that part of the city lying east of the
Meantime three German divisions had Meuse. General Leman withdrew his
French Armored Cruisers "Jaureguiberry" and "Bouvet" in Speed Trials.
reached the Belgian frontier opposite the troops to the west bank of the river.
Meuse fortress of Liege. On the night of On the seventh a German siege train
August 4th they moved to the attack. arrived carrying heavier guns, and the
is surrounded by six large pen- monster 42 centimeter shells were hurled
Liege
tagonal forts, and as many smaller ones. against the remaining forts of the be-
General Leman, a brave Belgian officer, leaguered city. The bombardment was
famous as a mathematician, commanded terrific, and the forts crumbled under the
the garrison, and made every possible ponderous impact.
preparation for stubborn resistance. But it was not until August 15 that the
On the fifth and again on the sixth the last of the Liege forts yielded. They had

57. TIIK AH.MIKS AUK UNLEASHED 67
ml a great piirpnsr. Hd^ium s mag-
nificent hut sacrificial effort had delayed
thr armies of Germany for two weeks,
giving the French time to prepare their
defense and the British to mobilize their
little army and hasten it across the chan-
nel to the scene of hostilities.
On August 7, the day that the Germans
entered Liege, the French began their in-
xa.sion of Alsace. It was designed as a
flank attack on the enemy, and, in theory,
was wisely planned. But the French
movement was too long delayed to be suc-
cessful. The enemy had moved more rap-
idly and was already on the ground with
strong forces. Moreover the German
success at Liege developed at once a se-
rious threat to the French northern fron-
tier thatmade further offensive adventure
in Alsace imprudent. It was necessary to
concentrate in order to meet the menace ,
of a sweep thru Belgium.
The British expeditionary force, under
General Sir John French, and numbering
only some 80,000 men, landed in France
on August 8, and immediately moved for-
ward to join the French who were ad- Searching skies for the enemy air fleet. Search-
light in full activity; to the left an officer observing
vancing into Belgium.
ft
trre movements of an enemy aeroplane.
Meantime the enemy was sweeping villages,burning and pillaging. Behind
across northern Belgium, outraging the was a trail of blood and ruin.
civilian inhabitants of the little towns and
The French armies took up defensive
positions on a line beginning at Mont-
medy and extending northwest along the
Meuse to Mezieres, and thence north to
Dinant. From Dinant the line ran west
to Charleroi. The British assumed posi-
tions to the left of the French, north of
Mons. The second French army was
holding positions along the Alsace-Lor-
raine border, its right wing resting in
upper Alsace near Mulhouse and its left
near Xancy.
The Belgians evacuated Brussels, re-
on Antwerp.
tiring In
way theythis
saved one of the most beautiful capitals
The three women were found operating machine-
Kims during the American advance. from otherwise inevitable destruction. On

58. TIIK ARMIES AUK UXLKASIIK1)
August 20 the Germans occupied Brus- that were a few days late in reaching
sels, taking over the administration of the Liege, were on time at Namur, and made
city. it a heap of ruins in a few hours.
The dismayed civilians lined the streets The battleground was now cleared for
and watched the endless procession of the great test of strength between
first
enemy soldiers, clad in their gray uni- the enemy and the allied armies of Great
forms, marching with monotonous rythm Britain and France. Von Kluck com-
thru the city. They marched with heads manded the right
wing of the advancing
erect and the confidence of conquerors. foe the left wing was commanded by the
;
They were on their way to Paris, and not Duke of Wurtemburg; the center was
one of them doubted that he would reach held by troops under Von Bulow and Von
Great German Battleship "Ersatz Bavern" Among Those Surrendered.
the great French capital within a few Hausen.
days time. The Crown Prince of Germany, com-
On August 22 the Germans, after a manding the Fifth army, was advancing
brief assault, captured the Belgian fort- from Luxembourg.
ress of Namur, at the junction of the The French troops reeled backward
Meuse and Sambre rivers. Namur was under the smashing blow of the enemy.
the last stronghold between them and the Along the line Mezieres-Dinant-Charleroi
allied armies. Its sudden capitulation toward -Rethel and
they retired fighting
came with the shock of surprise. It had Hirson. Between Mezieres and Longwy
been thought it might hold at least as long they staggered under the attack of the
as did Liege. But the big siege guns, Crown Prince, and retreated toward

59. II IK A KM IKS AKK INKKASIIKl)
Chalons, thru the Argonne forest. Had he succeeded in this disaster
might
The little British army in front of Mons have overtaken the aim its of France and
was left without support, and had to face Great Britain, and the victory might have
the full strength of the enemy First army been gained by Germany before her
oppo-
under Von Kluck. It fought a gallant nents had time to rally. But Sir John
hattle, outnumbered three to one. The French with his 80,000 men managed to
hold Von Kluck and 240,000 at
attempted to drive the British into
ciu-iiiy bay. In
the entrenched camp of Maubeuge, but four days he retreated 64 miles an aver-
the masterly tactics of Sir John French age of 10 miles a day fighting courage-
defeated his purpose. ous rear-guard actions on every mile, and
There then began one of the most nota- occasionally halting to strike a more than
A Successful Submarine Torpedo Attack. Cruiser Destroyed by An "Assassin of the Sea."
ble retreats in history the retreat of the usually hard blow against his pitiless pur-
British army from Mons. It held the suers.
vital position on the
wing of the allied
left Effective retreat calls for as high gen-
forces. It had for
its task the supreme
eralship as effective attack. It is a much
duty of preventing an enveloping move- harder test of morale. Giving ground is
ment.
always discouraging to the rank and file
From the time the retreat began it was and taxing upon the nerve and endurance
the aim of Von Kluck to outflank the of officers, who must maintain a spirit of
allies, swing around their left wing and hope and confidence whatever happens.
intercept their retirement on Paris. As the allied armies retired the world

60. 60 THE ARMIES ARE UNLEASHED
Palace of Justice, Brussels, Belgium.

61. Till-: ARMIES AKF UNLEASHED
atchnl with keen anxiety. Germany manding the French armies, that he had
uas exultant, hut nations that loved intention of halting and offering a
any
France and admiral Paris contemplated stabilized resistance.
with alarm and consternation the possi-
that the great capital of light and The line as it was pivoting
retreated
bility
life and youth might suffer as Belgian on Verdun. Along the Verdun-Toul
cities had suffered, or that the nation fortifications the enemy was completely
whose spirit it embodied might be forced checked, while at Nancy the French army,
to yield to the invading foe.
that had been driven ignominiously from
For six days, from August 22 to Aug-
Lorraine, was retrieving its honor by a
ust 28, the fate of the allied armies hung
in the balance. The Germans had an- magnificent and stubborn defense.
other opportunity to win a Sedan. The The wing of the retreating Anglo-
left
crisis was reached on August 26, when French armies came under the protection
the British met the full force of Von of the guns of the Paris forts on Septem-
K luck's offensive -- five army corps ber 3. It had won the race. Von Kluck's
against two. The British were standing efforts to outflank and envelope had
on the line of Cambrai-LeCateau-Landre-
failed.
cies, and preparing to retire, when the
blow fell. ^It was met with supreme The allied armies were now buttressed
courage. between the great entrenched camp of
Re-enforcements had been asked from Paris and the fortified line of Verdun-
the French, but no help was sent, and Toul. In the center they bent crescenti-
the British were compelled to fight alone.
cally south of the Marne.
Had they failed Paris would have been
lost, because Von Kluck would have The supreme moment for which Gen-
driven between Paris and the French eral Joffre had waited silently and imper-
right wing, rolling back the French ar- turbably was now at hand. He had
yielded all of northern France to reach
mies and compelling them to fight at a
this position, and here he elected to make
serious disadvantage for their very exis-
his stand and risk conclusive battle with
tence. The capital city would have been
without other the enemy.
left
protection than its
fortifications and garrison utterly in-
sufficient fordefense under the new con-
ditions of warfare.
But the British repulsed the enemy on-
slaught, and General French retired in
good order upon St. Quentin. Here he
obtained the help he had asked, and thus
supported he again faced the enemy and
fought a vigorous delaying battle with
him in which was inflicted heavy losses.
By September1 the allied armies had
fallenback to within 40 miles of Paris,
and the second line of French defenses
had been taken by the enemy. There was
as yet no sign from General Joffre, com- Immense Ammunition Dumps Captured by Allies.

62. 62 THK AUM1ES AKE UNLEASHED
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