A School History of the Great War

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

At Brest-Litovsk, a town in Russian Poland which had been occupied by the troops of the Central Powers, a meeting of delegates was called to arrange the terms of peace. The negotiations at this place lasted from December 23, 1917, to February 10, 1918. The Germans had determined to keep large portions of Russian territory. At the conference the German delegates flatly refused to promise to withdraw their troops from the occupied parts of Russia after the peace. By February 10 hope of any settlement that would satisfy Russia had disappeared and the Bolshevik delegates left Brest-Litovsk. The war, so far as Russia was concerned, was at an end, but no treaty of peace had been signed. The Bolshevik government issued orders for the complete demobilization of the Russian armies on all the battle fronts.

Germany, determined to compel Russia to accept her terms, renewed her military operations on February 18. The result was that Lenine and Trotzky, the Bolshevik leaders, were forced to agree to the conditions which had been laid down by the Central Powers at Brest-Litovsk. Nevertheless the Germans continued their advance, with practically no opposition, to within seventy miles of Petrograd.

The Separation of Ukrainia and Finland.—Ukrainia, the southwestern corner of Russia, is the home of a Slavic people—the Little Russians—closely akin to the Russians proper. The people of Finland, in the extreme northwest, are of a distinctly different race. In both these regions there were set up independent governments which resisted the rule of the Bolsheviki. With the aid of German troops the power of the Bolsheviki in the new states was soon destroyed. Through the setting up of these states, particularly Ukrainia, Germany hoped to secure grain supplies, and to control large iron and coal deposits. Dissatisfaction of the people with German control, however, interfered seriously with the realizing of such hopes.

TREATY OF BREST-LITOVSK States and Provinces taken from Russia

The Peace of Brest-Litovsk.—On March 3 peace between Russia and the Central Powers was finally signed at Brest-Litovsk. By the terms of the treaties Russia was compelled (1) to surrender her western provinces of Poland, Lithuania, Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland; (2) to recognize the independence of Ukrainia and Finland; (3) to cede to Turkey certain important districts south of the Caucasus Mountains;[5] and (4) to pay a tremendous indemnity. The falsity of the German talk of "no annexations and no indemnities" was now evident. Few more disastrous treaties have ever been forced upon a vanquished nation. It has been estimated that the treaties of Brest-Litovsk took from Russia 4 per cent of her total area, 26 per cent of her population, 37 per cent of her food stuffs production, 26 per cent of her railways, 33 per cent of her manufacturing industries, 75 per cent of her coal, and 73 per cent of her iron.

Roumania Makes Peace.—Roumania, deserted by Russia, was forced to make peace in the spring of 1918, by ceding to her enemies the whole of the Dobrudja and also about 3000 square miles of territory on her western frontier. The Central Powers, moreover, were given control of the vast petroleum fields and the rich wheat lands of the defeated nation.

A little later, however, the Russian province of Bessarabia decided to unite itself to Roumania, as most of its people are of the Roumanian race.

The Russian Situation in 1918.—In spite of the Brest-Litovsk treaties, the Allies continued to regard Russia as a friendly nation. President Wilson took the lead in this attitude. It was felt that the Russian people were sadly in need of assistance, but just how this should be given was a serious problem.

The question was complicated by the presence in Russia of a large army of Czecho-Slovaks (check´o-slovaks´). These soldiers were natives of the northwestern Slavic provinces of Austria-Hungary. They had been part of the Austrian army during the victorious Russian campaigns in Galicia and had been taken prisoners. The Czecho-Slovaks had always sympathized with the Allied countries and had fought for Austria unwillingly. Many, indeed, had later fought as part of the Russian army. When Russia left the war they feared that they might be returned to the hated Austrian government. To avoid this their leaders sought and obtained from the Bolshevik government permission to travel eastward through Russia and Siberia to the Pacific. Here they planned to take ship and after a voyage three quarters around the globe take their place in the armies of the Allies. The long journey began. Then the Bolsheviki, probably acting under German orders, recalled the permission they had given. The Czecho-Slovaks went on nevertheless, determined to proceed even if they had to fight their way. They were opposed at different points by Bolshevik troops with the assistance of organized bodies of German and Austrian prisoners, but the Czecho-Slovaks were victorious. In fact, with the aid of anti-Bolshevik Russians they seized control of most of the Siberian railroad, and of parts of eastern Russia.