A School History of the Great War

by Albert E. McKinley; Charles Augustin Coulomb; Armand Jacques Gerson

No sooner were the Bolsheviki in control than they announced themselves in favor of an immediate peace. They proclaimed that all the land should at once be divided among the peasants. When the new representative assembly met to make a constitution, it was found to be too moderate to suit the Bolshevik leaders, who dispersed it before it could accomplish anything. The rule of Lenine and Trotzky promised to be even more tyrannical than anything that had preceded it in Russia.

Meanwhile the Bolsheviki had arranged for an armistice with Germany with a view toward immediate negotiations for peace. This arrangement for the cessation of military operations became effective December 7. In spite of its provisions, however, the Germans, who had taken Riga (ree´ga) in September, continued their advance into Russian territory. By the close of 1917 peace negotiations were in progress between Russia and her enemies. Russia under Bolshevik control had definitely deserted her allies.

The British in Mesopotamia.—It will be remembered that the Allied war plans in 1916 had included the junction of Russian armies operating from the Caucasus with British troops advancing north from the Persian Gulf. After the disaster at Kut-el-Amara the British still held the territory about the mouth of the Tigris. In January, 1917, they began a new advance up the river in the direction of Bagdad. This time their efforts proved successful. In February, Kut-el-Amara was retaken from the Turks, and on March 11 the British entered the city of Bagdad. They also continued their advance a considerable distance along the Bagdad Railway and occupied much of the Euphrates valley.

Still more important victories would probably have resulted from this campaign had it not been for the outbreak of the Russian revolution. This had the effect of weakening Russian military coöperation, and finally of removing Russia entirely from the war, leaving to Great Britain alone the task of dealing with the Turkish armies in Asia. But the British kept their hold on the city of Bagdad, thus checkmating the German scheme of a Berlin-Bagdad railway and protecting India from any offensive on this side.

The Palestine Campaign.—The year 1917 witnessed still another military success for the British in Asia. The Turks had made several attempts to seize the Suez Canal and so inflict a serious blow against the communications of the Allies with the Far East. To remove, if possible, the danger of further threats against this vital spot, the English at last decided upon an offensive in that region. Early in 1917, the British advance began. During January and February important positions on the Sinai peninsula were seized. This success was followed by a slow progress north into Palestine. The resistance of the Turks was powerful and the British met with serious reverses. The terrible heat of the summer months further held up their operations. In the fall, however, the advance was resumed and a number of towns in the Holy Land fell into the hands of the British. In November, Jaffa, the seaport of Jerusalem, was taken. All the Turkish positions around the Holy City were carried by storm, and on December 10 Jerusalem surrendered to General Allenby.

This successful campaign in Palestine had several important results. The capture of Jerusalem after almost seven centuries of Turkish control led to general rejoicing among the Allied nations. Large numbers of Jews throughout the world, who had long looked forward to the reëstablishment of a Jewish nation in Palestine, now felt that a long step had been taken toward the realization of their hopes. From a military point of view, however, the chief result of the British campaign in Palestine was that it definitely freed the Suez Canal from further danger of a Turkish attack.

The Offensive against Italy.—At the beginning of 1917 the Italian forces were within eleven miles of their great objective, the city and port of Trieste. During the late spring and summer the advance continued. Austrian trenches were occupied and tens of thousands of Austrian soldiers were captured. After two years of effort it seemed that the Italians would obtain the city and incorporate its population—very largely Italian—into the kingdom of Italy. But conditions in Austria and Germany had greatly changed. The cessation of war by Russia relieved the Central Powers of the necessity of keeping large armies on the eastern front. Further, the campaign had been going against Germany on the western front, and an easy victory in Italy might quiet criticism at home.

An immense army of Austrians and Germans was gathered together to attack the Italian forces. The Italians were spread out in a semicircle about one hundred and fifty miles long stretching from near Trent to within a few miles of Trieste. The Austrians controlled the upper passes in the mountains, so that they could attack this long line where they would. Thus the Italian military position was difficult to defend. The campaign began with a surprise attack by picked German troops at a point where the morale of one Italian division had previously been weakened by the pretended fraternizing of Austrian troops.