CHAPTER LXVII

EXECUTION OF EX-CZAR NICHOLAS

Since the latter part of June, 1918, there had been frequent rumors to the effect that ex-Czar Nicholas had been executed. The first of these stated that he had been killed by Red Guards at Ekaterinburg. This dispatch was denied officially, but was followed by another report that the ex-Czar had been tried and executed by the Bolsheviki at the city of the same name. This report was confirmed apparently by advices reaching the Washington State Department.

The next report was what purported to be an intercepted wireless message from the Soviet Foreign Minister Tchitcherin, in which it was stated that Nicholas was dead. Still another report had it that he had been bayoneted by Red Guards while being taken from Ekaterinburg to Perm.

On July 20 an official statement was issued from Moscow which stated definitely that the one-time autocrat of Russia had been shot on July 16, 1918.

The most prominent issue regarding Russian affairs which has been before the public of the United States and the other Allied countries during the past month or more has been the question of extending assistance to Russia in reestablishing herself as a free, independent nation, with the power to resist German aggression; whether this should be done through active military intervention from the east, or whether it should be confined to economic and financial aid. On this point there has been a wide division of opinion, not only in this country, but among Russians as well.

The Bolsheviki, naturally, are strongly opposed to any military aid, which they would interpret as an attempt on the part of the capitalists of the Allied countries to suppress the socialistic state which they claim to have erected on Russian soil.

The membership of the Great Russian Cooperative Movement, expressing its views through its leaders and its official organs, is also opposed to military intervention, having small faith in the benevolent intentions of the Japanese Government. The cooperators, however, realize the danger from German economic control and have been fighting it with intensive effort. The Narodni Bank and the Consumers' Union, in Moscow, have opened offices in London and New York, and have opened a campaign for British and American aid in their efforts to stem the German economic invasion. The contention of their representatives is that the cooperative movement of Russia is a weapon which could be used by the Allied countries to great advantage, and should be aided in an extension of credit and loans of capital, with which their cooperative industrial system might be developed to such dimensions as to form an invincible bulwark against the flood of German capital flowing into Russia.

So far as reports from Russia indicated, the Russians in favor of military intervention by the Allies were largely among the conservative elements, represented by the Constitutional Democrats, and among those comparatively moderate radicals represented by Kerensky and Konovalov. The first group are largely of the professional classes and the so-called bourgeoisie who have not been able to bring themselves to prefer German dominance to even the disorders of Bolshevikism. Among the second group are many of the old-time revolutionists, such as Tchaikovsky, Prince Kropotkin, Katherine Breshkovskaya, Vladimir Bourtsev and Maria Spiradonova. These latter are, most of them, of the old Social Revolutionary Party.

On July 31, 1918, the New York "Times" published the following Washington dispatch:

"Negotiations between the Entente Powers, Japan, and the United States regarding the extension of aid to the Czecho-Slovaks in Siberia and Russia have advanced another step. Information sought by the Japanese Government upon certain points of the American proposal looking to a definition of the aims and scope of any joint action now has been furnished by the State Department. This places the whole subject again before the Japanese Foreign Office at Tokio, which must determine whether the American proposal is now in a sufficiently concrete form to warrant the inauguration of a policy of action.... Meanwhile, from unofficial sources, comes news that in anticipation of a satisfactory conclusion of the negotiations, Japan and the Entente Allies are perfecting their arrangements for the organization of whatever military force may be necessary for the execution of the joint agreement. Because of their proximity to Siberia, Japan and China have been foremost in this work, with a full understanding and cooperation between the military commanders, though for strategic reasons the exact extent and nature of these preparations cannot be disclosed. It is generally realized, however, that upon these two countries will lie the burden of providing the greater part of any military force that may be employed. To preserve the international character of the enterprise France and Great Britain are preparing contingents. Both of them will draw on their near-by colonies."

By the end of July, 1918, it was practically certain that the United States Government had consented to participate in a limited military expedition into Russia, by way of Siberia, not for the purpose of conquest or interference in the internal affairs of the Russian Republic, but to create a nucleus about which all the anti-German forces of Russia might rally for the reestablishment of an eastern front against Germany.

PART XI—AUSTRO-ITALIAN CAMPAIGN

CHAPTER LXVIII

ITALY REVIVES

After the few local engagements which, during the last few days of January, 1918, resulted in some slight Italian gains and a corresponding improvement of the Italian positions in some sectors, comparatively little of importance happened during the first half of February, 1918. On the first of that month the Italians succeeded in advancing their lines to the head of the Melago Valley, while an attempt on the part of the Austro-Hungarian forces to reach the Italian lines by means of a drive against the Italian position on Monte di Val Bella failed.

Artillery fire was the extent of military operations on February 2 and 3, 1918, being restricted on the first of these two days to the Asiago Plateau and the front east of the Brenta, but spreading on the next day along the entire front.

During the next few days the outstanding feature was increased aerial activity on both sides. On February 4, 5, 6, and 7, 1918, Italian and British airplanes made repeated successful attacks against the Austrian positions and a number of Austrian aviation grounds. On the other hand the Austrians bombed repeatedly Venice, Mestre, Treviso, Calviano, and Bassano. On some of these days there were also artillery duels and outpost actions, although the weather seriously interfered with military operations almost along the entire front.

Lively artillery duels and concentrations of fire in the Val Brenta and in the Mt. Melago and Mt. Asolone areas occurred during February 8, 1918. Austrian patrols attempting a surprise attack against some Italian troops were repulsed by hand-grenade fire. Between the Posina and the Astico, east of Lake Garda, and along the coast, Italian reconnoitering parties effectively harassed the Austrian outposts. During the evening two infantry attacks in force were attempted by the Austrians south of Daone, west of Lake Garda, but failed under the heavy fire of the Italian advanced posts.

Along the whole front fighting activity was confined on February 9, 1918, to artillery actions, more intense and frequent in the eastern sector of the Asiago Plateau and in the area west of Mt. Grappa.

On February 10, 1918, very violent concentrations of fire and offensive thrusts of infantry were repeatedly carried out by the Austrians to the east and west of Val Frenzela, at the eastern end of the Sette Comuni, or Asiago Plateau.

At the new Italian positions of Mt. Val Bella and Col del Rosso, four and a half miles east of Asiago, Austrian attacks were promptly frustrated by the very effective fire of the Italian batteries. Farther to the east, on the southern slopes of Mt. Sasso Rosso, seven miles northeast of Asiago, Austrian detachments made various attempts to reach, under the protection of fire, some advanced trenches in front of the Italian lines, which had been evacuated, but they did not succeed, owing to the deadly Italian barrage fire.

On February 13, 1918, it was semiofficially announced that the British part of the battle line on the Italian front had been lengthened considerably east of the Montello ridge along the Piave and extended then some miles east of Nervesa.

Opposite the Montello, on February 15, 1918, British reconnoitering parties crossed the Piave and reached the Austrian lines. There were the usual artillery actions in the plains; one of the Italian patrols, starting from the bridgehead of Capo Sile (northeast corner of Venetian lagoons), surprised an Austrian post, killed or put to flight its garrison, and returned without losses, bringing back the captured arms.

Lively artillery actions took place in February 16, 1918, to the west of Lake Garda, to the east of the Brenta, and on the Middle Piave. Allied batteries carried out effective concentrations of fire on Austrian movements east of Val Frenzela and on the back slopes of Col della Berretta, two miles east of Brenta. In the Val Lagarina, east of Lake Garda and south of Canove on the Asiago Plateau, Austrian reconnoissance parties were repulsed by rifle fire.

Between the Posina and the Astico Italian patrols, on February 16, 1918, displayed increased activity, and small caliber batteries harassed with frequent bursts of fire Austrian movements in the basin of Laghi. On the Asiago Plateau Allied artillery fired on Austrian troops marching along the Galmarara Valley, and carried out concentrations of fire on the sector Val Frenzela-Val Brenta; the Austrians repeatedly shelled Italian positions on the eastern edge. Between the Brenta and the Piave there was a reciprocal cannonade at the salient of Mt. Solarolo. Allied patrols carried out effective harassing actions against the Austrian advanced posts at Grave di Papadofoli. Along the coast region the Austrians intensified the artillery fire at different points, and pushed various patrols toward Cortellazzo, at the mouth of the Piave. They were, however, driven back by the hand-grenade fire of the sailors who garrisoned the bridgehead.

Again on February 18, 1918, artillery activities greatly increased, especially toward the eastern edge of the Asiago Plateau, and occasionally in the Val Giudicaria, west of Lake Garda, in the Posina-Astico sector, east of Lake Garda, on the front of Mt. Tomba, west of the Piave, and to the south of Ponte della Priula, on the Piave.

Italian batteries opened a sudden fire in strong Austrian parties in the Galmarara and Seren valleys and dispersed them. French batteries carried out effective concentration fire along their sector of the front. British patrols, having forded the Piave, raided the Austrian advanced trenches.

The Austrian offensive and the Italian counteroffensive, June-August, 1918.

During the next few days aerial activity became especially marked. Austrian aviation grounds were bombed successfully by British and Italian squadrons. Austrian airplanes, too, were more active. Padua, Vicenza, Mestre, and Venice were bombed repeatedly and suffered considerable material damage, in spite of the efficient work of Italian antiaircraft batteries.

During February 21, 1918, the Austrians shelled with greater frequency the southeastern slopes of Montello. At the Grave Austrian scouting parties were driven back. An English patrol had an encounter with an important group of the Austrian forces on the left bank of the Piave. Italian patrols having advanced as far as the islet of Folina in the Middle Piave, brought back two machine guns.

Along the whole front a moderate struggle of artillery and lively activity by Italian and Austrian scouting parties were maintained during February 22, 1918. British patrols made a few prisoners. At the bottom of Val Brenta an Austrian force, which was trying to seize one of the small Italian posts, was repulsed after a spirited fight.

Lively reciprocal cannonading from the Adige to the Astico, moderate fire actions along the rest of the front, and intense aerial activity over the first lines was the order of the day for February 23, 1918. At Lagoscuro, Val Camonica, and at Rivalta, Brenta, Austrian patrols were repulsed. On the left bank of the Piave a British patrol attacked an Austrian force, causing considerable losses. At Capo Sile, the northeast corner of the Venetian lagoons, Austrian parties, who over a large tract of the front were trying to attack the bridgehead, were promptly dispersed.

The balance of February and the first week of March, 1918, brought extraordinary bad weather, restricting all military operations. There were, of course, in spite of the weather the usual local engagements between patrols. Aerial activity had to be given up practically entirely. Artillery activity, too, was more moderate, increasing from time to time along various sectors of the front.

Much the same conditions continued during the second and third weeks of March, 1918. Artillery activity increased occasionally in some sectors, as for instance during March 8, 1918, along the mountainous front from the Adige to the Piave. Austrian troops and working parties were shelled on the Plateau of Tonezza, at the Assa-Astico confluence, and at the head line of Val Frenzela. Counterattacks were carried out by the Austrian artillery with more liveliness in the southern region of the Montello, but showed less activity along the rest of the front.

More or less unsuccessful air raids were made by Austrian planes against Naples and Venice on March 10, 1918. Reconnoissance combats were daily occurrences at many points of the front. Artillery duels of varying extent and violence, too, were reported every day, without, however, causing material changes on either side.

Much the same conditions continued during the last week of March, 1918. There were frequent local engagements between patrols and other small units at many points along the entire front.

The conclusion of peace with Russia, of course, was an important factor in the further development of affairs in the Austro-Italian theater of war. Large bodies of troops, formerly employed on the Austro-Russian front, became available for the Austro-Italian front. As early as March 28, 1918, it was reported that forty Austro-Hungarian divisions had been transferred from the eastern to the Italian front.

However, there were no immediate developments of any importance. Throughout a great part of April, 1918, the weather was very bad. Again there were daily actions between patrols and reconnoissance detachments. Artillery activity at times became very powerful, suffering on the whole, however, from the inability of the air service to function at its best on account of the bad weather.

During May, 1918, too, there was little change, though fighting increased in violence and frequency. The Italians gained some local successes, notably the capture on May 9, 1918, of a strongly organized Austrian position on the 6,000 feet high Monte Corno in the Vallarsa, southeast of Rovereto; advances in the region of Capo Sile, the northeast corner of the Venetian lagoons on May 20 and 21, 1918, and again during the night of May 26 and 27, 1918; and the capture on May 25 to 27, 1918, by Alpini of a number of strongly fortified Austrian positions, located at a great height in the Tonale region, some twenty miles south of the southeast corner of Switzerland.

During the first half of June, 1918, the same kind of spasmodic fighting was the order of the day. If there was any change as compared with the previous months, it consisted of a slight tendency on the part of the Austrians to be more aggressive. Indeed, toward the middle of the month this tendency increased considerably and, as a result, rumors began to be heard of an approaching new Austrian offensive.

Before long the storm broke. On June 15, 1918, the Austrians launched their new offensive on a front of about 100 miles, from the Asiago Plateau to the mouth of the Piave. For a few days it seemed as if they might be successful. On June 16, 1918, they succeeded in crossing the Piave at a number of points near Nervesa, Fagare, and Musile, ten, eight, and fifteen miles respectively north, northeast, and east of Treviso. On that day the Italians also were forced to give way at the Sette Comuni Plateau, and immediately to the east in the region of Monte Asolone and Monte Grappa. Later, however, they were able to reestablish their lines.

On June 17, 1918, the Austrians were checked by Italian and British troops in the mountains east of the Sette Comuni, but were able to extend their gains at the other end of the front, west and south of Musile, where they succeeded in capturing Capo Sile.

Still less successful were they on the next day, June 18, 1918; again they were repulsed at the eastern end of the Asiago Plateau, and an attempt to cross the Piave at still another point, between Maserada and Cardelu, about three miles northwest of Fagare, resulted in enormous losses.

The "Montello" where the Austrian offensive broke down.

The Italian resistance grew stronger now day by day. It was helped considerably by heavy rains which created flood conditions at many points along the Piave. All attempts of the Austrians to gain new crossings were repulsed with heavy losses to their troops. By June 20, 1918, it became clear that the Italians had regained the initiative and were attacking furiously at the few points where the Austrians had gained territory in the first two or three days of their offensive. From the Montello heights, west of Nervesa, the battle continued bitterly and without pause. On June 20, 1918, the Austrians were forced to retire their lines on the Montello and from part of the Capo Sile sector. British, French, and Czecho-Slovak troops were of great help to the Italian forces, and American aviators, who had hurriedly been sent from France, began to operate against the Austrians.

Austro-Italian operations on the lower Piave river.

On June 21, 1918, the Italian pressure increased still more along the entire front. Approximately one-half of the recently gained ground had to be given up again by the Austrians. All efforts to counterattack were promptly repelled.

The next day began the hurried retreat of the Austrians, and by June 24, 1918, even the official Austrian announcement acknowledged the evacuation of the entire right bank of the Piave. Thousands of prisoners, many guns and machine guns and a large amount of other booty fell into the hands of the closely pressed Italians. On the same day Nervesa was reoccupied by the Italians. A strong and successful offensive was started by them in the mountains between the Piave and the Brenta on June 25, 1918. Day by day now the Austrians had to yield ground, not only that gained by their last offensive, but positions that they had held for a considerable time.

Monte di Val Bella was stormed by Italians, French, and British on June 30, 1918. Col del Rosso and the Col d'Echele, south of Asiago, fell on July 1, 1918, Monte Grappa, somewhat farther east, on July 2, 1918.

On July 4, 1918, the Italians gained more ground in the most southern part of the front, near the sea, where a long-drawn-out struggle had been going on in the region of the Piave delta. By July 6, 1918, all the coastal zone between the Sile and Piave, stubbornly held by the Austrians since November, 1917, was again in the hands of the Italians. The latter claimed that between June 15 and July 6, 1918, they had captured 523 officers and 23,911 men, sixty-three guns, sixty-five trench mortars, 1,234 machine guns, and a vast amount of material.

During the balance of July, 1918, there was not a great deal more fighting on the Italian front. On July 8, 1918, the Italians extended their lines in the Monte Grappa and Col Caprile regions. Austrian attacks against the Cornone slopes on July 13, 1918, were promptly repulsed. The French gained some ground by a surprise attack near Bertigo and Zocchi, and on July 20, 1918, the Italians recaptured Monte Stabel and reoccupied Corno di Caverto. From then on the fighting on the Italian front simmered down again to local engagements between opposing patrols and reconnoissance detachments and to artillery and aeroplane duels.

PART XII—THE WAR ON THE SEA

CHAPTER LXIX

NAVAL WARFARE

The submarine blockade was continued by the Germans during the six-months' period, February 1 to August 1, 1918, but with considerably smaller results. Figures, as in the past, were difficult to compile, and as the war progressed this difficulty increased. However, the British Admiralty officially announced that during the eleven months—March, 1917, to January, 1918, inclusive—a total of 1,239 British ships had been sunk by mines or torpedoes, an average of 112.6 ships per month and an average of 25.1 ships per week. Beginning with February, 1918, losses became very much smaller, partly on account of the greater number of submarines sunk or captured by the Allies, and partly on account of the ever-increasing efficiency of the submarine-chasing and convoy services.

In April, 1918, the British Admiralty discontinued its weekly report of merchant ships destroyed by mines or torpedoes, and substituted a monthly report in terms of tonnage. The following figures are taken from the official British reports and show the steadily decreasing success of submarine warfare:

Period 1917BritishAllied and neutralTotal
January193,045 216,787 409,832
February343,486 231,370 574,856
March375,309 259,376 634,685
———— ———— ————
Quarter911,840 707,533 1,619,373
April555,056 338,821 893,877
May374,419 255,917 630,336
June432,395 280,326 712,721
———— ———— ————
Quarter1,361,870 875,064 2,236,934
July383,430 192,519 575,949
August360,296 189,067 549,363
September209,212 159,949 369,161
———— ———— ————
Quarter952,938 541,535 1,494,473
October289,973 197,364 487,337
November196,560 136,883 333,443
December296,356 155,707 452,063
———— ———— ————
Quarter782,889 489,954 1,272,843
1918
January217,270 136,187 353,457
February254,303 134,119 388,422
March216,003 165,628 381,631
———— ———— ————
Quarter687,576 435,934 1,123,510
April226,108 85,348 311,456
May224,735 130,959 355,694
June161,062 114,567 275,629
———— ———— ————
Quarter611,905 330,874 942,779

On February 5, 1918, the British liner Tuscania (Captain J. L. Henderson), serving as a transport for American troops, was sunk by a submarine off the coast of Ireland. The Tuscania carried 2,177 U. S. soldiers of whom 117 were officers, 2 civilians, 2 naval ratings, and a crew of 16 officers and 181 men. She was a steel twin-screw steamer of 14,384 tons, built at Glasgow in 1914 for the Anchor Line and had a speed of 17-½ knots. 212 U. S. soldiers lost their lives. Though hit without any warning and during the night, the troops reached their boat stations without panic and in splendid order. Unfortunately some of the lifeboats capsized, a fact which was responsible for some of the losses. Others died later in hospitals from shock and exposure; while still others had fallen victims to the explosion caused by the two torpedoes. The survivors were landed in Ireland and Scotland, where those of the bodies which were recovered found a last resting place. British destroyers were instrumental in saving many lives and also immediately gave chase to the submarine which, it is believed, was sunk by depth bombs.

Spanish losses became very heavy. On February 9, 1918, the Sebastian was sunk in her way to New York; the Mar Caspio went to the bottom on February 23; the Neguri on February 26; the Sardinero on February 27; and a grain ship, chartered to the Swiss Government, on March 2, 1918.

On February 26, 1918, the British steamer Glenart Castle, serving as a hospital ship, was sunk in Bristol Channel. Fortunately she had no patients on board; she carried a crew of 120, 54 members of the R. A. M. C. and 8 female nurses, of whom 153 were reported as missing. This was the second attack on the boat, the first one having been made on March 1, 1918, in the channel. She was then full of wounded from France, all of whom were saved while the vessel itself was taken to harbor and repaired. The Glenart Castle was formerly known as the Galician and was previous to the war owned by the Union Castle Company. She was the seventh British hospital ship torpedoed at night and without warning.

During February, 1918, too, the British S. S. Minnetonka of 13,528 tons was sunk in the Mediterranean. Previous to the war she had been a well-known passenger liner of the Atlantic Transport Line, running between New York and London.

Another large steamer which became the prey of submarine warfare was the Celtic, torpedoed off the Irish coast on April 1, 1918. However, she succeeded in reaching port in safety.

It was on April 23, 1918, that the British cruiser "Vindictive" defended the operation of sinking two old cruisers filled with cement to block the submarine base at Zeebrugge. On May 10 the battered "Vindictive" herself was sunk to close the base at Ostend.

Spanish ships were continued to be sunk and on April 11, 1918, it was announced that Germany had begun a submarine blockade of Spanish ports as a result of a commercial treaty signed between Spain and the United States.

On the same day Uruguay asked the German Government, through the Swiss minister at Berlin, whether Germany considered that a state of war existed between the two countries. The inquiry was the result of the capture by a submarine of a Uruguayan military commission bound for France.

One of the largest German submarines appeared, on April 10, 1918, in the port of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, on the west coast of Africa, after having seized the day before the small armed Liberian vessel President Grant. The crew were taken prisoners and the boat sunk. Liberia, it will be remembered, had declared war against Germany on August 4, 1917. The German commander dispatched by the Liberian crew an ultimatum to the Liberian Government, in which he threatened that, failing the dismantling of the wireless stations and the closing of the French cable, the town of Monrovia would be bombarded. The stations were accordingly closed, as the capital was under the fire of the German guns, but later the U-boat commander insisted upon their being destroyed. This the Liberian Government refused to do, and the German submarine thereupon bombarded Monrovia for over an hour, destroyed the stations, and inflicted some casualties. Fortunately for the town a steamer appeared at that moment. The submarine gave chase and did not return again.

The most important American losses in April, 1918, were the S. S. Lake Moor, manned by naval reserves and sunk in European waters on April 11, 1918, with a loss of 5 officers and 39 men; the Florence H., wrecked by an internal explosion while at anchor in a French port, with a loss of 29.

Neutral shipping continued to be a heavy loser. The Norwegian Government, for instance, announced that from the beginning of the war to the end of April, 1918, Norway's losses had reached the total of 755 vessels, aggregating 1,115,519 tons, and accompanied by the loss of 1,006 seamen, while 700 more out of additional 53 ships were missing.

On the other hand it was announced that during April, 1918, 12 German submarines had been captured or sunk in European waters by American and British destroyers.

On May 3, 1918, the Old Dominion liner Tyler was sunk off the coast of France with a loss of 11 men, including 5 naval gunners.

Another British S. S. serving as transport for U. S. troops, the Moldavia, was torpedoed and sunk on May 23, 1918, 56 U. S. soldiers being reported as "unaccounted for." Two British transports, the Ansonia and Leasowe Castle, were sunk on May 26, 1918, with losses of 40 and 101 lives respectively.

While returning to the United States the U. S. transport President Lincoln, formerly a Hamburg-American liner, was sunk in the naval war zone on May 31, 1918, with a loss of 4 officers and 23 men.

In the meantime some German submarines put in their appearance off the coast of the U. S. They began their operations on May 25, 1918, and maintained them with varying success and at varying distances from the coast until well into August, 1918. As a result the following boats were sunk up to June 20, 1918:

Raids of German submarines on United States shipping on the Atlantic coast.

Later victims were, according to the New York "Times":

The Norwegian freighter Augvald, sunk June 23, 1918, 125 miles east of Cape Race; the British transport Dwinsk, sunk about 550 miles east of Sandy Hook, June 24, 1918; the Norwegian bark Manx King, July 6, 1918; 300 miles off Cape Race; the sailing vessel Marosa, sunk about 1,200 miles east of Sandy Hook July 8, 1918.

The tug Perth Amboy and four barges attacked 3 miles off Orleans, Mass., on July 21, 1918. The tug was burned and the barges sunk by gunfire.

The fishing schooner Robert and Richard of Gloucester, sunk 6 miles southeast of Cape Porpoise, off the Maine coast, on July 22, 1918.

The Portuguese bark Porto, sunk 550 miles off the Atlantic Coast on July 27, 1918.

The Japanese freight steamer Tokuyama Maru, torpedoed and sunk off the Nova Scotia coast on August 1, 1918.

The British schooner Dornfontein, set on fire 25 miles southwest of Brier Island on August 2, 1918.

Three American fishing schooners off the Nova Scotia coast on August 3, 1918.

The Diamond Shoals Lightship 71, anchored off Cape Hatteras, N. C, shelled and sunk on August 6, 1918.

The British schooner Gladys M. Hollett, sunk off the Canadian coast on August 5, 1918.

The American steamer Merak, sunk off the North Carolina coast on August 6, 1918.

The Standard Oil tank steamer Luz Blanca, sunk 40 miles west of Halifax on August 5, 1918.

The American tanker O. B. Jennings, sunk off the Virginia coast.

The American schooner Stanley L. Seaman, sunk on August 5, 1918, when 110 miles east of Cape Hatteras.

Nine American fishing schooners sunk on August 3, 1918, off George's Bank, 60 miles from Nantucket Island.

The Norwegian freighter Sommerstad, 3,875 gross tons, torpedoed and sunk 25 miles southeast by east of Fire Island on August 12, 1918.

The British steamship Penistone, 4,139 gross tons, torpedoed on August 11, 1918, about 100 miles east of Nantucket.

The Swedish steamship Sydland, 3,031 gross tons, bombed and sunk on August 8, 1918, about 100 miles southeast of Nantucket.

The American oil tanker Frederick R. Kellogg, 7,127 gross tonnage, torpedoed 10 miles off Barnegat, N. J., sank in 4 minutes; 7 men killed by the explosion.

The five-masted American schooner Dorothy Barrett, 2,088 gross tonnage, sunk with a cargo of coal 20 miles from Cape May, N. J., August 14, 1918.

It was announced in the U. S. Senate that 28 submarines had been sunk by the American Navy between January 1 and June 15, 1918.

Norway continued to be a severe loser. Twenty of her ships were sunk in May, 1918, causing a loss of 31 lives, and 14 more in July, 1918, with a loss of 55 sailors.

On June 27, 1918, another hospital ship was sunk when the Canadian S. S. Llandovery Castle went down off the British coast. Two hundred and thirty-four persons were reported missing.

Another former Hamburg-American liner, the Cincinnati, renamed the Covington, and serving as a U. S. transport, was sunk while returning to the U. S. Six of her crew lost their lives.

On July 14, 1918, the French transport Djemnah was sunk in the Mediterranean with a loss of 442 lives. The well-known former Cunard liner Carpathia, remembered especially for her services to the survivors of the ill-fated Titanic and the Volturno, was sent to the bottom off the west coast of Ireland on July 17, 1918. Three days later the White Star liner Justicia was sunk off the north Irish coast after a fight with a submarine lasting 24 hours.

Losses, not resulting from naval actions, to the naval forces of the various belligerents, as far as they became known, were comparatively small. Germany, besides her losses of submarines, lost some destroyers and mine sweepers. Austria, in May, 1918, lost the battleship Wien. England lost some destroyers, torpedo boats, and mine sweepers. Seven British submarines, caught in Russian waters by the collapse of Russia, were sunk by their own crews off Helsingfors between April 3 and 8, 1918, upon the approach of German naval forces and transports. The Japanese battleship Kawachi, of 21,420 tons and 20 knots, blew up on July 12, 1918, while at anchor in Tokuyama Bay, and sank with a loss of over 500 officers and men. The U. S. armored cruiser San Diego was sunk off Fire Island, N. Y., on July 19, 1918, by a mine apparently having been laid by one of the German submarines then operating in American waters.

On February 24, 1918, the German Government announced that the auxiliary cruiser Wolf had returned to the Austrian harbor Pola, after a 15 months' cruise in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Claims as to the number and tonnage of ships sunk by the Wolf as made by the German authorities differed widely from the losses compiled by the British authorities, the former amounting to 35 ships of 210,000 tons, the latter to 17 ships of about 40,000 tons. One of the boats attacked by the raider, the Spanish S. S. Igatz Mendi, was captured, and, after a prize crew had been sent aboard, took over the passengers and crews of half a dozen ships which had been sunk. Attempting to return to a German port, she stranded on February 25, 1918, off the Danish coast. Passengers and members of the crews with civil status were sent to their various homes, while the German prize crew and some British military men were interned.

A number of minor naval engagements were fought between small units of the belligerents' naval forces.

Italian naval exploits.

A swift raid was made by a flotilla of large German torpedo-boat destroyers early in the morning of February 15, 1918, on British patrol forces in the Dover Straits. One trawler and 7 drifters, which were occupied in hunting a submarine, which had been sighted in the patrol, were sunk. After having sunk these vessels the German destroyers returned rapidly to the north before any of the Allied forces could engage them. A large number of the crews of the vessels sunk lost their lives.

A light Franco-British division, composed of three French destroyers and three British ships, joined battle in the North Sea early in the morning of March 21, 1918, with a detachment of German torpedo vessels of the "A" type, two of which were sunk. Shortly afterward, the same light division fought a second action with five big destroyers which had been bombarding Dunkirk. One German destroyer was sunk, and it is probable that two other enemy destroyers were lost.

From information received, it would appear that three flotillas had been ordered to bombard Dunkirk, La Panne, and Bray Dunes. One of the British ships was slightly damaged, and returned to port. On the French side there were neither killed nor wounded.

British boats, belonging to the Grand Fleet, made an excursion into the Kattegat, the strait between Sweden and Denmark, on April 15, 1918, sinking 10 German trawlers and returning without having suffered any casualties.

British light forces operating in the Helgoland Bight on April 20, 1918, obtained touch with German light forces, who retired behind mine fields. A few shots were exchanged at extreme range and one German destroyer was observed to have been hit.

Early in the morning of April 23, 1918, British naval forces made a successful attack against Ostend and Zeebrugge, both of them important German submarine bases. The raid was undertaken under the command of Vice Admiral Roger Keyes, commanding at Dover French destroyers cooperating with the British forces. There were six obsolete cruisers which took part in the attack—Brilliant, Sirius, Intrepid, Iphigenia, Thetis, and Vindictive. The first five were filled with concrete, and were to be sunk in the channels and entrances to the ports if that could possibly be managed. Vindictive, working with two auxiliary craft, ferryboats well known on the Mersey, Daffodil and Iris, carried storming and demolition parties to the head of the mole at Zeebrugge. Vindictive was specially fitted with brows for landing the storming parties and armed specially for the operation with batteries of Stokes mortars, flame throwers, &c. The men employed on the blockships and in the storming and demolition parties were bluejackets and Royal Marines, picked from a very large number of volunteers from the Grand Fleet.

There were light covering forces belonging to the Dover command, and Harwich forces, under Admiral Tyrwhitt, covered the operation in the north.

A force of monitors, together with a large number of motor launches, coastal motor boats, which, as is known, are small, fast craft, carrying a minimum crew of six, and other small craft took part in the operation.

It was a particularly intricate operation, which had to be worked strictly to time-table and involved very delicate navigation on a hostile coast without lights and largely under unknown navigational conditions, which have developed since the war, with the added danger of unknown mine fields. One of the essentials to success was a high development of the scientific use of smoke or fog—it is more fog than smoke—for which certain conditions of force and direction of wind were necessary, so as to protect the operation from batteries which could have flanked it.

The general plan of operation was as follows:—After an hour of intense bombardment of Zeebrugge by the monitors, Vindictive, with the auxiliaries Iris and Daffodil, were to run alongside the head of the mole, attacking with gunfire as they approached; storming parties and demolition parties were to be landed. Meantime three blockships, assisted by the coastal motor boats and launches, were to make for the entrance to the canal and to be run aground and blown up. Two old and valueless submarines were to run against the pile work connecting the masonry portion of the mole with the shore, and, being filled with explosives, were to be blown up, destroying the pile-work connection.

British naval attacks on the German bases of Zeebrugge and Ostend.

At Ostend the operation was simpler. Two of the blockships were to be run aground and blown up at the entrance to the port. The difficulties of this part of the undertaking were considerably increased by mist and rain, with corresponding low visibility and consequent absence of effective aerial cooperation.

At Zeebrugge, of the three blockships two attained their objective and were sunk and blown up in the entrance of the canal. The third one grounded in the passage in. One of the old submarines succeeded in obtaining its objective and was blown up to the destruction of the piling of the approach to the mole. Storming parties from Vindictive, Iris, and Daffodil attacked under extremely heavy fire, and fought with the greatest possible gallantry, maintaining their position alongside the mole for an hour, causing much damage to the enemy and inflicting considerable losses upon him. The objectives for the storming and demolition parties were (1) the German forces holding it, (2) the battery upon it, (3) the destroyer and submarine depots upon it, (4) the large seaplane base upon it. The three vessels, Vindictive, Iris, and Daffodil, after reembarking their landing parties, withdrew. This attack was primarily intended to engage the attention of the garrison on the mole, thereby allowing the blockships to enter the harbor.

At Ostend the wind prevented the effective use of the smoke screen and the two blockships had to be run ashore and blown up without attaining their objective. The British loss in vessels was small: one destroyer and two motor launches. But fire from German guns wrought heavy havoc in the ranks of the British seamen: nineteen officers and 170 men were killed; two officers and fourteen men were missing, and twenty-nine officers and 354 men were wounded.

On May 10, 1918, the Ostend operation was completed. The old cruiser Vindictive was sunk at the entrance to the harbor, after having been filled with concrete. The losses of the British forces engaged in this operation were small.

It was later reported that twenty-one German destroyers and a large number of submarines were penned in the Bruges Canal docks as a result of the naval operations against Zeebrugge.

Engagements, without leading to any results, occurred on April 23, 1918, between five Austrian and two British destroyers.

Early in May, 1918, reports about a mutiny in the Austrian navy, which was said to have taken place some months before, seemed to be correct. The mutiny, it was claimed, began at Pola, but spread quickly to Cattaro. It was among arsenal workmen that the rising, according to the London "Times," began at Pola. They demanded the cessation of various disciplinary measures and punishments inflicted both in vessels and ashore. The movement soon spread to the ships in harbor; the crews left their posts and thronged the decks shouting, hurrahing, and acting as they pleased. The officers were powerless, but there seems to have been no fighting between them and the men. The naval authorities parleyed with the men for a week, and finally all the sailors' and workmen's demands were granted.

At Cattaro the mutiny took a more serious turn. Six cruisers and several destroyers hoisted the red flag. The German and Magyar elements in some of the ships held aloof, and there were encounters between them and the mutineers, the guns of one cruiser being turned on another and some mutineers being killed. However, the mutineers got the upper hand after three days and became masters of the port.

Negotiations were eventually opened on an equal footing between the admiral and the mutineers, and finally the latter consented to surrender their vessels on receiving written guarantees that no action would be taken against any man, and that a number of grievances would be settled. The Cattaro fleet then returned under the Austrian flag, after being eight days in open revolt.

PART III—THE WAR IN THE AIR

CHAPTER LXX

BOMBING AND RECONNOISSANCE

The importance of aerial operations, great as it had been since the beginning of the war, gradually increased in a way which even the most sanguine believer in the possibilities of flying machines would have hesitated to prophesy. This was due to a great extent to the remarkable advance that had been made on all sides as a result of experience in respect to the mechanical development of airplanes. But an even greater factor, perhaps, was the development of the technique of flying, which, step by step, progressed to a point that fell little short of the miraculous. Especially wonderful appears the development of squadron flying. So well trained had become the intrepid airmen that evolutions which a short time ago aroused the admiration of the whole world when carried out by individual planes and flyers were now successfully undertaken by large groups, each plane cooperating with the most wonderful precision and daring with every other unit.

Although the business of scouting, observation, and direction of artillery operations still formed an important part of the flying service, new duties had been delegated to the airmen. In ever-increasing squadrons, mass attacks against hostile forces, both in the air and on the ground, were being carried out as effectively as formerly by bodies of cavalry and infantry. Even part of the work, formerly executed exclusively by the artillery, now had become a regular feature of the flying arm of the various armies. Large air squadrons were laying down with their machine guns barrage fire which had as deadly and accurate results on advancing bodies of infantry as had previously been achieved only by heavy artillery.

Aerial activity by now had become as regular a part of military operations on every front as any other form of warfare. The most important events of the war in the air, of course, occurred on the most important of the many theaters of war, the western front. Fairly regular reports, however, are available only for the British air forces.

During the first week of February, 1918, the weather interfered a great deal with flying, but in spite of that hardly a day passed without some bombing expedition being undertaken by British airplanes. On February 9, 1918, several successful reconnoissances were carried out by British machines in spite of low clouds, mist, and high winds. German batteries were engaged effectively by our artillery with observation from the air, and nearly one ton of bombs was dropped on various targets. In air fighting, one German machine was driven down out of control. One British machine, too, was lost.

On the night of February 9-10, 1918, British night bombing machines carried out a successful raid into Germany, although the weather was by no means good. Nearly a ton of bombs was dropped with very good results on the important railway junction and sidings at Courcelles-les-Metz, southeast of Metz. One of the British bombing machines failed to return.

On February 11, 1918, mist, high winds, and low clouds again made weather conditions unfavorable for flying. Little work was possible with the artillery, but British aeroplanes carried out several successful reconnoissances, and dropped over a ton of bombs on various targets behind the German lines. No fighting took place. Another successful raid into German territory was made, however. The objective this time was the town of Offenburg, about twelve miles southeast of Strassburg and about forty miles from the French frontier.

On February 16, 1918, fighting machines on both sides were most active, and frequent attacks were made by the Germans on British bombing, photographic, and artillery machines. Fourteen German machines were brought down, and seven others were driven down out of control. British antiaircraft guns shot down two other German machines, one of them being a large bombing machine, which carried four men. This latter machine fell inside of the British lines and its four occupants were taken prisoners. Another German aeroplane, making the 17th accounted for during the day, in addition to those driven down out of control, landed near one of the British aerodromes, and its occupants were also taken prisoners. Five British aeroplanes were reported missing.

During the night of February 16-17, 1918, British machines dropped 400 bombs on German aerodromes in the neighborhood of Ghent, Tournai, and Laon. The railway station and sidings at Conflans—fifteen miles west of Metz—were also successfully bombed from a low height, bursts being observed in the sidings.

The weather was again fine and very favorable to aerial actions on February 17, 1918. Bombing, which had been carried out incessantly throughout the previous thirty-six hours, was continued, and over six tons of bombs were dropped by British machines on various targets, including German aerodromes in the neighborhood of Tournai and Lille, a large ammunition dump near Courtrai, and numerous billets. Ten German aeroplanes were brought down and six others were driven down out of control. Three British machines failed to return.

On the night of February 17-18, 1918, further bombing raids were carried out against German aerodromes south of Ghent and west of Tournai as well as against many of the German billets.

Another most successful raid was carried out on the railway station and sidings at Conflans (west of Metz). A ton of bombs was dropped.

On February 18, 1918, bombing squadrons raided the barracks and railway station at Trèves, on the Moselle, and the steel works and railway station at Thionville. The raid was carried out in broad daylight, and excellent results were obtained. Although German antiaircraft gunfire was again considerable and accurate, all the British machines returned safely.

During that day continuous fighting took place, resulting in eleven German machines being brought down and six others driven down out of control. Two British machines were lost.

Following on the successful daylight raids on February 18, 1918, against Trèves and Thionville, British night flying squadrons went out after dark and again attacked these towns from a low height with equally good results. German aircraft and antiaircraft guns were very active during both raids, and one of the British machines failed to return.

On February 19, 1918, another raid in broad daylight, making the third within thirty-six hours, was carried out against Trèves. On this occasion well over a ton of bombs were dropped on the objective. Eleven bursts were observed on the railway station and six on buildings in close proximity to it. Three good fires were started.

During the next day the weather prohibited extensive aerial activities. But it improved again on February 21, 1918, and British aeroplanes were able to accomplish a full day's work in the air.

Many successful reconnoissances, in the course of which photographs were taken, were carried out. The usual work in conjunction with the artillery continued all day, good visibility enabling excellent results to be obtained.

More than 300 bombs were dropped on German billets and on railway sidings at Courtrai, Ledeghem, and southeast of Douai.

In air fighting, seven German machines were brought down and two others driven down out of control. Three British machines were reported missing.

During the night of February 21-22, 1918, British aeroplanes dropped a total of 678 bombs on various targets. Three hundred bombs were dropped on an aerodrome southeast of Le Cateau used by the German night bombing squadrons. Nineteen direct hits were observed on hangars. The remaining bombs were dropped on German aerodromes in the neighborhood of Ghent and Tournai, and on billets. One of the British machines failed to return.

On February 24, 1918, in spite of bad weather, British aeroplanes carried out one or two reconnoissances and observed for the artillery. Bombs were dropped on various targets, including German billets, transports, and working parties. Two British machines were reported missing.

After dark, British night flying squadrons dropped over 200 bombs on German aerodromes near Courtrai and on billets northeast of St. Quentin.

On February 25, 1918, low clouds and a very strong wind prevented work in the air during the day. After dark, the sky cleared, though a very strong westerly wind continued.

British night bombing squadrons displayed great activity, dropping a total of over 1,200 bombs in the course of the night. The targets chiefly attacked were the aerodromes south of Ghent and west of Tournai used by the German night flying machines, and other aerodromes in the neighborhood of Courtrai.

German billets round Douai and east of St. Quentin were also heavily bombed, over 350 bombs being dropped in the latter area. All the British machines returned.

The weather was fine on February 26, 1918, but a very strong west wind greatly favored the German machines in air fighting.

British aeroplanes carried out several long-distance reconnoissances and took many photographs of aerodromes and railway communications in the back areas, in addition to photographs of German trench lines.

Other British machines working with the artillery were busy all day, and good visibility enabled good results to be obtained.

Four tons of bombs were dropped on the large railway sidings at Courtrai, the railway junction midway between Douai and Valenciennes, two German aerodromes north of Douai, and billets.

Fighting in the air was severe, and many combats took place between the German scouts and British reconnoissance, bombing, and fighting machines.

One German aeroplane was forced to land behind the British lines by one of our scouts. Twelve other German machines were brought down, and one was driven down out of control. Another machine was brought down by antiaircraft gunfire. Eight British machines failed to return.

During the night of February 26-27, 1918, over half a ton of bombs were dropped on barracks and railway stations at Trèves, four bursts being observed in furnaces in the gas works and eight in the railway station. On the same night nearly one and a half tons of bombs were dropped on a German aerodrome near Metz, good bursts being observed in the hangars and hutments. One German machine was encountered close to the aerodrome and brought down. All the British machines returned safely, though fire from antiaircraft guns and machine guns was considerable.

British aeroplanes took advantage of the few fine intervals on February 28, 1918, to carry out work in conjunction with the artillery and also to drop bombs on two of the German ammunition dumps south of Lille, as well as on railway sidings at Courtrai and Deynze (southwest of Ghent). One British machine was lost. After dark British machines again took the air in the intervals between hailstorms. Four tons of bombs were dropped on a large German aerodrome midway between Tournai and Mons, and on billets in the neighborhood of Douai.

Great aerial activity prevailed on March 8, 1918. Work in conjunction with the artillery, reconnoissances, photography, and bombing was carried out incessantly by the British aeroplanes. Over 400 bombs were dropped on German ammunition dumps and sidings at Menin, Busigny, and Guise, east of St. Quentin, in spite of the most determined attacks made by the German scouts against the British bombing machines. In air fighting, twelve German aeroplanes were brought down and ten others were driven down out of control. Another machine was shot down by antiaircraft gunfire. Three British aeroplanes were lost. After dark, the greater part of the front was enveloped in mist, but in one sector British night flying machines dropped twenty-four heavy bombs and forty-eight lighter bombs on the ammunition dump and railway sidings at Fresnoy, northeast of St. Quentin.

At midday on March 9, 1918, the railway sidings and factories at Mainz, at the junction of the rivers Rhine and Main, in Germany, about 130 miles northeast of Nancy, were bombed by British aeroplanes with good results. Well over a ton of bombs were dropped, and bursts were seen on and around the barracks, on the railway sidings, and on a factory. A large fire was started. All the British machines returned. Six hundred bombs were dropped by other British machines on German ammunition dumps, billets, and aerodromes, and on an important railway center northeast of St. Quentin. In particular, a most successful attack was carried out at a low height by a large number of British machines against three hostile aerodromes. Bombs were dropped from an average height of 400 feet, and at each of the aerodromes direct hits were obtained on hangars and on machines in the open. While returning from this attack the British pilots flew at a height of 100 feet, firing on favorable targets on the ground with their machine guns and causing casualties and much confusion among the Germans. In one case a horse transport on the road was engaged, with the result that some of the wagons were upset into the ditch. In another horses in an orchard were stampeded. A company of German infantry was scattered in all directions and a group of officers on horseback dispersed. The fighting in the air was heavy. Ten German machines were brought down and ten others driven down out of control. A German observation balloon was also destroyed. Two of the British machines failed to return.

On March 10, 1918, Germany was again bombed by British aeroplanes in broad daylight. On this occasion the Daimler Motor Works at Stuttgart were attacked, and over one and a quarter tons of bombs were dropped. Stuttgart is about 136 miles east of Nancy. Several bursts were observed on the railway station, where a stationary train was hit and set on fire. Three bursts were seen on the munition factory southeast of the town, and other bursts on the Daimler works and on buildings round them. German machines made a weak attempt to attack the formation over the objective, but withdrew on being attacked. All the British machines returned except one, which evidently had engine trouble and went down under control just before recrossing the lines on the homeward journey.

During the same day the thick haze rendered work in conjunction with the artillery almost impossible. Several reconnoissances, however, were carried out, and over 400 bombs were dropped. Among other targets, Menin, Roulers, Ledeghem, Cambrai, and Solesmes railway stations were bombed by British machines. Three German observation balloons were destroyed, and five German machines were brought down in air fighting, in addition to seven others driven down out of control. One low-flying German machine was shot down by British infantry. Four British aeroplanes were lost.

Another fine day on March 11, 1918, enabled the British aeroplanes to continue their activity. Visibility, however, was again poor and prevented work with the artillery from achieving much success. Over 500 bombs were dropped, the chief target being the large sidings and ammunition depots at Aulnoye, southeast of Maubeuge, and ammunition depots south of Valenciennes, southeast of Cambrai, and south of Douai. As the result of air fighting ten German machines were brought down and seven others were driven down out of control. In addition a German observation balloon was attacked, and brought down in flames. Two British machines were lost. After dark most of the British night bombing machines were again prevented from leaving the ground by mist, but on the southern portion of the front, where the night was clear, 200 bombs were dropped on a German ammunition dump and railway sidings northeast of St. Quentin. The Germans also dropped a few bombs during the night, but lost a four-seater machine, which landed in the lines. The occupants were taken prisoners.

On March 12, 1918, another daylight raid into Germany, making the third within four days, was carried out by British aeroplanes. On this occasion the factories and station and the barracks at Coblenz, at the junction of the Rhine and the Moselle, 135 miles north-northeast of Nancy and about fifty miles southeast of Cologne, were attacked. Over a ton of bombs were dropped, and bursts were seen on all the objectives, causing two fires. A hit obtained upon a building in the southwest corner of the town created a very large explosion. A few German machines were encountered, but all the British machines returned safely.

During the night of March 11-12, 1918, in addition to the raids already reported, over three tons of bombs were dropped on Bruges docks.

On March 12, 1918, a distinct improvement in visibility enabled more work to be done in conjunction with the artillery than had been possible during the last few days. Many reconnoissances also were carried out and photographs were taken. Bombing was continued with even greater vigor than on previous days. Over thirteen and a half tons of bombs were dropped on various targets, which included the railway sidings at Mons and at Bavai, midway between Valenciennes and Maubeuge, on large ammunition depots northeast of St. Quentin, and south of Douai, and on billets east of Lens. In the course of the fighting, which was continuous throughout the day, fourteen German machines were brought down, and eight others were driven down out of control. One hostile observation balloon was also destroyed. Six British aeroplanes were bagged by the Germans.

During the night of March 12-13, 1918, seven tons of bombs were dropped on German billets between Lille and Cambrai. On the afternoon of March 13, 1918, British squadrons attacked the munition works and barracks at Freiburg, in Germany. All machines reached their objectives, and nearly a ton of bombs was dropped. They were seen to burst on the railway station and round the power station. Just after the British pilots had released their bombs their formation was attacked by a large number of German machines. A fierce fight ensued, which lasted until all the German machines had been forced to withdraw. Three of the British machines failed to return.

On March 16, 1918, further military objectives in Germany were attacked by British aeroplanes. Fourteen heavy and ten lighter bombs were dropped on the barracks, munition factories, and railway station of Zweibrücken, in the Rhine Palatinate. Bursts were seen on the barracks and all round the railway station. The formation was attacked by German scouts and engaged by antiaircraft guns, but all machines returned.

Still another raid into Germany was made on the next day, March 17, 1918. The barracks and railway station at Kaiserslautern, likewise in the Rhine Palatinate, were attacked with good results. Direct hits were observed on the railway station and a large fire was caused. The formation was attacked by a large number of German machines, which were driven off. All the British machines returned.

During that day the German billets, which had been bombed continually for the last twenty-four hours, were again heavily attacked. A total of thirteen tons of bombs were dropped, the objectives including two German aerodromes and three large ammunition dumps, in addition to billets. At one of the aerodromes a hangar was completely burned, and a Gotha machine which was in the act of rising from the ground was seen to crash.

The fighting was intense during the morning, but became slightly less vigorous during the afternoon. Sixteen German machines were brought down and seven others were driven down out of control. Six British machines were reported missing. After dark the German rest billets were again attacked, bombs being dropped until just after midnight, when a thick mist developed.

The atmosphere was again clear on March 18, 1918, and favored the cooperation of the aeroplanes and artillery. Several long-distance reconnoissances were successfully completed, and many photographs were taken. Nine tons of bombs were dropped on German rest billets and ammunition dumps and also on Busigny railway station and two German aerodromes. Fighting in the air was exceedingly intense, encounters taking place between large formations of British and German machines. Nineteen German aeroplanes were brought down and nine driven down out of control. Twelve British machines failed to return.

British bombing machines also attacked military objectives at Mannheim, on the Rhine, dropping over a ton of bombs with excellent results. These aeroplanes were attacked by two German formations.

Following a successful daylight raid on Mannheim, other objectives in Germany were attacked during the night. Half a ton of bombs were dropped on the railway stations at Cologne, where a fire was started. Over a ton was distributed between Luxemburg railway station, where a fire was started, and Courcelles railway station, east of Metz. Two tons of bombs were dropped on Metz railway station. Direct hits were obtained on a bridge southeast of the town and on a stationary train, which was set on fire. A large fire was started on this occasion also. Other machines dropped a ton of bombs on Thionville railway station, where a moving train was derailed.

On March 25, 1918, British aeroplanes were employed almost entirely at combing the enemy's troops and transports massed in the areas behind the battle front and in attacking them with machine-gun fire from a low height. A total of twenty-two tons of bombs were dropped in this work and over 100,000 rounds were fired from machine guns. A certain amount of fighting in the air took place, but it was less intense than on the previous day. Thirteen German machines were brought down and ten were driven down out of control. Eight British machines were reported missing. During the night British night flying aeroplanes continued to bomb and to attack with machine-gun fire German troops in their forward areas and their transports on the roads leading to the front.

Thirty tons of bombs were dropped, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition were fired into the German ranks. While this fighting was maintained throughout the day, British infantry aeroplanes kept watch along the front and reported the changes in the situation as they occurred. Twenty German machines were brought down in air fighting, and two other German aeroplanes were shot down by antiaircraft guns. Twelve British aeroplanes were reported missing.

During the night British night flying squadrons kept up a continuous attack upon the German troops in Bapaume, Cambrai, and Péronne. Twenty-five thousand rounds were fired by them, and twenty-four tons of bombs were dropped on important centers of the battle front. In addition, four tons of bombs were dropped on Valenciennes railway station, through which the German troop trains were passing on their way to the front.

On March 27, 1918, low flying was again carried out by large bodies of British aeroplanes, while infantry machines continued the work of reporting the position of the British battle line. Over thirty tons of bombs were dropped and a quarter of a million rounds of ammunition were fired from a height that insured accuracy on different targets. Several casualties were inflicted on the Germans and the bringing up of their troops and ammunition was delayed. Twenty-four German machines were brought down in air fighting, and seven others were driven down out of control. Two observation balloons were also destroyed.

Nineteen British machines failed to return, though a proportion of these were known to have landed on their side of the line. Very heavy fire directed against the British machines from the ground accounted for the greater portion of the casualties.

During the night the bombing of Bapaume, Bray, and Péronne was continued with the utmost vigor. Over a thousand bombs were dropped, and thousands of rounds of ammunition were fired at good targets, which were plentiful and easy to see in the moonlight. Sablon station at Metz was bombed. Well over a ton of bombs were dropped; good bursts were seen on the sidings and alongside the railway.

On March 28, 1918, British machines carried out a successful raid on the station at Luxemburg. Twenty-one heavy bombs were dropped, and several were seen to burst on the objectives.

On March 28, 1918, British aeroplanes carried on their attacks with bombs and machine-gun fire on German troops on the battle front. The majority of these attacks took place south of the Somme, in which area large concentrations of German troops were constantly reported. The work was continued till dark in spite of bombs being dropped, and nearly a quarter of a million rounds of ammunition being fired. Nine German machines were brought down and five others driven down out of control. In addition, two machines were shot down by fire from the ground. Twelve British machines were reported missing.

During the morning of March 29, 1918, low clouds and rain greatly interfered with flying, but, in spite of the weather, valuable work was again accomplished by the British aeroplanes. Some of these were concentrated upon the battle front south of the Somme, where observers had previously reported large German columns. A good deal of fighting took place, the German low-flying machines being particularly active in this area. Nine German aeroplanes were brought down and two others were driven down out of control. Two British machines were lost. During the night over twelve tons of bombs were dropped on Bapaume and on roads in the vicinity, and also on roads and villages east of Arras. Direct hits were obtained on dumps and transports and on the railway line.

After midday on March 30, 1918, the weather completely broke, but, in spite of driving rain, British pilots continued to take part in the battle south of the Somme, and dropped bombs and used their machine guns until a late hour. There was heavy fighting in the air between British low-flying machines and those of the Germans. Twelve of the latter were brought down and three others were driven down out of control. One German balloon was destroyed, and two German aeroplanes were shot down by antiaircraft guns. Five British planes failed to return.

On March 31, 1918, British observation balloons and aeroplanes were active, the good visibility enabling the former to carry out useful work in conjunction with the artillery. The activity of the aeroplanes was chiefly centered south of the Somme. A close watch was kept on German movements in this area, and a large column of their troops or transports seen was bombed and engaged with machine-gun fire.

Very little fighting took place in the air. Two German machines were brought down and one other was driven down out of control. Four British machines were reported missing. Night flying was not possible till after midnight owing to low clouds. From midnight until dawn British bombing machines were constantly at work. Twenty-four tons of bombs were dropped on the railway stations at Douai, Cambrai, Bapaume, Rosières, and Thourout, and on the docks at Bruges. Troops and transports in the neighborhood of Bapaume and Chaulnes were also attacked with bombs and machine-gun fire.

This completed the work of the British flying corps on the western front for March, 1918. A remarkable record had been made, 383 German machines having been destroyed or captured and 207 driven down out of control, while only 155 British machines had been reported missing. The French, too, had been notably active during March, having captured or destroyed 115 German machines.

PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY

Pronunciation of Geographical Names Occurring in this Work

INDEX

The Western Battle Field, Showing the International Frontiers, the Important Railways, the Position of the Lines at the Culmination of Important Campaigns, and the Battle Front as it Existed in September, 1918.

The Battle Fronts of the Great War—as the Lines Were Drawn in Belgium, France, the Balkans, Italy, Palestine, and Mesopotamia, September, 1918. The Russian Front Had Completely Disappeared.

The Western Front from Nancy to Calais.

Transcriber's notes: Obvious printer's errors have been silently corrected. Hyphenation and accentuation have been standardised, all other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling has been maintained. Other corrections are listed below:

The corrected word is given between brackets.

Page [89]: "Scarcely have they touched the soil of this putrified [putrefied] Europe when they already are forcing their way into Germany."

Page [112]: "Included in the work of Congress was final agreement on a war revenue measure after six months of debate (with wide divergence of taxation plans between the House and Senate) estimated to produce $2,534,870 [$2,534,870,000], of which $851,000,000 was to be levied on incomes, and $1,000,000,000 on excess profits."

Page [209]: "But compared with their losses of the two preceeding [preceding] weeks, the present losses were slight and showed a decided revival of the Italian resistance and a slowing up of the Austro-German advance."

Page [216]: "On the morning of October 27, 1917, the Turks made a strong reconnoissance toward Karm from the direction of Kauwukah, two regiments of calvary [cavalry] and two or three thousand infantry, with guns, being employed."

Page [226]: "Between the foot of the spur of the main range and the costal [coastal] plain is the low range known as the Shephelah."

Page [237]: "Farther south a post at the village of Obeid was attacked by 700 of the enemy, who surrounded it and fired 400 shells into the monastery, but the Middlesex men, who were the garrison of the post, held out, their casualities [casualties] being trifling."

Page [308]: "In the Rheims sector the crown prince's forces occupied the northern parts of La Neuvillete [Neuvillette] and Betheny, a mile nearer to Rheims on the northwest and northeast."

Page [378]: "Flashes and war-splitting [ear-splitting] crashes came from batteries put in position just far enough off the roads to avoid the traffic."

Page [448]: "The cooperators, however, realize the danger from German economic cont [control]