A School History of the Great War Part 8

In this way any portion of the opposing trench line could be subjected to a heavy, unexpected attack.

Secondly, the advance was prepared for by the use of big guns in enormous quant.i.ties and in new ways. The number of guns brought into use in this offensive far exceeded that put into the Verdun offensive of 1916, which had been looked upon as the extreme of possible concentration of artillery. The sh.e.l.l fire was now to be directed not only against the trenches, but also far to the rear of the Allied positions. This would break up roads, railways, and bridges for many miles behind the trenches and prevent the sending of reinforcements up to the front. Vast numbers of large sh.e.l.ls containing poisonous "mustard" gas were collected. These were to be fired from heavy guns and made to explode far behind the Allied lines. By this means suffocation might be spread among the reserves, among motor drivers, and even among the army mules, and by deranging the transport service make it impossible to concentrate troops to withstand the German advance.

In the third place, "shock" troops composed of selected men from all divisions of the army, were to advance after the bombardment, in a series of "waves." When the first wave had reached the limit of its strength and endurance, it was to be followed up by a second ma.s.s of fresh troops, and this by a third, and so on until the Allies' defense was completely broken.

By their excess in numbers and by these newly devised methods of warfare the German leaders hoped to accomplish three things: (1) to separate the British army from the French army; (2) to seize the Channel ports and interrupt by submarines and big guns the transportation of men and supplies from England to France; and (3) to capture Paris and compel the French to withdraw from the war. Let us now see how and why the Germans failed to secure any one of these three objectives, and how the Allied forces resumed the offensive in the summer of 1918.

THE GERMAN ADVANCE.--Five great drives, conducted according to the newly devised methods of warfare, were launched by the Germans between March 21 and July 15, 1918. The first, continuing from March 21 to April 1, called the battle of Picardy, was directed at the point where the British army joined that of the French near the Somme River. There was at this time no unified command of all the Allied armies, and the blow fell unexpectedly upon the British and won much territory before French a.s.sistance could be brought up. Outnumbered three to one, the British fell back at the point of greatest retreat to a distance of thirty miles from their former line. But the extreme tenacity of the British and the arrival of French troops prevented the Germans from capturing the important city of Amiens (ah-myan'), or reaching the main roads to Paris, or separating the British and French armies. Learning a needed lesson from this disaster, the Allied nations agreed to a unified military command, and appointed as commander-in-chief the French General Foch (fosh), who had distinguished himself in the first battle of the Marne in 1914 and elsewhere. Before this step had been taken General Pershing had offered his small army of 200,000 Americans to be used wherever needed by the French and the British.

The second German offensive began on April 9 and was again directed against the British, this time farther to the north, in Flanders, between the cities of Ypres and Arras. In ten days the Germans advanced to a maximum depth of ten miles on a front of thirty miles. But the British fought most desperately and the German losses were enormous. At last the advance was checked and the Channel ports were saved. "Germany on the march had encountered England at bay"--and had failed to destroy the heroic British army.

And now came a lull of over a month while the Germans were reorganizing their forces and preparing for a still greater blow. Again the element of surprise was employed. The Allies expected another attack somewhere in the line from Soissons to the sea, and their reserves were so disposed as to meet such an attack. But the German blow was directed against the weakest part of the Allied line, the stretch from Rheims to Soissons, where a break might open the road to Paris from the east. The third drive began on May 27. For over a week the French were pushed back, fighting valiantly, across land which had not seen the enemy since September, 1914. The greatest depth of the German advance was thirty miles, that is, to within forty-four miles of Paris. The enemy had once again reached the Marne River and controlled the main roads from Paris to Verdun and to the eastern parts of the Allied line.

The fourth drive started a few days later, on June 9, in a region where an attack was expected. It resulted in heavy losses to the Germans, who succeeded in pushing only six miles toward Paris in the region between Soissons and Montdidier (mawn-dee-dya'). The advantages of a single command had begun to appear. General Foch could use all the Allied forces where they were most needed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WESTERN FRONT]

The fifth drive opened on July 15 and spread over a front of one hundred miles east of Soissons. The Allies were fully prepared, and while falling back a little at first, the American and French troops soon won back some of the abandoned territory.

THE TURNING OF THE TIDE.--A glance at a map of the battle front of July 18 will show that the Germans had driven three blunt wedges into the Allied lines. These positions would prove dangerous to the Germans if ever the Allies were strong enough to a.s.sume the offensive. And just now the moment came for Foch to strike a great counter-blow. During the spring and early summer American troops had been speeded across the Atlantic until by the Fourth of July over a million men were in France.

On July 18 fresh American and French troops attacked the Germans in the narrowest of the wedges along the Marne River and within a few days compelled the enemy to retreat from this wedge. On August 8 a British army began a surprise attack on the middle wedge, and by the use of large numbers of light, swift tanks succeeded in driving the Germans back for a distance of over ten miles on a wide front.

The offensive had now pa.s.sed from the Germans to the Allies. Under Foch's repeated attacks the enemy was driven back first at one point and then at another. He had no time to prepare a counter-drive; he did not know where the next blow would fall. By the end of September he had given up nearly all his recent conquests, devastating much of the country as he retired. In several places also he was forced still farther back, across the old Hindenburg line. In two days (September 12-13) the Americans and French under the direction of General Pershing wiped out an old German salient near Metz, taking 200 square miles of territory and 15,000 prisoners. Altogether, by the end of September, Foch had taken over a quarter of a million prisoners, with 3,669 cannon and 23,000 machine guns.

It is said that the complete defeat of the German plans was due primarily to three things: "(1) the dogged steadfastness of the British and the patient heroism of the French soldiers and civilians; (2) the brilliant strategy of General Foch, and the unity of command which made this effective; (3) the material and moral encouragement of the American forces, of whom nearly 1,500,000 were in France before the end of August."

THE WAR IN ITALY, THE BALKANS, AND SYRIA.--The summer of 1918 witnessed the launching of a great offensive by the Austrians against the Italian armies holding the Piave front. It is probable that the chief purpose of this blow was to draw Allied troops into Italy from the battle front in Belgium and France. The Italians, however, proved themselves amply able to fight their own battle, and the Austrian attempt was repulsed with tremendous losses.

The autumn of this year saw important happenings on the Balkan front also. This theater of the war had been uneventful for a long time. The battle line extended from the Adriatic Sea to the aegean, and was held by a mixed army of Serbians, Greeks, Italians, British, and French, under the command of General D'Esperey (des-pra'), with headquarters at Salonica. Opposed to these troops were armies of Bulgarians and Austrians, together with a considerable number of Germans. Encouraged by the German defeats in the west, which had forced the withdrawal of large numbers of German troops from eastern Europe, the Allies launched a strong offensive on the Balkan front in the middle of September. Day after day their advance continued, resulting in the capture of many thousands of prisoners and the reoccupation of many miles of Albanian and Serbian territory. The campaign was one of the most successful of the whole war. Within two weeks the Bulgarians asked for an armistice, accepted the terms that were demanded, and on September 30 definitely withdrew from the war. Their surrender broke the lines of communication between the Central Powers and Turkey and at one blow destroyed Teutonic supremacy in the Balkans. An even more important consequence was the moral effect on the general public in Germany, Austria, and Turkey, where it was taken by many as a sign that surrender of the Central Powers could only be a question of time.

Meanwhile, events of almost equal importance were taking place in Palestine and Syria. General Allenby had taken Jerusalem in December, 1917. In the fall of 1918 new and important advances were made in this region, Arab forces east of the Jordan cooperating with the British armies. By the close of September more than 50,000 Turkish soldiers and hundreds of guns had been captured. In October General Allenby's men took the important cities of Damascus and Aleppo, and in Mesopotamia also the British began a new advance. Turkey was already asking for an armistice, and now accepted terms that were virtually a complete surrender (October 31).

By this time Austria-Hungary was in the throes of dissolution; independent republics were being set up by the Czechs, the Hungarians, the Jugo-Slavs, and even the German Austrians. These revolutions were hastened by the overwhelming victory of the Italians in the second battle of the Piave. Their attack began October 24 on the mountain front, but soon the Allied forces under General Diaz (dee'ahss) crossed the river and cut through the lines of the fleeing Austrians. In the capture of large numbers of prisoners and guns the Italians took full vengeance for their defeat of the preceding year. So hopeless, indeed, was the situation for the Austrians that they too accepted an armistice that was practically a surrender (November 4).

GERMAN RETREAT IN THE WEST.--After the Germans had been driven back to their old lines in France, there was danger that the contest might settle down to the old form of trench warfare. But the intricate defenses of the Hindenburg line, in some cases extending to a depth of ten miles from the front trenches, did not prove strong enough to withstand the American and Allied advance. Foch attacked the line from each end and also in the center. In the north, by October 20, Belgian and British troops had recaptured all the Belgian coast, with its submarine bases; and the British had taken the important cities of Lens and Lille, the former valuable on account of its coal mines. In the center British and French troops broke through to the important points of Cambrai, St. Quentin (san-kahn-tan') and Laon (lahn), while farther east the French and Americans began an advance along the Meuse River, threatening to attack the German line in the rear.

By this time it seemed likely that a general retirement from Belgium and France had been determined upon by the German leaders. Moreover, the impending defeat of the German armies led to a new peace drive by the German government. On October 6 President Wilson received a note from the German Chancellor asking for an armistice, requesting that the United States take steps for the restoration of peace, and stating that the German government accepted as a basis for peace negotiations the program as laid down in the President's message to Congress of January 8, 1918 (Chapter XIV), and in his subsequent addresses. In the ensuing correspondence several points are worthy of special notice. President Wilson opposed any suggestion of an armistice till after the evacuation of Allied territory, or except as it might be arranged by the military advisers of the American and Allied powers, on such terms as would make impossible the renewal of hostilities by Germany. He also called attention to the following point in his address of July 4, 1918,--"The destruction of every arbitrary power anywhere that can separately, secretly, and of its single choice disturb the peace of the world, or, if it cannot be presently destroyed, at the least its reduction to virtual impotence";--stated that the military autocracy still in control of Germany was such a power; and insisted on dealing only with a new or altered German government in which the representatives of the people should be the real rulers.

On November 11, while the German armies in France and Belgium were being defeated by the Allied and American forces, envoys from the German government accepted from General Foch an armistice in terms that meant virtually the surrender of Germany, and thus brought hostilities to an end.

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY.--1. What is the meaning of camouflage? of smoke screen? What is a convoy? 2. On a map of the Western Front locate the five great German drives of 1918, numbering them from one to five. 3. On a physical map of the Balkan peninsula find the only good land route from the Danube to Constantinople, with its branch to Salonica. 4.

Collect pictures showing American soldiers in camps; going to France; and in France. 5. What were the objects of the 1918 offensive of the Germans? 6. In what way did the American troops help besides increasing the number of soldiers fighting the Germans? 7. What is the present condition of the western provinces of Russia? 8. What was the first important battle in which many American troops were engaged? 9. Why was the St. Mihiel salient important: (_a_) for the Germans to hold; (_b_) for the Allies and the United States to win? 10.

Explain the importance of Bulgaria's surrender.

REFERENCES.--_War Cyclopedia_ (C.P.I.); _The Study of the Great War_ (C.P.I.); McKinley, _Collected Materials for the Study of the War; The Correspondence between the Bolsheviki and the German Government_ (C.P.I.); _National School Service_, Vol. I (C.P.I.).

FOOTNOTES:

[5] After driving the Russians out of Asia Minor and taking the districts ceded to Turkey, the Turkish forces went on and seized nearly all of the southern Caucasus before October, 1918.

CHAPTER XIII

THE UNITED STATES IN THE WAR

PART OF THE NAVY SENT TO EUROPE.--One of the first things done after our entrance into the war was to send a considerable part of our navy to Europe, not only battleships to augment the fleet that was holding the German navy in check, but also a number of swift torpedo boats and destroyers to aid in reducing the menace from submarines. Huge appropriations were made by Congress for the purpose of increasing the number of lighter craft in the navy. Particularly efficient submarine chasers were developed, called "Eagles," which, by being made all alike, could be quickly produced in great numbers.

RAISING THE ARMY.--Great numbers of young men at once enlisted in various branches of the service. Profiting, however, by the experience of Great Britain, the government determined on conscription as a more democratic method of raising an army. A draft law was pa.s.sed providing for the enrollment of all men between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one. These were examined and cla.s.sified, and from time to time large groups were sent to camps to be trained. Each of these camps can take care of approximately fifty thousand soldiers. Under a later draft law pa.s.sed in 1918, the age limits for enrolling men were extended to include those from eighteen to forty-five.

OFFICERS' TRAINING CAMPS.--In order to provide officers for such an emergency as now confronted the nation, training camps for officers had been established the previous year at several places in the country.

These officers were now called upon to aid the regular army officers in training the recruits. The officers' training camps have been continued and increased in number in order that a regular supply of properly trained officers may be available for the constantly increasing army.

SUPPLIES AND MUNITIONS.--The industries of the country were compelled to turn their attention to the making of supplies and munitions for our fighters. The great plants that had been making powder, guns, sh.e.l.ls, and other munitions for the Allies started to make these things for the United States. This was easy to arrange, since England and France had about reached a position where they were able to supply themselves.

Besides, great quant.i.ties of food and clothing were also needed, and the meat packers and the manufacturers of textiles, shoes, and other articles turned their plants to the production of supplies for the army.

AIRCRAFT.--The war in Europe had shown the high usefulness of aircraft as part of the military forces. Recognizing this, Congress appropriated two thirds of a billion dollars for the purpose of constructing thousands of airplanes and for training thousands of pilots and other experts to use them. Unfortunately much time was lost in building manufacturing plants and in experimenting with various types of engines and other parts of airplanes. Only a small part of the twenty thousand it had been planned to send to France by June, 1918, were completed at that time. Meanwhile, however, engineers had developed, on the basis of the automobile engine, an improved engine known as the Liberty Motor, and the production of efficient airplanes was at last going ahead rapidly.

_Food and Fuel Control._--So large a proportion of the population of the European countries is employed in carrying on the war that there has been a constant decrease in the amount of food produced in Europe.

Fortunately, up to 1917 this country had enough for itself and sufficient to spare for the Allies and the neutral nations. In 1917 there was an unusually short cereal crop all over the world. The result was that there was not enough food to go round, if every one in this country ate as much as usual.

In order that proper conservation of food might be brought about, a food commission was created, not only to prevent profiteering, but also to direct how the people should economize in order to help win the war.

Shortages in various kinds of food were controlled at first through voluntary rationing under requests made by the Food Administrator. Later on, limits were placed on the amount of wheat, flour, and sugar that could be bought by large dealers and bakeries. A certain proportion of other cereals had to be purchased with each purchase of wheat. Bakers were required to make their bread with a proportion of other flours mixed with the wheat. These regulations were enforced by such punishments as fines, the closing of stores or bakeries, or by depriving the offender of his supply for a given length of time. Kitchens were established in large communities where housewives could learn the best ways of making bread with the use of various subst.i.tutes for wheat.

Early in the fall of 1917 it was seen that, because of inadequate transportation facilities and of a tremendously increasing demand for coal by the war industries, there would be a shortage of fuel during the winter. Accordingly a Fuel Administrator was appointed who regulated the distribution of fuel. Industries essential to the war were supplied, while those that were not doing needful work had their supply reduced or cut off altogether. As it happened, the winter of 1917-1918 was exceedingly severe, freight congestion became worse and worse, and the shortage in the industrial centers was even greater than had been antic.i.p.ated. The control of fuel saved the people of the northeastern section of our country from much distress, and a.s.sured a supply of fuel for war purposes.

Later in 1918 householders and mercantile establishments were allowed only a portion of their usual coal supply, the number of stops made by street railway cars was reduced, and window and other display lighting was forbidden on all but two nights in the week. An act of Congress directed that from the last Sunday in March till the last Sunday in October all clocks must be set one hour ahead of time. This regulation brings more of our activities into the daylight hours and so cuts down the use of artificial light. By these methods much coal was conserved for the use of factories engaged in war work.

TRANSPORTATION CONTROL.--Soon after war was declared, the railroads of the country put themselves at the disposal of the government in order to take care of the increase in transportation service required by the state of war. The nearly seven hundred railroads of the country were organized and run as a single system under the direction of a Railroads'

War Board, composed of some of the chief railroad officials.

Pa.s.senger train service was reduced, chiefly in order to provide for the transportation of several million soldiers to and from training camps.

Freight cars and locomotives from one railroad were kept as long as they were needed in the service of another. The roads no longer competed with each other for freight, but goods were sent over the road that had, at the time of shipment, the most room for additional traffic. At the end of 1917, as a measure of economy and to secure even greater unity of organization, the government took over the control of the railroads for the period of the war. As Director General of Railroads, the President appointed William G. McAdoo, who was also the Secretary of the Treasury.

Half a year later, the government likewise took over, for the duration of the war, the operation of telegraph and telephone lines, which were placed under the control of the Postmaster-General.

SHIPBUILDING.--Less than two weeks after the declaration of war the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation was organized with a capital of fifty million dollars all owned by the government. The Shipping Board had been formed some time before to increase the merchant shipping of the country. When war came, more and yet more ships were needed, not only to take our armies, and their food and fighting material, to Europe, but also to replace the shipping destroyed by submarines. In order that these ships might be built as speedily as possible it was desirable that the government should direct the work.

Existing shipyards were taken over, and new shipyards were built by the government. In the building of ships the original program was more than doubled, and the United States became the greatest shipbuilding nation of the world. This was made possible largely through the construction of what are known as "fabricated ships"; that is, many ships built exactly alike, from parts made in quant.i.ties. Patterns are made for each special piece of steel and sent to steel plants in different parts of the country. There dozens of pieces are made exactly like the pattern. All the pieces for a ship are sent to the shipyard ready to be riveted in their proper places. Thus the shipyard can work much faster than if the pieces were prepared at the yard.

GERMAN SHIPPING SEIZED.--Immediately upon the declaration of war, the President ordered the seizure of ninety-nine German merchant ships which were in our ports. Most of them had been in harbor since August, 1914. They had been free to sail if they wished, but preferred not to risk capture by British or French warships.

When the United States officials took charge of these vessels, it was found that important parts of their machinery had been destroyed or broken, under orders from Germany. Repairs were quickly and skillfully made, the German names of the ships were changed, and a few months later over six hundred thousand tons of German-built ships were taking American troops and supplies across the seas.

PAYING FOR THE WAR.--Wars nowadays cost enormous sums of money, on account of the highly technical material that is used as well as the great size of the armies. There are two ways by which the money can be raised. The government can borrow money, and it can raise money by taxation. It was found wise to pay for the war by depending on both of these methods.

In May and June our people were called upon to subscribe to an issue of two billion dollars' worth of Liberty bonds. Half as much more was offered to the government. A second loan for three billions in November was again oversubscribed by fifty per cent. In 1918 the third loan for three billion, and the fourth loan, for six billion, were also oversubscribed. Up to November, 1918, the government asked for fourteen billion dollars, the people offered to lend about eighteen billion dollars, and the government accepted about sixteen billion dollars.