CHAPTER LIX
PRESIDENT WILSON'S REVIEW OF THE WAR
On December 2, 1918, just prior to sailing for Europe to take part in the Peace Conference, President Wilson addressed Congress, reviewing the work of the American people, soldiers, sailors and civilians, in the World War which had been brought to a successful conclusion on November 11th. His speech, in part, follows:
"The year that has elapsed since I last stood before you to fulfil my constitutional duty to give to the Congress from time to time information on the state of the Union has been so crowded with great events, great processes and great results that I cannot hope to give you an adequate picture of its transactions or of the far-reaching changes which have been wrought in the life of our Nation and of the world. You have yourselves witnessed these things, as I have. It is too soon to assess them; and we who stand in the midst of them and are part of them are less qualified than men of another generation will be to say what they mean or even what they have been. But some great outstanding facts are unmistakable and constitute in a sense part of the public business with which it is our duty to deal. To state them is to set the stage for the legislative and executive action which must grow out of them and which we have yet to shape and determine.
"A year ago we had sent 145,918 men overseas. Since then we have sent 1,950,513, an average of 162,542 each month, the number in fact rising in May last to 245,951, in June to 278,760, in July to 307,182 and continuing to reach similar figures in August and September—in August 289,570 and in September 257,438. No such movement of troops ever took place before, across 3,000 miles of sea, followed by adequate equipment and supplies, and carried safely through extraordinary dangers of attack, dangers which were alike strange and infinitely difficult to guard against. In all this movement only 758 men were lost by enemy attacks, 630 of whom were upon a single English transport which was sunk near the Orkney Islands.
"I need not tell you what lay back of this great movement of men and material. It is not invidious to say that back of it lay a supporting organization of the industries of the country and of all its productive activities more complete, more thorough in method and effective in results, more spirited and unanimous in purpose and effort than any other great belligerent had ever been able to effect. We profited greatly by the experience of the nations which had already been engaged for nearly three years in the exigent and exacting business, their every resource and every proficiency taxed to the utmost. We were the pupils. But we learned quickly and acted with a promptness and a readiness of co-operation that justify our great pride that we were able to serve the world with unparalleled energy and quick accomplishment.
"But it is not the physical scale and executive efficiency of preparation, supply, equipment and dispatch that I would dwell upon, but the mettle and quality of the officers and men we sent over and of the sailors who kept the seas, and the spirit of the Nation that stood behind them. No soldiers, or sailors, ever proved themselves more quickly ready for the test of battle or acquitted themselves with more splendid courage and achievement when put to the test. Those of us who played some part in directing the great processes by which the war was pushed irresistibly forward to the final triumph may now forget all that and delight our thoughts with the story of what our men did. Their officers understood the grim and exacting task they had undertaken and performed with audacity, efficiency and unhesitating courage that touch the story of convoy and battle with imperishable distinction at every turn, whether the enterprise were great or small—from their chiefs, Pershing and Sims, down to the youngest lieutenant; and their men were worthy of them—such men as hardly need to be commanded, and go to their terrible adventure blithely and with the quick intelligence of those who know just what it is they would accomplish. I am proud to be the fellow-countryman of men of such stuff and valor. Those of us who stayed at home did our duty: the war could not have been won or the gallant men who fought it given their opportunity to win it otherwise; but for many a long day we shall think ourselves 'accursed we were not there, and hold our manhoods cheap while any speaks that fought' with these at St. Mihiel or Thierry. The memory of those days of triumphant battle will go with these fortunate men to their graves; and each will have his favorite memory. 'Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot, but he'll remember with advantages what feats he did that day!'
"What we all thank God for with deepest gratitude is that our men went in force into the line of battle just at the critical moment, and threw their fresh strength into the ranks of freedom in time to turn the whole tide and sweep of the fateful struggle—turn it once for all, so that henceforth it was back, back, back for their enemies, always back, never again forward! After that it was only a scant four months before the commanders of the central empires knew themselves beaten, and now their very empires are in liquidation!
"And throughout it all how fine the spirit of the Nation was; what unity of purpose, what untiring zeal! What elevation of purpose ran through all its splendid display of strength, its untiring accomplishment. I have said that those of us who stayed at home to do the work of organization and supply will always wish that we had been with the men whom we sustained by our labor; but we can never be ashamed. It has been an inspiring thing to be here in the midst of fine men who had turned aside from every private interest of their own and devoted the whole of their trained capacity to the tasks that supplied the sinews of the whole great undertaking! The patriotism, the unselfishness, the thoroughgoing devotion and distinguished capacity that marked their toilsome labors, day after day, month after month, have made them fit mates and comrades of the men in the trenches and on the sea. And not the men here in Washington only. They have but directed the vast achievement. Throughout innumerable factories, upon innumerable farms, in the depths of coal mines and iron mines and copper mines, wherever the stuffs of industry were to be obtained and prepared, in the shipyards, on the railways, at the docks, on the sea, in every labor that was needed to sustain the battle lines men have vied with each other to do their part and do it well. They can look any man-at-arms in the face, and say, we also strove to win and gave the best that was in us to make our fleets and armies sure of their triumph!
"And what shall we say of the women—of their instant intelligence, quickening every task that they touched; their capacity for organization and co-operation, which gave their action discipline and enhanced the effectiveness of everything they attempted; their aptitude at tasks to which they had never before set their hands; their utter self-sacrificing alike in what they did and in what they gave? Their contribution to the great result is beyond appraisal. They have added a new luster to the annals of American womanhood.
"The least tribute we can pay them is to make them the equals of men in political rights as they have proved themselves their equals in every field of practical work they have entered, whether for themselves or for their country. These great days of completed achievement would be sadly marred were we to omit that act of justice. Besides the immense practical services they have rendered, the women of the country have been the moving spirits in the systematic economies by which our people have voluntarily assisted to supply the suffering peoples of the world and the armies upon every front with food and everything else that we had that might serve the common cause. The details of such a story can never be fully written, but we carry them at our hearts and thank God that we can say we are the kinsmen of such.
"And now we are sure of the great triumph for which every sacrifice was made. It has come, come in its completeness, and with the pride and inspiration of these days of achievement quick within us we turn to the tasks of peace again—a peace secure against the violence of irresponsible monarchs and ambitious military coteries and made ready for a new order, for new foundations of justice and fair dealing.
"We are about to give order and organization to this peace, not only for ourselves, but for the other peoples of the world as well, so far as they will suffer us to serve them. It is international justice that we seek, not domestic safety merely.
"So far as our domestic affairs are concerned the problem of our return to peace is a problem of economic and industrial readjustment. That problem is less serious for us than it may turn out to be for the nations which have suffered the disarrangements and the losses of war longer than we. Our people, moreover, do not wait to be coached and led. They know their own business, are quick and resourceful at every readjustment, definite in purpose and self-reliant in action. Any leading strings we might seek to put them in would speedily become hopelessly tangled because they would pay no attention to them and go their own way. All that we can do as their legislative and executive servants is to mediate the process of change here, there and elsewhere as we may. I have heard much counsel as to the plans that should be formed and personally conducted to a happy consummation, but from no quarter have I seen any general scheme of reconstruction emerge which I thought it likely we could force our spirited businessmen and self-reliant laborers to accept with due pliancy and obedience.
"While the war lasted we set up many agencies by which to direct the industries of the country in the services it was necessary for them to render, by which to make sure of an abundant supply of the materials needed, by which to check undertakings that could for the time be dispensed with and stimulate those that were most serviceable in war, by which to gain for the purchasing departments of the government a certain control over the prices of essential articles and materials, by which to restrain trade with alien enemies, make the most of the available shipping and systematize financial transactions, both public and private, so that there would be no unnecessary conflict or confusion—by which, in short, to put every material energy of the country in harness to draw the common load and make of us one team in accomplishment of a great task.
"But the moment we knew the armistice to have been signed we took the harness off. Raw materials upon which the government had kept its hand for fear there should not be enough for the industries that supplied the armies have been released, and put into the general market again. Great industrial plants whose whole output and machinery had been taken over for the uses of the government have been set free to return to the uses to which they were put before the war. It has not been possible to remove so readily or so quickly the control of foodstuffs and of shipping, because the world has still to be fed from our granaries and the ships are still needed to send supplies to our men oversea and to bring the men back as fast as the disturbed conditions on the other side of the water permit; but even there restraints are being relaxed as much as possible, and more and more as the weeks go by.
"Never before have there been agencies in existence in this country which knew so much of the field of supply of labor, and of industry as the War Industries Board, the War Trade Board, the Labor Department, the Food Administration and the Fuel Administration have known since their labors became thoroughly systematized; and they have not been isolated agencies; they have been directed by men which represented the permanent departments of the government and so have been the centers of unified and co-operative action. It has been the policy of the Executive, therefore, since the armistice was assured (which is in effect a complete submission of the enemy) to put the knowledge of these bodies at the disposal of the businessmen of the country and to offer their intelligent mediation at every point and in every matter where it was desired. It is surprising how fast the process of return to a peace footing has moved in the three weeks since the fighting stopped. It promises to outrun any inquiry that may be instituted and any aid that may be offered. It will not be easy to direct it any better than it will direct itself. The American business man is of quick initiative….
"I welcome this occasion to announce to the Congress my purpose to join in Paris the representatives of the governments with which we have been associated in the war against the Central Empires for the purpose of discussing with them the main features of the treaty of peace. I realize the great inconveniences that will attend my leaving the country, particularly at this time, but the conclusion that it was my paramount duty to go has been forced upon me by considerations which I hope will seem as conclusive to you as they have seemed to me.
"The Allied governments have accepted the bases of peace which I outlined to the Congress on the 8th of January last, as the Central Empires also have, and very reasonably desire my personal counsel in their interpretation and application, and it is highly desirable that I should give it, in order that the sincere desire of our government to contribute without selfish purpose of any kind to settlements that will be of common benefit to all the nations concerned may be made fully manifest. The peace settlements which are now to be agreed upon are of transcendent importance both to us and to the rest of the world, and I know of no business or interest which should take precedence of them. The gallant men of our armed forces on land and sea have consciously fought for the ideals which they knew to be the ideals of their country; I have sought to express those ideals; they have accepted my statements of them as the substance of their own thought and purpose, as the associated governments have accepted them; I owe it to them to see to it, so far as in me lies, that no false or mistaken interpretation is put upon them, and no possible effort omitted to realize them. It is now my duty to play my full part in making good what they offered their life's blood to obtain. I can think of no call to service which could transcend this….
"May I not hope, gentlemen of the Congress, that in the delicate tasks I shall have to perform on the other side of the sea in my efforts truly and faithfully to interpret the principles and purposes of the country we love, I may have the encouragement and the added strength of your united support? I realize the magnitude and difficulty of the duty I am undertaking. I am poignantly aware of its grave responsibilities. I am the servant of the Nation. I can have no private thought or purpose of my own in performing such an errand. I go to give the best that is in me to the common settlements which I must now assist in arriving at in conference with the other working heads of the associated governments. I shall count upon your friendly countenance and encouragement. I shall not be inaccessible. The cables and the wireless will render me available for any counselor service you may desire of me, and I shall be happy in the thought that I am constantly in touch with the weighty matters of domestic policy with which we shall have to deal. I shall make my absence as brief as possible and shall hope to return with the happy assurance that it has been possible to translate into action the great ideals for which America has striven."
[Illustration: Photograph]
Copyright Harris and Ewing.
WOODROW WILSON
President of the United States during the whole course of the war and
Commander in-Chief of its army and navy. On November 11, 1918, he
signalized the end of the war in a proclamation in which he said:—"My
Fellow-Countrymen:—The armistice was signed this morning. Everything
for which America fought has been accomplished."
[Illustration: Photograph]
Copyright International Film Service.
WHEN IT WAS OVER "OVER THERE"
Victorious American troops arriving at New York after the signing of
the armistice.
Summarized Chronology of the War
1914
June
28.—Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife at Sarajevo, Bosnia.
July
28.—Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
29.—Russian mobilization ordered.
August
1.—Germany declares war on Russia.
1.—France orders mobilization.
2.—Germany demands free passage through Belgium.
3.—Germany declares war on France.
3.—Belgium rejects Germany's demand.
4.—Germany at war with Belgium. Troops under Gen. Von Kluck cross border. Halted at Liege.
4.—Great Britain at war with Germany. Kitchener becomes Secretary of War.
5.—President Wilson tenders good offices of United States in interests of peace.
6.—Austria-Hungary at war with Russia.
7.—French forces invade Alsace. Gen. Joffre in supreme command of French army.
7.—Montenegro at war with Austria.
7.—Great Britain's Expeditionary Force lands at Ostend, Calais and Dunkirk.
8.—British seize German Togoland.
8.—Serbia at war with Germany.
8.—Portugal announces readiness to stand by alliance with England.
11.—German cruisers Goeben and Breslau enter Dardanelles and are purchased by Turkey.
12.—Great Britain at war with Austria-Hungary.
12.—Montenegro at war with Germany.
17.—Belgian capital removed from Brussels to Antwerp.
19.—Canadian Parliament authorizes raising expeditionary force.
20.—Germans occupy Brussels.
23.—Japan at war with Germany. Begins attack on Tsingtau.
24.—Germans enter France near Lille.
25.—Austria at war with Japan.
26.—Louvain sacked and burned by Germans. Viviani becomes premier of France.
28.—British fleet sinks three German cruisers and two destroyers off Heligoland.
28.—Austria declares war on Belgium.
29.—Russians invest Konigsberg, East Prussia. New Zealanders seize German Samoa.
30.—Amiens occupied by Germans.
31.—Russian army of invasion in East Prussia defeated at Tannenberg by Germans under Von Hindenburg.
31.—St. Petersburg changed to Petrograd by imperial decree.
September
3.—Paris placed in state of siege; government transferred to Bordeaux.
3.—Lemberg, Gallicia, occupied by Russians.
4.—Germans occupy Rheims.
6-10.—Battle of Marne. Von Kluck is beaten by Gen. Joffre, and the German army retreats from Paris to the Soissons-Rheims line.
10.—Emden, German cruiser, carries out raids in Bay of Bengal.
14.—French reoccupy Amiens and Rheims.
19.—British forces begin operations in Southwest Africa.
20.—Rheims cathedral shelled by Germans.
24.—Allies occupy Peronne.
25.—Australians seize German New Guinea.
28.—Anglo-French forces invade German colony of Kamerun.
29.—Antwerp bombardment begins.
October
2.—British Admiralty announces intention to mine North Sea areas.
6.—Japan seizes Marshall Islands in Pacific.
9.—Antwerp surrenders to Germans. Government removed to Ostend.
13.—British occupy Ypres.
14.—Canadian Expeditionary Force of 32,000 men lands at Plymouth.
15.—Germans occupy Ostend. Belgian government removed to Havre, France.
November
1.—Monmouth and Good Hope, British cruisers, are sunk by German squadron off Chile under command of Admiral Von Spee.
5.—Great Britain and France declare war on Turkey.
5.—Cyprus annexed by Great Britain.
7.—German garrison of Tsingtau surrenders to Japanese.
9.—Emden, German cruiser, which had carried out raiding operations for two months, is destroyed by Australian cruiser Sydney off the Cocos Islands, southwest of Java.
16.—Prohibition of sale of intoxicants in Russia enforced.
27.—Czernowitz, capital of Bukowina, captured by Russians.
December
2.—Belgrade occupied by Austrians.
3.—Cracow bombarded by Russians.
8.—Off the Falkland Isles, British squadron under command of Rear-Admiral Sturdee, sinks three of the German cruisers which had destroyed the Good Hope and Monmouth on Nov. 1. The Dresden escapes.
14.—Austrians evacuate Belgrade.
16.—German squadron bombards Hartlepool, Scarborough and Whitby on east coast of England.
23.—Siege of Cracow raised. Russians retire.
1915
January
24.—British fleet puts to flight a German squadron in North Sea and sinks the battle cruiser Blucher.
28.—American bark, William P. Frye, sunk by German cruiser in South Atlantic.
February
10.—Russians defeated by Germans in Battle of Masurian Lakes.
18.—German submarine "blockade" of British Isles begins.
25.—Allied fleet destroys outer forts of Dardanelles.
March
2.—Allied troops land at Kum-Kale, on Asiatic side of Dardanelles.
10.—British take Neuve Chapelle in Flanders battle.
14.—Dresden, German raiding cruiser, is sunk by British squadron off the Chilean coast.
22.—Austrian fortress of Przmysl surrenders to Russians.
April
22.—Poison gas first used by Germans in attack on Canadians at Ypres, Belgium.
May
1.—American steamer Gulflight torpedoed off Scilly Isles by German submarine; 3 lives lost.
2.—British South Africa troops under General Botha capture Otymbingue, German Southwest Africa.
7.—Germans capture Libau, Russian Baltic port.
7.—Lusitania, Cunard liner, sunk by German submarine off Kinsale Head, Irish coast, with loss of 1152 lives; 102 Americans.
23.—Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary and begins invasion on a 60-mile front.
24.—American steamer Nebraskan torpedoed by German submarine off Irish coast, but reaches Liverpool in safety.
31.—German Zeppelins bombard suburbs of London.
June
1.—Germany apologizes for attack on Gulflight and offers reparation.
3.—Austrians recapture Przmysl.
3.—British forces operating on Tigris capture Kut-el-Amara.
4-6.—German aircraft bombs English towns.
7.—Bryan, U. S. Secretary of State, resigns.
15.—Allied aircraft bombs Karlsruhe, Baden, in retaliation.
22.—Lemberg recaptured by Austrians.
26.—Montenegrins enter Scutari, Albania.
July
9.—German Southwest Africa surrenders to British South African troops under Gen. Botha.
25.—American steamer, Leelanaw, Archangel to Belfast with flax, torpedoed off Scotland.
31.—Baden bombarded by French aircraft.
August
5.—Warsaw captured by Germans.
6.—Ivangorod occupied by Austrians.
6.—Gallipoli Peninsula campaign enters a second stage with the debarkation of a new force of British troops in Suvla Bay, on the west of the peninsula.
8.—Russians defeat German fleet of 9 battleships and 12 cruisers at entrance of Gulf of Riga.
19.—Arabic, White Star liner, sunk by submarine off Fastnet; 44 lives lost; 2 Americans.
25.—Brest-Litovsk, Russian fortress, captured by Austro-Germans.
28.—Italians reach Cima Cista, northeast of Trent.
30.—British submarine attacks Constantinople and damages the Galata Bridge.
31.—Lutsk, Russian fortress, captured by Austrians.
September
2.—Grodno, Russian fortress, occupied by Germans.
6.—Czar Nicholas of Russia assumes command of Russian armies. Grand Duke Nicholas is transferred to the Caucasus.
15.—Pinsk occupied by Germans.
18.—Vilna evacuated by Russia.
24.—Lutsk recaptured by Russians.
25.—Allies open offensive on western front and occupy Lens.
27.—Lutsk again falls to Germans.
October
5.—Greece becomes political storm center. Franco-British force lands at Salonika and Greek ministry resigns.
9.—Belgrade again occupied by Austro-Germans.
11.—Zaimis, new Greek premier, announces policy of armed neutrality.
12.—Edith Cavell, English nurse, shot by Germans for aiding British prisoners to escape from Belgium.
13.—London bombarded by Zeppelins; 55 persons killed; 114 injured.
14.—Bulgaria at war with Serbia.
14.—Italians capture Pregasina, on the Trentino frontier.
15.—Great Britain declares war on Bulgaria.
17.—France at war with Bulgaria.
18.—Bulgarians cut the Nish-Sulonika railroad at Vranja.
19.—Italy and Russia at war with Bulgaria.
22.—Uskub occupied by Bulgarians.
28.—Pirot captured by Bulgarians.
29.—Briand becomes premier of France, succeeding Viviani.
November
5.—Nish, Serbian war capital, captured by Bulgarians.
9.—Ancona, Italian liner, torpedoed in Mediterranean.
17.—Anglo-French war council holds first meeting in Paris.
20.—Novibazar occupied by German troops.
22.—Ctesiphon, near Bagdad, captured by British forces in Asia Minor.
23.—Italians drive Austrians from positions on Carso Plateau.
24.—Serbian government transferred to Scutari, Albania.
December
1.—British Mesopotamian forces retire to Kut-el-Amara.
2.—Monastir evacuated by Serbians.
4.—Henry Ford, with large party of peace advocates, sails for Europe on chartered steamer Oscar II, with the object of ending the war.
13.—Serbia in hands of enemy, Allied forces abandoning last positions and retiring across Greek frontier.
15.—Gen. Sir Douglas Haig succeeds Field Marshal Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of British forces in France.
20.—Dardanelles expedition ends; British troops begin withdrawal from positions on Suvla Bay and Gallipoli Peninsula.
22.—Henry Ford leaves his peace party at Christiania and returns to the United States.
1916
January
11.—Greek island of Corfu occupied by French.
13.—Cettinje, capital of Montenegro, occupied by Austrians.
23.—Scutari, Albania, taken by Austrians.
29-31.—German Zeppelins bomb Paris and towns in England.
February
1.—Appam, British liner, is brought into Norfolk, Va., by German prize crew.
10.—British conscription law goes into effect.
16.—Erzerum, in Turkish Armenia, captured by Russians under Grand Duke Nicholas.
19.—Kamerun, German colony in Africa, conquered by British forces.
21.—Battle of Verdun begins. Germans take Haumont.
25.—Fort Douaumont falls to Germans in Verdun battle.
27.—Durazzo, Albania, occupied by Austrians.
March
5.—Moewe, German raider, reaches home port after a cruise of several months.
9.—Germany declares war on Portugal on the latter's refusal to give up seized ships.
15.—Austria-Hungary at war with Portugal.
24.—Sussex, French cross-channel steamer, with many Americans aboard, sunk by submarine off Dieppe. No Americans lost.
31.—Melancourt taken by Germans in Verdun Battle.
April
18.—Trebizond, Turkish Black Sea port, captured by Russians.
19.—President Wilson publicly warns Germany not to pursue submarine policy.
20.—Russian troops landed at Marseilles for service on French front.
24.—Irish rebellion begins in Dublin. Republic declared. Patrick Pearse announced as first president.
29.—British force of 9000 men, under Gen. Townshend, besieged in Kut-el-Amara, surrenders to Turks.
30.—Irish rebellion ends with unconditional surrender of Pearse and other leaders, who are tried by court-martial and executed.
May
8.—Cymric, White Star liner, torpedoed off Irish coast.
14.—Italian positions penetrated by Austrians.
15.—Vimy Ridge gained by British.
26.—Bulgarians invade Greece and occupy forts on the Struma.
31.—Jutland naval battle; British and German fleets engaged; heavy losses on both sides.
June
5.—Kitchener, British Secretary of War, loses his life when the cruiser Hampshire, on which he was voyaging to Russia, is sunk off the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
6.—Germans capture Fort Vaux in Verdun attack.
8.—Lutsk, Russian fortress, recaptured from Germans.
17.—Czernowitz, capital of Bukowina, occupied by Russians.
21.—Allies demand Greek demobilization.
27.—King Constantine orders demobilization of Greek army.
28.—Italians storm Monte Trappola, in the Trentino district.
July
1.—British and French attack north and south of the Somme.
9.—Deutschland, German submarine freight boat, lands at Baltimore, Md.
14.—British penetrate German second line, using cavalry.
15.—Longueval captured by British.
25.—Pozieres occupied by British.
30.—British and French advance between Delville Wood and the Somme.
August
3.—French recapture Fleury.
9.—Italians enter Goritzia.
10.—Stanislau occupied by Russians.
25.—Kavala, Greek seaport town, taken by Bulgarians.
27.—Roumania declares war on Austria-Hungary.
28.—Italy at war with Germany.
28.—Germany at war with Roumania.
30.—Roumanians advance into Transylvania.
31.—Bulgaria at war with Roumania. Turkey at war with Roumania.
September
2.—Bulgarian forces invade Roumania along the Dobrudja frontier.
13.—Italians defeat Austrians on the Carso.
15.—British capture Flers, Courcelette, and other German positions on western front, using 'tanks.'
26.—Combles and Thiepval captured by British and French.
29.—Roumanians begin retreat from Transylvania.
October
24.—Fort Douaumont recaptured by French.
November
1.—Deutschland, German merchant submarine, arrives at New London, Conn., on second voyage.
2.—Fort Vaux evacuated by Germans.
7.—Woodrow Wilson re-elected President of the United States.
13.—British advance along the Ancre.
19.—Monastir evacuated by Bulgarians and Germans.
21.—Britannic, mammoth British hospital ship, sunk by mine in Aegean Sea.
22.—Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary, dies. Succeeded by Charles I.
23.—German warships bombard English coast.
28.—Roumanian government is transferred to Jassy.
29.—Minnewaska, Atlantic transport liner, sunk by mine in Mediterranean.
December
1.—Allied troops enter Athens to insist upon surrender of Greek arms and munitions.
6.—Bucharest, capital of Roumania, captured by Austro-Germans.
7.—David Lloyd George succeeds Asquith as premier of England.
15.—French complete recapture of ground taken by Germans in Verdun battle.
18.—President Wilson makes peace overtures to belligerents.
26.—Germany replies to President's note and suggests a peace conference.
30.—French government on behalf of Entente Allies replies to President Wilson's note and refuses to discuss peace till Germany agrees to give 'restitution, reparation and guarantees.'
1917
January
1.—Turkey declares its independence of suzerainty of European powers.
1.—Ivernia, Cunard liner, is sunk in Mediterranean.
22.—President Wilson suggests to the belligerents a 'peace without victory.'
31.—Germany announces intention of sinking all vessels in war zone around British Isles.
February
3.—United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany. Count Von Bernstorff is handed his passports.
7.—California, Anchor liner, is sunk off Irish coast.
13.—Afric, White Star liner, sunk by submarine.
17.—British troops on the Ancre capture German positions.
25.—Laconia, Cunard liner, sunk off Irish coast.
26.—Kut-el-Amara recaptured from Turks by new British Mesopotamian expedition under command of Gen. Sir Stanley Maude.
28.—United States government makes public a communication from Germany to Mexico proposing an alliance, and offering as a reward the return of Mexico's lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
28.—Submarine campaign of Germans results in the sinking of 134 vessels during February.
March
3.—British advance on Bapaume.
3.—Mexico denies having received an offer from Germany suggesting an alliance.
8.—Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin dies.
10.—Russian Czar suspends sittings of the Duma.
11.—Bagdad captured by British forces under Gen. Maude.
11.—Revolutionary movement starts in Petrograd.
14.—China breaks with Germany.
15.—Czar Nicholas abdicates. Prince Lvoff heads new cabinet.
17.—Bapaume falls to British. Roye and Lassigny occupied by French.
18.—Peronne, Chaulnes, Nesle and Noyon evacuated by Germans, who retire on an 85-mile front.
18.—City of Memphis, Illinois, and Vigilancia, American ships, torpedoed.
19.—Alexander Ribot becomes French premier, succeeding Briand.
21.—Healdton, American ship, bound from Philadelphia to Rotterdam, sunk without warning; 21 men lost.
26-31.—British advance on Cambrai.
April
1.—Aztec, American armed ship, sunk in submarine zone.
5.—Missourian, American steamer, sunk in Mediterranean.
6.—United States declares war on Germany.
7.—Cuba and Panama at war with Germany.
8.—Austria-Hungary breaks with United States.
9.—Germans retreat before British on long front.
9.—Bolivia breaks with Germany.
13.—Vimy, Givenchy, Bailleul and positions about Lens taken by Canadians.
20.—Turkey breaks with United States.
May
9.—Liberia breaks with Germany.
11.—Russian Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates demands peace conference.
15.—Gen. Petain succeeds Gen. Nivelle as Commander-in-Chief of French armies. Gen. Foch is appointed Chief of Staff.
16.—Bullecourt captured by British in the Arras battles.
17.—Honduras breaks with Germany.
18.—Conscription bill signed by President Wilson.
19.—Nicaragua breaks with Germany.
22-26.—Italians advance on the Carso.
June
4.—Senator Root arrives in Russia at head of commission appointed by President.
5.—Registration day for new draft army in United States.
7.—Messines-Wytschaete ridge in English hands.
8.—Gen. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of American expeditionary force, arrives in England en route to France.
18.—Haiti breaks with Germany.
July
1.—Russians begin offensive in Gallicia, Kerensky, minister of war, leading in person.
3.—American expeditionary force arrives in France.
6.—Canadian House of Commons passes Compulsory Military Service Bill.
12.—King Constantine of Greece abdicates in favor of his second son, Alexander.
14.—Bethmann—Hollweg, German Chancellor, resigns; succeeded by Dr. Georg Michaelis.
16—23.—Retreat of Russians on a front of 155 miles.
20.—Alexander Kerensky becomes Russian premier, succeeding Lvoff.
20.—Drawing of draft numbers for American conscript army begins.
22.—Siam at war with Germany and Austria.
24.—Austro-Germans retake Stanislau.
31.—Franco-British attack penetrates German lines on a 20-mile front.
August
1.—Pope Benedict XV makes plea for peace on a basis of no annexation, no indemnity.
3.—Czernowitz captured by Austro-Germans.
7.—Liberia at war with Germany.
8.—Canadian Conscription Bill passes its third reading in Senate.
14.—China at war with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
15.—St. Quentin Cathedral destroyed by Germans.
15.—Canadian troops capture Hill 70, dominating Lens.
19.—Italians cross the Isonzo and take Austrian positions.
28.—Pope Benedict's peace plea rejected by President Wilson.
September
3.—Riga captured by Germans.
5.—New American National Army begins to assemble in the different cantonments.
7.—Minnehaha, Atlantic Transport liner, sunk off Irish coast.
12.—Argentina dismisses Von Luxburg German minister, on charges of improper conduct made public by United States government.
14.—Paul Painleve becomes French premier, succeeding Ribot.
16.—Russia proclaimed a republic by Kerensky.
20.—Costa Rica breaks with Germany.
21.—Gen. Tasker H. Bliss named Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
25.—Guynemer, famous French flier, killed.
26.—Zonnebeke, Polygon Wood and Tower Hamlets, east of Ypres, taken by British.
28.—William D. Haywood, secretary, and 100 members of the Industrial Workers of the World arrested for sedition.
29.—Turkish Mesopotamian army, under Ahmed Bey, captured by British.
October
6.—Peru and Uruguay break with Germany.
9.—Poelcapelle and other German positions captured in Franco-British attack.
12-16.—Oesel and Dago, Russian islands in Gulf of Riga, captured by Germans.
17.—Antilles, American transport, westbound from France, sunk by submarine; 67 lost.
18.—Moon Island, in the Gulf of Riga, taken by Germans.
23.—American troops in France fire their first shot in trench warfare.
23.—French advance northeast of Soissons.
24.—Austro-Germans begin great offensive on Italian positions.
25.—Italians retreat across the Isonzo and evacuate the Bainsizza Plateau.
26.—Brazil at war with Germany.
27.—Goritzia recaptured by Austro-Germans.
30.—Michaelis, German Chancellor, resigns; succeeded by Count George F. von Hertling.
31.—Italians retreat to the Tagliamento.
31.—Beersheba, in Palestine, occupied by British.
November
1.—Germans abandon position on Chemin des Dames.
3.—Americans in trenches suffer 20 casualties in German attacks.
5.—Italians abandon Tagliamento line and retire on a 93-mile front in the Carnic Alps.
6.—Passchendaele captured by Canadians.
6.—British Mesopotamian forces reach Tekrit, 100 miles northwest of Bagdad.
7.—The Russian Bolsheviki, led by Lenine and Trotzsky, seize Petrograd and depose Kerensky.
8.—Gen. Diaz succeeds Gen. Cadorna as Commander-in-Chief of Italian armies.
9.—Italians retreat to the Piave.
10.—Lenine becomes Premier of Russia, succeeding Kerensky.
15.—Georges Clemenceau becomes Premier of France, succeeding Painleve.
18.—Major General Maude, captor of Bagdad, dies in Mesopotamia.
21.—Ribecourt, Flesquieres, Havrincourt, Marcoing and other German positions captured by British.
23.—Italians repulse Germans on the whole front from the Asiago Plateau to the Brenta River.
24.—Cambrai menaced by British, who approach within three miles, capturing Bourlon Wood.
December
1.—German East Africa reported completely conquered.
1.—Allies' Supreme War Council, representing the United States, France, Great Britain and Italy, holds first meeting at Versailles.
3.—Russian Bolsheviki arrange armistice with Germans.
5.—British retire from Bourlon Wood, Graincourt and other positions west of Cambrai.
6.—Jacob Jones, American destroyer, sunk by submarine in European waters.
6.—Steamer Mont Blanc, loaded with munitions, explodes in collision with the Imo in Halifax harbor: 1500 persons are killed.
7.—Finland declares independence.
8.—Jerusalem, held by the Turks for 673 years, surrenders to British, under Gen. Allenby.
8.—Ecuador breaks with Germany.
10.—Panama at war with Austria-Hungary.
11.—United States at war with Austria-Hungary.
15.—Armistice signed between Germany and Russia at Brest-Litovsk.
17.—Coalition government of Sir Robert Borden is returned and conscription confirmed in Canada.
1918
January
14.—Premier Clemenceau orders arrest of former Premier Caillaux on high treason charge.
19.—American troops take over sector northwest of Toul.
29.—Italians capture Monte di val Belle.
February
1.—Argentine Minister of War recalls military attaches from Berlin and Vienna.
6.—Tuscania, American transport, torpedoed off coast of Ireland: 101 lost.
22.—American troops in Chemin des Dames sector.
26.—British hospital ship, Glenart Castle, torpedoed.
27.—Japan proposes joint military operations with Allies in Siberia.
March
1.—Americans gain signal victory in salient north of Toul.
3.—Peace treaty between Bolshevik government of Russia and the Central Powers signed at Brest-Litovsk.
4.—Treaty signed between Germany and Finland.
5.—Rumania signs preliminary treaty of peace with Central Powers.
9.—Russian capital moved from Petrograd to Moscow.
14.—Russo-German peace treaty ratified by All-Russian Congress of Soviets at Moscow.
20.—President Wilson orders all Holland ships in American ports taken over.
21.—Germans begin great drive on 50-mile front from Arras to La Fere. Bombardment of Paris by German long-range gun from a distance of 76 miles.
24.—Peronne, Ham and Chauny evacuated by Allies.
25.—Bapaume and Nesle occupied by Germans.
29.—General Foch chosen Commander-in-Chief of all Allied forces.
April
5.—Japanese forces landed at Vladivostok.
9.—Second German drive begun in Flanders.
10.—First German drive halted before Amiens after maximum advance of 35 miles.
14.—United States Senator Stone, of Missouri, chairman of Committee on Foreign Relations, dies.
15.—Second German drive halted before Ypres, after maximum advance of 10 miles.
16.—Bolo Pasha, Levantine resident in Paris executed for treason.
21.—Guatemala at War with Germany.
22.—Baron Von Richthofen, premier German flier, killed.
23.—British naval forces raid Zeebrugge in Belgium, German submarine base, and block channel.
May
7.—Nicaragua at war with Germany and her allies.
19.—Major Raoul Lufberry, famous American aviator, killed.
24.—Costa Rica at war with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
27.—Third German drive begins or Aisne-Marne front of 30 miles between Soissons and Rheims.
28.—Germans sweep on beyond the Chemin des Dames and cross the Vesle at Fismes.
28.—Cantigny taken by Americans in local attack.
29.—Soissons evacuated by French.
31.—Marne River crossed by Germans, who reach Chateau Thierry, 40 miles from Paris.
31.—President Lincoln, American transport, sunk.
June
2.—Schooner Edward H .Cole torpedoed by submarine off American coast.
3-6.—American marines and regulars check advance of Germans at Chateau Thierry and Neuilly after maximum advance of Germans of 32 miles. Beginning of American co-operation on major scale.
9-14.—German drive on Noyon-Montdidier front. Maximum advance, 5 miles.
15-24.—Austrian drive on Italian front ends in complete failure.
30.—American troops in France, in all departments of service, number 1,019,115.
July
1.—Vaux taken by Americans.
3.—Mohammed V, Sultan of Turkey, dies.
10.—Czecho-Slovaks, aided by Allies, take control of a long stretch of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
12.—Berat, Austrian base in Albania, captured by Italians.
15.—Haiti at war with Germany.
15.—Stonewall defense of Chateau Thierry blocks new German drive on Paris.
16.—Nicholas Romanoff, ex-Czar of Russia, executed at Yekaterinburg.
17.—Lieut. Quentin Roosevelt, youngest son of ex-President Roosevelt, killed in aerial battle near Chateau Thierry.
18.—French and Americans begin counter offensive on Marne-Aisne front.
19.—San Diego, United States cruiser, sunk off Fire Island.
20.—Carpathia, Cunard liner, used as transport torpedoed off Irish coast. It was the Carpathia that saved most of the survivors of the Titanic in April, 1912.
20.—Justicia, giant liner used as troopship, is sunk off Irish coast.
21.—German submarine sinks three barges off Cape Cod.
23.—French take Oulchy-le-Chateau and drive the Germans back ten miles between the Aisne and the Marne.
30.—Allies astride the Ourcq; Germans in full retreat to the Vesle.
August
1.—Sergeant Joyce Kilmer. American poet and critic, aged 31, dies in battle.
2.—French troops recapture Soissons.
3.—President Wilson announces new policy regarding Russia and agrees to cooperate with Great Britain, France and Japan in sending forces to Murmansk, Archangel and Vladivostok.
3.—Allies sweep on between Soissons and Rheims, driving the enemy from his base at Fismes and capturing the entire Aisne-Vesle front.
7.—Franco-American troops cross the Vesle.
8.—New Allied drive begun by Field Marshal Haig in Picardy, penetrating enemy front 14 miles.
10.—Montdidier recaptured.
13.—Lassigny massif taken by French.
15.—Canadians capture Damery and Parvillers, northwest of Roye.
29.—Noyon and Bapaume fall in new Allied advance.
September
1.—Australians take Peronne.
1.—Americans fight for the first time on Belgian soil and capture Voormezeele.
11.—Germans are driven back to the Hindenburg line which they held in November, 1917.
12.—Registration day for new draft army of men between 18 and 45 in the United States.
13.—Americans begin vigorous offense in St. Mihiel Sector on 40-mile front.
14.—St. Mihiel recaptured from Germans. General Pershing announces entire St. Mihiel salient erased, liberating more than 150 square miles of French territory which had been in German hands since 1914.
20.—Nazareth occupied by British forces in Palestine under Gen. Allenby.
23.—Bulgarian armies flee before combined attacks of British, Greek, Serbian, Italian and French.
25.—British take 40,000 prisoners in Palestine offensive.
26.—Strumnitza, Bulgaria, occupied by Allies.
27.—Franco-Americans in drive from Rheims to Verdun take 30,000 prisoners.
28.—Belgians attack enemy from Ypres to North Sea, gaining four miles.
29.—Bulgaria surrenders to General d'Esperey, the Allied commander.
30.—British-Belgian advance reaches Roulers.
October
1.—St. Quentin, cornerstone of Hindenburg line, captured.
1.—Damascus occupied by British in Palestine campaign.
2.—Lens evacuated by Germans.
3.—Albania cleared of Austrians by Italians.
4.—Ferdinand, king of Bulgaria, abdicates; Boris succeeds
5.—Prince Maximilian new German Chancellor, pleads with President Wilson to ask Allies for armistice.
7.—Berry-au-Bac taken by French.
8.—President Wilson asks whether German Chancellor speaks for people or war lords.
9.—Cambrai in Allied hands.
10.—Leinster, passenger steamer, sunk in Irish Channel by submarine; 480 lives lost; final German atrocity at sea.
11.—Americans advance through Argonne forest.
12.—German foreign secretary, Solf, says plea for armistice is made in name of German people; agrees to evacuate all foreign soil.
12.—Nish, in Serbia, occupied by Allies.
13.—Laon and La Fere abandoned by Germans.
13.—Grandpre captured by Americans after four days' battle.
14.—President Wilson refers Germans to General Foch for armistice terms.
16.—Lille entered by British patrols.
17.—Ostend, German submarine base, taken by land and sea forces.
17.—Douai falls to Allies.
19.—Bruges and Zeebrugge taken by Belgians and British.
25.—Beginning of terrific Italian drive which nets 50,000 prisoners in five days.
31.—Turkey surrenders; armistice takes effect at noon; conditions include free passage of Dardanelles.
November
1.—Clery-le-Grand captured by American troops of First Army.
3.—Americans sweep ahead on 50-mile front above Verdun; enemy in full retreat.
3.—Official reports announce capture of 362,350 Germans since July 15.
3.—Austria surrenders, signing armistice with Italy at 3 P. M. after 500,000 prisoners had been taken.
4.—Americans advance beyond Stenay and strike at Sedan.
7.—American Rainbow Division and parts of First Division enter suburbs of Sedan.
8.—Heights south of Sedan seized by Americans.
9.—Maubeuge captured by Allies.
10.—Canadians take Mons in irresistible advance.
11.—Germany surrenders; armistice takes effect at 11 A. M. American flag hoisted on Sedan front.