Current History: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times, May 1918 / Vol. VIII, Part I, No. 2
Published by The New York Times Company, Times Square, New York, N. Y.
An Epoch-making Month
The month covered by this issue of Current History Magazine was the most fateful in a military way since the beginning of the war. The most desperate and sanguinary battle in history, begun with the great German offensive in France March 21, 1918, was at its most furious phase when these pages were printed. No less than 4,000,000 men were engaged in deadly combat on a front of 150 miles.
General Foch, by agreement of the Allies, was made Commander in Chief of the allied armies in France, March 28. This decision, long regarded as of supreme importance, was hastened by the new emergency. The United States on April 16 officially approved the appointment. The result of the change was to co-ordinate all the allied forces in France into one army. Early fruits of this new unity were apparent in the news of April 19, when it was announced that heavy French reinforcements had come that day to the relief of the hard-pressed and weary British troops in Flanders, and had halted the Germans; the same day the French counterattacked in the Amiens region and thrust the Germans back, thus giving a brighter aspect to the entire situation in France. The story of the battle of Picardy up to April 18 is told elsewhere in detail.
The separation of Russian provinces from the old Russian Empire continued during the month; the resistance of the Bolsheviki in Finland, the Ukraine, Lithuania, the Caucasus, and other provinces that had been alienated either by secession or by German acquisition grew feebler as the weeks elapsed, and the stability of the new republics under German suzerainty was correspondingly strengthened.
The chief political events were the exposure by France of Austria's duplicity in seeking a separate peace, which caused the downfall of the Austrian Premier, and the application of conscription to Ireland, to be followed by home rule. On April 18 Lord Derby was appointed British Ambassador to France, succeeding Lord Bertie, and was succeeded as Secretary of State for War by Viscount Milner. Austen Chamberlain, son of the late Joseph Chamberlain, was made a member of the War Cabinet.
Various
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CURRENT HISTORY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ROTOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
[Period Ended April 19, 1918.]
THE BATTLE OF PICARDY
Military Review of the Greatest Battle in History From March 21 to April 17, 1918
AMERICAN ARMY CHIEFS AND EXPERTS
The British Reverses and Their Causes
FOOTNOTE:
How General Carey Saved Amiens
A Pivotal Episode in the Great Battle
BRITISH COMMANDERS IN FRANCE
GERMAN COMMANDERS IN FRANCE
Battle Viewed From the French Front
Caring for Thousands of Refugees
Progress of the War
Recording Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events From March 18, 1918, Up to and Including April 17, 1918
Russia Under German Domination
Record of a Month's Events
Pershing's Army Under General Foch
American Troops in France Brigaded With French and British Units for the Great Battle in Picardy
Our War Machine in New Phases
Month Ended April 18, 1918
Shortage in Aircraft Production
Senate Committee's Report
America's First Year of War
War Department's Improved System
Summary by Benedict Crowell
The Surgeon General's Great Organization
War Work of the American Red Cross
Summary of a Year's Activities
Great Britain Faces a Crisis
Historic Speech by Premier Lloyd George on the Picardy Battle and Its Fateful Consequences
Russia and the Allies
The Russian and the French Revolution Compared—The Gloomy Outlook of Russia
President on the Russian Treaties
Declares Germany Has Repudiated Her Peace Avowals and Will Be Met With "Force to the Utmost"
American Liberty's Crucial Hour
Defending the World's Right to Democracy
Messenger Dogs in the German Army
How They Are Trained
Full Record of Sinkings by U-Boats
Statement by Sir Eric Geddes
Admiralty Summary of Shipping Losses
Record of Three Years
Typical U-Boat Methods
From British Admiralty Records
The Story of an Indomitable Captain
Told by Joseph Conrad
The Naval Defense of Venice
Venice Under the Grim Shadow
The City's Wartime Aspects
Taking Over the Dutch Ships
The United States Seizes for the War Period 500,000 Tons of Dutch Shipping
Air Raids on Paris and London
A Historical Summary
Paris Bombarded by Long-Range Guns
The Disaster on Good Friday
The Irish Guards
The Guilt of Germany
German Ambassador to Great Britain in 1914 Proves That His Country Forced the War
The Former Foreign Minister's Reply
Count Czernin on Peace Terms
A Reply to President Wilson and a Survey of Results of the Russian Peace Treaties
Great Britain's Reply to Count Czernin
Austro-French "Peace Initiative" Controversy
Clemenceau Flatly Contradicts Czernin
I.—Battle of Jutland: First Phase
II.—Battle of Jutland: Main Engagement
A Review of the Battle of Jutland
FOOTNOTES:
A Leading German Churchman Defends Poison Gas
Great Britain's War Work in 1917
War Cabinet's Official Survey of Military Events and Far-Reaching Economic Changes
THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI
Full Text of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig's Report of a Victory and Reverse
THE EUROPEAN WAR AS SEEN BY CARTOONISTS
LICHNOWSKY'S MEMORANDUM
Full Text of the Suppressed Document in Which the Former German Ambassador at London Reveals Germany's Guilt in Starting the War
Krupp Director Confirms Prince Lichnowsky's Indictment
Reichstag Debate on Lichnowsky
Comments of German Publicists
Comment of an English Editor
Dr. Liebknecht's Indictment of Germany
Why the German Strike Failed
Last Fight of the Mary Rose
A British Naval Episode
Transcriber's Notes: