By this time Austria-Hungary was in the throes of dissolution; independent republics were being set up by the Czechs, the Hungarians, the Jugo-Slavs, and even the German Austrians. These revolutions were hastened by the overwhelming victory of the Italians in the second battle of the Piave. Their attack began October 24 on the mountain front, but soon the Allied forces under General Diaz (dee´ahss) crossed the river and cut through the lines of the fleeing Austrians. In the capture of large numbers of prisoners and guns the Italians took full vengeance for their defeat of the preceding year. So hopeless, indeed, was the situation for the Austrians that they too accepted an armistice that was practically a surrender (November 4).
German Retreat in the West.—After the Germans had been driven back to their old lines in France, there was danger that the contest might settle down to the old form of trench warfare. But the intricate defenses of the Hindenburg line, in some cases extending to a depth of ten miles from the front trenches, did not prove strong enough to withstand the American and Allied advance. Foch attacked the line from each end and also in the center. In the north, by October 20, Belgian and British troops had recaptured all the Belgian coast, with its submarine bases; and the British had taken the important cities of Lens and Lille, the former valuable on account of its coal mines. In the center British and French troops broke through to the important points of Cambrai, St. Quentin (săn-kahn-tăn´) and Laon (lahn), while farther east the French and Americans began an advance along the Meuse River, threatening to attack the German line in the rear.
By this time it seemed likely that a general retirement from Belgium and France had been determined upon by the German leaders. Moreover, the impending defeat of the German armies led to a new peace drive by the German government. On October 6 President Wilson received a note from the German Chancellor asking for an armistice, requesting that the United States take steps for the restoration of peace, and stating that the German government accepted as a basis for peace negotiations the program as laid down in the President's message to Congress of January 8, 1918 (Chapter XIV), and in his subsequent addresses. In the ensuing correspondence several points are worthy of special notice. President Wilson opposed any suggestion of an armistice till after the evacuation of Allied territory, or except as it might be arranged by the military advisers of the American and Allied powers, on such terms as would make impossible the renewal of hostilities by Germany. He also called attention to the following point in his address of July 4, 1918,—"The destruction of every arbitrary power anywhere that can separately, secretly, and of its single choice disturb the peace of the world, or, if it cannot be presently destroyed, at the least its reduction to virtual impotence";—stated that the military autocracy still in control of Germany was such a power; and insisted on dealing only with a new or altered German government in which the representatives of the people should be the real rulers.
On November 11, while the German armies in France and Belgium were being defeated by the Allied and American forces, envoys from the German government accepted from General Foch an armistice in terms that meant virtually the surrender of Germany, and thus brought hostilities to an end.
Suggestions for Study.—1. What is the meaning of camouflage? of smoke screen? What is a convoy? 2. On a map of the Western Front locate the five great German drives of 1918, numbering them from one to five. 3. On a physical map of the Balkan peninsula find the only good land route from the Danube to Constantinople, with its branch to Salonica. 4. Collect pictures showing American soldiers in camps; going to France; and in France. 5. What were the objects of the 1918 offensive of the Germans? 6. In what way did the American troops help besides increasing the number of soldiers fighting the Germans? 7. What is the present condition of the western provinces of Russia? 8. What was the first important battle in which many American troops were engaged? 9. Why was the St. Mihiel salient important: (a) for the Germans to hold; (b) for the Allies and the United States to win? 10. Explain the importance of Bulgaria's surrender.
References.—War Cyclopedia (C.P.I.); The Study of the Great War (C.P.I.); McKinley, Collected Materials for the Study of the War; The Correspondence between the Bolsheviki and the German Government (C.P.I.); National School Service, Vol. I (C.P.I.).